ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. – The Frostburg State men's basketball team survived a late surge from Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) opponent St. Mary's (Md.) and held on for a 76-72 victory Saturday afternoon.
Senior guard Tyler Michael rattled off 18 of his game-leading 31 points during the first half. Michael was 8-of-12 from the field in the first half and added four rebounds and two assists as Frostburg (9-10, 7-5 CAC) opened up a 39-29 edge at intermission.
Frostburg, winners of three out of the last four games, has notched back-to-back wins following an upset win over seventh-ranked York (Pa.) on January 24. The Bobcats shot a blistering 52.5% (32-of-61) from the floor as a team, marking their highest shooting percentage on the road this season. The impressive shooting performance also marks their second straight game where the team shot above 50% from the field.
Overall, Michael finished the afternoon 14-of-19 from the floor with five rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block in 31 minutes. The Cresaptown, Md. native eclipsed 30 points for the second time this season and third time in his career.
Joining Michael in double figures was sophomore Daniel Alexander and junior Edwin Cole. Alexander tallied 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting while Cole registered 11 points on 4-of-7 from the floor. Alexander also distributed three assists and Cole recorded three blocks and a pair of steals.
Frostburg opened the game on a 12-4 scoring run with back-to-back threes to begin the game from Alexander and senior Christopher Coston. Michael connected on a jumper at 12:35 to push the Bobcat lead to eight (17-9) with 12:35 showing on the first half clock. Moments later, first-year forward Sean Patterson scored to put Frostburg ahead 19-12.
Michael scored the final six points of the first half for the Bobcats, part of an 8-1 scoring run, that put FSU ahead 39-29 at the half.
Coston made a layup just 15 seconds into the second half as the Bobcat lead swelled to 12 at 41-29. Alexander nailed a jumper at 15:21 to give Frostburg a 13-point edge (47-34), its largest lead of the day. St. Mary' closed the gap to single digits and eventually brought the score to within one, 66-65, with a three-pointer at 3:14.
A layup from Jamal Murphy at 2:45 handed the Seahawks a 67-66 lead before the Bobcats regained control when Cole converted a layup through contact at 1:39. Cole made the ensuing free throw as Frostburg iced the game at the foul line, sinking four of its final six foul shots.
Matt Ayoub paced the Seahawks with 26 points while Reggie Rouse and Jamal Murphy poured in 11 each.
Frostburg returns to the floor on Wednesday, January 31 for a conference road matchup at Penn State Harrisburg with a tip time slated for 8:00 p.m.
For up-to-date game information, including live stats and video streaming, visit frostburgsports.com.
