JCSU Men's Basketball Squeezes Past ECSU, 74-68

JCSU Men's Basketball Squeezes Past ECSU, 74-68

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Box Score Charlotte, N.C. (Jan. 10, 2015) – The Johnson C. Smith men's basketball led by as many as 16 points, but had to weather a furious comeback attempt from Elizabeth City State and took a 74-68 CIAA win in Brayboy Gym on Saturday night.

In the beginning, neither team was able to stretch the lead larger than five.  JCSU got two free throws from Raston Brown.

JCSU then steadily built a nine-point edge with 7:20 left in the first half on an Emilio Parks (Ashtabula, OH) bucket.  ECSU would commit their eighth turnover on their next possession, but JCSU was unable to convert on the offensive end.

Stedmon Lemon (Lithonia, Ga.) would hit a mid-range jumper from the right side for the 11 point JCSU lead (28-17) with 6:11 remaining.  ECSU's Darrell Ward would follow a three-point miss from Tioreon Land with a tip to make it 28-19 JCSU.

Following a three-pointer from the Vikings' James Theus, JCSU's Raston Brown (Hephizabah, Ga.) would connect on a jumper from the lane to make it 32-22 JCSU with 3:51 before the half.  Junior Diondre Pratt (Morven, N.C.) would score two straight baskets, extending the JCSU lead to 36-22 with 45 seconds remaining.

Following an ECSU miss, freshman Robert Davis, III (West Friendship, Md.) would add a basket, and ECSU's Brachon Griffin would answer to provide the 38-24 JCSU halftime lead.

In the second half, ECSU's Darrell Walker went on a tear, scoring seven straight points for the Vikings to trim the Golden Bulls lead to 46-34.  Griffin's three point drew the Vikings to within single-digits at 46-37.

JCSU's Marcus Walker (Raleigh, N.C.) would make it 51-38 JCSU following his second basket of the night off a Brown miss at 14:25.

Following an ECSU basket by Darrell Ward, the ECSU bench was saddled with a technical foul.  JCSU's Brown would hit one of the following free throws to make it 52-42 JCSU.  ECSU would get a fast break dunk from Kyree Marshall to bring it to 54-47, forcing a Golden Bull timeout.

After each team traded missed shots, ECSU drew even closer on a high-arcing three pointer from Miykael Faulcon to bring the ECSU fans to their feet and closing the gap to 54-50.  JCSU would respond with a Parks layup at the 9:27 mark to go back up by six points at 56-50.

Joshua Linson (San Antonio, Tex.) would drill a big three pointer from right in front of the JCSU bench to extend the JCSU lead to 59-52 with 8:46 remaining.  Following an ECSU tip-in from Marshall, JCSU's Lemon would hit a leaning jumper from the lane, but ECSU responding quickly with a Griffin layup at 7:04 to trim the JCSU lead to 61-56.

With JCSU leading 63-58, the Golden Bulls' Emilio Parks hits a layup in traffic, getting the ECSU foul, and extending the lead to 65-58.  Parks' free throw attempt fails and ECSU quickly hits a three-pointer, this time from Faulcon, his second of the night to draw closer at 65-61.  JCSU's Markell Lotharp (Marshville, N.C.) tapped in a missed three-point attempt to make it 67-61 with 3:29 remaining.

ECSU drew to within four at 68-64 following an old fashioned three-point play from Marshall with 2:47 remaining.

JCSU would get a free throw from Parks, then the Vikings Marshall would draw another foul.  Marshall would miss both attempts, and JCSU garnered the rebound.  The Vikings were then saddled with a foul, sending Robert Davis, II to the line, where he hit one shot to stretch the JCSU lead to 70-64 at the 1:47 mark.

After an ECSU timeout, the Vikings converted when Faulcon's shot dropped through, trimming the JCSU lead to 70-66 with 1:06 remaining.

Following a JCSU turnover and foul, the Vikings' Marshall calmly hit both free throw attempts to draw closer at 70-68 with 50 seconds remaining.

JCSU's Robert Davis, III would hit two free throws of his own with 36.8 left to extend the lead to 72-68.  A long three-point attempt from Faulcon missed the mark and JCSU's Stedmon Lemon came down with the rebound.  Following the ECSU foul, Lemon hit a free throw, spurring ECSU to call a timeout with JCSU leading 73-68.  Lemon's second free throw would make it 74-68 with 13.4 remaining.

ECSU had a long three-point attempt bounce off with JCSU securing the rebound and the 74-68 win.

The Vikings were paced by Darrell Ward's 14 points.  Miykael Faulcon had 12 while Kyree Marshall and Brachon Griffin each had 11 in the loss.

JCSU was paced by Diondre Pratt's 16 points and six rebounds.  Emilio Parks and Stedmon Lemon each had 13, with Parks securing seven rebounds, and Lemon hauling down six.  Robert Davis, III also had 10 points for the Golden Bulls.

JCSU improved to 9-7, 3-2 in CIAA play while Elizabeth City State falls to 9-9, 2-3 in CIAA action.

JCSU will continue their home stand on Monday, Jan. 12, when Virginia State enters Brayboy Gym for a 7:30 p.m. start.
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