Broncos used suffocating defense to Spark Game-Changing Run

FSU downs St. Andrews 83-73, outscoring Knights 31-12 in last 12 minutes

FAYETTEVILLE, NC – Less than 5 minutes into the second half, the Fayetteville State Broncos appeared to have made their run to get back into the game, trimming a 10-point deficit to a mere two points.

Then St. Andrews answered with a 7-0 spurt of its own. In less than 2 minutes, the game appeared to be back in the Knights’ hands.

But with 12 minutes remaining, Fayetteville State amped up its defensive pressure – and just as importantly, started making shots and finishing around the basket. The game turned in those moments, as the Broncos outscored St. Andrews 31-12 in the final 12:06 to race past the Knights 83-73 on Monday night.

“We got comfortable as a group, and defensively we got consistent,” said Broncos head coach Alphonza Kee, whose team played without two injured starters. “We created a new atmosphere with our defense and our pressure, and then when we did make some shots, everything took off.”

Jarmel Baxter (Jr., Davidson, NC) was a constant throughout for the Broncos (2-0), leading all players with 25 points while junior college transfer Sidney Evans (Jr., Durham, NC), whose corner 3-pointer and back-to-back dunks fueled the huge second half run, finished with his first double-double at Fayetteville State after a 12-point, 10-rebound performance. Fellow junior college transfer John Herrington (Jr., Jacksonville, NC) also had his first double-double at FSU after scoring 11 points and pulling down 11 boards.

But as impressive as the late run was – at one point, Fayetteville State outscored the Knights (0-1) 26-6 – the burst was sparked by a defensive intensity that was lacking in the first half as the Broncos tried to feel themselves out.

“Missing two starters, I was concerned about our chemistry, and did need some time to figure out our rotations and how guys fit together,” Kee said. “In the first half, our defense couldn’t get in the right spots, and our offensive execution also struggled.”

At the 12-minute mark, the Broncos looked like a different team.

“You can’t teach effort and heart, and we didn’t really have that in the first half,” said Baxter. “But in the second half, we brought it as a team.”

And St. Andrews, forced into foul trouble by Fayetteville State’s aggressiveness in the second half, had no answer.

“In the second half, (Fayetteville State) picked up the pressure, and we had a hard time with that pressure,” said St. Andrews coach Richie Schueler.

Fayetteville State trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, and was down 43-37 at the break. But the Broncos, who shot just 29 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, still managed to force 15 St. Andrews’ turnovers, enough of a presence to stay close to the Knights, who shot 50 percent from the floor.

But that shooting percentage slipped as Fayetteville State made its game-changing run. Meanwhile, the turnovers mounted against the Broncos’ pressure, and St. Andrews found itself on the wrong end of momentum. In the end, Fayetteville State forced a staggering 32 turnovers to change everything.

Antonio Moffitt led St. Andrews with 14 points while Ryan Streeter had nine.