It was a rough day for the two-seeds on Day 3 of the CIAA Basketball Tournament, finding themselves on the losing end of three of the four matchups in their respective debuts.
This includes a Virginia Union team, losing in the final seconds of what was not only the Game of the Tournament, but possibly the Game of the Year.
Here is a breakdown of every game on Day 3 of the CIAA Basketball Tournament.
Women
Claflin 56, Virginia State 42
Player of the Game: Claflin G Tyra Floyd
The Claflin Panthers play spoiler in the Virginia State Trojans’ tournament opener, cementing their spot in the semifinals with a 56-42 win.
Claflin led this game wire-to-wire, finding new, defining ways to maintain control of the contest each quarter.
The first quarter was defined by the Panthers’ work from the perimeter, hitting four of five three-point attempts in the period.
This included a hot streak by Game MVP Tyra Floyd, who hit all three of her shots from deep in the period.
In the second quarter, they put the effort into establishing their inside game, scoring 10 of their 13 points in the paint.
Claflin’s second unit was a big part of the team, maintaining the lead in the second and third quarters, combining for 17 of the team’s 25 points during that stretch.
On the verge of losing the lead, with an eight-point lead being cut down to two in the third, a 10-0 run to end the period gave the Panthers the cushion they needed to close things out.
Virginia State’s attempts to close the lead were fruitless, only managing to get the deficit down to eight before being downed in the end.
Fayetteville State 56, Virginia Union 49
Player of the Game: Fayetteville State G Talia Trotter
The two-time defending CIAA champion Fayetteville State Broncos began their quest for a three-peat, coming away with a 56-49 victory over Virginia Union.
Fayetteville State broke the losing streak for two-seeds in this year’s tournament after Virginia State’s women and Claflin’s men fell in earlier contests.
This was another wire-to-wire performance with the Broncos, taking their first double-digit lead after an 8-1 run in a five-minute stretch during the first quarter, and would hold it for much of the game.
The Lady Broncos’ energy overwhelmed the Lady Panthers all game, reflecting on the boards, getting outrebounded 33-17 through three quarters.
Though in the fourth quarter, as Fayetteville State’s offense went through a dry spell, the tide slowly began to turn in favor of Virginia Union.
The Broncos missed 12 of their 14 shot attempts in the period, allowing the Panthers to cut the deficit to as low as four points.
That was as close as it would get for VUU as Fayetteville State closed out the win with free throws.
Men
Bluefield State 70, Claflin 68
Player of the Game: Bluefield State G Warren Mouganda
The Bluefield State Big Blue denied Claflin’s men a chance to join the women in the semifinals, rallying from a late second-half deficit to take home the win.
If there were any jitters for Claflin entering this game, it was not present to the naked eye, controlling the pace of the game early, pushing the ball up the floor for easy baskets.
They scored 11 fast-break points in the opening quarter, converting on 52% of their shots in the first half compared to 32% by Bluefield State.
Despite the wide margin in shooting percentages, the Big Blue kept themselves in the game by crashing the boards, creating second-chance opportunities.
They collected eight offensive rebounds, leading to 17 second-chance points, compared to just one by Claflin in the first half.
A 13-3 run to start the second half gave Claflin its largest lead of the game with 15:42 remaining.
Bluefield State slowly but surely began to gain a rhythm offensively, getting opportunities to score in isolation and getting to the free-throw line.
However, when shots stopped falling, the offense grew stagnant, affording Claflin the chance to build a six-point lead with less than three minutes remaining.
That being said, the Panthers began having lapses with late-game execution, including a miscommunication on a timeout in the final minute that had dire consequences in determining the outcome.
The Big Blue took the lead on a go-ahead jumper by Anthony Davenport with 45 seconds left and did not relinquish it, sealing the win at the free-throw line.
Johnson C. Smith 64, Virginia Union 63
Player of the Game: Johnson C. Smith F Jared Davis
In what could be considered the Game of the Tournament thus far, Johnson C. Smith got a big shot in the final seconds to snatch a 64-63 victory over Virginia Union.
The Golden Bulls had lost two previous matchups against the Panthers in the regular season, including an 88-36 blowout loss in December.
This entire contest was a dogfight, featuring 11 lead changes and nine ties, with neither team going up by more than six points.
The game’s first 10 minutes were a seesaw affair, with both teams trading scores back and forth, until the Panthers briefly pulled away for a game-high five-point lead.
However, as the half came to a close, the Golden Bulls forward Jared Davis gave his team a spark entering the second half, hitting a layup to cut the Panthers’ lead to 31-30.
Although this did not translate initially at the beginning of the second half, with JCSU missing four of their five shots, they found ways to keep the score manageable.
It was with 6:11 remaining in the game that they began to make their push, outscoring VUU 6-1 in a minute span to take a five-point lead.
They would eventually build the lead to six as the Panthers went through an eight-minute stretch without making a shot from the field.
Seeing the game slipping away, they went on an 8-0 run, punctuated by an and-one layup by Malachi Dark to go up 58-56 with 1:30 left on the clock.
Trailing by four with 26 seconds left, Orlando Hudson drove into the lane, hitting the layup and drawing a foul, hitting the ensuing free throw.
Johnson C. Smith then played the foul game, sending Noah Richardson-Keyes to the free-throw line to give VUU a three-point lead.
After hitting the first one, he missed the second one, leading to the Golden Bulls pushing the ball up the floor to catch the defense off guard.
Passing the ball around, looking for a shot, Trey Pettigrew found Jamauri Bryant in the corner for the go-ahead three.
A last-gasp shot by Tahj Harding fell short, sending Virginia Union home with a loss in a thrilling finish.
