Box Score (HTML)

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Ferris State held off a late surge by Fairmont State to pick up a 78-76 victory over the Falcons on day one of the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in St. Joseph, Missouri on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Falcons scored 13 of the final 18 points in the game, and had a 3-point field goal attempt with four seconds remaining that would have given Fairmont State the lead, but the shot rimmed off to allow the Bulldogs to escape with the win.
 
Ferris State's largest lead of the game was 68-56 at the 4:12 mark of the second half.
 
Jason Jolly led the Falcons in the setback with 18 points and two steals. Jolly went 4-of-10 from behind the arc and became the program's all-time leader in 3-point field goals with 219. Vonte Montgomery (14) and Troy Cantrell (12) also reached double-figures for the Falcons.
 
Fairmont State struggles from the field on Saturday, shooting just 35.3 percent (24-of-68), including 26.1 percent from behind the arc (6-of-23). The Falcons also hit on just 22-of-36 attempts (61.1%) from the charity stripe.
 
Fairmont State held a 46-38 advantage on the glass. Kenzie Melko pulled down a team-high nine rebounds and Cantrell tallied eight.
 
Ferris State used a balanced offensive attack with four double-figure scorers in the victory, led by 14 points apiece from Cole Walker and Taylor Adway. D'Angelo Hughes added 13 points and Armani Tinsley chipped in 11 off the bench.
 
The Bulldogs shot 43.3 percent from the field in the win (26-of-60).
 
Fairmont State will now prepare for a 4:15 p.m. (ET) matchup against Missouri Western on Sunday during the final day of the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. Missouri Western also suffered a two-point setback on day one, falling to Tarleton State, 78-76.