Staff report

INSTITUTE, W. Va. — Livingstone’s men’s basketball team won its opening game on Friday with inside muscle.

The Blue Bears scored 44 points points in the paint and pulled down 54 rebounds in beating West Virginia State on the opening night of the Earl Lloyd Classic.

Lloyd was a West Virginia State All-American in the late 1940s and was the first Black player to take the court in the NBA during the 1950 season. Chuck Cooper was the first Black player drafted by the NBA, while Nat Clifton was the first to sign an NBA contract. They were on rosters in 1950, but Lloyd was the first to play in an official game when he debuted as a pro on Halloween night.

The game was played in front of 821 fans in the Walker Convocation Center.

Livingstone won despite some shooting struggles. The Blue Bears were 5-for-16 on 3-pointers, shot 39 percent from the field and missed 10 of 21 free throws, but  Livingstone got a lot of shots with all those rebounds and only nine turnovers.

Jamal Cannady led Livingstone with 18 points. Kingsley Ijeoma had 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Miguel Martinez had 20 points and 15 rebounds for West Virginia State.

 

Livingstone    45    33   — 78

WV State        38    33     — 71

Livingstone scoring — Cannady 18, Ijeoma 13, Jamison 11, Nipper 9, P. Tako 9, Baxter 8, Korouma 4, Leak 2, S. Tako 2, Collins-Johnson 2.