SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The Fairmont State (10-4, 5-3 Mountain East Conference) men's basketball team picked up a road conference win after defeating Notre Dame (Ohio) on Saturday (Jan. 7) at Murphy Gymnasium in South Euclid, Ohio.
 
Cleveland, Ohio native Fonz Hale finished with a game-high 20 points and shot 3-for-6 on three-point field goals. Hale and Zyon Dobbs both distributed six assists each to lead the Fighting Falcons. Isaiah Sanders and Briggs Parris both netted 18 points and drained four shots from beyond the arc. Tariq Woody secured his second double-double of the season after tossing in 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Dobbs rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
 
The Fighting Falcons shot 47.8% from the field and 38.7% from downtown. Fairmont State outrebounded NDC 42-34 and caused 12 NDC turnovers. The Fighting Falcons distributed 20 assists, which was the sixth time this season Fairmont State finished with 20 or more assists in a single game.
 
With Fairmont State trailing by two points midway through the first half, Hale delivered a pass to Seth Younkin, who tied the score at 31. After a blocked shot by George Mangas, Sanders nailed his second three-point basket of the half to put FSU up 34-31. Hale extended the Fairmont State lead to four points when he made his second three-point bucket of the first half. Sanders continued the Fighting Falcons' hot shooting from beyond the arc and delivered his third triple of the half to bump the lead to 40-33 with six minutes to go. Parris hit a pair of threes in the span of a minute and Sanders knocked down another in the final moments of the first half, and the Fighting Falcons carried a 10-point lead into the locker room.
 
The home team rallied and scored the first five points of the second half. Sanders picked a steal and finished with a dunk on the other end to quell the NDC rally. Parris converted a jump shot and Woody dumped in a layup to put the Fighting Falcons ahead 59-48 after the first four minutes of the second half. Two-point buckets by Woody, Parris and Younkin increased the Fairmont State lead to 67-53 with less than 11 minutes in the contest. Hale scored five-straight points to give Fairmont State its largest lead of the afternoon, a 16-point advantage. The home team cut the margin down to five points twice in the final two minutes. The Fighting Falcons staved off the comeback and locked down an 88-79 road MEC win.
 
The Fighting Falcons will seek to earn another road MEC victory on Wednesday (Jan. 11) when they will play at Wheeling. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.