FROSTBURG, Md. -- The West Virginia Wesleyan (0-2) men's basketball team erased a 15-point second half deficit, but ultimately fell to Frostburg State (1-1) by a final score of 81-77 inside Bobcat Arena on Sunday, Jan. 10.
 
"We played very hard and we had our chances to capitalize," head coach Nick Patella said. "We will keep working hard and preparing for the next opportunity."
 
Leaders for WVWC
Jaylin Reed delivered a career-high 22 points to lead Wesleyan in scoring. Ross Young notched his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Daylin Lee finished a well-rounded effort with 14 points and nine boards. 
 
Leaders for Frostburg State
Agyei Edwards scored a game-high 27 points while Canaan Bartley added 16 points with eight rebounds. Jihar Williams contributed 14 points off of the bench. 
 
Team Stats
WVWC shot 41.7 percent from the field (30-72) including 10 made 3-point field goals. Frostburg State committed 10 fewer turnovers than Wesleyan although WVWC dominated the rebounding battle, 53-34.
 
Inside the First Half
The visiting Bobcats came out firing with Reed and Lee both draining triples in the first 80 seconds of the contest. Jaret Mullooly followed up his impressive season opener shooting performance by drilling a 3-pointer with 14:43 to play in the first half for a 12-9 advantage. Two minutes later, Frostburg State grabbed the lead and that is when the back-and-forth tussle began. 
 
Reed splashed another shot from deep with 7:25 remaining for a 26-24 WVWC edge. FSU worked the ball inside and outside to take a 42-38 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
Inside the Second Half
Frostburg State saw its largest lead sit at 59-44 at the 13:01 mark of the second half after a jumper by Bartley. 
 
The work was cut out for Wesleyan and the Bobcats put together a quick 6-0 spurt capped off by a Young bucket down low to bring the deficit within single digits. 
 
With 7:08 left in regulation, Cameron Ramage knocked down a 3-pointer and Lee followed suit to bring WVWC within a single possession behind 67-64. A layup by Reed gave Wesleyan its first lead since the first half with the visitors from Buckhannon ahead 69-68 at the 5:22 mark. 
 
Frostburg State answered with a 7-0 run, but WVWC just wouldn't go away. Ramage buried another triple to bring Wesleyan within one at 78-77 with 1:42 still ticking, but that was the closest that WVWC got in the 81-77 setback. 
 
Up Next
WVWC men's basketball's is scheduled to compete next at Concord on Wednesday (Jan. 13) with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Athens, W.Va.