FAIRMONT —
For Fairmont State, the West Virginia Conference season begins tonight at home versus Shepherd and both basketball teams are looking for a needed bounce-back.
The Lady Falcons, picked to finish first in the league’s preseason poll, are 1-2 after an early-season run versus PSAC teams. FSU’s men, meanwhile, sit at 2-1 and will try to wash away the stench of an 87-83 home loss to WVU Tech on Friday.
And while the women’s current two-game skid isn’t entirely surprising — they’ve played a pair of traditionally strong Division II Pennsylvania programs in IUP and Cal — the men’s defeat to the NAIA Golden Bears was something of a shock to the system.
That’s what happens when you open the season with a new coach, new roster, new locker room, new uniforms and a new vibe around campus.
Things have changed, so have the expectations, and first-year head coach Jerrod Calhoun knows it.
“I’ve got two guys hurt (in) Brendan Cooper and Ke’Chaun Lewis but that’s no excuse. We went down and beat a very good Virginia State team and basically took a game off tonight,” he said after Friday’s loss. “When that happens you’re going to lose. We’ve got to get better and we’ve got to get better fast if we’re going to try to make the NCAA Tournament. You can’t lose games like this early in the year. We’re going to try to get it fixed real quick.
“I hope our guys learned a lesson tonight, and if they didn’t it’s going to be a long year for us,” Calhoun said. “We need to grow up quickly. It doesn’t matter how many new guys we have. We can’t take plays off and we took too many off tonight.”
On Friday, Tech trailed by three in the early going, but followed with a 24-6 run and led by one at the half, 34-33.
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FSU seeks rebound in league debut
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Polar Bears fall to Morgantown in state championship
The streak ends while Morgantown prevails.
Fairmont Senior’s five-year state championship streak in lacrosse came to an abrupt end against an undefeated (15-0) Mohigan team on Saturday afternoon, 12-9. -
North girls take home two titles
Add more state titles to the North Marion girls’ track team.
This time, it was the 4 x 100- and 4 x 200-meter relay teams that brought home the gold at the state meet Saturday in Charleston. -
WVU wins regular-season finale
The West Virginia University baseball team guaranteed itself a Top 4 finish in the Big 12 Conference standings with a 5-4 victory at No. 16 Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.
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HERTZEL COLUMN: Irvin’s dreads are gone now he must rebuild reputation
A couple of days back Bruce Irvin sat down in a barber’s chair — stylist’s chair, if you prefer — and made a dramatic and what had to be traumatic move.
He had his dreadlocks removed. -
FURFARI COLUMN: Harrick greatest WVU two-sport coach
The late Steve Harrick was the longest-serving, most-successful two-sport head coach in West Virginia University’s athletic history.
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Astros edge Pirates 4-2 in 11 innings
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen had been automatic with late-inning leads. Until Saturday night.
Jason Castro led off the 11th inning with a double and scored the go-ahead run on a close play at the plate as the Houston Astros topped the Pirates 4-2. -
FSU, MVB team up for successful tournament
The Falcons and MVB paired to complete th 21st annual MVB-Fairmont State Athletic Association Golf Tournament at the Bridgeport Country Club on Friday.
Fairmont State’s mission during the event was to sell out, so thar FSU could raise as much money as possible for the athletic department. -
Trefz wins state title in 3,200 meter
Winning it all.
Fairmont Senior’s senior phenom Nick Trefz can now call himself a state champion in track.
Trefz took home the gold in the 3,200 meters in Charleston on Friday with a time of 9:36.21. -
HERTZEL COLUMN: Flying WV logo draws attention outside country
Sometimes you hit a nerve, as we did a while back when we wrote about the wide reach of West Virginia University’s flying WV logo.
It has meant a lot to a lot of people. -
Seahawks’ Bruce Irvin suspended four games
Bruce Irvin, one of only two West Virginia University defensive linemen ever to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft, will miss the first four games of the 2014 National Football League season because of a failed test for performance-enhancing drugs.
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Polar Bears fall to Morgantown in state championship
