We now know four of the eight teams that will be playing in the CIAA Tournament semifinal games after a second day in which one team pulled off the first major upset in the field.
Men
First Round
#6 Lincoln (PA) Lions 82, #11 Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls 50
The Lincoln (PA) Lions got their CIAA tournament run started on a high note with a dominant win over the Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls.
Bakir Cleveland led the charge for the Lions scoring 15 points and connecting on three three-pointers.
Lincoln’s 82 points are the most any team has scored in this year’s tournament so far.
Lincoln dominated Johnson C. Smith in the paint, outscoring them 44-14. They also dominated the Golden Bulls on the boards 42-26.
The turning point in the game came near the halfway point of the first half when the Lions went on a 10-0 run to go up double digits. They would hold that lead for all but 29 seconds for the remainder of the game.
#5 Winston-Salem State Rams 65, #12 St. Augustine’s Falcons 49
In the final first-round game of the 2023 CIAA tournament, the Winston-Salem State Rams started their run-off on a high note with a 65-49 win over the St. Augustine’s Falcons.
Winston-Salem State’s Jaylen Alston led all scorers with 16 points followed by Nathan Springs and Isaac Pearson who each chipped in 12 points.
It was a wire-to-wire win for Winston-Salem State who got off to a 10-2 lead in the first five minutes.
The Falcons could not make it close with the Rams’ lead surging to as much as 21 points.
Winston-Salem State will now match up with a Claflin Panthers team that swept them in their regular season series.
Quarterfinals
#1 Virginia Union Panthers 75, Elizabeth City State Vikings 64
The Virginia Union Panthers became the first team to advance to the semifinals in the men’s bracket defeating the Elizabeth City State Vikings 75-64.
Leading the way for the Panthers were Kaleaf Tate and Robert Osborne who each chipped in 26 points.
With 13:12 remaining in the first half, Tate hit a three-pointer to give the Panthers an 11-10 lead. Virginia Union would not relinquish that lead for the remainder of the game going on to coast to victory in the second half.
#2 Fayetteville State Broncos 58, #7 Shaw Bears 53
Wrapping things up on the men’s side was the two-seeded Fayetteville State Broncos who knocked out the Shaw Bears beating them 58-53.
Broncos guard Cress Worthy nearly finished with a triple-double posting 10 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists.
Trailing for much of the first half, the Broncos turned the game in their favor outscoring Shaw 20-11 to begin the second half taking an eight-point lead.
The biggest difference for the Broncos in the second half was they got hot from three-point range connecting on six including two in the final two minutes by Kaleb Coleman.
While Shaw hung around eventually taking back the lead, they were unable to make enough plays down the stretch to get over the hump.
Quarterfinals (Thursday)
#3 Virginia State Trojans vs #6 Lincoln (PA) Lions
#4 Claflin Panthers vs #5 Winston-Salem State Rams
Semifinals (Friday)
#1 Virginia Union Panthers vs Winner of Claflin/Winston-Salem State
#2 Fayetteville State Broncos vs Winner of Virginia State/Lincoln (PA)
Women
#2 Lincoln (PA) Lions 78, #7 Virginia State Trojans 57
The Lincoln Lions began their quest for a second straight CIAA conference championship in dominant fashion to defeat the Virginia State Trojans
Four different players scored in double figures for the Lions led by D’Ayzha Atkinson with 16 points. Virginia State’s Sommer Blakemore, on the other hand, led all scorers with 24 points.
The first three quarters of this game were ultra-competitive with 17 lead changes, including 11 in the third quarter.
The final lead change came with 1:27 left in the third quarter when Lions’ Alyssa Fields connected on two free throws to make the score 43-42.
Lincoln outscored Virginia State 35-15 the rest of the way.
Semifinals (Friday)
#2 Lincoln (PA) Lions vs Winner of Winston-Salem State/Shaw
#8 Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls vs Winner of Bowie State/Elizabeth City State
