Virginia Union rips Elizabeth City State to advance to CIAA finals again

Virginia Union rips Elizabeth City State to advance to CIAA finals again

March 3, 2006
 
CHARLOTTE – Virginia Union is headed to the championship game once again.
The Panthers earned a trip to the CIAA Tournament finals with an easy 95-54 win Friday over Elizabeth City State at Bobcats Arena. It was the Panthers’ second-largest victory and the Vikings’ worse loss of the season.

The Panthers await the Bowie State-Johnson C. Smith winner Saturday at 6:30 p.m. while the Vikings end their season at 13-15 overall. The Panthers, Eastern Division champions, have won a CIAA-best 16 titles including the last two crowns.

Elizabeth City State, fresh off a surprise victory over Saint Augustine’s College Thursday, were the underdogs again in the semifinals. But there would be no upset this time as Union, the defending NCAA Division II champ, put the Vikings away early. Shooting 57.6 percent, the Panthers built a 43-24 halftime lead. The Vikings, seeded third in the Eastern Division, never threatened in the second half as the Panthers, shooting 60 percent, never let up.

Duan Crockett paced the Panthers (24-2 overall) with a game-high 20 points. Brad Byerson added 14 points, Darius Hargrove scored 13 points and Chris Greene contributed 12 points. For the game, the Panthers shot 58.8 percent and won the rebounding battle 44-27. They also outscored the Vikings in the paint 64-24, mainly on transition layups off steals.

Maurice Wilkerson led the Vikings with 12 points and Ben Bridges added 10. The cold-shooting Vikings shot 35.8 percent from the floor for the game.
The Vikings also committed 21 turnovers including 16 Union steals that led to 25 Panther points. Maurice Manning had a team-high five steals to go along with seven assists and Hargrove, the CIAA player of the year, added three steals for the Panthers.

Crockett and Byerson both scored 12 points and Greene added eight points for the Panthers in the decisive first half. Wilkerson scored eight points for the Vikings, who shot 42.3 percent in the first half but committed 11 turnovers. Ten of those turnovers were Panthers’ steals. The Panthers also outrebounded the Vikings 20-10.