HARRISONBURG, Va. – Senior Tyler Michael registered his fifth 20-plus point performance of the season and the Frostburg State men's basketball team battled back on several occasions in an 89-72 setback to the hot-shooting Eastern Mennonite Royals in non-conference play Wednesday night at Yoder Arena.
 
Frostburg (4-5, 2-2 CAC) was limited to a season low four three-pointers and shot just 62.5% from the foul line. The Bobcats tied the game on three separate occasions in the second half before the hosts pulled away down the stretch.
 
Meanwhile, the fast-paced Eastern Mennonite (5-5, 0-2 ODAC) offensive attack dialed up six three-pointers and sank 34-of-66 from the field.
 
Michael pumped in 21 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal. He entered the contest ranked third in the Capital Athletic Conference in scoring and has averaged 23.5 points per game during the Bobcats six road contests (which includes a neutral site game played on November 18).
 
Junior forward Edwin Cole and sophomore guard Daniel Alexander joined Michael in double figures with 14 and 12 points respectively. Cole has emerged as a consistent double-double threat for the Bobcats, collecting his third of the season and second in as many games with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Cole, who went 6-of-12 from the field, also notched a game-high three blocks with three steals and one assist. Alexander added three rebounds, one block and one steal in 27 minutes.
 
Cole is nearly averaging a double-double through the first nine games of the year as he currently sits at 10.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, while Alexander has scored at least 10 points in all but one game this season.
 
Sophomore guard Lawrence Pettis, Jr. chipped in eight points, six rebounds and four assists while senior forward Darren Campbell added seven points and three rebounds.
 
Cole scored off his own miss to give the Bobcats a quick 2-0 lead before the Royals responded with an 11-1 scoring run for an 11-3 lead with 17:12 showing on the first half clock. EMU led by as many as 14 in the first half but Frostburg roared back to close the deficit to just two (40-38) at the intermission.
 
Michael converted a jumper to begin the second half, tying the score at 40 before first-year forward Sean Patterson eventually put Frostburg in front (46-44) with a layup at 15:45. Patterson contributed in a big way off the bench with a career-high six points on 3-of-4 shooting.
 
A jumper from Cole gave Frostburg a 48-47 lead at 15:11 and Alexander nailed a three at 13:55 to give the Bobcats a 53-52 edge. From there, the hosts opened up a double-digit edge with transition buckets and foul shots to preserve the 89-72 win.
 
The Royals were led offensively by RaShawn Latimer, who contributed a team-high 19 points. Isaiah Harris-Winn added 17 points while Sammy Thomas and Jerome Jones finished the night in double figures with 13 and 10 points respectively.
 
Frostburg will take its holiday break before returning to the court for another non-conference road matchup on Friday, December 29 against Randolph-Macon at 7:00 p.m.
 
For up-to-date game information, including live stats and video streaming visit frostburgsports.com.