Reed, Holloman lift B-CU to win over S.C. State

DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- C.J. Reed scored 20 points and Garrius Holloman had 17 as Bethune-Cookman protected its spot atop the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with a 76-72 victory over South Carolina State in the Ocean Center on Saturday.

The Wildcats (18-11, 12-3), who led by 13 points with 4:51 to play, held off a late rally by the Bulldogs (8-20, 4-11) to notch their most wins in a season since becoming an NCAA Division I member in 1980.

By winning its fifth straight game and eighth in its last 10, B-CU now leads Morgan State -- a 69-63 loser at Norfolk State -- by 1 1/2 games. Morgan State has road games remaining at North Carolina A&T and Coppin State while the Wildcats have one league remaining next Thursday against Florida A&M. Monday's game with North Carolina Central doesn't count in conference standings.

Lady Bulldogs come from behind to down Bethune-Cookman

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - South Carolina State turned a four-point half-time deficit into a four-point victory as they defeated Bethune-Cookman, 64-60, in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference women's basketball contest at the Ocean Center. The victory is the first road win of the 2010-11 season for the Lady Bulldogs.

Bethune Cookman opened the game on a 16-2 run over the first six minutes. S.C. State then used a 14-0 run to tie the game at 16-16 with less than nine minutes remaining. The teams exchanged baskets over the next four minutes before a jumper by the Lady Wildcats' Amanda Hairston at the 4:10 mark began an 11-0 run which gave Bethune-Cookman the 34-23 lead with just over one minute remaining in the half. S.C. State closed the half with a 7-0 run to go into the locker room down by four, 34-30, at the half.

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O'Quinn's double-double sparks NSU's upset of Morgan

NORFOLK - Norfolk State has become the enigma of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Behind a 23-point, 18-rebound effort from center Kyle O'Quinn, the Spartans beat defending MEAC champion Morgan State 69-63 Saturday night at Echols Hall.

The Bears (15-11, 10-4) had rolled into Echols Hall tied for first in the MEAC in the loss column with Bethune-Cookman. But for the second time this season, they walked off the court victims of O'Quinn and a Norfolk State team that's hard to figure. Norfolk State had lost five of its previous six, but was far and away the best team on the court Saturday.

And O'Quinn was far and away the best player.



Norfolk State Upsets Lady Bears, 66-65

NORFOLK, Va. - On a day which Norfolk State honored all of its past championship teams on Alumni Day, and held its ring ceremony for its 2009-10 women's and men's cross country, indoor and outdoor championship teams, the Spartans women's basketball team played like champions as well this afternoon.

Rae Corbo scored a team-high 20 points, including four three-pointers and Rachel Gordon grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to go with her nine points to lead Norfolk State to a 66-65 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) victory over visiting Morgan State on Saturday afternoon at Echols Hall.



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WSSU wins division title

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- With little coming easy for the Winston-Salem State Rams this season, it was no surprise that clinching the CIAA's Southern Division on Saturday night was hard work.

The Rams nearly let a 17-point lead slip away before holding off Fayetteville State 74-69 in front of more than 4,000 at Capel Arena. And when it was finally over, there was plenty of celebrating, especially among the veterans on the team.

"Wow, that's really all I can say," said Coach Bobby Collins of the Rams, whose team will get a top seed in this week's CIAA Tournament in Charlotte. WSSU will have a first-round bye and won't play until Thursday's quarterfinals.

Fayetteville State rally falls short against Winston-Salem State

Fayetteville State failed in an attempt to play spoiler Saturday and springboard itself into next week's CIAA Tournament with momentum. But just barely.

The Broncos clawed their way back from a 17-point second-half deficit and had a chance to tie the score in the final seconds before falling to Winston-Salem State, 74-69, before a crowd of 4,594 at Capel Arena.

Winston-Salem State guard Andrew Jackson stripped the ball with about 15 seconds to play from FSU's Sidney Evans, who appeared to be about to launch a potential game-tying 3-point shot from near the top of the circle. The play sealed the Broncos' fate and a 13-13 regular-season finish. The Rams (19-6) clinched the CIAA Southern Division and a coveted first-round bye in the CIAA Tournament.

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Howard Bison score high in loss to Presbyterian Blue Hose

 Midfielder Desiree Cox, Hendersonville, Tenn.

WASHINGTON, DC – After failing to overcome an early 12-2 deficit, the Howard lacrosse team fell to Presbyterian, 19-9, in what was a statistically even match on Saturday afternoon. Despite the loss, the Bison (0-3) generated their highest scoring performance on the season.

An early goal would ignite the Blue Hose with only 55 seconds chipped off the clock. Presbyterian (1-2) went on to disperse 11 more scores throughout period to secure the win. Following halftime the Bison produced their best offensive stance of the season, as they battled back to generate a 5-0 opening lead.

Leading the Bison for the third consecutive game in scoring was senior Desiree Cox, who was a part of four goals, scoring three and assisting one. Headlining alongside the senior midfielder was her younger sister Courtney Cox who snagged three goals of her own on the day. The freshman’s triple-scoring day pushed her to second on the team in goals (4) behind her sister who leads the Bison with seven.

Courtney Lackey also added to Howard’s successful offensive putout with a pair of goals and Taylor Tynes also chimed in with a score.

Howard kept it even with Presbyterian in the latter half of the game at seven goals a piece. HU would produce 15 shots in the second half, three more than PC, marking the first time this season that the Bison were able to outshoot an opponent in a half.



Presbyterian finished with a 20-9 advantage in draw control, but the Bison limited PC to only 30 shots, the lowest an opponent committed against Howard all season. Howard finished with 26 shots in all and junior goalkeeper Amber Meeks finished the game with nine saves as did the Blue Hose.

The Howard Bison will look to take their first win of the season on Tuesday, March 1 at 3:00 p.m. against Marywood at home.

By Tiffany White, Sports Information Assistant
Link: Howard University Athletics

NaKena Cromartie is Ms. FAMU 2011-2012

NaKena Cromartie was elected Miss FAMU 2011-2012 yesterday in a runoff election. Cromartie won the title with 1,072 votes, besting runner-up Chelsea Earby, who had 734 votes.

Cromartie, 22, a fourth-year accounting student from Tampa, Fla, came up short with votes on election night held on Tuesday with 1042 votes while Earby had a solid 1328, but the close count called for a run-off.

After an additional day of campaigning and voting, Cromartie claimed victory.



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Stillman's Johnson long road may lead to a title

TUSCALOOSA, AL | Kevin Johnson’s road to Stillman College and a potential Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference basketball championship has been a winding one, to say the least.

In the seven years since graduating from Akron High School, Johnson has played at three different local colleges and worked in the restaurant business, the auto parts industry and at a local fast food chain.

At Stillman, as a senior, he has finally found his niche. He and the Tigers are on the verge of the 2011 SIAC regular-season championship. The Tigers are 20-5 overall and 19-4 in SIAC play and, with a win at Tuskegee today, Johnson and his teammates will own a share of the championship.

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WSSU to seek division title against Fayetteville State

The road to this season's CIAA Southern Division title goes through Fayetteville.

Winston-Salem State, tied for first place, can win the division title with a win today at Fayetteville State. The Rams (18-6, 6-3 Southern Division) also can lose the game and win the title if Shaw loses tonight to St. Augustine's.

Tipoff for the game between WSSU (18-6, 6-3) and Fayetteville State (13-12, 4-5) in Capel Arena is 5 p.m.

WSSU is coming off one of its most impressive wins of the season, 59-49 over Shaw at the Gaines Center. Six seniors got a win in their final home game and can add to their success with a division title and first-round bye in the CIAA Tournament.

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