The final four in the CIAA Tournament are now set for the semifinal round after Thursday’s games.
Here are the results from the remaining quarterfinal games.
Women
#6 Shaw Bears 54, #3 Winston-Salem State Rams 48
The Shaw Bears kept their CIAA championship hopes alive, upending the Winston-Salem State Rams in their tournament opener.
Brittney Seymour had yet another huge outing for the Bears, finishing with 24 points on 77% shooting and 11 rebounds. She is averaging 20 points on 74% shooting and 8.5 rebounds in the tournament so far.
After ending the first quarter in a 10-all tie, Winston-Salem turned the game in their favor, outscoring Shaw 22-13 in the second quarter.
Shaw responded in a major way with a 16-4 third-quarter run to take a three-point lead into the final stanza. The Bears sealed the win at the free throw line after a back-and-fourth final quarter.
#5 Elizabeth City State Vikings 76, #4 Bowie State Bulldogs 54
The Elizabeth City State Vikings secured their spot in the semifinals in dominant fashion by knocking off the Bowie State Bulldogs.
With the loss by Bowie State, there is now just one top-four seed remaining in the women’s bracket (two-seed Lincoln (PA) Lions).
NyAsia Blango had the hot hand for the Vikings, scoring a career-high 30 points on 69% shooting from the field and connecting on four 3-pointers.
Leading 38-27 at halftime, Elizabeth City State put the game completely out of reach in the third quarter, outscoring Bowie State 20-7.
Semifinal Matchups
#2 Lincoln (PA) Lions vs. #6 Shaw Bears
#5 Elizabeth City State Vikings vs. #8 Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls
Men
#6 Lincoln (PA) Lions 76, #3 Virginia State Trojans 67
The Lincoln (PA) Lions become the only team in the semifinals in the men’s and women’s bracket after beating the Virginia State Trojans.
It was a great shooting game from deep for the Lions connecting on 9-of-12 attempts, including making all four of their attempts in the second half.
Bakir Cleveland and Korey Williams led the charge for the Lions scoring 55 of their team’s 76 points and shooting a combined 62% from the field.
With 13:07 remaining in the second half, the game was tied at 48 before Lincoln went on a 12-1 run to cruise to the semifinals.
#5 Winston-Salem State Rams 60, #4 Claflin Panthers 52
The Winston-Salem State Rams clinched a semifinal berth with a 60-52 win over the Claflin Panthers.
Four different players scored in double figures for the Rams, led by Jaylen Alston, who contributed 16 points along with 11 rebounds and four steals.
With 17:26 left in the second half, Claflin led 27-26. That would be the last time the Panthers were in front, as the Rams outscored them 34-25 the rest of the way.
Semifinal Matchups
#1 Virginia Union Panthers vs. #5 Winston-Salem State Rams
#2 Fayetteville State Broncos vs. #6 Lincoln (PA) Lions
