Xavier Gold Nuggets No. 16, their best preseason rank since '04

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana is No. 16 in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 announced Monday. It's the Gold Nuggets' highest preseason ranking since the 2004-05 season, when they were 15th.

Xavier, 27-7 this past season and two-time defending Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament champion, returns 13 letterwomen and three starters. The Nuggets will attempt to reach 20 victories for the 19th time in 20 seasons and qualify for the NAIA Division I National Championship for the 16th time in 18 seasons. This past season the Gold Nuggets reached the second round of nationals for the first time since 2003.

Xavier was 22nd in the 2010-11 preseason. It's the first time since a four-year streak from 2001-04 that the Nuggets are preseason top-25 in consecutive years.

Three XU opponents this season — No. 3 Oklahoma City, No. 19 Langston and No. 21 Shorter — also are ranked. Langston will visit the Nuggets on Nov. 25, and Shorter will visit Dec. 3 and play host to the Nuggets on Jan. 4. Xavier will play Oklahoma City in Las Vegas on Dec. 20.

The other GCAC team to receive votes was SUNO, which collected nine points and ranks 34th. Xavier will play host to the Lady Knights on Jan. 10 and visit SUNO on Feb. 6. Three others which received votes — Southern Poly, Georgetown (Ky.) and city rival Loyola — also will play the Nuggets this season.

Defending champion Azusa Pacific received all 12 first-place votes to end the 48-poll No. 1 streak of Union (Ky.), which lost 65-59 to Azusa in the national championship game on March 22.

The first regular-season poll will be announced Dec. 5.

Xavier will travel to SEC opponent LSU for a Nov. 2 exhibition, then open the regular season Nov. 4 against Florida Memorial at The Barn. Both games will tip off at 7 p.m.

NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25(first-place votes in parentheses — includes 2010-11 final records) Rank Team Record Points Last 1 Azusa Pacific (12) 33-5 312 3 2 Union (Tenn.) 35-2 302 1 3 Oklahoma City 27-4 290 4 4 Shawnee State 27-10 280 tie-24 5 Lewis-Clark State 29-5 266 10 6-tie Freed-Hardeman 27-9 248 7 6-tie Bethel (Tenn.) 27-7 248 6 8 Campbellsville 30-4 234 2 9 Westminster (Utah) 28-7 222 8 10 Vanguard 18-11 221 19 11 Southern Nazarene 27-7 220 18 12 Olivet Nazarene 26-6 202 16 13 Saint Xavier 24-6 179 12 14 Lindsey Wilson 24-9 175 15 15 Lee (Tenn.) 25-7 174 tie-13 16 Xavier 27-7 166 20 17 Lubbock Christian 23-10 158 22 18 Columbia (Mo.) 28-6 157 11 19 Langston 28-5 152 tie-13 20 Westmont 20-10 124 23 21 Shorter 24-8 110 RV 22 Evangel 21-9 85 tie-24 23 William Woods 30-5 77 21 24 Rogers State 23-10 72 RV 25 Belhaven 24-9 58 RV Others receiving votes: The Master's 57, Carroll (Mont.) 39, Cumberlands 26, Southern Poly 22, Robert Morris (Chicago) 18, Avila 15, Point Loma Nazarene 11, Texas Wesleyan 10; SUNO 9, Loyola 7, Wayland Baptist 5, John Brown 4, Biola 3, Voorhees 1, Rocky Mountain 1, Benedictine (Kan.) 1, Georgetown (Ky.) 1.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Hayes: WSSU fans need to step up

Winston Salem, North Carolina -- Athletics director Bill Hayes of Winston-Salem State couldn't help but show his displeasure with the home crowd at Saturday's 59-7 win over Edward Waters. There were around 4,500 fans at Bowman Gray Stadium on a perfect afternoon for football, but Hayes wants and needs more.

"I'm trying to get folks in those seats; and it's funny because when I first got back here, a lot of people said they were going to get behind me and this program," Hayes said. "Now that we're winning they say we know what the result is going to be, so why go? I don't understand that thinking."

Hayes said that WSSU fans are looking too far ahead and are trying to buy tickets for the CIAA championship game on Nov. 12 in Durham against Elizabeth City State. He wants fans to make it a point to help during the regular season as well.

If the 8-0 Rams make it to the Division II playoffs, Hayes is hoping to play a home game but needs to have good attendance figures to show the NCAA.

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XU Gold Rush in preseason top 25 for 2nd straight season

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Xavier University of Louisiana is No. 21 in the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 announced Monday. It's the first time in coach Dannton Jackson's nine seasons that the Gold Rush are preseason top-25 in consecutive years.

Xavier, 27-6 and the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament runner-up this past season, returns nine lettermen and four starters. The Rush will attempt to qualify for the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship for the sixth time in eight seasons. This past season the XU men won their first 13 games and qualified for nationals with their most victories since the 1983-84 season.

Xavier was 20th in the 2010-11 preseason and spent three weeks in the top 10.

The other GCAC team to receive votes was defending tournament champion Tougaloo, which is 13th. Xavier will visit Tougaloo on Jan. 23 and play host to the Bulldogs on Feb. 13. Two teams which received votes, Mobile and William Carey, will play Xavier in home-and-away non-conference series this season.

Defending champion Pikeville is the preseason No. 1 after receiving five of 12 first-place votes. Four other teams received first-place votes.

Earlier in the day Xavier's women's team earned a preseason No. 16 ranking. That makes Xavier one of four NAIA Division I schools — the others are Azusa Pacific, Evangel and Union (Tenn.) — with men's and women's basketball teams to earn preseason top-25 rankings in 2010-11 and 2011-12.

The Gold Rush will open the season at 7 p.m. Nov. 2 at The Barn against Carver College of Atlanta.

The first regular-season poll will be announced Dec. 5.

NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25(first-place votes in parentheses — includes 2010-11 final records) Rank Team Record Points Last 1 Pikeville (5) 30-7 300 24 2 Mountain State (3) 33-4 295 3 3 Robert Morris (Chicago) (2) 32-2 293 1 4 Concordia (Calif.) (1) 32-4 288 2 5 Martin Methodist (1) 34-3 268 6 6 LSU-Shreveport 30-4 255 4 7 Oklahoma Baptist 24-9 254 9 8 Georgetown (Ky.) 32-5 240 7 9 Azusa Pacific 29-6 233 8 10 Texas Wesleyan 30-4 223 6 11 Rogers State 22-12 202 25 12 Shorter 23-8 188 RV 13 Tougaloo 27-4 185 11 14 Columbia (Mo.) 26-6 166 18 15-tie Biola 28-6 158 13 15-tie Montana State Northern 24-9 158 19 17 St. Catharine 22-9 149 14 18 Southern Nazarene 26-8 141 10 19 Evangel 26-9 132 15 20 Southern Poly 23-10 121 RV 21 Xavier 27-6 94 17 22 Union (Tenn.) 26-7 88 12 23 Carroll (Mont.) 23-9 75 22 24 Saint Xavier 19-13 66 NR 25 Fresno Pacific 20-11 63 RV Others receiving votes: Park 55, Lee (Tenn.) 45, MidAmerica Nazarene 33, Mobile 31, Oklahoma Christian 26, Campbellsville 24, Our Lady of the Lake 22, Freed-Hardeman 21, Life 16, MontanaWestern 12, Westminster (Utah) 3, William Carey 1, Northwestern Oklahoma 1, St. Francis (Ill.) 1, Benedictine (Kan.) 1, Westmont 1, Emmanuel (Ga.) 1, Cumberland 1, Cumberlands 1.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

QB Rivers likely starter for Grambling this week

Grambling, Louisiana -- Doug Williams wasn't quite as confident as D.J. Williams when he saw his son change the final play call of Grambling's 30-24 victory Saturday at the line of scrimmage.

The Tigers had broken the huddle planning to run the ball, play conservatively and set up a Zoltan Riazzo field goal — until D.J. saw single coverage on receiver Mario Louis. The freshman quarterback said he knew Louis would come down with the ball, but the veteran coach was a bit more nervous.

"You stand on the sidelines and you saw him change the play, and I'm sayin', 'What are you doing?'" the coach said. "We always tell 'em all the time, 'Be football players.' We always talk about instincts. I'm gonna give credit to Mario and D.J. and the offensive line."



D.J. took the final two snaps against the Delta Devils after sophomore Frank Rivers completed 14 of his 23 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns, both to Louis.

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FAMU focused on winning the final 3 games

Tallahassee, Florida -- The long road to finding out their fate at the end of the season is down to three more stops. First up is a bye week and plenty of time for the players on Florida A&M football team to get bored.

But that didn't seem to be a concern for coach Joe Taylor following a 27-24 victory over South Carolina State. His players know there is too much at stake to become lackadaisical in their bid to run the table and have some say-so in determining who wins the MEAC title.

"These guys have turned the corner," he said. "If we keep doing what we're supposed to do we'll be OK." The Rattlers played pretty well on Saturday at Dawson Stadium when they snapped eight seasons of losing to the Bulldogs.

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Southern Jaguars thin for Alcorn State

Baton Rouge, Louisiana -- As Southern football coach Stump Mitchell noted last week, his wasn’t the only team to engage in questionable activity lately. Yes, a fight broke out after the Jaguars lost at Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Oct. 15. Yes, the Southwestern Athletic Conference suspended 16 Southern players and 25 UAPB players.

Maybe something’s in the air this month. On Oct. 14, Baker High and Parkview Baptist engaged in a third-quarter brawl. So did Bastrop and Carroll. Last week, a Georgia high-school coach, David Daniels, was beaten with a football helmet as he and his Warren County team returned to their locker room after a 21-2 victory over Hancock Central.



And the Pac-12 Conference suspended 10 players for their roles in a fight Thursday during the UCLA-Arizona game.

Nevertheless, Mitchell said, he’s doing what he can to convince players that fighting isn’t worth it, regardless of circumstances.

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Roles have changed at SU ... but not expectations

Baton Rouge, Louisiana -- It’s been seven months since we’ve seen Sandy Pugh in the place she seems most comfortable: sitting on her trademark stool, clutching a whiteboard, surrounded by players during a timeout in crunch time of a women’s basketball game.

Only weeks after Southern’s season ended with a loss to Tulane in the WNIT, Pugh found herself in a new, very unfamiliar position, assuming the role of interim athletic director after SU fired Greg LaFleur.



The search for a permanent replacement continues, and Pugh has agreed to stay on as long as Southern needs her. But her extra duties meant one thing for the women’s basketball team: more heavy lifting for assistants Carlos Funchess and David Frank. Naturally, they answered the call.

Hey, vacations are overrated, right?

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Fayetteville State 17, Livingstone 7

SALISBURY, North Carolina — Amid all the distractions and confusion surrounding Homecoming 2011 Saturday at Alumni Stadium, Livingstone’s football team made something perfectly clear. The Blue Bears can, indeed, play competitive football.

“It would have been nice to end it on a positive note,” said nose tackle Michael Haygood, one of eight seniors honored before LC fell 17-7 to Fayetteville State in its home finale. “But for all the guys coming back, this should be a spark for the rest of the year. It was a well-put effort.”

On a day filled with microphone malfunctions, a banished clock operator, incessant marching tunes and the hodge-podge aromas of fried delights, the Blue Bears (1-7, 0-5 CIAA) found reason to soldier on.

“Defensively, we were really focused today,” linebacker Tyheim Pitt said. “Offensively, we’ve still got to get it together. But it’s nothing we can’t fix.”




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2011 Road To The SIAC Championship Episode 7

Miles Golden Bears 37, Lane Dragons 3

Fairfield, Alabama - In front of a homecoming crowd of 13, 613, the Miles College Golden Bears beat the Lane College Dragons handily, 37-3, at Albert Sloan-Alumni Stadium in Fairfield, AL.

Miles scored first midway through the first quarter when David Thomas hit Antonio Pitts for a 25-yard touchdown pass.

Midway through the second quarter, Lane would score their only points of the game on a 38-yard field goal by Ryan Bullock.

The Golden Bears would then score 30 unanswered points the rest of the way, including three touchdowns passes and a touchdown run by David Thomas. The scoring onslaught also included a Patton Chambers also added a 38-yard field goal in the second quarter.

In addition to his five total touchdowns, Thomas completed 13 of 20 passes for 215 yards while also running for 44 yards. Emmett Terry also ran for 109 yards on 17 carries for the Golden Bears.

The Golden Bears defense, led by nine tackles from Julanta English, held the Dragons to just 156 yards of total offense.

Corey Jones led Lane with 14 tackles, including six solo tackles, while Paris Hopper finished with 10 tackles.

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WSSU Rams cruise 59-7 over Edward Waters to stay unbeaten

Winston Salem, North Carolina -- Winston-Salem State overwhelmed yet another opponent on Saturday. This time it was Edward Waters as the Rams rolled to a 59-7 win in front of about 5,000 at sunny Bowman Gray Stadium.

The Rams, ranked 11th, improved to 8-0 and have a chance to move into the top 10 on the NCAA Division II poll, thanks to an offense that scored seven touchdowns in its first nine series. The Rams are 8-0 for the first time since 1978.

"The guys really came out and were ready to play," coach Connell Maynor of the Rams said. "I thought they were focused and we jumped on them early."

Wide receiver Tehyvn Brantley caught two touchdown passes, Dominique Fitzgerald also caught one, and running back Nic Cooper ran for 120 yards on 19 carries and scored a touchdown. Quarterback Kameron Smith also had a productive day, completing 12 of 20 passes for 196 yards and running the offense with precision.

GALLERY: WSSU vs. Edward Waters




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Battle of the Bands: South Carolina State Marching 101 vs. Florida A&M Marching 100

St. Aug's christens new complex with win; JCSU 15, SAC 34

RALEIGH, North Carolina -- Saint Augustine's College couldn't have wished for a better day to open its George Williams Athletic Complex. Not even a 15-minute delay waiting for the paramedics to arrive - a must-have for any college sporting event - could spoil the festivities.

And, like any good homecoming host, the Falcons sent the guest crowd away happy with a 34-15 win over Johnson C. Smith Saturday before an overflow crowd of 5,100.

"The president [Dianne Boardley Suber] stressed to us that it was on us today," St. Aug's quarterback Teddy Bacote said. "This was big. We knew we would play a very good team, and we needed to finish out and play 60 minutes."  Bacote did his part, completing 21 of 39 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns. And so did the offensive line, which didn't allow a sack.

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VSU's Lyde scores 3 TDs in win over Lincoln (Pa.)

West Grove, Pennsylvania -- Senior, running back Antwain Lyde rushed for 129 total yards and scored 3 touchdowns in a 21-16 road victory for the Trojans of Virginia State University over the Lions of Lincoln University on Saturday, Oct 22 in West Grove, PA.

The Trojans snapped a two game road losing streak and improved their overall record to 4-4 and 3-3 in the CIAA conference with a great victory over the Lions. VSU held the Lions to 51 total rushing yards but allowed 316 total passing yards. The Trojans committed no offensive turnovers, forced a fumble on defense, and also blocked an extra point attempt.

After an early touchdown score by Lincoln's offense, VSU's Antwain Lyde broke out for a season long 48 yard touchdown score to tie the ball game up at 7-7. Lyde led the Trojans with 31 rushes for a total of 129 yards with 3 touchdowns.

Lincoln's Kyle Kaski knocked in a 25 yard field goal with 4:45 remaining in the first quarter that put the Lions ahead of the Trojans 10-7. The second quarter began with a Lincoln offensive turnover and a defensive fumble recovery by VSU's junior, linebacker Alandus Beggs. Beggs had 3.5 tackles and applied constant pressure to LU's quarterback forcing 3 hurries.



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Chowan Hawks Use Potent Passing Attack to Defeat Shaw, 34-32

MURFREESBORO, North Carolina – Kevin Hodrick and Robert Holland each caught one touchdown and had over 100 yards receiving as the Chowan University Hawks defeated the Shaw University Bears in thrilling fashion on Saturday, 34-32.

In front of a Homecoming crowd, Hawks quarterback Cameron Stover threw for 374 yards and four touchdowns to torch the Shaw defense, who entered tonight's action allowing a CIAA-best 92.3 passing yards per game. DaKorion DeSamme recorded two interceptions in a 29 second span, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

Chowan, who had never beaten Shaw before tonight, improves to 2-6 overall and picks up their first CIAA win of the season (1-4). Shaw, the two-time defending CIAA champions, falls to 2-6 overall and 2-3 in CIAA play.

“We have faced some adversity this year and to our guys' credit, they competed tonight,” said Head Coach Tim Place. “We showed up today. They competed for 60 minutes and that's all we can ask.”

The Bears struck first in an action packed first quarter. Following a Chowan fumble on their opening play from scrimmage, Shaw took over at the CU 11 yard line. Two plays later, Frederick Holliday rushed for a five yard touchdown to give the Bears a 7-0 lead just 2:32 into the contest. Holliday led the Bears' rushing attack with 100 yards on 24 carries.

Chowan did not wait long to respond. The Hawks forced a three-and-out on Shaw's next possession and took over on the Shaw 32 yard line. Stover found a wide open Sherman Ratliff on the first play of the drive to tie the game at seven.

Reigning CIAA Quarterback of the Week Quinshon Odom led the Bears on a five play, 71 yard drive midway through the quarter to answer the Hawks' score. Odom was 3-3 through the air on the drive, throwing for 60 yards. He found Malik Cross for a 49 yard touchdown pass with 7:03 remaining in the quarter.

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Elizabeth City Claims CIAA Crown with 23-12 Win over BSU

Elizabeth City, North Carolina -- Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) Vikings laid claim to the CIAA Northern Division title, defeating Bowie State University (BSU) Bulldogs 23-12 on Oct. 22. The loss eliminates Bowie State from a chance at playing in the conference championship game, and evens their record at 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the CIAA.

Bowie State totaled 374 yards on offense, including 204 rushing yards and 170 passing, while Elizabeth City State accumulated only 314 yards of total offense, 219 rushing and 95 passing. But the Bulldogs, the CIAA’s most-penalized team, shot themselves in the foot again as they were flagged 12 times for 82 yards. Elizabeth City State was not immune from the penalty bug either, penalized 10 times for 84 yards.

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Bowie State football team suffers loss

The Elizabeth City State football scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns and notched a 23-12 victory against Bowie State on Saturday in Elizabeth City, N.C.  With the win, Elizabeth City State (6-2 overall, 4-1 league) clinched the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association North Division title. The loss eliminated Bowie State (4-4, 3-3) as a contender for a spot in the CIAA title game.

Bowie State outgained the Vikings in total offensive yardage, 374-314. But the Bulldogs were penalized 12 times for 82 yards. The Bulldogs got field goals of 38 and 27 yards from Michael Gagne in the first and third quarters and trailed 10-6 heading into the fourth quarter.

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Albany State 19, Clark Atlanta 13

WAYCROSS, Georgia -- When Brandon Hamilton stepped off the Albany State bus in Waycross on Saturday, everything was telling him it wasn't going to be his day. He was worn out. His legs felt tight. He was simply unsure of himself. "I thought I was going to struggle," Hamilton said after the SIAC East Division showdown with Clark Atlanta.

But then kick by perfect kick, the sophomore from Atlanta gained confidence, putting the Rams and their struggling offense on his back and leading them to a 19-13 victory by hitting all four of his field goal attempts.

That's right -- it was ASU's kicking game and a strong defensive performance that kept the Rams (6-2, 4-1) undefeated in the division and in the driver's seat for a trip to next month's inaugural SIAC Championship game.

"What a good day for our kickers," ASU coach Mike White said about Hamilton, punter Luke Jones and PAT specialist Tory Torstenson.

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