Defense Leads Hampton To MEAC Title Game Stopping North Carolina A&T Aggies

NORFOLK, Virginia -- The Hampton Lady Pirates back court of Dejane James and K'lynn Willis combined for 27 points as they survived a fourth quarter rally from seventh-seeded North Carolina A&T State to win 64-62 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Women's semifinals.

Both guards, listed at 5-foot-3, came through with stellar performances. James had 16 points, five assists and was 7-of-10 from the foul line. Willis had 11 points off the bench with two steals and was 5-of-5 from the line.

"These two guards, our mighty mites, helped steady us when A&T made their run in the fourth and got us another step closer," said Hampton University Head Coach David Six.

Hampton (19-12) advances to face top-seeded Bethune-Cookman in the finals scheduled for approximately 3 pm on Saturday. The game will be shown live online at ESPN3.com and tape-delayed later Saturday on ESPNU.

The Aggies, who eliminated Hampton last season en route to winning the MEAC crown, jumped out to a 13-6 lead with two minutes left in the first on a pair of Whitney Martin free throws. Hampton scored the last six points of the quarter as James hit one of two from the line to bring Hampton to 13-12 after one.

The Lady Pirates took the lead, for good, on a Georgianna Gilbeaux jumper with 8:52 left in the half as Hampton held a 14-13 advantage. A pressure defense turned the tide in the second quarter as Hampton forced 17 of 30 North Carolina A&T in the first half. Jephany Brown was a key cog in that coming up with eight steals, a season-high for her, in the first 20 minutes. This marked the sixth time this year that Hampton has forced an opponent to 30 or more turnovers.

A 13-3 run in the third quarter, holding the Aggies to three free throws in the span of 7:07 helped Hampton push the advantage to 45-31 with 25 seconds left on a Shanice Neita layup off a feed from Gilbeaux.

In the fourth, the Aggies didn't miss a shot from the field going 10-for-10 from the field and hitting both 3-point shots. James scored 12 of her 16 points in the final 10 minutes and hit 5-of-6 from the foul line for Hampton. Her two free throws with 90 seconds left in the game gave Hampton a 59-52 lead. The Aggies scored eight of the next 10 points to trail 61-60 on a pair of Dana Brown free throws with 22 seconds left.

Willis followed with two big free throws with 16 seconds left and Monnazjea Finney-Smith was 1-of-2 with 0.7 seconds left as Hampton knocked off the defending champions.
Gilbeaux and Mikayla Sayle added eight points apiece, while Brown and Finney-Smith chipped in with seven.

For more information on Hampton University women's basketball, please contact the Office of Sports Information at 757-727-5906 or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.

BOX SCORE

HAMPTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

TSU Lady Tigers defeat Alabama State 68-54, will face Grambling for SWAC championship

HOUSTON, Texas -- Texas Southern University's Lady Tigers advanced to the Toyota SWAC Basketball Tournament championship game by defeating Alabama State 68-54 in the semifinal round Friday.

Sophomore guard Joyce Kennerson (Port Arthur, Texas/Memorial) scored a game-high 20 points and freshman Chynna Ewing (pictured) chipped in 15 points and five assists as the Lady Tigers (22-9) won their first postseason game over Alabama State since 1990.

The Lady Tigers will face Grambling State for the Southwestern Athletic Conference's tournament championship Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Houston's Toyota Center, and can be viewed live online on ESPN3.

Though TSU never trailed in the game, the Lady Tigers were not able to pull away from Alabama State until after halftime. After taking a 31-28 lead into the locker room, the Lady Tigers opened the third period by scoring seven unanswered points and holding the Lady Hornets without a point for more than five minutes.

Ewing capped the 7-0 run with a layup through the ASU defense with 6:46 left in the third quarter. She would also cap a 6-1 run stretch later in the period with a jumper in the paint to stretch the Lady Tiger lead to 49-33 with 39 seconds remaining; the Lady Hornets would not cut TSU's lead to single digits for the entirety of the fourth quarter.

Senior post Shamiya Brooks scored 10 points and pulled in seven rebounds for the Lady Tigers. Kennerson also pulled in seven rebounds, tying her season high. Breasia McElrath matched her teammates with seven rebounds and five assists in addition to scoring six points.

ASU's Britney Wright led the Lady Hornets with 15 points. Zomoria Clark recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds for Alabama State.

In a battle of the top two rebounding teams in the SWAC, the Lady Tigers edged their opponents 43-39 in total rebounds. TSU shot 47 percent (25 of 53) from the field, while holding Alabama State to 29 percent (19 of 65).

The Lady Tigers and Grambling shared the SWAC's regular season championship with identical 14-4 league records. The teams went 1-1 against each other, with each team winning on their home floor.

TSU will make its second appearance in the SWAC women's tournament championship, and the first for the Lady Tigers since 2014. The Lady Tigers will be joined by their men's counterparts on championship Saturday, as the TSU men will face Alcorn State at 5:15 p.m. at the Toyota Center.

BOX SCORE

TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

Texas Southern Takes Down Grambling 62-57, Advance To SWAC Championship Game

HOUSTON,Texas -- In dynamic fashion, Texas Southern men's basketball team secured another birth to the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game. With Alcorn State's win Friday night against Southern, the Tigers will automatically qualify for March Madness. Alcorn State is ineligible for the postseason.

The Tigers defeated Grambling State 62-57 at the Toyota Center Friday afternoon. Jalan McCloud led TSU in scoring with 17 points and six rebounds. Demontrae Johnson added 14 points, four rebounds and four assists for the Tigers.

Led by guard Jalan McCloud who poured in 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals the Tigers withheld a furious GSU rally in the second half to claim a hard fought victory.

Trae Jefferson contributed 14 points for the Tigers along with 4 assists, and 4 rebounds. The Tigers shot 43 percent from the floor for the game while playing stifling defense on the other end of the floor holding GSU to shooting just 33 percent.

"Like I've mentioned before on several occasions this team has a lot of talent," said TSU head coach Mike Davis. "On any given night we have four to five players that can go out and score the basketball at a high level."

TSU had a balanced scoring attack versus Grambling State with a total of seven players scoring points. Marvin Jones and Kevin Scott led the charge on the glass tallying 11 and 10 rebounds respectively.

"We've yet to put together a complete game on both ends of the floor," said Davis. "And that's the really scary part about this team, the fact that we've won 22 games and really haven't played our best basketball up to this point."

The Tigers will get a chance to bring home another SWAC Title on Saturday at 5:30 pm as TSU will face the Alcorn State Braves. Regardless of the outcome of the game TSU has punched its tickets to the 2017 NCAA Tournament as Alcorn State is ineligible for postseason play.

BOX SCORE

CONTINUE READING

NCCU Eagles Fly Past UMES Hawks to MEAC Finals

NORFOLK, Virginia -- North Carolina Central University endured a 30-plus minute delay due to a shot clock malfunction in the first half, but that couldn't stop the Eagles' momentum as they advanced past Maryland Eastern Shore into the championship, 77-49 on Friday, March 10 at Scope Arena.

NCCU (24-8) opened the game on a 10-0 run and that set the tone for the Eagles for the rest of the game. NCCU led MDES (15-16) 14-2 when the shot clock above the goal where the Eagles were attacking went out at the 13:27 minute mark in the first half, and both sides had to wait over a half hour for a solution.

Eventually the timer came back on, and the Eagles went on to take a commanding 38-21 lead at the break after a big three-pointer from Patrick Cole (Newark, N.J.) with less than 10 seconds remaining in the half.

The Eagles opened the second half on a 21-4 run to lead 60-25 with 12:33 to play, and saw out the victory from there. Cole finished with a game-high 21 points with seven rebounds and six assists, and he was one of five Eagles with a double-digit point total.

Dajuan Graf (Charlotte, N.C.) had 14 points with four assists, and Kyle Benton (Long Beach, Calif.) had 12 points and a joint game-high eight rebounds shared with Del'vin Dickerson (Houston, Texas). Dickerson collected 11 points, followed by Pablo Rivas (Phoenix, Ariz.) who finished with 10 points and six boards.

Bakari Copeland (Decatur, Ga.) led MDES with 15 points.

NCCU will make its second championship appearance in the MEAC Tournament in the Division-I era on Saturday, March 11 with tipoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on ESPN2.

BOX SCORE

NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

NSU Will Play for MEAC Title After 68-53 Win over Howard

NORFOLK, Virginia – Howard came into Friday's semifinal with plenty of confidence after two straight upsets in the 2017 MEAC Tournament. The No. 2 seed Norfolk State men's basketball team decided enough was enough on Friday night in the semifinal round.

The Spartans weathered a first-half storm from the No. 11 seed Bison and then pulled away in the second period for a 68-53 victory at Scope Arena. NSU advanced to play No. 1 seed North Carolina Central on Saturday at 1 p.m. for the conference title in a live broadcast on ESPN2.

NSU broke through after falling in the semifinals each of the last three years. The Spartans will play in the championship game for the third time in their MEAC history, joining the 2009 squad and the championship team of 2012.

Senior Jonathan Wade scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting with seven rebounds to lead Norfolk State (17-15). The Spartans held Howard to 24 percent shooting in the second half and 31 percent overall after outscoring the Bison 40-23 after halftime.

Junior Zaynah Robinson added 16 points in all 40 minutes, while junior Jordan Butler totaled 10 points and 10 rebounds with four blocks for his third double-double of the season. He along with junior Dan Robinson, who grabbed a career-high nine rebounds, helped the Spartans to a 52-35 edge on the glass. The Spartans outscored HU 19-7 in second-chance points.

The Spartans overcame a two-point deficit at the break. After that sluggish first half, in which they shot just 36 percent, they put to rest any notion of another Bison upset.

NSU came out in the second period and outscored Howard 11-3 to open a 39-33 lead. The Spartans extended their advantage to 48-37 after Robinson made a nice bounce pass to Wade on the break and then sank a 3-pointer of his own with more than 10 minutes to go.

Sophomore Alex Long's putback with 7:24 left made it a 56-44 ballgame, a score that stayed the same for three and a half minutes until Robinson made two from the free throw line after the under-4 media break. Howard did not score for five minutes during that time and trailed by as much as 18 late in the contest.

The Bison's dry spell included a crowd-roaring block by Butler with three minutes left when he got way up to stuff HU's James Miller on a potential dunk in transition.

Howard (10-24) knocked off No. 6 seed Coppin State and No. 3 seed Morgan State to advance to the semifinal. But just like their 2012 championship team, when they also were the No. 2 seed, the Spartans again defeated an 11th seed for a spot in the title game.

Charles Williams led Howard with 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Miller and Damon Collins each scored 11 points as well.

NSU built a 9-3 lead to start the game before Williams scored eight straight for Howard to start a 15-4 run. The Bison led 18-13 after that spurt with 9:14 on the clock before senior Kerwin Okoro drained a 3-pointer from the right wing. But Solomon Mangham and Collins answered with long range shots on the other end to keep Howard in the lead.

It did not last, as two buckets by Butler and a 3-pointer from Wade in the right corner with three minutes to go put NSU back ahead by one. Late in the half, Williams and Wade exchanged transition buckets, and Tyler Stone got a shot to go with time ticking down to give the Bison a two-point lead at the break, 30-28.

Norfolk State shot 23-of-58 from the floor (39.7 percent) while holding the Bison to 19-of-61 (31.1 percent).

Okoro tallied eight points, four assists and three rebounds. Junior Bryan Gellineau chipped in with five points and seven boards.

Each team had nine blocks. NSU also stayed out of foul trouble for the most part, as Howard made 8-of-15 from the line after coming into the night averaging more than 16 makes a game.

BOX SCORE

Mike Bello, Asst. SID

NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

Southern 'getting close' to an agreement on contract extension for football coach Dawson Odums

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- An agreement on a contract extension between Southern Univsersity and football coach Dawson Odums is imminent, as the two parties are nearing a deal that would keep him at the school through several more seasons.

Odums, whose current contract is set to expire after the 2017 season, did not return a request for comment, but his agent, Burton Rocks, confirmed in a text message that the two sides are “getting close” to an extension with just a few details to be ironed out.

The extension talks would take Odums through the 2019 season and as of 6 p.m. Thursday, the talks were "in the fourth quarter" and hopeful to be finalized soon, Rocks said.

The sixth-year Southern coach was set to earn $180,000 this season, the last in a three-year arrangement he signed in January 2014. That 2014 agreement netted Odums a 25-percent raise.

After some disappointing years under his predecessor, Stump Mitchell, Odums has returned the Jaguars to prominence in the Southwestern Athletic Conference despite some challenges brought on by NCAA sanctions.

Southern was an utterly dominant team for a large portion of last year, going 8-0 in league play before a clash against also-undefeated rival Grambling in the Bayou Classic. Grambling won that contest en route to the black college national championship.

CONTINUE READING

Alabama A&M men's basketball coach Willie Hayes resigns after 2-27 season

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Alabama A&M men's basketball coach Willie Hayes has resigned, the university announced this afternoon.

The Bulldogs finished 2-27 overall and 2-16 in SWAC play this season, Hayes' sixth at the helm. Alabama A&M ended the regular season with a 78-57 loss at Grambling on Saturday. The Bulldogs did not qualify for the SWAC tournament.

Alabama A&M ranked 341st among 347 Division I teams in scoring offense at 61.7 points per game. The Bulldogs' scoring defense ranked 298th at 77.8 points per game.

Hayes finished 54-121 during his time on The Hill. His best season came in 2013-14, when Alabama A&M finished 14-16.

Hayes played for the Bulldogs and was the SIAC Player of the Year in 1989. He was inducted into the Alabama A&M Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.

"We thank coach Hayes for his service and commitment to Alabama A&M University," Director of Athletics Bryan Hicks said in a press release. "We wish him the best in his future endeavors."

CONTINUE READING

Talladega tops Nuggets to win 1st GCAC Tourney title

NEW ORLEANS -- Jasmine Lee-Stackhouse scored 16 points Sunday, and NAIA No. 25 Talladega limited Xavier University of Louisiana to its fewest points in more than two years in a 59-42 women's basketball victory in the championship game of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament at XULA's Convocation Center.

The top-seeded Lady Tornadoes (22-8) earned their first GCAC Tournament title and secured the league's automatic berth to the NAIA Division I National Championship at Billings, Mont. Pairings will be announced Wednesday, and the tournament will begin March 15.

Stackhouse, a 6-foot-1 junior forward/center, scored nine third-quarter points, seven on second-chance plays, to help Talladega extend its lead to 43-37 by the end of that period. The Lady Tornadoes outscored the Gold Nuggets 16-5 during a fourth quarter in which XULA went 0-of-19 from the floor.

Tasheba Henry scored 14 points and Sashanique Youngblood 10 for Talladega, and tournament MVP Tajanee Wells had nine points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Third-seeded XULA (19-13) was led by a pair of senior centers. Kelsee Singleton had 11 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, and Bianca Brown had nine points and seven rebounds.

Talladega led the final three quarters, including 25-21 at halftime. The Lady Tornadoes limited the Gold Nuggets to a season-low 25.4 percent from the floor and their fewest points since a 53-42 loss at Dillard on Jan. 31, 2015. XULA scored the second-fewest points ever in a GCAC Tournament final.

Talladega shot 39.6 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Gold Nuggets 41-36 for the game, 25-14 in the second half.

Joining Wells on the all-tournament team were Lee-Stackhouse, Henry, Singleton, Brown and XULA's Mikayla Bates. Wells, a senior forward, was named GCAC Player of the Year last week.

Talladega will make its third trip and second in a row to the NAIA's national tournament. XULA, a qualifier for nationals 19 of its previous 22 seasons, is not expected to earn an at-large bid after failing to garner any votes in the last three national coaches polls. The Gold Nuggets entered Sunday's game seeking their sixth GCAC tourney title in eight years. They defeated Talladega in the 2012, 2014 and 2016 finals.

BOX SCORE

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold 

CAU Panthers Head to Huntsville For NCAA South Region as No. 8 Seed

ATLANTA, Georgia -- On Sunday evening the Clark Atlanta University men's basketball program was made aware of the time and place for the upcoming NCAA South Region Championship.

The NCAA has determined the host to be University of Alabama in Huntsville. UAH plays out of the Gulf South Conference and entered the GSC tournament receiving votes nationally while being No. 2 in the South Region.

CAU was selected as the No. 8 seed and will play the host UAH (24-7). The Panthers are 21-11 (12-5 SIAC) under Darrell Walker in his first season as the head coach at CAU. Walker was named SIAC Coach of the Tournament after Clark Atlanta defeated Fort Valley State on Saturday night in Birmingham, Ala.

The Panthers were left off the SIAC postseason awards lists which shocked many. When all was said-and-done last week in Birmingham, all the award recipients were sent home and Tim Sanders was selected as the Tournament Most Valuable Player.

The winner of the South Region will be one of eight teams that will make a bid for the National Championship to be played from Sioux Falls, S.D. on the week of Mar. 22-25.

CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

Virginia Union Announces 2017 Football Schedule

RICHMOND, Virginia -- Virginia Union University's Department of Athletics has released its 2017 Fall Football Schedule.

The season features five away games along with five home games in Historic Hovey Field in Richmond, Va.

The Panthers will open 2017 against Long Island University-Post at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 2, in Brookville, N.Y.

Home games include September 9 against Newberry College, September 16 against Winston-Salem State University, October 16 against Chowan University and Homecoming against Elizabeth City State University on October 28.

Mark James, Head Football Coach at VUU, summed up the 2017 season:

"The 2017 Virginia Union University football team is excited about facing the opportunities that the football schedule offers. After finishing 5-5 last year, we feel we can build off our last season's experience for the upcoming season," James said.

Here is James' game by game analysis on each opponent:

LIU Post: This game offers us a great opportunity for an out-of-conference rematch that went down to the wire last year where we lost by two points at Hovey Field. We are looking forward to going to LIU and being competitive versus their traditional explosive offense. We feel that our experienced defense will have a stout challenge in which we must remain disciplined and focused of their offensive mesh's and heavy TE play.

Newberry: Last year was a combination of the elements of weather and long travel that ended up assisting the wolves of handing us our second loss of the season. Their QB, who is returning, is a proven leader of their offensive attack. We accept the challenge of containing him as the key to success in this game. This will be our first home game of the 2017 season and it would be great to start it with a victory.

Winston-Salem State: Last year we were able to capitalize with a heavy run attack to stifle them early. This team went on and didn't lose a game after our match up. We will need to be focused and play well at home to defeat the 2016 CIAA champs. This was the first time Union has defeated its arch rival in over 14 years.

Fayetteville State: Last years game was a challenge of will as the Broncos refused to go down late in the game. The game was one in which we lost both quarterbacks and had to finish the game with an RB at QB. We showed true grit and put together a tough win on the road. This year as they come to Hovey, we realize that the new HC has done a great job of retooling his team and they will be ready.

Saint Augustine's: Last year we were challenged with containing their running QB. Even though our secondary limited his ability to throw, he rushed for over 150 yards and a couple of scores. This year, we will face the same QB and defense must contain the edges better in order to hold off the SAU attack. Our offense must take advantage of match ups in the secondary and turn average plays into big ones.

Lincoln: Last year's Homecoming was played on a rain-soaked Hovey field which limited both teams in the ability to pass the ball. This year we expect a greater challenge from the Tigers as they have signed a number of talented players that will be impactful immediately for them. As a team on the road, we must use all phases of the game to be successful and continue our four year win streak against LU.

Chowan: The 2016 season had many valleys and lows....this game was definitely disappointing to the Panther family. From the very beginning of the game the Chowan offense scored often to create separation. This year we must protect Hovey field and remember the low of last year's loss and how it affected the remainder of our season.

Bowie State: Since taking over the reins of the program, this has been the matchup that made or broke the season. Last year we remained disciplined throughout the whole game and played effectively through all three phases. It was the first time that Union had beaten BSU in several years. This year we will return to Maryland with the same thought in mind, which is to gain a victory over one of our premier challengers in the CIAA.

Elizabeth City State: After moving to the first place in the CIAA, we faced a hungry team in ECSU. This game ended our hopes of making it to the CIAA championship game. We are excited about the opportunity to play them at home and even the score after losing last year's game in the final minutes.

Virginia State: There is probably no other rivalry in D2 HBCU FOOTBALL that is more coveted than this game. Last year we allowed the game to slip away from us with costly mistakes that trickled down to a loss. We will face the challenge of the Trojans and be ready in Petersburg when we meet this year.

DATE OPPONENT SITE TIME
Sept. 2 at LIU-Post Brookville, NY 1:00 p.m.
SEPT. 9 NEWBERRY HOVEY FIELD 4:00 p.m.
SEPT. 16 WINSTON-SALEM STATE HOVEY FIELD 6:00 P.M.
SEPT. 23 FAYETTEVILLE STATE* HOVEY FIELD 1:00 P.M.
Sept. 30 at Saint Augustine's* Raleigh, NC TBA
OCT. 7 at Lincoln (PA)* Lincoln University, PA TBA
OCT. 16 CHOWAN* HOVEY FIELD 1:00 P.M. (Veteran Appreciation)
Oct. 21 at Bowie State* Bowie, MD TBA
OCT. 28 ELIZABETH CITY STATE* HOVEY FIELD 1:00 P.M. (Homecoming/Senior Day)
Nov. 4 at Virginia State* Petersburg, VA TBA

NOV. 11 CIAA CHAMPIONSHIP TBA TBA
* = CIAA GAME

VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

Both Virginia Union Basketball Teams Receive NCAA Tournament Bids

RICHMOND, Virginia -- For the first time since 2004, both the Virginia Union University women's and men's basketball teams are headed to the NCAA Tournament.

The Virginia Union men's and women's teams both received at-large bids to the NCAA Division II Tournament Sunday, March 5.

After hosting the Atlantic Regional and making it all the way to the Elite Eight in 2016, the Virginia Union (23-4) women are a No. 3 seed, and will face No. 6 Wheeling Jesuit in the first round.

California (Pa.) is the Atlantic Region host this year.

For the women, it marks the first time a VUU women's team has went to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons since 1983-84. The men are returning to the tournament for the first time since 2006.

The Cardinals (25-6) repeated as Mountain East Conference (MEC) champions with an 80-61 win over Fairmont State on Sunday.

The Panthers beat Wheeling Jesuit 75-66 in the region semifinals in Barco-Stevens last season.

The Virginia Union (22-7) men are a No. 7, and will face No. 2 Shippensburg in the first round of the Atlantic Regional in Fairmont, W.V.

Fairmont State University is the host for the men's Atlantic Regional.

The men last faced Shippensburg on December 13, 2009, in Erie, Pa., and came away with a 74-58 win.

Times will be determined on Monday, March 7.

VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

Nuggets knock out Dillard to reach another GCAC final

NEW ORLEANS -- Through two rounds of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's basketball tournament, Xavier University of Louisiana's second-half field-goal shooting has been a downer -- just 24 percent -- but the Gold Nuggets' timing has been perfect.

For the second straight day, the Gold Nuggets used a late surge to survive and advance. They outscored Dillard 13-4 in the final 4 1/2 minutes to grab a 61-53 victory at XULA's Convocation Center and earn a spot in the championship round for the seventh time in eight years.

Sunday's scenario will be the same as last season. Third-seeded XULA (19-12) will play top-seeded Talladega (21-8) for the title at 2 p.m. at XULA.

XULA senior reserve center Bianca Brown scored a career-high 15 points Saturday and grabbed 11 rebounds to match her career high. She and Kelsee Singleton, another senior center, had four points and an assist apiece during the closing rally. Adriiana Jackson's basket at 5:36 gave Dillard (19-9) its final lead, 49-48. XULA scored the next six points, with Brown passing to Singleton for a basket that put XULA ahead to stay, 50-49, with 4:27 remaining.

The Gold Nuggets clinched by making 5-of-6 free throws -- three by Mikayla Bates, two by Maya Trench -- in the final 23 seconds.

In the first round Friday, XULA outscored Philander Smith 15-4 in the final 4:05 to erase a 61-58 deficit.

"We've had too many games this year where we had chances to close the door and did not," XULA coach Bo Browder said. "It's been great to see our team step up and respond to that sense of urgency two straight days in the postseason."

Bates had 11 points and seven rebounds, and teammate Jordan Coleman scored a career-best nine points and had four assists. Singleton had eight points and blocked four shots, all in the first half, to increase her season total to 44. Jayla Nichols didn't score but grabbed eight rebounds to help the Gold Nuggets win the boards 53-39. Essence Wells was limited to 18 minutes because of foul trouble but still finished with a career-best four steals and a career-high-tying four assists.

Shaelynn Moore led Dillard with 17 points, two assists, two blocks and two steals. She made all four of the Lady Bleu Devils' 3-pointers. Jackson and Alexia McDonald scored 10 apiece. The Nuggets limited Alyssa Washington, first-team All-GCAC this season, to four points -- her second-lowest total this season -- on 2-of-11 from the floor.

XULA led the majority of the game, outscoring Dillard 17-5 in the first 12 minutes and leading 28-19 at halftime. Then the Lady Bleu Devils opened the third quarter with a 15-3 run to take their largest lead, 34-31.

For the game, Dillard shot 33.3 percent from the floor, and XULA shot 32.9 percent. Both teams committed 17 turnovers.

XULA denied Dillard its first 20-win season since 2003-04. Dillard also was seeking two wins in the same season against XULA for the first time since 1984-85.

In the first semifinal, Talladega outscored fifth-seeded Tougaloo 13-2 over 7 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter and held on for a 69-64 victory. Tajanee Wells, the GCAC Player of the Year, had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Lady Tornadoes.

BOX SCORE

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold 

TSU Tigers Earn Hard Fought Win Over Arkansas Pine Bluff

MEMPHIS, Tennessee -- The Tennessee State men’s tennis team defeated Arkansas Pine Bluff 5-2 for their 4th win of the season.

TSU won two out of three doubles matches, before taking four out of six singles matches in straight sets for the win.

“The guys played a rough match,” Head Coach Monroe Walker III said. “We got the win which is most important. The conditions were not ideal but we played tough. It was a good match and Pine Bluff has gotten better since last year. We need to keep improving. Shashank played great today and was very impressive. We cannot play loose. We have to have a dominating mentality. I am looking forward to our matches tomorrow.

Matt Brown and Grant Maddox edged out a tough doubles win at the No. 1 slot by a 7-6 score. Shashank Nautiyal and Larry Sloan combination played together for the first time this season winning the No. 3 doubles match with a convincing 6-1 win.

After the Tigers dropped the first two matches in singles, TSU bounced back to win the next four singles matches to earn a hard fought win. Tom Parant won a three set thriller playing at No. 3 by scores of 6-3, 5-7, 7-5. Nautiyal cruised to his win at No.4 6-2, 6-1. Kyle Burton won his team leading 9th victory of the season at No. 5 with 7-5 6-1 win. Maddox closed the match at No. 6 with a dominating 6-0, 6-2 win.

The Tigers take on Rhodes and LeMoyne Owen today to close out the matches in Memphis.

Singles competition

1. GREIG, Jualon (APB) def. BROWN, Matthew (TSUM) 6-2, 6-3
2. RAHMAN, Sajid (APB) def. RICHARDSON, Kato (TSUM) 6-2, 6-2
3. PARANT, Tom (TSUM) def. LEWIS, Simon (APB) 6-3, 5-7, 7-5
4. NAUTIYAL, Shashank (TSUM) def. VANGALA, Aravind (APB) 6-2, 6-1
5. BURTON, Kyle (TSUM) def. LEDBETTER, Le'darrie (APB) 7-5, 6
-1
6. MADDOX, Grant (TSUM) def. LEDWABA, Khusto (APB) 6-0, 6-2

Doubles competition

1. MADDOX, Grant/BROWN, Matthew (TSUM) def. RAHMAN, Sajid/LEWIS, Simon (APB) 7-6
2. GREIG, Jualon/LEDBETTER, Le'darrie (APB) def. BURTON, Kyle/PARANT, Tom (TSUM) 7-5
3. SLOAN, Larry/NAUTIYAL, Shashank (TSUM) def. LEDWABA, Khusto/VANGALA, Aravind (APB) 6-1

TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

Texas Southern Tigers race past Southern 82-69, enter SWAC tourney as No. 1 seed.

HOUSTON, Texas – Four Texas Southern players scored in double figures Saturday as the Tigers concluded the regular season with an 82-69 win at home over Southern.

Jalan McCloud scored a game-high 23 points and Demontrae Jefferson added 22 and five assists as the Tigers (20-11) closed out Southwestern Athletic Conference play with a conference-best 16-2 league record.

Kevin Scott turned in 12 points and four assists, while Zach Lofton chipped in 10 points for the Tigers. Teammate Marvin Jones scored seven points and tallied game-highs of 10 rebounds and five blocked shots.

Southern's Chris Thomas led five Jaguars in double-figures, scoring 13 points. The Jaguars (14-7) fell to 10-8 in SWAC play.

Southern couldn't slow down TSU's offense, which shot 56 percent (29 of 52) from the floor and knocked down 55 percent (11 out of 20) of its 3-point tries.

The Tigers asserted their collective will early in the second half after finishing the first 20 minutes down 39-37. TSU opened with 13 of the second half's first 17 points and led 50-43 with 14 minutes left in regulation. The Tigers would also outscore Southern 21-11 over the last eight minutes.

The win improved TSU's record to 9-0 in home games this season. The Tigers will have one more game on campus, when they open the Toyota SWAC Basketball Tournament with a quarterfinal matchup against No. 8 seed Alabama State at the Health and Physical Education Arena.

Tipoff for Tuesday's playoff game is tentatively scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. It will start a half-hour after the conclusion of the women's basketball team's quarterfinal matchup against Prairie View A&M.

BOX SCORE

TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

Grambling women win, clinch share of SWAC title

GRAMBLING, Louisiana — The Grambling State women’s basketball team clinched a share of the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular season championship with an 87-57 win over Alabama A&M here on Saturday.

Grambling ends the regular season at 16-13 overall and 14-4 in the SWAC. With the win, Grambling also clinched the No. 1 seed in next week’s conference tournament.

Alabama A&M completed a winless SWAC season at 0-18 and 2-25 overall.

Grambling led 21-16 after the first quarter before taking command on the game in the second quarter. The Tigers outscored Alabama A&M, 26-7 in the second quarter for a 47-23 halftime lead. Grambling scored the first 13 points of the second quarter and had a 20-5 run to open the period.

Grambling built its lead up to 34 points.

CONTINUE READING

Davis Homerun Leads FAMU Past ETSU 7-3 Friday Night

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- In baseball, sometimes it’s the little things that make a big difference. That was the case Friday afternoon at Moore-Kittles Field as Florida A&M (8-2) beat East Tennessee State (6-3) by a score of 7-3, taking the first game of the three-game series.

In what looked like a hopeless scoring opportunity in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and nobody on base, Kaycee Reese worked a walk in a tremendous 10-pitch at bat. John Capra then hit a ground ball to the shortstop on what appeared to be an inning-ending play, but Reese hustled his way to second base, beating the shortstop to the bag, extending the inning. The next hitter, Brian Davis, put an exclamation point on the inning, launching a three-run homerun over the right field fence, surging the Rattlers ahead of the Buccaneers by a score of 6-3.

That would be all the runs FAMU would need as relievers Jamie Grant (3-0) and Hunter Fillingim were outstanding once again.

Grant entered the game with runners on first and second and executed a perfect pitch in the bottom of the zone to induce an inning-ending double play. Grant threw 3.1 scoreless innings before handing it off to Hunter Fillingim who struck out the only hitter he faced to record his third save of the season.

Florida A&M starter, JoJo Durden (5.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 4 K) gave the Rattlers another strong outing as he was unfazed by a few defensive miscues. Although Durden did not factor into the decision, his ability to limit the damage and work around three FAMU errors paved the way for the Rattlers sixth consecutive win.

ETSU took an early lead in the top of the second inning. With two outs, the Buccaneers recorded three consecutive singles to score two unearned runs.

Florida A&M tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the third inning. Kaycee Reese got things started with a leadoff walk. With one out, Brian Davis roped a double down the right field line, placing runners on second and third with one out. Ben Ellzey then walked for the eighth time this season, loading the bases for Aubrey McCarty. ETSU starting pitcher, Ryan Simpler, fielded a ground ball off the bat of McCarty and made an errant throw into center field, bringing in two runs for FAMU.

The Buccaneers capitalized on two Florida A&M errors in the top of the fourth inning to regain the lead at 3-2, but the Rattlers answered back in the bottom of the fourth, scoring an unearned run of their own to tie the game at three apiece.

After Davis’ big three-run homerun in the sixth, FAMU extended the lead to four in the seventh courtesy of a one out RBI double down the right field line by Garrett Wilkinson, scoring Dallas Oliver all the way from first for a final score of 7-3.

Brian Davis led the Rattlers offensively, finishing 2-for-3 with his second homerun of the season, a double, three RBI, two runs scored, and two walks. Garrett Wilkinson also had a good day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double, a run scored, an RBI, and a walk.

Ryan Simpler (2-1) earned the loss for the Buccaneers after allowing five runs (three earned), on two hits, and five walks in 5.2 innings pitched.

Florida A&M and East Tennessee State will play the second game of their three-game series tomorrow at 1:00 PM at Moore-Kittles Field, where the Rattlers will look to win their seventh contest in a row.

As always, fans can follow Rattler Baseball on Twitter @BaseballFAMU and on Facebook.

BOX SCORE

FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS IINFORMATION

XULA David earns second-team all-conference honor

NEW ORLEANS — Jalen David, the only Xavier University of Louisiana men's basketball player with a double-figure scoring average at the close of the regular season, is the lone Gold Rush honoree on the 2016-17 All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference team.

The GCAC announced awards Thursday night at a banquet for all teams. The GCAC Tournament for men and women will begin Friday.

Although he started just 10-of-29 games and ranked fourth in minutes played per game, David averaged a XULA-leading 11.8 points per game. He also led the Gold Rush with 37 steals, 19 double-figure scoring games and in field goals and free throws made and attempted.

"This is a great honor," said David, a 6-foot-4 junior guard/forward from Mount Vernon, N.Y., a graduate of Mount Vernon High School and a transfer from Moberly Area (Mo.) Community College. "I want to thank the GCAC for this award. I'm very appreciative. But I especially want to thank my teammates and coaches for making this possible."

David averaged 15.3 points in the first seven games, then averaged 8.6 in the next 12 games, then closed the regular season by averaging 13.3 points and making 39.4 percent of his 3-pointers in the final 10 games.

"It's been an up-and-down year," David said. "But I think I've made progress as a person and an athlete. I know we have more work to do at the conference tournament."

The Gold Rush (10-19) are seeded fourth in the tournament and will play fifth-seeded Edward Waters (12-17) at noon Friday at Dillard's Dent Hall.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold 

Trench becomes 1st freshman on GCAC All-Defensive team

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Maya Trench was named Thursday to the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference All-Defensive women's basketball team.

Trench, a 5-foot-2 point guard from Edgard, La., and a graduate of West St. John High School, is the first freshman, female or male, to be named to a GCAC All-Defensive team. The conference picked its first All-Defensive teams in 2015-16.

Trench, who leads the Gold Nuggets with 69 steals and 84 defensive rebounds in 29 games, said she has become a much better defensive player since her arrival at XULA. "Thanks to coach Bo (Browder)," Trench said. "He's made me work hard. He's made sure I'm competing and that nobody gets past me."

Trench was the Gold Nuggets' only honoree at a banquet held the day before the GCAC Tournament's opening round. The XULA women had no one on the all-conference team for the first time ever. The GCAC's first season was 1981-82.

The Gold Nuggets (17-12) are seeded third in the tournament and will play sixth-seeded Philander Smith (13-15) at 2 p.m. Friday at SUNO's The Castle.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold 

Norfolk State & Hampton set their scopes towards the MEAC Championship

NORFOLK, Virginia -- It's been a roller coaster season for Hampton Roads' two Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference schools. Ups and downs, and some unexpected turns, but the time where you look forward to the next game has come and gone, it's win or go home. Norfolk State is looking for their first MEAC Championship since 2012 while Hampton, is going for their first three-peat in school history.



The Spartans (15-15) regular season was riddled with early-season injuries, 12 losses in 15 games, and an almost insurmountable hole to dig their selves out of. However, they've reeled off 12 wins in the last 15 games to snag the #2 seed in next week's MEAC Championship.

Hampton's (14-15) season started out similarly. A barrage of losses, that would later even out with a solid string of conference wins. "One thing we teach all year is that no win is too big, no loss is too small until the times come that there is no more," said Hampton head coach Edward Joyner. "You are at that time, so there is a sense of urgency to it."

CONTINUE READING

City of Grambling honors football program with commemorative sign

GRAMBLING, Louisiana -- Anyone leaving Grambling State's campus from now on will be left with a championship impression.

The city of Grambling, led by mayor Edward Jones, unveiled and dedicated a commemorative sign Friday to honor the football program and its 2016 HBCU national championship. The sign, which is about 10 feet wide, sits between two metal posts facing campus on the corner College Avenue and RWE Jones Drive.

"Oh wow," Grambling coach Broderick Fobbs said as he and his wife, Kim, lifted a tarp to unveil the sign to a group of 50 or 75 supporters that included Grambling city council members, GSU supporters, the entire coaching staff and a group of players.

The sign reads "Home of Champions" in gold letters with three lines of accolades — 2016 HBCU national champions, SWAC champions and Hero Sports Coach of the Year. Fobbs is prominently featured on the bottom left of the sign, holding up one finger to the sky. Quarterback DeVante Kincade and running back Martez Carter, two key members of the 2016 team and returners for 2017, are pictured in the top left and top right corners, respectively.

CONTINUE READING

North Carolina A&T's Cohen among leaders in 40-yard dash at NFL combine

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — Greensboro native T.J. Logan, a North Carolina alum, had the best time in the 40-yard dash at 4.37 seconds during Friday’s workouts at the NFL scouting combine, while N.C. A&T’s Tarik Cohen was third in 4.42 seconds.

Christian McCaffrey didn’t fare well on the bench press, managing 10 repetitions of the 225-pound test.

That’s about half of what running backs usually average at the annual gathering and it immediately set social media abuzz over the 2015 Heisman Trophy runner-up’s upper body strength.

The Stanford star running back, however, made up for that poor performance by running a 4.48 in the 40-yard dash, ahead of LSU’s Leonard Fournette, who ran a 4.51.

CONTINUE READING

University of the District of Columbia Wins Historic Men’s Lacrosse Game vs. HBCU Division I Rival Hampton

HAMPTON, Virginia -- In the historic first ever meeting between the nation's only NCAA Division I HBCU Men's Lacrosse program – Hampton University, and the nation's first and only NCAA Division II HBCU Men's Lacrosse program – University of the District of Columbia, the visiting Firebirds came out on top by a final score of 19-15 on Saturday afternoon at Armstrong Stadium.

The Firebirds (1-1), a fourth-year program under first-year head coach Rodger Colbert, were led offensively by five multiple-goal scorers and aided tremendously by a combined 24-for-37 on faceoffs by junior midfielder Teilen Celentano (16-of-23) and freshman midfielder Jose Leon (8-of-14). Junior midfielder LaRon Hinton tied for the game-high with five goals and added one assist while sophomore midfielder Tyler Mace was UDC's point-leader with four goals and three assists. UDC, for the 2nd straight game, set a program record for goals scored in a game with 19.

Defensively, sophomore transfer goalkeeper Nikolas Lund-Murray improved to 1-1 on the season by stopping nine of 24 shots faced in a complete game effort. The Firebirds also combined for 10 caused turnovers, including two apiece by Hinton, Mace and freshman midfielder Connor Mosby.

Hampton, a 2nd year program which has opened both its seasons with losses to Division II East Coast Conference school Roberts Wesleyan, fell to 0-2 this season with today's loss. The Pirates were led offensively by attack John Tarver's game-high eight points on five goals and three assists, and fellow attack Kendall Sapp's four goals and one assist. Goalkeeper Kevin Mondy, Jr. stopped 15 of 34 shots faced in the loss.

UDC's freshman attack Alan Singleton scored the game's first goal a little over two minutes into the action on a man-up opportunity off of an assist by Hinton. Hampton responded with a goal 20 seconds later by Sapp, but Hinton began and ended a 3-0 burst by the Firebirds with a man-down goal at 13:06 and an unassisted goal at 8:43 to put UDC in front, 4-1 still in the 1st quarter.

Hampton's Lemuel Randolph then kicked off a 5-0 Pirate surge with an unassisted goal at the 8:43 mark, and with Sapp's 3rd goal of the day at 4:29, the Pirates jumped ahead, 6-4. The Firebirds answered though with three straight unassisted goals to end the quarter by Mace, Hinton and Singleton, and they led 7-6 at the end of the first period.

Sophomore transfer attack Zach Hart (four goals, two assists) scored the first of his multiple goals just over five minutes into the 2nd quarter to push the UDC lead to 8-6 with a 4-0 run that spanned the 1st and 2nd quarters. But back came Hampton with four straight goals – the final two of which were man-down goals that came within 13 seconds of each other – and the Pirates were back on top, 10-8. Junior midfielder Syrrus Nash scored the first of his three goals on the day to stop the bleeding, but UDC still headed to halftime trailing 10-9.

Hart quickly opened the scoring in the 2nd half with a man-up goal just over 20 seconds into the 3rd quarter off of an assist by Singleton and evened the score at 10. Then, following a Hampton man-up goal by Darrel Kidd, Hinton and Mace each tallied unassisted goals at 13:34 and 11:21, respectively, to give UDC back the lead, 12-11.

Hampton would force two more ties at 12 and 13,but Nash's 2nd goal of the day at the 3:50 mark in the 3rd quarter would put the Firebirds ahead to stay. UDC closed out the 3rd period on a 4-0 run and took a 17-13 lead heading into the final quarter.

The two HBCU rivals traded goals twice with Hampton never coming any closer than three goals in the final quarter. Nash's 3rd and final goal gave UDC a 19-15 lead at the 5:33 mark, and that remained the score at the final buzzer.

UDC out-shot Hampton 58-34, won the ground ball battle, 21-11, and converted 4-of-10 man-up opportunities compared the Pirates' 3-of-5.

Next up, the Firebirds visit Georgian Court on Wednesday, March 1st at 3:30 p.m.

BOX SCORE

UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SPORTS INFORMATION

TSU Falls to SEMO, 78-75, in Overtime in OVC Tournament First Round

NASHVILLE, Tennessee --  The eighth-seeded Tennessee State men’s basketball team suffered a 78-75 overtime loss to fifth-seeded Southeast Missouri in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament First Round at Municipal Auditorium on Wednesday night. Wayne Martin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led four Tigers in double figures with 19 points and eight rebounds.

TSU (17-13) held a 34-28 halftime edge over Southeast Missouri (15-17) before the Redhawks outscored the Tigers by a 36-30 margin in the second half. In the five-minute overtime period, Ken’Darrius Hamilton (Montgomery, Ala.) drilled a three pointer with 7.2 seconds left to level the scoring, but SEMO’s Tahj Eddy answered with the game-winning three with 2.2 seconds to go to pull out the victory.

For TSU, Armani Chaney (Chicago, Ill.) tallied 14 points with Tahjere McCall (Philadelphia, Pa.) adding 12 and Hamilton scoring 10. The Tigers held a 49-30 rebounding edge and limited the Redhawks to 35.0 percent shooting.

Southeast Missouri jumped out to a 16-8 lead eight minutes into the contest before pair of Chaney three-pointers got the Tigers back in the game.

BOX SCORE

PHOTO GALLERY - By Sam Jordan

PHOTO GALLERY - By Katherine Seghers

Another Chaney three with 7:38 left in the opening half put the Tigers up 24-21 as part of a 10-0 run over a three-minute span. McCall’s layup with 2:10 remaining before halftime gave TSU its largest lead of the opening half of eight points at 34-26.

TSU, which shot 52.0 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, carried a 34-28 lead into halftime.

Out of the break, Tennessee State stretched its lead to 14 at 44-30 thanks to a 10-2 run to open the half.

The Tigers continued to lead by double figures until SEMO’s Trey Kellum hit a layup to trim the TSU advantage down to 48-39 with 11 minutes to play. The Redhawks continued to press and cut the deficit to just two at 51-49 with 7:18 left.

With four minutes to play, TSU led 58-54 and the game remained close throughout the rest of regulation.

TSU found itself down by two with 27.8 seconds left when Chaney tied things up at 64-64 with two made free throws. The Tigers came up with a stop on the defensive end on SEMO’s final offensive possession to force overtime.

TSU trailed by five points in overtime when Delano Spencer (Atlanta, Ga.) hit a free throw and Darreon Reddick (Belleville, Ill.) followed with a layup to put the Tigers down just two at 72-70 with 27.5 seconds to go.

After SEMO made one free throw on the other end, Reddick hit two from the line, again cutting TSU’s deficit down to one point at 73-72. Two more SEMO free throws put the Tigers down three until Hamilton tied the game at 75-75 and Eddy answered with the winner.

SEMO’s Denzel Mahoney led all scorers with 34 points.

GAME NOTES: TSU is 12-25 all time in the OVC Tournament… TSU was the eighth seed in the OVC Tournament for the fifth time… The Tigers are now 25-20 in the all-time series versus Southeast Missouri.

TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

HU Spring Football Practice Begins March 13

HAMPTON, Virginia -- The Hampton University football team will start its Spring Practice schedule on Monday, March 13 and will run for 15 dates throughout early April.

Practices will be held at Armstrong Stadium starting on a Monday-Wednesday-Friday-Saturday schedule. Saturday practices will be at noon, while the rest of the practice times will be from 6:30 – 8 a.m.

The spring season will conclude on April 7 with the Spring Game at Armstrong Stadium at 3 pm.

Hampton will hit the practice field after finishing tied for third in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with a 5-3 mark and a 5-6 overall record.

For more information on Hampton University football, please contact the Office of Sports Information at 757-727-5757 or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.

HAMPTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

Ben Ellzey's streak ends, FAMU gets by Mercer 9-6

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Last season, Florida A&M’s offense was one of the best in the nation – third baseman Ben Ellzey’s .388 batting average helped with that.

He led the conference in batting average, was tied for fourth in the MEAC with 69 hits and was tied for fifth in the conference with 42 RBIs.

Now a senior, the third baseman is picking up exactly where he left off.

Ellzey on Monday was named the MEAC’s Player of the Week. He went 8-for-17 last week and hit a walk-off RBI single to give the Rattlers a 3-2 series-opening victory over George Washington. FAMU would go on to sweep the Colonials.

Ellzey also stepped up against SEC foe Auburn (two hits and an RBI) in FAMU’s midweek game.

“All of us are just picking it up, one right after the other,” he said. “We’re getting hits in a row. We’re getting bunts down when we need to. It’s just a nice chain reaction and I’m just glad we’re still winning. It feels good to just keep winning.”

CONTINUE READING