Mississippi Valley rallies past instate rival JSU

For Jackson State, wins are hard to come by in Itta Bena. That fact was evident Saturday night before a standing-room-only crowd (Attendance: 4,719) at the Harrison HPER Complex as Mississippi Valley State erased a 16-point second half deficit to rally past JSU for a 73-67 victory. "We've been able to fight back all year, but we haven't been smart enough to finish games," Valley head coach Sean Woods said. "We finished tonight. This shows we're getting better."

Valley first year head coach Sean Woods gets big win over Tigers.

Eric Petty helped lead the comeback for Valley (6-23, 6-10 in the SWAC) with 14 of his team-high 18 points coming in the second half. Shannon Behling also played a key role in the Delta Devils' rally, going for 10 of his 15 points after the break. JSU (13-14, 12-3), which hasn't won at Valley since 2006, saw its SWAC-high eight-game win streak snapped by its instate rival. Julius Cheeks came off the bench to score 13 for Valley, and point guard Dewayne Harmason had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.

JSU center Jeremy Caldwell fouled out in the second half but not before scoring a team-high 25 points.Petty's strong play inside helped draw four second-half fouls on Caldwell.

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Southwestern Athletic Conference Update 3/1/09
TEAM CONF. W-L OVERALL W-L
Alabama State 14-1 17-8
Jackson State 12-3 13-14
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 10-6 11-16
Prairie View A&M 9-6 13-15
Southern University 8-8 8-20
Mississippi Valley State 6-10 6-23
Alabama A&M 5-10 7-16
Texas Southern 5-10 5-23
Grambling State 4-11 6-20
Alcorn State 4-12 6-23

Tired of losing to Valley, JSU gets early lead, rides it out

Jackson State was getting tired of Mississippi Valley State. The Tigers have been picked to win the SWAC the last two seasons, and did advance to the NCAA Tournament in 2007. But, in 2008, expecting to repeat, JSU stubbed its toe on Valley. As talented as JSU was last year, Valley won both of the regular-season matchups and then rallied late to win the final one that mattered most - for the SWAC Championship and NCAA berth.

Though the Delta Devils are built around new players and a first-year coach, that didn't dim the Tiger smiles after a 64-58 victory inside the Athletics and Assembly Center on Saturday. "It's just a little bit of relief," JSU guard Darrion Griffin said. "It was a little bit too close for comfort. "(That last game was) eating at us. We think about it all the time. To get the victory against them makes us feel like we can beat any team in the conference."

Jackson State stuck to its recent blueprint for success by busting out to a 12-point lead less than 10 minutes into the game. Valley would never lead for a single second of the 40 minutes, but it also refused to get blown out. The Delta Devils chipped away at the lead and trailed 31-27 at halftime. A dribble-drive layup by Julius Cheeks cut the lead to 35-34 at the 16:05 mark, but Valley never got any closer.

Photo Gallery: Jackson State-Mississippi Valley

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Valley ends miserable season with another lopsided loss

Should this be it for Totten?

A season filled with lopsided losses for Mississippi Valley State ended with one of its worst thrashings of the year. Valley's disappointing season ended with a a miserable 58-23 loss to Alabama A&M Saturday at Rice-Totten Stadium in Itta Bena. Bulldog quarterback Kevin Atkins had a career outing as he carved up the Delta Devil defense for 357 yards and five touchdowns on 24-of-35 passing.

Valley ends the season at 3-8 overall and 1-6 in the Eastern Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference - leaving the Delta Devils in last place in the division for the second straight year. If this was it for beleaguered MVSU head coach Willie Totten, it's not the way he would've hoped to go out as the Delta Devils allowed the most points to a SWAC team in Totten's seven-year tenure.

Totten, who is 28-44 at the helm of his alma mater, has one year left on his contract that pays him $92,928 a year. But there has been wide speculation that he will be fired after his fifth losing season in seven years. After Saturday's game, a frustrated Totten refused to discuss whether this was his last game at Valley."We've just got to put this behind us and go out and recruit some better players," he said.

With an announced crowd of just 789 - which looked much slimmer than that - not many Delta Devil fans showed up. The ones who did saw a familiar sight: a pitiful showing by the defense. It was the fifth loss of the season by 34 or more points. This marked the third straight game missed by second-year defensive coordinator Dennis Winston. Totten refused to comment on Winston's status.

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Attendance: 789 at Rice -Totten Stadium, Itta Bena, MS (Capacity: 10,000).

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Mallett rushes for 160 Yards as UAPB Golden Lions Earn First SWAC Victory

Entering the season, Arkansas-Pine Bluff coach and defensive coordinator Monte Coleman said he wanted his defense to be one of the best in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. On Saturday, they played like they were, as the Golden Lions forced six turnovers and sacked Mississippi Valley State quarterback Paul Roberts four times in a 34-0 victory at Golden Lion Stadium on Senior Day. Martell Mallett gained 160 yards and scored two touchdowns on 24 carries in the victory.

“Valley threw the ball against Jackson State over 90 percent of the time, (in a 58-44 victory last week), so my thing was to try to make them run the football,” Coleman said. “They still came out and threw the football. My thing was to take away their best suit.” While the Golden Lions weren’t able to force Valley to run the football, they were able to limit the effectiveness of the Delta Devils aerial attack. Roberts completed only 13-of-35 pass attempts for 123 yards. And though UAPB used a varied rush of only three or four defenders, the Golden Lions were able to pressure Roberts for four sacks and three interceptions. Coleman said he only called one blitz on the game.

UAPB M4

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Attendance: 4,562 at Golden Lion Stadium, Pine Bluff, AR

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SU hopes big win start of something special

Photo Gallery: Southern 49, MVSU 7

Running back Kendrick Smith scored his first career touchdown at Southern going backward. There are no style points for that — “My legs are the strongest thing on my body,” Smith said of getting turned around yet pushing defenders across the goal line — but they still put six points up on the scoreboard for that.

In this case, backward nevertheless means going forward. That 3-yard TD, like all of Southern’s 49-7 non-conference win over Mississippi Valley State on Saturday night in A.W. Mumford Stadium, is all about the breakthrough. Smith, a top-level recruit at Patterson High, had his first 100-yard game and his first touchdown since 2005, when he was at Coffeyville Community College. He sat out in 2006 and missed time with injuries as a reserve last season.

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Southern throttles MVSU 49-7

This one didn’t count toward the Southwestern Athletic Conference standings. But the 49-7 victory over Mississippi Valley State sure counts plenty to the collective Southern consciousness looking for just such of a dominating win to kick start its season. Considered a contender for the SWAC’s Western Division title, SU struggled to an 0-2 start after getting blown out at Bowl Subdivision member Houston and losing by two points at Tennessee State a week earlier.

Saturday night at A.W. Mumford Stadium, though, SU came up with the kind of strong play in all three phases that the team is expected to display. “We stumbled in the first two games, but we also knew we had it in us,” strong safety and team captain Glenn Bell said. “We have too many seniors. We have too many talented athletes. We just had to put it together, and that’s what we just did.” Southern (1-2) now has a week off to prepare for SWAC play, which starts Sept. 27 at Alcorn State.

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Attendance: 14,317 (50.4%) at A.W. Mumford Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA (Capacity: 28,400).

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VIDEO: Southern set for home opener

SU will decide on game Wednesday

Southern University officials expect to know by Wednesday if the school will be able to host Saturday’s home opener with Mississippi Valley State. The school is in the process of fixing damage caused by Hurricane Gustav and keeping an eye on Hurricane Ike’s track. “We want to wait until Wednesday,” Southern Athletic Director Greg LaFleur said. “We know it’s coming. We want to see which direction it’s going in by Wednesday.”

SU officials met Monday afternoon to discuss damage assessments from Gustav. If Saturday’s 6 p.m. game is postponed, the teams would play Dec. 6, LaFleur said. The teams have no common open dates until then. That would sandwich the game between the Nov. 29 Bayou Classic and the Dec. 13 Southwestern Athletic Conference (should either be a participant).

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New-look Valley defense pitched shutout in opener

Mississippi Valley State is halfway home — if 2007 is the measuring stick. And it probably shouldn't be. The Delta Devils are one game away from equaling their win total from last year after a 38-0 victory over Texas College last week. The squad which ranked No. 9 in the SWAC in both scoring defense (29.6 points a game) and total defense (354.6 yards a game) pitched the shutout, allowed just 192 yards and picked off three passes. Valley only had eight interceptions in all of 2007.

"Defensively, we had a lot of changes," MVSU coach Willie Totten said. "We went and got some junior college guys and some very quality high school guys ... where we released a lot of guys. "I like the way they were running to the football. Guys are going where they're supposed to go and doing their assignments."

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OU will face Mississippi Valley State in NIT basketball opener

NORMAN -- Oklahoma hosts Mississippi Valley State to open the NIT Season Tip-Off Nov. 17, according to the tournament schedule released Tuesday. The Sooners, who are seeded No. 2 overall in the 16-team field, should be heavy favorites against MVSU, a squad that went 17-16 a year ago and 12-6 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The game tips off at 8 p.m. and will be televised by ESPNU.
























Things could get much more difficult in the second round Nov. 18, when, provided they win the night before, the Sooners face the winner of the Davidson-James Madison game at 8:30 p.m. Davidson returns All-America candidate Stephen Curry from a 29-7 team that nearly upset eventual national champion Kansas in the Elite Eight last March.

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Junior QB from Hawaii making waves at Mississippi Valley

Willie Totten believes Ryan Burciaga will give Mississippi Valley State an offensive jolt this season. The Delta Devils need all the help they can get after finishing last in the Southwestern Athletic Conference in total offense, seventh in scoring and ninth in passing en route to a 3-8 record in 2007.

The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder from Honolulu, Hawaii, took over as the No. 1 quarterback during spring practice with his improved play and appears to have nailed down the starting nod for Valley's season opener Aug. 30 at home against Texas College. "I told Ryan at the end of spring that it was his job to lose, and by the looks of things so far, he has no plans on giving up the No. 1 spot," said Totten, who is in his seventh season as the MVSU head coach.

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MVSU Football Team Reports to Campus

Delta Devils head football coach Willie Totten.

Itta Bena, Miss. --- By end of day yesterday 85 student-athletes had reported to camp as the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team reported to began fall conditioning and practice. With five more expected players who had received clearance for late arrival expected over the weekend, there should be a total of 90 student-athletes aboard.

"Guys came in really excited," said head coach Willie Totten. "Now we're just ready to test them and get them on the field." In this morning's work out, the team went through time tests on the track which included 40-yard dash and vertical and broad jumps. They also hit the iron in the weight room working out at 225 lbs on the bench and inclines.

On the track freshman Gerard Hall (5-9, 189, DB, Memphis, TN) turned in a 4.3 in the 40-yard dash, while redshirt freshman Paul Cox, Jr. (6-5, 190, WR, Patterson, LA) had a 4.41. Running backs Johey Hargrett (6-0, 265, SR, Chicago, IL) and Ronald Brewer (5-10, 205, R-SO, Memphis), 2008 Preseason All-SWAC, each ran a 4.5.

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Colonie's Newsome Picks Mississippi Valley State

MVSU new head basketball coach Sean Woods has first blue chip commitment from 6-2 guard, Tashan Newsome from Colonie Central H.S., Albany, New York.

Another former Section II basketball standout is will be playing Division I college ball next season, with Colonie's Tashan Newsome giving his verbal commitment to Mississippi Valley State University. The Delta Devils won the SWAC last season, advancing to the NCAA's where they lost to UCLA.

"They were very interested in me. They didn't want me to do anything else. They wanted me bad and when you show that kind of loyalty and interest in me, I'm going to show it back," Newsome said. Newsome, and his AAU coach Antwan Morrison said the list of schools interested in the 6-2 senior guard was extensive.

North Carolina Central, Villanova, Sacred Heart, VCU, Norfolk State, St. John's, Virginia Tech, George Mason were schools on that list.

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Former Kentucky player named head basketball coach at MVSU

JACKSON, Miss. -- Former Texas Christian University assistant Sean Woods was chosen as the new head basketball coach at Mississippi Valley State University on Tuesday.Woods replaces James Green, who left earlier this year to become the new coach at Jacksonville State in Alabama.

Woods, a former college basketball standout at Kentucky, served two seasons at TCU as director of basketball operations and then assistant coach. Prior to his time at TCU, Woods spent one year as an assistant coach at Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

The two other finalists for the MVSU job were Texas Southern assistant Lacey Reynolds, a former head coach at Grambling State and Harvey Wardell, an assistant at Tougaloo College.

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SWAC, MVSU mourn ex-A.D. Prophet’s death

ITTA BENA, Miss. — Charles “Chuck” Prophet, former athletic director and sports information director for Mississippi Valley State University, died on Friday. He was 67. Prophet, who was widely known as “The Wagon Master” of the famed Southwestern Athletic Conference football press tours, died about midday Friday at Greenwood Leflore Hospital in Greenwood, university officials said.

“Words cannot express how dearly Chuck will be missed,” said interim director of athletics Donald Sims. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to Anna and the rest of the family. Chuck will always remain in our hearts.” “His hard work and his dedication at MVSU and within the conference were immeasurable,” said SWAC Commissioner Duer Sharp.

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Valley already getting ready for football season

You won't find Willie Totten vacationing during the dog days of June. The Mississippi Valley State head football coach and the rest of his staff are hard at it preparing for the 2008 season. Each of the coaches will get a short break in early July, but for now, they are busy checking on players and newcomers making sure they are doing what they need to do to be eligible in the fall.
"It's constant phone calls and paper work," said Totten Thursday during an interview in his office on the Itta Bena campus. "June is a time to get organized for when everyone comes in early August. "We've got four new coaches in the (Southwestern Athletic Conference), so we're looking at film trying to pick up some things they might do against us this season."

The Delta Devils report to campus Aug. 3 and will begin two-a-day practices five days later in preperation for the Aug. 30 season opener at home against Texas College.

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Grambling baseball roughed up in first round of SWAC tournament

BATON ROUGE -- The opening game of the 2008 Southwestern Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament provided plenty of fireworks as Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils -- the No. 3 Eastern Division seed -- pounded out a 12-2 victory over the second seed from the Western Division – the Grambling State Tigers.

The Tigers broke open a scoreless game in the bottom of the third inning when Brandon Williams led off the inning with a single and scored on a triple into right field by Anthony Clifton. The run would be the only run the Tigers would manage until the bottom of the ninth when Williams scored on a Clifton ground out.

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MVSU Green finalist for Jacksonville State coaching vacancy

Photo: Mississippi Valley State University James Green is looking to move up the coaching ladder as a finalist for the Jacksonville State head basketball coaching vacancy.

Jacksonville State University has named four finalists for its vacant men's basketball coaching job.

They are University of Alabama assistant Philip Pearson, Hoover High boys head coach Charles Burkett, Mississippi Valley State University head coach James Green and University of Massachusetts associate head coach Timothy Maloney.

Those four will be invited to come to campus next week for further interviews after they were among about a dozen candidates screened by a committee and recommended to JSU President Bill Meehan.

Coach Green led MSVU to the NCAA Tournament this season after winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament. He was also head coach at Southern Miss from 1996 to 2004 and has been an assistant at Alabama, Iowa State, Texas A&M and Idaho.

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Mississippi Valley State, You're No Belmont

In the above photo, taken in the second half of last night's game, UCLA players Kevin Love, Darren Collison, Russell Westbrook and Josh Shipp are laughing as they watch their bench-warmer teammates toying with Mississippi Valley State. UCLA won, 70-29, and Mississippi Valley State's point total was the lowest in an NCAA Tournament game since the field expanded to 64.

Yes, it was an ugly performance by the 16-seeded Delta Devils, a performance that was in sharp contrast to the other little-known squad taking on a college basketball powerhouse last night, as 15-seed Belmont gave Duke all it could handle.

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MVSU Delta Devils understand odds they face tonight

ANAHEIM, CALIF. — No one has to tell the Mississippi Valley State players or coaches the odds they face tonight in the NCAA Tournament.

The stats are right there in black and white in the 2008 NCAA Final Four record book: 0-92. That's the record No. 16 seeds have posted against No. 1 seeds since the tournament field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The Delta Devils (17-15) would like to change that tonight when they play UCLA, which is 31-3 and favored by 32 points.

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MVSU Devils' Green shows he can still coach this game

Some reward James Green and his Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils get for winning their last nine games and a SWAC Tournament championship. They get fed to bears - the UCLA Bruins, actually. And they are the first course at a picnic in UCLA's own backyard, Anaheim, Calif.

This is basketball's version of human sacrifice, but that's not the point of today's column. The reward for Valley is the trip itself, jetting, for a change, to a game in the national spotlight and a taste of the big time. The reward for Green is, simply, validation. Not that he should need it.

The guy can flat coach. Of course, anybody who has followed his career knows that. Anybody who has read regularly this column in recent years certainly has read that.

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