CAU Athletics Celebrate 82 Scholar-Athletes

ATLANTA, Georgia  —  The Clark Atlanta University’s Department of Athletics will honor 82 scholar-athletes who have achieved a 3.0 semester or cumulative grade point average as of fall 2012 including two football student-athletes who earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

Freshman kicker/punter Austin Castillas, a biology major from Gilbert, Arizona, along with linebacker Bernard Williams, an SIAC second-team All-Conference player from Tifton County High School in Omega, Georgia, topped all student-athletes with a 4.0 grade point average (GPA). Collectively, the CAU football team will celebrate its highest number of the scholar-athletes in recent years with 20 while 16 other student-athletes have earned a 3.5 or higher cumulative GPA as listed below.

“ I applaud our student-athletes and staff who continue to uphold the department’ s 5A’s standard of excellence by maintaining high Academic achievement, producing Athletic Championships, serving as Ambassadors, and being Accountability and Accessible as leaders on and off the playing field,” said Director of Athletics Dr. Tamica Smith-Jones. “We will sustain our overall success with continued support of our faculty and administration.”

Student-athletes in all 11 sports will be recognized for their academic achievement Saturday, Jan. 19^th, during half-time of the women’s basketball game as the Lady Panthers and Panthers tip-off against conference foe Claflin University at 6 & 8 p.m., respectively, in Epps Gymnasium.

Student-Athletes with a Cumulative GPA of 3.5 or Higher

Football
Justin Parham-Mass Media Arts (3.81), Terrance Pryor- Criminal Justice (3.66), Jeremy Roberts- Social Work (3.66) and Vincent Hembrick- Biology (3.51).
Cheerleading
Deja Francis-Psychology (3.71, Tatiana Smith-Accounting (3.66) and Breanna Collier- Social Work (3.62)
Baseball
Kelvin Tanner –Computer Information Systems (3.55)
Men’s Cross-Country
Tyree Squires-Math (3.64)
Women’s Cross-Country/Track and Field
Ariel Lomax-Accounting (3.7) and Nekesha Whitaker –Criminal Justice (3.73)
Women’s Tennis
Kasey Dawson-Psychology (3.76), Brionne Bachus- Accounting (3.78) and
Vonnick Boyogueno- Accounting (3.75)
Women’s Track and Field
Asia McClain- Education (3.56)
Volleyball
Kailyn Blackmon- Psychology (3.74)
 
COURTESY CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Gold Nuggets in NAIA top 10 for third consecutive poll

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana remained ninth Tuesday in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll. This is the fourth poll of 2012-13, the third of the regular season and the first since Dec. 11.

The Gold Nuggets are in the top 10 for the third consecutive poll and in the top 25 for the 35th consecutive time dating to January 2010. The latter streak is the longest during Bo Browder's 14 seasons as head coach.

Voting was based on games through Sunday. Xavier lost 68-65 at Talladega the following day to fall to 11-3 overall and 1-1 in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference.

The Nuggets' most notable victory between polls was a 75-67 double-overtime victory against Bethel (Tenn.) on Jan. 2. Bethel is 14th in this week's poll.

The Gold Nuggets will play their next four games at XU's new Convocation Center, including Tougaloo at 3 p.m. Saturday and city rival SUNO at 5:30 p.m. Monday.

The next poll will be announced Jan. 15.

NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, Jan. 6) Rank Team Record Points Last 1 Lubbock Christian (10) 16-0 281 1 2 Vanguard (1) 9-0 272 3 3 Freed-Hardeman 14-1 263 2 4 Westminster (Utah) 14-2 254 5 5 Lee (Tenn.) 13-1 241 6 6 Oklahoma City 10-2 239 8 7 Cumberland 14-1 225 7 8 The Master's 13-0 221 13 9 Xavier 11-2 205 9 10 Campbellsville 12-3 196 10 11 MidAmerica Nazarene 14-2 194 11 12 Westmont 9-3 182 4 13 Shawnee State 14-3 173 15 14 Bethel (Tenn.) 13-3 171 12 15 Rogers State 12-4 149 14 16 William Woods 11-1 144 18 17 Central Methodist 15-1 135 25 18 Auburn Montgomery 13-3 114 20 19 Lyon 11-2 108 23 20 Wiley 13-1 103 RV 21 Benedictine (Kan.) 13-3 93 22 22 Faulkner 14-3 89 24 23 Georgetown (Ky.) 9-6 85 21 24 Our Lady of the Lake 13-1 83 19 25 LSU-Shreveport 10-2 81 17 Others receiving votes: Carroll (Mont.) 46, St. Catharine 41, Cumberlands 33, Biola 30, Columbia (Mo.) 18, Robert Morris (Chicago) 16, Coastal Georgia 13, Southern Poly 3.

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

Erves earns fifth career GCAC Player of the Week award

DENZELL ERVES

NEW ORLEANS — For the second time this season and the fifth time in his career, Xavier University of Louisiana's Denzell Erves has been chosen Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week in men's basketball.

Erves, a 6-foot-7 senior forward from Vicksburg, Miss., and a graduate of Vicksburg High School, won the award for Dec. 31-Jan. 6 after averaging 19 points and 12.5 rebounds and shooting 59.1 percent from the floor and 75 percent from the line in two games, both XU road victories. He recorded double-doubles in both games, giving him three in a row, 10 this season and 17 in his career. Against Belhaven in a 73-63 victory on New Year's Eve, he became the first Gold Rush player of the past nine seasons to record 20 or more points and 10 or more rebounds in consecutive games. He tied his career high of 23 points, and his 15 rebounds were a career best. He then had 15 points and 10 rebounds Saturday in a 67-58 victory at Edward Waters.

Erves — who also won the GCAC award for Nov. 19-25 and three times in 2011-12 — tied for second in voting for Louisiana Player of the Week.

    

Teammate Wanto Joseph also has won two GCAC weekly awards this season.
    

Through 17 games, Erves is averaging 14 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocked shots and is shooting 51.5 percent from the floor and 71.9 percent from the line. He ranks first in NAIA Division I with 155 rebounds, third in rebounds per game, 11th with 21 blocks, 15th with 3.4 offensive rebounds per game, 16th with 5.8 defensive rebounds per game, 24th in blocks per game and 36th in field-goal percentage.

Xavier, 14-3 overall and tied for first in the GCAC at 2-0, will play its next four games at XU's new Convocation Center, including Tougaloo at 3 p.m. Saturday and city rival SUNO at 7:30 p.m. Monday.

 

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

XULAATHLETICS

XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

 

Hampton Pirates hold off JMU, 69-65

HAMPTON, Virginia —  Hampton's frustrating South Carolina road trip prompted a lot of film study, self-scouting and introspection. The result was the Pirates' best total performance of the season.

Hampton spotted James Madison a double-figure lead early, then responded well and held off the Dukes 69-65 Monday at the Convocation Center.

"We went back after we lost those two on the road and began to look at ourselves," HU coach Ed Joyner Jr., said, referring to consecutive losses to Winthrop and USC Upstate. "We watched a lot of film. We did more work off the court: talking, showing, seeing. Hopefully, tonight, we will begin to turn the corner."

Freshman guard Deron Powers scored all of his 19 points in the final 24 minutes, as the Pirates (3-10) opened as much as a 14-point lead in the second half. HU then weathered a frantic comeback and made just enough plays and free throws in the final three minutes for the win.

JMU (7-8) lost its second straight, in the midst of a difficult stretch. The Dukes were playing their third game in six days – all on the road – and the Hampton game was a non-conference affair sandwiched between CAA games last Saturday and Wednesday.

"We let our guard down," JMU coach Matt Brady said, "and we didn't do the things we needed to do to sustain the same effort. That's what it came down to, I thought. When we eventually lost the lead, we lost our focus and let them get a double-figure lead."


READ MORE

Three double-figure outings lead Howard to a 67-54 victory over Coppin State

BALTIMORE, Maryland   --  (www.howard-bison.com)  – With a double-double from senior Saadia Doyle, double-figure performances from senior Kara Smith and freshman Victoria Gonzalez and a season-high 14 assists from senior Cheyenne Curley-Payne, the Howard University women's basketball team defeated the Lady Eagles of Coppin State 67-54 on Monday, Jan. 7 in Baltimore, Md., at the Physical Education Complex.

In their second Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference win of the season, MEAC Player of the Week (January 7), Doyle notched 26 points and 15 rebounds on a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe, a perfect 2-of-2 from behind arc and a 9-of-17 outing from the field. Smith, who was also an exceptional 2-of-2 from the free-throw line, finished with 18 points, as Gonzalez finished with 11 points on a 5-of-6 performance from the field.

The mighty blue and white notched a season-high 92 percent from the charity stripe (12-13), while going 50 percent three-point range (7-14) and 45 percent from the field (24-53).

Howard advances to 7-6 on the season, 2-0 in the MEAC and 2-5 on the road.

Even with HU defeating CSU by 13 points, the contest encompassed numerous runs that sent the Lady Bison on their heels.

During the first 20 minutes of play, Howard reached an 11-point lead by the 12:04 mark, but turnovers by HU permitted Coppin State to hit a 16-5 run and come within one, 21-20.

HU regained its composure and paced a short 6-2 run, which Smith topped off with a three pointer at the five second mark for a first-half seven point 29-22 lead.

Following the halftime intermission, Howard commenced a 14-3 run for the largest lead of the night at 15 for a score of 43-28 by the 11:44 mark.

Coppin State broke through the double-figure margin lead on an 8-2 run, 45-36.

HU retained another dominant lead by the 7:19 mark with a score of 54-40.

By the final two minutes of the contest, Coppin State came within six, nonetheless a final three pointer from Smith and a pair of free throws from Gonzalez halted Coppin State and secured Howard's 67-54 win.

Howard returns home to host Hampton University on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 2:00 p.m. and Norfolk State on Monday, Jan. 14 at 5:30 p.m., both contests will be held in Burr Gymnasium.

For more information on Howard University women's basketball, visit the official athletics website at www.howard-bison.com.

Box Score


By Ariel V. Germain, Assistant Sports Information Director
Howard University

NCAA rule forces VSU, Norfolk State Spartans to end tradition

Athletic Director
NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY

NORFOLK, Virginia  --  Norfolk State will not play Virginia State in football next season, ending an annual tradition that began in 1962.

While the teams had planned to take a year off from the series in 2015, the application of an NCAA rule has resulted in voided contracts between the schools for games in 2013 and 2014.

The loss of the VSU games takes one of NSU's most well-attended games off the schedule and leaves the Spartans scrambling to find opponents, particularly for next year's opening. Over the past six years, all NSU wins and by an average margin of 27.5 points, the game has drawn an average of 20,316 fans.

"It's put us in a tough spot," NSU athletic director Marty Miller said. "It's caused us to scramble a little bit. We're... having discussions with a couple of schools, working hard and trying to come up with a replacement."

Miller said he's certain that he'll find a replacement game and that he could have a team in place within days.

The rule that voided the games has been in the Division II handbook since 2010, but VSU athletic director Peggy Davis said CIAA schools had been granted waivers by the NCAA in the past to play early-season games because the conference had lost members.

READ MORE

Glover leads WSSU to ninth straight win

BOWIE, Maryland –  Winston-Salem State ran its winning streak to nine with a 77-72 win over Bowie State on Monday night.

The Rams improved to 10-2 overall and 3-0 in the CIAA as Coach Bobby Collins has his longest win streak in his seven seasons.
 Leading the way was guard Justin Glover, who scored a career-high 31 points. Glover, the Rams leading scorer coming in at 14 points a game, was 10 of 20 shooting and 9 of 14 from the foul line.

WyKevin Bazemore added 15 points and six rebounds and Joe Thompson scored 10 points and had six rebounds as the Rams shot 46 percent. They were just 3 of 15 on 3-point attempts.

Wakefield Ellison added nine points for the Rams.

Collins said after the game that his team showed a lot of poise.

“We never panicked,” Collins said by telephone. “We knew we could make a run and we took our time and just made the plays when we had to.”

The Rams were down by eight with 10 minutes to go but came roaring back thanks to their defense.


READ MORE