Long Distance Shooting Lifts Shaw Bears Over Armstrong Atlantic Pirates, 88-71

MALIK ALVIN
6-4/180 POINT GUARD, SENIOR
BINGHAMTON HIGH SCHOOL
PHILADELPHIA, PA
Average: 18.3 ppg., 3.5 rpg., 4.5 Asst.

SAVANNAH, Georgia (Dec. 30, 2011) -- Shaw found a long distance shooting touch and easily handled Armstrong Atlantic 88-71 at the Wingate By Wyndham Holiday Classic hosted by Armstrong. Malik Alvin - who was six of seven from beyond the three-point arc - had 28 points, tying his season high mark.

As a team, the Bears (7-2) hit 14 of 25 three-point attempts for a 56 percent mark. Overall, the Bears hit slightly less from the floor, hitting 54.2 percent on a 32 for 59 shooting performance. By contrast, the Pirates (4-7) could manage only four of 16 attempts from long range and hit only 26 of 54 from the floor on the night.

The Bears built the lead early on a fast-tempo game, with breaks often ending with wide open three-point opportunities. Shaw had 20 points off of fastbreaks. The Bears outrebounded the Pirates 37-32 and forced 18 turnovers while committing 15.

The Bears broke the game open in the first half. Trailing 14-10, the Bears ran off 17 straight points to take a 27-14 lead with 11:43 left in the half. The Bears used the long-range shooting to build the run, hitting six of six from beyond the three-point arc in those opening minutes.

With 2:22 left in the first, Alvin hit a layup to give the Bears a 43-27 lead. The Pirates responded with a seven-point run to cut the Shaw lead to nine. Junius Chaney closed out the half with a dunk that gave the Bears the 11-point margin.

Armstrong opened the second half strong, nearly eliminating the Shaw lead by scoring the first eight points of the half.

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Navy Drops 71-65 Decision to Norfolk State in Non-Conference Finale

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland - Norfolk State went 12-of-16 from the field in the second half and rallied from a six-point halftime deficit to hand the Navy men's basketball team a 71-65 setback in the Mids' non-conference finale on New Year's Day at Alumni Hall.

Navy concluded non-Patriot League play with a 3-11 mark, while Norfolk State, which owns wins over Drexel and TCU as well as a two-point loss to nationally-ranked Marquette, improved to 10-5.

Navy played perhaps its best half of basketball in the first half, jumping out to a 36-30 halftime lead while shooting 62.5 percent from the field and limiting the Spartans to just 38.7 percent. However, Norfolk State turned the tables in the second half, connecting on 75.0 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes, missing just four times on 16 field goal attempts.

The Spartans shot 24-of-47 (.511) from the field, 6-of-14 (.429) from three-point range and 17-of-22 (.773) from the free throw line. Norfolk State was guilty of 10 turnovers. Pendarvis Williams scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half, while preseason MEAC Player of the Year Kyle O'Quinn, a 6-10, 240-pound center, added 17 points and 11 rebounds.

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Princeton Tigers Tops Florida A&M 76-61

TALLAHASSEE, Florida - Completing a two-win trip to the capital of Florida, the Princeton men's basketball team defeated Florida A&M 76-61 Sunday afternoon.

Playing on New Year's Day for the first time since 1957, the Tigers fell behind early as much as 11-4 before scoring 25 of the next 33 points to take their first double-digit lead at 29-19 with less than five minutes to go before the half.

Princeton led by as much as 13 in the first half and 20 after the break, though the second half wasn't without a Florida A&M rally. The Rattlers scored 16 of the half's first 23 points to make it a 47-46 game with less than 15 minutes to go, but FAMU got no closer.

Douglas Davis finished as Princeton's high scorer with 18 points as one of four Tigers in double figures. Ian Hummer added 15 points, while T.J. Bray had 14 and rookie Denton Koon tied his Princeton best with 13 points.

"I'm very pleased with the second-half effort. They had 10 points in the last 12 minutes," Mitch Henderson, the Franklin C. Cappon-Edward G. Green '40 head coach of Princeton men's basketball, said. "It's a very good trip for us, so overall I'm happy, but I was a little disappointed with how we started the game. I knew it was a key to the game and they seemed to be just a little quicker to balls and really frankly out-toughing us early on. They had 17 offensive rebounds, which is a disappointment for us, but I'm very happy with the trip and it's nice to be going home 2-0 on this trip down to Florida."

Princeton shot 50 percent or better from the floor in each half, bettering FAMU's 37.5 percent for the game. The Rattlers, however, held the advantage on the glass, 38-35, including the 17 offensive boards Henderson mentioned.

The win follows Princeton's 75-73 triple-overtime victory at Florida State Friday night, the first time since 2004 the Seminoles lost at home to a team outside of a major conference. FSU was ranked as highly as 22nd in the Associated Press poll in November.

Davis's 18 points moved him to 1,320 for his career, one behind current Sacramento Kings general manager Geoff Petrie '70 for seventh place on the school's list. He also moved into second place on Princeton's career list of 3-pointers made, now with 238. Only his assistant coach, Brian Earl '99, has more with 281.

Princeton (8-7) has now won seven of its last nine after a 1-5 start, while Florida A&M drops to 2-12 with the loss.

Its record now above .500 for the first time this season, Princeton has completed its pre-Ivy League Division I schedule and will host The College of New Jersey next Sunday in Jadwin Gym. Princeton's league schedule will begin Jan. 13 at Cornell.

GAME STATS

Courtesy: Princeton Athletic Communications

After Big Win at FSU, Princeton Men's Hoops Takes on FAMU

Princeton (7-7, 0-0 Ivy) at Florida A&M (2-11, 0-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)

Sunday, Jan. 1 at 3 p.m. at Al Lawson Center

Princeton head coach: Mitch Henderson (Princeton '98, first season, 7-7 overall/at Princeton)
Radio: WPRB 103.3 FM, GoPrincetonTigers.com (John Sadak, Play-by-Play; Noah Savage '08, Color)
Live Stats | Live Audio
All-Time Series: Princeton leads 1-0, 0-0 away, 0-0 at facility
Streak: Princeton 1 overall; (last meeting 1992)

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Princeton will try to climb above the .500 mark for the first time this season. The Tigers lost their first two in the midst of a 1-5 start and are 6-2 since. With Princeton's win at Florida State Friday night (Princeton 75, Florida State 73 3OT (12/30/11),  the Tigers have won two games on home courts of "big six" conference teams in the same season since 1966-67. Princeton won at Rutgers on Dec. 7.

Princeton snapped FSU's 51-game home win streak against teams outside the "big six" conferences. Florida International was the last team outside of a major conference to beat FSU at the Civic Center on Dec. 12, 2004.

The Florida State and Rutgers wins mark the first time Princeton has defeated two "big six" conference teams in the same season since 1998-99, when the Tigers beat Florida State, Texas (both neutral), Georgetown (at Princeton, NIT) and N.C. State (road, NIT).

Princeton is on a stretch in which it will play 12 straight Division I opponents on their home floors, something the program has never done. In all, Princeton will travel more than 3,900 miles to complete the 12-game road stretch. The last five games of Princeton's 12-game road stretch against D-I foes are Ivy games determined by the Ivy League. That means Princeton will have 7 of 9 games at home to close the regular season.

The Florida A&M game will mark the eighth new court on which Princeton has played this season. The Tigers had never played in the current buildings of N.C. State, Bucknell, Drexel, Rider, Northeastern, Siena or Florida State.

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FAMU's Lewis does some scouting on Princeton

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Reggie Lewis will be the first to tell you that a lot of his basketball success is due to his passion to get first-hand experience to improve his game. In a sense, that was exactly the reason the Florida A&M guard took the time to watch Princeton play FSU — in person.

FAMU plays Princeton today and Lewis didn't want to pass up the opportunity to see for himself what the Tigers will bring to the Lawson Center.

"They don't get rattled," Lewis said. "They take a lot of time off the shot clock. They try to get a lot of second-chance shots too."

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Iowa State Cyclones Close 2011 With Win Over MVSU, 67-65

AMES, Iowa - Melvin Ejim recorded 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds to help Iowa State hold off Mississippi Valley State, 67-65 Saturday afternoon in Hilton Coliseum.

The Cyclones shot a season-low 34.4 percent and had an 18-point lead trimmed down to three points late in the second half. However, the Cyclones got a strong effort from their bench, as Ejim spearheaded a 41-point outing from the reserves. Ejim, who also drilled a career-high three treys in three tries, posted his fifth career double-double in the victory.

Iowa State ends non-conference play at 10-3.



Iowa State opened the game by making just one of its first nine shots as the Delta Devils jumped out to an early 8-2 lead. The Cyclones then went on a 21-6 run to go up 28-14 with 5:56 left before intermission.

Ejim had eight points and seven rebounds in the opening period to help the Cyclones go into the break with a 36-23 lead, as ISU held MVSU to just 25.8 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes. ISU led by as many as 18 points in the first half.

Iowa State struggled to shake off the Delta Devils in the second half. After the Cyclones scored the first five points of the second period, MVSU tallied eight-straight points to cut the lead to 41-31 behind a pair of 3-pointers from Terrence Joyner.

GAME STATS
POST GAME NOTES
ATTENDANCE: 12,399
ESPN3 GAME REPLAY ON DEMAND: MISSISSIPPI VALLEY VS. IOWA STATE

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No. 25 Kansas State Wildcats Power Past Howard Bison 82-46

MANHATTAN, Kansas - Kansas State used a barrage of 3-pointers to defeat Howard in its final game before conference play begins as the Wildcats defeated the Bison 82-46. K-State shot 48 percent from beyond the arc as the Wildcats made a season high 13 3-pointers. Rodney McGruder led the attack as he scored 14 points and was 4-of-4 from long range. The 13 3-pointers made is tied for eighth in school history.

The Wildcats jumped out to an early 18-7 lead after making five of its first seven 3-pointers. A shot from behind the arc from Howard’s Glen Andrews cut the lead to 18-10, but eight straight points from Angel Rodriguez started a 15-0 run the put the game away for good and gave the Wildcats a 33-10 lead with 5:47 left in the opening half.

Four other Wildcats, Will Spradling (13), Angel Rodriguez (11), Jeremy Jones (10) and Jamar Samuels (10), joined McGruder in double-digit scoring.

K-State (11-1) used a combination of suffocating defense and quick offensive tempo to set the tone in the first half. The Wildcats held Howard (4-11) to 20 percent shooting from the field and held the Bison only 18 points in the opening half. The 18 points allowed was the fewest scored in a half since Feb. 2 when the Wildcats held Nebraska to 17 first-half points.

FINAL STATS
PHOTO GALLERY
ATTENDANCE: 12,528
ESPN GAME REPLAY ON DEMAND: K-STATE VS. HOWARD

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Kentucky State sweeps Lane Dragons after long layoff

FRANKFORT, Kentucky - Jasmine Davis’ layup with 23 seconds left proved to be the winning points for the Thorobrettes excaped Lane, 75-73. Davis and Cortney Matthewis both scored 17 points to lead KSU (3-4, 3-2).

Lane (0-4, 0-3) led 45-38 at halftime, hitting 53 percent in the first half while holding KSU to 36 percent shooting.

The Thorobrettes shot 50 percent in the second half and had four more field goals than the Lady Dragons. Rounding out the scoring for KSU were Sharnita Lloyd with 12 points, Raven Ward and Ashley Thompson-Baker with seven points each, Tiffany Merritt with six points, Brielle Newton with four, Joanna Powell with three, and Megan LaRue with two points.

Brittney Peters led Lane with 23 points.

Kentucky State 60, Lane 55 (Men)

The Thorobreds scored the game’s final five points in the last 1:02 to improve to 2-3 overall and in the conference. A free throw by KSU’s Kevin Smith at 1:02 mark broke a 55-55 tie. William Marsh hit one foul shot and Smith two more to make the final score 60-55.

Marsh finished with a game-high 22 points, and John Gaston had 11 points and 15 rebounds for the Thorobreds.

KSU shot 49 percent from the field and held Lane (0-5, 0-3) to 37.7 percent shooting.

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VISIT: KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY

VISIT: KSUTHOROBREDS

CU Panthers survive LOC Magicians’ late surge for 73-67 victory

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina - The Panthers of Claflin University (4-6, 4-5) used late game free throws to hand LeMoyne-Owen (4-3, 4-2) a 73-67 setback in Tullis Arena on the campus of Claflin University.

Most of the damage was done in the first half as Terrence Bowman who scored 18 points 11 in the first half and Edward Green who tallied 10 points 7 coming in the first 20 minutes of play led by 11 points at the break 37-26.

The Panthers never relinquished the lead in the second half matching runs by the Magicians with runs of their own to keep LeMoyne-Owen at bay. But things got interesting late in the second half.

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Claflin Lady Panthers ease by LeMoyne-Owen 68-62 to pick up second win of the season

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina - The Lady Panthers of Claflin University (2-7, 2-6) entered this afternoon's contest needing a win to begin the New Year on a winning note. LaQuandra Williams with 18 points and 10 rebounds and LaTreshia Lymon-Finlea who added 14 points to go along with 13 rebounds made it hard for the visitors of LeMoyne-Owen to escape Tulis Arena with a victory. Their effort helped snap a six-game losing skid for the Lady Panthers, with a 68-62 SIAC victory. Defense was the name of the game for Claflin University as they would not allow the Lady Magicians to go on any long runs during the game.

Things did not start out very promising for Claflin as they fell behind by as many as 12 points 17-5 early in the contest. But by the 5:00 mark in the first half Claflin had cut the Lady Magicians lead to 4 points 25-21. The Lady Magicians outscored Claflin 9-8 the rest of the half and enjoyed a 5 point halftime lead 34-29.

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Norfolk State vs. Navy: A win today would confirm historic rise for NSU Spartans

 KYLE O'QUINN
6-10/240 CENTER, SENIOR
JAMAICA, NY
CAMPUS MAGNET H.S.

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland - The Norfolk State Spartans will shoot for their 10th victory of the season today as they ring in the New Year with a 4 p.m. tipoff at the Naval Academy.

If the Spartans win, it would the earliest they have won 10 games in their 15 years in Division I. And it would be a drastic improvement over the last three seasons, years in which the Spartans didn't reach the 10-win plateau until March.

"We're not talking about our record," Spartans coach Anthony Evans said. "We are taking it one game at a time. It's a cliche, but is an accurate one. "We cannot be thinking ahead to our conference games at this point. We have to concern ourselves with Navy."

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Norfolk State (9-5)at Navy (3-10)
Sunday, Jan. 1 • Annapolis, MD
Alumni Hall • 4 p.m.

MEDIA COVERAGE: Live Statistics/Video: http://www.navysports.com/

SERIES NOTES: This is the first meeting all-time between the two schools.

PENDARVIS WILLIAMS
6-6/195 GUARD, SOPH.
PHILADELPHIA, PA
THE HUN SCHOOL (N.J.)

SETTING THE STAGE

NSU plays its first game of the 2012 calendar year this Sunday when it travels to Annapolis, Md., for its first-ever matchup with Navy. The Spartans have won two in a row, both on the road, after an 84-74 win at St. Francis (N.Y.) on Dec. 23. Three Spartans topped the 20-point mark in that one as Pendarvis Williams had a career-high 24 points, Kyle O’Quinn posted 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Chris McEachin added a career-high 20 points. NSU will be looking Sunday for its first 10-5 start since 1996-97, when the Spartans began 13-5 in their final season of play in the Division II CIAA.

Navy dropped its sixth straight game on Friday, a 65-56 home loss to Mercer. Jordan Sugars led the Midshipmen with 21 points. J.J. Avila paces Navy with 15.2 points per game, while Sugars is second at 10.3.

COACHES
NSU - Anthony Evans (St. Thomas Aquinas ‘94), 5th season at NSU and overall, 61-77.
Navy - Ed DeChellis (Penn State ‘82), 1st season at Navy, 3-10; 16th season overall, 222-241.

Williams, O’Quinn Earn Weekly MEAC Honors
Sophomore guard Pendarvis Williams was named MEAC Player of the Week for Dec. 26 after averaging 20.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in wins over Toledo and St. Francis. Williams shot 65 percent in the two games. Williams had 17 points and assisted on Kyle O’Quinn’s game-winning layup with 2.4 seconds left in the 72-70 win at Toledo. Williams followed that up with a career-high 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting at St. Francis.

This marks Williams’ first time being named MEAC Player of the Week in his career. He was named Rookie of the Week once last season.

O’Quinn averaged 10 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots to earn his second Defensive Player of the Week honor this year. O’Quinn blocked five shots in the win over Toledo and added two steals against St. Francis. He averaged 8.0 defensive rebounds per game and also scored 18.5 points in the two victories.

Live Video Available

NSU will offer live video streaming of all 14 home men’s basketball games in 2011-12. The cost is $5 per game ($8 for a doubleheader when paired with a women’s game), and $60 for a season pass. Visit

www.nsuspartans.com/showcase to register.

By Matt Michalec, Assistant AD for Communications/MBB

VISIT: NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY  

VISIT: NSUSPARTANS

Winston Salem State Gets Smoked by Tampa

TAMPA, Florida – The University of Tampa (4-7) men’s basketball team defeated Winston Salem State University (7-2) by a score of 64-61 to claim its second consecutive win in the Tampa Classic. The game was played at the Bob Martinez Sports Center.

Winston Salem State proved to be a great match up for Tampa as the teams fought in the paint to tie the score five times. UT was able to pull away due to finishing second chance points over WSSU with 11-2. Jon Riles and Osby Kelly led the Spartans with seven points while LaMar Monger led the Rams with eight to close the first half.

Callum Townsend found the basket to score 15 of 19 points in the second half. Townsend finished as the leading scorer of the game. Kelly came off the bench warm and chipped in a whopping 14 points. The senior was the second leading scorer. Ashton Graham followed with 12 points.

Justin Glover kept the Rams in the game as he finished with a high score of 17 points. Monger was the second leading scorer with 14 points. WSSU fell short at the line going from 80 percent in the first period to 66.7 percent in the second period.

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WSSU loses 64-61 nail-biter against Tampa

TAMPA, Florida - Winston-Salem State, ranked 25th in Division II, lost its second consecutive basketball game in Tampa, Fla., on Friday afternoon, falling to Tampa 64-61.

The Rams (7-2) trailed by one and had the ball with 19 seconds left, but a turnover by Lamar Monger when he stepped out of bounds with three seconds left cost them. After the turnover, WyKevin Bazemore was forced to foul Ashton Graham of the Spartans. Graham hit both free throws to secure the win.

The Rams battled back from an 11-point deficit but couldn't close it and wound up going 0 for 2 in the Tampa Classic — with the added bonus of an 11-hour bus ride back to Winston-Salem.

Coach Bobby Collins of the Rams was encouraged by the way his team played compared to Thursday's 75-51 blowout loss to Eckerd.

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Howard University Women's Basketball Rolls to Seventh-Straight Victory; defeat Fairleigh Dickinson Knights

ZYKIA BROWN
5-8 GUARD, SENIOR
PARKDALE HIGH SCHOOL
RIVERDALE, MARYLAND

HACKENSACK, New Jersey -- The Howard Women’s basketball team pulled out another win to defeat Fairleigh Dickinson by 10, 66-56 on Dec 30 at Stratis Arena. HU finished the month of December with a perfect 7-0 record and improved its overall mark to 8-5 heading into the New Year.

The Bison started the contest a little rattled as FDU opened with a 10-4 run. The run was ended with a three pointer by Kara Smith at the 12:30 mark. From there, HU found momentum as Smith hit another shot behind the arc to put the Bison down by one, 10-9. Howard picked up its intensity and forced the Knights into a turnover. Following the turnover, Smith drowned a jumper which gave the Bison their first advantage of the half.

The lead changed as Desiree Crawford scored a layup to give FDU the lead back. Howard did not back down as Zykia Brown drained a three-pointer to make it 14-12 at the 7:37 mark.

By the 2:19 mark, Howard led by 11 (23-12) over the Knights. Both teams scored back to back buckets to finish the last two minutes of the first half strong. HU went into the lockerroom ahead 30-18.


TAMORIA HOLMES
5-6 GUARD, JUNIOR
HILLSIDE HIGH SCHOOL
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA

 Halftime notes: Smith led the Bison at the half with 12 points by shooting 5-7 from the field. Howard controlled the glass leading with 20 to FDU’s 12. The Knights forced HU into nine turnovers and scored eight points from their miscues. FDU shot 1-8 (12 percent) from behind the arc and 7-25 (28 percent) from the field.

To open up the last 20 minutes of play, Howard scored a three-pointer and a pair of free throws to spread the led to 19 by the 17:04 mark. Danielle Pankey gave FDU a spark as she knocked down a basket behind the arc decreasing HU’s lead to 16 in just 16 seconds. By the 13:50 mark, Howard pushed its lead to 21 points, 48-27.

Both teams swapped baskets until the 10:26 mark as FDU went on a 10-0 run to close the lead to just six points, 52-46, with just 7:36 left in the ball game. Howard found some energy after a three-point basket which ended the Knights run at the 6:09 mark. Howard held on to defeat Fairleigh Dickinson 66-56.

For the Bison, Brown led the game with a season-high of 19 points on shooting 8-11 from the field and 3-5 from behind the arc. Tamoria Holmes contributed 14 points, eight rebounds and four assist. Smith chipped in with a season-high of 12 points in 20 minutes of action. Nicole Deterville grabbed a game-high of nine boards to finish the match. FDU kept Saadia Doyle under double-digit scoring as she chipped in with seven points.

Mariyah Laury led FDU in scoring, finishing with 14 points in 33 minutes of play.

Howard will tip off the New Year at Mount St. Mary’s on Jan 3. The contest will begin at 7 p.m.

GAME STATS

Jamilah Corbitt, Assistant Director of Sports Information

VISIT: HOWARD-BISON 

VISIT: HOWARD UNIVERSITY

Southern Jags closes with strong run to beat Loyola-New Orleans

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - There is no place like home for the Southern University men’s basketball team.

Southern rallied with a 12-5 run in the final six minutes, setting four team season highs, in a 73-68 victory over Loyola of New Orleans on Thursday afternoon at the F.G. Clark Activity Center.

The Jaguars (4-9) snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 2-0 at home. The team set season highs in points (73), field goal percentage (.500), field goals made (29) and steals (10).

“We want to defend our home court all season long, with a realistic goal of winning 90 percent of our games here,” Southern first-year basketball coach Roman Banks said. “That’s a sign of a good program.

“Shooting 50 percent from the field was nice, and our guys stayed the course. We showed some discipline, and we didn’t panic when we were down. We made some mistakes, but we made enough plays. It was a good win for us.”

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Tulane Wins Tulane/DoubleTree Classic with 66-53 Win Over Hampton

JERICKA JENKINS
5'-4" SENIOR GUARD
HOMETOWN: LANCASTER, TEXAS
TULANE/DOUBLETREE ALL-
TOURNAMENT TEAM

 NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana - Much has been made of the Tulane University women's basketball freshman class during the early portion of the 2011-12 season, but on Thursday evening in Fogelman Arena, it was the upperclassmen's turn to shine as the Green Wave defeated Hampton, 66-53, in the championship game of the Tulane/DoubleTree Classic.

Junior guard Olivia Grayson scored 24 of her team-leading 26 points in the second half while senior center Brett Benzio posted her fifth double-double of the year with 13 rebounds and a career-best 21 points. The win marked the Wave's fourth consecutive Tulane/DoubleTree Classic title as Tulane concluded its pre-conference schedule 11-2. Hampton, meanwhile, fell to 9-3.

Grayson added five assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals to her scoring output. She was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after averaging 18.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals while connecting at a 44.4 field goal percentage (12-of-27) and hitting 75.0 percent of her free throws (12-fo16) during the two-day event. Benzio was named to the Tulane/DoubleTree Classic All-Tournament Team, as were Hampton's Jericka Jenkins and Ariel Phelps, Central Michigan's Jessica Green and College of Charleston's Latisha Harris.

Tulane shot 41.8 percent from the field against the Lady Pirates, including a 15-for-29 performance (.517) in the second half which saw the Green Wave turn a two-point halftime lead into a 13-point victory. Defensively, the Green Wave held Hampton to a .298 clip (17-of-57).

"We knew they were going to be tough," Grayson said of Hampton. "We watched them the night before and we saw how they played. They're a real scrappy team. We just prepared for that at shoot-around and we knew we were going to have to take care of the ball. It was just something that we prepared for before the game."

FINAL STATS

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LADY PIRATES FALL TO TULANE IN DOUBLETREE TITLE GAME



ARIEL PHELPS
6'-2'  JUNIOR FORWARD
HOMETOWN: VIRGINIA BEACH, VA
TULANE/DOUBLETREE ALL-
TOURNAMENT TEAM

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Hampton University women’s basketball team fell Thursday night in the championship game of the DoubleTree Classic, as host Tulane won the game and the title 66-53 at Fogelman Arena.

The Lady Pirates (9-3) have lost two of their last three games, but have still won 33 of their last 39 games dating back to last season.

Senior guard Jericka Jenkins (Lancaster, Texas) led the way with 28 points despite 7-for-22 shooting. She hit three of her nine 3-pointers and all 11 free throws, while also dishing out seven assists. Junior forward Ariel Phelps (Virginia Beach, Va.) poured in eight points to go along with a team-high 10 rebounds.

Both Jenkins and Phelps were named to the All-Tournament Team.

The game was a defensive struggle from the opening tip, as neither team scored until Jenkins drained a pair of free throws with 13:57 left in the first half. The first field goal of the game came at the 12:58 mark, when Tiffany Dale hit a layup to tie the game at 2-2.

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Coppin State snap Boston University three-game win streak, 59-44

Shawntae Payne

5'-7" Point Guard, Junior
Hometown: Charlottesville , VA
Coppin State University

BRONX, New York - Boston University saw its three-game winning streak come to an end, as Coppin State defeated the Terriers, 59-44, in day one of the Fordham Holiday Classic in Bronx, N.Y. BU moves to 6-5 on the season.

BU did not have a player score in double-digits for the first time this season as juniors Mo Moran and Kristen Sims led the team with nine points apiece. Moran also tied for the team high in rebounds with seven boards.  Senior Caroline Stewart hauled in seven rebounds and added six points while junior Chantell Alford added eight points and two rebounds.

BU took an early 6-5 lead with three-pointers from Young and Alford. After a jumper from Moran, Coppin State tied the game at 8-8 then took a two-point lead with a layup from Ashle Craig. Whitney Turner knotted the score at 10-10 with a layup on BU's next possession to spark an 11-2 BU run.



Crystal Whittington
6'-0" Power Foward, Junior
Hometown: Oakland, CA
Coppin State University

 Dawnnae Roberts put the Eagles back on the board with a three-pointer at 8:24 to ignite a 7-0 spurt from Coppin State. The teams then traded baskets, and the lead, as a jumper from Shawntae Payne put the Eagles up, 26-23, and forced BU into a timeout with 4:44 to play. Sims tied the game with a shot from beyond the arc but Payne responded on the other end   with a three, as the Eagles maintained the advantage. Stewart scored the last four points of the half for the Terriers, as the Eagles took a 31-30 lead into the break.

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CSU Eagles Halt Losing Streak Behind Solid Defensive Effort

BRONX, N.Y. -- Junior Shawntae Payne scored a season-high 17 points and Coppin State rode a strong second-half defensive effort to defeat Boston 59-44 on Thursday in the Eagles opening round game of the Fordham Holiday Classic.

The Eagles, who halted a six-game losing streak with the victory, advance to the championship game against Fordham at 3 p.m. on Friday (Dec. 30).

Coppin State (3-9) held a slim 31-30 lead at halftime, but held Boston to just 7.4 percent shooting in the second half and outscored the Terriers 28-14.

Payne finished the game 7-of-14 from the floor and was 2-of-2 from the free throw line to pace the Eagles. She also added three assists and three rebounds. Senior Crystal Whittington grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds and Dawnnae Roberts added nine points.

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Tennessee State Lady Tigers down Austin Peay in OVC opener

NASHVILLE, Tennessee - The Tennessee State University women's basketball team opened up Ohio Valley Conference play with a 95-81 win over Austin Peay Thursday night in the Gentry Center.

Four Lady Tigers scored in double-figures to help Tennessee State (5-8, 1-0 OVC) snap a three-game skid while Austin Peay (3-11, 0-1 OVC) dropped its third straight. Tayla Foster led TSU with 22 points while Jasmin Shuler registered 21. Destiney Gaston recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds as Rachel Allen came off the bench to score 15 points and grab seven rebounds.

Whitney Hanley paced Austin Peay with 22 points while Jasmine Rayner (21), Meghan Bussabarger (13), and Kristen Stainback (11) also scored in double-digits.

Early in the first half, TSU called a timeout after three quick buckets from APSU led to the Lady Tigers falling behind, 6-0. A lay-up by Jasmin Shuler finally got TSU on the board but the Lady Tigers still trailed 9-2 following an APSU three-pointer.

TSU began to rally when Rachel Allen drove to the lane and connected in the paint with 15:12 on the clock. The bucket sparked a 10-2 run that put the Lady Tigers on top, 12-11.  Over the next several possessions, the teams traded buckets. The Lady Govs managed to build a, 22-17, lead but Jasmin Shuler nailed a triple to pull the Lady Tigers back to within two.

TSU was trailing, 26-23, when a three-pointer by Kesi Hess fueled a 15-0 run that gave the Lady Tigers a, 38-26, lead and forced an APSU timeout. The Lady Govs cut the deficit down to six before the Lady Tigers went into the break leading, 42-34.


Head Coach Tracee Wells and Junior Jasmin Shuler during post game following TSU's 95-81 win over Austin Peay. Shuler posted 20-plus points for the second time and double-figures for the 11th time this season.

Alana Morris christened the second half with a jumper before a small spurt by the visitors cut the TSU lead down to six. The Lady Tigers went back on top, 52-41, following a long ball from Jasmin Shuler and a jumper by Tayla Foster.

TSU increased its advantage to 56-43 on an old fashioned three-point play by Rachel Allen before APSU outscored the home team, 7-1, to pull within, seven.

A free-throw by Kesi Hess put the Lady Tigers back on top by double-digits, 62-52, before TSU grabbed a 70-54 lead with a little less than nine minutes left in the game.

Austin Peay cut the deficit down to 72-61 at the 7:21 mark before pulling to within 10 (82-72) with 3:32 remaining.

The Lady Govs pulled within single digits once again but the Lady Tigers knocked down 11 free-throws in the last 1:18 of the game to seal the win.

TSU finished the contest with a season-best 72.9 percent (35-of-48) from the free-throw line.

The Lady Tigers return to action on Saturday, Dec. 31 when they face Eastern Kentucky on the road. Game time is slated for 4 p.m. (EST) in McBrayer Arena.

GAME STATS

Courtesy: Tennessee State Sports Information
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TSU Extends Win Streak to Five with OVC Opener Win

NASHVILLE, Tennessee - Tennessee State used another balanced attack to extend its' win streak to five games and capture an 83-67 victory over UT Martin on Thursday evening at the Gentry Center.

The Tigers (8-6, 1-0 Ohio Valley) earned its' first conference opener victory since Dec. 7, 2006 after shooting a season-high 56 percent (32-of-57) from the field. Nine student-athletes scored five or more points.

TSU dished out 15 assists and out-manned the Skyhawks (3-12, 0-2 OVC) on the boards, 35-to-28.

Robert Covington led the Tigers with 17 points and five rebounds in 27 minutes of action. The junior forward scored his 1,000th point at 11:36 and finished the night with 1,009 career points. Covington is the first Tiger to reach the 1,000 points club since Gerald Robinson, Jr. in 2009. From the field, Covington was 7-of-10 and pulled in three defensive boards.

Coming off the bench, Patrick Miller tallied 13 points in 24 minutes. He grabbed three boards and dished out three assists and recorded two steals for the Tigers.

Bob Cousy award candidate Wil Peters was 4-of-6 from the field for 11 points. The Nashville product tied a season-high with seven assists in a game-high 33 minutes.

Junior Tashan Fredrick notched season highs in points (nine) and rebounds (five) in the victory.

For the third consecutive game, Jordan Cyphers added double-digits with 10 points, including two triples in 21 minutes.

Kellen Thornton had seven points and three boards. In his first game since Nov. 25, Kenny Moore racked up six points and three rebounds. M.J. Rhett had a solid performance pulling in eight rebounds and scoring five points. Sophomore Michael Green finished the contest with five points in eight minutes.

Tennessee State closed out the first half on a 15-to-4 run, taking a 41-35 lead at the mid-way point.

From the field, TSU shot 45 percent (14-of-31), holding UTM to 41 percent (14-of-34). The Tigers out-rebounded UTM, 22-19. At the break, Miller had 10 points for TSU as UT Martin's Troy King had nine.

The game started out back and forth, but UTM opened on a 10-4 run to take a 21-14 lead at the 11:30 mark in the first half.

King's basket stretched the Skyhawks lead to eight. TSU's Miller drove through the lane to cut the Tigers' deficit to 31-26. Kenny Moore followed up with a basket inside the paint, narrowing UT Martin's margin to three.

Peters managed two freebies to tie the contest, 31-31, at 4:17. The two teams went back-and-forth as Fredrick used a put-back to give TSU the 37-34 lead.

Cyphers hit a fade-away jumper in the final minute to give the Tigers the 41-35 advantage into locker room.

TSU opened up to a solid nine point advantage in the second half. UT Martin cut the advantage to 55-50 midway through the period.

Covington hit a jumper at 11:36 to score his 1,000th career point and give TSU the 57-50 lead. Mike Liabo drained a triple and added a layup to help UTM cut the lead within three with 7:40 left in the game.

Covington added a triple to stretch TSU's advantage to 67-61, giving him his 13th consecutive game of double-figures.

The Tigers started to pull away in the latter minutes of the game, closing the game with an 83-67 victory.

TSU returns to OVC action at Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, Dec. 21. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.

BOX SCORE(.pdf)

Courtesy: Tennessee State Sports Information
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Joseph's layup at buzzer gives Xavier an overtime victory

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida -- Wanto Joseph converted his frontcourt steal into a layup at the buzzer Thursday, giving Xavier University of Louisiana a 71-69 overtime men's basketball victory against Florida Memorial in the Miami Gardens Classic.

The Gold Rush (8-4), ranked 21st in NAIA Division I, snapped a two-game losing streak and finished 1-1 in the event. The Lions (4-9) of NAIA Division II dropped their seventh in a row and lost in overtime for the second straight day.

Joseph stole the ball from Denzel Wright with seven seconds remaining, then weaved through traffic to reach the basket and avoid a second overtime.

"I looked up at the clock and there were two seconds remaining," Joseph said. "I was at the volleyball (baseline), so I knew I was close enough. I took one dribble and two hard steps and made it to the rim in time."

Anthony Simmons led Xavier with 15 points and reached double figures for the first time in more than a month. Cordell Hadnot had 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Jamaan Kenner had a season-high 11 points, and Denzell Erves scored 10. Joseph had nine points and led Xavier in the extra period with four.

"The game probably shouldn't have gone to overtime," XU coach Dannton Jackson said. "But any win on the road in overtime is great. Hopefully those five extra minutes gave us a little more experience and will help us get a little better."

Xavier trailed once in the final 14 minutes -- when George Gray's 3-pointer gave Florida Memorial a 48-47 advantage with 7:34 remaining in regulation -- and appeared to regain momentum when Simmons and Nick Haywood combined for all the points in an 8-0 response which took less than a minute. But FMU gained five XU turnovers thereafter and sent the game into overtime when Gray's basket beat the buzzer in regulation.

Gray scored a season-high 27 points. Matthew Rolle had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and La Dante Berry-White scored a career-best 13.

It was the second time in three games the XU men played overtime. They lost 95-91 in three OTs at city rival Loyola on Dec. 17. It was the first time in Jackson's nine seasons that the Gold Rush won on the road in overtime against a non-conference opponent.

Hadnot's double-double was the fifth of his career and his second in three games. His 15 rebounds were Xavier's most since Kelechi Okoroha grabbed the same amount at William Carey on Feb. 19, 2009. It was Hadnot's career-best sixth consecutive game to score in double figures.

"Cordell has been working really hard and came up big with rebounding today," Jackson said of the senior forward. "His presence down low and his will to score helped us a lot. It was also good to see Anthony Simmons be productive on both ends of the court."

Xavier outshot the Lions 43.1 to 41.7 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 41-28.

Xavier's next game will start at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the University of New Orleans in the first meeting between the schools since 1976.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

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Prairie View Lady Panthers upend Texas Wesleyan 69-57

HOUSTON, Texas - The Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers (3-8) snapped their two-game losing streak with a convincing 69-57 win over Texas Wesleyan (7-3) Wednesday night at the M.O. Campbell Center.

Prairie View A&M guards Kiara Etienne and JaQuandria Williams, who were teammates at Copiah-Lincoln Community College just a season ago, both scored 15 points to tie for the game high and lead the Lady Panthers to their third win of the season.

Williams, in her debut game for Prairie View A&M, was highly efficient from the field. She went 6-for-11 from the floor and was 1-for-1 from downtown. Etienne, who was averaging over 20 points over her last four games, was 7-for-13 from the field and added four rebounds and two assists.

The Lady Panthers ended the first half with a five-point, 39-34 advantage.

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Hawai`i Holds Off Alcorn State, 66-63

HONOLULU, Hawaii — The University of Hawai`i women's basketball team (5-8) held off a scrappy Alcorn State team to open the Pepsi Rainbow Wahine Invitational with 66-63 win. Senior forward Breanna Arbuckle led a trio of UH players who scored in double-figures while sophomore forward Kamilah Jackson had a game-high 10 rebounds on Wednesday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Arbuckle scored a team-high 17 points—10 of which came in the second half. She sank three crucial free-throws and had one of her three blocks in the final three minutes of the game to help lift the 'Bows over the Braves. Arbuckle went to the free-throw line eight times and drilled a career-high 13-out-of-15 foul shots. She also contributed six rebounds and tied her career-high with five assists.

Joining Arbuckle in the double-digit points club tonight were Vicky Tagalicod and Kanisha Bello. Tagalicod--who is in just her second week of action--was just one rebound short of recording her first double-double as she tallied season-highs of 14 points and nine rebounds. She went 6-of-13 from the floor and 2-of-4 from the charity stripe. Bello posted 13 points on 3-of-6 shooting with one 3-pointer while going a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. She chipped in a career-high six rebounds. Freshman point guard Alissa Campanero tied her career-high with six assists, but also had six turnovers in 38 minutes of action. Jackson had her five-game double-double streak come to a close as she was just one point shy of getting her sixth in a row. She scored nine points to go with her 10 rebounds with an assist and a steal.

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