ETTRICK, Va. -- No. 6 Virginia State University yielded an 86-85 decision falling to King University on Wednesday night at Student Center Complex.
 
Three Trojans scored in double figures, headlined by a double-double from senior forward Jahmere Howze. The Cleveland, Ohio, native posted 15 points, 10 rebounds and two assists and was a perfect 1-for-1 from the free-throw line. The performance marked Howze' second career double-double.
 
Senior guard Cyonte Melvin poured in 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, while junior forward Armond Griebe added 15 points and three assists to round out VSU's double-digit scorers.
 
KU's Mike Salomon paced all scorers with 18 points on the night while also leading the Tornadoes with nine boards.
 
KEY STATS

- VSU shot 53.4 percent from the field; King shot 47.4 percent
- Virginia hit five triples (33.3 percent); King knocked down 11 threes on 37.9 percent shooting
- The Trojans were 18-for-19 at the free throw line while the Tornadoes were 21-for-31
- VSU held a 33-29 rebounding advantage; the Tornadoes had 11 turnovers to VSU's 14

KEY TROJANS

- Jahmere Howze had 15 points and 10 rebounds
- Cyonte Melvin  added 20 points and two boards
- Armond Griebe contributed 15 points and five rebounds
 
FIRST HALF

- A Jahmere Howze layup gave Virginia State a 13-3 lead five minutes in
- James Brown capped a 6-0 run to cut VSU's lead to 13-9
- Back teams went back and forth tying the game four times the fourth 36 all at the 3:56 mark
- Griebe pushed the lead to four at the 2:36 mark; adding one from the free throw line making it 40-36
- Melvin's layup gave VSU a 42-36 lead with 1:54 left in the half
- KU closed the half to get within three
- Jalen Jackson added two from the free throw line to give VSU a 44-41 edge at the half

SECOND HALF

- Howze's layup gave Virginia State a nine-point lead five minutes into the second half
- A Freeman layup and free throw got the Tornadoes within eight at the 11:06 mark
- King used a 12-4 run to pull within 72-70 following a Moore Jr. triple with eight minutes remaining.
- The Trojans had an answer for every King bucket down the stretch, but the Tornado finally evened the score at 82 following five straight points.
- Frazier evened the tally with a layup and was fouled. He converted the three-point play, giving King the one-point advantage.
- Freeman gave King a two-point advantage with a free throw and Moore Jr. iced the 86-85 victory with a pair of free throws with 6.7 seconds remaining.
 
UP NEXT

The Trojans will next travel to Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Monday, December 3rd for a non-conference matchup against Piedmont International University. Tip-off is slated 7 p.m. at Pope Activities Center.


For the most up-to-date information on VSU men's basketball please visit www.govsutrojans.com and follow Trojans Athletics on Twitter @VSUsports.