Alabama State blows out Edward Waters (Fla.) in Turkey Day Classic

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- When the long snapper returns a punt, chances are things are going your way.

Alabama State had a little fun in its final game of the season, which resulted in a 37-3 win over Edward Waters (Fla.) in the 94th Turkey Day Classic at ASU Stadium.

ASU junior long snapper Dylan Renaker returned a punt 11 yards in the fourth quarter, a culmination to a solid finish to the season for the Hornets (5-6).

“Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking (when I fielded the punt),” Renaker said. “Instinct took over and I just tried to make a play. It’s cool because long snappers don’t get those opportunities.”

George Golden led the rushing attack with 67 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries for Alabama State. D.J. Pearson completed 7 of 12 passes for 68 yards and was sacked twice.

Hornets interim head coach Donald Hill-Eley said he was pleased with how his team finished Thursday and during the second half of the season.

“We played down to their level in the first half,” Hill-Eley said. “It’s hard to get the guys up when they see who’s in front of them. I was happy that they came out, limited the mistakes they had and brought some energy.”



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Alabama State's HoneyBeez plus-size dance team slays crowds

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Since middle school, Quiana Reliford had wanted to attend a historically black college or university. But when the Kansas City, Kan., native found out that Alabama State University had a plus-size dance team - the adorably named HoneyBeez - she knew she'd found her school.

"I'd been dancing all my life, and I wanted to continue to do that," says Reliford, now a senior health information management major at ASU. "Lo and behold, thank God, there was an opening when I got to campus."

Reliford has been a member of the dance team for all four years of college. "The HoneyBeez drew me to ASU," she says.

Reliford is one of six current members of the dance team, which was founded by band director Dr. James Oliver. His goal at the time was "to do something different with the band," he says. A graduate of ASU himself, Oliver had returned to the university in 2000.

During those first few years at ASU, it broke his heart to see young women try out for the Stingettes dance line and not make it because of their size. "I would put them on the flag line, and you could see the disappointment in their faces that they couldn't dance."

He was hesitant to mix the larger girls with the Stingettes, he says, "because putting plus-size girls with smaller girls looks like you're making fun of them."



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Resilient ASU Hornets make for interesting offseason

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- What was the lesson we were taught by Alabama State football in 2017?

Never count the Hornets out.

After a third consecutive winless start, this time at 0-5, the Hornets earned their way to the brink of a winning season.

Alabama State finished off its season with a 34-3 victory over Edward Waters (Fla.) in the 94th Turkey Day Classic on Thursday.

The 5-1 finish over the last six games this year will do for Hornet Nation what last year's 4-3 finish did: give everyone hope.

Has Hornets interim head coach Donald Hill-Eley earned the right to have the interim tag removed?

What's the new vision for Alabama State President Dr. Quinton Ross and interim ASU athletic director Jennifer Lynne Williams?

These are questions that will be answered in due time, but the Hornets have fought back each of the last three seasons no matter the coach or administration.



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Culver: Another round of instability at Florida A&M

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Well, here we go again.

Florida A&M university’s football program – the entire athletic department, really – is in a state of change. There’s an interim athletic director, an interim head coach and the Rattlers are coming off a sub-par season.

It all kind of sounds like where we were in December of 2014.

Remember that? Former AD Kellen Winslow – who now works at a private university in Michigan – disappeared into the night in the middle of a coaching search he was supposed to oversee. This happened after he fired Earl Holmes, who was in the middle of his second full season as FAMU’s head coach, a couple of days before homecoming.



OK, OK. I think we can all admit things aren’t nearly as bad as they were in December of 2014.

Still, things aren’t pretty at FAMU.

Stability has been missing for the Rattlers for more than a decade. The athletic program changes athletic directors and coaches at an alarming rate.

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Former SEC quarterback savoring HBCU experience at Grambling

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — DeVante Kincade was bouncing around a humid basketball gym in August, wiping sweat from his forehead while trying to sink three-pointers — with a football.

Grambling’s senior quarterback was about to help lead a football practice on hardwood courts after torrential downpours the night before had left the Tigers practice fields unplayable.
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Receivers occasionally slipped and fell to the floor while running their routes because of condensation on the surface.

This scene would certainly be unlikely at most Southeastern Conference schools — many have indoor football practice facilities. Kincade knows firsthand about the immaculate SEC digs after playing two seasons at Mississippi.

But the former Ole Miss backup QB and his teammates believe what they have at Grambling more than makes up for whatever they might be missing.

“The grind is what makes it even sweeter,” he said.

The challenges of playing football at a Historically Black College or University have been well documented. Practicing in gyms, little television money and long bus trips are just part of the deal.



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Tennessee State Tigers Tigers Complete Comeback in 60-52 Win over Canisius

NASHVILLE, Tennessee --Trailing by as many as 11 points in the second half, the Tennessee State men’s basketball team stormed all the way back for a 60-52 come-from-behind victory over visiting Canisius at the Gentry Center on Tuesday night in non-conference action.  

TSU (2-2) used smothering defense in the second half, holding the Golden Griffins (1-3) to just 17 points in the second half on 7-for-22 (31.8 percent) shooting. On the night, the Tigers forced 21 turnovers.

On the offensive end, junior point guard Armani Chaney facilitated the offense all night with a career-high eight assists, while Ken’Darrius Hamilton posted team highs for points (19) and rebounds (8).

Delano Spencer added 16 points while Christian Mekowulu went for 14 in a winning cause.

The Tigers trailed Canisius by a 35-26 margin at the half but outscored the Golden Griffins by a 34-17 score the rest of the way for the second win of the young season.

BOX SCORE  |  PHOTO GALLERY - By Sam Jordan

Final Score: Tennessee State 60 - Canisius 52
Records: TSU (2-2) – Canisius (1-3)
Venue: Gentry Center
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Attendance: 807

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• TSU Leaders
• Points – Ken’Darrius Hamilton - 19
• Rebounds – Ken’Darrius Hamilton - 8
• Assists – Armani Chaney – 8
• Armani Chaney’s previous career high for assists was 5, which he accomplished three times.
• The Tigers held its opponent under 20 points in a half for the first time this season.
• TSU forced a season-high 21 turnovers.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• TSU claimed a 12-11 advantage just over six minutes into the game before an 8-0 Canisius run put the Golden Griffins on top at 19-12.
• The Tigers clawed back and tied the scoring at 21-21 on an acrobatic layup from Darreon Reddick with 7:21 to go before halftime. Canisius was able to outscore the Tigers by a 14-5 margin the rest of the half to take a 35-26 edge into the locker rooms.
• Ken’Darrius Hamilton led the Tigers with 13 points, five rebounds and three steals in the opening 20 minutes.
• By the first media timeout of the second half, TSU had knotted the score at 37-37.
• Mekowulu reached double figures with back-to-back layups for a 43-39 TSU advantage with 14 minutes to go in the second half.
• A transition three from Chaney in the left corner pushed the TSU lead up to 53-47 with 7:05 showing on the second half clock.
• The Tigers were on pace to hold Canisius under 50 points until Spencer Foley knocked down a three-pointer with three seconds left in the game.

 GAME NOTES

• This marks the first contest played in Nashville between the two teams.
• Previous two were played in Buffalo, N.Y.  (1964, 2016).
• Tigers are now 3-0 versus Canisius.
• TSU is now 25-17 in home contests at the Gentry Center under Ford.
• The Tigers are 2-0 versus Canisius under Ford.
• The Tigers went on an 11-0 run after the first points of the half, spanning 2:33.
• Double-Digit Scorers
  • Ken’Darrius Hamilton (19) second of the season, 10th of his career
  • Christian Mekowulu (14) first of the season, 14th of his career
  • Delano Spencer (16) all four games this season, 15th of his career

 QUOTE

Head Coach Dana Ford
“I thought this was a gut-check for us. 2-2 is a lot better for us than 1-3. I think guys are still continuing to build confidence in their new roles. Hopefully we can build off of our second half defensive effort. Giving up 17 points in a half to that team is pretty good. They just scored 104 in their last game and they are so well coach, they execute so well. They are so unselfish; they shoot the basketball extremely well from five positions. I thought our guys really dug deep and came away with a win.”
- Thoughts on the game

“I thought we had urgency. I thought we were there on the catch. I thought our hands were high and active. I thought our help was early. We did a containment press. They like to get the ball going from side-to-side. So defending them for 28 seconds is tough, it is a lot different if you can get it down to 20. I thought we did a good job of being focused enough to get into our press on made baskets. That is a leadership thing. And I thought Armani Chaney was good with that tonight, along with Darreon Reddick and Delano Spencer.”
- On second half defense

“He is judged by wins here. If we win, he played well. If we lose, then he didn’t play very well. He played really well today because this is a very good win.”
- On Armani Chaney

“I am very proud of him today in his approach, his level of focus and his ability to stay engaged in the game, even when he was in the bench. I have to watch the tape to see what his defensive effort was, but I thought he was active around the glass. He gives us a guy who can stretch the defense and currently he is the only guy who is consistently making shots the last couple games. Hopefully these other guys who are getting some opportunities can step up and make some shots.”
- On Ken’Darrius Hamilton

“I think we broke the ice today. We’ve played Kansas, who was number four in America, MTSU who was receiving votes at the time played them and then we just played a really good team today that’s averaging 86 points a game, and before that shot at the buzzard, we held them to 49. It’s early, we’ve played four games, and we will continue to build and get better. But we need more guys to step it up. Some of our guys who are getting those spot minutes are starting to come along and they are going to get their opportunity. We just need to develop more depth. I believe that is the next phase for us, along with continuing to develop who our marquee guys are, and our role guys.”
- On first win versus a D-I opponent

Senior Forward/Center Ken’Darrius Hamilton“My team put me in good position to make plays. We just ran our offense. I got some open shots and knocked them down. I just took advantage of them when I got the opportunity.”
- On scoring game high 19 points

“It’s big for us. He is our head to the snake. He has to be the court general and it is important that he has his head on right, and I feel he did tonight. He led our team with those assists and that is what a point guard is supposed to do.”
- On Armani Chaney’s eight assists

“It was very important. We had been in a little slump after losing a couple games. But we have to put some wins together to get a good streak going.”
- On getting first win versus D-I opponent

Redshirt-Junior Forward Christian Mekowulu
“We were talking about stops in the locker room. We started off slow, but we came back after halftime needing to make those stops, because the score wasn’t going to change. So we all came out as a team and made stops and put the ball in the hole.”
- On key to making a comeback

UP NEXT

• Tennessee State heads to Kennesaw State to take on the Owls for a non-conference tilt on Saturday, Nov. 25.
• The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) start on ESPN3.

TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

Latrelle Lee arrested: Tennessee State University football player who punched coach charged with felony

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — A Tennessee State University football player caught on video repeatedly punching his assistant coach during a game earlier this month has been arrested on a felony assault charge, court and jail records show.

Latrelle Lee, 22, who was kicked off the team and has since been expelled from the university, is charged with one count of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury in connection to the attack which occurred during the Tigers game on Nov. 11 at Hale Stadium.

"Once struck about the face by the defendant, the victim fell to the ground and was dazed and somewhat unconscious from the punches," according to an arrest affidavit. "The victim has subsequently been having medical difficulties as a result from the altercation."



Video captured Lee punching T.J. Greenstone twice and knocking him to the ground. Greenstone remained on the ground for a few seconds before getting back onto his feet.

Greenstone had been walking down the sideline making sure the players who were not in the game weren't too close to the field in order to avoid a penalty.

Lee was booked into the Metro jail Monday night and posted a $7,500 bond several hours later, online records show.

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