FROSTBURG, Md- The Frostburg State Men's Basketball team pulled off a second half comeback against West Virginia Wesleyan, winning 76-67 after trailing by as many as 16 points.
 
WVWC jumped out to a quick 16-4 lead in the first half, as the FSU offense struggled initially against zone defense. Frostburg began to work their way back into the game on an and-one from sophomore Sean Brown Jr., then graduate Jihar Williams hit a three and junior Juston Bailey got a layup to make it 18-12. Wesleyan responded with a spurt to get the lead back to 23-12, which is how most of the half panned out. WVWC held the FSU offense at bay on enough occasions to go into the half up 37-25.
 
Wesleyan tacked four straight points onto the lead in the opening minute of the second half and would push the lead to as many as 16 with 15:28 remaining. From that point, Frostburg began to use their defensive stops to turn into offense. The comeback began on an and-one put-back from junior Torrin Stephens, followed by a three from sophomore Jaylon Johnson to get the score back to 49-39.
 
A couple minutes later Frostburg went on a 10-point run, started by junior Agyei Edwards nailed a pair free throws, followed up by a steal from Johnson, a layup from sophomore Marcellus Carroll, an and-one from Stephens, and capped off by an Edwards triple to tie the game at 53-53. WVWC would respond by gaining the lead and holding it until the eight-minute mark, where Brown Jr. hit a pair of free throws, then a steal and layup from freshman Justin Roseme gave FSU their first lead of the game, quickly followed by a layup from graduate Canaan Bartley to push the lead to 60-57.
 
 Frostburg held a narrow lead for the next few minutes, as Wesleyan hung around with three and a half minutes remaining. FSU began to put the game to rest with an and-one from Brown Jr. and a free throw from Stephens to get the lead to 70-65. WVWC responded with a layup with 1:09 remaining, but that would be their last score, as Bartley made all six of his free throws down the stretch to give FSU a massive 76-67 win and stop a four-game losing streak.
 
Stephens and Bartley shared the team scoring lead with 13 points apiece, while Stephens led the team with eight rebounds, while adding a block and a steal. Johnson was a huge asset on the defensive end, swiping four steals, and junior Bo Schene had a team-high four assists.
 
With the win, Frostburg improves to 6-11 overall, while WVWC falls to 2-15. FSU returns to action Saturday, January 22, where they travel to face fourteenth-ranked Fairmont State at 4 p.m. For information and updates stay tuned at frostburgsports.com.