SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va.  –  Vonte Montgomery scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Fairmont State (14-4, 11-1  MEC) to a 73-66 win over Shepherd University (10-8, 6-6 MEC) in MEC men's basketball action at the Butcher Center on Saturday.

Junior guard Thomas Lang (New Market, Md./Linganore) and senior forward Winston Burgess (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) each scored 18 points to pace the Rams.  Lang added a team-high four assists, while Burgess grabbed a team-high six rebounds.

Senior guard Derek McKnight (Teaneck, N.J./Gaston (N.C.) Day School/Louisburg CC) had 17 points and three assists.

Kenzie Melko added 16 points for Fairmont State. Jason Jolly contributed 14 points, six rebounds, and five assists.

Fairmont State had a 38-32 lead at halftime.

Shepherd rallied late to tie the game at 66-66 after a pair of free throws by McKnight with 43 seconds remaining. Jason Jolly hit a three-pointer with 24 seconds left and added two foul shots with 18 seconds remaining to seal the win for Fairmont State.

Shepherd connected on 39.1 percent (25-64) from the floor with a 29 percent (9-31) performance from beyond the arc for the game. The Rams hit on 100 percent (7-7) of their free throws.

Fairmont State shot 48.2 percent (27-56) from the floor with a 37 percent effort (10-27) from three-point range. The Fighting Falcons shot 64.3 percent (9-14) from the charity stripe.

Fairmont State had a 37-32 advantage in rebounding. The Rams forced nine turnovers and committed 10.

The Rams return to action on Wednesday when they host West Liberty at 7:30 p.m.