Dec. 30, 2010
Final Stats
CHARLOTTE, NC -- Queens led for all of 43 seconds. And after the 19:20 mark of the first half, they led for just 3 seconds.
The last three.
Antonio Stabler made two foul shots with 3 seconds remaining to cap an 11-3 run over the final 4:48 to as the Royals came from behind to beat the Fayetteville State Broncos 79-77 in men's basketball on Thursday night.
Reggie Hopkins was held to 4-of-15 shooting from the floor, but made 11 of 12 foul shots to lead all players with 20 points to go with six assists and six rebounds to pace the Royals (5-4). Brent Evans added 10 points before fouling out while Daniel Bailey had nine.
The Broncos (4-4), who were coming off a 17-day layoff between games because of the holiday break, led by as many as 18 points in the first 7 minutes of the game, and held a 57-43 edge after a 13-5 run to open the first 5 minutes of the second half.
But turnovers and foul trouble doomed Fayetteville State, which lost both John Herrington (Jr., Jacksonville, NC) and Tyrell Tate (Jr., Raleigh, NC) in a span of a few seconds when each picked up his fifth foul with just under 5 minutes to go.
And that's when the momentum began to shift. Hopkins hit two jumpers -- the Royals' leading scorer was just 2-of-11 from the field to that point -- and Queens forced seven turnovers in the waning minutes to get back into the game.
Queens tied the game on a Sam Johnson layup with 1:48 to go, and, after forcing a turnover, Hopkins misfired with 45 seconds to go. Fayetteville State corralled the rebound, but turned it over again 11 seconds later. Hopkins again missed -- this time a 3 with 9 seconds remaining -- and again FSU picked up the rebound. But another turnover handed the ball back to the Royals' Stabler, who was fouled with 3 seconds left.
He made both foul shots, and Fayetteville State could not answer.
Ariel Robinson (Sr., Coral Springs, FL) and Tim Plummer (Jr., Apex, NC) led the Broncos with 12 points each, with Plummer adding a team-high eight rebounds. Sidney Evans (Jr., Durham, NC) added 11 points while Jarmel Baxter (Jr., Davidson, NC) had 10. Tate and Herrington had eight points each for the Broncos.
Seven Broncos players finished with three or more fouls. Queens shot 30 of 42 from the foul line while Fayetteville State was 15-for-22.
Fayetteville State returns to Felton J. Capel Arena at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 6 to play Bowie State. It will be the Broncos' first home game following a six-game road swing over six weeks.
