WHEELING, W. Va. - For the first time in program history, the Frostburg State men's basketball team advanced into the quarterfinals of the Mountain East Conference Tournament, defeating West Virginia State 93-85 on Wednesday evening.
FSU finished the season as the seventh seed in the MEC with an overall record of 14-14 and a conference mark of 10-10, while WVSU had a regular season record of 8-20 and 4-16 among MEC contests.
Recently named MEC Player of the Year, sophomore Trey Simmons, would start an impressive night with the first points of the game hitting a three ball in transition. The sides went back and forth over the next four minutes, as a three-pointer by the Yellow Jackets put them ahead 10-6. Graduate Kyle Whippen then kicked off a 14-0 Bobcat run with a lay-in either side of one from redshirt freshman DJ Daniel, who added a pair of triples to go with a Simmons layup to surge ahead 20-10.
Back-to-back baskets from WVSU brought them to within six, but Frostburg went back up by double digits with Whippen and Simmons combining for 16 points in a five-minute stretch to lead 36-21. After a deep make from WV State, Daniel fed graduate Chase Whippen for a triple, who in turn did the same for freshman Mitch Finefrock as the advantage stretched out to 18. The Yellow Jackets would pull the lead back before halftime, holding FSU to just four points in the final four minutes and getting with 10 for a 46-36 score at the break.
The Yellow Jackets would come out of the locker room ready to go in the second half, netting the first 10 points to tie the game at 46-46. Simmons would get to the line to stop the momentum, knocking down both before hitting from deep after a Kyle Whippen steal, with Chase Whippen and Daniel then going for back-to-back lay-ins to go back up 55-48. WVSU still was determined not to let the game get away from them, as over the next three minutes, Kyle Whippen had the only Bobcat points while a 10-2 run put WV State up 58-57.
Daniel hit a much-needed three, to which the Yellow Jackets answered on an and-one, then Simmons drove the lane and Kyle Whippen split at the stripe to sneak ahead 63-61. Over the next five and a half minutes, the sides traded scores back-and-forth before an 8-2 WV State run gave them their largest lead of the night at 74-70. Kyle Whippen would have an old-fashioned three-point play followed by a dunk from Simmons and a Daniel transition layup to regain a 77-74 advantage with five and a half minutes to play.
From that point on, FSU wouldn't relinquish the lead, as Kyle Whippen and Daniel combined for four free throws before Simmons again drove to the rim to hold a five-point lead with four on the clock. The Whippens combined for a trip to the line and a layup to grow the lead out to nine as WVSU struggled to put together their offense. A tip-in and deep three would be WV State's final two field goals, as the Bobcats were able to make enough of their freebies down the stretch to come away with the 93-85 win.
FSU would have three score in double figures, led by Simmons (36) and followed by Kyle Whippen( 25) and Daniel (20), who also snagged a game-high 14 boards and four steals.
With the win Frostburg, improves to 15-14 on the year, while WV State ends their campaign at 8-21. The Bobcats next will face two-seed Fairmont State in the MEC Tournament Quarterfinals on Friday, March 6 with tip-off scheduled for 12 p.m. For more information, please visit frostburgsports.com.
