FAIRMONT, W. Va. – The Frostburg State Men's Basketball team fell to Fairmont State 92-78 in their regular season finale on Saturday.
 
In a fast-paced start to the game, redshirt freshman DJ Daniel got a steal that led to a three before the Falcons converted an and-one and graduate Kyle Whippen hit a pair at the line to give Frostburg an early two-point lead. After Fairmont hit a three and split a trip to the stripe, sophomore Trey Simmons was fouled on a three-point attempt, knocking down his final two freebies to tie the game at 7-7 with just over three minutes gone.
 
From that point, the Falcon defense clamped down, holding the Bobcats scoreless for the next three minutes while netting 12 themselves to lead 19-7. Whippen broke the drought with a steal and slam dunk, then junior Zane McCarty also swiped the ball that led to Simmons getting his own putback to fall. Simmons went on to score the next five Frostburg points on another three at the line and a mid-range jumper, while Whippen was able to cut the deficit down to seven after going coast-to-coast from a defensive board.
 
The Falcons hit back with four consecutive layups to reestablish their double-digit advantage, as Daniel hit a pair at the stripe followed by a layup in trying to keep Frostburg afloat at 35-22. Each side traded baskets for the final five minutes of the half, as Whippen had a dunk and a tip-in, Daniel drove the lane, and Simmons added a pair of jumpers and a lay-in, but Fairmont matched every step of the way to lead 49-34 at the break.
 
Whippen came out of the half on fire offensively, netting three consecutive buckets before Simmons grabbed his own miss and graduate Chase Whippen hit from three to pull all the way back within 51-45 with just over three minutes off the clock. Kyle Whippen and Daniel then matched Falcon baskets before the hosts tried to pull away once more on a layup and deep make, but Daniel got another pair of layups to drop to stay within 63-53.
 
In the next two minutes, Whippen backed into the lane for a bucket while Simmons fired from deep to answer a pair of Fairmont scores, however the hosts scored the next seven from the floor to lead 75-58. McCarty led the next Bobcat charge with a jumper while Chase Whippen converted at the line and Simmons and Daniel went for back-to-back layups to pull back within nine inside eight minutes to go.
 
The Falcons wouldn't let Frostburg get much closer, as they scored nine unanswered to push the lead up to 18 with five minutes on the clock, as a Daniel layup was the only Bobcat basket during a four-minute stretch. Chase Whippen netted four in a row while Simmons got a steal-and-score and a pair of freebies, but the deficit was too large to overcome with the Falcons coming away 92-78 winners.
 
Simmons (26), Daniel (21), and Kyle Whippen (20) all reached the 20-point plateau, with the latter netting another double-double on 12 rebounds as well.
 
With the loss, Frostburg drops to 14-14 on the year while Fairmont improves to 24-4. The Bobcats will next head to Wheeling, WV for the Mountain East Conference Tournament as the seven seed, where they will take on tenth-seeded West Virginia State on Wednesday, March 4. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.