Jackson State Tigers Basketball at Florida Gators

GAME NOTES: Pre
Jackson State men's basketball notes vs Florida

Florida (0-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. Jackson State (0-0, 0-0 SWAC)
Venue: Stephen C. O’Connell Center (11,548) - Gainesville, Florida
Game 1 - Nov. 11, 2011 - 7 p.m.
TV: Fox Sports Florida

RADIO | Gator IMG Sports Network: GRN | Sirius 219 | XM 203

RANKINGS AP COACHES
Florida 8 10
Jackson State - -

COACHES
Florida: Billy Donovan
360-147 | 16th season at Florida
395-167 | 18th season overall

Jackson State: Tevester Anderson
131-128 | 9th season at Jackson State
234-180 | 14th season overall

FLORIDA PROBABLE STARTERS (0-0)
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. P/RPG
33 Erik Murphy F 6-10 229 Jr. 4.3/2.3
4 Patric Young C 6-9 247 So. 3.4/3.8
1 Kenny Boynton G 6-2 189 Jr. 14.2/1.5
11 Erving Walker G 5-8 177 Sr. 14.6/2.9
23 Bradley Beal G 6-3 207 Fr. -/-

JACKSON STATE PROBABLE STARTERS (0-0)
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. P/RPG
34 Jamarious Sykes C 7-2 270 So. 2.6/1.1
1 Jenirro Bush G 6-7 190 Sr. 14.2/3.5
2 Derrell Taylor G 6-5 195 Fr. -/-
12 Kelsey Howard G 6-3 190 Fr. -/-
13 Christian Williams G 6-1 180 Jr. 1.8/0.8

TIPOFF
• Florida takes on Jackson State in both teams’ season opener. The Gators are 15-0 in the season tipoff under head coach Billy Donovan.
• Overall, UF has started 20 straight seasons with a win, the last loss in an opener coming vs. USF on Nov. 24, 1990.
• Florida and Jackson State have met once previously, with the Gators notching a 112-69 win in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament. UF is 4-0 all-time against SWAC teams.



LAST TIME OUT
• Florida won its lone exhibition game, 114-57, against Division III Catholic University (Washington, D.C.).
Six Gators scored in double figures, led by Kenny Boynton’s 21 and Bradley Beal’s 20. Boynton also added 10 assists to claim a double-double.
• UF shot 20-for-40 from three-point range in the game, putting up what would have been school-record numbers for threes made and attempted had it not been an exhibition.
• Catholic University was led in scoring by sophomore guard Billy Donovan, the oldest son of UF head coach Billy Donovan, with 13 points.

SETTING THE SCENE FOR JSU
*Jackson State opens the 2011-12 season on the road to face the Florida Gators.
*Jackson State won its exhibition game, against Miles College, 78-57 in Jackson, MS (Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center).
* Jackson State returns only one regular starter from last season’s team and five other players from last year’s squad.
* Guard Jenirro Bush is the only senior on the Tigers team.

COURTESY: GATORZONE.COM AND JSUATHLETICS

Preview: Southern Jaguars at Alabama State Hornets

GAME: Southern University Jaguars at Alabama State University Hornets
WHEN: Saturday, November 12, 2011, 1:00 PM CT
Venue: Cramton Bowl (19,500), Montgomery, Alabama
Records: SOUTHERN (3-6, 3-4 SWAC); ALABAMA STATE (7-2, 7-1 SWAC)
Radio: WVAS-FM 90.7, Jonathan Spells (play-by-play), Tony Fleming (analyst), Robb Taylor (sidelines), Jay Holcey (studio)
INTERNET STREAMING VIDEO - Bamastatesports.com   WVAS-FM 90.7  Live Video  Live Audio  
2011 Alabama State Football Media Guide



THE GAME: The Alabama State Hornets will play their final conference game of the 2011 season when they host the Southern Jaguars. Saturday is the Black Out Game, and the Hornets are encouraging all fans to wear black. Saturday is also the Military Salute Game as we thank those who protect our freedom.

THE SERIES: Southern leads the series over the Hornets, 23-10. Last season, Alabama State ended a four-game losing streak to the Jaguars, winning in Baton Rouge 21-19. The teams have met twice in the SWAC Championship Game, with SU winning 20-9 in 2003, and Alabama State winning the title
game rematch, 40-35 in 2004.

LAST TIME OUT: Alabama State got back on the winning track, winning at Arkansas-Pine Bluff 28-12. Southern lost at Texas Southern, 29-15.

DE JA VU ALL OVER AGAIN?: For the second consecutive season, the Hornets enter their final SWAC game of the season with a possible SWAC Eastern Division title on the line. Last season, Alabama State’s win at Southern, combined with Alcorn State’s loss at Prairie View, clinched the East Title for the Hornets. This season, the scenario is similar. To win the East, Alabama State must
defeat Southern AND have Alabama A&M lose to Jackson State. If both the Hornets and Bulldogs win this week, AAMU must lose at Prairie View next Saturday for Alabama State to win the East.

SWEET HOME ALABAMA: The Hornets will play their final games of the 2011 season in the state of Alabama with home games this week vs. Southern and Tuskegee in the Turkey Day Classic Nov. 24. If the Hornets advance to the SWAC Championship, they would play in Birmingham’s Legion Field.
POLL POSITIONS: The Hornets moved back into the Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top 25, coming in at No. 23. Alabama State maintained its No. 2 position in the Urban Sports News Poll, while moving up in several other polls. The Hornets moved up one spot to third in the Heritage Sports
Radio Network poll, one spot to fourth in the Boxtorow.com Media Poll, and one spot to fifth in the Sheridan Broadcasting Network Poll.

NOTABLES
• The Hornets rushed for a season-high 149 yards against the Golden Lions,
the most by ASU since rushing for 212 yards vs. Alabama A&M on 10/30/10.
• RB Tim Clark posted career highs in rushes (10), rushing yards (106) and
touchdowns (three), becoming the first Hornet RB to top the century mark
since Andrew Pitts vs Alabama A&M on 10/30/10 (6-122).
• With three takeaways against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the Hornets have forced
at least one turnover in 28 straight games (76 takeaways over that time: 31
fumbles/45 INTs).
• SS Markinley Saint Fort made career highs in total tackles (13), solo tackles
(10) and made his first career interception.

By Duane Lewis, Sports Information Director/Football
VISIT: ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY
VISIT: BAMASTATESPORTS

XU's Kirk is freshman of year; Hamilton shares coaching honor

Coach Christabell Hamilton
GCAC Co-Coach of the Year 

Moira Kirk
GCAC Freshman of the Year

Patrice Hightower
All-GCAC

Taylor Reuther
All-GCAC

Chinedu Echebelem
All-GCAC

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Moira Kirk is the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year in women's volleyball, and XU's Christabell Hamilton is GCAC Co-Coach of the Year.

Kirk and teammates Taylor Reuther, Patrice Hightower and Chinedu Echebelem were chosen All-GCAC by the league's head coaches. It's the first time the Gold Nuggets have had four all-conference players in a season.

The awards were announced Wednesday at a Nashville, Tenn., banquet honoring the eight teams competing in the conference tournament, which will begin Thursday. Xavier, the regular-season champion and No. 1 seed, will play eighth-seeded Edward Waters in the opening match at 10 a.m. in Fisk University's Henderson A. Johnson Gymnasium. If the Gold Nuggets win, they'll play fourth-seeded Talladega or fifth-seeded Tougaloo at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Kirk, a freshman from Dallas, is second in the GCAC and 16th in the NAIA with a .363 hitting percentage. Eight times this season she hit .500 or higher, and she has 12 matches of 10 or more kills. She is Xavier's first GCAC Freshman of the Year since Korey Fondel in 2003, XU's first season.

Hamilton, hired in June, shared the GCAC coaching award with Tougaloo's Shandrea Taylor. Hamilton has led Xavier to a 19-6 overall record and 10-0 in the GCAC. The conference championship and winning season are Xavier's first in four seasons of volleyball. The Gold Nuggets set school records for victories, consecutive victories (8), home victories (8), conference victories and victories on opponents' courts (6).

Reuther, a freshman from Metairie, La., is second in the GCAC and 11th in the NAIA with 0.59 service aces per set. She leads the GCAC with 3.31 kills per set and leads Xavier with nine kill-dig double-doubles, six more than the Gold Nuggets produced in 2010. Hightower, a senior from New Orleans, leads the GCAC with 7.63 assists per set. Echebelem, a freshman from Dallas, ranks third on the Nuggets with 161 kills and 161 digs.

Talladega senior Shalitha Swain was chosen Player of the Year.


By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Grambling State University coach wins 27th SWAC title

Grambling, Louisiana -- SWAC championships haven't lost any of their luster for Grambling coach Bertram Lovell — not even after 27. Lovell, most of whose titles have come in track and field, said last week's men's cross country crown isn't any less exciting.

"It's something," he said with a laugh. "We just had a great group of kids, and the youngsters did really well, but this is the first time for the guys to win in the last three years. They've gotten to accomplish it in indoors and outdoors, but in cross country we've always gotten nipped at the end, so it was a really sweet experience."

Mississippi Valley edged out the Tigers in 2010, but this time it was Lovell and his team leaving Prairie View A&M frustrated at the Mississippi College course. Lovell, who also earned his 27th SWAC coach of the year honors, said seeing his three seniors, including Darwin Price, finally claim the title before their graduation was special.

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Southern Jags encounter stiff challenge

Baton Rouge, Louisiana -- Stump Mitchell recapped last week's loss to Texas Southern with two words: Riko Smalls. And in short, that was all Southern's second-year coach needed to say to get the point across in the wake of his team's 29-15 loss.

"He was the difference in the ballgame," Mitchell said of Smalls. "He led his team on a couple drives of more than 90 yards. He did it both with his legs and his arm." Indeed.

Smalls completed 26 of 39 passes and torched Southern's defense for 365 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 71 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. "In the secondary there's no question we got victimized this past game," Mitchell said, noting the Jaguars were without starting defensive back's LaMarkius Pettaway and Levi Jackson. "We played a couple guys who had not played before. That showed."



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Sharpless back; Elizabeth City State Vikings primed

Elizabeth City, North Carolina -- For Elizabeth City State’s men’s basketball team, 2010 started out with a lot of promise.

Coming off a Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship game appearance, the Vikings were picked to win the Northern Division and tabbed as one of the favorites to capture the league title.

But things did not work out quite the way they hoped. Injuries and inconsistent play plagued ECSU as it finished with an 18-10 record, but with much of the same cast returning for 2011, the league’s coaches have once again pointed to the Vikings as a team to be reckoned with, picking them to finish second in the Northern Division.

ECSU opens its season tonight at home against Southern Virginia.

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SMU Mustangs Open Season At Home Against Alcorn State Saturday

SMU HOSTS ALCORN STATE BRAVES IN SEASON OPENER
Radio: KAAM 770 AM Ray Canaveri (Play-by-Play)
Location: Dallas, Texas (Moody Coliseum)
Live stats and streaming available on SMUMustangs.com

UPCOMING GAMES
SMU opens the season with three games in six days, beginning with Alcorn State in Moody Coliseum on Saturday at 12 p.m. The Mustangs travel to Little Rock, Ark., to face Arkansas-Little Rock in the first road test on Nov. 14 before hosting TCU on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
The Mustangs return three starters from last season, including the top two scorers in Christine Elliott (10.5 ppg) and Samantha Mahnesmith (10.2 ppg). Mahnesmith connected on 55 3-point attempts last season, marking just the 12th time a Mustang hit more than 50 in a season. Alisha Filmore also returns after starting 28 games last season. As a sophomore, Filmore led the conference shooting 41.4-percent from behind the 3-point arc. Akil Simpson earned Conference USA All-Freshman honors after scoring 4.9 points and grabbing 4.2 rebounds per game in her first collegiate campaign.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
ALCORN STATE: The Lady Braves return nine letterwinners and all five starters from last season's squad, which went 13-15 overall and 12-6 in the SWAC. Alcorn State also won seven of its last 10 games. Kiara Ruffin led the team last season with 17.79 points per game, but junior Carolinsia Crumbly was the only other player to average double-figures, scoring 14.65 points per game. As a team, Alcorn State averaged 59.3 points per game, while allowing 66.8. Series History: This is the first meeting.

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