WHEELING, W.Va. -- Second-seeded Fairmont State opened the second half on a 33-8 run to blow open a single-digit first half lead on Friday afternoon, advancing the semifinals of the 2019 Mountain East Conference Championship with an 81-54 victory over seventh-seeded Shepherd at WesBanco Arena.
 
With the win, the Falcons will advance to Saturday's semifinal round to face the winner of third-seeded Notre Dame and sixth-seeded West Virginia State. Tip is set for 8:15 p.m. at WesBanco Arena. The Falcons will enter Saturday's game with a 22-7 overall record.
 
After going to the locker room with a 34-28 advantage, the Falcons scored the first 10 points of the second half and held scoring runs of 16-4 at the 14 minute mark, and 31-8 at the 9:27 mark.
 
The Falcons shot 54.5 percent from the field in the second half, and 50.8 percent for the game. However, Fairmont State made just four 3-pointers in the win, which is a season low.
 
Jason Jolly led five players in double-figures for the Falcons with 19 points, four rebounds and four assists. Vonte Montgomery also recorded his 12^th double-double of the season with 17 points and 15 rebounds. The Falcons also got 15 points and six rebounds from Andrew Emrick, 12 points and six rebounds from Cole VonHandorf, and 11 points from Kenzie Melko-Marshall.
 
Fairmont State scored 13 points in transition during the victory.
 
The Falcons were also effective on the defensive end during the victory. Shepherd managed just 32.3 percent from the field, including just 8-of-28 from behind the arc (28.6%). Fairmont State also held a 47-30 rebounding advantage and went 15-of-18 from the free throw line, compared to just 4-of-7 for Shepherd.
 
Three players reached double-figures for Shepherd (14-16 overall), led by 14 points from Derek McKnight. Thomas Lang and Devin Smith also chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Note: Friday was the second matchup between Fairmont State and Shepherd in the MEC Tournament, with the Falcons winning both matchups by 27 points or more. In addition to today's 81-54 win, the Falcons also topped Shepherd 93-65 in the semifinal round back in 2017.