By Duane Cochran
FAIRMONT — Old man winter has played havoc in recent weeks with the West Virginia Conference basketball schedule.
Tonight the men’s teams from Fairmont State and Alderson-Broaddus will try for the second time in just over a week to play a basketball game in Phillipi when the fourth-place Falcons pay a visit to the Rex Pyles Arena to tangle with the third-place Battlers in a 7:30 p.m. make-up game.
For the women’s teams of the two schools here’s hoping that the third time is a charm. FSU and A-B were originally scheduled to square off Jan. 7 in Philippi, but inclement weather forced the postponement of that game. The contest was rescheduled as part of a doubleheader with the men’s teams on Saturday, Jan. 30, but that game too had to be postponed until this evening because of bad weather conditions.
Tip off for tonight’s women’s contest is slated for 5:15 p.m.
This evening’s men’s contest features two of the top squads in the 16-team league in A-B and FSU. Both are playing solid basketball this season and both come into tonight’s game with identical 15-3 overall records. The Battlers, though, are 11-2 in conference play, while FSU is 10-3.
Alderson-Broaddus is the one WVC school which has held unprecedented dominance over Fairmont State in recent years. The Battlers, under the guidance of ninth-year coach Greg Zimmerman, have never lost to FSU. Zimmerman’s teams are a perfect 10-0 against the Falcons.
Both A-B and FSU had Saturday contests postponed due to inclement weather and both are coming off of emotional games Thursday evening. The Battlers saw their 15-game winning streak halted Thursday night on the road against West Liberty University (89-82), while Fairmont handed then-league leading West Virginia State a 100-85 setback at the Joe Retton Arena. West Liberty’s victory over A-B combined with FSU’s win over State put the Hilltoppers atop the WVC standings.
Alderson-Broaddus, which is 7-1 in home games this season and hasn’t lost at the Rex Pyles Arena since Nov. 21, is led by four double-figure scorers. Sophomore guard Jamar Board leads the Battlers with a 20.6 scoring average. He currently leads the West Virginia Conference with 92 3-pointers. Davis & Elkins guard Tim Turner is second in the league with 64.
A-B also gets 15.5 points and 11.2 rebounds from standout senior point guard Terrell Eargle, who is the Battlers’ only returning starter from last year. Junior guard Mark Summerfield adds 11.9 points per game, while junior forward Carl Buck chips in 10.2.
Fairmont State also has four players averaging in double figures led by standout sophomore guard Steve Custis (18.6). The Falcons also get 14.8 points and 5.4 rebounds from true freshman guard Isaac Thornton, 13.4 points and 6.9 rebounds from junior guard/forward Terrence Green and 12.3 points and 4.2 rebounds from senior forward Dan Bruner.
A-B’s men won last year’s game in Philippi, 96-81.
In women’s action, Fairmont State will look to halt a rare two-game losing skid tonight. The Lady Falcons are currently in sixth place in the WVC with a 12-6 overall record and a 9-4 league mark.
The Lady Battlers, on the other hand, are currently in 13th place in the 16-team conference. A-B’s women are 6-12 overall and 4-9 in conference play. The Lady Battlers have also lost their last two games to league front runners West Virginia Wesleyan and West Liberty.
Last season, Alderson-Broaddus knocked off the cold-shooting Lady Falcons, 58-38, in Philippi.
The Lady Battlers are led offensively by Tori Charley (10.8) and Amanda Peoples (9.9).
Senior guard Ashley Vavrek continues to lead FSU in scoring with a 20.3 average. She’s currently third in the WVC in scoring and needs just 44 more points to move into 10th place all-time in Fairmont State history in career scoring.
Vavrek has scored in double figures in every game this season for FSU. She currently has a 41-game streak of double figure scoring dating back to December of 2008.
