MEAC tourney coming in '09

Photo courtesy Mark's Digital Photography, www.marksdigitalphotography.com

Joel Coliseum to be host for three years

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference has been hopping from city to city, trying to make its basketball tournaments a success. It hopes that the next stop, Winston-Salem, will be the right one.

MEAC officials awarded the conference's men's and women's basketball tournaments to Winston-Salem and Joel Coliseum yesterday for the next three years. The contract will begin with the 2008-09 tournament scheduled for March 10-15. All men's and women's games will be played at Joel Coliseum.

Commissioner Dennis Thomas of the MEAC praised Winston-Salem for having all the ingredients to help the tournament grow.

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MEAC to visit Joel again

Officials seeking host site for their basketball tourney

Winston-Salem is getting closer to being named the host city for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference basketball tournament. Chico Caldwell, the athletics director at Winston-Salem State, said that a visit by MEAC officials in mid-April went very well.

"I thought they were very impressed with what we had to offer so," Caldwell said after showing off Joel Coliseum, the coliseum annex and the downtown area. The MEAC has been shopping its tournament around since Raleigh decided not to renew after a three-year contract ran out. However, Raleigh is in the mix again, according to Caldwell.

"From what I understand, it's down to us or Raleigh," Caldwell said.

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Coppin State late free throws end NSU's season, 67-65

Photo: Coppin State's hero--Tywain McKee.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Tywain McKee scored a game-high 26 points and scored the game’s final four points from the free throw line to give No. 7 seed Coppin State a 67-65 win over No. 3 Norfolk State in a MEAC Tournament semifinal on Friday night at the RBC Center.

The Spartans’ season ends at 16-15. The Eagles (15-20) move into Saturday night’s tournament final against No. 1 Morgan State.

NSU staged a furious second-half rally. Trailing by eight points at halftime and by as many as 13 in the second half, the Spartans roared back behind a 3-point barrage led by Tony Murphy (Paterson, N.J.). Murphy drilled five of his six 3-pointers in the second stanza and Corey Lyons (Bronx, N.Y.) also hit one. The fourth of Murphy’s long-range bombs tied the game at 50-all, and his fifth trey gave NSU a 57-53 lead with 8:46 remaining.


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Morgan State edges Delaware State

Photo: Guard Reggie Holmes played a magnificent game scoring 18 points and 5 rebounds in 16 minutes of action.

RALEIGH - Reggie Holmes scored 18 points, including 10 of 12 free throws in the final 1:09, to lead Morgan State to 61-55 semifinal victory over Delaware State in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament on Friday.

Top-seeded Morgan State (22-9) will play the winner of the other semifinal game Friday between Norfolk State and Coppin State.

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Coppin State Eagles advance to MEAC Championship Game

Photo: Rashida Suber will be playing in her third MEAC Tournament Championship game in four years.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Coppin State seniors Shalamar Oakley and Rashida Suber combined to score 33 points and the Eagles used a stifling defensive effort to advance to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game with a 63-56 victory over Delaware State.

The Eagles will meet regular-season champion North Carolina A&T at 1 p.m. on Saturday (March 15) with the winner gaining the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Oakley scored 17 points and Suber added 16 as the Eagles advanced to the MEAC Tournament Championship game for the third time in four years.

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Welcher's follow puts Delaware State in semis

Photo: DSU head basketball coach Greg Jackson said, "This game epitomized our season."

Freshman steals spotlight

RALEIGH, N.C. -- It could have been Roy Bright's night Thursday. For the most part it was, until a freshman stepped up and stole the senior's show.

First-year guard Trevor Welcher's rebound basket with 1.7 seconds left gave Delaware State a 64-62 win over North Carolina A&T in the quarterfinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament at the RBC Center.

The Hornets (14-15), seeded fourth, move on to play top seed and regular-season champion Morgan State (21-9) in today's 6 p.m. semifinals. The other semifinal pits third seed Norfolk State against No. 7 Coppin State.

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FAMU men fall short in MEAC tourney

Photo: FAMU's senior L.C. (Leslie) Robinson ends his Rattlers career scoring 18 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists against Norfolk State in MEAC Tournament.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The legs just weren't there when the Florida A&M men's basketball team needed some support.

Worn ragged after battling third-seeded Norfolk State on every possession, the sixth-seeded Rattlers simply couldn't make the shots they needed most in the final minutes. After taking a 53-51 lead with just over four minutes remaining, FAMU was running on fumes as the Spartans pulled away for a 69-61 victory in the quarterfinals of the MEAC men's basketball tournament.

FAMU ends its season 15-17.

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Hampton Pirates lose in OT to Coppin State

Photo: Senior guard Rashad West had a monster scoring game with 27 points and 3 assists in loss to Coppin State Eagles to closeout his MEAC career.

Hampton squanders a 17-point lead and drops a heartbreaking MEAC tournament quarterfinal.

RALEIGH, N.C. - Coppin State ousted No. 2 seed Hampton University from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament, 75-74 in overtime Wednesday in a quarterfinal at the RBC Center.

Hampton dominated the first half and led by 15 points at halftime, but the Pirates allowed the Eagles to chip away at their lead. It was down to single digits midway through the second half and soon gone.

There was life for Hampton (17-12) late, but eventually the inspired seventh seed pulled this one out.

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Coppin State streaks past Lady Bulldogs to Semifinals

Photo: Shooting guard Rashida Suber had a lights-out game scoring 24 points to lead the Eagles to the Semifinals.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Senior Rashida Suber scored 24 points and Coppin State advanced to the semifinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament with a 64-51 victory over South Carolina State at the RBC Center. Coppin State (20-11) won its ninth straight game by limiting South Carolina State to 27.9 percent shooting.

It marked the 19th consecutive game in which the Eagles held an opponent below 40 percent shooting for the game. Marie Reid led South Carolina State (13-17) with 15 points, while Brittany Baity added 10 points and 13 rebounds.

The Eagles also received 15 points from Shalamar Oakley and 10 points from Danielle Anders.

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Lady Rattlers defeat Howard to face #1 seed N.C. A&T

RALEIGH, N.C. - Stephanie Foster scored a game-high 18 points and Q'Vaunda Curry added 15 to lead Florida A&M (FAMU) to a 69-59 win over Howard in the first round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) women's tournament at the RBC Center. The Lady Rattlers (14-16), the Number 9 seed, will take on the Number 1 seed, North Carolina A&T State in the quarterfinals on Wednesday at 10 am.

FAMU set the tone early when it reeled off an 18-0 run during a seven-minute stretch that saw them erase a 10-6 deficit and take a 24-10 lead at the 7:52 mark of the first half. The run was fueled by some hot three-point shooting as the Lady Rattlers hit on 6 of 13 from beyond the arc.

"We were much more composed than were in the loss in Washington," Florida A&M Head Coach Debra Clark said. "I think we had more of a sense of urgency. We had a lot more at stake with four seniors and we did not want this to be the end of the road."

She continued, "We knew they (Howard) were capable of putting up big numbers, so we wanted to defend. "They made several runs, but each time we responded with a good defensive play, forcing them into tough shots."

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Final: South Carolina State Lady Bulldogs 66, Bethune Cookman 45

Final: Morgan State Lady Bears 86, Norfolk State 65

MEAC Women's Tournament

Photo: Coppin State University shooting guard Rashida Suber has averaged 16.6 points a contest in conference play.


ELEVATOR

N.C. A&T

Finished MEAC schedule 15-1 (23-6 overall) and won first regular-season title since the 1989-90 season.

Bethune-Cookman

Started season with four losses and have lost six of the past eight to drop to 6-23 overall, 2-14 in the league.

BY THE NUMBERS

81.3 - Points per game in conference play by league leader N.C. A&T.

50.4 - Points allowed per game in conference play by league leader Delaware State.

8.2 - Hampton's league-best rebounding margin in conference play.

47.2 - N.C. A&T's league-best shooting percentage.

WHAT TO WATCH

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MEAC holding final Raleigh tournament

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference brought its basketball tournament here three years ago with high expectations. Growth, publicity and income were all but promised to the league, which would send its champion to the NCAA Tournament.

Three years later, on the eve of its final tournament in Raleigh, the MEAC is about to leave town; neither of its Raleigh winners advanced past the play-in game in the NCAA field of 65; and the Division I league is looking for a new home.

The MEAC will hold its final Raleigh tournament today through Saturday at the RBC Center. There will be some parties to attend, but many here aren't weeping about the tournament's impending departure.

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UMES Lady Hawks crush Norfolk State 84-65

NORFOLK, Va. - It started nine games ago. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) went on a seven game winning streak in conference play before they dropped their last two contests. That streak began with a win over Norfolk State University (NSU) and the Lady Hawks hope the streak begins anew as they toppled that same Spartan team 84-65 Monday night on the campus of NSU.

April McBride, Tiffany Reid and Queenique Tyler all posted 16 points in the game. For Tyler it is a new career high while fellow freshmen Casey Morton added 15 points. Both McBride and Reid had a double double as they grabbed 13 and 10 rebounds respectively.

With the win, UMES improves to 8-4 in league play and stands third in the MEAC tied with Morgan State and Delaware State, both of whom UMES has defeated this season.

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Oakley Scores 25 in CSU Eagle Win at Florida A&M

Photo: Shalamar Oakley, 5-6 point guard, Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson H.S.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Senior Shalamar Oakley paced five players in double figures in points with 25 and Coppin State extended its winning streak to four straight with an 85-64 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory over Florida A&M on Monday in Gaither Gymnasium.

Oakley was 11-of-19 from the floor and also added nine points, three assists and one steal. Danielle Anders had 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Rashida Suber scored 13 points and dished out a career-high 10 assists. Jennifer Martin and Whitney Cunningham each scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Eagles.

Coppin State (15-11, 9-3 MEAC), which won for the ninth time in the last 10 games, shot 60.0 percent from the floor in the second half and outscored the Rattlers 52-32.

Florida A&M (11-13, 2-9 MEAC) shot only 32.9 percent from the floor for the game and was 1-of-17 from beyond the three-point arc.

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Oakley was a transfer from Hofstra University to Coppin State University and has completed her undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice (3.2 GPA) and is in graduate school. She has aspirations of playing basketball professionally in the WNBA or overseas. Oakley was an All-MEAC rookie and All-MEAC first team scholar-athlete .

North Carolina A&T stampede Howard Bison

Photo: Ta'Wuana Tweet Cook led the Aggies with 22 points and five assists in 93-58 win over Howard University Bison. The 5-8 sophomore guard is from Seventy-First H.S., Fayetteville, N.C.

GREENSBORO, February 2, 2008 – On a night when former great players of the North Carolina A&T women’s basketball program came together at Irvin-Corbett Court to honor a fallen teammate and team manager, they also got to witness what appears to be future Aggie greats.

The 2007-2008 edition of Aggie women’s basketball won their seventh straight game and remained undefeated in conference play with a 93-58 win over Howard Saturday night. Ta’Wuana Cook led the Aggies (14-5, 7-0) with 22 points and five assists. It was her third straight game in which she scored more than 20 points. Teammate Amber Bland added 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Brittanie Taylor-James finished with 19 on 9-for-13 shooting.

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Mackey to resign as South Carolina State Lady Bulldogs head coach

Photo: SCSU Head Women Basketball Coach Tonya Mackey.

South Carolina State head women's basketball coach Tonya Mackey has resigned her duties effective June 30th, Bulldog athletics director Charlene Johnson announced Friday. Mackey, who is in her fourth season as Lady Bulldog head coach, will coach the team through the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament at Raleigh, NC Mar. 10-15, and will then be placed on administrative leave until June 30th, according to Johnson.

Mackey, an SC State graduate, has a career record of 36-67 at her alma mater. The current team is 6-11 overall and 3-3 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

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UMES women's hoops begins important stretch in MEAC

Photo: Corin Adams, sophomore point guard, leads Morgan State with 17.6 points per game (third in the MEAC), 4.7 assists (leading the MEAC) and 4.2 steals (leading the MEAC). Adams is arguably the quickest guard in the league. The 5-7 star is from Madison High School, Brooklyn, NY.

The Hawks could make a big move either way in the next five days, as they take on three of the top five teams, beginning with a trip today to Morgan State, where the Bears (11-7, 5-2 MEAC) are undefeated. Morgan was the first team on the 2007-08 schedule for the Hawks this season, and while UMES (10-8, 3-2) was still trying to find its timing, they had a chance to win, falling 77-71 in a non conference tilt.

"I'm really looking forward to going up and playing Morgan at Morgan," UMES coach Fred Batchelor said. "This is a game that I'm excited about and I believe we're a much better team and a much different team than we were when we first played them. I'm sure that they've improved, as well, but I'm looking forward to getting a chance to play against one of the better teams in the league on their home floor, and I feel very confident that we're going to play well."

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Today's game is at 2 p.m., while the Hawks will head to Coppin on Monday at 5:30 p.m. Both of those games are parts of doubleheaders with the men's team. Wednesday, without the men's team, UMES will begin its game against Delaware State Hornets at 6 p.m. at the Hytche Center.

MEAC wants to hold tourneys at Old Dominion instead of Scope

NORFOLK, VA - The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference would like to hold its men's and women's basketball tournaments at Old Dominion University's Ted Constant Convocation Center next year rather than Scope. Mayor Paul Fraim said Tuesday that MEAC officials, including commissioner Dennis Thomas, made the request at a recent meeting, saying they prefer the modern amenities of the Constant Center.

Vice Mayor Anthony L. Burfoot's response was blunt, especially when MEAC officials asked the city to pay their rent at ODU: "If the tournament is coming to Norfolk, it needs to come to Scope," Burfoot said he told them. Thomas was unavailable for comment.

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Background

Old Dominion University opened the Ted Constant Convocation Center for the 2002-2003 basketball season. "The Ted" has 8,600 fully cushioned seats, 16 luxury suites, and a state-of-the-art scoreboard. In addition to being used for home basketball games, the Constant Center hosts family-oriented events as well as concerts and lectures. (See Seating Visuals of "The Ted" by clicking on this link and click the seat location you desire: http://constantcenter.com/seating/viewer/event_type/

View Constant Center photos: http://constantcenter.com/photos/?album=3

Opened in 1971, Norfolk Scope is the host to a wide variety of events, including Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus, conventions, concerts and family shows. Scope is proud to be the home of the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL and Arena Racing USA. Scope has an exclusive in-house caterer, Aramark, who runs Showcase Restaurant and will help with any catered event. (See Seating Chart: http://mediacache.eventbooking.com//7074_Seating_Scope_Basketball.gif).

A few words of advice for Commissioner Thomas--hold your ground on this issue. MEAC fans and players have no interest in attending the MEAC Basketball Tournament at a second rate facility. You do not see the NCAA, or any other conference in America holding their tournaments at outdated facilities. If it (the Scope) wasn't good enough for Old Dominion University or the Harlem Globetrotters, it's not an appropriate venue for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament.

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