Road loss knocks TSU out of OVC contention

Jacksonville St. blocks 2 kicks, route to title

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. — Tennessee State's chances of winning the Ohio Valley Conference suffered a fatal blow Saturday when the Tigers were beaten 26-21 at Jacksonville State. TSU (8-3, 5-2) now must win its final game at Murray State for a shot at finishing second in the conference and securing an at-large playoff berth. JSU's special teams were huge in the game, blocking two field-goal attempts. The first one, snuffed by Alexandria's T.J. Heath, was returned by Andrew Ridgeway 72 yards for the Gamecocks' first touchdown.

"Special teams and too many mistakes," Tigers Coach James Webster said of the reasons for the loss. "We just couldn't put it in the end zone." The Tigers played without their OVC-leading rusher. Javarris Williams didn't play — depending on who you talked to — either for disciplinary reasons or a hamstring injury. JaJuan Spillman proved an effective alternative. He caught six passes for 104 yards, including a 63-yarder for the game's first touchdown, and ran five times for 53 yards. Quarterback Antonio Heffner threw for 170 yards and a touchdown pass. He also rushed for 55 yards.

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Attendance: 7,956

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Jacksonville State Gamecocks Roll To 45-18 Win Over AAMU Bulldogs in Home Opener

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JACKSONVILLE, AL-- Jacksonville State scored 24 second quarter points to erase a 12-10 deficit en route to a 45-18 win over Alabama A&M in front 16,654 at Paul Snow Stadium on Saturday. The Gamecocks improved to 1-1 in front of the third largest crowd in Paul Snow Stadium history while Alabama A&M fell to 0-2 on the year.

“I think we came out here with a great purpose and tried to say that we’re a good football team that has some good ambitions,” JSU Head Coach Jack Crowe said. “I am proud of it. I still think we have a lot of work left to do, but I think we are good enough to have high expectations.”

Daniel Jackson got the scoring started on JSU’s opening drive when he took an option pitch and rambled 37-yardS to give JSU a 7-0 lead. The Bulldogs responded with the next three scores to cut the deficit into a Bulldog lead. Jeremy Licea made field goals of 26 and 38 yards and A&M took a 12-10 lead when Anthony Green scored on a one-yard run with 11:17 to go in the second quarter, just before JSU’s big second quarter.

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Attendance: 16,654 (111%) @ Paul Snow Stadium, Jacksonville, AL (Capacity: 15,000).

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JACKSONVILLE, AL - Alabama A&M coach Anthony Jones learned two days before the Bulldogs' season opener against Tennessee State that his three Division I transfers - offensive tackle Michael Brown, inside linebacker Alfred Williams and defensive end Cornelius Robinson - wouldn't be able to play pending a ruling by the NCAA on their eligibility.

As a result, Jones had to resort to his backup plan, and it failed miserably as the Tigers claimed a 34-13 victory. Jones had hoped those players would be cleared in time for today's game at Jacksonville State. As of Friday, there had been no word. The Bulldogs and Gamecocks will battle at Paul Snow Stadium with both teams in search of their first victory of the season. Kickoff is 6 and the game can be heard on WJAB-FM 90.9.

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New Jacksonville State basketball coach aims to build program with good citizens

JACKSONVILLE, AL - New Jacksonville State University men's basketball coach James Green promised to develop good players and good citizens as he was introduced to supporters and media on Wednesday. Green's contract at JSU will be for five years and is expected to pay approximately the same as the $106,000 paid LaPlante.

Video: http://www.annistonstar.com/PDF/video/042408jsu.htm

Green, who also coached eight years at Southern Mississippi, becomes the first black head coach in a major sport at JSU and just the second in any sport there. He will also be the second black men's head coach in the Ohio Valley Conference, joining Cy Alexander of historically black Tennessee State University.

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Green introduced as new Gamecock hoops coach

Photo: Former Mississippi Valley State University head basketball coach James Green was introduced as the new head coach at Jacksonville State University.

Jacksonville State University formally introduced James Green as the Gamecocks' new men's basketball head coach at a Wednesday afternoon press conference. Green becomes the 10th head coach of the JSU men's basketball team, taking over for eight-year coach Mike LaPlante, whose contract was not renewed at the end of the 2007-08 season.

Building teams around defense and rebounding, Green served the last three seasons as head coach at Mississippi Valley State in Itta Bena, Miss., where he guided the Delta Devils to the SWAC Tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to top-seeded UCLA in the first round.

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Jacksonville State-Alabama State football 'Spygate' escalates; sanctions possible

JACKSONVILLE, AL — The Spygate controversy that added spice to the weeks leading to last season's Jacksonville State-Alabama State football opener has turned into possible NCAA sanctions for the Gamecocks.

JSU president Bill Meehan is scheduled to meet with NCAA officials at an undisclosed location next week to discuss the case, which began as a self-reported secondary violation and has escalated, according to a university source who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

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TSU's Appling scores 50 in Lady Tigers' win over Jacksonville State

Photo: Kendra Appling scored a career-high 50 points on Jacksonville State. The 5-7 junior guard is from Jackson H.S./Jackson, GA. (Photo Courtesy: Sam Jordan)

By: Tennessee State Sports Information

Nashville, TN -- Junior guard Kendra Appling scored a career-high 50 points to lead Tennessee State to a 91-77 victory over Jacksonville State in the final home game of the regular season.

Tennessee State improves to 12-15 (9-9 OVC) while Jacksonville State falls to 11-16 (8-10 OVC).

Kendra Appling led all scores with a game-high 50 points while Oby Okafor added 21 points for TSU. LaDona Pierce dished out a game-high 12 assists for the Lady Tigers.

Jolie Efezokae paced JSU with 30 points and 10 rebounds while Cierra Duhart added 13. It was a slow offensive start for both teams. TSU didn’t score until five minutes into the game. With the game tied 4-4, TSU outscored JSU 10-4 to claim a 14-8 advantage. The Gamecocks responded with seven unanswered points to go ahead 15-14. With 8:05 left in the half, a made bucket by Oby Okafor sparked an 8-2 run that gave the Lady Tigers a 29-22 lead. JSU came back to tie the game (34-34) on a jumper by Jolie Efezokae at the 2:05 mark. TSU went into the break with a slight 38-37 lead.

A bucket from Cierra Duhart to open the second half gave JSU a 39-38 lead but TSU scored nine unanswered points to capture a 47-39 lead. The Gamecocks cut the deficit down to five (49-44) on a bucket by Efezokae but a 7-0 run by the Lady Tigers re-upped the lead to 12 (56-44). Tennessee State then outscored Jacksonville State 12-2 over the next four and a half minutes to stretch the advantage to 68-46.

TSU led by as many as 27 points (75-48) before going on to win 91-77.

The Lady Tigers will next travel to Morehead State to face the Lady Eagles on Thursday, Feb. 27. Game time is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. in Ellis T. Johnson Arena.

Tennessee State shoot past Jacksonville State

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Yet another comeback attempt fell short for the Jacksonville State men’s basketball team on Tuesday night, when Tennessee State held off the Gamecocks for an 88-77 home win at the Gentry Center.

The Gamecocks (4-17, 2-11 Ohio Valley Conference) used a 55-point second half to cut a 24-point deficit with 6:27 to play to a nine-point game with just under three minutes to play, but the rally proved too little too late for JSU in its fifth-straight loss and the fifth straight to the Tigers (10-11, 7-5 OVC) in Nashville.

Tigers guard Reiley Ervin had another big night against the Gamecocks, scoring a season-high 19 points, just 17 days after he set his previous high of 16 points in a loss to JSU in Jacksonville. He set his career high last season with 29 points in a home win over the Gamecocks.

Reigning OVC Freshman of the Week Gerald Robinson added 18 for the Tigers, while Price was 10-for-10 from the charity stripe to account for the majority of his 14 points. Jerrell Houston grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to lead a TSU attack that out rebounded the Gamecocks, 47-29. Murphy led the Gamecocks on the glass with six boards.

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Norfolk State holds off Jacksonville State

The Jacksonville State men’s basketball team’s furious comeback effort fell short on Saturday afternoon, when Norfolk State escaped Pete Mathews Coliseum with a 76-72 win over the Gamecocks.

The Spartans also had four players with 10 or more points, led by Corey Lyons’ 21 and Tony Murphy’s 19. Brandon Monroe’s nine rebounds led the Spartans, who won the battle on the glass, 38-35. The Spartans turned their advantage on the glass into an 18-point advantage in points in the paint. NSU shot 79 percent (15-of-19) from the free throw line, while JSU hit just 55 percent (17-of-31) of their charity attempts.

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