BRONCOS TAKE WINNING RECORD INTO HOLIDAY BREAK

FSU hands CIAA foe Virginia State an 80-76 loss

PETERSBURG, VA -- The Fayetteville State Broncos' student-athletes have been finished with final exams for the Fall semester for a few days now.

But they passed another test Monday night.

The Broncos, winners of just one game away from Felton J. Capel Arena last season, tripped CIAA foe Virginia State on the road 80-76 to pick up their second road win of the young 2010-11 season.

Ariel Robinson (Sr., Coral Springs, FL) scored a game-high 22 points and made six 3-pointers while Sidney Evans (Jr., Durham, NC) hit 6 of 7 shots from the field on his way to a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. John Herrington (Jr., Jacksonville, NC) added 10 points and five rebounds while Jarmel Baxter (Jr., Davidson, NC) chipped in 10 points as well for the Broncos (4-3), who enter the holiday break with a winning record. A year ago, Fayetteville State did not earn its fourth victory of the season until Jan. 4.

But the Broncos did enough to scratch out a victory over the Trojans (1-5) in a game that was played not as an official CIAA contest. Fayetteville State, which will play again on the road at Queens in Charlotte on Dec. 30, will open its league schedule with a Jan. 6 game at home against Bowie State.

D'Angelo Johnson had 17 points and eight rebounds to lead Virginia State, which played without its top scorer, Brandon Plummer, who came into the game averaging 11 points per game. Justin Bess added 16 points while Kevin Wiggins had 11.

Fayetteville State, which earned its first road win of the season on Dec. with a 126-62 victory over Johnson & Wales, led 38-35 at the half.