Baltimore, MD (February 29, 2024) -
Day 4 CIAA Tournament Recaps
Women: Claflin 71, Shaw 45
Claflin and Shaw women’s basketball faced off to commence day two of the 2024 Food Lion CIAA Tournament. An early six-point lead thanks to two early threes by Claflin’s Nya was a showing for good things to come for Claflin as they shot out the gate strong and carried a commanding 42-24 lead at halftime. The Lady Panthers continued to fire away in the second half. Their strong offensive performance combined with competitive defense led them to a 71-45 victory over the Bears.
The loss ends the 2023-24 campaign for the Bears, while the Lady Panthers survive and advance to the tournament semifinals. They will now face off with top-seeded Elizabeth City State on Friday, March 1 at 12 P.M.
Morris’ hot start for Claflin led her to being named the game MVP. She totaled 25 points en route to a double-double snagging 10 rebounds to complement her scoring. Right behind her was Ashari Lewis who's 9-10 mark from the charity stripe propelled her to a 15-point output. For the Bears, Alexis Radcliff was the lead woman, shooting 62.5% from the field which led to 13 points. Teammate Elisha Quinn also notched double-digits with 11 points of her own.
Men: Claflin 75, Virgina State 69
Jailen Williams scored a season-high 23 points to help Claflin defeat Virginia State, 75-69, in a riveting Food Lion Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) men’s basketball quarterfinal contest at CFG Arena Thursday afternoon.
Behind Williams, who earned Food Lion MVP honors, Claflin (17-10 overall) advances to the CIAA semifinals for the first time since 2020 where it will meet Northern Division champion Lincoln University on Friday, March 1 at 2 p.m. Lincoln beat Claflin, 72-62, on December 11 in Orangeburg.
Trailing 47-33 early in the second half, Virginia State closed to within three points with under a minute remaining. The Trojans had the ball with 24 seconds remaining and trailing, 73-69 but Claflin’s Daijohn Stewart stole the ball with 15 seconds left.
Daijohn Stewart added 12 points while John Whitehead III scored nine points and collected seven rebounds for the Panthers. Also making meaningful scoring contributions for Claflin were Zion Obanla (nine points) and Damerius Wash (eight points).
Kendall Bynum led Virginia State with 19 points. In addition to making all six of his free throw attempts, Bynum was 6-of-9 from the field, which included a 3-pointer. Jonathan Norfleet finished with 11 points and four steals for Virginia State, which concluded its season with a 15-15 record.
Women: Virginia State 51, Johnson C. Smith 42
Neither team had much offense to start with JCSU holding a 5-2 lead midway through the first period. The Trojans built some separation before the end of the first quarter pulling out in front 12-8 after 10 minutes of play. Neither team could build a lead larger than three as the Trojans led 19-16 with 4:41 remaining in the first half before VSU took a 23-18 lead into the locker room.
A 20-6 third quarter spurt from the Golden Bulls put them ahead 38-29 heading into the final stanza. The game of runs continued as a 12-2 VSU run gave the Trojans a 41-40 lead with just over four minutes left. After building a five-point lead, Virginia State iced the game at the free throw line completing the double-digit comeback with a 51-42 victory to advance to the semifinals setting up a showdown with the Fayetteville State Broncos Friday evening at 6 PM.
Men: Virginia Union 61, Bluefield State 55
Virginia Union trailed 40-39 going into the under 10 timeout of the second half, but after the timeout the Panthers would take control by going on a 14-3 run to go up 53-43 with just 2:27 remaining in the game. While the Big Blue would get as close, it was too late as the final score would read 61-55 in favor of VUU. Both Tahj Harding and Jonathan King scored 15 points for the Panthers.
Virginia Union will play tomorrow March 1 against Fayetteville State at 8 pm in the semifinals of the 2024 Food Lion CIAA Tournament.