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NASHVILLE, Tennessee – This weekend, the Tennessee State track and field teams will wrap up their respective Indoor Seasons in the OVC Championship on the campus of Eastern Illinois.
The Tigerbelles are looking to win back-to-back titles after being crowned champs last season at home.
“There is definitely pressure to repeat [as champions],” head coach Chandra Cheeseborough said. “We have to realize that winning the second one is much harder than the first. I hope everyone will have their game-face on and ready to perform.”
Two big pieces to the women’s success in last year’s Championship were Clairwin Dameus and Amber Hughes. Damues got TSU off on the right foot by placing first in the Pentathlon with a total score of 3,625. Hughes then ran a scorching 7.68 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles to take top prize while Dameus placed second.
The dynamic duo later teamed to break the OVC record in the 4x400 meter relay with a winning time of 3:42.73. Both are back this season and are looking to do even better.
“In addition to her other events, Amber has been competing in the triple jump the last few weeks and the first time she competed, she jumped 40 feet. She is very confident she can get us at least 40 points,” Cheeseborough said. “Clairwin is the ultimate competitor. She is second in the pentathlon right now, but she came from behind last year, so we know she can win from that spot.”
The Flying Tigers will be trying to improve upon their third place finish a year ago and will welcome back Quamel Prince who came up big for TSU by winning the 800-meter dash by nearly two whole seconds after completing the event in 1:51.44.
“Quamel is an awesome athlete and very humble. He is the type of person who can do anything you ask, and do it well. I am looking for great things from him this weekend and moving forward,” Cheeseborough said.
One member who wasn’t there for last season, but who has had success this year, is freshman Jemarruse Amos. In TSU’s last event, he clocked the second fastest time in the OVC in the 60 meter hurdles, placing second with a time of 8.22 seconds.
The events will start Friday, Feb. 27 at 9 a.m. with the pentathlon and conclude on Saturday at 4 p.m. with the 4x400 meter relays.
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- Virginia Union survived the final minutes without leading scorer Ashle Freeman to pull out a CIAA Tournament victory.
Freeman scored a game-high 25 points before fouling out but her teammates held off Saint Augustine's 74-71 in a women's first-round basketball contest at Time Warner Cable Arena on Tuesday, February 24. The Lady Panthers (9-17 overall), the No. 5 Northern Division seed, advanced to Wednesday's quarterfinals where they will face The Lincoln, the Northern Division co-champion, at 2:20 p.m.
Freeman played a tremendous game but picked up her fifth foul with the Lady Panthers ahead 65-59 with just under six minutes left. Her departure from the contest sparked the Lady Falcons, who rallied to take their first lead of the game at 71-70 on a Jeanne-Marie Wilson layup with 54 seconds remaining.
Several Lady Panthers stepped up at crunch time. ShaHadah Barrett hit a free throw to tie the score and Trylanda Jennings made one of two free throws after drawing a foul in the paint. She missed the second free throw but Taylor White grabbed a key rebound and was fouled. White hit two free throws for a 74-71 lead with eight seconds left.
But the contest was not over yet. Wilson picked up a loose ball and fired a potential game-tying three-pointer which appeared on target. The shot missed and time expired as the Lady Falcons got the rebound.
"This team has resolve," Lady Panthers' Head Coach Barvenia Wooten-Cherry said. "It helps that we are close as a unit. We depend on each other."
Lady Walker added 22 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks, and Sydney Howard scored 10 points for the Lady Panthers, who defeated the Lady Falcons in all three meetings this season. Regime McCombs pumped in 20 points, Wilson added 17 points and Terri Jacobs scored 12 points for the Lady Falcons, the No. 4 Southern Division seed who finished the season at 12-14 overall.
The Lady Falcons, who trailed 40-28 at halftime, rallied behind Jacobs, a forward who scored all her points in the second half after being held scoreless in the first half. They climbed back in the game and were in position to close out with a victory, but the Lady Panthers survived with a group effort.
The Lady Panthers, behind 16 points from Freeman and 14 from Walker, had their way with the Lady Falcons in the first half after bursting out to a 6-0 lead. The margin steadily grew to double digits, and it appeared the contest would be a rout.
"We didn't come out with the intensity that Virginia Union came out with," Lady Falcons' Head Coach Rachel Bullard said. "We couldn't get in sync. We played with heart in the second half but dug ourselves a hole in the first half."
The Lady Falcons, led by the trio of Jacobs, McCombs and Wilson, made a game of it before the Lady Panthers stayed strong down the stretch without Freeman, their career scoring leader.
"We had to relax and take our time [in the closing minutes] because we knew what was at stake," Howard said. COURTESY CIAA MEDIA RELATIONS
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- Saint Augustine's University men's basketball team had four players score in double figures and never trailed in the second half as they took a 61-54 win over Elizabeth City State in the first round of the CIAA Men's Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena on Tuesday evening.
Elizabeth City State jumped on Saint Augustine's early, bolting to a 7-0 lead but the Falcons battled back, taking the 14-13 lead. Keith Crawford (Richmond, Va.) would nail a three pointer to stake the Falcons to a 17-13 lead at the 7:07 mark in the first half.
ECSU would cut the lead to 27-25 following a three pointer from Glenn Patterson with 1:21 remaining in the opening stanza. The Falcons would get a jumper from Marquis Hines to make it 29-25 and would carry that lead into the halftime break.
In the second half, St. Augustine's jumped to a 36-26 lead, their largest of the game, when Marquis Hines boarded a missed free throw and got the put back with 16:30 remaining.
ECSU was able to cut the lead to 36-29 following a Brachon Griffin free throw with 15:51 remaining. The Vikings then cut it to 36-31 with two more free throws, this time from Darrell Ward.
After a Falcon turnover, ECSU trimmed the lead to 36-33 following a Darrell Ward layup with 14:24 remaining. DeCarlos Anderson would bring ECSU to within one at 36-35 after he got two free throws to fall with 13:47 remaining.
SAU would break the 12-0 ECSU run when Keith Crawford tipped in a miss, providing the 38-35 ECSU lead. After two technical free throws, SAU jumped ahead 40-35. Anthony Gaskins then got a three pointer to drop, giving SAU the 43-35 lead with 11:00 to play.
The St. Augustine's lead would shrink to 43-27 following a pair of John Tatum free throws with 10:42 left.
ECSU was able to score on two straight possessions, when Tatum nailed a three pointer then added two free throws on their next possession to narrow the Viking lead to 45-42 with 7:11 to go. Anthony Gaskins would answer for SAU, when he drilled a long three pointer with 6:38 left to make it 48-42. Gaskins would then hit another three pointer from the exact same spot a possession later to extend the Falcon lead to 51-42 at the 5:48 mark.
Up 54-47 at the 3:56 mark, St. Augustine's got a pair of free throws from freshman Quincy January to boost the lead to 56-47. Elizabeth City State would get a three pointer from James Theus to cut it to 56-50. The Vikings then forced a turnover, but would give the ball right back with 1:44 to play. St. Augustine's would give it right back, and ECSU's three point attempt was no good.
After a St. Augustine's timeout with 1:01 to play, SAU was able to burn 15 seconds off the clock before ECSU was able to foul. SAU's Raheem Jolliffe knocked down two free throws with 48 seconds left to make it 59-50 . ECSU then got a layup from John Tatum to trim the lead to 58-52 with 21.8 to play.
St. Augustine's then would go on to get a free throw from Anthony Gaskins to extend the lead 59-52. ECSU answered quickly with a basket from Brachon Griffin with 12.6 remaining. After the ECSU timeout, the Vikings were forced to foul, sending Jolliffe to the line for two shots. Jolliffe knocked down both shots to provide the 61-54 final.
Anthony Gaskins led four St. Augustine's players in double figures with 14 points. Teammates Raheem Jolliffe and Marquis Hines each finished with 11. Hines also finished with 10 rebounds. Keith Crawford added 10 points for the Falcons.
ECSU got 11 points each from John Tatum and Darrell Ward.
With the loss, Elizabeth City State finishes at 9-21 while St. Augustine's improves to 12-15.
St. Augustine's will advance to the CIAA Tournament quarterfinals and will battle Lincoln at 2:20 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25.
Quotes:
St. Augustine's Head Coach MarQus Johnson
"Tonight was a complete team effort. We defended and rebounded well and when we do both, we will be in a lot of ball games."
"We haven't played in this type of arena before, with the depth perception that goes with it. At the end, we hang our hat on defense and it is evident with the result tonight."
On Bench Play
"I've told every player that their chance could be on any given night. Right now everyone is playing their role, has high energy and it's been good for us."
"I'm not a huge stat guy, but we did defend very well. I think it was one of the best defending jobs we did all season."
"Anthony (Gaskins) can get hot very quick. He has the confidence to knock them down."
On Tourney Prep
"It's interesting. I've been in this league for 20 years as a player and coach. I told them it's a different experience. I also told the guys to relax, enjoy it, and have fun."
On Chowan
"Chowan is a great team. They did well in the Northern division this year and they beat us. Right now we are going to go look at some game film and get ready for them tomorrow."
SAU's Marquis Hines
"It was hard not playing in the tournament last year. It feels real good playing this year with the adversity that we had this season. It feels good and I want to go hard for my team, family as well as my coaches."
ECSU Head Coach Alico Dunk
"This evening's game was tough and a hard fought game by both teams. It was a tough loss. We had our chances to make some plays and change the momentum. You've got to give credit to St. Augustine's as they hit big shots at the right time."
NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana made its 47th consecutive appearance Tuesday in the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll. The Gold Rush (21-8, 10-3 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference) are 21st, one place lower than a week ago.
Xavier has the longest current streak of top-25 appearances among NAIA DI men.
The Gold Rush have clinched the No. 2 seed for next week's GCAC Tournament. The GCAC's No. 1 seed and regular-season champion is Talladega, which is No. 1 nationally for the second consecutive week.
A third GCAC team, Philander Smith, missed the top 25 by 15 points and is 26th overall.
All three rounds of the men's GCAC Tournament will be played March 6-8 at XU's Convocation Center. The women's tournament will begin March 6 at Dillard's Dent Hall, then move to Xavier for the final two days.
Xavier's men and women will conclude the regular season Saturday against Dillard in the Crosstown Classic at the Convocation Center. The 7 p.m. men's game.
NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through Feb. 22)
MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Jamel Waters did more than just make a game-winning shot Monday night to beat Southern, 56-54, on ESPNU.
The Alabama State junior point guard also made ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10.
With the score tied, Waters ran the game clock down to the final seconds before hitting a basket over Christopher Hyder with 0.5 seconds left.
Waters' shot finished 10th on the ESPN countdown. The Birmingham native scored 14 points in the road win.
The win keeps Alabama State (16-7, 12-2) tied for first place in the SWAC with Texas Southern (15-12, 12-2) while Southern (14-15, 11-4) dropped to second in the conference.
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- The weather continues to force changes to Southern’s baseball schedule.
The Jaguars have had almost as many postponements (two) as games played (three) so far, and they announced Tuesday that the home- and Southwestern Athletic Conference schedule-opening weekend series against Prairie View has been modified.
The series will begin with a single game at 1 p.m. Friday at Lee-Hines Field, followed by a doubleheader starting at noon Saturday. The Saturday schedule is unchanged, but the Friday game replaces one originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon because of weather concerns.
Southern (0-3) had its season opener at Nicholls State postponed from Feb. 17 to May 5 because of cold and rainy weather in Thibodaux. Similar conditions in Baton Rouge led to the postponement of another game against the Colonels that was scheduled for Tuesday at Lee-Hines. The schools are still working on a makeup date for that one.
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- The Winston-Salem State University Lady Rams defeated the Chowan University women's basketball team 73-58 on Tuesday afternoon in the opening round of the CIAA Tournament. The Lady Rams, the fifth seed out of the Southern Division advance with an 11-16 record while the Hawks' season comes to an end with a 13-14 mark.
All-CIAA performer Alisha Mobley netted a career-high 30 points in the setback while grabbing eight rebounds (two offensive, six defensive). Rachel Gostomski added 13 points for the Chowan Blue and White. The Hawks had 27 turnovers in the game while Winston-Salem State had 29 turnovers of their own.
Chowan University women's basketball head coach Patrick Mashuda noted, "We have to give credit to Winston-Salem State. They came out with great energy and we weren't able to match their energy until midway through the first half. We came back at certain points throughout the game but weren't able to match them for the full forty minutes of the game."
Kesheria McNeil scored 21 points for the Lady Rams while All-CIAA team member Dionna Scott chipped in 13 points and 10 rebounds (two offensive, eight defensive). Jasmine Carter added 10 points to aid Winston-Salem State's effort in the win.
Winston-Salem State University women's basketball coach A.G. Hall stated, "Hat's off to Chowan, I thought they were very competitive. One of the things we wanted to do today was wear them down. We wanted to use our numbers to our advantage and we were able to achieve that."
The Lady Rams started off the contest with two made free throws to grab an early lead. McNeil's jump shot pushed Winston-Salem ahead 4-0. Scott made good on two free throws for the Lady Rams to leave the Hawks trailing 6-0 by the 18:34 mark in the first half. Trailing 12-0 with 15:40 on the clock, back-to-back buckets by Mobley put Chowan on the board and ended the Lady Rams' 12-0 run by the first media time out of the game.
A made free throw and three-pointer by Mobley cut the deficit to four points (12-8) by the 13:24 mark. With 11:39 remaining before halftime, a three-pointer by Gostomski capped an 11-0 run by Chowan. Winston-Salem State responded with a bucket by Shaquira Palmer, ending a five minute scoring drought for the Lady Rams.
With Winston-Salem State leading 14-13, Courtni Williams' bucket for Chowan gave the Hawks their first lead of the game with 8:27 on the clock. The Lady Rams regained the advantage using a basket by McNeil. Mobley capitalized on two free throw to give Chowan a 17-16 lead.
The teams exchanged baskets over the next four minutes of play with neither team leading by more than two points.
Winston-Salem State held on to a 25-23 lead with 3:22 remaining before halftime. Two made free throws by Gostomski knotted the score 25-25. Scott's jumper for Winston-Salem State followed Naima Harrington's basket resulted in a tied score (27-27) as both teams headed into the locker room at halftime.
McNeil opened the second half with a jumper for the Lady Rams. Back-to-back buckets by Angel Porter pushed Winston-Salem State ahead 33-27 by the 18:18 mark. Trailing 35-32, Harrington's free throw narrowed the Hawks' deficit to two points. The Lady Rams responded with a 7-2 run to pull away 42-35 after Taylar Wells' three-pointer at the 14:33 mark.
Two made free throws by Mobley for Chowan followed by a three-pointer by Winston-Salem State's Jasmine Carter at the top of the key with 13:00 left in the game pushed the Lady Rams ahead 45-37. Chowan trailed by as many as 11 points (50-39) after Briana Wilder's three-pointer with 10:41 left in the game.
With 9:44 left in the game, Mobley's jumper and two made free throws made the score 50-43. Jasmine Carter's three-pointer at the 6:36 mark pushed Winston-Salem State ahead 56-45. Gostomski drained a three-pointer for the Hawks on Chowan's next possession but the Lady Rams built their lead back to 11 points (59-48) by the final media time out of the game.
Carter added a three-pointer for Winston-Salem State with 3:40 on the clock, resulting in a 62-48 advantage. Two made free throws for the Lady Rams left the Hawks trailing 64-48 and gave Winston-Salem State their largest lead of the contest at the 2:46 mark. Mobley drained a three-pointer for the Hawks on Chowan's next possession but Scott promptly answered with a bucket for the Lady Rams to extend Winston-Salem State's lead 66-51 with just under two minutes left in the game.
The Lady Rams controlled the momentum for the remainder of the contest before closing out the game with the 73-58 win. Winston-Salem State will take on Shaw University on Wednesday, February 25th. Tip-off is slated for 12:10pm in Time Warner Cable Arena.
MOBILE, Alabama -- Patricia Recalde Pacua won a third-set tiebreaker Monday against Jana van der Walt to give Brenau a 5-4 victory against Xavier University of Louisiana in a matchup of top-10 NAIA women's tennis teams.
Pacua defeated van der Walt 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7-1) at the fourth singles flight. Van der Walt led 6-5 in the third set after trailing 5-4.
Brenau (5-2) is ranked seventh, and Xavier (4-5) is third. It was the Gold Nuggets' first dual-match loss this season to an NAIA opponent.
Xavier trailed 4-2 before tying the dual on Nour Abbes' 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 victory against Fatyha Berjane and Sha'Nel Bruins' 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 victory against Kelley Cohron. Brion Flowers earned the Gold Nuggets' other singles victory, 6-0, 6-3 against Nathalia Bolivar.
Abbes and Carmen Nelson beat Maria Perdomo-Medina and Pacua 8-4 at the top doubles flight. But Brenau won the other doubles matches and took a 2-1 lead into singles when Berjane and Paula Rives Palau beat Flowers and Caroline Vernet 9-7.
Abbes is 36-1 in singles in her XU career, 19-1 this season and 6-0 this semester.
A year ago, Xavier defeated Brenau 5-4 at XU in another top-10 matchup when Simone-Alyse Ewell won in three sets at No. 5 singles.
Xavier's women and men will play NCAA Division I's Alcorn State at 2 p.m. Tuesday at XU Tennis Center. Xavier's men are ranked eighth.
NEW ORLEANS -- Kishaun Williams scored 18 points Monday, and Brandy Broome had 14 points and 15 rebounds to lead SUNO to an 81-71 women's basketball victory against Xavier University at The Castle.
The Lady Knights (16-4, 11-1) clinched the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season championship -- the second in the program's history and the first since 1999-2000.
Marquetta Stokes scored 16 points and Rayvin Miller 12 for SUNO. Broome also had six assists, three blocked shots and three steals.
Donyeah Mayfield had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Gold Nuggets (15-14, 8-5), and Ireyon Keith scored 10. Vinnie Briggs grabbed 11 rebounds.
Former XU player Jessica Savannah put SUNO ahead to stay, 28-27, with a basket at 6:11 of the first half. The Lady Knights led 41-38 at halftime and pulled away in the final 10 1/2 minutes after Kelsey Joseph's 3-pointer cut SUNO's advantage to 54-53.
SUNO outshot Xavier 42.3 to 39.2 percent from the floor, 50 to 33.3 percent in the second half. Xavier had a 49-39 rebound advantage.
SUNO completed a two-game regular-season sweep of Xavier, last year's GCAC Tournament champion.
Xavier will conclude the regular season in a 5 p.m. Saturday game against Dillard in the Crosstown Classic at XU's Convocation Center. The GCAC Tournament will begin March 6 with women's quarterfinal games at Dillard and the men's quarterfinals at Xavier. All tournament games March 7-8 will be played at Xavier.
NEW ORLEANS -- Junior guard Morris Wright scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half Monday to help NAIA No. 20 Xavier University of Louisiana earn a 71-61 men's basketball victory against SUNO at The Castle.
The Gold Rush (21-8, 10-3) completed a two-game regular-season sweep of the Knights (4-20, 1-11).
Wright led Xavier in scoring for the 12th time this season and reached double figures for the 23rd time.
Sydney Coleman scored 15 points, Anthony Goode 13 and Wesley Pluviose-Philip 10 for the Gold Rush. Pluviose-Philip was 5-of-5 from the floor. Jarvis Thibodeaux grabbed 10 rebounds and reached double figures for the sixth time this season.
Coleman had seven rebounds, and Gary Smith grabbed a career-high six.
Will Bailey and Thaddeus Showers scored 17 points apiece for SUNO, and Thaddeus Fortune scored 13. Bailey made four of the Knights' eight 3-pointers.
The Gold Rush led for the final 33 minutes. Xavier led 29-20 at halftime and twice by 15 points, the last time at 55-40 after two Thibodeaux free throws with 5:41 remaining.
Xavier outshot the Knights 53.1 to 41.3 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 33-24. It was the 13th time this season that Xavier reached 50 percent and the fifth time in the past seven games.
Xavier will conclude the regular season in a 7 p.m. Saturday game against Dillard in the Crosstown Classic at XU's Convocation Center. The GCAC Tournament will begin March 6 with men's quarterfinal games at Xavier and the women's quarterfinals at Dillard's Dent Hall. All tournament games March 7-8 will be played at Xavier.
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- The Livingstone College Lady Blue Bears advanced to the second round of the CIAA Tournament on Tuesday, February 24th with a 91-73 win over Bowie State University. The Lady Blue Bears, the third seed out of the CIAA Southern Division, advance to the next round with a 10-19 record while the Lady Bulldogs, the sixth seed out of the Northern Division, end their season with a 9-18 mark.
Each team had four players score double-digit points in the contest. Amber Curtis led the effort for Livingstone with 18 points while Precious Roberts added 16 points in the victory. Labrea Walker chipped in 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds (two offensive, seven defensive) while Cierra York followed with 11 points.
"I think we played a phenomenal first half but the challenge was to match that intensity in the second half. Now it's time to break down some film and get ready to face a tough Johnson C. Smith University," noted Livingstone head coach Anita Howard.
Ty-Nita Baker paced Bowie State with 18 points. Sheldeen Joseph added 14 points while Donia Naylor chipped in 12 points and 11 rebounds (four offensive, seven defensive). Keira Phipps rounded out the double-digit scoring effort with 11 points.
"I'm extremely proud of this team. We got off to a slow start today but our team never gave up and fought all the way until the end of the game. I honestly think the slow start is what hurt us the most today," stated Bowie State interim head coach Shadae Swan.
York started the contest with a jumper for the Livingstone. The bucket marked the start of a 13-0 run before Baker's jumper for Bowie State at the 14:57 mark brought an end to a five minute scoring drought for Bowie State. With 13:40 left in the first half, Jourdan Stanhope netted a layup for the Lady Bulldogs to cut the deficit to nine points (16-7). After a free throw by York for Livingstone, Joseph netted a layup for Bowie State allowing the Bulldogs to pull within eight points, 17-9, at the 12:43 mark.
A jumper by Alexis Hicks on the Lady Blue Bears' next possession contributed to a 16-2 run for Livingstone, leaving Bowie State trailing 33-11 with 8:23 on the clock in the first half. The Lady Bulldogs were unable to stop Livingstone's momentum and headed into halftime trailing 55-24.
Amber Curtis' three-pointer with 18:40 on the clock in the first half gave the Lady Blue Bears a 34 point lead (63-29) and their largest advantage of the contest. Trailing 69-37 with 14:21 on the clock, Naylor's made free throws led to a 9-0 run for Bowie State. The late run proved to be short lived as Livingstone regained a 30 point advantage (76-46) with 10:41 remaining in the contest.
Down but not out, Bowie State used a 9-2 run to make the score78-55 after Naylor's jumper.
Livingstone held onto the momentum for the remainder of the contest and closed out the game with the 91-73 victory.
The Lady Blue Bears take on Johnson C. Smith University on Wednesday, February 25th. Tip-off is slated for 4:30pm in Time Warner Cable Arena.
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- Elizabeth City State jumped out to a 8-2 lead and never trailed, en route to a 61-52 win over Fayetteville State in the opening game of the CIAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena.
Elizabeth City State started the game on a tear, sparked by a pair of Lady Viking three pointers, both from sophomore Chalise Greenwood (Oxon Hill, Md.) Arielle Harris also paced the way with a jumper of her own to provide the early 8-2 lead.
Fayetteville State got a basket from Bria Robinson (Belmont, N.C.) to cut the Viking lead to 8-4, but the Vikings went on a 7-2 run to extend the lead to 17-6 with 12:22 remaining after a pair of Jadda Jefferies (Burlongton, N.C.) free throws. Robinson would cut the lead to 17-8 after a jumper from the right side.
ECSU would then go ahead on a Breona Jones (Henderson, N.C.) basket. Jones was fouled on the play but could not get the free throw to go. Following another FSU miss, Alliyah Floyd drained a three pointer from the corner to extend the ECSU lead to 22-8 with 10:06 remaining, forcing an FSU timeout.
Following a Deja Middleton (Richmond, Va.) layup for FSU, ECSU responded immediately pushing the lead to 24-10 after a shot from Jones.
With ECSU up 26-15, both teams traded turnovers with Fayetteville State drawing a foul. Middleton was able to drain both ends of a one-and-one opportunity to close within 26-17 with 5:21 remaining in the first half.
FSU continued to chip away at the lead, this time bringing it to 26-19 following another basketball from Richardson with 4:28 remaining. After an ECSU miss, FSU had another opportunity to get closer, but the entry pass was too high, resulting in the turnover.
After trading baskets, FSU forced a turnover and Shamaiya Battle (Fayetteville, N.C.) got to the free throw line, cutting the lead to 30-22 with 2:06 before the half. The Broncos trimmed the lead to 30-24 after another Middleton basket and forced an ECSU turnover with 1:06 left.
On the ensuing possession, the ECSU defense forced a miss and gained the defensive rebound at the 42.7 mark. After an ECSU timeout, the Vikings missed a short jumper, but FSU turned it over on a long pass. That proved costly, as ECSU got a basket from Battle with 11 seconds left to take the 32-24 lead into halftime.
The Lady Vikings would start the second half with a three pointer from Jeffries that made it 35-24. Following an FSU layup from Middleton, ECSU jumped ahead 38-26 on layup from Jeffries. On her drive she was fouled and she knocked down the free throw attempt for the three point play.
FSU would close the gap to eight points at 40-32 after a shot from Powell at the 15:19 mark and again with 13:25 to play after she hit two free throws to make it 42-34.
Neither team could score over the next three minutes, but ECSU's Jones broke the scoreless drought with a free throw to make it 44-34 with 9:48 remaining. FSU's Robinson drew the Lady Broncos to within 44-36 with a layup, and following an ECSU miss, Shamaiya Battle was able to get to the line. After missing the first free throw, the Lady Broncos were whistled with a lane violation, turning the ball back over to the Lady Vikings.
Each team then traded misses on each of their next two possessions, but FSU's Middleton found her way to the line, hitting both shots to close the game to 44-38 with 7:19 to play.
After and ECSU turnover, Fayetteville State missed an opportunity to close to within four, but Middleton's shot rimmed out, and the Vikings scored after securing the rebound, this time on a basket from Greenwood, extending the lead to 46-38.
Fayetteville State's Middleton again found herself on the line, hitting both two shots to close to 46-40 at the 5:35 mark. After two free throws from Jeffries, ECSU regained the eight point advantage at 48-40 with 5:21 remaining. After missing two layups, ECSU gained possession and Jasmine Boyd (Flint, Mich.) hit a pair of free throws to make it 50-40.
FSU's Makayla Williams (Raleigh, N.C.) would hit her lone three pointer of the game, making it 50-43 at the 4:50 mark.
ECSU would extend the lead to 54-43, but FSU's Powell would keep the Bronco hopes alive by banking in a three pointer with 2:39 left trim the ECSU lead to 54-46. Following two missed ECSU free throws, the Lady Broncos drew closer after Powell hit a free throw with 2:02 remaining to make it 54-47.
The FSU pressure force d ECSU to scramble and eventually caused a turnover late in the possession. The Lady Broncos would return the favor, turning it over on the entry pass with 1:24 remaining.
After an ECSU turnover, FSU cut it to 54-48 after a Powell free throw with 1:05 left. The FSU defensive pressure again caused the Lady Vikings trouble, forcing a travelling call at midcourt. FSU would then make it a two-possession game, trimming it to 54-50 on a XXX layup with 52.0 seconds remaining. After a Fayetteville State timeout, the Broncos were forced to foul, sending ECSU's Jeffries to the line. Jeffries calmly hit two shots to make it 56-50 with XX.X remaining.
On the following FSU possession, Middleton boarded a miss and scored on a put back, making it 56-52. Again forced to foul, FSU sent Jefferies to the line. Jefferies hit two more, extended the lead to 58-52 with 26 seconds left.
FSU would miss a three pointer from the corner, and the ensuing foul sent ECSU's Chalise Greenwood (Oxon Hill, Md.) to the line. Greenwood would miss both shots, giving FSU another chance to cut into the lead, but the Broncos were unable to do so. ECSU hit one free throw and FSU was unable to get off another shot, turning the ball over with four seconds remaining. ECSU got a layup at the buzzer from Jasmine Boyd to provide the 61-52 final.
The Lady Broncos were led by Deja Robinson, as she had a double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Teammate Bria Robinson also secured a double-double, pouring in 10 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Bri'neshia Powell also scored in double figures with 10 points.
With the loss, Fayetteville State concludes their season at 8-18.
The Lady Vikings were led by Jadda Jefferies' 20 points and seven rebounds. Jefferies went 13-14 from the free throw line in the win. Freshman Breona Jones scored 14 points for the Lady Vikings.
Elizabeth City State improves to 13-13 overall and advances to take on Virginia State on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 10:00 a.m. in the CIAA Tournament quarterfinals.
Game Quotes:
ECSU Head Coach Ron Woodard:
"These two (Breona Jones, Jadda Jefferies) are the reason we are sitting here now. "
On Six Game Winning Streak:
"We've gotten over all the sickness and injuries that we've had. We were playing with eight, sometimes seven and six players in January. In February, we talked about turning the corner. (Having better) depth has really given us a lot of help here in the late stages of the season."
On FSU's Late Game Charge
"The game changes at the 5 minute mark, whether you're up 20 or down 20. Depth is an issue, b/c we've only got 10 players right now."
ECSU Jada Jefferies
"At the end of the game, our coaches stressed time management and the importance of getting to the free throw line at the end."
FSU Head Coach Eva Patterson-Heath
"I'd like to commend ECSU. They came out ready to play and every time that we starting cutting the lead they responded."
"We've played from behind a lot and forced us into a lot of unforced turnovers. They played man pretty much the entire game, we just made some bad decisions."
"It's been a very different season. We won four-straight after losing our first (game). We were never able to recover the pieces after we lost some players (early in the season). We are now going to be in the recruiting stage to replace those pieces that we lost."
FSU Senior Deja Middleton
Even though we struggled this year, and I enjoyed being with my teammates We believed in the program and I'm grateful for the opportunity.
James Daniel, a 5-11 sophomore guard from Hampton, Virginia made HU Bison history on 2/21/2015 at Tiger Arena (Savannah State) scoring his 1000th point, thus becoming the first male player in school history to accomplish the feat in his second season.
ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- The Big Three of James "JC" Carlton, James "JT" Miller and James "J-Byrd" Daniel, III combined for 38 second half points to help Howard pull away to a 75-65 win over South Carolina State in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's game at S-M-H Memorial Center. The Bison (15-13, 9-5 MEAC) trailed 31-27 at the half, but used a 30-10 run over the first 15 minutes of the second half to take a 57-41 lead. Carlton, Miller and Daniel took turns scoring as the Bulldogs (10-19, 7-7 MEAC) had no answer. Carlton connected on four of five from the field and Miller on six of nine. Daniel did most of his damage at the foul line where he was a perfect eight for eight in the second half, and 10 for 10 overall. Howard shot a sizzling 67 percent (16 of 24) from the field and held a whopping 28-16 advantage on points in the paint. The Bison also converted on 15 of 18 from the charity stripe in the second stanza. The Howard defense tightened up the second half and limited the Bulldogs to 36 percent from beyond the arcthe free throw line. SC State hurt itself from the free throw line, shooting 12 of 22 for 54 percent. "I just sat down," confessed Howard head coach Kevin Nickelberry. "I told them how disappointed I was with their performance and it was up to them to give a better effort. They obviously responded and did a better job of defending and rebounding." Carlton recorded his eighth double double (21 points, 13 rebounds) of the season while also picking up a career-high five assists. Miller, who averages almost 12 points per game, was coming off a scoreless performance in the win over Savannah State. But the 6-4 sophomore rebounded, hitting on 8 of 12 from the field to go along with seven rebounds and three steals. His repertoire included two spectacular dunks, a three pointer and some acrobatic moves to the basket. "JT had been very tentative lately," Nickelberry said. "He came out very aggressive." Daniel was only three for 8 from the field, but his free throw shooting and floor generalship were key factors in the win. "It is important that they know who they are," explained Nickelberry of the Big Three. "They are scorers and all three did their jobs tonight. The Howard bench again supplied help as Brandon Ford and Oliver Ellison combined for 12 points on six of seven shooting between them. "We lost a poise a little bit down the stretch," he said. "Brandon was able to come into the game and settle us down and Oliver made some plays. We have to do a better job closing out games because it could come back to hurt us." The Bulldogs got a team-high 17 points from Greg Mortimer, 11 from Gabe McCray and 10 from freshman Edward Stephens, all coming in the first half. The 15 victories by Howard is the most in a season since 2002-03 when the team posted a 13-17 record. The nine conference wins equals the highest number that same year when it finished 9-9. NEXT UP: Howard hosts rival Hampton University on Saturday at 6 pm. BOX SCORE COURTESY HOWARD UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Jamel Waters field goal with .05 left in the game gave Alabama State a stunning 56-54 win at Southern to keep pace with Texas Southern at the top of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
"Tough ball game and we knew coming in it was going to be a tough battle as it was in Montgomery," coach Lewis Jackson said. "We told the guys we just had to stay close and we are not going to do everything right but stay positive with each other and continue to work, make plays and try to get stops."
"We didn't do all those things right, but we did well enough to pull out the win."
Waters field goal completed a comeback by the Hornets in which they trailed 52-47 with 4:30 left in the game. Luther Page hit a free throw to cut the lead to four with 3:25 left in the game and a Brandon Graham dunk cut the lead to 52-50 with 2:47 left.
NORFOLK, Virginia -- Norfolk State coach Robert Jones figures that besides his own, there are three teams capable of winning next month's all-important MEAC tournament.
On Monday, the Spartans adjusted enough to finally beat one of them.
Jeff Short scored 25 points and NSU overcame early sluggishness to dominate the second half in an 81-71 win over Delaware State at Echols Hall.
The victory means the Spartans (18-11, 11-3) can finish no worse than fourth in the MEAC, guaranteeing them a first-round bye in the tournament.
It also served as evidence that NSU, which has struggled to put teams away all season, isn't alone.
The Spartans overcame a 14-point first-half deficit after looking unrecognizably bad to their coach.
"I told the guys that I'm not quite sure what team that was playing for the first 10 minutes," said Jones. "It just shows everybody that everyone can lose leads, so people can stop harassing us about losing leads, man."
HOUSTON, Texas -- Madarious Gibbs had 25 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assist, and 2 steals as he led Texas Southern to an 83-73 win over visiting Mississippi Valley State on Monday night.
The win keeps TSU in a tie with Alabama State for first place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference with a record of 12-2.
Texas Southern jumped out to an early 17-9 lead on a dunk by Nick Shepard. MVSU would rally to take the lead 22-20 with 10:28 to play in the first half on a jumper by Jeffery Simmons who tied Gibbs with a game high 25 points on the night.
TSU eventually regained momentum and took a 38-32 lead into the break. It was all Tigers in the second half as they never trailed and pushed their lead to as many as 15 midway through the session on a basket by Chris Thomas who had 22 points and a team high 10 rebounds.
Nick Shepard's layup gave the Tigers an 82-71 lead with 1:18 to play and put the game out of reach. The win sets the Tigers up for a key matchup with Alabama State on Saturday for sole possession of first place in the SWAC.
HAMPTON, Virginia -- The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) has released its pairings for the 2015 basketball tournament as determined by the CIAA Tournament Committee. Both men and women begin play on Tuesday, February 24 at the Time Warner Cable Arena. The regular season race for supremacy, in the respective divisions, came down to the wire with three men's games going to overtime. Prior to seeding the tournament, four instances of tied records needed to the sorted for the men, while two needed sorting for the women. The CIAA utilized the following formula as a tie-breaker policy for divisional seeding: Divisional Record Head-to-Head Competition Head-to-Head Point Differential Conference Record Results vs. Common Opponents Coin Flip In the CIAA men’s Northern Division, Bowie State University and Virginia State University will represent the division as Co-Divisional Champs. The tie-breaker policy will seed Bowie State as the #1 seed and Virginia State as the #2 seed. The Bulldogs of BSU had a better conference record over the Trojans. The Lincoln University will be seeded #3 over #4 Chowan after the Lions defeated the Hawks twice in the regular season. Winston-Salem State University and Livingstone College will share the title as Co-Southern Division Champions. WSSU will be seeded #1 in the Southern Division, while LC gets the #2 seed. With identical divisional records and split head-to-head results, the Rams finished with the better point differential after an 89-80 victory at the end of January compared to the Blue Bears 86-83 win Saturday night. The rivalry between Johnson C. Smith University and Fayetteville State University extended to the final option in the tie-breaker scenario. FSU will receive the #3 seed by virtue of a coin flip. In the women’s Northern Division, The Lincoln University and Virginia State University will share the title of Co-Northern Division Champs. The Lincoln Lady Lions will receive the #1 seed with a better head-to-head point differential versus Virginia State. The Lady Lions defeated the Trojans by 11 points on January 31 as compared to Virginia State holding a five-point victory on February 21. In the Southern Division, Shaw University will retain the Divisional crown. Due to penalties levied by the conference, Livingstone is not eligible to be named division champ nor be involved in tie-breaker scenarios. After the nullification process was applied, Livingstone received the #3 seed. Saint Augustine’s won the coin flip in the tie-breaker process to claim the #4 seed. Winston-Salem State will receive the #5 seed. Women's Bracket | Men's Bracket
Senior guard ShaKena Williams and the UDC Firebirds are on a
12 game win streak with a 23-3 season record.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- For the 4th consecutive week, the D2SIDA Media Poll has ranked the University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team No. 4 in the East Region as the Week 14 poll was released this afternoon.
The Firebirds won their 11th and 12th straight games last week to improve to 23-3 overall and move within one win of clinching an East Coast Conference Regular Season Championship. Their 23 wins are 2nd only to the No. 1 ranked team in the East Region, Adelphi (24-3).
Adelphi, ranked No. 12 in last week's WBCA Division II National Poll, won both its games last week to jump Stonehill for the No. 1 spot in the East Region. The Skyhawks (21-3), ranked No. 10 in last week's poll, fell on the road at Franklin Pierce (No. 5 East Region), 81-71 before bouncing back to beat Bentley, 85-71. The loss to FPU, however, dropped Stonehill a spot to No. 2, followed by New Haven (22-3) at No. 3.
Last week, UDC defeated Dowling on the road, 77-59 on Wednesday night and returned home to beat Bridgeport, 70-56 on Saturday afternoon. The Firebirds have now beaten all 10 other schools in the ECC at least once while sweeping six of them. They currently have a two-game lead for 1st place in a league which features the No. 6 and 8 ranked teams in this poll – Roberts Wesleyan and Queens.
Sixteen of UDC's 23 wins have come by double-figures, and the Firebirds are 7-1 outside of conference play and 12-1 on the road this season. UDC also boasts a win over a top-25 ranked team as they dominated No. 25 Virginia St., 88-62 back on November 19th. The 2nd NCAA Division II East Region poll will be released on Wednesday, February 25th. The 1st poll also had UDC at No. 4. COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SPORTS INFORMATION
HEAD COACH BRIAN JENKINS' ASU CONTRACT RAISES THE BAR FOR TOP HBCU FOOTBALL COACHES. CONTRACT CONFIRMS ASU ATHLETICS IS NOT BROKE AS ALLEGED BY MEDIA OUTLETS.
MONTGOMERY, Alabama (WSFA) -- Two months after submitting a Freedom of Information Act to Alabama State University regarding the contract of its new head football coach, the university provided a copy of the document to WSFA 12 News.
The contract's terms state that Brian Jenkins will be ASU's head football coach from Jan. 1, 2015 until Dec. 31, 2017 unless otherwise modified or terminated. Jenkins' annual salary over the contract's life will climb from an annual salary of $175,000 to $200,000 and then $250,000.
The annual salary does not take into account certain bonuses Jenkins can obtain, the first being ...
NASHVILLE, Tennessee – This weekend, the Tennessee State track and field teams will wrap up their respective Indoor Seasons in the OVC Championship on the campus of Eastern Illinois.
