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Tuesday, November 4, 2014

If you love sports, Alabama A&M is the place this weekend

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- If you're a sports fan, then Alabama A&M is the place to be this weekend.

We've got SWAC Tournament soccer, volleyball, men's and women's basketball and it's all capped by a key SWAC East Division football showdown with a salute to our military.

The women's soccer team kicks off the SWAC tournament Thursday at 10:30 a.m. at John Hunt Park in Huntsville. The Lady Bulldogs take on Howard University in the first-round match. A&M fell to the Lady Bison 1-0 a couple of weeks ago.

Also Thursday, the Lady Bulldogs host in-state rival Alabama State in volleyball. The 7 p.m. match is at Elmore Gym and will be carried on the SWAC Digital Network. There is no charge for admission.

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Gold Rush are 3-0 after beating Belhaven again

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Morris Wright scored 17 points, and RJ Daniels and Jarvis Thibodeaux produced double-doubles to lead NAIA No. 13 Xavier University of Louisiana to a 78-55 men's basketball victory against Belhaven.

The Gold Rush (3-0) defeated the Blazers (0-2) for the second time in six days.

Wright, an All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference guard as a sophomore last season, and Anthony Goode scored 11 points apiece to help Xavier extend a 38-28 halftime advantage. Thibodeaux's basket with 35 seconds remaining closed the scoring and gave Xavier its biggest lead.

Wright made all seven of his free-throw attempts and had four assists, a block, three steals and no turnovers in 33 minutes.

Daniels produced 12 points and 10 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double -- he had none in his previous two XU seasons -- and Thibodeaux had 10 points and a career-best 12 rebounds for his first XU double-double.

Goode scored 16 points and made two of Xavier's four 3-pointers. Reserve guards Troy Salvant and Gary Smith had seven points apiece.

Jordan Bedford, with 18 points, was Belhaven's lone double-figure scorer. Bedford made 5-of-6 3-pointers and is 11-of-17 from long range through two games.

Xavier trailed 8-2 through the first 3 1/2 minutes, then took the lead for good with a 21-4 run. Wright's basket at 12:52 put the Gold Rush ahead to stay, 10-8, and Goode and Smith capped the run with 3-pointers for a 23-12 lead at 9:17.

Xavier outshot the Blazers 44.1 to 40 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 36-26. Xavier committed a season-low 10 turnovers and gained 19 for its largest turnover margin in nearly two years.

The winning margin is the Gold Rush's fifth largest in the series, which Xavier leads 49-13.

This was the lone road game in Xavier's first nine contests. The Gold Rush will play NCAA Division II's Albany State at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Convocation Center.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

XULAATHLETICS

Monday, November 3, 2014

Loyola sweeps XU to end Nuggets' 6-match win streak

NEW ORLEANS -- Lauren Brand had 11 kills and hit .400 Monday to lead Loyola to a 25-15, 25-21, 25-22 women's volleyball victory against Xavier University of Louisiana at The Den.

The Wolf Pack (12-17) gained a two-match season split with the Gold Nuggets (17-5) and snapped Xavier's six-match win streak.

CeCe Williams had nine kills and 10 digs for Xavier. Claudia Haywood had seven kills, Chinedu Echebelem had six kills and 11 digs, and Darian Harris had 13 digs.

Wren Overesch and Eva Allen had eight kills apiece for Loyola, and setter Daniela Lead had 25 assists, 10 digs and two blocks.

Xavier scored the first two points of the match, then the Wolf Pack won 13 of the next 14 points and closed the set on an Overesch kill. Xavier rallied from an 11-4 second-set deficit to a tie at 19 before two Overesch kills and three XU errors gave the Wolf Pack a two-set lead.

Loyola rallied from 14-9 and 19-15 deficits in the final set and closed the match with a 6-1 run.

Loyola outhit Xavier .248 to .151 and had advantages of 39-32 in kills and 4-2 in aces. The Gold Nuggets committed 40 errors, 13 more than the Wolf Pack.

Xavier will conclude its regular season with a 7 p.m. match at city and Gulf Coast Athletic Conference rival Dillard. The Gold Nuggets, who clinched the GCAC regular-season title on Saturday, will attempt to finish unbeaten in conference for the fourth consecutive year.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

XULAATHLETICS

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Virginia State beats ECSU to stay unbeaten in CIAA

ETTRICK, Virginia -- Sophomore running back Kavon Bellamy records a career-high 139 yards rushing; including a game-high three rushing touchdowns to help lift the Virginia State University football team past Elizabeth City State University on Saturday afternoon, 41-14. VSU is on a four-game win streak.

With the victory, the Trojans improve to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association; while the Vikings drop to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the CIAA.

Virginia State opened the game taking the ball 62 yards in 10 plays to record its first score off a nine-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Tarian Ayres to junior wide out Javion Smallwood, taking the 6-0 lead. The Trojans defense held the ECSU offense to only six plays on its first drive.

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UDC Firebirds Top East Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll

Head Coach Lester Butler, Jr. has eight players returning
from last year's ECC Championship team.
Courtesy UDC Firebirds Athletics

CENTRAL ISLIP, New York -- University of the District of Columbia, winners of last year's East Coast Conference Women's Basketball Championship, has been selected as favorites to repeat as conference champions in a vote by the conference's coaches. The Firebirds received a total of 116 points and six first-place votes.

UDC finished last season with a 21-8 record and won the first ECC Championship in program history. They also made a trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second time in three seasons since joining the ECC. The 2014-15 edition of the Firebirds has eight returning players on the roster from last year, including All-Conference First Team picks Denikka Brent and Telisha Turner.

LIU Post finished narrowly behind UDC in the poll with four first-place votes and 111 points. The Pioneers won the ECC Regular Season Championship last year and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time in program history. They return last year's ECC Player of the Year, Chelsea Williams, who averaged 19.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per-game last season. Williams was named 2014-15 Preseason Player of the Year.

Queens College wraps up the top-three with 89 points. The Knights – three years removed from a one-win campaign, finished last season with 20 wins and advanced to the ECC semifinals last season. NYIT, which received the final first place vote, comes in at fourth in the poll with 85 points.

The Firebirds open the 2014-15 season on November 8th with an exhibition game vs. Division I University of Maryland at the XFinity Center in College Park, MD. The Terrapins are the favorites to win the Big 10 Championship after finishing the 2013-14 season 28-7 overall and advancing to the NCAA Final Four.

2014-2015 ECC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll

School Pts. Last Year's Record
1. District of Columbia (6) 116 21-8 (15-5 ECC)
2. LIU Post (4) 111 24-7 (18-2 ECC)
3. Queens 89 20-8 (15-5 ECC)
4. NYIT (1) 85 18-10 (13-7 ECC)
5. Roberts Wesleyan 72 15-14 (10-10 ECC)
6. Molloy 70 14-14 (11-9 ECC)
7. St. Thomas Aquinas 61 12-13 (8-12 ECC)
8. Dowling 38 10-16 (9-11 ECC)
9. Bridgeport 31 7-19 (5-15 ECC)
10. Daemen 30 8-18 (5-15 ECC)
11. Mercy 23 2-24 (1-19 ECC)
( ) - First Place Votes

Preseason Player of the Year: Chelsea Williams, LIU Post (5-7, Sr., G, Copiague, N.Y.)

COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SPORTS INFORMATION

Lincoln Lions Win 2014 CIAA Women's Cross Country Championships

CARY, North Carolina – The Lincoln University's women's cross country team were crowned CIAA champions with 59 team points at the 2014 CIAA Cross Country Championships on Thursday, October 30^th. This was the first ever CIAA Championship in The Lincoln University history since joining in 2010. The Lions had runners place 3^rd, 6^th, 8^th, 12^th, and 30^th defeating Winston-Salem State (60) by one point.

After several fourth place finishes at the CIAA Cross Country Championships (2010, 2012, and 2013) and a fifth place in 2011 the Lions finally got over the hump led by Head Coach Damion Drummond capturing their first ever CIAA Championship in 2014.

Senior Shana Brown (Baltimore, MD/Institute of Notre Dame) led the Lions with a third place finish crossing the line with a time of 19:33. Two others placed in the top-10 with senior Alexis Cubbage (North Plainfield, NJ/Union Catholic HS)'s sixth place finish (19:54) and sophomore Sarah Gray (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood HS)'s eighth place finish (20:29). SophomoreGenae Butler (Baltimore, MD/Western HS) was fourth for the Lions with a time of 20:56 arriving in 12^th place while seniorAshley Torres (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area HS) (22:27) was 30^th, senior Samiyah Salih (Irvington, NJ/Benedictine Academy)(22:46) was 31^st, and sophomore Emani Parsons (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood HS) (23:04) was 34^th rounding out Lincoln's championship team.

Winston-Salem State finished as the runners-up with 60 points. Shaw (95) finished third and Virginia State (121) took fourth. Virginia State's Taylor-Ashley Bean won the women's 5K, finishing in 19:27.

RESULTS

COURTESY THE LINCOLN UNIVERSITY LIONS SPORTS INFORMATION

Miles defeats Stillman, 26-22, behind 208 rushing yards from Jonathon Clark

FAIRFIELD, Alabama -- Running back Jonathon Clark had a monster night for Miles, rushing for 208 yards in a tight 26-22 win over Stillman.

Clark was the difference in a game that was hotly contested and even in most categories.

Stillman got on the scoreboard first when quarterback Josh Straughan scored on a five-yard sprint into the endzone at the 11:48 mark.

Miles answered with a 27-yard touchdown rush by Xavier Bacon to tie the score at 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Alexander Morri scored on a one-yard rush for Miles and, after a missed extra point, led 13-7. Stillman, though, came right back and scored a touchdown on a two-yard run from Dondre Purnell.

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Grambling snuffs out TSU's faint SWAC title hopes

HOUSTON, Texas -- Any chance of Texas Southern earning a share of the Southwestern Athletic Conference West Division title officially ended Saturday. And quickly.

What was a long shot at best of making up a three-game deficit in the standings, TSU's focus now is on maintaining a winning overall record after Saturday night's 35-7 loss to Grambling State at BBVA Compass Stadium.

In winning its sixth straight game, Grambling (6-3, 6-0) controlled the game from start to finish, sending TSU (5-4, 3-4) to its third consecutive loss with two games remaining.

"We're not finishing," TSU coach Darrell Asberry said. "We'll have a great offense one week, we'll sputter another week.

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FAMU falls on homecoming, fans irked by coaching change

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TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- The Florida A&M football team nearly pulled off a much-needed homecoming win, but a quarterback sneak came up short to cap a frustrating week for the Rattlers.

The team rallied despite FAMU athletic director Kellen Winslow making the controversial decision to fire head coach Earl Holmes on Tuesday of homecoming week. Assistant Corey Fuller appointed interim head football coach.

Holmes, a former FAMU player, finished with a 6-16 record at the school and was startled by the timing of the coaching change.

"As a Hall of Famer – FAMU Hall of Fame and MEAC Hall of Fame – on homecoming weekend . . . I don't know," Holmes told the Tallahassee Democrat shortly after addressing FAMU players for the final time. "I'm amazed. Amazed."

The Rattlers (2-7, 2-3 in the MEAC) nearly won despite the ...

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Struggles in red zone deliver latest SWAC loss for JSU

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Ryan Griffin passed the question to Daniel Williams.

Williams put both hands on his head and took a deep breath before answering.

“It’s tough,” the sophomore wide receiver said. “I know this is a tough loss. We had plenty of opportunities in the red zone. We were in the red zone a whole bunch of times.”

Jackson State fell to Alabama A&M 25-14 Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

It was the Tigers’ fourth straight loss.

They couldn’t take advantage of scoring opportunities throughout the game.

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Bethel's last-minute basket edges Gold Nuggets, 68-66

The 2014-15 Xavier University of Louisiana women's basketball team.

ROSTER

McKENZIE, Tennessee -- Mariah McKenty's basket with 55 seconds remaining broke a tie and lifted NAIA No. 9 Bethel (Tenn.) to a 68-66 women's basketball victory Saturday against No. 18 Xavier University of Louisiana in the Bethel Chamber of Commerce Shootout.

The Gold Nuggets (0-2), who lost to a top-10 opponent for the second straight day, got 16 points from Vinnie Briggs, 15 from Eliqua Brooks and 13 from Whitney Gathright. Brooks made three 3-pointers for the second consecutive game.

Jackliann Street had 23 points, 14 rebounds and five assists for Bethel (2-0), and Shamon Pearson scored 16.

Street passed to McKenty for the winning shot and her only points of the second half. Xavier missed a pair of field-goal attempts in the final 40 seconds.

Xavier trailed by five in the final four minutes before tying the score at 64 on Alesha Smith's basket at 1:50 and again at 66 on two Briggs free throws at 1:39.

The Gold Nuggets trailed 12-6 in the seventh minute before producing a 25-8 run which gave them their biggest lead, 31-20. Gathright, Briggs and Brooks combined for 25 points during the surge, which Gathright capped with a 3-pointer at 4:22. Brooks and Trana Hopkins also made 3's during the run.

But Xavier went scoreless on its next seven possessions, and Bethel cut the Nuggets' lead to 31-26 at halftime. The Lady Wildcats continued their rally in the second half, outscoring Xavier 8-0 in the first 2:45.

Donyeah Mayfield passed to Briggs for a basket which gave Xavier its final lead, 53-51, with 8:16 remaining.

Xavier for the second straight day had a higher field-goal percentage but was outscored at the line. The Gold Nuggets outshot the Lady Wildcats 40 to 31.5 percent from the floor, but Bethel was 28-of-30 from the line to Xavier's 17-of-20. Street made 15-of-16 free throws, 13-of-14 in the second half.

"We had chances to win both days but couldn't finish," XU coach Bo Browder. "But we aren't hanging out heads. We're challenging ourselves with a tough non-conference schedule. We're going to make adjustments and get better."

Campbellsville and Bethel both finished 2-0 in the event. Campbellsville, ranked fifth, beat Harris-Stowe 94-46 in Saturday's first game.

Xavier is 0-2 for the first time since 1986-87 and the third time in the Title IX era.

The Gold Nuggets' next game will be their home opener, against NAIA No. 22 Mobile at 7 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Convocation Center. Xavier's first four opponents are ranked.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

XULAATHLETICS

Xavier earns 4th straight GCAC regular-season title

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas -- The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's volleyball regular-season championship belongs again to Xavier University of Louisiana.

The Gold Nuggets defeated Philander Smith 25-10, 25-11, 23-25, 25-16 Saturday to win the title for the fourth consecutive year.

"It's fantastic to be the regular-season conference champs again," second-year XU coach Hannah Lawing said. "However, we are going to channel all of our excitement into focus for the GCAC Tournament. Winning regular season is great but, ultimately, doesn't get us to nationals, which is our goal."

Xavier will play eighth-seeded Voorhees at 10 a.m. Nov. 14 at XU's Convocation Center in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. The semifinals will start at 3 p.m. that day, with the championship match to begin at noon Nov. 15. The tournament winner will receive at automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship.

The Convocation Center will be the site of all XU tournament matches. No. 2 seed SUNO will play host to two quarterfinals and a semifinal Nov. 14.

The victory was the sixth in a row for the Gold Nuggets (17-4, 13-0). Xavier has won 56 consecutive matches against GCAC opponents -- 47 in the regular season -- and 54 straight against HBCUs. Philander Smith is 15-17, 8-5.

"We had a great start against Philander Smith," Lawing said. "We took care of the fundamentals very well, serve and serve receive."

Xavier will close the regular season on the road against two city rivals: 7 p.m. Monday at Loyola, then 7 p.m. Thursday at Dillard in the final conference match.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

XULAATHLETICS