By: FVSU Office of Sports Information
Whether its basketball, volleyball, football, checkers or even marbles, whenever Fort State University (FVSU) and Albany State University (ASU) meet in competition, the one thing that's for certain is that the level of play will be intense. Tonight's women and men basketball games from the HPER Arena on the ASU campus held true to form.
Lady Wildcats Basketball (Lady Rams 82, Lady Wildcats 69)
For the second time this season, the match up between the Lady Wildcats and the Lady Rams carried with it significant conference implications. Entering tonight's game, first place in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) hung in the balance. The Lady Rams and Lady Wildcats were tied for the conference lead.
In their previous meeting on Jan. 8th at FVSU, it was essentially the same storyline. In that meeting, FVSU rose to the top of conference standing after a 74-69 win.
As the Lady Rams donned pink uniforms in recognition of breast cancer awareness, in the game's first 20 minutes they played like a team bent on revenge. While things were pretty close in the opening minutes of the game, they quickly tilted in favor of the Lady Rams. At one point, ASU led by as many as 23 points and at intermission led 46-32.
A large part of the reason for the Lady Rams lead was the play of Kourtney Alexander who had 22 points in the first half while connecting on six of eight three point shots. The Lady Rams shot 61% (19 of 31) from the floor in the first half while FVSU shot 32% (11 of 34). Trailing by 14 at the break, it would take a solid second half from the Lady Wildcats to overcome the deficit.
The start of the second half looked promising for FVSU. Near the 15 minute mark, they cut the Lady Rams lead to eight points. After a Jasmine Birdsong three point basket with 10:52 remaining, the Lady Wildcats had cut the ASU lead to six points, 62-56. With 7:09 left, the margin was still six points, 68-62.
Unfortunately for the Lady Wildcats, the next few minutes of the game belonged to Alexander. Two Alexander layups and a three point jump shot took the ASU lead up to 11 points. With 1:44 remaining, the 11 point ASU lead still held.
At the final buzzer, it was ASU who claimed the number one status in the conference with an 82-70 win as Alexander scored a game-high 35 points. The Lady Wildcats were led in scoring by Yasheeka Jones with 24 points. Kadeidra Freeland and Jasmine Birdsong finished with 12 points each.
The loss drops the FVSU record to 15-9 overall and the Lady Wildcats are now 13-5 in conference play. The Lady Wildcats return to action on Tuesday night in Augusta, Ga. when they meet the Lady Lions of Paine College. Tip-off time is 6 p.m.
Wildcats Basketball (Rams 66, Wildcats 63)
The Wildcats entered tonight's game mindful of the fact that a win would give them a sweep of the Rams in regular season play. FVSU defeated ASU back on January 8th (74-62) and a repeat tonight would do wonders for the confidence of the Wildcats as the end of the regular season draws closer.
In the first 10 minutes of the game, FVSU maintained a slight edge. Halfway through, the Wildcats led 13-12. At the 8:23 mark, the lead grew to 17-12 and forced an ASU timeout. With 4:49 remaining, the Wildcat lead was narrowed to 21-18. After a Brandon Davey sweeping lay up with 1:33 left, FVSU led 24-20. Then, after a defensive stop, Nigel Domineck sliced through for another lay up as the FVSU lead climbed to 26-20 with 45 seconds left in the half. As the teams entered the locker room for halftime, the Wildcats took a 28-25 lead with them.
The Wildcats made 12 of 28 shots in the first half (43%) compared to an eight of 23 (35%) shooting performance by the Rams.
The three point lead quickly evaporated at the start of the second half on a Ram three point basket. The next trip down the floor, the Rams took a 30-28 lead after a jump shot in the paint, forcing a Wildcat timeout. As play resumed, Jeremy Sledge hit a jump shot for FVSU to tie the game at 30 points each. Two free throws by LaRon Shaw gave FVSU the lead 36-35 at the 14:45 mark. With 12:08 left, the Wildcats had a 40-37 lead.
By the 8:43 mark, the back-and-forth battle swung the Rams way as they took a 47-41. Minutes later, the ASU lead was up eight points, 49-41. With 3:43 left, the margin rose to 10 points, 54-44.
Down the stretch, the Wildcats made a serious charge at the Ram lead. With 32 seconds left, ASU's lead was down to just two points, 60-58. However, the Rams were able to maintain separation and came away with a 66-63 win.
FVSU was led in scoring by Martavius Orr who finished with 19 points. The Wildcats are now 7-17 overall and fall to 7-13 in SIAC play. They return to action on Tuesday night in Augusta, Ga. when they meet the Lions of Paine College. Tip-off time is 8 p.m.
-Wildcats Athletics-
