Men's Basketball | 4/12/2017 3:48:00 PM

By Duane Cochran for FightingFalcons.com

It's been a little less than a month since Fairmont State University's men's basketball team played for the NCAA Division II National Championship and lost, 71-61, to Northwest Missouri State.
 
The disappointment of not ending their dream season with a national title still resonates among FSU's returning players, but most have had time now to put things in perspective, reflect on all of their accomplishments and realize the 2016-17 basketball season was a pretty special one.
 
"A lot of teams and players never have the opportunity to get to where we got to this year and experience what we did," FSU sophomore guard Jason Jolly said. "Even though we came up short in achieving our ultimate goal, it still was a very positive experience and moving forward now I think in a lot of ways we got that monkey off of our back in terms of winning our first regular season conference title in a number of years and winning the regional championship and making it out of the region and into the Elite Eight.
 
"Now we know what it takes and have a better understanding of what all we need to do to achieve some of the things we achieved this season. With a lot of guys and experience returning our mindset this off season is to get back there instead of getting there. It's a different level of confidence, a different level of swagger, but it's also a different level of work ethic we're going to have. We know now exactly what we have to do."
 
FSU finished the 2016-17 season 34-3 overall. The 34 victories were a single-season school record. The Falcons won their first regular season conference championship in 21 years and the school's first-ever Mountain East Conference championship in any sport.
 
FSU also earned the right to host its first NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional and reeled off wins over Bowie State, Indiana (Pa.) University and Wheeling Jesuit to win the regional championship giving the program its first NCAA Division II regional title and its first Elite Eight appearance in 19 years.
 
In the Elite Eight, the top-seeded Falcons knocked off eighth-seeded Rollins, 86-68, and then eliminated fourth-seeded Bellarmine, 79-68, to earn the right to play for the national championship. It was only the second appearance in school history for FSU's men's basketball team in a national championship game. Joe Retton's 1967-68 squad lost the NAIA title game to Central State.
 
Fairmont State lost some key components from its 2016-17 squad. Gone are head coach Jerrod Calhoun and top assistant coach Paul Molinari, who both left FSU to take the same positions at Division I Youngstown State University. In five seasons at Fairmont State, Calhoun compiled a 124-38 record (.756).
 
The Falcons must also replace four seniors who played major roles in the team's success. Included in that group are forward Matt Bingaya, the MEC and Atlantic Region Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-America selection, forward Thomas Wimbush, a first-team All-MEC selection and second-team all-region pick, guard Shammgod Wells, an honorable mention All-MEC selection and center Trevor Andrews-Evans.
 
That foursome accounted for 49 percent of the Falcons' points this season and 54 percent of the team's rebounds.

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The cupboard at FSU, however, is far from bare. The Falcons return two starters in Jolly and fellow guard Vonte Montgomery, who will both be juniors next season as well as four other players who all saw extended action in at least 24 games this past season. Included among those four are senior-to-be guard D'Ondre Stockman, junior-to-be forward/center Troy Cantrell, sophomore-to-be forward Andrew Emrick and sophomore-to-be guard Steven Soloman.
 
In addition, Fairmont also returns senior guard/forward Caleb Davis, who suffered a season-ending broken elbow in the fifth game of the year and received a medical redshirt, junior R.J. Hutcherson, who redshirted this year, sophomore-to-be forward Cory Saddler, sophomore-to-be guard Ty Dobson and several other redshirt freshmen.
 
That gives new head coach Joe Mazzulla, who was an assistant to Calhoun for three seasons before taking an assistant coaching position with the Boston Celtics' D League team the Maine Red Claws this past fall, a lot of talent to work with.

"I think everybody is pretty comfortable with what happened with the coaching change," Davis said. "When he was here he mentored all of us and he recruited a lot of us so we feel like we're in good hands and we're ready to start moving forward and getting ready for next season.
 
"There's no doubt we lost a lot of talent from this year's team, but with the run we made and with the number of guys we have returning who all got a wealth of playing experience we know what it takes to get to where we want to be and we know what we're up against. I'm excited for next season. Having to sit pretty much all of the year was frustrating, but at the same time I learned a lot from watching the game and getting a different perspective. I expect to be totally cleared here some time within the next month so I'm ready to get to work. I think we all are. You see guys in here pretty much every day on their own working on their games right now so I think our focus is good and where it should be. We don't want to have any letdown."
 
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As noted the four seniors Fairmont State will have to replace next season finished their careers with some stellar numbers.
 
Matt Bingaya, who led FSU this year in scoring (19.0) and rebounding (7.1), played two seasons for the Falcons and scored 1,229 points and grabbed 455 rebounds. The transfer from Southern Mississippi finished his college career with 1,825 points and 752 rebounds.
 
Thomas Wimbush averaged 15.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest this season for the Falcons. He was also second on the team in blocked shots with 31. The four-year standout, who was also named to the Elite Eight All-Tournament team, finished his career with 1,719 points, 798 rebounds and 101 blocked shots. He ranks 16^th in school history in career scoring and fourth in blocked shots.
 
Shammgod Wells averaged 7.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game this year for FSU. He also led the Falcons in both assists (203) and steals (86). His 203 assists this season were the fourth-highest single-season total in school history.
 
Wells finished his career as Fairmont State's all-time leading in both assists (569) and steals (237). He also scored 895 career points and grabbed 274 rebounds.
 
Trevor Andrews-Evans averaged 4.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game this year for the Falcons and led the squad in blocked shots with 71. He finishes his career second all-time in Fairmont State history in blocked shots with 235. He also ended his career with 455 points and 569 rebounds.
 
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Three of Fairmont State's returners averaged double figures in scoring for the team this past season.
 
Jason Jolly, who was named to the Elite Eight All-Tournament Team, averaged 12.5 points and 3.0 assists this year for FSU, while Vonte Montgomery averaged 10.7 points and 4.1 rebounds.
 
In two seasons of action Jolly has scored 746 points, handed out 187 assists and has connected on 130 3-point field goals. He already ranks ninth in school history in career made 3-pointers.
 
Montgomery has scored 581 points, grabbed 224 rebounds and has recorded 71 steals in his two seasons of action. He also has connected on 80 3-point field goals.

D'Ondre Stockman came off of the bench and averaged 11.0 points per game this past season and led FSU in 3-point field goals with 91. Andrew Emrick added 4.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game this season for the Falcons, while Troy Cantrell averaged 3.8 points and 3.2 rebounds and Steven Soloman averaged 3.3 points per outing.
 
Prior to his injury Caleb Davis was averaging 6.2 points and 4.6 rebounds for FSU. In his three-plus seasons of action for the Falcons, Davis has scored 730 points, grabbed 374 rebounds, dished out 174 assists and has recorded 102 steals.