FALCONS WITHSTAND BRONCOS CHARGE, ESCAPE WITH ONE-POINT WIN
March 1, 2007
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Saint Augustine’s College withstood a dramatic rally by Fayetteville State University and used a tip-in by junior center Jeff Sullivan with 4.1 seconds left to escape the CIAA Tournament quarterfinals with a 61-60 win over the game Broncos inside an electrified Bobcats Arena in Charlotte, N.C.
Following Sullivan’s put-back, his only basket of the game, FSU guard Jesse Fells pushed the ball up the floor and was whistled for an offensive foul with 1.5 seconds remaining as he lost control of the it 15-feet from the basket. All the Falcons needed to do was in-bound the ball and they advanced to the semifinals.
St. Augustine’s led by as many as 19 points in the first half and 12 points after the break. Through the first 10 minutes of the second stanza, FSU continuously put up a challenge, but the Falcons always seemed to have an answer and kept the lead hovering around double-figures.
Momentum began to shift towards the Broncos’ favor when Sullivan’s attempt at an alley-oop dunk bounced off the back iron and flew to half-court, where Fells scooped it up and drove to the other end for a lay-up to narrow the gap to 52-48 at 4:32.
SAC senior guard Antonio Fitzgerald responded by draining a long three-pointer at the end of the shot clock to give the Falcons a 55-48 cushion at 3:54.
After Gebru made the first of two free throws for FSU at 3:10, he converted a SAC turnover by sinking a triple to make it a one possession game at 55-52 with 2:44 left to play.
Gebru was far from done. After a Falcons timeout, he stole the in-bounds pass, made a layup and was fouled at 2:36. Gebru missed the free throw, but teammate Phillippe’ Harris tipped it in to give Fayetteville State a 56-55 lead, its first of the game.
During the next minute of action, the two teams exchanged a pair of free throws with FSU maintaining a 58-57 lead.
Fitzgerald took advantage of a controversial tripping call by making two free throws to put the Falcons ahead 59-58 with 36 ticks left.
Following a FSU timeout, Gebru drained a 15-foot jumper with 15 seconds on the clock to put the Broncos on top 60-59.
That set the stage for Sullivan’s heroic tip-in of a Fitzgerald missed layup.
St. Augustine’s (19-8) was topped by Fitzgerald with 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in 40 minutes of action. Senior Claude Neeley added 17 points and seven boards for the Falcons, while sophomore Robert Shuler chipped in 10 points.
Gebru’s gutsy performance resulted in a game-high 27 points, including 20 in the second half, to lead Fayetteville State (15-13). Fells finished with nine points, six rebounds and four assists, while junior Eric Houston came off the FSU bench for nine points and a team-best nine boards.
St. Augustine’s will play the winner of the Virginia Union/North Carolina Central contest on Friday at 7 p.m.
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