Fast Start Leads Kent State To 68-43 Win Over Hampton

Courtesy: Kent State Athletic Communications

HAMPTON, VA — Kent State used a 14-0 run to start the game on the way to a 68-43 win over host Hampton University tonight at the Hampton Convocation Center. The Golden Flashes improved to 7-6 with their fourth win in the last five games after holding the Pirates (6-7) scoreless for the first seven minutes of the game.

Playing in his home state, junior Tyree Evans (Richmond, VA/Motlow C.C. (Tenn.) scored six points during the opening run and finished the game with a team high 21 points, including five three pointers Junior guard Chris Singletary (Chicago, IL/Florida Prep.) added 11 points while handing out five assists. Singletary now has 24 assists in his last four games. “I was very amped up for the game and I was excited that my family came out and supported me” said Evans. “It was a good game for Kent State basketball. We talked on defense and let the offense take care of itself.”

Behind the 14-0 start Kent State took a 35-18 halftime lead by forcing the Pirates into 13 turnovers. The Golden Flashes started the second half with a 14-4 run as they built up a 27-point cushion and never looked back. Evans, who is shooting 53.8 percent (14-26) from three this season hit two three-pointers during the stretch.

Senior Julian Sullinger (Columbus, Ohio/Fork Union Military Academy (VA)), scored 10 points to round out the double-digit scorers for Kent State which shot 48.2 percent from the field. Hampton connected on just 23.2 percent for the game. “We played solid defense, but it was a tough shooting night for them,” said Head Coach Geno Ford, “It was nice to get the win, but our defense look a lot better because they missed some open shots.”

Kent State travels to Temple on Monday. Hampton travels to Bethune Cookman on January 10th for a 4 p.m. contest.

Nebraska Huskers down Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks

Courtesy: NU Media Relations

Lincoln, NE --- Senior guard Ade Dagunduro continued his torrid shooting to help Nebraska post season highs in points and field-goal percentage as the Huskers ran past Maryland Eastern Shore, 88-56, on Saturday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The 88 points were the most in a regulation game under Coach Doc Sadler, and equaled the high set against Oregon in overtime last year. The 61.1 percent shooting, which included an impressive 64.3 percent after the break, was a season high, bettering NU's previous high which came four games ago as the Huskers hit 60.9 percent against Alabama State.

To get to the season-high totals, Nebraska took care of the ball at a record pace. The Cornhuskers tied the school record with just three turnovers, matching the mark originally set in 2002 at Iowa State. NU had just one turnover at the break and notched two miscues in the second half.

The 6,146 in attendance nearly saw another record as Dagunduro came close to matching the same school mark for the second time in four games. The senior from Inglewood, Calif., hit his first eight shots from the floor before missing his last attempt on a layup off an inbounds pass. He finished the day 8-of-9 from the field, just missing the single-game school record he tied against UMBC by going 9-of-9. Over the past four games, Dagunduro has hit 26-of-32 for a scorching 81.3 percent field-goal accuracy.

Behind Dagunduro's 18 points, the Huskers blew past the Hawks, taking a 12-point halftime lead out to as many as 36 points in the final four minutes of the contest. Dagunduro was followed by Steve Harley, who had 12 points, including 10 in the first half, while 10 other Huskers scored in the contest. Nebraska blew out of the gates in the second half, hitting nine of their first 10 shots from the field to open a 60-38 lead on Paul Velander's only 3-pointer of the game with 12:00 remaining in the contest. His basket was part of a 7-0 run that came just before the Huskers' biggest defensive stand of the night.

UMES' Michael Pitt hit a 3-pointer at the 8:29 mark to pull the Hawks to 68-45 before Nebraska reeled off 13 straight points to push out to an 81-45 lead on Toney McCray's breakaway dunk. McCray got free with the ball after collecting his career-high fourth steal of the game, one of 12 Husker thefts in the contest. Sadler cleared his bench just seconds later and the third team did a solid job, holding UMES to just two baskets in the final four minutes.

Box score

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Next: Nebraska vs. Florida A&M, Monday, Jan. 5, 7 p.m., Devaney Center,
Lincoln, NE.

Next: UMES at Oklahoma, Norman, OK, Monday, Jan 5, 7 p.m. ET; TV: Sooner Sports Network.

#4 Oklahoma shoots down Coppin State Eagles, 93-62

Coppin State University head basketball coach Ron 'Fang' Mitchell and the Eagles faces Big 12 -Missouri (12-2) next in a January 6th game televised by Fox Sports Midwest.

Coppin State has now lost 32 straight games vs. ranked opponents.

Oklahoma vs. Coppin State Basketball Photo Gallery
Final Stats

NORMAN, OK -- Oklahoma was looking for a fast start on Saturday, and Tony Crocker was more than happy to provide it. The junior guard scored 15 of his team-high 20 points in the opening half, helping the fourth-ranked Sooners roll to a 93-62 win over Coppin State. Four days earlier at Arkansas, the Sooners (13-1) lost for the first time when they fell behind 21-8 early and trailed by as many as 25 before mounting a frantic comeback.

Although Coppin State (2-11) did not figure to present a challenge for Oklahoma, coach Jeff Capel was adamant about his team opening the game with more energy. "We definitely wanted to get off to a good start -- play with a sense of urgency. I thought we did that today," said Capel, whose team opened with an 11-2 run and never trailed. Crocker, who hit six 3-pointers and scored 18 points in the loss to Arkansas, played a key role early by burying a 3 just 16 seconds in, and added three more 3-pointers before the half. Crocker's fourth 3 of the half pushed OU's lead to 31-11, and Willie Warren followed seconds later with another 3-point basket that kept the Lloyd Noble Center crowd on its feet.

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Next: OU closes out the non-conference portion of its regular season schedule at home against MEAC foe (2-8) Maryland Eastern Shore (Monday at 7 p.m.). "When" Oklahoma wins, it will post the best regular season non-conference record (14-1) since 1987-88 (15-1).

Hawkins' Three-Pointer Helps Morgan Defeat Rival Coppin, 56-53

Tower of Power: 6-3 center Whitney L. Cunningham had a monster game with career high 24 rebounds and 14 points to lead the Lady Eagles. The senior Psychology major is a product of Western H.S., Baltimore, MD

by MSU Sports Information


BALTIMORE, MD - Morgan State’s Erin Hawkins hit a three-pointer from the right elbow with 1:10 left in the game, which proved to be the game winner, as the host Lady Bears defeated crosstown rival Coppin State, 56-53 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener for both teams at Hill Field House on Saturday afternoon. The victory ended a two-game losing skid for the Lady Bears (9-3, 1-0 MEAC), who earned their third win in the last four meetings over the Coppin State, while improving to 5-1 at home this season. Morgan’s win, also put an end to Coppin State’s eight-game winning streak on Morgan’s home floor.

For Coppin State (1-10, 0-1 MEAC), the loss overshadowed a rebounding clinic by the Lady Eagles. Whitney Cunningham finished with a career- and game-high 24 rebounds and added a team-high 14 points for the Lady Eagles. Behind Cunningham’s effort, Coppin State held a 60-26 rebounding advantage over Morgan State.

Hawkins, who finished with 14 points, all in the second half, shot 5-of-10, including 4-for-8 from three-point range. Her game winning three-pointer was part of a 6-0 run in which she hit back-to-back treys to help the Lady Bears overcome a 53-50 deficit for the win.

Morgan State stayed in the game by forcing 27 Coppin State turnovers. Moneshia Davis tallied a career- and game-high four steals, while Corin Adams, who led Morgan with a game-high 21 points added three steals. Adams also finished with a game-high six assists.

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Solid Free-Throw Shooting Secures UK Women's Win over N.C.A&T

Box Score

Quotes

Notes

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky women’s basketball team hit 29-of-32 free-throw attempts, including 13-of-14 in the final four minutes to lead the Wildcats to their fourth consecutive win with a 72-63 win over North Carolina A&T on Thursday night in Memorial Coliseum.

It was a sloppy game from the start as both teams seemed out of rhythm and sluggish. The teams committed a combined 24 turnovers in the opening half, 13 from the Blue and White. With the game knotted at 22 apiece with 1:43 left in the half, the Wildcats finally kicked it into gear thanks in large part to the heady play of Dunlap. The sophomore All-Southeastern Conference performer grabbed two defensive rebounds and scored the next seven consecutive points, including an old-fashioned three-point play, to give the Cats a seven-point 28-22 lead with 40 seconds to go. UK went on to lead 29-25 at the break after a three-pointer by Brittanie Taylor-James of N.C. A&T.

In the second half, the Wildcats seemed to be pulling away from the Aggies after Morrow and Edelen combined to hit two three-pointers a piece in the first eight minutes of action. Their hot shooting sparked a 16-2 run, giving the Cats a 46-30 lead en route to an eventual game-high 19-point advantage with 4:34 remaining. However, turnovers continued to plague the Cats and North Carolina A&T (6-5) took full advantage of UK’s season high-tying 26 miscues. The Aggies, led by 25 points from Taylor-James, held the Cats without a field goal for the final four minutes and pulled within seven (66-59) with 1:05 left. The Cats remained poised down the stretch, hitting 13-of-14 free-throw attempts in the final 3:36 to take the 72-63 win.

“We were very happy to get this win because North Carolina A&T has a very good team,” Mitchell said. “While we didn’t play our best tonight, I was pleased that we went on a big run in the second half to get control of the game. We didn’t finish off the game particularly well, but still a good win for us and we are happy with the win.”

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SWAC preview 2009

Excerpt:


Men: Is the glass half-empty?

1. What’s the state of SWAC men’s basketball?
Simply put, it’s not good. Sixteen years ago, when Southern upset Georgia Tech in the 1993 NCAA Tournament, the Jaguars were a No. 13 seed. These days, the mere thought of a 13th-seeded SWAC team is laughable.

Of the 31 conferences in Division I men’s basketball, the SWAC currently ranks dead last; teams often spend their nonconference season playing “guarantee” games, and they all have grim records to show for it. Alabama State has the best record at 3-7. Southern is 0-12 — but two more teams, including Texas Southern, have it worse at 0-13. Of course, with that in mind, maybe the Jaguars have a shot at a decent conference record.

Women: Or is it half-full?

1. Has the SWAC improved? According to the latest RPI ratings, it still ranks 31st among Division I conferences. Still, SU ninth-year coach Sandy Pugh said she thinks the SWAC has improved. “When I came into this league, I basically walked in with four players — and of those four players, two of them were the top two players in the league,” Pugh said. “The recruitment here in the conference has grown.” So has the coaching pedigree. It started with Freda Freeman-Jackson at Alabama State and continued with Pugh. More recently, Cynthia Cooper-Dyke has turned Prairie View from also-ran to league favorite in a short time.

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Auditors: UAPB Payment to coach broke law

State auditors said Monday that the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff had no statutory authority to pay $175,000 in severance to its former football coach by funneling the money through its alumni association. A finding by the Division of Legislative Audit stated that the attorney general has opined that using public funds for private purposes likely violates the "public purpose" doctrine that public funds should be used for public purposes and, thus the "illegal exaction" provision of Article 16, Section 13 in the Arkansas Constitution.

University officials said the Arkansas Supreme Court has already ruled that severance paid to former Little Rock Superintendent Roy Brooks didn't violate the state constitution. "How did you all pay off the superintendent of Little Rock?" asked UAPB Chancellor Lawrence Davis of reporters after the meeting. "Our attorneys said we had a precedent in that case."

Davis said paying the money to the alumni association was the only option to meet the terms of former coach Maurice Forte's contract that included language that any severance would be paid by a third party. Forte was fired in November 2007. "We don't have a strong support group right now. So we said we'll let you have it, take care of it for us, and we'll get it back eventually," Davis said. By negotiating a severance with Forte, "we saved some money," Davis said. "We had to make a change, I'm telling you, somehow."

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Photo: UAPB First Year Men's Basketball Coach George Ivory (right) with Athletic Director Louis B. 'Skip' Perkins (left), the architect behind the Golden Lions ELEVEN guaranteed games -- through four time zones -- out of conference schedule.

The San Diego Union-Tribune referred to the UAPB Golden Lions as "mercenaries bouncing from gym to gym picking up a paycheck." The same is true of the entire SWAC with a current record of 15-101, with three teams --Southern, Texas Southern and Mississippi Valley currently at 0-38.

Duer Sharp has a problem: His basketball teams can't stop losing.

Sharp celebrated his first full year as commissioner of the Southwestern Athletic Conference on Friday, but there wasn't much to celebrate. When you're presiding over arguably the worst of the 31 Division I basketball conferences, self-congratulation seems rather inappropriate. Sharp will be the first to say the SWAC, made up of 10 small, Southern, historically black colleges, has a problem with basketball. When those teams begin conference play tonight, the men's teams will be doing so with a combined record of 15-101. Three of those men's teams - Southern, Texas Southern and Mississippi Valley State - currently sit at 0-38. The women's teams have fared slightly better, going 20-75 since the start of the season.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff's men's team, which opens SWAC play at 7 p.m. tonight against Mississippi Valley State in Pine Bluff, could be the poster child for the problem. The Golden Lions are 1-10 after an 11-game road trip that included losses at Texas A&M (76-47), Missouri (95-41) and San Diego State (93-61). UAPB received between $75,000 and $80,000 for each game, and pocketed a total of $715,000 for the 11-game ordeal. Skip Perkins, the university's athletic director, said such "guarantee" games are necessary for keeping UAPB's cash-strapped athletic department in the black.

The SWAC's other nine schools face similar problems, and each loads its schedule with guarantee games as a solution. But some, including Sharp, worry that irreparable damage is being done in the process. "We cannot continue to have this situation," said Sharp, who plans to bring the issue to the conference's 10 school presidents at its annual meeting in May.

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Orlando's Citrus Bowl in sad state of disrepair

Seedy venue gives the city a black eye; home to Florida A&M University vs. Bethune-Cookman University annual "Florida Classic" that holds all-time Citrus Bowl football game record for attendance at 73,358 (2003).

Since 1997, a total of 689,592 fans have watched the Florida Classic in the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium, an average of 68,708 per year. The game is televised nationally by ESPNU as a part of a multi-year contract with the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). For the last two games, the game has been televised by ESPN Classic.

This is the best bowl trip in America. Best attractions. Best weather. Best hotels. One of the best payouts. Some of the best TV ratings. And then you show up at the stadium for the actual game.

"This place is a dump," says Tim Butera, a Michigan State fan from Washington, D.C., who was in town to watch Georgia's 24-12 victory over the Spartans Thursday. It's old and nasty," says Greg Stillwell, a Georgia fan from Palm City who was attending Thursday's game with his wife, Jennifer.

Better get used to it. Because of the slumping economy, it's looking more and more like this nasty, dumpy ol' Citrus Bowl will be the dingy, dog-eared face of Orlando sports for tourists who come here for holiday bowl games. Then again, we might not have to worry about it. If the stadium doesn't get renovated — and it's looking more and more like it won't — then the Capital One Bowl, the Champs Sports Bowl and other major college football games might not be here much longer anyway.

"A 63-year bowl tradition is at risk," warns Steve Hogan, executive director of Florida Citrus Sports, the non-profit group that organizes Orlando's college football games. Hogan tries to be the optimist and says a $250 million stadium renovation is "not a matter of if, but when." Maybe so, but it's hard to imagine that Hogan's "when" is going to be anytime soon. But more than 100,000 fans attended two bowl games here this week. And that doesn't count the annual Florida A&M-Bethune-Cookman game or future regular-season games involving Notre Dame and Florida State that are contingent on a new stadium being built.

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Landers completes journey at Grambling, headed to Division II Shaw University program

Fourth-year starter Brandon Landers was declared academically ineligible on the eve of the fall 2008 practices and did not play in the Tigers championship season.

GRAMBLING, LA — Brandon Landers, the playmaking former Carroll High and Grambling quarterback, only gained a few yards on Friday morning. They meant more than any touchdown. Landers walked across the stage at GSU to accept a criminal justice degree, something that once seemed unlikely after the fifth-year senior starter was lost to ineligibility last August. “To come so close and fall so short,” Landers said, “I had to stay positive.”

Landers, who continued his studies while working as an assistant coach last season at Richwood High, will finish his playing days at Shaw University, a North Carolina Division II program. Shaw, which just earned its second consecutive Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship, is led by former Jackson State coach Darrell Asberry. His staff includes ex-GSU running back Vyron Brown, an assistant at Grambling during Landers’ tenure. The Monroe native also sought advice from several members of the current GSU staff who have deep roots in the North Carolina area.

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Harris' exit from NFL's Jaguars was all about the green

James “Shack” Harris, the local quarterbacking hero, found a pursuer he couldn’t outrun this season. Harris, vice president of player personnel for the Jacksonville Jaguars since 2003, was ousted last week after the club stumbled amid Super Bowl expectations. Not the starting passer. Not the coach. Those guys own new goal-mine contracts. It was Harris, somehow, who got the shaft.

Granted, it’s true this was one of the NFL’s most confusing turnarounds. Jacksonville came into 2008 having posted an 11-5 mark and a playoff victory over Pittsburgh the year before. With principal rival Indianapolis struggling, the Jaguars were a trendy pick to go all the way. But pre-season predictions like that are based on talent – something put in place by the front office, where Harris sat.


Photo Gallery: Memories of Doug and Shack

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Saturday: Kent State at Hampton Pirates

Courtesy: Kent State Athletic Communications

Complete Notes in .pdf

The Game
Kent State (6-6) rings in the new year with games at Hampton on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. and at Temple on Monday. The Golden Flashes are beginning a three game road swing looking for their first win away from home since a Nov. 19 overtime victory over Saint Louis.

Coming off a 93-42 win over Shawnee State on Tuesday, Kent State has won three of the last four. Six players reached double figures in the game for KSU led by 2008 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year Al Fisher with 16 points. Fisher, who played just 22 minutes for the game, tied a career high with four three-pointers - all coming in the first half. The Golden Flashes well balanced offense was fueled by a season high 30 assists - including seven from senior Jordan Mincy - on 36 made field goals. In the his first start of his KSU career, junior guard Tyree Evans scored 12 points and is now averaging 15.0 points and 2.0 steals in his three games Evans is also shooting 50.0 percent (9-18) from three. Freshman Justin Greene led the team with a career best eight rebounds in just 15 minutes of action.

Hampton (6-6) is coming off a 58-56 win over Yale on Tuesday. Led by a season high 21 points from Christopher Tolsen the Pirates snapped a three game losing streak with the win. Tolsen is averaging 19.5 ppg in the last two games, while Vincent Simpson leads the squad with 10.0 ppg this season.

Series Notes
• Kent State leads the series 1-0. The Golden Flashes won the only other meeting 77-71 last season at the M.A.C. Center.
• Kent State is 4-2 all-time against the MEAC after wins against Hampton and Coppin State last season.
• This is just the third game in Kent State history in the state of Virginia (George Mason, 2007; James Madison, 1987).

TV/Radio WNIR 100.1 FM (Tom Linder)

Next Up For Kent State
Kent State heads up east coast for a game at Temple on Monday.

Pdf. Game 13 - at Hampton (1/3/09)

A&T keeps football coach a secret

GREENSBORO -- N.C. A&T athletics director Wheeler Brown said Tuesday he knows who he wants as the Aggies' next football coach. But here's the rub: State hiring guidelines prohibit him from announcing his decision until Jan. 6. Brown said he interviewed three candidates for the job -- interim coach George Ragsdale and two coaches from outside the program.

Brown declined to name the other two candidates. A source with knowledge of the search process who declined to be identified said one of those interviewed was Morgan State defensive coordinator Alonzo Lee, a former A&T assistant coach. "Unless I get another resume that really impresses me," Brown said, "I could be happy with one of the three as our coach." Asked if one candidate stood out over the other two, Brown said, "I believe so, yes." Neither Lee nor Ragsdale could be reached for comment Tuesday.

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Happy New Year AggieNation! While you guys are sorting through the hiring process with suspects-- George Ragsdale, Alonzo Lee and the mystery man--Division II, North Alabama goes out and hire Terry Bowden for less than A&T paid Lee Fobbs. The former Auburn, Samford University and Salem College head coach is the son of Florida State coach Bobby Bowden and brings a 111-53-2 record to North Alabama, which finished the 2008 season 12-2 and reached the semifinals of the Division II playoffs.

Can't wait to see who Wheeler Brown selects that will make a winner out all of that great talent in Aggieland. Anything less than Prairie View head coach Henry Frazier III will be a huge disappointment. Please, no more trainees for the MEAC...

SDSU Aztecs pummel road-weary (UAPB) foes

UAPB first year head coach George Ivory accepts that economic reality dictates that the Golden Lions play all of their OOC games on the road for a paycheck to support the basketball program. Results: 1-10 record!

They are opponents that pose minimal risk of marring one's record but offer little reward in terms of RPI. They are mercenaries bouncing from gym to gym, picking up paychecks while paying dearly in the process. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which has yet to work up so much as a bead of sweat in its own building this year, playing its first 11 games on the road, exited another town in tatters last night in being leveled by San Diego State 93-61.

“These are hard games for coaches, because you want to make sure your players are prepared mentally,” Aztecs coach Steve Fisher said. “Often times, players look at (opponents') records and they come out and don't perform.” Before 4,441 at Cox Arena, SDSU improved to 10-3, matching its best record after 13 games since 1984-85. The road-weary Golden Lions, preseason favorites to win the Southwest Athletic Conference, fell to 1-11.

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Dolphins/Former HU Pirates Kendall Langford Unfiltered

Dolphins rookie DE Kendall Langford attempts to knock the snot out of Bills QB J.P. Losman in road game several weeks ago.

Kendall Langford has stood tall all season, anchoring one end of the Dolphins' front line. The Hampton University product, who has contributed 31 tackles, two sacks and three pass deflections this season has been one of the Dolphins' four rookie starters who have held their own this season. His steady play as a run stuffer has not only provided hope for the future, but the present looks pretty bright.

During this unfiltered Langford, the Dolphins' third-round pick, explains why he wouldn't do anything different with his football career if he had to do it all over again, he breaks down the other rookie contributors, and he talks about his team's storybook turnaround.

I'm disappointed to inform you that Langford did dodge my bar fight question, calling it a "trap." Considering he beat out Matt Roth for the starting spot during training camp it's hard to believe he's scared of the team's resident tough guy. But exactly how am I going to force a guy twice my size to answer a question. I tried, but much like this season, Langford held his ground.

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Pirates' defense smothers Yale Bulldogs

Junior guard Vinny Simpson left shooting game at dorm, going 0-8 in game against Yale.

HAMPTON, VA - Hampton University has developed the habit of smothering opponents on defense and making do with marginal shooting. Entering Tuesday night's home contest against Yale, the Pirates (6-6) had held foes to 39.4 percent field-goal shooting, while making only 38.3 percent of their shots. With 32.3 percent shooting Tuesday, the offensive touch eluded Hampton again, but in the final five minutes, freshmen Chris Tolson and Kwame Morgan drained three successive 3-pointers to lift Hampton to a 58-56 come-from-behind win.

Morgan gave Hampton its first lead and capped a 9-0 Pirate spurt when he fired in a trey from the right wing for a 50-48 advantage with 5:18 remaining. Until that basket, Hampton had made only one of 15 attempts from beyond the 3-point line. Yale's Travis Pinick tied the score at 50 with a basket, and then Tolson, who led all scorers with 21 points, pumped in the next eight Pirate points. Tolson made a 3-pointer with 4:41 left to regain the lead at 53-50. He then drew a foul while shooting from long-range and made two of three free throws. When he drilled a 3-pointer with 3:05 left, Hampton led 58-52.

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No. 23 Georgia Tech Routs Florida A&M

ATLANTA, Ga. - Georgia Tech coach MaChelle Joseph was a little concerned about how her team would respond after a 10-day holiday layoff. She shouldn't have been. Jacqua Williams led four double-figure scorers with 16 points as No. 23 Georgia Tech routed Florida A&M 77-42 for its seventh consecutive victory on Tuesday night. FAMU (4-6) missed 21 of its first 24 shots while falling behind 24-7 and trailed 40-17 at halftime. The Rattlers were down by as many as 42 points in the second half.

"I was pretty pleased defensively the way we came out," said Joseph, who said she "didn't expect the fast start against the Lady Rattlers." Instead the Yellow Jackets (11-2) dominated defensively and shot 51.7 percent from the field, going 30-for-58. Williams, a senior guard, led the way, making 7 of 9 shots, including two 3-pointers, to go with five assists and four steals.

"She filled up the stat sheet," Joseph said, "and she does so many intangible things out there as well. … I was impressed with her leadership." The Yellow Jackets also got 13 points from Brigitte Ardossi, 12 from Alex Montgomery and 10 from Deja Foster. Stephanie Foster scored 18 points for FAMU. The Rattlers shot just 20.6 percent from the floor (7 of 34) in the first half and 24.6 percent (16 of 65) for the game.

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A Fire Karl Hobbs Site: Coppin State 57, George Washington 53

What happens when a middle-of-the-pack Atlantic 11 team goes on a three-game losing streak thousands of miles from home, capped off by a 26-point loss to Hawaii and a narrow decision against a previously 1-10 MEAC squad whose only W came against Wilmington College? Well, among other things, the coach of that middle-of-the-pack team will be honored with possibly the first "FireThisCoach.com" Web site in Atlantic 11 poll history.

And so, meet Fire Karl Hobbs!, which was launched amid yesterday's Coppin State disaster, in a frenzy of pre-New-Year's cheer. Six posts in eight hours on Dec. 30! Pace yourself, guys.

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Best of Oliver "Buddy" Pough - 2008

Excerpt:

About hiring new assistant coaches: “I get a lot of feedback from people, from our fans saying that we’re tired of us training coaches for other schools. I take it as a compliment that we hire people here who are taken by other coaches. I think that means more than anything that we hired the right people. At the same time, I need to get more out of them when I get them here.”

Following the 54-0 loss to Clemson: “We’ve put Clemson pretty much to bed this year. We said goodbye and let’s move on.”

Reflecting on the victory over Florida A&M: This FAMU game was one where I was really concerned, especially after they saw them on tape against Tennessee State, I’ll be honest with you. They scared the fool out of me. They went down the field almost as effortless as you could possibly imagine. The first three drives, the game is 21-0 before Tennessee State got off the bus. So I was afraid that we were going to get beat Saturday, and I guess that’s the reason for our relief of sorts because of the fact that we were able to be successful.”

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Former Clackamas (Oregon) lineman goes with a winner, SCSU

CLACKAMAS, Oregon – Former Clackamas High School (Oregon) football lineman Sam Timothy has accepted a scholarship to play football at South Carolina State University, a NCAA Division I-AA school in Orangeburg, South Carolina. A 2006 graduate of Clackamas High School, Timothy played linebacker for three Clackamas High teams that had nine-win seasons, advancing to the state semifinals in 2003 and winning a league title in 2004. After high school he was a part of Foothill College (Los Altos Hills, CA) teams that finished with records of 10-1, 10-1 and 8-3, playing linebacker as a gray-shirt, offensive guard as a freshman, and center during the past season.

Timothy also got offers from four other Division 1-AA programs: Grambling State, Southeast Missouri State, Texas Southern and Wagner College in New York. Timothy said he accepted South Carolina’s offer over the other four schools because, “I really appreciated how the coaches treated me, plus their record is outstanding. I wanted to play in a high-level program that has had success….

“South Carolina State has a really good football program. Last year they went undefeated [in conference] and won a conference title. They’ve been getting better every year. I want to be a part of that and help them win a national championship.” Timothy said he’ll play center for the Bulldogs. He reports to the school on Jan. 13. He plans a marketing major. He earned an associates degree in Communications from Foothill College. Timothy, who stands 6-0 and tips the scales at 290, says he plans to coach at the collegiate level someday.

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Cats drub 'em (Tennessee State) inside, out

Photo Gallery: Hoops: UK vs. Tennessee State action

Meeks rules 1st half; Patterson owns 2nd

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- At one point in the first half of the University of Kentucky's 102-58 rout of Tennessee State last night, Jodie Meeks pulled up from about 30 feet and let fly a shot. "I think it was a little bit of a heat check," he said later. The shot misfired, but that was a rarity last night, as Meeks once again lit up like a Christmas tree. The junior guard scored 32 points in Rupp Arena two days after scorching Appalachian State for 46 in Louisville.

But perhaps in the spirit of this season of giving, Meeks shared his scoring spotlight. Teammate and roommate Patrick Patterson led UK (9-3) with a career-high 33 points, controlling the paint the way Meeks did the perimeter. It marked the first time since 1975 -- when Jack Givens scored 31 and Rick Roby 30 in a win against Miami of Ohio -- that two UK players scored 30 points in the same game.

"We were laughing about it in the locker room, how easy it was to get assists tonight," said guard Kevin Galloway, who had four of UK's 30 assists. Meeks and Patterson made everything look easy, each dominating a half. In the first half, Meeks' sizzling shooting staked the Wildcats to a huge lead. For the third straight game, UK hit double-digit points before its opponent scored, jumping ahead 15-0.

Attendance: 21,958 at Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY

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2009 College Hoops Preview: Jackson State University

by Doctor S

Coach: Tevester Anderson (seventh season, 77-85)
2007-08: 14-20 (10-8 SWAC)
Arena: Athletics and Assembly Center, Jackson
Radio: 1300 AM

Last season, Jackson State came within one point of going to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. The Tigers lost to Mississippi Valley State, 59-58, in the SWAC Tournament final. JSU has reloaded for another run at the NCAA. The Tigers have four starters back including preseason SWAC Player of the Year, Grant Maxey. And JSU has a bench full of talented reserves. “We do have depth, and it’s a pretty talented team,” Tigers coach Tevester Anderson told USA Today before the season began. “We’ve got some good young kids, too.”

Maxey, a 6-foot-6-inch junior forward, has averaged 15.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game this season. And this has come against some big-name competition that includes defending national champion Kansas, LSU, Arizona State, Illinois, Providence and Texas A&M. “He’s one of the best I’ve ever coached,” Anderson told Blue Ribbon Yearbook. “I expect Grant to get a lot of recognition this year. I expect him to get stronger this season, and with the right opportunity and right timing he could make some money (playing pro ball) one day.”

Other top players for the Tigers include Darrion Griffin (13 ppg) and Murrah High alum Jeremy Caldwell (10.5 ppg).

JSU OUTLOOK
Excellent. The Tigers are 1-10, but that will mean nothing when SWAC play begins. Every SWAC team has a losing record right now. And JSU has been playing its usual band of heavyweights in November and December. Hey, the program needs the money.

“You never know who (in the SWAC) is going to have a knockout punch or hit a home run,” Anderson told USA Today. “But we always feel like we will be in the top three.”
The Tigers should cruise through SWAC play and—barring a major upset in the SWAC tourney like last year’s—go back to the NCAA Tournament.

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Sanford Seminole (FL) stuns Miami Northwestern for 6A Florida Football State Title

Sanford (FL) Seminole High School spots Miami Northwestern 21 points before fighting back to shock the Bulls for the 6A Football State Championship.


PHOTOS: Seminole stuns Northwestern 28-21

Andre Debose's 40-yard touchdown catch with 33 seconds left lifts Seminole to 1st state title.

Andre Debose labeled it a leap of faith. The Seminole senior went up against Miami Northwestern defensive back Tevin McCaskill with time running out and came down clutching the ball, a touchdown and a championship Saturday night. Debose's tumbling catch on a 40-yard bomb from Aravious "Ray Ray" Armstrong with 33 seconds remaining gave Seminole (13-2) a 28-21 victory over Miami Northwestern (13-2) in a Class 6A state championship thriller seen by an announced paid crowd of 12,764 at the Citrus Bowl.

"I just concentrated and when I grabbed the ball I squeezed it with all my life," Debose said. "It was like God came down with me too." Northwestern scored on the first play of the game and on its first three possessions to go up 21-0 and threatened to roll up another rout a year after it beat Boone 41-0 in the 2007 final. But Seminole, just as it had done after trailing 10-0 at the half against Boone last week, fought back. "We was down last week, we was down this week. We know how to handle adversity," said senior Dyron Dye, who capped a night of big plays with a sack of Northwestern quarterback Teddy Bridgewater on the final play.

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Amazing! My ole high school, Seminole High School (Sanford, Florida) wins the state championship over the legendary Miami Northwestern Bulls and Coach Billy Rolle, a FAMU Hall of Famer. The boys from "Goldsboro" finally put it together to win it all. Look like Seminole developed a good crop of Division I seniors that would be a nice fit at Florida A&M University, under Coach Joe Taylor and his outstanding staff.

Choose Florida A&M University--Andre Debose and Aravious "Ray Ray" Armstrong. I did!

(beepbeep)

Today: Norfolk State (1-7) vs. Middle Tennessee (5-5)

GAME NOTES: Losers of seven in a row, the Norfolk State Spartans give it another shot this evening as they contend against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders as part of the second round of the Basketball Travelers Tip-Off Tournament at JQH Arena in Springfield, Missouri.

Norfolk State won its season opener against Longwood on the road, but since then the team has failed to make it back into the win column. Saturday saw the squad bow to Missouri State in the first round of this event by a score of 75-66. As for the Blue Raiders, they managed to snap a brief two-game slide yesterday with a 65-52 win over UC Irvine, evening the team's overall record at 5-5 in the process. Meeting for the first time on the hardwood, both Middle Tennessee and Norfolk State will be back in action on Monday as they swap partners with UC Irvine and Missouri State again to close out the tournament.

Corey Lyons scored a career-high 32 points, shooting 11-of-23 from the field and 7-of-14 behind the three-point line on Saturday night, but even his efforts were not enough to earn the Spartans a victory. Also having a strong scoring game was Michael Deloach with 24 points, but he needed 9-of-24 shooting from the floor in order to pull it off. Brandon Monroe accounted for a team-best nine rebounds, but he failed to score a single point for a team that turned the ball over 21 times. Even with the offensive burst, Lyons is still averaging just 13.8 ppg while shooting 34.3 percent from the floor. Deloach has become one of the top scorers in the MEAC this year with his 20.8 ppg, and he is pulling down almost five and a half rebounds per game while ranking second in the assists department with 18 over eight games.

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WKU to Host Alabama A&M on Sunday Afternoon

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Following a successful three-game, 19-day road swing, Western Kentucky University returns to the friendly confines of E.A. Diddle Arena on Sunday afternoon for a non-conference match-up with Alabama A&M University at 4:00 PM. It is the first-ever meeting between the programs.

Television coverage will be provided by HSSN and carried locally on WKYU-PBS and regionally/nationally on Fox College Sports and DirecTV Channel 617.

GAME #10:
WKU vs. Alabama A&M
Sunday, December 21, 2008 • 4:00 PM CST
E.A. Diddle Arena (7,326) • Bowling Green, Ky.

►SERIES HISTORY: WKU (6-3) and Alabama A&M (2-4) have never met previously.

►COVERAGE: Television coverage will be provided by Hilltopper Sports Satellite Network in conjunction with Fox College Sports and DirecTV Channel 617. Radio coverage will be provided by the Big Red Radio Network. The broadcast team for both will be Randy Lee and Hal Schmitt providing the call. Live stats and live audio and video via the internet is available at www.WKUsports.com .

►SIZING UP THE BULLDOGS: Alabama A&M returns 10 of 12 letterwinners including all five starters from last year's squad that went 10-20 overall and finished 10th in the Southwest Athletic Conference with a 4-14 mark. Trant Simpson leads the team in scoring (17.0 ppg) and assists (4.5), one of three players averaging in double figures.

►TAKING ON THE SWAC: WKU is 8-0 (1.000) all-time against the 10 current members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The Toppers last met a SWAC school 11 years ago when WKU downed Mississippi Valley State 75-66 at Diddle Arena on Dec. 18, 1997.

WKU vs. Alabama A&M Game Notes -- 12/21/08

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