Fayetteville, NC – Fayetteville State men's basketball moved 1 ½ games ahead of Claflin in the CIAA Southern Division, for a solid hold of third place, with an 88-73 victory in the Broncos Felton J. Capel Arena on Thursday (Feb. 13). With three games left in the regular season, the Broncos have the potential to at least move up to second.
Fayetteville State improved to 19-6 overall and 8-6 in conference play after tying a season-high of 16 three-pointers. Claflin is 7-8 in the conference standings and 11-15 overall with two games remaining.
Senior Raymon Pratt finished with a career-high 21 points with 3-of-3 three pointers and 9-of-11 field goals. Senior Denzell Hosch made 5-of-6 threes for 15 points. Jalen Seegars was perfect in his attempts at threes with three made for 11 points. Point guard Jalen Spicer tipped in ten points with two baskets and two three-pointers.
Cornellius Reynolds of Claflin led all scorers with a career-high 23 points. Reynolds was 9-for-14 from the floor with a three-pointer and 4-of-6 at the free throw line. Letrell West contributed 10 points for the Panthers followed by Romero Hill with nine points.
FSU shot a sizzling 76.19%(16-for-21) from the floor in the first half and finished the game at 61.8% (34-for-55). Claflin also shot well, opening the game 59% (13-for-22) and ending the game shooting 45.16% (26-for-52).
The Broncos shot 80% (16-for-20) from three-point land as compared to Claflin 42.9-percent (6-for-14).
In the second half, the Panthers remained within striking distance, trailing by eight points at 52-44 with 16:57 left. That would be the closest margin for the Panthers as the Broncos scored nine of the next 14 points to lead 61-49 with 14:58 left.
FSU would later increase its lead to 75-54 with 6:26 left in the game by using a 14-5 run.
In the first half, Claflin scored the game's first basket, only to see FSU take the lead and hold the advantage over the next 10 -1/2 minutes before the Panthers tied contest. Brandon Davis connected on a three-pointer, pulling Claflin even at 21-21 with 8:11 on the clock.
After Jalen Spicer gave FSU a brief 23-21 lead at the 7:35 mark, the Panthers pulled even again 11 seconds later at 23-23.
The game would be tied two more times in the half, the last coming at 31-31 when Rodney Prichard drilled a three-pointer for the Panthers at the 4:26 mark.
FSU would finish the period, outscoring Claflin 14-6 to led 45-37 at the half.
Fayetteville State will host Winston-Salem State on Saturday, February 15th at 4 pm in a CIAA Televised game. Check your local stations for the ASPiRE TV network, or log onto www.fsubroncos.com/sportsnetwork to follow the game online. Tickets can be purchased in advance by visiting www.fsubroncos.com/tickets.
