As we inch closer to the start of the CIAA Basketball Tournament, the defending men’s champion Virginia State Trojans are starting to peak at the right time.
The Trojans took down the Bluefield State Big Blue 65-48 on Wednesday evening, extending their season-high win streak to six games.
As a result, Virginia State sweeps the season series against Bluefield State, putting itself in a tie with Virginia Union for first place in the CIAA North, sporting identical 6-1 division records.
Virginia Union currently holds the advantage over Virginia State in a tiebreaker scenario, having beaten them 65-37 in their first meeting on January 17.
Jacob Cooper filled up the stat sheet for VSU, finishing with 18 points on 53% shooting, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
William Hopkins scored 14 points, knocking down a season-high four three-pointers. Tim Uzochukwu followed with 10 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks.
Myles Pierre was the only Bluefield State player to score in double figures, tallying a game-high 22 points and hitting three three-pointers.
In what was Bluefield State’s worst shooting performance of the season, Virginia State took full advantage, never trailing and leading for 97% of the contest.
While the Big Blue would keep the game close throughout the first half, the Trojans ended on a 10-0 run to take a double-digit lead into the locker room.
The run extended into the second half, beginning on an 11-0 run to build a game-high 21-point lead in the first five minutes.
There was nothing Bluefield State could do from there, as the closest it would get the deficit down to for the remainder of the game was 11 points.
Virginia State will look to keep itself in position for the number-one seed in the Northern Division when it hosts Elizabeth City State this Saturday.
