* Download the complete 2018 Mountain East Conference Digital Program

Rich Stevens for MountainEast.org

There is an unusual situation brewing with the West Virginia State University men’s basketball team.

The Yellow Jackets are third in points per game in the Mountain East Conference, but are only one of two of the top scoring teams in the league with a losing record.

Additionally, they are mired in a eight-game losing streak as the MEC regular season winds down.

Surprisingly, there was minimal frustration with his team. Perhaps his players were aware that they were very close to achieving their goals.

State’s ever-optimistic coach Bryan Poore found a way to relax his team.

“We went bowling,” Poore says.

The Yellow Jackets were coming off a painstaking 95-91 home defeat to Concord on Feb. 22 -- their seventh straight loss that followed a six-game winning streak. They trailed by 12 with 6:38 left in the first half and carved out a five-point lead (54-49) at the 15:29 mark fo the second half.

State maintained a 91-89 with 1:25 remaining, but failed to score again.

Poore turned what would be a devastating loss for some into an opportunity to schedule a team-unifying moment.

“I thought all along they’ve been really well,” says Poore, referring to his players’ attitude through the struggles of a losing skid. “Right after the (Concord) game I felt how down they were.

“They were quiet, they were down. Instead of practice (on Thursday), I took them bowling.”

He anticipates the off-the-court activity will help his team entering the MEC Tournament.

The 2017-18 season appeared to represent a watershed moment for the Yellow Jackets, who enjoyed much success during their time in the West Virginia Conference.

Poore’s teams won at least 20 games in six consecutive seasons from 2005-11. Between 2011 and 2017, State managed only 56 victories -- an average of 9.3 wins.

He was creeping up on the all-time wins mark of 288 at State owned by Mark Cardwell, whose name is forever plastered on the floor at Fleming Hall -- State’s former home court.

Poore became the owner of the mark on Nov. 23, 2015. Despite his being carried off the court by his team, he knew much more work had to be done.

A pair of six-win seasons (2014-15 and 2015-16) were followed by a seven-win campaign in 2016-17. In the meantime, Poore’s contract had been extended through 2022.

In his 19th season (2017-18), Poore did not relax.

Through five games, State was back to its old self, averaging 90.8 points per contest with a pair of 100-point games. Two three-game losing streaks -- from Nov. 25-Dec. 2 and Dec. 18-Jan. 7 -- would slow their enthusiasm, but it was only temporary.

A six-game winning streak awoken the sleeping giant, spearheaded by an 83-82 win over rival University of Charleston and a trio of wins by a combined nine points.

Then, at the worst possible time, State seemed to forget how to win in a conference that might be at its peak since its inauguration in 2013.

“The league’s really good,” Poore says. “There’s several of those games that came down to a possession or two and just didn’t go our way.”

Poore pointed to a seven-point overtime loss to Shepherd.

A Steffen Davis 3-pointer tied the game and two State shots were off the mark in the final seconds of regulation.

Despite a Robert Fomby basket giving State a three-point lead, the Yellow Jackets fell short in the extra period.

“I thought we played pretty well,” he says. “I thought we’d win in regulation and we didn’t. You have to clean up the possessions at the end of the game.”

Poore has received quality contributions from a variety of places -- although injuries have not helped the Yellow Jackets.

Point guard Brent Bauer played in just three games, and former Charleston Catholic star Garret McCarty -- a defensive specialist and ball-distributing stalwart for the Irish -- broke his foot and has played in just 14 contests. McCarty had just 15 assists in those 14 games, but was establishing himself as a valuable part of Poore’s rebuilding process.

“It hurt us not having our point guards (Bauer and McCarty),” Poore says. “Garret started out playing well and broke his foot in the Fairmont game. That got him a little bit out of shape. You can’t miss that much action and then get thrown back into the middle of conference play.

“That’s been difficult for him.”

The veteran coach’s key cogs were still in place, even if the complementary pieces were missing.

State is led by junior and Bowie, Maryland, native Pat Johnson-Agwu, whose 19 points and 7.5 rebounds lead the team. He also is second on the team in blocked shots with 18.

Sophomore Ernest Jenkins, who also hails from Maryland (Upper Marlboro), is at 12.8 points and is third on the team in assists (72).

The other double-figure scorers of the four that adorn State’s roster are senior Robert Fomby, who rejoined the team after being dismissed in 2016, and Jeremiah “Jerry” Moore, a West Orange, New Jersey, native whose lanky frame has contributed 10.6 points. 5.6 rebounds and a team-leading 44 rebounds.

State’s 12-15 overall record and 10-12 MEC mark are hardly indicative of the potential of his team, Poore said.

“The good thing is those games (during the losing streak) have been tournament like,” he says. “We should be ready for that. When we’re on edge defensively and playing and defending well whomever … let’s go.”

The time may have come for an upswing in State’s season. The Yellow Jackets won four of their first five, lost three in a row and then two of their next five. A six-game winning streak was followed by its seven-game skid.

The last contest of the losing streak was a four-game defeat against Concord -- a game State was in a position to win but just could not complete the job.

Poore’s solution was to take his players bowling.

“I wanted to let them decompress to relax, have some fun … have some team fun,” he says. “I thought it went well. We had a good time.”