Conference Tournament time in HBCU basketball is often where stars are born. Despite leading the CIAA in scoring during the 2023-2024 season and being named to the All-Conference team, Jordan Hines and Bluefield State came into the CIAA Tournament with low expectations from everyone outside of their own locker room.
Bluefield State University, playing in their first-ever CIAA Tournament, won a battle of bottom seeds by only two points, 50-48 over Saint Augustine’s in the opening game of the tourney. Then faced the defending CIAA Tournament champion Winston-Salem State Rams in a 10 am Wednesday morning tip-off.
By lunchtime, the 8-win Bulldogs had upset the tournament applecart by beating WSSU 67-66 in overtime and officially putting Bluefield State and its star player on the CIAA map.
| Statistics | 1 | 2 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
“Every time I step out on the court I feel like I’m the best player out there… which I am,” said Hines during the post-game press conference. His head coach Devin Hoehn doubled down on the statement, echoing “he is” immediately after Hines made his comment.
While this type of talk is par for the course in post-game media sessions, it’s worth noting that also on the court during that game was WSSU senior guard and newly minted 2024 CIAA player of the year Jaylen Alston.
While that statement could have been perceived as a shot at the conference player of the year, Alston went to Twitter (X) to squash any pettiness with a classy message for Jordan Hines.
The tweet read, “A player should always have confidence in his game and craft pls don’t text this out of context. Congratulations bro keep going”
It was a classy move by Alston, who dominated the scoring for WSSU with 34 points in an overtime upset that saw only one other Ram in double figures.
Bluefield State came into the 2024 CIAA Tournament as the bottom seed in the Northern Division but didn’t rely solely on their top scorer during the upset. Jordan Hines’ 16 points led the team but four other Bulldogs scored in double figures during the game.
Giving another example of the duality of conference tournament play, where sometimes a well-played team game, can catapult an already deserving individual into the spotlight.
A spotlight that will be shining extra bright when tournament first-timers Bluefield State takes on one of the most storied CIAA basketball programs in history, the Virginia Union University Panthers in the quarterfinal round on Thursday night.