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HOUSTON, Texas — Quarterback DeVante Kincade’s journey from Skyline High School in Dallas, Texas to Grambling State University was not a direct route down Interstate 20 like one might assume. Instead, Kincade made a stop along the way in Oxford, Mississippi at Ole Miss, where he had visions of doing whatever he could to help lead the Rebels to both SEC and national championship glory.
But as sometimes happens, life has a way of sending one down a road less traveled. In DeVante’s case, he went down a path that would eventually lead to championship glory—just not at Ole Miss as he originally planned. The key to this story, however, is that Kincade is a unique young man who has never met a stranger in his life.
Wherever he stops, he makes friends. Let me rephrase; he quickly makes friends.
SWAC Champion
In front of 24,917 at NRG Stadium in Houston on Saturday, Kincade helped lead his Grambling State University Tigers to a 27-20 win over Alcorn State University in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) championship game.
The win marked the 25th conference title for SWAC-powerhouse Grambling, ending Alcorn’s improbable bid for three consecutive conference titles.
WHO: Notre Dame vs. North Carolina A&T WHEN: Sunday, December 4, 2016 | 5:00 p.m. ET tre d WHERE: Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center TICKETS:und.com/buytickets
VIDEO BROADCAST INFORMATION:ESPN3/ACC Network Extra with Tony Simeone (play-by-play) and A.J. Burgett (analyst). AUDIO BROADCAST INFORMATION: Notre Dame Basketball Radio Network, with Jack Nolan (play-by-play) and Zach Hillesland (analyst). How To Listen/Watch The IrishHere are the Five Things To Know about the Notre Dame - North Carolina A&T matchup on Sunday:
NORTH CAROLINA A&T AT A GLANCE:
North Carolina A&T is located in Greensboro, North Carolina and is a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Aggies have made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances and earned the program’s first NCAA victory in 2013, defeating Liberty 73-72 in a First Four game before falling to number-one seeded Louisville. North Carolina A&T finished the 2015-16 season with a 10-21 record and 7-9 in the MEAC. In 2016-17, the Aggies are 1-5, defeating Greensboro College in their home opener and will face North Dakota State on Friday, Dec. 2.
Sunday will mark the first-ever meeting between Notre Dame and North Carolina A&T in men’s basketball.
THE ‘DICE’ MAN RETURNS:
Ray ‘Dice’ Martin returns to Notre Dame this weekend as an assistant coach with North Carolina A&T. Martin, whose coaching career has ranged over five decades after earning his degree from Notre Dame in 1977, played four years under Digger Phelps, was a team captain and a member of the team that ended UCLA’s 88-game win streak on Jan. 19, 1974.
In that legendary contest Martin, then a freshman, was inserted into the lineup late in the game as the Irish made a stunning comeback over the Bruins. Martin took a charge from Keith Wilkes in the game’s final minute to set up the final game-winning field goal from Dwight Clay.
Martin’s coaching career has seen him criss-cross the country. Early in his career he was a member of Jim Valvano’s 1983 NC State coaching staff that shocked Houston in the NCAA Championship game. Martin was the head coach at Long Island, while also making coaching stops at SMU, Tennessee, Shaw, Florida Atlantic, Miami (Ohio), South Carolina State, UMBC, North Carolina Central and Grambling.
“I would really call him an educator,” Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey says of Martin. “There’s a lot of young people in the college game, through his different coaching stops, who have benefited from his relationship. He’s one of the good guys in the business. He’s a class act. I think every young person who comes in touch with him feels good about himself.
“Ray Martin was a heck of a basketball player for us and a great guard coming out of New York City. I was younger, but I knew the name Dice Martin, growing up in D.C.”
DOUBLE-DOUBLE TIMES FOUR FOR COLSON:
Junior Bonzie Colson has made the most of a significant increase in playing time this season as Notre Dame’s top option in the post to compile a great start to his third season in an Irish uniform.
In the Legends Classic semifinal victory over Colorado, Colson led the Irish with 22 points and 12 rebounds - while also shooting 9-of-9 at the free throw line and collecting two steals.
He followed up with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the championship game victory over Northwestern while playing a team-high 38 minutes.
The double-double streak continued against Chicago State, as Colson logged 10 points and 11 rebounds.
In the ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchup against Iowa, Colson played perhaps his finest game yet this season, scoring 24 points with a career-high 17 rebounds for his fourth double-double this season and eighth of
his career. THE ULTIMATE WEAPON - THE FREE THROW LINE:
Notre Dame is second in the country (as of Dec. 2) in free throw percentage, shooting 84.5 percent (125-148) from the charity stripe this season. Here are some of the superlatives for the team from its free throw shooting -
Junior Matt Farell is tied with five other players in the country with a perfect 1.000 shooting percentage from the free throw line (19-19).
Dating back to the 2015-16 season, Farrell has connected on 23 consecutive free throws.
Farrell is the first Notre Dame player in the Brey era to begin the season connecting on their first 19 free throw attempts.
Farrell combines with Steve Vasturia (ninth, 20-21, .952) to give Notre Dame the only team in the country with two players in the national top 10 for free throw shooting.
Farrell and Vasturia combine with Bonzie Colson (39th, 40-44, .909) to give Notre Dame the only team in the country with three players in the top 40 for free throw shooting.
Colson’s 12-for-12 effort at the free throw line against Iowa tied four other ND players for fourth-best in school history.
IRISH MATCH SECOND-BEST START OF THE BREY ERA:
Notre Dame enters the game against North Carolina A&T with a 7-0 record, the third time in the Mike Brey era (since 2000-01) the Irish have started the year with seven consecutive wins.
The 2010-11 team won its first eight games (also the most recent season the Irish won an in-season tournament - the 2010 Old Spice Classic), while the 2001-02 team won its first seven games.
COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME ATHLETIC MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS
Watch | Listen | Troy Game Notes
TROY, Alabama – Troy men's basketball will play on Sunday for the only time this season with a 5:15 matchup against Alabama State in Trojan Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Ali Forbes and Barry McKnight on the call.
The Trojans (3-4) are coming off a 80-74 home loss to USF on Thursday. The Bulls led for 38:48 of game play, yet after being down as much as 21, Troy cut the lead to five with roughly two minutes left before eventually falling.
The home loss came after a four-game stretch on the road. Troy dropped the first three contests against UAB, Eastern Illinois and San Francisco before earning a 65-63 win at Hawai'i.
Jordon Varnado and Wesley Person have again been the stalwarts for the Trojans this season. Both are averaging 13.9 points per game on the season. They've been aided by the scoring of newcomers Kevin Baker and Juan Davis, Jr. who are averaging 8.6 and 8.0 points per game, respectively.
Against USF, Jeremy Hollimon had a team-high 15 points, which marked the first time this season the senior led the team in points. DeVon Walker had 12 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double as a Trojan.
On the other side, Alabama State has had to play six-of-seven games on the road en route to a 1-6 record to start the season. The first home game was the Hornets' last, a 72-69 loss to Jacksonville State. SERIES HISTORY
ALABAMA STATE (1-6)
Overall Series: 11-10, ALABAMA STATE
Streak: TROY W1
Last: Troy 85-69, Dec. 7, 2013. Troy, Ala. PLAYERS TO WATCH TROY
Jordon Varnado: 13.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 13 blocks
Wesley Person: 13.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 15 3-pointers ALABAMA STATE
Rodney Simeon: 13.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 10 steals
Tony Armstrong: 11.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 20 offensive rebounds NOTEWORTHY
• The Trojans have two players ranked in the top-10 in rebounding in the Sun Belt Conference. DeVon Walker is fifth with 7.3 rebounds per game and Jordon Varnado is seventh with 7.1 rebounds per game.
• Troy is first in the Sun Belt in blocked shots. The Trojans lead the conference with 33 blocks, seven more than any other team.
• USF's 43 first-half points were the most points Troy allowed in a half this season.
For more information on Troy men's baVsketball, visit TroyTrojans.com or follow the team on social media at @. TROY UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA COMMUNICATION
SMU (5-3) hosts Delaware State (2-6) on Sunday at 2 p.m. This is the second contest in a six-game homestand. The Mustangs are 4-0 at home this season after a 49-43 victory against CSU Bakersfield on Friday. SMU is 36-3 at home since the start of the 2014-15 season and has 18 straight home wins against non-conference opponents.
Junior Semi Ojeleye leads SMU in scoring (17.5, 5th AAC) and rebounding (7.9, 10th). Shake Milton is second on the team in scoring (11.4, T-25th AAC) while leading in assists (4.4, 7th AAC), steals (1.9, 5th AAC) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2, 7th AAC). Four Mustangs average double digits in scoring with Ben Moore (11.0) and Sterling Brown (10.8) joining Ojeleye and Milton. SMU has outrebounded 7 of 8 opponents so far with a +11.3 rebound margin (2nd AAC, 9th NCAA). Six Mustangs average 3.0 or more rebounds with Ojeleye, Moore (7.5, 11th AAC) and Brown (5.9, 17th AAC) leading the way.
LAST GAME (W, 49-43 vs. CSU Bakersfield on Dec. 2): DALLAS (AP) -- Shake Milton scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half and SMU rallied in the final five minutes Friday night to beat Cal State Bakersfield 49-43. The Mustangs (5-3) went on a 12-0 run starting with Jarrey Foster's free throw at 5:28 and ending on Semi Ojeleye's free throw to make it 48-40 with 13 seconds left. Milton's 3-pointer with 3:36 left gave SMU the lead for good at 43-40. Sterling Brown added 10 points, Ojeleye had nine points and eight rebounds, and Ben Moore grabbed 12 boards to go with five points. Cal State Bakersfield (5-4) trailed 29-24 early in the second half before taking the lead with an 8-0 run. The Roadrunners still led 40-36 on Jaylin Airington's 3-pointer with 5:49 left but missed their next 10 shots from the field. Damiyne Durham led the Roadrunners with 14 points.
UP NEXT: SMU continues its six-game homestand against rival TCU on Wednesday at 7 p.m. THe homestand continues against McNeese State (Wednesday, Dec. 14), Stanford (Monday, Dec. 19) and Albany (Tuesday, Dec. 20). The Mustangs then start American Athletic Conference at Memphis on Tuesday, Dec. 27.
THE SERIES VS. DELAWARE STATE (0-0): This is the first meeting.
HEAD COACH TIM JANKOVICH... is in his first season at the helm at SMU after four seasons as the associate head coach. He is in his 34th season as a collegiate coach, and his 12th as a head coach. In 2015-16, the Mustangs finished 25-5, finishing the season ranked No. 24 after reaching a high of No. 8. SMU was the last unbeaten team in the country, starting 18-0, winning the Las Vegas Classic title during the season-opening streak. In 2014-15, the Mustangs claimed the American Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships en route to the NCAA Tournament. SMU was the top seed in the 2014 NIT, reaching the title game. This is his 10th season as the leader of a Division I program, including five as head coach at Illinois State (2007-12) and four at North Texas (1993-97). As a head coach, he is 171-124 (.580) [14-3 at SMU]. That includes a 104-64 mark at ISU where his teams recorded four top-three finishes in the Missouri Valley, reached the conference tournament final three times and earned four NIT bids. As an assistant or head coach, his teams are 628-375 (.626) with six regular season conference championships, four league tournament titles, nine NCAA Tournament appearances and eight NIT bids.
ATTENDANCE: SMU has surpassed 100,000 in attendance the past three seasons. In 2014-15, SMU set a season attendance record of 124,986 total and 6,944 average. The New Moody single-game attendance record of 7,395 was set against Connecticut (Feb. 14, 2015). SMU has sold out 41 of 52 games in Moody Coliseum since the renovated facility opened Jan. 4, 2014.
SMU Season Home Attendance Total
Total Season
124,986 2014-15 AAC Champions (15 sellouts in 18 games)
117,420 2015-16 (13 sellouts in 17 games)
107,412 2013-14 (9 sellouts in 19 games - 13 games in Moody Coliseum)
101,296 1984-85
---
27,408 2016-17 (4 sellouts in 3 games)
MATCHUP CLEMSON (4-2) vs. COPPIN STATE (0-9)\ Date: Sunday, Dec. 4 Tipoff: 2 p.m. ET Arena: Littlejohn Coliseum (9,000) Radio: CTSN (Tony Castricone-pbp; Philip Sikes-color) Web:ACC Network Extra(Pete Yanity-pbp; Bob Mihalic-color) • Clemson collected its first win since 2011 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge last time out, a 60-58 triumph over Nebraska. The Tigers overcame a nine-point first half deficit to claim the victory. • The win over the Cornhuskers was Clemson's first at home in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge since 2007, when the Tigers beat Purdue 61-58. • The Tigers face Coppin State for the first time since the 2005-06 season, when Clemson scored 102 points in a lopsided victory. • Clemson is 33-1 all time versus MEAC competition.
SERIES HISTORY
CU Series W-L record: Clemson leads 2-0
Streak: Clemson has won both previous meetings
TIGER TRACKS
• Clemson has faced the nation's second-toughest schedule, according to the RPI figures available at WarrenNolan.com. The Tigers were 12 in Friday's RPI.
• Avry Holmes will appear in his 100th career game Sunday. He played in 62 games for the University of San Francisco before transferring to Clemson, where he has appeared in 37 straight contests.
• Holmes needs just 12 points to reach 1,000 for his career.
• Jaron Blossomgame has scored at least 13 points in all six games this season, and leads the Tigers in scoring at 17.8 per contest.
• Blossomgame needs 53 points to become the 10th player in Clemson history to rank among the Tigers' top 20 in both points and rebounds. He is already 17th in Clemson history with 653 rebounds.
• Sidy Djitte is third in the NCAA with 5.0 offensive rebounds per game, and has collected 19 over Clemson's last three outings alone.
• Shelton Mitchell played 27 minutes against Nebraska, his second game back after sitting the first four contests following knee surgery.
STEPHEN JOYNER, Jr.
HEAD COACH WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
JOHNSON C. SMITH UNIVERSITY
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- Johnson C. Smith University head women's basketball coach Stephen Joyner, Jr. earned his 100th career coaching win in the 75-64 win at USC Aiken on Wednesday night. Joyner, in his fifth season at the helm of the JCSU program, currently has a career record of 65-51 at the helm of the Gold and Blue. A 2001 JCSU graduate and guard on the JCSU men's team that won the 2001 CIAA Title, Joyner started his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Livingstone men's program in the 2001-02 season. He then landed an assistant coaching position with the women's program at N.C. Central and served the Eagles from 2002-2006. Other assistant coaching stops for Joyner include Johnson C. Smith (2006-2008), and Florida A&M (2008-2010).
Joyner left Florida A&M after the conclusion of the 2009-2010 season to accept the head coaching position at Winston-Salem State. While with the Rams, accumulating a 35-21 record, including a 22-10 conference record.
He came to JCSU in 2012 and after posting an 8-18 record in his first season, has guided the Golden Bulls to three consecutive winning seasons, including a 20-8 mark in the 2014-2015 campaign.
Currently, JCSU holds a 6-1 record, having won six-straight games, and is tied for ninth in the latest Atlantic Region Women's Basketball Poll.
WHEELING, West Virginia – After one of the best seasons in program history, the No. 8 Shaw University women's volleyball team came up short on Friday night in a 3-0 (25-9, 25-11 and 25-10) loss to No. 1 and defending NCAA Division II National Champion Wheeling Jesuit University in the 2016 NCAA Tournament First Round at the McDonough Center. Despite the loss, the Lady Bears had a tremendous record-setting season to look back on. Sophomore Kelly Murphy (Mukwonago, WI) and freshman Aisja Jones (Red Oak, TX) tallied six and five kills in the match for the Lady Bears (22-8), who advanced to the NCAA advanced to the NCAA Tournament after winning the 2016 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Championship for the first time in 21 years. Sophomore Michelle Olmeda-Gonzalez (San Juan, PR) dished out 16 assists while Jones and Murphy tallied seven and six digs in the loss.
After trading the first couple of points in the opening set, the Cardinals scored 10-straight points to lead 12-2 over the Lady Bears. A kill by freshman Tapanga Moten (New Orleans, LA) led to Shaw embarking on a 5-1 run before WJU extended its lead 21-9 on an attack error by the Lady Bears. The Cardinals scored the last four points to take the 25-9 set win. Five miscues by Shaw gave the Cardinals a 5-1 lead in the second frame. The Lady Bears snapped a scoring drought on a kill by freshman Amari Fletcher (Phoenix, AZ) as the score showed 11-2 in favor of WJU. Shaw cut the deficit to 11 points before the Cardinals controlled a 6-3 push with a kill by Maddy Smyth giving WJU the 25-11 set win. With three ties and one lead change, the Lady Bears hung close with the Cardinals in the third set. WJU used a 7-1 push to expand its lead 13-7 over Shaw before a kill by Morghan Robinson (Anaheim, CA) cut the deficit to five points. The Lady Bears got within five points one more time but WJU punched in an 11-1 spurt which proved to be too much for Shaw as the Lady Bears fell 25-10, falling 3-0 for the contest Kayce Krucki led the charge for Wheeling Jesuit on 10 kills and eight digs. Andrea Thobe tallied a match-high 31 assists while Breanna Kramer and Sam Obringer collected 12 digs apiece. The Cardinals advance to Saturday night's Atlantic Region Semifinals. The Cardinals will face the Lady Cats of Pittsburgh-Johnstown, which defeated California (Pa.) 3-1 in the day's third match, in a 7:30 p.m. match. For more information on Shaw women's volleyball and its 11 varsity sports, visit www.shawbears.com. BOX SCORE SHAW UNIVERSITY BEARS SPORTS INFORMATION
HOUSTON, Texas -- It was quite a day for the Tigers of Grambling State. Winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) title game is one thing, but coming back in dramatic fashion to take the title certainly added a little oomph to the victory.
Grambling rebounded from a deficit of 17 points at halftime to capture a 27-20 victory over Alcorn State on Saturday. After trailing for most of the ballgame, the Tigers took the lead on a 31-yard touchdown run from wideout Martez Carter. It was Grambling's first SWAC championship since 2011, and the school's 24th conference title overall — most in SWAC history.
The game-winning score happened to be Carter's only touchdown on the day, but it probably should have been his second. That said, the touchdown that tied the game for the Tigers halfway through the fourth quarter is worth watching a couple times.
After making a catch in the open field, Carter's rumble toward the endzone is a sight to behold. However, a hit inside the 5-yard line forced the ball loose, but Grambling WR Dominique Leake proved to be Johnny-on-the-spot. Leake snatched the fumble out of the air and stepped across the goal line for the game-tying score. The PAT attempt would be blocked, keeping the score knotted at 20-20 and setting the scene for Carter's game-winning score a few minutes later.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Tahjere McCall (Philadelphia, Pa.) knocked down the game-winning jumper with 8.4 seconds left to lift the Tennessee State men’s basketball team to a 72-71 road win at Lipscomb at Allen Arena on Saturday. McCall was one of three Tigers with double-doubles on the evening as TSU improved to 7-1.
Trailing by one, McCall hit a contested pull-up jumper from the top of the key for a one-point lead. The Tigers came up with a stop on the other end on the last possession for Lipscomb (3-7). McCall scored 10 points and tied his career high with 11 rebounds. Wayne Martin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tallied 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Jordan Reed (Philadelphia, Pa.) recorded 11 points and 14 boards.
On the offensive end, Ken’Darrius Hamilton (Montgomery, Ala.), Christian Mekowulu (Lagos, Nigeria) and Darreon Reddick (Belleville, Ill.) scored 10 points apiece for TSU.
In the first half, the Tigers dug themselves an early eight-point hole as Lipscomb made its first three shots from three-point range for a 10-2 advantage. Mekowulu sparked TSU’s comeback with seven points on the Tigers’ 12-3 run later in the half to give the visitors a 14-13 edge with 13:18 left before halftime.
After falling behind, a 14-0 run that included eight points from Martin gave TSU a 35-28 lead with 3:19 showing on the clock. The Tigers maintained the lead, taking a 41-36 advantage into the locker room. Martin led TSU with 10 first-half points with Reed and McCall adding eight apiece in the first half.
Out of the intermission, TSU was able to stretch its lead to double digits on a Hamilton three pointer for a 54-43 lead just over six minutes into the second half.
Lipscomb rallied from a 13-point deficit to level the score at 64-64 with 4:02 to play.
TSU held a 70-69 lead with two minutes left before two Lipscomb free throws gave the Bisons a 71-70 advantage with 1:06 left setting up McCall’s late-game heroics.
The Tigers pulled down a season-high 50 rebounds and finished with 14 more boards than Lipscomb (34) in the game. The Bisons were led on offense by 19 points for Garrison Mathews.
TSU will take on NC State in Raleigh, N.C. on Dec. 10.
GAME NOTES: TSU is now 3-3 in the all-time series versus Lipscomb… TSU earned its first road win in the series after falling to Lipscomb at Allen Arena in 2002 and 2014… Jordan Reed (Philadelphia, Pa.) picked up his second double-double of the season and 25th of his collegiate career… Wayne Martin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had his fourth double-double of the year and 14th of his career… Tahjere McCall (Philadelphia, Pa.) added his second double-double of the season and third of his career… It is the second time Reed and Martin have had double-doubles in the same game this season… Six players scored in double figures for TSU for the second time his season… It is the first time three TSU players have had double-doubles in the same game since Nov. 20, 2014 versus Fisk.
TSU Head Coach Dana Ford
“I’m really proud of our guys. Lipscomb, all the credit in the world to them. They played really hard. They play as a team. It’s a tough guard for us because they can score inside and out. I’m just so proud of our players for being able to persevere, being resilient enough to walk out of here with literally one more point.”
- On the win
“They make so many threes they can get out on you pretty quick, in a matter of minutes. I felt like once our guys got settled in, and we started developing a low-post game, that allowed us to score the ball in the first half. You have to give them credit. They made an adjustment and took away the low-post game, and we had to find a way on the perimeter to will ourselves to a win.”
- On the ups and downs of the game
“I wanted to call a timeout and I was calling timeout, but the coach can’t call a timeout now when the ball is in play. (Tahjere McCall) did what seniors are supposed to do. I’m very proud of him, and I’m sure glad that we have him.”
- On the final play of the game
CARBONDALE, Illinois — What looked like a blowout early turned into another white-knuckler at SIU Arena on Saturday. Once again, Southern Illinois made big plays at crunch time and fended off a furious Texas Southern comeback to win, 74-70.
The Salukis (5-3) were cruising along with a 28-13 lead with six minutes remaining in the first half, but the Tigers (4-4) cut the deficit to nine at halftime and really poured it on in the second half.
Playing in their eighth-straight road game to start the season, Texas Southern shot 64 percent in the second half and took their first lead, 51-50, on a driving layup by Zach Lofton with 9:59 to go. From there, the lead changed hands 13 more times, back and forth, with neither club able to gain more than a one-possession advantage.
The Tigers took their biggest lead of the night, 67-64, on a 3-pointer by Lofton with 3:07 to go, but Armon Fletcher answered for Southern with a trey to tie it, 67-67. That's when things got really interesting. Tigers' forward Derrick Griffin was assessed a technical foul for arguing with an official, and Fletcher made one of two free throws to put SIU up, 68-67.
TSU countered with a 3-pointer by Dulani Robinson to put his team back on top, 70-68, with 1:30 to go. Saluki point guard Mike Rodriguez then drew a fifth foul on Robinson, and after Texas Southern coach Mike Davis voiced his displeasure with the call, he too, was assessed a technical. It turned into another three-point possession at the free throw line for the Salukis, who grabbed a 71-70 advantage.
Lofton tried to put his team back on top, but his driving layup was off the mark with 40 seconds left. Sean O'Brien missed a shot for SIU with eight seconds to go, but Fletcher grabbed a huge offensive rebound and was immediately fouled. He made both free throws to put SIU ahead, 73-70.
After a timeout, the Tigers perfectly executed a play that got a Kevin Scott an open look at a 3-pointer that caught iron. Fletcher pulled down the rebound, was fouled with 0.3 seconds left and made the game's final point at the charity stripe.
There were several clutch performances in the victory for the Salukis. Sean Lloyd came off the bench and scored eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers when the lead was going back and forth in the second half. The sophomore guard entered the game just 2-of-12 from outside the arc, but made both tries tonight and both were huge. Fletcher's trey to tie the game, 67-67, was also memorable, as he drained the jumper going to his left and with the shot clock winding down.
"When we went down twice, two players made three big plays," said SIU head coach Barry Hinson. "Sean Lloyd made two incredible plays today — both threes had to go — and Armon hit a huge three."
Fletcher was Southern's leading scorer with 18 points. He started out hot by making his first two 3-point tries, missed his next four, then made the money shot at the end.
"The challenging thing for me with Armon is I want him to be better than what he is," Hinson said. "If he will just wake up every day with that passion and desire, I think this kid is going to be paid to play basketball."
Rodriguez also had a solid night as the team's floor general. He was 3-of-12 from the field, but made 9-of-12 the line and had a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists. The last Saluki player with a double-double in points and assists was Kevin Dillard in 2010.
Texas Southern will look back and regret the blown opportunity. The Tigers came out cold, missing seven-straight 3-point tries. The first-half funk included a dozen turnovers. They shot just 43 percent from the free throw line. Still, they had a late lead and perhaps could have held on if not for the bonus points they handed SIU on the technicals.
"I've been coaching for a long time and I've never seen that before," said Davis, who has coached in 529 games since making his head-coaching debut at Indiana in 2000. "I was talking to one official, and he walked away, and the other official came all the way across the court and made that (technical) call. He never told me what happened on either technical foul."
Lofton had 26 points to lead all scorers, while Derrick Griffin aded 12 points and 13 rebounds.
"I think they're an NCAA Tournament team," Hinson said. "I think they're going to win the SWAC, I think they're going to upset people (in March Madness), and if you're not ready to play these guys, you're going to get beat."
Hinson said his team used three-different defenses today and four-different ball-screen coverages, but he still called it the "worst defense we've played this year."
Add it all up, though, and the Salukis have won four of their last five games, including back-to-back comebacks against Murray State and TSU.
Next up for the Salukis is a trip to No. 14-ranked Louisville. It will be Southern's third and final chance this season to pull off an upset versus a Power Five conference opponent.
PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas -- Three Prairie View A&M players posted double-digit outputs to lead a 75-65 victory over Sam Houston State Saturday at the William J. Nicks Building.
Jeronia Allen led a trio of seniors with a season high of 23 points to lead all scorers, along with seven rebounds, six assists and two steals. Alexus Parker captured her second double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Tori Carter added 15 points and a season high of eight assists to the Lady Panthers win.
"I thought my kids played hard tonight," said head coach Ravon Justice. "We had a run tonight, which is a sign of growth and we definitely fought them (Sam Houston) with the tough situations on the floor. Coming off a road loss, it's really good to come home and get the win."
The Lady Panthers (4-4) came out on fire, taking an early lead and went into the second quarter with a seven-point lead (20-13).
With two minutes knocked off the clock Prairie View A&M a jumper by Parker and a three-pointer by Talisha Presley pushed the score to a 12 25-13) the largest lead of the quarter. The Bearkats (0-8) tried to gain some momentum as they chipped the point spread to five (35-30) going into halftime.
After Sam Houston made a run to cut the PVAMU to one at 40-39 with 4:55 left to go, the Lady Panthers made a run of their own. Four back-to-back baskets by Allen and Carter and some forced turnovers by the Lady Panthers helped push the lead to 54-41 with under three minutes to play in third quarter.
PVAMU shot 43.8 percent from the field and out-rebounded Sam Houston 44-39, and forced 24 turnovers to PV's 12.
"We thought we were turning the ball over too much during the early part of the season," Justice said. "Now that we are progressing as a team and taking care of the basketball, it should be important to our basketball team. I thought my kids did a great job with that, thanks to our upperclassman."
As a team Prairie View A&M had a season high of 20 assists to go along with a season high of 11 steals and three blocks.
"Any time that you can have 20 assists, that says a lot for your basketball team," said Justice. "I am pleased with that. Sharing the basketball and making sure we get the ball in the right people's hand is extremely important to me."
Prairie View A&M returns to action at 15th-ranked DePaul on Monday at noon.
"Going into DePaul on Monday is definitely going to be a challenge for us, and we are up for the challenge," Justice said. "They are a ranked team, so looking ahead we have got to make free throws, and that's something we are going to talk about, just having energy and just trying to carry over the win we just had."
TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Visiting Southern University rode a torrid 31-13 scoring surge in the second half to pull away to an 83-71 non-conference men’s basketball victory over Florida A&M at The Al Lawson Center Saturday evening.
Southern’s sharpshooting guard Shawn Prudhomme provided much of the spark for his Jaguars (3-3), scoring a game-high 25 points, cashing in some NBA distance three-pointers in the second half that fueled run. He finished four of seven from beyond the arc, and 9-of-14 from the floor overall.
Prudhomme’s three-pointer with 5:42 left snapped a 67-67 tie, capping an 18-9 Southern run which erased a hard-earned Rattler advantage, while vaulting Southern ahead, 70-67.
FAMU (2-7) trailed 46-41 at the break, but put on a scoring run of their own to take a 53-52 lead on a pair of free throws by Elijah Mays with 14:26 left. Marcus Barnham knocked down a three-pointer for FAMU with 14:12 left, before Derrick Dandridge’s put back with 13:59 left extended the Rattler edge to 58-52.
But the visiting Jaguars rallied while FAMU went cold down the stretch, as Southern knocked down four triples and shot 40 percent overall from the floor, while the Rattlers hit just one of 11 from beyond the arc, and 31.4 percent from the field in the second half.
In fact, Southern outscored FAMU, 13-4 over the final 5:42 to clinch the victory.
Guard Tre’lun Banks was wingman to Prudhomme Saturday, adding 10 points and nine assists for Southern, while Jared Sam had a game-high nine rebounds, with Chris Thomas adding eight boards for the Jags, who finished the night with a 52-30 rebounding edge.
FAMU had four players score in double figures, led by Derrick Dandridge with 13 points and six rebounds before he fouled out, followed by Elijah Mays with 12 points and four assists, Trey-Cary Warren with 11 points and Nasir Core with 10 points.
WHAT’S NEXT: The Rattlers will take next week off for Fall finals, then return to action on Monday, Dec. 12 at Southeastern Louisiana (7:00 p.m. Central Time), before returning home for a final December home game on Saturday, Dec. 17 against Jacksonville (Fla.) at The Lawson Center (4:00 p.m.). FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
HOUSTON, Texas -- Grambling State was the dominant team in the SWAC all season, and continued its mastery on Saturday. At least in the second half. And the Tigers also needed a little good luck to pull off an improbable comeback.
The Tigers spotted Alcorn State 17 first-half points and came roaring back for a 27-20 win over the Braves on Saturday in the Toyota SWAC football championship game before a crowd of 24,917 at NRG Stadium.
The first half belonged to Alcorn, whose two-year reign as conference champions ended. The second half was all Grambling, which avenged last year's title game loss to the Braves.
Grambling tied the game 20-20 on a bizarre play.
Martez Carter caught a short pass from Devante Kincade at the Alcorn 18-yard line and just before Carter was to cross the end zone, Stacey Garner knocked the ball out of Carter's grasp, but Grambling's Dominique Leake was at the right place at the right time. Leake alertly caught the ball and ran in the remaining two yards for the score. But the PAT was blocked and the game remained tied with 7:25 remaining in the fourth quarter.
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- After mass staff turnover following the 2015 season, Southern football coach Dawson Odums said he anticipates his entire staff to return for next year.
Considering the success the team had in spite of the obstacles it faced — whether it was the lack of spring practice, an NCAA investigation or scholarship reductions — Odums also made it clear he thinks his staff is due a bump in pay.
“You win under all the penalties,” he said. “That staff and those coaches, they’ve earned the opportunity for extensions and raises. We’ve earned that here, now. Whether we get it or not, based on the budgets and cuts, we don’t know. But we’ve earned it here.”
Southern went 8-3 in 2016, including an eight-game winning streak that ended on the final day of the season against Grambling in the Bayou Classic. It was a two-win improvement from the 2015 season, after which Odums virtually cleaned house with his coaching staff.
Odums fired three defensive assistants after last season. Co-offensive and recruiting coordinator Chad Germany added to the upheaval when he resigned.
HAMPTON, Virginia – The Hampton University men's basketball team ended its five-game skid on Saturday afternoon at the HU Convocation Center, upending William & Mary 79-69.
The Pirates improved to 2-6 on the season.
Freshman Jermaine Marrow led the Pirates with a season-high 27 points, going 10-for-20 from the floor and hitting three of his seven 3-pointers. Graduate student Lawrence Cooks poured in a career-high 23 points on 7-for-13 shooting.
Sophomore Trevond Barnes added 12 points, while AJ Astroth chipped in 10 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Hampton shot 48.3 percent (28-for-58) from the floor – including a 53.6 percent clip in the second half – and made seven of its 18 3-pointers (38.9 percent). The Pirates also went 16-for-21 (76.2 percent) from the free throw line.
The Tribe shot 55.6 percent in the first half and opened the game on a 7-3 spurt. A Marrow trey at the 13:10 mark cut the lead to 11-10, but William & Mary went on a 10-4 run to take a 21-14 lead after a Nathan Knight dunk at the 11:07 mark.
Hampton scored the next seven points, tying the game at 21-21 on a Marrow jumper with 9:14 left in the half, but the Tribe then scored 16 of the next 21 points to take a 37-25 lead with 5:14 left in the half after a trey from Greg Malinowski.
William & Mary took a 44-34 lead at the half.
Marrow had 13 points at the break.
Hampton opened the second half on a 17-6 run to take a 51-50 lead with 14:56 left in the game after a jumper from Marrow. The run later grew to 26-8 as the Pirates took a 60-52 lead after Cooks sank a layup with 11:12 remaining.
The Tribe cut the lead to 62-61 with 5:03 remaining, and Daniel Dixon converted a 3-point play with 3:50 left to cut the lead to 65-64.
But Hampton closed the game on a 14-5 run, clinching the 79-69 win on a Devon Oakley free throw.
William & Mary shot 42.6 percent (23-for-54) from the floor, despite shooting just 29.6 percent in the second half, and went 5-for-23 from 3-point range. The Tribe did hold an advantage on the glass, outrebounding the Pirates 37-26.
Omar Prewitt led the Tribe (3-4) with 21 points.
The Pirates will hit the road again on Wednesday, heading to Boiling Springs, N.C. to face Gardner-Webb at 7 p.m. For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5757, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sa'eed Nelson finished with 18 points but 23 turnovers cost the American University men's basketball team in the 71-54 loss to Howard at Burr Gym on Saturday afternoon.
American (1-6) trailed by six at the half (32-26) after Howard went cold in the final four minutes. The Eagles down 32-16 rattled off 10 straight points before the break. Nelson had eight for AU. Mark Gasperini and Lonnie Rivera added six each for the Eagles.
In the second, Howard increased its lead to 22 (57-32) on a layup by Damon Collins.
JT Miller led all scorers with 30 points on 11-of-16 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the line. Collins had 19 and Solo Mangham had 16 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double.
Howard shot 44 percent from the field and got to the line 23 times with 17 made free throws.
American outrebounded the Bison, 33-29, and had more points in the paint (34-30).
American will host New Hampshire on Tuesday night at Bender Arena. The Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.
Great seats still remain for all AU men's basketball home games and are available online at www.aueagles.com/tickets.
FARMVILLE, Virginia – Four players finished in double figures as Norfolk State (4-4) scored 20-plus points in each of the final three periods to pull away for an 85-56 win over Longwood Saturday afternoon inside Willett Hall.
The Spartan offense was led by a career-high 23 points from Jordan Strode, her second consecutive double-figure game against a Big South opponent, as Saturday's performance comes after a 16-point effort in Norfolk State's Wednesday night win over High Point.
With the win, Norfolk State surpasses its three wins from last season under first-year head coach Larry Vickers and their 4-4 record is the latest in the season they've had a record of .500 or better since jumping out to a 5-3 mark in 2010-11.
The Spartans' leading scorer on the season, Kayla Roberts, added 15 points – 11 coming in the second half – to go along with 10-point apiece from Gabrielle Swinson and Shayla Tanner. Coming into Saturday's game with three straight double-doubles, Roberts was two rebounds shy of collecting her fourth straight, finishing the afternoon with 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in 32 minutes of playing time.
Rouse led the Lancer offense with a season-high 14 points off the bench, her second game in double figures this season. She was joined by Kemari Jones' 10 points as the two finished as the lone double figure scorers for the blue and white.
The 10 points from Jones extends her streak to three straight games in double figures. In addition, the 6-0 sophomore from Melbourne, Fla., pulled down three rebounds and had four assists in 33 minutes of playing time.
Norfolk State out-rebounded the Lancers by a 47-29 and shot at a .492 (30-of-61) from the floor, the highest shooting percentage by a Longwood opponent this season. The Spartans also forced 17 Longwood turnovers and assisted on 18 of their 30 baskets.
With the 0-2 home mark in the non-conference portion of the home schedule, Longwood (1-5) suffers more than one defeat on its home floor outside of Big South paly for the first time since the 2014-15 season after going unbeaten inside Willett Hall last year.
The game marked the final contest on an unnamed court inside Willett Hall, as the floor will be dedicated and renamed "Jerome Kersey Court" before Saturday's men's game versus James Madison.
With the exam break looming, Longwood will have eight days to prepare for its contest at Charlotte Dec. 11. That game is set for a 4 p.m., tip and precedes Longwood's a pair of games in West Virginia against the Mountaineers (Dec. 17) and Marshall (Dec. 19). BOX SCORE LONGWOOD UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS
HOUSTON, Texas — Quarterback DeVante Kincade’s journey from Skyline High School in Dallas, Texas to Grambling State University was not a direct route down Interstate 20 like one might assume. Instead, Kincade made a stop along the way in Oxford, Mississippi at Ole Miss, where he had visions of doing whatever he could to help lead the Rebels to both SEC and national championship glory.
