WEST LIBERTY, W. Va. – The Frostburg State Men's Basketball team fell 117-94 on the road to No. 13 West Liberty on Wednesday evening.
 
FSU began the game on the front foot as sophomore Trey Simmons hit the opening layup before a turnover led redshirt freshman DJ Daniel to another before the Hilltoppers got on the board and graduate Kyle Whippen knocked down a pair at the line for a 6-2 lead after two minutes.
 
WLU got themselves going on a three and forced a turnover that led to a dunk, while Daniel responded with one of his own before he and Simmons went for back-to-back scores and redshirt sophomore Blake Burrows knocked in at the stripe for a 14-9 advantage at the first media timeout. Over a two-minute stretch, West Liberty scored 11 in a row to surge ahead before freshman Mitch Finefrock finally stopped the run with a pair of threes either side of of a Hilltopper layup to pull within 22-20.
 
Simmons continued the Bobcat momentum by converting an and-one then got to the rim off a feed from Whippen, as WLU got to the line, hit a triple, and netted back-to-back lay-ins to go back up by six. Daniel was then fouled and made both freebies while Simmons again drove the lane, but a West Liberty layup, three, and dunk put them ahead 38-29 with seven minutes in the half.
 
Junior Zane McCarty halted the run with a trey of his own, as Simmons and Daniel got back-to-back buckets and Whippen made another couple at the stripe to get all the way back to within two. The Hilltoppers continued to press offensively while holding FSU to just one field goal for four minutes, making a trio of lay-ins, a put-back, and a deep make to take their largest lead at 51-40. In the final minute, Finefrock made a much-needed three while Burrows got a layup to go, as WLU split a pair of free throws to bring the halftime score 52-45.
 
Both teams came out firing to start the second period, as Burrows got a layup, Whippen dunked, and McCarty and Daniel nailed treys, however the Hilltoppers responded each step of the way to hold a 64-55 lead after four minutes. From that point, West Liberty began to take control, getting a couple layups, two at the line, and a triple to surge ahead by 18 before sophomore Christopher Meakin got a transition dunk to try and stop the run.
 
Over the next three minutes, WLU kept the pressure up, as Frostburg's only offense came through Daniel hitting from deep and Whippen converting at the line while the hosts built their advantage to 82-62. The trend continued through much of the remainder of the half, as Daniel, sophomore Brady Walters, and Meakin all scored over a six-minute stretch before the Hilltoppers hit the century mark at 101-78.
 
In the final five minutes, the Bobcats went on a short run as McCarty hit a pull-up jumper, Burrows knocked down a three, Meakin converted at the line, and Daniel got a layup to get some late offense going. Late on, both sides had several free throws as fouls took over, with Frostburg's final basket coming on a three-pointer from freshman Will Koehl, with the final score standing at 117-84.
 
Daniel led all scorers with 30 points, as he was joined in double figures by Simmons (13) and Finefrock (11). Whippen pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds, while Daniel dished out five assists to go with six steals and seven boards.
 
With the loss, FSU drops to 7-6 on the year, while West Liberty improves to 10-2. The Bobcats will return home to face Wheeling on Saturday, January 10 at 4 PM. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.