BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Wesleyan (1-3, 0-1) men’s basketball team battled back and led in the second half before Frostburg State (1-3,0-1) regained the lead to defeat WVWC 85-81 in the Mountain East Conference opener on Saturday inside Rockefeller Center.
Leaders for WVWC
Jayden Hibbitt poured in a career-high 26 points on 12-for-16 shooting and hauled in six rebounds. Tommie Pope scored in double figures (12) in back-to-back games and forced four steals. Tyler Slone recorded a career-high 19 points and nine rebounds while finishing 8-for-10 from the floor. Braeden McGrew scored 12 points all in the second half.
Leaders for Frostburg State
Agyei Edwards paced the visiting Bobcats in scoring with 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Canaan Bartley dropped 18 points and ripped down six rebounds.
Team Stats
Frostburg State shot 33-for-57 from the field (57.9 percent) and Wesleyan finished 33-for-69 shooting (47.8 percent). The rebounding battle was even 34-34. WVWC caused 19 Frostburg State turnovers.
Inside the First Half
FSU controlled a 41-29 advantage with 5:24 left in the first half after a put-back by Agyei Edwards. Wesleyan responded with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 41-37 at the 3:05 mark.
A Joseph Keenan corner trey and a layup from Slone pulled WVWC within a point trailing 43-42 at halftime.
Inside the Second Half
Hibbitt began the second half with a thunderous put-back dunk. Seven minutes into the second half, Slone buried a wing triple to tie the game, 55-55. Halfway through half number two, McGrew drained a corner trifecta while being fouled for a rare 4-point play as WVWC took a 67-64 lead.
With 4:09 to play in regulation, Wesleyan led 79-74 after another bucket by Slone. Frostburg State ended the game on an 11-2 run to win by a final score of 85-81.
Up Next
WVWC men’s basketball travels to Fairmont State on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. for its next game.
