Tennessee State Contines OVC Play at Southeast Missouri State

TENNESSEE STATE (2-8, 0-1 OVC) at SOUTHEAST MISSOURI (5-8, 0-1 OVC)

Saturday, Dec. 30 | 12 p.m.
Cape Girardeau, Mo. | Show Me Center

GAME NOTES: TENNESSEE STATE 
LIVE STATS: tsu.statbroadcast.com 
VIDEO: OVC Digital Network 
SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter - @tsuladytigers

GAMEDAY: The Tennessee State University women’s basketball team will continue Ohio Valley Conference action on Saturday, Dec. 30 with a match-up at Southeast Missouri. Game time is set for noon in the Show Me Center.

THE LADY TIGERS AT A GLANCE: Tennessee State (2-8, 0-1 OVC) opened OVC play on Thursday at UT Martin. Despite cutting a 14-point deficit down to just four with 4:02 remaining, TSU fell to UTM, 80-68, on the road. TSU is still looking for its first road win of the season.

Redshirt junior Tia Wooten (19.5 ppg) and Freshman Taylor Roberts (16.1 ppg) lead the team in scoring while Kaliya Griffin (7.3 ppg) rounds out the top three scorers for TSU. Wooten (7.6 rpg) and Roberts (7.5 rpg) are the team’s leading rebounders.

As a team, TSU is averaging 69.6 ppg while shooting 38.0 percent from the field. The Lady Tigers are shooting 69.6 percent from the free-throw line while struggling from beyond the arc (.287).

TSU is third in the Ohio Valley Conference in offensive rebounding and 4th in steals.

The Lady Tigers are under the direction of first year head coach Jessica Kern.

LAST TIME OUT: A slow first quarter proved to be the difference in a season opening loss to UT Martin on the road. TSU nearly matched UTM point-for-point in the final three stanzas but ultimately fell to UTM, 80-68, Thursday night. After only posting a combined three points in the first half, Tia Wooten (22 points, 9 rebounds) and Taylor Roberts (12 points, 7 rebounds) led the Lady Tigers in scoring. After trailing by 14 points, TSU pulled to within four with four minutes to play. The Lady Tigers, however, were not able to complete the comeback.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT: Southeast Missouri (5-8, 0-1 OVC) is most recently coming off a 67-57 loss to reigning OVC champion Belmont in the league opener on Thursday. The Redhawks have dropped three of their last four contests. SEMO is led in scoring by Adrianna Murphy’s 12.8 points per game while Tesia Thompson (9.8 ppg) and Ashton Luttrull (9.3 ppg) round out the top three scorers.

SERIES INFORMATION: Tennessee State and will match up with Southeast Missouri for the 48th time. The Redhawks lead the series 26-21. SEMO claimed last year’s meeting and has won two straight. Prior to that, TSU had won three straight.

COVERAGE: Links for live stats and video can be found on the schedule on tsutigers.com. Updates will also be posted during the game on Twitter (@tsuladytigers).

UP NEXT: Tennessee State returns to Nashville for an OVC contest versus Jacksonville State on Jan. 4. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. in the Gentry Center.    

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Southern explodes for season-high 98 points in rout of Ecclesia

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Without its starting point guard available, Southern didn't stammer.

And the Jaguars surely weren't blindsided.

Southern handed Ecclesia College, an 0-12 Christian-based University in Springdale, Arkansas, its 12th-consecutive loss in a 98-57 semi-effortless win Friday.

The Jaguars' 41-point win was their final non-conference game as Southwestern Athletic Conference play begins at 8 p.m. Monday against Texas Southern in Houston. Southern (4-9) dropped all nine non-conference road games and won each of its four games at the F.G. Clark Activity Center in Baton Rouge.

Southern dominated Ecclesia in every aspect in the win, ranging from skill to personnel to performance. The Jaguars' win was a glorified exhibition before league play begins on New Year's Day.

"We wanted to come out and execute some things and try to get better defensively and rebound the basketball," Southern coach Morris Scott said. "We've been doing a pretty decent job of rebounding the basketball, but thought we did a little bit better today. We really wanted to come out and play a good style of basketball and defend."

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PVAMU Men's Basketball Rolls To Big Win Over Jarvis Christian Bulldogs In Home OpenerV

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas -- Prairie View A&M men's basketball rolled to a 110-80 win over Jarvis Christian Friday at the William J. Nicks Babydome.

Zachary Hamilton, the reigning Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Week, scored 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting including five three-pointers. Gary Blackston added 22 on 10-of-11 shooting to lead four Panthers (3-11) in double figures.

J.D. Wallace also scored 10 points and added nine rebounds, and Iwin Ellis scored a career-high 10 points. Dennis Jones scored eight points and added a career high 10 assists.

The Panthers had season highs in scoring, field goals made (42), three-pointers made (12), shooting percentage (60.0), and assists (23) in reaching the century mark in scoring for the first time since Nov. 14, 2013, a 108-103 home loss to Sam Houston St. The Panthers last 100-point game in a win was a 100-73 win over Schreiner on Nov. 11, 2013.

A blistering start for Prairie View A&M set the tone. After a pair of early ties, the last at 5-5, the Panthers went on a 13-2 run. Blackston made a pair of threes and had eight points, while Hamilton scored five as the lead extended to 18-7 with just under 15 minutes to play in the first half.

Leading 31-22 with just over eight minutes to play in the first half, Prairie View A&M outscored Jarvis Christian 28-10 over the remainder of the half. A pair of free throws by Hamilton with seven seconds to play gave the Panthers the largest lead of the first half at 59-32 at halftime.

The second half started as a dunkfest with back-to-back dunks by Ellis and a Blackston throwdown were the first three PVAMU baskets after intermission and helped to grow to lead to what eventually became 40 at 79-39 on an Ellis layup with 14:39 remaining.

The Panthers open SWAC play Monday hosting Alcorn State at 5 p.m. the second game of the doubleheader which starts with the women's game at 3 p.m. As part of the Holiday Hoops Ticket Offer, tickets can be purchased for $5 for Monday's doubleheader and Wednesday's 5:30 p.m. doubleheader vs. Southern. Plus, all kids 18 and under are admitted free during Holiday Hoops.

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Double whammy — GCAC, state honors for Davison

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana men's basketball guard Virgil Davison has been chosen Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week and Louisiana Player of the Week for Dec. 18-24.

Davison — a 5-foot-8 junior guard from Memphis, Tenn., and a graduate of Hillcrest High School and Dyersburg State (Tenn.) Community College — averaged 18.5 points in Gold Rush victories against Rust and Mobile.

Davison scored a season-high 25 Friday at Mobile and made five 3-pointers to tie his season best. It was the eighth game this season that Davison made four-or-more 3-pointers.

Davison is the second Gold Rush player to win the GCAC award this season — Jeff Dixon did it for Oct. 23-29 — and the third from XULA all-time to win the state award, which is contested among all the state's four-year baskeball programs.

The other Gold Rush state winners were Mark Stewart for Feb. 20-26, 2007, and Denzell Erves for Feb. 20-26, 2012.

Davison leads XULA this season with 14.7 points per game and is No. 2 in NAIA Division I with 47 made 3-pointers.

XULA (11-4), winner of five straight, will resume its schedule Jan. 8 in Jacksonville, Fla., in the GCAC opener against Edward Waters at 7:30 p.m. EST.

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
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Claflin teams return to action

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- The Claflin University men’s basketball team will hit the road for two games against Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference West Division opponents.

First up for Claflin will be Central State University on Saturday in Wilberforce, Ohio, at 3 p.m. The road trip concludes Monday against Kentucky State University at 7:30 p.m.

The Panthers will enter the matchup with CSU riding an 11-game win streak for a 12-1 overall record. The victory total also includes a perfect 8-0 road record, of which four were against SIAC teams.

Claflin along with Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University sit atop of the East Division at 5-0.

In their last outing, the Panthers routed Spring Hill College 79-52 on (Dec. 16th) in Orangeburg.

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Morgan Lady Bears Close Out 2017 With Road Win at UMass Lowell

LOWELL, Massachusetts -- Kayla Gibbs (Teaneck, N.J.) eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau, but the UMass Lowell women's basketball team fell short against the Morgan State Bears, 65-59, on Thursday afternoon.

Needing six points entering the contest, Gibbs put up her third field goal to become the 16th player in program history to score 1,000 points with 6:26 left in the third quarter.

Connecting on all four of her three-point attempts, Jennifer Louro (Belmar, N.J.) led the hosts with 14 points, and Brianna Rudolph (Lynn, Mass.) added 11. Saoirse Power-Cassidy (Dublin, Ireland) went a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc to finish with 10 points.

The Bears (7-6) were led by Lexus Spears' 21 points, and Adre'onia Coleman's double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds). Braennan Farrar chipped in 16 points as well.

Trailing 9-3 in the first, the River Hawks (3-9) scored the next 10 points to build a four-point advantage heading into the second period.




GAME VIDEO REPLAY

BOX SCORE

Power-Cassidy drained a three to knot the score at 9-9 with 3:19 on the clock, and Oda Shackelford (Edinburgh, Ind.) added a bucket to give the hosts their first lead 62 seconds later.

Morgan State's nine points was the fewest total allowed by UMass Lowell in the first quarter this season.

The Bears came out of the break and scored the first five points to jump back in front at 14-13. After the visitors built an 18-15 lead, Louro drilled a triple to begin a 5-0 run.

Morgan State closed the first half on a 14-6 run to build a 32-26 at the half. The momentum continued in the opening three minutes of the half as the visitors opened a 38-28 advantage.

Gibbs' milestone bucket sparked a 9-2 spurt for the River Hawks as they climbed within 42-37 following a Louro triple with 4:31 on the clock.

UMass Lowell cut a 12-point deficit to six points to begin the fourth as they trailed 46-40. Back-to-back triples from Power-Cassidy and Louro got the hosts within 52-49 with just over five minutes to play in regulation.

The Bears opened a 59-51 lead as the clock went under 50 seconds to play, but a Megan Hendrick (Alexandria, Va.) three made it a five-point contest with 42.6 clicks left.

The River Hawks entertain Cornell on New Year's Eve at 12 p.m. to wrap up their non-conference slate.

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Ohio Women’s Basketball Defeats North Carolina A&T in Final Nonconference Game

ATHENS, Ohio – Led by Amani Burke's 18 points, and a clutch three-pointer from Burke with 41 seconds left to seal the game, the Ohio women's basketball team (6-5) wrapped up nonconference play Thursday evening, defeating North Carolina A&T (4-7) 72-65 inside the Convocation Center.

Along with Burke's, 18 points, Cierra Hooks finished the game with 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals, and Gabby Burris added 11 points for the Bobcats in the win.



HOW IT WAS DECIDED
Ohio opened the game to a 7-0 lead thanks to four free throws and a three-pointer from Burke (Columbus, Ohio).

NC A&T would cut the Ohio lead to 10-8 with 3:22 left in the first quarter before Burris (Baltimore, Ohio) would drain a three-pointer to give Ohio a five-point lead. Before the quarter was over, Katie Barker (Cary, Ill.) would register a fast break layup and then Burke would register a layup as time expired to give Ohio a 17-8 lead after the first 10 minutes.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Olivia Bower (Bowerstown, Ohio) would drain two three-pointers to put Ohio up by 12 with 8:39 left. After Bower's three with 8:39 left in the second, the Bobcats would not score again until Burris broke the scoring drought at the 4:26 mark with a layup to give Ohio a 25-17 lead.

Kendall Jessing (Sylvania, Ohio) would follow Burris' score with a three-pointer with 4:04 left. Then with 1:30 left, Barker would drain a three-pointer to stretch the Ohio lead to 38-21. The Bobcats would lead 40-24 with 58 seconds left after Alexis Stover (Solon, Ohio) hit two free throws, however, the Aggies would close out the quarter with two free throws of their own, giving Ohio the 40-29 led at the half.

At the half, Burris led Ohio with nine points, followed by Burke who had eight.

Dominique Doseck (Athens, Ohio) opened the third quarter with a three, however the Aggies would go on a 6-2 run to cut the Ohio lead to 44-36 with 6:53 left in the quarter. Ohio would increase their lead to 15 with 4:24 left with a three from Burke. Then after the Aggies cut that lead to 55-42, Burris would register another layup to give Ohio the 57-42 lead with 3:0-1 left in the quarter.

North Carolina A&T would then go on a 6-0 run over the final three minutes of the third quarter, sending the game to the final frame with the Bobcats leading 57-48.

NC A&T would refuse to go quietly and would cut the Ohio lead to five points with 8:24 left in the game before Doseck drained a three pointer to increase the Ohio lead to 60-52. After Hooks hit two free throws and registered a fast break layup, the Bobcats would lead 64-52 with 5:06 left.

The Aggies would then go on a 12-2 run, cutting the Ohio lead to 66-64 with 1:07 left. After Ohio called a timeout, the Bobcats would come out, setting up the clutch corner three-pointer from Burke with 41 seconds left, giving Ohio the 69-64 lead.

Hooks would then hit three free throws over the final 40 seconds, helping seal the Bobcats' 73-65 victory.

OF NOTE
Burke finished the game with 18 points, going 5-of-10 from the field, 4-of-6 from three-point range and 4-of-6 from the free throw line. Burke also had three steals.

Hooks finished with 14 points, going 3-of-9 from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line. She also snagged a team-leading seven rebounds, dished out five assists and had four steals.

Burris had 11 points, going 4-of-6 from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point range and 1-of-2 from the free throw line.

Agler finished the game with five assists and two steals, and Barker also finished the game with four steals.

Overall, Ohio was 21-of-61 (.344) from the field, 12-of-39 (.308) from three-point range and 18-of-26 (.692) from the free throw line.

The Bobcats were even with the Aggies, with both teams grabbing 33 boards, however Ohio registered 17 offensive rebounds, compared to NC A&T's five.

The Bobcats also dished out 13 assists and forced the Aggies to turn the ball over 32 times, scoring 21 points off of those turnovers. The Bobcats also registered 22 steals.

North Carolina A&T went 25-of-41 (.610) from the field, 7-of-10 (.700) from three-point range and 8-of-16 (.500) from the free throw line. The Aggies also dished out 14 assists, had three blocks, nine steals and forced Ohio to turn the ball over 18 times.

Leading the Aggies was Cinia McCray with 23 points.

The Bobcat bench scored 33 points off the bench, had five second chance points and had six fast break points, while also scoring 18 points in the paint.

Ohio is now 1-1 all-time against NC A&T.

The Bobcats concluded nonconference play 6-5.

The win was head coach bob Boldon's 188th career win and 89th at Ohio. It was also the 553rd victory in program history.

This was the fourth time this season the Ohio has forced a team into 30-plus turnovers.

QUOTABLE
"I was thrilled with our rebounding numbers. They were fifth in the country in offensive rebounds. I'm thrilled with that. Rebounding has been a huge deficiency throughout this whole nonconference schedule. We knew that with the schedule that it was to help get ready for Toledo and that just seemed to be the one piece that was forever missing. We've been able to force turnovers and win that margin in almost every game, but we've been giving it back with our rebounding. To see that number, it shows me that we can. Now we have to continue to do it. But at least it shows me that we can and that's an encouraging thing for me to see." Head Coach Bob Boldon

"This really boosted our confidence with rebounding. We are not a good a rebounding team and they are a great rebounding team. For us to be able compete and rebound against them and force turnovers and just play out game, that helps us a lot. Being comfortable with those things makes it easier when we great ready to play Toledo and Central Michigan. And really just sticking to our principles." Amani Burke

UP NEXT
The Bobcats remain in Athens to close out 2017 when Ohio opens Mid-American Conference play on Sunday, Dec. 31 when they play host to MAC West foe Toledo. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.

FINAL STATS

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