Men’s Basketball Takes Loss Against Penn-State Harrisburg Lions

As the semester comes to a close and the winter break approaches, Frostburg’s Men’s Basketball team stands at 1-5 (at press-time). With the latest loss coming in from a nail biter against conference rival Penn-State Harrisburg, Frostburg looks to rebound as conference play continues.

November 2, 2015, the Bobcats entered the ‘Roar-Zone’ desperate for a kick-start to a struggling season. The coaching staff made changes to the lineup starting 2 players (Breon Powell and Tavari Merriman) whom had seen limited minutes this season prior to this game.

For the first time all season, senior Nick Smoot came off the bench for 10 points.

Frostburg was off to a slow start in the first half, but eventually closed the Penn State Harrisburg lead to 1 point. However, a late foul by Tavari Merriman with 0.2 seconds on the clock changed the deficit back to 3. The Lions entered the second half with momentum and a 42-39 lead.

Team stats were virtually the same for the Bobcats and the Lions in the first half with the exception of assists, as the Lions had 8 going into the half with the Bobcats tallying a mere 2.

Senior Shawn Henson led the team in points with 12 points in 15 minutes. Teammate James Peters totaled 8 points in 18 minutes and led the Bobcats in turnovers, but that would soon change.

The second half saw the Bobcats take their first lead of the game with 10 minutes to go in the contest. The 2 teams would go back and forth until the final minutes of the game where it looked as if the Bobcats had a grasp of their second win until a series of mishaps would prove to be deadly.

A missed dunk, missed free throws and a defensive breakdown would cause Bobcats to lose the lead and the game 82-81.

Senior James Peters would go to lead the Bobcats with a season-high in points with 26 and 5 rebounds. Shawn Henson followed with his season high 23 points in the loss. Starter Breon Powell would leave the game with a lower leg injury.

Zachary Coalmon fouled out late in the contest, but provided a defensive presence throughout the game, playing a whopping 39 minutes.

The Bobcats are now on a 2 game losing streak, having lost to Christopher Newport University.

Frostburg edged out Waynesburg in a close contest for the season’s first victory, two days before Thanksgiving.
On Saturday, Frostburg has another difficult test against the defending CAC champions Salisbury Seagulls. Assistant Coach Mo Williams will be facing the team where he previously assisted Head Coach Josh Merkel.

The Seagulls are now led by 1st-year coach Andrew Sachs.

The Seagulls received their first loss of the season on Wednesday against Christopher Newport (5-0) and will be looking to rebound after having a No. 17 rank.