ORANGEBURG, S.C. – No. 5 Virginia State University men's basketball team cruised to an 77-68 win at Claflin University tonight. The Trojans (14-3, 6-0 CIAA) extended their winning streak to ten games with the victory. With the loss Clalfin ends a two-game winning streak, now 6-10 overall and 5-6 against fellow CIAA teams.
Virginia State University junior Andrew Corum led the way for the Trojans with 17 points and nine rebounds. Jalen Jackson added 10 points and one rebound. Cyonte Melvin contributed nine points and one rebound. Jahmere Howze, Brandon Holley and Antwan Miles all finished the contest with posting eight points each respectively.
The Panthers was led by Danny Brown who contributed 18 points, three rebounds and one steal.
Virginia State used a 7-1 run to close out the first half and opened the second half with a 9-4 run in gaining separation from the Panthers. The first scoring run broke a 26-26 tie at the 2:06 mark of the first half and provided Virginia State with a 33-27 halftime lead.
The second run gave Virginia State its first double-digit lead of the game at 42-31 with 15:17 left in the contest. Over the next 10 minutes of the second half, Virginia State increased its lead to 63-48, outscoring Claflin 21-17. The Panthers did manage to outscore the Trojans 20-14 over the last 4-1/2 minutes of the game behind the shooting of Brown.
In the first half, the contest was close the first 18:36 with six ties and nine lead changes. The largest advantage during that period was four points by Virginia State on several occasions, the last being 16-12 with 9:51 to go. Virginia State maintained the momentum over the remainder of the half, owning the six point lead at intermission.
Both teams shot the ball well in the first half as Claflin was 10-of-24 (41.7%), while Virginia State faired a little better at 14-of-29 (48.3%).
Up Next
The Trojans will return home as they host the Panthers of Virginia Union University on Saturday, January 19th. Tip-off is slated for 8:00 p.m.
For the most up-to-date information on VSU men's basketball please visit www.govsutrojans.com and follow Trojans Athletics on Twitter @VSUsports.
