FAIRMONT, W.Va. – Vonte Montgomery had 20 points and 15 rebounds to lead Fairmont State (21-7, 17-4 MEC) to an 89-78 win over Shepherd University (13-15, 9-13 MEC) in MEC men's basketball action at Fairmont State on Saturday.

Senior guard Derek McKnight (Teaneck, N.J./Gaston (N.C.) Day School/Louisburg CC) scored a game-high 21 points to pace the Rams. McKnight hit on 6-of-15 field goals with a 2-of-5 effort from three-point range. He drained 7-of-7 foul shots.  He also added six rebounds and tied and freshman guard Jon Preston (Brandywine, Md./Rock Creek Christian) with a team-high five assists.

Junior guard Thomas Lang (New Market, Md./Linganore) and senior guard Devin Smith Baltimore, Md./Randallstown/Richard Bland CC) each scored 18 points as Smith posted a season-high effort. Sophomore forward Kyle Daggett (Walkersville, Md./Walkersville) grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

R J. Hutcherson added 19 points for the Fighting Falcons.  Kenzie Melko had 15 points, while Jason Jolly had 14 points and seven assists.

Fairmont State had a 48-39 lead at the break behind 14 first-half points from Hutcherson.

The Fighting Falcons led by as many as 19 points in the second half and carried a double-digit lead for 19:47 of the second stanza.

Shepherd connected on 45.5 percent (25-55) from the floor with a 42.3 percent (11-26) performance from beyond the arc for the game. The Rams hit on 77.3 percent (17-22) of their free throws.

Fairmont State shot 47.2 percent (34-72) from the floor with a 37.8 percent effort (14-37) from three-point range. The Fighting Falcons shot 58.3 percent (7-12) from the charity stripe.

Shepherd had a 38-36 advantage on the boards. The Rams forced four turnovers and committed nine.

The seventh-seeded Rams return to action on Wednesday when they face 10th-seeded UVa-Wise at 6 p.m. in first round action of the Mountain East Conference at p.m. at the WesBanco Arena in Wheeling.

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