ST. THOMAS, V.I. --- West Virginia State used a 16-1 run in the opening half to lead the 16th-ranked Yellow Jackets to a 73-59 victory over Tusculum in the championship game of the YES! / U.S. Virgin Islands Classic Monday morning.
WVSU (12-1) went a perfect 3-0 in the tournament as the Jackets shot 49.1 percent for the game while limiting the Pioneers (6-5) to 35 percent shooting including 9-of-33 (27%) in the first half as TU trailed 40-23 at the intermission.
Samier Kinsler led WVSU with his 18 points off the bench including 15 markers in the first half. He would shoot 5-of-8 from three-point territory while connecting on four triples in the first half alone. Anthony Pittman finished with 13 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Ibn Loyal had 12 points and five boards in the Jackets' fourth consecutive win.
Tusculum's Inady Legiste posted 14 points and six rebounds, while the duo of James West IV and Connor Jordan added 10 points apiece.
Trailing 9-4 in the early going, the Pioneers got back-to-back treys from KJ Crump and Jalen Crowder to take a 10-9 lead at the 13:51 mark of the first half. WVSU went on a 16-1 spurt over a span of 7:52 including 14 unanswered. The run was capped off by a Kinsler triple and a dunk by Pittman to give the Yellow Jackets a 27-11 lead with six minutes remaining before halftime.
WVSU extended the lead to as many as 19 before settling for a 40-23 advantage heading to the locker room.
The Jackets scored the first seven points of the second half as the lead swelled to 47-23.
Trailing 56-35 with 12:55 remaining, Tusculum erupted for a 14-3 run to trim the deficit to 59-49 with nine minutes remaining. West
Loyal snapped the drought with a basket and Pittman followed with a three-point play to extend the lead to 64-50 with 7:30 remaining. Jordan scored six points during the run, while West added five and freshman Kyle Brown converted a three-point play.
A 5-1 run by West Virginia State moved the lead to 14 at 64-50, but a West three-pointer and a Jordan jumper in the paint cut the deficit to single digits as 64-55 with 6:56 on the scoreboard.
Pittman drained a jump shot and Kinsler connected on a three-pointer to move back to out a 14-point (69-57) cushion with 5:52 on the clock. The teams traded buckets including back-to-back makes by Brown as TU trailed 71-59 with 3:53 remaining.
The Pioneers would go ice cold for the rest of the game missing their final five shots and committed a pair of turnovers down the stretch.
This wraps up non-conference action for Tusculum as they return to South Atlantic Conference on Thursday with a 4 p.m. contest at Limestone.
