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No. 1 Seeds Headed Home After Upsets Riddle Day 2 of CIAA Tournament

Bowie State Loses to Johnson C. Smith, 82-66

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Round two of this year’s CIAA tournament kicked off today with No. 3 North seeded Elizabeth City State University taking on No. 2 South seeded Shaw University. Shaw got out to an early lead and never looked back, blowing ECSU out by 23 points, with the final score coming to 71-48. Junior point guard from Shaw Tony Smith was the high-scoring man with 21 points on 8 for 11 shooting, 9 rebounds and 8 assists in 37 minutes of action. 

The ECSU-Shaw matchup featured four products from the D.C./Maryland area: ECSU sophomore guard Blake Price from Suitland, Md., and three players from Shaw, senior guard Dwight Bell from Washington,, senior forward David Jones from Silver Spring, Md., and junior forward Sheridan Price, also from Silver Spring.

Livingstone College 59, Virginia Union U. 58

The second game of today’s afternoon action was between No. 3 South seeded Livingstone College and No. 2 North seeded Virginia Union University. A close game throughout, the game came down to the waning seconds. After a poor inbounds play turnover, Livingstone College cashed in on a pair of free throws, which booked its place in tonight’s semi-finals action, winning 59-58.

VUU Senior guard Braxton Byerson was the scoring leader for the game with 21 points but it was LC’s junior guard who iced the game following a pair of free throws with 10.8 seconds left in regulation.

The LC-VUU matchup featured three products from the the D.C./Maryland area: two LC players in sophomore forward Nasir Austin from Seat Pleasant, Md., and senior guard Donte Durant from Washington and one VUU player, senior guard Brandon McDonald from Glenarden, Md.

Fayetteville State 66, Winston-Salem State 63

The marquee games of the night began with No. 5 North seeded Fayetteville State University taking on No. 1 South seeded Winston-Salem State University in what many predicted to be an easy win for the WSSU Rams. However, with six seconds to go in regulation, FSU Junior forward Sidney Evans set the tone for the remainder of the night, hitting a go-ahead three-pointer to knock out the favorite for the tournament, 66-63. 

FSU Broncos fans roared in excitement while WSSU supporters could be seen visibly upset. One WSSU alum tosssx his bucket of popcorn onto the floor in dismay, littering his newfound audience with expletives. 

Evans had the hot hand all night, surpassing WSSU’s senior guard McIntoche Alcius’ 15-point, 14-rebound effort. Alcius tied the game at 63, following a three-pointer with 47 seconds left on the clock. But it would be Evans’ last second prayer (Evans only a 12 percent shooter from beyond the arc) that would end the Rams’ hope of winning despite a lackluster performance.

The FSU-WSSU matchup featured only one player from the D.C./Maryland area: Fayetteville State’s dreshman guard Travis Marcus from Washington.

Johnson C. Smith 82, Bowie State 66

In the final game of the second round, No. 4 South seeded Johnson C. Smith University took on No. 1 North seeded Bowie State. There was little to be said about this game, as Bowie State fans undoubtedly spent more time in the second half giving their money to the vendors in the arena, than watching their team get blown out by local favorite J.C. Smith. The game was close for the majority of the first half, before the JCSU Golden Bulls ran away with a double-digit rout of the No. 1 Bowie State Bulldogs; 82-66 the final score. 

CIAA player of the year sophomore guard Trevin Parks finished the game with a subpar performance for the Golden Bulls, scoring 15 points. Parks watched as his teammate senior forward Earl Jackson stole the show off the bench, scoring 20 points and grabbing 7 rebounds in just 14 minutes of action. The high man for Bowie State was senior guard Eric Vann, scoring 24 points in 33 minutes.

The JCSU- BSU matchup featured 14 players from the D.C./Maryland area, two in which coming from JCSU: sophomore center Delonta Boyd from District Heights, Md., and aforementioned senior forward Earl Jackson from Temple Hills, Md.

Bowie State featured the other 12 local products: freshman guard Julian Harrell, sophomore forward Byron Westmorland and two freshman. forwards Tyrone Lawson andTrawn Rogers, all from Baltimore;fFreshman forward David Brockenberry and senior guard Eric Vann from Clinton, Md.; junior guard Darren Clark from Largo, Md.; junior guard Jay Gavin from Seat Pleasant, Md.; junior center Travis Hyman from Annapolis, Md.; sophomore guard Dominic Milburn from Silver Spring, Md.; freshman guard Julian Williams from Washington, and sophomore guard Bryan Wilson from Upper Marlboro, Md.

The semi-finals begin at 7 p.m. Friday with Johnson C. Smith University vs. Shaw University, followed by Fayetteville State University.