Charlotte, NC -- Robert Colon's three free throws with 4.6 seconds remaining completed a late comeback by Winston-Salem State as they defeated Fayetteville State, 63-62, to capture the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) men's basketball tournament title Saturday afternoon at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Broncos, the #3 seed from the south, were looking to capture their first title since 1973. FSU drops to 24-8 overall and will have to wait until Selection Sunday to see if they will receive an at-large bid to the regional championship tournament.
Colon, the Coca-Cola Tournament Most Valuable Player led all scorers with 25 points. Xavier Fennell added 11 points while Jonathan Hicklin chipped in ten.
Denzell Hosch led the Broncos with 13 points while
Jalen Seegars chipped in 12.
Will Brown had 14 rebounds and
Jalen Spicer led all players with four assists.
Joining Colon on the All-Tournament team was teammate Jaylin Alston. Runner-up Fayetteville State put three players on the team; Hosch, Brown and Spicer.
The Broncos jumped out to an early 10-2 lead. Seegars then added a pair of free throws to send the lead into double-digits before the Rams ran off eight straight points to close the gap to 12-10. The Broncos pushed their lead back to seven at 19-12 before the Rams rallied with a 13-4 run to lead 25-23. FSU scored the final five points of the half to lead 28-25.
The Rams outscored the Broncos 6-3 in the first 3:43 to even the score at 31-31. Over the next eight minutes, neither team led by more than two points with the lead changing hands six times. Trailing by one, the Broncos produced a 10-0 uprising to take a 52-43 lead with 6:14 remaining. Hosch gave the Broncos a double-digit lead 59-48 at the 4:23 mark, their first since the opening minutes of the first half. A 9-1 run by the Rams closes the gap to three 60-57 with 1:49 remaining prompting a Bronco's timeout.
Darrian Dixon broke the run with a layup to put FSU back up by five, but Colon quickly scored to again bring the Rams within three 62-59 with a minute remaining. Brown missed the front end of a one-and-one for the Broncos while Colon made one of two cutting the Broncos lead to 62-60 with 15.2 seconds left. FSU turned the ball over as Fennell tied up Seegars to force the turnover with 12.8 seconds left giving the Rams a shot to tie or win the game. Colon was fouled and went to the line to shoot three free throws with 4.6 seconds left, making all three to give the Rams a 63-62 lead.
Spicer's shot at the buzzer was off the mark, giving the Rams the championship.
With the win the Rams will look forward to the NCAA Division II selection show held on Sunday, March 8, 2020 to see who they will play in the first round of the NCAA Division II championship.
The complete All-Tournament team is as follows:
Donte Edwards - Saint Augustine's
Roger Ray - Livingstone
Cayse Minor - Johnson C. Smith
Cornelius Reynolds - Claflin
Donnell Frayer Jr. - Claflin
Jalen Spicer - Fayetteville State
Denzel Hosch - Fayetteville State
Will Brown - Fayetteville State
Jaylen Alston - Winston-Salem State
Robert Colon* - Winston-Salem State
*Coca-Cola Tournament MVP
Gallery: (2/29/2020) MBB CIAA Championship Game vs. WSSU