Box Score Junior Guard Scores Bucket With 5.5 Seconds Left For Falcons Victory
RALEIGH, NC (Feb 18) – On Saturday, Kasey Bryant (Jr./Raleigh, NC) scored a driving layup with 5.5 seconds left as Saint Augustine's University downed Fayetteville State University 51-49 at Emery Gymnasium in the CIAA men's basketball season finale.
Victory was sealed when the Broncos misfired on a three-pointer from the corner as time expired. The Falcons head into CIAA Tournament next week with two wins in their last three games.
Both Kenneth Collins (Jr./Clayton, NC) and Quincy January (Jr./Atlanta, GA) scored 15 points with January adding 12 rebounds for the Falcons. The double-double is the 14th this season for January, who ranked 10th in the nation in the category entering the contest. January has recorded four consecutive double-doubles.
Bryant scored four points but his last bucket lifted the Falcons after the Broncos rallied from a 19-point first-half deficit. Josh Bryant, who finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, tied the score 49-49 on two free throws with 1:21 remaining in the second half.
After misses by both teams and a traveling call on the Broncos after an offensive rebound, the Falcons called timeout with 20 seconds left. When play resumed, the Falcons inbounded the ball near their bench. After a couple of passes, the ball was in Bryant's hands with the clock winding down.
Dribbling behind the top of the key, Bryant suddenly drove past his defender and found an open lane towards the basket. He laid the ball softly off the glass as a Broncos big man could only watch as he arrived too late in the paint.
Anthony Gaskins (Sr./Greenville, NC) scored six points and Anthony Cadogan (Fr./Queens, NY) scored four points and hauled in five rebounds for the Falcons, who improved to 3-7 in the Southern Division and 12-15 overall. The Falcons enter the CIAA Tournament next week as the No. 6 Southern Division seed.
Joshua Dawson scored 12 points for the Broncos, who dropped to 4-6 in the Southern Division and 10-15 overall. The Broncos will be the No. 4 Southern Division seed in the CIAA Tournament.
The 49 points scored by the Broncos is the lowest by a Falcons opponent this season and tied a season-low by the Broncos. The Falcons are the second-ranked team in the CIAA in scoring defense. The 51 points is the second-lowest point total for the Falcons this season.
Collins scored 13 points and January added 11 points in the first half as the Falcons led 36-25 at halftime. The Falcons spurted to 21-6 lead on Cadogan's jumper and the lead grew to 19 at 29-10 with 7:29 remaining in the half. The Broncos, who got eight first-half points from Dawson, managed to get within 11 at halftime.
The Falcons shot 53.8 percent in the first half but cooled off to 25 percent in the second half as the Broncos continued their run. But Bryant saved the game for the Falcons, who celebrated Senior Day prior to the contest.
The senior trio of Gaskins, Andre Stanley (Sr./Virginia Beach, VA) and manager Naeem Creighton-Bey (Sr./Raleigh, NC) were honored along with three SAU women's basketball student-athletes. This was the last regular-season men's contest in their collegiate careers.
