FAIRMONT, W. Va. –Fairmont State's men's basketball team (4-2 overall, 1-2 Mountain East Conference) fell at home to the Yellow Jackets of West Virginia State (2-3, 1-2 MEC) with a final score of 86-77.
Zyon Dobbs and David Jolinder each recorded double-doubles for the Falcons. Dobbs finished the game with 18 points and 11 rebounds, where Jolinder managed 18 points and 10 boards.
West Virginia State was first on the board with a triple. Cameron Whiteside notched the Falcons' first points of the night with a jumper to make the score 5-2. David Jolinder knocked down a three with 15:03 to go in the first half to adjust the score 9-7, still in favor of WVSU. The Yellow Jackets urged on offensively, but Jaiden West drained a shot from downtown to help on the attack for FSU. Tyheil Peterson managed a layup to make the score 17-12. Callum Crossman notched a dunk with 11:37 to play. The score was 25-17 after two free throws from WVSU's Kalil Camara. Jolinder grabbed another layup to add to the Falcons' offense. Seth Younkin notched a layup, where they trailed 30-23, with just under seven to play in the opening half of action. West hit his second three of the night to trim the WVSU advantage to just six points. After five points from West Virginia State, Tommy Williams and Zion Dobbs drained a triple each to make the score 41-36 with 1:43 to go in the first half. Whiteside hit a drive to the bucket right before the Yellow Jackets scored with two seconds left. The score at the break was 48-38, with the deficit sitting in WVSU's favor.
After a WV State bucket, Dobbs recorded two layups in the opening 1:30 of the second half. Jolinder knocked down a jumper to make for just a six-point advantage. A dunk from West Virginia State's Anthony was responded by a triple from Dobbs to force a 52-47 score line. Whiteside then hit a layup on an assist from Jolinder. Colin Comer recorded a three to convert the lead 54-52 with 14:05 to go in the second. The Yellow Jackets then came back with a layup. Comer chalked up another shot from downtown to help the Falcons' offense. Head Coach Tim Koenig called a timeout after WVSU claimed a layup, which had FSU trailing by six. Younkin earned a layup to make the score 63-57 with 11:00 minutes to play in the second half.
Whiteside attained a tough floating jumpshot and the Fairmont State defense stepped up with a crucial stop. The next possession resulted in a trip to the line for Whiteside, where he managed one of two free throws forcing a 67-63 score line. WVSU pulled up with two jumpers on consecutive possessions with 5:48 to play in the game. Jolinder answered this with a dunk off a Dobbs assist. Dobbs followed with a jumper to adjust the score to 72-67, the Yellow Jackets still leading. After a FSU turnover, WVSU capitalized with a layup with 3:51 to go. Following a timeout, Jolinder drained a three to counter, where West Virginia State's Anthony Pittman recorded a layup. With 1:18 to go in the game, Comer hit his third three making the score 79-74. A foul on Williams resulted in a two made free throws for the Yellow Jackets. On the other side of the court, FSU was unable to come up with a bucket offensively. WVSU went to the charity stripe where Pittman converted one of his two shots. Jolinder hit a shot from downtown
with 17 seconds left, where Koenig called a quick timeout where the Falcons trailed 82-77. Four free throws nudged the Yellow Jackets ahead of the Falcons with a final score of 86-77.
Up Next
The Falcons will head down to the University of Charleston to take on the Golden Eagles on Saturday (Dec. 2). Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
