FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The Fairmont State men's basketball team (20-5, 15-4 Mountain East Conference) earned a comeback win against Wheeling University (5-20, 3-16 MEC) on Wednesday (Feb. 15) night at Joe Retton Arena in Fairmont, W. Va. Fairmont State trailed by as many as 13 points in the game, but stormed back for a 109-100 victory.
 
Isaiah Sanders led all scorers with 27 points and shot 5-for-8 beyond the arc. Sanders also pulled down eight rebounds on the night to lead the Falcons. George Mangas and Fonz Hale both scored 21 points. Mangas went 7-for-13 from the field and grabbed four offensive rebounds, while Hale hit three of his seven attempts from behind the three-point line and tallied three assists. Zyon Dobbs finished the game with 14 points and six assists. Briggs Parris scored 13 points, and Tariq Woody went 4-for-7 from the field to go along with four assists and eight rebounds.
 
Mangas got off to a quick start offensively and made the Falcons' first three buckets. Dobbs and Woody each finished a jumper with Wheeling up by seven points. With 9:44 to play, Dobbs and Sanders each hit a triple to combat that trimmed the Wheeling lead to two points. A few possessions later, Sanders hit back-to-back threes to make the score 35-33. Parris followed suit with a shot from behind the arc at 6:38. After a foul on Wheeling, Sanders converted on two free throws to even the score at 35-35. Sanders drove the lane and finished at the basket to give the Falcons their first lead of the night on a dunk with 5:55 to play. Wheeling closed the first half on a 17-8 run and led by nine points at the break.
 
Wheeling came out of the locker room and hit a three to go up by double-digits. Hale converted on a three-point play to make the score 58-49 with the Cardinals still leading. Dobbs and Mangas were able to cut the Wheeling lead to five with a 64-59 score with 14:13 left in the game. Hale finished a layup to put the Falcons within seven points. Sanders completed his fifth triple of the night to make the score 73-67 in favor of the visitors. Mangas scored a layup off a dish from Woody, and Hale pulled up for a three to make the score 78-72 with under 10 minutes to play.
 
Mangas and Hale scored triples on back-to-back trips or Fairmont State. On the next possession, Hale scored a jumper before Parris sank another that cut the Wheeling lead to 85-83 with 7:05 to go in the contest. Jolinder snatched the lead from Wheeling with a three in the corner. Parris kept the momentum rolling on offense and hit a triple on the next possession to put the Falcons ahead by four. After a Wheeling basket, Hale went back down and hit another shot right before the shot clock expired. Dobbs and Briggs knocked down jumpers to extend Fairmont State's lead to 98-92 with 3:08 to play. Fairmont State was able to keep the lead with four free throws from Sanders. A dunk by Woody put an exclamation point on the Fairmont State offensive burst and pushed the Falcons' lead to 104-98. The Fighting Falcons clinched their 20^th win on the season with a 109-100 comeback victory against Wheeling.
 
Fairmont State will travel to West Liberty University for a matchup versus the nationally-ranked Hilltoppers on Saturday (Feb. 18). Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m.