Final Stats
RALEIGH, NC – Omar Ford-Bey connected on a three-pointer at the buzzer to help the Livingstone men's basketball team survive 64-61 Monday evening at St. Augustine's.
A flurry of action brought Monday's game to a conclusion after the Blue Bears were unable to hold an 18-point lead from the first half.
Livingstone led by 14 points with 17:04 left in the game, but the Falcons went on a 10-1 run to cut the Blue Bear lead down to 44-39 with 12:02 on the clock. Primarily from the charity stripe, the Blue Bears were able push their lead back to 13 points with 6:05 remaining.
After Mark Thomas missed two free throws with 5:47 on the clock, the Falcons went on a 15-2 run to tie the game at 58-58 with 1:27 to play.
St. Augustine's was fouled with 48 seconds to play and hit 1-of-2 free throws to go up 59-58. After a Blue Bear timeout to set up a play, Omar Ford-Bey hit a runner in the late to give Livingstone a 60-59 edge. On the ensuing Falcon possession, St. Augustine's was hit with an offensive foul and the Blue Bears got the ball.
After the offensive foul, Mark Thomas was fouled on the inbound and hit 1-of-2 free throws to give Livingstone a 61-59 lead. On the rebound from the second missed free throw St. Augustine's was fouled and went to the line. The Falcons hit both attempts and the game was tied 61-61 with 15 seconds left.
Following a St. Augustine's timeout the Blue Bears were set for one final play. Trone Jackson dribbled near midcourt and then started his drive. As he came around the right side he hit Ford-Bey with a pass in the corner. Ford-Bey jacked up the three-pointer as the buzzer sounded and there was swish and then a rush of Blue Bears onto the floor, surrounding Ford-Bey.
St. Augustine's jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and continued to lead 7-4 with 16:36 on the clock. Livingstone then went on an 11-0 run to open a 15-7 advantage with 13:51 left in the opening half.
The Falcons briefly got within four at 15-11, but the Blue Bears slowly rebuilt their lead and hit their largest lead of 18 points with 2:16 to play in the first half. St. Augustine's took the final four points of the first half and the Blue Bears took a 37-22 lead into the break.
Livingstone improved to 5-11 overall, 2-7 in the CIAA and 1-2 in the Southern Division while St. Augustine's fell to 11-8 overall, 6-3 in the conference and 1-2 in the division.
Nasir Austin led the Blue Bears with 15 points while Ford-Bey finished with 12 points. Tyler Johnson led all players with 11 rebounds.
The Blue Bears shot 47.7 percent from the floor including 44.4 percent from three-point range. Livingstone also converted 75 percent of its free-throw attempts.
Livingstone will next host the Rams of Winston-Salem State University at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday inside New Trent Gymnasium.
