CIAA Tournament: Lady Trojans, led by Taylor, pick up 65-44 win in CIAA Tournament's opening round

CHARLOTTE, NC - There will be a new CIAA Women's champion. Fayetteville State, the defending CIAA Tournament champion, was defeated 65-44 by Virginia State in the opening round of the 2011 CIAA Tournament on Monday.

The Lady Trojans (18-8), led by All-CIAA selection Rhon'Neshia Taylor's 20 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, got a measure of redemption by knocking off the Lady Broncos, who had beaten the Lady Trojans in the semifinals of the tournament a year ago. And this one wasn't close.

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Women's Basketball: Wedensday, Mar. 1st at 3pm, Virginia State vs. Shaw

WSSU wins division title

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- With little coming easy for the Winston-Salem State Rams this season, it was no surprise that clinching the CIAA's Southern Division on Saturday night was hard work.

The Rams nearly let a 17-point lead slip away before holding off Fayetteville State 74-69 in front of more than 4,000 at Capel Arena. And when it was finally over, there was plenty of celebrating, especially among the veterans on the team.

"Wow, that's really all I can say," said Coach Bobby Collins of the Rams, whose team will get a top seed in this week's CIAA Tournament in Charlotte. WSSU will have a first-round bye and won't play until Thursday's quarterfinals.

Fayetteville State rally falls short against Winston-Salem State

Fayetteville State failed in an attempt to play spoiler Saturday and springboard itself into next week's CIAA Tournament with momentum. But just barely.

The Broncos clawed their way back from a 17-point second-half deficit and had a chance to tie the score in the final seconds before falling to Winston-Salem State, 74-69, before a crowd of 4,594 at Capel Arena.

Winston-Salem State guard Andrew Jackson stripped the ball with about 15 seconds to play from FSU's Sidney Evans, who appeared to be about to launch a potential game-tying 3-point shot from near the top of the circle. The play sealed the Broncos' fate and a 13-13 regular-season finish. The Rams (19-6) clinched the CIAA Southern Division and a coveted first-round bye in the CIAA Tournament.

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WSSU to seek division title against Fayetteville State

The road to this season's CIAA Southern Division title goes through Fayetteville.

Winston-Salem State, tied for first place, can win the division title with a win today at Fayetteville State. The Rams (18-6, 6-3 Southern Division) also can lose the game and win the title if Shaw loses tonight to St. Augustine's.

Tipoff for the game between WSSU (18-6, 6-3) and Fayetteville State (13-12, 4-5) in Capel Arena is 5 p.m.

WSSU is coming off one of its most impressive wins of the season, 59-49 over Shaw at the Gaines Center. Six seniors got a win in their final home game and can add to their success with a division title and first-round bye in the CIAA Tournament.

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FSU Broncos make run at division title

FAYETTEVILLE, NC -- Some would likely say that the hard part should have come somewhere over the course of the last 23 games.

No doubt, the seemingly endless drills at practice, the pounding that comes with the travel and the pressure of the games themselves would take a toll on anyone. And with the regular season winding down, one could hardly be blamed if he wasn’t at least considering the charm of the impending calm and slowing of pace that comes with the time of year known as “the offseason.”

A college basketball season is a grind. Few would dispute that. But for all of the work and resulting success the Fayetteville State Broncos have endured and enjoyed over the last few months, none of that was the hard part. For the Broncos have played themselves into a position to challenge not for mere improvement -- they have already accomplished that – but for the chance to actually win the CIAA’s Southern Division.

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Videographer: UrbanSportsITG

WSSU races past Fayetteville State

There were no empty seats at the Gaines Center for Winston-Salem State's showdown with Fayetteville State on Saturday night.

On a night when several past WSSU greats were honored, Lamar Monger stole the show. He scored a career-high 30 points to lead the Rams to a 76-62 victory in front of 3,200. It was as full as the Gaines Center has been since the Rams were last in the CIAA, five years ago.

"We had all these Hall of Famers and our fans here watching, so we couldn't let them down," said forward McIntoche Alcius, who had eight points and five rebounds. "After watching those legends get their jerseys honored and all that (on Friday night) we kind of got excited, so we wanted to play well."

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Videographer: UrbanSportsITG

Fayetteville State women's basketball team heads for Hawaii

Eva Patterson-Heath's road to success made up a relatively short trip when she led her Fayetteville State women to a CIAA tournament title in her first season as head coach last year. This year, off to an 0-5 start, the Lady Broncos will go considerably further in search of the team's first win of the season.

Today, the team sets off for Hawaii to play in the Honolulu Hoop 'N' Surf Classic as one of 14 teams in a field comprised of NAIA and NCAA Division II and III schools.
With two games scheduled in the tournament -- the first Wednesday against BYU Hawaii and another Thursday against Hawaii Pacific -- the Broncos have a pair of chances at a W.

The trip has been in planning since...



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FSU Broncos fail to make plays in loss to Shaw Bears

RALEIGH - Fayetteville State coach Kenny Phillips leaned against a wall outside his team's locker room late Saturday and broke into a chuckle. He didn't know what else to do. The explanation behind the Broncos' 34-27 road loss to Shaw was far too simple.

"Oh, what a feeling," Phillips said. "You've got to make plays. We talk about it all the time. When opportunities are there for you to make a big play, you have to make that play." Shaw won Saturday's CIAA tussle because its top wide receiver, Julius Gregory, made two highlight reel touchdown catches in the second half.

Shaw Holds Off Determined FSU, 34-27

Raleigh, NC – Shaw built a lead in the first quarter, but could never distance itself from a determined Fayetteville State squad as they held on for a 34-27 win. The win moves Shaw to 5-2 on the season, 4-0 in the CIAA. Fayetteville State drops to 2-5, 1-3 in the CIAA.

“Any time these two teams play, you know it’s going to be a high tempo game,” said Shaw Head Coach Darrell Asberry. “Our team is playing good football, and while it took our offense a little time to click, we stuck to the game plan and it came out in our favor.”

Shaw’s Kevin Atkins threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and Raymond Williams rushed for two touchdowns, but it was Julius Gregory (right) who proved to be the offensive star for the Bears. Gregory caught both of Atkins’ TD tosses, giving him seven on the season, and 18 in his Shaw career, new Shaw records in each instance.

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Fayetteville State shocks division-leading Virginia State, 21-14

PETERSBURG, Va. - Fayetteville State shocked the CIAA North Division leader, Virginia State, 21-14, on Saturday night. It was the first road win of the season for the Broncos (2-4, 1-2). Fayetteville State built up a 21-0 lead after three quarters, then held off a rally by the Trojans.

Quarterback Robert Benjamin threw three touchdown passes for the Broncos.

Trojans fall

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ETTRICK, VA - The stage was set for more late-game heroics from the Virginia State football team. Having won last week on a last-minute 50-yard touchdown pass, they looked poised to steal another game, this time from visiting Fayetteville State. But sophomore quarterback Jarred Battle's fourth-and-goal pass fell incomplete with 27 seconds left and the Broncos held on for a 21-14 victory.

The Trojans, who came into the game sitting atop the CIAA North Division standings, struggled on both sides of the ball from the start.

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WSSU Rams whip FSU Broncos to improve to 5-0

Fayetteville, N.C. -- There’s a new sheriff in the CIAA.

That much was evident on Saturday night when Winston-Salem State had its way with Fayetteville State, the defending conference champions, by rolling to a 31-14 win at Luther “Nick” Jeralds Stadium.

With more than half of the 4,000-plus fans dressed in Rams’ red, the Rams remained unbeaten at 5-0 and 3-0 in the conference and will likely crack the top 25 Division II coaches’ poll this week. “That was the whole plan - this was a statement game,” said wide receiver Dominique Fitzgerald of the Rams, who caught a touchdown pass and threw a 28-yard touchdown pass off a wide receiver flea-flicker. “They were the defending champs and to become the champs we had to knock off No. 1.”

Winston-Salem State tops Fayetteville State, 31-14

Winston-Salem State wide receiver Dominique Fitzgerald knew Saturday night's game at Fayetteville State would be a test plus a learning experience all rolled into one. As the Rams continue transitioning back into Division II, returning to the CIAA for the first time since 2005, Fitzgerald admitted he wasn't quite sure what to make of his team's 4-0 start, eager to gauge the program's progress with a showdown against the defending conference champ.

"We really don't know what to expect from most teams because a lot of us have never played them before," Fitzgerald said. "So with everything so far, it's like we're guessing."

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Fayetteville State expects big group of WSSU fans

Fayetteville State will have a web broadcast of the game at http://www.fsubroncos.com./

Winston-Salem State football fans have a reputation for traveling well, and they’ll have the chance to uphold that tradition Saturday, when undefeated WSSU plays at Fayetteville State, the defending CIAA champion. The game, at 6 p.m. at Luther “Nick’ Jeralds Stadium, will be the Rams’ biggest since they last played in the CIAA in 2005.

Antoinette Fairley, Fayetteville State’s ticket manager, said she’s prepared and that she already has sent 100 tickets to WSSU. “And if need be, we can overnight some more to them,” she said. “We’ve been getting a lot of calls already, so we are expecting a pretty big crowd for this one.”

Fairley said that the stadium seats about 6,200, and she’s expecting a favorable forecast to drive game-day ticket sales.

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Fayetteville State fails to capitalize on early lead

Rocky Mount, N.C. - Fayetteville State was given every chance to put away Elizabeth City State during the first half of the Down East Viking Football Classic on Saturday at the Rocky Mount Sports Complex. But as time continued to tick off the clock and a partisan Elizabeth City State crowd grew restless with some poor play by the Vikings early, hope emerged.

It came in the form of a defense that didn’t let things get out of hand, and when Elizabeth City State’s special teams caught a break, momentum followed in its favor. “We had a few stumbles and falls, but we picked it back up, and that’s what we needed to do,” Elizabeth City State wide receiver Dexter Manley said after his team rallied for a 38-26 victory in the 13th edition of the Classic.

Photo Gallery: Down East Viking Football Classic tailgating

Elizabeth City state rallies for Down East Viking Classic victory

With roughly a minute remaining in the first half, Fayetteville State had already watched its 13-point lead against Elizabeth City State shrink to three.

ECSU Vikings travel for 13th Down East Classic

Packing up a football team and traveling 100 miles to play a home game might seem like a pitfall of distractions, but for the Elizabeth City State Vikings, this weekend is a familiar process.

Today’s Down East Viking Football Classic in Rocky Mount has grown into a second homecoming of sorts for ECSU. The weekend is full of parties, banquets and a football game to cap everything off. This year’s game, the 13th year of the event, pits ECSU (1-1) against fellow Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association member Fayetteville State (1-1), although this does not count as a league game. With all that surrounds the game, the Vikings are somewhat insulated from it, according to coach Waverly Tillar.

Down East Classic game features two programs on the rise

When Elizabeth City State plays host to Fayetteville State in the 13th annual Down East Viking Football Classic at 4 p.m.today at the Rocky Mount Sports Complex, the two teams will showcase more than an intrastate rivalry. Both the Vikings and the Broncos are Division II programs on the rise, especially visiting Fayetteville State, which finished last season seventh in the Super Regional 1 rankings.

“We’re coming along pretty good. We’ve been pretty consistent. We won the (CIAA) championship last year, and the past two years have been very...

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UNC-Pembroke blanks Fayetteville State 39-0 in Two Rivers Classic

PEMBROKE, N.C. - A dejected Kenny Phillips left the postgame interview, holding the stat sheet like it was contaminated. He shook his head, handed the paper to a team official and summed up his team's performance in the 2nd annual Two Rivers Classic.

"Can you throw this in the trash?" he said.

Indeed, Fayetteville State would like to forget last night's implosion as soon as possible. With an eleventh-hour change at quarterback, the Broncos' offense was lost in a 39-0 loss to UNC-Pembroke at Grace P. Johnson Stadium. In front of a UNCP record crowd of 6,429, FSU was steamrolled. The latest installment of this budding rivalry deflated from a blockbuster to a straight-to-DVD film before it even began. On Friday, the Broncos learned they'd be without star transfer quarterback Robert Benjamin.

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Fayetteville State expects offense to shine against UNCP

At the end of nearly every practice, Fayetteville State's football team engages in an intense and telling 11-on-11 drill: first-team offense versus first-team defense. And for much of the past month, it's been the offensive playmakers stealing the show.

That's left Broncos coach Kenny Phillips with two mindset choices. On his glass-half-empty days, Phillips departs practice scratching his head and wondering whether his defense is too young, too inexperienced and too mistake-prone to deliver a second consecutive CIAA championship.

But more often, Phillips' optimism takes over and he chooses to feel great excitement about the upgrades made to the offense. Richard Medlin, the Broncos' top tailback in 2009, is back and better than ever.Up front, FSU has a pair of veteran All-CIAA linemen in Dillon Kestner and Larry McDonald.



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Medlin ready to help Fayetteville State defend CIAA title‎

The bull's eye is everywhere around the Fayetteville State football program these days, so much so that if you didn't look close enough you might wonder whether the Broncos had struck up a lucrative sponsorship deal with Target. They haven't.

Instead, the flyers have been posted in the locker room, on weight benches and anywhere else players might be looking as a not-so-subtle reminder: Fayetteville State is the reigning CIAA champion and has been picked in the preseason to defend that crown.

Coach Kenny Phillips is using the targets as a motivational prop. Running back Richard Medlin has been more than willing to take the bait.

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Coaches poll puts Lincoln University last in CIAA

The Lions, having transitioned to NCAA Division II, will begin their football season Sept. 5.

Lincoln University is projected to become the new cellar dweller of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. In their first season back as full CIAA members, the Lions were picked to finish seventh in the seven-team Northern Division in the conference coaches' preseason poll. They also were picked to finish last overall in the 13-team league.

Fayetteville State was picked to win the conference championship and Southern Division title during Thursday's CIAA Media Day at Virginia State. Bowie State was selected to win the Northern title. In addition to being picked last, Lincoln didn't have a player named to the all-CIAA preseason team that was selected by the conference's coaches and sports information directors.

But . . . "We should definitely be able to compete with the majority of the teams in the conference," said Lincoln coach O.J. Abanishe, whose squad returns 19 starters - 10 defensive and nine offensive - from last season's 3-7 squad. This season has special meaning for the Lions.

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Phillips, Broncos 'up to the challenge'

As Fayetteville State coach Kenny Phillips heads to today's CIAA football media day in Petersburg, Va., he has no idea where his Broncos will be picked to finish. But as the defending conference champions, Phillips isn't shy about announcing his preference. "I hope we're picked to win it again," he said. "You always want to be picked to win it. You want everybody shooting for you."

Despite losing a horde of key playmakers who made last season's conference title run possible, thus making a bid to repeat a major challenge, Phillips insists his philosophy is pretty simple. "I'm the kind of guy where I want to be the one on top that everyone is trying to come get," he said. "I don't want to be the guy on the bottom struggling to get to the top. I've been there and done that. Trust me, it's not as much fun." A year ago at media day, Phillips had a brash message for his fellow CIAA coaches.

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Fayetteville State Broncos sign future stars

Football star makes decision to play for FSU ‎

Manteo, N.C. -- Manteo High School's C. J. Bailey accepted a full scholarship to Fayetteville State University and will play football for the school next year. “I was so excited when I got the news,” Bailey said. “I told my parents, and my mom freaked out and started kissing me and my dad was so proud.” Bailey has played football for the Redskins for four years. As a freshman, he played on the JV team. However, he has been on the varsity team for the past three years. “Football has [always] been my favorite sport,” Bailey said. “I really like scoring touchdowns and getting sacks. I really like the running back position too, I’ve played it for a long time and I get to score.”

“CJ has finished his career with 3,647 yards rushing, 40 touch downs, had a total of 366 tackles, 7 sacks, and 4 fumble recoveries. He has also been All-Conference for the past 2 years and was MVP for the past 2 years. CJ was the Four Rivers conference player of the year this year. All of these things are statistics that show he can play at that level. I think the most important thing is that he is just an all around good kid and a great leader,” head football coach Eddie Twyne said.
Bailey cites dedication and determination as two of the main reasons for how he go to where he is today. “I had to work hard and commit myself to get to the point that I am at,” Bailey said. While attending FSU, Bailey plans pursue a degree in physical education.

During the 2009 season, the 5-11/205 running back had 184 carries for 2,002 yards and 25 touchdowns--a whooping 10.88 yards per carry average. C.J. longest run was 94 yards. On defense, playing at line backer position, C.J. had 55 solo tackles, assisted on 82 others for a 137 season total. On special teams, Bailey averaged 62.8 years on five returns, and had one return of 95 yards. Too say the least, this fellow can play football! CJ lead Manteo High School in 2009 to a 12-1 season record and the second round of the Class 1-A state playoffs.

Tiffany Locklear Signs with Broncos!

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PEMBROKE, N.C. - When it came down for Purnell Swett's High School Tiffany Locklear to chose a college to continue her softball career at, she wanted to find one that felt like a family. Locklear believes she found what she was looking for when she signed a letter of intent to attend Fayetteville State. "They have a good softball program and the coach Miguel Justiniano is easy to get along with," said Locklear. "It felt not only like a softball team, but a family. It's not too far down the road so my family can come support me and watch most of my home games."

Besides the campus' proximity to her home, Locklear was looking for an opportunity to play as a freshman. "There's an opportunity to play there at shortstop," Locklear said. "The coach came to a couple of my games and has assigned me to shortstop. It's right there for me." The senior is currently hitting .424 with a double and 13 runs batted in for the Rams, who are the No. 3 seed out of the Southeastern Conference. Locklear also plays with the Dixie Diamondbacks, a traveling softball team. She hit .408 last summer and helped the team to finish first in four of the eight tournaments the team played in, as well as a third place finish in the World Fastpitch Connection A Class World Series.

Purnell Swett coach James Graves said Locklear has been a pleasure to coach because she puts the team above her personal achievements.

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Fayetteville State takes advantage of NCCU mistakes

Durham, N.C. — North Carolina Central University committed five turnovers and two special teams blunders that led to a 33-22 Fayetteville State University upset victory, ruining the Eagles home-opener in front of 8,853 fans at NCCU’s O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium. FSU (1-0) scored its first four touchdowns following NCCU mistakes, including two fumbles, a blocked punt and a snap that sailed over the punter’s head.

On the day, NCCU (0-1) fumbled six times, four of which were recovered by the visiting Broncos, and threw an interception. The host Eagles amassed 339 yards of total offense, including 284 yards passing by senior quarterback Stadford Brown, but managed only 55 rushing yards as a team. FSU only needed 257 total yards with 172 through the air and 85 on the ground. The Broncos longest scoring drive of the contest was 26 yards, with two others covering 21 and 11 yards.

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Attendance: 8, 853 @ Durham, N.C. O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium (Capacity: 10,000)

Former Delaware State coach dies of cancer

Photo: Coach Jeff Battle, husband to Joyce Battle.

Joyce Battle, the wife of Associate Head Coach Jeff Battle of the Wake Forest University men's basketball program, died yesterday of breast cancer at age 44.

The cancer was first diagnosed more than eight years ago, before Jeff Battle left his job as assistant coach at Xavier to accompany Coach Skip Prosser to Wake Forest in April 2001. After Prosser died July 26, 2007, Battle remained at Wake Forest as an assistant to Coach Dino Gaudio.

Joyce Battle was a standout point guard at Fayetteville State University and later an assistant coach at Delaware State University, where she met Jeff Battle. She coached the couple's son, Jordan, 14, in youth basketball. Most recently, she taught and coached basketball at a middle school in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Jeff Battle, known nationally as one of college basketball's top assistant coaches, begins his eighth season at Wake Forest as associate head coach and his 24th season overall in the coaching profession. He served as an assistant coach at Delaware State University for three seasons (1991-93) before advancing to Loyola, Xavier and Wake Forest.