Box Score PHOTO GALLERY | ETTRICK — After a stellar regular season and a run into the CIAA tournament semifinals, it was a hard lesson for Virginia State to learn last week that early-season success means little at the end when every team is gunning for the same achievement — a championship.

That lesson was provided by Virginia Union, as the Panthers waltzed past top-seeded Virginia State to claim a conference crown and an automatic bid in the NCAA Division II tournament.

The two teams met again in the first round of the Division II tournament at VSU, and the Trojans weren't going to waste a second opportunity to put away the Panthers away.

Putting all five of its starters in double figures and shooting over 50 percent from the floor, Virginia State advanced past Virginia Union with a 81-76 win, moving into the second round of the Atlantic Regional and avenging last week's loss to the Panthers.

"They've been playing extremely well for a few weeks now," Trojans coach Lonnie Blow said of the Panthers.

"When you go up against a hot team like that it's kind of tough. But the thing we try to get our guys to understand is when you have the lead, the other team is going to come for you…what you have to do is meet their aggression."

The Trojans attacked from the start, opening a 21-11 lead in the first quarter with lights-out shooting. Predictably, the Panthers came roaring back.

Todd Hughes caught fire for VUU to start runs of 11-0 and 8-0, and suddenly the Panthers led 30-26.

But the Trojans had another big run in them before halftime. Back-to-back corner 3-pointers from Waymond Wright sparked an 8-0 run to give VSU a 34-30 lead, and despite some close calls, the Trojans led thereafter.

Wright finished with 13 points for the Trojans, as did Trey Brown. Richard Granberry scored a team-high 18 points and Walter Williams (Henrico) added 15.

Cyonte Melvin, who after scoring just 2 points in the first half, helped to blow open the game with a flurry of 3-point plays and Union didn't recover. He finished with 14 points.

"We had 24 assists, so we were pretty much looking for each other. Nobody was being selfish," Melvin said.

"It was just times that I would be in the right spot and my teammates would give me a pass and set me up for a good situation. It was just up to me to put it in the rim."

When his team is sharing the ball and spreading the scoring around, Blow said his team is hard to defend. The Trojans likely will need to replicate Saturday's performance in order to advance past the winner of the Shippensburg-West Liberty game on Sunday in the second round.

And while the Trojans' story continues, the Panthers' loss ended a remarkable postseason run. At 14-14 to close the regular season, Union wasn't supposed to be in the tournament, and that notion wasn't lost on Panthers coach Jay Butler.

"I told them — this is a special group. We went through a lot. We went through a lot of adversity throughout the year," Butler said.

"They stuck with us and they fought all year. The six seniors, we're going to miss them and we've got a lot to replace.

"It starts tomorrow."