West Virginia State was able to hold on in the closing seconds as a 3-pointer from Concord's Aaron Miller rimmed out at the buzzer, and the Yellow Jackets picked up a 90-88 victory Saturday at the Walker Convocation Center.
It marked the end of a seven-game losing streak for WVSU (6-12, 3-9 Mountain East), its first victory since Dec. 19.
"It was a great feeling to pull one out down the stretch," West Virginia State freshman Ernest Jenkins said. "We've lost some close ones and some ones where we haven't played as well. But just to beat a team that beat us earlier in the season was a great feeling and now we can try to ease our way out of the bottom of the conference and build some momentum."
The Yellow Jackets showed their grit late in the game, holding off a fierce rally from the Mountain Lions late in the second half. West Virginia State led by as many as 18 points and held a 78-62 advantage with 8:22 to play when Concord erupted for a 17-0 run to pull in front and take its first lead of the game with 5:38 to play.
After trading buckets back and forth for a few minutes, WVSU was able to hold on to the lead down the stretch, thanks to a quick series of plays by freshman Jayson Hankins to help get the lead back out to five points.
"These kids deserved this win because they've really fought hard," West Virginia State coach Bryan Poore said. "These battles they're going through now and learning from will be huge for us down the road. I'm tickled to death for them because they needed to have this feeling again."
West Virginia State was able to build up that lead from the opening tip using a series of quick spurts of efficient play from just about everyone who checked into the game. In the final three minutes of the first half, WVSU held the Mountain Lions to 0 for 4 from the field while forcing three turnovers. The Yellow Jackets outscored Concord 8-2 heading into the locker room after CU (5-13, 1-11 MEC) had tied the game late in the half.
Then the second half continued to go much in the Yellow Jackets' favor. They put together runs of 7-0 and 8-1 to help blow the lead out to the 18-point margin they had before Concord stormed back into the game thanks to numerous big shots from the perimeter from Aaron Miller and Tommy Bolte.
"We were playing smart basketball and making the extra pass and playing inside-out," Poore said. "It's great to finally get us a win, and you keep seeing how tough this league is. It's a battle every night."
But that balance proved to be a major difference for State. The Yellow Jackets, who played without starting point guard Brent Bauer after the sophomore rolled his ankle against Charleston on Thursday night, put four players in double figures and got at least six points from every player who played on Saturday.
Tyrie Elliott, who slid into Bauer's spot in the starting lineup, led WVSU. The junior hit five 3-pointers and finished with a team-best 15 points.
"All year we've been in close games and haven't pulled them out," Elliott said. "We showed our grit and our toughness and finished it like we need to."
Jenkins took over the point guard duties for the majority of the game, and finished with 14 points and eight assists. Hankins scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds while Jae'Von McClain - who had scored 12 points all season heading into Saturday's game - scored 10 first-half points to provide a big spark when the Yellow Jackets needed one early.
Miller scored 22 points while Bolte had 21 in the loss for Concord. B.J. Hamlet came off the bench to score 13.