FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- Fairmont State shot 63 percent from the field in the second half and outscored 25^th-ranked Shippensburg 18-7 in the final 5:14 of regulation on Tuesday evening at Joe Retton Arena, and as a result earned a key 84-72 non-conference victory over the Raiders.
 
During Fairmont's final scoring run, the Falcons went 5-of-5 from the field, 8-of-10 from the free throw line and also recorded a pair of steals that lead to baskets on the offensive end.
 
With the victory, Fairmont State improves to 8-2 overall as the Falcons wrapped up the 2019 portion of their schedule on Tuesday evening. Shippensburg, who jumped into the D2SIDA national poll earlier in the day at No. 25, suffered its second loss of the season and is now 7-2 on the year.
 
Fairmont State had four players reach double-figures in the victory, including a team-high 27 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals from Dale Bonner. The Falcons also got career-high scoring performances from Shem Golek and Jacob Brown in the victory. Golek finished the evening with 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists, while Brown chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds. Cole VonHandorf also chipped in 13 points, seven rebounds and five steals in the win.
 
Fairmont State shot 50 percent from the floor and outscored the Raiders 46-26 in the paint during the victory. The Falcons also held a 38-28 advantage on the glass.
 
John Castello paced the Raiders with 23 points and eight rebounds in the setback. Carlos Carter also reached double-figures with 13 points, while Jake Biss led the SU offense with a team-high seven assists.
 
Shippensburg shot just under 45 percent from the field and made nine 3-pointers in the loss. SU was nearly perfect at the free throw line, knocking down 13-of-14 attempts.
 
The Raiders led by as many as 14 points at the 7:49 mark of the opening half (24-10). However, Fairmont State outscored Shippensburg 21-6 to end the first half and took a 31-30 advantage into the locker room.
 
Fairmont State will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 4 with a non-conference matchup against Carlow University. Tip is set for 12 p.m.