FAIRMONT, W.Va. (Feb. 13) – A second-half surge sunk the Cardinals in an 87-73 loss at Fairmont State Saturday afternoon inside the Joe Retton Arena.
 
The loss sends the Cardinals to 2-7 overall, while the Falcons, who are receiving votes in the latest National Collegiate Basketball Coaches Association Top-25 poll, improve to a Mountain East Conference (MEC) North Division best 8-2 this season.
 
Senior guard Jarett Haines (Bronx, N.Y./New Rochelle) led the way with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. Haines converted all three of his attempts from long range. Junior guard Brent Price (Wheeling, W.Va./Central Catholic) chipped in 13 points, while senior guard Jordan Reid (Silver Spring, Md./Albert Einstein) added 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
 
The game saw multiple tie scores and lead changes throughout the first half. Fairmont State's biggest lead was at 21-16 with nine minutes to play until halftime, but a three by Haines and a layup by junior DJ Jenkins (Sicklerville, N.J./Appoquinimink) quickly tied the score with 7:25 on the clock.
 
Another Haines trey gave Wheeling its biggest lead of the half at 27-23 with 5:19 to play until halftime, but late free throws allowed the Falcons to take a narrow 33-32 lead into the break.
 
The Cardinals held a 43-40 lead on a Reid layup with 15:45 to play in the contest. Fairmont State went on its biggest run of the game with a 15-3 spurt that gave the hosts a 55-46 advantage with 12:19 left on the clock.
 
Wheeling was unable to respond from the run and the Falcons managed to claim the victory and regular-season sweep of the Cardinals.
 
The Cardinals matched a season-high with 12 three-point field goals made. 
 
Fairmont State was nearly flawless at the charity stripe. The Falcons were 18 of 19 at the line, compared to the 9-of-13 posted by Wheeling.
 
Fairmont State guard Dale Bonner led all players with 29 points in the win, including a perfect 9-of-9 at the line.
 
The Cardinals will now host Concord on Monday, February 15 inside the McDonough Center. The game, which was announced by the league Saturday afternoon, will tip at 5 p.m.