FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- Fairmont State took down No. 1 West Liberty, 99-83, on Saturday afternoon to hand the Hilltoppers their first loss of the season.

The Falcons held the 'Toppers to their lowest first half point total of the year, allowing just 33 points on 11-of-27 (40.7%) shooting (2-of-11 from three). Fairmont State shot 57 percent from the field in the opening half and were led by Chase Morgan and Nick Harney with 12 points apiece.

Harney and Thomas Wimbush each finished the game with 20 points to lead Fairmont State (10-6, 7-3 MEC). Harney shot 8-of-11 from the field and just missed a double-double with nine boards while Wimbush went 7-of-11 from the field and chipped in five rebounds. Jamel Morris also finished the game with 18 points, going 9-of-12 from the line, while Chase Morgan came off the bench to chip in 15 points on 4-of-5 from behind the arc. Caleb Davis filled the stat sheet for the Falcons from the point guard position with nine points, eight assists and six rebounds.

West Liberty (14-1, 9-1 MEC) got a game-high 26 points and seven rebounds from Seger Bonifant in its first loss of the season. Senior CJ Hester also chipped in 15 points and Joe Lococo rounded out the Hilltoppers in double figures with 12.

For the game, Fairmont State shot 31-of-53 (58.5%) from the floor and 8-of-15 (53.3%) from behind the arc. The Falcons also recorded 20 assists on 31 baskets and went to the free throw line 39 times, making 29 of the attempts. West Liberty held a slim 36-33 advantage on the glass and scored 15 points on 13 offensive rebounds in the game.

The top-ranked Hilltoppers never led in the loss with Fairmont State leading by as many as 26 at the 17:16 mark of the second half. The game was tied three times, each of which were in the first half.

After Fairmont State opened up an 8-2 lead in the first two minutes of the game, the 'Toppers quickly cut the margin back to just one points with an 8-3 run of their own to make the score 11-10 at the 15:43 mark. With the game tied, 13-13, at the 13:54 mark, Fairmont State went on a 17-2 run over the next eight minutes to jump ahead 30-15 with 7:22 remaining in the first. The Falcons pushed their lead to 21 points (42-21) at the 4:33 mark of the opening half before the Hilltoppers cut the halftime margin to 48-33. WLU cut the FSU lead to as few as 10 points in the closing minutes of the first half.

Leading 48-33 at the half, Fairmont State started the second half on an 11-0 run and grabbed a commanding 59-33 lead with 17:16 remaining in the game. The Hilltoppers slowly chipped away at the FSU lead in the second half but were unable to get closer than 11 points down the stretch, as the Falcons wrapped up the 99-83 victory.

Fairmont State has now won five of its last six games and will be off until Thursday evening when Shepherd comes to town for a 7:30 p.m. tip.