The second Black College Invitational Championship brought together the two HBCUD D2 conferences and the CIAA’s Virginia State took the prize. VSU rallied past Bluefield State University 69-66 to win the 2026 Black College Invitational Championship. The title game featured two CIAA programs in the second annual event. It was designed to showcase top HBCU teams that did not make the NCAA Tournament.
The Black College Invitational Championship matchup came after a strong Friday for the CIAA. Virginia State advanced by defeating Edward Waters, while Bluefield State punched its ticket to the final by beating Central State. That gave the CIAA a clean sweep in its two semifinal matchups against SIAC opponents and set up an all-CIAA battle for the trophy.
Saturday’s final looked like it might belong to Bluefield State for much of the afternoon. Bluefield State led 36-28 at halftime and carried that momentum deep into the second half. The Big Blue got 20 points from Ellija Preddy, 12 from Myles Pierre and 10 each from Anthony Davenport and Kyree Smith in a balanced effort.
BCIC title game turns late in the second half
But Virginia State kept coming.
The Trojans leaned on Jacob Cooper, who delivered a game-high 29 points and went 10-for-11 from the free throw line. Jared Clawson added nine points, including key late free throws, while Davian Coleman and Amare Wimbush each chipped in nine points as Virginia State found just enough offense in the closing minutes.
Bluefield State still held a 66-59 lead with just over two minutes to play. Then the game flipped. Virginia State closed on a 10-0 run, highlighted by a fast-break layup from Tim Uzochuwku that gave the Trojans a 67-66 lead with 1:12 remaining. Clawson followed with two free throws with 30 seconds left, and Bluefield State came up empty on its final possessions.
HBCU event gives CIAA another postseason moment
For Virginia State, the BCIC championship added a strong finishing touch to a 22-10 season. For Bluefield State, the runner-up finish capped a 17-16 campaign and showed the program could compete deep into the postseason.
More broadly, the weekend was a good look for the CIAA and for HBCU basketball. The conference not only swept the SIAC in the semifinal round, but also left the second annual BCIC with the championship trophy after two familiar league rivals battled for postseason bragging rights.