FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Tommy Williams and David Jolinder both finished with 21 points as the Fairmont State (4-0, 1-0 Mountain East Conference) men’s basketball team cruised to a 101-79 victory over West Virginia Wesleyan (1-4, 0-1) on Saturday (Nov. 18) evening inside Joe Retton Arena in Fairmont, W.Va.
The Falcons shot 51.5% from the field and 47.2% from downtown in the win. Williams drained a career-high seven three-pointers on a 7-for-11 shooting night from beyond the arc. Jolinder kicked in a trio of three-pointers and was 8-for-14 from the field to go along with nine boards. Tyheil Peterson reached double figures for the third time this season and scored 15 points to go along with five assists. Cameron Whiteside totaled 10 points, six rebounds and five assists. Zyon Dobbs facilitated the offense and distributed 10 assists. Seth Younkin was two points shy of a double-double after recording eight points and a team-high 10 boards.
On the first Fairmont State possession, Williams drained a three-pointer on an assist from Dobbs. Jolinder scored his first points of the evening on a three-pointer that was assisted by Dobbs and the Falcons led 10-5. Jaidyn West jarred loose the basketball from a WVWC guard and skipped a pass to Jolinder for a layup. Peterson forced a turnover that led to a layup by West to give the Falcons a 19-9 lead. Peterson knocked down a pair of free throws that completed a 6-0 run for FSU. WVWC cut the Fairmont State lead to six points with less than eight minutes in the half. The Bobcats continued to threaten the Falcons’ lead and pulled within one point with 5:25 remaining in the half. Callum Crossman slammed home a dunk on a pass from Dobbs that turned the momentum back to Fairmont State. Adam Deininger hit a three-pointer on the next possession that pushed Fairmont State’s lead back to six. WVWC continued to hang around and trimmed the Fairmont State advantage to two points twice in the final minutes of the half. Williams hit another three and Peterson chipped in a free throw to keep FSU ahead by six points heading into the locker room.
Fairmont State’s lead grew back to double digits early in the second half. Jolinder and Whiteside both made three-pointers and layups each for a 9-0 Fairmont State run and the Falcons led by 12 points inside 15 minutes in the second half. After five consecutive Wesleyan points, the Falcons’ offense exploded for a 10-0 scoring run to go ahead by 17 points. Williams began the run with a three-pointer on an assist by West. Williams again sank a triple on the next possession to put FSU ahead 63-50. Whiteside and West both swished shots at the charity stripe to complete the huge scoring run for the Falcons. Crossman hammered home his second dunk of the game and Jolinder followed with a slam of his own. A Peterson three, a Crossman slam and a Dobbs jumper surged the Falcons ahead by 26 points with less than 10 minutes on the clock. The Bobcats managed to trim the lead to 15 points with 3:36 to go. Peterson hit a pair of three-pointers to push the Fairmont State lead back to 21 points. The Falcons secured a 101-79 victory in the conference opener.
Fairmont State men’s basketball is back in action on Tuesday (Nov. 21) night at Davis & Elkins. The Falcons and Senators are set to battle at 7:30 p.m. from Elkins.