Men's Basketball

FSU, Bellarmine Vie for Spot in DII Title Game

Watch tonight's game live on CBS Sports Network at 7 p.m. (ET)

Fairmont State Final Four Notes
- With Fairmont's 86-68 win over Rollins on Wednesday afternoon in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division II Elite Eight Tournament, the Falcons have advanced to their first NCAA Final Four in program history.
- Fairmont State will battle Bellarmine, who defeated Colorado-Mines, 92-72, in Wednesday's second semifinal.
- In Fairmont's 1998 Elite Eight appearance, the Falcons fell in the national quarterfinals 77-73 against Saint Rose.
- With Wednesday's victory over Rollins in the national quarterfinals, Fairmont State improved to 10-8 in NCAA Tournament play (nine appearances).
- Fairmont's win in the quarterfinal round also set a new single-season record for wins with 33. This season is just the fourth 30-win season in Fairmont State men's basketball history.
- Fairmont's Matt Bingaya has earned first team All-American honors from three different associations or publications this week, including D2CCA, Basketball Times and NABC.
- In addition, Fairmont State men's basketball coach Jerrod Calhoun has been named the 2017 Basketball Times Coach of the Year.
- Thursday's national semifinal will be the third meeting between Fairmont State and Bellarmine. Both meetings were between head coaches Jerrod Calhoun and Scott Davenport. The first meeting was in 2013, an 81-73 win for Bellarmine in Fairmont. The return meeting was at Bellarmine in 2014, a 75-55 win for the Knights.
- In Wednesday's win over Rollins, Fairmont stretched a one-point halftime lead into an 18-point win over Rollins. Jason Jolly set a new career-high in scoring with 28 points in the win. Jolly drained seven threes in the victory, which was one away from tying the NCAA Division II Elite Eight record for a single game.
- Vonte Montgomery also finished just a field goal from his career high in scoring with 21 points in the win over Rollins on Wednesday afternoon.
- Fairmont State held Rollins to just 37 percent from the field in the second half, after the Tars shot nearly 62 percent in the opening half. The Falcons also forced 18 RC turnovers in the win. FSU turned the ball over just eight times.
- Fairmont State has recorded a 20-win season in seven of the last nine years; including each of the five seasons under head coach Jerrod Calhoun.
- Fairmont State's regular season Mountain East Conference Championship is the first league title in 21 years for the Falcons – the last league title for FSU came back in 1996 as a member of the WVIAC. With this season's league championship, the Falcons have now won 17 in program history.
- In total, FSU men's basketball has advanced to the national quarterfinals, semifinals or finals six times in program history. The Falcons were NAIA National runner-up in 1967-68, FSU advanced to the final four in 1964-65 and 1970-71 and went to the elite eight in 1974-75 and 1997-98. The first four appearances were in the NAIA National Tournament.
- FSU has extended its streak of being ranked in 30-consecutive NABC regular season polls, including 27 weeks in the top 10 in the country. The Falcons have also been ranked in the top five of the rankings for 13-straight poll releases.
- Fairmont was ranked No. 2 for eight weeks this season and sat at the top of the poll for two weeks late in the year.
- On Feb. 21, Fairmont State moved to No. 1 in the country for the first time since the final poll of the 1976 regular season when FSU was a member of NAIA. FSU dropped to No. 3 in the rankings after falling to WLU in the MEC Tournament Championship Game.

Quick Hitters
- The Falcons have won by double-figures in 26 games this season, including 13 victories by 20 points or more. FSU has also scored over 100 points in 11 games this season and has reached 90 points in 24 of 35 games.
- FSU has also shot over 50 percent from the field 16 times and have shot over 40 percent from behind the arc 13 times. FSU has knocked down double-digit three-pointers in 25 of 35 games this season.
- However, FSU has failed to shoot over 50 percent from the field in 10-straight games.
- Defensively, the Falcons have held six of their last seven opponents under 70 points. FSU is 17th in the country in three-point field goal percentage defense (31.7), third in steals per game (10.2) and ninth nationally in total rebounds (1,356).
- On the offensive end, the Falcons currently have the third-best scoring offense in NCAA Division II at 95.9 points per game.
- In addition to being third in the country in scoring offense, the Falcons are also 30th in the country in assists per game (16.9), 26th in field goal percentage (49.0) and 16th in offensive rebounds per game (13.62). FSU is eighth in NCAA Division II in scoring margin (16.6).
- The Falcons are also one of the top three-point shooting teams in the country, averaging the sixth-most three-pointers per game (11.3). FSU is also 56th in the country in three-point field goal percentage (38.3) and third in total three-pointers (395).
- The Falcons have also made the fourth-most three-pointers in NCAA Division II this season (395). The Falcons have attempted 1,032 three-pointers on the year.
- Trevor Andrews-Evans ranked 22nd in the country in blocked shots per game (2.00).
- Senior point guard Shammgod Wells currently ranks 10th in the country in steals per game (2.5), fifth in assists to turnover ratio (3.33) and 20th in assists per game (5.7). Wells' 86 steals this season are the fourth-most in NCAA Division II.
- Matt Bingaya is 28th in NCAA Division II in field goal percentage (59.4).
- In addition, D'Ondre Stockman ranks 26th in the country in three-point field goal percentage (42.8).

Milestone Watch
Trevor Andrews-Evans
- Senior center Trevor Andrews-Evans has moved into second place in school history in career blocked shots with 234 in his four-year FSU career – Haywood Highsmith is currently first in school history with 439 from 1985-89.
- Andrews-Evans' 234 career blocked shots are the third-most of all active players in NCAA Division II.
- Andrews-Evans also has the second-highest field goal percentage (.625) in Fairmont State men's basketball history for players who have attempted at least 200 career field goals.
Shammgod Wells
- Shammgod Wells, who became the school's all-time leader in steals (237) earlier this season, also became the all-time leader in career assists (566) on senior night against Shepherd. Well's 200 assists this season are the fourth-most in a single-season at Fairmont State.
- Wells is currently fifth in active career assists with 566 and is fourth in active assists-to-turnover ratio (2.54-to-1).
Thomas Wimbush
- Thomas Wimbush has went over the 1,500 point mark in his career and is currently 18th in school history in career points with 1,689.
- Wimbush is also fourth in school history in career blocks with 100.
Matt Bingaya
- Last month, Matt Bingaya became the fifth two-year player and 46th player in school history to eclipse 1,000 career points wearing the maroon and white. In just two seasons with the Falcons after transferring from Southern Miss, Bingaya has scored 1,191 points. Bingaya's career .593 field goal percentage is the fifth highest in FSU history.
- Bingaya, who scored 596 points in his two seasons at Southern Miss, currently has 1,787 points in his college basketball career.
Jason Jolly
- With his seven made three-pointers in the NCAA quarterfinals, Jason Jolly moved into ninth place all-time in career made three-pointers with 128.
D'Ondre Stockman
- D'Ondre Stockman's 86 three-pointers this season are tied for the fourth-most in a single-season at Fairmont State.
 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Trevor Andrews-Evans

#24 Trevor Andrews-Evans

F/C
6' 7"
Senior
Matt Bingaya

#2 Matt Bingaya

F/G
6' 4"
Senior
Jason Jolly

#1 Jason Jolly

G
5' 7"
Sophomore
Vonte Montgomery

#15 Vonte Montgomery

G
6' 1"
Sophomore
Shammgod Wells

#55 Shammgod Wells

G
5' 9"
Senior
Thomas Wimbush

#20 Thomas Wimbush

F/G
6' 7"
Senior
D

#14 D'Ondre Stockman

G
6' 1"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Trevor Andrews-Evans

#24 Trevor Andrews-Evans

6' 7"
Senior
F/C
Matt Bingaya

#2 Matt Bingaya

6' 4"
Senior
F/G
Jason Jolly

#1 Jason Jolly

5' 7"
Sophomore
G
Vonte Montgomery

#15 Vonte Montgomery

6' 1"
Sophomore
G
Shammgod Wells

#55 Shammgod Wells

5' 9"
Senior
G
Thomas Wimbush

#20 Thomas Wimbush

6' 7"
Senior
F/G
D

#14 D'Ondre Stockman

6' 1"
Junior
G