Fayetteville State stopped Antonio Fitzgerald (Danville, VA) in their first meeting, but the Broncos had no answer for the 6-1 senior guard on Thursday, February 22, 2007, as Saint Augustine’s College celebrated Senior Night with a rousing 81-66 CIAA victory at raucous Emery Gymnasium to end the regular season with three straight wins.

Playing before a packed and noisy gym, Fitzgerald ended his regular-season career at Saint Augustine’s College with one of his best offensive performances. Fitzgerald scored 34 points including 21 in the decisive second half as the Falcons (18-8, 14-6 CIAA, 5-3 Western Division) pulled away from the Broncos (14-12, 10-9 CIAA, 5-2 Western Division), the CIAA Western Division leaders.

Fitzgerald’s point total was three shy of his career-high of 37 points, and he scored 30 or more points for the sixth time in his two-year career at Saint Augustine’s College. Fitzgerald, a two-time All-CIAA pick, also grabbed seven rebounds for the Falcons, who outscored the Broncos 50-39 in the second half to turn a 31-27 halftime lead into a rout.

His performance is a stark contrast to the first meeting between both teams in a televised game on February 10, 2007. Fitzgerald then scored a career-low 11 points and watched his short shot roll out the rim in the closing seconds of a 61-60 loss.

The combination of that defeat and Senior Night celebration held before Thursday’s game spurred Fitzgerald, who made 13 of 18 shots. The season-ending victory capped a great night for Fitzgerald and the rest of the six-man senior class including senior guard-forwards Nicholas King (Philadelphia, PA) and Claude Neeley (Tallahassee, FL), guard Barry Jones (Seattle, WA), forward Carl Gervais (Queens, NY) and forward-center Terry Sumter (Baltimore, MD).

Neeley added 14 points and junior center Jeff Sullivan (Carrolton, AL) posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Despite the emotion of Senior Night, the Broncos stayed close, trailing only by four at halftime. But the Falcons started fast in the second half and the Broncos couldn’t catch up. A Sullivan layup increased the Falcons’ lead to 24 points at 81-57 with 2:27 left in the game.

Jamel Austin scored 14 points, Andy Gebru added 12 points and Zeke Mayes scored 10 points for the Broncos, who were outrebounded 45-34 and outscored in the paint 44-26.
Now the Falcons await their seeding for the CIAA Tournament, which starts February 28, 2007, at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. The Falcons entered Thursday’s game tied for the CIAA’s third-best league record.