By Duane Cochran for FightingFalcons.com

FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- The Tim Koenig era at Fairmont State University began with a bang Friday evening in the opening round of the Joe Retton Classic on Dan Cava Court at the Joe Retton Arena.
 
Fairmont State junior guard Cole VonHandorf came up with a lose ball just outside of the paint on the left side of the lane and drove to the basket and laid the ball in with 4.3 seconds remaining to give the Falcons their first lead of the game and ultimately their new head coach a wild 87-86 victory over visiting Millersville University.
 
The victory improved Fairmont State to 1-0. Millersville fell to 0-1.
 
VonHandorf's bucket capped a thrilling comeback by the Falcons which saw them overcome a 28-10 deficit in the game's final 30 minutes. Millersville's Khari Williams did get off a long 3-point attempt from the left wing which grazed the rim as time expired.
 
As noted, the visiting Marauders took control of the contest early racing to an 18-point advantage in the first 10 minutes of action. After that the Falcons settled down, stopped turning the basketball over and began chipping away at the Millersville lead. By halftime Fairmont State had trimmed its deficit to seven at 48-41.
 
In the first 11:32 of the second half the Marauders had extended their lead back to 13 at 76-63. Over the course of the next four minutes, however, Fairmont went on a 15-4 run keyed by Ilisia Washington and Dale Bonner which closed the gap to two at 80-78 with 5:26 to play. After that Millersville never led by any more than four.
 
With 1:04 to play and the shot clock winding down Fairmont's Kenzie Melko-Marshall drained a heavily contested 3-pointer from the left wing to pull his team to within one at 86-85.
 
Fairmont then got a defensive stop on Millersville's next possession and took possession with 34 seconds left in regulation. On the other end in the waning seconds of the shot clock VonHandorf launched a 3-pointer from the corner which was off the mark. A Marauder player saved the ball from going out of bounds and it found its way into the hands of VonHandorf who laid in the game-winner for the Falcons with 4.3 seconds showing on the game clock.
 
VonHandorf finished with 24 points, one shy of his career high. He also recorded a team-high four steals.
 
The Falcons, who shot 45.9 percent from the field in the win (28-of-61), also got 17 points, five assists and four rebounds from Bonner, a redshirt freshman guard making his Fairmont State debut. Melko-Marshall finished with 16 points and a pair of blocked shots, while Washington, a junior transfer, chipped in 11 points and seven boards in his first game in a Fairmont State uniform.
 
Williams led five Millersville players in double figures with 23 points. He scored 21 of his points in the opening half for the Marauders. Millersville also got 16 points and a game-high six steals from James Sullivan, 15 points and six rebounds from Ryan Davis, 13 points and seven boards from Jaden Faulkner and 12 points from Mekhi Hendricks.
 
Millersville, which shot 45 percent from the field (27-of-60), outrebounded Fairmont State 37-30, but the Falcons outscored the Marauders in the paint 38-26.
 
Action continues Saturday in the Joe Retton Classic on Dan Cava Court in the Joe Retton Arena. Millersville will tangle with Notre Dame College at 4 p.m., while Fairmont State takes on Slippery Rock in the nightcap at 8 p.m. Slippery Rock defeated Notre Dame Friday on a last-second 3-point field goal, 78-76.