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Feb. 15, 2008 Fayetteville, NC - Solid guard play after halftime elevated the Broncos to a 73-67 overtime win over Shaw University Thursday evening inside Capel Arena. Poor shooting percentages in the opening period best explain how FSU faced a 30-19 halftime deficit. The Broncos shot 36.4 percent (8-of-22) from the field, 7.7 percent (1-of-13) from the three point line, and 50 percent (2-of-4) from the free throw line. In the second period, Shaw shot 50 percent from the field improving on their 45.8 (11-of-24) first half shooting percentage. By the 11:41 mark, the Bears were holding a 12 point lead. Something clicked and things fell in sync for the Broncos. That something or someone was senior guard Phillippe Harris. Over the next two and a half minutes, FSU went on an 11-0 scoring run. Harris scored nine of those 11, including two three pointers. Senior guard Jamel Austin made a great defensive play, stripping Shaw's Jonathan Mudd and diving for the ball at half court. After causing the steal, Austin got the ball into the hands of freshman forward Derek Holmes who brought the crowd to their feet with a thunderous slam dunk to cut the Bears' lead to 42-41. With 5:58 remaining, junior guard Andy Gebru drilled a three-pointer to put the Broncos up for the first time in the second half 51-50. Shaw recaptured the lead and held on down the stretch. Fayetteville State was down one with 7.2 seconds left to play when junior forward Malcolm Jay was fouled and sent to the free throw line to shoot two. Jay, who was 1-of-3 from the free throw at that point of the contest, made the first to tie the score at 54. However, he would miss the second and the Bears missed their last shot attempt sending the game into overtime. Shaw appeared to have run out of gas in the overtime period. The Broncos outscored the Bears 19-13 and completed the season sweep.
Harris scored a career-high 33 points (previously 28), along with six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Gebru added 14 points, four assists, and three steals. Austin pitched in 11 points, three assists, and three steals. Jay nearly had a double-double performance with 10 rebounds and eight points. The Broncos were phenomenal from the free throw line, shooting 90 percent (18-of-20) in the second half and 84.4 percent (27-of-32) for the game. With the victory the Broncos improve 11-12 overall and 7-8 in the CIAA. Shaw drops to 4-20 in the standings and 1-15 in conference play. FSU returns to Capel Arena Saturday, February 16th to face divisional rival Saint Augustine's College. The Broncos upset the CIAA Western Division leading Falcons last week on their home court 67-63. The contest will be nationally televised by the Urban Sports and Entertainment Group. For broadcast purposes, tip-off is scheduled for 5 pm. The game can be seen locally on WRDC-TV 28 out of Raleigh or on WAUG digital channel 102 on the Time Warner Cable system. |
