XU Gold Rush defeat Dillard 67-43, grab share of GCAC title

DENZELL ERVES
18 pts./9 rebs.

ANTHONY SIMMONS
16 pts./10 rebs.

NEW ORLEANS -- The Xavier University of Louisiana men's basketball team answered Saturday when opportunity knocked.

The Gold Rush, which began the day one game behind Tougaloo in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, defeated longtime city rival Dillard 67-43 at Dent Hall to get a share of the GCAC's regular-season championship.

SUNO put Xavier in position to tie for the title when it beat Tougaloo 71-65 at The Castle earlier in the day.

Denzell Erves had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Gold Rush (22-7 overall, 11-3 GCAC), ranked 25th in NAIA Division I, and Anthony Simmons had 16 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.

It's Xavier's first conference title since a share of the GCAC regular season with Tougaloo in the 2006-07 season.

All eight teams will compete Thursday in the opening round of the GCAC Tournament at Jacksonville, Fla.

Chris Iles had 10 points, five assists and four steals for Xavier.

"I'm excited for our team," ninth-year XU coach Dannton Jackson said. "I'm excited for our senior going out with a conference title. We battled adversity all year, but we played well down the stretch and put ourselves in position to challenge for the championship."

Xavier finished the regular season with eight victories in nine games, including a 67-61 home victory againsy Tougaloo on which the Gold Rush rallied from 16 down in the second half.

There was no comeback at Dillard. Xavier scored the first nine points and 23-8 in the 12th minute after Simmons made 1-of-2 free throws. Xavier led 39-24 at halftime, and the final margin was the largest of the game.

Lance Theard had 12 points and six rebounds for Dillard (1-28, 1-13), which lost its 10th in a row.

Xavier outshot the Bleu Devils 53.1 to 31.9 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 40-24.

BOX SCORE

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

Milestone Night for Howard Women's Basketball in Regular Season Finale

TAMORIA HOLMES
5'-6" GUARD, JUNIOR
Hometown: Durham, NC
Hillside High School

DOVER, Delaware – Tamoria Holmes join teammates Saadia Doyle and Zykia Brown in the elite 1,000th point club as Howard (22-7, 14-2 MEAC) defeated Delaware State 67-52 in its regular season finale. The victory gives the Lady Bison the most wins in a season since 1997-98 when they went 23-7.

For the game, Holmes finished with 23 points, three rebounds, and two steals in 40 minutes of action. She is tied for fifth place on the all-time steal list with 176 behind future MEAC Hall-of-Famer Alisha Hill.

Doyle collected her 13th double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 boards. The Atlanta, Georgia native is now second on the all-time scoring list with 1,603 points – Hill holds the record with 2,179. Cheyenne Curley-Payne chipped in with nine points, five assists, and pulled down five off the glass. The 5-5 junior is now third on the all-time assist list behind Felicia Oliver with 218.

HU, who was held to just a 30 percent shooting clip (18-of-60), went a season-best 26-for-29 (89.7 percent) from the charity stripe – including a 22-for-24 mark in the second half. The Lady Bison scored 23-points off second-chance opportunities, and recorded 28 points off 22 Hornet mishaps. HU also won the battle on the glass, 37-32.

India Bradford hit a huge three for Howard, to tie the score at 28-28 heading into the half. DSU opened up scoring in the second 20 with a quick layup by Tasia Bristow within the first minute of play. From there, the lead changed hands three times over an eight-minute span.

Ignited by a Holmes fast break layup, the Lady Bison went on an 8-0 run to give Howard a slim 37-44 cushion at the 9:53 mark. Two at the stripe by Bristow cut it to 44-39, but six-straight unanswered points by HU pushed the spread to 50-39 with 6:11 remaining in regulation.

Holmes' 1,000th point came from a trey at the 4:55 mark to give the Lady Bison a 55-43 advantage. The Hornets tried to climb their way back into the game, but could not break the double-digit deficit. DSU cut it to 62-52 by a pair at the line from Uchechi Ahaiwe with 59 seconds left, but HU ended regulation with a 5-0 run en-route to its 67-52 victory.

For Delaware State, Keyanna Tate and Briscow both tallied 13 points. Tierra Hawkins finished with 10 points, while Uchechi chipped in with six.

With tonight's win, Howard will finish second place in the MEAC behind Hampton, and will await the pairings for the upcoming MEAC tournament.

BOX SCORE

Jamilah Corbitt, Assistant Director of Sports Information

VISIT: HOWARD-BISON.COM

VISIT: HOWARD UNIVERSITY

TSU Tigers Defeat Northwestern Seed, Earn No. 2 Seed

FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas  - The Tigers used a balanced attack and solid pitching on Saturday morning to pick up a second win at the University of Arkansas Tournament. TSU improved to 4-3 as they defeated Northwestern State 4-1.

Tennessee State lived by the same offensive recipe for the first four innings; leadoff singles, move the runner over, clutch base hit. Tedra Alford got things started in the first inning with a sharp single through the left side of the infield and scored three batters later when Devn Amar dropped a ball into left center, giving the Tigers an early 1-0 lead.

Ashley Haynes held the honors by opening the bottom of the second with a single. Three batters later it was Tayler Shimizu who stepped up with the clutch two-out hit to plate Haynes, making the score 2-1 after two innings of play.

In the third inning, it was Jennifer Givens who took the lead role with a single back to the pitcher. After a stolen base, Jordan Rehl drove a ball through the right side of the infield allowing Givens to cross home plate and extending the lead to 3-1.

Kelly Troglin notched her first hit of the season to open the fourth. Troglin was erased at second base as Alford reached on a fielders choice. After a swipe of second base by Alford, Givens ripped a ball into center that drove in Alford for a 4-1 Tennessee State advantage after four.

Shea Morris would make the score stick as she improved to 3-1 on the season. The freshman surrendered a solo home run to Samantha Roberts in the second that tied the score at 1-1 at the time. Roberts would add a single to first base in the seventh and those would be the only two hits (Shea) Morris would allow on the day.

The pitching product from Lawrenceburg, Tenn. scattered three walks along the way and struck out a career high eight batters.

TSU finished as the #2 seed after pool play and will take on Jackson State in the first semifinal of the day. Game time is set for 2:30 p.m.

COURTESY: TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

FAMU Lady Rattlers Drop Tough Battle To Hampton 46-43

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  -  The highly-anticipated matchup between the two teams tied atop the MEAC, was all that it was billed to be as the final margin was just three points. The Hampton Lady Pirates (21-4, 13-1 MEAC) defeated the Lady Rattlers of FAMU (19-7, 12-2 MEAC), 46-43, here at the Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium.

FAMU's Jasmine Grice led the Rattlers with 13 points. Antonia Bennett scored only eight points, while Qiana Donald and Jamie Foreman scored seven points each. Bennett would grab 12 rebounds for the Lady Rattlers.

Hampton's Kieara Avant was the game's leading scorer with 18 points. Jericka Jenkins scored nine for the Lady Pirates. Avant would also grab 17 rebounds for Hampton.

The nip-and-tuck game would have 12 ties and 11 lead changes. The largest lead the Lady Pirates would take would be eight points at 11:08 in the second half, while the Lady Rattlers had an 11 point lead in the game.

Coach LeDawn Gibson is confident she can refocus the Lady Rattlers for Monday's game against Norfolk and Thursday's season-concluding game against Morgan State.

"We've just got to go back to what we do best. I thought our team lost a close game while not playing our best. We came in knowing we had to stop Avant, but she hurt us on the boards. She ended up with 17 rebounds and that is one of the things that hurt us the most. We didn't have a great shooting night, but we're not going to make excuses. We've got two games that we've got to win in order to put ourselves in the position we want to be in going into the conference tournament," Gibson added.

FAMU guard Kimberly Sparkman felt the Lady Rattlers just didn't make the necessary adjustments. "It doesn't feel good at all. We have to come ready to play no matter what the other team tries to do," she said.

The Lady Rattlers shot 9-of-28 (32.1 percent) from the field in the first half. In the second 6-of-35 (17.1 percent), for a game total of 15-of-63 (23.8 percent). From the three-point line, the Lady Rattlers shot 2-of-8 in the first half (25 percent) and 1-of-12 (8.3 percent), for a game total of 3-of-20 (15 percent). The Lady Rattlers shot 10-of-15 from the three-point line for the game for a 66.7 percent average.

The Pirates shot 7-of-27 from the field in the first half (25.9 percent) and 9-of-29 (31 percent) in the second half, for a game total of 28.6 percent from the field. From three-point range, the Rattlers 1-of-7 (14.3 percent) in the first half and 1-of-5 (20 percent) in the second half. From the free throw line, the Lady Pirates were 12-of-17 for the game (70.6 percent).

The defining time of the game was the start of the second half. The Lady Rattlers took a 24-21 lead into the half and built up a 27-21 lead early in the second half. The Lady Rattlers would allow the Lady Pirates to take the lead at 16:44 in the second half on a Jericka Jenkins jumper. The Lady Rattlers retook the lead at 7:24 remaining in the game on a Grice three-pointer. Hampton would battle back to tie the game at the 6:18 mark. With 3:11 remaining in the game, the Rattlers would relinquish the lead for good as Avant sunk two free throws.

The Lady Rattlers will return to action on Monday as they face the Norfolk State Spartans at 7:30 p.m. in the Al Lawson Center.

COURTESY: FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
VISIT: FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY
VISIT: FAMUATHLETICS.COM

Xavier Gold Nuggets beat Dillard, win GCAC title outright

NEW ORLEANS -- Jasmine Grant scored 16 points Saturday to lead NAIA No. 19 Xavier University of Louisiana to a 59-53 women's basketball victory against Dillard which gave the Gold Nuggets the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season championship.

Xavier (22-8 overall, 12-2 GCAC) won the title by a game over Talladega. The Gold Nuggets will play eighth-seeded Fisk on Thursday in the opening round of the conference tournament at Jacksonville, Fla.
Grant, a senior guard, scored eight points and made a pair of 3-pointers in each half. Her 3-pointer at 5:05 of the first half put Xavier ahead to stay, 21-18.

Xavier led 27-23 and had a pair of 12-point leads in the second half, the last 47-35 when SiMon Franklin made two free throws with 6:58 remaining. Dillard then rallied to within two points twice, but Grant and Paige Gauthier each made a pair of free throws in the final 15 seconds to clinch the victory.

Franklin scored 11 points for the Gold Nuggets, who closed the regular season with four consecutive victories, and Jazmoné Kelly had game-highs of eight rebounds and four steals.

Jazzmin Smith had 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals for Dillard (13-11, 9-5), and Ariel Mitchell scored 14.

Dillard shot 30.9 percent from the floor, and Xavier shot 30 percent. Xavier outscored the Lady Bleu Devils 12-0 from behind the arc and was better at the line, making 19-of-27 free throws to Dillard's 19-of-34.
Xavier snapped Dillard's four-game win streak and beat the Lady Bleu Devils for the seventh straight time. XU won 74-60 at The Barn on Jan. 28.

Dillard finished in a three-way tie with SUNO and Tougaloo in the GCAC standings at 9-5. Talladega finished second at 11-3 following its 84-61 home victory against Fisk, and SUNO won 90-83 at home against Tougaloo.

The regular-season championship is the sixth in 13 seasons for XU coach Bo Browder and the second in three years. Although the Gold Nuggets were 6-0 in the conference a year ago, the GCAC did not award a regular-season championship because the members did not play a double round-robin schedule. Xavier will head to Jacksonville as the two-time defending tournament champion and aim for a 16th bid in 18 seasons to the NAIA National Championship.

BOX SCORE

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

Staying Home: Two Eagles part of ECSU recruiting class

ELIZABETH CITY, North Carolina - Elizabeth City State’s football recruiting class took shape on Thursday as Northeastern’s Karem Felton and Daniel Hill were recognized by the school for signing their National Letter of Intent.  Felton and Hill though will likely be at different positions than what many Eagles fans saw as they led the team to a 10-win season.

Felton, who played quarterback his senior season, was an All-State defensive back his junior season. Felton says he has been given a choice which position he will play for the Vikings.

“They basically said it was up to me (on which position I want to play),” said Felton, who also considered UNC Pembroke and Norfolk State. “It’s a chance to play in front of your home crowd. It’s like a dream.”



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Oakland Golden Grizzlies Falls in Doubleheader at Hampton 5-2, 3-2

HAMPTON, Va. - Erin Galloway went 3-for-6 driving in two runs and Alyssa Shriver added three hits as the Oakland softball team dropped two games to Hampton on Thursday afternoon 5-2 and 3-2 at Lady Pirates Softball Complex.

"When we start doing what we know to do and play as a team, the wins will come," said assistant coach Monique Johnson. "Complacency has hurt us, but we are looking ahead to the final four games of our spring trip."

In the first game, Oakland scored the first run of the game as Colleen Zimmerman scored on a wild pitch after reaching base on an error as OU led 1-0.

The Lady Pirates took the lead in the fourth inning with five runs as Nina Ferguson and Travonna Byrd had back-to-back two-RBI doubles with the bases loaded as the Golden Grizzlies trailed 5-1.

OU's Shannon Cleveland singled and eventually scored on an error and wild pitch in the fifth inning as the Grizzlies fell 5-2.

Katie Moy (0-2) threw 3.0 innings giving up four earned runs on three hits, walked three and struck out four. Hampton's Byrd (1-0) threw a complete game giving up two runs, none earned, and struck out three.

In the second game, Hampton's Maragret Wilkins broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the seventh with a game-winning, RBI single to right field to score Kelsei Saunders for a final score of 3-2.

Oakland scored first as Galloway drove in Erika Polidori on a two-out double to take a 1-0 after the first inning. The Lady Pirates took back the lead in the fifth inning as Carla Trimble hit an RBI double and Shine Huwe scored on a Wilkes fielder's choice for a 2-1 advantage.

The Golden Grizzlies tied up the game in the sixth inning as Galloway had her second RBI double of the game scoring Shriver who led off the inning with a double.

Bailee Braunreuther (0-2) threw 6.2 innings giving up three earned runs on nine hits and struck out four. Hampton's Jailynn Jackson (1-0) threw a complete game giving up two earned runs and struck out three.

Oakland will be on the diamond tomorrow as they take on Longwood in a doubleheader at Lancer Field starting at 2 p.m.

Game 1 Box Score |Game 2 Box Score

COURTESY: OAKLAND UNIVERSITY MEDIA RELATIONS