FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- Fairmont State went on an 18-4 scoring run over a seven-minute stretch in the second half, to rally from a 13-point deficit, and picked up a 78-72 victory over the University of Charleston on Wednesday evening at Dan Cava Court inside Joe Retton Arena.
With the victory, Fairmont State improves to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in MEC play. UC slips to 5-2 on the year, including a 1-2 mark in league play.
After UC grabbed its largest lead of the day, 58-45, with just over 12 minutes remaining, Fairmont State battled back with the game-turning scoring run. During the stretch, the Falcons got key 3-pointers from
Isaiah Sanders,
Cole VonHandorf and
Kenzie Melko-Marshall, as well as thunderous dunk from Melko at the 5:10 mark.
After Melko gave the Falcons the lead (63-62) on a 3-pointer with just 4:43 remaining, UC's Eddie Colbert came right back down the court and drained a three to put the Golden Eagles back in from by one.
However, VonHandorf came up big for the Falcons on three-straight offensive possession by hitting a pair of threes and a jumper to open up a four-point (71-67) Fairmont State advantage with just 2:54 remaining.
UC cut the Fairmont State lead back to just a single point after a free throw by Drew Rackley and a layup by Devon Robinson, but from that point, the Falcons outscored the Golden Eagles 7-2 over the final 1:47 of play to close out the win.
Fairmont State shot just under 51 percent from the field and made 9-of-17 attempts from behind the arc (52.9%) in the victory. On the defensive end, Fairmont State limited UC to just 44 percent from the field and 35 percent from three-point range.
UC held a 39-29 rebounding advantage and scored 22 second-chance points in the game.
Dale Bonner led Fairmont State with 19 points and nine assists on the night. VonHandforff scored 16 and had seven rebounds. Melko also chipped in 13 points, and
Isaiah Sanders netted 12 points off the bench.
Rackley led all scorers with 20 points for Charleston. Devon Robinson had a double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds. Lamont McManus was 8-of-13 from the field and finished with 18 points for UC.
Fairmont State will now prepare for a 4 p.m. tipoff at West Virginia State on Saturday afternoon in MEC action.
