FOR LIFE
Tournament Pairings
Women's Bracket
Men's Bracket
58 thAnnual CIAA Basketball Tournament
Golden Bulls Advance
FEBRUARY 27, 2003, Raleigh, NC---Johnson C. Smith University
(20-7) seeded third in the West, outlasted the eastern division’s
sixth seed Elizabeth City State University (9-19) to advance to the second
round of the 2003 CIAA Basketball Tournament.
The combination of good Viking defense and sluggish Golden Bulls offensive
led to ECSU taking a 6-0 lead two minutes into the game. Johnson C. Smith
had 15 first half turnovers, and the Vikings had seven steals, which led
to the ECSU converting on 19 points off turnovers. JCSU turned it around,
led by the shooting of All-CIAA player Vernon Benjamin, who’s lay
up put the Golden Bulls ahead 26-23 with 7:50 remaining in the half. Elizabeth
City struggled, going three for eight (37.5 percent) from the line. ECSU
head coach Shawn Walker said, “We didn’t hit our free throws,
and if we made those shots, it’s a different game.” The two
teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half, and ECSU went ahead
43-42 at halftime.
Johnathan Harris had a productive half scoring 16 points, and All-CIAA
player Tyrone Smith had nine. Benjamin had a team high 14 first half points
for the Golden Bulls.
The score remained close in second, with the Golden Bulls leading for
the majority of the half. “We made some defensive adjustments; cut
off the middle of the court for the guard penetration and focused on Harris,”
said JCSU head coach Stephen Joyner. Smith nailed a long jumper from the
deep to tie the game 62-62, at the 10:36 mark. Vikings couldn’t
get over the scoring hump, and with little over six minutes remaining
in the game, senior guard Wayne Hinton hit a three-pointer giving the
Golden Bulls a commanding nine point lead (74-65).
“Wayne (Hinton) was big with his three-point shooting, says Joyner.
“He took some gutsy shots.”
Benjamin had a game-high 30, and All-CIAA player Marco Spears chipped
in with 16 points and four blocks. Despite a broken middle finger on his
shooting hand, Jonathan Harris led the Vikings with 24 points, and Smith
added 15. Gregory Moustapha was the lone inside presence for ECSU with
16 points and five rebounds.
JCSU will meet the No. 2 seed Bowie State University Thursday at 7:00
p.m.