Virginia State Shoots Their Way Past JCSU, 74-63
Box Score Charlotte, N.C. (Jan. 12, 2015) – Virginia State got 22 points from Senior Lamar Kearse and shot 53.3% from long-range to down Johnson C. Smith 74-63 in men's basketball action on Monday night in Brayboy Gym.
Virginia State started strong, bolting out to an early five point lead on a three-pointer from Elijah Moore and a layup from Alphonso Leary. JCSU would respond with a
Stedmon Lemon (Lithonia, Ga) three-pointer along with an
Emilio Parks (Ashtabula, Ohio) bucket to tie it at 5-5 with 18:25 remaining.
VSU would go on a 14-3 run, forcing a JCSU timeout with 12:49 remaining, down 19-8. Junior
Diondre Pratt (Morven, N.C.) would draw JCSU to within 19-11 following a layup while getting fouled. The free throw was off the mark, but JCSU would force a VSU turnover on their nex
t possession. Markell Lotharp (Marshville, N.C.) then canned a free throw, cutting the Trojan lead to 19-11.
Raston Brown (Hephizibah, Ga.) would get into the action, putting in a layup to draw within 21-15. A pair of VSU free throws from Te'Quan Alers boosted the Trojan lead back to eight at 23-15. JCSU's Pratt would then steal a VSU pass and throw down a two-handed jam that forced a VSU timeout, with JCSU closing the gap to 23-17.
JCSU's Parks would score the next two Golden Bull baskets, drawing closer at 26-22, forcing another VSU timeout at the 4:14 mark.
VSU's Xavier Parham would put the Trojans up 33-25 with a deep three with the shot clock winding down, but JCSU's Lemon would respond with a three of his own from the left wing. Lemon would then hit one-of-two free throws putting JCSU to within four at 33-29 with 1:23 left before intermission.
VSU would regain possession on a Golden Bull offensive foul and would miss a long three attempt with 4 seconds left. JCSU's Lemon would rebound the miss and complete a baseball-like pass to Pratt who slammed it home with 1 second left to pull JCSU to within two at 33-31 at the halftime break.
JCSU would draw even at 35-35 following a Lotharp hoop with 19:02 left but VSU responded by hitting two free throws, this time from Alphonso Leary, to push the lead back to 37-35. The Trojans would jump ahead by three following another Leary free throw.
The VSU lead would grow to nine at 46-37 following an Elijah Moore jumper and a Tyrece Little layup with 14:03 remaining.
Down 46-38, JCSU's Lemon hits a big three-pointer, bringing JCSU to within five at 46-41. Two
Raston Brown free throws trimmed the Trojan lead to three, 48-45 at the 11:58 mark. A steal by Brown and a
Joshua Linson (San Antonio, Tex.) three-pointer tied the game at 48-48 for the second time in the game, at the 11:14 mark, spurring the Trojans to call a timeout.
VSU would go on to score the next seven points, capped by a Kearse three from the corner, putting VSU up 55-48 with 9:05 left, but JCSU's Lemon swirled in a three of his own to make it 55-51 at the 8:31 mark.
The Trojans' Kearse would provide a 10 point lead at 65-55 following a straight-away three at the 5:08 mark.
VSU would gain their largest advantage of the evening at 12 points (70-58) following another Kearse three pointer with 2:24 left. JCSU's Lemon would connect on his fifth three-pointer of the game to narrow the gap to 73-62 with 1:00 remaining but could get no closer, as the Trojans hit their free throws down the stretch to take the 74-63 win.
The loss snaps JCSU's season-long winning streak at three and marks only the second time this season that the Bulls have fallen inside Brayboy Gym.
JCSU shot 41.7% from the field on 20-48 shooting, including a 6-9 mark from long range while Virginia State connected for a 41.9% clip on 26-62 shooting.
The Golden Bulls got a game-high 23 points from
Stedmon Lemon. Lemon finished shooting 7-10, including a perfect 5-5 from long range. JCSU also got 13 from
Emilio Parks and 10 points and eight boards from
Diondre Pratt.
The Trojans were led by Lamar Kearse, as he went for 22 points while teammate Alphonso Leary contributed 14 points and nine rebounds. VSU also got 13 points from Elijah Moore.
JCSU will close out their four game home stand on Saturday when they host Fayetteville State in a 7:30 contest.
