PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Frostburg State Men's Basketball team earned their third consecutive victory with an 80-73 decision over Point Park on the road Saturday afternoon.
 
For the first four minutes of the game, the sides traded scores back-and-forth, with senior Koby Baptiste netting each of the Bobcats' first nine points on a three, a lay-in, and four combined free throws for a 9-6 score. Junior Chase Whippen then tacked on a layup, taking advantage of a steal and pass from senior JayShaun Freeman. After a PPU dunk brought them back within three, freshman Trey Simmons made his presence known off the bench with back-to-back buckets to go up by nine.
 
The Pioneers then converted an and-one before Baptiste traded triples and got to the rim, with Freeman also hitting from deep as the lead grew to 25-14 midway through the half. Another Freeman basket was followed by him and sophomore Vilius Slanina splitting trips to the free throw line, while the former then passed to Simmons for another close finish and a 31-21 advantage. Over the next five minutes, Point Park locked down defensively, as the only FSU field goal during the stretch came on a Whippen trey, while the hosts got to the cup on three straight possessions before hitting back-to-back threes to tie the game at 34. Freshman Christopher Meakin got to the line inside the final minute, knocking both down to stop some of the momentum and give Frostburg a 36-34 lead at halftime.
 
After being held scoreless in the first half, junior Jaden Baker sparked the Bobcats with a layup and triple in the first minute and a half, pushing the lead up to seven. PPU got a layup to fall, but Frostburg kept up the pressure with Baker firing to Whippen, who then fed Baptiste on back-to-back scores to make things 45-36. The game turned into a back-and-forth battle, as Whippen knocked down a pair from behind the arc, helping FSU keep Point Park to a seven-point deficit.
 
Coming out of the first media timeout, the Bobcats got aggressive defensively, forcing a pair of turnovers of steals from Freeman and Baptiste, while the pair and Simmons combined for eight points in four possessions to go up by 12. Point Park wasn't going to go down quietly, as for the next five minutes, they held Frostburg to a single Simmons layup while scoring of five of their next six possessions, coming all the way back to within 61-59.
 
Baptiste helped settle the nerves with a pair of deep makes either side of a Baker lay-in, with the former also hitting a mid-range jumper to go back up by 10. Now inside the final four minutes, Simmons went perfect at the charity stripe, then while trying to protect a seven-point advantage, beat his man at the top of the arc and flushed home a clutch dunk. Whippen then went a combined three-of-four on free throws before the Pioneers tried to make it a nervy ending with two of their own and a pull-up three, getting within five. Time wasn't on the hosts' side, however, as some great FSU ball movement beat the press and resulted in an easy Whippen layup in the final seconds to secure the 80-73 victory.
 
Baptiste led all scorers with a career-high 28 points, while also pulling down a team-high seven rebounds. Whippen (18) and Simmons (16) joined him in double figures, while Freeman filled up the stat sheet with five assists and a career-best four steals.
 
With the win, Frostburg improves to 12-14, the program's most wins in a season since 2011-12, while Point Park falls to 10-16. The Bobcats remain on the road to face Davis & Elkins on Wednesday, February 26 at 7:30 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.