2015 Magic City Classic Mega Battle of the Bands: Alabama A&M Maroon and White vs. Alabama State Mighty Marching Hornets

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Albany State spoils Mike White’s return

ALBANY, — It would be cliché to say the Benedict Tigers gave the Albany State Rams a scare during their Halloween matchup Saturday, but they did provide a bit of thrill in the first quarter at least.

After an opening period where the lone highlight was a blocked ASU field goal attempt, the Rams got rolling in the second quarter and cruised to a 35-9 win over the Tigers at the Albany State University Coliseum.

On Senior Day, the Rams were able to give their seniors a win in their last home game and improved to 5-3 on the season and 5-1 in the SIAC, while the Tigers remain winless at 0-9.

It was a homecoming of sorts for Benedict coach Mike White who returned to Albany State for the first time since taking the Benedict job last November. White was a longtime coach at ASU.

The first quarter saw both teams struggle to move the ball on offense.

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Virginia Union goes undefeated at home for first time in 15 years

RICHMOND, Virginia -- Virginia Union University's Hakeem Holland rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns as VUU defeated Elizabeth City State University 43-31 on Saturday, October 31, in Hovey Field in Richmona, Va.

The win marked the first time the Panthers finished undefeated at home since the 2000 season. VUU finished 4-0 in Hovey Field this season.

VUU's Jerome Robinson rushed for 83 yards and another touchdown while Karl Calhoun picked up an Elizabeth City State fumble and rumbled for 50 yards for a score.



Virginia Union's Shawheem Dowdy rushed for a touchdown while completing 18 of 25 passes. Dowdy also hit Chazton McKenzie for a touchdown.

The win raised VUU's record to 7-2 overall on the season and 5-1 in CIAA play. Elizabeth City State fell to 4-4 overall and 2-4 in the CIAA.

The victory also set up a showdown with Virginia State University in the regular-season finale at 2:00 p.m. in Petersburg, Va.

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Gold Nuggets beat SUNO, gain tie for 1st in GCAC

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana came from behind in all three sets, beat SUNO 28-26, 26-24, 25-23 and moved into a first-place tie in Gulf Coast Athletic Conference volleyball Saturday.
     
The Gold Nuggets (15-7, 9-1) won their seventh in a row and avenged a five-set loss to the Lady Knights (15-8, 9-1) from Sept. 25 — Xavier's only loss to a GCAC opponent in the last five seasons. Both teams have two conference matches remaining but cannot meet again until the conference tournament next month in Little Rock, Ark.
    
 Claudia Haywood — a GCAC Preseason Co-Player of the Year and one of six Gold Nuggets honored during a senior-day ceremony — had 13 kills and two blocks. Jodi Hill had 11 kills, one block and an ace, freshman Ruby Hunt-Thompson had 10 kills, two aces and three blocks, and Taylor Reuther had nine kills and 11 digs.


  
Hill, Reuther, Darian Harris (15 digs), Franziska Pirkl (43 assists, eight digs, one block) and CeCe Williams (five kills, 10 digs) are Xavier's other seniors.
     
"We had so much energy out there," said Reuther, Xavier's career leader in kills, digs and aces. "We wanted to play for each other and not be selfish."
     
Xavier won the first set after trailing 18-16 and saving set points at 24-23 and 26-25. Reuther's kill tied the score at 26, then two attack errors gave the Gold Nuggets the set.
     
The Gold Nuggets trailed 11-6 and 15-12 in the second set but got kills from Haywood, Hill, Reuther and Hunt-Thompson in the final 10 rallies to extend their lead. Xavier trailed 18-16 in the third set before Hill produced three kills — the first to put the Nuggets ahead to stay at 19-18, the third to end the match.
     
"Our seniors did a really good job," XU coach Hannah Lawing said. "We sided out quickly and and figured out where to put the ball on the other side of the floor."
     
Shannon Jones had 10 kills and Milica Golubovic nine for SUNO, and Ana Privat had 20 digs.
     
SUNO outhit Xavier .189 to .172, outblocked the Nuggets 8-5, and both teams had 66 digs and three aces. But Xavier had a 52-41 advantage in kills.
     
Xavier will finish the regular season with conference matches Monday at Philander Smith and Nov. 9 at Dillard. SUNO will close at Talladega on Monday and Thursday at home against Dillard. The GCAC Tournament will be Nov. 13-14.



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Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Two Former PVAMU Basketball Standouts Drafted By NBA D-League

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas -- Two former Prairie View A&M men's basketball standouts in Jourdan DeMuynck and Reggis Onwukamuche were drafted by the NBA D-League on Saturday afternoon.

DeMuynck was drafted by the Iowa Energy in the fifth round and played during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 campaigns at PVAMU.    

While at PVAMU, the California native was a go-to scorer as he led the Panthers to the 2013 SWAC Tournament Finals for the first time since 1998.  DeMuynck averaged 15.7 points as a senior and earned All-SWAC Second Team honors as he also had solid performances in memorable wins over Houston and Navy.  After graduating from PVAMU, DeMuynck played overseas with Keravnos of Cyprus and MZT Skopje of Macedonia.

The Energy starts their season on Saturday, Nov. 14 as DeMuynck will have less than two weeks to get acclimated.  The Energy are an affiliate of the Memphis Grizzlies and finished last season with a 26-24 record.

Onwukamuche was drafted in the sixth round by the Bakersfield Jam. He is less than one year removed from his playing career at PVAMU as he was named the SWAC's Defensive Player of the Year while also earning a spot on the All-SWAC Second Team last season.  A native of Missouri City, Texas, Onwukamuche finished the regular season with 50 blocked shots (1.6 per game), ranked 10th in the SWAC with 5.2 rebounds and second with 2.5 offensive rebounds per game. 

Bakersfield's 2015-16 season begins on Friday, Nov. 13.  The Jam finished the 2014-15 season with a 34-16 mark and was second in the West Division.  The Jam are affiliated with the Phoenix Suns as Onwukamuche will have an opportunity to play in Texas six times this season with games in Frisco (Dallas), Cedar Park (Austin) and Hidalgo.

"I am very excited and proud for those young men," said head coach Byron Rimm II.  "They are an example of what Prairie View A&M has to offer athletically and academically as both players were exceptional students in the classroom in addition to great basketball players who helped our program reach new heights.

"Both Jourdan and Reggis have a solid future ahead of them," added Rimm.  "Their success will motivate our next group of Panthers as it shows them what it takes to reach the next level."

Both players were the only draftees from the SWAC this season and continues the trend of PVAMU men's basketball players receiving professional opportunities.  Onwukamuche's former teammate and last year's scoring leader in Montrael Scott is having a solid start to his professional career as he's the leading scorer (22.3 ppg) in the Kosovo League.  He was named EuroBasketball.com Player of the Week recently after scoring 28 points with six rebounds and three assists in a win over Vellaznimi.

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PVAMU Strong Defensive Effort Leads to Solid Offensive Play in 54-29 win over UAPB

WALLER, Texas – Prairie View A&M fell behind early but a strong defensive effort spearheaded a 40-point swing as the Panthers claimed a 54-29 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on a cloudy afternoon at Waller ISD Stadium.

After forcing the Panthers to punt on their opening drive, UAPB converted three third downs on its opening drive with the final conversion a 5-yard touchdown reception by John Hawkins for the 7-0 lead after the PAT.  The Panthers went three-and-out on their next drive and the Golden Lions struck big as Willie Young caught a 32-yard reception from Brandon Duncan on the opening play.  Relying heavily on the run, UAPB rushed the ball six consecutive times and jumped out to a 14-0 lead after Dante McDonald's 1-yard scamper and the ensuing PAT.

Prairie View A&M finally found some rhythm on offense on its next drive as Johnta' Hebert and Courtney Brown had two big plays to move the ball.  The Panthers would move to the UAPB 8 but had to settle for a field goal attempt.  On the ensuing attempt, the Panthers executed a fake which featured tight end John Allen making an acrobatic catch off a Christian Rousseau pass for PVAMU's first points.  The PAT was good as the Panthers trailed 14-7 with 11:33 left in the second stanza.

From there, the Panther defense rose to the occasion as a big sack forced a three-and-out but a costly fumble by Hebert on PVAMU's next drive led to a UAPB recovery and the ball on the PVAMU 7 after Trey Green's hustle play forced the runner out-of-bounds.  Despite the setback, the defense held on and forced UAPB into a field goal which sailed wide right.

After receiving the gift from the defense, the Panthers held on to the ball this time with a balanced attack as DeMarquo LaStrappe outjumped his defender in the corner of the end zone for big touchdown to cap off a 10-play, 79-yard drive and a 14-14 tie entering halftime after the PAT by Owen Hoolihan.

The defense set the tone to open the second half as they held UAPB to a three-and-out and the offense responded as KhaDarel Hodge took over with catches of 27, 9 and 34 yards to set up a Green 1-yard touchdown run and the team's first lead (21-14) of the game after the PAT.  DeVohn Reed sacked Duncan on third down to force another three-and-out and the Panthers continued to click on offense as Green hit three consecutive passes of 14, 10 and 13 yards to open the drive.  Courtney Brown added a pair of big runs to help move the ball into the red zone as Green capped off the drive with a 5-yard pass to Hebert for a 27-14 lead with 5:05 left in the third quarter.

The Panther defense smothered UAPB as they suffered another three-and-out and the offense kept on churning as Green rushed for a 25-yard touchdown and a 34-14 lead as the PAT was blocked.  On the next drive after another three-and-out, Nick Brewer blocked a UAPB punt which was recovered by Fred Anderson.  Three plays later, Green found Hodge for a 10-yard touchdown reception and a 40-14 advantage.  On the very next drive, redshirt freshman Cederic Porter capped the game off as his first career interception was returned for a 60-yard touchdown and a 47-14 lead.

After another punt by UAPB, the offense scored for the final time as De'Auntre Smiley rushed in from 4 yards out to cap off its 40-point swing as UAPB added a pair of late scores in the fourth quarter.

Green threw for 261 yards on 21-of-28 passing with three touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns as the offense finished with 473 total yards.  Hodge caught six passes for 104 yards and a touchdown while Green and Brown led the Panthers with 46 rushing yards apiece.  Marquice O'Leary broke up two passes and finished with a team-high eight tackles followed by six each from Arthur Lockett and Jalan Coleman.

The Panthers are back on the road next week as they'll travel to Lorman, Miss.to face Alcorn State at 2 p.m.

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Nuggets open with road victory, stifling defense

BABSON PARK, Florida  —  All-star senior guard Whitney Gathright scored 21 points Saturday, and NAIA No. 21 Xavier University of Louisiana opened its women's basketball season with a 47-42 victory at Webber International.
     
The Gold Nuggets allowed their fewest points ever in an opener on the road. They allowed 65.3 points per game on the road last season.

"Whitney Gathright was outstanding," said 17th-year coach Bo Browder. "Our defense started to take control late in the first half, and in the second half our defensive rotations got so much better."


     
Gathright, All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and third-team All-Louisiana each of the past two seasons, reached 20 points for the ninth time and increased her career point total to 945. Another XU senior, Donyeah Mayfield, scored 10 points.
     
Deslyn Applewhaite and Jurnee Pettigrew scored eight points apiece for Webber International (0-1), an NAIA Division II member which was 22-7 last season.
     
In its first game under the new four-period format for NAIA and NCAA women's games, Xavier led 13-11 after the first quarter, 30-23 at halftime and 39-27 through three quarters. The Gold Nuggets extended their lead to 45-31 with about five minutes remaining, and the Warriors came no closer than five points thereafter.
     
The Gold Nuggets will stay on the road and play another NAIA D2 member, Warner, at 7 p.m. EST Monday in Lake Wales, Fla. Xavier will play its home opener — the Nuggets' only home appearance before Nov. 21 — at 6 p.m. next Saturday against LeMoyne-Owen of NCAA Division II.

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Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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