FAYETTEVILLE, NC --Tairell Fletcher scored 22 points to help lead the Fayetteville State men's basketball team over the Shaw Bears 81-53 at home Wednesday.
Fletcher added five rebounds and three assists to his 22 point game to lead the Broncos (9-8, 4-3). Kaleb Coleman helped out with 18 points and Khalil Ridges chipped in with six points, seven rebounds and two steals.
The Bears (8-6, 4-2) leading scorer, DJ Thomas, led the team with 12 points.
Fayetteville State grabbed 42 rebounds in Wednesday's game compared to Shaw's 23, led by nine boards from Sean Tony Hauser.
The Fayetteville State defense held Shaw shooters to only 32.8 percent from the field, including 23.8 percent from three-point range. The Bears did not get many second opportunities on the offensive end, as they grabbed only seven offensive rebounds and scored eight second chance points while Fayetteville State pulled down 33 defensive rebounds.
How It Happened
After jumping out to a 25-24 advantage, Fayetteville State went on an 8-0 run with 3:33 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Hauser, to increase its lead to 33-24. The Broncos then maintained that lead and entered halftime with a 35-26 advantage. Fayetteville State did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 20 of its 35 points close to the basket.
Following intermission, Fayetteville State kept widening that lead, expanding it to 68-49 before going on a 6-0 run, finished off by Tyler Foster's three, to grow the lead to 74-49 with 4:10 to go in the contest. The Broncos kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 81-53 win. Fayetteville State got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 16 of its 46 total points.
Game Notes
» The Broncos held the Bears to only 32.8 percent shooting from the field.
» Fayetteville State never trailed on the way to an 81-53 victory.
» Fayetteville State had a 42-23 edge on the boards in the win.
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Tairell Fletcher led the Broncos with a game-high 22 points.
» Fayetteville State got a game-high nine rebounds from
Sean Tony Hauser.
The Broncos will head to Johnson C. Smith to face off against the Golden Bulls on Saturday, January 20th with tipoff beginning at 4:00 pm.
