NAIA Division I National Championship Tournament: Tougaloo's legendary Stribling leads 'Magnificent 7' to NAIA tourney

GAME TIME: Today at 4:30 p.m., CDT, Kansas City, Mo.

Tougaloo  (27-4) vs. Emmanuel (Ga.) (26-7)

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Not all news is bad where Mississippi college basketball is concerned. Leave it to Lafayette Stribling, the 76-year-old veteran of 54 years in coaching to show the big guys how to succeed amid the most vexing of circumstances.

First things first: Stribling's Tougaloo College Bulldogs (27-4) will play Emmanuel College of Georgia on Thursday afternoon at 4:30 in the first round of the NAIA National Division I Tournament at Kansas City. It shouldn't cost Tougaloo much to get to Missouri. The Bulldogs have only seven players.

That's right. At Tougaloo, academics still come before athletics. You don't make the grades, you don't play. First semester grades left Stribling with seven of his original 13 players. The Bulldogs were 12-3 at the time. They are 15-1 since. So let's just borrow from Hollywood and call them the Magnificent Seven.

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NAIA Division I National Championship Tournament: Xavier Takes Down Lee in First Round, 63-53

JACKSON, Tenn. - (Box Score) Xavier (La.) took down Lee (Tenn.), 63-53, in the first round action at the 2011 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship Wednesday in Oman Arena. The win for the Gold Nuggets (27-6) snaps a six-game losing skid at the National Championship dating back to 2003 when they defeated Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.) in the first round. Xavier moves on to face #1 seed Oklahoma City in the second round Friday at 10:45 a.m. CDT.

The Lady Flames exit from their eighth National Championship with a 6-7 all-time mark in the event and wrap up their season at 25-7.

Leading the way for Xavier in the first half was Christina Warren. The senior forward had 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting to help the Gold Nuggets to a 33-22 halftime advantage. In the opening 20 minutes, Lee was only able to knock down six of its 24 shot attempts (.250). The Lady Flames were able to find a better touch in the second half, shooting 33 percent, but it was not enough as Xavier's offense remained steady (.423).

Warren went on to finish as the game's leading scorer with 19 points and was one of three Gold Nuggets players to pull down five rebounds. Also pouring in double-figure efforts were Marchelle Jones and Brandi Young with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Young also had six steals.

Lee's offense was directed by a 12-point outing from Brook McKinnon. She was the only Lady Flame to score in double figures, as the next highest scorer was Angela Spann with nine points. Hollie German had a game-high nine rebounds in the loss.

NEXT GAME: Xaiver University of Lousiana Gold Nuggets  (27-6) vs. #1 Oklahahoma City (26-3),  Friday, 10:45 a.m. CDT .  Sign Up and Watch -- CLICK HERE

By Amanda Dahl, NAIA Manager of Sports Information & Media Services

ASU can't battle back from slow start in NCAA tournament game

DAYTON, Ohio -- Ala­bama State was hoping to make history on Wednes­day night.

Those dreams fell apart quickly against Texas-San Antonio. The Roadrunners roared out to a 27-point halftime lead to earn the team's first NCAA Tour­nament victory, hanging on for a 70-61 win over the Hornets in the "First Four" at the University of Dayton Arena.

Texas-San Antonio (20-13) will face the tour­nament's No. 1 overall seed, Ohio State, on Fri­day in Cleveland.

Texas San Antonio wins 'First Four' game

DAYTON, Ohio — Shot by shot, Melvin Johnson III played up to his penmanship. The smooth guard with "SWISH" scrawled on the side of each orange shoe scored a career-high 29 points Wednesday night, putting on the most scintillating show so far in the NCAA tournament while leading Texas San Antonio to a 70-61 victory over Alabama State in the "First Four" round.

The Roadrunners (20-13) and their smooth guard head to Cleveland for a game Friday against top-seeded Ohio State, which won't allow all those open shots.  Against Alabama State (17-18), Johnson took advantage of...

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Top-seeded Buffaloes slam Texas Southern Tigers 88-74

BOULDER, Colo. — If there was going to be a chance for Texas Southern to sneak up on Colorado, it came with five minutes left in the first half Wednesday night.

The Tigers trailed by three points, the crowd of 6,299 at the Coors Event Center was mostly quiet and the Buffaloes looked every bit like a team snubbed for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

“We thought we had the game,” TSU forward Travele Jones said. Colorado pulled away just before halftime and cruised to an 88-74 victory over TSU in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.

Snubbed Buffaloes pick up NIT victory

BOULDER - Alec Burks had 27 points and seven rebounds, Cory Higgins scored 25 points and the top-seeded Buffaloes beat Texas Southern 88-74 in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on Wednesday night.

Freshman Andre Roberson had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Buffaloes (22-13), who will face California - a 77-74 winner over Mississippi on Wednesday - in Boulder on Friday night.

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VT Hokies cruise in NIT first-round game vs. Bethune-Cookman

BLACKSBURG - As Virginia Tech's men's basketball team prepared for Wednesday night's National Invitation Tournament first round game, Hokies coach Seth Greenberg realized there was a chance his players could care less about the game.

He made sure nobody would just mail it in and coast against Bethune-Cookman. Even if Tech's players and coaches still were stinging after failing to be included in the NCAA tournament field, there were no lingering signs of misery against Bethune-Cookman.

Tech dispatched Bethune-Cookman 79-54 to advance to the second round. Tech, which is a No. 1 seed in the tournament, will play at 11 a.m. Sunday in Blacksburg against No. 4 seed Wichita State, which defeated Nebraska 76-49 on Wednesday.

Recap: Virginia Tech vs. Bethune-Cookman

Jeff Allen scored 19 points as the Virginia Tech Hokies rolled to a 79-54 victory over the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats in first-round action of the NIT.

Malcolm Delaney registered 13 points for top-seeded Virginia Tech (22-11), which moves on to the second round to battle fourth-seeded Wichita State. The Hokies also got double-digit scoring performances from Manny Atkins (12 points), Erick Green (11 points, eight assists) and Terrell Bell (10 points).

Garrius Holloman posted 20 points in defeat for eighth-seeded Bethune-Cookman (21-13), which received 10 points and five assists from C.J. Reed.

Father-Son Duo Leads B-CUTo New Heights, Captures Conference’s Top Honors

Bethune-Cookman men's basketball coach Clifford Reed and his son, junior point guard C.J. Reed, have taken the Wildcats to unprecedented heights while achieving what no other father-son combination in MEAC history has achieved.

The elder Reed was voted MEAC Coach of the Year and his son was selected Player of the Year as the Wildcats won their first ever regular-season conference championship and earned their first-ever postseason appearance since moving to Division I. They play Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., in the NIT Wednesday night.

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Andrew Jackson High coach Quinn Gray resigns; new QB Coach at Florida A&M

Jackson High coach Quinn Gray quits, blames budget crisis

JACKSONVILLE, FL - Quinn Gray wanted to stay on as Jackson High School's football coach. However, the looming elimination of athletics from the Duval County public schools system created too unstable a future.

The former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback resigned his post on Monday to accept an assistant coaching position with Florida A&M, his alma mater. The 31-year-old Gray spent six seasons in the NFL, including the first five (2003-07) with the Jaguars. Facing a $97 million shortfall, Duval County School Board Chairman W.C. Gentry has stated that all athletic programs will be cut if that figure remains largely in tact.



Jackson Football Coach Resigns Amid Cuts

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Andrew Jackson football coach Quinn Gray is leaving Jacksonville disappointed after just one season at the helm. The idea that high school sports could be eliminated altogether is something the former Jaguars quarterback can hardly believe.

"The determining factor was all the uncertainty when it comes to Duval schools and athletics for the season," Gray said of why he's resigning. "It would be a shame for the kids in the upcoming year, because a lot of students use sports as an outlet, and they use it as a motivator as well."

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FAMU Shows Off at Pro Day

Tallahassee, FL - Six seniors from last year's MEAC championship winning team showcased their skills in front of scouts today.

Lincoln grad Isaac West impressed at wide receiver. Marianna (FL) speedster Philip Sylvester also turned some heads as well. Curtis Holcomb made his impression on the defensive side of the ball. Qier Hall, Marquiste Ramos, and Kendrick Washington also participated in Wednesday's Pro Day.



FAMU football players give their all during workout

They gave their best shots in front of 14 NFL scouts during Wednesday's Pro Day testing. The next best thing would be a phone call with an invitation to attend one of the team's training camps.

"I think it was a good impression overall," said running back Philip Sylvester, one of the Rattlers' leading prospects for playing at the next level. "We did well; did what was expected. I've been working out six days a week and I met my expectation.

"It was just going out there and doing your business. That's all you can do." What they did was a battery of physical tests that included weight lifting, running the 40-meter dash and vertical jumps during the two-hour workout.

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