Wolf Pack edge Gold Rush to extend XULA streak

NEW ORLEANS — Nate Pierre's basket with 23 seconds remaining lifted Loyola to a 78-76 victory against Xavier University of Louisiana in a men's basketball matchup of NAIA city rivals at XULA's Convocation Center.
     
Pierre, one of five double-figure scorers for the Wolf Pack (3-2), scored on a pass from Johnny Griffin. The Gold Rush (1-4) missed twice from the floor in the closing moments, including a short shot in the lane with two seconds remaining.
     
There were 15 lead changes and five ties in the second half.
     
Eric Brown scored 20 points and made 6-of-7 3-pointers for Loyola. Pierre scored 17, Griffin 14, Nick Parker 12 and Jalen Gray 10. Griffin had 11 rebounds, six assists and two blocks, and Gray had a career-high 11 assists.
     
Mike Williams scored 25 points, the most by a XULA freshman since the 2006-07 season. Redshirt freshman Innocent Kukulu scored a career-high 18 points, and Jalen David had 15. Williams and Kukulu both made 4-of-5 3-pointers.
  
Loyola led 39-38 at halftime.
     
Both teams shot well from the floor — Loyola was at 65.3 percent overall, 66.7 (12-of-18) on 3-pointers; XULA finished at 54.9 percent overall, 62.5 (10-of-16) on 3-pointers.
     
It was the fourth consecutive loss for XULA, which is ranked 25th. The Gold Rush will play LeMoyne-Owen of NCAA Division II for homecoming at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center.

BOX SCORE

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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HBCU Scoop: A Look at James Daniel III

The Howard University Senior led all scorers last season and you probably didn’t know it.

WASHINGTON, D.C. --Who was the leading scorer last year? Grayson Allen? No. Melo Trimble? No. Buddy Hield? Nope. None of these people lead in scoring last year......it was James Daniel III. You read that right. You just read the name of a guy you probably never even heard of, but it is time to get to know him. Let’s take a look at the senior point guard from Howard.

Standing at 5’11, Daniel has an impressive resume for his junior campaign. He performed very well despite being overlooked by mostly everyone in the country. The Virginia native even dropped 38 points in their 92-91 loss against Radford last season, the same team that beat Georgetown in their season opener. His spectacular performance last season led Daniel to lead all Division I players in scoring, averaging 27.1 points per game. Along with that, he led all players in free throw attempts with 331, making 280 of them.



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14-Ranked Tuskegee Ready For Division II Playoffs

TUSKEGEE, Alabama -- Tuskegee has put together one of the top Division II football programs in the country. The Golden Tigers will have a chance to compete on the big stage as the postseason unfolds this weekend.

Tuskegee (8-2) will face Newberry (10-1) in the NCAA Division II playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. The Golden Tigers currently ranked 14th nationally are seated seventh and will battle the second seeded Newberry on the road.



Tuskegee is coming off a 45-35 loss to Virginia State last Saturday. The Golden Tigers will have to regroup as they prepare to make a strong run in the playoffs. Tuskegee will be led by quarterback Kevin Lacey who chosen as the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Lacey completed 113-of-208 passes for 1,768 yards with 15 touchdowns and six interceptions.

The Golden Tigers’ linebacker Osband Thompson was named the SIAC Defensive Player of the Year. Thompson has 112 total and 57 solo tackles, 2.5 sacks and one interception. Lacey and Thompson will be key player for Tuskegee in the first round playoff matchup.

Miles College (5-4) won’t return to action until Thanksgiving Day against Alabama State in the Turkey Day Classic. The kickoff will be at 3 p.m. for this game in Montgomery, Al.

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Breaking down Texas Southern vs. Grambling

HOUSTON,Texas -- When: 2 p.m. Saturday

Where: BBVA Compass Stadium

Radio: 90.9 FM

Series history: Grambling State leads 42-18-3.

Key players: TSU - QB Johnathan Bowen, RB Brad Woodard, CB Zafir Murphy; GSU - QB Jonathan Williams, RB Jestin Kelly, DB Guy Stallworth.

Who has the edge:

Offense - Grambling State. Grambling State leads the SWAC with 42.6 points per game, which also ranks fourth in all of FCS. It is also one of five FCS teams producing at least 500 yards per game. Texas Southern is well off that pace in both categories, with 22.8 points and 323.2 yards per game.

Defense - Grambling State. Grambling is unbeaten in SWAC play for a reason. It's almost as dominant on defense as it is on offense, leading the conference with 307.5 yards per game surrendered. Texas Southern is averaging a respectable 389.8 yards per game allowed, which ranks third in the conference.

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S.C. State: A 55-year-old man is trying to make college football history

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina — An hour before sunrise, the first player pushes open the doors of the locker room and bounds into the bright lights of the stadium. It's half past six in the morning, and this is South Carolina State's final full practice before its Homecoming game. For the next 10 minutes, players stream out to a playlist booming from speakers set on top of a laundry bin. Trainers top off water jugs and wheel them to the benches. Cheerleaders wearily sway on the opposite side of the field. The head coach, Buddy Pough, spins in on a bicycle and begins issuing orders to assistants.

Joe Thomas Sr. strides out to join the team. He's the only player without even a single accessory: no leggings, no wristbands, no gloves, just team-issued blue-and-white striped shorts, his No. 47 jersey and an unadorned helmet. With the pads bulking his chest and the helmet guarding the wisp of grey at the peak of his hairline, he hardly seems 55 years old.

Midway through practice, he slips a yellow scout team sleeve over his helmet and jogs onto the field to rehearse kickoff return coverage. He's been at this for the better part of four seasons, enduring bleary-eyed predawn practices designed for players 35 years younger and in peak physical condition, with one goal in mind: To get in a game and make history as the oldest man ever to play Division I football. Detractors be damned: Joe was born to a sharecropper and raised a Green Bay Packer. He could barely hear until 17 and still graduated high school. And no one will be able to convince him that he can't compete until he takes the field and tries for himself. "I believe that if the coaches looked past my age and just let me play football," he says, "I'd steal someone's position."

Age isn't the only way time that is taunting him: South Carolina State has only two games left this season, and because he's a senior, he's running out of opportunities.

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Texas Southern Shocks Rice Owls 71-68 Behind Lofton's 26 Points

 Photo Gallery

HOUSTON, Texas -- Texas Southern won its second straight game as Zach Lofton scored a game high 26 points and blocked a 3-point shot attempt as time expired helping hand TSU a 71-68 victory over the Rice Owls on Wednesday night at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Texas Southern secured the lead for good with roughly 17 minutes left in regulation, as they led by as many as seven points during the contest.

The Owls would subsequently make the game interesting as Marcus Evans converted a 3-pointer to pull Rice to 69-68 with 45 seconds left.

After both teams missed shots on their next possessions TSU's Kevin Scott made a pair of free throws before Lofton blocked Marcus Jackson's final heave at a game tying 3-point attempt.

Lofton was 10-of-27 from the field and made three 3-pointers. Derrick Griffin had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Texas Southern (2-1).

"I was really happy we got the win for TSU as a university because we're both from Houston," said Lofton. "They don't expect us to come in and beat another mid-major school. That was big for me that we got the win for them."

With the win TSU head coach Mike Davis adds yet another impressive win to his TSU coaching resume. The Tigers program has also beaten the likes of Temple and Michigan State during Davis tenure as head coach.

Davis had his team primed for an upset on Wednesday night as the Tigers came out aggressive to start the second half of play. Davis was intent on keeping his team focused on their intensity level after watching film of the Owls win over James Madison.

"They were up four or five at the half and they ended up winning by 24," Davis said of the Owls win over James Madison. "We were really conscious of not coming out going too slow. Push the basketball in transition. Try to get some earlier baskets if we could."

The Tigers will now get set to travel and face LaSalle on November 19th in Philadelphia.

BOX SCORE

TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

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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