Winston-Salem and Bluefield State’s men’s teams faced off to kick off day three of the 2024 Food Lion CIAA Tournament. A hot start by Winston-Salem led them to a five-point lead at halftime but the Big Blue fought back to tie the game at 61 and force overtime. Two late buckets by BSU’s Ja’Mere Redus in the overtime period proved to be the difference, as sixth-seeded Bluefield State took down third seed Winston-Salem State, 67-66. 

The loss ends the 2023-24 campaign for the Rams, while the Big Blue advance to the next round of tournament quarterfinals. They will take on Virginia Union on Thursday, February 29 at 8:00 P.M.

Leading the way for Bluefield State was Jordan Hinds, who concluded the game with a double-double, netting 16 points and snagging 11 rebounds. Right behind him was the aforementioned Redus, whose 15 points and five assists led him to being named game MVP. For the Rams, recently-named CIAA Player of the Year Jaylen Alston shined bright as he has all season, dropping an astounding 34 points on 10-16 shooting. He complemented that with game-high 15 rebounds.

The JCSU Golden Bulls inserted their dominance early as they scored the first 15 points of the contest forcing an early VSU timeout. The Trojans responded with a 14-1 run to make the score 16-14 in favor of JCSU. The Trojans tied the game at 22-22 with just over six minutes remaining in the first half. The score remained tight the rest of the half as neither team held a lead larger than three points with the Trojans holding a 34-31 lead at the break.

Virgina State opened the second half with a quick 5-0 spurt to force a JCSU timeout as the Trojans led 39-31. The VSU lead grew to as large as 56-44 with just under 12 minutes left in regulation. A JCSU fast break layup cut the VSU lead to 58-52 with four minutes remaining. VSU connected on a late basket followed by a pair of free throws inside of a minute left to play to build a double-digit lead to cruise to the 66-56 victory.

Jared Clawson led the Trojans in scoring with 15 points followed by Jordan Northfleet with 14 points. JCSU’s Ashton Sherell led all scorers with 19 points.

Virginia State advances to play Claflin in the quarterfinals Thursday February 29. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 PM inside CFG Bank Arena.

Women: ECSU 65, SAU 60 

Elizabeth City State uses a strong third quarter to push past Saint Augustine’s 64-60 in the quarterfinals of the CIAA Tournament.

Dy’Jhanik Armfield, Food Lion MVP of the Game, led the Vikings with 16 points and six rebounds, Alanis Hill added 11 and Rashauna Grant with ten points and eight rebounds. Janiya Reed led the Falcons in scoring with 16 points. Lauren Banks (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Taniyah Greene (13 points, 13 rebounds) came away with the double-double.

Saint Augustine’s took the one-point lead into the second quarter and outscored the Vikings 16-11 in the second to take the six-point lead into halftime. The Vikings came out of the half and outscored the Falcons 23-10 in the third to take the seven-point lead into the final quarter.

The Vikings opened the fourth with seven consecutive points to extend their lead 55-41. The Falcons pulled within one after two free throws from Lauren Banks, but a free throw from Armfield and two from Hill secured the 64-60 victory for the Vikings.

Women: FSU 59, Bluefield 45

The Southern Division Champions, in the Fayetteville State Lady Broncos would begin their quest to their first championship since 2020. The Cinderella Squad in Bluefield State would see if the welcoming magic was still on their side.

The Big Blue would go toe-to-toe with the Lady Broncos taking a 4-point lead at the 5:55 mark in the opening quarter. The Lady Big Blue would shoot only 13.9% in the first half.

Anilah Bryant would go into the half with 10 points scored and shooting 50% from behind the three-point line she would have assistance from Ashara Hayes who would grab 7 rebounds for Fayetteville State.

Late in the second half, the Bluefield State Big Blue would put an attempt to rally and cut into the 11-point deficit at the end of the third quarter. Alexyss Newman for the Big Blue would finish with 19 points and 9 rebounds. The effort would come up short as the Fayetteville State Lady Broncos would advance to the tournament's Semifinals with a score of 59-45.

Anilah Bryant would finish with 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals. Bryant would take home the Food Lion MVP.

The Lady Broncos will return to action on Friday as they will face the Johnson C. Smith and Virginia State game-winner. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

Men: FSU 77, Bowie State 53

Kaleb Coleman and Tairell Fletcher combined to score 45 points to help Fayetteville State defeat Bowie State, 77-53, in a Food Lion Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) men’s basketball quarterfinal contest at CFG Arena Wednesday night.

Fayetteville State (17-12 overall) advances to the CIAA semifinals for the fifth consecutive year where it will meet the winner of Thursday’s Bluefield State-Virginia Union contest Friday, March 1 at 8 p.m.

Fletcher, who also added six rebounds, finished with a game-high 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting for the Broncos. Meanwhile, in scoring 21 points, Coleman made six 3-pointers. Coleman scored 17 points and sank five triples in the first half as the Broncos opened a 37-25 halftime advantage. Coleman earned Food Lion MVP honors following his performance.

Also scoring in double figures for Fayetteville State was Caleb Simmons, who finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.

Joel Webb and Warren Mouganda scored 10 points each to lead Bowie State, which saw its season conclude with a 12-17 record. Caleb Johnson added nine points for the Bulldogs. Webb also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.