From the CIAA

BALTIMORE (Feb. 23) – The Saint Augustine's men made clutch free throws down the stretch to edge Shaw 64-61 in a first-round thriller at the CIAA Tournament inside Royal Farms Arena on Wednesday.

The 11th-seeded Falcons (7-20 overall) advanced to Wednesday's quarterfinals to face No. 3 seed Winston-Salem State at 8 p.m. Shaw, the No. 6 seed, finished its season at 11-12 overall.

Josh Page and Dhashon Dyson combined to make five of six free throws with 38 seconds left to hold off a furious Shaw rally in the second half. Dyson swished two free throws with four seconds left for a 64-61 lead, but the game wasn't sealed until Shaw missed a three-pointer as time expired.

Jaylen Richard scored 14 points and Page added 13 points for the Falcons, who reached the CIAA quarterfinals for the first time since 2016. Todd Smith pumped in 12 points and Richard led the Falcons in rebounding with seven.

Caleb Simmons and Corey Rutherford each scored 12 points for the Bears. Denari Garrett contributed 11 points and a team-high six rebounds.

The contest between the crosstown rivals from Raleigh, N.C., was energetic as expected.

Smith scored nine points and Richard had eight points and five rebounds in the first half as the Falcons spurted out to a 37-21 halftime lead. The Bears, led by 12 points from Simmons and nine points from Rutherford, mounted a furious rally in the second half to take a two-point lead on Garrett's jumper.

The Falcons regained the lead 59-53 with three minutes left on Richard's three-pointer. They relied on free throws by Page and Dyson to fend off another Bears' rally and clinch the win