FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Men's Basketball team picked up their second win of the season in convincing fashion with a 105-83 victory at home over Shepherd.
 
It took just seven seconds for FSU to begin the game on the front foot, as graduate Kyle Whippen found sophomore Trey Simmons for a quick three, followed immediately by graduate Chase Whippen nabbing an offensive board and dishing to freshman Mitch Finefrock in the corner for a 6-0 lead. The Rams netted the next five to pull back within one, but Kyle Whippen drove the paint while Finefrock hit back-to-back triples to push the lead out to 14-5.
 
SU finally settled themselves defensively, holding the Bobcats to just one field goal over the next three minutes while scoring 12 of their own to take their first lead at 17-16. Each side traded buckets, through the next four minutes, as Simmons hit a mid-range jumper and a three, while Chase Whippen also hit from deep and junior Mike Montano had a steal-and-dunk to pull level at 26-26.
 
Montano and junior Zane McCarty then knocked down treys either side of Kyle Whippen's perfect trip to the line, helping to kick off an 18-5 run that put Frostburg ahead 44-31. FSU's defense held Shepherd scoreless for five minutes, helped out by redshirt freshman DJ Daniel coming up with a huge block, as Montano, Kyle Whippen, and Simmons all got to the cup for lay-ins. Over the final two and a half minutes of the half, the Rams got the deficit back to within single digits after scoring six of the next eight, but Montano ended things with a pair of baskets in the last minute to go into the break up 50-37.
 
The Bobcats began the second half with a flurry of makes, as Kyle Whippen got to the rim before Simmons got a steal-and-score, while Montano added a pair of freebies to quickly go ahead 56-37. SU got their first points on a couple free throws before trading scores with Montano, as Daniel and Chase Whippen then nailed a pair of triples either side of the former's makes at the charity stripe, pushing the lead out to 25.
 
Over the next three minutes, Finefrock hit a smooth pull-up jumper before the Whippen brothers hit back-to-back threes on McCarty's assists, keeping the offense flowing despite Shepherd's answers, leading 76-53 with 11 minutes to go. The Bobcats continued to churn out points, as Finefrock and Simmons hit from two, McCarty notched a corner trey, and Montano and Chase Whippen slammed home dunks to go up 90-65. SU tried to trim the lead with a pair of dunks of their own, but layups from Simmons, Montano, and Kyle Whippen kept the advantage at 20 with five minutes left.
 
Nearly two minutes went by before the Rams got back-to-back scores to pull back within 16, but a Montano lay-in and Finefrock's fourth deep make of the day got FSU over the century mark and restored the 20-point advantage. Simmons added another jumper followed by a trip to the line, as Shepherd made three of their final four free throws to bring the final to 105-83.
 
Frostburg made 14 threes on the day, tying for the second-most in program history. Montano led the Bobcats in points (25), rebounds (9), and assists (5), as he was joined in double-figure scoring by Simmons (23), Kyle Whippen (22), and Finefrock (16).
 
With the win, FSU improves to 2-2 on the year, while Shepherd drops to 3-2. Frostburg will next head on the road to face Kutztown on Monday, December 1 at 7:30 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.