FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- Cole VonHandorf's three-pointer at the buzzer gave Fairmont State a come-from-behind 79-77 win over West Virginia State on Wednesday night at Dan Cava Court inside Joe Retton Arena.
 
The come from behind win over West Virginia State is the Falcons' second of the season, as Fairmont also erased a 20-point deficit in Institute to earn 94-89 victory in the first meeting of the season back on Dec. 7.
 
The buzzer beating win on Wednesday inside Joe Retton Arena is also the second of the season, as Fairmont State also picked up a last-second win against Urbana (81-78) back on Jan. 8 when Dale Bonner sank a buzzer beater from midcourt.

The Falcons (14-4, 9-4 MEC) trailed 77-74 with a minute left, but Dale Bonner's jumper pulled the Falcons to within one with still :50 seconds left in the game. WVSU had two shots that would not go down on the offensive end, and Fairmont State set up to try and win the game.
 
VonHandorf's first three-point attempt with :15 seconds left would not fall, but the Falcons got the ball back on a turnover. Kenzie Melko-Marshall had a look at a winner near the top of the key, but his shot also would not fall.
 
On the ensuing inbound attempt, West Virginia State (13-5, 8-5 MEC) turned the ball over again, giving Fairmont State the ball out of bounds at the foul line extended with just 1.7 seconds left. VonHandorf came off a screen and curled two steps beyond the three-point line and drained the game-winner from the top of the key.
 
Fairmont State trailed by as many as nine at the 11:51 mark of the second half. 

Five players reached double figures for Fairmont State, led by Melko-Marshall's 17. He also had six rebounds and six assists for the Falcons. VonHandorf finished with 16, as did Dale Bonner who also had eight rebounds and three assists. Isaiah Sanders also chipped in 13 points, and Jacob Brown added 10 more off the bench for the Falcons.
 
Fairmont State shot nearly 52 percent from the field and scored 48 of its points in the paint. West Virginia State shot just 36 percent from the field, including a dismal 7-of-25 percent from behind the arc (28.0%).

West Virginia State was led by 25 points and 15 rebounds from Jeremiah Moore. Glen Abram also reached double-figures with 14.
 
West Virginia State finished the game with 21 offensive rebounds and scored 20 second-chance points on the evening.
 
Fairmont State will return to action on Saturday on the road at Charleston. Tip is set for 4 p.m. as the teams will battle for second-place in the league standings.