Kirchman's Late Free Throws Lift JCSU to 76-75 Win at WSSU

Winston-Salem, N.C. (Jan. 27, 2018) – Senior guard Christian Kirchman hit two free throws with 12.7 seconds left to lift Johnson C. Smith University to a 76-75 road win over Winston-Salem State at the Gaines Center on Saturday afternoon.

Kirchman's heroics came after JCSU battled back from a six-point deficit (53-47) with 13:56 left to play.  The Golden Bulls and Rams would then battle through three ties before the Golden Bulls took the 71-69 lead with 4:38 left after Robert Davis (West Friendship, Md.) canned a three-pointer.

WSSU would tie it at 73-73 when Derrick Farquharson got a layup to fall at the 3:04 mark but JCSU's Roddric Ross (Forest City, N.C.) drilled a three to regain the lead for the Blue and Gold at 74-71.

The Rams would get a dunk from Jamel McCallister and then a William Crandell basket with 18 seconds remaining to reclaim the lead at 75-74.

On the ensuing JCSU possession, Kirchman, a Roanoke, Va. product, was fouled while driving to the basket by WSSU sophomore Robert Colon.  Kirchman calmly nailed the free throws to give JCSU the 76-75 lead.

Following a pair of timeouts, WSSU had a chance to win it, but Julius Barnes' couldn't get the last second shot to fall and JCSU escaped with the 76-75 win.

As a team, JCSU managed a 42.6% outing from the field, going 26-of-61 and knocked down 10-of-22 three pointers to finish at 45.5% on the afternoon.  JCSU also shot 70% (14-of-20) from the line in the win.

Individually, Davis led the way with 29 points, going 9-of-15 from the field and 7-of-8 from long range. He was also a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line and had a team-leading seven rebounds. Ross finished with 23 points and four rebounds while Kirchman had 10 points and five assists.  Anthony Harper (Wilson, N.C.) also had a career-best seven rebounds for JCSU.

The win improves the Golden Bulls to 12-7 overall, 5-2 in CIAA play and are 4-0 in the Southern Division.  WSSU drops to 4-15, 2-8 in CIAA play and 0-4 in Southern Division play.

The Golden Bulls will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 31 for a 5:30 p.m. matchup with Virginia Union in JCSU's black out game.