ASU fires athletic director Stacy Danley

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- After nearly four months of paid administrative leave and a contentious termination hearing, Alabama State fired athletic director Stacy Danley.

Danley confirmed to the Montgomery Advertiser on Friday evening that a hearing officer had upheld several charges against him and that he had received a termination letter from the university on Wednesday, ending his two-plus-year tenure in charge of the Hornets’ athletic programs.

“I’m very disappointed in how the hearing process played out,” Danley said. “I do appreciate the opportunity I was given, and I’ll never be able to replace the experience of working at ASU during the time of building a stadium. I worked with a lot of good people and great student-athletes.”

Danley wouldn’t go into the specific reasons he was fired, saying only that the university listed 10 charges against him at the hearing and that the hearing officer upheld four of them. Those four charges were deemed sufficient cause for termination.

Reached in his office at ASU Friday evening, executive vice president John Knight wouldn’t comment on Danley’s termination or on why the second-year AD was placed on paid leave four months earlier.

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Alabama State releases charges in Danley firing

MONTGOMERY, Alabama  --  Alabama State University released a list of charges Saturday that were used to justify the dismissal of athletic director Stacy Danley.

According to records requested by the Montgomery Advertiser and other media outlets, ASU executive vice president John Knight recommended Danley's termination based on 10 charges related to his job performance.

Six of the charges were dismissed, but the following four were upheld in a "pre-termination" meeting Nov. 15-16:

- Failure to ensure paperwork was submitted in a timely manner for a student athlete's reinstatement. The student's name was redacted by the university, but he is described as a high-profile football transfer from a FBS institutiion.

- Failure to ensure accountability in the athletic department, including failure to properly execute staff evaluations.

- Behaving in an "unprofessional, disrespectful and hostile manner" toward Knight in a June 4 meeting on academic supports for student athletes. Danley's manner is described as "insubordinate" by associate provost and vice president of enrollment management Cherise Peters, who was present at the meeting.

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Gold Nuggets win at Edward Waters in GCAC opener

2012-13 GOLD NUGGETS
ROSTER

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Paige Gauthier's 12 points and career-high 11 rebounds led NAIA No. 9 Xavier University of Louisiana in a 77-59 women's basketball victory Saturday against Edward Waters. It was the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

The Gold Nuggets (11-2) won for the ninth time in 10 games. They trailed 11-5 after seven minutes but outscored the Lady Tigers 34-18 to take a 39-29 halftime lead. It was Xavier's most first-half points since its opener Nov. 3. Jessica Savannah's basket at 5:30 put Xavier ahead to stay, 21-19.

Gauthier, a reserve junior guard, scored in double figures for a career-best third consecutive game. She had eight points, including two 3-pointers, and nine rebounds in the first half. Her previous high for rebounds in a game was eight. Gauthier is the only XU guard since the start of the 2003-04 season to record a double-double.

Carmen Holcombe also scored 12 points for Xavier — she reached double figures for the second straight game — and Danielle Tucker grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds. Talor Hixon had a season-high seven assists with no turnovers in 26 minutes.

Edward Waters (4-9) cut Xavier's lead to 49-44 after Amber Antoine's basket with 11:40 remaining, but the Nuggets outscored the Lady Tigers 28-15 thereafter. Gauthier hit her career-best third 3-pointer at 7:45 to make it 59-47 at 7:45.

Jacqui Harries and Daphne Walker led Edward Waters with 11 points each.

Xavier committed 14 turnovers to match a season low, outshot the Lady Tigers 40 to 35.2 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 66-36. The Nuggets grabbed their most rebounds in a game since the start of 2003-04.

Xavier won its GCAC opener for the 20th time in 21 seasons and is 37-2 in GCAC regular-season games since the start of 2009-10.

Xavier will remain on the road and play Talladega at 5 p.m. Monday. It will be a rematch of last season's GCAC Tournament final, which the Nuggets won for the third consecutive year. The Nuggets' next home game will start at 3 p.m. next Saturday against Tougaloo in XU's new Convocation Center.

Box score

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

Joseph rallies Gold Rush past Edward Waters in 2nd half

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Wanto Joseph scored 18 points Saturday and led a second-half rally which carried NAIA No. 16 Xavier University of Louisiana to a 67-58 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory against Edward Waters.

It was the conference opener for both teams. Xavier, the defending GCAC regular-season co-champion, is 13-3 and has won 7-of-8 on the road. Edward Waters is 2-8.

Joseph, a 5-foor-9 senior guard from New Orleans and a graduate of O. Perry Walker High School, has scored in double figures in every game this season. He accounted for all the points — scoring 10 and assisting on a pair of 2-pointers — during a 14-0 run which lasted 5½ minutes and turned a 52-47 deficit into a 61-52 lead with 47 seconds remaining. Jospeh scored 14 second-half points.

Denzell Erves had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Xavier — his third consecutive double-double, his 10th of the season and 17th of his career — Renard Smith scored a career-high 14 points, and Anthony Simmons had 10 points and seven rebounds.

Xavier trailed 32-28 at halftime. Smith, Simmons and Erves scored six points each for the Rush in the first half.

Nathaniel Hill scored 19 points, 14 in the first half, for the Tigers.

Xavier outshot Edward Waters 48.9 to 41.4 percent from the floor — 48 to 28.6 percent in the second half — and outrebounded the Tigers 33-29. Xavier made six 3-pointers — Smith had a career-high three, and freshman reserve RJ Daniels made 2-of-3.

It was the second time this season the Gold Rush won after trailing at halftime. It was the first time the Rush accomplished that on an opponent's court since December 2010. Xavier won its GCAC opener for the third consecutive season.

Xavier will remain on the road and play Talladega at 7 p.m. Monday. The next Rush home game will start at 5 p.m. next Saturday against Tougaloo in XU's new Convocation Center.

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

FVSU’s Bartley ties HBCU record for wins

COACH LONNIE BARTLEY
623-216 Career Record
FORT VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY

FORT VALLEY, Georgia  --  Fort Valley State women’s head coach Lonnie Bartley tied the record for wins by a women’s head coach at an historically black college or university Saturday with the Lady Wildcats’ 73-63 win over visiting Kentucky State.

Now, Bartley will try to break the record on Thursday at Tuskegee. FVSU improved to 6-5 overall and 2-0 in the SIAC with its third straight win.

Bartley is 623-216, in his 29th season at his alma mater.

The mark of 623 wins was held by the late Nelson Brownlee of Claflin for the most wins by a women’s head coach at an historically black college or university. Brownlee, who retired in 2001 and died two years later, went 623-192 at Claflin when the current SIAC member competed in the NAIA.

Bartley is fourth on the Division II wins list of active coaches, 11 wins behind Tom Shirley of Philadelphia University, who is 634-295.

Bartley is eighth among active Division II women’s head coaches with a 74.3 winning percentage. He is 15th all-time in percentage and eighth in wins.

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HBU Tayler Jefferson's Career Night Not Enough in Women's Basketball's OT Loss to Delaware State

HOUSTON, Texas  –  Tayler Jefferson scored a career-high 29 points, leading four Huskies in double figures, but visiting Delaware State scored four points in the final two seconds of overtime to defeat Houston Baptist, 84-83, Saturday evening from Sharp Gym.

Jefferson went 8-of-10 from the floor, 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, and 8-of-10 from the line in her memorable night for HBU (3-13). Shanice Steenholdt had 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Rachel Arthur scored a career-high 14 points, while Erin McGarrachan added 10. HBU had a season-high eight blocks in the game, four by Ashleigh Nwanguma and three by Steenholdt.

Tierra Hawkins came off the bench to score 29 points for Delaware State (3-10), while grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. Tasia Bristow had 18 points, while Keyanna Tate had 12 points and Chelsea Dukes had 10.

There were three ties in the first four minutes of the game before HBU used a 13-4 run to lead DSU by 9, 19-10, with 13:35 left in the first half.

Leading 27-19 with seven minutes to go in the opening half, HBU scored six-straight points for its largest lead of the game, 14, 33-19, with 5:22 remaining, after a layup by Wiebke Bruns.



The Lady Hornets closed out the first half on a 16-5 run to trail HBU by just three, 38-35.

Jefferson led HBU with eight points at halftime, while Hawkins had 16.

Dukes' three pointer two-and-a-half minutes into the second half tied the game at 40-all. A three pointer by Jefferson jump-started the Huskies, who led the Lady Hornets by seven, 49-42, after a layup by Steenholdt.

DSU answered with seven-straight points to tie the game at 49-all with 9:41 remaining in regulation. The ninth-straight points by the Lady Hornets, by Bristow at the 9:28-mark, gave DSU its first lead of the contest, at 51-49.

After the seventh tie of the game, the two teams traded baskets and leads before Jefferson took over, nailing two treys in a span of less than a minute to give the Huskies a 57-55 lead with 6:49 left in regulation.

The Lady Hornets got as close to two points and trailed the Huskies by as many as seven, on two separate occasions. With HBU leading 67-60 with 1:20 left in regulation, DSU outscored HBU 10-3 to send the game to overtime. N'Kayah Kersey hit a three-pointer to start the rally and Bristow made a basket and the ensuing free throw for a three-point play to tie the game at 70.

With momentum clearly on the DSU side, the Lady Hornets opened overtime on an 8-3 run for their largest lead of the game, 78-73, with 2:26 remaining.

HBU battled back to tie the game at 78-all with 1:36 remaining, following a basket by McGarrachan and free throws by Devyn Weymouth and Steenholdt.

HBU led DSU by three, 83-80, with 10 seconds remaining after a made free throw by McGarrachan. After an HBU timeout, Dukes banked in an off-balance long two-pointer with two seconds remaining. The leading scorer for the Lady Hornets, Hawkins, then stole the ensuing in-bounds pass, spun around, and made a layup at the buzzer, completing an improbable comeback by DSU.

HBU will look to regroup as the Huskies head to New Orleans to face the New Orleans Privateers on Sat., Jan. 12 at 2 pm.

Box Score

COURTESY HOUSTON BAPTIST UNIVERSITY HUSKIES ATHLETICS

Tennessee State Men's Basketball Rallies to Knock Off JSU 66-57

Jacksonville, Alabama  -  The Tennessee State men's basketball team extended its win streak to four games with a 66-57 comeback win over Jacksonville State on Saturday.

The victory pushes the Tigers' record to 9-7 overall and they lead the OVC's East Division with a perfect 3-0 mark.

It is the first time since the 1994-95 season that the Tigers started 3-0 in OVC play. TSU is also 13-2 in its last 15 conference games.

For the second game in a row, M.J. Rhett came up big for the Tigers, scoring ten points and grabbing a career-high 16 boards.
 

Patrick Miller led TSU in scoring for the third game in a row with 19 points on 3-of-9 shooting. Miller was also 12-of-16 from the line and tallied a game-high four assists.

Kellen Thornton and Jordan Cyphers also finished in double-figures in points with 14 and 11, respectively. Thornton also had a double-double with 14 boards.

Tennessee State came out of the gate strong, winning the tip and starting on an 8-0 run. Rhett had four points during the charge including a powerful two-handed alley-oop that added an exclamation mark to the end of the streak.

Jordan Cyphers provided the assist on Rhett's slam and then found Thornton on another lob at the 11:50 mark to give TSU a 14-8 advantage.

Thornton had a team-high eight points on four-of-seven shooting (57 percent) and seven boards at the break.

The Tigers clung to their lead for much of the first half until a 10-0 JSU run made the score 24-20 in favor of the Gamecocks. Jacksonville State ended the run by Darion Rackley converting a rare four-point play with just over three minutes to play in the opening stanza.

Cyphers narrowly missed a half-court heave as the first half horn expired, and TSU went into halftime trailing the Gamecocks 24-26.

All of TSU's nine first half field goals occurred inside the paint, allowing the Tigers an 18-8 advantage down low and a ten percent higher shooting percentage (38 to 28).

Tennessee State hit its first outside jump shot five minutes into the second half when Tashan Fredrick canned a three to tie the game at 34 apiece.

The score remained close for the better part of the half, but TSU eventually went up by five when Cyphers converted a layup with11:58 left in the game.

From there, JSU wound up putting TSU in the double bonus with more than eight minutes left in the game. The Tigers responded by nailing 10 free throws, which were the team's only points during the seven-minute stretch.

Thornton finally broke the charity stripe streak by slamming home a dunk with just over two minutes left in the game. His slam put the Tigers ahead for good at 60-53.

Thornton added another slam at the 24 second mark and TSU rallied to defeat the Gamecocks 66-57.

TSU held the Gamecocks to 17-of-52 shooting for just a 32.7 percent line. The Tigers also dominated JSU on the glass, winning the battle 47-28.


COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Howard Snaps Four Game Losing Streak

Baltimore, Maryland  --  Mike Phillips scored a team-high 15 points to lead four players in double as Howard University defeated Coppin State, 70-60 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's game at the Physical Education Complex. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Bison.

Howard (4-12, 1-1 in the MEAC) took the early lead and never trailed, en route to a 31-25 lead at the half. Prince Okoroh (9 points) and Simuel Frazier (8 points) combined for 17 of Howard's first half points. The Bison shot 54 percent from the field in one of its better shooting performances of the year.

In the second half, Phillips picked up the slack, tallying 10 of his points. The Bison got some surprise production from its bench as Brandon Ford scored a season-high 10 points, eight coming after intermission.

A combination of some stifling defense and good work on the boards propelled Howard to a key 10-1 run that opened a 15-point lead, the largest of the game. Phillips, Okoroh and Simuel Frazier took turns to keep the Coppin State (3-13, 0-1 in the MEAC) at bay.

The Eagles were able to make a run and reduce the deficit to eight but Ford and Tre Lee were able to convert from the free throw line to put the game away. For the game, Howard shot 77 percent from the charity stripe.

On a down note, Calvin Thompson, the team leader and second leading scorer, went down with an injury at the start of the second half with an ankle injury that has been diagnosed as a dislocation. His status for the future is unknown.

Phillips added 7 rebounds to his 15 points, Okoroh and Frazier each scored 13 and Ford contributed 10.

The Eagles were led by Troy Franklin, who led all scorers with 24 and Michael Murray, who chipped in with 11.

NEXT UP: Howard hosts Hampton University on Saturday, January 12 at 4 pm in its conference home opener.

COURTESY HOWARD UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION