Urbana University men’s basketball out-scored No. 2 Fairmont State for a majority of the second half in Monday’s contest, but the visiting Falcons had built an insurmountable lead at halftime and cruised to their 16th straight win, 104-75.
The Blue Knights drop back to .500 on the season at 8-8 overall and 3-7 in league play. The Falcons improve to 16-0 and 10-0 against MEC teams.
Sophomore Jahmere Howze scored 16 of his team-high 18 points in the second stanza and finished 8 of 14 from the field. Freshman DeQuan Abrom added 17 points while juniors Dalton Payton (12 points) and Carlas Jackson (10 points) also reached double figures. Jackson moved into 24th place on UU’s all-time scoring chart with 1,077 career points in 71 games.
The visitors had three players in double digits, led by Thomas Wimbush who scored 24 with seven boards in 21 minutes of action. All 12 players that entered the game for FSU recorded a point as the Falcons drilled 14 3-pointers.
FSU’s full-court press caused issues for the Blue Knights in the opening frame as UU fell behind 46-19 at halftime with 10 turnovers. Overall, the visitors used their length to generate 13 steals and out-rebounded UU, 42-23.
The Blue Knights never led during the contest but played well in the second half, where the Falcons used a late push to out-score the Knights 58-56 over the final 20 minutes of action.
UU will look to bounce back Thursday night against Notre Dame College. The MEC matchup and first meeting between the two Ohio schools this season is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. inside the Grimes Center.
The Urbana University women’s basketball team suffered an 88-69 loss to visiting Fairmont State in Mountain East Conference action Monday night in the Grimes Center.
The Blue Knights drop to 4-9 overall while the Falcons improve to 9-7 on the year. FSU’s Makenzie White registered a triple-double with 21 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, as five Falcons landed in double figures in the scoring column.
UU’s Danie Shafer knocked down a season-high five 3-pointers and scored 22 points to lead all scorers. Morgan Mattimore added 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting and grabbed five boards. Stefanie Davis chipped in with 11 points and Sylvia Hudson grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
As a team, the Blue Knights had 17 assists on 26 made field goals and shot at a 46-percent clip, but a season-high 25 turnovers proved costly. The Falcons, who never trailed, poured in 30 points off of UU turnovers.
UU was limited to only eight points in the second quarter as it fell behind 48-23 at halftime.
The Blue Knights outscored the Falcons 46-40 over the final two frames, but the early deficit was too much to overcome.
UU will close out the homestand with a conference matchup against Notre Dame College on Thursday. Tipoff in the Grimes Center is slated for 5:30 p.m.
