B-CU holds off Michigan State

DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- Ryan Durrence's three-run homer highlighted an eight-run third inning and Bethune-Cookman hung on to defeat Michigan State 11-9 Saturday night in the Bethune-Cookman Invitational at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. "Sometimes you've got to tip your hat to your opponent," B-CU coach Mervyl Melendez said of Michigan State (1-8), which battled back from a 10-3 deficit. "They never gave up and they kept the ball in play."

It was Durrence's second homer in two nights. He also hit a three-run shot Friday night against Xavier. B-CU's Eric Thomas (1-2) earned his first win of the season, although he allowed seven runs in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out seven, walked two and gave up eight hits. Justin Dahl stranded two baserunners in the ninth to earn his third save.

"I thought (Thomas) did a good job," Melendez said. "Our mentality when we're up by that many runs is to attack the hitters. I thought he commanded the strike zone. He threw hard." The Spartans scored five runs in the seventh against three B-CU pitchers, but the key hits were a bad-hop single and a misjudged fly in center field that fell for an RBI double. Atlantic High grad Chris Brown smacked two RBI doubles for B-CU (7-5). Leadoff batter Jose Ortiz scored three runs on two walks and a double. He scored twice in the decisive third inning.

"I'm very happy with the way we're hitting so far this season," Melendez said. "It's a long season, and we're counting on a lot of guys, and they're coming through for us." The Wildcats sent 12 men to the plate in the third. Durrence hit a towering three-run shot over the left-field fence, while Alejandro Jimenez had an RBI single and Brown ripped his second RBI double of the game.

B-CU 11, Michigan State 9, Final Box Score
Invitational Tournament Central Link - All Game Scores/Highlights

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On a Mission: Aggie women want in NCAA Tournament

The rising tide that is the N.C. A&T women's program has continued under the patient guidance of Coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs. The Aggies, seeded No. 1 for this week's MEAC Tournament, are favorites because everything seems to be pointing in their direction. They have talent galore, senior leaders in Amber Bland and Brittanie Taylor-James, a veteran coach who has been to the NCAA Tournament six times and a pseudo homecourt advantage.

"It's been a tough one," Cage-Bibbs said about the steady rise of her program. "We have just been truly blessed getting these players here who were highly-recruited. People don't really realize it's not automatic because you don't know from Day 1 if one kid might go out or whatever."

Patricia Cage-Bibbs’ Aggies are the No. 1 seed in this week’s MEAC Tournament.

Cage-Bibbs, who is in her fourth season at A&T after stops at Grambling and Hampton, shook up the program pretty well when she was first hired. She got rid of most of the returning players and hit the recruiting trail hard. This season has been one of her best. Earlier this season, she collected her 400th career win. Her six NCAA appearances came at Grambling and Hampton, and in 23 seasons of coaching, Cage-Bibbs has had just four teams finish with losing records.

The Aggies fell short of the NCAA Tournament last season, losing in the MEAC final to Coppin State. Bland, who is the second-leading scorer in school history with more than 1,500 points, says that getting to the NCAA Tournament is something the players have talked about all season. "Seeing how we had a letdown last year losing in the tournament championship game, we all came back with one mission and that's to go forward," Bland said. "Now we want to go to the NCAA Tournament and to do that we have to win the MEAC Tournament, so we want to get that respect from our league."

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Grambling State stockpile top quarterback recruits

Efferlan Williams is hoping to bring the same success he had during his brief time at Greer High to Grambling State University. Williams, Greenville County's player of the year during the only season he played for the Yellow Jackets, has signed a national letter of intent with Grambling. Williams transferred in from Maryland during his junior year and played for the Jackets as a senior. He rushed for 1,844 yards and passed for 734 yards and led Greer to a 10-2 record and the Region 3-AAA championship.

"Efferlan made a huge impact in regards to our offensive production," Greer coach Will Young said. "His ability to throw the ball well and, of course, run the ball made us multi-dimensional."

Efferlan Williams Sr. said North Greenville, Livingstone and North Carolina A&T showed interest in his son, but Grambling was the best fit. "Efferlan could play a number of positions, but his heart was set on playing quarterback, and we told him we wanted him to be happy and play the position where he wants to play," Efferlan Sr. said.

Greer, S.C. QB (#7) Efferlan Williams signs with Grambling State

"At first, there were a lot of smaller schools that were looking at me. I tried to wait it out. Grambling was the last one, and I liked what they had to offer," the younger Williams said. "I like their tradition. They run a similar offense to what we ran. When I came to Greer, I liked the type of offense that we ran."

Tarpon Springs High School (Florida) quarterback Danny Reyes will be continuing his football career at Grambling State University, said Spongers head coach George Kotis. The senior signed his letter of intent on February 20. Reyes led the explosive Spongers offense to the regional quarterfinals this season by throwing for over 2,400 yards and completing 61.6 percent of his attempts. According to stats compiled by maxpreps.com, Reyes threw for the second highest amount of yardage of all Tampa Bay area quaterbacks in 2008.

Reyes and Williams will join incoming Tigers freshmen All-State student-athletes Brendan Crawford and Justin Higgins, who signed their letters of intent on National Signing Day.

Brenda Crawford is a 6-5 205 quarterback from El Paso, Texas Chapin High School. Crawford was an All-State performer who transferred into Chapin High School before the start of the 2007 season and made an immediate impact. He passed for 2,207 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for 266 yards and nine touchdowns. The talented Crawford also averaged 40.6 yards per punt with a long of 64 yards.

Justin Higgins is a talented QB from Rayville, Louisiana. The 6-2 185 Rayville High School product is one of the top athletes in the state who’ll play quarterback for Grambling State. He was named to the 2007 Class 3A LSWA All-State Team as an athlete and was named as the LSWA’s Outstanding Offensive Athlete as a junior in 2006. Higgins passed for over 6,000 yards, rushed for nearly 2,000 yards and surpassed the 60-touchdown mark in his high school career. He was also an standout linebacker in high school.

ASU Hornets win SWAC outright

Alabama State University Hornets head coach Louis Jackson wins SWAC Regular Season Championship and number one seed with 19-9, 16-2 record.

GRAMBLING, La. -- The Hornets finished the season with the Southwestern Athletic Conference's best record. Brandon Brooks and Roland Fitch each scored 15 points to help Alabama State beat Gram­bling State 65-58 on Saturday night.

Wesley Jones added 14 points and Andrew Hayles chipped in with 10 for the Hornets (19-9, 16-2 Southwestern Athletic Confer­ence), who won 10 of their final 11 games. Ariece Perkins scored 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting to lead the Tigers (6-23, 4-14). Don­ald Qualls chipped in with 12. Grambling State ended their regular season on a nine-game losing streak. Alabama State shot 50 percent from the field (24-for-48) and outrebounded the Tigers 32-26. The Hornets head into the SWAC tournament, which begins on Wednesday, as the top seed.

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Special Feature: Romona Robinson undaunted by risky solo-anchor format on TV

A six-time Emmy Award winning news anchor, Robinson is one of Cleveland's best-known and admired television Broadcasters. The Lincoln University grad is solo anchor at WKYC Channel 3 Television Station, Cleveland, Ohio.

On a June morning filled with promise, a teenage Romona Robinson stood up in her tiny church in rural Missouri to declare what her future would be. Each graduating senior announced their plans and dreams to the congregation. When it was Romona's turn, she said she was going to college to become a television anchor. The bold statement was her defining moment, a first step in a long career. Afterward, a well-meaning church lady buttonholed Romona's mother, Henrietta Robinson, for some frank talk, with Romona listening in the background.

"You tell that girl to get that notion out of her head. She ain't gonna get no job reading the television news. White people never gonna let black people sit next to them and give the news. Tell that girl to study something sensible." After all, in the 1970s, black news anchors were rare. Years later, as the minutes ticked down to Robinson's debut as Cleveland's first black female evening anchor on WUAB Channel 43's inaugural newscast, she flashed back to that well-meaning but narrow-minded advice. Her mind replayed the steps that had taken her from that Missouri childhood to an anchor desk. I've arrived, she thought. I'm here.

Channel 3's anchor Romona Robinson goes solo on evening news

IN THE SPOTLIGHT, ON THE HOT SEAT

Robinson, a statuesque beauty who radiates the warmth and sincerity of a favorite sister, is the only solo anchor in Cleveland news, the 15th-largest media market in the country. She was named WKYC Channel 3's evening anchor after her longtime co-anchor, Tim White, left in December when he and the station could not agree on a contract. Robinson is the first black woman to be the sole anchor of a weeknight newscast here. She joined Channel 3 in 1997. Channel 3 news director Rita Andolsen said the solo-anchor format is a bit risky but Robinson is a proven talent in the Cleveland market. "I would not have tried it with anybody but Romona," she said.

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Shelby running back signs with N.C. A&T

When Shelby High running back Larry Raper didn't announce immediately where he's going to college to play at the NCAA's early signing date in February, the questions started. "Where's he going ... is he going ... who's after him?" were constant inquiries for him and his coaches. The 5-10, 165-pound Golden Lion running back put all that to rest Wednesday when he signed to play for the North Carolina A&T Aggies. Raper has been a three-year starter for the Golden Lions and raked in numerous honors during his career, one in which he played on a state championship (2006) and runner-up squad (2007).

He was a three-time all-conference selection at running back, was an All-Cleveland County choice and was named to the 2008 North Carolina Shrine Bowl team. Raper, who's been clocked in the 40-yard dash as low as 4.25 at football combines, also has been a track standout for the Golden Lions. "He came (to us) right after Van (Eskridge, now at East Carolina) and was able to step right in and play," Shelby coach Chris Norman said of Raper. "He made a lot of good plays for us." Besides his halfback duties in Shelby's double-wing attack, he also ran back kicks and was pressed into service in the secondary when needed.

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North Carolina A&T Aggie women end regular season with win

NORFOLK, Va. — N.C. A&T played without two starters and two reserves on Thursday, but finished the regular-season with a 97-65 win over Norfolk State at Echols Hall. Brittanie Taylor-James led the Aggies with 30 points. Her performance marked the third time this season she has scored 30 or more points. It also marked the first time an Aggies player has scored 30 points in back-to-back games since Malveata Johnson did during the 2000 season. Taylor-James closes out the regular season as the MEAC's leading scorer.
























Brittanie Taylor-James led the Aggies in scoring with a season average of 19.5 ppg.

Junior Ta'Wuana Cook added a season-high 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting, while junior Reisha Bullock finished with 12 and freshman center Nakia DeBlanc had 10 points and seven rebounds. The Aggies closed out their regular season 23-6 and 15-1 in the MEAC, despite missing All-MEAC performer Amber Bland and starting power forward Jaleesa Sams. Reserves Brittane Neely and Shantar Waddell also missed the game. "We have so many people that are hurt, but we also have so many people that are willing to step up," said A&T head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs.

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