VSU Lady Trojans go to work

ETTRICK, VA - While millions of Americans relaxed, belts still loosened, the Virginia State women's basketball team went to work in the second game of the third annual VSU Thanksgiving Classic. After trailing by five at halftime, VSU used its relentless pressure to overtake Saginaw Valley State and run away with a 61-50 victory on Black Friday at Daniel Gymnasium.

The Lady Trojans showed no symptoms of lingering Thanksgiving food comas in the early going as seniors Nia Thompson and Morgan McGill helped guide the home team to a blistering start. Thompson converted a layup in transition to open the scoring and stole the ensuing inbound pass. The 5-10 shooting guard then found a streaking McGill for another easy bucket.

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TODAY'S GAMES: VSU Thanksgiving Classic Games at Daniel Gymnasium
Elizabeth City State vs. Saginaw Valley State, 1:00 p.m.
Claflin vs. Virginia State 3 p.m.

Albany State Rams enter Division II playoffs with clean slate

Wingate (9-2) at Albany State (10-0).

2nd round of the NCAA D-II playoffs.

1 p.m. today.

At Albany State University Coliseum.

Local Radio: 98.1 FM.
Updates: twitter.com/AlbHeraldSports.

Wingate U. Audio Broadcast: Audio
Live Video Broadcast: NCAA 1:00 PM Video Broadcast

Ryan Brown, Wayne Shadrick and Tylan Merkerson will bring Wingate Bulldog fans the audio broadcast. The Wingate University Sports Network pre-game show will begin at 12:15 p.m. Kick-off is slated for 1 p.m.

ALBANY, GA — It’s officially a new college football season in Dougherty County. That perfect 10-0 run through the regular season by Albany State? Old news. The NCAA Division II playoffs are here, which means slates are clean, tensions are high and losers go home.

In the Rams’ case, though, it’s lose and stay home as they host Wingate (9-2) in the second round today after the Bulldogs — No. 14 in the nation in total offense — defeated Morehouse, 63-41, in the first round last week, while the Rams had a bye.


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Tuskegee Marching Band Refused to Yield

The Commissioner of the SIAC, Gregory Moore and SWAC Commissioner Duer Sharp needs to take immediate action to prevent this type of situation from happening again.

Based on the story published today by the Montgomery Advertiser, (if you want to believe everything the main stream press writes about HBCUs), Tuskegee is "alleged" to have performed beyond their scheduled time in the Turkey Day Classic. I said "alleged" because there are two sides to every coin and we haven't received the Tuskegee version.

However, Alabama State Marching Hornets Drum Majors may have been equally as wrong to march onto the field and create a possible confrontational situation -- especially with fans emotionally charged with the homecoming spirit(s) and verbally involved.

What makes this incident bad was the halftime show and game was being broadcast nationally by ESPNU. When it happens twice in a football season, i.e., Kentucky State band did the same thing at Morehouse earlier this year -- its a problem that needs to be fixed!

Mr. Warren L. Duncan, Tuskegee University Marching Crimson Pipers Band and Dr. James B. Oliver, Alabama State University Marching Hornets Band are exceptionally talented leaders and band directors. This may have been nothing more than a lapse in communications, but it should not happen. You would think after 97 years of football competition, "ASU vs. TU", the bands would have gotten their timing down pat for the half-time shows.

Please, let us get the timing of half-time shows fixed -- Tuskegee, Alabama State, Kentucky State, Morehouse and Florida A&M.

Fans, there are no acceptable excuses for booing the band members! The students work very hard to prepare these shows, memorize the music and dance routines to perfection. Generally, more than 40-60 hours of rehearsal time goes into a 10-12 minute half-time show. That's a full-time JOB in addition to the academic workload carried by these outstanding musicians!

Shame on ESPNU!

(beepbeep)

Now, the story from Montgomery Advertiser.com

The Tuskegee band wasn't finished with its halftime show when its allotted time ran out, causing an intriguing confrontation with the Alabama State band in the middle of the field.

The halftime show of the Turkey Day Classic was originally scheduled for 24 minutes, leaving each team 12 minutes, but ESPN officials notified each school just prior to kickoff that the halftime show would be changed to 20 minutes, forcing the Golden Tiger band to leave the field at the 10-minute mark.

The band continued playing past...

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HPU Men's basketball hosts Hampton Sunday afternoon

The game: High Point University (2-2) hosts a hot Hampton University team (4-1) on Sunday at 3 p.m. HPU is coming off a 71-63 loss at the Citadel in which the Panthers staged a huge comeback to get within three points with under a minute remaining but couldn’t tie it up.

Hampton lost its first game of the season, 63-56, to Wake Forest at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum before reeling off wins over Winthrop, Fordham, Boston University and George Washington. It will be the first-ever meeting between High Point University and Hampton. HPU is 7-4 all-time against current MEAC schools. The Panthers beat North Carolina Central twice last season and split two games against South Carolina State.

On the air: 1230 AM-WFMR with Jason Benetti and Stafford Stephenson --LISTEN LIVE

Pirates to Take on High Point Panthers on the Road

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Hampton University men’s basketball team will take to the road on Sunday, as they head to the Millis Center to face the Panthers of High Point University at 3 p.m. Since moving to Division I in 1995, this will mark the first time that Hampton and High Point face each other.

The Pirates, in their second season under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., are on a four-game winning streak following wins over Boston University and George Washington on Monday and Tuesday in the consolation rounds of the Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off. Junior guard Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.) scored a team-high 18 points in Tuesday’s 62-51 win over George Washington, while junior guard Kwame Morgan II (Largo, Md.) added 14 points and tied his career high with 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.

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VSU: Alfred the Great

ETTRICK, Va. -- Every day after practice, Virginia State Football coach Andrew Faison leaves Rogers Stadium and heads down a winding walkway that takes him past Daniel Gymnasium and in the direction of the James Hugo Johnston Memorial Library.

Along the way, he sometimes pauses to watch intramural football games at a nearby field. He's not necessarily expecting to find anything, but he looks nonetheless. Good thing he does. It was on one of those visits in 2009, albeit after the urging of some of his players, that he first discovered Alfred Ngauja.

Faison liked what he saw enough to offer Ngauja a chance to participate in spring workouts. "Once we got a chance to put the pads on him and see how he fared, he had that 'it' with him," Faison said.


Videographer: UrbanSportsITG (#26 Alfred Ngauja earns MVP for performance in 2010 CIAA Championship game).

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Savannah State's Dixon hopes to return as coach‎

Julius Dixon and his assistant coaches have turned their attention to next football season, when Savannah State University will compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. But the interim head coach is limited by what he can tell recruits because his own future is uncertain.

Dixon has been the Tigers' interim head coach since Jan. 28, the day Robby Wells was forced to resign. Dixon inherited an 11-game schedule this season that included the first nine games on the road because of construction to T.A. Wright Stadium, and no games on campus. SSU's final two games were played at Memorial Stadium.

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Tuskegee holds off Alabama State to win Turkey Day Classic, 17-10

Tuskegee ends its season 9-2 and raises Coach Willie Slater record to 51-7 in five seasons with the Golden Tigers.  Tuskegee defeated both West and East SWAC champions --Texas Southern (8-3) and Alabama State (7-4) this season.

MONTGOMERY, AL -- Tuskegee quarterback Joshua Harris' 60-yard pass to wide receiver Antoine Mitchell keyed a fourth-quarter touchdown drive that ultimately gave the Golden Tigers a 17-10 win Thursday over Alabama State in the Turkey Day Classic at Cramton Bowl.

Three plays after his completion to Mitchell, Harris hit tight end Stephen Clements on a 2-yard touchdown pass to give the Golden Tigers a 17-3 lead with 10 minutes remaining.

Tuskegee tops Alabama State in Turkey Day Classic

Montgomery, AL - Tuskegee won the oldest football classic among the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities, beating Alabama State for the second straight year, 17-10, in the Turkey Day Classic at the Cramton Bowl.

Joshua Harris threw for a touchdown and Nykeem Barton rushed for one to power Division II Tuskegee (9-2), which completed a sweep of the Football Championship Subdivision teams that will play in the SWAC Championship Game on Dec. 12, Alabama State (7-4) and Texas Southern (8-3). The Golden Tigers extended their series lead over Alabama State to 60-33-4, including 48-31-3 in the Turkey Day Classic.

TURKEY DAY CLASSIC: TUSKEGEE 17, ALABAMA STATE 10: Efficient Harris leads Golden Tigers over Hornets

All week, Alabama State coaches and defenders said the key to beating Tuskegee in the 87th annual Turkey Day Classic was forcing Tuskegee quarterback Joshua Harris to beat the Hornets with his arm.

Harris was up to the challenge. The senior completed 11 of 22 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown to lead the Golden Tigers to a 17-10 win over the Hornets at Cramton Bowl on Thanksgiving Day. "He's been inconsistent at times, but I'm talking about a kid with thick skin," said Tuskegee coach Willie Slater. "He receives it and tries to get better. He made some big plays for us today, really big plays."

Photo Gallery:
Turkey Day Classic Parade
Tuskegee defeats ASU

TURKEY DAY NOTEBOOK: Is ASU-Tuskegee rivalry in jeopardy?

Tuskegee won the Turkey Day Classic for the 59th time in the 97-game series with Alabama State and for the 10th time in the last 12 meetings, but there is some talk that the series between the two rivals may be coming to an end.

It's not the first time the two sides haven't seen eye to eye, but Alabama State's plan to move the game to its campus in two years may factor into the Tigers' thoughts of quitting the rivalry. "That's beyond me," Tuskegee coach Willie Slater said. "I wouldn't want to speculate."

Tuskegee, a Division II school, forgoes an opportunity to participate in the NCAA Division II playoffs by playing the Turkey Day Classic. Skipping the Thanksgiving Day game could put the Tigers in a position to participate in the playoffs and compete for a national championship.

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