Jerry Hollis scored 19 points to earn tournament MVP honors and help the Golden Bulls earn back-to-back CIAA Championships (Photo: JCSU)

CIAA Regular Season Standings Eastern Division 1. Virginia Union 7-1 14-4 21-5 2. Bowie St. 5-3 10-8 15-13 3. Elizabeth City 4-4 13-5 21-7 4. Virginia St. 3-5 7-11 14-18 5. St.Paul's 1-7 3-15 6-22 Western Division 1. Johnson C. Smith 8-0 12-6 22-7 2. St.Augustine 5-3 11-7 19-10 3. Shaw 4-4 8-10 12-16 4. Livingstone 2-6 6-12 14-14 5. Fayetteville St. 1-7 6-12 13-1

Johnson C. Smith University 2008-09

Joyner, Sr. Scott Dillard Hollis Little Thornhill 32 Scott Ryan 6'3'' (191) G 25 Dillard James 6'5'' (196) F 2 Hollis Jerry 6'6'' (198) F 15 Little Tavaris 6'3'' (191) G 5 Thornhill Ronald 5'10'' (178) G 11 Booker Deondric 6'1'' (186) G 21 Carter Ryan   G 44 Jackson Earl 6'6'' (198) F 20 Mobley Brian 6'4'' (193) F 23 Drummer Dante 6'6'' (198) G/F 3 Dixon Mitchell   G 10 Lewis Devonne   G 12 Otey James   G 52 Thomas Cornell 6'8'' (203) C   Cooper Michael

The Johnson C. Smith University men's basketball team seized their second consecutive Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association (CIAA) championships by defeating Virginia Union University 70-63 Saturday night at the Time Warner Cable Arena before an overflow crowd.
Johnson C. Smith (23-7 overall) completed a memorable evening for the University by becoming the first school to win the men's and women's championships in the same year since Norfolk State in 1996. The JCSU women beat Bowie State, 49-36 earlier in the evening.
All-CIAA junior guard and Charlotte, NC native, Jerry Hollis (6'6''-F-87) scored 11 of his 19 points in the first half to earn tournament MVP honors and help the Golden Bulls earn a return ticket to the NCAA Division II tournament. The Golden Bulls used a balanced scoring attack to get even for a pair of regular season defeats to Virginia Union.
All-CIAA senior guard Ryan Scott (6'3''-G-86) (Reston, VA/College of Charleston) scored 13 points and senior guard Tavaris Little (Elgin, SC/Aiken Tech) added 12 points. Freshman forward Michael Cooper (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) rounded out the top scorers for JCSU with nine points.
Gregg Thondique (6'6''-F) (Norfolk, VA/Douglas Freeman) paced Virginia Union with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Braxton Byerson (6'3''-G) (Colonial Heights, VA/Thomas Dale) contributed with 16 points for VUU. Virginia Union, which was ranked second in the latest Atlantic Regional rankings, most likely will still be invited to the NCAA tournament as well.
The biggest basket of the game was delivered by Scott. With the shot clock winding down and JCSU clinging to a 62-58 lead, Scott drained a three-pointer from the top of the key with 1:22 remaining to give the Golden Bulls the space they needed to subdue the Panthers. On Virginia Union's next two possessions, Hollis and Little blocked shots to help the CIAA crown stay in Charlotte.
After playing seven minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, Scott scored all of his points in the second half.
The Panthers refused to go away easily. Trailing by 11 points with less than 11 minutes remaining, Virginia Union sliced JCSU's advantage to four points on three occasions in the final 4:30. The last was at 62-58 following a Braxton Byerson 3-pointer from the corner with 2:39 remaining.
Johnson C. Smith shot a blistering 53.8 percent (14-for-26) in the first half. Although Virginia Union only made 39.1 percent (9-for-23), it only trailed, 34-27, at intermission. Hollis scored 11 points in the opening 20 minutes on 4-of-6 shooting. Sophomore guard Ronald Thornhill made a pair of three-pointers in the opening four minutes for his six points. Thondique paced Virginia Union with 11 points.
Hollis along with a suffocating defensive effort fueled a 16-2 Golden Bull burst during a seven-minute stretch of the first half. That helped Johnson C. Smith turn an 11-8 deficit into a 24-13 lead with 9:09 remaining. Hollis scored nine points during the scoring surge for the Golden Bulls. More impressively, was JCSU limited the normally efficient Virginia Union offense to just one basket during that stretch. The Golden Bulls did all of their damage with leading scorer Scott on the bench saddled with a pair of fouls.
The game began with a bang as the teams combined for five lead changes and three ties before the first television timeout. All-CIAA junior forward James Dillard (6'5''-F-87) (Apex, NC/East Carolina) capped off JCSU's second straight title with a two-handed dunk in the final seconds to bring the Smithites in the arena to their feet.
Courtesy of Johnson C. Smith

Tournament Final: Johnson C. Smith - Virginia Union 70-63
TournamentSemifinals:
Virginia State - Johnson C. Smith 56-63
St. Augustine's - Virginia Union 54-57

CIAA All-Tournament MVP: Jerry Hollis of JCSU

All-CIAA Team 2008-09
Hollis	Dillard	Byerson	Byerson	Thondique

All-CIAA Team
Brandon Byerson (6'1''-G) of Virginia Union University of VUU
Braxton Byerson of VUU
Ryan Scott of JCSU
Will Gill (6'0''-G) of SAC
Tayloe Taylor (6'3''-G-86) of LC
Gregg Thondique of VUU
James Dillard of JCSU
Anthony Hilliard (6'4''-G/F-86) of ECSU
Duke Crews (6'7''-F-88) of BSU
Hayward Fain (6'5''-F) of SAC
Anthony Wynn (6'5''-F) of SPC
Jerry Hollis of JCSU

CIAA All-Rookie Team
J.C. Chaney (6'8''-F/C) of Virginia St.
Greg Henry (6'4''-G) of Livingstone
Harvey Mills (5'10''-G) of Virginia St.
Ibn-Saed Rasoull (6'4''-G) of Saint Pauls
Kedrick Williams (5'8''-G) of Saint Pauls

CIAA Player of the Year: Anthony Hilliard of Elizabeth City
CIAA Defensive Player of the Year: James Dillard of Johnson C. Smith
CIAA Rookie of the Year: J.C. Chaney of Virginia St.