FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Men's Basketball team had a dominant 112-90 season-opening win against Shippensburg in the first game of the Bobcat Classic Saturday night.
 
Prior to the game, FSU honored Dr. Robert Moore, a long-serving professor in the Sociology department, as an honorary captain who began the contest with a ceremonial jump ball. 

The first half began hot for the Bobcats, as freshman Mitch Finefrock notched the first points of the game with a pair of knockdown threes either side of a layup by graduate Chase Whippen to go up 8-0 early. SU tallied their first points two minutes in with a pair of made free throws, as Frostburg responded immediately with a tip-in by junior Mike Montano. The sides traded buckets and free throws over the next couple minutes, with Shippensburg's Marcus Frank netting a layup that had FSU leading 14-8.
 
Montano converted an and-one that grew the lead to nine, however over the next two minutes, the Raiders had lowered the deficit to two, with Frank responsible for six of their next eleven points, bringing them within 21-19. Neither team gave the other much momentum, as graduate Kyle Whippen went four-of-four at the charity stripe while Montano and sophomore Trey drove the lane for lay-ins to make the score to 29-25. Shippensburg continued to keep themselves in touching distance, knocking down a three followed by back-to-back buckets to take their first lead at 32-29.
 
Simmons ended the run from deep off a feed from Finefrock, then knocked down a mid-range jumper to go back up 34-32. Frostburg's defense kept the Raider offense in check, holding the visitors scoreless for a near three-minute stretch, as Kyle Whippen split a trip to the line followed by a layup from Montano to move ahead by five. After an SU layup, FSU kicked into gear, as Simmons fed Finefrock for a triple before Montano had a steal and slam to lead 42-34. The Raiders again wouldn't let the game get out of hand, scoring seven of the next nine to get within 44-43 before Simmons knocked down another three for a bit of breathing room. An alley-oop dunk from Shippensburg was followed immediately by Kyle Whippen going for two at the line before swiping the ball and feeding Simmons again from downtown for a seven-point advantage. 

SU looked to stick around again on a lay-in, but FSU had other ideas, as junior Zane McCarty got to the line and hit both, while Finefrock was found on a breakaway by Simmons for an easy layup. Following a pair of Raider freebies with just over a minute remaining, Finefrock split a trip of his own before being found at the basket by redshirt sophomore Blake Burrows to end the half with the Bobcats ahead 59-49.
 
Shippensburg came out the quicker of the two sides to start the second period, scoring seven of the first nine points to pull within 61-56. The Bobcats then found their range with a pair of threes, one from McCarty and the other from Chase Whippen, giving the hosts an 11-point advantage. Redshirt freshman DJ Daniel traded a layup with the Raiders, while Kyle Whippen did the same on an and-one, bringing things to 72-61 with 15 minutes on the clock. FSU's defense clamped down again, holding SU to just one field goal over the next four minutes. Finefrock sparked the Bobcats' offense with a steal and finding Montano for another flush followed by a pair of threes from the former either side of a Simmons layup, who then went for two free throws that brought the score to 84-61. 
 
Frank stemmed the run for Shippensburg with a layup and two free throws, but Frostburg didn't let up as Chase Whippen had a tip-in followed by a three from his brother, putting the lead at 24. The Raiders went on a small run, outscoring the Bobcats 11-2 over a two-minute stretch to bring the deficit down to 16, with Simmons providing FSU's only points on a layup. An SU triple brought things back to 94-79, but that would be as close as the visitors got the rest of the way, with Montano getting a free throw and layup either side of Kyle Whippen's lay-in to go back up 20. 
 
The Bobcats hit triple digits with just over five minutes left, as sophomore Christopher Meakin sank a corner three off Simmons' dish, quickly followed up with a layup by the latter. Shippensburg would trade buckets with Frostburg throughout the next couple minutes, as the Whippens combined for six points all close to the rim. Following a Frank bucket, junior Vilius Slanina ended the game with a layup as FSU prevailed 112-90.

Simmons led the Bobcats with 23 points, closely followed by Montano (22), Finefrock (20), and Kyle Whippen (20), as Chase Whippen also hit double digits in points, scoring 15. Montano flirted with a triple-double on a game-high 16 rebounds and seven assists while also swiping three steals. Kyle Whippen was a rebound shy of a double-double with nine as he stuffed the stat sheet with four assists, a pair of blocks, and a steal. 
 
With the win, FSU moves to 1-0 to start out the season, as SU falls to 0-1. The Bobcats are back at home on Sunday, November 16, at 3 PM to face Seton Hill (Pa) for the final game of the Bobcat Classic. For more information, please visit frostburgsports.com.