Final Stats

Charlotte, N.C. (Feb. 24, 2015) - St. Augustine's University had four players score in double figures and never trailed in the second half as they took a 61-54 win over Elizabeth City State in the first round of the CIAA Men's Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena on Tuesday evening.

Elizabeth City State jumped on St. Augustine's early, bolting to a 7-0 lead but the Falcons battled back, taking the 14-13 lead. Keith Crawford (Richmond, Va.) would nail a three pointer to stake the Falcons to a 17-13 lead at the 7:07 mark in the first half.

ECSU would cut the lead to 27-25 following a three pointer from Glenn Patterson with 1:21 remaining in the opening stanza. The Falcons would get a jumper from Marquis Hines to make it 29-25 and would carry that lead into the halftime break.

In the second half, St. Augustine's jumped to a 36-26 lead, their largest of the game, when Marquis Hines boarded a missed free throw and got the put back with 16:30 remaining.

ECSU was able to cut the lead to 36-29 following a Brachon Griffin free throw with 15:51 remaining. The Vikings then cut it to 36-31 with two more free throws, this time from Darrell Ward.

After a Falcon turnover, ECSU trimmed the lead to 36-33 following a Darrell Ward layup with 14:24 remaining. DeCarlos Anderson would bring ECSU to within one at 36-35 after he got two free throws to fall with 13:47 remaining.

SAU would break the 12-0 ECSU run when Keith Crawford tipped in a miss, providing the 38-35 ECSU lead. After two technical free throws, SAU jumped ahead 40-35. Anthony Gaskins then got a three pointer to drop, giving SAU the 43-35 lead with 11:00 to play.

The St. Augustine's lead would shrink to 43-27 following a pair of John Tatum free throws with 10:42 left.

ECSU was able to score on two straight possessions, when Tatum nailed a three pointer then added two free throws on their next possession to narrow the Viking lead to 45-42 with 7:11 to go. Anthony Gaskins would answer for SAU, when he drilled a long three pointer with 6:38 left to make it 48-42. Gaskins would then hit another three pointer from the exact same spot a possession later to extend the Falcon lead to 51-42 at the 5:48 mark.

Up 54-47 at the 3:56 mark, St. Augustine's got a pair of free throws from freshman Quincy January to boost the lead to 56-47. Elizabeth City State would get a three pointer from James Theus to cut it to 56-50. The Vikings then forced a turnover, but would give the ball right back with 1:44 to play. St. Augustine's would give it right back, and ECSU's three point attempt was no good.

After a St. Augustine's timeout with 1:01 to play, SAU was able to burn 15 seconds off the clock before ECSU was able to foul. SAU's Raheem Jolliffe knocked down two free throws with 48 seconds left to make it 59-50 . ECSU then got a layup from John Tatum to trim the lead to 58-52 with 21.8 to play.

St. Augustine's then would go on to get a free throw from Anthony Gaskins to extend the lead 59-52. ECSU answered quickly with a basket from Brachon Griffin with 12.6 remaining. After the ECSU timeout, the Vikings were forced to foul, sending Jolliffe to the line for two shots. Jolliffe knocked down both shots to provide the 61-54 final.

Anthony Gaskins led four St. Augustine's players in double figures with 14 points. Teammates Raheem Jolliffe and Marquis Hines each finished with 11. Hines also finished with 10 rebounds. Keith Crawford added 10 points for the Falcons.

ECSU got 11 points each from John Tatum and Darrell Ward.

With the loss, Elizabeth City State finishes at 9-21 while St. Augustine's improves to 12-15.

St. Augustine's will advance to the CIAA Tournament quarterfinals and will battle Chowan at 2:20 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25.