Aiken's Huge Second Half Leads LU Lions to Victory Over VUU

Kyle Aiken
(Courtesy The Lincoln University Athletics)

RICHMOND, Virginia – Three Lions reached double figures in a 65-47 road victory over Virginia Union University on Saturday, February 15^th. Kyle Aiken (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS) paced the Lions with 15 points in the second half as Lincoln outscored the Panthers 40-25.

Lincoln's offense dished out 10 assists on 11 made shots from the field early in their battle against Virginia Union. Senior guards Justin and George Jackson (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor HS) along with Derrick Washington (Washington, DC/Coolidge SHS) all had two assists a piece. Freshman forward Timothy McKenzie (Central Islip, NY/Central Islip HS) scored eight first half points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting from the field. He also had five rebounds as the Lions held a 17-12 rebounding advantage over the Panthers. Defensively, Lincoln held VUU to nine made field goals and forced eight turnovers. At the half, the Lions led 25-22.

The Lions' bench caught fire in the second half exploding for 26 points. Junior guard Kyle Aiken (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS) went 4-for-7 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line for 15 points. Aiken also had two steals and one of the Lions' two made shots from long range. Down the stretch, Lincoln made 16-of-18 free-throws while the Panthers struggled at home going 13-for-20. Derrick Washington (Washington, DC/Coolidge SHS) made 6-of-8 attempts and Timothy McKenzie (Central Islip, NY/Central Islip HS) made all four of his shots from the line.

Kyle Aiken (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS)'s layup with 6:26 left in the contest gave Lincoln their first double-digit lead 52-41. He later sank a pair of free-throws to extend the lead to 62-43 with just under two minutes remaining in regulation. Lincoln sealed the victory with a junior guard Demetrius Johnson (Baltimore, MD/Milford Mill HS) three-pointer with five seconds left and won 65-47.

Timothy McKenzie (Central Islip, NY/Central Islip HS) recorded his third double-double of the season with 16 points and ten rebounds. McKenzie grabbed seven offensive rebounds and went 6-for-8 from the field. Derrick Washington (Washington, DC/Coolidge SHS) and Kyle Aiken (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS) combined for 26 of the Lions 35 bench points. Aiken had 15 points, six rebounds, and three steals while Derrick Washington (Washington, DC/Coolidge SHS) had 11 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Justin Jackson (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor HS) finished with seven points and three steals and George Jackson (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor HS) had five points with three rebounds, and three assists.

Lincoln improves to 17-7 overall record and 9-5 CIAA record after their victory. The Lions travel to Murfreesboro, NC on Wednesday, February 19^th to tangle with the Hawks of Chowan University in their second to last regular season game.

Box Score

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Chowan University Adds Women's Golf

MURFREESBORO, North Carolina  -- Vice President/Director of Athletics Ozzie McFarland stated, "We are very excited to announce the addition of women's golf to our athletic department.  It is a growing women's sport and should be a great addition to our athletic program."

Mike Ordnung has been selected and tasked with the implementation and the development of the institution's first women's golf team in program history.  He noted, "I am thrilled to have been selected to begin the women's golf program at Chowan.  It is undoubtedly an outstanding opportunity to build history and impact the lives of student-athletes."

McFarland noted, "I believe Mike is the perfect person to lead our entry into women's golf.  His playing background, knowledge of our area and in particular, of Chowan University along with his golf connections make him an excellent choice for this position".

Ordnung is currently the general manager of Valley Pine Country Club in Lasker, NC and has held the position since 2006.  There, his is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the facility, inventory control, conducting private golf lessons, clinics and tournaments while supervising the staff.  Additionally, he generates revenue and expands sales by initiating and monitoring the effectiveness of monthly promotions, maintains and expands the country club's membership base while making responsible management decisions.

Prior to working at Valley Pine, Ordnung was the Head Golf Professional at Club Corp: The Currituck Club for four years.  He developed and oversaw the club's 3.2 million dollar budget through financial forecasts, revenue game plans and inventory control.  He was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Pro Shop, the 15-member golf operations staff and conducted lessons, clinics and tournaments.

The Jackson, NC native is a 2002 graduate of Campbell University where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration.  He is the son of Chowan's men's golf coach and outdoor facilities manager Ellen Ordnung.  He has a wife, Laurie, and son, Preston.

Opportunities continue to grow for female students at Chowan University with the official addition of women's golf for the 2014-15 academic year.

COURTESY CHOWAN UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

St. Aug Set To Defend Titles at CIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships Sunday

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Saint Augustine’s University is aiming to defend its men’s and women’s titles at the 2014 CIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships held at the JDL Fast Track on Sunday, February 16 and Monday, February 17.

The Falcons are gunning for their 17th straight league crown and 29th overall. The Lady Falcons will attempt to capture their second crown in a row and 17th in 18 seasons. Overall, the Falcons and Lady Falcons have amassed over 150 CIAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships and 33 NCAA Division II Titles under legendary Head Coach George Williams. Last season, the Falcons breezed past the competition by a 122-point margin.

The Falcons’ men, the defending Division II national champions, are led by a host of sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers including Moussa Dembele (Sr./Dakar, Senegal), Jermaine Jones (Jr./Wilmington, NC), Joshua Edmonds (Sr./Jacksonville, FL), Ty’reak Murray (Sr./Portsmouth, VA)  and DeJon Wilkinson (Sr./Summerville, SC). Jones and Dembele are defending NCAA Division II individual champions in the 200 meter dash and 60 meter hurdles, respectively. Dembele is currently ranked second in the 60 hurdles and Jones is ranked sixth in the 200 dash in Division II.

Wilkinson is the top-ranked triple jumper in the nation. Edmonds is ranked second in the 400 meter dash and Murray ranks third in the 60 hurdles. The 4x400 relay team of Edmonds, James Quarles (Sr./Washington, DC), Burkheart Ellis Jr. (Soph./Raleigh, NC) and Roxroy Cato (Sr./Jamaica) are No. 1 in the nation. Cato is also ranked fourth in the 400 dash.

The men’s teams expected to challenge the Falcons are Virginia State University, Johnson C. Smith University and Virginia Union University. Virginia State is ranked 31st in Division II while Johnson C. Smith is 40th and Virginia Union 47th, respectively.

Virginia State is led by sophomore Charles Robinson, who is the seventh-ranked 400 dash sprinter in the nation. He also is part of the seventh-ranked 4x400 relay team which includes junior Clive Cameron, freshman Justin Williams and junior Te’Shad Chambers. Johnson C. Smith is sparked by senior Rolando Berch, who ranks fifth nationally in the 400 dash. He is also a member of the ninth-ranked 4x400 relay team which includes freshman Joshua Cunningham and sophomores Patrick Campbell and Waynee Hyman. Junior Berfrantz Charles heads the Virginia Union men. Last season, he was named CIAA Field MVP after scoring 14 points for the Panthers. He is currently ranked seventh in Division II in the 60 dash.

Among the women, the contenders are expected to be Johnson C. Smith and Winston-Salem State in addition to defending champion St. Aug. Johnson C. Smith is ranked fifth nationally and St. Aug is ranked 17th. Winston-Salem State is ranked 28th.

The Lady Golden Bulls are led by the speedy duo of senior Danielle Williams and junior Samantha Elliott. Williams, last season’s CIAA Track MVP, currently ranks first in the nation in the 60 hurdles and 200 dash. She is also sixth in the nation in the 60 dash. Elliott ranks second in Division II in the 60 hurdles, seventh in the 200, and eighth in the 60 and 400. They both are members of the fourth-ranked 4x400 squad which includes freshman Domenique Julius-Williams and freshman Crystal Campbell.

The Lady Falcons are led by the third-ranked 4x400 team of Akeisha Dumont (Jr./Brooklyn, NY), Fanta Fofana (Soph./Amiens, France), Tia-Adana Belle (Fr./St. George, Barbados) and Cherrisse Lynch (Jr./St. Lawrence, Barbados). Shakinah Brooks (Fr./Raleigh, NC) ranks fifth nationally in the long jump and Brittni Finch (Jr./Centreville, VA) ranks sixth in the triple jump.

Tajanel McNeil and Raven Covington are the top stars for the Lady Rams. McNeil, the co-CIAA Field MVP last season, ranks third in Division II in the triple jump. Covington ranks seventh in the 60 dash.

Kendall Reynolds, who shared the CIAA Field MVP with McNeil last season, ranks fifth in the triple jump and sixth in the long jump for Bowie State University, which ranks 31st in the nation. C’evon Jones ranks fifth in the 60 dash for 50th-ranked Virginia Union and Alicia Terry is the nation’s eighth-ranked triple jumper for 59th-ranked Virginia State. Six CIAA schools are ranked among the top 60 Division II women’s  teams in the nation. Another name to watch is junior Quanera Hayes of Livingstone College, who ranks first in the 400 and third in the 200 in Division II.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and military personnel with valid ID . Children ages 12 and under are admitted free.

Need Directions?
From Interstate 40 (East or West), take exit 189 for US-158/Stratford Road. At the top of the ramp, turn right onto US-158/Stratford Road. Proceed approximately 2 miles and turn left on Kimwell Drive. JDL Fast Track will be approximately 1/2 mile down on the corner of Kimwell and Empire. Spectator parking is in the front.

COURTESY THE CIAA MEDIA RELATIONS

Golden Bulls Men's Basketball Falls To Division Rival Livingstone

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina  --  The Johnson C. Smith University men's basketball team splits the season series with Livingstone College after an 87-82 divisional loss on Saturday, February 15^th at Trent Gymnasium. JCSU moves to 13-10 overall, 5-7 in the CIAA, and 2-5 in the Southern; while the Blue Bears improve to 16-6 overall, 9-4 in the conference, and 6-1 in the division.

The Golden Bulls faced a deficit for the majority of the first half. Livingstone never led by more than eight points in the opening. Down eight with 3:40 on the clock, sophomore guard Joshua Linson (San Antonio, TX) made a three pointer to pull within five. Junior guard LaMarquis Letchaw (Dallas, TX) followed up with another three on the next possession.

Letchaw connected on two free throws at the 2:13 mark, but JCSU still trailed 41-39. Mark Thomas misfired on a three pointer on the next Livingstone possession. Sophomore center Alandre Davis (Wilson, NC) tied the game with a layup and 1:34 remaining in the half.

Anthony Welch scored the last points of the period with a shot at the buzzer. The basket put the Blue Bears ahead 43-41 at halftime. The combination of Thomas and Welch paced Livingstone throughout the initial half. Thomas had 11 points and five assists, while Welch produced 16 points and six rebounds.

Junior forward Emilio Parks (Ashtabula, OH) had a team-high 10 points at the break. Linson went 3-of-5 from the three point line for nine points, but also had four turnovers. Davis made 4-of-5 from the field for eight points and two assists.

JCSU continued to face an uphill battle in the second half. Two free throws with 7:08 on the clock by Jody Hill put the Blue Bears up 75-65. However, the duo of Letchaw and Parks evenly generated an 8-0 run over the next two and half minutes. Thomas broke the scoreless drought for LC, sophomore forward Markell Lotharp (Marshville, NC) answered on the other end with a layup.

Senior forward Antwan Wilkerson (Greensboro, NC) eventually tied the score 80-80 with 1:28 remaining. Unfortunately, the Blue Bears managed to outscore JCSU 7-2 during the final minute and a half. JCSU finished with 17 turnovers compared to eight for Livingstone.

Parks finished with 26 points, five rebounds, and two assists. Linson and Letchaw each had 14 points. Davis concluded with 12 points and two assists. Wilkerson produced a career-high 18 rebounds, along with seven points and two blocks.

Welch had a game-high 28 points along with 10 rebounds and two steals. Thomas ended the evening with 21 points, nine assists, and three steals.

The Golden Bulls look to snap their four-game winless streak in their next contest against Saint Augustine's University. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Monday, February 17^th at Emery Gymnasium in Raleigh, NC.

Box Score

COURTESY JOHNSON C. SMITH UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS          

Winston-Salem State Rams Picks Up Big Division Win With 69-61 Victory Over Fayetteville State Broncos

FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina  -- Winston-Salem State got a big win on Saturday afternoon, and defense forced Fayetteville State to 25 turnovers, as the Rams rolled in the second half en route to a 69-61 win over the Broncos at Capel Arena.

With the win, Winston-Salem State improves to 14-9 overall, 9-4 in the CIAA and 5-2 in the Southern Division. Fayetteville State falls to 17-7 overall, 9-4 in the CIAA and 5-2 in the Southern Division. The win also puts the Rams into a tie for second place in the Southern Division, a game behind the Livingstone College Blue Bears.

 

Winston-Salem State was able to get out in front of the Broncos early, led by the big three of Marquez Jones, WyKevin Bazemore and Preston Ross, III, before Fayetteville State battled back to tie the game at 10-10 with 12:31 in the first half.

 

Fayetteville State would use a 9-4 run to jump out ahead of the Rams, but the Rams defense was able to keep the Broncos within reach by forcing them into numerous turnovers, and by the 7:15 mark had pulled back even at 21-21.

 

A three pointer from Javan Wells and Quinton Alton, gave the Rams back the lead and extended it to five points, before the Rams would turn up the defensive pressure and were able to hold the Broncos scoreless over the last five minutes of the first half, and outscored FSU seven to two to end the first half with a 35-30 halftime lead.

 

In the first half, the Rams controlled the points in the paint, with a 14-6 advantage and also got big contributions from the bench as the Rams held a 14-6 bench scoring advantage.

 

As the second half began, the Rams big three would take control and it would take less than five minutes for the Rams to push their lead to double figures, a place it would stay for most of the half.

Jones, Bazemore and Ross proved throughout the evening that the first matchup with the Broncos was a premonition,  as the also punished the Broncos on the boards, out rebounding them by 10 (42-32).

 

Winston-Salem State would go up by 10 at the 14:10 mark, 45-35, and maintained that lead into the under 12 minutes media timeout, at 48-38.

 

The Rams would increase their lead to 14, but the Broncos would cut into the lead following back to back WSSU turnovers and a made three and began to force their way back into the game.

 

Fayetteville State cut the Rams lead to six at 59-53 with 1:49 left to play, but coming out of the timeout, WyKevin Bazemore would find a wide open Preston Ross, III underneath the basket for a powerful two hand slam dunk to push the lead back to eight points.

 

The game would come down to free throws, as with 44.10 seconds remaining, Tyre Desmore would be fouled and he would make one of two, but WyKevin Bazemore would fight the rebound and he would force the ball off of a Bronco defender, giving the Rams a fresh shot clock. Preston Ross, III would go to the line after a quick FSU foul, and he would sink both, pushing the Rams lead back to seven with just under 44 seconds left.

 

WSSU would force a quick turnover from the Broncos, and Marquez Jones would be fouled and he would sink two to give the Rams a nine point lead with just under 30 seconds left.

 

The Rams Preston Ross, III would also go to the line and sink four free throws coming down the stretch to give the Rams the win by the final of 69-61.

 

Winston-Salem State was led in scoring by Marquez Jones and Preston Ross, III who each finished with 18 points and five rebounds. Jones also added six assists and two steals, while Ross added two steals. WyKevin Bazemore picked up his 10^th double-double of the season with his 12 point and 12 rebound performance. Bazemore also finished with three steals, two blocked shots and an assist.

 

For the Broncos of Fayetteville State, Tyrrel Tate finished with a game high 26 points, to go with seven rebounds and two assists. Devin Thompson added 11 points for the Broncos.

 

Winston-Salem State University will continue the mad scramble of games leading up to the CIAA Tournament, as they will return home for a Monday night matchup with Shaw University. This is a makeup game from Wednesday night, when the game was postponed due to the inclement weather.

 

Box Score  

 

COURTESY WINSTON-SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

AAMU Bulldogs Victorious in Thrilling Overtime Victory Over Rival Alabama State

Normal, Alabama -- In their second meeting of the season, the Alabama A&M- Alabama State match up did not disappoint.

Like the first game in Montgomery, action in Huntsville began early and was frequent. Both teams asserted themselves offensively from the first whistle. The Maroon & White held the early lead at 13-12 by the first media timeout (14:34).

Action remained frantic between the rival programs for the next eight minutes. By the six minute mark the Maroon & White held a three point lead at 28-25, after leading by as many as 10.  The visiting Hornets went on a run to end the half and stole the lead from the Bulldogs.  At the half, the visiting Hornets held a 36-30 lead.



A.J. Capers and Jeremy Crutcher lead scoring for the home team with 10 first half points each.

Maurice Strong led the Hornets with 11 points, with Tony Armstrong adding seven.

Coming out the break, both teams got right back into the flow of things. A&M went on a run to close the Hornet lead to two; however, ASU was able to extend the lead to six at 44-38 by the first media time out.

The visitors continued to maintain a six-point lead with A&M fighting to stay in arms reach.  The Bulldogs increased their defensive pressure and showed multiple looks in hopes of cutting the Hornet advantage.

The Maroon & White crowd exploded in support of the Bulldogs as a Crutcher three pointer brought them within three at 55-52 with just 3:00 left on the clock. On the ensuing possessions, both teams would sink a pair of free throws keeping the game at a three-point reach.

With 1:23 left in the game, the Bulldogs stole the ball and cut the lead to one after again sinking two clutch free throws. ASU head coach, Lewis Jackson, would call a timeout after a huge made basket by Jamel Waters to increase State's lead to three at 59-56 with just a minute left to play.

The senior Jeremy Crutcher came up huge again, hitting a layup and the resulting free throw to tie the game 59-59 with 19.4 on the clock.

A last second three-point attempt by the Hornets was unsuccessful and there was overtime on "The Hill" for only the third time this season.

In overtime the Bulldogs used the energy from the 3,510 in attendance to outscore State 9-6 resulting in the seventh conference win.

Jeremy Crutcher led all scorers with 27 points shooting 10-20 from the floor. This was a career high for the Hazel Green native. A.J. Capers added 16 points, three rebounds, two blocks and two steals to aid the Maroon & White victory.

The 10-12 Bulldogs (7-5 SWAC), will return to action Saturday, February 22, when they host the Jaguars of Southern University.

Box Score

COURTESY ALABAMA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION          

Ingram Lead NCCU Eagles Over SCSU Bulldogs 67-53

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina — Senior guard Jeremy Ingram poured in a game-high 22 points to lead North Carolina Central to a, 67-53, victory over South Carolina State Saturday at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.

The Bulldogs fall to 8-16 overall, 4-7 in the MEAC, while the Eagles soar to 19-5 overall, 10-1 in the league and extend their conference winning streak to 11-straight games.

"We played a very good NC Central team tonight," said Bulldog head coach Murray Garvin. "I feel like I am repeat because we are discussing turnovers again. We have to do a better job of taking care of the basketball."

"It's been tough not having Jalen White and someone stepping up to fill that point guard role," said Garvin. "Make no excuses their guards played really well tonight in Ingram and Parks."

NCCU jumped out to a quick six point lead, 20-14, off a 3-pointer by Ingram at the 8:09 mark. A jumper by junior forward Karamo Jawara  followed by a layup senior point guard Emanuel Chapman pushed the Eagles lead to 10, 26-16 with 3:21 remaining in the first-half.

The Bulldogs cut the lead in half to five, 22-27, off a tip-in by junior guard/forward Devin Joint with 0:21 seconds remaining in the half. NC Central closed out the first-half with a 29-22 lead over SC State.

Garvin stated, "We felt pretty good coming into the game and played well the first twelve minutes of the first-half."

Ingram nailed the second of his three 3-pointers of the day to extend NCCU lead to 17, 48-31, at the 11:22 mark in the second-half. Junior guard Jordan Parks's driving layup with 2:35 remaining in regulation gave the Eagles their biggest lead of the game 22, 67-45. Parks finished with 16 points and eight rebounds to secure the Eagles 67-53 victory over the Bulldogs.

Despite, a costly 21 turnovers South Carolina State's bench outscored NCCU 30-19, while the Eagles dominated in the paint 40-22 and scored 33 unanswered points off turnovers in the win.

SC State was led by senior guard Theron Stephens with 10 points, while sophomore forward Daryll Palmer added nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

"We have to move forward and get ready for a young and scrappy Aggie team on Monday," said Garvin.

South Carolina State returns to action on Monday when they host conference rival North Carolina A&T in an MEAC doubleheader, beginning at 5:30 p.m., with the men following afterwards.

COURTESY SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

HU Pirates Win In Overtime at Norfolk State

NORFOLK, Virginia  –  The Hampton University men's basketball team needed five extra minutes, but the Pirates still beat rival Norfolk State 79-73 Saturday evening in Echols Hall to further establish themselves in the upper half of the conference standings.

The Pirates (14-11, 9-3 MEAC) have won three straight games and six of their last seven.

Sophomore guard Dwight Meikle (Baltimore, Md.) led the Pirates with 14 points off the bench, while sophomore guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.), sophomore guard Brian Darden (Hampton, Va.), and senior forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) each added 11 points.

Jervon Pressley (Charlotte, N.C.) scored on a floating layup to open overtime and give the Pirates a 68-66 lead, and then added free throws at the 4:09 mark of overtime to grow that lead to 70-66.

Darden added a steal and a breakaway layup to put the Pirates up 72-66, then he broke toward the basket again, got fouled, and hit a free throw to give Hampton a 73-66 lead with 3:23 left. Norfolk State's first basket of overtime didn't come until the 2:49 mark, when Marese Phelps hit a jumper to cut Hampton's lead to 73-68.

Maxwell gave the Pirates a cushion with a floater, putting Hampton up 75-69 with 1:10 left. Jamel Fuentes hit two free throws with 34.8 seconds left, cutting the lead to 75-71, before the Spartans started fouling.

Powers hit both free throws with 33 seconds left, putting Hampton up 77-71 before Pendarvis Williams hit two free throws to cut the lead to 77-73.

Darden answered with two free throws with 20.6 seconds left, putting Hampton up 79-73.

The Spartans only had one field goal in overtime.

Norfolk State led 12-5 with 16:14 left in the first half, before the Pirates went on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to 14-13 after a dunk from Brown at the 13:29 mark. Hampton's first lead came at the 6:56 mark, after junior center Emmanuel Okoroba (Garland, Texas) hit two free throws to put the Pirates up 20-18.

The teams then traded 3-pointers, and sophomore guard Miles Jackson (Silver Spring, Md.) hit two of them – the latter giving the Pirates a 26-24 lead with 4:42 left in the half. Powers hit a jumper at the 3:34 mark to give the Pirates a 28-24 lead.

Okoroba hit two more free throws with 1:42 left to give Hampton a 32-29 lead, but Norfolk State closed the half on a 6-1 run, taking a 35-33 lead into the locker room after a Riley Maye layup with a second left.

Powers gave the Pirates a 38-37 lead with a 3-point play with 17:56 left in the game, and after the Spartans tied the game at 40-40, the Pirates went on a 7-0 run to take a 47-40 lead after a trey from Meikle.

Powers made it a 9-0 run with a driving layup to give the Pirates a 49-40 lead.

Norfolk State answered with a 7-1 run to cut the lead to 50-47, before Okoroba hit a layup with 9:34 left to put the Pirates up 52-47, before the Spartans went on a 7-2 run to tie the game at 54-54 on a Brandon Goode dunk with 6:40 left.

Williams hit a 3-pointer with 5:17 left to extend the run to 10-1 and give the Spartans a 57-54 lead. A Phelps trey at the 4:31 mark gave Norfolk State a 60-56 lead.

Kievyn Lila-St. Rose added a trey of his own with 3:56 left, putting the Spartans up 63-58.

The Spartans extended the lead to 65-58, before Maxwell hit two free throws with 2:31 left to cut the lead to 65-60. Brown followed with a spinning layup with 1:55 left to cut the Spartans' lead to 65-62, and Darden cut the lead to 65-64 with free throws with 1:20 to play.

Maxwell scored on a putback with 32.3 seconds left and was fouled, but he missed the free throw to leave the game tied at 66-66. The Pirates got the rebound, but Darden's 3-pointer fell short and Hampton couldn't convert the stickback.

The Pirates shot 41.4 percent (24-for-58) from the floor and hit five of 21 3-pointers (23.8 percent). Hampton and Norfolk State each had 39 rebounds, but the Spartans turned the ball over 16 times to just 13 for the Pirates.

Norfolk State (14-11, 8-3 MEAC) shot 38.1 percent (24-for-63) from the floor and only went 17-for-25 (68.0 percent) from the free throw line.

Williams led four Spartans in double figures with 18 points.

The Pirates will be in Washington, D.C. next Saturday to take on Howard at 7 p.m. 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.

Box Score

 

COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

FAMU Lady Rattlers Defeat UI Chicago 6-2 At UCF Tourney

ORLANDO, Florida  --  The Florida A&M Softball team picked up their first win of the season with a 6-2 win over the University of Illinois-Chicago in their second game of the UCF/ Holiday Inn Classic, here Friday morning at the UCF Softball Complex.

FAMU (1-5) finished the contest with six hits, whereas UIC (1-5) tallied seven.

The Lady Rattlers were led by Raven Mosley with two hits, while Erica Hampton finished the contest with three hits to lead the Flames.

Amber Fullwood picked up the win for FAMU as she went seven innings, giving up seven hits, two earned runs and striking five the 30 batters she faced.  Alice Fitzpatrick (0-1) received the loss for UIC as she went two and two-thirds innings in relief, giving up two hits, three earned runs and striking out two in 14 batters she faced.

UIC grabbed the early 2-0 lead on a pair of  doubles by Jenna Marshall scoring Jacki Fletcher in the bottom of the first and Natalie Hernandez in the bottom of the third.

FAMU tied the contest at 2-2 as Moseley scored two runs for the Lady Rattlers on a Whitney Farris single back to the pitcher and on a Flames’ error in the top of the sixth inning.

The Lady Rattlers would plate four runs in the top of the eighth inning with Amanda Weaver scoring both Moseley and Tashayla Irvis, followed by an Alyssa Weaver double to center field scoring both Christina Robbs and Amanda Weaver for the 6-2 final.

FAMU will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 15 as they take on Middle Tennessee State at 4 p.m. and then UCF at 6 p.m., at the UCF Softball Complex in their second day of the UCF Holiday Inn Classic Tournament.

COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Gold Nuggets win, Gold Rush lose at Belhaven

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Simone-Alyse Ewell and Sha'Nel Bruins won 6-0, 6-0 in singles for the second day in row to lead NAIA No. 3 Xavier University in a 5-0 women's tennis victory against Belhaven on Saturday.

Xavier's men lost 5-4 to Belhaven in a matchup of ranked teams.

After sweeping three doubles matches, Ewell gave the Gold Nuggets (3-2) a 4-0 lead with her victory against Elizabeth Chrestman. Bruins then defeated Ellen Scott at No. 6 to clinch the dual. None of the other four singles matches were played.

Ewell and Brion Flowers beat Mary Lichlyter and Rachel Jefcoat 8-4 at No. 2 doubles. Nour Abbes and Kourtney Howell improved to 3-0 after their 8-0 victory against Stephanie Smith and Katie Campbell at No. 1, and Amber Brown and Brandi Nelson defeated Chrestman and Brittany Keeling 8-1 at No. 3.

In the men's dual, Enrico Patriarca clinched for 13th-ranked Belhaven with a 7-5, 6-2 victory against Jordan Harrell at No. 6 singles. XU's Kyle Montrel tied the dual at 4 with his 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) victory against Andre Borghi at No. 1.

The Gold Rush (2-3), ranked sixth, won 2-of-3 doubles matches. Montrel and Nikita Soifer beat Nikita Lisov and Jefferson Nino 8-5 at No. 1, and Harrell and Tushar Mandlekar defeated Daniel Prado and David Mejia 9-8 (7-3) at No. 3. It was the second consecutive day that Harrell and Mandlekar won in a tiebreaker.

Soifer scored the other Gold Rush singles victory, 6-3, 6-2 against Lisov at No. 2.

Belhaven's men are 2-1, and the women are 1-2.

"The Nuggets were on cruise control," xU coach Alan Green said. "It was a tough, grueling loss for our men. We fell behind in and managed to tie it, but we just couldn't pull it out at the end. We beat Belhaven by the same way so last year, so we know how they felt."

Xavier will play Georgia Gwinnett's fifth-ranked men and 20th-ranked women at 10 a.m. Sunday in Hattiesburg, Miss.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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Northridge evens up series with Bethune-Cookman with 2-1 win in 11

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida  -- Chester Pak’s RBI single in the 11th gave Cal State Northridge a 2-1 win over Bethune-Cookman on Saturday at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, evening up the series.

Shay Maltese got the win for the Matadors (1-1). Christopher Waltermire, who gave up a two-out double to Alexis Mercado in the 11th, took the loss. Pak’s line drive single off reliever Michael Austin scored pinch runner Nicolas Osuna with the go-ahead run.

For the second day in a row, hits were hard to come by. B-CU starter Montana Durapau gave up one run on five hits in seven innings. Northridge starter Brycen Rutherford allowed one run on four hits in 6 2/3 innings.

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FAMU Lady Rattlers Knock Of CSU Eagles 83-80

COURTESY FAMU ATHLETICS

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- FAMU senior guard Jasmine Grice lit up the Al Lawson Center for 36 points en route to her third consecutive game scoring 30 or more points in a game. In the process, she led the Lady Rattlers (12-12, 6-5 MEAC) to an 83-80 win over the Coppin State Lady Eagles (12-11, 9-3 MEAC), in a critical MEAC contest.

"We can't always depend on our big players to grab rebounds, so we implement a team effort to make plays, and we made some solid plays tonight," head coach LeDawn Gibson said. Freshman Kenya Dixon led the Lady Rattlers with eight rebounds, while Taneka Rubin grabbed six. Grice pulled down three rebounds and added four steals to her NCAA Division-I leading total.

Ashle Craig shot 50-percent from the field, going 6-for-12 , carding 21 points for CSU. Kyra Coleman, was just a step behind as she contributed 18 points, while Larrisa Carter scored 14 points. Carter pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds while teammate Tanaysa Henderson pulled down nine.

Tiera Prothro pumped in 17 points, going 8-for-11 from the field, while Rubin scored 11 points to round out the trio of Lady Rattlers scoring in double figures.

CSU rushed out to an 18-point lead in the first half, as the Lady Rattlers withstood the onslaught to settle into a defensive press, forcing the Eagles into 19 turnovers. Coppin State scored 46 points in the first half, but managed just 34 in the second half. The back-and-forth battle saw 10 lead changes and six ties.

Gibson used the depth in her bench to rest her entire starting team in crucial minutes in the first half, leaving them with the energy to make the successful run in the second half. That resulted in the Rattlers collecting 16 second chance points to just 10 for Coppin.

FAMU shot 51.6 percent from the field int he second half to power their comeback, after shooting just 38.7 percent in the first half. CSU shot 50 percent in the first half and just 37.1 precent in the second half. FAMU also took the edge in three-point shots as they went 9-for-16 (56.3 percent), while CSU went 5-for-14 (35.7 percent) for the game.

The Lady Rattlers will face the Lady Hornets of Delaware State on Monday in a 6 p.m. start at the Al Lawson Center.

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Tate-DeFreitas, Bennett Lead in HU Lady Pirates Blowout Win

NORFOLK, Virginia  --  Freshman guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas and senior forward Alyssa Bennett each had bounce-back games Saturday afternoon in Echols Hall, as the Hampton University women's basketball team throttled Norfolk State 93-59.

The Lady Pirates (21-4, 12-0 MEAC) have won 11 straight games.

Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.) poured in a game-high 33 points, hitting a career-high seven 3-pointers for her second career 30-point effort. Bennett (Hampton, Va.) recorded her 10th double-double of the season with 22 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

She is five points shy of 1,000 for her career.

Junior guard Kenia Cole (Silver Spring, Va.) added 14 points, hitting three of her five 3-pointers.

Ebony Brown tied the game at 11-11 with a jumper at the 14:36 mark of the first half, but the Lady Pirates responded with a 9-0 run to take a 20-11 lead with 11:55 left in the half after a fastbreak layup from senior guard Nicole Hamilton (Hampton, Va.).

Bennett added a jumper at the 5:06 mark to put the Lady Pirates up 34-17, and Tate-DeFreitas hit back-to-back 3-pointers with 1:19 and 0:33 left in the half – the latter giving Hampton a 42-25 lead.

Cole sent the Lady Pirates into the half with a 44-27 lead with a jumper with five seconds left.

Tate-DeFreitas had 17 points in the first half, and Bennett had 12 at the break.

Hampton opened the second half with a 7-0 run, taking a 51-27 lead with 17:50 left after Bennett converted a fastbreak layup. Logan Powell cut that lead to 53-37 with a layup at the 15:01 mark, capping a 10-2 Norfolk State run.

But the Lady Pirates answered with treys from Cole and Hamilton, taking a 59-37 lead with 13:49 left.

Koryn Lawrence hit two free throws with 13:05 left to cut the lead to 61-40, but the Lady Pirates scored the next 16 points, taking a 77-40 lead with 9:47 left after a trey from Tate-DeFreitas – who had three 3-pointers and a layup in that run alone.

The Spartans then went on a 12-3 run to cut Hampton's lead to 80-52 with 6:58 left, but that was as close as Norfolk State would get – as the Lady Pirates led 90-57 with 2:30 left after sophomore guard Blake Jenkines (Clarksville, Tenn.) hit two free throws.

Redshirt-junior guard Lauren Johnson (Cairo, Ga.) added two free throws with 44 seconds left to push the game to its final margin.

The Lady Pirates shot 49.2 percent (32-for-65) from the floor and hit 11 of their 23 3-pointers (47.8 percent). Hampton also held a 37-35 edge in rebounding, and the Lady Pirates turned 25 Spartans turnovers into 27 points.

Norfolk State (10-12, 6-5 MEAC) shot 37.0 percent (20-for-54) from the floor.

Lawrence led the Spartans with 16 points.

The Lady Pirates will head to Washington, D.C. next Saturday to take on Howard at 5 p.m. 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.

Box Score

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Hampton sweeps 2014 MEAC Indoor Track and Field Championships

LANDOVER, Maryland  -- Hampton University swept the 2014 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Prince George’s Sports Complex on Saturday.

The Lady Pirates celebrated its second consecutive and seventh overall MEAC indoor crown with a total of 147 points. Florida A&M placed second with 133 points and Morgan State finished third with 74 points.

Norfolk State garnered 64 points to grab fourth, followed by Bethune-Cookman (63), Coppin State (56), Maryland Eastern Shore (29), North Carolina Central (28), Savannah State (22), Delaware State (18), Howard (18), North Carolina A&T (8) and South Carolina State (6).

Hampton’s Teiara Denmark finished with 32 points to earn the Outstanding Field Athlete and teammate Ce’aira Brown garnered the Outstanding Runner with 25 points.

Hampton head coach Maurice Pierce earned Outstanding Coach honors for both teams.

“This was definitely a whole team effort,” Pierce said. “Both teams cheered for each other and we came together. We weren’t even predicted to win on the men’s side. We came through in the clutch as everyone showed up and did their part.”

On the men’s side, Hampton won its first crown since 1996 with 114 points and snapped Norfolk State’s run of five of the last six championships. The Spartans were unable to defend the title due to postseason ineligibility.

Bethune-Cookman finished second with 109 points, while North Carolina A&T placed third with 95 points.

Florida A&M finished fourth with 95 points, followed by Maryland Eastern Shore (64), Howard (64), Morgan State (40) Coppin State (39), South Carolina State (32), Savannah State (31) and Delaware State (6).

Maryland Eastern Shore’s Dillon Simon finished with 18 points and set a MEAC record in the shot put with 18.35m (60-02.50 ft.) to earn Outstanding Field Athlete. Simon broke Morgan State’s Tyron Benjamin’s mark of 18.01m, set in 2009.

Deon Clifford of Florida A&M, who won the 5,000m on Friday and the 3,000m on Saturday, took top honors as the Outstanding Track Athlete with 30.50 points. Clifford also was second in the mile and a member of the Rattlers’ first-place team in the distance medley relay.

The Hampton 4x400 relay team of Rayon Black, Edose Ibadin, Chidi Okezie and Je’von Hutchinson also set a meet record by breaking Norfolk State’s mark with a time of 3:14.22.



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Battle of the Bay Renewed This Saturday at NSU Echols Hall

Saturday - Battle of the Bay

Women's Game: NSU vs Hampton, 3:45 p.m., Joseph Echols Hall
Men Game: NSU vs. Hampton, 6 p.m., Joseph Echols Hall
Radio: Hot 91.1 FM | Ross Gordon, Play-by-Play
Live Stats | Live Video/Audio | Game Notes

NORFOLK, Virginia --  It's rivalry week, and one of the MEAC's best rivalries takes place on Saturday at 6 p.m. when the Norfolk State men's basketball team hosts Hampton at Joseph Echols Hall with second place in the conference on the line.

Following the contest against the Pirates, NSU will be back on the road for the last three away games of the year, the closing part of a stretch in which the Spartans play seven of nine away from home.

Series History
NSU has taken the last four meetings with Hampton, two in each of the past two years and all decided by eight points or less. The Spartans now lead the all-time series, 81-41. NSU has more wins against Hampton than any other school. The next closest is St. Paul's, a program Norfolk State has defeated 70 times.

About Hampton
The Pirates won a pair of home games last weekend against Howard and UMES to move into third place in the league at 8-3, 13-11 overall. Du'Vaughn Maxwell has been the catalyst for the Pirates, averaging 15.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game. Deron Powers, at 10.6 points, and Brian Darden, at 9.3, also provide scoring punch. Hampton averages a healthy 7.7 steals and 6.6 blocks per game, while also doing plenty on the offensive side by scoring 71 points a game. Opponents do shoot better than 35 percent, though, from the 3-point line.

Last Time Out
Led by 25 points from Pendarvis Williams, NSU topped Howard 75-49 on Monday at Echols Hall. The Spartans limited Howard to just 32.6 percent shooting on the night, with freshman James Daniel scoring 25 of the team's 49 points. Jamel Fuentes added 11 points and seven assists for the Spartans, while Marese Phelps and Anell Alexis each scored 10. NSU outscored Howard 25-8 in points off turnovers after the Bison coughed up the ball 24 times. HU also failed to convert a field goal for the last 11 minutes of the first half.

Player Tidbits
Pendarvis Williams
 • 20.7 points on 23-of-46 field goals with 5.0 rebounds last three games
 • 2.3 steals last six games
 • Fifth in the MEAC in steals at 1.5
 • 55-of-64 from the free throw line in the last 17 games
 • Needs 39 more points to reach No. 19 on the all-time scoring list at NSU
 • Needs four more 3-pointers to move into second all-time at NSU
 • Shooting 49.3 percent from the floor this year, including 62.3 percent (91-of-146) from inside the arc
 • One of five all-time NSU players with 1,400 points, 400 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals along with Ralph Tally, Barry Mitchell, Tony Murphy and Michael Deloach
 • Needs 14 more rebounds to reach 500 for his career; would join Tally and Mitchell as only players with 1,400 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals
 • 81.8 percent from the free throw line this season; chasing Division I record of 83.3 percent set by Ryan Grier in 2003-04
 • Sixth 20-point game of season, and 18th of career, with 25-point effort against Howard

Brandon Goode
 • 12.0 points on 16-of-26 field goals with 7.0 rebounds last three games
 • Has scored in double figures in 15 of last 20 games
 • Shooting 48-of-76 (63.2 percent) in the last 10 games
 • Ranks fourth in Division I single-season records with 54 blocks and sixth in all-time single-season records
 • Second in the MEAC in field goal percentage at 60.8 and fifth in rebounding (6.8), blocks (2.3) and offensive rebounds (2.5)
 • 60.8 percent shooting currently ranks eighth all-time at NSU in season records and third in Division I era

Jamel Fuentes
 • 10.5 points on 7-of-16 field goals with a 15-2 assist-turnover ratio last two games
 • 2.5 steals last four games
 • 4+ assists last 16 games
 • Needs nine more assists to reach fifth place all-time at NSU
 • Sits third in Division I records with 137 assists this year
 • First in the MEAC in assist-turnover ratio (3.0) and second in assists (5.7)

Marese Phelps
 • 16-3 assist-turnover ratio last five games
 • 2.0 steals last 12 games
 • Fifth in the MEAC in steals at 1.5

Anell Alexis
 • Broke out of slump with 10 points on 3-of-5 field goals with two assists and two steals against Howard

Big Win
The 26-point victory over the Bison on Monday was NSU's biggest win since Feb. 9, 2009, when the Spartans downed Florida A&M by a 96-69 score.

Howard scored 18 points and hit just 20.0 (5-of-25) percent from the field in the first half, the lowest totals by an NSU opponent in a half since Delaware State scored 18 in the first half on Feb. 27, 2013 and Randolph shot 19.2 percent (5-of-26) in the first half on Nov. 16, 2011.

Coughing Up the Ball
Howard committed 24 turnovers on Monday, the most giveaways by an NSU opponent since Morgan State had 29 on Jan. 21, 2013.

Over the last four games, NSU is averaging 8.5 steals and opponents are turning the ball over 16.0 times a game.

MEAC Standings
The Spartans currently stand in second place in the MEAC standings at 8-2 behind league leader North Carolina Central (9-1). Hampton (8-3) and Morgan State (7-3) sit right behind the Spartans in the standings.

Conference Streak
With eight MEAC wins so far this year, NSU is guaranteed to finish no worse than .500 in conference play. Since moving to Division I in 1997, the Spartans have yet to finish worse than .500 in the MEAC. In fact, since the 1953-54 season, NSU has finished with a losing conference record just once (9-10 in 1990-91) in 58 seasons (not counting the independent 1997-98 and 1961-62 seasons).

Senior Leadership
NSU has scored 1,782 points this year, with 1,421 of those points (79.7 percent) coming from NSU's senior class.

Spartans in the MEAC
NSU is 8-2 this year in the MEAC and 37-5 (88.1 winning percentage) since the start of the 2011-12 season.

Scoring Offense
NSU's is scoring 74.2 points per game this year, the highest scoring season since averaging 76.0 per game in 1999-2000, and eight points more per game than last year (66.3).

MEAC Rankings
NSU ranks first in the MEAC in scoring offense (74.2), field goal percentage (47.2) and offensive rebound percentage (37.4). The Spartans also stand second in 3-point field goal percentage (34.2), opponent rebounding (33.2), rebounding margin (+2.2), assists (14.3) and assist-turnover ratio (1.1) and third in scoring margin (+1.7) and defensive rebound percentage (65.6).

By Mike Bello, Asst. SID
COURTESY NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

Southern, LSU open Urban Invitational with wins

MLB Network has live coverage of tourney's seventh edition through Sunday

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana --  The seventh annual Urban Invitational got underway on Friday night with two games at separate Louisiana locations. Southern University began its season with a 7-5 victory over rival Grambling State, and Louisiana State University took a 2-0 win over the University of New Orleans.

Southern, which has played in every edition of the Urban Invitational, got to host a game in the tourney for the first time Friday. The tourney was designed to highlight baseball programs at historically black colleges and universities, and few have been better than Southern.

Southern, coached by Roger Cador for the last three decades, has won 14 Southwestern Athletic Conference championships and has advanced to the NCAA tournament eight times. Cador's team played crisply on Friday, and he said he was pleased to have the game on his home turf.

"We played our old nemesis, Grambling, and we were able to win, so I guess that's the good thing," said Cador when reached by phone. "Anytime you play on TV is good, and the city of New Orleans, specifically, is beginning to get more and more African-American kids playing baseball. We have some really good athletes in New Orleans, so maybe we'll be able to get some of them."

Southern's current roster has just 10 players from Louisiana, which is an indicator of the program's ability to recruit nationwide. But with the advent of the new Urban Youth Academy in New Orleans, Cador knows that the environment for local recruiting can only improve.

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B-CU Mourns Loss of Former GridIron Standout

Dennis Daniels (l) and Lynn W. Thompson (r)
Courtesy Bethune-Cookman Athletics

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida  -- Dennis Daniels, a former Bethune-Cookman College football standout, died on Monday, Feb. 10. He was 52.

A native of Volusia County, Daniels played four seasons with the Wildcats, serving as a kicker from 1979-82. He replaced former kicker and current Bethune-Cookman University Director of Athletics, Lynn W. Thompson, in his placekicking duties. Daniels was a graduate of Seabreeze High School in Ormond Beach, before arriving at B-CC in the fall of 1979.

“Dennis and I used to work out back in our college days, and he succeeded me as a player at Bethune-Cookman,” stated Thompson upon hearing of Daniels’ death. “His contributions to this university will never be forgotten.”

During his playing days for the Wildcats, Daniels earned league honors from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in 1983 on the first team offense. He would be the first Bethune-Cookman kicker ever to receive all-conference recognition.

In the history of the MEAC, Daniels is one of just two kickers to receive first team all-conference honors as a member of the Bethune-Cookman program, joined by Manny Manolas in 1985.

A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held Saturday, Feb. 15, at Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church at 3 p.m. The church is located at 635 Madison Avenue in Daytona Beach, with Pastor Evans Smith officiating.

COURTESY BETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

Nuggets, Rush defeat ranked Carey tennis teams on the road

HATTIESBURG, Mississippi -- Xavier University of Louisiana, winners against 17 ranked NAIA tennis opponents a year ago, defeated two more high-profile teams Friday.

The third-ranked Gold Nuggets did not drop a set in a 9-0 victory against No. 2 William Carey, the NAIA women's national runner-up in 2013. The sixth-ranked Gold Rush defeated No. 15 William Carey 6-3.

The XU women (2-2) did not lose a game in 7-of-15 sets. Simone-Alyse Ewell and Sha'Nel Bruins both won 6-0, 6-0 in singles; Ewell clinched the dual by beating McKinzie Boss at No. 5.

Winning in singles and doubles for Xavier were Nour Abbes, Kourtney Howell, Brion Flowers, Brandi Nelson and Ewell. Abbes, a freshman, improved to 3-0 in singles after beating Anne Bauer 6-2, 6-0 at the top flight and 2-0 in doubles when she and Howell defeated Malin Collin and Bauer 8-2.

The Gold Nuggets won 11-of-12 against ranked opponents in 2013 en route to the national semifinals. It was the second straight year that they won on the road against a second-ranked William Carey team.

Freshman Jordan Harrell clinched the  Gold Rush's dual at No. 6 singles with a 6-1, 6-3 victory against Lukas Moritzen. At No. 3 doubles, Harrell and another freshman, Tushar Mandlekar, fought off a match point in the 15th game and earned a 9-8 (7-5) victory against Moritzen and Leonardo Sechi.

Kyle Montrel and Nikita Soifer won in doubles and singles for the Rush. They teamed for a 9-7 No. 1 doubles victory against Jody Claassen and Philipp Mueller. At the top two singles flights, Montrel beat Ricky Keppeler 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 1-0 (10-5), and Soifer defeated Claassen 6-1, 6-1.

Montrel and Soifer are 3-0 in doubles this season.

Freshman Adam Albrecht defeated Sechi 6-3, 6-3 at No. 5.

William Carey's women are 1-2, and the men are 1-1.

"Good wins for both our teams," XU coach Alan Green said. "It's just the beginning of our NAIA mission. Our men pulled out a really tough win with a total team effort. Our women went out and played hard against a team that knocked us out of nationals last year. William Carey has a different women's team this year, but so do we."

Both XU teams will travel to Jackson, Miss., to play Belhaven at noon Saturday. Belhaven's men are ranked 13th in the NAIA.

Results:  Men    Women

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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Softball: TSU Drops Games to #4 Alabama and Grand Canyon

TUCSON, Arizona  -- Tennessee State dropped a pair of games on day one of the Hillenbrand Invitational on Friday. Tigers made a late inning comeback in the first game of the day, but ended up losing a heartbreaker 7-6 in nine innings to Grand Canyon University. In the night cap, No. 4 Alabama scored in each of their first four innings to claim a 12-0 five inning victory over TSU.

 

The Tigers are now 1-6 on the early season, while the Crimson Tide remains undefeated at 7-0. GCU fell to Alabama immediately after the morning game with TSU to move to 3-5.

 

In the opener, the Tigers opened fast for the second consecutive game. Tayler Shimizu and Jayna Hanawahine opened the third with back-to-back hits. Hanawahine’s first double of the season moved her fellow Hawaiian to third to set the stage for a big inning. Courtney Gearlds notched the first RBI of her young career with a solid line drive into left, bringing home Shimizu for the first run of the game. After Gearlds picked up her second stolen base of the game, Ashley Haynes delivered a single into left center that plated Hanawahine and Gearlds for a quick 3-0 lead.

 



Photo courtesy of Tennessee State Athletics

Tigers line up before taking the field at Arizona

Grand Canyon would climb back into the gain, and eventually take the lead, with a run in each, the third and fourth innings, followed by a three-run inning of their own in the fifth. The spurt by the Lopes produced a 5-3 lead into the seventh inning.

 

The Tigers charged back in the seventh with back-to-back singles by Liz Stansberry and Shimizu. A batter later, Gearlds earned a walk to load the bases for Kate Morris. The Lawrenceburg, Tenn., native came through in the clutch with a double off the left field fence chasing home Stansberry and Shimizu to tie the game at 5-5.

 

Grand Canyon threatened in the bottom of the eighth inning with bases loaded and no outs, but Shea Morris was able to induce two ground balls and a line drive to exit the inning unharmed.

 

Kate Morris came through again in the ninth by driving in Hanawahine, who was placed on second for the International Tie-Breaker. The Tigers could only manage one run and led 6-5 heading to the bottom half of the inning.

 

GCU took advantage of a base hit and a couple TSU throwing errors to push a pair of runs across for the 7-6 win.

 

In the second game of the twin bill, starter Olivia Gamache went the distance surrendering 12 runs, six earned, on 12 hits and seven walks. The senior collected four strikeouts as she dropped to 0-3.

 

Sydney Littlejohn (2-0) earned the win allowing just three hits, a walk, and hit a batter while fanning seven. Gearlds picked up the first hit of the game for TSU with a shot up the middle and finished the night with a team leading .381 batting average.

 

In the fifth inning, Shimizu and Hanawahine recorded hits off the freshman hurler from Alabama. Shimizu was hit by Littlejohn in the second inning and finished the night 1-for-1, 3-for-5 with two runs on the day.

 

TSU will play a pair of games on day two of the Hillenbrand Invitational. Saturday will start as Friday did, with an 11:00am (MT) game against Grand Canyon. The Tigers will then face #22 Arizona at 4:00pm (MT). All games can be heard at tsutigers.com.

TSU-Grand Cayon Box Score
TSU-Alabama Box Score

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Baseball: Jackson State Tigers Outlast Texas Southern 4-2

JACKSON, Mississippi  --  Bryce Taylor went 3-4 at the plate to help lead the Jackson State baseball team to a season opening 4-2 victory over the Texas Southern Tigers on the opening day of the 2014 JSU Baseball Tournament at Braddy Field.

Taylor (2014 preseason All-SWAC second team) also recorded a run and RBI. Charles Tillery (preseason SWAC Player of the Year) went 2-4 at the plate with two RBIs. For the game, JSU (1-0) scored its four runs on eight hits. Texas Southern scored its two runs on eight hits.

Zach Welz led Texas Southern, going 2-3 at the plate with a run scored.

Sergio Parra picked up the win for the Tigers. Desmond Russell earned his first save of the season. Darius McClelland suffered the loss for Texas Southern.

JSU scored the first run of the game in the first inning when Aneko Knowles scored on a Taylor double to right field. JSU maintained its one run lead until Texas Southern scored its first run of the game in the eighth inning. JSU reclaimed the lead at the bottom of the eighth.

Gary Thomas double to left field to get on base and scored on a wild pitch. Taylor and Melvin Rodriguez both scored on a Charles Tillery double to left field, giving JSU a 4-1 lead. Texas Southern scored the final run of game in the ninth inning.

The tournament resumes Saturday, Feb. 15. The first game of the day (Teas So. Vs. South Dakota State) is set for noon. JSU and Texas Southern will square off at 3 p.m. and JSU will face South Dakota State at 6 p.m. All games will be played at Braddy Field.

    JSU vs. Texas Southern Box Score

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7-foot-2 Ian Chiles has been the man in the middle for Morgan State basketball

IAN CHILES
Courtesy MSU Athletics

BALTIMORE, Maryland  -- Ian Chiles is thriving in the paint, shooting the ball well and inspiring fear in opponents who take shots by rejecting many of them.

“You win games a lot of time with your guard play,” Morgan State coach Todd Bozeman said, “but if you have a strong post presence, it is important, because those are where the higher-percentage shots come from. And also, as a defender, you have someone in there protecting against those higher-percentage shots.”

The 7-foot-2 senior center has blocked 14 shots in the past two games, including a career-high nine against Norfolk Sate on Saturday.

Chiles is second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with 3.1 rejections per game, and has amassed 68 blocks on the season, and 171 in his career.

Chiles also scored 23 points in Morgan State’s (9-13, 7-3) 82-77 win over rival Coppin State on Monday.

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Former FAMU Cheerleader Makes NBA All-Star Dance Squad

SHARDIA WASHINGTON
NBA Charlotte Bobcats, Lady Cats
B.S., M.S., Occupational Therapy
Florida A&M University

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina  -- NBA All-Star Weekend is one of the biggest attractions in all of professional athletics. The best basketball players from the NBA and their fans converge this year in New Orleans for the annual mid-season classic. This season, for only the second time in the history of the NBA All-Star Weekend, a spirit squad was selected to perform from the 30 dance teams that cheer on the teams throughout the regular season.

While the Charlotte Bobcats will not have a player in the All-Star festivities, they will have Shardia Washington, a FAMU alumna, representing the Lady Cats on the Eastern Conference All-Star Dance Team. In just her second season as a member of the team, she was considered the best in the NBA. Washington was submitted by the Bobcats organization as one of three finalists for her team, followed by her ultimate selection to the All-Star squad by the NBA review process.

Washington graduated from FAMU in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree and in 2010 with a master’s degree in occupational therapy. While at FAMU, she was a member of the FAMU cheerleading squad, an experience the Jacksonville native holds dear to her heart.

“I never thought in a million years that I would make a professional dance team, especially for the NBA. So, just having the opportunity to come out here and represent FAMU and to represent myself, it just means a lot to me,” Washington said.

Washington spends virtually all of her time either working, rehearsing and performing with the Lady Cats or doing community service projects. She often visits schools and reads with children in the Charlotte area as part of her community service obligations. Recognizing the impact that a positive role model can have is something she learned early in life, but her involvement as a Lady Cat has elevated that perspective for her.

For several years, the “Lakers Girls” were considered the top dance team in the NBA, but over the last few years, that distinction has been shifted east as Charlotte’s squad was dubbed the league’s best. In a market that is not as big as Los Angeles, New York or Miami, it is quite an accomplishment to be considered the top team. With that comes a complex try-out process for the Lady Cats. It’s a process each dancer must endure annually to make the squad.

The historic part of her trek to New Orleans has not fully set in for Shardia, but to put it in perspective, there were three African-American women chosen for the first NBA All-Star dance team in 2007, therefore she represents just the fourth ever to achieve the task. She credits her foundation at an HBCU with allowing her to accept the responsibility to do well on all levels.

“I definitely enjoy my life here in Charlotte as an adult, but I do miss being in college on ‘the Hill’ in Tallahassee. Cheerleading in college prepared me, but not quite for the time consumption that we deal with on the professional level,” she said.

Brandi Tatum, who coached Washington while she attended FAMU, was beaming with pride when she learned of the unique accomplishment.

“Shardia has a very outgoing bubbly personality. She would try anything to make our squad better. She started as a base and ended as a flyer. She has an incredible outbound spirit, and was humorous and able to lift people up,” Tatum said.

Back home in Jacksonville, the excitement grew immediately as she informed her mother that she would be participating on the all-star dance team.

“When I first told her I was selected, she screamed and she texted the entire family and I don’t even know if my mom knew what the NBA All-Star game was, but she was super excited,” she said.

Washington left for New Orleans on Feb. 12 and returns on Feb. 17. When she landed on Wednesday, she immediately proceeded to the Super Dome for a seven-hour rehearsal. The squad will be performing at virtually every official NBA All-Star Weekend event.  She spent the days leading up to All-Star Sunday preparing herself physically for the dance routines, but mentally for what the opportunity might bring.



Mega stars of the world scoop up courtside VIP seats each year, so the mental preparation required to not be phased by the possible presence of Spike Lee, Lil’ Wayne, Gabrielle Union, Jack Nicholson or The Carters (Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Blue Ivy) can not be underestimated. It adds pressure to the performance from different angles. Case in point is Kimberly Gipson. Gipson was a member of the 2007 NBA All-Star dance team, now she performs regularly as one of Beyoncé’s main dancers.

According to Washington, knowing the opportunities that may evolve from her performance adds an aura of excitement, coupled with a case of anxiety.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and I don’t think I’ll fully understand what it’s going to be about until I step out on that court,” Washington said.

COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY MEDIA RELATIONS