Sunday, March 15, 2009

Racial Taunting Results in Spring Break Gunfire

Carlton K. Phipps is a 6-0 junior sprint/middle distance runner from Lynchburg, VA majoring in computer science.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- A Norfolk State University student and a track coach are behind bars after police say they responded to racial taunts with gunfire. Daytona Beach Police arrested 21-year-old Carlton Kenneth Phipps and 23-year-old Raymond Eric Brown early Sunday. Phipps is a junior at Norfolk State and a member of the MEAC champion track team. Brown, a graduate of the university, is currently a track coach. Both were on spring break vacation.

Detectives say around 3:30 a.m. officers responded to a disturbance at Sea Oats Resort in the 2500 block of South Atlantic Avenue. Witnesses told police Phipps and Brown, who are both black, were sitting in a hot tub with three black girls when a group of about 15 white spring breakers approached them using racial slurs.

Witnesses say Brown and Phipps ignored the comments for some time, then left the pool area and came back with guns. Reports say Brown told the group if they didn't leave his friends alone he would shoot one of them. Witnesses tell police the group kept saying slurs as they walked away. Brown fired 2 shots into the air and Phipps followed with 3 more. Witnesses say the group continued to yell slurs as they ran off. No one was wounded by the gun shots. Two of the girls who were with Brown and Phipps were injured as they jumped over a wall when the shots were fired.

Police say Phipps and Brown ran off and buried their guns on the beach. Investigators recovered the weapons shortly after arriving.

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Alabama State rallies to punch ticket for NCAA tourney

The Alabama State University men's basketball team answered the second-half bell like a boxer who had been stung hard in the early rounds. The top-seeded Hornets counter-punched the Jackson State Tigers with a vengeance, though, and battled their way into the NCAA Tournament as Southwestern Athletic Conference champions. ASU came from a bucket down at the half to claim the title 65-58 in front of a raucous Fair Park Arena crowd and a national television audience Saturday night.

Alabama State became the sixth regular-season champ to also take the tournament crown since 1999. The Hornets have twice before advanced to the NCAA Tournament, losing in the opening round to Michigan State in 2001 and to Duke in 2004. ASU's first-round opponent will be announced this afternoon at 5 p.m. on CBS 42. Hornets coach Lewis Jackson said the play-in game in Dayton was a possibility for his 22-9 squad. "I have no control over that," said the fourth-year head coach who went to the NCAA Tournament as an assistant to Rob Spivery in'04. "We have accomplished a lot with our record. We hope that's enough to get us straight in, but we have to do whatever they say."

ASU 7-1/265 center, Chief Kickingstallionsims will be a load for the opponent that the Hornets will face in the "play in" game in Dayton, OH on Tuesday.

After being rocked on their heels as the Tigers dominated the boards in the first half and ran to a 23-13 lead with 2:30 left, the Hornets scrambled back. ASU outscored the Tigers 7-0 in the final 1:33 of the first half that ended with JSU up 25-23 and then claimed its first lead since 13:05 of the opening period with an 11-8 run.

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Saturday, March 14, 2009

Morgan State wins MEAC men title

Point guard James "Itchy" Bolden helped scratched a 32-year itch for the Morgan State Bears. Bolden spearheaded the Bears first Mid-Eastern Athletic title on Saturday with an 83-69 victory over upstart Norfolk State at Joel Coliseum. It was the steady play of Bolden, who delivered 18 points, two assists and five rebounds, but more importantly helped break the full-court pressure of the Spartans at key moments.

MSU Coach Todd Bozeman completes the Bears rebuilding journey...three seasons...MEAC Championship... NCAA bid with possible 14 or 15 seed.

Backing Bolden was Reggie Holmes who had 20 points and six rebounds, and Rogers Barnes scored 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had two assists. Freshman Kevin Thompson came off the bench to score 15 points and grab 11 rebounds. The victory for the Bears gives them an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as they improved to 23-11 and can look forward to a possible 15th or even maybe a 14th seed in the tournament when the pairings are announced tonight.

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Prairie View wraps up second NCAA bid in three years

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Gaati Werema had 29 points and 16 rebounds to lead Prairie View A&M to a 74-49 victory over Southern in the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament championship game Saturday. The Lady Panthers (23-10) will carry a 19-game winning streak into the NCAA tournament, earning an automatic berth with their second SWAC title game victory in three years.

Werema, the league player of the year and tournament MVP, scored 11 points in a 16-0 run that turned a close game into a rout. Southern (16-13) had cut a 14-point deficit down to two by halftime but managed only one field goal in the opening 10 minutes of the second half. The Jaguars scored just 14 points after the break, making 5-of-30 shots. Southern had been the last team to beat Prairie View, winning 65-59 on Jan. 5 for the Lady Panthers only conference loss. The Lady Panthers have won two of the past three tournament titles, losing in last year’s championship game.

Candice Thomas had 18 points for Prairie View on 8-of-12 shooting, while Dominique Smith added 15 points and eight assists.

North Carolina A&T Lady Aggies wins MEAC crown

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - It started ugly and only got worse for the Hampton Lady Pirates on Sunday. Playing in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament championship at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the Lady Pirates had more turnovers than field goals, struggled to slow down top-seeded North Carolina A & T and never seriously threatened as the Lady Aggies claimed a 76-54 victory.

The win secured the MEAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the Lady Aggies. "This all started from the day we lost (in last year's MEAC title game)," A & T coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs said. Senior forward Brittanie Taylor-James agreed. "Every day, in the locker room, we saw this posterboard that said 'unfinished business.' " Taylor-James said. "We took care of business today."

Defense helped the Lady Pirates (15-16) stay in the game early. Hampton trailed 7-4 with 12 minutes left in the first half, until N.C. A&T senior guard Amber Bland, a three-time first-team all-conference player, took over. Bland, the preseason conference player of the year, hit six straight shots, including four 3-pointers, as the Lady Aggies (26-6) won for the eighth straight time and 20th time in its past 21 games.

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This time, Morgan defeats Coppin in MEAC

Bears withstand Eagles' late charge to reach MEAC tournament final, 75-67.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - When Morgan State rebuffed one last, desperate rush from Tywain McKee and Coppin State last night, the Bears were finally able to let go of their 2008 nightmare. McKee's torrid 30-point performance almost brought Coppin back from an 18-point deficit in the second half, but Morgan escaped Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum with a 75-67 victory that was as much backyard brawl as it was tournament basketball.

The Real Deal! Morgan State Coach Todd Bozeman is on the cusp of leading his second Bears team to the NCAA Tournament with the Morgan Bears projected at a 15th seed, if they win the MEAC Tournament. Bozeman led the California Golden Bears to three NCAA Tournaments in '93, '94 and '96 and made the Sweet 16 at age 29, the youngest coach ever to do so.

The win sent the No.1-seeded Bears (22-11) into tonight's 7 o'clock Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference final in search of their first NCAA Division I tournament berth. They still have to beat Norfolk State, which outlasted South Carolina State, 74-71, in last night's second semifinal. A year ago, Morgan was denied that opportunity when Coppin pulled a 62-60 upset in the MEAC final. This year the Battle of Baltimore was played out in the semifinals, but with eerie similarities to last season.

"They're crosstown rivals, and we see them a lot in the summer," Morgan's Rogers Barnes said, seated at an interview table with teammates Reggie Holmes and Jermaine "Itchy" Bolden.

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What ESPN is saying about Morgan State and Coach Bozeman...

"The (NCAA) committee doesn't have to worry about two bids out of the MEAC Saturday. But if Morgan State can beat Norfolk State in Winston-Salem, N.C., it could cause a ripple on two fronts. Former banished Cal coach Todd Bozeman would be back in the NCAAs after a 12-year absence and would complete one of the remarkable career turnaround, while the Bears, who beat Maryland by the way, might be an intriguing 15-seed instead of a 16. That would be great news for a conference constantly looking for some positive pub. "

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Friday, March 13, 2009

Southern Jaguars quarterback Lee back at work

Southern quarterback Bryant Lee went through this drill before, so he’s better equipped a year later to handle the situation. A year ago, as SU went through spring practice, Lee was limited to non-contact work as he recovered from wrist surgeries to fix a broken bone in his hand. Lee went on to be named the Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year. This time, he’s recovering from knee surgery and is, according to SU coach Pete Richardson “about 80 percent” after beginning conditioning work a few weeks ago.

“I think he’s (benefited from last year’s experience,” Richardson said. “He understands the system.” Lee, who will be a senior in the fall, threw for 2,682 yards and 20 touchdowns against only seven interceptions, while completing 61.6 percent of his passes last season. Lee has thrown for 5,579 yards in his career and chases Eric Randall (1992-95), who threw for 7,826 yards, for the school’s all-time passing mark.

All-SWAC senior QB Bryant Lee

As Southern began the first of 15 spring practices Thursday (and concluding April 18), Lee was back out on the field. “I wanted him to be in situations to go through practice, to develop chemistry with our young receivers,” Richardson said. “But we’ll keep him out of contact situations. We don’t want to put him in situations where he can take undue shots, and also we don’t want to rush it.”

Video: Southern & LSU begin spring football

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