NC A&T Stays Atop FCS; Saturday Shakeup Propels WSSU in HSRN Football Polls

HARTLY, Delaware  --  North Carolina A&T maintained its first place position but a scheduling adjustment helped push Winston-Salem State to the top in week 11 of the HSRN Football Polls.

 

A&T, Grambling, N.C. Central, Southern and Tennessee State stayed firm in the top five positions in the FCS Poll.  Florida A&M made its first appearance after edging Morgan State, 22-21.  The Rattlers have won three of their last four games and head into a Florida Classic showdown against Bethune-Cookman this weekend.

 

After missing the SIAC Championship game, Tuskegee needed a tenth regular season contest in order to qualify for the NCAA Division II playoffs.  The Golden Tigers scheduled Virginia State to an afternoon affair and promptly lost to the Trojans, 45-35.  Meanwhile, Winston Salem State knocked off Bowie State to capture its second straight CIAA Title and move into first place in the Division II/NAIA Poll.

 

VSU’s win pushed the Trojans into second position while Tuskegee dropped to third. Bowie State and Chowan round out the top five.  

 

Despite the loss, Tuskegee received a berth in the Division II Playoffs, joining WSSU as the only HBCU representatives in the Division II postseason.

 

Division I FCS
	School (First Place Votes)	Record	Pts	Last Week
1	North Carolina A&T (11)	9-1	109	1
2	Grambling State (1)	7-1	100	2
3	North Carolina Central	8-2	86	3
4	Southern U.	7-2	77	5
5	Tennessee State	6-4	57	4
6	Prairie View A&M	6-4	51	6
7	Hampton	5-4	41	7
8	Alcorn State	4-5	36	9
9	Florida A&M	4-6	15	NR
10	South Carolina State	3-6	8	8
	Others receiving votes
	Texas Southern, Alabama A&M, Jackson State, Bethune-Cookman

 

 

Division II/NAIA
	School (First Place Votes)	Record	Pts	Last Week
1	Winston-Salem State (8)	9-2	105	2
2	Virginia State (2)	9-2	91	4
3	Tuskegee (1)	8-2	88	1
4	Bowie State	7-4	82	3
5	Chowan	6-4	47	5
6	Miles College	5-4	35	6
7T	Fort Valley State	5-6	34	NR
7T	Virginia Union	5-5	34	8
9	Langston (1)	7-2	28	9
10	Albany State	5-4	26	7
	Others receiving votes
	Kentucky State, Johnson C. Smith, Lincoln (MO)
	Clark Atlanta, Elizabeth City State, Lane College

Five FAMU Volleyballers Honored As MEAC All-Stars

NORFOLK, Virginia – Florida A&M’s Nicole Abreu and Bethune-Cookman’s Alana Handy were named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Volleyball Co-Rookies of the Year it was announced on Wednesday.

The announcement came as part of the overall release of the 2016 MEAC Volleyball All-Conference team, voted on by the league’s head volleyball coaches and sports information directors, ahead of this weekend’s MEAC Volleyball Championships.

Abreu, a freshman outside hitter from Lima, Peru ranks sixth in kills per set (3.22), sixth in points per set (3.61) and seventh in hitting percentage (.260). She registered nine double-doubles in kills and digs.

She posted a season-high 22 kills against North Florida and 22 digs versus Bethune-Cookman. She was named the MEAC Player of the Week on Sept. 26 and MEAC Rookie of the Week on Oct. 10.

FAMU placed two players on the 2016 All-MEAC First Team, freshman outside hitter Maria Yvette Garcia, from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and senior middle blocker Ginna Lopez-Chavez, from Lima, Peru.

Abreu was one of two FAMU players to earn Second Team honors, along with sophomore libero Valentina Carrasco from Lima, Peru.

Three Rattler Women were named to the MEAC All-Rookie Team: Abreu, Garcia and freshman hitter Elena Dimitrova, of Sofia, Bulgaria.

MEAC TOURNAMENT STARTS FRIDAY

Florida A&M (15-11, 10-0 MEAC) won the Southern Division, and will open play in this weekend’s MEAC Tournament as one of two #1 seeds, facing off against Northern Division #4 seed Norfolk State at 4:00 p.m. at the Hytche Center on the campus of Maryland-Eastern Shore.

Should FAMU advance, they would face the winner of Maryland-Eastern Shore/North Carolina A&T in Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. semifinal bout, with the winner advancing to Sunday’s nationally-televised (ESPNU/ESPN3) championship match, set to start at 12 Noon.

The Rattler Women are aiming for their first MEAC title since 2009.

FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

XULA Nuggets' match vs. Saints moving to Convocation Center

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Xavier University of Louisiana announced Wednesday a venue change for its home match this weekend in the 2016 NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round.
     
The Gold Nuggets (16-16) and Saints (30-11) will play at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Convocation Center (7900 Stroelitz St., New Orleans, La. 70125). The Convocation Center, which opened in 2012 and seats nearly 4,000 with all-chairback seating, is the primary home of XULA volleyball.
     
XULA previously announced that the match would be played on campus at its Fitness Center.
     
"Even with a full day of homecoming events on our campus this weekend, we felt that the volleyball match in the NAIA national tournament is a signature event," said Jason Horn, XULA director of athletics & recreation.
     
Tickets to the match will cost $5. Students of both universities and XULA faculty and staff will be admitted free. This is the first time that XULA will host an NAIA National Championship event on its campus.


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions: Southern University lacked institutional control

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana -- Southern University lacked institutional control when it failed to monitor its eligibility certification process, did not properly apply financial aid rules and did not comply with Committee on Academic Performance penalties, according to a Division I Committee on Infractions panel. In total, the university improperly certified more than 200 student-athletes during a six-year period in all 15 sports sponsored by the university.

Download the Southern University Public Infractions Decision

Listen to the media teleconference.

The panel prescribed five years of probation and a vacation of records in which student-athletes participated while ineligible. The panel also accepted the university’s self-imposed penalties of a $5,000 fine and scholarship reductions in several sport programs.

The university’s improper certification issues occurred for three primary reasons: errors that occurred when academic records were transferred from an outdated system to a new system; poor record keeping within the athletics department; and a lack of training and involvement by campus departments outside athletics in the certification process. These issues resulted in 439 instances of improper certifications for 218 student-athletes.

Over a four-year period, the university exceeded scholarship and counter limits in five sports when it did not properly apply financial aid rules to state tuition waivers. Louisiana state law allows all student-athletes who receive athletics scholarships to qualify for in-state tuition. NCAA rules require that tuition waivers like the Louisiana law be considered countable aid. In some instances, the university did not properly account for the waiver when determining scholarship packages for student-athletes, resulting in the university exceeding scholarship limits in baseball, women’s and men’s track, football and softball.

The Committee on Academic Performance previously required the university to reduce the amount of in-season playing and practice time for all sports because it did not meet certain NCAA academic performance benchmarks. The Committee on Academic Performance also reduced out-of-season practice time and the number of contests for men’s and women’s track, men’s basketball and football. Because of turnover at the university, especially in the compliance office, the university did not communicate the restrictions to the coaches, and the penalties were not completed.

There was also an allegation that involved a former athletics director, but the panel concluded that he did not violate NCAA rules.

Penalties prescribed by the panel include the following:

• Public reprimand and censure for the university.
• Five years of probation from Nov. 16, 2016, through Nov. 15, 2021.
• A vacation of records in which student-athletes competed while ineligible. After the release of the public report, the university will identify the competitions affected.

The panel accepted the following penalties self-imposed by the university:

• A $5,000 fine.
• A reduction of women’s soccer scholarships by one during the 2016-17 academic year and by one during the 2017-18 academic year.
• A reduction of softball scholarships by 1.5 during the 2016-17 academic year, by 1.5 during the 2017-18 academic year and by 0.78 during the 2018-19 academic year.
• A reduction of baseball scholarships by 2.3 during the 2016-17 academic year, by 2.3 during the 2017-18 academic year and by 2.3 during the 2018-19 academic year.
• A reduction of football scholarships by five during the 2016-17 academic year, by five during the 2017-18 academic year and by five during the 2018-19 academic year.
• A reduction of women’s volleyball scholarships by one during the 2016-17 academic year and by one during the 2017-18 academic year.
• A reduction of men’s track scholarships by 2.11 during the 2016-17 academic year, by 2.11 during the 2017-18 academic year and by 2.1 during the 2018-19 academic year.
• A reduction of women’s track scholarships by 3.6 during the 2016-17 academic year, by 3.6 during the 2017-18 academic year and by 3.6 during the 2018-19 academic year.
• A reduction of men’s basketball scholarships by one during the 2016-17 academic year, by one during the 2017-18 academic year and by one during the 2018-19 academic year.
• A reduction of women’s basketball scholarships by one during the 2016-17 academic year, by one during the 2017-18 academic year and by one during the 2018-19 academic year.

Members of the Committee on Infractions are drawn from NCAA membership and members of the public. The members of the panel who reviewed this case are Gregory Christopher, athletics director at Xavier University; Thomas Hill, chief hearing officer for the panel and senior policy advisor to the president of Iowa State University; Larry Parkinson, director of enforcement for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Gregory Sankey, chair of the Division I Committee on Infractions and commissioner for the Southeastern Conference; and Sankar Suryanarayan, university counsel, Princeton University.

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FIU adds Alcorn State to 2017 football schedule

MIAMI, Florida -- The FIU Golden Panthers have added the Alcorn State Braves to their 2017 football schedule, according to their official website.

Florida International will host Alcorn State at Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium on a date to be announced in 2017. The game will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

Alcorn State is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). With one game left in the 2016 regular-season, the Braves are 4-5 overall and 4-4 in SWAC play.

FIU now has four non-conference games scheduled for the 2017 season. The Golden Panthers are scheduled to open the season at UCF on Sept. 2, travel to Indiana on Sept. 16, and host Tulane and Alcorn State on dates to be announced.

In Conference USA play, FIU will host Western Kentucky, Charlotte, Old Dominion, and, UTSA, according to their official website.

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A&T's Parker on Central game: 'It's just football'

GREENSBORO, North Carolina — A&T football coach Rod Broadway didn't care to spend much time discussing the past.

“If you look back, you can’t move forward, so let’s move forward; let’s focus on this game,” Broadway said this week. “We got our (butts) kicked the last two years. Now we’re trying to move forward and trying to play this game as well as we can this year.”

The same as the past two seasons, A&T will meet N.C. Central on Saturday in Durham with an MEAC championship at stake. The No. 9 Aggies are 7-0 in the league and 9-1 overall, and No. 25 Central is 7-0 and 8-2 going into 88th Aggie-Eagle Classic.

For the past two seasons, the Eagles have played spoiler, upsetting the Aggies 21-14 in Greensboro in 2014 before a 21-16 victory last season. Both times, the Aggies have been denied their first outright MEAC title since 2003.

While Broadway has talked about not dwelling in the past, that’s easier said than done for the Aggies.

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Rmidi Kinini is going to nationals for Maryland - Eastern Shore

PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland -- Khalil Rmidi Kinini is going to finish his collegiate career as the best cross country runner to ever compete for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

And that's not hyperbole. The native of Spain is a three-time Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion and the first runner in MEAC history to win three individual titles.

This past weekend, Rmidi Kinini cemented his legacy by becoming the first Hawk to qualify for NCAA national competition.

The senior finished fifth at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals at University Park, Pennsylvania on Saturday, Nov. 12. His time of 30:54 is the best ever 10k time for a Maryland Eastern Shore runner regardless of season.

Indiana State University will host the championships on Saturday, Nov.19, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course at Wabash Valley Family Sport Center located in Terre Haute, Indiana. The men's race will begin at noon.

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NCA&T Aggies, NCCU Eagles meet in Durham with MEAC championship on the line

DURHAM, North Çarolina — The Aggie-Eagle rivalry is officially back.

When North Carolina A&T and North Carolina Central meet on Saturday at 2 p.m. at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium in Durham, it will mark the third year in a row that the Aggie-Eagle matchup will decide the MEAC championship.

This year however, winner takes all.

The previous two years, an Aggie win meant they would win the MEAC championship outright. An Eagle win meant they would at least share the MEAC championship with A&T and others.

The Eagles, underdogs both years, were more emotionally prepared and what they may have lacked in talent, they made up for with shear determination and the will to win, behind their dynamic third-year head coach Jerry Mack, who is just 36 years old.

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Hendrix Leads SSU with 17 Points as Tigers Defeats Alabama State 54-39

SAVANNAH, Georgia – Senior guard Kenyata Hendrix led the Savannah State University women's basketball team with 17 points as the Lady Tigers (2-1) defeated Alabama State University (0-3) 54-39 in Tiger Arena Tuesday night.

Hendrix shot 5-for-9 from the floor and added three rebounds, two blocks, a steal and a assists, while senior center Tiyonda Davis added 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting with nine rebounds, six blocks, four steals and two assists.

Senior forward Jeremica Edwards added 11 rebounds, eight points and two steals, while Lauren "Gaby" Moss added eight points and three rebounds.

After a Hendrix made jumper to start the game to give SSU a 2-0 lead with 8:53 remaining in the first quarter, Alabama State scored the next four points to take a two-point lead, 4-2, with 7:44 left. Savannah State scored 10 of the next 15 points to capture a three-point lead, 12-9, but after a Hornet layup to cut the lead to a point, 12-11, with 2:13 remaining, a made free throw by Davis with 1:46 to go gave SSU a two-point lead, 13-11, after one quarter.

The Hornets, who won the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship last season, scored the first four points in the second quarter to take a two-point lead, 15-13, with 7:48 remaining in the quarter, but Savannah State scored five of the next eight points to take a three-point lead, 18-15, with 6:26 left in the first half. Alabama State scored the next three points to tie the game at 18 with 4:50 remaining, but the Lady Tigers scored eight of the final 10 points to take a six-point, 26-20, halftime lead.

Savannah State scored six of the first eight points of the third quarter to take a 12-point lead, 34-22, with 5:51 remaining in the quarter, but Alabama State scored the final five points of the quarter to cut the lead to seven points, 34-27, after three quarters.

After a Hornet made free throw to begin the fourth quarter to cut the SSU's lead to six points, 34-28, the Lady Tigers scored the next 11 points to increase their lead to 17 points, 45-28, with 6:02 left. Alabama State scored 11 of the next 15 points to cut the lead to 10 points, 49-39, with 2:47 remaining in the game, but Savannah State scored the final five points of the game to win by 15 points.

The Hornets were led by Daniele Ewert with 11 points, Tatyana Calhoun with eight points and seven rebounds and Britney Wright with seven points and six rebounds.

The Lady Tigers return to action in a week with a trip to Ames, Iowa
to face Iowa State University Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. ET.

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FLORIDA CLASSIC: FAMU on the cusp of best win total since 2011

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- For the first time since 2012, Florida A&M’s football team will finish the season with four wins and at least a .500 record in conference play.

This season has been a sharp turnaround from head coach Alex Wood’s first year at the helm, when the team finished 1-10, the worst record in school history. The Rattlers, after starting 0-4, are 4-6 with a chance to finish with five wins – the most for the program since 2011.

FAMU is in fourth place in the MEAC with a 4-3 conference record. The Rattlers were picked to finish eighth in the conference in the MEAC preseason poll.

The team standing in the Rattlers’ way is Bethune-Cookman, FAMU’s arch rival and winner of five straight Florida Classic games in Orlando.

“Just to finish off the season on a high note to kind of catapult us and get going,” Wood said. “Something really to buy into is winning in November. That’s what the goal is and hopefully we can do that.”

Speaking plainly, Wood said, “The game is big.”



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Grambling State Hands ULM Warkhawks an -- L, 59-54

MONROE, Louisiana – Despite taking a 10-point lead to the locker room at halftime thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer, the ULM women’s basketball team’s offense came to a standstill in the third quarter, allowing visiting Grambling to hand the Warhawks a 59-54 defeat on Tuesday night.

THE TURNING POINT

ULM shot just 4-of-15 in the third quarter (26.7 percent), while Grambling erased the halftime deficit by shooting 47 percent (8-of-17) in the quarter and outscored the Warhawks 22-10 in the period. The teams’ third quarter shooting percentages nearly flipped from the second half numbers – ULM knocked down 41 percent of its shots in the second quarter (compared to Grambling’s 25 percent) to take the 10-point advantage into the locker room.

Tied at 48-all with 7:38 to play, Grambling closed the game on an 11-6 run as ULM was able to tally just four points over the final 2:15 of action.

NOTABLES

-Stephanie Ratliff finished with the game’s only double-double in the loss, notching 16 rebounds and 14 points before fouling out in the final minute. The senior filled her final stat line, adding two blocks and two steals in 32 minutes of action in addition to her double-double numbers.

-Alexis Collins played all 40 minutes for ULM, also finishing with 14 points, as she tallied a 5-for-10 shooting night from the floor. Two of Collins’ buckets came from three-point range, and she added two rebounds and two assists from her guard position.

-The Warhawks finished the night with 27 turnovers as a team, which turned into 21 Grambling points off those miscues.

-ULM’s 10-point halftime lead turned out to be its biggest advantage of the night, while Grambling led by as many as 12 during the first quarter. The game was tied at seven different points, but the lead only changed four times during the night.

-ULM outrebounded Grambling by a 50-39 overall margin, pulling down 32 defensive rebounds (64 percent).

-Grambling finished with a final shooting percentage of 34.4 percent (22-of-64 from the floor) and ULM connected at a 33.3 percent clip (20-of-60) while both sides hit five three-point attempts (ULM 5-for-27, Grambling 5-of-14).

-As a team, ULM finished with more points in the paint (28-24), more second chance points (18-15) and more points from its bench (15-10) than Grambling. Grambling controlled two key stats – total turnovers (15 compared to ULM’s 27) and points off turnovers (21-11 advantage.

Grambling’s Shakyla Hill (19 points) and Jazmin Boyd (16 points) were the game’s high scores, while Jazmine Torian pulled down a team-high eight rebounds for the visitors.

QUOTABLES FROM HEAD COACH JEFF DOW

On the game – “Sometimes it is as simple as defending, rebounding and taking care of the ball. The first half we hold them to zero free throws and in the second half they shot 20 free throws. The turnovers – obviously that’s 12 more opportunities for them to shot. Some of them were as simple as I say ‘playing catch.’ You have to look the ball in your hands, catch it with two hands…do the fundamental things. We got off to a slow start, rallied and went into halftime with a 10-point lead. They started the second half quick and I felt like we never really totally recovered from that. We never answered their run with a run of our own.

Going Forward – “We have to move on. We did some good things in stretches tonight. We have to learn from this game. We have a lot of newcomers – whether it be junior college players, freshmen or even some of our returning players in different roles than they had last year. It’s been a tough stretch with three games in five days with keeping the players motivated and focused. We’ll keep fresh mentally and physically and put ourselves in the best opportunity to succeed down at Nicholls.”

UP NEXT

-ULM hits the road for a Saturday road contest at Nicolls State on Saturday afternoon, the second game of a five-game stretch the Warhawks will play against schools from the state of Louisiana across the next three weeks. Tipoff in Thibodeaux is set for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. ULM returns home for two straight contests inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum beginning next Tuesday night
against LSU-Alexandria.

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Prairie View A&M Basketball Holds Off Nicholls State, 69-67

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas -- The Prairie View A&M women's basketball team earned the first win of the Ravon Justice era with a 69-67 win over Nicholls State Tuesday afternoon at the William J. Nicks Babydome.
 
Alexus Parker scored a career-high 23 points to lead four Lady Panthers in double figures. Jeronia Allen scored 15, Dominique Newman had a career-high 13 and Tori Carter11 for the Lady Panthers (1-1).
 
"First I have to tip my hat to Nicholls' head coach Dobee Plaisance," Justice said. "She does a really good job with having her girls ready to compete. She's had a lot of success. Our girls came out and played hard and competed. I thought they fought to the end, and some of our upper classmen stepped up and made big plays when we needed them to."
 
In what proved to be a decisive second quarter, PVAMU outscored Nicholls St. (0-2) 24-12. Parker (nine points) and Newman (eight) combined for 17 points for the Lady Panthers, who shot 8-12 from the field, including 4-of-4 from three-point range. Defensively, they limited the Lady Colonels to 4-of-16 shooting in outrebounding Nicholls 14-4.
 
"We made some key adjustments that helped us get into the groove of the game," said Justice of her team's highest-scoring quarter of the young season combined with tying the fewest points allowed in any period this season (fourth quarter at Rice). "Once we got into that groove, we were relentless in scoring the basketball."
 
After taking a 56-46 lead into the final period, the Lady Panthers held off a late Nicholls' rally, never relinquishing the lead. Parker made one of two free throws with one second remaining for the final margin.
 
"It was impressive the way we maintained our poise down the stretch," Justice said. "I give a lot of credit to the leaders on the team. I thought Alexus and Jeronia were both poised today, and that experience goes a long way."
 
The Lady Panthers return to action Saturday hosting Bethune-Cookman at 3 p.m.

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Colts claim former NSU linebacker Deon King off waivers

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana -- The Indianapolis Colts made a roster move today as they claimed linebacker Deon King off of waivers from the San Diego Chargers. In order to make room on the roster for King, the Colts waived wide receiver Marcus Leak.

King (6-1, 230 pounds) played in two games for the Chargers this year (over the past two weeks) and recorded one tackle, but he was waived yesterday. He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent out of Norfolk State by the Dallas Cowboys and he participated in the offseason program, training camp, and preseason with Dallas before he was cut during final roster cutdowns. The Cowboys initially signed him to their practice squad but soon waived him. The Chargers picked him up in early October on their practice squad and a month later promoted him to the active roster.

He had a very impressive collegiate career at Norfolk State, playing in 46 games (starting 35) and recording 372 tackles, 52.5 tackles for loss, 22 sacks, four forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, and three picks. As a senior in 2015 he earned the Buck Buchanan Award as the top FCS defensive player in the country, and he was a consensus first-team FCS All-American that year as well. He was a three-time All-MEAC honoree during his collegiate career. As a senior, he led all Division I football players (both FBS and FCS) in tackles with 163 and also added eleven tackles for loss, three sacks, a pick, and a forced fumble while starting all eleven games.

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Texas Southern's Mike Davis Makes Appearance on ESPN's OUTSIDE THE LINES

HOUSTON, Texas -- Appearing on ESPN's Outside the Lines, Texas Southern men's basketball coach Mike Davis spoke on the issues of playing away from campus and becoming the 'ultimate road warrior.'

"It gives our players an opportunity to go to arenas and play places they would never be able to play," Davis told ESPN's Ryan Smith.

ESPN OTL Segment with TSU Head Coach


CLICK ON FULL SCREEN

Texas Southern will play its first 16 games on the road. The Tigers will face powerhouse schools including Arizona, Louisville, Cincinnati, LSU and Baylor before beginning Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play.

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XULA will host Saint Francis (Ill.) in NAIA 1st round

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana will host an NAIA National Championship event on its campus for the first time ever.
     
XULA was named Monday as a host site for the 2016 NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round. The Gold Nuggets (16-16) will play the University of Saint Francis (30-11) Saturday (Nov. 19) at XULA's Fitness Center (939 S. Jefferson Davis Parkway, New Orleans, La. 70125). The starting time of the match will be announced Tuesday afternoon. (11/15/2016 update:  Match time will be 4 p.m.)
     
Tickets will cost $5. Students of both universities and XULA faculty and staff will be admitted free.
     
The XULA-USF winner will advance to the 2016 NAIA National Championship, presented by F&M Bank and Absolute Screen Art, at Sioux City, Iowa, Nov. 29-Dec. 3.
    
The Fitness Center, which opened in 2015, will be the match site because of homecoming events at the Gold Nuggets' usual home, the Convocation Center. A 1 p.m. basketball game between the Gold Rush and LeMoyne-Owen and a Greek stroll off that evening are scheduled at the Convocation Center.
     
"We are excited to bring an NAIA national tournament event to the Xavier campus for the very first time," said Jason Horn, XULA director of athletics & recreation. "It will be a fun addition to an already busy weekend. We hope to fill the Fitness Center with enthusiastic fans cheering for our Gold Nuggets."
     
The Gold Nuggets seek their first-ever victory in the national tournament. This is their sixth consecutive appearance at nationals and sixth overall. XULA qualified as champion of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, which it won for the sixth straight year.
     
The Saints, from the Chicago suburb of Joliet, Ill., qualified for nationals for the 10th time and the first time since 2012. They earned an automatic bid by winning the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Notebook: 'I think they have the ability' Odums discusses possibility of Tillery, Quinn getting NFL shot

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- There is not much more left to accomplish at Southern for senior stars Lenard Tillery and Willie Quinn.

Individually, Tillery is spending every week expanding putting distance between himself and everyone else for the SWAC career rushing record, and Quinn owns school marks in receptions and receiving yards. They’ve both been a part of tremendous team success as well.

It’s logical then to wonder what their next step is, and Southern coach Dawson Odums was asked about that at his Tuesday news luncheon. Do Tillery and Quinn have what it takes to play in the NFL?

“I’m going to be biased — I think they have the ability,” Odums said. “I just think they need an opportunity, and I think someone is going to give them an opportunity.”

Both will have big hurdles to clear to simply get a shot. Both are undersized according to the professional positional prototype, especially Quinn. Both must overcome a small-school stigma that will in all likelihood leave them trying to make a roster as an undrafted free agent.



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Chance at undefeated home slate motivates Southern against Mississippi Valley State

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- From a purely logical standpoint, Saturday’s home finale against Mississippi Valley State is a meaningless football game for Southern.

With the ultimate goal in mind — representing the SWAC West in the conference championship game — a loss to the lowly Delta Devils has zero consequences. Regardless of what happens Saturday, the Jaguars’ fate entirely rests on whether they can beat Grambling next week, and the same applies for Grambling.

Southern could win this week, Grambling could lose to Texas Southern and the Tigers could still advance to the title game by beating Southern next week — or vice-versa. It’s all about the head-to-head tiebreaker.

When this idea was posed to Southern coach Dawson Odums, along with the notion that key players may be in line for an early trip to the bench, Odums got a sour look on his face.

“We’ve never been undefeated at home, so we’ve got a lot to play for,” Odums said, referring to the fact that Southern has never won all its home games during his tenure. “It’s all about playing the team that is in front of you. Our goal all year has been 1-0, nothing has changed about that.



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Soul Bowl: Jackson State Coach Tony Hughes Weekly Press Conference (Nov. 14, 2016)

JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

S.C. State football reeling as losses, injuries mount

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- There’s a somber but hopeful mood resonating from the South Carolina State football program, now that a young and injury-riddled Bulldogs team has lost three consecutive games in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play.

After Saturday’s 13-10 home loss to Norfolk State, S.C. State has just two games left to make this a winning season in conference play. Chances for a winning season record went away at the final whistle of Saturday’s loss to the Spartans.



The Bulldogs can earn a bit of redemption by getting a win this Saturday at home against Savannah State. That would assure them of not having a losing conference record. Then, a win at home on Saturday, Nov. 26 against Bethune-Cookman could give S.C. State a winning conference record.

For an offense that has struggled for consistency in recent losses to Hampton, North Carolina A&T and Norfolk State, things appear a bit more challenging the rest of the season.

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GSU's Fobbs a finalist for FCS Coach of the Year

GRMBLING, Louisiana -- Grambling coach Broderick Fobbs was named Monday as one of 15 finalists for FCS Coach of the Year.

The Eddie Robinson Award, named after legendary Grambling coach Eddie Robinson and his contributions to football, is given out annually to the top coach in the FCS ranks.

Fobbs is the only finalist from the Southwestern Athletic Conference and joins North Carolina A&T's Rod Broadway, a former coach at Grambling, and North Carolina Central's Jerry Mack as the three finalists from HBCU programs.

Grambling is 7-1 this year and 7-0 in the SWAC. The Tigers have won their league games by an average of 35 points per game. Grambling hasn't lost a league game in two years thanks to a 16-0 regular season mark.

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Prairie View A&M Panthers Post Road Win At Fresno State

FRESNO, California – The Prairie View A&M men's basketball team earned its first win of the season with a hard-fought 84-78 win at defending Mountain West Champion Fresno State Monday night.

The Panthers (1-1) shot 52 percent from the field in the second half (12-23), including 21-of-25 from the free throw line in outscoring Fresno State (1-1) 48-37 in the final 20 minutes as Byron Smith gets his first win as full time head coach.

Six PVAMU players scored in double figures, led by Daquan Cook's 17 points. L.J. Westbrook scored 14, Admassu Williams 12, Ja'Donta Blakley and Tevin Bellinger each scored 11, and Zachary Hamilton 10 as the Panthers were a stellar 26-31 from the free-throw line in the contest.

Williams' two free throws with 6:28 remaining in the game gave the Panthers the lead for good, 64-63. A three-pointer from the top of the key by Hamilton gave Prairie View A&M a 73-65 lead with 3:32 to play in the game, and a pair of free throws by Hamilton with: 49 seconds to play pushed the margin to double-digits.

Cook scored 10 first-half points as the Panthers trailed 41-36 at halftime. PVAMU shot 41.9 percent from the field (13-31), as the Panthers made five 3s in the first 20 minutes and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.

Prairie View A&M returns to action Wednesday at Saint Mary's at 9 p.m. CT.

Team Notes:

• With the loss, Fresno State had its nine-game winning streak snapped at the Save Mart Center. It was the Bulldogs' first loss at home since Jan. 2 in their Mountain West home opener against New Mexico.
• This was the first ever meeting between Fresno State and Prairie View A&M.
• The 'Dogs fell to 19-4 in non-conference home games over the last three seasons.
• Fresno State outrebounded Prairie View A&M 43-29.

Quoteable:

Rodney Terry, Fresno State head coach
On the loss…
"I have known their coach (Prairie View A&M) for a very long time, and I know that he is trying to establish something for his program right now and set the table for his coaches, something that we had tried to do six years ago, and that is playing hard and having great effort every night. We knew we were going to have to come in tonight and have a lot of energy because they were going to come in and give a lot of effort. They weren't going to come in here and be intimidated. They were going to come in and play hard. We didn't match that tonight. Right now, we are not a tough team, and we are going to have to build some toughness and some grit. We still need to find some identity in terms of leadership. Some guys have to step up right now. We have some talented guys, but they are going to have to sit down and not try to live on last year. We are going to build some toughness."

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UDC Firebirds’ Red-Hot Shooting Leads to 94-71 Win vs. Chestnut Hill

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania – The University of the District of Columbia men's basketball team earned a decisive, 94-71 victory over Chestnut Hill College in non-conference East Regional play Saturday afternoon at Philadelphia University's Gallagher Center.

The Firebirds shot a blistering 57-percent (34-of-60) from the field, including a scintillating 50-percent (14-of-28) from behind-the-arc, en-route to a 23-point margin of victory that saw UDC even its record at 1-1. The Griffins, meanwhile, shot 42-percent from the field and were held to a paltry, 3-of-15 (20-percent) from long range, as they fell to 0-2 on the season. While the two teams combined for a whopping 45 turnovers on the day, UDC capitalized with 37 points off Griffin turnovers while CHC managed just 20 off of Firebird miscues. UDC also had 25 assists to CHC's 14.

Senior guard Joseph Nickerson led all scorers and four Firebirds in double-figures with 27 points on 11-of-15 FG shooting and 5-of-9 from behind-the-arc. He also registered game-highs of nine rebounds and five steals while handing out a career-high eight assists.

Senior point guard Kasim Chandler did a splendid job running the UDC offense as he scored 18 points and dished out a game-high nine assists while committing only three turnovers. Chandler also collected six rebounds and three steals. Junior guard Traevon Butler recorded 16 points and six rebounds, and senior forward Jayone Troutman added 12 points on 6-of-9 FG shooting to go with two steals.

UDC never trailed in this game as the Firebirds connected on four of their first five three-point attempts, jumping out to early leads of 15-4 and 20-10 thanks mostly to a three-pointer apiece by Butler, Chandler, Nickerson, and senior guard Reggie Sidbury. As a team, UDC went on to shoot 11-of-18 (61-percent) from long range in the first half, burying one long-range bomb after another every time the Griffins threatened to cut the lead to single digits. The Firebirds would take a 56-40 advantage into halftime.

UDC put the game out of reach early in the second half with Butler scoring seven points during a 17-6 opening run to give the Firebirds their largest lead of the afternoon, 73-46 just shy of seven minutes into the closing half. Chestnut Hill would not get any closer than 17 the rest of the way.

The Griffins were led by reserve forward Jalil Myers' team-highs of 16 points and seven rebounds. Guards J.J. Butler and Demetrius Isaac also contributed 15 and 14 points, respectively.

Next up for UDC is another regional road contest at Bloomfield College on Saturday, November 19th at 2 p.m.

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