Box Score ETTRICK, VA – The Virginia State men's basketball to an end to a four-game losing streak in dramatic fashion as
Daryl Mackey, Jr. hit a corner three ball with under :10 to go to lift the Trojans over the Bears, 74-72. The win now improves the Trojans conference record to 5-8.
Michael Melvin was the most efficient player on the court tonight as an 8-of-10 shooting night led him to a season-high 24 points. The graduate student guard also added six boards and three assists.
Francis "BJ" Fitzgerald and
Daryl Mackey, Jr. each posted 13 points in the contest. Fitzgerald also added seven rebounds and two blocks. Mackey, Jr. grabbed four rebounds, dished out three dimes and hit 2-of-3 of his shots from beyond the arc, one of them being the go-ahead bucket that ultimately won the Trojans the game.
Terrence Hunter-Whitfield scored nine points with five rebounds and a season/team-high six steals in the contest. The margin for era in this game was small as the Trojans were able to edge the Bears in rebounds 38-37 and fouls 19-17
How It Happened
- Through the first five minutes, both squads had trouble taking the lids off the baskets as the Bears held the slight edge, 5-4, with 15:45 left in the first half.
- Through just five minutes of play, the game saw seven leads changes as Michael Melvin and Francis "BJ" Fitzgerald hit three-pointers to bring the Shaw lead to just, 16-15 with 9:55 left.
- The Bears would attempt to pull away as they got their lead up to five points. After D'Angelo Lake would draw a foul and sink both of his free throws to bring the deficit to just one, Melvin hit a jumper to take the lead, 23-22, with 6:48 left to go in the half.
- Following the trend of the game, Shaw was able to gain the lead back once again. The Bears would take the largest lead of the game at eight points with 3:11 to go. The Trojans would answer back going on their largest run of the game scoring 10 unanswered points to take the lead into the locker room, 38-37.
- Early on in the second half, Shaw got back to business going up by six. While the Trojans would play great defense, they struggled to get a bucket with the score at 47-40 with 14:53 left in the second half.
- The Bears would continue to try to put the Trojans away but VSU would not die as they kept battling to keep the game at one possession. The Trojans would finally take the lead back after Melvin was able to rattle home a three ball to put VSU up 55-54 with 10:58 left.
- Shaw found a way to bottle some momentum, as they were able to maintain the lead heading into the final media timeout with the score at, 64-58. Pressed for time, the Trojans went on a 7-0 scoring run to gain the one-point lead back, 65-64.
- The game saw the most crucial tie of them all at 71 with under a minutes left. In the last possession of the game, the ball deflected off the Bears hands and went to Fitzgerald. After Fitzgerald drove to the lane and made the defense collapse, he kicked it out to Daryl Mackey, Jr. Mackey, Jr. hit the corner three to put the Trojans up by two points with :7 left to go. The Bears drove down the court and got a decent look at the rim but inevitably missed the shot which gave the victory to the Trojans, 74-72.
Inside the Box Score
- The game saw a ridiculous 42 lead changes and 12 ties in the contest.
- VSU was able to hit 38% of their shots from beyond to arc while Shaw hit just 28%
- The Trojans hit 74% of their shots from the foul line
Up Next
The Trojans will defend their home court against ECSU on Saturday, February 12 as it will also be Community day in the Multipurpose center.
