Baptiste, Baker Provide Late Offense to Give Men's Basketball First MEC Win

FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Men's Basketball team survived late on in their 69-61 home victory over West Virginia Wesleyan Tuesday night for their first MEC win of the season.
 
WVWC opened with the game's first four points, as FSU missed their first five shots from the floor before senior JayShaun Freeman hit a jumper after an offensive board from freshman Christopher Meakin. Wesleyan made a shot from deep before an easy layup in the paint, as Frostburg's only basket for a four-and-a-half-minute stretch was a lay-in from junior Jaden Baker. WVWC pushed their lead all the way up to 11 before Baker drove to the bucket for a score and knocked down a pair at the line, followed by sophomore Zane McCarty hitting an open three off a pass from senior Koby Baptiste and sophomore Vilius Slanina driving the baseline for a score to cut within two.
 
After another McCarty score, Wesleyan regained some control with a couple freebies and a transition layup off an FSU turnover. Freshman Tony Pope hit back with a trey on another Baptiste assist, but was quickly canceled out by one from the visitors, though that would be their only score during a four minute stretch. McCarty got to the cup for a basket, then Meakin followed up a miss with a putback before Baker got to the line with a chance to tie, but could only hit one of his two at the charity stripe. He made up for the split by feeding graduate Eric Sondberg for a triple to answer a WVWC layup at a 27-27 tie. Frostburg's momentum stalled in the final three minutes, as Meakin and Baker each missed one of their two free throws, with Wesleyan scoring the final bucket on a dunk to hold a 30-29 lead at halftime.
 
FSU began the second half with a couple of turnovers, while WVWC got another bucket in the paint before Sondberg got a steal and transition basket followed by a Freeman three to gain a one-point advantage. Wesleyan nailed again from distance, but Frostburg set up a full court press that led to Freeman driving the lane and Baptiste getting a quick steal and posterizing slam to lead by a pair.
 
Slanina got fouled and went one-for-two at the line, then hit a clutch three off a Freeman assist to take a 43-39 advantage. Baker and Baptiste combined for three FT's, with WVWC hanging around, keeping it a one-point game with 10:30 on the clock. Baker again scored a tough basket before getting a steal that lead to Sondberg pulling up for two, then earned a trip to the stripe for a 52-47 lead. Despite consistent offense, as Baker and Baptiste continued to get into the lane, Wesleyan never let the game get away from them, not trailing by more than four until Slanina whipped a pass to Baptiste for a deep make and a 59-53 score.
 
The sides traded buckets, with neither defense able to get the stops needed to take much momentum, until redshirt senior Naphtali Regilus was quickest to react to an offensive board, allowing Baker to drive to the hole with the shot clock winding down and hit a circus layup to lead 64-59 with 54 seconds left. Both teams had fouls in the next three possessions, as WVWC could only make two of their four while Regilus was perfect on his. With 25 seconds left, Baptiste went 50/50 on his next trip, but a Wesleyan flagrant foul kept FSU in possession and gave Regilus another pair of freebies and the ball. He and Baptiste went two-for-four, but WVWC wasn't able to generate any offense in the final seconds, ending things with a 69-61 FSU victory.
 
Baker led Frostburg on 17 points and four assists, while also swiping a game-high three steals. Baptiste joined him in double figures with 12, as Meakin had six boards and a pair of blocks in the defensive effort.
 
With the win, FSU improves to 2-5 on the year, while Wesleyan drops to 1-4. Frostburg next hits the road to Charleston (WV) on Wednesday, December 4 at 7:30 p.m. Information and updates will be posted at frostburgsports.com.