BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- You've heard the old adage that you can "throw the records out the window" when it comes to rivalry games.
But that seems to ring true when it comes to the annual matchup between rivals Alabama A&M and Alabama State in the Magic City Classic.
This year's Classic--kicking off Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Legion Field in Birmingham--finds two teams with very different records lining up across from each other on the field, but the history of the 76-year-old game provides plenty of evidence that the game will be a close one.
The Alabama A&M Bulldogs come into the game with the top defense in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and they lead the East division with a 3-1 conference record. After starting the season with three tough out-of-conference losses to UAB, Vanderbilt and South Alabama, A&M has had impressive double-digit wins.
Alabama State lost five straight games to begin the season and fired head coach Brian Jenkins, but interim coach Donald Hill-Eley led the Hornets to its first win of the season two weeks ago, 23-16 over Texas Southern.
The recent outcomes of the Magic City Classic have belied any team records, however, and last years's come-from-behind 42-41 win by Alabama A&M in overtime was an instant classic.
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Saturday, October 28, 2017
No sharing allowed; XULA drops SUNO to win GCAC title
NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana eliminated the what-ifs from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference volleyball race Thursday with a 25-12, 25-19, 25-9 victory against SUNO at the Convocation Center.
The Gold Nuggets (19-2, 11-0) won the GCAC regular-season championship outright for the sixth time in seven years. Their streak of regular-season titles is seven — they shared in 2015 with SUNO.
Freshman Kayla Black hit .478 with 12 kills, eight digs and a career-best four blocks for XULA.
Adili Rikondja and Juliana Tomasoni had eight kills apiece, and Vivica Price-Spraggins had six kills and five blocks.
Tomasoni — honored with Kaelan Temple in a pre-match senior-day ceremony — also had 11 digs and two aces. Anna Dalla Vecchia had 12 digs. Eva Le Guillou (23 assists) and Tiffany Phillips (14) shared the setting duties.
Sonja Backovic had nine kills, and Tijana Milica had 13 digs for the Lady Knights (6-18, 5-6).
XULA outhit SUNO .376 to .053 and had advantages of 46-22 in kills, 6-1 in aces, 48-34 in digs and 10-2 in blocks. The block total was the Nuggets' best in a GCAC match since 2012.
Black was one of five Nuggets to hit .400 or higher. Price-Spraggins hit .600 in 10 attacks, Rikondja hit .538 in 13 attacks, Tomasoni hit .444 in 18 attacks, and Hasani Salaam hit .400 in five attacks.
XULA will close its regular season next week against city rivals. The Nuggets will visit Loyola in a non-conference match Tuesday, then visit GCAC runner-up Dillard Thursday. Both matches will start at 6 p.m. The GCAC Tournament will be Nov. 10-11, but no announcement has been made about the venue.
BOX SCORE
Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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Gold Nuggets falter in 2017-18 opener at Loyola
NEW ORLEANS — Zoie Miller scored 23 points Thursday to lead hot-shooting Loyola to a 76-45 women's basketball victory against Xavier University of Louisiana at The Den.It was the season opener for both city rivals. The Wolf Pack are ranked 20th in NAIA Division I. The Gold Nuggets received votes in that same preseason poll.
Miller was 10-of-14 for the floor. Loyola outshot XULA 51.8 to 17.9 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Nuggets 49-33.
Essence Wells scored a career-high 11 points for the Gold Nuggets. Jalyn Hodge and Taylor Jacob scored nine points apiece, and Hodge made three of the Nuggets' seven 3-pointers. Jacob is a freshman.
Megan Worry had 13 points and eight rebounds for Loyola, and Di'Mond Jackson scored 12.
The Wolf Pack led 39-18 at halftime. A Miller 3-pointer with 4:39 remaining — her final points of the game — gave Loyola its largest lead, 74-34. XULA then closed with an 11-2 run.
The Gold Nuggets' best feature was free-throw shooting. They made 14-of-15.
The losing margin was XULA's largest in an opener since an 84-48 defeat to Grambling in 1977. That was the Gold Nuggets' first season of the Title IX era.
XULA will play its home opener at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Convocation Center against Southeastern (Fla.), 28-1 last season and ranked fourth this season in NAIA Division II.
BOX SCORE
Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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Gold Rush win at 20th-ranked St. Thomas in opener
MIAMI GARDENS, Florida — Three newcomers scored in double figures Friday, and Xavier University of Louisiana blocked its most shots in a game in at least 14 seasons in a 75-73 men's basketball victory against St. Thomas (Fla.)It was the 2017-18 season opener for both teams. St. Thomas is ranked 20th in NAIA Division II. The Gold Rush will visit another ranked team from that division, No. 14 Florida Memorial, at 7 p.m. EDT Saturday.
Virgil Davison scored 14 points, Timothy Jordan 12 and Jeff Dixon 11 for the Gold Rush. It was the XULA debut of all three juniors. Dixon's a New Orleanian, with previous stops at McMain High School and Delgado Community College.
Jerry Gibson's 3-pointer with 7:31 remaining — his only long-range attempt — put the Gold Rush ahead to stay 63-60 and started a 9-2 run. But XULA was unable to exhale until St. Thomas missed a pair of 3-pointers on the final possession.
BOX SCORE
XULA blocked 10 shots, six in the final 9 1/2 minutes. Elex Carter blocked a career-best five shots and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
Also contributing for XULA were Jalen David with eight points, six rebounds, three assists and a career-high-tying four steals and freshman Rayshawn Mart with nine rebounds and two blocks. Mart and Galen Smith both started, giving the Gold Rush two true freshmen in the opening-day lineup for the first time in at least 14 seasons.
Second-year XULA head coach Alfred Williams got points from all 11 players he used. Six newcomers accounted for 45 points.
St. Thomas had five scorers in double figures. Fotios Malelis and Kamil Brown scored 13 points apiece, Philip Saunders and Tim Sada scored 12 apiece, and Khalil Williams had 10. Malelis grabbed nine rebounds and had three steals.
XULA led 37-35 at halftime. The game had 17 lead changes.
The Gold Rush outshot the Bobcats 42.6 to 37.1 percent from the floor. St. Thomas had a 10-4 advantage in 3-pointers made.
XULA won its opener for the 22nd consecutive season, but this was the first time since 1992 that the Gold Rush opened on the road. The XULA men will play their first three on the road before playing Miles Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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from THE EDITOR Dwight Floyd: MEAC/SWAC: Coaches in the Hot Seat
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| DWIGHT FLOYD GAME REPORT |
In 2017, he is facing one of the worst seasons he has ever had as a head coach with a 2-5 record overall, and 1-4 record in the conference. Pough entered this his 16th season with an 117-57 overall record and needs just 10 more wins to become the winningest head coach in South Carolina State history.
In his first news conference of the season he stated that he thought he had a good team, but would not know until the team plays. He made a point to say that high school and the NFL coaches have an advantage that college teams don’t because unlike college teams they get to scrimmage against other teams before the season starts. Suffice it to say that this is not the team he imagined.
My guess is that after ...
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Morgan Bears look to get in win column against Florida A&M
Morgan State Notes | Florida A&M Notes | MEAC Notes | 
Purchase Tickets |
MEAC Teleconference Audio | GAMEDAYGuide | WEAA Pregame Show 
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@MorganStBearsGAME TIME
• Morgan State will look to turn their fortunes around when they host the Florida A&M Rattlers this weekend at Hughes Stadium at 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 28th. The game will be televised by SPORTSFever Television.
• The Bears enter the 2017 season under the leadership of Fred T. Farrier who had the interim tag removed and assumed the full-time position as MSU's head football coach.
• MSU fell to 1-6 with a 39-14 loss last weekend against Howard. Florida A&M was outlasted at Hampton 31-27 last Saturday and dropped to 2-6 overall and 1-4 in the conference.
TELEVISION
SPORTSfever will be broadcasting the game live ... Phil Schoener will handle play-by-play duties with color analyst Emory Hunt and Danielle Podlaski will be the sideline reporter.
SPORTSfever TV CARRIAGE
LIVE
• ESPN 3 (Accessible on line to more than 88 million households at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One)
• ESPN College Extra (Live TV available to AT&T Uverse, DirecTV, Bright House Networks, Cox, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS and select NCTC subscribers)
• WNUV CW 54 (54 over-the-air, Comcast 804, Verizon 514, Dish & DirecTV 54) Baltimore/Annapolis
• WPNT 22 (22 over-the-air, Comcast SD 10/HD 812, Comcast Clarion SD 12/HD 812, Armstrong SD 22/HD 105, Atlantic Broadband SD 8/HD 707, Citizens SD 12/HD 812, Time Warner SD 22/HD 1022, Verizon SD 10/ HD 510, Consolidated SD 10/HD 710, DirecTV 22, Dish Network 22) Pittsburgh
• WHP 21.2 (21.1 over-the-air, Comcast 19, Armstrong 15, Blue Ridge 133, Nittany 99, Verizon 21, DirecTV 22) Harrisburg/Lancaster/York/Carlisle/Lebanon
DELAY/REPLAY Sunday October 29 2 p.m.
• SPORTS TIME OHIO (Erie Time Warner 21-23/HD308-1308, Armstrong 47/HD177, Sharon Time Warner 76/HD 308-1308, DirecTV 662, Dish Network 431) Erie, Meadville, Sharon, Cleveland, Columbus, Akron, Toledo, Huntington, Charleston, Youngstown & Buffalo
LIVE STATS
www.morganstatebears.com
TICKETS
Season ticket plans—which include a ticket to all five home games, including homecoming start at only $95. Premium seats are now available for purchase by calling 443.885.1522 or visiting MSU Student Center Athletics Ticket Office during business hours (Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), or visit morganstatebears.com/tickets.
SOCIAL NETWORKS
Fans can keep up-to-date with all MSU Athletics via twitter at Twitter.com/MorganStBears and @MorganStateFootball. You can also become a fan of the Bears on Facebook at Facebook.com/MorganStateBears.
RADIO
WEAA, 88.9 FM is the flagship station for the Morgan State Bears ... Lamont Germany will call the play-by-play with Kelvin Bridgers in the booth. The game will be broadcast live on 88.9 FM and streamed on WEAA.org.
THE SERIES
• Saturday's matchup marks the 28th meeting between the two schools.
• FAMU leads the overall series 20-7 since 1943.
• Morgan State posted a 21-7 victory in the last meeting in Baltimore in 2015.
• The Bears fell 22-21 in their last season's meeting against the Rattlers on Nov. 12, 2016 in Tallahassee, Fla.
A GLANCE AT THE RATTLERS
• Florida A&M finished 2016 with an overall mark of 4-7 and finished 4-4 in MEAC play under head coach Alex Woods... it was the most wins by the Rattlers since 2012.
• On 4th-and-3 from the Pirates' 16-yard line, Hampton's Bruce Perry stopped Florida A&M's Devin Bowers three feet short of the first-down marker. After squandering an 18-point lead, HU held on for a 31-27 homecoming win Saturday at Armstrong Stadium.. The Rattlers fell to 2-6 overall and 1-4 in conference play.
• Head coach Alex Wood's (Iowa, '79) offense is averaging 327.9 yards of total offense (133.6 rushing; 194.2 passing). They have scored 9 rushing TDs and 13 passing. The Rattlers average 5.2 yards per rush and 6.4 per pass, including 10.6 per catch.
• FAMU's offense is led by R-sophomore QB Ryan Stanley. The 6-3, 190-pound Pembroke Pines (Fla.) product has completed 130-of-204 passes (63.7%) for 1,451 yards, with 11 TDs (second most in MEAC) and 5 INTs. He also has 40 carries for 105 yards and a TD. He ranks No. 3 in the MEAC in passing average (207.3 avg) and No. 3 in total offense (222.3 avg).
• RB Devin Bowers is averaging 71.9 rushing yards with five TDs. The 6-0, 180 pound junior ranks No. 5 in the MEAC with 575 yards on 122 carries (4.7 avg). He also has nine receptions for 32 yards.
• Brandon Norwood (6-1, 190), Chad Hunter (6-0, 175) and Marcus Williams (5-11, 185) lead the Rattlers air attack. Norwood has 34 catches for 315 yards (9.3 avg) and 3 TDS, while Hunter has 24 catches for 397 yards and five TDs. Williams has 231 yards on 21 receptions, including a pair of TDs.
• FAMU is allowing 329.6 yards of total offense (rushing 169.1; passing 160.5). The Rattlers have also forced 11 turnovers (6 INTs; 5 FRs). Opponents are averaging 5.3 yards per play. The Rattlers have recorded 43 TFL.
• FAMU's D is led by senior linebacker Jakaris Wilson and senior safety Terry Jefferson. Wilson, (6-3, 220) ranks No. 6 in the league with 66 tackles (8.6 avg), while Jeffeson (5-9, 175) has 38 stops with two INTs.
• FAMU has one of the best kick return specialists in the league in Orlando McKiney. The Atlanta, Ga. native is ranked No. 2 in the league by averaging 24.5 yards on 16 returns.
FLORIDA CONNECTIONS
Saturday's contest features a few Bears on the roster from the state of Florida. Senior running back Eric Harrell (Orlando/Dr. Phillips HS), sophomore linebacker Rico Kennedy (Fort Lauderdale/Dillard HS), and redshirt sophomore wideout Dominick Trigg (Tampa/Strawberry Crest HS) call The Sunshine State their home.
NOTABLE NATIONAL NOTES
Here are a few 2017 FCS national statistics of note on offense, defense and special teams that pertained to the Bears:
• Malachi Washington currently ranks in the T-No. 9 in the FCS in tackles for loss (12.0), and T-31 in sacks (5.0). Tra' Revell is tied for No. 1 in the nation with 3 blocks.
• The Bears rank No. 2 in tackles for loss (68).
• The Bears rank T-No. 3 in blocked kicks (4).
• The Bears rank No. 16 in passing yards allowed (177.1).
• The Bears rank No. 20 in sacks (20).
• The Bears rank No. 46 in pass efficiency defense (123.92).
• The Bears rank T-No. 25 in sacks allowed (8).
• The Bears rank No. 42 in total defense (342.6)
• The Bears rank No. 48 in first down defense (131).
TWO-HEADED RUNNING ATTACK
Leading the Bears out of the backfield are Herb Walker Jr., who set the school's single season rushing record 1,408 yards, and Eric Harrell.
• Walker leads the Bears with 337 rushing yards (2 TDs) and ranks No. 9 in the MEAC. He recorded his 8th career 100-yard rushing game with a season-high 109 yards against Savannah State (Oct. 14).
• Harrell has rushed for 322 yards on 71 attempts (4.5 avg) with 3 TDs and ranks No. 10 in the MEAC. He posted a season-high 114 yards yards on 16 carries, including a TD versus Savannah State (Oct. 14).
• Morgan State currently ranks No. 8 in the MEAC in rushing yards per game (111.3).
MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS
TSU Men's Basketball Update - Two Weeks from the Opener
NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- The Tennessee State men's basketball team is nearly a month into official practices and exactly two weeks away from the season opener at Kansas on Nov. 10 on ESPNU.
Senior guard Darreon Reddick and Head Coach Dana Ford gave updates on practices leading up to the first game of the 2017-18 season.
Senior Guard Darreon Reddick
“Practice has been good. There’s been a lot of improvement since day one. People are learning the defense that Coach (Dana) Ford expects. The offense, we’re learning the motion, so we’re making big jumps.”
- On the progression of the team
“It was hard at first. I haven’t been vocal my whole life, but I think I’ve been doing a good job along with Mek (Christian Mekowulu) and Samson (Oyediran) leading vocally and with our actions. I think we’re doing a pretty good job so far.”
- On taking a leadership role on the team
“We have a lot of plays put in from last year. There’s a lot more learning to do, but I think we’re doing a good job learning the plays. We’ve been coming in extra time learning the plays with coach. Defensively, I’ve been here four years same with Sam and Mek, so we all know what he wants, so we’re just trying to do our best to help the new guys learn what Coach Ford wants. They’re locking in pretty well so far, so it’s all going good.”
- On how much has been implemented
Head Coach Dana Ford
“Recently, practice has been going pretty well in terms of getting better at some minor details that are very important as we get closer to the opening tip of the season. I think our leadership is getting better. I think that we’re starting to develop some depth, and now what we’re trying to work on is our consistency in our discipline and what type of habits we’re going to build. That’ll be something that’s all year long. I think we’re starting to get into a groove and I think once we get into that groove, now we can start to get better at what we do.”
- On how practices have been going
“It is what it is and it takes what it takes. We’ve got to practice every day. We can’t start playing people until we’re supposed to play people. I think some people use it as an excuse that they’re tired playing against each other, but I don’t know if that’s something that we do. Hopefully the leadership allows for them to continue to build the habits no matter who they’re playing against – no matter how they feel about what’s going on. If we can get that mindset, then we’ll continue to get better every day.”
- On keeping his team sharp during preseason
“I just like their competitiveness right now. I like their willingness to learn. I like that they give me minimal problems off the floor and I think that they enjoy playing with each other. In terms of more specific things on the floor, this group moves the basketball very well. This group is willing enough to play team defense consistently and not try to go out and do things that they’re not capable of individually.”
- On what he likes about his team so far
TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS
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