DII National Rankings Shuffle Post-Conference Championships

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY WOMEN MOVES TO #1 IN RANKINGS

NEW ORLEANS – With the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field regular season in the books, a pair of recent national team champions are favored in the latest National Team Computer Rankings announced Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The defending national indoor champion Adams State men and 2014 national outdoor champion Lincoln (Mo.) women are atop the penultimate edition of the rankings, which aim to predict how teams will fare at the NCAA Championships on March 11-12 in Pittsburg, Kansas.

These rankings take into account the entirety of the regular season, regardless of athletes’ intended events at the NCAA Championships. Next Monday’s pre-Championships rankings will consider only the entries into the NCAA Championships.

Behind ASU (206.66 points) in the men’s rankings were No. 2 Tiffin (176.60) and GLIAC Champion No. 3 Grand Valley State (171.88) – which swapped spots from a week ago – and the stationary duo of CIAA Champion No. 4 Saint Augustine’s (155.43) and No. 5 Texas A&M-Kingsville (106.60).

MIAA Champion Lincoln (Mo.) (176.29 points) returned to the top spot, followed by MIAA rival No. 2 Pittsburg State (147.85). Last week’s chart-topper, Hillsdale (139.68), dropped two spots to No. 3 – a fall mirrored by GLIAC Champion No. 4 Grand Valley State (123.54). GLVC Champ Lewis (104.52) fell one spot to No. 5 to round out the top five.

The ASU men may have only finished third at the RMAC Championships, but the Grizzlies are projected to do much better at a meet like the NCAA Championships. While Adams State proved to be a less complete team this past weekend than winner No. 7 Colorado Mines or runner-up No. 20 Chadron State, no team in the country is as top-heavy as the Grizzlies.

ASU boasts a nation-best seven performers ranked top-three nationally, three more than the four each from No. 3 Grand Valley State and No. 6 Academy of Art. The Grizzlies are tied for the most top-10 ranked performers with 13, a total equaled by No. 3 GVSU.

Tiffin moved up to No. 2 behind sprinter Lamar Hargrove, who is now No. 1 in the nation both at 60 and 200 meters, and is positioning himself for a run at a third-consecutive sweep of the national 60-meter and 200-meter crowns.

The MIAA Champion Lincoln (Mo.) women will hope to top MIAA runner-up No. 2 Pittsburg State again next weekend, again on the Gorilla’s home track. The Blue Tigers took down PSU, 169-147, this past weekend for the league title.

As it currently stands, the Blue Tigers have a narrow advantage over Pitt State in terms of total top-10 ranked athletes, 10-9 – though No. 4 GVSU tops both squads with 12 – but Lincoln has the edge in top-three performers. Seven Blue Tigers are ranked No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 in their respective events, to Pittsburg State’s four.

No. 3 Hillsdale is next behind Lincoln on that list with five, followed by PSU, No. 6 Johnson C. Smith, and RMAC Champion No. 7 New Mexico Highlands.

No top-25 team for either gender moved up farther than did the Northeast-10 Champion No. 16 American International men, who climbed up 22 spots from last time.

The biggest gainer for the women was NSIC Champion No. 13 Minnesota State, which improved eight spots from the previous week.

2016 Week #6 — March 1
next ranking: MONDAY, March 7 (pre-championships)
Rank	Institution	Points	Conference	Head Coach (Yr)	Last Week
1	Adams State	206.66	RMAC	Rock Light (3rd)	1
2	Tiffin	176.60	GLIAC	Jeremy Croy (16th)	3
3	Grand Valley State	171.88	GLIAC	Jerry Baltes (17th)	2
4	Saint Augustine’s	155.43	CIAA	George Williams (40th)	4
5	Texas A&M-Kingsville	106.60	Lone Star	Ryan Dall (8th)	5
6	Academy of Art	102.74	PacWest	Kevin LaSure (1st)	6
7	Colorado Mines	94.68	RMAC	Matt Sparks (3rd)	7
8	Lincoln (Mo.)	84.91	MIAA	Victor Thomas (15th)	NR
9	Minnesota State	83.03	NSIC	Jim Dilling (3rd)	8
10	Pittsburg State	76.22	MIAA	Russ Jewett (28th)	14
11	Western State	72.29	RMAC	Chris Bradford (7th)	9
12	Azusa Pacific	62.60	PacWest	Kevin Reid (21st)	10
13	Ashland	61.92	GLIAC	Jud Logan (13th)	11
14	Lewis	55.09	GLVC	Dana Schwarting (11th)	23
15	Missouri Southern	50.56	MIAA	Bryan Schiding (3rd)	16
16	American International	49.23	Northeast-10	Leo Mayo (10th)	38
17	Central Missouri	48.98	MIAA	Kirk Pedersen (20th)/Kip Janvrin (18th)	18
18	Alaska Anchorage	48.60	GNAC	Michael Friess (26th)	12
19	Texas A&M-Commerce	48.29	Lone Star	Ross Smithey (1st)	13
20	Chadron State	47.89	RMAC	Brad Gamble (2nd)	20
21	Findlay	46.19	GLIAC	Marc Arce (28th)	27
22	West Texas A&M	41.15	Lone Star	Darren Flowers (7th)	15
23	Southern Connecticut	38.82	Northeast-10	John Wallin (6th)	19
24	Shorter	38.77	Gulf South	Scott Byrd (9th)	17
25	Saginaw Valley State	38.67	GLIAC	Rod Cowan (7th)	22
Dropped out: No. 21 MSU Moorhead, No. 24 Johnson C. Smith, No. 25 Black Hills State 2016 Week #6 — March 1 next ranking: MONDAY, March 7 (pre-championships) Rank Institution Points Conference Head Coach (Yr) Last Week 1 Lincoln (Mo.) 176.29 MIAA Victor Thomas (15th) NR 2 Pittsburg State 147.85 MIAA Russ Jewett (30th) 3 3 Hillsdale 139.68 GLIAC Andrew Towne (5th) 1 4 Grand Valley State 123.54 GLIAC Jerry Baltes (17th) 2 5 Lewis 104.52 GLVC Dana Schwarting (11th) 4 6 Johnson C. Smith 101.75 CIAA Lennox Graham (9th) 6 7 New Mexico Highlands 100.56 RMAC Bob DeVries (24th) 7 8 Alaska Anchorage 93.82 GNAC Michael Friess (26th) 5 9 Minnesota Duluth 91.58 NSIC Joanna Warmington (5th) 8 10 Central Missouri 70.56 MIAA Kirk Pedersen (20th)/Kip Janvrin (18th) 12 11 Ashland 70.36 GLIAC Jud Logan (13th) 11 12 Saint Augustine’s 68.99 CIAA George Williams (40th) 9 13 Minnesota State 63.51 NSIC Jen Blue (16th) 21 14 Shorter 57.17 Gulf South Scott Byrd (9th) 10 15 Merrimack 52.34 Northeast-10 Jacky Mendes (2nd) 14 16 Findlay 49.78 GLIAC Marc Arce (28th) 18 17 U-Mary 47.32 NSIC Mike Thorson (22nd) 15 18 Missouri Southern 42.71 MIAA Patty Vavra (22nd) 23 19 Winona State 42.21 NSIC Mason Rebarchek (12th) 17 20 Southern Connecticut 42.19 Northeast-10 Melissa Stoll (4th) 20 21 Seattle Pacific 39.11 GNAC Karl Lerum (11th) 13 22 Adams State 38.22 RMAC Rock Light (3rd) 22 23 Angelo State 34.93 Lone Star James Reid (17th) 19 24 Chadron State 33.72 RMAC Brad Gamble (2nd) 27 25 Texas A&M-Kingsville 33.43 Lone Star Ryan Dall (8th) 16 Dropped out: No. 24 Cedarville, No. 25 Azusa Pacific View All Teams Beyond the Top 25 EVENT SQUAD RANKINGSNEW: Which programs are the deepest in each event? By Event | By Team REGIONAL PDFs Top 10 | By Team | By Event COURTESY Kyle Terwillegar, USTFCCCA

Tuskegee advances in SIAC Tournament

COURTESY TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama | After trailing for much of the game, the Tuskegee University men's basketball team overcame their biggest deficit of the season and defeated Clark Atlanta 76-66 in the opening round of the SIAC Tournament late Monday night.

Tim Sanders tied the game at 63-all with 4:01 to play in the game for Clark Atlanta before Tuskegee went on an 8-0 run to take the lead for good and run themselves to a second round matchup Wednesday night against Stillman College.

The game was sealed when Joshua Culver hit a hook shoot with 3:38 to play, and was cemented when James Eads drained a three-pointer from the corner with three minutes left to put the game away.

Eads led Tuskegee (14-12) with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the floor, and 5-of-9 from the free throw line. The freshman led five players in double figures with Kevin May finishing with 13 points and five assists, while James Vinson, Culver and Camden Foster finished with 11 points each.

Elijah McMillan finished with a game-high 12 rebounds.

The Golden Tigers finished shooting 44.6 (29-of-65) percent from the floor and 35.3 (6-of-17) percent from beyond the arc. They finished the night shooting 63.2 (12-of-19) percent from the free throw line, while forcing 15 Clark Atlanta turnovers.

Damien Enoch led Clark Atlanta with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Tim Sanders added 15 and Derek Harper with 14.

The Panthers finished at 41.7 (25-of-60) percent from the floor, and hitting 33.3 (4-of-12) percent from beyond the arc.

Clark Atlanta was able to extend the lead to 12 late in the first half as they went on a 16-7 run over the final seven minutes. The run seemed to stop when Eads finished a dunk on the offensive end with just 11 seconds remaining in the half, but Clark Atlanta answered when Tim Sanders hit a 15-footer with just two seconds remaining.

The 12-point deficit was the third largest halftime deficit of the season for Tuskegee, trailing only the Saint Leo (16 points) game and Claflin (14 points) game.

Clark Atlanta took their biggest lead of the game at 16 with 17:21 to play in the game, before Tuskegee answered with eight consecutive points on a basket by Kevin May and a three-pointer from Camden Foster. Eads got the Golden Tigers to within single digits with a lay-up among the post players to trim the deficit to 48-40 with 14:44 to play in the game.

The run continued on the next possession as May finished it with a floater to pull Tuskegee to within 48-42, before Clark Atlanta answered with a basket of their own ending the 10-0 run by the Golden Tigers. The Panthers answered with five consecutive points of their own forcing a timeout.

Tuskegee went on a 12-2 run midway through the second half to close to within 55-54 with 7:43 to play in the contest. The run was highlighted by a Vinson lay-up with 10:12 to play. The run continued with a Foster three-pointer and a May lay-up. The Golden Tigers had a chance to take the lead two consecutive trips down the floor, before the run was ended by a Sanders free throw with 7:43 to play in the game to push the lead 56-54.

That set the stage for the final four minutes of play.

The Golden Tigers and Stillman will do battle at 7:45 pm at Bill Harris Arena Wednesday night with a berth in the semifinals on the line.

For more information on Tuskegee University athletics, follow us on Twitter @MyTUAthletics and like us on Facebook.

BOX SCORE

COURTESY TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Hampton Pirates Clinch MEAC Top Seed With Win Over DSU

HAMPTON, Virginia -- With a 79-65 win over Delaware State in its home finale on Monday evening at the Convocation Center, the Hampton University men's basketball team clinched the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) regular-season title.

It is the first such title for the Pirates (18-9, 13-2 MEAC) since 2002.

The Pirates, defending MEAC Tournament champions, have won five straight games. They will be the top seed in next week's MEAC Tournament (March 7-12 in Norfolk, Va.).

Quinton Chievous had a monster game to lead four Pirates in double figures, tying his career high of 29 points on 13-for-17 shooting and grabbing a team-high 14 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season. Lawrence Cooks came off the bench to add 16 points and four assists.

Brian Darden added 15 points, hitting three 3-pointers, and Reginald Johnson, Jr. had 13 points.

Jervon Pressley grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots.

The Pirates shot 43.3 percent (26-for-60) from the floor – including a 50.0 percent clip (14-for-28) in the second half. Hampton was 7-for-21 (33.3 percent) from behind the arc and 20-for-30 (66.7 percent) at the free throw line.

Hampton also held a 42-37 edge on the glass.

Much like Saturday night against Howard, the Pirates found themselves trailing in the first half on Monday; despite jumping out to 12-4 lead, Hampton found itself down 26-20 at the 5:47 mark after the Hornets went on a 22-8 run.

A Mrdjan Gasevic layup gave Delaware State a 35-26 lead with 1:58 left in the half, but that would be the Hornets' last field goal of the half; Hampton, meanwhile, ended the half with five unanswered points, cutting the gap to 35-31 on a Chievous layup with 50 seconds left.

Chievous led all scorers with 14 points at the half.

But the Pirates grabbed momentum coming out of the break, opening the second half with a 13-4 run to take a 44-39 lead at the 13:08 mark following a three from Cooks. The Hornets fought back, taking a 50-48 lead with 10:28 remaining after a Devin Morgan three.

Hampton responded with a 15-2 run, taking a 63-52 lead with 5:21 left to play after a layup from Darden. In fact, after the Hornets took that 50-48 lead, the Pirates outscored them 21-15 over the remainder of the contest.

Two Cooks free throws with 57 seconds left gave Hampton its largest lead of the night.

Hampton has won each of the last three match-ups with Delaware State, including last season's MEAC Tournament championship game.

Delaware State (7-23, 5-10 MEAC) shot 41.7 percent (25-for-60) from the floor and was held to just 37.9 percent shooting (11-for-29) in the second half. The Hornets went just 10-for-18 (55.6 percent) from the free throw line.

DeAndre Haywood led the Hornets with 18 points.

The Pirates will close out the regular season on Thursday at Norfolk State at 8 p.m. For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.

BOX SCORE

COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

TSU Tigers clinch regular season crown

HOUSTON, Texas -- Texas Southern University won its third Southwestern Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship in four years defeating Alabama State 96-86 from H&PE Arena Monday night.

Chris Thomas notched his first and the team's second triple-double of the season racking up 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. David Blanks recorded the teams' first on Jan. 2 in an 88-66 win over Southern.

"This is a big win for our program," said TSU head coach Mike Davis. "When I took the job here our AD said that there would be two goals for us to accomplish each year. First, graduate our student-athletes and second compete for championships. We're really excited about the direction this program is headed and this title is a collective effort of all the hard work our team has put in all season."

Derrick Griffin tied his career-high with 23 points and 11 rebounds in a game that his team never trailed in. The Tigers (16-12, 15-1) won their sixth in a row and stayed three games ahead of second-place Jackson State with two games remaining.

Jamel Waters scored 29 points, six rebounds and four assists while Tony Armstrong scored 18 for ASU (12-16, 7-9).

The Hornets pulled to within five on Nicholas Barnes three pointer with 1:33 left but TSU sealed the deal with a three point play the ensuing possession.

BOX SCORE

COURTESY TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

ASU's Melendez Reflects On 500 Career Wins

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Friday night was a time for reflection for Alabama State head baseball coach Mervyl Melendez.

The Hornets pulled out a win over Winthrop for their first victory of the season. For the Hornets' fifth-year coach, it was the 500th of his coaching career, making him the third youngest coach ever to hit that milestone.

"I've been very fortunate in my life and I have to thank a lot of people for giving me an opportunity to do what I do," he said. "First and foremost, I think my parents have had the biggest influence in baseball on my career. Professionally, Brian Reese, as my mentor, is the one who had the biggest influence in me being a college coach. And the one that believed in me and gave me the actual job was (athletic director) Lynn Thompson at Bethune-Cookman.

"I have a lot to be thankful for, but those people God put in my path to allow me to do what I do. You never know which way God is going to turn you and which way you're going to go, but fortunately enough He put the right people in front of me for me to do this."

Melendez never thought much about coaching as a youth, but he thought about baseball a lot. He grew up in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the same hometown as Major League standout Roberto Clemente, but for him the idols lived much closer. His father Gamaliel had been a baseball player and pointed Mervyl in that direction at an early age.

"My mom (Nellie Nunez) and dad, especially my dad, is an avid baseball fan," he said. "He played baseball, semi-pro in Puerto Rico, so we grew up playing organized baseball -- there was no T-ball or anything like that -- at the age of four. He knew his sons were going to be baseball players. And my mom was my biggest fan. I think they both worked to make our dreams come true. I think they both sacrificed their careers, in a lot of ways, to make sure that their sons were going to do whatever they set out to do."

The baseball talent was enough to earn him a ticket to Bethune-Cookman, where he earned all-conference honors as a junior and senior in 1995-96 while splitting time between third base and relief pitcher. Even then, if he thought about a future in baseball, it would have been as a player, not a coach.

"My last year in college, before I became an assistant coach, I didn't want to coach," he recalled. "I was approached by Coach Reese, telling me, what do you think about staying here and being an assistant coach? I had to think about it because it wasn't in my sight. I didn't want to do that. That's why I have to thank him because he brought it up to me and he brought it up to me in a way that made sense."

He served as an assistant in 1997-99 before the job as head coach was presented to him. Over the next 12 seasons, Melendez would advance to the NCAA regionals 11 times, winning 10 conference titles and compiling a record of 379-320.  Along the way, he developed a style of baseball that preached defense and pitching but relied on aggressive base running to generate offense.

"I think you develop your own ideas and your own patterns and your own philosophies of coaching, but I do like the aggressiveness," he noted. "I've taken a lot from different coaches and different programs. It's a good thing philosophies are not copyrighted.

"I have taken some from Andy Lopez when he coached at Florida, I've taken some from Jim Morris at Miami, from (Florida coach) Kevin O'Sullivan.  Even when we played Oral Roberts, I got a couple of things, how aggressive they were in the base-running part of it. Once again, my mentor and the one that takes most of the credit in the baseball part of it and how to coach the game of baseball in college is Brian Reese. I think I owe a lot to him. I've mentioned it to him but he doesn't know to what magnitude."

One part of his success which is fairly unique is Melendez's willingness and ability to recruit his native Puerto Rico, a hotbed of untapped collegiate baseball talent.

"It didn't start out that way," he said. "It became that way a little later when we started recruiting the Florida area and we knew the ones we were recruiting against were taking the bulk of our players. I'm proud of that because a lot of those guys don't get the opportunity because a lot of college coaches don't go there to recruit. Now, in hindsight, I'm giving opportunities that may not have had that opportunity. It didn't start like that."

The aggressive offense, combined with a talented defense, has led to success both at Bethune-Cookman and at Alabama State, where he is 122-105 in his fifth season with the Hornets, who return to action Wednesday at Jacksonville State before hosting Jackson State this weekend. In 17 seasons, he has 501 wins for an average of 30 wins a year.

"I never looked at it that way," Melendez said. "To me, the internal pressure of winning was never about wins and losses. It was about doing it the way I want it done, which eventually will translate into wins and losses. I never really thought about how many championships I would win and how many wins I would rack up. What was important to me was to run a good program."

At Alabama State, his 100 wins in 2013-15 marks the best three-year stretch in the history of the program. In 2014, the Hornets were 37-20 with a first-place finish in the Southwestern Conference East Division. The overall wins, conference wins (21) and first-place division finish were all high water marks for the Hornets' baseball program. Along the way, Alabama State has posted wins over programs such as Troy and Auburn and baseball powerhouses like Miami and Cal State-Fullerton, creating an expectation for success that was unprecedented at ASU.

"The honest truth is when you're coming into a new program, you don't know how it's going to work out," Melendez said. "You try to do the best job you can at whatever you know, but you never expect a lot of success because you've got to live day to day and not have those expectations that if we don't win a championship, it's been a failure. We've been able to win, we've been able to beat a lot of opponents that a lot of people here seven or eight years ago didn't think this program could but in the meantime we've graduated a lot of kids.

"You know what I'm most proud of? We had a section here of former players. We never called them, we never told them come to the home opener, but about 10-15 players were here (for Friday's game against Winthrop) that were proud of being a former ASU baseball player. That makes me feel good, that they want to give back and still be part of the program. In that sense, that's why we do what we do."

Youngest to 500 NCAA college baseball wins
1.       Keith Guttin, Missouri State, 40 years, 9 months, 18 days, recorded his 500th win on May 17, 1996 vs. Wichita State.
2.       Gene Stephenson, Wichita State, 41 years, 5 months, 23 days, recorded his 500th win on Feb. 22, 1987 vs. Kearney State.
3.       Mervyl Melendez, Alabama State, 42 years, 22 days, recorded his 500^th win on Feb. 26, 2016 vs. Winthrop.

COURTESY ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

Rush to meet Tougaloo in GCAC tourney at 2 p.m. Friday

GCAC Tournament website

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana men's basketball will take another shot at Tougaloo in the opening round of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. Tip-off will be 2 p.m. Friday at Dillard's Dent Hall.
    
The GCAC announced the schedule Sunday. The GCAC Tournament offers free admission at all games for students of GCAC schools with a valid school ID. All other tickets will cost $5. This is the third consecutive year that New Orleans plays host to the GCAC Tournament.
    
The Gold Rush (19-11) tied for third place in the regular-season standings at 6-6 but are seeded fourth. Tougaloo (13-11, 5-7) is seeded fifth.
    
Xavier won its last 10 meetings against Tougaloo, two this season, and shot 50 percent or better from the floor in each of the last six meetings. The Gold Rush defeated the Bulldogs 83-75 at Xavier Jan. 18, then got a 3-pointer at the buzzer from Seth Jackson in an 84-81 victory at Tougaloo this past Monday.
    
Xavier defeated Tougaloo 85-72 in the 2015 GCAC Tournament semifinals.
    
All three Friday men's games will be played at Dillard. Third-seeded Philander Smith will play sixth-seeded Edward Waters at noon, and second-seeded Dillard will play seventh-seeded SUNO at 5 p.m.
    
All women's and men's tournament games Saturday and Sunday will be played at XU's Convocation Center. The Xavier-Tougaloo winner will meet top-seeded Talladega, which has a first-round bye, at 2 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals. The championship game will start at 4:15 p.m. Sunday.
    
The tournament winner will earn an automatic berth to the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship March 16-22 at Kansas City, Mo. Talladega defeated Xavier 76-58 in the 2015 GCAC tourney final at Xavier.
    
The Gold Rush qualified for nationals each of the past five seasons.



Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold 

Nuggets, DU will lead off GCAC tourney at noon Friday

NEW ORLEANS — The women's basketball teams of Xavier University of Louisiana and city rival Dillard will lead off the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament with a noon game Friday at SUNO's facility, The Castle. The GCAC announced the schedule Sunday.
    
The Gold Nuggets (19-11) tied for second place in the regular-season standings at 7-5 but are seeded third. Dillard (9-16, 4-8) is seeded sixth.
    
The GCAC Tournament offers free admission at all games for students of GCAC schools with a valid school ID. All other tickets will cost $5. This is the third consecutive year that New Orleans plays host to the GCAC Tournament.
    
The visiting team won both XU-Dillard matchups this season. Dillard won 57-52 at Xavier Feb. 6, and Xavier won 63-57 Saturday at Dillard. Bo Browder, in his 17th season as coach of the Gold Nuggets, is 6-0 against Dillard in the GCAC Tournament. The most recent victory was 60-47 in the 2014 quarterfinals at Dillard.
    
All three Friday women's games will be played at SUNO's gym. Fourth-seeded Philander Smith will play the defending champion, fifth-seeded SUNO, at 2 p.m., and second-seeded Edward Waters will play seveth-seeded Tougaloo at 5 p.m.
    
All women's and men's tournament games Saturday and Sunday will be played at XU's Convocation Center. The Xavier-Dillard winner will meet the Edward Waters-Tougaloo winner at 5 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals. The championship game will start at 2 p.m. Sunday.
    
The tournament winner will earn an automatic berth to the NAIA Division I National Championship March 16-22 at Independence, Mo. SUNO defeated Xavier 55-47 in the 2015 GCAC tourney final at Xavier.
    
The Gold Nuggets qualified for nationals 18 of the past 21 seasons but did not in 2015.

GCAC Tournament website




Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold 

New coach Massey feels at home at WSSU

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Robert Massey looks around at the facilities, sees the amount of scholarship space available and the winning tradition at Winston-Salem State, and he can’t help but smile.

“It’s the total package,” said Massey, who was hired recently to be an assistant football coach with the Rams. “I’m just happy to now be a part of Winston-Salem State, and the best part is I don’t have to go against them anymore.”

Massey, 50, was fired at Shaw as the head coach after a 1-9 season in 2015, but it didn’t take long for him to land on his feet.

Kienus Boulware, who completed his second season as head coach of the Rams with a CIAA title, didn’t have to venture too far down his list of contacts to find Massey. The two have worked together before as assistants at N.C. Central and Shaw.

CONTINUE READING

Syracuse Football: Scouting Delaware State Transfer DE Gabe Sherrod

SYRACUSE, New York -- Yesterday provided a huge bit of welcome news for Syracuse Orange football fans. Down to just three defensive ends in spring practice, the situation was looking dire for the team to make an addition to ease fears around an overly inexperienced group taking the field this fall.

Luckily, help came in the form of a verbal commitment from Delaware State defensive end transfer Gabe Sherrod. As a graduate student, he'll be able to play right away at SU, and likely shoots to the top of the depth chart, especially given the team's depth issues there. He'd be slated alongside some combination of redshirt freshman Jake Pickard to start with, one would think. while getting ample contributions from Trey Dunkelberger and Kenneth Ruff (both of whom are on campus this spring), and the three incoming freshmen.

But what are we getting from Sherrod, other than starting snaps? Ends up, quite a bit.

 

This season, the big (6-foot-4) end was a force for Delaware State, racking up the second-most tackles for loss in all of the FCS with 25 (!!!). As a converted wideout, Sherrod's used that speed and his hands to quickly get after ball-carriers and get in the way of the football even when the sack fails. Obviously FCS competition is a step down in many cases (especially from a power conference), but his production didn't really dip as opponents ranged from the MEAC to the Big South and even the MAC last year in Kent State. His production and ability to get into the backfield quickly has already come up in conversations for the 2017 NFL Draft. It's worth a quick look at his video below for more.

 

CONTINUE READING

Blue Hose overcome 6 match points, beat Gold Rush 4-3

LAFAYETTE, Louisiana — Presbyterian's Brandon Mills overcame six match points Sunday in a 2-6, 7-6 (13-11), 6-1 victory against Tushar Mandlekar, giving the Blue Hose a 4-3 men's tennis victory against NAIA No. 4 Xavier University of Louisiana.
    
Presbyterian (4-10) snapped the five-dual win streak of the Gold Rush (5-3). Xavier sought its third victory of the season against an NCAA Division I opponent and its third in a row.
    
Mills won at No. 5 singles. "That was a hard-fought match," XU coach A;an Green said. "Mills played big in that tiebreaker, so credit goes to him in that situation. We will learn from this as we move along this season. We could have played better in doubles, which would have made the final match moot."
    
For the third consecutive time against NCAA DIs, Xavier got singles victories from Karan Salwan, Thomas Setodji and Adam Albrecht. Karan Salwan defeated Alexander Lykou 6-1, 6-1 at the top flight, Thomas Setodji beat Alejandro Bejar 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2, and Adam Albrecht defeated Ben Kelley 6-2, 7-5.
    
Presbyterian clinched the doubles point when Mills and Lykou beat Setodji and Kevin Chaouat 6-4.
    
Xavier's men and women will travel to Hattiesburg, Miss., to play NAIA-ranked William Carey at 3 p.m. Friday. There will be duals at XU Tennis Center next weekend; the Gold Nuggets will play NAIA No. 22 LSU-Alexandria at noon Saturday, and the Nuggets and Rush will play William Woods at 11 a.m. Sunday. Admission is free to all XU home duals.

Results


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold 

SWAC rivals Jackson State, Southern set to collide at MGM Park

BILOXI, Mississippi -- Division I college baseball arrives at MGM Park this week.

A match-up between SWAC rivals Jackson State and Southern University starts at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday, marking the beginning of a seven-game series of D1 college games at the new stadium.

Southern Miss-South Alabama will serve as the second and final college game of the week at MGM Park when the two teams play at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday in a long-running regional rivalry.

"This was, in my mind, one of the main reasons we built this stadium," Biloxi Shuckers minority owner Tim Bennett said. "A very close second to minor league baseball was college athletics."

There will also be a high school baseball game at MGM Park at 7 p.m. Thursday when Biloxi and D'Iberville face off.

CONTINUE READING 

Montgomery native Tarvaris Jackson talks Lanier, ASU football

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Tarvaris Jackson has played the last three NFL seasons across the country in Seattle, but still follows and supports his high school and college back home.

The Montgomery native talked Monday about Sidney Lanier High and Alabama State University, two places he made his mark before having a 10-year NFL career. Currently a free agent quarterback, Jackson said he was “surprised” C.J. Harris was fired at Lanier after leading the Poets to the AHSAA Class 5A football playoffs.

“He had been building,” said Jackson about Harris. “They had a good season this year. Made the playoffs. Had everything going in the right direction. Just the timing of it.”

Lanier principal Antonio Williams announced the firing in a statement Feb. 1. Jackson said he didn’t know “everything” that went into the firing, but has spoken to Williams about the situation.

“It’s a sensitive subject, a lot of he say, she say type stuff,” Jackson said. “I just wanted (Williams) to know that I support whoever because it’s my school. They’ve had guys over there that I didn’t know anything about or never heard of before but I supported the school because that’s my school. I always want to see them do well.”

CONTINUE READING

Stillman basketball teams enter tournament on winning streaks

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is having its tournament in Birmingham at the Bill Harris Arena starting today and running through Saturday. Both the Stillman men and women's basketball teams are competing for a chance at the title this year and both are coming into the tournament with a winning streak.

The men's team has won 14 games in a row and 19 of its last 20. Stillman finished its regular season with a 23-5 (17-1 SIAC) record to grab a first round bye and the SIAC West No. 1 seed. The Tigers won't play until Wednesday against the winner of Clark Atlanta vs. Tuskegee University.

“It's been a blessing the whole year. We've been working hard as team getting better on and off the court,” senior guard Devin McNeil said. “We are coming (into the SIAC Tournament) thinking it's a new season, the championship is up for grabs, and everybody is coming to play hard because it's their last go-around too.”

CONTINUE READING 

Langston Lady Lions Close Out Regular Season with W

LANGSTON ENDS REGULAR SEASON 20-6, 14-4 RRAC

LANGSTON, Oklahoma -- It came down to the fire but ultimately the No. 25 Langston Lady Lions prevailed 67-58 over St. Thomas Saturday night, Feb. 27 to close out the regular season.

The Lady Lions trailed 54-53 with 6:15 remaining but Langston didn't fret; sparked by a quick bucket by Sharron Carter (SR/Tulsa, OK), the Lady Lions rolled to an 11-0 scoring run to overtake the Celts 64-54 at the 2:49 minute mark.

St. Thomas worked their way within six but a missed bucket by Maghen Lormand and a three-pointer by Darreion Clark (JR/Tulsa, OK) put Langston up by nine and the game out of reach with 30 seconds remaining.

With the win the Lady Lions finish the regular season at 21-6 and 14-4 in the Red River conference; Langston is in sole-possession of second-place and will receive a first-round bye in the RRAC tournament.

The RRAC tournament starts Thursday, March 3 in Longview, Texas. The final bracket will be announced on Sunday, Feb. 28.

Offensively, the Lady Lions finished at 45 percent (24-of-53) and combined to 14-of-20 free throw tries; T'Keya Mason (SR/Long Beach, CA) led Langston in scoring with 22 points.

Che'Ron Lewis (JR/Cushing, OK) added 15 and Clark pumped in 13 points.

 

 Box Score

 

COURTESY LINCOLN UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

Langston Blows By St. Thomas

LANGSTON, Oklahoma – The No. 13 Langston Lions lived up to their billing Saturday night, Feb. 27 with a 100-78 victory over St. Thomas at C.F. Gayles Gymnasium.

From the opening tip it was complete domination by the Lions as they built a 23-point lead at 50-27 with 3:39 left in the first half; Langston led at the break 57-39 and shot a remarkable 60 percent (18-of-30) and knocked down 12-of-14 free throws.

The second-half was much of the same as the Lions pushed their lead to 30 points following a three-pointer by Antonio Arnold (SR/Flint, Mich.) to make it 92-62.

The victory wraps up a 22-6 regular season for Langston; the Lions currently sit in second-place in the Red River conference standings at 14-3 and will await their draw in the conference tournament.
The RRAC tournament starts Thursday, March 3 in Longview, Texas. The final bracket will be announced on Sunday, Feb. 28.

Offensively, the Lions shot 56 percent (36-of-64) from the field, went 14-for-27 from behind the arc and nailed 14-of-20 free throw attempts.

Curtis Jones (SR/Chicago, Ill.) paced Langston with 25 points, Terrell Jones (JR/Memphis, Tenn.) added 14, Renard Green (JR/Dallas, Texas) chipped in 13 and Arnold pumped in 12 points.

COURTESY LANGSTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

Wiley Wildcats clinch tournament berth with victory over Huston-Tillots

AUSTIN, Texas – The Wiley College men's basketball team guaranteed itself one more basketball game, as it clinched a spot in the Red River Athletics Conference Tournament with a 76-68 victory over Huston-Tillotson Saturday.

The Wildcats (16-11, 8-10 in RRAC) limited Huston Tillotson, which averages 93 points per game, to 37 percent shooting. Wiley held Shai Fields, who is the top scorer in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, to 14 points on 15 shot attempts.

"We made sure we knew where Fields was at all times," coach Jameus Hartsfield said. "He's a really good offensive player and the team feeds off him."

Wiley College made 48 percent of its field goal attempts and made seven of its 15 3-point attempts. The Wildcats led 37-28 at halftime. In the second half, Wiley led by as many as 19 and led by double digits most of the half.

Kevondric Davis (SO/Shreveport, LA) led all scorers with 17 points. Patrick Banks (JR/Jackson, MS) had his most productive game of the season, as he recorded a double-double with 16 points and 16 rebounds off the bench.

"Banks played as if it was do or die situation," Hartsfield said. "I've challenged him to bring that same energy through the tournament."

George Page (JR/Winnfield, LA), who is a RRAC First Team All-Conference candidate and Terrell Guy Jr. (SR/Houston, TX) finished in double figures with 16 and 12 points, respectively. Andre Jackson (SO/Natchitoches, LA) recorded a game-high eight assists.

The Wildcats will play in the first round of the Red River Athletics Conference Tournament on Thursday. Opponent and time is to be determined.

FULL STATS

COURTESY WILEY COLLEGE ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

Lincoln to Host Emporia State in MIAA Tourney First Round

2016 Senior Day Ceremony Photo Gallery

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri --  The Lincoln men's basketball team earned the No. 7 seed in the 2016 MIAA Tournament and will host No. 10 Emporia State in a first round game on Tuesday (March 1) at 7:00 p.m. CST.

The Blue Tigers tied for fifth in the final MIAA standings with an 11-11 conference record, and finished the season 15-13 overall. Emporia State, meanwhile, ended the year 13-15 overall and 10-12 in MIAA play. Lincoln swept the regular season series, beating the Hornets 71-65 in Emporia, Kan. on Jan. 2 before winning a 76-70 decision against ESU on Feb. 13.

The winner of Tuesday night's game will advance to Kansas City to play No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney on Friday (March 4) at 2:15 p.m. CST.

Complete 2016 MIAA Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket

Tickets for Tuesday night's game in Jason Gym will cost $10 for adults and $5 for students, while children six and under will receive free admission. Due to this being a postseason contest, tickets for Lincoln students, with a valid ID, will cost $5. Normal regular season MIAA rules will apply to the contest, with the exception that media timeouts will occur every four minutes instead of every five. As usual, live stats and video will be available at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/lincoln/.

This will be the first postseason appearance of any kind for Lincoln since the 1986-87 season, and it will mark the first time either LU basketball team has hosted a playoff game since the MIAA began playing first round games at campus sites in 2012-13.



Dan Carr, Assistant AD for Media Relations
LINCOLN UNIVERSITY BLUE TIGERS ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

TSU Track and Field Places Third at OVC Indoor Championship

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – The Tennessee State men’s track and field team earned a third place finish at the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championship on Saturday at the Gentry Center. 15 different athletes scored points in individual events on the day for TSU.

 

With a score of 132.5, the Flying Tigers finished just 7.5 points behind first-place Eastern Illinois (140 points), while Southeast Missouri took second with 134 points.

 

Quamel Prince (Nashville, Tenn.) won gold in the 800m with a new OVC Indoor Championship record time of 1:49.80, finishing nearly three seconds ahead of the runner-up. The time beats the old meet record of 1:50.03 set by Murray State’s Stevon Roberts at the 1992 Championship. The time is also the best Prince has run indoors in his collegiate career.

The Flying Tigers added four individual silver medals on the day to go with a silver in the 4x400m relay.

 

Shawn Harris (Memphis, Tenn.) took second in the 55m hurdles (7.73), while Malik Wright (Tampa, Fla.) clocked in at 21.88 in the 200m to finish in second. In the field events, Marc McCoy (Tampa, Fla.) set a new personal record in the triple jump with a mark of 15.25m to take second, and Kyle Washington-Scott (St. Louis, Mo.) came up with a throw of 16.68m to earn a silver medal in the shot put.

 

TSU’s 4x400m relay squad comprised of Jason Griffin (Gallatin, Tenn.), Jontue McDowell (Jacksonville, Fla.), Prince and Wright put together the event’s second-fastest time of 3:15.87.

 

Tennessee State added three bronze medals on the day, good for six points apiece toward team scoring. Griffin clocked in third in the 55m hurdles (7.74), Shaquille Cragwall (Lebanon, Tenn.) took third in the triple jump (15.13m) and Roc-M Nesbitt (Atlanta, Ga.) threw the shot put 16.19m for a bronze medal.

 

In fourth place in their respective events on the day were Kareem Nicholas (Atlanta, Ga.) in the triple jump (15.13m), Wright in the 400m (48.93), Kenji Anderson (Cordova, Tenn.) in the heptathlon (4488) and James Stewart (Nashville, Tenn.) in the 200m (22.32).

 

OVC INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
1) Eastern Illinois 140
2) SE Missouri 134
3) Tennessee State 132.5
4) Eastern Kentucky 99
5) SIU-Edwardsville 87
6) Belmont 64.5

COMPLETE RESULTS
PHOTO GALLERY - BY SAM JORDAN
PHOTO GALLERY - BY KATHERINE SEGHERS

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

CHAMPIONS! TSU Tigerbelles Capture Fifth OVC Indoor Championship

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Powered by nine top three individual finishes on Saturday at the Gentry Center, the Tennessee State women’s track and field team earned its fifth Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championship, besting the field with 124 points. TSU Head Coach Chandra Cheeseborough-Guice won her fifth OVC Indoor Coach of the Year award on the women’s side on the day.

 

The Tigerbelles, which also won the OVC Indoor Championship in 2002, 2003, 2008 and 2014, finished 25 points ahead of Eastern Illinois in second place with 99 points.

 

Amber Hughes (Atlanta, Ga.) won three individual gold medals on the day, posting first-place finishes in the 200m (24.16), 55m hurdles (7.62) and triple jump (13.35m). She tacked on a fourth-place performance in the 55m (6.96). 

 

Hughes set a new meet record in the triple jump with a distance of 13.35m, tying for the fourth-best in Division I this season. The effort tops her previous career best of 13.29m from the Gladstein Invitational. The previous meet record was 13.00m by SIUE’s Jatavia Wright in 2014.

 

In the Tigerbelles’ other top finish on the day, the 4x400m relay team turned in a record-setting first place time of 3:42.35. Hughes teamed with Clairwin Dameus (Boynton Beach, Fla.), Kayla Pryor (Ellenwood, Ga.) and Christian Pryor (Ellenwood, Ga.) to break the old OVC Indoor Championship record time of 3:42.73 set by TSU in 2014.

 

Dameus added crucial points to TSU’s total by winning silver medals in the 55m (6.95) and the 55m hurdles (7.68) to equal 16 points.

 

Helping the Tigerbelles complete the sweep in the triple jump, Amber Townsend (Atlanta, Ga.) captured the silver medal with a jump of 12.53m, while Cyra Beard (Jackson, Tenn.) took home the bronze in third place (12.43m). The jumps were both new personal records for Townsend and Beard.  

Crystal Williams (Gainesville, Fla.) added another medal, winning bronze in the 55m hurdles (7.95), while Christian Pryor gave TSU five points thanks to her fourth place finish in the 800m (2:13.40). The time was the best of Pryor’s indoor career.

 

COMPLETE RESULTS
PHOTO GALLERY - BY SAM JORDAN
PHOTO GALLERY - BY KATHERINE SEGHERS

 

OVC INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
1) Tennessee St. 124
2) Eastern Illinois 99
3) Eastern Kentucky 74
4) Murray State 68
5) Austin Peay 63
6) SE Missouri 56
7) SIU-Edwardsville 53
8) Tennessee Tech 49
9) Jacksonville St. 47
10) Belmont 30

 

 COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Virginia Union Wins CIAA Women's Basketball Championship with Late Rally Over Shaw, 70-66

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- Virginia Union used a late 10-2 fourth quarter rally to down Shaw 70-66 to win their second title in program history.

Virginia Union (25-2) held Shaw (24-7) in check for the final 3:30 of the contest, thanks to the Panther duo of Kiana Johnson and Lady Walker, who contributed all 10 VUU points on the championship-clinching run.

As a team, Virginia Union shot 34.6% (27-78) from the field and 28.1% (9-32) from three point range. Shaw returned a 32.4% (22-68) shooting percentage and the normally reliable Bears managed only a 15.0% (2-20) outing from long range.

Northern Division top seeded Virginia Union wasted no time in solidifying the early first quarter lead, as they vaulted to the early 10-3 lead capped by a Taylor White jumper. Shaw quickly erased the seven point deficit when Eboni Ross and Kaula Jacks scored on consecutive possessions to draw even at 10-10 at the 3:03 mark. Over the final stages of the first quarter, Shaw was able to take the 11-10 lead after a Tabatha Anderson free throw, but VUU's Kiana Johnson regained the lead for the Panthers at 13-11 when she cashed in from long range.

In the second quarter, the teams battled through three lead changes as neither team could pull away. Virginia Union gained a three point advantage at the 8:01 mark when Kiana Johnson nailed a three-pointer, but Shaw's Fantasha Tyson equaled that shot with one of her own with 6:18 left to again tie the score at 21-21. VUU would then take the lead on a Taylor White free throw and would made it a three point game at 26-23 when Johnson connected for another basket with 3:04 to play.

Shaw's Kaula Jacks would pull the Bears to within one (28-27) after a jumper at 2:08. After forcing a VUU turnover, Eboni Ross gave Shaw the 29-28 lead after a layup with 25 seconds left and was fouled on the play by Lady Walker. Ross would hit the free throw to extend Shaw's lead to 30-28, a mark that they would take into the halftime break, as Virginia Union could not get another shot off in the half.

After Ross extended the Shaw lead to 31-28 on a free throw at the start of the third quarter, the Panthers' Johnson would connect from long range to tie it once again, this time at 31-31.

Tied at 41-41 at the 4:52 mark, Shaw would go on a 6-0 run over the next 1:40 to take a 47-41 lead after Aaliyah Mercer converted a free throw. Virginia Union again made a big play, this time from Lady Walker, as she cut the Bear lead to 47-44, after knocking down a layup while getting fouled, and she added the free throw for the three-point play.

After a Shaw free throw on the other end, Kiana Johnson launched a deep three pointer that again trimmed the Bears' lead to 47-48 with 2:34 to play. Shaw again pushed the ball inside, earning a foul and Eboni Ross canned both free throws to go up 50-47. Following the free throws, Virginia Union connected from deep again, this time from Zana Godoy, tying the game again, at 50-50. Shaw would then get baskets from Jacks and Ross to close the quarter, with the Bears holding the 54-52 advantage.

Shaw kept the Panthers at bay through much of the fourth quarter, as they matched Virginia Union basket by basket until Kiana Johnson dropped in a three pointer at the 2:43 mark and was fouled. Her free throw rimmed out and Shaw clinged to the 64-63 lead. Following a media timeout with 2:30 to go, the Panthers turned it over with 1:43 left, giving Shaw a chance to extend their lead. After a missed three-pointer and an official's review, Virginia Union retained possession and Lady Walker gave VUU the 65-64 lead in traffic with 1:04 remaining.

In the midst of VUU pressure, they forced a turnover and foul with 50.3 left. CIAA Player of the Year Kiana Johnson splashed a huge three-pointer that gave VUU the 68-64 lead. Shaw then was able to get a layup from Eboni Ross to trim the lead to 68-66 with 7.0 seconds remaining. After the Bears called timeout, Virginia Union called timeout to set up their offense. After two Shaw fouls that put VUU in the bonus, Lady Walker stepped to the line and calmly hit both shots to make it 70-66, still with 7.0 seconds to play.

Following a full timeout by Shaw, the Bears three point attempt was short and VUU secured the rebound to earn their second CIAA Championship.

VUU's Kiana Johnson was named Tournament MVP while teammates Rahni Bell and Lady Walker earned All-Tournament honors. Shaw's Kaula Jacks, Eboni Ross, and Tabatha Anderson also received All-tournament plaudits.

With the win Virginia Union earns the CIAA's automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Division II Tournament. The Official brackets will be unveiled on March 6 at 10:00 p.m. during the selection show at NCAA.com.

PHOTOS

BOX SCORE

2016 CIAA All-Tournament Team
Kiana Johnson Virginia Union - MVP

Shaw -  Tabatha Anderson Virginia Union - Rahni Bell Bowie State - Kiara Colston Livingstone - Amber Curtis Chowan - Alisha Mobley Shaw- Kaula Jacks JCSU - Asha Jordan Shaw - Eboni Ross VUU - Lady Walker

John B. McLendon Sportsmanship Award
Elizabeth City State University

COURTESY CIAA MEDIA RELATIONS

Virginia State Shuts Down Livingstone for CIAA Championship Title

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina --  Guard-forward Javon Moore scored 30 points and guard Kevin Williams added 24 points as Virginia State took charge in the second half to dethrone Livingstone 89-79 for the CIAA Tournament Men's Basketball Championship at Time Warner Cable Arena on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016.

The Trojans used a 12-0 opening run in the second half to win their first title since claiming back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1988. They outscored the two-time defending champions 54-43 in the second half after trailing 36-35 at halftime.

"I'm just so proud of my guys," said Trojans' Head Coach Lonnie Blow, Jr., who became the first coach in history to lead two different teams to CIAA men's basketball titles. "We set a goal earlier in the season to be conference champions. In August, we were weightlifting and getting up early, conditioning and doing things like that with this day in mind."

The Trojans (22-5 overall), who earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament, were the best team in the CIAA during the regular season. They entered the CIAA Tournament ranked seventh in the Atlantic Region, and will await their national tournament seeding on the NCAA selection show, which will air March 6 on NCAA.com at 10 p.m.

The Trojans also proved they were the best team in the tournament, winning three games in three nights by an average of 11.7 points. They put the Blue Bears in a hole early in the second half, and the Blue Bears, playing their fourth game in four nights, never led again.

"For the most part [this season], we were consistent with our effort and consistent with our execution," Blow said. "We are one unit, and that's the way we play."

The Trojans appeared to be in control of the first half after taking a 30-24 lead, but a late run put the Blue Bears ahead 36-35 at halftime. Williams says the talk in the Trojans' locker room at halftime centered around one topic.

"Defense, Defense, Defense!" said Williams, the tournament MVP. "We didn't say nothing about offense."

Williams scored 19 points and Javon Moore scored 16 points in the second half as the Trojans knocked the Blue Bears off balance with a flurry of points. The Trojans led 47-36 at the 15:04 mark, and padded their lead to 64-49 with 8:45 remaining on Javon Moore's free throw off his steal.

Led by guard Daryl Traynham, the Blue Bears had some fight left. Traynham scored 10 points during a 12-2 run to get his squad within five points. His three-pointer pulled the Blue Bears within 66-61 with 5:57 left.

The Trojans responded with their own run to put the game out of reach. Williams made two free throws for an 84-71 lead with 58 seconds remaining, capping an 18-10 run. The Trojans connected on 10 of 13 free throws during that span.

BOX SCORE

The trio of Waymond Wright, Elijah Moore and Cyonte Melvin each scored eight points for the Trojans. Tyler Peterson chipped in seven points.

Traynham and forward Ty Newman both came off the bench to score 29 points and 21 points, respectively, for the Blue Bears, the No. 4 Southern Division seed whose season ended at 15-16 overall. Juwan Cole added 11 points.

The Blue Bears were playing their fourth game in four nights, but Newman says that wasn't the reason they fell to the Trojans.

"They were hungry," Newman said. "They looked like the best team in the conference in the second half."

The Trojans' trio of Williams, Javon Moore and forward Elijah Moore in addition to the Blue Bears' threesome of Traynham, Newman and guard Eric Debose were named to the All-CIAA Tournament team after the contest. The other All-Tourney players were guard Ray Anderson of Virginia Union, guard Ahmaad Wilson of Bowie State, guard Anthony Gaskins of Saint Augustine's and guard Joshua Dawson of Fayetteville State. Johnson C. Smith won the CIAA Men's Team Sportsmanship Award.

PHOTO GALLERY

CIAA Tournament MVP

Kevin Williams, Virginia State

CIAA All-Tournament Team

Ray Anderson, Virginia Union

Ahmaad Wilson, Bowie State

Daryl Traynham, Livingstone

Kevin Williams, Virginia State

Ty Newman, Livingstone

Elijah Moore, Virginia State

Eric Dubose, Livingstone

Anthony Gaskins, Saint Augustine's

Javon Moore, Virginia State

Joshua Dawson, Fayetteville State

CIAA Men's Team Sportsmanship Award

Johnson C. Smith

COURTESY CIAA MEDIA RELATIONS