Southern LB coach Atkinson adds new thinking

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  --  Nearly 11 years ago, former New York Jets coach Herm Edwards spouted what is still one of the most iconic phrases in the sports world — “You play to win the game.”

Upon his arrival at Southern University in January, Lorick Atkinson brought with him a similar mentality with a bit of a different twist.

“We have a saying here called ‘win to play,’ ” Atkinson said. “If you win to play, the rest of it will take care of itself.”

The first-year Jaguars linebacker coach has carried that outlook with him during his coaching stops and is hoping to continue the same success he’s had at his previous positions.

Atkinson began his coaching career on the high school level in 1996 before moving to Furman, North Greenville College and an eight-year stint at Gardner-Webb, where he worked as the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach.

He also helped in one crucial hire while at Gardner-Webb, vouching for Dawson Odums’ spot on the coaching staff where he would get his first taste of the collegiate game.

Atkinson moved on to being the head coach at Chowan University from 2005-2007, taking nearly a five-year hiatus from coaching to tend to his sickly father.

READ MORE 

Prairie View A&M Wins Third Consecutive SWAC Title

GARLAND, Texas   -  In four overtime periods, No. 4 seeded Prairie View A&M University captured its third consecutive crown with an 100-87 win over No. 3 seed Mississippi Valley State on Saturday during the 2013 Toyota SWAC Basketball Tournament inside the Curtis Culwell Center.

With the win, PVAMU (17-14) receives the Southwestern Athletic Conference automatic bid to the NCAA women's basketball tournament.

The Lady Panthers outscored MVSU (17-15) 15-2 in the final period while shooting 39 percent for the game.

Tournament MVP, Kiara Etienne, scored 31 points to lead all scorers hitting 8-of-14 from three-point range. Larissa Scott shot 10-of-17 overall to finish with 24 points.

Latia Williams finished with her third double-double of the tournament and 22nd of her career posting 17 points and 13 rebounds. Williams also received all tournament honors. Jeannette Jackson followed with 13 points and JaQuandria Williams hauled in 12 boards.

For the Devilettes, Kristina Clemons scored 26 points and was named to the all tournament squad. Alia Frank tacked on double-double with 11 points and 19 rebounds. Jasmyne Sanders hit 7-of-14 for 18 points with Joncyee Sanders adding 10 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. MVSU shot 35 percent for the game.

 

Box Score | Live Video | Live Stats

Southwestern Athletic Conference 2013 Toyota SWAC All Tournament Team

Player (Team)

Joanna Miller (Grambling State)

Chigozianyi Okwumabua (Arkansas-Pine Bluff)
Te'era Williams (Texas Southern)
Khristina Clemons (Mississippi Valley State)
Latia Williams (Prairie View A&M)
(MVP) Kiara Etienne (Prairie View A&M)

 

COURTESY SWAC.ORG 

Four-for-Four: HU Lady Pirates Once Again MEAC Champions

NORFOLK, Virginia –  Under head coach David Six, the Hampton University women’s basketball team has made it to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament championship game four straight times.

After Saturday afternoon, the Lady Pirates have emerged as champions all four times.

The Lady Pirates jumped out early on rival Howard at the Norfolk Scope, before ultimately taking a 59-38 win in the 2013 MEAC Tournament finale. Hampton wins its fourth straight MEAC Tournament crown – the first MEAC squad to do that since Howard from 1987-90 – and its corresponding automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

“It never gets old,” Six said. “The goal when you start (the season) is to play in the NCAA Tournament.”

Hampton (28-5), the tournament’s top seed, also picked up its 19th straight win to extend its Div. I program-record winning streak. That streak is also tied for the seventh-longest in the nation this season, with Chattanooga.

Howard’s 38 points are the second-fewest in a women’s championship game in MEAC Tournament history; the lowest total came in 2006, when Delaware State scored just 36 points in falling to Coppin State.

Senior guard Olivia Allen (Kildeer, Ill.) led four Lady Pirates in double figures with 16 points, while junior forward Alyssa Bennett (Hampton, Va.), the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year, poured in 14 points while spending much of the contest guarding Howard’s Saadia Doyle.

Senior forward Keiara Avant (Chesapeake, Va.), the MEAC Player of the Year, added 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds – en route to being named the MEAC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Performer.

Junior guard Nicole Hamilton (Hampton, Va.) chipped in 10 points.

Six, the MEAC Coach of the Year, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Coach. He is also one win shy of 100 for his career as a college head coach.

After the third-seeded Lady Bison took a 1-0 lead, the Lady Pirates answered with an 11-0 run, taking an 11-1 lead at the 14:40 mark after a Bennett jumper. Kara Smith hit a 3-pointer at the 11:06 mark to cut Hampton’s lead to 15-8, but that was the closest Howard would get for the rest of the game.

Hamilton gave the Lady Pirates a 19-8 lead with 8:57 left in the half on a layup, but Smith brought Howard back to within eight, cutting Hampton’s lead to 21-13 at the 4:56 mark with a layup.

From there, Hampton went on a 14-0 run, taking a 35-13 lead with 47 seconds left in the half on a free throw from Avant. Smith hit a jumper with 25 seconds left in the half, sending the Lady Pirates into the locker room with a 35-15 lead.

Doyle had just one point at the half.

Howard opened the second half on a 14-6 run, cutting the Lady Pirates’ lead to 41-29 with 10:43 left to play after Cheyenne Curley-Payne sank a layup. Hampton scored the next nine points, though, taking a 50-29 lead with 8:25 remaining after a layup from Avant.

From there, the Lady Bison could get no closer than within 18, when Adelle Walton hit a 3-pointer to cut Hampton’s lead to 52-34 with 4:12 left to play.

Hampton’s largest lead of the game came with 47 seconds left, when Hamilton sank a layup to put the Lady Pirates up 59-36.

A day after recording their best shooting percentage of the season, the Lady Pirates shot 46.5 percent (20-for-43) from the floor – including a mind-boggling 64.7 percent (11-for-17) in the first half – while hitting four of their 12 3-pointers and going 15-for-23 from the free throw line.

Hampton also held a 41-35 edge on the glass; the Lady Pirates are 19-0 this season when outrebounding their opponent.

Hampton also held a 26-12 advantage in the paint.

Howard (20-11) shot just 21.4 percent (12-for-56) from the floor, going just 3-for-19 (15.8 percent) from behind the arc and 11-for-18 (61.1 percent) from the free throw line. It was the second-lowest field goal percentage Hampton has allowed this season.

Smith led the Lady Bison with 12 points, 10 of which came in the first half. Doyle, the MEAC’s all-time leading scorer, was held to just nine points – five of which came from the free throw line.

The game will be televised on ESPNU via tape-delay on Sunday at 11 a.m.

The 2013 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament Selection Show will air on Monday at 7 p.m. EST on ESPN. That is when the Lady Pirates will discover their first-round opponent, location, date, and time.

For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.

(Courtesy Hampton University Athletics)

LADY PIRATES SELECTION SHOW PARTY SET FOR MONDAY

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University women’s basketball team will host an NCAA Tournament Selection Show Party on Monday at the Student Center Ballroom starting at 6 p.m.

The selection show will air live on ESPN beginning at 7 p.m. There, the Lady Pirates will learn their first-round opponent, location, date, and time.

Hampton (28-5) won its fourth straight MEAC Tournament title on Saturday by beating Howard 59-38 in the title game at the Norfolk Scope. Senior forward Keiara Avant (Chesapeake, Va.) added Most Outstanding Player to her MEAC Player of the Year honor.

This will be the Lady Pirates’ fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and seventh overall.

For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.

COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Southern U. wins SWAC, 45-44 over Prairie View; Jags going to the Big Dance

GARLAND, Texas  --  Derick Beltran had 13 points with a late steal and breakaway layup, and Southern University got its first NCAA tournament berth since 2006 with a 45-44 victory over Prairie View in the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament championship game Saturday.

Beltran's play with 1:41 left made it 45-38. The Jaguars (23-9) held on despite some late turnovers.

Jules Montgomery's putback for Prairie View came before before Southern's Jameel Grace stepped out of bounds. Carl Blair then hit a floating hook shot before another backcourt turnover led to Montrael Scott's floater to get the Panthers (15-19) within a point with 42 seconds left.

READ MORE

North Carolina A&T wins 2013 MEAC basketball tournament: Aggies make NCAAs for first time in 18 years

NORFOLK, Virginia  -- Adrian Powell made two free throws with 16 seconds to go, and the North Carolina A&T Aggies beat the Morgan State Bears, 57-54, on Saturday to earn the MEAC's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

The win qualified the Aggies, which were 19-16 and the No. 7 seed in the MEAC tournament, for their first NCAA Tournament since back-to-back appearances in 1994 and 1995. The team also qualified for seven NCAA Tournaments in a row from 1982-87. In nine NCAA Tournament appearances, they have never won a game.

Neither team ever pulled away in Saturday's title game...

READ MORE

Xavier Gold Nuggets defeat NCAA D-I's Alcorn State

NEW ORLEANS — Viktor Svoboda defeated Vitali Vasileuski 7-5, 6-0 at No. 4 singles Friday to clinch Xavier University of Louisiana's 5-4 men's tennis victory against Alcorn State at the new XU Tennis Center.

Kourtney Howell's 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 decision against Kersten Vanem at No. 1 singles clinched Xavier's 6-3 women's victory against Alcorn.

Both XU teams are ranked 10th in the NAIA. The Gold Nuggets are 8-6 — they exceeded their victory total of a year ago, when they were 7-22 — and the Gold Rush are 7-5. Both XU teams have won four of their last five dual matches. Alcorn State's men are 2-7, and the women are 2-8.

Loic Didavi and Kyle Montrel won for the Gold Rush in doubles and singles. Howell and Brion Flowers did the same for the Gold Nuggets.

The dual match victory was the Gold Nuggets' second of the season against an NCAA Division I opponent — their most in one season since doing it three times in 2009. The XU men also have two victories this year against D-Is, one fewer than in 2012.

The Gold Nuggets and Lady Braves played their singles matches first. Alcorn won 2-of-3 doubles matches.

Howell and Amanda Materre — a 6-4, 6-2 winner against Arielle Buchmann at No. 3 — have four singles victories each against NCAA Division I opponents this semester. Flowers, a freshman, won 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 against Viktoria Kozachuk at No. 2 after losing in three sets in the previous two duals.

"The Nuggets played very well in singles, and we are still looking for the right doubles combinations," XU coach Alan Green said,

Montrel, a freshman, beat Garry Amor 6-1, 6-4 at No. 3 for his sixth consecutive singles victory. Didavi defeated Ernesto Santillan 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1 for his fifth consecutive singles victory, and Svoboda's victory was his fourth in a row.

Didavi and Montrel beat Santillan and Ivan Umnikov 8-6 to snap their two-match losing streak at No. 1 doubles. Svoboda and Nikita Soifer then gave the Rush a 2-1 lead in the dual with their fifth consecutive doubles victory, 9-8 (7-2) against Max Tkachenko and Bhavtaran Singh at No. 2.

"The Rush played yet another grueling match that came down to the wire," Green said. "Every single match we won was so important. We pulled out another close match in No. 2 doubles and if we don't do that, we lose this match. Hats off to these guys for their toughness."

Both XU teams will travel to city rival University of New Orleans for dual matches at 3 p.m. Wednesday. The next home duals for the Rush and Nuggets will start at 2 p.m. April 6 against perennial NAIA power Auburn Montgomery.

Results: Men Women

Facebook photos: Men Women


By Ed Cassiere, SID
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

A&T is headed to their first final in 16 years

NORFOLK, Virginia  -  The North Carolina A&T men's basketball had a near catastrophic end to each half on Friday. But in both instances, the Aggies gathered themselves and put the ball in the hoop enough times to walk away with an 84-78 win over Delaware State in the semifinals of the MEAC Tournament at The Norfolk Scope Arena.

The Aggies will advance to face Morgan State in the championship game Saturday evening at 5. The game will be televised live on ESPNU, and it will mark the Aggies first championship appearance in 16 years. They will be trying to claim their MEAC-leading 16^th title, and their first since 1995.

A&T had five players score in double figures for the first time since Nov. 9, the first game of the season. Adrian Powell led the way with 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Lamont Middleton added 17 points, five boards and four assists. The Aggies (18-16) lost to Morgan State earlier this season, 55-52, in Greensboro.

"We're going to try to watch film for a little bit tonight as a staff, but the most important thing for our players is to get some rest," said A&T head coach Cy Alexander, who will be appearing in his ninth MEAC championship game as a head coach. "We have to get our focus on trying to beat a big and talented Morgan State team tomorrow."

Tomorrow will be the MEAC's 42^nd title game. Alexander will now have been a part of 19 of them as either an assistant or a head coach. But getting to No. 19 was not easy even though there were times throughout the game it appeared the Aggies were going to blow out the Hornets.

A&T head coach Cy Alexander picked up his 30th MEAC Tournament
  win, giving him more MEAC Tournament wins than any other coach
 in history. Photo by Charles E. Watkins. 
 (Courtesy NCA&T Sports Information)

Senior DaMetrius Upchurch put back a Jean Louisme miss to give the Aggies a 38-24 lead with 3:37 remaining in the first half. But that lead disappeared over the next three minutes as Delaware State got hot from 3-point range, hitting 7 of 12 in the first half. Four consecutive Albert Thomas free throws closed the gap to two, 40-38, with five seconds remaining in the half. But Louisme quickly pushed the ball up the floor and spotted Adrian Powell open in the corner. Powell knocked down the 3-point shot at the buzzer to send the Aggies into the locker room at halftime with a 43-38 lead.

"I spotted up because I knew he was going to give me the ball because he is an unselfish player," said Powell, who became the 28^th player in school history to surpass the 1,000-career point plateau. "That was a big boost coming out for the second half."

It was so big, the Aggies led by as many as 13 in the second half as an Upchurch free throw gave A&T a 61-48 lead with 8:47 remaining. The Hornets were able to cut the lead to six over the next three minutes as a Marques Oliver dunk made it 63-57. But the Aggies were excellent at the free throw line, going 18-for-22 for the game. They used their free throw shooting to take a 76-66 lead with 1:17 remaining. But similar to the end of the first half, things began to get crazy. A&T turned the ball over three times in the final minute.

The first turnover resulted in an Oliver layup that cut the lead to 76-69. The second turnover led to Thomas layup and a 76-71 game. By the time the Aggies turned the ball over a third time, Oliver rolled to the basket for an easy layup and a two-point game, 80-78 with 19 second to play.

But the Aggies finally solved the Hornets pressure as Powell hit two free throws and broke away for a crowd-pleasing dunk that sent A&T into the championship round.

"They scored nine points in 50 seconds because we were forcing things and making uncharacteristic plays instead of letting the system work for us," said Alexander, who now has more MEAC Tournament wins (30) than any other coach in history. "We became undisciplined. We have to learn to keep our poise."

The Aggies did shoot 55 percent from the floor, marking the second time in the tournament they have shot 50 percent or better.

"I don't think we played very smart," said Alexander. "I thought we played well. I thought we shot the ball well from the floor and the free throw line, so obviously shooting the ball well trumps playing smart. We were able to grind and get us one tonight."

A&T 84, DSU 78

COURTESY NORTH CtAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Morgan State Holds Off #8 Bethune-Cookman to Advance to MEAC Final

NORFOLK, Virginia  --  Fifth-seeded Morgan State built an early lead and repelled several rallies by fourth-seeded Bethune-Cookman to earn an 82-71 win over the Wildcats Friday in semifinal action of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament at the Norfolk Scope Arena.

The Bears, the highest seed remaining in the tournament, connected on almost 57-percent of their field-goal attempts in earning the victory and a trip to Saturday's final against the winner of the other semifinal match between North Carolina A&T and Delaware State.

Shaquille Duncan led the way for Morgan State with 17 points, on a 7-of-8 effort from the field. Justin Black and Dwayne Jackson added 16 points each in the contest, the first meeting between the two teams in two years. Anthony Hubbard was also in double figures with 11 points for Coach Todd Bozeman's squad, which climbed to 17-14. Black added a team-high nine rebounds.

The Wildcats, who eliminated top-seeded Norfolk State 70-68 on Wednesday, were paced by Kevin Dukes with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field, including a 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.

Ricky Johnson tossed in 18 points that included a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe. Bethune-Cookman's All-MEAC forward Adrien Coleman was limited to just eight points on 4-of-11 attempts by the Bear defense.

“It was a really interesting game for us,” said the Bears' Bozeman, “because we had not played them in two years. The main focus for us was to defend and rebound and get out on them early.”

“From a player standpoint,” he continued, “we wanted to contain Adrien Coleman, an excellent ballplayer and clearly one of the top players in this league. And, with Shaquille (Duncan) and Ian (Chiles) inside for us, we wanted to get the ball inside.”

And that the Bears did as 48 of their points came in the paint area.

Morgan State, which led from wire to wire, took a 39-31 cushion to the locker room. The Bears upped the margin to 51-37 when Duncan completed a three-point play with 14:11 remaining. The scrappy Wildcats rallied to close the gap to six, at 64-58, when Dukes connected on a 3-pointer with just over six minutes remaining.

Black answered, however, with a 3-pointer of his own on Morgan State's next possession to ignite a 9-4 run that put the Bears up 73-62 and in control of the game once more The Wildcats could come no closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Morgan State, which rallied behind the 3-point shooting of Black on Thursday to defeat Savannah State 64-61 in overtime to reach Friday's semifinals, took an 8-1 lead in the contest when Tauron Bailey made one of two from the line with 16:26 on the first-period clock.

A free-throw by Javoris Bryant, who finished with five points for Bethune-Cookman, and back-to-back buckets by Coleman pulled the Wildcats to within 8-5 with just 20 seconds elapsed. But the Bears took a 21-13 advantage with 11:53 left in the period.

The Wildcats, behind an 11-6 spree, closed the gap to 27-24 on consecutive 3-pointers by Dukes with 5:17 left in the opening period, however the Bears closed out the period with a 12-7 run to build a 39-31 cushion at the half.

In a tournament in which the top four seeds fell in the quarterfinals, the Bears will be making their first trip to the finals since the 2011 season when they lost to Hampton.

“We are just happy to be playing for the championship,” said Bozeman.

COURTESY MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

CAU Lady Panthers Suffer Tough Loss in NCAA Tourney

Fort Lauderdale, Florida — The inside duo of La’Quisha Lewis and Erika Sumpter was dominate, but it was not enough as the No. 8 Lady Panthers of Clark Atlanta University were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA South Region Tournament after an 87-60 loss to the top-seeded Sharks of Nova Southeastern University at the Don Taft Arena in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Friday.

“We relied on our two bigs inside and they have done a tremendous job for us this year,” said CAU Head Coach Vanessa Moore. "But we needed a team effort tonight and things didn't turn out the way we wanted."

In the first half, the Sharks (21-8) stormed to a 20-point lead behind the play of Meixandra Porter who recorded 16 of her 19 total points in the first period. Carrying the load for CAU, Sumpter and Lewis scored a combined 20 of the team’s 28 first half points.

The shark attack continued in the second half as Nova pushed its lead to 39 at the 9:18 mark on the way to the next round. The Sharks outrebounded Clark Atlanta 52 to 38 while shooting 46 percent from the field. The Lady Panthers shot 36 percent (24-for-68) from the field and 73 percent at the line.

Lewis led CAU with 15 points, eight rebounds and two blocks followed by Sumpter who chipped in 13 points, seven rebounds and one block and Denissea Law who added nine points. The Sharks held Clark Atlanta’s leading scorer, Conisha Hicks, scoreless in 27 minutes of play.

“Despite tonight’s outcome, I am extremely proud of my team and we will use this as a stepping stone for next year,” Moore added.

The Lady Panthers advanced to the regional tournament after winning the 2013 SIAC women’s basketball championship over Benedict and finished the season with an 19-11 overall record. 

COURTESY CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Shaw Women's Basketball Team Ends Season With 111-86 Loss to Glenville State in NCAA Opening Round

ERIE, Pennsylvania  -  "This was perhaps the worst matchup for us - it may be the worst matchup for anyone in this region. They play so much differently than anyone else. When they're subbing every minute or two minutes, it's hard to play man defense because you're trying to figure out who has who. My hat's off to Glenville State."

Shaw University women's head basketball coach Jacques Curtis and his Lady Bears found themselves facing a unique brand of play, and failed to contain Glenville State as their season came to an end with a 111-86 loss to the Lady Pioneers in the opening round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Friday afternoon at the Hammermill Center on the campus of Gannon University.

The Lady Pioneers play a fast-based style of offense where they often pull up just outside the three-point line in the early seconds of each possession and put up a shot. Of GSC's 82 shots in the game, 51 came from beyond the arc. They set an NCAA Division II tournament record by hitting 21 of those attempts.

"That's their style of play," said Curtis. "They're 'on' a lot - it's not like they're cold-hot. We were going to try and control the number of threes they got up. We were trying to hold them to 30 attempts and we weren't able to do that." Curtis continued, "They had good tempo going. We only had moments when we had the tempo to what we wanted it.   We wanted to kind of pound the ball inside a lot - that's our style of play. The majority of the game was their style of play."

Combined with a full-court press and wholesale five-women substitutions at nearly every clock stoppage, they work to wear down opponents. Shaw, down to only ten players, wore down as the second half continued.

"They trap and press and get after you," said Curtis. "That's how they get the turnovers. A lot of that was us, but some of it was them. We just didn't take care of the ball. My backcourt was depleted and Diamond Mitchell, my point guard, wound up playing for 40 minutes. With the tempo they had, they wore her down eventually. She did a good job having to play for 40 minutes at that tempo."

Shaw tried to counter the perimeter game by pushing the ball inside, getting 58 points in the paint and outrebounding GSC 47-41. Glenville State had only 24 points in the paint. "That's our game," said Curtis. "We wanted to get the ball inside. That's our strength. That's what got us this far. That's what got us where we were last year. We had too many turnovers, gave up too many threes. We feel if we could have controlled the tempo more and limited the turnovers, we might have had a chance."

In all, the Lady Bears outshot Glenville State, hitting 32 of their 66 shots for a 48.5 percentage rate. The Lady Pioneers hit 36 of their 82 attempts, for 43.9 percent, but hit those record-breaking 21 threes for the difference. Shaw took only four shots from beyond the arc, hitting one. The hot shooting for the Lady Pioneers continued at the free throw line where they were 18 for 18. In contrast, Shaw went 21 for 31 from the charity stripe.

The full-court press by Glenville State forced 30 Shaw turnovers - the second highest turnover total for the Lady Bears this season. In contrast, GSC turned the ball over 20 times. With the loss, Shaw - the number three seed in the region - finishes their season 25-5.

The sixth seed, Glenville State improves to 27-3 on the season and now awaits the winner of the California (PA) and Edinboro (PA) matchup.

The Lady Bears jumped to an early 7-2 lead when Adana David sank a free throw to complete a three-point play with 17:30 left in the first. With 15:57 left in the half, Mitchell hit a pair of free throws to give Shaw an 11-8 lead. Eleven seconds later, Kenyall Goodson hit a three to tie the score and begin an 18-2 run that culminated in a three by Jessica Parsons with 10:58 showing on the clock. The run gave Glenville State a 29-13 lead.

Shaw then spent the rest of the half cutting into the lead, only to see GSC hit critical threes at key moments to once again extend the lead. With 7:51 left in the half, Diamond Mitchell hit a bucket to trim the GSC lead to 35-23. Ashleigh Fossett answered with a three for the Lady Pioneers to take the lead back to 15.

Two minutes later, Crystal Harris hit a pair of free throws to cut the Glenville State lead to 10, but the Lady Pioneers answered with eight straight, closing with a pair of free throws from Simmons with 4:30 left to give GSC an 18-point lead. They extended their lead to 19 on a layup from Briauna Nix with 3:30 left, but the Lady Bears scored eight straight, culminating in a layup by Isayra Diaz and a conversion of the three-point play to trim the lead to 50-39.

After five straight points by GSC, the Lady Bears closed the half on a 6-0 run on a buzzer beating layup that cut the Glenville State lead to ten, 55-45.

The Lady Bears found their legs in the opening minutes of the second half. After hitting the opening bucket of the half to trim the Glenville State lead to eight, Shaw did allow the Lady Pioneers a 6-1 run that gave them a 61-48 lead with 18:06 left in the game. Shaw answered with six points of their own, including two buckets in the lane from Harris and another by Adana David.

 With 16:35 left, David's layup trimmed the GSC lead to 61-54. The two teams exchanged buckets for the next four minutes, but Shaw could never get closer than seven. With 12:25 left, Taylor Dalrymple hit a short jumper in the lane to again put the margin at seven, 68-61 in favor of Glenville State. Ginny Mills then hit a three for GSC that started a 15-5 run that put the Lady Pioneer lead to 17. Dalrymple hit a layup to stop the bleeding, but GSC answered with four straight.

The Lady Bears had one last run in them. Fueled by four points from David, Shaw scored six straight to put the lead at 13, but the Lady Pioneers scored five straight on the way to a 13-2 run that lifted the lead to 24 as GSC hit the century mark on Goodson's three. With 4:40 left, that three gave Glenville State the 100-76 advantage. Shaw did not cut the lead to under 20 the rest of the way and finished with the 111-86 loss.

Five Lady Bears hit double digits with Harris leading the way with 16. She added ten rebounds for a double-double. Diaz and Dalrymple finished with 14 each while David added 13 and Wilson added ten. Diamond Mitchell - who played all 40 minutes of the contest - finished with six assists to lead Shaw.

The Lady Pioneers had five players in double digits as well, led by Goodson with 24 points on eight three pointers. Mills added 20 points. Fossett had 13 while Nix and Simmons added 12 each. Jelena Elez had a game-high ten assists.

COURTESY SHAW UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION 

Tuskegee Falls in NCAA Division II Tournament

Fort Lauderdale, Florida  --  Surviving a late scare and advancing, the University of Alabama in Huntsville women’s basketball team edged out a 78-69 win over Tuskegee on Friday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Nova Southeastern University.

UAH (16-16) held a 21-point advantage with 17:57 remaining in the game, but Tuskegee (19-6) kept chipping away the next 10 minutes to eventually tie the game with 7:36 to play. A few key players would make a few key plays to push the Lady Chargers on to the second round. The victory holds an even more significant meaning however, with it being the first NCAA win in women’s basketball program history at UAH.

After jumping out to an early 5-0 lead, the Lady Chargers continued to keep the pressure on the Tigerettes by forcing the at-large tournament members from the SIAC back on their heels with suffocating defense and a 48.4 shooting percentage in the first half to blow the game open.

The second half was a different story however, as the team learned about the famous March Madness saying “survives and advance.” UAH shot just 23.5 percent (8-34) in the second half, as Tuskegee shot 40 percent (14-35).

READ MORE 

Hampton men ousted at MEAC Tournament

NORFOLK, Va. - Kendall Gray, Casey Walker and Tahj Tate combined for 38 points as sixth-seeded Delaware State became the latest team to pull an upset in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference quarterfinals, knocking off No. 3 seed Hampton 63-60 Thursday night.

The top three seeds in the MEAC have all lost in the quarterfinals, with top-seeded Norfolk State falling to eighth-seeded Bethune-Cookman and seventh-seeded North Carolina A&T knocking off second-seeded North Carolina Central Wednesday.

With the win, Delaware State (15-17) moves on to play N.C. A&T Friday night at 8 p.m.

The Pirates (14-17) swept the Hornets during the regular season, but couldn't overcome a 32-25 halftime deficit Thursday. Hampton shot 31 percent (9 of 29) in the frame.

Hampton men ousted at MEAC Tournament

READ MORE

PVAMU Men's Basketball Advance To SWAC Tourney Championship Game Behind DeMuynck's Career Day

GARLAND, Texas  --  Jourdan DeMuynck got into a zone and completely took over the game for Prairie View A&M in a 88-75 win over Jackson State to advance to the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game for the first time since 1998.

The senior guard went off for a career-high 37 points under the increased pressure of the SWAC Tournament Semifinal game. He scored 26 of his points in the second half as Prairie View A&M turned to him to create havoc and mismatches as the team coasted in the second half.
 

DeMuynck had a career day, but he didn't win the game single-handedly for the Panthers. Carl Blair and Montrael Scott were pivotal in shaping the outcome of the game. Blair recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists, while Scott went off for 18 points, five assists, six rebounds and one steal. Scott was also a game-changer defensively, disrupting plays as he took advantage of increased minutes and a start on the big stage.
 

The Panthers increased their lead to 10 points at 56-45 with 11:33 thanks to a Montrael Scott layup through contact and the foul. The team used a 9-4 run to take control of the game in the second half.

Prairie View A&M went on a 16-6 run that spanned from the end of the first half through the beginning of the second half. The Panthers started the second half out on a 9-4 run thanks to the defensive pressure of Scott and a few timely shots by DeMuynck. DeMuynck had five points during the stretch, and he hit Jules Montgomery for an assist which gave Prairie View A&M a 43-35 lead with 17:19 left.
 

Prairie View A&M got production from the usual suspects in the first half. DeMuynck had 11 points and two steals at the half, while point guard Carl Blair had four points and five assists.

PV has only been in the SWAC Basketball Tournament Championship once since 1998 as they defeated TSU in a memorable second half comeback in Dallas. At stake tomorrow afternoon is a berth to the 2013 NCAA Tournament as the Panthers have not participated in "The Big Dance" since 1998.
 

The Panthers will play the winner of Alabama A&M and Southern at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland. The contest will be televised live on ESPN2 and heard live on KPVU 91.3 FM.

BOX SCORE

PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

PV Lady Panthers Move On To Semifinals Of SWAC Tournament

GARLAND, Texas  -  The Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers held off a furious comeback by Jackson State and counted on a few late defensive stands and clutch free throw shooting to come away with a 66-60 win on Thursday in the Curtis Culwell Center to advance to the semifinal round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament.

Prairie View A&M led by as much as 25 points in the second half thanks to a heroic 18-point performance off the bench by redshirt freshman Gabrielle Scott and a double-double by senior forward Latia Williams. However, the Lady Tigers made their run. Jackson State outscored the Lady Panthers 34-29 in the second half and cut a 54-29 PV lead to two points at 62-60 with 30 seconds remaining in the game.

 

With 22 seconds left, senior guard Kiara Etienne went to the line with her team up by two points, needing to knock down a pair of clutch free throws. She drained both of them to ice the game as Prairie View held Jackson State scoreless in the final two offensive possessions.

 

In her first SWAC Tournament appearance Scott was a spark plug for Prairie View A&M, providing 18 of Prairie View A&M's 22 bench points. The Lady Panthers used a devastating run at the end of the first half to stun Jackson State and force coach Surina Dixon to take a timeout to stop the bleeding. Prairie View A&M went on a 10-3 run that was capped off by a Scott jumper with 1:17 remaining to give her team a 34-23 lead. After Jackson State's timeout, the Lady Tigers cut into Prairie View A&M's lead with a three by Beatrice Banks. Prairie View A&M sophomore point guard Jeanette Jackson, however, took away any semblance of momentum by draining a three of her own to give the Lady Panthers a 37-26 lead heading into the locker room.

 

Scott was an assassin from the field in the first half. She came off of the bench and shot 5-for-6 from the field including a 3-for-3 showing from downtown as she led all players with 13 points at the half. Williams turned in her ninth double-double of the season and her 20th career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Etienne also provided 16 points and two rebounds for Prairie View A&M.

 

With the win the Lady Panthers improved to 7-0 in SWAC Tournament games under the guidance of coach Toyelle Wilson. They also picked up their sixth-consecutive victory dating back to the regular season. Prairie View A&M is riding the momentum of its longest win streak of the season heading into its 5:30 p.m. against SWAC rival Texas Southern in Garland. TSU was one of only two SWAC schools to sweep the Lady Panthers in a regular season series this season, but the losses were close and decided by an average of six points.

 

BOX SCORE

 

PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

South Carolina State Releases 2013 Football Schedule

ORANGEBURG, SC – South Carolina State Thursday (Mar. 14) released its 2013 football schedule, a slate that includes twelve contests, five at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium, and seven road games, two of which are Classics.

In the two classics, the Bulldogs will renew the series with intrastate rival Benedict in the Palmetto Capital City Classic in Columbia Sept. 21, and in the second, return to the Atlanta Football Classic Oct. 05 against North Carolina A&T.

The Bulldogs open the campaign at home Aug. 31 against Coastal Carolina in another series being renewed. Other home games include Alabama A&M, Sept. 14; Hampton, Sept. 28; Florida A&M (Homecoming), Nov. 9; and Morgan State, Nov. 16.

Additional road games are at Clemson – the only Football Bowl Subdivision opponent on the schedule, Sept. 7; North Carolina Central, Oct. 12; Bethune-Cookman, Oct. 26; Savannah State, Nov. 2; and Norfolk State, Nov. 23.

Bulldogs fans and supporters are encouraged to purchase tickets for both classics at the SC State Ticket Office. For additional information, call 803-536-8579 or 800-298-9157.

Starting times for all games on the 2013 schedule, which is listed below, will be announced later.

2013 SC State Football Schedule

Date  Opponent   Location   Time#
8/31  Coastal Carolina  Orangeburg, SC  TBD9/7  Clemson   Clemson, SC   TBD
9/14  Alabama A&M  Orangeburg, SC  TBD9/21  Benedict   Columbia, SC$  TBD
  (Palmetto Capital City Classic)
9/28  Hampton*   Orangeburg, SC  TBD
  (Youth/ROTC Day)10/05  North Carolina A&T*  Atlanta, GA%   TBD
  (Atlanta Football Classic)
10/12  North Carolina Central* Durham, NC   TBD
10/19  Open
10/26  Bethune-Cookman* Daytona Beach, FL   TBD
11/02  Savannah State*.  Savannah, GA   TBD
11/09  Florida A&M*  Orangeburg, SC  TBD
  (Homecoming)
11/16  Morgan State*  Orangeburg, SC  TBD
  (Senior Day)
11/23  Norfolk State*  Norfolk, VA    TBD

*MEAC Contest – Home games in Bold – #Dates, times and locations subject to change
$Williams-Brice Stadium; %Georgia Dome

COURTESY SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

HU women turn back Coppin 78-52 in MEAC semis, play for title Saturday

NORFOLK — By halftime of their recent games, the most vexing issue for Hampton University's women was pepperoni or sausage on the post-game pizzas.

On Friday, in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament semifinals, they faced an opponent that was neither intimidated nor incapable.

Coppin State challenged HU well into the second half before the Lady Pirates' collective will and talent enabled them to pull away 78-52 at Scope.

Top-seeded Hampton (27-5) is one step away from its fourth consecutive MEAC tournament title and will face Howard in the championship game 1 p.m. Saturday. The Bison defeated North Carolina A&T 55-42 in Friday's other semifinal.

"Definitely a tough, tough opponent," HU coach David Six. "Really a struggle for a long duration of the game. I thought that we were able to hit some shots in the middle of the second half and open it up, and I thought from there we were able to take control of the game."

READ MORE

Chaos rules in Norfolk as top four seeds bounced from MEAC tournament

NORFOLK, Virginia  -- When the MEAC tournament began the biggest question seemed to be whether or not the league’s two best teams, defending champion Norfolk State (16-0 MEAC record) and North Carolina Central (15-1) would meet for the right to go to the NCAA tournament.

But in a conference season highlighted by the fact that the two best teams in the MEAC didn’t play during the regular season (yes, Norfolk State and NCCU really didn’t play during the regular season), of course chaos rules at the conference tournament.

Morgan State’s 64-61 overtime victory over Savannah State (19-14) on Thursday night means that the top four seeds have all been eliminated from the MEAC tournament, which likely guarantees that the winner will play its first NCAA tournament game in Dayton.

Justin Black led four Bears (16-14) in double figures with 20 points, and despite 18 turnovers and shooting 5-of-22 from beyond the arc Todd Bozeman’s team is now two wins away from the NCAA tournament.

Next up for Morgan State: eight-seed Bethune-Cookman, who knocked off Norfolk State in overtime on Wednesday.

READ MORE 

Late-night blues: Faulkner beats Rush 72-59 at nationals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Juniors Cyrille Sandjon and Jake Mitchell scored 14 points each Thursday, and Faulkner rallied in the final 15 minutes for a 72-59 men's basketball victory against Xavier University of Louisiana in the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship.

It was the last of 16 first-round games over two days. This one tipped off at approximately 11:04 p.m. — nearly 80 minutes after its scheduled 9:45 start — and concluded at approximately 12:53 a.m. Friday.

The Eagles (29-5), ranked 18th in the most recent coaches poll but unseeded in this 32-team event, trailed 40-37 before taking the lead for good with a 15-4 run which covered five minutes. Maurice Whitely's basket — his only points of the second half — put Faulkner ahead to stay 41-40, and Sandjon's fast-break basket at 9:51 capped the run and made it 52-44.

The Gold Rush (24-8), ranked 16th in the poll and seeded 15th in the tournament, still was within striking distance at 55-51 in the final six minutes. But Anthony Simmons — Xavier's three-time All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference forward — fouled out on an offensive foul at 5:53, then Mitchell's 3-pointer at 5:38 and Jamarious Alderson's two free throws at 5:01 gave Faulkner a 60-51 advantage.

The Eagles never led by less than seven points thereafter, even though they missed 5-of-12 free throws in the final three minutes.

Alderson scored 11 points for Faulkner, which won its sixth in a row and qualified for nationals for the first time since reaching the 2007 semifinals.

Seniors Wanto Joseph and Denzell Erves led Xavier. Joseph played the entire game and scored 16 points, and Denzell Erves had 14 points and 12 rebounds in the first Gold Rush double-double at nationals since Bruce Seals in the 1973 quarterfinals. But after Erves secured his NAIA Division I-leading 17th double-double of the season, he produced just two points and two rebounds in the final 15 minutes.

Simmons, another senior, was called for his third and fourth fouls in the first 3½ minutes of the second half and finished with seven points and two rebounds in a little more than 17 minutes.

Simmons was 22 points from joining Joseph and Erves in Xavier's 1,000-point club for a career. Joseph and Erves, both four-year players, reached that milestone in the regular-season finale. Simmons played three seasons at XU.

Joseph's basket at 15:47 of the first half gave Xavier its largest lead, 14-9. Di'mar Hill's fast-break basket at 11:56 gave the Eagles their first lead, 20-19, and there were three additional lead changes and two more ties before Faulkner's Birama Konate made the second of two free throws with one second remaining to tie the score at 30. Xavier's defense had the momentum by halftime after allowing just six points in the final 10 minutes on 2-of-13 Faulkner shooting from the floor.

The Gold Rush led 34-30 after scoring the first four points of the second half but never held a lead that large thereafter.

Faulkner outshot Xavier 47.8 to 38.6 percent from the floor — 55 to 37.5 percent in the second half — and had a 31-28 rebound advantage. Whitely led the Eagles with 10 rebounds. Eighteen of Faulkner's 22 field goals were assisted, but no Eagle finished with more than three assists.

Six Eagles combined to make eight 3-pointers — Mitchell and Alderson each had two — but Xavier made 2-of-13 from long range and was 0-of-9 in the final 33 minutes. The teams combined for 55 personal fouls, with Xavier committing a season-worst 30.

The losing margin was Xavier's largest of the season and its largest at nationals since a 91-69 loss to Oklahoma City in the 2001 first round.

NOTES: It also was the final XU game for seniors Nick Haywood, Renard Smith and Keenan Gay.

Haywood made 4-of-4 free throws to finish 64-of-73 for the season. The .877 percentage is No. 2 on XU's all-time season list and just a sliver behind record-holder Ronnie Walker, who made 93-of-106 in 1979-80. Carried out to four decimal places, Walker shot .8774, and Haywood shot .8767 . . . The Gold Rush lost for the third consecutive year in the first round. The XU men have not won at nationals since the 2007 first round, which is their only victory since 1973 . . . The Eagles will play at 9:45 p.m. Friday in the second round against second-ranked and second-seeded Lindsey Wilson, an 84-79 winner against Rocky Mountain in the game immediately preceding XU-Faulkner . . . It was Faulkner's second victory of the day against Xavier. The Lady Eagles defeated the Gold Nuggets 67-63 in the opening round of that NAIA tournament Thursday morning in Frankfort, Ky. — approximately 530 miles from Kansas City.

Box score

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

Nuggets lose 67-63 in NAIA opener despite 2nd-half rally

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Faulkner withstood a second-half rally from Xavier University of Louisiana and earned a 67-63 women's basketball victory Thursday in the opening round of the NAIA Division I National Championship.

The victory advanced the Lady Eagles (26-6) to a 12:30 p.m. EDT Friday matchup against Westminster (Utah). The Gold Nuggets (24-6), a first-round winner at nationals in 2011 and 2012, lost their second in a row and failed to win in the postseason for the first time since 2000. They had closed the regular season with 12 consecutive victories.

All-America center Brittney Carter led Faulkner with her 75th career double-double, 26 points and 14 rebounds. Carter scored 18 second-half points, and her 3-point play with 1:34 remaining gave Faulkner a 66-60 lead after Xavier's SiMon Franklin cut the margin to 63-60 with a basket at 1:59. That was the fifth time in the final eight minutes that the Gold Nuggets were within three points after trailing by 19, but they never got closer in the second half.

"We just played better in the second half. We played hard and forced some turnovers," XU coach Bo Browder said. "But we shot 32 percent (from the floor), 22 percent in the first half. You can't win at this level shooting like that."

Christina Hayes made three 3-pointers and scored 19 points for Faulkner, which won in its first appearance at nationals. This is the third season of Faulkner's women's basketball program.
Franklin scored 17 points, Paige Gauthier 13 and Danielle Tucker 10 for Xavier.

Tucker's basket at 11:24 of the first half gave Xavier its final lead, 13-12. Faulkner outscored Xavier 22-8 to take a 34-21 halftime lead, then increased its advantage to 44-25 on a Hayes 3-pointer with 16:06 remaining.

Of the five three-point deficits the Gold Nuggets faced in the final eight minutes, the first two resulted in defensive stops — but Xavier followed those with a missed 3-pointer and a turnover. Faulkner scored on ensuing possessions the other three times.

"If we had played hard the entire 40 minutes like we did in the second half, we would've been all right," Browder said. "But Faulkner did some nice things, too, so give them credit. Their big girl (Carter) was a force inside again, and we let Hayes go off in the first half."

Faulkner outshot Xavier 44.9 to 32.3 percent from the floor, but the Gold Nuggets had a 38-37 rebound advantage — a significant improvement after being outrebounded by a season-worst 10 in the teams' other meeting this season, a 66-64 Faulkner victory in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Montgomery, Ala., on Dec. 29. Xavier committed 20 turnovers and gained 24 and was plus-six in turnover margin in the second half.

It was the third time in two days that a No. 6 seed defeated a No. 3 seed. Xavier was ranked 12th and Faulkner 21st in the final coaches poll before the tournament. A postseason top 25 will be announced March 26.

Westminster, which defeated the Gold Nuggets in Xavier's homecoming game Nov. 17, defeated St. Catharine (Ky.) 69-55 in the first round Thursday. Eight first-round games were played Wednesday.
The trip to nationals was the Gold Nuggets' 17th in 19th seasons, and it was the 20th time in 21 seasons that they reached 20 victories. Franklin, a guard and the team's only senior, closed her XU basketball career with 1,136 points and 220 steals. She is expected to compete for the women's track team later this month. Gauthier and Tucker, Xavier's other double-figure scorers Thursday, are juniors.

"I thought it was a very successful year after losing six seniors from last year," Browder said. "But it was a very challenging year also — probably one of the most challenging I've had. We had a lot of newcomers this year and had to work hard to bring everyone together as a team."

Box score


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

A look at the NCAA Division II Regionals: Tuskegee University Tigerettes

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Here's a look at one of the eight Gulf South Conference and/or Alabama teams in the NCAA Division II tournament:

Tuskegee Tigerettes
Record: 19-7 (No. 2 seed)
Opponent: UAH
When & Where: 1:30 p.m. Friday, Nova Southeastern Arena, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Coach: Belinda Roby
Location: Tuskegee, Ala.
Top Players: Amelia Dorton (10.2 ppg) Nnenee Eze (9.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg), Maria McAbee (9.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg)

How They Got There: The Tigerettes won 16 games in a row and earned the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season. However, they were upset by Fort Valley in the SIAC tourney quarterfinals.

READ MORE

Rams Ramblings: WSSU quietly heads out of town for NCAA regional

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina  --  It’s very quiet on campus at Winston-Salem State this week because of spring break.

It was easy to find a parking spot around the Gaines Center this morning when I went to watch the 16^th-ranked Rams practice.
 The Rams had their final Gaines Center practice before they boarded a bus to West Liberty University in West Virginia, which is the site of this weekend’s Atlantic Region of the Division II tournament.

Yes, the Rams are among the final 64 teams left still playing in Division II but apparently not a lot of people realize it.

The reality for Coach Bobby Collins and the Rams is that once the CIAA Tournament is over, basketball takes a back seat. I know this because I’ve seen it through the years every time WSSU is in the Division II tournament.

Back in 1999, 2000 and ’01 and ’02 the Rams made four straight appearances in the tournament and fans stayed away in droves. The region basketball tournament is a tricky deal because the games aren’t always played close to WSSU.

READ MORE

CIAA Basketball: Livingstone another Hoosiers story?

SALISBURY — In “Hoosiers,” arguably one of the 10 best sports movies ever made, there’s a poignant scene in which Hickory High School’s basketball team enters the arena where they’re going to compete for a state title. It’s mammoth, and immediately the players look shell shocked.
 

So their coach, portrayed by two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman, astutely whips out a tape measure to show them though the gym is enormous, its dimensions around the basket are exactly the same as theirs back home.

Livingstone College’s men’s basketball team has made it to the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time in school history and plays at 8:30 p.m. Saturday against the 22-8 Fairmont State University Fighting Falcons. But when the Blue Bears take the court today at 3 p.m. for practice inside the gym at West Liberty University (W. Va.), don’t expect coach James Stinson to borrow a page from Hackman’s book.

 

Sure the NCAA DII playoffs will be by far the biggest stage on which the Blue Bears have played, but Stinson and his assistant coaches have worked all week on keeping the players grounded.

 

“Our players are anxious and excited at the same time,” said Stinson, who captured CIAA Coach of the Year honors. “We haven’t played since March 2, so it will have been two weeks since we played when we tip off Saturday night. None of our players competed for a state title in high school, so Saturday’s playoff game will be the biggest game of their lives. But we’ve told them to just remember the mental attitude, hard work and solid play that got them where they are. If they do that, I think we’ll be all right.”

 

READ MORE

HBCU Basketball Tournament ScoreCard

Wednesday, March 13

MEAC MEN
Bethune-Cookman 70, Norfolk State 68 O.T.
North Carolina A&T 55, North Carolina Central 42

MEAC WOMEN
Hampton 63, Delaware State 28
North Carolina A&T 78, Norfolk State 47

SWAC MEN
Alabama A&M 59, Grambling State 51

SWAC WOMEN
Arkansas Pine Bluff 63, Southern 58
Texas Southern 68, Grambling State 56


Thursday, March 14

MEAC MEN
Delaware State 63, Hampton 60
Morgan State 64, Savannah State 61 O.T.

MEAC WOMEN
Howard 62, Morgan State 60
Coppin State 55, South Carolina State 53

SWAC MEN
Jackson State 66, Alabama State 59
Prairie View A&M 67, Alcorn State 59

SWAC WOMEN
Mississippi Valley State 53, Alabama A&M 60
Prairie View A&M 66, Jackson State 60