How Atlanta became the capital of college football and the heart of HBCU Fans

ATLANTA, Georgia -- It took four years for the College Football Playoff to bring its national championship game to Atlanta. What took so long?

If the Bill Hancocks of the world wanted a major American city -- one with an NFL-sized stadium and at least 26,000 hotel rooms, and one with a heart that belongs once and forever to college football, they could have searched from Seattle to Miami without a finding a city more gaga about Saturday football than this one.

"It's easy to call it a love affair, but it's a lot more than that," said Bill Curry, 75, who grew up in the Atlanta suburb of College Park, played at Georgia Tech and served both his alma mater and Georgia State as head coach. "It's a cultural expectation."

Georgia and Alabama will play the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on the edge of downtown Atlanta, four miles from Piedmont Park, where Auburn and Georgia played for the first time in 1892, and exactly where they played for the 122nd time just four weeks ago.

The Bulldogs and the Tide will play two miles from Grant Field, the oldest on-campus stadium in the FBS, where in the 1950s all of Atlanta gathered in the west stands on autumn Saturdays to watch how Bobby Dodd's undersized Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets would outsmart and outluck some hapless SEC visitor.

And they will play two miles from Georgia State Stadium, nee Ted Turner Field, nee Centennial Olympic Stadium, the new home of the Georgia State Panthers, who this season won seven games and a bowl for the first time in the school's short history.

Georgia and Alabama will play within one mile of the College Football Hall of Fame, the 3-year-old museum with the helmet facade that stands as a love letter to the sport. The teams will also be playing within a one-mile radius of Morris Brown, Morehouse and Clark Atlanta, historically black colleges and universities with rich football traditions of their own.

Atlanta is a metropolitan area of 7 million people, all of them with a college football flag in their front yard. Atlanta is big enough to support six professional sports teams, yet it's still a city that cares more about college football than any of them. Put it this way: When the Falcons designed Mercedes-Benz Stadium, they included two additional oversized (100-locker) locker rooms for the college teams that will play in it.

No, the Falcons didn't think of everything. They forgot staircases from the seats to the field for the bands to get to the field for halftime. NFL teams don't have bands. You can bet, after the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games exposed the oversight, the stairs are there now.

The point is, everyone thinks of college football here.



"College football's crossroads is essentially in this market," said Wes Durham, the voice of Georgia Tech sports for 18 years before he began calling ACC games on Fox Sports Net. "You've got everybody here."

Everybody? Not only does Atlanta sit at the geographic heart of the SEC and the ACC, two of the conferences that make up the Power 5, but five years ago, when the Big Ten expanded to 14 teams, the league didn't take Rutgers until it had been turned down by Georgia Tech. Atlanta has brought in so many transplants that nearly half of the Power 5 schools have alumni watch parties on autumn Saturdays.

The Ohio State Alumni Club of Atlanta regularly draws 150 people to the Hudson Grille in Sandy Springs, an Atlanta suburb. Four times that many Buckeyes have gathered to watch the Ohio State-Michigan game, according to club president Shawn Murnahan, an attorney for the SEC (no, not that one; the Securities and Exchange Commission).

"The manager here said to me, 'Y'all are the reason I got a bonus last year,'" Murnahan said.

It has always been like this. The city's rich and famous may not all gather in the west side stands of Grant Field these days. But The Atlantan, a glossy, oversized magazine for those who want to see and be seen (the average income of its 50,000 rate base is nearly $400,000), keeps an eye on college football the same way it monitors charity galas.

"We treat it as a cultural event," said Lauren Finney, the magazine's editor-in-chief. "Saturday is kind of a sacred time. I treat it as I would a museum or gallery opening, a show coming to the Fox Theater. It's something to have on our social calendar."

Crossroads? Go to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world's busiest airport, on a fall weekend and you'll see a crossroads. Stand at the middle of Concourse A for one hour on a Friday morning in October and you will count fans sporting the gear of 28 different schools.

And while it may a bit hyperbolic to say that every Atlantan flies a school flag in his or her front yard, it is true that many of those transplants, once they understand how important college football is here, feel the imperative to mark their territory.

"You can drive through my neighborhood and you'll see Michigan flags, Michigan State flags, Alabama, Clemson," Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson said.

"In my neighborhood," Durham said, "there's a Kentucky flag, a Georgia flag, a Tennessee flag, a Georgia Tech flag. There used to be a Furman flag. On one of the cul-de-sacs there is a USC flag."



It's not just in the neighborhoods, either. Find another hotel in a major American city like the Atlanta Marriott Buckhead, which this season has flown the flags of the AP top 10 schools, in order, over its front door. A lot of coaches stay at that hotel when they come to Atlanta to recruit. And they all come to Atlanta to recruit.

If Atlanta is nothing else, it's a recruiting crossroads. Of the 65 Power 5 schools, 54 of them listed a player from metro Atlanta on their 2017 rosters. "I tell people all the time, if you want to get offers, and you're a good player, just move to metro Atlanta," Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said, "because every team in the country comes in, and you're going to get seen by somebody."

Johnson began his head-coaching career at FCS Georgia Southern 20 years ago.

"It's not like it once was," the Georgia Tech head coach said. "If Georgia and Georgia Tech and Auburn weren't recruiting them, you had a really good chance to get them at Georgia Southern. ... Now that's not the case."

The population explosion in Atlanta has been reflected in the quality of player that the area has produced. From 1942, when the NCAA first compiled a consensus All-America team, to 1997, metro Atlanta produced 14 All-Americans. In the past 20 seasons, the area has produced 24, including, for the first time, three in one season this year: defensive end Bradley Chubb of North Carolina State, wide receiver Michael Gallup of Colorado State and offensive tackle Orlando Brown of Oklahoma.

None of them went to Georgia. None of them even stayed in the SEC.

The crossroads is reflected in TV ratings for college football. Atlanta is the only one of the nation's 10 biggest cities that also ranks among the nation's 10 biggest college football markets, as determined by Nielsen ratings.

Atlanta is certainly the financial crossroads of college football. For one thing, the sport is good for Atlanta. The fourth-biggest convention city in the nation will host five "conventions" of more than 76,000 attendees at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 18 weeks. Stokan estimated a total economic impact of $250 million, including some $50 million in direct tax revenue to the city.

For another, College GameDay is presented by The Home Depot, headquartered in Atlanta. And Chick-fil-A, headquartered in College Park, has used college football as the marketing vehicle to transform itself from a regional chain to a national one.

Chick-fil-A attached its name to the two Kickoff Games on opening weekend and to the Peach Bowl, which celebrated its 50th year this season. In the old pre-Georgia Dome days, Stokan joked, the title sponsor of the Peach Bowl was Weather Plagued. Every December, it seemed, the cameras would show sleet and rain turning the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium field into a mud pit, and the first reference to the game would be the "weather-plagued Peach Bowl."




When the Atlanta Sports Council decided in 2009 to kick in $5 million as the seed money to lure the College Football Hall of Fame to Atlanta, the first solicitation for a matching contribution went to Chick-fil-A.

Without hesitating, the late S. Truett Cathy, the 88-year-old founder of Chick-fil-A, said yes.

"And [his son] Bubba says, 'Dad, don't you want to talk about this?'" Stokan said. "Truett wasn't even going to meet on this one. He said, 'It's in our city, it's good for our people in Atlanta. It's college football. We're in.'"

The ultimate sign that Atlanta is a college football town: Chick-fil-A takes pride in its policy of closing its more than 2,000 stores on Sundays. That means that its booths in Mercedes-Benz Stadium aren't open for Falcons games. You can bet they'll be open Monday night.

Whether or not they sold Coke at that first Auburn-Georgia game has been lost to the ages, but it is a fact that the soft drink Atlanta gave to the world has been a ubiquitous presence in college football since the invention of the concession stand. The Coca-Cola Company was founded on Jan. 29, 1892, three weeks before the Tigers and the Dawgs played for the first time.

Five years later, college football in Atlanta nearly ground to a halt. On Oct. 3, 1897, in a game against Virginia, Georgia linebacker Richard Von Gammon suffered a blow to the head and died the next morning. The death horrified not only the university but the entire state. The General Assembly voted to outlaw football at all schools that receive state funds and sent the bill to Gov. W. Y. Atkinson.

Von Gammon's mother wrote a letter to her state representative, imploring the state not to ban the sport. She had lost enough. "Grant me the right," she wrote, "to request that my boy's death should not be used to defeat the most cherished objects of his life."

Gov. Atkinson vetoed the bill.

The history of college football thereafter in Atlanta is tied to Georgia Tech, which sits a few blocks north of downtown. Georgia Tech played its first game in 1892 as well and didn't hire a coach until 1904. But what a coach -- Tech outbid two other schools to lure John Heisman away from Clemson. He immediately made the Yellow Jackets a force. Tech went 33 games without a loss from late in 1914 to 1918. That included the infamous 222-0 rout of Cumberland, and the 1917 national title.

After the 1919 season, Heisman broke Tech hearts when he left for Penn. He had lost Atlanta in a divorce. Heisman agreed that if his ex-wife, Evelyn, chose to stay in Atlanta, he would leave.

Over the next 47 seasons, a period in which Atlanta matured from a mere state capital to a regional hub and laid the foundation on which it built an international city, Georgia Tech employed only two head football coaches, Bill Alexander and Bobby Dodd.

Alexander's best team, in 1928, went 10-0 and beat California in the Rose Bowl 8-7. But that game is remembered for the Golden Bears' Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels, who recovered a fumble and ran 69 yards toward his own end zone before teammate Benny Lom caught him and turned him around.

Robert E. Lee Dodd, Alexander's top assistant, took over in 1945 and immediately put the Yellow Jackets among the SEC elite. In 1952, Georgia Tech went 12-0. The Yellow Jackets didn't allow a single touchdown pass and finished No. 2 behind Michigan State.

"It isn't just the best I ever coached," Dodd said. "It's the best I ever saw."

The city's black colleges and universities played football right down the road from Grant Field. Morehouse dominated black college football in the early 1920s, thanks to a tackle named A. Louis Irving, known for his steady leadership and durability.

If you ask Heisman voters, the best back in the nation in 1940 had to be Tom Harmon of Michigan. But Harmon may not even have been the best Wolverine. John "Big Train" Moody led the Morris Brown Wolverines to the black national championship in 1940 and again in 1941.

Moody, at 5-foot-7, 216 pounds, outweighed most linemen. He combined speed and power in a manner unseen in his generation. Big Train also could punt (with either foot) and place kick. According to the late tennis great Arthur Ashe in his history of African-American athletes, "A Hard Road to Glory," Moody averaged 11 yards per carry and scored 39 touchdowns.

He also got the opportunity to prove himself against white players. Moody started for the Fifth Army team against the Twelfth Air Force in the Spaghetti Bowl, a football game played in Florence, Italy, on Jan. 1, 1945. Moody scored the Fifth Army's first two touchdowns in a 20-0 victory.

But Atlanta was a Tech town under Dodd and remained so until the mid-1960s, when Georgia hired 31-year-old Auburn assistant Vince Dooley. As he entered the SEC in 1964, Dodd took Georgia Tech out of the conference. He didn't like the league's liberal scholarship limits.

It proved to be a spectacular miscalculation by Dodd. In the next two years, the Braves moved to Atlanta from Milwaukee and the NFL awarded an expansion franchise to the city. The Falcons, trying to curry favor with the locals, wore a helmet with Georgia and Georgia Tech colors: red, black, gold and white stripes.

Make of it what you will that the Falcons stuck with the red and black, but original owner Rankin Smith Jr. did go to Georgia.

Dodd retired after the 1966 season. His last year was the Falcons' first.



Tech became irrelevant for nearly two decades. It let the other schools enter the facilities arms race. The ACC threw Tech a lifeline, beginning in 1983, but even then, Dodd, by then long retired, understood how the landscape had changed. He had watched Curry, his former player, take Georgia Tech from 1-10 to 9-2-1. But when Curry left Georgia Tech after the 1986 season to take over at Alabama, Dodd said of his protégé, "It's a chance to be a big-time major football coach, which he could never be at Georgia Tech."

Four years later, Bobby Ross led Georgia Tech to a share of the 1990 national championship. George O'Leary drove the Yellow Jackets into national contention at the end of the decade, and Johnson has kept Georgia Tech a consistent winner in his 10 seasons. But Dooley took Atlanta away from Georgia Tech, and Georgia's vastly greater number of alumni have kept it.

Georgia Tech has its fans, and Georgia State, the commuter school in downtown Atlanta that has already surpassed Tech in enrollment, is trying to attract more fans. The Panthers began play under Curry only seven years ago. The program sees itself as Steve Jobs in the garage, the school that will challenge the legacy programs down the street (Tech) and up the highway (Georgia).

Senior defensive back Chandon Sullivan, this year a Sullivan Award finalist, helped lead the Panthers to a 7-6 record, their most wins ever.

"You see a lot of Georgia Tech fans, just five minutes down the street," Sullivan said. "You see a lot of Georgia fans. It gives you the hunger and the drive to keep pushing, in the hopes of being like a UGA one day."



Atlanta is a Georgia town. Since 1994, Atlanta has been an SEC town. That year, after two SEC championship games in Birmingham that could have had the title sponsor "Weather Plagued," commissioner Roy Kramer moved the game to the Georgia Dome.

SEC coaches don't talk about winning the league title.

"We talk about playing in Atlanta, getting to Atlanta," said Alabama head coach Nick Saban, who has taken seven of his 11 Crimson Tide teams there.

"You know what you have to do to get to Atlanta," former Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin said in July.

"I was also brought in here to get to Atlanta," said former Florida head coach Jim McElwain, who got the Gators to Atlanta in the only two seasons he completed in Gainesville.



They talk about getting to Atlanta in the SWAC and the MEAC, too. For the past three years, the HBCU conferences have chosen not to send their champions to the FCS playoffs so that they can play each other in the Celebration Bowl, which was played at the Georgia Dome the first two years and at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017.

"We always start with Atlanta, where we want to go, what it's going to take to get there," said Grambling head coach Broderick Fobbs, whose school is an eight-hour drive away. Fobbs said he tells his team, "West on I-20 is not anything. You got to go east in order to be a champion."

MEAC commissioner Dennis Thomas lobbied his members for more than a decade before they agreed to forego the FCS playoffs. It may have helped his case that the MEAC last won a playoff game in 1999.

"It's a vision come true," Thomas said. "Atlanta, to me, is the perfect place. If you look at Atlanta, hell, this is the damn football capital."

Each year, the Peach Bowl invites the newest inductees into the College Football Hall of Fame to Atlanta and gives them an on-field salute during the game. The bowl also co-sponsors the Dodd Trophy, an annual coaching award that honors "scholarship, leadership and integrity." On Saturday night, the Hall of Famers had dinner in the Venetian Room of the Capital City Club. The Dodd winners, among them Dooley, Curry, Frank Beamer and David Cutcliffe of Duke, ate in the club's Bobby Dodd Room, complete with a portrait of Dodd over the fireplace.

Between the two rooms is a bar, where the great players in one room and the great coaches in the other gather for a cocktail reception before dinner and, inevitably, start telling stories -- say, a Brian Bosworth talking to a Bobby Bowden. At that moment, the bar becomes the crossroads of the game's greats.

Call it the capital. Call it the crossroads. On Monday night, perhaps early Tuesday morning, the 2017 season will come to a close in a state-of-the-art stadium. And Atlanta will be a little sadder. College football season will be over.

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South Dakota State Completes 2018 Football Slate by Adding Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions

BROOKINGS, South Dakota -- The South Dakota State University football team has completed its 2018 schedule by finalizing a contract to host Arkansas-Pine Bluff in nonconference action.

The matchup, which will be the Jackrabbits' first time hosting a Southwestern Athletic Conference opponent, is scheduled to be played Sept. 15 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium. The game has been designated as the 52nd Annual Beef Bowl.

SDSU's other two non-league games in 2018 will include a Sept. 1 contest at Iowa State and a Sept. 8 home matchup versus Montana State. The Sept. 8 home opener will be the annual Dairy Drive game.

"We are excited to have completed our schedule with a home game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, as well as the challenge of opening the season versus a very good Iowa State team," said Jackrabbit head coach John Stiegelmeier. The Iowa State game will mark SDSU's 10th against a Football Bowl Subdivision program in the Division I era of Jackrabbit football, which began in 2004.



Missouri Valley Football Conference action kicks off Sept. 29 with the annual Dakota Marker game at North Dakota State. The Jackrabbits will then be home each of the next two weeks, hosting Indiana State on Oct. 6 and Youngstown State for Hobo Day on Oct. 13.

The Jackrabbits close out the month of October with road games at Northern Iowa (Oct. 20) and Illinois State (Oct. 27).

SDSU will finish the regular season with two of three November games at home. The Jackrabbits are slated to host Missouri State on Nov. 3 and in-state rival South Dakota on Nov. 17, around a Nov. 10 trip to Southern Illinois.

"The MVFC will be as strong as ever, and we plan to compete at a high level during the conference season," Stiegelmeier said.

Game times and other game promotions will be announced at a later date.

SDSU finished the 2017 season with a school-record 11 wins against three losses. The Jackrabbits qualified for the FCS playoffs for the sixth year in a row and reached the national semifinals for the first time.

2018 SDSU FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Sept. 1 – at Iowa State
Sept. 8 – MONTANA STATE [Dairy Drive]
Sept. 15 – ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF [Beef Bowl]
Sept. 29 – *at North Dakota State
Oct. 6 – *INDIANA STATE
Oct. 13 – *YOUNGSTOWN STATE [Hobo Day]
Oct. 20 – *at Northern Iowa
Oct. 27 – *at Illinois State
Nov. 3 – *MISSOURI STATE
Nov. 10 – *at Southern Illinois
Nov. 17 – *SOUTH DAKOTA [Showdown Series]
* Missouri Valley Football Conference game

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2017 Tuskegee University Football: End of the year highlights #Trusttheprocess

SWAC announces departure of Commissioner Duer Sharp

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The Southwestern Athletic Conference today announced the departure of Duer Sharp as Commissioner of the Conference. After 10 years of serving as Commissioner, Mr. Sharp is leaving the Conference to pursue other opportunities. His departure is effective as of December 31, 2017.

“On behalf of the Council of Presidents and Chancellors, we thank Mr. Sharp for his outstanding leadership to the Conference,” said Chairman of Council of Presidents and Chancellors Dr. Andrew Hugine. “During his tenure, the conference experienced significant growth in programs and exposure nationally. As Mr. Sharp pursues other interests, we wish him well.”

Edgar Gantt, who has previously served as the Associate Commissioner of the SWAC, has been named the Interim Commissioner.

"Our focus at the SWAC has always been to 'Honor the Heritage' by preserving our rich history and traditions," Sharp said. "I want to express my gratitude to all of the Council of Presidents during my tenure for the opportunity. I also want to thank all of the league office staff members and student-athletes, past and present, that helped build the SWAC brand through their hard work and effort."

Sharp was named the fifth SWAC commissioner in 2008. Under his leadership, he helped secure the Celebration Bowl sponsored by ESPN after extending the conference's relationship with the network. The partnership culminated national televised coverage of more than 30 athletic events.

Additionally, Sharp formed partnerships with the NBPA and the NFL to provide professional development and internship opportunities for student-athletes, rising administrators and coaches.

In 2013, he spearheaded the SWAC football and basketball championship's move to Houston landing both events inside professional sports venues. The following year, the football championship made its first appearance inside NRG Stadium followed by the men and women' s basketball tournament at Toyota Center. He also led the enhancement of the conference brand through its digital, social media, and mobile platforms while creating the SWAC Digital Network.

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AAMU Football 2017 - "Season" Highlights

Gold Nuggets earn wire-to-wire victory at Paul Quinn

DALLAS, Texas — Mikayla Bates scored a career-high-tying 16 points Tuesday to lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a wire-to-wire 71-56 women's basketball victory against Paul Quinn.

The Gold Nuggets (7-5) snapped a two-game losing streak and won on the road for the first time since Nov. 14.

Bates, a junior guard, was 6-of-9 from the floor and had seven rebounds and six steals.

Maya Trench had 13 points and four assists for XULA — her three first-half 3-pointers tied her career best — and Gina Smith had a season-high-tying 11 points, seven rebounds and a career-best four steals. Essence Wells and Ireyon Keith scored nine points apiece.

"Our defense was probably the best thing we had going for us," XULA coach Bo Browder said. "We played hard for 40 minutes. That was also a big thing."

XULA outscored the Lady Tigers (7-8) in each of the first three periods and held its largest lead, 55-34, entering the fourth quarter. It was 32-25 at halftime.

Teanna Frances-Henderson scored a season-high 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Paul Quinn, and Amanda Cruz had 12 points, six rebounds and seven assists.

Both teams shot 41 percent from the floor, but XULA had a 15-4 advantage in made free throws and was a season-best plus-17 in turnover margin. The Gold Nuggets outscored Paul Quinn 15-0 in the third quarter in points off of turnovers.

XULA will return to the road for its Gulf Coast Athletic Conference opener against Edward Waters at 5:30 p.m. EST Monday in Jacksonville, Fla. The next home game will be Jan. 17.

Also Tuesday, the Gold Nuggets received zero points in the NAIA Division I coaches poll after collecting votes in each of the first two rankings. XULA was 32nd in the previous poll Dec. 5.

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Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
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Mike Davis notches 100th win at Texas Southern with 78-66 victory over Southern

Courtesy: Houston Roundball Review

HOUSTON, Texas -- It was a special night for Texas Southern Tigers head coach Mike Davis as he got his 100th win at TSU with a convincing 78-66 victory over the visiting Southern Jaguars at the HPE Arena.

The Tigers were led by guard Derrick Bruce who had a stellar night out on the floor as he poured in a career and game high 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting including a 8-of-12 display from beyond the arc.

Bruce got things going early for the home standing Tigers as he scored in variety of ways while keeping the Jaguars off balance defensively for the majority of the game.

Demontrae Jefferson contributed 25 points and 7 assists while Trayvon Reed tallied a season high 9 blocked shots to go along with 7 points and 11 rebounds.

"This was obviously a special night for me to get my 100th win here at Texas Southern," said TSU's Davis. "We wanted to come out and play the game with a lot of energy and focus. Southern is a fundamentally sound basketball team so you have to come out prepared to play hard for 40 minutes in order to be successful against them."

Texas Southern took a 37-34 lead into the break before racing out to a double digit lead in the second half which set the pace and tone of the games' last stanza.

TSU held Southern to shooting just 34 percent from the field while also forcing a total of 9 Jaguar turnovers. Texas Southern took its largest lead of the game at the 8:37 mark of the second half at 17 points.

Texas Southern returns home to host the Alcorn State Braves on Wednesday, January 3rd at 7:30 pm at the HPE Arena. The game is slated to be broadcast live on ATT SportsNet SW.

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SWAC Women Basketball Opens Conference Play

SWAC WOMEN

Alcorn State Freeman Plays The Hero In 73-72 Win At Prairie View

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Senior guard Alexus Freeman tied the game late with a three in the corner and made a free-throw with one second on the clock as the Alcorn State University women's basketball program opened SWAC play with a 73-72 win over Prairie View A&M Monday at the William J. Nicks Building.

The Navasota, Texas native knotted the score at 72-72 with :14 left on the clock, then recorded a steal and was sent to the line. She made 1-of-2 shots and the Lady Braves picked up the victory.

Freeman shot 8-24 on the night, including a 4-10 effort from beyond the arc, and made 3-4 shots at the charity stripe. She netted a team-high 23 points with a pair of rebounds, five assists, and five steals. Junior guard Cloe Lane followed with 18 points and senior forward Miracle Rushing posted an 11-point, 14-rebound double-double.

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Alcorn shot 28-70 (40.0 percent) from the floor, 7-20 (35.0 percent) from deep, and 10-17 (58.8 percent) at the free-throw line.

Lane opened the scoring with a three-pointer and helped Alcorn take control early as she scored seven. The Lady Braves found success driving to the paint and then pushed their lead to 16-8 on a deep ball by redshirt-sophomore guard Brianna Tolliver with 3:24 to play in the first quarter. The teams traded several baskets before the hosts took advantage of multiple turnovers, scoring 10 straight to take a narrow 22-20 edge heading into the second quarter.

With the tempo slowed down, a Ugochinyere Nwarie layup evened the tally at 24-24 with just under five and a half minutes left before the half. The game continued to go back-and-forth when Prairie View made the most of multiple Alcorn fouls. The Lady Panthers (2-10, 0-1) scored 11 unanswered to pull ahead 39-30 before Lane ended the run with a floater in the lane. The teams went into the locker room with the hosts in control 39-32.

In the third, Freeman helped cut into the PVAM lead with a long ball and a jumper. After the teams traded a pair of 2-for-2 efforts at the line, Freeman drained another three to pull Alcorn to within 47-44. Later, Lane made it a one-point game as she scored an old-fashioned three, but Shala Dobbins answered with a bucket. Alcorn then wrestled back the lead 52-51 as Freeman hit her third three-pointer of the quarter. She added a layup and the Lady Braves led by three entering the final 10 minutes of regulation.

Lane started off the final quarter with a layup and Rushing added a steal and a fast-break score. Sanders followed a pair of Dobbins free-throws with a three ball, but Mariah Campbell sank four freebies and La'Neique Nealey added a layup to make it 61-59 midway through the final quarter. Alcorn took off on a 6-0 run, but PVAM responded with an 8-0 run of its own to knot the game at 67-67 with1:53 remaining. Dobbins gave the Lady Panthers the lead with a layup and a free-throw. Rushing and Dobbins then traded baskets as Alcorn called a timeout trailing 72-69 with :26 left in the game.

Dobbins paced Prairie View in the loss with 23 points. Nealey contributed 15 points with seven boards, and Campbell recorded a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double. The Lady Panthers shot 21-53 (39.6 percent) from the field, 0-4 from long-range, and 30-36 (83.3 percent) at the line.

Alcorn won the battle on the glass 46-33 and scored more second-chance points (18-2). The game featured eight ties and six lead changes.

The Lady Braves continue their road trip Wednesday as they head to Houston for a 5:30 p.m. conference meeting with Texas Southern at the HPE Arena.

Notes
- With her three-pointer in the fourth quarter, Sanders eclipsed 500 career points as a Lady Brave.

- Freeman entered the game with 475 points and needs just two more to reach the 500 career scoring mark.

- Freeman scored 20 or more points for the third time this season. The senior totaled a career-high 25 in Alcorn's home opener against LeMoyne-Owen and posted 24 against Stephen F. Austin.

- Lane reached double figures for the second game in a row after leading Alcorn against Louisiana Tech with 24 points.

- Rushing's double-double is her fifth this season and sixth of her career. Her 14 rebounds tie her season high.

- De'Asia Brown set season highs with nine points, seven rebounds, and 24 minutes played. The junior guard shot 2-8 from the floor and converted 5-8 free-throws.

- Nwarie grabbed a season-high six boards.

- Alcorn opens league play with a win for the first time since 2011-12. That season, the Lady Braves started off 3-0 against conference opponents with wins over Texas Southern, Prairie View, and Jackson State.

- Alcorn and Prairie View will meet again March 1 in Lorman. The Lady Braves will be looking to sweep the Lady Panthers for the first time since 2014-15, when Alcorn swept the regular season but fell to Prairie View 66-59 in the first round of the SWAC Championships. The teams have split the series the past two seasons.

Quoting Head Coach Courtney G. Pruitt
On Freeman's Effort Late
"She's not the SWAC Newcomer of the Year and SWAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year for no reason. She kept her cool and I know there was a lot of trash talking going back and forth between her and Dobbins, which was great. She prevailed and she just wanted it more. That's what we kept telling them the whole time, that we want it more and we'll come out on top and we did."

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UAPB Lady Lions open SWAC play with victory over Mississippi Valley on New Year's Day

ITTA BENA, Mississippi – Faith Ohanta came off the bench to score 13 first half points as her Lady Lions snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 64-59 victory over Mississippi Valley State University in its Southwestern Athletic Conference opener at R.W. Harris Complex.

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (3-8, 1-0 SWAC) opened up the game tied at 17 apiece after one quarter of play but distanced itself from Valley (0-13, 0-1 SWAC) with an eight-point cushion at the break. Ohanta finished with the games only double-double, producing 19 points and 10 boards while teammate Malik Muhammad finished with 17 points and five rebounds in the victory. Post player Shawntayla Harris had a solid game down low as she scored six points, eight boards, and four blocks in 25 minutes.

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Ohanta was on fire all afternoon as she hit 6-of-7 baskets from both the field and the charity stripe while point guard Destiny Brewton chipped in with seven points, four rebounds and four assists for the Lady Lions. UAPB's bench outscored Valley 38-17.

As a team, the Devilettes were held to just eight points in the third quarter but made a huge comeback attempt, scoring 24 points in the final quarter behind LaKendra Bassett's 18 total points, but it wasn't enough as Mississippi Valley dropped its 13th straight game. Basset also finished with four rebounds, four assists and four steals in the loss.
The Lady Lions basketball team will return to action on Saturday, January 6 as it travels to Huntsville, Ala. to face Alabama A&M University in SWAC action. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT PINE BLUFF ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATION

Grambling State opens SWAC play with win over AAMU

GRAMBLING, Louisiana --| The Grambling State University women's basketball team had four players reach double figures in scoring as the Lady Tigers rolled past Alabama A&M, 78-49, to open Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play on Monday afternoon at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
 
"They're (Alabama A&M) are a good team, but they are young," Grambling State head coach Freddie Murray said. "We knew their inexperience would kick in. We wanted to get off to a good start in this first game, especially since we play four games in seven days."
 
Grambling State (4-8 overall, 1-0 SWAC) led 20-16 after one quarter, but used a dominating 22-7 run in the second to take a 42-23 advantage into the break. The Lady Tigers were in cruise control over the final two quarters to snap a five-game losing streak.

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Shakyla Hill, who was held to just two points last Thursday against Arkansas, nearly finished with a triple-double as she finished with a game-high 14 points, 10 steals and seven assists. She also added five rebounds and one blocked shot.
 
"She (Shakyla) has to make her mark somewhere and she has been struggling a little bit offensively," Murray said. "She has been able to pick it up on the defensive end and can kind of score off her steals on the offensive end. I am glad to know that she is being more assertive on the defensive end."
 
Deja McKinney tallied 13 points, two steals, one block and one rebound, while Monisha Neal registered 13 points, nine boards, three assists and two steals. Jazmine Torian came off the bench and recorded 11 points, one rebound and one steal.
 
Kenisha Tharpe led Alabama A&M (5-7, 0-1) with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Turning Point
After a back-and-forth opening quarter, Grambling State scored the final six points (buckets by Shakyla Hill, Ariel Williamsand Monisha Neal) to take a 20-16 advantage into the second quarter.
 
The Lady Bulldogs closed the gap to 22-19 after a free throw by Courtney Eggleson with 8:33 left, but that would be as close as Alabama A&M would get. Grambling State closed out the quarter on a 20-4 run to take a 42-23 lead into the half.
 
The Lady Tigers extended the lead to 56-27 after a free throw by Alexus Williams with 4:57 left in the third and Alabama A&M was able to close the gap to 60-40 early in the fourth quarter, but could not get any closer.
 
Inside The Numbers
* Grambling State shot 55.3 percent (26-of-47) from the floor and 61.3 percent (19-of-31) from the free-throw line.
* Alabama A&M was 19-of-75 (25.3 percent) from the field and 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) from the charity stripe.
* The Lady Tigers finished with 40 rebounds, including 30 coming off the defensive glass.
* The Lady Bulldogs tallied 48 rebounds, with 29 coming off the offensive glass.
* Grambling State finished with 36 bench points, 30 points in the paint, 17 points off turnovers and 14 fastbreak points.
* Alabama A&M registered 26 points in the paint, 23 bench points, 18 points off turnovers and 18 second-chance points.
* There were five ties and three lead changes.
 
News and Notes
* The Lady Tigers played at home for the first time since Nov. 30 when Grambling State played host to Southeastern Louisiana.
* Grambling State improved to 3-1 in home games this season.
* Shakyla Hill ranks fourth nationally (first in the SWAC) in steals and is third nationally (first in the SWAC) in steals per game.
 
Up Next 
Grambling State concludes its short two-game homestand as the Lady Tigers play host to Alabama State in a SWAC matchup on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.

GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

JSU Lady Tigers Open SWAC Play With 70-61 Win Over Alabama State 

JACKSON, Mississippi – Derica Wiggins scored 23 points to go with six rebounds as Jackson State (6-4, 1-0) defeated Alabama State (2-10, 0-1) 70-61 Monday night at Lee E. Williams Athletic Assembly Center during opening night of conference play.

Marneisha Hamer added 12 points for the Lady Tigers, and Christina Ellis posted 10 points, six steals, five rebounds and four assists.

Mya Milner led the Lady Hornets with 15 points, and Tatyana Calhoun had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

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Jackson State opened the contest with a 10-2 scoring run, eventually leading by as many as 13 before free throws from Milner and Kayla Stephens helped Alabama State close the gap to 24-17 at the end of the first quarter.

The Lady Tigers pressed forward in the next period, as Chelsea Causey capped a 12-4 JSU run with a lay-up to make it 36-21. Down 10 after the break, Alabama State got within two after Pye sank a free throw to cap a stretch where the Lady Hornets outscored Jackson State by eight. Calhoun then gave Alabama State a 55-53 lead with a lay-up early in the fourth. Jackson State then reeled off eight unanswered points, but Stephens converted back-to-back layups to help cut the JSU lead to two (61-59) with 4:15 left.

However, Wiggins was the difference, nailing a trey on the Lady Tigers’ next possession and ultimately scoring six points during a 9-2 JSU run that sealed the contest.

Next Up: JSU returns to action Wednesday, Jan. 3 to face Alabama A&M in SWAC action at the Lee E. Williams Athletic and Assembly Center on the JSU campus. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.

JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

TSU Lady Tigers fall 67-57 to Southern in SWAC opener

HOUSTON – The Lady Tigers of Texas Southern University began the 2018 portion of their season in a less-than-ideal manner as they fell 67-57 to Southern in the Southwestern Athletic Conference opener for both teams Monday.

At TSU's H&PE Arena, the visiting Jaguars seized control of the game with a 22-4 run over an eight-minute span during the third and fourth quarters that gave Southern a 61-48 lead with 5:30 left to play in the game.

Joyce Kennerson scored a game-high 21 points for the Lady Tigers (5-7, 0-1 SWAC), but was held to 6-of-19 shooting as Southern erased a 35-29 halftime lead to claim the victory. Briana Green led the Jaguars (2-8, 1-0 SWAC) with 20 points.

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Southern's defense limited the SWAC's best-shooting team to 26 percent shooting (8 of 31) during the second half. The Lady Tigers ended up shooting 34 percent (19 of 56) for the game.

TSU also entered Monday's contest as the best 3-point shooting team in the SWAC, but was held to 20 percent shooting (3 of 15) from behind the arc against the Jaguars.

Isis Lane scored 10 points off the TSU bench. Samantha Duncan scored 17 points for Southern.

Kennerson, the second-leading scorer in the NCAA with 25.9 points per game entering the contest, was held under her scoring average for the third consecutive game. She had been averaging 31.7 points per game at home this season.

TSU's Camille Mills pulled in eight rebounds in addition to scoring four points. Mills is TSU's leading rebounder, and the fourth-leading rebounder in the SWAC among guards.

The Lady Tigers return to action Wednesday when they host Alcorn State at 5:30 p.m.

TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

SWAC MEN
Alabama A&M 71, Grambling State 64
Arkansas at Pine Bluff 80, Mississippi Valley State 71
Prairie View A&M 76, Alcorn State 64
Texas Southern 78, Southern 66
Jackson State 70, Alabama State 61

Nuggets' Trench is chosen GCAC Player of the Week

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Maya Trench is the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week in women's basketball for Dec 25-31, the league announced Tuesday.

Trench, a 5-foot-2 sophomore guard from Edgard, La., and a graduate of West St. John High School, produced a season-high 16 points, a career-high-tying eight made field goals and a season-high-tying three steals Saturday in a loss to nationally ranked LSU-Shreveport.

The GCAC weekly honor — Trench's first of her career and the Gold Nuggets' first this season — was announced prior to XULA's 71-56 Tuesday victory at Paul Quinn. Trench scored 13 points in that game.

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Southern women open SWAC play with a 67-57 win against Texas Southern

HOUSTON, Texas — After losing eight straight non conference road games, the Southern women’s basketball team was starving for a victory.

Having it come against defending Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Texas Southern made it taste that much sweeter.



Briana Green, Samantha Duncan and Tiamya Butler energized a second-half comeback against the Tigers and finished strong in a 67-57 conference-opening win Monday night at H&P Arena.

“We knew we had an opportunity to come in here and wear them down,” SU coach Sandy Pugh said. “The pressure we put on them at the beginning of the fourth quarter was the difference.”

The Jaguars (2-8, 1-0) went on a 28-9 second-half run to turn a six-point deficit into a 13-point lead.

Duncan scored all 17 of her points in the second half, while Green finished with a team-high 20 points and seven rebounds.

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JSU to appeal judgment in ex-coach's suit, despite spending $200K-plus in attorney fees

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Jackson State University is planning to appeal a federal judge's order awarding $382,000 in damages to the school's former women’s basketball coach in 2014, despite the school already spending more than $200,000 in attorney fees.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate refused to throw out or reduce the award made in 2014 to former coach, Denise Taylor Travis, who went by the last name Taylor during her time at JSU.

"To have closure is very gratifying to me and my family,” Travis said after Wingate's ruling. "I want to return to coaching."

Last week, JSU attorney Latoya Merritt filed a notice of appeal to the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

"JSU filed a notice of appeal on Dec. 27, 2017, indicating that it intends to challenge the totality of the judgment in the Fifth Circuit," Merritt said in the motion. "JSU now requests a stay on the execution of the judgment during the pendency of the appeal without having to post a supersedeas bond."

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Perfection is No. 1

GREENSBORO, North Carolina -- It doesn’t get much better than perfection. The top story in Aggie Athletics in 2017 was Aggies football’s 12-0 season. Happy New Year.

A slight decline in 2017 for the North Carolina A&T football team would have been excusable in the opinions of many considering the Chicago Bears drafted the most decorated player in school history in running back Tarik Cohen (the No. 3 story on the countdown). In world of athletics, A&T suddenly stood for After Tarik as pundits wondered how the loss of Cohen would impact the program.

N.C. A&T head coach Rod Broadway had one simple solution to the problem. Recruiting. While Cohen was rewriting the school and conference record books like they were rough draft manuscripts, Broadway and his coaching staff were building a program. Many identified N.C. A&T football with Cohen, the first three-time Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year. But when he left the Gate City for the Windy City, the foundation that was built underneath his elusive feet was strong.

The Aggies started four seniors on the offensive line this season including All-American left tackle Brandon Parker (6-foot-7, 309, Kannapolis, NC). They were assigned to protect junior quarterback Lamar Raynard (6-4, 200, High Point, NC) who developed into one of the best quarterbacks in the nation this season.

Running back Marquell Cartwright (5-8, 201, JR, High Point, NC) had 11 career touchdowns despite being Cohen’s backup for two seasons. At receiver, the Aggies returned sophomore and MEAC Rookie of the Year Elijah Bell (6-2, 223, Wheeling, WVa.) Defensively, the Aggies returned their entire linebacking corps. Do-it-all rover Jeremy Taylor (5-11, 190, Kinston, NC) returned for his senior year after a career junior season, and a freshman cornerback with rich N.C. A&T ties named Franklin McCain III opened the 2017 season by intercepting every pass in sight.



It all resulted in the 2017 Aggies becoming the best football team in school history according to the numbers. With their 21-14 win over Grambling State in the Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the Aggies finished 12-0 to become the first MEAC team to finish an entire season undefeated. They are the first FCS historically black university to finish untied and unbeaten since Division I-AA play began 39 years ago. The Aggies also broke the school record for wins and are the first A&T team to finish the regular season undefeated in 74 years. Their undefeated season in the MEAC is the school’s first in 18 years.

Gardner-Webb was the first to see that the Aggies program was more than just Cohen. Raynard completed 19 of 22 passes for a school record 86.4 completion percentage to lead the Aggies to a 45-3 road win in Boiling Springs, NC. Next came Division II Mars Hill who did not put up a fight against the stronger, faster Aggies in a 56-0 rout at Aggie Stadium. Raynard threw five first-half touchdown passes. The Aggies wrapped up their non-conference schedule with an upset win at the Charlotte 49ers, Division I-FBS school out of Conference USA. It was the Aggies second win over an FBS opponent in as many years. McCain sealed the win with a 74-yard INT return for a touchdown.

Conference play started with a 49-17 win over Morgan State in Baltimore in which McCain recorded two pick-6’s including a 100-yard return. The Aggies, playing their fourth road game in five weeks, grinded out a 21-7 win over rival South Carolina State in Orangeburg the next week. They then returned home for the Greatest Homecoming on Earth in which they demolished Delaware State 44-3. A return to the road saw the Aggies defeat Florida A&M for their homecoming, 31-20 in Tallahassee.

N.C. A&T’s toughest game of the season came on Oct. 21 in an ESPNU nationally-televised game at Aggie Stadium against Bethune-Cookman. The Aggies had to rally in the fourth quarter to beat the Wildcats 24-20. Two weeks later the Aggies went to Norfolk, Va., and defeated the Norfolk State Spartans 35-7. In the game, Raynard set the school’s single-season passing record. The Aggies took a share of the MEAC title the next week with a 36-17 win over Savannah State before clinching the outright title in a 24-10 win over arch rival North Carolina Central in the regular-season finale.

It was the Aggies first win over their rival in three years, and their first outright conference title in 14 years. Therefore, there was no decline for the Aggies. Instead, they went to Atlanta to become the best HBCU Division I-AA team ever, and they accomplished that too.

NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Albany State Inks Two Prospects for 2018

ALBANY, Georgia -- The Albany State University Football program has signed two to Letters of Intent for the 2017 early signing period.

"We are very excited to add to our ASU Family Deonte Jackson from GMC and Raekwon Bethea from Coffeyville," says Gabe Giardina who just wrapped his inaugural season as the Head Coach of the Golden Rams. "We wanted to add some experience to our offensive and defensive lines and these two will go a long way in accomplishing that goal. Both will be solid student-athletes on the field of play.

The Golden Rams welcome Raekwon Bethea a JUCO transfer from Coffeyville Community College in Coffeyville, Kansas. Prior to his stint at Coffeyville Bethea, a 6-1, 300 pound offensive lineman who hails from Alachua, Florida, played at Santa Fe High School.

ASU also adds Deonte Jackson to the fold for the upcoming season. Jackson was a defensive lineman at Georgia Military College in Milledgeville. The Atlanta native spent his high school career at Langston Hughes in Fairburn, GA.

"It always feel good as a coach when you can add guys up front", states Giardina. "We are excited to get them here at the break and look forward to our first off season and spring as a staff."

ALBANY STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Sioux Falls Storm great Tyler Knight (MVSU) retires

SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota -- One of the Storm’s all-time greats has called it a career.

Linebacker Tyler Knight announced on Sunday that he’s retiring from pro football, posting a photo of his Storm helmet and jersey on Twitter with the hashtags #supermanhasleftthebuilding and #theend.

Knight leaves as one of the most decorated and celebrated players in Storm history.

A Little Rock, Ark., native and All-SWAC performer at Mississippi Valley State, Knight played a total of six seasons with Sioux Falls, winning five United Bowl championship rings, earning five All-IFL selections and winning consecutive IFL defensive player of the year honors in 2013 and 2014.

Knight retires with 799 career tackles, 29 sacks, nine interceptions, eight defensive touchdowns and a franchise record 24 blocked kicks.

Knight, 33, became a fan favorite over the years for his versatile play, hard hits and pregame entrance, when he donned a Superman cape as he emerged from the tunnel at the Arena and Denny Sanford Premier Center.



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Texas Southern Basketball: Can the Tigers make the NCAA Tournament?

HOUSTON, Texas -- The SWAC is statistically one of the worst conferences in college basketball. The conference does not have much money, so the conference is forced to spend most of their early season on the road, playing against high-major teams, usually for a high payout. The SWAC typically has a tournament team with a losing record and those teams are always highly overmatched. For this season, Texas Southern is the squad that has been beaten up on the most in non-conference.

Texas Southern is usually the best team in the SWAC and has the best talent in this league despite their record. Head coach Mike Davis has built this program using transfers. Davis is the former head coach at Indiana University and he has found his niche at Texas Southern by giving players who have a troubled past a fresh start.

To date, Texas Southern has played the toughest schedule in the country. The Tigers currently sit at 0-13 and are still projected to make the NCAA Tournament. If Texas Southern does make the NCAA tournament that would rival one of the worst starts of all-time to make the Big Dance. The Tigers may not have a win on the ledger yet but with their schedule, they are going to be battle-tested and ready for the SWAC conference.

The Tigers have the SWAC player of the year on their team in Demontrae Jefferson. He is an elite scorer in this league and never leaves the floor for the Tigers. Jefferson is shooting 42% from the floor, 42% from the three and 80% from the free throw line. Jefferson is the best overall player in the SWAC and, barring a miracle, will win the player of the year going away.



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UMES Hawks Survive Central Penn, Close Out 2017 With Win

PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland -- Maryland Eastern Shore men’s basketball built a 14-point halftime lead and survived a late flourish to beat Central Penn 74-69 on Sunday afternoon at the Hytche Athletic Center.

“I thought we lost our focus towards the end,” said Hawks head coach Bobby Collins after the close win. “We didn’t play tough, we didn’t quite make this a home court advantage. As we move on we need to start making those plays down the stretch.”

After an early scrum, the Hawks (4-11) grabbed an 8-6 lead at the 16:28 mark on a Miryne Thomas (Cleveland, Ohio) banked three-pointer. The Shore wouldn’t trail for the rest of the game, and after the Knights (7-8) tied it at 13-13 three minutes later, Cameron Bacote (Hampton, Virginia) connected from deep to give the home side a permanent lead.

The Hawks poured it on over the next nine minutes, using a 27-11 run to build a 40-22 lead, punctuated by Logan McIntosh’s (Atlanta, Georgia) three with 4:11 before halftime. Eastern Shore went into the break up 48-34.

Central Penn came out for the second half swinging, though. A 10-2 run over the first seven minutes of the half made it a two-possession game at 50-46. Sean Hoggs (Lawrenceville, New Jersey) boosted the Hawk cushion with an inbounds three from the left corner, and a Hoggs steal immediately led to a McIntosh layup to make it 55-46 with 11:05 to go.

The Knights surged back again over the next four. Randy Dupont’s layup at the 8:49 mark got it down to 59-55, and Joel Zola buried a trey one minute later to cut the Hawks’ lead to one. Zola then blocked a Bacote shot on the other end and CPC had a chance to take the lead, but Hoggs swooped in for another steal. The Shore held on defense one more time before Tyler Jones (Atlantic City, New Jersey) put one in from the post to give his team some breathing room at 61-58.

Bacote nailed another three with 5:10 to go to make it 65-59 Hawks, and Central Penn would never again get closer than five points. Free throws from McIntosh and late buckets from Ahmad Frost (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Thomas iced it to give Eastern Shore its third straight win in the series against the Knights.

Bacote led all scorers with 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting, including 15 in the first half. Hoggs came off the bench to contribute 15 points, three boards, and a pair of steals. McIntosh finished with 12 points, six rebounds, and six assists.

Dupont fueled Central Penn’s late comeback and finished with a team-high 21 points. Noah Baylor added 12 points and eight rebounds but factored little into the final 20 minutes.

The Hawks finish the nonconference slate with four wins, one more than the previous season’s total. As of publication, KenPom.com ranks The Shore’s non-league schedule as the 11th-toughest in the nation.

Eastern Shore now sets its sights on Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play. The Hawks open the league season against rival and preseason MEAC favorite Morgan State on Wednesday. Tip from the Talmadge L. Hill Field House is set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday’s game will be broadcast locally on flagship radio station Fox Sports 960 AM WTGM and online at EasternShoreHawks.com. Pregame coverage starts at 7:15 p.m. with Will DeBoer on the call for The Shore Sports Network.

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UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE SPORTS INFORMATION

HU Bison Fall in Nonconference Finale at Hawai’i

HONOLULU, Hawaii – After a solid first half, the Howard University Men's Basketball team was unable to sustain their hot shooting as they fell to the Hawai'i (UH) Rainbow Warriors, 84-59.

Howard (3-13) shot a respectable 42-percent (19-of-45) from the floor; however, the contest was a tale of two halves. HU shot nearly 57-percent (13-of-23) before intermission, including 54-percent (7-of-13) from long range, but could not maintain as they shot only 27-percent (6-of-22) in the second half.

"In the first half, [RJ] Cole had it going, and Kyle Foster made some shots," said Howard Men's Basketball head coach Kevin Nickelberry. "We took a step back as far as spacing. We've taken care of the ball better lately, but we took a step back. They were very physical and it took us out of the stuff we wanted to do."

Freshman RJ Cole led the Bison with 22 points, including 17 in the first half. Sophomore Charles Williams added 10 points in the loss.

Hawai'i held a 10-point advantage until the Bison went on a 15-4 spurt and took their first lead of the game at the 8:15 mark in the first half.

Senior Dalique Mingo pushed HU's lead to four after making the old-fashion three-point play, 33-29, but the Rainbow Warriors finished the half on an 9-3 run and took a two-point advantage at the break, 38-36.

Off the bench, newcomer Kyle Foster scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc in a losing effort.

Williams made a pair of freebies and tied the contest after intermission, 38-38, but Hawai'i took control with a 16-5 spurt and held a double-digit lead with 14:22 remaining.

From that point, HU could not find their rhythm as the Rainbow Warriors held a double-digit advantage for the rest of the game.

For UH (9-4), they shot 55-percent (28-of-51) from the field. Jack Purchase produced a game-high 22 points while Brocke Stepteau and Mike Thomas chipped in 13 points apiece.

"They made some adjustments in the second half, starting [Jack] Purchase," Nickelberry continued. "We had some problems adjusting to him and [Mike] Thomas downlow. We had to pick and choose, and we probably chose the wrong way because Purchase made a lot of three for them."

On Jan. 3, the Bison start league play in Tallahassee, Fla., where the Florida A&M Rattlers await. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m.

For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.

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HOWARD UNIVERSITY BISON SPORTS INFORMATION

Howard Bison Come Up Short Against Brown Bears

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Coach Ty Grace and the Howard University Women's Basketball team scored a season-high 81 points, but came up short against the Brown (BU) Bears, 85-81, inside Burr Gymnasium.

With the loss, Howard saw its four-game home winning streak come to an end.

Despite only shooting 33-percent (25-of-76) from the field, HU (4-9) did most of their damage from beyond the arc. Howard shot 46-percent (13-of-28) from deep, led by sophomore Sarah Edmond.

The New York native scored a career-high 28 points after shooting 5-of-8 from long range. She also racked up six dimes, five boards, and three steals in the loss.

With under seven remaining in the third, sophomore Asia McCants drilled a trey ball and put HU ahead, 49-48. Brown responded with a 9-2 run and took a six-point advantage with 4:29 left in the quarter, 57-51. Howard reclaimed the lead after finishing the period with a 10-0 spurt, 61-57.

Moments into the fourth, Edmond connected on a long ball and gave the Bison their largest lead of the game with 7:12 left, 67-58. Brown refused to go away as they gradually chipped into the deficit.

Sophomore Curstyn Moore split a pair of freebies and gave Howard a seven-point advantage with 1:29 remaining, 73-66, but the Bears finished the period on a 10-3 run to force overtime, 76-76.

With 2:25 left in OT, the Bison held a three-point lead after sophomore Jayla Myles went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe, 81-78. Brown responded and closed out the game scoring eight unanswered to win, 85-81.

Myles and fellow classmate Ayonna Williams each finished with 12 points while newcomer Jayla Thornton tallied 10 points off the bench. Moore flirted with a double-double, producing 10 boards and nine points in a losing effort.

Howard led the first five minutes until Brown's Megan Reilly made a jumper and gave the Bears their first lead of the game, 13-12. HU trailed after one, 24-20.

Freshman Tariah Johnson nailed a three-pointer and tied the contest, 29-29, with 6:29 remaining before intermission. Brown answered with an 11-4 run and held their largest lead of the game, 40-33, with 2:08 left. HU trimmed the deficit down to four after another trey ball from Edmond, 43-39.

For Brown (11-1), they extended their winning streak to nine. Shayna Mehta posted a team-high 22 points while Janie White recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.

On Jan. 3, Howard begins the New Year in Tallahassee, Fla., where they will meet the Florida A&M Rattlers in their conference opener. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.

For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.

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HOWARD UNIVERSITY BISON SPORTS INFORMATION

Virginia State Hold Off Shepherd University, 85-25

ETTRICK, Virginia -- The Virginia State University women's basketball team defeated the Rams of Shepherd University, 85-25, today at VSU Multipurpose Center.

Alexis Smith (Lusby, Md.) led the way for the Trojans (12-0) with 28 points on 10-of-17 shots from the floor. Smith also contributed two total rebounds, seven assists, and five steals.

Virginia State shot 45.8 percent from the field, 46.2 percent from behind the arc and had four players to score in double figures. Senior guard Keyana Brown (Williamsburg, Va.) was VSU's second-leading scorer with 13 points and one steal, while guard Dionna Marcus (Fort Stewart, Ga.) contributed 12 points and four rebounds. Mia Fitts (Richmond, Va.) secured 11 points while junior forward Chrisanna Green (Jamestown, NY) ended the contest with a double-double performance, adding 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Smith set the tone early contributing six points and fueling an 11-2 lead to start the game. Virginia State opened up a 24-2 lead to close out the first quarter, never giving up the lead the entire contest.

In the second stanza, Virginia State built their lead, 30-10, by the 5:32 mark, as they continued to dominate on the court. The Trojans proceeded to add points to the board for the remainder of the half while tallying 16 points to take an extended advantage into the break, 40-10.

With 7:23 to go in the third, a layup by Dionna Marcus put Virginia State up, 48-14. Shepherd University netted three points in the remaining minutes of the quarter, cutting Virginia State's lead to 66-17, heading into the final period.

The Trojans added 19 points in the final period to win the game, 85-25.

Shepherd University's leading scorer was Kayla Tibbs who finished the contest with eight points.

Up Next: Virginia State will open its 2018 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association play at home as they host the Rams of Winston-Salem State University on Thursday, January 4. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m.

For the most up-to-date information on VSU women's basketball please visit www.govsutrojans.com and follow Trojans Athletics on Twitter @VSUsports.

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VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Holloway Scores 32, Turner 25 Including the Game-Winner, as CAU Defeats Spring Hill College

MOBILE, Alabama -- Lauren Turner's layup with eight seconds left lifted Clark Atlanta University to an 84-83 win over Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., Saturday.

The win keeps the Lady Panthers undefeated in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference at 6-0. The Lady Panthers, who are in first place in the SIAC East Division, are 8-5 overall.

In a see-saw affair, CAU trailed 43-41 at halftime, even though they narrowly led much of the first half behind Holloway's 20 points. The two teams went back-and-forth throughout most of the second half, with six ties in the fourth quarter alone.

Turner hit two free throws with 2:45 remaining to give the Lady Panthers a 78-77 lead. The two teams traded baskets the rest of the way until Turner rebounded a missed shot by Marissa Mandeldove with 11 seconds left, and then hit the winning shot three seconds later.

Naomi Holloway had another career high with 32 points, while Turner finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Mandeldove finished with nine points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals.

CAU out-rebounded Spring Hill 40-27, but had a tough day at the free throw line, hitting only 64 percent of their shots (16-of-25). The Lady Panthers forced 21 turnovers that resulted in 26 points.

Spring Hill was led by Tiffany Valentine's 34 points. The Lady Badgers fall to 7-6, 1-2 in the SIAC.

The Lady Panthers return to L.S. Epps Gymnasium on Thursday, Jan. 4 when they host Lane College at 6 p.m.

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CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Jalen Mitchell’s 23 Points Off the Bench Leads Clark Atlanta to Win Over Spring Hill

MOBILE, Alabama -- Jalen Mitchell came off the bench to score 20 of his 23 points in the second half as Clark Atlanta University won their seventh game in row in holding off Spring Hill College 68-66 in Mobile, Ala., Saturday.

The Panthers are now 12-1 overall, 6-0 and in first place in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference East Division. The consecutive wins mark equals a seven-game winning streak during their SIAC championship season last year.

The Panthers started out slow, falling behind by as many as eight points in the first half. They ended the half with a 10-3 run to go into the break trailing by only one at 33-32.

CAU fell behind by nine with 13:46 remaining, but Mitchell then took over. He scored 13 points, with a steal and a rebound, over the next nearly four minutes, giving CAU their first lead on his 3-pointer with 9:51 left to make the score 49-46.

Spring Hill fought back, taking a three-point lead on William Loyd's dunk with 4:32 left in the game. Akil Douglas followed with a dunk of his own, and Austin Donaldson hit a 3-pointer that put the Panthers up for good with 3:37 left.

Mitchell finished with 23 points, six rebounds, two steals and an assist, while Douglas had 15 points and eight rebounds. Donaldson had ten points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Brandon Fischer led Spring Hill with 15 points as the Badgers fell to 2-10 this season, 0-4 in the SIAC.

Head coach Darrell Walker said his Panthers showed a little rust from not playing a game since Dec. 18 because of the Christmas break.

"It was another one of those 'grind-it-out' kind of games for us," Walker said. "We had a long layoff and we were a little off tonight. It's hard to say that when defensively you hold a team to 66 points. Spring Hill really played us hard. But we have some things to work on this week."

The Panthers return to L.S. Epps Gymnasium Thursday, Jan. 4 when they host Lane College at 8 p.m. That game can be viewed live, via webstream, at www.mybcsn.net/cau.

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CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

PVAMU Basketball Opens SWAC Play Hosting Alcorn

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas -- The Prairie View A&M women's and men's basketball teams will open the new year hosting Alcorn State Monday opening Southwestern Athletic play at the William J. Nicks Building.

The women's game will tip at 3 p.m. and the men's game around 5:15 p.m. following the completion of the women's game. As a part of the Holiday Hoops pricing special, tickets are only $5 and kids 18 and under are admitted free for Monday's games as well as Wednesday's 5:30 p.m. doubleheader vs. Southern.

Fans can also watch live and get live stats at pvpanthers.com/sportsnetwork.

The women's team will enter Monday's contest 2-9 overall, after completing their non-conference play on December 21 when they fell to Rice 88-68.

"We are eager to get back on the court and begin conference play," said PVAMU's head women's coach Ravon Justice. "I saw a lot of good things during non-conference play, so I know we are ready to go into conference play with a positive attitude and good direction."

Shala Dobbins leads the Lady Panthers in scoring averaging 20.0 ppg. Dobbins is second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference is scoring and 33rd in the nation. She is followed in scoring by Jordyn Penniman, who is averaging 11.2 ppg. Dominique Newman is also a top scorer for PVAMU, she is averaging 10.5 ppg. Newman is also leading the Lady Panthers on the boards averaging 5.2 rebounds per game.

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