FAIRMONT, W.Va. – No. 24 ranked Fairmont State opened up a 47-36 halftime lead and pulled away for a 91-68 non-conference victory over Bluefield State on Sunday evening at Joe Retton Arena to improve to 9-3 on the season.
 
Fairmont State opened its double-digit lead by shooting 50 percent from the filed and a sizzling 8-of-17 from three in the first 20 minutes of the game.
 
For the game, the Falcons shot just under 50 percent from the field at 48.4 percent, and drained 14 3-pointers in the victory. Defensively, the Falcons limited the Blues to just 41.3 percent from the field, including a 9-of-30 performance from behind the arc (30%).
 
The Falcons also held a sizable advantage at the free throw line, knocking down 15-of-20 attempts, compared to just 7-of-10 charity shots for Bluefield State.
 
In addition to the advantage from behind the arc, the Falcons also held a 44-30 rebounding advantage, which including 16 offensive boards that led to 21 second-chance points.
 
Fairmont State had six double-figure scorers in the victory, led by 18 points from Andrew Emrick off the bench. Kenzie Melko-Marshall also chipped in 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. Cole VonHandorf added 14 points and nine rebounds, R.J. Hutcherson and Jason Jolly each chipped in 11, and Vonte Montgomery dropped in 10 for the Falcons.
 
Bluefield State (4-9) had four double-figure scorers in the setback, led by 16 from Matt Jackson off the bench.
 
The Falcons will return to Mountain East Conference action on Thursday evening at UVa-Wise. Tip time is set for 7:30 p.m.