The opening round has concluded in the opening round which means the field is beginning to dwindle, and the drama is about to intensify in Baltimore.
Here is a recap of everything that went down on Day Two of the CIAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Women
Game 1: Bluefield State 59, Livingstone 56; Game MVP: Bluefield State F Gabrielle Thomas
The Bluefield State Big Blue started the day, advancing to the quarterfinals following a 59-56 win over the Livingstone Blue Bears.
Alexyss Newman led the way for Bluefield State, scoring 20 points and connecting on three three-pointers. She also recorded four rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Gabrielle Thomas returned with the game’s top honor, compiling eight points and 13 rebounds.
CIAA Rookie of the Year Nielle Reaves contributed 20 points for the Blue Bears, connecting on 8-of-11 shot attempts, including 4-of-5 three-pointers.
Livingstone’s struggles to take care of the ball played a crucial role in its loss in this game. The Blue Bears committed 26 turnovers, leading to 25 points for the Big Blue.
This peaked in the fourth quarter, in which Livingstone turned it over eight times, including three times in the final two minutes.
Game 2: St. Augustine’s 64, Lincoln (PA) 52; Game MVP: St. Augustine’s F Taniyah Greene
The St. Augustine’s Falcons pulled out a less-than-spectacular 64-52 win over the Lincoln Lions to move on to the next round.
This is the first time St. Augustine’s has won a game in the CIAA tournament since 2014.
Falcons forward Taniyah Greene finished with a game-high 19 points, followed by Janiya Reed, who had 12 points, seven rebounds, and three steals.
Jaleesa Lanier paced the Lions, posting 12 points, five rebounds, and seven steals.
Lincoln got off to a rough start, missing 17 of their first 18 shot attempts from the field and ending the first quarter down 12-2.
The Lions, however, kept themselves in the game, frustrating the Falcons with their aggressive defense and briefly trimming the deficit to five points. St. Augustine’s responded by ending the half on a 15-5 run, taking a 30-15 lead into halftime.
A brief fourth-quarter run by the Lions, in which they trail by as little as seven points, was not enough to offset the Falcons as they responded with a three to keep a double-digit lead for good.
Game 3: Shaw 65, Virginia Union 64 OT; Game MVP: Shaw G Camila Barreno
In the best game of the day, the Shaw Bears outlast the Virginia Union Pathers, taking a 65-64 overtime win to the quarterfinals.
Zaniyyah-Ross Barnes led Shaw with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Camilla Barreno and Raneem Elbarky each came off the bench to score 15 points, adding eight rebounds.
Nevaeh Reaves was Virginia Union’s high scorer with 17 points, connecting on four three-pointers. Kiara Shepherd had a double-double of 13 points and ten rebounds.
Despite a slow start by Virginia Union, shooting just 3-of-16 from the field, Shaw was unable to get out to a significant lead, only ending the first quarter up by two points.
After trading the lead back-and-forth for most of the second quarter, the Panthers used a 16-7 run to catapult to a 29-27 halftime lead.
Shaw responded with a run, outscoring Virginia Union 12-2 over eight minutes to take its largest lead of the game to that point at 39-33.
Once again, the Panthers responded by scoring on back-to-back possessions to bring their deficit down to two.
With 21 seconds remaining in regulation, Virginia Union made two free throws to take a 58-54 lead. On the ensuing possession, Shaw hit a three-pointer to make it a one-point game with 13 seconds left.
They then fouled, sending the Panthers to the line, where they split two free throws. After getting a deflection forcing a side out with four seconds left, VUU could not stop the Bears a second time as they got a layup off the inbound pass to tie the game, sending it to overtime.
After trading clutch buckets in the extra period, Shaw’s Barreno had the last word, hitting the go-ahead bucket to win it for the Bears.
Game 4: Johnson C. Smith 65, Winston-Salem State 59; Game MVP: Ashlei Kirven
In the final women’s game of the day, the Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls punched their ticket to the quarterfinals, defeating the Winston-Salem State Rams 65-59.
Johnson C. Smith’s Ashlei Kirven was the star of the day, posting 19 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks, shooting a perfect 8-of-8 from the field.
Queen Ruffin came off the bench to score 14 points, while Kelis Carmon made her presence felt defensively with seven rebounds and four blocks.
This game was neck and neck throughout the first half, with neither team holding a lead of more than five points.
Despite shooting a significantly better percentage in the second half than in the first half, Winston-Salem struggled to keep pace with Johnson C. Smith as the Golden Bulls built a double-digit lead.
This peaked in the fourth quarter when Johnson C. Smith took a 50-38 lead as the fourth quarter began.
Winston-Salem State fought valiantly but could not get any closer than within seven points as fouls down the stretch stunted the Rams’ comeback bid.
Men
Game 1: Bowie State 69, Livingstone 66; Game MVP: Bowie State G Warren Magounda
In the first two men’s games on the docket, the Bowie State Bulldogs came away victorious, defeating the Livingstone Blue Bears 69-66.
Warren Mouganda led the Bulldogs with 15 points, followed by Kevon Corley, who had 13 points. Joel Webb finished with a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double.
Teon Tiller captained the Blue Bears, amassing 14 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Khyree Temple completed the game with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Omarion Broderick put up a double-double of 11 and 12 rebounds.
After a lull period where both teams struggled to score, Bowie State began to take over the game, getting hot from three-point range.
Despite doing good work on the boards, out-rebounding the Bulldogs 10-5 on the offensive glass, the shot was not falling for the Blue Bears.
They made 23% of their shots compared to 40% by the Bulldogs, leading to a 12-point halftime deficit.
The second half began as more of the same for Bowie State, continuing to knock down threes, increasing its lead to 17 points in the opening minutes.
However, Livingstone would not go away, slowly clawing back into the game powered by a 21-5 run to make it a one-point game.
Ultimately, the Blue Bears could not gain the lead as the Bulldogs kept them at bay for the win.
Game 2: Elizabeth City State 70, Shaw 67; Game MVP: Elizabeth City State F Reggie Raynor
Closing out the day was the Elizabeth City State Vikings pulling off the 70-67 upset win over the Shaw Bears.
Elizabeth City State’s Reggie Raynor led all scorers with 21 points, shooting 9 of 13 from the field and adding six rebounds.
Shayne Saigo was Shaw’s top performer, scoring 14 points and connecting on all eight free throws. Dreveon Scott contributed 11 points and five rebounds.
This first half evolved into a game of runs that began with Elizabeth City State going on a 7-0, culminating at the 13:15 mark of the first half, taking a 15-8 lead.
Shaw responded with an 11-0 run in a nearly six-minute span, immediately followed by an 8-0 run from Elizabeth City State.
Trailing 25-20 with 2:23 remaining in the first half, Shaw scored eight unanswered points to take the lead at halftime.
Entering the second half, Shaw continued to build on its 8-0 run to end the first half, scoring the first six points of the quarter to take a game-high nine-point lead.
With 10:46 left in the game, Shaw held a 46-39 lead. That would be the last time they would have the advantage as ECSU outscored the Bears 15-4, taking the lead and would not relinquish it.
Shaw did not go down without a fight, though, as they had a chance to send the game to overtime with a three at the buzzer, but it was off the mark.