The Trojans made 10 of 15 shots from three-point land behind juniors Mike Bynum and Dijon Cuffee's combining for a 6 of 9 shooting, but Virginia State lost to the defending CIAA champions Shaw Bears, 95-70 in Raleigh, NC on Saturday, Jan. 7.

The Bears opened the game on a 6-0 run with the Trojans turning the ball over on three consecutive possessions. Virginia State struggled from the field offensively and defensively allowing the Bears to catch fire in their home opener. The Bears' lead grew to double-digits by the six minute mark in the first half behind the continued shooting woes of the Trojans. Shaw held Virginia State to a 29-percent shooting in the first half and went into halftime with a 44-23 lead. Freshman guard DeVonte' Williams led the Trojans in the first half with 8 points, draining two of three shots from long range. Junior forward Larry Awosanya followed Williams adding 6 points with 6 rebounds.

The Trojans improved their offensive production in the second half with hot shooting from long range. Virginia State made 7 of 8 treys from downtown boosting their shooting percentage to 64-percent. Junior forward Dijon Cuffee scored 11 points on 3 of 3 shots from behind the arc. Two other Trojans went 2 for 2 from three-point range; junior guard Mike Bynum and sophomore guard Khalil Tate. Shaw broke out to a 25 point lead with 10:29 left in the game with a Malik Alvin three-pointer. Four Bears scored in double-figures led by Alvin's 28 points. Shaw (9-2, 1-0) shot 60-percent from the field compared to 51-percent by Virginia State (1-12, 0-3).

The Trojans have now dropped their last seven games and will look to end this streak with a win on Monday, Jan. 9 against the Falcons of St. Augustine's College at 7:30 p.m. in Raleigh, NC. St. Augustine's defeated Virginia State 71-67 in Ettrick, VA last season.