Fayetteville, NC — The Fayetteville State University men’s basketball team topped Saint Augustine’s for a 77-75 divisional victory on Saturday, January 31st at Felton J. Capel Arena.
The first half was a seesaw clash between two division rivals. There were five ties and both teams held double digit leads in the opening. Sophomore guard and reigning CIAA Player of the Week Joshua Dawson (Kinston, NC) took a 38-37 lead for the Broncos with 1:33 left in the period.
Saint Augustine’s ended up with a 42-40 lead at the break off a three-pointer from Tayron Gibson. FSU managed to maintain a lead all the way down to the minute mark. Anthony Gaskins tied the game for the ninth time with two foul shots and only 43 seconds left to play.
Senior guard Anthony Shelton broke the tie with two free throws on the other end. FSU held a 76-74 lead with 35 ticks remaining. Nick Mover only made good on 1-of-2 shots at the charity stripe for the St. Aug. Shelton returned the favor with a 1-of-2 trip at the foul line for Fayetteville State.
SAU trailed 77-75 with on 18 seconds remaining. Raheem Jolliffe got off a last second, running jumper that rimmed out. The Broncos outscored Saint Augustine’s 37-33 in the second half for the victory.
Showers finished with a team-high 15 points and seven boards. Dawson had 13 points and seven rebounds. Shelton and redshirt freshman Carl McCray (Roper, NC) each added nine points.
Jolliffe had the hot hand with a game-high 23 points, including a 5-of-7 performance from the three-point line. Gaskins finished with 18 points and five rebounds.
The Broncos improve to 11-10 overall, 5-6 in the CIAA, and 2-3 in the Southern. SAU falls to 9-11 overall, 3-7 in conference, and 2-3 in the division.