Boxscore
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Reserves Tyron Laughinghouse (Greenville, N.C.) and Keith McAllister (Queens, N.Y.) sparked Saint Augustine's College off the bench with 13 points and eight points, respectively, but the Falcons lost 65-51 to Elizabeth City State Wednesday in a CIAA Tournament first-round game at Time Warner Cable Arena.
The Vikings, the No. 3 Northern Division seed, improved to 18-9 overall and will face Shaw Thursday in a quarterfinal match-up at 1 p.m. Meanwhile, the Falcons, the No. 6 Southern Division seed, end their season at 9-18 overall.
“We went through some tough times, but there were some positives,” said Saint Augustine's College Head Coach Ken Spencer Jr., a first-year coach who inherited a team without six key players from last year's CIAA title squad. “We will be a force to be reckoned with. We will be back.”
The Vikings owned the glass and the free-throw line, which led to their win. They gained a measure of revenge from last year's championship game loss to the Falcons by controlling the boards, 43-27.
“That was a big difference,” Spencer said. “It seemed like they got every loose ball and every free rebound.”
The Vikings also knocked down 28 of 36 free throws compared to 17 of 25 for the Falcons. Several free throw attempts occurred after an offensive rebound. Rondy Tucker, a 6-7, 230-pound junior forward for the Vikings, led both teams with nine rebounds as the Vikings had eight players corral two or more rebounds.
The rebounds and free throws were crucial because both teams were cold from the floor. The Vikings shot 39.5 percent and the Falcons made 29.6 percent of their attempts.
Despite their rebounding advantage, the Vikings held a narrow 44-40 lead with 7:05 left. The Falcons missed a layup that would have pulled them within two points.
The ECSU lead stayed at four, 49-45, with 5:18 left when the Vikings put the game away with a 16-6 spurt. Trent Bivens (12 points) ignited the run with a three-point play on a layup off his offensive rebound.
Marquie Cooke of the Vikings led all scorers with 16 points on 10-for-12 free-throw shooting and Tucker added 11 points for the Vikings. Tucker made 4 of 4 free throws and threw down a dunk during the Vikings' late run.
Despite their poor shooting, the Falcons stayed in the game because of their bench. Led by Laughinghouse, a 6-3 freshman guard, and McAllister, a 6-7 junior forward, the Falcons outscored the Vikings in bench points 25-15. Both players led the Falcons in scoring.
Joel Kindred, the Falcons' scoring and rebounding leader, struggled in his CIAA Tournament debut. The standout freshman guard from Raleigh, N.C., was 2-for-9 for four points, which is one above his season low.
The Vikings started the game hot, opening an early 7-0 lead. Bolstered by McAllister's six straight points, the Falcons sliced their deficit to 9-8. Sophomore guard Nick Chamblee (Hampton, Va.) of the Falcons buried a three-pointer to tie the game at 16, capping a 16-9 run for the Falcons. The Vikings scored two straight baskets for a 20-16 lead before taking a 24-20 halftime lead.
The Vikings started the second half like the first half. Two Cooke free throws pushed their lead to 39-27 but the Falcons battled back again. Two free throws and a jumper by Laughinghouse pulled the Falcons within 44-40. The Vikings' rebounding and free-throw shooting eventually made the difference in the end.
The loss marked the end of the college careers of forwards Shaun Washum (Norfolk, Va.), Terell Burgess (Syracuse, N.Y.) and McAllister, who were all members on the 2010 CIAA championship squad. They took away positives from this season.
The Falcons were 6-3 in home games including 5-2 against CIAA competition. Included in those home wins were victories against Johnson C. Smith and crosstown rival Shaw.
“We got better,” Burgess said. “It doesn't show in our record but we improved.”
