BUCKHANNON — A fast start helped keep West Virginia Wesleyan level early and a second half surge had the team up by as many as six points over Glenville State University, but the Bobcats could not hold on and fell 79-69, Saturday in Buckhannon.
A scintillating beginning had the Bobcats up by eight points through the first eight minutes of play (23-15). Shots from the field easily found the bottom of the net and Wesleyan seemed to have caught a welcome early groove.
But at the 8:55 mark in the first half, the Bobcats scored its 27th point of the game on a jumper by Curtis Litton and for more than six minutes afterward, the team could not score. On the other end of the court, officials’ whistles sounded often, sending the Pioneers to the line until Glenville was down by one.
After Glenville went into the half up 37-32, it took the Bobcats just four minutes to retake the advantage which it held for six minutes. But Glenville went up 51-50 at the 10:13 mark to regain a lead that it did not relinquish.
Wesleyan’s Alex Mirhosseini led all scorers with 19 points, going 6-of-15 from the field that included 4-of-9 three-pointers. Deiker Padrino had 16 points with a 5-of-12 effort and both Curtis Litton and Anthony Craven Jr. added 10 points.
Glenville was led by Devin Collins and Trevor Chandler who each scored 18 points.
The Bobcats host University of Charleston for a Mountain East Conference showdown Wednesday, Feb. 21 at the Rockefeller Center. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m.
