Men's Basketball Falls to Fairmont in Regular Season Finale

FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The Frostburg State Men's Basketball team fell to the Fairmont Falcons on the road Saturday evening by a score of 107-62 to conclude their regular season.

The game started at a quick 2-2 as freshman Logan Lewis dropped in the first bucket for Frostburg. After two minutes of steals by freshman Zane McCarty and senior Jaylin Albury, and turnovers by the respective teams, Lewis earned a three-point play to put the Bobcats ahead 5-2. A three from the Falcons tied the game 5-5. Lewis with a solo layup advanced Frostburg 7-5. A minute trailed by with no success, until McCarty pulled up for a jumper and a 9-5 game. Cutting the lead to one, Fairmont sunk a three to see the score at 9-8. A free throw and a steal for Fairmont sent them ahead for a 12-9 lead. Lewis flew in for an offensive board and brought it outside the arc, hitting nothing but net to tie the game at 12-12. A dunk from the Falcons was answered by freshman Malcolm Day with a turn around jumper for another tie game. Fairmont scoring nine compared to junior JayShaun Freeman's two sent the Falcons to a 23-16 lead. Day hit another jumper making it a five-point game 23-18.

Coming out of a media timeout, Fairmont was awarded two free shots for a 25-18 score, followed by a three for a 28-18 game.  Albury found senior Cole Harshman under the bucket for two to bring the game to 28-20. Day got his hand in the passing lane, taking the steal to the rim for a 28-22 score. The next four points were awarded to Fairmont, as Freeman answered with a jumper to bring the score to 32-24.  Five points in 40 seconds pushed Fairmont's lead to 37-24. With just around a minute left in the half, Lewis laid the ball in to bring the score to 37-26. Fairmont hit back-to-back jumpers to end the half up 41-26.

Lewis was sent to the line for two to start the second, bringing the game to 41-28. A missed three but offensive putback put Fairmont on top 43-28. Seeing his first bucket of the day, junior Sebastian Gahse added two for the Bobcats for a 43-30 score. A response three set Fairmont up a 46-30 lead. Off an offensive board, Albury kicked the ball out to senior Jaylon Johnson for three, bringing the game to 46-33. Pushing the ball, the Falcons earned another layup for a 48-33 score. Johnson to Albury for three cut Fairmont's lead to 12, 48-36. Widening the deficit, Fairmont earned another two to increase their lead to 50-36. McCarty secured an offensive board, as Frostburg swung the ball around, finding Johnson for a jumper and a 50-38 game. The next five points by the Falcons moved them to a 55-38 advantage with under 14 minutes to play.

Fairmont up the court for a slam dunk and Day with a steal, ended in Lewis hitting the shot to bring the game to 57-43. Two for the Falcons but a three for Johnson set the score at 59-46.  Both teams traded threes, as junior Robby Williams set the game at 62-49.  Fairmont went on a nine-point run to get into the sixth minute of the game with a 71-49 advantage. Back on the board for the Bobcats was McCarty with two from the line as the game read 71-51. Fairmont quickly took control, accumulating 10 straight points for a 81-51 lead. McCarty was able to knock down a jumper for the Bobcats, but another eight straight from Fairmont sent them to a 89-53 lead. Seven from the Falcons and two from McCarty saw the score at 96-57 with two minutes left to play. Graduate Antonio Carlisle and redshirt sophomore Zachary Hill added the final five points for the Bobcats, as Fairmont would go on to score five more points as well to take the game 107-62.

Lewis (17) and McCarty (10) both scored in double digits, as Gahse lead the boards with six and Albury finished with three assists.

With the conclusion of today's game, Frostburg finishes the regular season with an overall record of 3-25 and a conference record of 2-18, while Fairmont finishes with an overall record of 21-7 and a conference record of 13-7. Frostburg earns the tenth-seed going into the Mountain East Conference Tournament, for their first tournament appearance since joining Division II, as the Bobcats will face the seventh-seed Glenville State on Wednesday, March 6 at 6 PM for the first round in WesBanco Area located in Wheeling, WV . For more information, visit frostburgsports.com.