2 years after City's title, Grant twins sign with DI school, Savannah State

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- They were the big men and unsung heroes on one of Baltimore’s most accomplished high school basketball teams. The 6-foot-6 transfers provided toughness in the paint, allowing guards Kamau Stokes, Timmy Bond and Omari George to flourish and lead City to a 27-0 record that culminated with the Class 3A state championship. Stokes (Kansas State), Bond (Eastern Michigan) and George (Bowie State) have all since gone on to successful college careers. But whatever happened to John and Juwan Grant?

Two years since the Knights’ undefeated run to the state title, Baltimore basketball fans have their answer. The Grant twins signed this month with Savannah State, a Division I program that finished 8-7 in the MEAC this season.

“It feels great,” Juwan said. “It’s something that me and my brother have wanted for a long time. It just feels so surreal. Everything has fallen into place. Having the opportunity to play Division I ball is out of this world for us. Everything just feels really good right now.”

After the euphoria of City’s title wore off, the Grants buckled down to find a college program where they both could play. They settled on Washington Adventist, an NAIA Division II school in Takoma Park. One year there was enough for John and Juwan to decide they wanted to take another shot at playing Division I basketball.


Juwan Grant, 6'6, 2014, #22

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Bethune-Cookman Continue MEAC Run With NSU Win

SALISBURY, Maryland -- Bethune-Cookman posted its second 10-run victory of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament Friday with a 14-4 victory over Norfolk State at Perdue Stadium.

Danny Rodriguez went 3-5, homered and scored three runs while Alex Seibold threw 5 2/3 innings of shutoff relief as the Wildcats (27-25) advanced to meet Florida A&M Sunday at noon. Games will not be played Saturday due to expected inclement weather in the area.

Jameel Edney also homered for the Wildcats, who opened tournament play with a 10-0 victory over Coppin State Thursday.

“The energy we’ve played with the last two days has been electric,” said B-CU coach Jason Beverlin. “We’re playing with such a sense of purpose and passion for the game. When we play like we are now, we’re an extremely dangerous team.”

Down 2-0, the Wildcats scored four in the second to take the lead.

Rodriguez scored on an error after Edney singled, then Josten Heron had an RBI single and Nate Sterijevski and Rakeem Quinn produced RBIs on fielder’s choices.

After Rodriguez’ solo shot – the ninth of the season for the MEAC Rookie Of The Year -- in the third made it a 5-2 game, Norfolk State (27-20) chased started Tyler Krull with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Seibold (5-4) eliminated the Spartan threat with a double play and would then proceed to all but shut down the Spartans the rest of the way.

Seibold didn’t give up a hit until the eighth as he picked up his fourth consecutive win in a relief appearance.

Edney homered to lead off the fourth, but the Wildcats wouldn’t pull away until scoring three in the seventh and five in the eighth.

Edney and Heron each had two hits and two runs for the Wildcats, while Nathan Bond went 2-4 and Demetrius Sims and Sterijevski each scored twice. Quinn stole two bases.

BOX SCORE

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XU tops No. 14 Westmont, reaches quarterfinals again

Results

MOBILE, Alabama — Adam Albrecht and Thomas Setodji won in doubles and singles Wednesday to lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a 5-1 men's tennis victory against Westmont in the second round of the NAIA National Championship.
     
The Gold Rush (15-7) — ranked third in the most recent coaches poll and seeded third in the tournament — advanced to the quarterfinals for the fifth consecutive year. Xavier will play sixth-ranked Keiser, a 5-1 winner against William Carey, at 1 p.m. Thursday.
     
Westmont, ranked and seeded 14th, finished 10-9.
     
Xavier won 2-of-3 doubles matches and dominated in singles, dropping only one set. When Setodji clinched with his 6-1, 6-2 victory against Luke Whalen, teammates Kyle Montrel and Tushar Mandlekar still were on court — both led 6-1, 5-0.
     
Albrecht and Mandlekar won eight straight games in an 8-1 victory against Tommy Nightingale and Jordan Strandness that gave Xavier the first point of the dual. The Warriors evened when Whalen and Christian Mathis beat Montrel and Karan Salwan 8-5, but Setodji and Kevin Chaouat put the Gold Rush ahead to stay, rallying from a 4-2 deficit for an 8-5 victory against Carl-Philip Lindqvist and Travis Kimsey.
     
Salwan gave the Gold Rush a 3-1 lead by winning eight consecutive games in a 6-2, 6-1 victory against Lindqvist, the ITA's 12th-ranked NAIA singles player. Albrecht rolled to a 6-0, 6-2 victory against Jordan Strandness, then Setodji produced his team-leading seventh clincher of the season and sixth in Xavier's last nine victories.
     
Setodji, a freshman, is 15-0 in singles. His opponent, Whalen, was ranked 32nd.
     
Xavier and Westmont were the last teams to finish on a day when the NAIA shoehorned the round-of-16 matches and Tuesday's washed-out first round. The Gold Rush and Warriors started at 9:30 p.m. and did not finish until 12:05 a.m.
     
Xavier will get a rematch with Keiser. The Gold Rush won 7-2 March 23 at Keiser. The Gold Rush are 0-4 in the quarterfinals, including a 5-4 loss to Vanguard a year ago. However, this will be the first time that Xavier is the higher seed in the quarterfinals.
     
The top eight seeds advanced, including two-time defending champion Georgia Gwinnett. The Xavier-Keiser winner will play the Auburn Montgomery-Lindsey Wilson winner in the semifinals at 1 p.m. Friday.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Jackson State rallies to stay alive in SWAC Tournament

NEW ORLEANS -- The prospects of Jackson State getting eliminated in the SWAC Tournament early on seemed better than those of the Tigers advancing to another game.

But JSU exploded for 14 runs in the final three innings to earn a 15-3 victory against Alabama A&M in an elimination game in the conference tournament on Thursday at Wesley Barrow Stadium in New Orleans.

The loser of the of Texas Southern/Arkansas-Pine Bluff matchup will face the Tigers at 9 a.m. Friday. Texas Southern defeated JSU 10-2 in the opening round on Wednesday.

The Tigers trailed 3-1 heading into the fifth inning when the rally began. Lakon Wilson tied the game with a bunt single, and Sam Campbell gave JSU a 4-3 lead with an RBI single.

The Bulldogs helped the Tigers by walking in a run. Wilson added two more RBIs to the stat sheet with a single in the sixth.

JSU scored seven runs in the seventh, highlighted by a three-run double by Campbell, which ended the game because of the run rule.

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Pagan Drives In Seven Runs As Hornets Pound Alcorn State

NEW ORLEANS – Yamil Pagan went 4-for-4 with a grand slam and drove in a career-high seven runs as Alabama State moved to the SWAC Tournament semifinals with a 16-3 win over Alcorn State in seven innings.
 
Ray Hernandez hit a solo homer, his third of the tournament and ASU record 15^th of the season as the Hornets (36-15) move to Friday's 6 p.m. game against the winner of Alcorn State – Southern. Alabama State is in the SWAC Tournament semifinals for the third time in four years with another total team effort.
 
Hernandez, Diandre Amion, Carlos Ocasio, Hunter Allen and Eriq White each had two hits as every Hornet starter had at least one hit or one run in the 15-hit attack.
 
The Hornets started fast as they have all season, scoring in the first inning for the 31^st time this season. Pagan, Amion and Ocasio reached with singles to load the bases. Dillon Cooper, who drove in seven runs last night, hit a two-run double off the right field wall to give the Hornets a 2-0 lead.
 
Leading 3-0 in the third, the Hornets again loaded the bases with no one out. Oscar Prioleau's safety squeeze bunt scored Hernandez. Pagan's sacrifice fly scored Hunter Allen for a 5-0 lead.
 
The Hornets added four runs in the fourth, taking advantage of two Alcorn State (16-35) errors. Allen reached on a two-out throwing error, scoring Cooper and Chris Biocic. After Eriq White reached on an error and Prioleau walked to load the bases, a two-run single by Pagan to right center extended the Alabama State lead to 9-0.
 
In the sixth, Hernandez led off with a single to third base and advanced to third on a double by Allen. After White reached on an infield single to load the bases, Prioleau was hit by a pitch to score Hernandez. Pagan then hit a 2-1 pitch over the left field wall to cap the five-run inning and give the Hornets a 14-0 lead.
 
Tyler Howe (10-2) went six innings, allowing six hits, three runs, walking two and striking out eight to win his 10^th straight decision.
 
All Hornet SWAC Tournament games will be broadcast on bamastatesports.com.

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NSU Basketball and Football Future Looks Bright

NORFOLK, Virginia -- March Madness has long gone and I wait for next year. Norfolk State University (NSU) men had a good year in the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) with a 12 and 4 Record that earned them second place in the conference at year end. They were defeated by South Carolina State in the semi-finals, which was a disappointment to me, but I got over it. Hampton University became the victors of the tournament.

Although the Spartans lost three star players, Jeff Short, D’Shon Taylor, and Charles Oliver to graduation, the team still seems strong for next year. Returning next season are Jordan Butler, Zaynah Robinson, Jonathan Wade, Brian Kelly, Devonte Banner, and Alex Long who made strong showings last season. According to the local media, Coach Robert Jones has recruited two new shooting guards with respectful 16.5 and 8.4 points scoring averages. The prospect of a good year in the MEAC next season looks bright. Larry Vickers Associate Head Coach for the men has been selected as Head Coach for the NSU Women’s basketball team. Coach Vickers took over the Women’s team late in the season and brought a new spirit to the team. With that new spirit I look forward to a winning season for the women’s team also.

My focus now is on NSU football. Under the leadership of one-year head Coach Latrell Scott, the outlook for the upcoming season appears favorable. Coach Scott has brought a new twist to the team’s recruiting efforts. He is doing something that coaches in the recent past did not do much of. He’s recruiting studious and talented players from local high schools and prep schools throughout the State. I was told by an NSU fan that Scott invites local high school football players out to watch NSU spring training football practices. That is certainly a new recruitment twist for NSU football.

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Golden Lions roll past Bulldogs in SWAC tournament opener

NEW ORLEANS -- The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Baseball advances in the 2016 Southwestern Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament with a 16-6 win over Alabama A&M in seven innings, here Wednesday afternoon at the Wesley Barrow Stadium.

In a contest that saw three, three-run homers with both Aderly Perez and Jaqueese Moore belting homers for the Golden Lions. Perez's three-run shot came in UAPB's half of the second inning, while Moore's came in their half of the sixth.

Cornelius Woods' three-run shot for AAMU came in the top of the first inning for the Bulldogs.

UAPB finished the contest with 17 hits, where AAMU recorded six.

Both Michael Bradley and Perez finished the contest with four hits apiece to lead the Golden Lions from the plate. Also Bradley finished the contest with six RBIs and scoring two runs for UAPB.

Carlton Pepper finished the contest with three hits to lead the Bulldogs.

Humberto Medina (6-5) received the win for UAPB. This Golden Lion hurler pitched five innings, allowing five hits, five earned runs and striking out three in the 25 batters he faced. Blake Estep also toed the rubber for UAPB. He pitched two innings, allowing four hits, one earned run and striking out one in the 10 batters he faced.

Brandon Marsonek (4-12) the AAMU starter went two and two-third innings, allowing 11 hits, 11 earned runs and striking out one in the 20 batters he faced. Caleb Roberts also took to the hill for the Bulldogs. He pitched four innings in relief, allowing eight hits, five earned runs and striking out three in the 23 batters he faced.

AAMU took an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning on the Wood homer.

Moore cut AAMU's lead to 3-1 as he scored on a Perez single to left field.
The Golden Lions would then score six runs in their half of the second inning, five in their half of the third, three in the sixth and one in the seventh.

AAMU scored one run in the third, one in the fourth and one in the sixth for the 16-6 finale.

With the win, UAPB raises their record to 22-23, whereas AAMU lowers their record to 13-43.

UAPB will return to action tomorrow, May 19 against Texas Southern in a 3 p.m. winner's bracket game. In their game, TSU defeated Jackson State, 12-2 in their 9 a.m. matchup.

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