The CIAA scoring leader poured in 23 points, but the Falcons suffered a heartbreaking 78-75 loss to Fayetteville State University in the regular-season finale on the Harvey D. Heartley, Sr. Court at Emery Gymnasium Saturday, February 21, 2015.
The Falcons (4-6 Southern Division, 11-15 overall) end the regular season fifth in the Southern Division heading into next week's CIAA Tournament. They will likely play Elizabeth City State University in a first-round game on Tuesday, February 24, in Charlotte, N.C.
Both games in the season series between the Falcons and Broncos were close. In the first meeting on January 31, the Falcons lost 77-75 in Fayetteville, N.C., when a last-second shot rimmed out. On Saturday, both teams played five extra minutes before a winner was determined.
The Falcons appeared to have victory in hand during regulation. Jolliffe swished two free throws for a 67-64 lead with 17 seconds left, but Carl McCray of the Broncos sent the contest into overtime with a three-pointer with four seconds remaining.
The Broncos (5-5 Southern Division, 15-12 overall) outscored the Falcons 11-8 in overtime to gain the victory. Jolliffe pulled the Falcons within 76-75 on an off-balanced, fadeaway three-pointer with five seconds left. The Falcons secured two offensive rebounds before Jolliffe, an All-CIAA selection, scored the trey.
Juwan Addison made both free throws to extend the Broncos' lead 78-75 with three seconds remaining in OT. The Falcons needed a three-pointer to send the game into a second overtime, but the in-bound pass was intercepted at midcourt.
Guard Anthony Gaskins (Jr./Greenville, NC) added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Falcons. Forward Quincy January, the CIAA Rookie of the Year, finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds and forward Marquis Hines (Jr./Fayetteville, NC) chipped in 10 points. McCray scored 20 points for the Broncos, who finished the regular season tied for third in the Southern Division. Marquette Hill scored 16 points and Joshua Dawson finished with 13 points while Juwan Addison and Torian Showers added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Broncos shot 43 percent from the floor and the Falcons made 38 percent of their shots. The Broncos also connected on 21 of 25 free throw attempts for 84 percent while the Falcons were 9 of 16 from the charity stripe for 56 percent.
Both teams were evenly matched in the wild, see-saw affair. The score was tied 13 times and the lead changed 10 times.
The Falcons led 43-35 on Jolliffe's three-pointer early in the second half but the margin quickly evaporated. Neither team led by more than three points in final 12:57 of the second half.
The halftime score was 28-27 Falcons. Hines led the Falcons with eight first-half points while Jolliffe and Gaskins each added five points. Showers scored nine points for the Broncos.
Jolliffe and four other Falcons were among 12 men's and women's basketball and cheerleading seniors honored before the contest. They were student-athletes Tayron Gibson (Alexandria, VA), John Koger (Greensboro, NC), Ronald Owens (Brandywine, MD) and graduate assistant coach Kyle Saunders. 