Charlotte, NC -- Fayetteville State took advantage of some sloppy first half play by Shaw as they went on to defeat the Bears, 80-65, in their opening round game at the CIAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament Wednesday morning at the Bojangles' Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.
 
The Broncos, the #3 seed from the south division, improve to 22-7 while the Bears, the #7 seed from the south, finish their season at 5-23.  Fayetteville State advances to tomorrow's quarterfinal game at the Spectrum Center where they will face Virginia Union, the #2 seed from the North Division.
 
Denzel Hosch (Shelby, NC) led three Fayetteville players in double figures with 19 points (6-11 FG, 4-8 3FG).  He was named the Foodlion MVP of the game at centercourt following the game. Jalen Spicer (Greensboro, NC) and Darian Dixon (Bowie, MD) added 15 and 14 points respectively.  Dixon led the team with eight rebounds while Spicer dished out a game-high six assists.
 
Greyson Kelley led four Shaw players in double figures with 20 points (5-13 FG, 9-10 FT).  DaVaughn Kelsie added 14 points while Nigel Martin chipped in ten.  Alex Owens recorded a double-double with ten points and a game high 15 rebounds.
 
Both teams started off slow with the Bears putting the first points on the board for either team via free throws at the 17:44 mark.   The Broncos defense held the Bears to just two field goals over the first 8:45 minutes while jumping out to a 16-6 lead.  Shaw then made five of their next seven shots, producing a 14-5 run to pull within one, 21-20, with 6:58 remaining.  Three straight baskets from the Broncos pushed their lead back up to seven, 27-20, with 5:08 left in the half. A dunk from Owens shaved two points off the Broncos lead but two straight turnovers by Shaw led to five Bronco points and a ten-point lead, 32-22. FSU closed out the half on a 9-2 run to lead 41-24 at the break.
 
Kelley had 13 of the Bears 24 points in the half while three Broncos scored in double figures; led by Hosch's 11 points.  The Broncos scored 19 points off Shaw turnovers in the half.
 
Fayetteville State opened the second half with a 15-4 run over the first seven minutes, pushing their lead to 28 (56-28) and later increased the margin to 30 points, 61-31.  Shaw cut the lead to 21 with a 14-5 spurt but would come no closer until the final minute with three-point baskets from Kelsie and Richard Shout, along with a layup from Owens that made the final score 80-65.
 
Shaw finished the game shooting 43.1% (22-51) from the field while Fayetteville State was slightly better at 45.9% (28-61).  The Broncos took advantage of 19 Bear turnovers, producing 34 of their 80 points.  Conversely, the Broncos committed just 11 turnovers with the Bears scoring nine points off those.  Fayetteville had a slight 39-36 edge on the glass, including 13-9 on the offensive end, producing a 17-2 advantage in the second chance points category.
 
The Broncos will face Virginia Union University Thursday evening at the Spectrum Center.  Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.