KSU beats Morehouse, 75-68

FRANKFORT, Kentucky - The Kentucky State men’s basketball team wrapped up the regular season Saturday with a home win over Morehouse College, 75-68, in overtime.

“We were more relaxed at the beginning of this game,” KSU’s William Marsh said. “We won two games and we’re trying to keep the train rolling before the conference tournament.”

Missed jumpers and turnovers plagued the Thorobreds in the early going as KSU remained scoreless for the first six minutes of the game. Earl Ruffin Jr. finally put KSU on the board with a jumper and an and-1.

Another scoreless stretch helped Morehouse extend its lead to 16-7 with 7:11 left in the half. Back-to-back threes by Troy Adams and a layup by John Gaston tied the game at 22 with three minutes left till halftime.  Morehouse ended the half on a 7-3 run and took a 29-25 lead into the locker room.

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DSU Hornets Smother Bison For 10th Straight Conference Win

DOVER, Delaware - The Delaware State men's basketball team used a stifling defense to post its school-record 10th straight MEAC win, defeating Howard 63-46 in Memorial Hall this evening.

The Hornets won for the 10th time in the last 11 games to improve to 14-12 overall and 11-3 in MEAC play. The loss snapped a two-game win streak for the Bison, which fell to 9-20 and 6-10.

DSU held Howard to 33.3% shooting from the field (15-for-45), while recording 11 blocks and 11 steals in the contest. Marques Oliver tied a school record for the second time this season with eight blocks. The Hornets were fifth among all NCAA Div. I schools in blocks at 6.6 per game entering the contest.

Howard was 1-for-12 from three-point territory in the game (8.3%).

Jay Threatt contributed to the defensive effort with four steals. Threatt was tied for the Div. I lead in steals (3.0 pg) coming into Saturday's play.

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TSU Men's Hoops Earns No. 2 Seed in OVC Tournament

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Tennessee State University men's basketball locked in the No. 2 seed and will play in the semifinal round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on Friday, March 2 at Nashville's Municipal Auditorium.

The Tigers (19-11, 11-5 OVC) will play either the No. 3 seed Morehead State, No. 6 seed Austin Peay or the No. 7 seed Jacksonville State. TSU is a combined 3-2 against those three opponents this season.

Friday's tip time is at 8 p.m. ESPN carries the semifinal round as Bob Wischusen and Fran Fraschilla call the action.

For the first time since 1995-96, the Tigers are the No. 2 seed in the OVC Tournament. That season, Tennessee State defeated No. 7 Morehead State, 71-60, in the quarterfinals. However, TSU lost 83-62 to No. 3 Austin Peay in the semi-finals.

TSU last appeared in the NCAA tournament in 1994 after upending top-seeded Murray State 73-72 to win the OVC Tournament title. The Big Blue advanced to play the Kentucky Wildcats, falling 83-70 in the NCAA opening round.

Coach John Cooper has lifted the Tigers to a winning season for the first time in 16 years. The Tigers are just a win shy of reaching 20 for the first time since the 1978-79 campaign.

There has been several firsts for the men's basketball program including a 64-63 win over South Carolina (the first over an SEC opponent) and a 72-68 victory at No. 7/9 Murray State (the first over a NCAA D-I ranked team). The Tigers' nine-game win streak was snapped on Feb. 23 with a 80-62 loss to No. 12/14 Murray State.

Junior forward Robert Covington leads the Tigers with 18.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Covington has reached double-figures in 29 straight games. He leads the OVC with nine double-doubles and has 19 in his illustrious three-year career.

Also in double-digits, sophomore guard Patrick Miller boasts 10.9 points and a team-best 103 assists.

COURTESY: TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

TSU Softball Falls to Jackson State in Rematch

FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas - Tennessee State fell behind early and could not recover as they drop their semifinal game to Jackson State at the University of Arkansas Tournament. The Tigers fall to 4-4 on the season after an 8-1 loss to JSU (8-6).

JSU jumped on top in the first inning scoring two runs on two hits, two walks and a miscue. Jackson State was looking to add more with one out and runners on second and third, but freshman Savannah Gutierrez stepped up to stop the JSU threat. The leftfielder set up perfectly on a fly ball and, after the catch, threw a strike to catcher Devin Amar who applied the tag on the would-be scorer.

The Tigers responded in the bottom of the first with a two-out rally. Jordan Rehl drove a double just out of the reach of the JSU leftfielder and scored two pitches later when Amar smoked a ball through the right side of the infield. The Tigers lone run of the game cut the lead to 2-1 after the first.

Starting pitcher Olivia Gamache (1-2) ran into more trouble in the second as she issued free passes to the first two batters, before surrendering a three-run home run to make the score 5-1 Jackson State. Kelly Troglin relived Gamache and gave up a single that plated one more run for JSU.

Troglin would settle in as the senior allowed just one earned run in her 5.1 innings of relief.

The Tigers continued their quest of trying to cut into the JSU lead as they put runners on in six of the seven innings. TSU could not find the clutch hit as they left nine runners on base, including bases loaded in the fourth and two runners stranded in both the sixth and seventh innings.

Rehl and Kate Morris led the way at the plate both going 2-for-3 in the game.

Shann'da Hamer delivered a hit in her first collegiate at bat as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning.

Tedra Alford picked up a hit in her final at bat of the game to extend her hitting streak to five games.

Amar, Ashley Haynes, Brittany Davis and Tayler Shimizu also registered hits in the Tigers ten hit attack.

The Tigers will face the loser of the Arkansas-Northwestern State semifinal, to be played Saturday evening. Sunday's game time is scheduled for 10 a.m.

COURTESY: TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Scores That Matter!!

February 25, 2012

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

SWAC

Alabama A&M 71, Prairie View A&M 49
Alabama State 52, Texas Southern 51
Jackson State 62, Arkansas Pine Bluff 45
Mississippi Valley State 67, Grambling State 63
Southern University & A&M College 35, Alcorn State 32

Conference Leaders: 2 Games Remaining
1. Mississippi Valley State, SWAC: 12-4, 15-12 Overall
2. Southern University, SWAC: 11-5, 12-11 Overall (1.0 game back)
3. Alabama A&M, SWAC: 10-5, 15-10 Overall (1.5 game back)

MEAC

Bethune-Cookman 83, Norfolk State 73
Hampton 46, Florida A&M 43
Howard 67, Delaware State 52
Maryland Eastern Shore 74, Morgan State 58
North Carolina A&T 101, South Carolina State 61
Savannah State 59, North Carolina Central 43

Conference Leaders: **2 Games Remaining;#Regular Season Completed
1. **Hampton, MEAC: 13-1, 21-4 Overall, Streak: Won 6
2. #Howard, MEAC: 14-2, 22-7 Overall, Streak: Won 9
3. **Florida A&M: 12-2, 19-7 Overall (1 game back), Streak: Lost 1
4. **Coppin State 11-3, 16-11 Overall (2 games back), Streak: Won 1
Hampton holds tie breaker over both Howard and FAMU; Howard holds tie breaker over FAMU.

GCAC

Edward Waters 55, Voorhees SC 53
Talladega 84, Fisk 61
Southern-New Orleans 90, Tougaloo 83
Xavier 59, Dillard 53

1. Xavier wins GCAC Regular Season Championship, 12-2 GCAC, 22-8 Overall

CIAA

Johnson C. Smith 78, Livingstone 55
Winston Salem State 80, Fayetteville State 55

Division Champions going into CIAA Tournament
Northern Division
1. Virginia Union, 7-3 Division, 9-7 Conf., 12-13 Overall

Southern Division
1. Shaw University, 9-1 Division, 15-1 Conf., 20-6 Overall

SIAC

Lane 69, LeMoyne-Owen 67
Paine 64, Claflin 61
Stillman 65, Tuskegee 53

Fort Valley State is regular season champion, 18-4 SIAC, 20-6 Overall

NAIA

Langston OK 83, Our Lady of the Lake, TX 74
Wiley 57, SAGU TX 49
Brewton-Parker 65, Allen SC 59
Columbia MO 84, Harris-Stowe State MO 60


MEN'S BASKETBALL

SWAC

Alcorn State 60, Southern University 40
Arkansas Pine Bluff 46, Jackson State 44
Mississippi Valley State 79, Grambling State 60
Prairie View A&M 60, Alabama A&M 52
Texas Southern 67, Alabama State 59

Conference Leaders: 2 Games Remaining

1. Mississippi Valley State -- SWAC Regular Season Champions, 16-0 Conf., 17-11 Overall; Streak: Won 16
2. Southern University, Conf. 11-5, 15-14 Overall: Streak: Lost 1 (5 games back)

MEAC

Delaware State 63, Howard 46
Hampton 74, Florida A&M 59
Maryland Eastern Shore 58, Morgan State 57
Norfolk State 75, Bethune-Cookman 72
North Carolina A&T 79, South Carolina State 75
Savannah State 60, North Carolina Central 47

Conference Leaders: 2 Games Remaining
1. Savannah State, 12-2 MEAC, 19-10 Overall; Streak: Won 11
2. Delaware State, 11-3 MEAC, 14-12 Overall; Streak: Won 2
2. Norfolk State, 11-3 MEAC, 20-9 Overall; Streak: Won 2
Delaware State holds tie breaker over Norfolk State

GCAC

Southern-New Orleans 71, Tougaloo 65
Talladega 84, Fisk 75
Voorhees SC 74, Edward Waters 63
Xavier 67, Dillard 43
 
GCAC Regular Season Co-Champions: Xavier (11-3 GCAC, 22-7 Overall; and Tougaloo (11-3 GCAC, 21-7 Overall.  All eight GCAC Men and Women Teams will compete in the GCAC Tournament in Jacksonville, Florida on March 1-3, 2012.

CIAA

Bowie State 93, Washington Adventist 90
Chowan 61, Virginia State 49
Fayetteville State 64, Winston-Salem State 54
Johnson C. Smith 89, Livingstone 77

Division Champions going into CIAA Tournament
Northern Division:
1. Bowie State, 8-2 Division, 12-4 CIAA., 21-5 Overall

Southern Division
1. Shaw University, 10-0 Division, 16-0 CIAA, 24-2 Overall

SIAC

Kentucky State 75, Morehouse 68
LeMoyne-Owen 71, Lane 66
Paine 72, Claflin 62
Stillman 99, Tuskegee 92

Tuskegee University is SIAC Regular Season Champion, 16-8 SIAC, 16-10 Overall

NAIA

Our Lady of the Lake, TX 98, Langston OK 75 (Saints wins Red River Athletic Conference)
Paul Quinn TX 71, Texas College 68
SAGU TX 91, Wiley TX 87
Mountain State WV 91, Allen SC 58
Lee TN 93, Carver Bible College 76
Daemen NY 76, Wilberforce OH 49 (AMC Tournament Championship)

Alcorn State fires Spears, hires AD

VICKSBURG, Mississippi — Alcorn State University President M. Christopher Brown announced the firing of head football coach Melvin Spears and the hiring of two new athletic employees Friday afternoon.

Patric David Simon will serve as athletic director for Alcorn, and Todd McDaniel will be the coordinator of football operations, Brown said. The announcements came at Alcorn’s National Alumni Association mid-winter conference at the Vicksburg Convention Center.

Spears, who had been on administrative leave for more than two months, was 2-8 this past season, including a 51-7 loss to rival Jackson State University. Attendance steadily declined for the Braves in 2011, with just 500 attending Alcorn’s final home game against Prairie View A&M Nov. 12, according to school reports.

Brown said at the end of 2011, interim athletic director Malvin Williams recommender to Brown that Spears be terminated. Spears elected to have a grievance hearing with a panel of his peers in January, Brown said. “They deliberated and wrote a recommendation to me as president, and their recommendation was to terminate him, which I accepted,” Brown said.

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McDaniel continuing to direct Alcorn State football

Alcorn State, Mississippi - Alcorn State is continuing to rely on assistant football coach Todd McDaniel to provide stability in a trouble offseason.

Head coach Melvin Spears Jr. was placed on administrative leave on Dec. 15 and since then the Braves have been led by McDaniels, their defensive line coach.

Over two months later, the Southwestern Athletic Conference school announced Friday it had fired Spears and added the title of coordinator of football operations to McDaniel, with the expectation that he will continue to lead the program through upcoming spring practices.

Alcorn State president M. Christopher Brown praised McDaniel's handling of the program in the offseason. He added McDaniel will later recommend a timetable for hiring a new head coach.

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Shaw men riding 20-game winning streak heading into CIAA tournament in Charlotte

RALEIGH, North Carolina - There's a reason they're called rivalries: The records don't matter but bragging rights do. St. Augustine's gave Shaw all it could handle Thursday night, but in the end, experience prevailed.

The Bears accomplished something no other men's team has done in school history - go undefeated in a conference season. The last CIAA team to go unbeaten was Virginia Union in 1992-93.

Shaw defeated its archrival 64-62 in a game that had more drama than a soap opera. The victory is Shaw's 20th straight, and gives the Bears the No. 1 seed heading into next week's CIAA tournament in Charlotte.

A relieved Cleo Hill, Jr. said he expected a tough battle.

"Oh yeah, we knew we weren't going to come in here and blow them out," the Shaw coach said. St. Aug's coach Ken Spencer "is too good a coach for that. They were prepared and so were we. That's what rivalries are."

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