Box Score CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Feb. 27) – The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Men's Basketball Championship Tournament tipped off Tuesday evening as Fayetteville State University and Lincoln University squared off at the Bojangles Coliseum. Fayetteville State used a strong second half and held off a late run by the Lions to come away with a 62-55 win.
The Broncos (8-20 overall), who entered the tournament as the No. 5 Southern Division seed, will play Johnson C. Smith, the top Southern Division seed, in a Wednesday quarterfinal game at 8:50 p.m. in Bojangles' Coliseum. The Lions, who were the No. 4 Northern Division seed, end their season at 12-15 overall.
Gevon Arrington (Petersburg, Va./Petersburg (Richard Bland)) paced Lincoln with 21 points while
Elijah Bush (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore (Essex County CC)) added 13 points and eight rebounds.
Deaquan Williams (Camden, N.J./Camden) finished with nine points for the Lions.
Willie Gilmore poured in a season-high 26 points to lead the Broncos. Josh Bryant added 17 points and eight rebounds. The Broncos shot 46.2 percent in the second half.
Gilmore scored 14 second-half points to spark a Broncos rally in the final 20 minutes of the contest. The Broncos, trailing 37-31 early in the second half, went on a 15-2 spurt to gain a 46-39 lead. Gilmore spurred the run with nine points on three three-pointers. The sharpshooting guard pumped in 6 of 8 treys in the contest.
The Broncos maintained their lead the rest of the contest, leading by as many as nine points but the Lions continued to battle in the final minutes. The Lions trailed 60-51 with 1:01 left but got within 60-55 with 31 seconds remaining on two
Gevon Arrington (Petersburg, Va./Petersburg (Richard Bland)) free throws. But Javen McNeill slammed home an emphatic two-handed dunk off the rim to clinch the victory for the Broncos.
The Broncos capitalized off 20 Lions' turnovers to make their comeback. They scored 14 points off turnovers.
Arrington scored 13 points in the first half as the Lions took a 28-26 lead into halftime. Gilmore scored 12 points for the Broncos.
