Dragon Flames Too Hot for Wildcats
By: FVSU Office of Sports Information
Last night’s conference match up between the Wildcats of Fort Valley State University (FVSU) and the Dragons of Lane College presented a golden opportunity for FVSU. Not only would a win give the Wildcats back-to-back conference wins, it would cap a rigorous six-game road trip in which FVSU would have finished 3-3 before heading back to Fort Valley for an eight-game home stand in the HPE Arena.
While the teams traded baskets in the early minutes of the game, the first half advantage would eventually tilt toward the Dragons. At the 14:05 mark, FVSU trailed the Dragons by one, 13-12. That lead grew to 17-12 with 12:15 remaining. At 11:50, it was a 19-12 Dragon lead.
After FVSU’s Darrell Aiken converted two free throws to make it 19-14, the Dragons raised the game’s tempo with a dunk in transition, followed by a deep three-point basket from the corner to expand their lead to 24-14. At the six minute mark, Lane posted a 10 point advantage, 29-19.
The score stayed that way until 3:53 left when Kenneth Simmons banked a 10 foot jumper for FVSU. After a Dragon score, Simmons went back to work on the offensive end, this time with a three point basket. However, the Dragons had an answer. An inside uncontested lay up followed by a three point shot and the Dragons led 37-26.
With 1:10 left before halftime, the Dragon lead was back to 10 points, 39-29. At the intermission, it was a 12 point Dragon lead, 41-29.
The Wildcats made 10 of 21 field goal attempts (47.6%) in the first half. The Dragon converted 15 of 36 shots (41.7%) from the floor in the first 20 minutes including seven three point baskets.
In the second half the first basket did not come until 17:29 with an Aiken jumper for FVSU. After a missed shot by the Dragons, Steven Gill cleared the rebound, led the FVSU break and was fouled. He hit one of two free throws to make it a 41-32 Dragon lead.
On transition, Randy Graham made a steal for FVSU and scored on a lay up. The basket made the score 41-34 and forced a Lane College time out. However, after the time out, the Dragons got an easy lay up and the Wildcats were called for a foul. The free throw was good and the three point play gave the Dragons a 44-32 lead.
With 14:10 left, the Dragons had their lead back up 12 points, 49-37. Less than a minute later, the lead was 51-37.
After inserting William Hawes into the FVSU line up with just over 12 minutes remaining, Hawes immediately paid dividends for Coach Douglas and the Wildcats. His three-point shot with 11:57 left cut the Dragon lead to 51-41.
With 10:00 left, Hawes struck again! Another three point basket by Hawes cut the Dragon lead to 53-44. At 9:02, Simmons found his range from behind the three-point arch. His three point basket reduced the Dragon lead to 54-47.
However, the Dragons appeared to have weathered the charge by the Wildcats. With 4:19 remaining, they pressed their advantage to 65-49. At the 3:05 mark, the lead was up to 67-49. With 1:31 remaining, the Dragon lead was 67-55. Despite a mini-charge by FVSU, the Dragons would win 71-60.
Kenneth Simmons led the Wildcats in scoring with 14 points. Steven Gill finished with nine points while Denario Quinn contributed seven.
The conference loss drops the Wildcat record to 6-9 overall and 4-8 in SIAC play. The Wildcats return to the HPE Arena on the FVSU campus for an eight-game home stand beginning on Tuesday, January 26th when they host the Bears of Miles College. Tip off for the conference match up is at 8 p.m. The Lady Wildcats will meet the Lady Bears at 6 p.m. Admission to both games is free of charge.
To view the box score for this game and for other information on Wildcats Basketball visit, www.fvsusports.com.
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