Box Score
CHARLOTTE, NC – The Livingstone men's basketball team advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2010 CIAA Tournament Wednesday by defeating the Virginia State Trojans 65-51.
With the victory, the Blue Bears advanced to the quarterfinals of the CIAA Tournament for the first time since the 2003-2004 season, coach James Stinson's first season. The Blue Bears will now face St. Augustine's College on Thursday at 9 p.m.
“This was a great win for our players, but we're not satisfied,” head coach James Stinson said. “We knew that if we could click on all cylinders and get the ball to our go-to guys we could get the job done.”
Sophomore forward Greg Henry record a double-double with a career high 26 points and 12 rebounds. Senior guard Megail Cannon added 12 points and five boards and junior guard Donte Durant scored 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds.
The first half was a slow, low-scoring affair as over the first 10 minutes, the two teams combined for only 17 points and Virginia State led 10-7 with 10:32 left. Livingstone got a big boost with 9:53 left in the first half off a Greg Henry dunk and the Blue Bears trailed by only one.
Over the second 10 minutes of the first half the teams battled back and forth each taking opportunities leading the contest. The Trojans led 21-18 with 3:02 left, but Livingstone went on a 5-0 run to grab a 23-21 advantage with 1:56 to play in the opening half. With 1:14 on the clock the Trojans grabbed a two-point edge, but Henry tied the game at 25-25, which was the halftime score.
The first 10 minutes of the second half were again a back and forth battle between the Blue Bears and the Trojans. Virginia State took the early lead in the second half, but the Livingstone battled back and grabbed a 33-30 advantage with 14:08 left in the contest.
Virginia State retook a lead for the final time in the game with 12:20 left, 37-36. After trailing by one, the Blue Bears went on a 10-0 run and took a 46-37 lead with 7:34 left in the game. Livingstone opened a 12-point edge with 5:56 to play and looked primed to finish off the Trojans, but Virginia State made a run at the Blue Bears.
The Trojans went on a 6-0 run and cut the Blue Bear lead down to six with 3:56 to play, but Livingstone quickly put a stop to the Trojan run by going on a 6-0 run of their own to regain their double-digit lead. Down the stretch the Blue Bears converted their free-throw attempts to solidify the victory.
The Blue Bears shot 37.3 percent from the field Wednesday evening and 25 percent from three-point range. Virginia State shot 31.9 percent, but free throws hurt them as they hit only 60 percent of their attempts. Livingstone dominated in the paint and on second-chance points as they outscored the Trojans 38-24 and 19-10 respectively.
Livingstone now turns its attention to the St. Augustine's College Falcons whom it will face Thursday night at 9 p.m. Coach Stinson said the Blue Bears must do three things to win Thursday night: execute on offense and defense, rebound on both sides of the ball and man up and play principles in man-to-man defense.
