ATHENS, W.Va. -- The Fairmont State University men's basketball team hit the road to face the Concord University Mountain Lions in a Mountain East Conference battle. Clutch free throws by David Jolinder gave the Falcons a 77-76 road win over the Mountain Lions.

David Jolinder led the Falcons with 20 points as Rudy Fitzgibbons added 17 points. Andre Harris, Taj Thweatt and CJ Little scored 10 points each.

Concord (3-6, 2-3) held the early lead of the contest before Fairmont State rattled off an 11-2 run to lead 13-6 with 14:37 on the clock. The Falcons maintained the advantage and even expanded it to 15 (25-10) after a Rudy Fitzgibbons three. 

The Mountain Lions slowly chipped away at the deficit and even cut the lead to just four (36-32) with 52 seconds left in the half. Sam Emich nailed a three-point shot to push the lead back to seven before the end of the half. Going into the locker room, Fairmont State led 39-32.

In the second half, Concord got off to a great start by scoring 11 of the opening 14 points to a slim lead (43-42) just over three minutes in. Fitzgibbons and Andre Harris combined for seven-straight points including a fastbreak three by Fitzgibbons to give FSU a six-point edge. 

Fairmont State was able to hold on to the lead for a majority of the half until the Mountain Lions made a late push. With just under 90 seconds left in regulation, the hosts hit a three to make it just a one-point game (75-74). The Falcons were unable to score on their next possession but forced a turnover to get the ball right back.

Unfortunately, Concord returned the favor and got a layup to go with just 13 seconds on the clock. Down 76-75, FSU called a timeout to setup the offense. After inbounding the ball, Jolinder was given the ball back at the top of the key as he drove the lane. As he went up for the layup, Jolinder was fouled and went to the line for two free throws.

Jolinder's first free throw was true as it found the bottom of the net and tying the game at 76. On his second attempt, Jolinder repeated his shot from the first and found nothing but net to give Fairmont State the one-point lead. The Mountain Lions tried to get one last shot off but the Falcon defense prevented that from happening as the Falcons won to game, 77-76.

In the paint, the Falcons scored 44 points compared to 32 for Concord. The visitors also scored 25 points off turnovers with another 19 coming on the fastbreak.

Fairmont State continues its small road stretch on Wednesday, December 18 at Virginia Union University. Start time from Richmond, Virginia is slated for 3:00 p.m.