WHEELING, W.Va. – The Fairmont State (24-6) men's basketball team advanced to the Mountain East Conference Championship Game after a 76-65 win over Davis & Elkins (19-11) on Saturday (March 4) night at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, W.Va.
The Falcons led by four points with 6:30 to go and went on a key 10-2 run to push the lead to double figures for the first time in the game.
"Our team had great attitudes and showed a lot of maturity," said Fairmont State head coach
Tim Koenig. "I am proud of the guys up and down our roster. It is hard to win in this league, especially in the conference tournament."
All-MEC First Team award winner
Isaiah Sanders led all scorers with 19 points and was two rebounds shy of a double-double.
Zyon Dobbs completed a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) in his second-straight game.
Fonz Hale tallied 11 points while
George Mangas scored 11 and pulled down eight rebounds, with four coming from the offensive end.
Seth Younkin swatted three blocks to prevent D&E layups and pumped in seven huge points that provided a spark for the Falcons.
"I've always been a rim protector," said Younkin, a senior from Connellsville, Pa. "That's what [Joe] Mazzulla recruited me here for. I take pride in playing defense and rebounding."
"Seth is a huge part of what we are trying to do," commented Sanders. "I always tell him is a beast because that's what he is. Today, he proved that, and he's proved that all season. I am happy he's on our team and I don't have to box him out."
The Falcons capitalized on rebounding and defense after the Senators held them to their lowest made three-point bucket total (5) of the season. The Falcons outrebounded D&E by seven and grabbed 17 offensive boards.
David Jolinder added an additional two blocks to Younkin's total to compile five blocks for the Falcons. Fairmont State pounded 34 points in the paint and totaled 21 second-chance points.
"When you miss shots, you have more opportunities to rebound," said Koenig. "I am proud of our defense and how we took care of the ball in the second half."
The Senators poured in five-straight points in the first 90 seconds of the game. Sanders nailed a triple that got the Falcons on the scoreboard. The Falcons gained their first lead of the game after scoring eight unanswered points from a Sanders three and a trio of free throws followed by Parris hitting a pull-up jumper. Jolinder hustled from half-court to deny a scoring opportunity for the Senators that led to a Woody layup to pull the Fighting Falcons ahead by four points.
Davis & Elkins jumped back in front after scoring five-straight points. Dobbs responded and evened the score at 20 with a jumper. Fairmont State controlled a five-point lead after a Mangas layup and a Hale triple. After the Senators retook the lead, Mangas closed out the first half by scoring the final six points on layups. The Falcons held a four-point lead after a half that featured seven lead changes and five tie scores.
Both teams struggled to gain an edge at the beginning of the second half. Mangas completed a three-point play to increase the Falcons' lead to six points. The Senators answered with five unanswered points and pulled within one of the Fairmont State lead at 15:36 in the half and evened the score at 42 with 13:13 remaining. Jolinder responded on the next possession with a layup to get the Fairmont State offense rolling. Sanders powered his way to the rim and completed an old-fashioned three to bump the Falcons to a five-point advantage. Dobbs finished a layup and Sanders put away two free throws to put Fairmont State ahead by nine points with just under 11 minutes on the clock.
The Senators rallied again and cut the Falcons' lead to four points after a 10-5 run. Hale forced a steal that led to a Sanders triple with 6:28 on the clock. On the next defensive possession, Dobbs cleared a D&E missed shot to
Briggs Parris who cut to the bucket for a layup and a foul. He completed the three-point play to put Fairmont State's lead back to double digits. A Dobbs steal and assist to Hale completed the Falcons' 8-0 run with six minutes left on the clock. Younkin put back a missed shot for a deuce and the Falcons led by their largest margin of the night (14) with 4:13 remaining. The Senators could not close the margin to less than nine points in the final four minutes and the Falcons won the conference semifinal dual, 76-65.
With the win, Fairmont State advances to the MEC Championship Game for the second time in three seasons and will battle nationally-ranked West Liberty tomorrow (March 5) at 5 p.m. inside WesBanco Arena.
"It's so hard to get here [the MEC Championship]," said Koenig. "These guys have put in so many hours of work. We're very fortunate to have an opportunity to play for a championship tomorrow."
