FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- Fairmont State picked up a tough, physical victory over the West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats, 78-61, on Saturday evening at Joe Retton Arena in the Mountain East Conference opener for both teams.

Fairmont State (3-0, 1-0 MEC) held a 40-30 advantage on the glass and scored 18 points off 14 Bobcat turnovers in the win. FSU turnover the ball over just isx times. The Falcon bench also provided 36 of Fairmont's 78 points and FSU scored 17 on put-backs from 10 offensive boards.

Senior Jamel Morris led the Fairmont State offense with 18 points and five rebounds after knocking down 4-of-7 attempts from behind the arc. Matt Bingaya provided 15 points and seven boards in the paint for the Falcons, shooting 7-of-12 from the field. FSU also got 12 points, three assists and two steals from Caleb Davis and Jason Jolly chipped in 10. Ten FSU players scored in the victory.

The Falcons held a slim advantage in field goal percentage (47.6-42.3) and also drilled nine threes compared to five for Wesleyan.

Tanner McGrew tallied a team-high 18 points and six rebounds to lead the Bobcats. Mo Berchie filled the stat sheet for Wesleyan, contributing 11 points, six boards, four assists and three steals. Garrett Grantham also reached double-figures with 10.

The first half of the game featured five ties and four lead changes before the Falcons scored 15 of the final 21 points of the opening half to grab a 10-point advantage going into the locker room. After an early run by the Bobcats to cut the FSU lead to just four at the 17:10 mark of the second half, the Falcons quickly took control and held a double-digit advantage for a majority of the final half of play.

The Falcons will now travel to Glenville State on Monday evening for a rematch of the 2015 Mountain East Conference Tournament Championship Game. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Waco Center.