Alabama A&M women's basketball preview: Tobar gets a little help

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - One of the best players in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, Alabama A&M guard Whiquitta Tobar was a first-team All-SWAC selection last season after averaging a league-high 18.1 points per game.

 If the Bulldogs are going to be successful this season, coach Altherias Warmley said Tobar has to have a better supporting cast. The league's preseason Player of the Year got very little help from her teammates a year ago, but Warmley believes that will change after watching her team the last month.

"We have eight solid players and we signed one of the best recruiting classes since I've been here," said Warmley, who begins her 10th season Friday when A&M visits Vanderbilt. "Whiquitta was all of our offensive production last year, but we've got some other players that are ready to step up."

Senior Nefayia Watkins, juniors Shundray Davis and Danielle Oneal and sophomore Brittney Stickland will be counted on to take some pressure off of Tobar in the backcourt.

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Kentucky State wins SIAC title

ALBANY, Ga. -- Kentucky State defeated Albany State to win the 2011 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship on Wednesday. After dropping the first game 23-25, KSU fought back back to claim the next three games (31-29, 25-22, 25-15) and win the crown.

The offense for the Thorobreds was led by Emily Grieshaber, Audrey Sherles, and Erica Coleman with 15, 10 and nine kills respectively. Brittany Stewart had 56 assists while Sherles and Ashlie Jones each had three service aces. The Thorobrettes were led defensively by Markeshia Williams with 17 digs.

For her efforts, Williams was named Libero of the Tournament. Stewart's contribution also extended to the Thorobrettes defense with 13 digs.

Albany State was led in the championship match by Jillian Anderson and Sabrina Garcia. Anderson had 17 kills and Garcia finished with nine. Garcia was voted to the SIAC All-Tournament Team. Teammate Jennifer Johnson had 39 assists and 14 digs in the title game and was voted Setter of the Tournament.

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N.C. A&T coach gets reprimand, will face S.C. State from pressbox

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Rod Broadway sounded like a frustrated head football coach Tuesday morning. Just three weeks ago, he had North Carolina A&T among the leaders in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in his first season at the helm. After three straight competitive road losses, the Aggies (4-5, 3-3) find themselves in danger of finishing under .500 for the eight consecutive year with a loss Saturday at South Carolina State (5-4, 4-2).

"We're getting so close, but we can't close the deal," Broadway said during the MEAC teleconference.

The news only got worse for Broadway later in the day when the conference announced he was being reprimanded for displaying unsportsmanlike conduct during the Aggies' 26-20 loss at Florida A&M. In the statement, MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas said "the conference expects all student-athletes, coaches and athletic staff to demonstrate good sportsmanship before, during and after all athletic events."

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Alabama A&M football: Bulldogs ascend to No. 1 ranking in polls

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Alabama A&M is the No. 1 ranked black college football team in the country for the first time in school history.

The Bulldogs are No. 1 in the Heritage Sports Radio Network and the Boxtorow polls and are second in the Sheridan Broadcasting Network poll following their 28-14 win over Alcorn State. The SBN poll determines the black college national champion. A&M moved up one spot in all three polls.

"When I got this job, my goal was to see Alabama A&M sitting on top of the polls," A&M coach Anthony Jones said. "When we won the (SWAC) championship, we were ranked No. 3. Now, for us to be No. 1 in some polls, that's another accomplishment for this football team and I'm honored to be a part of that."

A&M is also ranked No. 1 in The Heritage Group poll and is No. 3 in the Urban Sports News poll. "Anytime you can say you were No. 1, it helps," Jones said. "We go after quality kids. Those kids want to be associated with winners ... winners on the field and winners in the classroom. Whenever you can put that out there, it's a feather in your cap."




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Gold Nuggets beat Badgers for Browder's 300th victory at XU

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana -- Senior center Keldra Hall had 18 points and nine rebounds Tuesday to lead NAIA No. 16 Xavier University of Louisiana to a 64-54 women's basketball victory against Spring Hill and give Bo Browder his 300th victory as coach of the Gold Nuggets.

Browder, in his 13th season, is 300-102 and has reached 20 victories 11 times.

"It's all about who's in your program," Browder said. "I've been blessed to have a wonderful assistant coach in Darrilyn Broussard since the start of my third season. And of course you can't win without good players, and we've had many contribute to our success."

 XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
2011-12 GOLD NUGGETS BASKETBALL TEAM
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Jasmine Grant had 13 points, including three 3-pointers, four assists and three steals for Xavier (2-0), and Brandi Young had 10 points and five assists.

Cassandra Mitchell had 16 points and five rebounds for Spring Hill (0-1), and April Bradford had nine points and two blocked shots.

Xavier trailed 16-9 midway through the first half before taking the lead for good at 1:15 on SiMon Franklin's basket. The Gold Nuggets led 35-30 at halftime and led by 14 twice in the final 10 minutes.

Both Hall and Mitchell scored 11 first-half points.

The victory was Xavier's 12th in a row at home. Xavier defeated Spring Hill for the 37th time in the past 41 meetings and leads the series 47-11.

It was the collegiate regular-season debut for Spring Hill head coach Karen McConico, an assistant at High Point the past seven years.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: GCACSPORTS 

Xavier University of Louisiana presents AL JARREAU

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Southern University takes on Alabama State Saturday in SWAC

Baton Rouge, La. — Take a look around Southern University, and you'll see all the telltale signs. Grass is changing colors. Leaves have started to vanish. Short-sleeve shirts are the next to go. Football season is almost over, and on The Bluff, it's been mostly long and disappointing.

At 1 p.m. Saturday in Montgomery, Ala., when the Jaguars (3-6, 3-4 Southwestern Athletic Conference) face Alabama State in the Cramton Bowl, they'll be heavy underdogs against a strong, balanced team that's very much in the hunt for a SWAC title.

It's a meeting of two teams who have essentially traded places. A decade ago, Southern was one of the premier teams in black College Football; Alabama State was little more than an also-ran.

In fact, only two years ago, Hornets coach Reggie Barlow felt his seat getting a little warm. His program was dealing with scholarship losses and a ban from the SWAC Championship Game — just as Southern is now. Now, Alabama State is a powerhouse. Southern is an also-ran.

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Norfolk State again one win away from first FCS playoff bid

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA -- Norfolk State is one victory shy of securing its first Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearance. Oh, so close. But not nearly as close as four years ago. The 2007 Spartans faced Delaware State in a winner-take-all game for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's automatic postseason bid. Entering the fourth quarter, they led 21-3.

They lost 28-21 in overtime. "All part of the growing pains you have to go through," seventh-year coach Pete Adrian said Tuesday. "I try to keep that in the back of my mind," linebacker Hasan Craig said. "That really hurt. It was like having your heart taken out."

Craig, a fifth-year senior, is the only member of this year's squad who played in that contest. Suffice to say, he'll share that experience with teammates as Norfolk State prepares for Saturday's game at Morgan State (5-4, 4-2).



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Creighton Basketball Opens Friday vs. North Carolina A&T

Omaha, Nebraska -- Creighton University opens the 2011-12 regular-season with a game on Friday, Nov. 11 vs. North Carolina A&T to open play in the Dale Howard Classic. Tip-off at CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,260) in Omaha, Neb., is set for 7:05 p.m.

About This Event
The Dale Howard Classic is a five-team event that includes Creighton, North Carolina A&T, Iowa, Chicago State and Campbell.

Creighton and Iowa each play three home games and one neutral site contest against each other in Des Moines Iowa. Tickets for the Iowa-Creighton game on Nov. 20 in Des Moines can be purchased at www.dahlstickets.com or by phone at (866) 553-2457. The other three schools have three road games and one home game in the event.

Radio Broadcast Information
KXSP (“AM 590 - Omaha’s ESPN Radio”) will broadcast all Creighton men’s basketball games during the 2011-12 season, including Friday’s game. T. Scott Marr and former Bluejay Nick Bahe will call the action. The audio is also webcast live at www.AM590espnradio.com.

Video Webcast Available
Creighton University Athletics and Jump TV will present a live, pay-per-view video webcast of approximately 10-15 games this season, including Friday. To sign up for the video webcast, fans can register by going directly to http://www.gocreighton.com. Cost for a monthly pass is $10.95 and a four-month pass is $34.95.
Once registered, fans will only need to log-in with their password on gameday. The video stream includes audio of either the radio or television broadcast as well.

Scouting North Carolina A&T
North Carolina A&T went 15-17 last season and return four starters and nine lettermen from that group. The loss, however, is a big one, as Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference performer Thomas Coleman and his 17.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots per game are gone.

Leading the returners is a pair of double-figure scorers in the backcourt, Nic Simpson (13.3 ppg.) and Marc Hill (10.8 ppg., 3.1 apg.). Both men made 50 or more three-pointers last season as well. Other returning starters include forwards Adrian Powell (8.1 ppg., 4.1 rpg.) and Austin Witter (5.7 ppg., 0.8 bpg.). The Aggies are picked seventh of 13 teams in the preseason MEAC poll.

Scouting Creighton
Creighton returns 10 lettermen and three starters from last year’s 23-16 team that reached the championship series of the College Basketball Invitational. CU beat Rockhurst, 81-42, in their only exhibition last Sunday.

After leading the team in scoring (14.9 ppg.) and rebounding (7.2 rpg.) as a freshman, sophomore forward Doug McDermott enters the 2011-12 season with preseason all-MVC and All-America hype.

The other two returning starters, senior guard Antoine Young (13.1 ppg., 5.0 apg.) and junior center Gregory Echenique (10.5 ppg., 5.8 rpg., 1.8 bpg.), are honorable-mention preseason all-Valley selections as well.
Creighton has eight men on the roster who did not see the floor a season ago, highlighted by junior Gonzaga transfer Grant Gibbs and redshirt freshman Will Artino. Among Creighton’s talented freshman class are Austin Chatman, Avery Dingman, Geoff Groselle and Nevin Johnson.

The Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) is entering his second season as head coach at Creighton, after leading the Jays to a 23-16 mark last year. McDermott has previously been a head coach at Iowa State (2006-10), Northern Iowa (2001-06), North Dakota State (2000-01) and Wayne State (1994-2000). He owns a career mark of 303-211 in 17 previous seasons and is 172-147 in 10 previous Division I campaigns. McDermott is assisted by Darian DeVries, Steve Lutz and Steve Merfeld.

Jerry Eaves (Louisville, 1986) enters his ninth season at North Carolina A&T, where his 87-160 record also doubles as his career mark. He’s assisted by Phillip Stitt, Scott Bollwage and Walter Booth.

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Bluefield State: Lady Blues seeking return to respectability

BLUEFIELD, West Virginia — J.J. Oliver is thinking big. Real big. Bluefield State women's basketball has managed just 48 win over the last 10 years. Oliver thinks the days of just being happy with a rare victory are over.

Oliver wants the Lady Blues to challenge for the West Virginia Conference championship, tall words for a squad that has won 10 games just once since 1999, and lost an average of 22 games per season since then. Bluefield State has won just 24 league games since ‘03.



“If we don't win a conference championship then we didn’t attain our goal so it is not a successful season,” said Oliver, in his second season at Bluefield State. “Moral victories are over with at Bluefield State. “It is no longer just enough to compete in games, or just enough to just win a couple of games. The barometer is to win a championship and, on another level, a national championship.”

Don't think it can happen? Then don't expect to play for Oliver, whose Blues struggled with a lack of numbers last season, finishing with a 3-24 record. That was actually an improvement over a 1-26 mark in 2010.

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Xavier again collects one point apiece in NAIA polls

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — For the fourth straight week Xavier University of Louisiana received one point in both of the NAIA Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 polls. Rankings were announced Sunday and are the last before the NAIA National Championships at Vancouver, Wash., on Nov. 19.

The Gold Rush tied for 38th place in the men's rankings, and the Gold Nuggets tied for 42nd in the women's.

Both the Rush and the Nuggets will compete in the national meet with automatic bids by virtue of winning team titles at the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Championships on Oct. 22

Oklahoma Christian's men are No. 1 for the fifth consecutive poll, and Azusa Pacific's women are top-ranked for the eighth consecutive time. The defending national team champions are the men of No. 4 Southern Oregon and the women of No. 2 Cal State San Marcos.
A postseason poll will be announced Nov. 23.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS 
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 

Davenport working to keep SSU motivated

Savannah, Georgia -- Savannah State’s Steve Davenport has become part head football coach, part psychologist heading into the final two weeks of the season. The Tigers (1-8) have lost five in a row by an average score of 38.4 to 9.2. They haven’t scored a touchdown in their last nine quarters.

“Obviously, it’s difficult to keep reassuring your kids that things are going to get better, but that’s all you can do,” said Davenport as SSU prepares for Bethune-Cookman in Daytona, Fla., on Saturday.

The Tigers’ chances for a win faded quickly last Saturday against Norfolk State, which clinched the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship. SSU’s Chris Strong fumbled the opening kickoff and two plays later, Norfolk scored. Forty-two seconds into the game, the Tigers trailed 7-0.

Davenport said SSU had another key play go against ...

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FAMU Still In Contention for Playoff Birth

Tallahassee, Florida -- FAMU's win over North Carolina A&T eliminated the Aggies from playoff contention. The Rattlers are one of three teams left vying to be MEAC Champions.

"We're trying to get to these playoffs," says senior wide receiver Kevin Elliott. "If we win out there's a good possibility we will get to the playoffs."

However, if Norfolk State wins its season finale, the Spartans will be crowned champs. The question at hand for the Rattlers then becomes, should two teams from the MEAC be invited to the playoffs.

"Looking around the conferences this year, a lot of the stronger conferences have teams with more loses that normally have stronger records,' adds junior defensive tackle Padric Scott. "I think the competition level right now is going to be up for grabs.


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Xavier's Denzell Erves selected GCAC Player of the Week

NEW ORLEANS — Denzell Erves is a can't-miss winner.

The Xavier University of Louisiana junior, who made all 10 of his shots from the floor Wednesday in a season-opening victory against Carver, is the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week in men's basketball for Oct. 31-Nov. 6.

He's the GCAC's first honoree of 2011-12 in that sport.

Erves, a 6-foot-7 forward from Vicksburg, Miss., and a graduate of Vicksburg High School, did not attempt a 3-pointer or a free throw. He was 6-of-6 from the floor in the first half and finished with a career-high 20 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes. It's his second double-double with the Gold Rush.

Xavier defeated Carver 88-69 for its 16th consecutive victory in a season opener.

Erves is the second Gold Rush player to reach 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game since the start of the 2008-09 season and the first to do it at The Barn since Jarrel Lake had 20 points and 11 rebounds against Wiley on Nov. 10, 2007.

Eugene Johnson set the Gold Rush record for field-goal accuracy when he made all 13 of his attempts against West Alabama on Jan. 6, 1981. The best perfect-floor-shooting night for the Gold Rush this past season was Wanto Joseph's 7-of-7 against Tougaloo at The Barn on Jan. 22.

This is Erves' first GCAC weekly award. The Gold Rush earned the honor three times in 2010-11, including current XU players Jamaan Kenner and Anthony Simmons.

Xavier is playing tonight at seventh-ranked Vanderbilt — the second exhibition game in three days for the Gold Rush against an NCAA Division I opponent — before returning home to play St. Thomas (Fla.) at 6 p.m. Friday at The Barn. The St. Thomas game will tip off one hour earlier than originally announced.


By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Winston-Salem State Rams Crack AFCA Top 5

Winston Salem, North Carolina -- Winston-Salem State football players, Markus Lawrence, Jr., Kameron Smith and head coach, Connell Maynor all have been tabbed as CIAA Offensive Lineman, Quarterback and Coach of the Week respectively for their efforts versus UNC-Pembroke on Saturday afternoon in Pembroke, NC.

Markus Lawrence, Jr (6-4, 290, Jr, Charlotte, NC/Harding University HS) helped lead the Winston-Salem State offense to 435 yards of total offense and a punishing 278 rushing yards. This is the second times Lawrence, Jr has earned CIAA Offensive Lineman of the Week.

Kameron Smith (5-11, 180, R-Jr, Garner, NC/Garner Magnet HS) had a solid afternoon in leading the WSSU offense. Smith rushed 11 times for 23 yards, and finished 20 of 27 passing for 157 yards and three touchdowns in Winston-Salem State's 35-7 win over UNC-Pembroke. He connected with a season high 12 different receivers in the game.

Connell Maynor the #4 ranked Winston-Salem State Rams to a 35-7 win over UNC-Pembroke; capping off a 10-0 undefeated regular season. This is the Winston-Salem State University Rams’ first unbeaten regular season since 1978, when the head coach and current athletic director, William "Bill" Hayes led the Rams to the CIAA Crown.

Winston-Salem State will face off with CIAA Northern Division Champion, the Elizabeth City State University Vikings, Saturday, November 12th, in Durham, NC in the 2011 CIAA Football Championship Game. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. The game will be televised "live" on Bounce TV.

2011 American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Poll – November 7, 2011

1.            Delta St. (Miss.) (27)	9-1
2.            Colorado St.-Pueblo	10-0
3.            Midwestern St. (Texas) (1)	9-0
4.            Winston-Salem St. (N.C.) (1)	10-0
5.            Nebraska-Kearney	9-1
6.            Washburn (Kan.)	9-1
7.            New Haven (Conn.)	9-1
8.            Kutztown (Pa.)	9-1
9.            Pittsburg St. (Kan.)	8-1
10.          Minnesota-Duluth	8-2
11.          Northwest Missouri St.	8-2
12.          Abilene Christian (Texas)	7-2
13.          North Alabama	7-2
14.          Humboldt St. (Calif.)	8-1
15.          St. Cloud State (Minn.)	8-2
16.          Albany St. (Ga.)	8-2
17.          Missouri Western St.	8-2
18.          California (Pa.)	8-2
19.          West Virginia Wesleyan	9-1
20.          Colorado School of Mines	8-2
21.          Bloomsburg (Pa.)	8-2
22.          Wayne St. (Mich.)	8-2
23.          Mars Hill (N.C.)	7-2
24.          Slippery Rock (Pa.)	8-2
25.          Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.)	7-2

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Courtesy Winston Salem State Athletics

GW Men's Hoops Dismantles D-II No. 8 Bowie State, 92-65

Washington, D.C. -- In its exhibition debut under new head coach Mike Lonergan, the George Washington men's basketball team eased by Bowie State, the nation's No. 8 ranked NCAA Division II team, 92-65 at Charles E. Smith Center Sunday evening.

The backcourt duo of senior Tony Taylor and junior Lasan Kromah combined for 35 points, 15 assists and seven steals to lead the Colonials past the Bulldogs in exhibition play for the second year in a row. GW posted an 82-64 win over BSU one year earlier.

Kromah, in his first live game action since the end of his rookie campaign in 2010, led all players with 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting and added six assists, while Taylor posted a near double-double with 12 points and nine assists along with a game-high five steals. Senior Aaron Ware also reached double-figures with 12 points, including 8-of-9 at the foul line, in 18 minutes off the bench.

GW set an up-tempo pace from the opening tip, raced out to a double-digit lead just over seven minutes into the contest and never looked back.

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NSU win pays dividends in Top 25 poll, player honors

NORFOLK, Virginia -- Two days after earning a share of the MEAC championship, the Norfolk State football team reaped the rewards. The Spartans jumped to No. 22 in The Sports Network/Fathead.com Top 25 poll on Monday, the highest ranking in the history of the program, while quarterback Chris Walley shared its national Offensive Player of the Week award.

Walley recorded a career-high five touchdowns - three in the air, two on the ground - in Norfolk State's 45-3 win over Savannah State, which clinched a share of the MEAC title, but not a playoff spot. He completed 20 of 25 passes for 271 yards and ran for 72 yards.

"I've always said that the quarterback gets too much credit when it goes well and too much blame when it doesn't," Walley said. Leading the MEAC with an average of 212.2 yards a game, he moved to fourth on NSU's all-time career passing yardage list. He has thrown 15 touchdowns against four interceptions.



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Urban Sports Poll: Winston-Salem State new No. 1 after Grambling upsets Jackson State

Arlington, Texas — Winston-Salem State becomes the fifth team to assume the top spot in the Urban Sports News Black College Poll with their 34-7 win over UNC-Pembroke and Jackson State’s 26-23 loss to Grambling.

The Rams finish the regular season with a 10-0 record and meet Elizabeth City State for the CIAA title on Saturday. Winston-Salem State finishes the season undefeated for the first time since 1978. The win also virtually assured the Rams of one of the six regional bids in their area to the NCAA DII playoffs.

“It's one of our goals — going undefeated in the regular season — but we still haven't done anything,” Coach Connell Maynor told the Winston-Salem Journal. “We haven't won the CIAA and we're not in the playoffs yet so we've got to continue to fight and get prepared. We have to continue to practice hard to get better.”

Winston-Salem State (10-0), Alabama State (7-2), Alabama A&M (7-2), Norfolk State (8-2), and Bethune-Cookman (6-3) hold the Top 5 USN spots for week ten. Jackson State (7-2), Albany State (8-2), Morehouse (8-2), FAMU (6-3), and Elizabeth City State (8-2) round out the next five spots in the USN Poll.



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Pough prepared for tougher N.C. A&T team

Orangburg, South Carolina -- It seems like ancient history to Buddy Pough now.

On Nov. 22, 2003, the fortunes of South Carolina State and North Carolina A&T took a precipitous turn. The Aggies had just clinched the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title, while the Bulldogs were looking for their third straight win in the long-running series.

S.C. State routed North Carolina A&T 49-9 that day in Charlotte and the two programs began to head in opposite directions. The Bulldogs have gone on to post a 67-23 record and win four MEAC titles while making three Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances. The Aggies have had four head coaches combine for a 20-70 mark during that span.

Despite the recent history of dominance, Pough does not see it playing a major role in the outcome of Saturday's latest matchup at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

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Commodores on target in 102-62 exhibition win vs. Gold Rush

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Jeffery Taylor scored 17 points in 16 minutes, and seventh-ranked Vanderbilt shot exceptionally well to start both halves Monday in a 102-62 men's basketball exhibition victory against Xavier University of Louisiana.

Taylor, a second-team All-SEC guard/forward the past two seasons, scored 13 first-half points and finished 7-of-9 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the line with four rebounds and three assists.

Vanderbilt made 8-of-9 from the floor to start the game and 9-of-10 to start the second half. The Commodores led 58-32 at halftime, and they took their biggest lead, 87-43, on Kedren Johnson's two free throws with 10:16 remaining.

Johnson scored 16 points, John Jenkins 15 and Shelby Moats 15 for the Commodores, who will open their season at 9 p.m. Friday at home against Oregon. Thirteen of 14 Commodores scored, and none played more than 19 minutes.

Anthony Simmons and Wanto Joseph scored 11 points apiece for Xavier, ranked 21st in NAIA Division I, and Renard Smith scored nine, including two 3-pointers. Gil Mathieu, a sophomore walk-on playing for the first time this season, led the Gold Rush with five rebounds, all offensive.

Vanderbilt outshot Xavier 63.2 to 29.4 percent from the floor. The Commodores outrebounded the Gold Rush 41-20 and had a 12-4 advantage in made 3-pointers. Xavier was better at the line, however, making 28-of-35 free throws to Vanderbilt's 18-of-25. Joseph and Nick Haywood both made 6-fo-6 free throws for the Rush. Xavier committed 11 turnovers and gained 13.

XU junior Denzell Erves, announced earlier Monday as Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week, had eight points, four rebounds and two steals in a team-high 32 minutes.

It was the first time the Gold Rush allowed 100 points since a 103-53 exhibition loss at Texas on Nov. 6, 2006. Xavier has not allowed 100 points in the regular season since 1992-93.

The exhibition loss was Xavier's second on the road in three nights against an NCAA Division I opponent. The XU men will resume their regular-season schedule at 6 p.m. Friday against St. Thomas (Fla.) at The Barn.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

CIAA, SIAC championship games set

Every year, there will be decisions and losses that will haunt head coaches throughout the winter. The game most likely to be on the mind for Jackson State head coach Rick Comegy is Saturday’s 26-23 loss at home to Grambling.

It will be a memorable game because the special teams for JSU (7-2, 5-2) were not special at all. Jackson State missed a field goal and its porous kick coverage set GSU (5-4, 4-3) up with short fields to work with all day. Then there was a fumbled punt by JSU freshman Antonio Sutton that helped put Grambling ahead for good.

“You are going to get those types of mistakes,” Comegy said. “It happens. We have to get better at executing plays late in the game.”

Indeed. A pass play gave Jackson State a first down on the Grambling 14 with just 14 seconds remaining and JSU trailing 26-23. With a timeout remaining Jackson State seemingly had enough time to run a play or two aiming for the end zone and the go-ahead touchdown, or at the very least set up an attempt at a field goal to send the game into overtime. JSU, however, mismanaged its opportunity and left the game and the timeout on the field.



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Ram Ramblings: WSSU's next task is CIAA title game

Connell Maynor

Pembroke, North Carolina -- I talked to coach Connell Maynor earlier today while driving back and I was wondering if his team gets a reward for finishing 10-0 in the regular season. Maynor didn’t hesitate and said no in so many words, echoing what he said after Saturday’s 34-7 win over UNC Pembroke. “We haven’t done anything yet,” Maynor said this morning.

Even though the Rams had just their third unbeaten season in school history they were back practicing on Sunday afternoon. Maynor and the coaches keep the practice short on Sundays and it’s more about working out the soreness from the game on Saturday night.

And if you think that Maynor will relax his 5 a.m. practice routine you don’t know him very well. “We’ll be going at 5 a.m. three days this week just like always,” Maynor said. One of the benefits of those 5 a.m. practices was how the players felt in the chilly conditions on Saturday.

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CIAA title game could be a hot ticket

Durham, North Carolina -- The CIAA's football championship game isn't going anywhere. In fact, for it to move from Durham County Stadium, one other thing would have to happen first, said commissioner Leon Kerry. "They are going to have to carry me out of there," Kerry said.

The CIAA played a football championship game from 1970 until 1973 and from 1981 to 1992. The game was resurrected in 2000, and it has turned into a money maker for the conference, Kerry said. Winston-Salem State will play Elizabeth City State at 1 p.m. Saturday in this season's title game in Durham, and Kerry is thrilled with the match-up.

"I think it's clear that the two best teams in the conference are there," he said. "And they are both ranked in the region, so that says a lot that both of them are playing for the title."

Kerry also is excited about the prospect of a sellout, and said he wouldn't be surprised to see the 12,000-seat stadium full, especially if the weather is nice. WSSU always has had one of the best traveling fan bases in the CIAA, and Elizabeth City State fans also have a strong reputation for following their teams.

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Alabama State 28, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 12: Hornets maintain SWAC East lead

PINE BLUFF, Ark. -- Tim Clark rushed for a career-high 106 yards and three touchdowns, and Alabama State spoiled Arkansas-Pine Bluff's homecoming game with a 28-12 win Saturday.

"Tim has that type of ability," ASU head coach Reggie Barlow said. "He's an elusive runner, protects well, and is a smart guy. He's one of our team leaders and I'm happy he played well today. He had a long run for us and those are the type plays we are going to need from these guys as we finish the season."



Devin Dominguez added 254 passing yards and a 51-yard touchdown pass to Nehemiah Henry for the Hornets (7-2, 7-1), who stayed in first place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference's East division.

"This week we were really focused and wanted to come back out and put a good game together," ASU head coach Reggie Barlow said. "I thought in all three phases we did some positive things and we were able to come away with a victory."




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