Winston-Salem State Rallies Late to Defeat Fayetteville State, 63-62, to Win CIAA Men’s Basketball Championship

CHARLOTTE, NC – Robert Colon’s three free throws with 4.6 seconds remaining completed a late comeback by Winston-Salem State University as  they defeated Fayetteville State University 63-62 to capture the CentralIntercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Men’s Basketball tournament title Saturday afternoon at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The championship was Winston-Salem’s 12th in the conference tournament’s 75-year history and their first since winning the title in 2012. TheRams, who were the #2 seed in the south entering the tournament, earn theCIAA’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Championship and improve to19-10 overall.

The Broncos, the #3 seed from the south, were looking to capture theirfirst title since 1973. FSU falls to 24-8 overall and will have to waituntil selection Sunday to see if they will receive an at-large bid to thenational championship tournament.

Colon, the Food Lion Tournament Most Valuable Player, led all scorers with 25 points. Xavier Fennell added 11 points while Jonathan Hicklin chippedin ten.

Denzell Hosch led the Broncos with 13 points while Jalen Seegars chippedin 12. Will Brown had 14 rebounds and Jalen Spicer led all players withfour assists.

Joining Colon on the All-Tournament team was teammate Jaylin Alston. Runner-up Fayetteville State put three players on the team; Hosch, Brown, and Spicer.

The Broncos jumped out to an early 10-2 lead. Seegars then added a pair offree throws to send the lead into double-digits before the Rams ran offeight straight points to close the gap to 12-10. The Broncos pushed theirlead back to seven at 19-12 before the Rams rallied with a 13-4 run tolead 25-23. FSU scored the final five points of the half to lead 28-25.

The Rams outscored the Broncos 6-3 in the first 3:43 to even the score at 31-31. Over the next eight minutes, neither team led by more than twopoints with the lead changing hands six times. Trailing by one, theBroncos produced a 10-0 uprising to take a 52-43 lead with 6:14 remaining.Hosch gave the Broncos a double-digit lead 59-48 at the 4:23 mark, their first since the opening minutes of the first half. A 9-1 run by the Ramscloses the gap to three 60-57 with 1:49 remaining prompting a Bronco’s timeout.

Darrian Dixon broke the run with a layup to put FSU back up by five but Colon quickly scored to again bring the Rams within three 62-59 with a minute remaining. Brown missed the front end of a one-and-one for theBroncos while Colon made one of two cutting the Broncos lead to 62-60 with15.2 seconds left. FSU turned the ball over as Fennell tied up Seegars toforce the turnover with 12.8 seconds left giving the Rams a shot to tie orwin the game. Colon was fouled and went to the line to shoot three free throws with 4.6 seconds left, making all three to give the Rams a 63-62 lead. Hosch’s shot at the buzzer was off the mark, giving the Rams thechampionship.

With the win the Rams will look forward to the NCAA Division II selectionshow held on Sunday, March 8, 2020 to see who they will play in the firstround of the NCAA Division II championship.Johnson C. Smith University was the recipient of the CIAA Men’sSportsmanship Award.The complete.

All-Tournament team is as follows
Donte Edwards Saint Augustine’s
Roger Ray Livingstone
Cayse Minor Johnson C. Smith
Cornelius Reynolds Claflin
Donnell Frayer Jr. Claflin
Jalen Spicer Fayetteville State
Denzel Hosch Fayetteville State
Will Brown Fayetteville State
Jaylen Alston Winston-Salem State
Robert Colon Winston-Salem State – Food LionTournament MVP

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