Fayetteville NC, Capel Arena --Marcus Elliott totaled 22 points, but the Fayetteville State men's basketball team fell to the Virginia Union Panthers 66-61 at home Sunday.
The Broncos (1-6) had two players score in double figures, led by Elliott, who had 22 points. Kaleb Coleman tacked on 11 points and Cress Worthy added seven points, seven rebounds and four assists.
The Fayetteville State offense was very productive from deep, making 10 threes on 31 attempts. Elliott was the most prolific shooter for the Broncos, draining six treys in the contest.
During his post game interview, Elliott was optimistic in spite of the loss.
"I feel like it was a hard fought game, we just have to figure out how to put two halves together and finish these close games out", said Elliott.
Fayetteville State forced 16 Virginia Union turnovers while committing 12 themselves in Sunday's game. The Broncos turned those takeaways into 12 points on the other end of the floor. Tyler Foster led the way individually with two steals.
The Broncos' Head Coach, Luke D'Alessio, expressed that the Broncos competed regardless of the outcome, and that their defense was done well.
"That's what we want to be, a really good defensive team, and I thought we battled really tough today", said D'Alessio.
How It Happened
After falling behind 14-11, Fayetteville State went on a 5-0 run with 13:53 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from D'Marco Baucum, to take a 16-14 lead. The Broncos then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 30-29 advantage. Fayetteville State relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down four shots to account for 12 of its 30 points.
Virginia Union proceeded to take a 58-53 lead before Fayetteville State went on an 8-0 run to seize a 61-58 lead with 1:55 to go in the contest. Virginia Union re-asserted control, outscoring the Broncos 8-0 the rest of the way to hand Fayetteville State the 66-61 loss. Fayetteville State shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting six shots from deep to score 18 of its 31 points.
Game Notes
» Fayetteville State lit it up from three point land, knocking down 10 treys in the game.
» The Fayetteville State defense forced 16 turnovers.
» The Broncos were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, tallying five blocks as a team.
» Fayetteville State cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 13 offensive boards in the game.
»
Marcus Elliott led the Broncos with 22 points.
» Fayetteville State got a team-high seven rebounds from
Cress Worthy.
