Virginia State (3-4) vs. St. Augustine's (2-7)

 

Date	December 9, 2021
Time	7:30 p.m.
Live Stream	Live Stream
Location	Ettrick, VA (VSU Multipurpose center)
Social Media	@VSUsports | @vsutrojans_1882

 
 
The VSU Men's basketball team prepares to put an end to a four-game losing streak to cap the first doubleheader of the season against St. Augustine's University Thursday Evening. The Trojans look to avenge the 69-66 heartbreaker to FSU at the top of the month. Francis "BJ" Fitzgerald currently leads the conference in free throw percentage knocking down 88% of his shots from the foul line while also hitting 51% of his shots from the field which ranks him fourth in the conference. 

 
Last Time Out

• After two undesirable outings, Francis "BJ" Fitzgerald was back to himself scoring a team-high 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 shooting from three-point range along with a steal.

 

• Antwan Miles amassed a team-high in rebounds (5) and assists (5) while scoring 14 points on a 50% shooting percentage.

 

• The Trojans shot 57% from beyond the arc in the first half while shooting 52% from the field in the second half.

 

• VSU got almost half their points in the paint scoring 34 of their 66 points.

 
 
Scouting the Falcons
The Falcons of St. Augustine's University are a member of the Southern division of the CIAA, which makes Thursday's matchup a non-conference game. SAU enters play losing five of their last six matchups. That being said, they won their game before last vs. Bluefield State 77-75 and only lost their last game by four points. The Falcons plan to notch their first road win of the season, as they are 0-3 in away games. Offensively, the Falcons have found consistency shooting 47% from the field and 71% from the foul line. SAU is currently second in the conference in scoring averaging 74 points per game. While they do shoot with efficiency they also lead the conference in turnovers with 137 while averaging 14.1 per contest. On the defensive end, the Falcons struggle, giving up a conference leading 81 points per game while having a -7 point margin so far this season. Opponents have outrebounded SAU 301-292 to this point but the Falcons do, however, force six steals per game. SAU is currently the home of the CIAA's leading scorer in Dhason Dyson who averages 21 points per game. Dyson shoots 53% from the field while maintaining a 40% three-point field goal percentage. Dyson had a four-game stretch where he scored 20+ points this season. Spencer Washington is fifth in the conference in rebounding averaging eight per game. Washington has accumulated three double-double's this season with his best coming last game where he scored 18 points and grabbed 12 boards in the midweek matchup against Johnson & Wales (NC). Christopher Hill leads the team in assists with 28 on the season, which sits him at seventh in the conference.
 
 
Series History
The Trojans are currently losing the series 7-8 but look to extend their current series win streak to six games. VSU won the most recent matchup 76-66 with Francis "BJ" Fitzgerald scoring 16 points with eight rebounds off the bench while Antwan Miles accounted for 14 points, six assists and three steals in the win.
 
 
A Win Would…

• Snap a four-losing streak

 

• Earn their first win in the month of December

 

• Remain undefeated at home

 

• Make the series record .500

 

• Extend the series win streak to six games