FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- Fairmont State held off West Chester's comeback bid late in the second half to pick up an 89-85 victory on the second day of the Joe Retton Classic.

Fairmont State led by as many as nine (81-72) at the 1:16 mark of the second half after a pair of free throws by Jamel Morris but a tip-in by Matt Wiseley and a three by Parrish Grant in a span of just 30 second made the score 81-77. After Wil Martinez went 1-of-2 from the line, Grant was fouled on the opposite end and knocked down a pair to make the score 82-79 with 37 seconds remaining.

Thomas Wimbush capitalized from the free throw line on the next possession but Grant once again extended the game by nailing a three with 11 second to cut the margin to just two. After Morris connect on a pair of free throws on the next possession for FSU, Grant once against cut into the FSU margin with three seconds to play by knocking down three free throws to make the score 86-85 in favor of the Falcons. However, a pair of free throws by Martinez and a steal by Chase Morgan ended the game and gave the Falcons an 89-85 victory.

Fairmont State (2-0) got a team-high 22 points from Martinez in the victory, 10 of which came at the free throw line. Morris chipped in 17 points and six rebounds and Wimbush added 14 points and seven boards for the Falcons. Nick Harney was the fourth player to reach double-figures for FSU with 13 points and Brandon Vega had a team-high seven assists.

The Fairmont State defense forced 26 West Chester turnovers and the Falcons held a 30-8 advantage in points off turnovers. The Falcons also scored 26 points in the paint and limited their turnovers to just 13. WCU held a 39-33 advantage on the glass and had 48 bench points in the losing effort.

Mike Wilson scored a team-high 21 points to lead West Chester while Parrish grant filled the stat sheet with 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Fairmont State stretched its halftime lead from three to 14 at the 17:14 mark after starting the second half on an 11-0 run and maintained a double-digit margin over the next five minutes of the game. However, West Chester slowly chipped away at the lead to as few as one point inside the final minute of the game.

The Falcons will travel to West Virginia Wesleyan for a 4 p.m. tip next Saturday afternoon to open Mountain East Conference play. FSU will return to Joe Retton Arena a week from Monday when they host Glenville State at 7:30 p.m.