NORFOLK, Virginia -- The opponents may change but their production does not. And after leading the Norfolk State men's basketball team to another solid win on Friday night at Joseph Echols Hall, juniors Jeff Short and RaShid Gaston have become arguably the top duo in the MEAC.
For the third time in five games, both players reached the 20-point plateau in the same contest, and the most recent result was an 81-62 victory over Northern Arizona in NSU's last home game in nearly a month.
Short tallied 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting, while Gaston added 20 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Spartan offense. NSU outscored Northern Arizona by 18 in the first half while shooting better than 57 percent overall for the game.
The Lumberjacks were coming off an upset of mid-major Saint Mary's on Tuesday on the road, but the Spartans used an efficient offense and some tight defense to move to 8-5 on the season.
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Saturday, December 20, 2014
Bethune-Cookman gets permission to talk to Southern coach Dawson Odums
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- For the second time in a year, another university is looking at Southern football coach Dawson Odums as a candidate for its vacant head coaching position.
Last season, it was North Carolina Central that interviewed Odums, who turned down his alma mater before signing a new contract with the Jaguars.
On Friday, Bethune-Cookman received permission from Southern Athletic Director William Broussard to talk to Odums, who has taken the Jaguars to consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference championship games, winning the 2013 title and losing to Alcorn State 38-24 two weeks ago.
Bethune-Cookman seems to have a greater sense of urgency about filling the opening than Odums does. Wildcats Athletic Director Lynn Thompson told the Daytona Beach News-Journal on Wednesday that he planned to fill the position quickly.
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Message to FAMU President: Pick a Winner for Rattler Football
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In a few days, Florida A&M University President Dr. Elmira Mangum will make one of the most important decisions of her career in the selection of the Rattlers new head football coach. This won't be nuclear science, but it’s an important decision. We all have our opinions on who from the pool of eight (now six) should be selected.
I have one thought on this matter -- pick a winner!
Like you, I have two choices. But I am ready to financially support any choice that Dr. Mangum makes. At the end of the day, that's all that really matters and that's what true Rattlers do.
Like you, I have two choices. But I am ready to financially support any choice that Dr. Mangum makes. At the end of the day, that's all that really matters and that's what true Rattlers do.
What we have observed so far is no one cares about Florida A&M's bureaucratic selection process, established to save Kellen Winslow's job. Winslow is gone. So are two winners -- Willie Simmons (PVAMU) and Latrell Scott (Norfolk State).
Simmons had the North Florida connections and Scott is just a darn good coach that will make NSU a FCS powerhouse.
Simmons had the North Florida connections and Scott is just a darn good coach that will make NSU a FCS powerhouse.
Playing it political correct is not always the best policy. We just watched the most successful, young head football coach since Jake Gaither (Brian Jenkins) leave a tiny, Florida private school for Alabama State. Are you kidding me? Really!
So the short list now consists of: Charlie Weatherbie, EJ Junior, Tony Samuels, Corey Fuller, Joker Phillips and Mark Orlando. No disrespect intended for all of these highly qualified candidates, but two stand above the crowd in my view.
Dr. Mangum, if you have time to read this blog, please consider my choices in this order: (1) Mark Orlando (2) Joe "Joker" Phillips, Jr.
Mark Orlando
- Can successfully recruit Tallahassee, the Big Bend and Florida talent
- Strong offensive coordinator/QB Coach
- Won FCS National Championship at FAMU in 1978, on Rudy Hubbard's staff
- Salary won't bust athletic department budget for FY 2015
- Understands the challenges of running a successful HBCU football program
- Ready to step up to HC position
- Will sign Cory Fuller on as defensive coordinator
- Will build an exciting championship program and satisfy the Rattlers stakeholders
Joker Phillips
- Strong Florida recruiter with connections
- Marque name in HBCU community
- Last salary at Florida was $260,000 as WR and recruiting coordinator
- Phillips signed on as Kentucky's HC for $11M over 5 years. Need an opportunity to prove his failure at Kentucky was a fluke
- FAMU is perfect for what Phillips needs right now -- a marque brand to re-build his coaching career.
Just pick a winner, Dr. Mangum. Go with your instincts! No, your motherly instincts that didn't want to fire Earl Holmes during homecoming week.
(beepbeep)
From the Mailbag 12/20/14:
carlishamckissic@ymail.com says...
Here are some items, I feel, which were left out for Joker Phillips.
-Although Wikipedia has his first name listed as "Joseph", it's just "Joe".
-Randall Cobb (enough said there)
-He has been on the following teams' coaching staff: Kentucky, Notre Dame, Minnesota, South Carolina and Florida.
-He is ranked by ESPN as one of the top football recruiters
Thank you in advance for considering my cousin as one of your top picks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hope to one day wear FAMU colors!
Sent from my iPhone
Gold Rush erupt in overtime to win 92-82 at No. 5 Carey
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| JOSH FREEMAN GUARD, 5'-10"/160 JUNIOR CHICAGO, ILLINOIS RICHARDS HIGH SCHOOL/KENNEDY-KING CC |
The Gold Rush (11-4), ranked 22nd, ended the 29-game home winning streak of the Crusaders (8-2), ranked fifth, and defeated a top-10 opponent on the road for the first time in nearly seven years.
Wright scored six points during a 10-0 run fueled by five William Carey turnovers in the first 2:42 of overtime. The Crusaders never came closer than six points thereafter.
Xavier scored an NAIA Division I-record 24 points in overtime after LaSheddrick Edmondson's putback with two seconds remaining in regulation tied the score at 68 for William Carey.
Texas Lutheran held the previous NAIA DI record for points in an overtime period, 22 against Concordia (Texas) in 1995.
"We fought through a lot of challenging situations," XU coach Dannton Jackson said. "We defended well, made free throws in overtime and came out with a big win."
Xavier had not beaten a top-10 team on the road since a 75-72 overtime decision against NAIA No. 3 LSU-Shreveport on Jan. 23, 2008.
Sydney Coleman had 16 points and seven rebounds for the Gold Rush. Jarvis Thibodeaux had 14 points -- he made 10-of-13 free throws -- and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds. Anthony Goode scored 12, and Wesley Pluviose-Philip matched his season high with 11 points.
Deoine Weeks scored 17 points, Leo Garrett 16 and Donta Pittman 12 for William Carey. Those three combined for all 11 of the Crusaders' 3-pointers.
Xavier shot 50 percent from the floor for the second consecutive game and limited the Crusaders to 41.5 percent. Outrebounded by two in a 69-59 home loss to William Carey on Dec. 1, the Gold Rush held a 45-36 advantage this time. Reserve guard Josh Freeman, who entered the game with 10 rebounds in 10 games, grabbed a career-best seven.
"It was a team victory with a lot of guys contributing," Jackson said.
Xavier trailed 12-7 through the first 5 1/2 minutes but rallied to take a 39-33 halftime lead. There were five ties and 10 lead changes in the second half before the Crusaders forced overtime with four consecutive points to erase Xavier's 68-64 lead in the final 1:37.
It was the second straight season that Wright starred in a victory against William Carey. He scored six of his career-high 26 points in overtime in a 90-80 home decision on Dec. 3, 2013.
"This win was about toughness, about survival," Jackson said. "It was like two heavyweight fighters going after it. You get smacked in the mouth, you get knocked down, but you get up."
Goode opened overtime with a 2-pointer, then Xavier pulled away when the Crusaders committed turnovers on each of their first four possessions.
"Our guys did a great job in overtime taking away William Carey's dribble penetration," Jackson said. "We got our hands on the basketball, got some points in transition and seized momentum early."
It was the third consecutive victory for Xavier after losing 3-of-4, including two straight home defeats. Xavier is 4-1 on the road this season and 2-0 in overtime.
"We've been through a lot the last few weeks," Jackson said. "This was a great win before Christmas against a tough opponent."
It was William Carey's first home blemish since a 63-58 loss to Loyola on Feb. 23, 2012, and the Crusaders' 11th loss overall in their last 72 games.
William Carey was the first of three consecutive NAIA top-10 opponents for the Gold Rush. Xavier will play No. 9 Concordia (Calif.) at 7 p.m. Dec. 30 at XU's Convocation Center, then open its Gulf Coast Athletic Conference schedule Jan. 5 at No. 6 Talladega.
Box score
Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
Friday, December 19, 2014
Sixers small forward Robert Covington (TSU) playing well
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania -- When Robert Covington signed with the Philadelphia 76ers as a free agent a month ago, he was excited about his chances of playing with the Sixers. Covington also thought about two of his friends from Philly who played basketball with him at Tennessee State. He played with Kenny Moore (University City) and Jay Harris (Paul Robeson) at TSU.
“They were really good players in college,” Covington said. “Actually, Jay is still there. This is his senior year right now. It was great playing with both of them. Jay always came in with a spark. Kenny was a great player. We grew a lot as teammates.”
Covington hails from Chicago where he was a big star at Proviso West High School. The 6-foot-9, 215-pound small forward, headed down to Nashville, Tenn., to play basketball at one of country’s legendary Black colleges. Covington played some great basketball for the Tigers. He received second team All Ohio Valley Conference honors. He was a Boxtorow HBCU All-American. He finished his playing days with 1,749 points and 876 rebounds.
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Rod Reed agrees to extension at TSU
NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Tennessee State football coach Rod Reed is staying put.Bethune-Cookman athletics director Lynn Thompson received permission on Wednesday from TSU athletics director Teresa Phillips to speak with Reed about the Wildcats coaching vacancy.
Reed was on the road recruiting at the time and returned to campus Friday.
Before he had an opportunity to meet with Thompson, Reed met with Phillips and said he agreed on an extension in principal to his current contract.
Reed signed a five-year deal in April that extended his contract until 2018.
He declined to say how long the extension is for or if he received a raise.
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Bernard and Worsham lead JSU past Southern Miss, 66-46
JACKSON, Mississippi -- Kaven Bernard and Raeford Worsham combined to score 39 points for the Jackson State men’s basketball team, as the Tigers defeated the Southern Miss Golden Eagles 66-46 Thursday night at the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center.Bernard led all scorers with 21 points on 7-12 shooting to go along with his six rebounds. Worsham played an all around solid game as he added 18 points on 6-12 shooting. He also had six rebounds and six steals.
“We have been on the road for six weeks,” said JSU head coach Wayne Brent. “I was just so happy for our kids. People get down on them and wonder what’s wrong with them, but the thing that’s wrong is we have been on the road for so long and people don’t understand how hard it is to win on the road. So to come out here tonight and bring that same energy and same effort and get a win will help us build confidence. It will go a long way.”
A swarming defense was the name of the game for JSU as the Tigers held the Golden Eagles to 37.1 percent shooting (13-35) and 27.3 percent shooting from beyond three-point range.
“I thought we did a good job in contesting every shot and just playing with energy,” said Brent.
JSU converted its defensive efforts into 23 points. JSU shot 45.8 percent from the field (22-48), 30 percent from three-point range (6-20) and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (16-24). The Tigers also held the advantage, 36-1, in bench scoring.
Matt Bingaya led USM with a 20 point and 10 rebound effort.
The Tigers never trailed and eventually built their lead to 24 points early in the second half.
Worsham scored the first eight points of the game for the Tigers as JSU opened the game with a 10-2 run and never looked back. USM cut JSU’s lead to 10-6 by the 14:44 mark in the first half, but never got closer any closer as the Tigers went on an 11-0 run over the next over the next two minutes. The Tigers led 38-16 at halftime.
USM opened the second half with a 6-2 run to cut JSU’s lead to 40-22 by the 17:08 mark. JSU again followed the Golden Eagle run with one of its own, scoring the seven of the last 11 points of the game.
Jackson State will have a quick turnaround as the Tigers travel to New Orleans, La. to face Tulane in non-conference action Friday, Dec. 19. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
STAT LINE OF THE NIGHT
In only his third game of the season and his JSU home debut Raeford Worsham scored 18 points, pulled down six rebounds and had a game high six steals.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT
Bernard and Worsham accounted for all 11 JSU points during JSU’s first half run.
OTHER KEY PLAYERS
Janarius Middleton came off the bench to score eight points on 3-5 shooting. He made the last field goal of the game for the Tigers on a layup at the 1:43 mark in the second half. Middleton also led the team with three blocked shots.
Dontaveon Robinson and Yettra Specks each added seven points. Specks finished with a game high four assists.
Treshawn Bolden pulled down six rebounds in 13 minutes of action.
Box ScoreCOURTESY JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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