By Noah Fulks – YJ Sportswriter
Both Yellow Jacket basketball teams held off UC to score big wins Saturday at home. Tonight both play at Notre Dame in an away contest at Cleveland, Ohio.
The women topped UC 71-66. After a 19-11 first quarter, the Golden Eagles cut the Yellow Jackets lead to three at the half, 28-25. State was ahead 54-49 after three periods. UC took a late 63-62 lead before seniors Jasmine Davis and Aurreshae Hines took charge for a 71-66 win.
First Alexandra Jackson hit a jumper to give the Jackets the lead back with 2:36 remaining. Hines scored a three point play, then added two free throws, a steal and a rebound. Davis contributed the final two free throws and a rebound.
Davis had 25 points and Hines 21. Brooklyn Pannell lead the Golden Eagles with 13 points.
Saturday’s win moved the Yellow Jackets record to 7-11 overall, 7-5 MEC, while the Golden Eagles dropped to 8-9 overall, 5-7 MEC.
The men’s team trailed the Golden Eagles by four points, 35-39, at the half, then rallied to win 83-82. It was their fourth consecutive victory to give the Yellow Jackets their first 10 win season since 2013-2014. State is now 10-7 overall, 8-4 MEC. The Golden Eagles moved to 10-8 overall, 6-6 MEC.
It was a tight back and forth game reflected in the box score. Both teams scored 31 field goals, with the difference being the Yellow Jackets hit one more three point shot. Langston Cooke and Robert Fomby sealed the win with each hitting crucial free throws with under a minute left in regulation. Fomby hit the go ahead points with eight seconds to go. The Yellow Jackets as a team were impressive from the free throw line for the game, shooting 11 of 13 foul shots.
Freshman Glen Abram paced the balanced Yellow Jacket offense with 16 points, with Senior Robert Fomby adding 13 points. Kier Anderson led the Golden Eagles with 15 points.
Teams streaking after break
By Jeff Petty, YJ Sports Editor
The Spring semester is in full swing here in Institute. Students are now settled in after a long and relaxing break. Not all students had much of chance to enjoy the entire break. Our student athletes were still hard at work.
The men’s team went 3-3 over the break, getting key wins over Glenville and Wesleyan. They also won in overtime to Wise, putting the Yellow Jackets on a hot streak capped by a win over University of Charleston to start the semester.
The women were not as lucky. They went 3-4 over the break, playing one more game than the men. They also won a clutch game, 54-55 over Wesleyan. They also scored victories over West Liberty and UVA-Wise.
Currently the women are sitting at 7-11 overall and 7-5 in the conference. The men are 10-7 overall and 8-4 in conference play. Both teams are 4th in the conference standings. Both teams are currently on win streaks — men on a four game streak while the women have a three game streak.
Big games at home remain through February. You can check the schedule on our Scorestream app on this page, or download it and follow the Jackets in all sports.
