FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- The Fairmont State (1-0) men's basketball team outscored Bloomsburg (0-1) by 20 points in the second half en route to a 90-69 win in the home opener on Friday (Nov. 10) night at the Joe Retton Classic inside Joe Retton Arena in Fairmont, W.Va.
The Huskies led by three points early in the second half, but the Falcons pulled away down the stretch. Four Fairmont State players finished in double figures.
Zyon Dobbs led the way with 20 points while dishing out a team-high five assists and securing five rebounds. Winthrop transfer
Cameron Whiteside totaled 17 points in his Fairmont State debut and hustled down five boards.
David Jolinder also scored 17 points and led the Falcons with nine rebounds.
Tyheil Peterson rounded out the Falcons' double-digit scorers with 16 points. He and
Jaidyn West both hustled down three steals each.
The Fairmont State defense forced the Huskies to commit 23 turnovers, which led to 18 points on the other end of the floor. The Falcons shot 25 percent from beyond the arc in the first half and improved the three-point shooting in the second half, shooting over 35 percent. The Falcons posted 15 fast break points in transition and poured in 26 points in the paint on a 39 percent shooting night.
Peterson stole a Bloomsburg pass that led to a layup on the other end that put FSU up 11-8 at the first media timeout of the game. Dobbs found West for a three-point bucket, and
Colin Comer swished a three of his own on the next possession that increased the Falcons lead to 17-11. The Falcons led by as many as 12 points in the first half following a
Tommy Williams three-pointer and a pair of free throws by
Seth Younkin at the 10-minute mark. The Huskies raced back and erased the double-digit deficit after a 14-point scoring run that ended with 5:41 left in the half. Younkin put the Falcons back in the lead with a layup inside five minutes left in the first half. Dobbs made a shot from beyond the arc and increased the Falcons' lead to 35-31 with 2:22 left in the half. Jolinder went 2-for-2 from the free throw line at the end of the half to give the Falcons a one-point cushion after the first 20 minutes.
After Dobbs made a pull up jumper to start the second half, BU stormed back and took a three-point lead with 18:28 on the clock. The Falcons recovered the lead when Peterson completed a three-point play with 14:52 left in the second half. FSU fired off six consecutive points on a Dobbs layup and two made free throws each by West and Dobbs that grew the Falcons' lead to 55-48. Whiteside drained a triple and Peterson lined up a pair of free throws and Fairmont State's lead increased to 10 with 11:25 on the clock. The Falcons added to the lead after a Jolinder three-pointer and two Dobbs free throws. The Huskies trimmed the FSU lead to 10 points with 5:29 left on the clock. Whiteside's third three-point bucket of the game and a Peterson three-point play sealed the season-opener for Fairmont State in the final minutes of play.
The Falcons will wrap up the Joe Retton Classic tomorrow (Nov. 11) with an 8 p.m. matchup versus Edinboro inside Joe Retton Arena.
