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ORANGEBURG, South Carolina — Graduate guard Donte Wright poured in a team-high 22 points, while James Richardson chipped in 15 as South Carolina State held off late rally to defeat Jacksonville 83-74 Saturday (Dec. 16th) at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.
"It was a good win for our team," said head coach Murray Garvin. "We had some players out tonight Alex Taylor along with our second leading scorer and rebounder Damani Applewhite, but we came together for a much needed victory."
"Just like what we said before, we play every game for Ty and I love the way our guys banned together through adversity," said Garvin.
The Bulldogs improved to 4-1 at home and captured their second straight win. Sophomore forward Ian Kinard added 11 points and five rebounds, while newcomer senior guard Patrell Rogers a transfer who played his first game tonight chipped in seven points and six rebounds in 17 minutes of play.
South Carolina State led in several categories including rebounds (42-36), and points off the bench (33-27). The Bulldogs closed out the first-half on a layup by sophomore Ozante Fields to take a five-point lead, 38-33 during intermission.
The second-half the Bulldogs opened up their largest margin of the game 13, 49-36 off a jumper by Wright at the 15:15 mark. JU pulled within six, 53-47, when Cody Helgeland nailed a three-pointer with 9:53 remaining.
Solid free-throw shooting down the stretched from Kinard and Rogers seal the 83-74 victory. South Carolina State as a team shot 76.9% (20-of-26) from the charity stripe.
JU was led Jace Hogan with a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds, while teammate JD Notae added 17 and seven rebounds in the loss.
Next up the Bulldogs hit the road to take on intrastate rival the College of Charleston on Tuesday (Dec. 19th) in a non-conference matchup. Tip-off is 7 p.m.
For more information on South Carolina State Athletics visit www.scsuathletics.com or call the Office of Athletic Media Relations at (803) 536-7060.
BOX SCORE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
GREENSBORO, North Carolina -- Two North Carolina A&T Aggies recorded double-doubles in a 64-54 victory over Tennessee State Friday night at Corbett Sports Center. Sophomore Japhet Kadji had a team-high 16 points with 10 rebounds and junior Femi Olujobi carried the bench scoring with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Aggie defense held the Tigers to 39 percent shooting from the field.
“Anytime you can snap a losing streak is huge,” said N.C. A&T head coach Jay Joyner. “The message in the locker room before the game was that you can not allow another team to come into the Corbett Center and win. It was really that simple. We settled down in the second half and was a lot more aggressive against their zone.”
The Aggies, the second-best shooting team in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, shot 56 percent (13-for-23) from the field in the second half and held the Tigers to 42 (14-for-33) to pull away late.
Graduate transfer Devonte Boykins, who was back on the floor after a three-game absence due to injury, was a key factor, scoring nine of his 13 points in the second half to pace the Aggies. The Tigers trailed by 27-24 at the half, but opened the second half on a 7-0 run and led 31-27 at the 17:12 mark. Boykins ended the run with a 3-pointer followed by back-to-back baskets by Kadji and junior Milik Gantz to give the Aggies a 34-33 lead with 13:09 to play.
The Tigers responded on a layup by Kamar McKnight taking their final lead of the evening, 35-34. On the ensuing possession, a 3-pointer by Kadji put the Aggies back in front. The Kadji three led to a N.C. A&T 9-0 run that included a 3-point play and a 3-pointer from Boykins. After a tip-in by Ken’Darrius Hamilton ended the Aggies run and brought the Tigers to within four, 43-39, the Aggies sprinted out again.
They took a 49-39 lead with 6 ½ minutes to play on a 6-0 run that included two baskets from freshman Kameron Langley and a bucket from Olujobi. It seemed to be the catalyst that put the Tigers away as TSU was never able to get the lead under six the rest of the way.
“We keep talking about depth and on any given night guys can step up. This team is not only about Olujobi,” said Joyner. “He practiced only once this week and even with that one day I thought he gave us effort on defense, and we still earned the win. Anytime you can hold an opponent to 54 points is huge. I felt that playing zone would give us our best chance to win the game and we got it done.”
The Aggies trailed the Tigers for the first 13 minutes of the game. An 8-0 run for the Aggies brought them back from a seven-point deficit. Olujobi’s offensive rebound plus tip-in trimmed the TSU advantage to five, 18-13. Sophomore Kwei Lartey followed with a 3-pointer and Olujobi matched him with another three to give N.C. A&T a 19-18 lead at the 7:39 mark. The Aggies held on to the lead for the remainder of the half.
Led by Olujobi and Gantz (nine points), N.C. A&T’s bench outscored the Tigers bench 25-0. Langley had seven points with six assists and Boykins ended with 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Tennessee State was led by Delano Spencer’s 17 points.
The Aggies travel to Pittsburgh to face Duquesne 12:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 17 at the Palumbo Center. BOX SCORE NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
ATLANTA, Georgia – In Major League Baseball, the unbreakable record appears to be Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. In the NBA, it is perhaps Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points.
On Saturday, America may have witnessed another unbreakable record happen in sports, live on ABC. In the world of black college football, where teams must play Division I-FBS programs (who are sometimes named Florida State, Clemson and Arkansas) for revenue, the seventh-ranked North Carolina A&T Aggies football team went an undefeated 12-0, won the Black College Football National Championship and improved to 2-0 in the third edition of the Celebration Bowl with a 21-14 win over No. 12 Grambling State (11-2) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
It may be a while before an unbeaten team emerges from black college football.
“I'm just extremely proud of our players and the job our coaching staff has done,” said N.C. A&T coach Rod Broadway. “It's an awesome feeling right now to be 12-0 and to win our second national championship in three years at A&T. I'm happy for our school. We've come a long way.”
Yes Lawd. N.C. A&T is the first-ever Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference school to finish the entire season undefeated. They are the first Division I-AA black college football team to finish a season unbeaten and untied and they broke the school and conference record for wins with 12.
Four-year seniors Brandon Parker (6-foot-7, 309, left tackle, Kannapolis, NC), Marcus Albert (5-10, 205, LB, College Park, Ga.), Caleb Gabriel (5-9, 165, wide receiver, Raleigh, NC), Khris Gardin (5-7, 185, return specialist/WR, Morganton, NC), Darriel Mack (6-2, 300, center, Clio, SC), Joshua Mattocks (6-3, 331, left guard, Swansboro, NC), Tard McCoy (5-9, 191, defensive back, Delray Beach, Fla.), Kenneth Melton (6-2, 235, defensive end, Elizabeth City), Joshua Patrick (5-11, 223, linebacker, Dekalb, Ga.) and Jeremy Taylor (5-11, 190, linebacker, Kinston, NC) are the winningest class in school history with an outstanding 40 wins against only eight losses.
What makes Saturday’s outcome even more special, fun and humbling is the fact that 10 years ago today, the Aggies were coming off their second straight 0-11 season. Today, they are the kings of black college football, they’re a top-10 team in the Football Championship Subdivision and they went from winless to unbeaten. Aggie Pride!
“Twelve and oh doesn’t come easy,” said Taylor, the Aggies two-time first-team All-MEAC linebacker. “It was a grind. But to do it with your brothers and the people you love, makes it worth it. I graduated last week, so now I have a degree and these championships to take with me from A&T.”
N.C. A&T won in true championship folklore. With the game tied at 14, the Aggies took over the ball at their own 44-yard line with 1:42 remaining in the game. On 2nd-and-10, one of the many crucial moments of the game occurred. N.C. A&T quarterback and MEAC Offensive Player of the Year Lamar Raynard (6-4, 200, High Point, NC) dumped a short pass over the middle to All-MEAC first-team running back Marquell Cartwright (5-8, 201, High Point, NC).
As Cartwright made his initial move up the field he started to bobble the ball and it eventually hit the Mercedes-Benz turf. A GSU defender picked the ball up as if it were a fumble and returned the other way. Before he got too far, the officials ruled the play an incomplete pass. GSU coach Broderick Fobbs wasn’t so sure, so he challenged the play. The call of incomplete pass was upheld, costing the Tigers their final timeout.
Raynard then proceeded to lead his team to another championship. He completed a 19-yard pass to Gardin. Raynard then tried to complete another pass to his high school teammate, Cartwright, and this time it was successful. Cartwright took the catch and run play to the GSU 18 before junior Elijah Bell (6-1, 221, WR, Wheeling, WVa.) made an amazing catch for a 15-yard gain to the GSU 3. He was the final catch of his 10-reception, 95-yard day.
The Aggies, who were victims of a goal line stand earlier in the game, would not be denied with the game on the line. After a 2-yard Cartwright run, the Aggies hurried to the line and snuck Raynard through for a 1-yard touchdown with 38 seconds remaining.
“That's how championships are won, when you’re able to get the winning score late by putting the ball in the end zone and end the season 12-0 which is an unbelievable feeling.”
Cartwright was named the game’s offensive MVP after finishing with 110 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. His three receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown gave him 164 all-purpose yards against the Tigers. Another Aggies running back, current Chicago Bear Tarik Cohen, was the game’s offensive MVP two years ago when the Aggies won the Celebration Bowl.
Cartwright says he talks to Cohen often and he said both men wanted something to be known. “We’re a running back school. We just wanted that to be known,” said Cartwright. “We just let everybody know that even though Tarik is gone, we can still be a dominant team.”
Two dominant programs gave everyone their money’s worth. The Aggies got on the board first as Cartwright caught an 11-yard pass from Raynard. GSU quarterback Devante Kincade was a problem for the Aggies all afternoon. He had 225 yards passing and two touchdowns and another 93 yards rushing on 16 carries. He led the Tigers on an 8-play, 70-yard drive to the game at 7 in the second quarter.
“That young man showed out. He's a special talent,” said Broadway. “One of the things we wanted to do in the game is not let him beat us with his feet. He kept a lot of drives alive with his feet. We had some chances to hit him, and we just missed him. He's slippery. He did an outstanding job of keeping drives alive and helping them get in the end zone a couple of times.”
GSU and Kincade tried to take its first lead of the game in the third quarter. On 2nd-and-goal from the 7, All-America cornerback Mac MCcain (5-11, 174, FR, Greensboro, NC) came up with his sixth interception of the season to halt the Tigers drive.
“I watch film a lot. I try to know a lot of things before they happen,” said McCain, the game’s defensive MVP. “He lined up with a tight split, so I pretty much knew he was going to run an out route. I ran the out for him and made the catch. “
N.C. A&T used the big play to drive 80 yards to take the lead on a Cartwright 29-yard TD run. GSU tied the game at 14 on a 29-yard TD pass from Kincade to Martez Carter to open the fourth quarter.
“Twelve and oh is something most teams don’t do,” said Taylor. “It’s something most teams don't come close to doing. That’s the memory you take with you. We did something most people don’t do.”
Or may never do again.
BOX SCORE NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
ATLANTA, Georgia -- North Carolina A&T won its second Celebration Bowl in the game’s three-year history, knocking off the defending HBCU national champions in Grambling State, 21-14, all while completing an undefeated season at 12-0.
The Aggies became the first team in MEAC history to finish a season undefeated winning 12 games in 2017. NC A&T has 59 wins in seven seasons with Rod Broadway as their head coach, while the Aggies won only 15 games total in the seven seasons before Broadway was hired.
Here's how it happened -- Lamar Raynard scored on a 1-yard sneak with 38 seconds left and unbeaten North Carolina A&T won its second Celebration Bowl in three years, defeating Grambling State 21-14 on Saturday.
N.C. A&T (12-0) won its fourth Historically Black College and University national championship. The Aggies claimed titles in 1990 and 1999 in addition to 2015, when they defeated Alcorn State 41-34 in the first Celebration Bowl.
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Raynard, one of four finalists for the Black College Hall of Fame player of the year, completed 23 of 43 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown and had 17 yards on eight carries.
ATLANTA, Georgia -- There was a lot of history between the Grambling State Tigers and North Carolina A&T Aggies as they squared off in the Celebration Bowl. Both teams had won the game since its inception in 2015. The game lived up to its hype as the Aggies prevailed 21-14 with a fourth-quarter scoring drive and secured their fourth HBCU national title. Here are five observations from the Celebration Bowl on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium: Perfect season North Carolina A&T became the first MEAC and HBCU school to finish undefeated and untied. The Aggies also broke the school record with 12 wins in a season, capping it with their second Celebration Bowl victory. It is also unique as Aggies coach Rod Broadway coached at Grambling from 2007-2010. He is 57-22 at North Carolina A&T. The Aggies finish the season with wins over three conferences — the SWAC, MEAC, and American Athletic. CONTINUE READING
ATLANTA, Georgia -- You could see the writing on the wall becoming more visible the last two games.
Since the fourth quarter of the Bayou Classic three weeks ago, Grambling State hasn't closed a game the way everyone has become accustomed to the Tigers shutting the door during the program's successful run the last couple of seasons.
And during the uncharacteristic course the Tigers have let a lead completely slip away against rival Southern -- ultimately getting it back soon thereafter -- and a big lead shrink down to single digits in the fourth quarter versus Alcorn State in the SWAC Championship Game. The miscues reared their ugly head at the worst time in the Celebration Bowl Saturday as North Carolina A&T downed the G-Men, 21-14, inside the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The mistakes crept into a critical part of the game where Grambling (11-2) had dominated all season long, the turnover battle, as Broderick Fobbs' squad turned it over three times. And the Aggies (12-0), who won their second HBCU national title in three years and secured their first undefeated season in program history, made the Tigers pay scoring their first two touchdowns off takeaways.
ORANGEBURG, South Carolina — Graduate guard Donte Wright poured in a team-high 22 points, while James Richardson chipped in 15 as South Carolina State held off late rally to defeat Jacksonville 83-74 Saturday (Dec. 16th) at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.
