Bethune Cookman routed by North Carolina A&T Lady Aggies

Photo: Britta Taylor-James led the Aggies in scoring with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists in 22 minutes of action. The 6-0 junior forward is from Evanston, Illinois and transferred from UC Santa Barbara.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Bethune-Cookman's reward for winning its first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game of the season Saturday was a matchup with conference leader North Carolina A&T on Monday. The Aggies (17-5, 10-0) unleashed a relentless zone trap defense that caused 28 Wildcat turnovers and flattened B-CU 89-55 at Moore Gymnasium.

Five players scored in double figures for N.C. A&T, led by Britta Taylor-James' 16 points. The Aggies, who had 20 steals in the game, shot 57.9 percent from the field (33-for-57), while holding the 'Cats to just 29.6 percent (21-for-71).

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Hampton ends UMES Lady Hawks' winning streak

Photo: Hampton University senior guard Rachel Butler led the Lady Pirates in scoring with 15 points.

PRINCESS ANNE -- It had to end sometime. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore women's basketball team had stretched its program-record winning streak to seven games on Saturday against Howard University. Monday, when the Hawks welcomed Hampton University, the streak came to a halt with a 68-64 loss, the team's first since a 72-59 set back against North Carolina A&T on Jan. 19.

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Alabama State's Hayles surpasses 1,000 career points in win

Photo: Andrew Hayles, 6-5/195 junior guard from Mobile, Alabama, LeFlore H.S. surpass 1,000 points in his ASU career scoring 18 points in victory over UAPB Golden Lions.

Pine Bluff, Ark. - Arkansas-Pine Bluff shot a dismal 28 percent in the second half as Alabama State cruised to a 69-51 win Monday. The Golden Lions (10-12, 6-5 Southwestern Athletic Conference) scored just 19 points in the second half.

Brandon Brooks scored 19 points and Andrew Hayles had 18 to lead Alabama State (13-8, 9-2). Roland Pitch added a dozen points for the Hornets. Hayles surpassed 1,000 career points in the second half. Larry Williams led Arkansas-Pine Bluff with 17 points; no other Golden Lion scored more than 5 points.

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Delaware State gets offensive, rout Howard University

Photo: DSU senior Roy Bright had another monster game--scoring a game-high 26 points on 10-for-14 shooting from the field, with 6-of-10 on 3-pointers, 5 rebounds and 1 assist in 28 minutes of action.

Hornets score 29 straight points to rout Howard

DOVER -- Message to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Delaware State still believes it's the "top dog" in the hunt for the league's men's basketball championship. The Hornets exhibited what coach Greg Jackson said was the best offensive effort in his eight years at the school in an 81-55 victory over Howard on Monday night at Memorial Hall.

DSU, coming off a win over Hampton on Saturday, parlayed that performance into an uncharacteristic offensive explosion in the first half, shooting at a blistering 78 percent clip and reeling off a 29-0 run.

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Delaware State is now tied with Hampton University for third place in the conference standing. Norfolk State is playing the best basketball in its history and has its best conference record since moving to Division I, ten years ago. This race is too close to call at this time, but if DSU continues to shoot 78 percent from the field, very few teams will be able to stop their run for the regular season conference championship.

The Hornets will be at Norfolk State on February 16, and this game should be a barn burner with unstoppable power guard Tony Murphy (16.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.8 stl) shooting the lights out and Roy Bright (18.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg) on fire with his long distance 3's.

At stake for the Hornets is a tie for second place behind Morgan State, who is playing on the road at Florida A&M on Saturday and Bethune Cookman on Monday. Neither team (FAMU or BCU) should be able to stop the 9-1 MSU Bears and their talented guards Jamar Smith (18.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 stl), Reggie Holmes (13.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.3 stl) forwards Marquise Kately (12.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg), and the MEAC leading rebounder, Boubacar Coly (9.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 2.6 blk, 1.0 stl).

Delaware State run may be too late with only six games remaining in the season with four at home before the MEAC Tournament.

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Standings

TEAM, CONFERENCE RECORD, TOTAL RECORD
Morgan State 9-1, 15-8
Norfolk State 8-2, 12-10
Hampton 7-3, 13-9
Delaware State 7-3, 10-12
North Carolina A&T 6-4, 12-11
Bethune-Cookman 4-6, 10-14
Florida A&M 4-6, 8-15
South Carolina State 4-6, 8-16
Coppin State 2-8, 7-19
Howard 2-8, 5-19
Maryland-Eastern Shore 2-8, 4-21

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Jackson State overpowers Southern with Caldwell

Jeremy Caldwell had 22 points and 15 rebounds to lead Jackson State to a 85-71 victory over Southern University on Monday. The win helps the Tigers (9-15, 7-4 Southwestern Athletic Conference) hold on to a share of second place in the conference.

Caldwell had only two points in the first half. But he scored 11 points during a three-minute span in the second as the Tigers outscored Southern 13-2 and turned a two-point lead into a 67-54 advantage with 7:44 left in the game. Southern (8-14, 6-5) could get no closer than 12 points after that.

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Opponents hard to come by for the mighty Appalachian State Mountaineers

Photo: Sophomore Quarterback Amanti Edwards, #14 has led Applachian State to two of their three consecutive FCS Championships and a upset of then #5 ranked Michigan.

ASHEVILLE — The cost of success is going up for the Appalachian State football program. A shocking upset at No. 5 Michigan and a third straight Football Championship Subdivision national championship were the bookends to a 13-2 season in 2007 for the Mountaineers, but those accomplishments have made Jay Sutton’s job much more challenging.

According to Cobb and Sutton, the FBS schools that turned down the opportunity to play ASU included North Carolina, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Alabama and Wisconsin. “North Carolina is interesting. We had the date open and were willing and eager to play them, but instead they scheduled (FCS school) McNeese State,” Sutton said.

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Florida A&M University have two open dates on the 2008 football schedule and only 11 games scheduled, but no reports came from the Rattlers Athletic Department regarding scheduling a home and home date with Appalachian State. What about 2009 or 2011, or are we planning our schedules like our neighbors, the Florida State Seminoles, who scheduled lowly FCS Western Carolina and University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, while telling Appalachian State to go straight to H...

FAMU should be knocking Appalachian State door down to get a game scheduled for Bragg Memorial Stadium for the sellout and fan interests that it will generate across North Florida. Appalachian State is an opportunity for a schedule upgrade for the Rattlers, or South Carolina State, Norfolk State, Delaware State or Hampton. FAMU and the MEAC should not pass up this opportunity.

Lady Hawks rout Howard, roll to a 105-87 win

UMES extended its school-record winning streak to seven straight games with a 105-87 win over visiting Howard University on Saturday. The Lady Hawks (14-8, 7-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) led by as many as 41 points and shot 53 percent from the field.

April McBride recorded her seventh double double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Tiffany Reid matched her career-high of 24 points.Josephine McLane scored a career-high 16 points. Freshmen Casey Morton also finished in double figures with 12 points.

With the win, UMES moved into sole possession of second place in the conference.

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Interviews crucial to FAMU's Taylor

Taylor and his staff just completed one phase of the blueprint by signing 16 players to their 2008 recruiting class this past week. FAMU had 13 sign on National Signing Day Wednesday and three more came in the next day. The latest three were place kicker Nicardo Blake and wide receiver Tyrone Brantley out of Boyd Anderson High School in Fort Lauderdale and cornerback Marvin Ross out of Trinity Christian School in Jacksonville.

Taylor and his staff didn't just recruit for need, they recruited for GPA as well. FAMU's 2008 class has brains as well and brawn. Rush, 6-3, 205 pounds, has a 3.4 GPA and scored a 1530 on his SAT. Defensive back Michael Greene, 6-1, 183 pounds, was an honorable mention All-State at Jonesboro (Ga.) High School and cleared 6-feet, 8-inches to finish second in the Georgia Class 4A State meet. Greene came up just as big in the classroom with a 3.3 GPA and a 1460 on his SAT.

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UAPB holds off Alabama A&M Bulldogs

PINE BLUFF, Ark. - Arkansas-Pine Bluff made 10 straight free throws over the final 34seconds to hold off Alabama A&M in a 70-65 Southwestern Athletic Conference victory Saturday night. The Golden Lions, who entered the game shooting 60 percent from the charity stripe, made 20-of-25 free throws, all in the second half, to turn back the Bulldogs.

The loss, which snapped A&M's three-game winning streak, dropped the Bulldogs to 7-13overall and 4-6 in league play. UAPB, which snapped its two-game losing streak, improved to 10-11 and 6-4. Trant Simpson led A&M with 27 points. Allen Smith led UAPB with 25 points.

Alabama State University President Resigns

Photo: Alabama State University 11th president, Dr. Joe A. Lee will be stepping down on May 31, 2008.

Montgomery, AL - Alabama State University President Joe Lee has announced plans to resign after a sometimes tumultuous seven years at the school's helm. Lee's announcement yesterday at a scheduled board of trustees meeting caught most of the trustees, administrators and alumni off-guard.

Lee says he will resign May 31st. He did not disclose any future plans. Trustee Herbert Young says he had no idea Lee was going to resign. Trustees voted to move quickly and gave board chairman Elton Dean the authority to begin forming a search panel. Dean says he expects to start the committee within the next week.

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Alabama State Hornets able to get help in the trenches

Photo: Alabama State second year Coach Reggie Barlow opens the Hornets 2008 football season on the road against new Florida A&M University Rattlers Coach Joe Taylor in Tallahassee on August 30.

On the Division I-AA level, recruiting is all about meeting needs. You don't have the glitz and glamour of top-ranked recruiting classes and five-star players. You don't have 12 analysts measuring your recruits' 40-yard dash times or fans clamoring about you missing out on the sure superstar. Instead, it's all about meeting needs and possibly finding a few overlooked gems. But mostly, it's about meeting needs. Especially in Alabama State's case.

The Hornets lost 10 scholarships for three straight years prior to this year. That's 30 players missing from a team. In that situation, there's no choice but to meet needs. And this year, the coaches did an average job of that.

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Morgan State pounds Winston Salem State

Photo: Marquise Katley dominated WSSU with 14 points/9 rebounds in the Bears rout over the Rams.

BALTIMORE, MD - Winston-Salem State’s troubles on the road continued yesterday. Marquise Katley scored 14 points and had nine rebounds and Jamar Smith added 12 points as Morgan State beat Winston-Salem State 63-41 at Hill Field House. The Bears (14-8) won their seventh straight game, getting off to a hot start from the field to build an early lead and were never threatened.

Backing Katley and Smith was Reggie Holmes, who came off the bench to score 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Three of his baskets came on 3-point attempts. Center Boubacar Coly added eight points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots for the Bears.

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Late Jumper Lifts Norfolk State Over BC-U Wildcats, 78-77 in Overtime

Photo: Michael Deloach hit the dagger shot to lead NSU to an improbable win over Bethune Cookman University. The 6-0/175 junior guard is from Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Bonner Academy and is majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies.

Wildcats watch 24-point lead evaporate late before falling in overtime

Daytona Beach, FL - Michael Deloach picked up a blocked shot, turned around and swished a 15-foot jumper with 0.6 seconds left, carrying Norfolk State University to a 78-77 overtime victory over Bethune-Cookman University on Saturday inside Moore Gymnasium in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The win completed a 24-point comeback for the Spartans (11-10, 7-2 MEAC). Bethune-Cookman (9-14,3-6 MEAC) committed 22 turnovers after leading by 29-22 at halftime.
Deloach, who did not start, finished with a game-high 30 points. His total included a 15-for-21 effort from the free throw line. Teammate Tony Murphy chipped in with 14 points, and Corey Lyons added 11.

John Holmes paced Bethune-Cookman with 23 points, with Dewayne Pettus scoring 18 and Jimmy Hudson 13.

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B-CU beats buzzer, Norfolk State Lady Spartans

Photo: BC-U Lady Wildcat Demetria Frank hit winning shot to give Wildcats first conference win of the season. The 5-9 freshman guard is from Miami Jackson Senior High School, Miami, FL and is the first member of her family to attend college.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Bethune-Cookman University's freshman Demetria Frank hit a desperation shot from the top of the key as the buzzer sounded to stave off a spirited comeback attempt by Norfolk State and give the Wildcats a 76-74 win Saturday afternoon at Moore Gymnasium.

It also avoided what would have been a tough loss for the Wildcats. B-CU (4-17, 1-8 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) played on of its better games of the season to snap a 10-game losing skid. The Wildcats had a season-high 76 points. They led by 14 points at the half and by as much as 16 during the second half.

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Harrison, Coppin State defeat S.C. State

Antwan Harrison scored 19 points and Tywain McKee and Vince Goldsberry each had 16 to lead Coppin State past visiting South Carolina State, 79-67, yesterday. Coppin State University (6-19, 2-8 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) never trailed against South Carolina State (8-15, 4-5) and has won two straight conference games after losing eight straight to start the season. The Bulldogs, who are third in the league in scoring, had trouble adjusting to Coppin State's high-pressure defense and committed 17 turnovers.

Jason Flagler had 19 points, Robert Baker had 15 and Julius Carter added 11 points for South Carolina State.

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Savannah State drops Longwood in O.T.

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University dropped a disappointing 69-66 men’s basketball decision to visiting Savannah State University Saturday afternoon at Willett Hall in Farmville; a closely-played contest that featured 12 lead-changes and 14 ties. The Lancers (6-21) were led by senior Lamar Barrett/Providence, R.I. (St. Andrews) who matched his career-high with 23 points, adding a season-high 12 rebounds, while the Tigers (11-16) were led by Chris Linton with 14 points. Longwood will play again on Monday, February 11, on the road at Florida Atlantic University of the Sun Belt Conference in Boca Raton, Florida beginning at 7 p.m.

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Jacksonville Jam owner wasting his money

Photo: Jacksonville Jam Coach Mike Gillespie and several former FAMU and MVSU players may soon become unemployed due to the failure of the Jam owners to cover payroll and travel expenses of the team.

When Jacksonville Jam owner Felix Krupczynski decided to bring the umpteenth minor-league pro basketball franchise to this city, I publicly warned him that he was throwing money away. He brought the Jam here anyway and it couldn't last two seasons, in two different leagues, without running into financial problems.

If you don't have the resources to pay salaries or travel costs, why start this kind of business? Asking the Premier Basketball League to come to your rescue only makes things worse. Krupczynski claims the PBL reneged on promises to help the Jam, but isn't it the responsibility of the owner to cover expenses?

Now that the PBL has severed ties with Krupczynski midway through this season, you'd think he would pack it in for good...

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We are sorry to see the failure of this franchise as it adversely impacts former Florida A&M University coach Mike Gillespie and several former MEAC and SWAC basketball players that played at FAMU and MVSU, respectively. Hopefully, they all will land on their feet and get a true opportunity for pro basketball.

Prairie View women roll past visiting TSU

Photo: Prairie View A&M University head women basketball coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke has led the Lady Panthers to a 10-0 SWAC record (15-7 overall) on the first half of their schedule.

PRAIRIE VIEW — After a flat start, Prairie View's Lady Panthers proceeded to flatten Texas Southern University. A 20-6 run midway through the first half at the William Hicks Building was the spark Prairie View needed to rout TSU 75-46 on Saturday and remain undefeated in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Prairie View (15-7, 10-0 SWAC) won its 12th straight game behind a suffocating defensive effort that limited TSU (6-14, 4-6) to just 31 percent shooting.

"We weren't as focused as we should have been at the beginning," said Prairie View coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, whose team wore pink uniforms to promote "Think Pink Day" and raise breast cancer awareness. "Once we got going, we did some good things, especially on defense."

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NCA&T 2nd half sinks FAMU Lady Rattlers

Photo: Coach Debra Clark's Lady Rattlers have gone into a nose dive after a 9-1 start and have lost 10 of the past 11 games. Is it the players or the coaching leaders and what will the published excuse be next week?

The second-half collapses continued for the Florida A&M women's basketball team Saturday afternoon as the Lady Rattlers fell to the first-place North Carolina A&T Lady Aggies 69-53 at Gaither Gymnasium.

The Lady Rattlers, sporting their new pink uniforms in support of the "Think Pink" breast cancer awareness initiative, trailed by just a point in the first half but were outscored 41-26 in the second half. The woes sent FAMU to its 10th loss in 11 games.

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FAMU loses to N.C. A&T in two OTs

It was Thomas Coleman, however, who left Tallahassee with the last laugh Monday evening after he sank two free throws to lift his North Carolina A&T Aggies past the Rattlers 80-78 in double overtime. Coleman was fouled by FAMU senior guard Leslie Robinson with 1.1 seconds left in double overtime.

Thomas, who was 0 for 2 on his previous trip to the line, including the air ball, swished both shots to give his team the lead. The Rattlers, who at one point in the first half led by as many 16 points, tried to get off a desperation shot, but junior Joe Ballard's long inbounds pass was picked off by Aggies guard Steve Rush.

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Southern women trounce Grambling

GRAMBLING — Grambling scored the most points of any Southwestern Athletic Conference team against Southern all season. Not that it mattered. Southern, which has struggled on offense all season, scored a season-high for the second time this season against the Lady Tigers, who had 39 turnovers, in an easy 83-61 victory Saturday at the Assembly Center.

Deidra Jackson had 14 points and five assists to lead four players in double figures for SU (9-10, 7-3 SWAC), which won its fifth straight game.

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DSU Hornets seniors savor revenge over Hampton

DSU wipes out streak of four losses to Pirates

Burbage, Collier and Palmer combined for 22 points and Selena Galloway had a team-high 13 points to give DSU (11-12 overall, 6-3 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) the win. The threesome bonded in the way seniors do, with an unofficial pact to defeat the Pirates, a task they deftly handled in a 58-36 victory at Memorial Hall.

"It feels good," said Burbage, a Seaford High product. "I knew we were up for the challenge."

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Delaware State aces crucial test over Hampton U.

Victory over Hampton keeps Hornets in running for MEAC title

DOVER -- It's been a while since Delaware State's men's basketball team was faced with a game it had to win. That opportunity arrived Saturday.

The Hornets responded to the fate of their schedule, beating Hampton 67-58 in the only regular-season meeting of these schools before 1,231 at Memorial Hall. Over the past three seasons, in which DSU won each Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular-season championship, it had lost a collective eight league games. This season has been different. The Hornets entered Saturday's game with three MEAC losses.

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Southern loses at Grambling State Tigers

GRAMBLING – The red-hot scoring duel between Grambling State’s Andre Ratliff and Southern University’s Andre Davis was ultimately decided by a guy who didn’t even have a point for the first 37 minutes.

Grambling freshman Duran Diaz, who got all 12 of his points in the final 2:30 of regulation and overtime, scored the game’s final five points, lifting Grambling to a 79-76 overtime win Saturday at Memorial Gymnasium.

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WSSU signs 4 more to complete recruiting class

For the first time in the past 11 years of recruiting, Coach Kermit Blount of Winston-Salem State did not sign a local player. The Rams completed their class of 14yesterday with the addition of four players. The four signees announced yesterday included two teammates from Georgetown Prep in Washington, D.C. - Edgar Sheppard, a 6-4, 305 offensive lineman, and Jimmy Johnson III, a 6-3, 230-pound tight end.

Johnson, is the son of Jimmy Johnson II, a former NFL player who is the tight-ends coach for the Minnesota Vikings. Also signed was defensive end Akeem Ward, 6-4, 260, from Holly Springs, N.C. and Stephen Young of Woodbridge, Va., a 6-3, 260, defensive end and a state champion in wrestling in the heavyweight division for Gar-Field High School and has a career record of 106-22.

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