Alabama A&M expects stronger defense

Photo: Re'Quincia Mack, SWAC preseason Player of the Year, Junior, 5-8 Centerfielder, Buckhorn H.S., Huntsville, AL. Mack batted last season .361 with 8 homers, 28 RBIs, 48 hits, scored 37 runs and had a .932 fielding percentage.

New coach Brown says team can make tournament

Nedra Brown is hoping to do for Alabama A&M's softball program what she did for the Bulldogs' volleyball team. Brown guided the volleyball program to the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship last October in her first season. She'll try to do the same thing in softball.


Photo: Debra Borcherding, SWAC preseason Pitcher of the Year, Senior, Right Handed Pitcher, Ames H.S., Ames, IA. Borcherding was 8-16 with a 5.41 ERA last season on a bad defensive club.

"We want to be competitive every time we take the field," said Brown, whose team opened the season Saturday dropping a doubleheader at Tennessee State. "If we can do that and improve over the course of the season, we'll have a chance to get into the (SWAC) tournament and hopefully make a run at it."

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE BY CLICKING ON THE BLOG TITLE.


AAMU 2008 SCHEDULE
(Date Opponent / Event Location Time / Result

Sat., Feb. 16 at Tennessee State Nashville, Tenn. L, 7-2
at Tennessee State Nashville, Tenn. L, 6-3

Univ. of Memphis Tournament
Fri., Feb. 22 vs. Ark.-Pine Bluff Southaven, Miss. 12:00 pm CT
vs. Evansville Southaven, Miss. 4:30 pm CT
Sat., Feb. 23 at Memphis Southaven, Miss. 2:15 pm CT
vs. Morehead State Southaven, Miss. 4:30 pm CT
Sun., Feb. 24 vs. SE Missouri Southaven, Miss. 10:00 am CT

Tue., Feb. 26 vs. Auburn Huntsville, Ala. 1:00 pm CT
vs. Auburn Huntsville, Ala. 3:00 pm CT
Tue., Mar. 4 at Tenn.-Martin Martin, Tenn. 1:00 pm CT
at Tenn.-Martin Martin, Tenn. 3:00 pm CT

SWAC East-West Roundup
Fri., Mar. 7 vs. Ark.-Pine Bluff * Shreveport, La. 10:00 am CT
vs. Southern * Shreveport, La. 1:00 pm CT
Sat., Mar. 8 vs. Texas Southern * Shreveport, La. 1:00 pm CT
Sun., Mar. 9 vs. Prairie View * Shreveport, La. 10:00 am CT
vs. Grambling * Shreveport, La. 1:00 pm CT

Wed., Mar. 12 vs. Memphis Huntsville, Ala. 2:00 pm CT
vs. Memphis Huntsville, Ala. 4:00 pm CT
Fri., Mar. 21 vs. Alabama State * Huntsville, Ala. 3:00 pm CT
Sat., Mar. 22 vs. Alabama State * Huntsville, Ala. 12:00 pm CT
vs. Alabama State * Huntsville, Ala. 2:00 pm CT
Fri., Mar. 28 at Jackson State * Jackson, Miss. 5:00 pm CT
Sat., Mar. 29 at Jackson State * Jackson, Miss. 12:00 pm CT
at Jackson State * Jackson, Miss. 2:00 pm CT
Mon., Apr. 7 vs. Belmont Huntsville, Ala. 2:00 pm CT
vs. Belmont Huntsville, Ala. 4:00 pm CT
Fri., Apr. 11 vs. Miss. Valley * Huntsville, Ala. 4:00 pm CT
Sat., Apr. 12 vs. Miss. Valley * Huntsville, Ala. 12:00 pm CT
vs. Miss. Valley * Huntsville, Ala. 2:00 pm CT
Fri., Apr. 18 at Alcorn State * Alcorn State, Miss. TBA
Sat., Apr. 19 at Alcorn State * Alcorn State, Miss. TBA
at Alcorn State * Alcorn State, Miss. TBA

SWAC Tournament
Thu., Apr. 24 SWAC Tournament Houston, Tex. All Day
Fri., Apr. 25 SWAC Tournament Houston, Tex. All Day
Sat., Apr. 26 SWAC Tournament Houston, Tex. All Day
Sun., Apr. 27 SWAC Tournament Houston, Tex. All Day

FAMU 2008 Football Schedule Finalized; includes Southern University

Photo: Florida A & M University President Dr. James H. Ammons continues to deliver on promises made to the FAMU community. The rivalry game with Southern University will go forth in 2008.

TALLAHASSEE, FL (Feb. 18) – Florida A&M University, in co-operation with officials from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and member schools, announced Monday the resolution of a conflict on their 2008 schedule which will allow them to play Southern University in Baton Rouge.

The two longtime rivals will play in A.W. Mumford Stadium on the Southern campus on October 18, 2008, a move from the originally contracted date of September 20.

Florida A&M will now play 12 games in 2008 with the addition of the Southern game, with one open date on September 13.

FAMU President James H. Ammons and Athletic Director Bill Hayes worked for the past several weeks with MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas and South Carolina State Athletic Director Charlene Johnson to move the Rattlers’ October 18 home game with SCSU to October 4, paving the way for the Southern game to be played.

“We want to express our thanks to Commissioner (Dennis) Thomas and Ms. Charlene Johnson and her staff at South Carolina State for working with us in this matter,” said President Ammons upon announcing the resolution.

“The FAMU-Southern series has a rich tradition behind it, dating back to the 1940s, and it is extremely popular with the alumni and supporters of both schools, so we felt it important to do all we could to preserve the relationship between us by working out this situation,” Ammons concluded.

With the recent expansion of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, an additional league game was added to all schedules, causing a shift in play dates beginning with the 2008 campaign.

Since the FAMU-Southern contract was agreed to prior to the 2007 season, the newly-aligned MEAC scheduling format was not taken into account.

The new MEAC schedule alignment eliminated the open date that FAMU had on the third week in September for the past several years, causing the conflict.

The result left the Rattlers with road games at both Southern University and Howard University on September 20.

Additionally, the agreement between FAMU and Southern was to have begun in 2007, but both schools agreed to put the four-year deal on hold for one season to accommodate the SWAC/MEAC Challenge in Birmingham, Alabama last year.

FAMU and Southern will begin talks shortly to work out future play dates for the remaining years on the contract.


FLORIDA A&M 2008 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

1. AUG. 30 ALABAMA STATE HOME/Bragg Stadium
Sports Hall of Fame

2. SEPT. 6 at Delaware State* Dover, DE/Alumni Stadium

3. SEPT. 20 at Howard University*+ Philadelphia, PA/Franklin Field

4. SEPT. 27 Tennessee State@ Atlanta, GA/Georgia Dome
Bank of America Atlanta Football Classic

5. OCT. 4 S.C. STATE* HOME/Bragg Stadium
Football Reunion • Parents’ Weekend

6. OCT. 11 WINSTON-SALEM STATE HOME/Bragg Stadium
1,000 Strikes Recognition Game

7. OCT. 18 at Southern University Baton Rouge, LA/Mumford Stadium

8. OCT. 25 at Norfolk State* Norfolk, VA/Dick Price Stadium

9. NOV. 1 MORGAN STATE* HOME/Bragg Stadium
Homecoming Weekend

10. NOV. 8 at North Carolina A&T*` Greensboro, NC/Aggie Stadium

11. NOV. 15 HAMPTON* HOME/Bragg Stadium
Senior Day • Community and Youth Day

12. NOV. 22 Bethune-Cookman#* Orlando, FL/Florida Citrus Bowl
Walt Disney World Florida Classic XXIX

(*)-Conference game; (+)-Philadelphia; (@)-Atlanta Classic; (#)-Florida Classic (Bold) - Games played in Florida

Morgan State's Hill-Eley talks Bears football recruiting class

Photo: Morgan State University head football coach Donald Hill-Eley.

Signing Day earlier this month was a fruitful one for Morgan State head coach Donald Hill-Eley. The Bears signed 23 players to its 2008 recruiting class, including four transfers from DI programs. Hill-Eley was kind enough to answer questions about MSU's recruiting class last week.

From the looks of your class on paper, it appears defense -- and linebacker in particular -- were heavy areas of emphasis. Do you feel you adequately addressed those needs?

Hill-Eley: Yes, we needed to beef up at the linebacker spot as well as the defensive line. I think we got some impressive young men where in the past we had to take freshmen and sit them out a year of two to get them up to playing level. But we’ve got a group of young men who can come in and at least help us out on special teams. Because of the program and the continuity, we’ve been able to recruit a little bit better athletes every year. Every year it’s gotten better with the quality of the athletes. We’ve gone from no-star kids to two- and three-star kids. So it’s putting us in the game that we’re getting more of the first-tier than second-tier players.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY BY CLICKING ON THE BLOG TITLE.

DSU to enter crazy confines of Corbett

Photo: Interior of Corbett Sports Center, North Carolina A&T State University.

A&T's gym known for frat-like atmosphere

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Among the words used to describe Ellis F. Corbett on a bronze plaque outside the building named in his honor is fraternity leader. The plaque was made 30 years ago, but perhaps the ones responsible had the ability to know what the future held.

There is maybe no better way to describe the activities inside Corbett Sports Center, a non-descript, white brick building set in the monstrous downtown campus at North Carolina A&T, than frat-like.

Once inside the door on a game night, expect to stand shoulder to shoulder.

With the onslaught of rap music over the loudspeakers, forget about being able to hear the person next to you. But that's the charm. It awaits every opponent that enters its confines, like the Delaware State men's basketball team tonight.

The game, to broadcast on ESPNU, tips off at 7.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY BY CLICKING ON THE BLOG TITLE.

For North Carolina Central University, Division I humbling, rewarding

Eagles crash-land often in first year at top NCAA level, but the money is good

DURHAM, N.C. - Imagine being an athletic competitor -- someone who has been taught all your life to play to win. Now imagine being an athletic competitor and knowing you have virtually no chance. For members of N.C. Central's men's basketball team, imagining is unnecessary. In their first season at the highest level of college basketball, losing has been their almost certain fate. Only one team out of 341 in Division I has fewer wins than Central, whose record went to 3-23 with a win against Chowan on Saturday.

Losing is hard on the players, dispiriting for the fans, but oddly profitable for Central. As a newly minted D-I school, Central is a team big-time basketball schools are eager to play -- and pay -- for another notch in their win column. In NCAA circles, these are "guarantee games," in which a team agrees to visit for a price and makes no demand for a return match at its home arena.

Records show that NCCU has received $434,500 so far, the combined take from 21 road games -- including 17 guarantee games. Every guarantee game was a loss. Central has fewer home games this season than any team except Presbyterian College. Of Central's first 16 games, 15 were on the road.

CONTINUE TO READ THIS ARTICLE BY CLICKING ON THE BLOG TITLE.

Great Story! The Eagles will prevail in the end and the move to Division I will be proven the right move to make. However, the athletic director need to ease back on the guarantee games in 2008/09 and give the team a competitive chance of getting a .500 record. Money is important to sustain the program, but it is also very important to the players and for recruitment to show competitive progress. There is no shame for NCCU, as none of the current Division I HBCUs could defeat Duke, Florida or Nebraska at their home arena or neutral site for that matter.

Central deserves membership in a conference.

The administrators at NCCU should not limit themselves to only the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference but should make overtures to the Big South Conference and the Southern Conference. The MEAC has severe limitations in developing a comprehensive marketing program that generates serious revenue for the conference from television, satellite radio and Internet, with little income being generated for the member institutions. NCCU should consider all options.

-beepbeep

Southern University baseball looks to reconstruct infield

Photo: 2007 SWAC Championship game with Southern vs. Prairie View; Southern Jaguars head coach Roger Cador is on left in third base box.

As if rebuilding most of its pitching staff, from starters to bullpen, wasn’t enough, Southern’s baseball team also faces another daunting challenge: reconstructing its infield.

While junior Calvin Anderson is a mainstay at first base, Southern, 26-18 and the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament runner-up last season, projects to have three new starters in the infield: freshman Demario Ellis, from Pasadena (Calif.), at second base; junior Michael Oliver, a transfer from Consumnes River College, at shortstop; and junior Romeo Bracey, from Kanakakee Community College, at third base.

“Those kids have shown me enough, in the fall and now,” coach Roger Cador said.

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE BY CLICKING ON BLOG TITLE.

Delaware State Lady Hornets get solid play from bench

Photo: Selena Galloway scored 12 points, 1 rebound and 1 steal against Norfolk State. The 5-8 Sophomore guard is from James Ferris H.S., Jersey City, NJ.

NORFOLK, Va. -- Every game that teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play brings them one step closer to the grand finale of the season: the conference tournament. On Saturday afternoon, during the first game of his team's last road trip of the regular season, Coach Ed Davis had a big chance to tweak the little things -- like the play of his bench -- which, in the end, could help the Hornets to a second consecutive tournament championship.

With a highly productive performance from their reserves, the Hornets shot a season-high 57 percent from the floor to breeze by Norfolk State, 81-55, at Echols Hall. In improving its overall record to over .500 for the first time this season, DSU (13-12, 8-3 MEAC) scored its most points since putting up 87 against Howard in the 2005-06 season.

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE AND BY CLICKING ON BLOG TITLE.

The Lady Hornets return to action on Monday at first place North Carolina A&T. The 4:00 p.m. contest will be televised live on ESPNU.

Tennessee State Softball Sweeps Alabama A&M in Opener

Tennessee State Sports Information

Nashville, Tenn.--- The Tennessee State University softball team opened the 2008 season with a sweep over visiting Alabama A&M University (7-2, 6-3) Saturday at Tiger Field. TSU moves to 2-0 while A&M falls to 0-2.

Leading 2-0 in the fifth inning of game one, TSU posted five runs on five hits and three A&M errors. The Bulldogs rallied to score two runs on two hits in the seventh inning before the Lady Tigers went on to win 7-2.

Photo: Alabama A&M University Lady Bulldogs 2008 Softball Team

TSU jumped ahead 5-0 in the second game following a three run, four hit inning in the third. Alabama A&M scored one run in the fifth and two runs in the sixth inning but TSU would go on to win the game 6-3.

Amanda Vaught picked up both wins with a total of 18 strikeouts. Brittany Webb led with four RBI’s and registered a triple in the first game.

TSU returns to action this Wednesday at home against Lipscomb University in a double header. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Tiger Field.

Alabama A&M will play at the University of Memphis Tournament beginning on Friday before returning for the home opener vs. Auburn on Tuesday, February 26.

Jackson State sends Prairie View into deep freeze in O.T.

Photo: Jackson State's Carena Easley, senior 5-10 guard scored 10 points, 8 rebounds and 1 block in the upset win over Prairie View. This former All-Stater is from Romulus, Michigan, Inkster H.S.

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas- The Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers (15-8, 10-1 SWAC) had a 12-game winning streak snapped with a 70-60 loss to the Jackson State Lady Tigers (12-10, 10-2 SWAC) in overtime. The Lady Panthers held a ten point advantage at 54-44 with 3:57 remaining in the contest. From that point JSU managed to go on a 12-2 run which was sparked by Dequisha Davis three point basket at the 3:38 mark of the half.

Jackson State went on to bring the game to a 56 all tie with fifteen seconds left to play in regulation. Prairie View A&M would subsequently answer taking a two point lead after a successful Candice Thomas lay-up with seven ticks left on the game clock.

The Lady Tigers weren’t quite ready to concede a PVAMU victory as they battled back to tie the game on an Erlexis Cooper lay-up as the game clock expired. The overtime period was all JSU as the Lady Tigers went on to outscore Prairie View A&M 12-to-2, in what was the games final stanza.

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE, VIEW GAME STATS AND PHOTOS BY CLICKING ON BLOG TITLE.

North Carolina A&T wins shootout over UMES Hawks

Photo: UMES Ed Tyson scored 30 points (10 of 18, 5 of 5 3-pointers), 4 assists and 1 steal on the Aggies. The 6-2/200 sharp shooting guard is from Baltimore, MD Walbrook H.S.

GREENSBORO -- Austin Ewing scored 22 points, and N.C. A&T used a strong shooting performance to take a 95-85 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore on Saturday.

The Aggies (13-11, 7-4 MEAC) took advantage of a hot hand in the first half and ran up a 48-31 lead, and that was the difference. The edge was built on 59.3 percent field goal shooting, compared to 37 percent shooting for the Hawks (4-22, 2-9).

Both teams heated up in the second half. UMES hit 61.1 percent of its shots, while A&T improved on the opening half with a 63 percent effort.

Ed Tyson hit all five of his 3-point shots and scored a game-high 30 points for the Hawks. Gary Lee scored 17, Ishmawlyl McFadden 13 and B.J. Nimocks 10 for UMES.

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE AND GAME STATS BY CLICKING ON BLOG TITLE.

WSSU Rams win 58-57 at Howard U. to end their road skid

Photo: Jamal Durham free throws help WSSU defeat a struggling Howard Bison team. The 6-6/215 junior forward and Computer Science major is from North Davidson H.S., Winston-Salem, N.C.








WASHINGTON, D.C. - Jamal Durham, who has been fighting a shooting slump, hit two crucial free throws with two seconds left last night to lift Winston-Salem State to a 58-57 victory over Howard.

The Rams broke a nine-game road losing streak this season and a 14-game road losing streak over the past two seasons. “It’s just a relief,” Durham said. “There’s no doubt that we’ve struggled on the road, so this is nice that I was able to help out my teammates and hit the shots.”

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE AND GAME STATS BY CLICKING ON THE BLOG TITLE.

Lady Eagles Soar Over Bethune Cookman Wildcats, 68-45

Photo: Whitney Cunningham scored 10 points to help defeat BCU. The 6-3 junior center is from Western H.S., Baltimore, MD and is majoring in Psycology.


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Freshman Arielle Townes led five players in double figures with a career-high 12 points and Coppin State defeated Bethune-Cookman 68-45 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play on Saturday in the Ocean Center.

Townes, from Joppatowne, Maryland finished the game 4-of-5 from the floor including making both of her three-point attempts. The Eagles also received 11 points from Rashida Suber and 10 points each from Whitney Cunningham, Shalamar Oakley and Sesalie Johnson.

Coppin State (14-11, 8-3 MEAC), which won for the eighth time in its last nine games, shot a school-record 93.3 percent from the foul line by making 14 of 15 attempts.

The Eagles limited Bethune-Cookman (4-19, 1-10 MEAC) to 20.6 percent shooting in the second half and 24.6 percent overall.

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE AND GAME STATS BY CLICKING ON BLOG TITLE.

Ashley Hampton leads St. John to the Final Four

Photo: Ashley Hampton blasted Merritt Island Christian with 29 points and 17 rebounds to move her team to the final four in Class 1A.

OCALA - The Ashley Hampton Express is headed to Lakeland.

The St. John forward and Florida A&M University Lady Rattlers basketball signee continued her postseason onslaught, hanging 29 points and 17 rebounds on second-ranked Merritt Island Christian Saturday night, and moving the Lady Saints into their first-ever Class 1A final four.

Sixth-ranked St. John (22-5) sprinted out to an 11-0 lead and cruised to the 57-45 victory in the 1A-2 region finals. "We're going to state," Hampton said after her fifth straight postseason double-double. "I'm unexplainable excited right now. "For three years we've been getting to the same point . . . but now we've got the determination and the drive, and the chemistry - it always goes back to the chemistry - we're just really lucky to have that."

St. John head coach Kim Pompey-Bell, who also happens to be Hampton's mother, couldn't hide her pride after leading the Saints to the final four in just her second season at the helm.

"It's amazing to watch (Ashley)," Pompey-Bell said. "I've taught her since she was 3-4 years old, so to see her grow and prosper and develop. She's amazing. And she gets better and better every game." "But it's a team effort. (Ashley's) got her talents and so do the other girls. Without the rest of them, she wouldn't be where she is now."

CONTINUE READING THIS EXCITING STORY BY CLICKING ON THE BLOG TITLE.

Kim Pompey-Bell in her prep days was a basketball superstar at Vanguard High School, Ocala and at Division I, University of South Alabama, where she still holds the school record for 3-point shots made. In this case, the apple didn't fall too far from the tree for this blue chip student-athlete carrying a 4.42 grade point average.

Jackson State signs Pascagoula back touted as gamer

Photo: Jackson State University head football coach Rick Comegy is finding the players to keep the SWAC Championship trophy permanently in Jackson.

Jackson State football coach Rick Comegy said he'd be signing up to three more recruits after the Feb. 6 signing day passed last week. However, he didn't plan on finding one of those guys at the grocery store.

"I was shopping one day and met a guy who coached over at Millsaps," Comegy said. "He said, 'Coach, have you heard of this guy Vick Ballard?' I said no. "He said, 'Man, I'm telling you coach. ...' "

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY BY CLICKING ON THE BLOG TITLE.

How does a back/receiver that is rated a Rivals Two Star get overlooked by Mississippi Valley State University and Alcorn State University, programs that need a serious upgrade in talent? This 5-foot-11, 189-pounder out of Pascagoula is now a JSU Tiger. Ballard ran for 1,028 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior. He also caught 15 passes for 529 yards.

Sounds like a every down running back/receiver to us. Great signing class, JSU.

Alabama State Hornets sweep Alabama A&M Bulldogs

Photo: Alabama A&M University's 6-11/205 senior forward, Mickell Gladness had 17 points, 8 rebounds and 5 block shots, but it was not enough for a Bulldog win over rival Alabama State in front of a home crowd of 5,291 at Elmore Gym.

HUNTSVILLE -- Different venue, same result. Behind 26 points from Andrew Hayles, Alabama State jumped out to a big first-half lead over rival Alabama A&M and didn't allow the Bulldogs within striking distance the rest of the way.

The Hornets swept the regular season series with an 85-70 win.

"Against A&M, you know we're going to be ready to play and come out strong," Hayles said. "That's how it was tonight. We were just focused and playing as a team from the start. Everybody played together and followed the game plan."

And so are the Hornets (14-8, 10-2).

CONTINUE T0 READ THIS ARTICLE AND GAME STATS BY CLICKING ON BLOG TITLE.

Simpson's half-court heave ends HU Pirates' slide

Photo: Sophomore guard Vincent Simpson, 6-1/170, was the game high scorer with 24 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. Simpson hit the game winning three point shot to avoid overtime. He is a product of Cardinal Dougherty H.S., Philadelphia, PA.



Vinny Simpson beats the buzzer and South Carolina State as Hampton wins at home after two straight road losses.

HAMPTON - Vinny Simpson's heave from half court as time expired went off the backboard and in to avert overtime and salvage a trying day for Hampton University's men's basketball team.

Hampton moved the ball in 2.4 seconds to beat South Carolina State 77-74 Saturday in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game at an electrified HU Convocation Center. Adrian Woodard found Simpson with the inbound pass on the right side, and Simpson took a dribble before turning and launching.

"I'm the third option on that play," Simpson said. "I usually don't loop across, I pop out from the 3-point line. But I saw an open spot.

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE BY CLICKING ON THE BLOG TITLE.

North Carolina A&T flatten UMES Lady Hawks

Photo: Ta'Wuana Cook scored 28 points and 5 assists in leading six Aggies players in double figures. The 5-8 sophomore guard from Fayetteville, N.C. Seventy-First H.S. is our choice for Player of the Year in the MEAC.





GREENSBORO, N.C. – The North Carolina A&T women’s basketball team won again with a 105-79 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore Saturday afternoon at Irvin-Corbett Court.

Once again the Aggies looked dominant against a MEAC team in the top half of the standings. And once again, the Aggies made it difficult for a team to figure out which Aggie to slow down as they placed six players in double figures led Ta’Wuana Cook’s 28 points and five assists.

The Aggies (18-5, 11-0) played so well, even the normally hard-to-please head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs hinted for the first time this season that the 2007-08 Aggies might be a pretty good team.

“I don’t think there is any question we are hard to defend,’’ said Bibbs. “Last year people felt like if they stopped Amber Bland we would struggle. But this year we have people who can score, people who can finish, people who can make things happen and I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

CONTINUE READING AND VIEW GAME STATS BY CLICKING ON THE BLOG TITLE.

DSU Hornets miss chance to make up ground at NSU

Photo: Senior forward Roy Bright #45 had another monster game against Norfolk State scoring 29 points on 11 of 21 shots (7 of 14 3-pointers) as DSU fell short.

NORFOLK, Va. -- As they departed the Echols Hall floor, fighting through bouncing cheerleaders and playing band members to get to the dressing room, each Delaware State player walked briskly with his head straight as if in a drill line.

In a tightly played game with little room for error, three key mistakes with fewer than two minutes to play were DSU's undoing in a 65-63 loss to Norfolk State. The loss spoiled a 29-point effort by senior guard Roy Bright, one shy of a season-high. He made 7-of-14 3-pointers and 11-of-21 shots overall despite nearly missing the game due to a badly sprained right wrist.

The Norfolk band, offered a rare chance to play a curtain call after the final buzzer, explained the euphoria. The Spartans' win, combined with first-place Morgan State's 90-89 overtime loss at Florida A&M, put them in a tie with the Bears with five games left to play.

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE AND GAME STATS BY CLICKING ON THE BLOG TITLE.

This is getting serious, as the MEAC best two teams Morgan State and Hampton are struggling with five games to go. The dark horses are Norfolk State and Delaware State, neither with enough talent and bench strength to make an impact in the NCAA Tournament play-in game. Who predicted that Norfolk State would be in the conference race tied for first place this late in the season? Nobody!

Adams, Morgan State Silence Lady Rattlers, 55-51

Photo: Corin Adams led the Lady Bears with 18 points, 3 assists, 3 steals and 5 rebounds in 38 minutes of action at FAMU. The 5-7 sophomore guard from Brooklyn, NY Madison High School also had zero fouls for the entire game.

MSU Sports Information


TALLAHASSEE, FL - Slow starts are nothing new for the Morgan State women’s basketball team, of course not to the liking of head coach Donald Beasley. Matter of fact – slow stats are what the Lady Bears seem to be accustomed to.

So the constant stoppage of play during the first half of Saturday afternoon’s Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game at Florida A&M, due to a malfunction in the shot clock, played no effect on the Lady Bears getting into a flow.

Morgan State fell behind by as much as 13 point (21-8) in the first half, but bounced back by forcing turnovers with its defense and scoring easy transition baskets to gain a 55-51 MEAC victory over FAMU at Gaither Gymnasium.

Corin Adams finished with a team-high 18 points and Shalane Price added 11 points for the visiting Lady Bears, who dealt FAMU its third loss in its last four games.

With the victory, Morgan State (15-9, 7-4 MEAC) extended its winning streak to a season-tying four games and won just its fifth game over the Lady Rattlers in the series’ 36 meetings, while earning it second two-game winning steak over FAMU in the series.

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE AND GAME STATS BY CLICKING ON BLOG TITLE.

FAMU upset Morgan State in O.T.

Photo: Lamar Twitty led the Rattlers in scoring with 28 points, 10 rebounds with 10 of 14 shooting from the floor over MEAC leader, Morgan State.

Demps' free throw in OT gives Florida A&M 90-89 win over Morgan State.




TALLAHASSEE, FL - Darryl Demps' free throw with 13.7 seconds left in overtime boosted Florida A&M to a 90-89 upset win over Morgan State in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game on Saturday.

Demps, a walk-on player, who was only in the game because FAMU's other two big men Akini Akini and Larry Jackson had fouled out, made 1-of-2 from the free throw line and the Bears turned the ball over at the other end to seal the win.

The Rattlers (11-14, 5-6 MEAC) snapped a four game losing streak with the victory.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY GAME STATS BY CLICKING ON THE BLOG TITLE.

Darryl Demps (23) is a freshman forward, 6-6/215 that attended Florida High School in Tallahassee. He is currently majoring in architect design and executed the final two plays just like Coach Harris drew it up on the board. Just call Demps HERO for this game.

Does anyone have a good explaination on why the attendance to this game was only 1,123 for a game with the conference leader?

The Legend of the Hill

Mercurial play characterizes season to date

Photo: Chief Kickingstallionsims (#42), Alabama State University, 7-1/265 center, junior class, Boyton Beach, Florida Blanche Ely H.S./Stetson University.

With the Southwestern Athletic Conference season just past the halfway mark, there's only one way to describe the play during the conference season - consistently inconsistent.

Just about every program outside of Alabama State and Alcorn State has had wild swings in their play. Arkansas-Pine Bluff is the lone team who has consistently been back and forth on a nightly basis - not stringing more than three wins or two losses in a row.

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE BY CLICKING ON THE BLOG TITLE.

FAMU recruit leads team to Regional 1A Finals

Photo: Florida A&M University basketball signee Ashley Hampton (#4), a 5-9 senior guard, St. John's Lutheran has taken the Saints on her back and averaged 30 points and 19 rebounds throughout the regional playoffs. Hampton has maintained a 4.42 grade point average while being the top player in Marion County, Florida in Basketball and Volleyball.

ONLY ONE WIN FROM FINAL FOUR

Region 1A-2

No. 2 MERRITT ISLAND CHRISTIAN (19-2) AT No. 6 ST. JOHN (21-5)

When: Tonight, 7 p.m.

Winner gets: The winner between Seffner Christian (15-10) and Sarasota Christian (23-5) in the Class 1A state semifinals next Wednesday at the Lakeland Center.

How they got here: Merritt Island Christian got past Central Florida Christian 56-45 and followed it up with a 51-44 over Foundation Academy; St. John downed Geneva 59-39and won on the road at Lake Mary Prep 58-52.

Notes: The Saints finally slammed the door on the regional semifinal round after three consecutive losses and look to get past the Cougars, who were winless in their previous five playoff outings before this season. Merritt Island Christian's only losses were against Circle Christian (56-50) and Heartland Christian (61-50) and hasn't lost since Jan. 25.

St. John has been hot of late as well thanks to the play of Florida A&M University Lady Rattlers signee Ashley Hampton, who has averaged 30 points and 19 rebounds in the regional tournament.

Hampton's finest hour came in Tuesday's regional semis against Lake Mary Prep, as she scored 31 points and grabbed 21 rebounds to help the foul-plagued Saints to the huge road win. Alexis Samuel and Amy Ergle have also had solid postseason efforts, while the rest of the supporting cast has stepped up when needed.

St. John, which has made the regional playoffs in six of the past seven seasons and 12 of the last 15 overall, last made the regional finals in 2002 when it lost to Gainesville Oak Hall. Merritt Island Christian, playing in its first regional final, won its first district title since 1999 and dominated its opponents by an average margin of victory of 31.5, but has come back to the pack in the regional round.

Delaware State needs some help to win fourth MEAC title

Photo: Forward Roy Bright #45 leads the Hornets in scoring and is in second place in the MEAC scoring race averaging 18.7 ppg.

Confident Hornets ready for second-place Norfolk State

DOVER -- The next two weeks will decide if Delaware State will be crowned a four-time Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's basketball champion or have its streak of regular-season titles end.

Trailing first-place Morgan State by two games, the Hornets begin their mission tonight when they travel to Norfolk State (12-10, 8-2 MEAC). Hornets coach Greg Jackson is skeptical about his team's chances. He said the confidence gained by beating Hampton and Howard in the Hornets' past two games isn't enough to propel his team past Morgan State (15-8, 9-1) and to a fourth straight title.

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE BY CLICKING ON THE BLOG TITLE.

Firings, hirings at Texas Southern University signal president's resolve

Photo: Texas Southern University President, Dr. John Rudley.

First week's housecleaning demonstrates his desire for stability

Texas Southern University's new president marked his first week on the job by making sweeping changes to the top ranks of the troubled institution's administration.

"This should signal that we will make the changes required," John Rudley said Friday.

Rudley replaced the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, Bobby Wilson, and fired athletic director Alois Blackwell.

Rudley also inherited an athletic department with budget shortfalls, poor performance on the field and in the classroom and an NCAA investigation into the tennis teams. The problems led to Blackwell's dismissal, Rudley said.

Only 16 percent of students earn bachelor's degrees within six years of arriving at TSU, compared with the state rate of 55 percent.

READ THIS ARTICLE IN ITS ENTIRETY BY CLICKING ON THE BLOG TITLE.