Jerrell Jordan

Nick Tennell (No. 10) Hits Clutch Free Throw With 15 Seconds Left In Falcons' Victory Over Livingstone

Men's Basketball 1/28/2016 12:01:00 AM Office of Sports Information

Falcons Edge Livingstone 66-64 For First CIAA Men's Basketball Win

Box Score

SALISBURY, N.C. – Guard Anthony Gaskins (Jr./Greenville, NC) scored 19 points including 14 in the second half as Saint Augustine's University held off Livingstone College 66-64 in a CIAA men's basketball contest at New Trent Gymnasium on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016.

Forward Quincy January (So./Atlanta, GA) added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Falcons, who outscored the Blue Bears 9-6 after trailing 58-57 with 4:22 remaining. The Falcons made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 42 seconds including a free throw by Nick Tennell (Sr./Port St. Lucie, FL) with 15 seconds left for a 66-64 lead. The Falcons then forced the Blue Bears to take a tough, contested shot in the paint which failed to reach the rim. After January grabbed the rebound, Gaskins dribbled downcourt as time expired for the win.

After leading 34-29 at halftime, the Falcons opened an 11-point lead in the first two minutes of the second half, but the Blue Bears rallied to take the one-point lead. The Falcons showed poise, however, in gaining the road win.

QUOTE
"It was a great team effort," Falcons' Head Coach MarQus Johnson said. "The guys stayed the course and continued to believe in one another. We are starting to get healthy. I'm extremely proud of them. One thing we have talked about was finishing plays and finishing halves, and we did that tonight."

RECORDS
Saint Augustine's University 6-13 overall, 1-8 CIAA, 1-2 Southern Division; Livingstone 8-13 overall, 3-6 CIAA, 1-3 Southern Division.

WHAT THE VICTORY MEANS
The Falcons won their first CIAA and Southern Division contest of the season. Despite getting their first win in the month of January, the Falcons are in the thick of the Southern Division race with five of their final seven games at home.

TOP PLAYERS FOR THE FALCONS
Anthony Gaskins: For the second straight game, the junior guard set the tone with his scoring. With the Falcons leading 34-29 coming out of halftime, Gaskins opened the second half with back-to-back three-pointers to give the Falcons a 40-29 lead. Even though the Blue Bears came back to lead briefly at 58-57, the Falcons never wavered.

Quincy January: The sophomore forward nearly posted his ninth double-double of the season with 10 points and eight rebounds. Though saddled with foul trouble, January delivered when needed in the second half. January scored critical buckets to keep the Falcons ahead, and he got the Blue Bears' big men in foul trouble.

Nick Moyer (Sr./Martinsville, VA): Moyer scored nine clutch points off the bench including two free throws with 42 seconds left to put the Falcons ahead 65-62.

Marquis Hines (Sr./Fayetteville, NC): The senior forward provided key help inside for the Falcons on both ends of the floor. Despite being in foul trouble, he scored eight points and pulled down seven rebounds in addition to totaling three assists. The 6-foot-8 Hines was 2-for-2 behind the three-point arc.

Nick Tennell: The senior guard stepped up with six points and three assists off the bench. His free throw with 15 seconds left provided the winning margin for the Falcons.

Jeremy Saunders (Jr./Hampton, VA): The junior guard provided a scoring boost off the bench for the second straight game. He scored eight points including a big three-pointer to help fend off the Blue Bears.

Keith Crawford (Sr./Richmond, VA): Though the senior guard had an off game by his standards, he nailed a critical jumper in the final minute as he was falling which slowed the Blue Bears' rally. Crawford led the Falcons with four assists.

TURNING POINT
The Blue Bears opened a 14-2 lead to start the contest by dominating the glass. The Falcons matched the Blue Bears on the boards from that point as they outscored the home team 32-15 to go into halftime leading 34-29. The Falcons held their own on the boards as they finished with one less rebound (34-33) than the Blue Bears, who ranked 17^th nationally in Division II in total rebounds. The Falcons matched the Blue Bears on the offensive glass with each team pulling down 10.

BY THE NUMBERS
5 – The Falcons will play five of their last seven regular-season games at home.

9 – The number of three-pointers the Falcons hit against Livingstone. Hines was 2-for-2 and Saunders was 2-for-4. Gaskins drilled three treys and Tennell was 1-for-2. As a team, the Falcons were 9-for-19 for 47.4 percent behind the arc while holding Livingstone to 2-for-12 three-point shooting for 16.7 percent.

26 – The points in the paint scored by the Falcons.

31 – Led by the foursome of Moyer, Hines, Saunders and Tennell, the Falcons outscored Livingstone 31-28 in bench points.

48.1 – The shooting percentage for the Falcons. It was their second-highest shooting percentage of the season.

TOP SCORERS FOR LIVINGSTONE
Austin Harris scored 11 points off the bench to pace the Blue Bears. Eric Dubose and Mark Johnson each scored 10 points.

NEXT GAME
After playing three consecutive away games and six of their last seven on the road, the Falcons finally return home. They host Fayetteville State University at Emery Gymnasium in Raleigh, N.C., to begin a four-game homestand. Tip-off is 4 p.m.

Print Friendly Version