FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Men's Basketball team dropped their Saturday afternoon home game to the Wheeling Cardinals at Bobcat Arena by a score of 83-78.

FSU made their first layup of the game at the 2:09 mark of the first half, but found themselves trailing 7-4 to some sharp WU shooting. It would prove to be a familiar spot for the Bobcats in the game, though with almost five minutes gone in the half, senior Agyei Edwards banked two free throws to pull FSU within one. A seven-two run by the Cardinals would see Marcus Johnson can his ninth point of the half and put Wheeling up 15-8. Both teams traded buckets up and down the court until the 13-minute mark of the first, where FSU went on a run of their own. Back-to-back jumpers by juniors Jaylin Albury and Tairell Fletcher cut the Bobcat deficit to 27-24, before George Taylor III made a big-time three for the Cardinals to extend the lead to six. Another three-pointer at the 16-minute mark by WU's Brent Price put the Bobcats down by a score of 37-26. All totaled, Frostburg headed to the locker room at the half trailing by a manageable seven points, 44-37.

The second half bore more of the same for the Bobcats, as John Korte opened up the half for Wheeling with a one-handed power slam to set the tone. A cold streak for both sides in the first five minutes held things relatively silent, until junior Jason Murphy scored a slick jumper to cut the deficit to four for FSU. Right on cue, however, there was Taylor for WU to knock down a three, and put the Bobcats back down by seven. The two teams would trade buckets and free throws for the better part of the second half, before one play started to cement the outcome for FSU. With 4:47 to go, the Bobcats were whistled for a shooting foul, followed by a technical that gave WU the momentum they needed. After Johnson tucked in both free throw attempts, Trey Stoffer drained his as well, giving Wheeling an 11-point lead at 70-59.From there on, both teams would exchange buckets, and WU would see their lead jump to 13with 1:39 left on the clock. Some late turnovers and Bobcat offense made the contest close, but at the final buzzer, Wheeling earned their first conference win of the season with an 83-78 victory.

FSU was led by Edwards, Albury, and Schene all scoring 14 points. The Bobcats missed all attempts from three for the first time since January 29, 2019 against Mansfield.

With the loss, Frostburg State falls to 5-11 overall, and 1-9 in the Mountain East while Wheeling improves to 3-13, and 1-9 in the MEC. The Bobcats return to play on Wednesday, January 17 in Buckhannon, WV to take on West Virginia Wesleyan. For more information visit frostburgsports.com.