Friday, February 28, 2014

FSU Broncos Outlast Lincoln 81-74 to Advance to CIAA Semifinals

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina  --  Anthony Shelton and Juwan Addison came off the bench to score 16 points apiece as Fayetteville State University downed Lincoln (Pa.) University 81-74 in a men's basketball quarterfinal contest in the CIAA Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena on Thursday, February 27, 2014.

The Broncos (19-9 overall) will meet Livingstone College in one semifinal game on Friday at either 7 p.m. or 9 p.m. The Blue Bears are the top seed in the Southern Division and the Broncos are the No. 3 seed. The Broncos lost twice to the Blue Bears during the regular season in two high-scoring games (95-92 and 116-101).

All-CIAA forward Tyrrell Tate added 14 points and Joshua Dawson registered 13 points for the Broncos, who shot 52 percent and outscored the Lions 30-16 in the paint. The Broncos relied on their bench production to keep their distance from Lincoln (Pa.), the No. 2 seed in the Northern Division.

Led by Shelton and Addison, the Bronco reserves outscored the Lions' bench 41-19. The duo combined to score all but nine of the bench points.

"We think if we have 10 guys to your five, then we have a chance," Fayetteville State Coach Alphonza Kee said.

The Broncos needed a balanced scoring attack to offset the brother guard tandem of Justin and George Jackson of Lincoln (18-9 overall). Justin Jackson led all scorers with 29 points and George Jackson added 16 points. The Broncos did limit All-CIAA guard Derrick Washington to eight points.

Justin Jackson scored 17 points in the first half including five points in the early moments for a 13-10 Lincoln lead. It was at that point the contest turned in the Broncos favor. The Broncos gained their first lead at 14-13 on a layup by Addison and a dunk by Quentin Underwood.

The Lions led briefly at 17-16 on two Justin Jackson free throws. That would never lead again as the Broncos began to assert themselves.

The Broncos finished the half outscoring the Lions 25-17 for a 41-34 halftime lead. Shelton tallied nine points including a three-pointer before time expired. Eight different Broncos scored during the run.

The Broncos built a 45-36 lead early in the second half on a Tate layup. The Lions quickly closed within 45-44 on two three-pointers by George Jackson and a jumper by Justin Jackson for an 8-0 run.

The Broncos never panicked as they went on an 8-0 run of their own for a 53-44 lead. The big plays during the surge were a three-pointer by Devin Thompson and a three-point play by Dawson.

The Lions whittled their deficit three points twice, but the Broncos managed to maintain a working margin of four to 10 points the rest of the way.

Addison scored a layup for a 71-61 Broncos' lead with 2:57 remaining. A three-pointer by Justin Jackson brought the Lions within 72-67, but the Broncos pushed their lead to 80-72 on two Shelton free throws with 38 seconds remaining.

The Broncos won despite committing 25 turnovers which led to 22 Lions' points. The Lions committed 17 turnovers, but Head Coach John Hill says they occurred during key stretches of the game.

"We had turnovers at critical times," Hill said. "We killed our own momentum by throwing the ball away."

Final Stats

COURTESY FAYETTEVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

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