NORFOLK, Va. – Junior Tyler Michael led Frostburg in scoring for the second-consecutive contest but 16^th-ranked Virginia Wesleyan finished with four players in double figures as it downed FSU 78-62, Friday night.
 
The contest between the Bobcats and Marlins served as an opening round game of the 2016 Marlin Tip-Off Tournament. FSU falls to 1-1 overall while VWC improves to 2-0.
 
Michael finished with a team-best 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting. He also added two assists and four rebounds. Junior Christopher Coston was second on the team with 11 points and came close to a double-double with nine rebounds.
 
Sophomore Edwin Cole tied for a game-high with 12 rebounds, nine points along with a block and a steal.
 
Virginia Wesleyan led from the opening tip to the final horn, but Frostburg hung tough with the Marlins during first half action.
 
Coston hit back-to-back layups through the first six minutes of action to keep Frostburg within a point of VWC.
 
The hosts tried to pull away from FSU behind a 9-0 run but a dunk from Cole and a three-pointer from junior Dalton Gaus at 9:09 kept Frostburg's deficit at 18-9.
 
A three-pointer from the Marlins pushed things to 25-9 at 7:20 before freshman Lawrence Pettis, Jr. made a layup at 2:42 and sophomore Jeffrey McMorris connected on a free throw late in the half to send the game into intermission with Virginia Wesleyan ahead 34-23.
 
Pettis knocked down a three-pointer and Michael hit a layup inside the first two minutes of the second stanza to keep Frostburg with 12 points.
 
However, VWC pushed its advantage to 26 points with 4:27 to play before Frostburg rallied off one final run.
 
Pettis, Jr., Michael and freshman Dexter Pelap made three-straight layups for the Bobcats under two minutes to bring the final deficit to 78-62.
 
Khory Moore led all plaers with 23 points with nine rebounds. Kalin Poe and Tim Jones each tallied 11 points.
 
The Bobcats play N.C. Wesleyan tomorrow at VWC at 1:00 pm.