2025 CIAA Basketball Tournament: Day 2 Results

Fayetteville State 72, Bluefield State 54

• Defending champions Fayetteville State dominated their quarterfinal matchup.
• The Broncos led 18-9 after the first quarter and extended their lead with a strong 23-point third quarter.
• Fayetteville State moves on to the semifinal round.

Men's Tournament Results - Feb. 26th

Johnson C. Smith 83, Elizabeth City State 75

• In an exciting back-and-forth game, Johnson C. Smith pulled away in the second half.
• The Golden Bulls advance to face Bluefield State in the next round.

Lincoln (PA) 58, Winston-Salem State 42

• Reigning champions Lincoln (PA) used a strong start to secure the victory.
• The Lions led by as much as 13 early in the game.
• Lincoln (PA) faces Claflin in the quarterfinal round on Thursday, Feb. 27.

Virginia State 78, Bowie State 72

• Virginia State held off a late surge from Bowie State, which pulled within two points with 14 seconds remaining.  
• The Trojans knocked down 4 of 4 free throws to seal the victory.
• Bowie State's Elijah Davis led all scorers with 25 points.
• Virginia State advances to the semifinals.

Fayetteville State 69, Virginia Union 66

• In a nail-biting finish, Fayetteville State edged out Virginia Union.
• Virginia Union missed crucial free throws in the final seconds that could have tied the game.
• Fayetteville State moves on to the semifinals.

The tournament continues with semifinal matchups in the coming days, building excitement towards the championship games on Mar. 1.

CIAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT RESULTS - FEB 25th

Women's Tournament Results - Feb. 25th

The 2025 CIAA Basketball Tournament opened with intense action on Feb. 25, featuring six games across men's and women's brackets. Here's a breakdown of the results:

Bluefield State 74, Johnson C. Smith 59

• Bluefield State dominated defensively, advancing to face top-seeded Fayetteville State in the quarterfinals.
• Johnson C. Smith’s season ended with a 7-19 record.

Claflin 50, Elizabeth City State 39

• Claflin’s strong first half (33-17 lead) secured their quarterfinal matchup against Virginia Union.

Lincoln (PA) 54, Shaw 49

• The Lions upset Shaw in the only lower-seeded victory of the day, advancing to play Virginia State.

Bowie State 64, Winston-Salem State 54

• Bowie State rallied from a 23-3 deficit, fueled by Destiny Ryles’ 37 points and six steals.
• Winston-Salem State’s season concluded at 10-16.

Men's Tournament Results

Bowie State 68, Livingstone 64

• Bowie State survived a late rally by Livingstone, with Elijah Davis scoring 27 points.
• The Bulldogs advanced to face Fayetteville State in the quarterfinals.

Virginia Union 71, Shaw 45

• 4N Virginia Union dominated early, holding Shaw to one point in the first eight minutes5.
• Shaw’s season ended at 12-16.

Key Takeaways

• Bowie State emerged as a standout, with both men’s and women’s teams securing wins.
• Destiny Ryles (Bowie State) delivered the day’s top individual performance with 37 points and six steals.
• The men’s tournament saw higher seeds advance decisively, while the women’s bracket featured one upset (Lincoln over Shaw).

Quarterfinal matchups continue through March 1 at Baltimore’s CFG Bank Arena, with all games streaming on ESPN+.

The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), the nation's oldest Historically Black Athletic Conference, announces the brackets for its 2025 Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament. The single-elimination tournament will be held at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, MD on February 25 - March 1st.

Championship games will tip-off at 1:00 p.m. for the women followed by the men at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 1st. Each bracket is seeded based on Division record. If division records are tied, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head results followed by head-to-head point differential.

In the Men's field, Virginia State University solidified the top seed in the Northern Division by posting a 7-3 divisional record. Led by Head Coach Lonnie Blow Jr., the Trojans finished the regular season with a 13-3 record in CIAA action. The Trojans made it to the second day of last year's quarterfinals before being eliminated.

The No. 2 seed goes to Bluefield State. Under the guidance of head coach Devin Hoehn, the Big Blue finished regular season play with an 10-6 conference record including 6-4 in the division.

With a 3-way tie for the No. 3 seed, reigning champions Lincoln University (PA) take the third spot with a +1 point differential over Virginia Union and a head-to-head tiebreaker over Bowie State.

With the Trojans at the No. 3 seed, Virginia Union edges out Bowie State with two head-to-head regular season wins and take the No. 4 seed. Bowie State will sit at the No. 5 seed with Elizabeth City State at No. 6.

Men's Northern Division:

1) Virginia State University

2) Bluefield State University

3) Lincoln University (PA)

4) Virginia Union University

5) Bowie State University

6) Elizabeth City State University

In the Men's Southern Division, Fayetteville State takes the top spot for the 4th straight season. Claflin comes in at No. 2 for the second straight season with an 8-2 divisional record and Johnson C. Smith grabbed the third spot after concluding the season with a .500 record. After a head-to-head point differential tiebreaker, Livingstone claims the No. 4 spot over Shaw University at the No.5 spot. Winston-Salem State rounds out the Southern Division at the No. 6 spot.

Men's Southern Division:

1) Fayetteville State University

2) Claflin University

3) Johnson C. Smith University

4) Livingstone College

5) Shaw University

6) Winston-Salem State University

The first men's game of the 2025 CIAA Basketball Tournament will be Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. with Livingstone taking on Bowie State. The full bracket can be found here.

In the women's northern division, Virginia State came out on top with a near perfect 9-1 divisional record after defeating rival Virginia Union in their final regular season game.

The Panthers, however, were close behind, as they're locked into the second seed after posting an 8-2 divisional record on the season.

Bowie State rounds out the top-three of the northern division, as they finished with an above .500 record in the division at 6-4. Lincoln (PA) and Bluefield State come in next, respectively, with the Lions taking the four seed thanks to a +8 point differential over the Big Blue, who claim the five seed, while Elizabeth City State takes the six seed in the division at 1-9.

Women's Northern Division:

1) Virginia State University

2) Virginia Union University

3) Bowie State University

4) Bluefield State University

5) Lincoln University (PA)

6) Elizabeth City State University

In the southern portion of the women's division, reigning champions Fayetteville State finished where they left off, as their 9-1 record propelled them to the top spot. Livingstone, who showed much improvement from last year's fifth-seed finish, jumped up all the way to the two seed, boasting a 7-3 record in the division.

Claflin rounds out the top three as they finished with a record above .500, coming in at 6-4 in the division.

The Bears of Shaw University are in possession of the four seed at 4-6, while Johnson C. Smith and Winston-Salem State's divisional records have them as the five and six seed, respectively, with the Golden Bulls finishing ahead of the Rams thanks to a +1 point differential.

Women's Southern Division:

1) Fayetteville State University

2) Livingstone College

3) Claflin University

4) Shaw University

5) Johnson C. Smith University

6) Winston-Salem State University

The first women's game of the 2025 CIAA Basketball Tournament will be Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. with Bluefield State taking on Johnson C. Smith. The full bracket can be found here.

All 22 games will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN+ (https://plus.espn.com/) with the championship games also being shown on ESPNU.

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