Falcons Knock Off Defending CIAA Champs Behind January's Double-Double, Stingy Defense

ETTRICK, VA (Dec 14) – On Tuesday, Dec. 13, Saint Augustine's University relied on a heavy dose of Quincy January (Jr./Atlanta, GA) and an air-tight defense to beat Virginia State University 64-58 in its CIAA opener at the VSU Multipurpose Center.

January powered his way to 24 points and 11 rebounds against the Virginia State front line, making 7 of 12 shots from the floor and 10 of 15 from the charity stripe. Anthony Gaskins (Sr./Greenville, NC) added 17 points and Chris Melton (So./Richmond, VA) scored a season-high 14 points for the Falcons (6-5 overall), who gained their second consecutive win and fourth in five outings.

The victory was the first for Falcons Head Coach MarQus Johnson and Assistant Coach Montel Jones over Trojans Head Coach Lonnie Blow, Jr. Johnson was an assistant coach and Blow was the head coach of the Falcons squad which won the 2010 CIAA Championship. Jones was an assistant coach on the Trojans team which captured the CIAA title last season.

Both teams were ranked among the top two defenses in the CIAA coming into the contest, but the Falcons were the better defensive team on Tuesday. They limited Virginia State (0-1 CIAA, 6-3 overall) to its second lowest point total and shooting percentage (35.7) of the season. The 58 points were also the second lowest an opponent has scored on the Falcons in their first 11 games.

The contest was expected to be a defensive slugfest and it lived up to its billing in the first half. Points were hard to come by as both teams shot under 40 percent. The 23-23 halftime score was a season-low for the Falcons and the second-lowest for the Trojans.

If not for Melton and Gaskins, the Falcons would have found themselves down at intermission. Melton scored 10 points on 4 of 4 shooting and Gaskins added eight points on 3 of 5 shooting including 2 of 3 three-point attempts. They combined for all but five of the Falcons first-half points.

The duo kept the Falcons in contention in the first half. After halftime, January took over.

The sky-walking forward registered 19 points and eight rebounds in the decisive second half when the Falcons shot 55 percent against the CIAA's top defense in points allowed. His teammates repeatedly found January inside and he responded each time, scoring layups on nice moves and drawing fouls despite being doubled teamed at times by taller Virginia State defenders. In the second half, January was 5 of 5 from the floor and 9 of 11 from the free throw line.

January scored eight of the Falcons' 11 points during a critical four-minute stretch to turn a 43-43 tie into a 54-47 lead with 4:30 left. After the Trojans cut the margin to four points, Melton buried a deep three-pointer with time running out on the shot clock and Kenneth Collins (Jr./Clayton, NC) added two straight buckets for an 11-point margin with two minutes remaining.

On the other end, the Trojans frantically tried to climb back in the contest but the Falcons defense would not allow it. The Trojans scored only four field goals in the final eight minutes.

Collins added seven points, five rebounds and four assists for the Falcons, who shot 46.5 percent. Kevin Williams led the Trojans with 15 points, 11 rebounds and five assists and Richard Granberry scored 15 points.

After defeating the Trojans, the Falcons will head to Elizabeth City, N.C. for a CIAA game against Elizabeth City State University on Thursday, Dec. 15 at 7:30 p.m. This will be the second of three games in five days before the holiday break.