The Fairmont State University men's basketball team welcomed West Liberty University in a pivotal Mountain East Conference matchup. An early deficit proved to be too much for the Falcons as they fell to the Hilltoppers, 101-84.

West Liberty (11-3, 6-1) came out of the gates and hit a three pointer on the opening possession. The Hilltoppers added two free throws until Fairmont State (10-4, 4-4) got on the board thanks to Seth Younkin. Over a minute later, Cameron Whiteside hit a three to even the game at seven.

From that point, West Liberty rattled off 12-straight points to lead 19-7 with 15:02 left in the half. The Falcons tried to cut into the deficit but the visitors excellent shooting expanded the difference to 20 (37-17) with 7:50 on the clock.

FSU started to catch fire from the field and over the next five-plus minutes, the home squad outscored the visitors, 14-5 and trailed by only one (42-41) at the two-minute mark.

The Hilltoppers expanded its edge by six on multiple occasions but two late free throws by Tyheil Peterson made it a 49-45 game going into halftime.  

In the second half, West Liberty slowly expanded its lead with an 18-4 stretch to lead 74-53 with 13:50 left in regulation. Fairmont State slowly cut into the lead with a 13-2 run with Peterson scoring five of the 13 points. 

Unfortunately, the eight-point difference (81-73) was the closest the Falcons would get as the Hilltoppers regained control of the game. Over the final five minutes, the visitors controled the pace of play en route to the 17-point margin.

Zyon Dobbs led the team with 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Tommy Williams finished with a double-double, scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 boards. Peterson added 13 points off the bench. 

Fairmont State welcomes Salem University for a non-conference matchup on Wednesday, January 17. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.