CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Chris Jordan (Sr./Houston, Texas) scored 24 points and Saint Augustine's College outscored Johnson C. Smith 16-4 in overtime to outlast the Golden Bulls 83-71 in a CIAA basketball game Monday (Feb. 8) at Brayboy Gymnasium for its 10th straight win.
With the victory, the Falcons are now one game away from reaching 20 wins for the first time since 1997, when they captured their only CIAA Championship. The Falcons, ranked sixth in the Atlantic Region, lead the CIAA standings (13-2 overall) and have the league's best overall mark (19-3). They are also first in the Western Division (5-0). The Golden Bulls fell to 14-8 overall, 8-7 in the CIAA and 2-3 in the Western Division.
Brandon Hickson (Sr./Columbia, S.C.) added 14 points and seven assists for the Falcons including key buckets in overtime. Kalvin Patterson (Sr./Rocky Mount, N.C.) scored 12 crucial points off the bench including a three-point play to start the Falcons' run in overtime. He also sent the game into overtime at 67-67 on a layup with 5.3 seconds left in regulation.
Fain also scored 12 points and contributed six rebounds and three steals for the Falcons, who shot 75 percent on 3 of 4 shooting and made 10 of 14 free throws in overtime. The Golden Bulls, led by 24 points from James Dillard, shot 14 percent on 1 of 7 shooting and made 2 of 5 free throws in overtime.
Jerry Hollis added 16 points and Ronald Thornhill scored 12 points for the Golden Bulls, who shot 56 percent in the first half but cooled off in the second half, shooting 29 percent which allowed the Falcons to erase an 11-point deficit midway in the second half.
Trailing 65-60 with a little over a minute remaining, the Falcons cut the deficit to two points on Jordan's three-pointer. Thornhill hit a free throw for the Golden Bulls, but Fain responded with a driving layup to pull the Falcons within 66-65 with 35 seconds left.
Ryan Carter missed the first free throw but hit the second to put the Golden Bulls up 67-65 with 15 seconds left. The Falcons wasted no time going the length of the court. Nick Chamblee (Fr./Hampton, Va.) found Patterson wide open for a layup to send the game into an extra period.
The Golden Bulls shot 40 percent while the Falcons shot 48 percent for the game.
In the early moments, Jordan drilled back-to-back three-pointers for a 10-4 Falcon lead, but the Golden Bulls quickly gained the lead 11-10 on a Thornhill three-pointer. It was the first of three consecutive treys that gave the Golden Bulls a 19-10 lead.
The fifth three by the Golden Bulls maintained their nine-point lead at 25-16. When Dillard hit a bank shot with 3:31 left, the Golden Bulls had their biggest lead at 38-26.
But the Falcons finished the half on an 8-1 run to close within 39-34 at halftime. The Falcons scored four straight points in the second half to pull within 39-38 but the Golden Bulls opened an 11-point lead midway through the second half.
Jordan led the Falcons with 14 points and Fain had eight points in the first half for the Falcons. Dillard scored 13 points and Thornhill had 11 in the first half for the Golden Bulls, who built their first half lead on the strength of 5 of 7 three-point shooting for 71.4 percent.
The Falcons will play their third straight road game Thursday (Feb. 11) at Livingstone College in Salisbury, N.C. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
