Virginia State Continues to Slump Dropping Sixth Straight Game

Junior center Kenny Mitchell scored a game-high 15 points with 6 rebounds for Virginia State in a 56-43 road loss to the Winston-Salem State Rams on Thursday, Jan. 5. The Trojans allowed the Rams to shoot 66% from the field and are now 1-11 overall; 0-2 in the conference after dropping their sixth straight game.

The Trojans stumbled out the gates after the Rams went on an early 13-2 run within the first three minutes of the game. Junior forward Dijon Cuffee sparked the Trojans offense with back-to-back shots from long range cutting the Rams lead to seven with 13:39 remaining in the half. Then Virginia State settled down and focused on the defensive side of the court forcing the Rams into ten turnovers in the first half.

During the final minutes of the first half, the Trojans went on their own 8-0 run to pull within 3 points of the Rams after a Kenny Mitchell layup. Virginia State trailed Winston-Salem State 32-26 at the end of the half. The Trojans shot 43-percent from the field compared to the Rams 50-percent in the first half.

In the second half, the Trojans battled and fought cutting the Rams lead to one point, but could not find a way to take the lead. Kenny Mitchell and sophomore guard Khalil Tate combined for 11 points in the second half to lead Virginia State's offense. The Trojans continued to fight behind hard defense but, the Rams pulled away with 12 minutes left in the half opening up a double-digit lead. The Trojans shot a mere 38 percent from the field and struggled to make their free-throws down the stretch.

Kenny Mitchell scored 10 points in the first half, finishing the game with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Also contributing for the Trojans was Khalil Tate, recording 8 points and 6 rebounds (4 offensive). Providing a spark off the bench was Dijon Cuffee, knocking down 3 shots from three-point land in a losing effort against the Rams. He finished with 9 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 assist.

Virginia State's next game is against the Bears of Shaw University in Raleigh, NC on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 4:00 pm. The Trojans fell to the Bears 66-51 in Ettrick, VA last season.