It’s not how you start, but how you finish, right Trojans? #3 Virginia State recovered from an underwhelming beginning and won 89-81 over #6 Notre Dame (OH) in the first round of the D2 Atlantic Regional tournament.
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VSU couldn’t get anything to fall and found themselves trailing 12-0 with 14:35 left in the first half. a 17-8 run from the Trojans closed the trail to three points, and back-to-back three-pointers took the 23-22 lead over NDC with 4:47 before the half. NDC didn’t go away, but the Trojans were hot and went into halftime with a five point lead, up 35-30.
The game tied up at 42 with just under 17 minutes left in regulation, but VSU came out of the half on fire. VSU opened up a 21-point lead and sat comfortably ahead 71-50 with 7:10 to go. In the midst of this attack the Trojans put up 15 unanswered; they did not allow NDC to put up a basket for over three minutes. NDC managed to cut the trail to six points with under a minute remaining, but free throws secured VSU’s 89-81 victory.
Brandon Holley led the Trojans in scoring with 18 points off the bench. The Trojans will keep dancing in the D2 tournament and face the winner of #2 West Liberty and #7 East Stroudsburg on Sunday, time to be announced.
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