Shaw Defense Shuts Down Elizabeth City State 71-48

CHARLOTTE, NC – The Shaw defense shut the door on Elizabeth City State, holding them to only 13 points and 21 percent shooting in the first half on the way to a convincing 71-48 victory.

The Vikings (18-10) missed 13 of their first 15 shots and connected on only six field goals in the first half en route to a 71-48 defeat to Shaw University in the quarterfinals of the CIAA Tournament Thursday afternoon. Shaw shot 52% from the floor in the first half, including 12 points from Tony Smith (Jr., Greenville, NC).

Shaw's defense never allowed Elizabeth City State, the #3 seed out of the North, to get into an offensive groove. The Vikings were forced into taking nine three-pointers and were outrebounded 24-15 in the first half. They shot only one free throw in the stanza, while Shaw (20-8) went to the line 10 times.

Raheem Smith Perfect As Shaw Rolls Over Lincoln, 67-43

CHARLOTTE, NC - A perfect day from Raheem Smith led Shaw to a 67-43 victory over Lincoln (PA.) Wednesday in a CIAA men's basketball first-round game at Time Warner Cable Arena.

With the victory, the Bears - the No. 2 Southern Division seed - heads to the quarterfinal round to square off against the winner of the Saint Augustine's College-Elizabeth City State game Thursday at 1:00 p.m. Lincoln (PA) - the No. 7 Northern Division seed - ended its season at 4-23 with its second-lowest scoring output this season.

Smith, a 6-2 senior All-CIAA guard from Greenville, NC, scored 25 points by connecting on nine of nine shot attempts from the floor, including four for four from the three-point line. He also was three for three from the free-throw line and added nine rebounds for the Bears, who upped their record to 19-8 overall.

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Coppin State's Coach Fang Mitchell future unknown heading into regular-season finale

25 Years, 620 Victories, 10 MEAC Championships, 4 NCAA Tournaments and too
 many money games against the NCAA Top 25 to count -- provides
Ron "Fang" Mitchell with "Legendary Statue" in East Baltimore at Coppin State University
 and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.  No doubt, Coach Mitchell still has game!

Endings are usually bittersweet, often unwelcomed and sometimes contentious.

That might best describe the potential end of Ron "Fang" Mitchell's 25-year basketball stewardship at Coppin State University. If this is his farewell script, it will not be a good one for the man who built a dominating Division I program in West Baltimore in the 1990s, only to see it sputter and stall in the last decade.

Mitchell's departure this year is not certain. But his contract expires at the end of the season, the athletic director says he hasn't made a decision to retain -- or remove -- the coach, and Mitchell himself speaks only in cryptic phrases, if at all, about his job status.

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Howard Bison Lacrosse Cruises to Second Straight Win

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Howard Bison lacrosse team captured their second consecutive win after defeating Frostburg State, 12-8 in a game grounded on solid defense.

After melting seven minutes off the clock, junior Cheryse Cox positioned her sister and fellow teammate Desiree Cox to score the opening goal of the game. Three minutes later Cheryse garnered her first goal of the game on a free position shot.

Howard (2-3) concluded the first half leading FSU (1-3), 6-5.

Howard University Women's Lacrosse Team is the first LAX Team to be fielded
by any Historical Black College or University.  The Division I Bison Lacrosse are
members of the National Lacrosse Conference (NLC) and are coached by
 Coach Sarah Schermerhorn
(2011 Team Photo courtesy of Howard University Athletics)

Upon returning from halftime, Cynthia Smalls recorded a speedy goal with 29:35 on the clock. Several goals scored on free position shots allowed the Bison to push further to the forefront with a 10-6 lead. Howard maintained their lead for the remainder of the game and allowed their opponents a mere three scores in the second period.

Desiree led the Bison in scoring for the fifth consecutive game with four goals while Cheryse recorded three goals. The Cox sisters, together, have scored 30 of Howard’s 51 goals this season. Desiree also holds an impressive .800 shot-on-goal percentage.

Smalls and Courtland Lackey added to the win over Frostburg State with two goals apiece. Ashley Lawrence also scored a goal and defensively led the Bison with three caused turnovers. Currently, the Bison lead their opponents in caused turnovers, 46-44.

Bison goalie Amber Meeks held FSU to a .276 shooting percentage, recorded 15 saves and held their opponents to the fewest points allowed in a single game thus far into the 2010-11 season.

The Bison will look to extend their winning streak to three games on March 9 when they take on Wilmington (Del.) at 3 p.m. at Greene Stadium. Visit Howard-Bison.com for more updates on the Howard lacrosse team.

Box Score         HU Women's Lacrosse Roster

NEXT GAME: Wednesday, March 9, 3:00 PM, Greene Stadium, Howard University, Washington, D.C., Bison vs. Wilmington University Wildcats

By Tiffany White
Sports Information Assistant
Visit: Howard-Bison.com

B-CU playing, coaching legend Cy McClairen reflects on turning 80

Jack "Cy" McClairen is "The Living Legend" at Bethune-Cookman University.

He's done it all for the Wildcats and then some.

The Living Legend turned 80 Wednesday and he still looks like he could post up and put the ball in the basket like he did as a center for the Wildcats in the early 1950s. (That is, when teammate John Chaney -- yes, that John Chaney who is in the Basketball Hall of Fame -- wasn't shooting the ball.)

Whether it was scoring the Wildcats' only touchdown in Bethune-Cookman's first win over rival Florida A&M in 1952; becoming the first Wildcat to get drafted into the NFL in 1953; or driving a Lincoln Continental for college founder Mary McLeod Bethune and guests like First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and the first female ambassador of India, Madame Pandit; McClairen has been a part of or witness to some of the biggest events in school history.

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Ketchum to leave WSSU, join Blount at Delaware State

Coach Mike Ketchum, DSU Defensive Coordinator

Soon after Kermit Blount was hired at Delaware State, he talked about "getting the band back together" when asked about who he might hire as his assistant coaches.

One of those band members, Mike Ketchum, who was the defensive-line coach last season at Winston-Salem State, has been hired by Blount to be defensive coordinator.

Ketchum, 55, said on Thursday that he informed the team in an afternoon meeting that he was leaving for Delaware State.

"I think the biggest thing is to be a coordinator again … and getting the chance to work with Coach Blount again," Ketchum said. "It was wonderful to work with Coach (Connell) Maynor for a year but as you get older, you want to try to do as many things as possible before you stop coaching."

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2011 CIAA Men's Tournament Championships: CIAA LIVE STREAM

Watch live streaming video from ciaa at livestream.com

March 2, 2011, CIAA Men's Basketball Tournament Schedule

Lincoln (Pa.) 43
Shaw University 67

Fayetteville State University 74
Virginia State University 58

Saint Augustine's College 51 
Elizabeth City State University 65

Chowan University 60
Johnson C. Smith University 67

Saint Paul's College
Livingstone College
@9 PM

FOR LIVE CIAA ACTION, CLICK HERE: theCIAA.com
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Quick Start Holds Up for No. 23 JCSU Women in 71-52 Quarterfinal win over Chowan

Charlotte, NC – The Johnson C. Smith University women's basketball team advance to the semifinals of the 2011 CIAA Women's Basketball Tournament with an opening round 71-52 victory against Chowan University on Tuesday evening inside Time Warner Cable Arena. JCSU improves to 23-3 overall and play Bowie State University on Friday, March 4th at 3:00 p.m. in the TWC Arena.

Junior guard Terran Quattlebaum (Mitchellville, MD) was open on the wing. She got the pass, and didn't think twice. Quattlebaum let the 3-point shot fly and only drew net.

Eleven seconds into the game, the Johnson C. Smith Lady Golden Lions were ahead 3-0, and the rest of the game seemed almost as effortless as Quattlebaum's first jump shot as the Southern Division champion ran away from Chowan for the entire contest.

“I'm extremely proud of our team effort,” said Golden Bulls coach Vanessa Taylor, the CIAA Coach of the Year. “We just shot the ball extremely well in the first half.”

Chowan Falls to Johnson C. Smith in CIAA Tournament

CHARLOTTE, NC – After five minutes of play, the Lady Golden Bulls of Johnson C. Smith University held a 13-0 lead over Chowan in the second round of the CIAA Tournament. That early lead, paired with 16 first half turnovers, proved to be the difference in the game, as the Hawks could not mount another second half comeback in a 71-52 loss to the Lady Golden Bulls.

Chowan missed their first five shots and committed six turnovers in those opening five minutes, leading to the early deficit. Ransheda Jennings put Chowan on the board at the 14:54 mark with a layup to cut the JCSU lead to 13-2. At the 12:43 mark of the half, the Lady Golden Bulls held a 17-2 advantage. The Hawks, as they have done many times before, did not panic and mounted a furious comeback.

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NEXT GAME: 3 P.M. FRIDAY, VS. BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY
VIEW GAME LIVE AT: theciaa.com -- or CLICK HERE