— Story by Taylor Kennedy
INSTITUTE, W.Va. — One word. Offense. It was evident throughout the first half that both teams were excited to get back onto the court. The intensity and energy from both teams led to a high scoring affair as Glenville State escaped West Virginia State with a 117-114 win.
West Virginia State (0-1) won the tip and immediately went down the court and senior Jeremiah Moore received an and-one play. The Yellow Jackets immediately went into their full court press where the intensity was most evident throughout the first half.
At the 19:05 mark, Capital High School graduate Anthony Pittman sent a thunderous block four feet out of bounds. He would finish the first half with two blocks.
Despite WVSU’s early run, Glenville State (1-0) clawed its way back into the game. Like the Yellow Jackets, the Pioneers full court pressure gave W.Va. State issues. Glenville State would jump in front 12-8 as Yellow Jackets head coach Brian Poore called a timeout immediately following the Pioneers run.
Following the first media timeout, Glenville State came out of the break on fire. The Pioneers jumped out on an 11-3 run, which put them out on front and they would hold that lead throughout the rest of the half.
Despite there being no fans allowed, the West Virginia State women’s basketball team showed their school spirit by sticking around throughout the game. But, in the first half you could tell that they were into the game.
Glenville State finished the first half leading 55-53. The Pioneers led for 13:51 in the first half. Glenville State head basketball coach Justin Caldwell said that his team did not execute on the second half adjustments despite the close win on the road.
“To be honest, no. Our halftime adjustments were being able to pack it in and try and make them make tough shots. When they shot 53% in the second half, we did not execute. They went to a 1-2-2 zone, and when a team that shoots it as well as we do, you need to pick a zone apart. We did not do that. We shot 50% from three in the second half, and I felt that late we got stagnant against the zone,” says Caldwell.
Early on in the second half, the Pioneers jumped out on an 8-0 run, which gave them their largest lead of 10 points. A lot of that success early on came from Hegel Augustin. He poured in five straight points during that span.
While Glenville State was picking up steam, West Virginia State got plagued with early foul trouble. Senior guard Glen Abram received his third and fourth foul around the 15:40 mark in the second half. That meant that sophomore guard Treohn Watkins had to step in and provide key minutes.
Watkins scored three points in the first half, but when he stepped in early in the second half he recorded 15 second half points. The majority of those points came while Abram was out with four fouls.
The two squads went back and forth throughout the second half, especially with less than 12 minutes left in the game. Along with the runs, there was a lot of bantering and chippiness between the two squads. At one point, the referees gave a “flop warning” to Augustin.
As the game came down to the wire, West Virginia State and Glenville State would not give up. During a three minute span with less than eight minutes left, the Pioneers took off on a 16-5 run. The majority of those points came from Augustin and junior guard John Williams who took turns nailing threes.
The last minute of regulation felt like the longest but the quickest. Glenville State led by three as the Yellow Jackets came down the court and Abram hit a crucial three with 43.4 seconds left to cut the lead to one.
On the ensuing possession, GSC’s Nicholas Edwards drove all the way to the cup, and hoisted up a shot and it was goaltended by Pittman. The lead was extended back out to three.
After a timeout, West Virginia State comes down and sets multiple screens for Abram to come off. Senior forward Jeremiah Moore passed the ball to Abram on the left side of the three-point arc. He hoisted up a three and missed, but he was fouled. Abram stepped to free throw line and sank the first, but he would go on to go one for two. The lead was still a one point game in favor of the Pioneers with 14.6 seconds left.
After two Glenville State free throws, the Yellow Jackets came down and had two open opportunities for a potential game-tying three-pointer. Both threes rattled out. Glenville State came down to Institute, and they will head back up north following a 117-114 win over West Virginia State.
Glenville State had five players score double-figures, but Coach Caldwell was most impressed at how two of his upperclassmen played tonight on the road.
“I think Augustin. 20 shots, 40 points, 13 rebounds. You had Nick Edwards who had 19 [points], 8 [rebounds], and 8 [assists]. Almost a triple-double. Those guys work hard, and I am not surprised that they played that well,” says Caldwell.
Throughout the contest, Glenville State’s relentless pressure caused havoc. The Pioneers forced seven Yellow Jacket turnovers. Despite the numbers not showing it, Caldwell believes that the relentless pressure from the press helped his team escape with a win.
“Fatigue. We have played this way since September. A lot of teams do not play that way,” says Caldwell.
He also stated that it was not his team’s best performance from the press.
“That is about as bad as our pressure can possibly be. They are just so athletic. They look like a mid-major team. They are fast and strong. We got in foul trouble. They shot 43 free-throws. At the end of the day, we kept fouling them late. Just bone head plays. We gotta watch film, and we have got to get better,” says Caldwell.
The Pioneers next game will be their home opener against the University of Charleston. Caldwell believes that his teams defense needs to be improved going into game two.
“We gotta be able to guard the ball. Our pressure was not there because we kept fouling. Therefore, we could not speed them up because we kept sending them to the foul line letting them breathe. We gotta be better at that, and our help defense was not there. Our communication was bad. We were bad. When you give up 53% you are not very good, and you are not going to win very games like that,” says Caldwell.
Final Stats
Glenville State (1-0):
Senior Hagel Augustin led all scorers with 40 points. He also recorded 13 rebounds as well. Junior John Williams scored two points in the first half, and piled in 19 second half points to give him 21 on the night.
As a team, the Pioneers shot 50% from the field and 43% from three-point range. They assisted on 20 of their total 38 made shots.
West Virginia State (0-1):
Senior Glen Abram led the Yellow Jackets in scoring with 24 points. He shot 31% from behind the arc. Second team All-MEC member Anthony Pittman had an impressive stat line with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 drawn charges, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.
As a team, the Yellow Jackets shot 47% from the field, including 36% from downtown. West Virginia State’s bench outscored Glenville State’s 34-21.