Friday, February 1, 2013

2012 B-CU Wildcat Football Season In Review .

The Bethune-Cookman Wildcat Football team endured many challenges in the 2012 season, but by pure determination they were able win the 2012 MEAC Championship.

Live Action Highlights Opening of B-CU's 2013 Baseball Practices

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida  –  Bethune-Cookman baseball opened spring practice last weekend with three consecutive days of scrimmages at historic Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

The pace was high and you could see the hustle as players demonstrated their focus in preparing to make a run at an unprecendented eighth consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) title.

“Any time you’re doing individual workouts and you get out here as a team, you kind of get that little extra push and little extra energy,” Head Coach Jason Beverlin noted after the first day. “The start of the season is right around the corner and everybody’s real excited about it, no question.”

With each player showing they had taken to heart their personal accountability for remaining focused after nearly a month off campus during the holiday break, the coaching staff was pleased to find the team ready to get started during individual workouts, and ready to hit the field with live action.

“The guys came back from break in really great shape, and right now it’s just a matter of getting as many repetitions in as possible,” Beverlin said.

That is exactly what the Wildcats have done, opening team practices on Friday, Jan. 25, and simulating game situations in both drills and scrimmages right away, following up with the same efforts on Saturday and Sunday.

“With as little time as we have, it’s something we really have to do in order to get the starting pitchers’ counts up to where they need to be by the first game,” Beverlin said.



Joined by seven newcomers, the 2013 pitching staff has not disappointed, drawing aily praise from the coaching staff after each outing.

“I think our pitchers did a really good job attacking the strike zone, being aggressive, and really pitching off their fastballs,” Beverlin said.

The pitchers aren’t making it easy on the hitters, who are looking to get up to speed in live action, with opening day (Feb. 15) on the horizon in the series at Arizona State.

“The hitters’ timing is a little off right now, but I fully expect them to get in the swing of things as we move on,” Beverlin said. “Defensively, we’re a little rusty, but at the same time, we saw some really nice plays from the guys as well.” 

The Wildcats the 2012 season 34-27, concluding the season in the NCAA [Gainesville] Regional. The Wildcats will have a busy early season with eight games in the first 10 days of the 2013 schedule,  opening with a three-game series at ASU (Feb. 15-17), followed by a pair at home versus North Florida (Feb. 19) and FIU (Feb. 20), then a three-game stint at Mercer (Feb. 22-24).

“What I saw was definitely encouraging, but we still have a lot of work to do before February 15th,” Beverlin concluded.

For all the latest information on the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, follow the official Twitter feed, @BCUathletics, or "Like Us" on Facebook at Bethune-Cookman Athletics.

2013 B-CU Baseball Schedule

COURTESY BETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

New Orleans linebacker feels at home on Jackson State's campus



Jackson, Mississippi --  Bobbie Temple, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound linebacker out of New Orleans, isn’t 100 percent sure where he’s going to sign next Wednesday, but it sounds like he’s got a good idea.

Temple has reported offers from Southern Miss, Louisiana Tech and several smaller colleges, but said he is leaning toward signing with Jackson State following a recent visit to the campus.

“I’m leaning that way,” Temple said. “It’s like I fit in more. Jackson just felt like a second home.”

Temple finished with 83 tackles and six tackles for a loss last season at O. Perry Walker High School.

He would be the latest commitment to a 2013 signing class already heavy on defensive players.

Jackson State commitments 

NamePos.Ht.Wt.Hometown/School
Austin BentonDB5-11175Tucker, Ga.
Devin FosselmanWR5-10182Woodville/Pearl River CC
Cornelius HendersonDL/OL6-3293Ducanville, Texas/Duncanville
Trae McKenzieTE/ATH6-2225Woodville/Wilkinson Co.
Jarius MooreQB/ATH5-10195Terry
Stacy NobleLB5-11235Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Central
Jose PattersonCB6-2175Durant/Southwest Mississippi CC
Hector StanbackDB6-0200Lithonia, Ga./Martin Luther King



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WSSU to open baseball season today

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina  --  The Winston-Salem State baseball team will open the season today at Armstrong Atlantic State in a matchup of regional powers.

The Rams are two-time defending CIAA champions and were picked to finish first in the conference this season by D2BaseballNews.com. The Pirates are defending champions of the Peach Belt Conference.
 

Today’s first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Savannah, Ga. The teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Saturday, starting at 11 a.m.

WSSU will play its home opener on Friday, Feb. 8, against Millersville at BB&T Ballpark.

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Covington Leads TSU in 84-65 Win Over Tennessee Tech

NASHVILLE, Tennessee  -  The Tennessee State men's basketball team snapped its three-game losing streak with an 84-65 win over Tennessee Tech on Thursday night.

The win improved the Tigers' home record to 9-0- their best start since going 10-0 during the 1992-93 season.

Five players scored in double-figures for TSU (13-10, 7-3 OVC) for the second time this season including Patrick Miller (17), Robert Covington (17), Kellen Thornton (17), M.J. Rhett (13) and Jordan Cyphers (10).

Thornton also recorded his seventh double-double of the season with a team-high 10 boards.

TSU forced a season-high 24 turnovers, which led to 32 points off of TTU (8-13, 2-7 OVC) miscues- the most by the Tigers this year.

The Tigers came out white hot to start the game, draining five of their first six shots including a jam by Rhett.

Rhett finished the contest with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, six rebounds, two blocks and a pair of steals.

PDF Final Box



At the 16:15 mark of the first half, Covington entered the game for the first time since injuring his right knee on Dec. 18. He immediately made his first shot on TSU's very next possession to make the score 10-7 in favor of the home team.

Covington's jumper ignited a 16-0 Tiger run that eventually put TSU up 24-7 with 9:45 left in the first half. Strong defense fueled the stretch as TSU forced five turnovers, recorded two blocks and held the Golden Eagles to 0-of-8 shooting.

TTU was able to trim TSU's advantage to 16 before Covington ended the half with an emphatic two-handed throw down with just seconds remaining. His flush made the score 41-23 at the half.

Covington ended the game with 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting, three rebounds and three steals.

TSU led by as many as 21 in the first period thanks to 14 TTU turnovers and by shooting 26.1 percent better from the field (48.3 to 22.2).

TTU cut the lead down to 13 during the first five minutes of the second period, but a three pointer by Covington made the score 51-35. The basket by Covington gave him his 1,579th career point, moving him past Bruce Price for tenth place on the school's all-time scoring list.

Back-to-back slam dunks by Rhett put the Tigers up by 17 with ten minutes to go in the game. The first was assisted by Deshawn Dockery while the second was set up by Miller

Miller ended up with 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting, three boards and a team-high four assists.

The teams traded blows for the better part of the half, but TSU would stifle any Tennessee Tech run with hoop of its own or a key steal. TSU finished the game with 12 swipes.

The Tigers finished the game on a 9-3 run that ended with a free throw by Thornton. The freebie made the score 84-65 where it remained until the end of the contest.

TSU had a season-high 24 fouls, but TTU also had 24. The slow-pace of play contributed to 64 combined free throw attempts.

Tennessee State will have a week off before traveling to Austin Peay on Feb. 7. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the matchup can be seen on the OVC Digital Network.

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Xavier Gold Nuggets defeat William Carey for 5th straight victory


NEW ORLEANS -- SiMon Franklin and Paige Gauthier scored 12 points apiece Thursday to lead NAIA No. 14 Xavier University of Louisiana in a 75-51 women's basketball victory against William Carey.

The victory was the fifth in a row for the Gold Nuggets (17-4), all double-digit decisions. The Lady Crusaders (7-13) have an eight-game losing streak.

Franklin was 6-of-9 from the floor -- her best shooting percentage of the season -- and led Xavier with four steals. Gauthier scored in double figures for the first time in eight games and led Xavier with seven rebounds.

Whitney Gaston-Loyd was Xavier's other double-figure scorer. She produced all 10 of her points in the first half.

Erica Moore had 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals for William Carey. Crystal Tucker had 12 points and five rebounds, and Vechatita Bonner had 10 points and six rebounds.

A Lauren Douglas 3-pointer gave William Carey an 11-4 lead at 15:56 of the first half. Then Xavier responded with an 11-0 run and never trailed again.

Franklin passed to Gaston-Loyd for a basket which tied the score at 11 at 12:07, then Gaston-Loyd scored 21 seconds later -- after a turnover -- for a 13-11 Xavier advantage, Gauthier's basket at 3:19 gave Xavier a 29-20 lead, but Bonner made consecutive 3-pointers to help the Lady Crusaders cut the Nuggets' advantage to 33-30 at halftime.

Moore made two free throws at 18:24 of the second half to reduce the margin to 36-34, then Franklin scored six points during a 9-0 run which gave Xavier a double-digit lead for the final 15:50.

Xavier did not make any of its eight 3-point attempts but attempted 36 free throws -- its most in a game in nearly two years -- and made 25. The Gold Nuggets were 20-of-27 from the line in the second half.

William Carey excelled at the line, too, making 25-of-30, but shot 31.4 percent from the floor and committed 33 turnovers. Xavier shot 37.3 percent from the floor, outrebounded the Lady Crusaders 43-33 and had a season-high-tying plus-16 turnover margin.

Xavier completed a two-game season sweep of William Carey and defeated the Lady Crusaders at Xavier for the 20th consecutive time. The Nuggets have won 52 of their last 56 home games.

Xavier's next game will start at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center against Talladega, which shares first place in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference with SUNO. Xavier is in third place in the GCAC and one game behind the leaders.


By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

Phoebus linebacker de-commit from Norfolk State for ODU offer

NORFOLK, Virginia  --  Atavius Matthews, a linebacker from Hampton's Phoebus High, has de-committed from Norfolk State to accept a football scholarship at Old Dominion.

Matthews said ODU had earlier offered to "grayshirt" him, meaning he would pay for a semester before going on scholarship. When ODU upgraded to an immediate full ride, he said he jumped.

"It's been my dream to play football at Old Dominion," said Matthews, adding that he attended six games at ODU last fall. "That's where I wanted to go all along."

Matthews, 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, said he called coaches at Norfolk State, Hampton and other MEAC that were recruiting him this week. He said he had committed to Norfolk State weeks ago.

"I told them I appreciated everything they've done but that Old Dominion is where I want to go," he said.

Former Phoebus coach Bill Dee is ODU's defensive coordinator, and five former Phantoms are on the roster.

Matthews, expected to play linebacker at ODU, has a 3.2 grade-point average and an 850 on the SAT, according to an online highlights video.

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