FSU Men’s Basketball Crushes Wesley, Clinches A Spot In The CAC Tournament

On Saturday, February 17th, The Frostburg State University (FSU) men’s basketball team managed to clinch the fifth seed in the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) tournament after an exciting 91-74 redemption victory over the Wesley Wolverines in the Bobcat Arena. Coach Webb Hatch and the Bobcats closed out the regular season with an 11-14 record.  This will be the team’s first time competing in the CAC tournament since their 2012-13 season.

Prior to the start of the game, head coach Webb Hatch and seniors Christopher Coston, Jordan Johnson, Darren Campbell, Jeffrey McMorris, Dalton Gaus and Tyler Michael were recognized for their final season at FSU. Cheered on by supportive family and friends, the seniors were clearly ready to tackle the final game of the regular season.

In the first quarter, Wesley took a brief 11-6 lead at the 15:36 minute mark. Not long after, sophomore Daniel Alexander helped the Bobcats gain a 16-14 lead prior to his layup with 11:33 left in the first quarter which bumped the score to 20-14.

Tied at 22 a piece, sophomore guard Lawrence Pettis, Jr. hit a layup which gave the Bobcats a 2 point lead at 07:57 left in the second quarter. Senior forward Dalton Gaus helped carry FSU to a 28-26 lead following two impressive shots within the span on 30 seconds.

With 02:47 left in the first half, senior forward Tyler Michael helped FSU deliver a 35-31 lead before closing out the first half with a 43-35 advantage.

Junior forward Edwin Cole started off the second half with a layup at 18:52, pulling the Bobcats to a 45-35 lead.

Following an impressive dunk, Cole’s layup at 17:27 delivered a 50-35 edge as FSU continued to have main control of the ball.

At 15:20, Pettis, Jr. was able to pick up 3 points for the Bobcats, giving them a 57-37 lead, pushing the lead to 20 points. Not long after, Michael managed back-to-back baskets delivering a 64-43 advantage.

Cole helped bring FSU to 85-68 with 03:12 left in the game before Michael’s final layup with a minute and 21 seconds left, setting the scoreboard at 91-73. Cole and Michael pursued a rather impressive second half as they dominated most of the possessions. Wesley closed out the game with 74 points, giving the Bobcats a 91-74 victory.

Cole led the team with 23 points with Michael contributing 21 points, while Coston and Alexander scored 14 and 11 points, respectively.

After the big win, senior forward Jeffrey McMorris commented on the outcome of the game. “We definitely dominated the court. We exploited what we were good at and played very well as a team”.

Gaus added, “We executed our game plan perfectly. We wanted to get the ball in the middle and that’s exactly what we did”.

On Tuesday, February 20th, the Bobcats will play in their first playoff game against Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA at 8:00 p.m.