The Virginia State Trojans are the kings of the CIAA, claiming the 2025 CIAA championship with a 71-64 win over Bluefield State.
It marks the Trojans’ first tournament championship since 2019.
Virginia State guard Jacob Cooper anchored the Trojans with 16 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and two steals.
Cooper was named the Tournament MVP after averaging 16.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.0 steals during the team’s three-game run.
Jared White finished with 11 points, five rebounds, and two steals. Jayson Harris and Davian Coleman controlled the glass, grabbing 12 rebounds each, including three blocks from the latter.
Terrell Williams was the Big Blue’s top performer, tallying 16 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Larry Howell put up 15 points and five rebounds, while Jordan Hinds had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Virginia St. holds off Bluefield State 71-64 to win the CIAA Tournament.
Jacob Cooper named MVP finishing with 16 pts, 8 boards and 8 assists pic.twitter.com/gTAVD4kDN4
— HBCUGO.TV (@HBCUGoTV) March 1, 2025
Virginia State’s road to a championship
Virginia State was crowned CIAA North division champions after finishing the regular season with an 18-8 overall record.
They began their road to the championship game in the quarterfinals, beating their CIAA North rival, Bowie State, 78-72.
In the semifinals, the Trojans took down the defending conference champion Lincoln (PA) in a 66-57 win.
Entering its second season as an official member of the CIAA, Bluefield State ended the regular season with a 17-10 overall record, finishing second behind Virginia State for the CIAA North division crown.
Big Blue guard Jordan Hinds was named CIAA Player of the Year after leading the conference in scoring, averaging 20.6 points per game.
The Big Blue began their tournament run in the quarterfinals on Thursday, winning 84-69 over Johnson C. Smith.
They then punched a ticket to their first-ever CIAA championship game, knocking off Fayetteville State, the CIAA South division champion, in a 71-65 win.
How the Trojans captured the CIAA
Virginia State began the game strong offensively, making its mark on the boards and shooting the ball well from deep.
Seven of the team’s first 13 points came from second-chance opportunities, and each of their first three shots from the field came from three-point range.
However, Bluefield State’s defensive effort kept the game close, forcing five Trojan turnovers in the game’s first 10 minutes.
This led to Big Blue’s biggest run of the game, taking their biggest lead of 21-14 with 11:01 remaining in the first half. The Trojans responded quickly, going on a 10-2 run to regain the lead.
From there, the Trojans continued to make their mark on the boards, with Trojans’ sophomore Davian Coleman getting in on the action.
He recorded four rebounds in the final minutes of the first half, including three offensive rebounds, leading to four of his eight points.
Congratulations to the 2025 CIAA Men’s Basketball Tournament champion @vsusports pic.twitter.com/hX5fNbUxK2
— Jarrett Hoffman (@JHSportsPlug) March 2, 2025
Coleman attributed his big performance in this game to his preparation and motivation from his coaches.
“First and foremost, I [watch] film and I go back and replay to see if I make any mistakes because I do have defensive errors throughout the season,” said Coleman. “So I do try to correct myself because I’m hard on myself. Coach [Lonnie Blow] stays on me, and I just try to do what I do best.”
Despite the Trojans’ early success on the boards and in the paint, Bluefield State found ways to keep the game close. After a buzzer-beater by Jordan Hinds, the team ended the first half trailing 36-35.
Bluefield State head coach Devin Hoehn believes his team getting away from their game plan attributed to their early deficit.
“We didn’t really get after them in the press as much as what I’d like, and if you do that, you eliminate that size,” said Coach Hoehn. “We didn’t do that enough compared to the last two days that we played. If you try to play a half-court game with Virginia State, it’s going to be a long day for you. They’re one of the biggest teams out there and they showed it. We kind of got caught playing their game a little too much today. We played ours in spurts, but we played theirs for the most part.”
One of the Big Blue’s spurts came down the stretch of the second half when they began getting shots to fall from the perimeter. This, in turn, opened up driving lanes to the basket, allowing them to take a 60-55 lead with 6:19 remaining.
With adversity starting to mount on the Trojans, they began having more success defending the paint, blocking four of their shots in the remaining minutes.
Meanwhile, the Trojans once again got the hot hand from deep, hitting two big threes to give them the separation they needed to get the win.
Virginia State now shifts its focus to the NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament, where it will make its first appearance since 2019.
Trojans head coach Lonnie Blow spoke about his team’s opportunity to compete for a national championship and what they need to work on in preparation for this moment.
“We have to get back home and take a day or so off to get ourselves back going again, and we’ll be back in the gym next week,” said Coach Blow. “We just have to work on ourselves. We have to do the little things, tighten up on our closeouts defensively, and just start communication. The selection show is a week from tomorrow, so we won’t know who we’re playing or where we’re going right now. So the things we have to do this week is work on us. We have to get us better offensively, detail stuff like screening better, cutting better, and making sure we hone in on ourselves.”
The NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament selection show will air on NCAA.com on Sunday, March 9, at 11:00 p.m. ET.
