Virginia Union 57, Saint Augustine's 54
By ROB KNOX
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Gregg Thondique (Norfolk, VA/Douglass Freeman) proved larceny can be profitable.
The Virginia Union senior forward had a forgettable shooting performance, but when his fast fingers were needed, Thondique came through with an improbable effort that is destined to be replayed on ESPN.
With Union trailing by a point, Thondique made an incredible steal of an inbounds pass and while lying on the floor with Saint Augustine's College players trying to get the ball, he calmly fed teammate Lemoyne Williams (Mt. Holly, NJ/Gloucester Community College), who threw down an incredible dunk that shook the Time Warner Cable Arena to its core and more importantly gave Virginia Union the lead for good with 30.6 seconds remaining.
However, victory wasn't secured until the Panthers survived three wide open Saint Augustine's potential game-winning or game-tying shot attempts in the final 25 seconds. When Hayward Fain's halfcourt heave bounced off the backboard, Virginia Union had escaped with a miraculous and absolutely exhilarating, 57-54 triumph over Saint Augustine's Friday night in the second CIAA men's basketball semifinal before a large crowd at the Time Warner Cable Arena.
It will be Virginia Union's 24th appearance in the CIAA title game. The Panthers will be looking for their 19th championship and first since 2006. Virginia Union can personally thank Thondique's hustle.
Virginia Union junior guard Brandon Byerson finished with a game-high 21 points. Byerson scored 13 straight VUU points during an amazing nine-minute stretch of the second half to help the Panthers advance to Saturday's CIAA championship contest against reigning CIAA tournament champion Johnson C. Smith. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. with the winner earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II tournament.
In addition to recording his only steal of the game, Thondique finished with a double-double (10 points and 13 rebounds). Saint Augustine's placed three players in double figures with senior Will Gill (Clinton, MD/Prince George's Community College) scoring 14 points. Fain added 11 points and junior Kalvin Patterson (Rocky Mount, NC/Rocky Mount) chipped in with 10 points.
While the Falcons were shaken by Byerson's burst, they recovered behind tough defense and the determination of Gill, who scored five straight points to lift the Falcons to a 54-53 lead with less than a minute remaining. After a Virginia Union missed shot with 35.7 seconds remaining, the Falcons appeared to be in good shape until Thondique's fast fingers triggered a reversal of fortune.
It took a while, but the second CIAA men's basketball semifinal between fourth-seeded Saint Augustine's and top-seeded Virginia Union eventually heated up into a beauty of a battle.
The first half saw both teams miss a combined 41 shots. Late in the half, Virginia Union found its ignition switch. Clinging to a 20-19 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the first half, the Panthers went on an 11-2 scoring spree to open their largest advantage of the game, 31-21.
Both teams traded scoring runs. St. Augustine's answered Virginia Union's quick 8-2 start by scoring nine consecutive points behind a Chris Jordan 3-pointer, four points from Patterson and a Gill jumper. The Panthers responded with a 7-0 run to reverse a 13-10 deficit into a lead it never relinquished in the first half.
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