WHEELING, W. Va. – The Frostburg State Men's Basketball team's season came to an end Friday with a narrow 80-77 loss to No. 10 Fairmont State.
 
Coming into the game, the Bobcats defeated West Virginia State 93-85 in Wednesday's first round game to advance to their first-ever MEC quarterfinal appearance. The Fighting Falcons entered as the conference's two seed with an overall record of 24-4 and a 17-3 mark in Mountain East play.
 
Both sides struggled from the floor to open the game, as it took a minute and a half for the scoring to begin, with Frostburg hitting a pair of layups through graduates Chase and Kyle Whippen and sophomore Christopher Meakin nailing a corner three to take a shock 7-0 lead. Fairmont got on the board by getting to the free throw line, as they held the Bobcats scoreless for the next three minutes, allowing them to pull within 9-7.
 
Frostburg went through another drought from the field for three more minutes before freshman Mitch Finefrock continued his historic debut season with back-to-back triples to take a close 15-13 advantage at the midway point of the half. Finefrock would be the lone Bobcat offense through the next five minutes with his third trey of the day, while the Falcons were able to get consistent offense to regain a four-point lead.
 
Kyle Whippen prevented the deficit from getting larger through a block, leading to redshirt freshman DJ Daniel hitting a pull-up jumper, with the former adding a lay-in either side of a Fairmont bucket. Back-to-back baskets by the Falcons gave them their largest advantage at six points, but they wouldn't net another point for the final three minutes, allowing Frostburg to get back in the game. Sophomore Trey Simmons provided an assist to Kyle Whippen from behind the arc, then got a steal and slam dunk to pull within one. The Bobcat defense was able to force a pair of turnovers, as Fairmont missed a pair at the line as well before Simmons converted an and-one and Kyle Whippen ended the half with a straightaway three to take a 33-28 lead into the break.
 
The Falcons came out with a flurry to start the second period, netting an early layup and deep make to tie the game, however Frostburg responded with a mid-ranger from Simmons and a Daniel triple. Neither side seemed to miss over the next three minutes, as Kyle Whippen hit a pair at the stripe while Simmons found his range and got to the rim, while Fairmont drove for a trio of layups and a three, keeping their deficit at 47-44. Seeking to keep the upset bid going, Simmons pulled up from beyond the arc and Chase Whippen was found down low by Daniel to push the advantage out to eight.
 
In the next minute, the Falcons made four in a row but Simmons again rose from deep while Daniel pushed the floor on a lay-in to take a 57-48 lead. Fairmont's defense clamped down from that point, holding the Frostburg offense to just one made field goal over the next five minutes, with Meakin putting back a miss, however a 16-4 run put the Falcons up 64-61 with just over five to go.
 
Meakin tried to stop the bleeding with an elbow jumper but Fairmont pushed ahead with a layup and a three to grow their lead out to six. Kyle Whippen was able to grab an offensive board and convert at the line, while Daniel drilled an open trey to pull back within 69-68 with three minutes on the clock. The Falcons sought to pull away with back-to-back baskets, but Daniel was found by Simmons underneath before the latter was fouled going to the basket to stay within three.
 
Through a hectic final minute, Fairmont thought they hit a dagger baseline jumper, but Daniel swished a step-back three to stay within touching distance at 77-75. Forced to play the foul game, the Bobcats sent Tyheil Peterson to the line, where he held his nerve to hit both, while Simmons hit an open Chase Whippen in response. With 12 seconds left, Peterson missed the front end of his one-and-one and Meakin pulled in the rebound, giving Frostburg a chance to tie or take the lead late. Simmons powered his way through the lane but saw his layup fall just short off the rim, as the Falcons got the game-sealing rebound and split their last chance at the line to escape with the 80-77 win.
 
Simmons led all scorers on 22 points, while Daniel (17) and Kyle Whippen (16) joined him in double figures, the latter adding 10 boards for his third double-double in his final four games.
 
With the loss, Frostburg ends their campaign at 15-15, while Fairmont moves into the semifinals at 25-4.
 
The 15 wins are the most for the Bobcats since the 2009-10 season and is the first time the program has had a .500 record since 2011-12. As a team, the Bobcats surged past their previous program records for total points (2,733), scoring average (91.1), and three-point makes (292). Frostburg also set new school marks for free throw percentage (74.7) and free throw makes (529).

Simmons set a program-record with 703 total points this season, while his scoring average of 24.2 is third in school history. Finefrock ended his record-setting three-point season with 97 makes from behind the arc, while Kyle Whippen (255) and Daniel (59) set top-10 program marks in total rebounds and steals, respectively.