Men's Quarterfinals |#2 Philander Smith College Panthers 60, #7 Oakwood University Ambassadors 41

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TOUGALOO, Miss. - The 2023 Hope Credit Union GCAC Men’s Basketball Tournament started with a defensive battle that saw second seed Philander Smith push past Oakwood on Thursday afternoon. The matchup started slowly as the opponents felt each other out early but by the midpoint of the first stanza, the Panthers surged and did not look back. 

Oakwood trailed by as many as 10 at one point but hustled to close the scoring gap. Using a combination of strong defense and high-quality three-point shots, Philander Smith carried a 36-23 lead into the break. In the second half, the Panthers continued to roll. 

An uptick in scoring from the Ambassadors halfway through the stanza narrowed the point differential to 12 points but it would not be enough as Philander Smith continued to roll down the stretch. The Panthers held out for the 60-41 win. Christione Rufus led PSC with 14 points, followed by Dontrell Johnson with 11. 

Oakwood was led in scoring by Justin Edwards with nine points. Robert Booker pulled down a game-high 10 boards. 

No. 2 Philander Smith will face the quarterfinal game winner between #3 Dillard University and #6 Fisk Bulldogs on Saturday, February 25 at 2 p.m. in the semifinals of the 2023 Hope Credit Union GCAC Women’s Basketball Championship.

Between quarterfinal sessions, GCAC announced its postseason award winners.

Assistant Coach of the Year

Thomas Billups Tougaloo College

Coach of the Year

Eric Strothers, Tougaloo College

Newcomer of the Year
Devonte Craven, Rust College

Freshman of the Year

Raymond Reece, Philander Smith College

Defensive Player of the Year 

Rayonte Childs, Philander Smith College

Player of the Year

Cameron Copeland, Tougaloo College

All-Defensive Team

Rayonte Childs, Philander Smith College

Raymond Reece, Philander Smith College

Michael Ashley, Fisk University

Ty’Ohn Trimble, Dillard University 

Darryl Jones, Tougaloo College

All-GCAC Second Team

Darryl Jones, Tougaloo College

Cameron Woodall, Tougaloo College

Trajan Fielder, Tougaloo College

Aaron Johnson, Philander Smith College

Raheem Carter, Dillard University

All-GCAC First Team

Cameron Copeland, Tougaloo College

Maurice Harvey, Wiley College

Davonte Craven, Rust College

Tyon Thompson, Fisk University

Kenyon Duling, Dillard University

Fans may watch the entire 2023 Hope Credit Union GCAC Tournament live on the free HBCU League Pass+ app, available in both the Google and iOS stores. Game-by-game updates will be available on the conference’s social media accounts. 

Danielle "Dani" Wright Director of Strategic Communications Gulf Coast Athletic Conference P: (330) 554-6998 E: ccommunications@gcaconf.com    W: www.gcaconf.com