SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Second-ranked Fairmont State capitalized down the stretch to earn an 86-81 Mountain East Conference victory over Shepherd on Thursday evening at the Butcher Center.
 
Following a three by Gavin McTavish to give Shepherd a 54-53 advantage at the 14:42 mark of the second half, the Falcons went on a 17-5 run, led by 11 points from Jason Jolly, to grab its largest lead of the day (70-59) at the midway points of the second half.
 
Shepherd cut the lead back to as little as four at the 8:07 mark, following a 7-0 spurt by the Rams, but the Falcons again pushed the lead back to double-digits with its own 7-0 run - aided by a technical foul that was called on the SU bench.
 
Shepherd made one more comeback bid in the final minute, but Jolly went 3-of-4 from the free throw line to help the Falcons close out the 86-81 victory.
 
Jolly finished the evening with 26 points on 5-of-9 from behind the arc to lead the Falcons (17-0, 11-0 MEC) in the victory. Jolly netted 18 of his points in the second half. The Falcons also got 14 points and five rebounds from Thomas Wimbush and 13 points and three steals from D'Ondre Stockman.
 
In addition, FSU also got nine points and five rebounds from Troy Cantrell, eight points and seven rebounds from Matt Bingaya, eight points and five rebounds from Trevor Andrews-Evans and eight pints, five assists and four steals from Shammgod Wells.
 
Wells needs just three more steals to become the all-time school leader in the category.
 
Shepherd outshot the Falcons (54.5-44.3), but Fairmont State went 23-of-29 from the free throw line in the victory after 21 fouls were called against the Rams. The Falcons also forced 19 Ram turnovers, compared to just 12 committed by FSU.
 
Both teams bucketed nine three-pointers in the fast-paced game that featured five lead changes and five ties.
 
Steffen Davis finished the evening with a team-high 20 points for the Rams (10-7, 7-4 MEC). Shepherd also got 19 points and eight rebounds from McTavish, 17 points from Skyler Roman and 10 from Naim Muhammad.
 
FSU will now return home for four-straight games, beginning with a 4 p.m. tip against West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon inside Joe Retton Arena.