RICHMOND, Va. – The Fairmont State men's basketball team (8-4) dropped its final non-conference game to No. 19 Virginia Union (11-2) in overtime on Friday (Dec. 30) at Barco-Stevens Hall in Richmond, Va. Fairmont State controlled the pace and led for over 35 minutes of game time, but the Panthers pulled away in overtime to fend off the Fighting Falcons.
 
Six Fighting Falcons earned double-digit point totals, with Briggs Parris leading the way with 15. Parris hit a pair of shots from beyond the arc and went 5-for-5 at the free-throw line. Isaiah Sanders and Fonz Hale each finished with 14 points. Sanders recorded a team-high three steals and Hale dished out four assists. George Mangas (12 points), Tariq Woody (11 points) and David Jolinder (10 points) all eclipsed double figures. Zyon Dobbs led Fairmont State with nine assists and nine rebounds. Rim protector Seth Younkin picked up five blocks and a pair of steals.
 
The Fighting Falcons scored the first eight points of the game. Sanders skipped a pass to Dobbs, who drilled a triple. A layup from Hale and a Sanders three gave Fairmont State an 8-0 lead. Sanders continued to shoot well from the perimeter and added a pair of threes to extend the Fairmont State lead to 14-4 in the opening four minutes. The Fighting Falcons extended their lead to 14 after scoring another eight unanswered points following a Woody three-point play, a tip-in layup from Mangas and a Jolinder triple. Fairmont State continued to roll early and pushed the lead to 28-12 after Hale dished a pass to Mangas for a layup. The Panthers trimmed the Falcons' lead to five points twice in the final minutes of the first half. Mangas scored his eighth point of the half on a putback layup, and Fairmont State led 38-31 at the break.
 
Virginia Union came out of the locker room and scored the first six points of the second half. Hale connected on a three to end the VU scoring run and put Fairmont State up five. The Panthers cut the margin to one point following four-straight points with 16:03 left in the second half. The Panthers earned their first lead of the game after a Keleaf Tate three at the 14:37 mark. Parris drained a trio of three throws to reclaim a one-point lead for Fairmont State. A Parris three and a layup from Jolinder increased the Falcons' lead to six points. Hale swished another three-point basket, and Fairmont State led by seven points with 11:31 in the second half. The lead shifted back to Virginia Union after the Panthers completed a six-point run to go up 65-64 with 3:35 to go in regulation. The Falcons responded and Mangas finished a layup to put Fairmont State in the lead. Virginia Union fired off seven unanswered points down the stretch to go up six with less than two minutes to go. Fairmont State roared back and tied the score at 72 by scoring six-straight points in less than a minute of game time. Hale accounted for two free throw shots and a layup, while Jolinder made a layup to tie the game at 72. Neither team was able to score in the final 30 seconds, and an additional five minutes were required to break the deadlock.
 
Virginia Union scored three two-point baskets to begin overtime. Woody added a layup in the paint to trim the VUU lead to four points. After a layup from the Panthers, Sanders found Dobbs for a layup to bring the Falcons back within four with 1:24 on the clock. Parris hit a clutch three with 43 seconds to pull Fairmont State within one possession. The Panthers collected four-consecutive points in the 30 seconds of play to seal an 88-83 win.
 
The Fighting Falcons will return to Joe Retton Arena on Wednesday (Jan. 4) for a Mountain East Conference game versus Alderson Broaddus at 7:30 p.m.