Tennessee State Tigers' Season Ends in Evansville With 84-72 Loss

Evansville, Indiana  -- The Tennessee State men's basketball season ended on Tuesday night with an 84-72 loss at Evansville in the opening round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

Playing in their final games at TSU, Robert Covington and Kellen Thornton paced TSU (18-15, 11-5) with double-doubles.

Coming off the bench, Thornton scored a team-high 20 points on 7-of-19 shooting and added 10 boards and a career-high five steals.

Covington made 8-of-15 attempts for 19 points and secured a game-high 13 rebounds.

Patrick Miller followed with 18 points, six boards and four assists. His four dishes make him TSU's single-season leader with 195.

TSU, which came into the game shooting 44.6 percent from beyond the arc in its last six contests, made just 7-of-32 attempts for a 21.9 clip.

The teams seemed to be feeling each other out to start the game as neither side could gain an advantage through the game's first six minutes. The Tigers and Aces were both 4-of-11 from the floor to start the game and the score was tied at nine apiece.

From that point, Evansville went on an 11-4 run to take a seven-point lead with just under 11 minutes to play in the first half. Five different Aces had points during the stretch and EU made five of its seven attempts.

The Tigers clawed back to within one, 21-22, when Miller and Jay Harris canned back-to-back triples. Harris's jumper was set up by a heads-up steal from Covington on the other end of the court.

Another big run by the Purple Aces, this one 10-0, put them in the driver's seat, 34-23, with 4:39 left in the opening frame. TSU was 0-of-3 during the cold spell and had a pair of turnovers.

Miller ended the first-half scoring with a layup, but TSU still went into the break trailing, 29-38.

TSU never led in the first period.

Tennessee State made 11-of-35 shots (31.4 percent) during the game's first 20 minutes and was outscored in the painted area 26-14.

Evansville extended its lead to 14 during the first five minutes of the second stanza after scoring seven straight points. TSU again helped the Purples Aces' cause with four fumbles and a 0-for-4 line from the floor during the run.

TSU tried hard to mount a comeback and Covington capped an 8-0 Tiger run with a layup at the 8:13 mark. Unfortunately for TSU, his basket only put Tennessee State within 12 at 64-52 and Evansville countered with an old-fashioned three-point play on its next possession.

The Tigers chipped away at the lead and got within eight when Thornton hit a triple with 1:54 to go, but Evansville made 8-of-8 free throws down the stretch to hold on for the 84-72 victory.

TSU outrebounded EU 40-39, but had 17 turnovers compared to just 15 for the Aces.

Final Box COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

XU Gold Nuggets climb to No. 8 — their highest ranking ever

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana climbed two places Tuesday to eighth — the Gold Nuggets' highest ranking ever — in the NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll.

The Gold Nuggets (8-6) topped the previous program record of ninth place on March 7, 2007. It's the third time the XU women have been in the top 10 and the second consecutive poll they've been there.

Xavier won 4-of-5 dual matches since the March 5 poll, including victories against top-25 members Cumberland, Coastal Georgia and Campbellsville in the AUM Invitational at Montgomery, Ala.

Starting with the 2012 postseason poll, when they moved from 20th to 19th, this is the fifth consecutive time that the Gold Nuggets have climbed. They were 13th in the preseaason, moved to 11th on Feb. 19 and to 10th two weeks ago. This is the highest NAIA ranking by an XU women's team since basketball was eighth on Feb. 25, 2003.

Both XU teams will play at the University of New Orleans at 3 p.m. Wednesday, then play three duals in Florida next week during spring break. For the Gold Nuggets, that will include matchups with No. 7 Embry-Riddle and No. 14 Northwood. The Nuggets are 5-0 this season against ranked NAIA opponents. Their home finale will be April 6 against No. 3 Auburn Montgomery.

NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, March 17) Rank Team Record Points Last 1 Brenau (12) 8-1 312 3 2 William Carey 4-4 300 1 3 Auburn Montgomery 7-5 290 2 4 SCAD Savannah 3-2 285 4 5 Lindsey Wilson 4-2 271 5 6 Westmont 11-1 261 6 7 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 5-6 252 7 8 Xavier 8-6 238 10 9 Concordia (Calif.) 6-6 236 8 10 Lewis-Clark State 3-4 224 9 11 Vanguard 7-10 212 11 12 Indiana Wesleyan 15-0 198 12 13 Oklahoma Baptist 5-4 188 14 14 Northwood (Fla.) 6-1 177 tie-16 15 Coastal Georgia 3-6 176 tie-16 16 Campbellsville 2-5 158 13 17 Olivet Nazarene 5-5 150 15 18 Lee (Tenn.) 2-2 138 18 19 St. Thomas (Fla.) 4-4 137 21 20 Cumberland 2-3 117 22 21 Marian (Ind.) 14-4 116 19 22 Nebraska Wesleyan 1-4 82 23 23-tie Robert Morris (Chicago) 0-1 76 20 23-tie Belhaven 4-3 76 24 25 Milligan 8-1 74 25 Others receiving votes: Southeastern (Fla.) 68, Davenport 60, Martin Methodist 30, Bethel (Kan.) 25, Ashford 19, Georgetown (Ky.) 13, Aquinas 12, Indiana Southeast 8, Evangel 8, Graceland 5, Hope International 3, SCAD Atlanta 3.

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

North Carolina A&T survives Liberty in First Four, advances to play No. 1 Louisville

DAYTON, Ohio  --  No. 16 North Carolina A&T shot 51.9 percent from the floor, twelve percentage points above its season average, outlasting fellow No. 16 seed Liberty, 73-72, in the opening game of the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, Tuesday night.

A&T missed the front end of two separate one-and-one situations in the final 19 seconds, leaving the door open for Liberty to win it on the final possession. After Lamont Middleton missed a free throw for A&T with seven seconds to play, Liberty guard John Caleb Sanders drove the length of the floor but missed a contested layup as time expired. There was no foul called on the play.

Bruce Beckford led the way for A&T with 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor. He added nine rebounds.

PHOTO GALLERY

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NEXT GAME: at LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY
Thursday, March 21
#1 Louisville (29-5) vs. #16 North Carolina A&T (20-16)  6:50 PM ET

NCAA - Mid-Major Matchup of the Day: North Carolina A&T vs. Liberty (6:40 p.m. ET, truTV).

DAYTON, Ohio  --  Liberty University was able to catch lightning in a bottle in the Big South tournament and turn a bad start to the season into one worthy of an NCAA tournament automatic berth. They meet a North Carolina A&T team that emerged from the dust in the MEAC tournament after No. 1 and No. 2 seeds Norfolk State and North Carolina Central fell in earlier rounds.

This will be a game of contrasting tempos, with Liberty looking to score the basketball more and North Carolina A&T wanting a more defensive game. A&T will have to shoot well from the field if it wants to advance, though, 317th in Division I.

NCAA Tournament First Four

North Carolina A&T vs. Liberty University (6:40 p.m. ET, truTV)

Saint Mary’s vs. Middle Tennessee State (9:10 p.m. ET, truTV)

Other Notable Games (NIT)

Maryland vs. Niagara (7:00 p.m, ESPN2)

St. John’s vs. Saint Joseph’s (7:00 PM, ESPNU)

Louisiana Tech vs. Florida State (7:15 PM, ESPN3)

Robert Morris vs. Kentucky (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Norfolk State vs. Virginia (9:00 PM, ESPNU)

Northeastern vs. Alabama (9:00 p.m., ESPN2)
Ohio vs. Denver (9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN3)
Washington vs. Brigham Young (9:30 p.m., ESPN)
Stephen F. Austin vs Stanford (11:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

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Stillman releases 2013 Football Schedule

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – The Stillman College Department of Athletics announces its 2013 football schedule.  The 11-game campaign includes tough non-conference competition and important divisional games later in the season.

“The 2013 schedule will be a defining one for our football program,” said Director of Athletics Curtis Campbell.  “We have a tough road contest at St. Augustine of the CIAA and we close out our season with Alabama State – who finished at the top of the SWAC's Eastern Division in 2012.  But not to be overlooked are our conference games – highlighted by our in-state rivalry contests against Miles and Tuskegee.”

The Tigers will open the season on September 7 against Concordia College of Alabama.  The Hornets and Tigers have met six times since the 2006 season with Stillman holding a 4-2 series lead.  Last season, Stillman downed Concordia 26-20 to earn the 2012 homecoming victory.

On September 14, the Tigers will travel to Atlanta, Ga., to take on the Panthers of Clark Atlanta.  Since 2000, the Panthers and Tigers have tangled eight times with Stillman winning six of the meetings.  The third weekend of September will feature a first-time matchup as the Tigers travel to Raleigh, N.C., to face the Falcons of St. Augustine.

“The Falcons are a tough CIAA program,” said head football coach Teddy Keaton.  “Last season, they were 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the CIAA.  It will be a good test against a quality program early in the season.”

To close out the month of September, Stillman will travel to Frankfort, Ky., to take on divisional foe Kentucky State.  Over the last nine seasons, the Tigers have held a 6-3 series advantage, ranging back to a 47-18 win at Kentucky State in 2003.

October features five contests including four divisional opponents.  The friendly confines of Stillman Stadium will play host to Lane (October 5) and Benedict (October 12) to open the month.  The Tigers have won seven of the last 11 games against the Dragons dating back to the 2002 season.  Likewise, Stillman has bested Benedict seven of the last 11 times the two programs have meet, with the series going back to a 24-7 win in the 2001 season.

On October 19, Stillman will travel to south Alabama to take on the Tigers of Tuskegee.  While the two teams have split the last two meetings, Tuskegee holds a 7-1 advantage in the series.  The following week, (Saturday, October 26), the Tigers will host the Central State Marauders for the third time in series history, with Stillman holding a 2-0 series advantage.  The month ends with a Thursday night showdown with Miles College.  The two programs – separated by just over 50 miles – have met every season since 2001 with Stillman trailing in the series 5-7.

The month of November will feature the Tigers in two important contests.  On November 9^th, Stillman welcomes the College of Faith to Tuscaloosa as the Tigers celebrate Senior Day.  The season concludes with a Thanksgiving Day game as the Tigers and the Hornets of Alabama State will meet in the 90^th Turkey Day Classic.  This will be the third meeting in school history between the programs and the first since Stillman revived the football program in 1999.

“We are very excited about the 2013 schedule,” said Keaton.  “Each game will provide us an opportunity against good competition and some of the best that the SIAC has to offer.  Combine that with the road game against St. Augustine, a tough Concordia program and the opportunity to showcase Stillman against Alabama State in the Turkey Day Classic, the 2013 season should be exciting for fans and supporters alike.

                                       2013 Football Schedule

	Date	Opponent	Location	Stadium	Time
Sept.	7	Concordia College (Ala.)	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	Stillman Stadium	5p
	14	Clark Atlanta	Atlanta, Ga.	Panther Stadium	6p
	21	St. Augustine	Raleigh, N.C.	University Stadium	1:30 pm
	28	Kentucky State	Frankfort, Ky.	Alumni Stadium	7p
Oct.	5	Lane	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	Stillman Stadium	5p
	12	Benedict	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	Stillman Stadium	5p
	19	Tuskegee	Tuskegee, Ala.	Abbot Stadium	1p
	26	Central State - Ohio	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	Stillman Stadium	5p
	31	Miles	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	Stillman Stadium	7p
Nov.	9	College of Faith	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	Stillman Stadium	1:30p
	16	SIAC Championship	Atlanta, Ga.
	28	Alabama State	Montgomery, Ala.	Hornet Stadium	TBA

COURTESY STILLMAN COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION

More GCAC honors for XU's Kyle Montrel, Devinn Rolland

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Kyle Montrel and Devinn Rolland were repeat winners Monday of Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player/Athlete of the Week awards. Montrel won the men's tennis award for the second time this season, and Rolland was the GCAC women's field winner for the third consecutive week and the women's track winner for the second consecutive week.      The awards covered March 11-17.      Montrel, a freshman from Atlanta, a graduate of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy and a former New Orleans resident, won in singles and doubles in the only Gold Rush dual match of the week, a 5-4 victory Friday against NCAA Division I's Alcorn State.

Kyle Montrel

Devinn Rolland

Montrel and Loic Didavi defeated Ernesto Santillan and Ivan Umnikov 8-6, then Montrel beat Garry Amor 6-1, 6-4. Montrel is 9-2 in doubles and 9-2 in singles this season. Against NCAA Division I opponents, Montrel is 3-0 in doubles and 3-0 in singles.

Montrel is the first Gold Rush player to win the award twice this season.

Rolland, a sophomore from Harvey, La., and a graduate of Cabrini High School in New Orleans, exceeded the NAIA's A-qualifying standard in the 200-meter dash by nearly a half-second Friday in the Louisiana Classics meet at Lafayette. She finished in 24.52 seconds and placed second out of 52 runners. It was the first time this season that she competed in the 200.

On Saturday, Rolland scored her first victory of the season, long-jumping 5.69 meters (18 feet, 8 inches) to meet the NAIA's A-standard for the third time in as many outdoor meets this season.

Xavier's men's and women's tennis teams will visit the University of New Orleans for 3 p.m. duals Wednesday. Xavier's women's and men's track teams will compete Friday and Saturday in the LSU Relays at Baton Rouge, La.

By Ed Cassiere, SID
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAATHLETICS

Ex-WSSU players do their best to impress

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina  --   Lacking the exposure available in Division I, eight former Winston-Salem State players used Monday’s NFL Pro Day at Wake Forest as a final job interview and a chance to catch the eye of scouts.

“This is like the championship game,” said quarterback Kam Smith, who threw for 7,540 yards and 96 touchdowns in his career and helped WSSU to last season’s Division II title game. “It was kind of hard to sleep last night knowing what a big day this was. I’ve been thinking about this, and I just prayed before I came out and tried to relax and show what I could do.”

Coach Connell Maynor of WSSU said it only takes one team to like what a player can do.

“I think it’s great that we had eight guys out there today,” Maynor said. “Even though we had success at our level, there’s not a lot of exposure and TV coverage, so for them to get a chance to show what they can do is huge.”

Smith (6-1, 190) had the chance to throw for scouts as the three-hour pro day wound down.

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No. 16 Seeded PVAMU Lady Panthers Heading To Baylor For NCAA Tournament

CYPRESS, Texas  - The three-time defending Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Champion Prairie View A&M women's basketball team will head to Waco to play Baylor at 6:40 p.m. on Sunday, March 24 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Oklahoma City Regional.

Prairie View A&M earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 16 seed in its regional. The Lady Panthers will play No. 1 seeded Baylor at the Ferrell Center for the second time in three years in the NCAA Tournament.

 

They will turn to SWAC Player of the year Latia Williams, who will make her fourth NCAA Tournament appearance with Sunday's game, and SWAC Tournament MVP Kiara Etienne to provide perimeter and midrange threats to keep Brittney Griner and the Bears honest.

 

Prairie View A&M hosted its NCAA Tournament Selection Show watch party at the Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar in Cypress, Texas. After the seedings were announced Prairie View A&M coach Toyelle Wilson said her players were excited to prove what they can do against a talent like Griner and the Baylor Bears.
 

 

COURTESY PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNVIERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Hampton University women's basketball a No. 15 seed, draws ACC power Duke in first round

HAMPTON — Hampton University's festive NCAA tournament viewing party received a cold jolt of reality when the Lady Pirates' matchup flashed on the big screens in the Student Center ballroom.

Following one of the most successful seasons in program history, Hampton received a No. 15 seed and must travel to face second-seeded and No. 6-ranked Duke at 12:05 p.m. Sunday in Durham, N.C.

"I'm not happy having to go to Duke," HU coach David Six said. "I think that our body of work doesn't warrant that. But there's nothing we can do about it."

The Lady Pirates (28-5) are on a 19-game winning streak, after going unbeaten in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and sweeping through the league tournament last week.

Six and his players hoped for a higher seed, and anticipation built after they saw that LSU received a No. 6 seed and DePaul a No. 10 seed. HU defeated LSU this season in Hampton and lost to DePaul by one point on a neutral floor.

But the selection committee awarded HU with a seed just one line higher than last season, when they were a No. 16 seed and fell to No. 1 Stanford in the first round at the Constant Center.

"If LSU is a six seed, why are we a 15 seed?" Six wondered.

2013 MARCH MADNESS BRACKET

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TSU Lady Tigers will face Kansas State in WNIT First Round on Thursday

HOUSTON, Texas  -- For the first time in school history the Texas Southern women's basketball will participate in WNIT postseason play as the Lady Tigers have gained an automatic berth to participate in the 2013 Postseason WNIT as they get set to travel to Manhattan, Kansas to take on Kansas State in the first round on Thursday.

KSU (15-17, 5-13 Big 12) will host Texas Southern (20-11, 16-2 SWAC) on Thursday in Bramlage Coliseum. The time for the game between K-State and Texas Southern will be announced on Tuesday by the WNIT committee. K-State leads the all-time series with Texas Southern, 1-0. The Wildcats defeated the Lady Tigers, 84-41, on Dec. 1, 2000, in Manhattan.

The winner of the Kansas State-Texas Southern game will play the winner of the Illinois State-IUPUI matchup on either March 23, 24 or 25 at a site to be determined.

Tickets for K-State's first round matchup with Texas Southern will be available Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m., by calling the K-State Ticket Office at (800) 221-CATS, or by visiting www.kstatesports.com/tickets. Tickets are priced at $15 for chair backs, $10 for adult general admission and $5 for student and children.

All tickets will be made available on a first come first serve basis. The contest will be available on the K-State Sports Network and for free on kstatesports.com.

WNIT Bracket

COURTESY TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

North Carolina A&T Aggie Women Return To WNIT

GREENSBORO, North Carolina  -  The North Carolina A&T Aggies will open the 2013 Women's National Invitational Tournament by facing James Madison in Harrisonburg, Va. on Thursday, March 21. The game time will be announced on Tuesday.
 
The 2013 season marks the first since 1994 when the A&T men's and women's basketball team each played in a national postseason tournament in the same season. The A&T men's basketball team is the No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament after winning their 16^th MEAC Tournament Championship on March 15.

The Aggies (22-9, 13-3 MEAC) have never before faced the Dukes (22-10, 15-3 CAA) on the court. By virtue of their second-place finish in the MEAC, the Aggies earned one of the 31 automatic bids to the tournament. It will be the Aggies' third WNIT appearance in program history, after competing in the tournament in 2008 and 2010. The Aggies hold a 2-2 record in the WNIT entering into Thursday's contest.

A&T head coach Tarrell Robinson will be making his fourth trip to the WNIT, and his first as a head coach. He was an assistant coach when A&T went in 2008, and was an associate head coach at Virginia Commonwealth in their 2010 and 2012 WNIT appearances. His teams have gone 4-3 in the WNIT.

It will be the second WNIT appearance for JaQuayla Berry, Nikia Gorham and guard Amber Calvin, who were all freshmen when the Aggies posted a 2-1 record in the 2010 WNIT. The Aggies became the first MEAC team and HBCU to win two consecutive basketball games in a national postseason tournament with victories against Wake Forest and Charlotte in the 2010 WNIT. The Aggies fell to Miami in the third round to exit the tournament.

First-round action tips off on Wednesday, March 20 and concludes on Friday, March 22. Second-round games begin March 23-25, round three March 27-29, quarterfinals March 30-April 1, and semifinals April 3-4. The championship game will be played on Saturday, April 6 and will be televised live and in HD at 3 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network. All games are hosted by participating schools.

2013 WNIT BRACKET

COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Savannah State at East Carolina in CIT

GREENVILLE, North Carolina  --  The MEAC’s Savannah State Tigers pay Greenville a visit to battle the ECU Pirates in the 1st Round of the CIT Tournament tonight bringing with them a solid 11-5 conference record and an impressive list of out-of-conference NCAA and NIT tournament quality opponents.

The Tigers may not have fared well against the powerhouses of Florida, St. Louis, Middle Tenn., Ohio State, and Marquette this year; but those games may have primed them very well for MEAC conference play; which is also an interesting story. Norfolk State “pulled a Memphis” this year and went rough-shot in the MEAC by going a perfect 16-0 in conference, including a win against Savannah State.

Interestingly, Norfolk State is also one of the common opponents that both ECU and Savannah State played this year with the Pirates actually defeating Norfolk State in Minges in late December by a 74-63 final score. Other common opponents include Campbell, which Savannah State defeated and we lost too; in addition to a respectable 3-point loss to UCF and a blow-out loss to Marshall by double digits. In the MEAC conference Savannah State's 5 losses for the most part were to the upper half of the 13 team league.

Bottom line – the overall records and common opponents trend toward an evenly matched game when the Tigers and Pirates clash for this 1st round of the CIT.

ECU head Coach Jeff Lebo mentioned that Savannah State is an experienced group and will be as good as a defensive team as the Pirates has played all season. True to form, the Tigers were ranked in the top 10 nationally in 3 PT FG defense, scoring defense, and steals per game at the end of the 2012-13 season. While the Pirates have ...

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Norfolk State to play at Virginia on Tuesday in NIT

NORFOLK, Virginia  --  Norfolk State and the University of Virginia - two basketball teams disappointed not to be playing in the NCAA tournament - will meet at 9 p.m. Tuesday in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament in Charlottesville.

The teams met two years ago at John Paul Jones Arena, when U.Va. beat the Spartans 50-49 on Assane Sene's tip-in of a missed foul shot with 4.8 seconds left. It was the only meeting between the schools.

Tuesday's game will be televised on ESPNU, the third appearance for the Spartans this season on national TV.

Norfolk State (21-11) went 16-0 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and won 15 consecutive games entering the conference tournament this past week at Scope. But the Spartans' hopes of returning to the NCAA tournament, where they upset second-seeded Missouri last season, ended with a quarterfinal overtime loss to Bethune-Cookman.

U.Va. (21-11) was among the last teams left out of the NCAA tournament. The Cavaliers lost five of their past eight games, including a 75-56 blowout loss Friday to North Carolina State in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament.

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NIT TOURNAMENT BRACKET

Benedict Tigers Knocked Out Of NCAA Tournament By Alabama-Huntsville, 64-60

LAKELAND, Florida  –  Ninth-ranked Alabama-Huntsville knocked 12^th-ranked Benedict College out of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament for the second year in a row with a 64-60 victory on Sunday in Jenkins Field House on the campus of Florida Southern University.

The Tigers had a three-point lead, 59-56 with 2:59 left to play, after a jumper by Xavier Collier, but the Chargers scored six straight points to pull ahead and advance to the Sweet 16 for the third year in a row.

Last year, the Tigers, an eighth seed, played the top-seeded Chargers close before falling 69-61 in the first round.

Marcus Goode took advantage of a size advantage against the Chargers and finished with 29 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots.

But as was the case in Saturday's victory over Eckerd, the Tigers again had trouble from the outside, making just 2-of-12 3-point attempts against the Chargers.

Lamar Adkins came off the bench to score 15 points, but no other Benedict player scored in double figures.

“I thought we battled. We played good basketball. We played well enough to win,” said Benedict coach Fred Watson. “But all the credit goes to Alabama-Huntsville. They are a good team and we knew it was going to be an uphill battle and we would have to play flawless basketball. Down the stretch we made some mistakes that we wish we could take back and they capitalized and they got the win.”

“We had no answer for the big kid (Goode),” said UAH head coach Lennie Acuff. “He's as good as we've seen since I've been here.”



The Tigers held Alabama-Huntsville's All-American guard Jaime Smith to 16 points on 4-for-10 shooting and 0-for-5 from 3-point range, but the Chargers got some big baskets from Ronnie Mack, who hit four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points, and Wayne Dedrick, who made three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points.

The Tigers rallied from a seven-point second-half deficit to take a 59-56 lead on Collier's jumper with 2:38 remaining.

The Chargers scored on a layup to cut the lead to one, then a turnover by the Tigers led to a three-point play by Smith to give the Chargers a 61-59 lead with 1:54 to play. Another Benedict turnover gave the ball back to the Chargers, who missed two 3-point attempts before the Tigers grabbed the rebound, only to turn it over again. Smith hit two free throws to make it 62-59 with 35 seconds left.

The Tigers pounded the ball inside to Goode, who was fouled and made one free throw to cut the lead to 62-60 with 18 seconds left. Smith grabbed the rebound, but Xavier Collier stole the ball on the baseline before falling out of bounds and giving the ball back to the Chargers.

Benedict was forced to foul, and Smith sank two free throws for the final 64-60 score.

The game was a back-and-forth affair, with the score tied five times and there were 14 lead changes. UAH led 28-25 at the half on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Dedrick.

The Tigers wrap up their season at 24-7.

“This whole tournament, we knew they were going to pack it down to Marcus and our guys were going to have to make shots. Unfortunately in this tournament, for some reason, went into a slump at the wrong time and couldn't make open threes,” Watson said.

Alabama-Huntsville, 25-5, advances to face top-seed Florida Southern in the region championship on Tuesday.

Box Score

COURTESY BENEDICT COLLEGE TIGERS SPORTS INFORMATION

Southern draws Gonzaga in NCAA opener

NCAA MARCH MADNESS BRACKET

Southern lands No. 16 seed in NCAA tournament, 2nd-round matchup with top-ranked Gonzaga in Salt Lake City

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  --  As the charter bus carrying the Southern men’s basketball team headed back to Baton Rouge on Sunday, coach Roman Banks spent just about every minute of the seven-hour ride from Garland, Texas, replying to the text messages he received after leading the Jaguars to victory the day before.

Banks said 561 text messages had collected in his cell phone.

“If the only thing I said was thank you, I replied to all of them,” he said.

If the Jaguars win the next game they play, Banks may need days—- not hours — to acknowledge everyone who wants to congratulate him.

A day after nipping Prairie View in the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament championship game, Southern learned Sunday that its opponent in the NCAA tournament will be Gonzaga, which finished the regular season ranked first in the Associated Press and USA Today coaches polls.

As the No. 16 seed in the West Region, Southern (23-9) faces No. 1 seed Gonzaga (31-2) at approximately 3:10 p.m. Thursday at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City.

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North Carolina A&T to face Liberty in NCAA first round

GREENSBORO, N.C. — North Carolina A&T fans gathered Saturday to find out that the Aggies will play against Liberty after claiming the MEAC Championship on Saturday in Norfolk, Virginia.

The Aggies will play against the Flames on Tuesday in a first-round matchup in Dayton, Ohio. The winner of that game will play against the top seed team, the Louisville Cardinals.

This is the first time since 1995 NC A&T will play in the NCAA tournament.

(CLICK ON FULL SCREEN ICON TO VIEW VIDEO)
The University said they will have a celebration for the players Monday afternoon as they travel to Dayton, Ohio.

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NCAA tournament: Liberty to face N.C. A&T

Big South Conference tournament champion Liberty University will play North Carolina A&T on Tuesday in a play-in game at Dayton, Ohio. The Flames (15-20) would play No. 1 overall seed Louisville on Thursday should it beat the Aggies.

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NCAA FINAL MARCH MADNESS BRACKET

2013 NIT field of 32 announced; Norfolk State faces Virginia

2013 NIT Bracket

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — Alabama, Kentucky, Southern Mississippi and Virginia highlight the 32-team National Invitation Tournament field that was released Sunday. The field features 21 teams with at least 20 wins, 10 automatic qualifiers and representation from 22 of the 31 Division I conferences.

First-round play is scheduled for Tuesday, March 19 and Wednesday, March 20, with the second round running March 21-25. Quarterfinals will be held on March 26 and 27 and four teams will advance to New York City for the semifinals on April 2. The NIT will conclude with the championship game on Thursday, April 4. The semifinal and championships games will be played at New York’s historic Madison Square Garden for the 76th year.

First round action, on campus sites, features number one seeds Alabama, Southern Mississippi, and Virginia hosting, Northeastern, Charleston Southern and Norfolk State, respectively. The fourth number one seed, Kentucky, will go on the road to Robert Morris.

Other first round games include Charlotte at Providence, Detroit at Arizona State, Long Beach State at Baylor, Louisiana Tech at Florida State, Washington at BYU, Mercer at Tennessee, Stephen F. Austin at Stanford, Ohio at Denver, Niagara at Maryland, St. John’s at Saint Joseph’s, Indiana State at Iowa, Stony Brook at Massachusetts.

St. John’s is making a record 29th appearance in the National Invitation Tournament while 2012 NIT champion Stanford returns to the field as does 2012 semifinalists Massachusetts and Washington. In all, the 2013 field features seven teams that played in the NIT in 2012.

“Once again, the Committee has come up with an outstanding field of strong teams with outstanding credentials. In addition to the at-large bids we handed out, we’re excited to reward 10 regular season conference champions as automatic qualifiers to play in the NIT,” commented C.M. Newton, now in his ninth year as chair of the NIT Selection Committee.

NIT games are being televised by ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3. Additional NIT information can also be found on www.NCAA.com/NIT.

2013 NIT Bracket

TSU to Play at Evansville in Opening Round of CIT

NASHVILLE, Tennessee  --  On Sunday night, the Tennessee State men's basketball team accepted a bid to play in this year's CollegeInsider.com Tournament. The squad will travel to Evansville, Ind. tomorrow in preparation of Tuesday's game against the Purple Aces.

TSU will play in the CIT for the second time in as many seasons. The Tigers fell to the Mercer Bears last year in the tournament's opening round.

The Tigers are coming off of an 18-14 campaign in which they recorded back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in 16 years. The club also set a school record with an 11-2 mark in the Gentry Center.

In TSU's last game, Belmont ended the Tigers' hopes of an OVC Championship by winning, 82-73 on March 8.

Kellen Thornton paced TSU with his ninth double-double of the season, scoring a team-high 22 points and a game-high 12 boards. His performance earned him All-OVC Tournament honors.

Also recording a double-double was Patrick Miller who poured in 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting and 12 assists.

With his 12 dimes, Miller tied Kareem Gilbert's school-record for assists in a season with 191. He also set a TSU modern-era record by playing 1148 minutes on the year.

Senior Robert Covington had another solid game for TSU, dropping 16 points and securing six boards. The forward is averaging a team-best 17 points and is seventh in school history in both points and rebounds.

For the Purple Aces, they come into Tuesday's game much like TSU- with an identical 18-14 record. Evansville is also 14-3 at home.

UE is led by Colt Ryan who averages a team-best 19.6 points per game and his 587 points are the second-most in the Missouri Valley Conference. Ryan is also an able passer and is fourth in the league in assists per contest at 4.0.

Ryan's play has allowed the Aces to move into second place in the MVC in assists (504) and lead the conference in turnover margin (+3.3).

Evansville has won four of its last five games and TSU is 1-1 against EU all-time. The Tigers dominated the last meeting, 101-78, in 2001. Current TSU grad assistant Josh Cooperwood led Tennessee State in the game by pouring in 20 points.

TSU is 0-3 all-time in postseason games since joining Division I.

 

 

THE 2013 CTI

 

TUESDAY, MARCH 19

Eastern Kentucky (24-9) @ Gardner Webb (21-12) 7:00 pm

Fairfield (19-15) @ Kent State (20-13) 7:00 pm

Savannah State (19-14) @ East Carolina (18-12) 7:00 pm

Rider (18-14) @ Hartford (17-13) 7:00 pm

Oakland (16-16) @ Youngstown State (17-15) 7:05 pm

Boston University (17-12) @ Loyola MD (21-11) 7:30 pm

Tennessee State (18-14) @ Evansville (18-14) 8:00 pm

North Dakota (16-16) @ Northern Iowa (18-14) 8:00 pm

 
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20

Elon (21-11) @ Canisius (18-13) 7:00 pm

Green Bay (18-15) @ Bradley (16-16) 8:00 pm

South Alabama (17-12) @ Tulane (19-14) 8:00 pm

Chicago State (11-21) @ Illinois-Chicago (17-15) 8:00 pm

Oral Roberts (18-14) @ UT Arlington (19-13) 8:30 pm

High Point (17-13) @ UC Irvine (20-15) 10:00 pm

Cal Poly (18-13) @ Weber State (26-6) 10:00 pm

Air Force (17-13) @ Hawaii (17-14) 12:00 am

 

All Times EST

 

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

 

Lincoln drops CIAA twinbill at Winston-Salem State

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.  --   Kyle Finneman (South Jordan, Utah/Bingham) and Richard Holguin (Bronx, N.Y./Fannie Lou Hamer HS) each had doubles in the first game and David Christian (Inglewood, Calif./Alta Loma HS) drove in a pair in the second contest, but the Lincoln University baseball team couldn't slow down the offense of Winston-Salem State on Saturday afternoon in a doubleheader CIAA loss at BB&T Ballpark.

The Lions (0-10 overall, 0-6 CIAA) dropped the first game, 16-4, and lost the second, 22-4.

In the opener, Lincoln had four hits (Finneman, Holguin, Martin Evans (Willingboro, N.J./Church Farm HS) and Christian Valdez (Hyattsville, Md./Bladensburg HS)) and scored two runs in the first and two in the fifth.

In the top of the first, Evans was hit by a pitch with one out and advanced to second when Finneman walked. Holguin stroked a two-out double to right to give Lincoln a 2-0 lead.

The Lions plated two more runs in the fifth as Evans reached on an infield hit and scored on Finneman's double to center. Edwin Rivera (Bronx, N.Y./Gompers HS) reached on an error as Finneman came in to score.

Stephen Smith (Los Angeles, Calif./Dorsey HS) took the loss as he pitched three innings. Dan Spikes (Fort Washington, Md./Riverdale Baptist HS) worked three innings in relief.

Jordan Carlton earned the win as he scattered four hits through five innings. He walked two and fanned eight.

In the second game, the Lions did all of its damage in the third inning.

Evans reached on a fielder's choice and stole second in the frame. Finneman walked and with two down, Holguin singled through the right side to plate Evans. A Maurice Brown (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg HS) base on balls loaded the bases and Christian delivered a two-out hit to right as Finneman and Holguin scored. Brown scored the final run of the inning when Christian was out trying to steal second.

Lincoln finished with seven hits, including two from Holguin and Christian. Ivan Mitchell (Baltimore, Md./Milford Mill Academy), Rivera and Smith each had one.

Brandon Bolden (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro HS) worked three innings and walked a pair. Phillip Tomsic (Bangor, Mich./Bangor HS) and Demetrius Robinson pitched in relief.

Scott Wells worked 3.1 innings to take the win as he struck out four and gave up five hits. Ryan Smith, JR Wright and Michael Drye also saw action the mound for the Rams (19-6, 8-0).

Lincoln wraps up the three-game CIAA series with a 1 p.m., game on Sunday, March 17 at BB&T Ballpark against Winston-Salem State University.

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2


COURTESY LINCOLN UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA SPORTS INFORMATION

MEAC tourney's best memories likely made off court

NORFOLK, Virginia  --  During halftime of the MEAC tournament men's final, Gabby Douglas was introduced to the crowd at Scope.

Wearing a dress and high heels, the Olympic gold medal gymnast from Virginia Beach walked to center court for a brief ceremonial appearance, waving and posing for pictures.

But what about the rest of us, we non-double-jointed mortals who dropped in on the tournament? Even if we could, should we do back flips over what we saw?

The title game resembled so many conference tournament rock fights. North Carolina A&T held off Morgan State despite scoring only four points in the last 3:57. But, then, Morgan State scored only three.

A week ago, N.C. A&T left Norfolk State after losing another game and falling to the No. 7 spot in the tournament seeds. Now the Aggies from Greensboro are headed to the NCAA tournament, to the play-in round in Dayton.

READ MORE

Slippery Rock men upset #16 Winston-Salem State, earn first NCAA opening win since 1978

WEST LIBERTY, W. Va.  --  Slippery Rock University recorded its first NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament opening-round victory since 1978 with a 69-67 win Saturday afternoon over 16th-ranked Winston-Salem State University in the Atlantic Regional hosted by West Liberty University.

With the win over the second-seeded Rams (21-7), the sixth-seeded Rock improved their season record to 23-8 and matched the school record shared by three previous teams for single-season wins.

Most importantly, the Green and White earned a berth in Sunday's 5 p.m. second-round game, in which they will meet Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division rival Indiana U. of Pa. for the fourth time this season.

Third-seeded IUP (25-5), winners of two of the three previous meetings with SRU this winter and the No. 10 team in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches' Division II national ranking, advanced to Sunday's action with a 76-68 win over conference rival East Stroudsburg, the No. 6 seed, in Saturday's first opening-round game.

Junior swingman Tabari Perry drove the left baseline and scored off an assist from junior guard Sa'Quan Davis with 2.6 seconds left to play to account for the winning points in The Rock's win Saturday.

Perry then put the exclamation point on the win when he blocked a last-second jump shot by Winston-Salem State standout Justin Glover and grabbed the loose ball as the final horn sounded.

Senior forward Devin Taylor recorded game-high totals of 27 points and 15 rebounds to lead The Rock attack, while both Perry and senior forward Gerald Brooks finished the game with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Perry, who prior to scoring the game-winning points had scored on two offensive rebounds late in the game to keep The Rock in the game, also blocked a career-high four shots Saturday.

Saturday's “double-double” was Taylor's team-leading 14th of the season.

Joe Thompson muscled his way to team-high totals of 19 points and 11 rebounds for Winston-Salem State, while Glover had 15 points and six rebounds and Michel-Ofik Nzege chipped in 13 points and six rebounds.

The Rock shot 39% (23 of 59) from the field, made three of 14 (11%) shots from 3-point range and sank 20 of 27 (74%) free throws in the game.

SRU also won the rebounding battle by a 46-40 margin, but were on the high side of an 11-8 turnover comparison.

Winston-Salem State made 35% (24 of 68) of its action shots with a 6-of-15 showing from 3-point range and hit 13 of 21 (62%) free throws.

Saturday's win was SRU's first in NCAA tournament action since the 1990-91 squad beat Shippensburg, 119-101, in a since-discontinued consolation game of the Eastern Regional.

The only other opening-round win recorded by a Rock men's team in five tries was a 70-65 victory over Scranton in the 1977-78 Atlantic Regional. The Rock are now 3-5 all-time in NCAA tournament games.

The Rock trailed for a majority of Saturday's game before they rode an 8-1 run down the stretch to victory.

A 3-point shot by Taylor with 3:45 left to play in the first half gave SRU its first lead, 30-29, but Winston-Salem State responded with a 4-0 spurt to regain the lead en route to a 38-32 halftime lead.

The Rock trailed for the first 11 minutes of the second half before Perry scored on an offensive rebound to give the Green and White a 53-52 lead with 8:54 left to play.

Those put-back points were the fourth in a string of eight unanswered tallies The Rock scored to take a 57-52 lead with 8:15 left, but again the Rams came charging back. A 7-0 Winston-Salem State run put The Rock down by a 59-57 score with seven minutes remaining.

Perry scored on two more offensive rebounds to offset a pair of baskets by the Rams and deadlock the count at 61-61 with 5:30 left to play.

Winston-Salem State scored the next five points to take a 66-61 lead with four minutes left, but that merely set the stage for The Rock's game-winning 8-1 run down the stretch.

Notes:

With the win Saturday, this year's Rock squad matched the victory totals of the 1972-73 team (23-7) coached by Mel Hankinson and the 1989-90 (23-6) and 1990-91 (23-9) squads coached by Bob Barlett … Saturday's win was the 97th recorded by The Rock in five seasons under the leadership of head coach Kevin Reynolds. That win total is 11 higher than the second-best five-year mark in school history (89 wins by Barlett from 1987-92) … Saturday's win was The Rock's third in five meetings with a nationally-ranked team this winter and the fifth in 14 duels with ranked teams in Reynolds' five seasons as head coach … Taylor has scored 1,134 points and grabbed 745 rebounds in his three-year Rock career. He ranks 14th in scoring and 12th in rebounding and needs only four points and five rebounds to move up one spot on the respective charts.


New/Sortable Box Score | Traditional boxscore

COURTESY SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION