Women’s results
Virginia Union 59, Claflin 55
Tatiana Jones finished the day with 14 points and six rebounds, which included a breakaway layup and two free throws in the final minute and a half, to lead Virginia Union over Claflin in a quarterfinal matchup that came down to the wire.
Trailing 54-51 with less than 2:30 left in regulation, the Panthers made clutch plays on offense while applying lockdown defense to come away victorious. They trailed by as much as five earlier in the fourth, ending the quarter on a 12-3 scoring run en route to the close win.
Jones, a 6-foot forward, scored eight of her 14 in the fourth to help the Panthers advance to the semifinal round where they will face Fayetteville State, the defending champs, on Friday at 6 p.m.
The third quarter was crucial for VUU’s momentum as they outscored Claflin, 24-17, within the frame. Nya Morris registered 19 points and five rebounds, and Ashari Lewis netted 11 points to lead Claflin.
VUU hopes to dethrone the defending conference titleholders in a showdown against Fayetteville State on Friday evening.
Bowie State 68, Livingstone 54
Destiny Ryles was the evening’s top performer with a game-high 21 points to lead Bowie to the double-digit quarterfinal win over the Blue Bears. Mia Smith and Shelby Ricks were key contributors for the Bulldogs down the stretch to help them clinch a spot in the semifinals.
Ricks was effective around the basket, finishing with 15 points and a series of crucial buckets in the second half. Smith’s double-double of 12 points and 10 boards enabled Bowie to build and sustain a comfortable lead for most of the second half.
The game was fairly tight throughout the first, with Bowie leading 15-13 at the end of the quarter. After the Blue Bears tied the score early in the second, the Bulldogs converted several defensive stops into transition layups on the other end, going on a 12-5 run that forced a Livingstone timeout.
A pull-up jumper by Destiny Ryles gave the Bulldogs their first double-digit lead, 30-20, with just under three minutes left in the second. Throughout the quarter, Livingstone hoisted up jumpers for the most part and couldn’t find the rim while Bowie’s defenders crashed the boards and advanced the ball up the court for easy baskets on the other end to extend their lead.
By the break, BSU was ahead 33-20. At that point, Ryles was pacing her team with 11 points.
The Blue Bears didn’t get to the foul line in the first half, were held to seven points in the second quarter on 3-of-14 shooting and didn’t score for the last 6:30 of the half.
Bria Griffith opened the third with a floater to break Livingstone’s seven-minute scoring drought before Smith responded with a 3-pointer at the top of the key on the other end.
The Blue Bears found some offensive rhythm on the ensuing possessions but couldn’t trim the deficit as their opponent traded baskets equally. Bowie State maintained a comfortable lead for the duration of the third as Ryles, Smith and Ricks fueled the offense.
To end the third, Ryles hit a floater from the free throw line, capping off an 11-1 scoring run. Entering the fourth, Bowie was on top, 53-33.
Livingstone didn’t string together enough offensive possessions to mount a successful comeback rally as the Bulldogs cruised to the 14-point win, clinching a spot in the semifinal match against top-ranked Virginia State scheduled for Friday at noon.
Men’s results
Bluefield State 84, Johnson C. Smith 69
Jordan Hinds recorded 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists to guide the Bluefield State to a quarterfinal win over Johnson C. Smith on Thursday afternoon.
Terrell Williams had an efficient afternoon, finishing with 18 points and five boards while Shainen Carter posted a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds to contribute to the 15-point victory.
Travon Cooper and Larry Howell poured in 11 and 12 points respectively to round off an offensively balanced performance from the Big Blue, who shot better than 50 percent from the field. They also forced 21 JCSU turnovers and outrebounded their opponent 35-28.
For the Golden Bulls, Jamauri Bryant posted 17 points and eight boards off the bench in the losing effort. Javon Anderson chipped in with 13 points as JCSU falls to 14-12 on the season.
Next, Bluefield State will square off against Fayetteville State on Friday night at 8 p.m.
Lincoln 56, Claflin 53
The defending 2024 champion Lions eked out a nail-biter to stay in the running to repeat as conference champs thanks to big nights from Peter Sorber and Ethan Garita.
Sorber recorded 15 points and 13 rebounds while Garita had 14 and six in a quarterfinal match against Claflin that was decided by the last few possessions. Lincoln had its bright moments and the Panthers had theirs, but the bottom portion of the second half was a back-and-forth affair.
Bakir Cleveland poured in 13 points for the Lions.
John Whitehead III opened the night with a triple before Cleveland led a 10-2 scoring run before an official timeout six minutes into the contest.
Gregory Spurlock snapped an early scoring drought with a left-handed transition layup near the 12-minute mark, bringing Claflin’s deficit to 10-7.
Reggie Hudson facilitated the offense for Lincoln in the early going, finding his teammates underneath and on the perimeter that helped the Lions sustain momentum for most of the first half.
Back-to-back triples from Whitehead and Jailen Williams helped Claflin reclaim the lead, 19-18, toward the six-minute mark of the first half. The Panthers caught fire from deep toward the end of the half and pushed their lead to 25-20 off a corner 3-pointer from Cristian Sanon.
Zion Obanla’s corner jump shot was matched with Peter Sorber’s layin to bring the halftime score to 29-27 in Claflin’s favor. Sorber led the Lions with six points and eight boards at intermission.
Though Claflin didn’t shoot particularly well in the first half, they showed exceptional ball security with no turnovers.
Using defensive pressure to create more scoring opportunities, Claflin was able to gradually build its lead over the course of the second half. A Claflin steal turned into a one-handed poster slam by David Onyekonwu with 14:03 to go, enlivening the Panthers’ bench.
Cleveland’s offensive production kept the Lions’ chances alive. They trailed 42-38 after the 6-foot-5 guard nailed a 3 from the left wing at the 11:37 mark.
Several possessions afterward, Sorber’s make from beyond the arc and jump hook, followed by a three-point play from Ethan Garita gave Lincoln its first lead of the second half. The series of crucial plays capped off a 17-6 run for the Lions.
An offensive board and trey ball from Sanon put the Panthers back on top, 50-49, before Sorber found Garita under the basket to make the score 51-50 near the four-minute mark. Sorber, a 6-foot-9 forward, was pivotal for the Lions late in the game – especially down low.
With a minute left in regulation, the score was 53-53 and everyone was on the edge of their seats.
A missed layup was rebound by Sorber before Lincoln Head Coach Julius Hodge called a timeout with 30.5 seconds left on the game clock.
Out of the timeout, Garita hit a jump hook in the middle of the lane with 8.7 seconds remaining. Williams took the inbound and drove into traffic, throwing up a tightly contested layup that was rebounded by Lincoln to seal to nail-biter.