BUCKHANNON, W.Va. -- Fairmont State got a career-high 18 points and nine rebounds from Vince Franklin, as the Falcons held off West Virginia Wesleyan, 71-68, on Wednesday night at the Rockefeller Center. 

Fairmont State improved to 20-7 overall and 16-5 in MEC play. The Falcons have locked up a first-round bye in next week's Mountain East Conference Tournament and will be either the second- or third-seeded team, depending on this Saturday's league results. West Virginia Wesleyan dropped to 7-20 overall and 7-14 in league play.

The Falcons led for most of the night and by as many as 14, but the Bobcats chipped away at the lead and got to within three points on several occasions late. A Fred Brondsted three cut the deficit to 68-65 with 1:32 left, but Franklin put back his own miss for FSU to push the lead back to five.
 
Luke Layhew had an answer for the Bobcats by hitting from close range to get WVWC back to within three, and the Bobcats got the ball back after a missed FSU free throw, but missed on an attempt from deep to tie the game with less than 15 seconds left. Jason Jolly grabbed the game-clinching rebound following the miss and was granted a timeout to save possession.
 
Following the timeout, the Falcons successfully inbounded the ball and were able to run the remaining time off the clock.
 
As a team, the Falcons shot 50.9 percent from the field, including 58 percent in the first half. The Falcons also held a 34-27 advantage on the boards, which included 11 offensive rebounds.

In addition to Franklin's career night, the Falcons also got 11 points apiece from R.J. Hutcherson and Andrew Emrick. Kenzie Melko also chipped in nine points and Vonte Montgomery added eight as FSU used a balanced scoring attack in the win. The Falcons shot just 6-of-21 (28.6%) from behind the arc.
 
Jason Jolly passed out a team-high seven assists as the Falcons totaled 23 assists on 29 made baskets.

Dusan Vicentic netted a game-high 23 points for the Bobcats, going 10-of-19 from the field. Layhew added 14, and Brondsted scored 12 to go with five assists in the losing effort. WVWC shot 55 percent from the field in the loss.
 
Fairmont State will close out the regular season on Saturday afternoon with a 4 p.m. showdown with the Rams of Shepherd on the road.