A&T Aggies Free Throws Take Down Radford 81-77

GREENSBORO, North Carolina  -  Ya Anderson scored a career high for the second straight game, this time pouring in 21, but it was not enough to lift Radford in its road game at North Carolina A&T. The Aggies came away with an 81-77 victory.

Radford (6-8) entered the contest with a chance to even its out-of-conference record heading into Saturday's league opener vs. Charleston Southern. It was North Carolina A&T (6-9), however, that overcame a burst by R.J. Price in the opening minutes of the game and took control midway in the first half.

Price, who was making his first start in four games after recovering from an ankle injury, hit his first three shots, all from behind the three-point arc, to pace the Highlanders. But Aggies responded with a 7-0 run to push the lead to eight points with 10 minutes to play in the half.

RU responded with a strong defensive effort from Jalen Carethers and Lucas Dyer to hold the Aggies to just five more points in the final 10 minutes of the half. The Highlanders briefly took the lead 28-27 before an Austin Witten three-point basket gave A&T a 30-28 lead at the intermission.

Radford head coach Mike Jones applauded his team's effort in the latter part of the half. "We really started to defend, but couldn't sustain that momentum in the second half." The Aggies scored 51 points in the second half and shot 59 percent from the field.

A 10-4 run to open the second half by A&T put Radford in catch-up mode for the better part of the second half. To the Highlanders' credit, they did respond, mostly led by Anderson's hot shooting. The freshman scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half, including four of his career-high five three-point baskets.

Price added 14 points, and Javonte Green overcame early foul trouble to score 10 points. Green also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Carthers finished with eight points, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots.

Statistically, the game about as even as possible. Both teams committed 14 turnovers and grabbed 38 rebounds. A&T outshot the Highlanders from the field, 49 percent to 46. The difference in the game came at the free throw line. The Aggies were 14-22, while just 4-8.


COURTESY RADFORD UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

Winthrop Eagles Fall 64-57 To North Carolina Central

NCCU Head Coach LeVelle Moton's Postgame Comments (Winthrop)

ROCK HILL, South Carolina  —  Winthrop couldn't overcome a slow start to the second half as it fell 64-57 to North Carolina Central, Wednesday evening at the Winthrop coliseum in men's basketball non-conference action.

With the loss, the Eagles finish their pre-conference schedule at 6-6 while NCCU improved to 7-7.

The second half didn't go well for the Eagles after Andre Smith made it a two-point game with a three pointer on Winthrop's first possession of the second half at the 19:25 mark. NCCU responded with a 7-0 run capped off by a Jeremy Ingram three-pointer for a 36-27 lead with 16:45 remaining.

Winthrop's Larry Brown ended the run with a jumper in the lane, but NCCU scored eight straight points to build its largest lead of the game, 44-29 with 14:55 to play. Over the eight and a half minutes the Eagles worked their way back into the game and cut the lead to single digits after a Derrick Henry pull-up jumper at the foul line in transition. Henry's jumper with 3:55 remaining cut the lead to five points, 53-48. The lead extended back to seven points after Ray Willis dropped two free throws only to have Brown score again on a tip-in to cut the lead back to five with 2:48 to play.

The Eagles defense got the stop it needed but had some wind knocked out of them on the offensive end when Brown looked like he had been bowled over and was on the ground, but was whistled for the illegal screen and the offensive foul. NCCU went down and scored on a jumper with 1:07 to play.

“I give a lot of credit to them (NCCU),” said Winthrop head coach Pat Kelsey. “I told our team I think an NCAA tournament type team beat us today. I may be wrong as I haven't seen the rest of their conference but I think they have a chance of representing their conference in the NCAA Tournament this year. A good team beat us tonight and I got to tip my hat to them.”

Henry led the team in scoring with 16 points on 6-for-13 shooting while Brown added a career-high 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting and also pulled down seven rebounds. Gideon Gamble chipped in with nine points and three assists.

Winthrop fell behind 9-2 early as Ingram scored the first nine points of the game for NCCU. Both teams struggled shooting in the middle part of the first half as Winthrop slowly worked its way to a 10-8 deficit after Brown knocked down a jumper in the lane with 10:44 on the clock. NCCU answered with a deep three on the wing by Willis followed by another three by Drimir Ferguson for a 16-8 lead with 7:19 to play. The two teams traded baskets the next few possessions and NCCU even extended the lead to seven points with just under four minutes before the Eagles fought their way back.

Gamble capped off a 9-2 run with a jumper and a fast break lay-up off the assist from Henry to tie the game at 24-24 with 1:19 on the clock. The tie was short lived as Antonin Galaya pulled up quickly for a three to lead 27-24 where the score would stand at halftime.

Winthrop struggled to hit shots early in the half but finished the half shooting 39 percent while NCCU shot 44 percent (4-for-9 behind the arc). The Eagles, averaging 21 three-point attempts per game, only attempted three shots behind the arc in the first half.

NCCU was led by Ingram's 22 points as he was 8-for-8 at the foul line to pace his team that finished 18-for-20 at the charity stripe on the night. Stanton Kidd added 14 points and eight rebounds while Willis had 10 points.

The Eagles finished the night shooting 44 percent from the field and allowed NCCU to shoot 50 percent, which is the first in the last nine games to do so. Winthrop finished with a season-low 10 three-point attempts and was just 2-for-10. NCCU finished 8-for-17 behind the arc.

Winthrop will open up its Big South Conference slate this Saturday, Jan. 5 at 2 p.m. when it hosts High Point University.

Box Score
www.winthropphotos.com 

COURTESY WINTHROP UNIVERSITY AND NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS   

Marshall's Offense Struggles in 53-51 Loss to Delaware State Hornets

HUNTINGTON, West Virginia  --  Elijah Pittman scored 17 points and Dennis Tinnon had 13, but overall the points were hard to come by in a 53-51 loss by the Marshall men's basketball team to Delaware State on Wednesday at the Cam Henderson Center.

Tinnon had 10 rebounds to go with his point total for his fourth double-double of the season. The senior forward was 4-of-10 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

Pittman scored a game-high 17 points on 4-of-10 shooting including 2-of-4 from three-point range. The junior forward also shot well from the free throw line, making 7-of-8.

The two teams combined to score just 38 points in the first half as the Hornets (6-8) led 21-17. The Thundering Herd (7-7) shot just 30.4 percent from the field in the first half, while the Hornets shot 31.0 percent.

"We have to come to grips with what we are," said head coach Tom Herrion. "We are so inefficient on offense that it is damaging to us night-in and night-out." 

Delaware State led the entirety of the first half and reached its largest lead of 12, with 15:56 to play in the game. The Hornets led 31-21 at the 14:36 mark of the second half before the Herd went on an 18-7 run to get within one point, 38-37 with 5:42 remaining.

A pair of Pittman free throw gave the Herd its first lead of the game, 43-41 with 3:02 remaining.

A 46-46 tie was broke by a three-pointer by the Hornets' Jabari Joyner to give Delaware State a 49-46 lead with 58 seconds to play. Two more free throws by Pittman brought the Herd within one point, 49-48 with 43 seconds left, but that was as close as Marshall got due to clutch free throw shooting down the stretch by the Hornets.

Both teams shot better in the second half as Marshall was 41.7 percent and DSU was 50.0 percent.

For the game, Marshall finished 17-for-47 (36.2 percent) and DSU was 19-for-49 (38.8 percent).

"Our defense was good enough to win tonight," Herrion said. "But offensively, we had 15 turnovers. We left 10 points on the foul line."

Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery
Box Score (PDF)


COURTESY MARSHALL UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

Savannah State Falls to Western Illinois 39-35

MACOMB, Illinois -- The Fighting Leathernecks trailed Savannah State 23-12 at halftime, but outscored the Tigers 27-12 in the second half, and held SSU to five points in the final 12 minutes of play to pick up their eighth straight win and improve to 11-3 on the season.

The 11-3 start is Western's best start since the 1979-80 season, and its eight consecutive victories is the most since the 1997-98 Leathernecks won nine straight.

Savannah State (5-8) pressured the Leathernecks throughout the first half, forcing nine Western turnovers while the Leathernecks shot just 33% from the field. Western came out hot early in the second and played defense as they crawled their way back to even things 33-33 with two minutes to play.

An Adam Link free throw gave the Leathernecks their first lead of the game with just over a minute to play, and Western was able to hold off the Tigers until the final buzzer sounded.
Link was the only Leatherneck to score double figures, recording 10 points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field, and going 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

Terell Parks tallied nine points in the win to go along with his eight rebounds and career-high seven blocks.

Don McAvoy III and Jack Houpt each finished with six points.

Western ended up shooting 44.4% from the field, while the Tigers shot just 32.6% from the floor.

The Leathernecks entered the game ranked fifth in the country in personal fouls (13.1 per game), and committed 16 less fouls than Savannah State Wednesday, 24-8.

Khiry White led the Tigers with 10 points.

Western continues Summit League play Saturday evening (Jan. 2) at home against IUPUI. Tip is slated for 7 p.m.

COURTESY WESTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

Lady Rattlers Can't Hold Off FIU Panthers in 70-69 Loss

MIAMI, Florida  --  Finda Mansare nailed a jumper for FIU with six seconds left in the game to give the Panthers a 70-69 win over the Florida A&M Women's Basketball team, here Wednesday afternoon at the Al Lawson Center.

The Panthers took a 68-64 lead on a pair of free throws by Jerica Coley with 1:41 to go in the game.
FAMU regained the lead as Kimberly Sparkman scored the next five points for the Lady Rattlers as she she made a layup with 48 seconds left, followed by a three-pointer with 21 seconds left in the game, giving FAMU a 69-68 lead.

The Lady Rattlers opened the first half with a 6-4 lead on a made free throw by Keturah Martin.
FIU would tie the game at 6-6, the first of 10 ties in the game on a pair of free throws by Marita Davydova with 15:59 to go in the first.

Then FIU would extend their lead to 16-12 on a three pointer by Zsofia Labady at the 11:56 mark of the half, capping an 8-3 run by the Panthers.

FAMU would regain the lead as they went on a 10-4 run, giving them a 22-20 lead, capped off by Sparkman layup with 8:51 left in the first.

The Lady Rattlers would then close out the half with a 15-8 run as Cristal Lirano scored FAMU's final two points of the half on a pair of free throws with one second left in the game.

FAMU finished the first half shooting 50-percent from the field (14-of-28), while FIU also shot 50-percent (11-of-22).

FIU opened the second half with a 7-0 run as they tied the game at 37-37, capped off by a layup Davydova with 17:29 to go in the game.

The combination of Sparkman and Grice would give the Rattlers a 42-37 lead as Sparkman made a layup at the 17:17, followed by a Grice three-pointer with 16:41 left.

FIU would regain the lead again on a Davydova layup with 13:33 left in the game, giving the Panthers a 45-44 lead.

A pair of field goals by Grice and Martin gave the Lady Rattlers a 50-47 lead with 11:50 left in the contest.

In the final 11 minutes, the lead would change times four times as FIU held on for the 70-69 win.
The Lady Rattlers finished the contest shooting 44.4 percent (28-of-63), while the Panthers shot 47.3 percent (26-of-55). FIU held the rebounding advantage over FAMU, 42-27.

FAMU (3-10) was paced by both Grice and Sparkman as they both combined for 48 points with Sparkman scoring a team-high 28 points, and Grice chipping in 20 points. Martin led the Lady Rattles on the boards with five.

FIU (8-5) had three Panthers to score in double figures as Coley scored a game-high 35 points to lead all scorers, followed by Davydova with a double-double as she scored 11 points and pulled down 11 boards, while Mansare added 10.

COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION RELEASE

Franklin earns GCAC's weekly award after 2 career highs

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's SiMon Franklin, who recorded career highs in points and rebounds this past weekend, has been chosen Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week in women's basketball for Dec. 24-30.

Franklin, a 5-foot-7 senior guard from Baton Rouge, La., and a graduate of St. Joseph's Academy, averaged 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and three steals in two games at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Montgomery, Ala. She had 25 points — 16 in the first half — nine rebounds and three steals Saturday in the Gold Nuggets' 66-64 loss to NAIA No. 24 Faulkner. Her 3-pointer with 22 seconds remaining tied the score at 64. Franklin produced 10 points and three steals Friday in a 63-47 victory against Belhaven.

Franklin needs 76 points to become the 19th XU woman to reach 1,000 in a career. Franklin began the season 29th on XU's career list and has climbed to 22nd with 924 points. In 21st place is Alisheian Graham (1999-2003) with 944 points.

Xavier, 9-2 and ranked ninth in NAIA Division I, will play 12th-ranked Bethel (Tenn.) at 2 p.m. Wednesday at XU's new Convocation Center. The Nuggets will open defense of their GCAC championship at 3 p.m. EST Saturday against Edward Waters at Jacksonville, Fla.

By Ed Cassiere, SID
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

Southern men set to begin SWAC play against TSU

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  --  Last season, the Southern men’s basketball team finished with its best record in Southwestern Athletic Conference play since 2005.

The 13-5 mark was good enough for second in the conference, but the Jaguars couldn’t reap any of the benefits of their success because of academic-related penalties.

The NCAA had handed down a postseason ban on SU, thanks to substandard scores in its Academic Progress Rate.

It was Roman Banks’ first season in Baton Rouge, and the newly hired coach didn’t limit his accomplishments to the court in his inaugural campaign. In the past year, Southern ranked in the top three percentiles in Division I APR turnaround, making the Jaguars eligible for postseason play this year.

“We took the job in a very tough situation, and our penalty was practice time, no postseason play and scholarships,” Banks said. “We came in and turned academics around and wrote a waiver to the NCAA allowing us to go to postseason play. We can go to postseason play, but then there’s still a three-year period of this probation that we’re on. That means that we can’t falter.”


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