ESPN3: Tennessee State vs. Lipscomb at 5:00 p.m. EST

RV/NR – TENNESSEE STATE (6-1)
at LIPSCOMB (3-6)
Saturday, Dec. 3  |  4 p.m. 
Allen Arena  |  Nashville, Tenn.

VIDEO: ESPN3 – Jonathan Seamon and Justin Seamon on the call
TSU RADIO: 102.1 FM The Light – Greg Pogue (pxp) and Albert Dawson (Analysis) on the call
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast.com
GAME NOTES: TENNESSEE STATE  | LIPSCOMB
SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter - @TSU_Tigers |  Instagram - @TSUTigers  |  #BigBlueRising

OPENING TIP: For the second game in a row, the TSU men’s basketball team plays a Nashville-based opponent on the road, squaring off with Lipscomb on Saturday at Allen Arena. The Tigers, which received votes in the Nov. 28 Associated Press Top 25 poll, are off to their best start since moving to Division I prior to the 1977-78 season.

LAST TIME OUT: TSU was handed an 83-59 road loss at Vanderbilt on Tuesday night for the Tigers’ first loss of the 2016-17 season. Ken’Darrius Hamilton (Montgomery, Ala.) posted a career-high 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting with Darreon Reddick (Belleville, Ill.) adding 12 points for TSU.  

ABOUT LIPSCOMB: The Bisons put on a dominating performance in a 104-85 victory over OVC opponent Tennessee Tech on Dec. 1 to snap a five-game losing streak. Lipscomb is 3-0 at Allen Arena on the season with wins over Sewanee, Piedmont and Tennessee Tech. Sophomore Garrison Mathews leads the Lipscomb offense with 16.0 points per game.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Tennessee State’s all-time record versus Lipscomb stands at 2-3 in the series which began on Jan. 14, 2002. The Tigers earned an 87-72 win in the first meeting before three-consecutive Lipscomb victories. TSU snapped the Bisons’ winning streak with last year’s 89-86 win.

LAST YEAR’S MATCHUP:  Tahjere McCall (Philadelphia, Pa.) scored 25 of his 31 points in the second half to help TSU erase a 14-point deficit in an 89-86 victory over Lipscomb in last season’s meeting at the Gentry Center. McCall scored 16 points in a row for TSU at one point to lead the offense. Then-seniors Keron DeShields and Marcus Roper added 16 points apiece for the Tigers. J.C. Hampton scored 25 points to pace the Bisons, which shot 54.2 percent from the field but committed 17 turnovers.

TSU VS. THE ATLANTIC SUN: TSU has gone 9-4 versus teams currently in the Atlantic Sun. The Tigers are 3-0 versus Kennesaw State, 2-3 versus Lipscomb, 3-0 versus Stetson and 1-1 versus USC Upstate.

UP NEXT: TSU breaks for finals before heading to Raleigh, N.C. to face NC State on Saturday, Dec. 10.

TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

ESPN3: Prairie View A&M Panthers at Houston Cougars, 5 p.m. EST

PRAIRIE VIEW A&M PANTHERS (2-5 • 0-0 SWAC) at HOUSTON COUGARS (5-1 • 0-0 American) presented by Maintenance Supply Headquarters
Time	4 p.m. • Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016
Location	Hofheinz Pavilion (8,479) • Houston
Tickets	BUY Tickets
Questions?	Fan Guide
Promotions	Gameday Promotions
Television	ESPN3 Brett Dolan, play-by-play Reid Gettys, analyst
Radio	KPRC 950 AM Jeremy Branham, play-by-play Elvin Hayes, analyst
Live Stats	GameTracker
Game Notes	• Houston Notes • Prairie View A&M Notes • The American Notes
Social Media

HOUSTON, Texas -- The University of Houston Men's Basketball program returns to action at 4 p.m., Saturday, when it plays host to Prairie View A&M inside Hofheinz Pavilion.

The Cougars (5-1) will be looking for their third straight home win to open the 2016-17 season. Houston has won handily in its first two games in front of the hometown fans, taking a 93-52 win over Morgan State in the season opener on Nov. 11 and following that with an 83-53 win over Cornell on Nov. 26.

Houston enters this weekend's contest on the heels of a tough 84-65 loss at LSU on Tuesday night in Baton Rouge, La. That loss snapped the Cougars' five-game winning streak to open the season.

Junior guard Rob Gray led the Cougars with 19 points, including 15 in the first half, while guard Damyean Dotson added 13 points with six rebounds. Junior forward Devin Davis finished with 12 points and four rebounds, while senior center Bertrand Nkali added four points with a career-best eight rebounds and a team-high three blocked shots.

This season, Gray leads the Cougars and ranks fifth in the American Athletic Conference with 18.8 points per game. Sophomore point guard Galen Robinson Jr. stands second in the league with 5.8 assists per game, while Dotson is tied for second with 3.0 3-pointers per contest.

UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

ESPN3: North Carolina Central Eagles at East Carolina Pirates, 5 PM EST

Game 9: East Carolina vs. N.C. Central
Date	Saturday, December 3
Time	5 p.m. (ET)
Location	Greenville, N.C. (Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum)
Coverage	Live Stats \\\ Listen Live \\\ ESPN3
Game Notes	East Carolina \\\ N.C. Central
Social Media	Twitter: @ECUScoreboard \\\ @ECUPirateHoops

East Carolina goes for its fifth straight home win Saturday as it welcomes N.C. Central to Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum for a 5 p.m. tip-off.

The Pirates, who have won all five previous meetings in the series, have won four of their last five games and bring a record of 6-2 into the game.

After losing its their first two games of the year, the Eagles have won five straight, including a 10-point victory on the road over SEC member Missouri Monday night.

NCCU is coming off a 92-5
5 win over Southern Wesleyan Thursday night, while ECU has been off since its 68-48 victory over Hampton Tuesday. Patrick Cole, NCCU's leading scorer, led his team with 19 points, six rebounds and six assists in its latest win. ECU's leading scorer, B.J. Tyson, also led his team to victory last time out scoring 17 points.

Tyson (14.8 ppg) is one of four Pirates' averaging double figures followed by Caleb White (14.3 ppg), Kentrell Barkley (13.0) and Andre Washington (10.0). Washington leads ECU with 12.1 rebounds per game and ranks 15th in NCAA Division I with 21 total blocks.

Tickets for Saturday's game start are $15 for adults, $12 for youth and can be purchased on line at ecupirates.com or by calling the ECU Athletic Ticket Office at (800) 342-5328. The first 500 fans will receive an ECU Ugly Holiday Sweater T-shirt. Fans can also enter for a chance to compete for, and win, a pair of tickets to see WWE Live Holiday Tour on Dec. 11 in Minges Coliseum.

The Salvation Army will have bins set up to accept donations of unwrapped toys for its Toys For Tots program.

NEWS & NOTES
East Carolina will be shooting for its 18th consecutive non-conference home victory Saturday. The Pirates are 5-0 at home this season against non-conference opponents after going 7-0 inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum prior to American Athletic Conference play a year ago.
N.C. Central represents ECU's fourth MEAC opponent of the season and fifth HBCU foe. East Carolina has won 15 consecutive games against current members of the MEAC with their last lost coming at Morgan State on Dec. 18, 2006.

UPCOMING MILESTONES: B.J. Tyson is one point shy of becoming the 28th player in school history with 1,000 career points. He posted 17 points Tuesday night against Hampton.

Tyson has picked up his scoring prowess recently. After scoring 12, 13, 12 and 14 in the first four games of the season, he netted 17, 15, 17 and 18 in the last four and now leads the Pirates in scoring.
Graduate transfer Andre Washington has led East Carolina in rebounding in five of the last six games with eight rebounds in four of those games and 16 in the other. He's also in a pattern of scoring double figures every other game and will be looking to put together back-to-back double figure scoring games for the first time this season Saturday.

Senior Caleb White continues to climb the ECU career record book. White is four minutes away from becoming just the third player in program history to play 3,300 minutes. He needs to average 17 minutes a game over the final 24 contests to become the Pirates' all-time leader in that category.
Sophomore Kentrell Barkley continues to be a model of consistency. He's scored double figures in six games this season and has secured six or more rebounds six times. Barkley hasn't had fewer than six boards in any contest since the second game of the season. He currently ranks third on the team in scoring, second in rebounding and first in assists.

Freshman Jeremy Sheppard scored nine points against Hampton Tuesday after chipping in seven versus Air Force. After starting the season 2-of-9 shooting, he's made 8-of-12 field goal attempts the last three games.

EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

ESPN3: Central Michigan Chippewa Men Close Twinbill With Arkansas - Pine Bluff at 4:30 p.m. EST

CENTRAL MICHIGAN (6-2) vs. ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF (1-6) 
Saturday, Dec. 3 • 4:30 p.m. • McGuirk Arena • Mount Pleasant, Mich. 

Game Notes: Central Michigan | Arkansas-Pine Bluff 
Watch: ESPN3 
Listen: Central Michigan IMG Sports Network 
Live Stats: GameTracker 
Twitter: @CMUMensBball

Andy Sneddon, CMUChipppewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Pleased, but not satisfied.

The Central Michigan men’s basketball team plays the second of three-consecutive home games Saturday (4:30 p.m.) against nonconference Arkansas-Pine Bluff at McGuirk Arena. It’s the nightcap of a doubleheader that begins at 1 p.m. with the CMU women taking on Illinois-Chicago.

CMU (6-2) has won two straight games, and have looked good doing it against a pair of solid opponents, Green Bay and William & Mary.

The Chippewas, who, at 91.0 points per game, are the seventh-highest scoring team in the nation, play host to Green Bay on Tuesday to close their home stand.

“I’m pleased with where we are as a team at this point in the season,” said CMU coach Keno Davis, whose team won going away at Green Bay and built a big second-half lead then cruised into the barn against William & Mary. “And yet we understand that we have to continue to improve to be able to be a consistent team as we prepare for MAC play in the not too distant future.”

Marcus Keene leads the Chippewas – and the entire country – in scoring at 30.4 points per game. His backcourt mate, Braylon Rayson, is averaging 17.3 points per game, which ranks sixth in the Mid-American Conference.

“We’re a very explosive team, and yet we go through lulls that you would expect with so many newcomers and working on improving the chemistry,” Davis said. “If we can stay healthy I expect us to be more balanced as well as consistent throughout the 40 minutes of a game.”

Pine Bluff (1-6) has lost five straight games, the last of which was a 73-68 decision to UT-Martin on Thursday. Ghiavonni Robinson, a 6-foot-3 guard, leads the Lions in scoring at 12.3 points per game.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVESITY ATHLETIC MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

ESPN3: Western Illinois Returns Home to Face Chicago State Saturday at 3:00 p.m. EST

#WIUGAMEDAY INFORMATION

Western Illinois Leathernecks (2-5) vs. Chicago State Cougars (2-4) WHEN AND WHERE: Saturday, December 3 | 2 p.m. Macomb, Ill. | Western Hall (4,553) 2016-17 WESTERN ILLINOIS STATS:  HERE 2016-17 CHICAGO STATE STATS:  HERE OPPONENT WEBSITE:  GoCSUCougars.com

COVERAGE

VIDEO STREAM: ESPN3 RADIO: Flagship: 94.3 FM WRMS Affiliates: 102.7 FM WJEQ 106.7 FM WPWQ 107.5 FM KWBZ AUDIO STREAM:  WRMSFM.com LIVE STATS:  GoLeathernecks.com

SOCIAL MEDIA

TWITTER: @WIUMensHoops @WIUAthletics FACEBOOK: Western Illinois Men's Basketball Western Illinois Athletics INSTAGRAM: Western Illinois Athletics

PRESEASON INFORMATION

2016-17 Quick Facts (.PDF) 2016-17 Preseason Record Book (.PDF) 2016-17 Schedule Release 2016-17 Media Day (Video)

MACOMB, Illinois -- Western Illinois (2-5) continues the non-league portion of its schedule Saturday afternoon (Dec. 3) when Chicago State (2-4) comes to Macomb... The Leathernecks and Cougars are slated to tipoff at 2 p.m. inside Western Hall, and the afternoon tilt is slated to be streamed live on ESPN3.
 

OPENING TIP

- Western Illinois men's basketball dropped its nonconference road game at American 57-50 Tuesday evening (Nov. 29)... Senior Garret Covington finished with a game-high 20 points... Sophomore Jordan Hughes played a career-high 16 minutes and grabbed a career-high and team-best nine rebounds.

- Mike Miklusak continued his fast start...  After recorded the team's first double-double of the season in 36 minutes of action at Miami (14 points, 11 rebounds), the senior scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds in 31 minutes at American. Miklusak came off of the bench in each game.

- Covington leads WIU in scoring, averaging 21.1 points per game... He has scored 15-plus points in all seven games this season, and 20-plus points in each of WIU's last four games (22 at EIU | 26 vs. Crown | 29 at Miami | 20 at American).

- Covington has 1,487 career points and most recently moved into eighth place all-time at WIU... H passed Ceola Clark III and is not the program's all-time leader in total points during the program's NCAA DI era... Covington is 10 points from moving into seventh, and 22 away from sixth.

- Covington, who also ranks second all-time in career 3-pointers (234 3-pointers), is only 14 triples away from being the program's all-time leader.

- Senior guard Jabari Sandifer has 357 career assists and is five away from moving into the Top 3 in WIU's program history.

SERIES HISTORY: The Leathernecks lead the all-time series with Chicago State 24-13... The most recent contest came last season at Chicago State when the Cougars downed the Leathernecks, 77-70... The first ever meeting between the two programs occurred on February 5, 1972 with Western defeating CSU 124-91 (The 124 points scored by WIU ranks fifth-most in the program's history)... That meeting marked the only 1-of-3 meetings between the two programs before Western moved up to NCAA Division I... Chicago State was a member of The Summit League when it was known as the Mid-Continent Conference, joining the league in 1994 and departing in 2006... During that time period WIU went 16-8 against the Cougars, never facing them in the league's tournament... Since CSU left the league the two teams have only played one other time prior to last season on Jan. 20, 2007 when the Cougars defeating the Leathernecks 82-72 in Macomb... WIU's program record for blocks in a game of nine by Shelby Thompson happened against Chicago State during the 1992-93 season.

WHAT'S NEXT?: Western plays the back end of its home-and-home series with Eastern Illinois inside Western Hall on Saturday, Dec. 10... The contest is Western's final nonconference home game of the season.

THE LAST TIME OUT: Western Illinois men's basketball dropped its nonconference road game at American 57-50 Tuesday evening (Nov. 29). The Leathernecks, who led by nine points at halftime, lost their lead early in the second half after the Eagles opened the period on a 10-0 run. American eventually built its lead up to seven, 49-42, with 5:42 to play in regulation. WIU wouldn't give in though as the Leathernecks answered with a 6-0 run to get back within a point at the final media timeout, 49-48. AU and Western exchanged baskets and the Leathernecks again found themselves down one with 26 seconds to play, but WIU missed its opportunities to regain the lead before eventually falling to 2-5 on the season. Senior Garret Covington finished with a game-high 20 points. It marked his fourth straight game with 20 or more points, and the Edwardsville, Ill. native also passed Ceola Clark III on WIU's career points list to gain sole possession of eighth place (1,487 points). Covington added four rebounds and two assists as well.

AT HOME: Western is 46-24 (.657) inside Western Hall since the beginning of the 2011-12 season... The Leathernecks went 10-4 (.714) during their 2011-12 campaign, 12-2 (.857) during the 2012-13 league slate, 7-5 in 2013-14 (.583), 8-6 (.571) in 2014-15, 7-6 (.500) in 2015-16, and WIU is 2-1 on LeRoy A. Ufkes Court inside Western Hall so far this season.

WESTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

ESPN3: Cleveland State Vikings Return Home to Host Bethune-Cookman at The Q on Saturday at 12:00 Noon EST

GAME #7
Bethune-Cookman (2-5) at Cleveland State (1-5)
Saturday, December 3 | 12:00 pm ET
Cleveland, Ohio | Quicken Loans Arena
Live Stats | ESPN3 | AM 1420 WHK

PDF GAME NOTES
Bethune-Cookman at Cleveland State

GAME PREVIEW:
    •     Cleveland State returns home for the first time in almost three weeks when the Vikings host Bethune-Cookman on Saturday (Dec. 3) at 12:00 pm at Quicken Loans Arena.
    •    The Vikings are 1-5 and concluded a four-game road swing with a 78-51 setback at Arkansas State on Wednesday (Nov. 30).
    •    Bethune-Cookman is 2-5 this year and has not played since a 93-65 setback at Samford on Nov. 26.
    •    Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app with Al Palowski and Pat Vuyancih providing the commentary.
    •    Pawlowski and Vuyancih will also have the call on AM 1420 and AM 1440.

THE BETHUNE-COOKMAN SERIES:
    •     Saturday's game will be the first-ever meeting between CSU and Bethune-Cookman in men's basketball.
    •    This will be the third of five teams that CSU will be playing for the first time in program history this year (UT-Martin, Arkansas State, Bethune-Cookman, Purdue, Lake Erie).

GAME 6 REVIEW: ARKANSAS STATE 78, CSU 51 (11/30/16)
    •     CSU concluded a four-game road swing with a 78-51 setback at Arkansas State.
    •    Demonte Flannigan led CSU with 14 points and six rebounds in his first start of the season.
    •    Kenny Carpenter scored 10 points with five rebounds, while Jibri Blount added eight points and three rebounds.
    •    Terrell Hales and Kasheem Thomas both had two steals in the contest.

CSU AT "THE Q":
    •    Saturday's game will be the first of two games that CSU will play at Quicken Loans Arena this year.
    •    CSU also hosts Western Michigan on Wednesday (Dec. 7) at Quicken Loans Arena.
    •    This marks the second year that the Vikings will play a select number of home games at the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
    •    Last year, CSU played five games at The Q, hosting Kent State and Ohio in non-conference action and Youngstown State, Valparaiso and Wright State in the League slate.

FOR THREE:
    •    CSU has hit a three-pointer in a school-record 572 consecutive games.
    •    The Vikings have hit at least three three's in 120 straight games.
    •     The last time CSU failed to make a three-pointer was Feb. 21, 1998, when the Vikings were 0-for-8 in a 60-57 win over Detroit.

FLANNIGAN BACK IN STARTING LINEUP:
    •    Demonte Flannigan made his first start of the season on Wednesday (Nov. 30) at Arkansas State.
    •    Flannigan posted 14 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes.
    •    He missed the first four games of the season and made his season debut at Duquesne (Nov. 27), playing 19 minutes off the bench.
    •    The lone senior on the 17 player roster this year, Flannigan was second on the team in scoring (11.4) and rebounding (5.4) last year.
    •    He posted five double-doubles as a junior and poured in a career-high 30 points in a win at Youngstown State (Feb. 13).

CARPENTER PROVIDES SPARK OFF BENCH:
    •    Junior Kenny Carpenter has provided the Vikings with a spark off the bench over the last two games.
    •    In games at Duquesne (Nov. 27) and Arkansas State (Nov. 30), Carpenter has averaged 11.5 points and 4.5 rebounds, while shooting 9-of-19 (.474) from the field.
    •    He scored 13 points with four rebounds at Duquesne and tallied 10 points and five rebounds at Arkansas State.

EDWARDS NETS CAREER HIGH:
    •     Sophomore Rob Edwards scored a career-high 28 points in the Nov. 23 setback at No. 1 ranked Kentucky.
    •    Edwards also set career-highs in field goals made (12) and attempted (21) against the Wildcats.
    •    His old career-high was 26 points set last season at Detroit.
    •    Edwards has six career 20-point games, including two this year.

... AND PROVES WORTHY OF PRESEASON HONOR:
    •     Sophomore Rob Edwards was named to the preseason All-Horizon League second team.
    •    He ranks seventh in the Horizon League in scoring (15.7) and is 13th in field goal percentage (.473; 35-74).
    •    Edwards is 14-of-18 at the free throw line this year, ranking 14th in the League with a .778 percentage.
    •    Last year, he averaged 12.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game last year, earning a spot on the Horizon League All-Freshman team.
    •    He started 30 games last year, the most for a freshman in CSU history, and also logged a CSU freshman record 994 minutes.

KASH DROPPING DIMES:
    •     Freshman Kasheem Thomas ranks third in the Horizon League with 4.5 assists per game.
    •    Thomas' 27 assists are the fourth most by a Horizon League player this year.
    •    He has recorded at least six assists in three games this year with nine in the season opener vs. Kent State (Nov. 12), seven against Canisius (Nov. 15) and six assists at Duquense (Nov. 27).
    •    Thomas has a 1.9 assist-to-turnover-ratio, committing just 14 turnovers to his 27 assists to rank fifth in the League.

... AND HE'S JUST A FRESHMAN:
    •     Kasheem Thomas is averaging 7.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists this year, playing 26.7 minutes per game.
    •    Thomas became the first CSU freshman to start a season opener since 2003-04 (Walt Waters) when he drew a starting assignment vs. Kent State (Nov. 12).

ALL IN THE FAMILY:
    •     Sophomore Jibri Blount is the son of NFL Hall of Famer and former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Mel Blount who played 14 seasons for the Black and Gold.
    •    As a starting forward this year, Blount is averaging 8.0 points and a team-leading 4.5 rebounds per game.
    •    Blount tied his career-high with 11 rebounds at UT-Martin (Nov. 18).
    •    Blount had a strong freshman season, averaging 5.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 29 games, including five starts.

WORD UP:
    •     Junior Bobby Word made his CSU debut against Kent State (Nov. 12). He sat out last season after transferring from Oral Robets.
    •    He ranks 26th in the League in scoring (10.3) and ninth in three-pointers (2.2).
    •    Word scored a team-high 17 points in the season opener against Kent State (Nov. 12), hitting four three-pointers and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
    •    As a sophomore at ORU, Word averaged 8.4 points and was tops on the team with 56 three's.
    •    He scored in double figures 14 times, including a career-high 22 points in the second round of the CBI against Loyola (Ill.).

SLOAN STEPS IN:
    •     With Demonte Flannigan out of the lineup to start the season, junior Derek Sloan stepped in to start the first five games of the season.
    •    Sloan has responded well, averaging 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds, while shooting .650 (13-20) from the field.
    •    Sloan set career highs in points (10) and rebounds (7) against Canisius (Nov. 15), hitting five of his seven shots from the floor in just 17 minutes.
    •    He made 4-of-5 field goals at UT-Martin (Nov. 18), tying his career high with 10 points.

UP NEXT:
    •    CSU will play its second and final game of the season at Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday (Dec. 7) when the Viking host Western Michigan at 7:00 pm.
    •    The Vikings travel to Purdue for a 12:00 pm game next Saturday (Dec. 10). The Boilermakers are ranked 15th in this week's AP Top-25 poll and 16th in the USA Today Coaches poll.

CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

WSSU freshman Colon making immediate

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- It’s hard to imagine just how good freshman Robert Colon of Winston-Salem State will get once he gets a little more experience.

The good news is he’s already making quite an impact.

Colon, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound shooting guard, has made the transition from high school to college look as easy as the perfect rotation on his jump shot. He’s confident without being cocky, and that’s a trait that has already endeared him to teammates.

“He hasn’t had a bad game,” coach James Wilhelmi of the Rams said. “As a freshman, you are going to have ups and downs. We believe in him and we’re going to keep going to him because he’s an outstanding player.”

The Rams (3-4) will head into today’s 7 p.m. game at home against Virginia Union with Colon as their leading scorer. He is averaging 19.7 points a game and loves taking the big shots.

CONTINUE READING

One more piece of hardware at stake Saturday from Grambling: The SWAC title in showdown with Alcorn State in Houston

HOUSTON — For the second straight year, Grambling swept its way through the Southwestern Athletic Conference, bringing its regular-season conference winning streak to 18 games.

Broderick Fobbs was named coach of the year for the third straight year, and the Tigers landed 14 players on the all-conference team, including the offensive and defensive players of the year.



Despite all of the regular-season accolades, there is still one big piece of hardware missing from Grambling’s recent list of accomplishments: the SWAC championship, which the Tigers haven’t won since 2011.

Grambling will get the opportunity to put that exclamation point on a dominant season at 3 p.m. Saturday when the Tigers take on Alcorn State in a rematch of last year’s SWAC title game at NRG Stadium.

“Eighteen straight wins sound good, but we are chasing the ring right now,” Grambling all-SWAC offensive lineman Justin Miller said Friday. "We were undefeated in the conference last year and lost in the championship game. So we have to stay humble and just go out and do what we do.”

CONTINUE READING

ESPN3: SIU Men's Basketball hosts Texas Southern on Saturday at 5 p.m. EST

SIU ATHLETIC

CARBONDALE, Illinois -- Southern Illinois (4-3) hosts Texas Southern (4-3) on Saturday at 4 p.m. at SIU Arena. The Salukis have never played Texas Southern. In fact, SIU has only played five games total against current members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Southern Illinois is 3-2 all-time against the SWAC. The most recent meeting was an 82-63 win over Alabama State on Dec. 12, 2009.

This contest marks the eighth-straight road game for the Tigers. Texas Southern plays its first 16 games on the road this season — the longest streak in the nation. The Tigers won't play at home until they host Grambling State on Jan. 14. TSU is coached by Mike Davis, who coached two games against the Salukis while he was the head coach at Indiana (2000-06). He led the Hoosiers to an 85-63 win over SIU in Bloomington, Indiana on Dec. 2, 2000. The following year, Southern pulled off the upset at home, topping the No. 24-ranked Hoosiers, 72-60, in a sold-out game on Dec. 1, 2001. Indiana advanced to the national title game that season, while the Bruce Weber-coached Salukis went to the Sweet 16.

• WATCH
• LISTEN
• LIVE STATS
• GAME NOTES

The leading scorer for Texas Southern is junior G Zach Lofton (20.3 points). Saluki fans might remember him from his sophomore season at Illinois State in 2013-14. He averaged 11.3 points for the Redbirds and scored 18 points in the game versus SIU in Normal, Illinois, and 11 points in the game in Carbondale.

Saluki head coach Barry Hinson press conference transcript

Texas Southern has played a lot of road games so far. What do you see out them coming into this game?
I think there are several story lines here. You have Mike Davis, an extremely respected coach with over 300 wins. You've got a guy that has won the league in the SWAC and gone on to the NCAA Tournament. You have possibly the best offensive rebounder that you're going to see all year round in [Derrick] Griffin. You've got a kid named [Zach] Lofton that's very familiar with playing in this building that used to be at Illinois State and is shooting the ball anywhere from 17 to 18 times a game. Then you have a 7-foot, athletic, Marvin Jones that plays on the perimeter that we recruited out of Highland Community College. We're very familiar, not only with this program, but how good they are and they're certainly the most athletic bunch that we've played to date. That includes everybody. 

Arizona was able to score in transition against them, that's been a big part of your offense. How do you control the tempo?
I think the only way we can run is if we get stops. We don't run unless we can stop somebody. If somebody scores on us we're not going to run, but Arizona is a little different than us. They've got two 7-footers and one of them went 5-for-6 from three. I do think that you've seen this ball club culminate in the last three games defensively. If we can continue to do what we do defensively I think we have a chance to have a good basketball team. I still believe we can shoot the basketball. We're last right now in the Missouri Valley Conference in three point shooting but I don't think we're a last-place team. I think we have the capabilities of being a top-tier team shooting the three. 

Was improving the interior presence a point of emphasis in recruiting this year?
I think for us the interior deal was, yes. We have to have somebody that can alter or block shots inside. We haven't had that since I've been here. We've had height, but they couldn't block shots nor could they finish shots. We think that Thik Bol is that guy. We know he's missed some lobs here and he's had some trouble handling passes, but when you go back and you look at it on film, you find out that in most cases the passes weren't great or it was given to him in a position where it would be difficult for him to have a positive outcome. 

Lofton and Dulani Robinson lead the team for Texas Southern. They'll take a lot of shots from outside of the 3-point line. How is that similar challenge to Murray State?
I think the thing with Lofton and Stark is very similar. Lofton is going to shoot the ball every time he touches it. He shoots 17 to 18 shots a game. Our leading shot taker is seven times a game. They've got a guy shooting 11 more times than our leading shooter. The other thing with Robinson is that he has great depth. This is a senior. It is not his first rodeo. He gets it. He's a really good player. He goes downhill. He knows what to do. He's a phenomenal passer. You've got Jones and Griffin coming off of those ball screen and he just throws it up. They've got two Thik Bols. Griffin was recruited to be a wide receiver for Johnny Manziel when he was a quarterback at Texas A&M. This kid is a big-time athlete. He's a big-time player. There's a reason he was player of the year as a freshman and was picked as the preseason player of the year. That's pretty impressive.

How do they use him?
He's shooting about 80% inside the paint. What he does is he gets the rebound. When the shot goes up he will get it. He's a lot like Dennis Rodman. He's one of those guys that if anyone misses around the basket he goes and gets it. This will be one of our bigger challenges that we've faced all year.

Do you know Mike Davis personally?
I don't know Mike. I've followed his career. I certainly remember when he took Indiana to the National Championship. I'm extremely impressed with Mike and what he has done. I'm even more impressed with what he's done this year taking 16-straight road games. Their first home game is January 14th. That's an unbelievable challenge and you don't see him ever whining in the paper or in his game notes about it. I'm really impressed with Mike Davis.

How did this game come about?
The game came about when we had the mess up with the tournament we had. One of the byproducts was they helped us get Texas Southern in here. It certainly wouldn't be an opponent that we would go out and schedule because I know how good they are often. There are no more easy games. Every game will go down to the wire from here on out. I think every team we play will have a winning record except with the exception of one team. Every team we play from here on out is really good. We have no more games that our fans show up or our players will think, 'eh, we can just show up and play.' There are no more of those. 

You said Armon Fletcher has worked on his three point shot a lot this summer. How much has that helped his confidence.
I think you've seen that even when he's not making shots he still has the confidence to go ahead and shoot the basketball. He can shoot much better than he has been and right now he's sitting at the 43 or 44 percent mark. I believe he's an even better shooter than that. I think its helped him a tremendous amount. Armon is his own biggest challenge. Armon has an opportunity to be paid to play one day. He's got the body. He's got the athleticism. He needs to have the want more, but I think that will happen with a little more maturation. Armon is a young player. I do think you'll see he will make great improvement as it goes on.

What is Rudy Stradniek's role right now?
I think right now what people are missing is that he has 10 offensive rebounds. Sean O'Brien and Thik Bol have 13 a piece. And they're playing twice the minutes that Rudy is. He's got 10 offensive rebounds in half of the minutes. We've asked Rudy to rebound for us. He's a different type of player. He understands how to screen and slip and get open and pick and pop. If he keeps rebounding that gives us that guy that backs up Thik when he is in foul trouble or fatigued. For us right now, that's a big key. Who will be the backup center? I think since SIUE, you've seen a great bit of confidence in Rudy.s

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

Alcorn Eyes Three-Peat in SWAC Championship Against Grambling State

Alcorn Game Notes

HOUSTON, Texas  –  On a quest to win its third consecutive SWAC Championship, the Alcorn State University football program will play Grambling State in the title game for the second year in a row at 3 p.m. Saturday at NRG Stadium.

The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU with Eric Clemons on play-by-play, Jay Walker as analyst and Sherree Burress on the sidelines. It can also be heard on 91.7 WPRL FM with play-by-play voice Charles Edmond on the call.

Alcorn (5-5, 5-4 SWAC) is playing for its 16th conference championship in program history. The Braves are in a similar situation as last season as they are going up against a Grambling State (10-1, 9-0 SWAC) squad that enters the game unbeaten against SWAC competition.

In last year's championship, the Braves beat the Tigers 49-21. Junior quarterback Lenorris Footman recorded four touchdowns including three in the air and one on the ground.

Footman's status for this year's contest will be a game-time decision as he's been nursing a hand injury. Freshman quarterback Noah Johnson has played in nine games this year and has posted 11 passing and 10 rushing touchdowns.

The Braves feature one of the premier ground attacks in the country. They average 217.8 rushing yards per game which ranks second in the SWAC and 18th in FCS. Junior De'Lance Turner leads the team with 61.8 rushing yards per game. He's coming off a career-high 129 rushing yards against Jackson State.

Thursday morning Alcorn earned six SWAC All-Conference honors. Seniors Darien Anderson and Eric Foster were named to the All-Conference First-Team on defense. Senior Detonio Dade and junior Timothy Gardner took All-Conference Second-Team nods on the offensive line, and senior Michael Hurns and junior Michael Brooks were selected to the All-Conference Second-Team defense. Click here to view the release.

Grambling won every SWAC game this year by at least 20 points. Its only blemish on the record came in a non-conference affair at Arizona on Sept. 10 when the Tigers jumped out to a 21-3 lead at half but fell 31-21. The Tigers led the conference in both total offense (507.6 ypg) and total defense (323.6 ypg).

Junior quarterback Devante Kincade, the SWAC Offensive Player of the Year, led the league in total offense with 290.4 yards per game and has thrown for 28 touchdowns. His favorite target is senior Chad Williams who has caught 10 touchdown passes and averages a league-leading 119.1 receiving yards per game.

NOTES
- The Braves are trying to three-peat for the second time in school history after previously doing it from 1968-70.

- Alcorn is looking to become the first team from the SWAC East Division to win three consecutive championships since the title game started in 1999.

- The Braves went undefeated against its SWAC East Division opponents for the second straight year. They've won eight straight games against division foes.

- Alcorn enters the SWAC Championship game on back-to-back regular season wins. It dominated Mississippi Valley State 61-7 and then shutout Jackson State in the second half for a 36-15 victory on Senior Day.

- The Braves have rushed for at least 155 yards in nine of their 10 games this season, including at No. 20 Arkansas. They've run for at least 255 yards in all of their last four games.

- Alcorn ranks top-10 in FCS and first in the SWAC in sacks allowed, only giving up 0.90 per game. On the flip side, the Braves rank 11th in FCS in total sacks, led by senior linebacker Darien Anderson who ranks fourth in the nation individually with 1.00 per outing.

- Anderson is on the Buck Buchanan Watch List which is awarded to the best defensive player in FCS. He's one of seven players on the list. In addition to his sacks, Anderson is also 14th in FCS in tackles for a loss (1.7).

- In the regular season meeting against Grambling this year, Anderson turned in a monster performance which included 12 tackles and a career-high four sacks. As a result, he went on to win Hero of the Week by HERO Sports.

- Alcorn is 5-0 this season when it holds the opposition to under 30 points.

- The Braves have come through with big defensive special teams plays all year. They've blocked five kicks which is the second-most in FCS. Turner has blocked two of them, while freshman Solomon Muhammad returned one back for a touchdown in the regular season finale against Jackson State.

- Alcorn's 54-pont margin of victory over the Delta Devils was its most lopsided victory since Oct. 5, 2013 when it beat Warner 57-0. It was Alcorn's largest win over a Division I opponent since Oct. 11, 2003 when it topped Prairie View A&M 66-0. Johnson had a historic day, setting a school record with eight total touchdowns which was one shy of tying the all-time FCS record. He threw for seven scores and ran for one. As a result, Johnson was named SWAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week, College Sports Madness SWAC Offensive Player of the Week and College Football Performance FCS Performer of the Week.

- Senior linebacker Michael Hurns ranks 12th in the SWAC with 6.2 tackles per outing. He recorded a career-high 12 tackles against Alabama State in the SWAC opener. Hurns was named Student Government Association Senior Class President and took his seat in office Aug. 22. He will hold his SGA position for the entire 2016-17 fiscal year.

- Alcorn moved up a spot to No. 7 in this week's BOXTOROW HBCU Top-10 Rankings. The Braves, who have been ranked in the poll each week this year, have been as high as No. 2 this season.

ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

Wiley Wildcats: Pena, Hernandez, Duran Named NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athletes

MARSHALL, Texas -- The Wiley College men's soccer team won several accolades for their performance on the field. Three players were rewarded for their success in the classroom by being named NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athletes.

Luis Pena-Marquez, Jesus Hernandez (SR/Juarez, Mexico) and Efrain Duran (SR/La Joya, Texas) met the requirements. Athletes must be at least a junior and hold a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.5. Pena, a junior biology major, holds a 4.0 GPA this semester and had a career GPA of 3.8. Hernandez, a senior physical education major, has a 3.8 GPA this semester and an overall 3.7 GPA. Duran is a senior physical education major. He has a 3.5 GPA this semester and an overall GPA of 3.6.

All three athletes were inducted into the Wiley College Wildcat 3.0 Club this fall.

WILEY WILDCATS ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS