CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Fairmont State men's basketball team (16-4, 11-3 Mountain East Conference) snapped Charleston's (14-6, 11-3 MEC) 10-game winning streak on Saturday (Jan. 28) after an 83-73 win on the Golden Eagles' home court, the Wehrle Innovation Center.
Fairmont State led wire-to-wire and jumped out to a 22-point lead within the first 16 minutes of the contest. The Golden Eagles managed to trim the Falcons' lead down to four points twice in the final 10 minutes. Fairmont State pulled away in the end and secured the 10-point road conference victory.
Isaiah Sanders led all scorers with 17 points and shot 7-for-11 from the field. Sanders dished out three assists and picked up one steal.
George Mangas added 16 points and tabbed six rebounds and a pair of steals.
Briggs Parris sank three shots from downtown and penciled in 13 points.
Zyon Dobbs and
Fonz Hale both dished out five assists and scored double-figure point totals.
David Jolinder contributed nine points and six rebounds off of the bench.
Fairmont State made seven shots from beyond the arc in the first half and made 20 shots in the opening period, good for 54.1%. The Falcons' defense forced Charleston into 14 turnovers and picked up nine steals. The Falcons hustled down 12 boards on the offensive end.
Sanders knocked down a three-pointer and Dobbs poked a steal that led to a Mangas fastbreak layup to put Fairmont State ahead 5-0 in the opening minute. With the Falcons leading 8-6,
Seth Younkin made a putback layup and Hale and
Tariq Woody finished layups to put Fairmont State ahead 14-6. The Falcons scored six-straight points again when Parris caught fire and drilled consecutive three-point baskets to increase the Fairmont State lead to 12 points. Dobbs delivered a pass to Mangas who made a turnaround jump shot to push the Falcons' lead to 14. Another six-point run that featured baskets from Mangas, Dobbs and Jolinder put the Fighting Falcons ahead by 18 points at the under 10-minute media timeout. Fairmont State ignited its largest scoring run of the game, an 8-0 run following two-point baskets by Sanders, Dobbs, and Parris and two free throws by Woody. At the end of the run, Fairmont State held a 41-19 cushion. The Golden Eagles outscored the Fighting Falcons 18-9 in the final four minutes of the first half, and Fairmont State took a 49-37 lead into the locker room.
Charleston cut the Fighting Falcons' lead to single digits at the 12:39 mark in the second half. Dobbs got a bucket and a foul and finished a three-point play that put the Fighting Falcons back up by 11. UC climbed back into the game, and Fairmont State's lead dwindled to four points with 6:44 left in the half. Parris made a tough turnaround jump shot and Mangas followed with a layup to bring the Fighting Falcons' lead back up to eight points with under six minutes to go. Sanders nailed a crucial three-point basket after Dobbs pulled down an offensive rebound with 4:17 to go that put Fairmont State ahead by nine points. UC kept fighting and again trimmed the Falcons' lead down to four points at the 2:01 mark. Jolinder stepped up with a three-point play and put Fairmont State ahead by three possessions with 1:43 left on the clock. A Mangas layup and a Dobbs free throw put the game on ice and after holding Charleston scoreless in the final 2:01, the road team claimed an 83-73 win.
The Fighting Falcons will seek their ninth-straight win on Wednesday (Feb. 1) with a matchup at Glenville State at 7:30 p.m.
