Fayetteville, NC – Raymon Pratt hit a pair of free throws to give Fayetteville State a 67-65 lead with 2.6 seconds left in the game. After a long in-bound pass Johnson C. Smith's Cayse Minor rang a long three-pointer before the final buzzer to give the Golden Bulls a 68-67 victory over the Broncos.
 
Fayetteville State (13-3 overall and 4-3 in the CIAA) drops to 2-1 in the Southern Division while Johnson C. Smith improves to 8-4 and 2-3 in the conference with a 1-1 divisional standing.
 
Mark Burton (Tokyo, Japan) scored a game-high 26 points with 5-of-11 three pointers, three other field goals, and 5-of-7 free throws. Darion Dixon (Bowie, MD) finished with 11 points and a team-high five rebounds. Jalen Seegars (Greensboro, NC) had nine points.
 
The Broncos had slow start trailing 27-19 at halftime and the first portion of the second half until a tied 41-41 game with 10:32 left.
 
After seven lead changes, a 7-1 Bronco run sparked by a Burton layup gave FSU a 58-53 cushion with 4:21 left in the game. The Golden Bulls cut the game to one (60-59) with 3:13 left and later tied it at 65 with 31 seconds left.
 
On a final drive attempt, Pratt was fouled and sent to the line to set up the game ending scenario.
 
Three Golden Bulls finished with double-digit scoring. Michael Roberson led the way with 14 points while Minor scored 13. Justice Goodloe netted 12.
 
JCSU had the higher scoring percentages with 54.8% (23-42) from the floor and 50% (5-10) from beyond the arc; but FSU faired better at the line with 66.7% (16-24) compared to the Golden Bulls 50% (17-34) in free throws.
 
FSU struggled with 38.2% (21-55) of its shots made. Although the Broncos made nine three-pointers, FSU was 32.1% with 28 attempts.
 
Fayetteville State will regroup during the week before hosting Shaw University on Saturday at 2:00 pm in Capel Arena.