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West Liberty Falls To Fairmont St.

Photo Provided by WLU Athletics West Liberty’s Eric Meininger attempts to go for a rebound as he is defended by Fairmont State’s Vonte Montogmery (15) and Andrew Emrick.

FAIRMONT — Fairmont State’s Jason Jolly banked in an off-balance leaner with time running out Sunday to snap a 104-104 tie, giving the Falcons a 106-104 victory against No. 8 West Liberty at Joe Retton Arena.

In a back-and-forth game that saw nine ties and 16 lead changes, Coach Ben Howlett’s Hilltoppers (7-2, 5-1) had battled back from a nine-point deficit to forge the game’s final deadlock only to see Jolly’s improbable game-winner snap West Liberty’s seven-game winning streak.

Jolly — a 5-foot-8 senior guard who scored 20 of his 30 points in the second half — had given Fairmont State (8-2, 6-0) its largest lead of the game, 100-91, and sent the home crowd into a frenzy with a 4-point play at the 4:37 mark.

Hilltopper sophomore Dalton Bolon answered with seven straight points to make it a one-possession game, 100-98, with 2:41 to go only to see FSU’s Vonte Montgomery cash in a conventional 3-point play for a 103-98 lead at the 2:24 mark.

West Liberty freshman Yahel Hill scored at the other end and Bolon added two more free throws, trimming the lead to 103-102 with 1:37 to play.

The Falcons’ Andy Emrick made 1 of 2 free throws with 1:14 remaining before Hill evened things up for the Hilltoppers, 104-104, with a pair of clutch free throws at the 22-second mark.

Playing for the final shot, Jolly dribbled the clock down into single digits and had to throw up a hurried two-handed toss from the right elbow after driving into a double-team. The ball hit high off the glass but caught the front of the rim and dropped through with three seconds left.

The Hilltoppers got off a desperation 3-point try that drew iron but wouldn’t fall as the buzzer sounded.

Hill had a career-high 25 points to lead West Liberty’s scoring parade while Bolon finished with 24 points, including a 10 of 10 showing from the charity stripe, to go along with game-highs of 11 rebounds and four assists. Eric Meininger added 13 points and seven rebounds before fouling out down the stretch while Tyler Primmer and Luke Dyer added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Jolly was 7 of 11 from behind the 3-point arc — 5 of 6 in the second half — to account for the bulk of his 30 points. Montgomery led all scorers with 33 points and had a team-high six rebounds for the Falcons. Andy Emrick rounded out the hosts’ double-figure scorers with 17 points.

The WLU men will be idle this week due to semester exams but return to the court on Dec. 18 with a challenging non-conference road test at King University in Bristol, Tenn.

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