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URBANA, Ohio – The Urbana men's basketball team suffered a 86-74 loss Thursday night to visiting Fairmont State at the Grimes Center.
UU dropped to 5-14 (3-12 MEC) on the season, while FSU improved to 16-5 (13-2 MEC).
// QUOTE FROM COACH DIALS
"Preparation-wise, I felt good about where we were yesterday but I think when we showed up to the game tonight we weren't really into everything. We let a lot of stuff go from the last couple of days which is disappointing. I thought we followed the game plan in spurts, but against a team that is well-coached and in the top 20 in the country, deservedly so, you have to follow that game plan for a full forty minutes. Which is something we did at their place and didn't do here.
We let Fairmont players play to their strengths and made it easy for them to defend. We've got too many guys, that when they give up something on defense, they want to get it back on offense and that is the wrong mentality. We just have to grow and mature. I think we are okay. We need to lock in and string together a couple of wins which we are more than capable of doing."
// LEADERS
Junior guard Ethan Snapp led the Blue Knights with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Snapp drained four three's and grabbed three boards with three assists. Two others reached double figures including freshman Datrey Long (15) and senior Malik Jacobs (10). Jacobs led the Blue Knights with seven boards and five assists.
FSU featured three players with 20-point outings, led by Vonte Montgomery's double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Andrew Emrick scored 21 points and Jason Jolly registered 20.
// HOW IT HAPPENED
Early on, the largest lead in the first half for either side was six points in a back-and-forth contest. UU led by five when Jacobs buried a three to put the Blue Knights ahead 20-15 midway through the opening frame. Then after trailing by six, the Blue Knights battled back as Long knocked down a trey to slice the deficit to one near halftime. But, the Falcons closed out the first period with a 37-32 advantage.
The see-saw battle poured into the second half, but every time UU got close FSU countered on the other end.
Snapp drilled two three's midway through the final period to even the score at 47-47 and then put the Blue Knights within a point at the under-10 media timeout, 52-51.
However, FSU came out of the timeout firing on all cylinders and raced ahead with an 21-5 run. The Falcons went 9 of 11 from the field over that five-minute span and the Blue Knights never recovered.
FSU shot 63 percent in the second half and finished at 52 percent overall from the floor. UU closed the game shooting 43 percent overall and outshot the Falcons from range 36 percent to 30 percent. The Falcons claimed the rebounding battled, 37-30, and outscored the Blue Knights 48-24 on points in the paint.
// UP NEXT
UU hosts Shepherd on Saturday in a 4 p.m. tipoff at Grimes Center.
