GLENVILLE, W.Va. – The Fairmont State men's basketball team (16-5, 11-4 Mountain East Conference) fell in overtime 85-84 at Glenville State (13-9, 9-6 MEC) on Wednesday (Feb. 1) night at the Waco Center in Glenville, W.Va. Neither team led by more than three scores in the hard-fought contest. The game featured 13 lead changes and nine tie scores. The loss snaps an eight-game winning streak for Fairmont State.
 
Isaiah Sanders led all scorers with 23 points and added four rebounds, one steal and one block. Zyon Dobbs etched a season-high 18 points while leading Fairmont State with nine rebounds and seven assists. George Mangas reached double figures for the 17^th time this season and netted 17 points to go along with five boards. Seth Younkin chipped in nine points and swatted two blocks. He also tracked down nine boards.
 
Both teams shot just under 44% from the field. The Pioneers shot 43.9% while Fairmont State averaged 43.2% from the field. The Fighting Falcons were 7-for-30 from beyond the arc while Glenville State was 5-for-23 from long distance. The Pioneers won the rebounding battle, 49-45 and hustled down 14 offensive boards.
 
Sanders found his stroke early, scoring five points in the first 1:37 of game time to put the Falcons ahead 7-1. His first three-point basket of the night gave the Falcons a 13-6 lead at the 15:44 mark in the half. The Pioneers started to find their rhythm on offense and built a five-point lead with 11:48 remaining in the opening half. Fonz Hale broke a 24-24 tie with a layup in the paint and Younkin finished a putback layup that increased the Fairmont State lead to four points. Sanders executed an outlet pass to Mangas, who scored a layup on the other end of a fastbreak that made the score 30-24 in favor of the Falcons. GSU managed to take the lead before the first half expired and led 37-36 at the half.
 
After a Pioneer turnover, Sanders finished a three-point play to put the Falcons back in front. Glenville State scored four unanswered and held a two-point lead. Dobbs drained a triple and the Falcons were back on top 42-41 with 17:54 left in the second half. With the score tied at 55 at the 13-minute mark, the Pioneers jumped ahead by three points. GSU maintained a lead until 4:17 left in the half when Younkin grabbed an offensive rebound and scored a second-chance bucket.
 
Following a GSU second-chance layup, Sanders drove the lane and finessed a layup to go with a foul that give the Falcons a 70-68 lead with 3:33 to go. The Falcons' defense prevented a GSU bucket on the next possession and Mangas delivered a layup to put the Falcons ahead by four points with 2:47 left in the half. The Pioneers tied the game at 72 with 2:01 remaining in regulation. Sanders was fouled with Fairmont State in the bonus and sank both free throws of a one-and-one that gave the Falcons a 76-74 lead with less than 40 seconds left on the clock. GSU nailed two free throws on its next possession and the game was tied at 76 after 40 minutes of play.
 
The Pioneers scored the first five points of the extra period. Briggs Parris was fouled on a three-point shot and made all three free throws to pull the Falcons within two points at the 3:31 mark. GSU went up by four points after a Jordan "Turbo" Smith layup with 2:15 remaining in overtime. Parris delivered a clutch three-point basket from a Dobbs assist that trimmed the Pioneer lead to one point with 1:11 to go. After a Glenville State second-chance basket, David Jolinder delivered a pass to Sanders under the basket for a layup to keep the deficit to one point. The Pioneers forced a deep three with the shot clock expiring and the Falcons were able to get in transition with chances at the other end. The Pioneers' defense prevented the Falcons from scoring in the final seconds and GSU held on for an 85-84 win in overtime.
 
The Falcons will look to bounce back on Saturday (Feb. 4) when Concord will make a visit to Joe Retton Arena for a 4 p.m. start.