Fayetteville State Broncos fall to CIAA leader Shaw

FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina - The Fayetteville State Broncos put every ounce of energy and spirit in Saturday's CIAA showdown with Shaw.  But with the Bears playing like a team even better than their No. 9 ranking in the NCAA Division II national poll, the Broncos just couldn't keep pace and dropped an 86-74 decision at Capel Arena.

Shaw rode a 26-point, 12-rebound performance by junior forward Junius Chaney and made 29 of 40 shots at the foul line in rolling to its 14th consecutive CIAA win. The Bears, 22-2 overall, have games remaining against Winston-Salem State and Saint Augustine's to complete a perfect regular season in league play.

"It's been a goal from day one,'' Shaw coach Cleo Hill Jr. said of achieving CIAA perfection. "This is a very tough league and we thought it would be a tough goal. And to this point, it has been tough. We're two games away from completing a task like that, but we haven't had any easy games, especially on the road.''

Or at home, for that matter. The last time the Bears met the Broncos on Jan. 30 in Raleigh, FSU took them to double overtime before losing, 92-84.

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Rain postpones Xavier matches vs. Tougaloo, Belhaven

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's men's and women's tennis dual matches against Tougaloo and Belhaven were postponed Saturday because of rain.

The matches will be rescheduled. They were to be played at the University of New Orleans Tennis Center.

Xavier's women will travel to Southeastern Louisiana for a 6 p.m. dual Friday, and both XU teams will play William Carey at 10 a.m. next Saturday at City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Howard Lady Bison Captures 20th Win, Extends Streak to Seven

HOWARD UNIVERSITY 2011-12 LADY BISON BASKETBALL TEAM

ROSTER

Record: 20-7, 12-2 MEAC (Tied for 1st place with Hampton & FAMU)

HEAD COACH: Niki Reid Geckeler, 4th season (Georgetown '93)
Associate Head Coach: James Simmons, 1st season (Belford '98)
Assistant Coach: Brian Johnson, 4th season (Drexel '98)
Assistant Coach: Mathew Jones, 1st season


(Click photo to enlarge)

BALTIMORE, Maryland  -- Tamoria Holmes hit a three pointer in the last six seconds of regulation to secure a 50-49 victory for Howard (20-7, 12-2 MEAC) in an exciting MEAC matchup against Coppin State (15-11, 10-3 MEAC). This marks the first 20-win season for the Lady Bison since the 2000-01 campaign when the team went 21-10 under head coach Cathy Parson.

The win also marks the seventh consecutive victory for the Lady Bison and puts HU ahead of Coppin in the MEAC standings, just under Hampton and Florida A&M.

Holmes tallied a game-high of 23 points while collecting four steals and grabbing five boards on the night. Saadia Doyle put together a solid effort with 12 points, six rebounds, and five steals.

Prior to tipoff, CSU was called for an administrative technical foul. HU gained a one point lead after converting on one-out-of two free throw attempts.

The Eagles began regulation with five-straight points. Doyle ended the run at 16:05 with a basket. Holmes then scored a lay-up to put the team to within one at the 15:41 mark.

The score remained tight as both teams battled to take the lead. By halftime the score was knotted 21-21.

Second half tipped off with a quick jumper by Holmes at the 19:40 mark for a 23-21 margin. Crystal Whittington tied the score again on the following play.

Larrissa Carter made a three-point play to give CSU a 46-43 advantage at the 2:13 mark. With 51 seconds left, Holmes then dropped a bucket inside the paint to decrease the margin to 46-45. CSU responded with a lay-up by Leola Spotwood with 41 seconds left in the ball game. Seconds later, a foul placed Spotwood on the free throw line. Spotwood converted just on one the stripe. Holmes answered with an immediate shot off the glass at 18 seconds. With the score set at 49-47, Holmes ended the game with a deep three-ball to win the game 50-49 over Coppin State.

Carter led CSU with 11 points and nine boards. Leola Spotwood pitched in with nine points. Crystal Whittington and Shawntae Payne both grabbed nine off the glass.

Howard forced CSU into 24 turnovers and gained 11 points from the Eagles' mishaps. The battle of the boards was won by Coppin State, 50-35. CSU converted only four points off of HU's 16 turnovers. Tough shooting night for both teams as Howard went 27 percent from the field (16-for-58), while Coppin State finished with a 33.9 clip (19-for-56).

HU will return home to face Maryland-Eastern Shore on Mon. Feb. 20 for senior night. Jump ball is set for 5:30 p.m. in Burr Gymnasium.

Follow Coach G's fan page on facebook to get a behind the scenes look at the team as they make their push toward the Big Dance: www.facebook.com/NikiGeckeler.

BOXSCORE

Written by Julee O'Neal, W. Basketball, Broadcast Journalism '13

Jamilah Corbitt, Assistant Director of Sports Information

VISIT: HOWARD-BISON.COM

VISIT: HOWARD UNIVERSITY

Air Force Downed by Alcorn State 7-5, at 'The Box'

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - Air Force baseball opened the 2012 season with a 7-5 loss to Alcorn State Friday morning at LSU's Alex Box Stadium. The Falcons return to action later tonight, taking on LSU at 7 p.m. (CST).

Air Force could not hold a 5-0 lead as Alcorn State scored seven unanswered runs to rally to the win. After scoring its first run of the game in the sixth, the Braves put up a five-run seventh inning to take the lead.

The Falcons got a solid opening outing out of starting pitcher Evan Abrecht. Abrecht held Alcorn State in check for most of the game, holding the Braves scoreless through his first five innings. The senior pitched 6.2 innings, allowing four runs while striking out one.

Air Force had seven hits in the game, led by catcher Garrett Custons. Custons went 3-for-4 with three doubles in his first three at bats. Leftfielder and leadoff hitter Taylor Ausbun also played well, going 2-for-4 in his Falcon debut.

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Hoop dreams draw national spotlight to Hampton University

By Wayne Dawkins

HAMPTON, Virginia  -  Hampton University is in the news, mostly for better, a little for worse.

Darian Pellum, star of the men’s basketball team, performed a dunk so spectacular it was rated the No. 2 most spectacular athletic move on Feb. 16 ESPN Top Plays.

During the second half of the game against Division 1 rival University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, Pellum stole the ball at midcourt, took several dribbles then launched the sphere against the backboard. He leaped over a shorter defender to catch his rebound and then dunk ferociously with two hands.

Pellum’s play trumped continuing Lin-sanity! in New York, where the Knicks’ Jeremy Lin cooled off his 20-plus point per game scoring. Instead, the point guard from Harvard rung up 13 assists and facilitated a dunk-a-thon blowout for consecutive win No. 7.

Here, in Virginia, a well done to Pellum for calling national attention to HU.

So, since viewers were drawn to the second-best ballers on our campus, they should linger the on campus stars: The women’s basketball team, last year’s conference champs and currently 10-1 in their conference and 18-4 overall.

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Roberts plays big-time game plays well in small-town Grambling

GRAMBLING, Louisiana — Bright lights, big city, most famous basketball arena in the world, Quincy Roberts has been there and done that. Small towns, back roads, courts with little or no fanfare, Roberts is doing that now — and loving it.

The former St. John's University star has blended seamlessly into small-town Grambling, both on and off the court. "Grambling's excellent, man," Roberts said. "They do a good job. They make me feel comfortable. The students around the area are all friendly. I felt at home the minute I got here."

Nowhere does Roberts feel as comfortable as on the court. Since becoming eligible 13 games ago, the 6-foot-5, 210-pound Harrisburg, Pa., native has given the Tigers' offense a New York City-sized boost.

Pairing a jumper with seemingly unlimited range and an ability to get to the basket, Roberts carries a 24 points per game scoring average into GSU's 5 p.m. today contest against Jackson State. He has done so with no ego, something GSU coach Bobby Washington wasn't sure would happen.

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Offseason surgery, injuries force Bulldogs to miss spring practice

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Alabama A&M will be without six key players, including four potential starters, when spring practice begins Friday.

Coach Anthony Jones' team will be without offensive tackle Alan Cruz, defensive end Melvin Payne, defensive tackle Quinton Robinson, inside linebacker Denzel Cotton and defensive backs Derrick Harris and Jeremy Isabelle.

Cruz, Cotton and Robinson are out after undergoing offseason knee surgery, while Payne is out after having offseason shoulder surgery. Cruz, Cotton and Payne are potential starters next season. Harris, who started at cornerback last season, has a back injury, while Isabelle, who sustained a neck injury late last season, hasn't fully recovered according to Jones.

"We'd love to have those guys this spring, but they need time to get healthy," he said. "This will give us a chance to look at some other guys and hopefully, develop some much-needed depth."

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