The Trojans were eliminated from the 2013 CIAA Tournament by St. Augustine’s University in a 60-56 loss at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, NC. Christopher Grier had a game-high 20 points with six rebounds to carry Virginia State.
St. Augustine’s dictated the tempo of the game throughout the first half as Virginia State shot a miserable 27% from the field. Kenny Mitchell led the Trojans with six points in the first half and Mike Bynum nailed a three-pointer to lead the Trojans’ offense.
Defensively, VSU forced seven Falcons’ turnovers but allowed them to shoot 36% from the field. St. Augustine’s also drained four shots from long range opening up a ten point halftime lead (31-21).
Trailing at the half for a second consecutive game in the tournament, Virginia State kept the deficit close hanging around with the Falcons. With 5:40 remaining in the game and the Falcons holding onto a 51-41 lead VSU’s Christopher Grier sparked a 14-4 run.
Christopher Grier scored eight points while James Vann and Mike Bynum added the rest as VSU tied the game at 55-55 with 30 seconds left in the game. Virginia State battled all the way back to even the score after two free-throws by James Vann. VSU’s head basketball coach, Darryl Jacobs called a 30-second timeout to set up his defense for one final stop.
St. Augustine’s missed their first attempt at the basket but grabbed the offensive rebound, then scored a basket, and was also fouled on the play. The Falcons went to the free-throw line and converted on the three-point play (58-55) with eight seconds left in the game.
The Falcons dominated the Trojans on the boards, outrebounding VSU 45-27. With 19 offensive rebounds, the Falcons were able to pull away with second chance points and eliminate Virginia State from the tournament. Virginia State fell to St. Augustine’s 60-56 in the second round of the CIAA Tournament.
Christopher Grier scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the second half alone rallying the Trojans back. Kenny Mitchell added 12 points with four rebounds in his final game as a Trojan. Six seniors played in their final game for Virginia State University including four-year starter Mike Bynum.
