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ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- The end of the regular season in college football annually produces as much news about coaching changes as the pending postseason. Things are no different in 2017 with coaching exits, searches and entrances at high-profile schools such as Florida, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Arizona State and UCLA.
This year, the focus on the future for coaches extends into Orangeburg, where S.C. State’s Buddy Pough is at the end of a contract and coming off his worst season in 16 years leading the Bulldog program.
After the homecoming loss to Howard on Oct. 28, first-year Athletic Director Stacey Danley went public with a statement of support for Pough amid the standard fare of fan complaints that comes with losing football games. Danley said then that he supported Pough but qualified his remarks by stating that season’s end would bring an evaluation of the coach and the program. He said S.C. State expected to win its closing two games.
But the Bulldogs did not win, even falling 34-10 on the final Saturday to Savannah State, a team that has not defeated S.C. State since 2001. The loss left the team at 3-7 and gave Pough his worst mark as the head coach of a program that boasts 16 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football titles. CONTINUE READING
HOUSTON, Texas -- The Grambling State University football team scored 28 unanswered second-quarter points as the Tigers held on and survived a late Alcorn State rally to capture their second consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Championship, 40-32, on Saturday night at NRG Stadium.
"We played exceptionally well in the first half, except of the muff punt we had," Grambling State head coach Broderick Fobbs said. "We didn't play as well as I would have liked in the second half. Alcorn State has a tremendous program and I knew they would keep fighting. That is what champions do. Now we get two weeks to rest our players and get prepared for the Celebration Bowl."
Grambling State (11-1) began with the football and started its opening drive at 10, but a delay of game penalty backed the Tigers up five yards to the 5-yard line.
GSU went to work as Kincade connected with Martez Carter for eight yards and on third down to Calif Samon for 21 yards. After Carter was stopped for no gain, Quintin Guice caught a 46-yard pass from Kincade to set up shop at the Alcorn State 20. Two plays later, Kincade scored on a 15-yard run to give the Tigers a 7-0 advantage with 12:06 left in the opening quarter.
Alcorn State, which went 80 yards in eight plays, answered the opening Grambling State drive by using the ground game as the Braves punched the ball in from the 2-yard line on a rushing touchdown by De'Lance Turner to tie the game at 7 with 7:50 remaining in the first.
After going three-and-out on the next series, the Tigers punted the ball, but got it right back after Alcorn State's Jalen Richardson muffed the kick as Bryce Williams recovered the loose ball at the Braves' 34.
Grambling State was unable to move the ball as Marc Orozco booted a career-long 48-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 10-7 lead with 5:28 remaining.
After stopping the Braves on their next series, the Tigers turned the ball over as Malik Route fumbled trying to scoop up a punt and Alcorn State's Damien Anderson recovered at the Tigers' 40. The Braves cashed in off the turnover as Corey McCullough kicked a 21-yard field goal to tie the game at 10 with 1:30 remaining in the first quarter.
The Tigers appeared to go three-and-out on their next offensive series, but Miguel Mendez faked the punt and rushed eight yards for a first down at the Grambling State 41. The Tigers capitalized on the fake punt and went 59 yards in 10 plays as Carter scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to give Grambling State a 17-10 advantage with 11:27 remaining in the first half 31-10 with
After forcing an Alcorn State punt, Grambling State went to work at its own 39 and the Tigers marched 61 yards in eight plays as Kincade connected with Jordan Jones for a 15-yard touchdown pass to extend the advantage to 24-10.
Grambling State was just getting starting as the De'Andre Hogues forced a Braves fumble and the Tigers went right back to work. Kincade hit the spin button and dove for the end zone to complete a four-play, 46-yard drive. Kincade was initially ruled down on the play, but after review of the replay, the play was overturned as the Tigers led 31-10 with 4:42 remaining.
After forcing a punt by Alcorn State, Grambling State took over at its own 25 with 3:08 remaining in the first half. The Tigers proceeded to march 75 yards in six plays as Guice caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Kincade to give the Tigers a commanding 38-10 lead right before the break.
Alcorn State twice had an opportunity in the third quarter to cut the deficit, but the Braves turned the ball over on downs and McCullough's 21-yard field goal banked off the left upright and away to keep the Tigers advantage at 28 points.
Grambling State put the final touches on the night just five seconds into the fourth when Turner was tackled in the end zone by Brandon Varner for a safety as the Tigers pushed the advantage to 40-10 with 14:55 remaining.
The Braves (7-5) added a 34-yard touchdown as Lenorris Footman connected with Norlando Neals for the score with 12:53 remaining to cut the deficit to 40-17.
Alcorn State scored two more touchdowns and converted a two-point conversion to cut the margin to 40-32. The Braves had one more final opportunity to attempt to tie the game, but Footman's hail may fell short as the Tigers escaped with the win. Turning Point
The second quarter provided to be the biggest difference in the game.
Grambling State and Alcorn State were tied at 10 at the beginning of the quarter, but the Tigers dominated the second with 28 unanswered points.
It can be said that the biggest turning point in the game came on a special teams play. With the two teams tied at 10 late in the first quarter, punter Miguel Mendez rushed eight yards for a first down. That play spun the momentum into the direction of Grambling State as the Tigers went on to get a 5-yard rushing touchdown by Martez Carter to give GSU a 17-10 lead with 11:27 left in the second quarter.
Alcorn State could never recover from the momentum swing as Grambling State finished with 363 total yards in the first half and Kincade was 14-of-23 passing for 223 yards.
Jordan Jones and Quintin Guice caught touchdown passes and Kincade scored on a 27-yard touchdown run as Grambling State took a controlling 38-10 lead into the half.
Inside the Numbers
· Grambling State finished with 19 first downs.
· The Tigers registered 439 total yards, including 268 through the air.
· Alcorn State tallied 21 first downs and 502 total yards, most of them coming in the second half.
· Devante Kincade was 14-of-24 passing for 223 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
· Devante Kincade led the Tigers in rushing with 11 carries for 75 yards and two scores.
· Kobe Ross had four receptions for a team-high 87 yards.
· Darrell Clark added four catches for 30 yards.
· Marc Orozco was 1-for-1 on field goals.
· Grambling State recorded a safety for the fourth time this season.
· De'Andre Hogues finished with seven tackles, including four solo stops, one sack and one forced fumble.
· Lenorris Footman was 20-of-34 passing for 307 yards and one score.
· De'Lance Turner added 134 yards on 20 carries to pace the ground attack for the Braves.
· Marquis Warford finished with131 yards on seven receptions.
· Terry Whittington led Alcorn State defensively with 10 tackles.
· The Tigers were 8-of-16 on third-down conversions.
· The Braves were 5-of-13 on third downs.
· Devante Kincade and De'Andre Hogues earned the SWAC Offensive and Defensive MVPs.
· Devante Kincade has thrown a touchdown pass in 10 of the 12 games played this season.
· Since the season-opening loss to Tulane, the Tigers have trailed for just 18 minutes and 40 seconds (Jackson State, Clark Atlanta, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Southern).
· The Tigers scored on their opening drive for the seventh time this season.
News & Notes
· Grambling State came into the game ranked No. 12 in the FCS Coaches Preseason Poll and No. 13 in the STATS FCS Top 25 Poll, No. 1 in the SBN Sports Network Black College Football Poll and No. 2 in the BOXTOROW Coaches and Media Poll.
· Grambling State wore its black jersey's with black pants and improved to 6-2 during the Broderick Fobbs era.
· Grambling State has led at the half in 11-of-12 games this season.
· Saturday's SWAC title game marked the third consecutive year the two teams met for the championship.
· Broderick Fobbs improved to 6-1 all-time against Alcorn State.
· Grambling State improved to 46-21-3 all-time against Alcorn State.
· GSU came into the game ranked No. 1 in the FCS and SWAC in team sacks.
· The Tigers placed 12 student-athletes on the All-SWAC Football Teams.
· Broderick Fobbs was named the SWAC Coach of the Year for the fourth straight season.
· Devante Kincade was selected the SWAC Offensive Player of the Year, the "Big Ben" Award winner (first two-time winner) and is a finalist for the Black College Football Player of the Year.
· De'Arius Christmas earned the SWAC's Defensive Player of the Year honor.
· The Tigers have won 11 straight after losing to Tulane to begin the season.
· Grambling State is the defending HBCU National Champions.
· Grambling State is seeking back-to-back SWAC Championships.
· Saturday's game was broadcasted live on the ESPNU.
· Grambling State is 8-2 all-time in SWAC Championship games.
· Saturday's championship marked the 19th and final SWAC title game.
· In the summer of 2017, the SWAC announced the end of the Conference Championship Football game, with the final game to be played on Dec. 2.
· The SWAC Championship has been played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. (1999-2012) and at NRG Stadium/Reliant Stadium (2013-2017). Up Next
With the SWAC Championship victory, Grambling State received a berth to the 2017 Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 16 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. The Tigers will meet the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) champions, North Carolina A&T State. The Aggies, ranked No. 7 in the FCS Top 25 Poll, won the inaugural Air Force Reserve Celebration are just one of two undefeated teams in the FCS with an 11-0 mark. The game will begin the bowl season live on ABC with an 11 a.m. (central) kickoff.
Follow Grambling State Athletics
For complete coverage of Grambling State athletics, please follow the Tigers on social media at @GSU_Tigers (Twitter), /gramblingstateathletics (Facebook), @gramblingathetics01 (Instagram) or visit the official home of Grambling State Athletics at gsutigers.com. BOX SCORE
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BALTIMORE, Maryland -- The Morgan State women's basketball team improved to 4-0 at home this season, following its 55-43 victory over New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) on Saturday afternoon at Hill Field House. The win is Morgan State's fifth straight at home dating back to last season.
The Lady Bears (5-3) were again led by senior Lexus Spears, who scored a game-high 20 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, as Morgan State improved to 3-1 all-time against NJIT. It was the third consecutive game that Spears has scored 20-plus points. The Jacksonville, Fla. native shot 9-of-14 from the floor and recorded two steals and a block.
Fellow senior and St. Louis, Mo. native Braennan Farrar finished with 14 points, five rebounds, a team-high three assists and two steals. Tayler Miller, another senior out of St. Louis, Mo., came off the bench to add seven points, a team-high three assists and two steals.
The Lady Bears would shot 43 percent (23-of-53) for the game, including a period-best 53 percent (8-of-15) in the third quarter. Morgan State outscored the guests, 36-10 in the paint and had a 14-1 advantage in second chance points. The Lady Bears' bench had a 13-4 advantage and Morgan State finished with a 39-25 rebounding cushion over the Highlanders.
NJIT (0-8) shot 16-of-41 (39 percent) for the game and connected on 8-of-20 (40 percent) from the free throw line. Tatianna Torres led the Highlanders with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Ellyn Stoll scored 10 points and had two assists and Amarri Trueheard added seven points. Dez Allen led the team with six rebounds.
The Highlanders matched their largest lead of the game (7 points) at 20-13 with 6:58 to play in the second quarter, but the hosts responded with a 9-0 run, capped off by a basket by Farrar to give the Lady Bears their first lead of the game at 22-20. Morgan State would take a 24-23 lead into the lockerroom.
Trailing 27-26 early in the third quarter, the Lady Bears used a 13-2 spurt to take control of the game and take a 39-29 lead on a layup by Miller at the 3:15 mark in the third quarter. NJIT would pull within four points two different times, the last coming at 43-39 after a jumper by Trueheart with 5:57 left in the game. Morgan State however, would push the lead back to 12 points on an 8-0 run and never looked back.
The Lady Bears will host Florida International on Monday, Dec. 4 at 5:30 p.m. at Hill Field House. FIU won the lone meeting, 77-60 on Jan. 3, 2012 in Miami, Fla. The Panthers (2-6) were dealt a 69-62 loss at Howard on Saturday. FIU is 0-2 this season against members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with its other loss coming against Bethune-Cookman (77-59) earlier in the season.
WASHINGTON, D. C. – Coach Ty Grace and the Howard University Women's Basketball team earned its second win in a row after knocking off Florida International (FIU), 69-62, inside Burr Gymnasium.
Despite only shooting 35-percent (23-of-66) from the field, HU (2-5) reached the charity stripe 23 times and shot 74-percent (17-of-23). Additionally, Howard outrebounded the Panthers, 48-38.
Sophomore Sarah Edmond had a game-high 24 points, including 10-of-12 from the foul line. Senior Tajzhane Dopson recorded her first double-double of the season, posting 11 points and 11 boards in the victory.
FIU's Callie Cavanaugh scored a layup and give the Panthers a nine-point advantage with 5:32 remaining in the third, 43-34. From that point on, HU chipped away at the deficit.
With less than a minute left in the third, sophomore Danielle Griffin connected on both free throws and put the Bison ahead, 47-46. Florida International regained the lead after three, 49-48, thanks to a freebie from Shante Walker.
In the fourth, Howard went on a 13-2 spurt and held its largest lead of the game, 61-51. FIU fought back and sliced the margin down as low as four, but HU made several free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
Newcomer Tariah Johnson filled the stat sheet once again, finishing with 14 points, six steals, five rebounds, and an assist. Sophomore Jayla Myles added eight points, seven boards, and two rejections in the win.
Howard opened the game on a 6-1 run until FIU scored 10 unanswered to take the lead, 11-6. Florida International kept the momentum going as they extended their advantage to double-digits after a trey ball from Lauryn Snipes, 23-13. HU rallied and closed the opening quarter on an 8-2 spurt.
Moments into the second, Edmond drilled a long ball and tied the contest, 25-25. Howard took its first lead of the game after a fast-break layup from Johnson and three-pointer by Dopson, 30-25. FIU battled back and reclaimed the lead after going on a 6-0 run to end the half, 31-30.
For FIU (2-6), Kiandre'a Pound registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. Cavanaugh netted a team-best 12 points in a losing effort.
Next Saturday (Dec. 9), the Bison conclude its three-game home stand against St. Francis-Brooklyn. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com. BOX SCORE HOWARD UNIVERSITY BISON SPORTS INFORMATION
PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland -- Maryland Eastern Shore men’s basketball came back from 12 down in the second half, taking the lead in the final minutes to beat American University 74-70 on Saturday afternoon at the Hytche Athletic Center.
“I’m exhausted, but I’m happy. It’s a good kind of exhausted,” said Hawks head coach Bobby Collins after the win. “We dug down and did some good things. We still have a lot of work to do, but that’s a good thing. I’d rather teach a lesson after a win than a loss.”
Facing a 45-37 hole at halftime, the Hawks (3-5) let the Eagles (2-5) stretch it all the way to 12 in the early stages of the second half. Back-to-back layups by Larry Motuzis put AU up 55-43 with 14:40 to play.
Eastern Shore hung tough over the next six minutes, whittling the deficit down to four with Tyler Jones’ (Atlantic City, New Jersey) jumper at the 9:38 mark. The Eagles pushed the lead back to eight moments later on breakaway layups by Motuzis and Sa’eed Nelson, making it 62-54 with 8:54 to play.
Eight was as big of a lead AU would have the rest of the game, though, as The Shore took over from there. Colen Gaynor (Berlin, Maryland) put himself on the left post for a putback layup and put in another one minute later to get the Hawks within 62-58. Logan McIntosh (Atlanta, Georgia) stripped CB Diallo on the other end, setting the fast break in motion and finding Ahmad Frost (Cincinnati, Ohio) on the left wing for an open three. Frost’s trey capped a 7-0 run to make it a 62-61 game at the 6:25 mark.
The teams went back-and-forth for the next three minutes, then Miryne Thomas (Cleveland, Ohio) sank one of two free throws with 3:37 to play to tie it at 67-67. Back on defense, Frost shadowed Motuzis on the perimeter and forced a push off for an offensive foul. The Hawks missed the ensuing shot, but Jones blocked Nelson down low and drew a foul on the attacking end, hitting his first of two foul shots to give Eastern Shore a 68-67 lead – its first since the 10:19 mark of the first half – with 2:16 to go.
Thomas and Frost each hit a pair of free throws to give the Hawks a 72-67 cushion with 42 seconds left. AU gave it one last gasp at the other end as Diallo hit one of two foul shots and Nelson converted a miss into a layup, making it 72-70. Jones then missed two to give the Eagles a chance to tie, but Frost frustrated Nelson and forced a bad shot. Jones got the board and redeemed himself by sinking two with 10 seconds left to ice it.
Jones paced the Hawk offense with 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds, including four on offense. Eastern Shore owned the offensive glass 18-11 on the way to outrebounding the Eagles 40-35.
Thomas notched his first career double-double, scoring 17 points with 10 boards. McIntosh added 13 points with five boards and a game-high six assists. Frost scored 13, including a trio of clutch three-pointers, and largely shut down Eagle star Nelson on defense in the second half.
“He did a great job containing him,” said Collins of Frost. “He was giving us an inside presence too. I was unhappy that he had to get his own offensive rebounds, but we needed that down the stretch and I’m very pleased.”
Motuzis led the way for American with 24 points, including 15 in the first half. Nelson notched 20 again for AU but was limited to just six in the second half by Frost.
Eastern Shore had one of its best free-throw shooting days of the season, hitting 22-of-29 from the charity stripe, including 8-of-12 from Jones alone.
“We expect Tyler to be a leader,” said Collins. “He’s a veteran player and he’s just a sophomore. How about that?”
The Hawks came out swinging in the first half, taking a 12-2 lead in the first four minutes on a flurry of inside pressure. AU tightened up the screws, though, and turned the game on its head over the rest of the half. A Drew LaMont three cut the lead to one, and a Motuzis fastbreak layup put the Eagles up 22-21 with 10:19 before the break. American kept the foot on the gas, leading by as many as 12 and ultimately taking an eight-point lead into the locker room.
The win gives the Hawks three nonconference triumphs in their first eight games, matching their total from all of last year.
Eastern Shore now hits the road for its next six games, starting on Monday night at Duquesne. Tip from the A.J. Paulmbo Center is set for 7 p.m. Monday’s game will be broadcast locally on flagship radio station Fox Sports 960 AM WTGM and online at EasternShoreHawks.com. Pregame coverage starts at 6:45 p.m. with Will DeBoer on the call for The Shore Sports Network. BOX SCORE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE SPORTS INFORMATION
CULLOWHEE, North Carolina -- The FAMU Women's Basketball team rode a torrid first half shooting performance to capture their first win of the season, 80-63 over Western Carolina on the road Saturday afternoon.
FAMU (1-7) shot 53.3 percent from the floor (16 of 30) in the opening half, while splashing six of 10 shots from distance to storm to a 43-19 halftime lead.
The Rattler Women finished the game with their best shooting performance of the season, at 48.3 percent (28 of 58), while their 44.4 percent performance from distance (8 of 18) was the season's best as well.
However, Western Carolina (1-6) did not fold, shooting 51.7 percent (15 of 29) in the second half, outscoring FAMU, 44-37 in the final two quarters.
The Catamounts outpaced FAMU in the third period, 27-14, cutting the Rattler advantage to 57-46 headed into the fourth, where the visitors pulled away with a 23-17 closing surge.
Leading the way for FAMU was guard Florence Ouattara with 17 points, including a trio of three-pointers, followed by Ecenur "E" Yurdakul with 13 points and four steals, center Shalunda Burney Robinson with a double double, 12 points and 14 rebounds, and guard Dawn King with 10 points, featuring a 3-for-4 shooting effort from distance.
WHAT'S NEXT: FAMU (1-7) will play their next two games at home, Thursday against Lynn University at 6:00 p.m., and next Sunday against North Florida at 2:00 p.m. in the Lawson Center.
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Currently on Southern coach Dawson Odums' mind: the holes he needs to fill on his roster and his excitement for his team to go through spring practice for the first time in a long time.
The departure of a large and productive senior class will be the latest hurdle for Odums and his coaching staff to fill, and it will have to do so with limited scholarship numbers, making it even more challenging. Odums hinted at the type of players he may try to find to fill those gaps.
One thing that will ease that burden is the return of spring practice, which Odums believes will allow him to develop some players that he believes were undernourished from a training perspective because of the lack of spring drills.
Odums spoke with the Advocate about what he expects to happen over the course of the offseason.
Odums: We’ve got to get longer receivers. In 2017, we spent time trying to get slot receivers. This class will be about long, outside receivers. We’re going to go from there.
ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- The end of the regular season in college football annually produces as much news about coaching changes as the pending postseason. Things are no different in 2017 with coaching exits, searches and entrances at high-profile schools such as Florida, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Arizona State and UCLA.
