PHILIPPI, W.Va. -- Fairmont State held off a late rally from Alderson Broaddus and survived, 79-78, on Saturday evening at Rex Pyles Arena to earn its sixth-consecutive victory entering the final week of the regular season.
 
With the win, Fairmont State improves to 10-2 on the season and currently sits in first place in the MEC North Division standings. The Falcons currently have a half game lead on West Liberty in the division. AB falls to 6-6 following Saturday's setback.

The Falcons led by as many as 19 early in the second half and were up by 13 (77-64) with just 3:48 to go before the Battlers made a final push. The Battlers scored 14 of the game's final 15 points but missed a game-winning attempt to try and steal the win.
 
On the final AB possession of the second half, Fairmont State prevented a clean inbounds pass and AB's David Shriver had to force a tough shot as time expired. The Falcons were 0-of-2 from the field and had two turnovers in the final 1:34 of play to allow the Battlers to close the FSU lead to just a single point.
 
Statistically, both teams struggled from the field with both teams shooting under 43 percent for the game. However, the shooting improved in the second half as both teams connected on less than 32 percent of their shots in the first 20 minutes of play.
 
Fairmont scored 44 points in the paint, 18 points off turnovers and had 16 second-chance points in the win.
 
AB held a slim 45-42 rebounding advantage.

Isaiah Sanders had 25 points for Fairmont State in the win, surpassing the 1,000-point mark for his three-year collegiate career (including Notre Dame College and Fairmont State). Sanders shot 9-of-15 from the field and also pulled down five boards on Saturday.
 
Cole VonHandorf also had 21 points and six rebounds, while Dale Bonner filled the stat sheet with 15 points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals. Zyon Dobbs added 10 more for the Falcons. The starting five scored all 79 points for the Falcons in the win.

Christian Miller-Cardwell had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Battlers. Zach Simpkins added 16, and David Shriver had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Fairmont State will remain on the road for a tough matchup at Notre Dame College on Monday evening. Tip is set for 6 p.m. at Murphy Gymnasium. The Falcons defeated Notre Dame this past Wednesday in Fairmont, 94-84.