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Shaw and Johnson C. Smith have been rivals in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association for decades. Now, the two women's basketball teams will face each other hundreds of miles away from North Carolina in the NCAA Atlantic Regional final today at 7 p.m. at Edinboro's McComb Fieldhouse.
Eighth-seeded Shaw (23-11) has won nine straight, and the Bears from Raleigh, N.C., beat second-seeded Johnson C. Smith (26-4) in the CIAA championship game after the Golden Bulls beat them twice during the regular season.
Shaw demolished cold-shooting host and top-seed Edinboro 72-51 in the quarterfinals when the Scots missed 28 straight 3-pointers. In the semifinals, the Bears rallied past fifth-seeded California, Pa., 70-63 for their second straight win over PSAC teams that have dominated the regional in recent years.
NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Championship
Shaw (23-11) vs. Johnson C. Smith (26-4)
Today, 7 p.m.
Edinboro's McComb Fieldhouse
Tory Woodbury, a former Winston-Salem State quarterback and a native of Winston-Salem, has been hired as an assistant coach at Delaware State.
Woodbury, who played three years in the NFL, has been hired by Kermit Blount, a former coach of the Rams who coached Woodbury in the late 1990s.
"This is a great opportunity for me to get into college coaching, and I can't thank coach Blount enough for what he's done for me through the years," Woodbury said by telephone from Charlotte, where he has spent the past three years coaching at the high school level.
Woodbury, 32, helped WSSU to consecutive CIAA titles in 1999 and 2000, and then went on to play in the NFL with the Jets and the Bills. After his NFL career, he got into coaching at Carver and Atkins before moving to Charlotte, where he was the quarterbacks coach at Garinger.
HAMPTON, VA – The Hampton University men’s basketball team, fresh off winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament championship, will face No. 1 seed Duke on Friday in Charlotte, N.C. in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Div. I Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The Pirates learned their fate at a Selection Show party Sunday evening in the Student Center Ballroom, erupting in raucous applause and cheers when the school’s name was announced in front of an audience of fans and boosters.
Hampton (24-8), making their first NCAA appearance since 2006, earned the No. 16 seed in the West Region. They defeated defending MEAC champion Morgan State 60-55 on Saturday in the title game for their fifth straight win.
TRENTON, NJ -- Watch out, Dukies, little ol' Hampton is coming to eat your lunch! So says former Trenton mayor Doug Palmer after hearing that his alma mater is slated to open the NCAA Tournament against the defending national champion and top seed in the West.
Hampton University (24-8) is the 16-seed after winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title. On Friday in Charlotte, N.C., the Pirates will face No. 5 Duke (29-4), which beat North Carolina to win the ACC crown and grab a top seed for the 12th time.
But Hampton has history on its side in tournament games against powerhouses.
HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men’s basketball team, fresh off winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament championship, will face No. 1 seed Duke on Friday in Charlotte, N.C. in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Div. I Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The time of the game has yet to be determined. The Pirates learned their fate at a Selection Show party Sunday evening in the Student Center Ballroom, erupting in raucous applause and cheers when the school’s name was announced in front of an audience of fans and boosters.
“We're excited for the opportunity, and it marks a chance for our program to do something special,” Pirates head coach Edward “Buck” Joyner Jr. said. “It's been 10 years since we last made history, and we want to put that stamp on our program and show the world what we're capable of.”
INDIANAPOLIS — The UTSA men's basketball team learned its NCAA Tournament destination and opponent on Sunday evening and the Southland Conference Tournament Champion Roadrunners will square off against Alabama State, which won this weekend's Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament. The two squads will play at 5:40 p.m. (CT) on Wednesday at UD Arena as part of the newly-created "First Four" games on the campus of the University of Dayton.
UTSA, winners of five consecutive outings in the last 11 days, will bring a 19-13 overall record into its fourth "Big Dance" appearance in program history and first since 2004 (1988, '99 are the others). The No. 7 seed Roadrunners earned the Southland's automatic bid following their 75-72 championship game victory against top-seeded McNeese State on Saturday afternoon. Senior guard Devin Gibson was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player and he was joined on the All-Tournament Team by freshman Jeromie Hill.
The Alabama State men's basketball team will face Texas-San Antonio in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. central time in Dayton, Ohio. The two teams will be a part of the newly created “First Four” games on the campus of the University of Dayton.
The Hornets emerged from the fourth seed in the Farmers Insurance SWAC Tournament to win the title and the league's automatic berth for the fourth time in school history and second time in three seasons.
“We're excited to have an opportunity to be in the NCAA Tournament again,” Hornets' head coach Lewis Jackson said. “It's great for our players, Alabama State University, the community of Montgomery and people around the city and the state. Guys will have the opportunity to compete in the NCAA Tournament again and that's big. That's as high as it gets, and we're excited about being in it.”
Alabama State (17-17) enters the NCAA's as one of the nation's hottest teams, being victorious 11 of their last 12 games. That lone loss, a 74-73 decision at Grambling on March 5, was avenged in the tournament championship game Saturday night with a 65-48 win over the Tigers.
Huntsville, AL - A big second half by Stillman wiped out a 13-point lead by the Moccasins and the Tigers ended the Moccasins' season, 92-86, in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II South Regional at Huntsville, Ala., Sunday night. The Moccasins finished the season at 23-9.
The Moccasins had shot 61.6 percent from the field en route to their 51-38 advantage at halftime, but it took Stillman just over five minutes in the second half to erase the deficit. The Tigers pulled even at 56-56 with 14:43 remaining, as they hit seven of their first nine shots in the period.
Stillman didn't take the lead for good until the 5:31 mark, when LaDarius Rhone sank a three-pointer to put the Tigers in front 74-72 and the Moccasins never saw the lead again. The Tigers were as hot from the field in the second half as the Moccasins were in the first half, shooting 60.7 percent, while the FSC shot just 34.4 percent in the second half.
A big halftime lead can turn out to be a bad thing and it was for the Mocs on Sunday. The Florida Southern College men's basketball team led by 13 at the break and couldn't keep its intensity level high enough afterward to avoid a 92-86 loss to Stillman in the NCAA Division II South Regional semifinals in Huntsville, Ala.
"They came out, got on a roll and we couldn't stop them," said head coach Linc Darner, whose Mocs ended their season with a 23-9 record.
Stillman (23-7) stormed back with an 18-5 run after the break to tie it at 56 and took the lead for good with 5:31 to play.
West Liberty, WV - On what would become the final night of his collegiate career, Raheem Smith exploded for a career-high 36 points - including 27 in the first half alone - but it wasn't enough as Shaw fell to the nation's highest ranked team, West Liberty, 98-93. The NCAA Atlantic Regional Semi-final was played on WLU's home court.
Shaw (23-9) had their highest offensive outburst of the season and held West Liberty (31-0) below 100 - only the second time all season the Hilltoppers have been held under triple digits on their home court.
"This was a great game from a fan standpoint. We were up and down the court, throwing in three pointers and playing good defense," said Shaw Head Coach Cleo Hill, Jr. "Both teams played hard, but in the end, the home team won."
In the end, the game was decided at the free throw line. The Bears went to the charity stripe 12 times -- hitting eight -- while the Hilltoppers found themselves shooting 31 free throws, sinking 26.
Atlantic Region Player of the Year Corey Pelle led four double-figure scorers with 23 points and senior pivot John Wolosinczuk hit a back-breaking 3-point bomb with less than 90 seconds remaining as unbeaten and No. 1-ranked West Liberty held off a determined Shaw squad in a regional semifinal thriller.
The Hilltoppers will host defending regional champion and No. 2 seed Indiana (Pa.) Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Atlantic Region championship game with the winner advancing to next week’s NCAA Division II Elite Eight at Springfield, Mass.
West Liberty led throughout the second half but weren’t able to put the hot-shooting Bears away until Wolosinczuk’s clutch 3-pointer pushed the Hilltoppers out to a 92-86 lead with 1:25 to play. Barry Shetzer then came up with a steal and hit a streaking Alex Falk for a runout layup that finally put the game out of reach, 94-86, heading into the final minute.
WEST LIBERTY, WV - Indiana University of Pennsylvania fell into a 14-point hole in the opening seven minutes of the game before the trio of Ashton Smith, Julian Sanders and Scooter Renkin rallied the Crimson Hawks to a 94-81 win over Bowie State University in the semifinals of the NCAA Atlantic Region.
“I’m really proud of my basketball team and happy for the opportunity to be here (NCAA’s)”, said second year Bowie State coach Darrell Brooks. “We lost to a very good and experienced basketball team that reached the Division II finals last season, and they understand this regional tournament and hopefully our young team will learn from this experience and be back here next year.”
The Bulldogs made four 3-pointers in the first six minutes of the game and built an 18-4 lead on a steal by junior Darren Clark (Largo, MD, Largo, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania) with 13:22 left in the half. Ashton Smith hit a jumper on IUP’s first shot attempt of the game, but the Crimson Hawks missed four shots and committed six turnovers as the Bulldogs surged ahead.
Renkin got the Crimson Hawks comeback started when he converted a steal into a layup and was fouled, making the free throw for a three-point play. Smith made three buckets, including a 3-pointer, and Willi Estrella made two free throws at the 10:22 mark to cap a 14-2 run that pulled IUP within 20-16.
IUP fell into a 14-point hole in the opening seven minutes before the guard trio of Ashton Smith, Julian Sanders and Scooter Renkin rallied the Crimson Hawks to a 94-81 win over Bowie State in the semifinals of the NCAA Atlantic Region tournament Sunday in West Liberty, W.Va.
IUP (26-5) won for the 13th straight time and will face West Liberty in the championship contest for the second straight year on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The host Hilltoppers advanced with a 98-93 victory over Shaw. The Crimson Hawks defeated West Liberty 84-72 in the regional final at home a year ago and then won twice at the Elite 8 to advance to the national championship game.
Shaw and Johnson C. Smith have been rivals in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association for decades. Now, the two women's basketball teams will face each other hundreds of miles away from North Carolina in the NCAA Atlantic Regional final today at 7 p.m. at Edinboro's McComb Fieldhouse.
