2 ex-Bethune-Cookman stars make NFL Pro Bowl

Undrafted out of Bethune-Cookman. Cut in training camp. Nearly a season a half on the practice squad. All of Eric Weems' struggles to become an NFL player were validated Tuesday, as the former Seabreeze and Bethune-Cookman standout -- and now current Atlanta Falcons special teams ace -- was named to NFC roster for the 2011 NFL Pro Bowl as a specialist.


Videographer: tonypanzarella: Eric Weems 12/05/10 103 Yard Return

Joining Weems in the Jan. 30 game in Honolulu will be former Wildcats teammate Nick Collins, a Green Bay Packers cornerback who was selected to the NFL's all-star game for the third straight season.

The pair will become the first from B-CU to play in the same Pro Bowl, and Weems becomes just the fifth Wildcat to be selected for the game, joining Collins, Rashean Mathis, Larry Little and Cy McClairen.


Videographer: bbgun1967

Bethune-Cookman's Eric Weems Joins Seven Atlanta Falcons at The 2011 Pro Bowl

The Atlanta Falcons, who have the NFC’s best record at 12-3, placed an NFL-best seven players on the National Football Conference All-Star team that will face the American Football Conference All-Stars in the 2011 Pro Bowl – the kickoff to Super Bowl week – the NFL announced today.

The 2011 Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, January 30, 2011 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii one week before Super Bowl XLV in North Texas. Broadcast live on FOX at 7:00 PM ET, the Pro Bowl will be held prior to the Super Bowl for the second consecutive year and serve as the signature kickoff event of Super Bowl week.

Packers Get 5 Pro Bowlers; Rodgers, Williams Snubbed

GREEN BAY – The Green Bay Packers will send five players – left tackle Chad Clifton, safety Nick Collins, wide receiver Greg Jennings, outside linebacker Clay Matthews and cornerback Charles Woodson – to Hawaii for the 2011 Pro Bowl.

But three players who arguably deserved to be on that list as well – or instead – were snubbed: Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, cornerback Tramon Williams and nose tackle B.J. Raji.

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Pellum scores 34 as Hampton Pirates wins in San Francisco

Darrion Pellum scored a career-high 34 points for Hampton University (10-2), which pulled away late to beat Dominican (Calif.) 78-65 Wednesday at the Hilltop Challenge in San Francisco.

Pellum, a Hampton High graduate, knocked down a career-best nine 3-pointers for the Pirates, who outscored Division II Dominican 17-6 over the final 4:59. Charles Funches had 14 points and 16 rebounds for Hampton. Kwame Morgan added 20 points.

Marin brief: Dominican men lose basketball tourney opener

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- The Dominican University men's basketball team overcame an early 8-0 deficit to take a 19-18 first-half lead, but in the end the Penguins were unable to hold off Hampton, falling 78-65 in the first round of the Hilltop Challenge at USF.

Dominican (0-8) trailed 37-24 at halftime but the Division II Penguins got no closer than seven points in the second half. The Pirates (10-2), a Division I team, pulled away late in the game.

Leon Hart led the Penguins with 17 points and Killian Larson added 16. Hampton's Darrion Pellum scored 34 points, hitting 9 of 13 3-point attempts in the process.

Troy Trojans Fall to Hampton University at Georgia State Invitational

ATLANTA – Dressing only nine players, the Troy University women's basketball team fell behind early on Wednesday afternoon and were unable to recover, falling 61-43 to Hampton University in the opening round of the Georgia State Invitational.

Junior DeAngela Sword (Montgomery, Ala./Pensacola JC) led the Trojans with 16 points, as she was the only player in double figures. Meanwhile, senior Donette McNair (New London, Conn./New London HS) recorded team-high eight rebounds just hours after arriving in Atlanta due to the blizzard in the northeast.

Quanneisha Perry led Hampton with 15 points and 17 rebounds, as she was one of two players to record a double-double on the night. Choicetta McMillian added 10 points and 10 rebounds in the win, while Jericka Jenkins scored 13 and Melanie Warner added 11 points in the win.

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Savannah State men snap 13-game skid

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Preston Blackmon scored a career-high 26 points and Joshua Montgomery scored 22 points to lead Savannah State University past Southeastern Louisiana, 74-65, on Wednesday, snapping the Tigers' 13-game losing streak.

After the Lions scored the first basket in the Hardwood Club Holiday Tournament, SSU (2-13) grabbed the lead with an 18-4 run and never relinquished it despite a late threat from Southeastern Louisiana.

With the Tigers leading by 16 in the second half, the Lions (5-5) used a 12-0 run to close to 51-47. Blackmon hit a 3-pointer and a jumper to end that spurt, but with 5:36 to go, David Ndoumba scored eight straight points to get Southeastern Louisiana within 68-65 with 1:30 left.

Second Half Rally Falls Short In 74-65 Loss To Savannah State

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Preston Blackmon scored a career-high 26 points, including a 5-for-5 performance from behind the 3-point line, and Savannah State snapped a 13-game losing streak as it built a 16-point lead and held off Southeastern Louisiana, 74-65, on Wednesday in the USM Hardwood Club Holiday Classic at Reed Green Coliseum.

Joshua Montgomery added 22 points, including 3-for-6 from behind the arc, as SSU (2-13) shot a season-high 55 percent (23-for-42) from the floor and 64 percent (9-for-14) from behind the 3-point line. Southeastern, which fell to 5-5 overall will face the loser of the Southern Miss-Mississippi Valley contest in the consolation game.

SSU beats IUPUI, 69-52

Courtney Long scored a game-high 18 points, Darice Fountaine added 11 points and Brittany Cade chipped in 10 points as Savannah State cruised past Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, 69-52, in a women's basketball game Tuesday night.

A Tiger Arena crowd of 230 watched as SSU (6-7) jumped out to a 37-18 halftime lead. IUPUI (3-8) was led by Jasmine Horne and Shea Collins, who...

IUPUI JAGS SLOW START RESULTS IN 69-52 LOSS TO SAVANNAH STATE

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Playing its first game in 15 days, IUPUI showed signs of rust and fell in an early double-digit hole that it could not crawl out of as it dropped a 69-52 decision to Savannah State Tuesday evening at Tiger Arena.

The Jaguars came into the game averaging a shade over 40 points per game in the paint over the last four contests, but the size of Savannah State limited IUPUI to half that total and the 36-20 scoring advantage inside proved to be the difference for the Tigers.

“We had a lot of first-half turnovers that put us behind the eight ball,” said head coach Austin Parkinson. “When you can’t score points in the paint and you turn the ball over on the road, it’s going to be a tough night.”

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Colorado Buffs Slog Through Easy Win Against Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks

BOULDER, CO - Colorado mostly went through the motions Wednesday night in dispatching outmanned Maryland Eastern Shore 92-65 at the Coors Events Center.

If there is an upside, this is it: Even in going through the motions against an inferior opponent, the motions might be getting better - a promising sign with Big 12 Conference play only 10 days away.

But first-year CU Coach Tad Boyle had trouble seeing it that way. He shouldered the blame for a lackluster start that seeped through most of the opening half until the Buffs got their heads, ah, back into their assignments.



UMES INCONSISTENT IN 92-65 LOSS AT COLORADO

BOULDER, Colo. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team showed a lot of fight but were overcome by inconsistency as they fell, 92-65, to the University of Colorado Wednesday night at the Coors Events Center.

Redshirt junior Hillary Haley (Oxon Hill, Md.) tallied 18 points in the loss on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. Haley also chipped in four rebounds and a steal on the night. Senior Kevin White (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added in 12 points while junior Dishawn Bradshaw (Baltimore, Md.) had 11 of his own. Tonight's game marks the third consecutive double-figure scoring effort by both Bradshaw and Haley.

The Hawks (3-9) were led in rebounding by junior Tyler Hines (Sicklerville, N.J.), who had seven in the contest (five defensive).

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Alcorn State Collins accepts head football coaching job at Northern Colorado

Collins becomes first minority head coach at NCU

LORMAN, MS — For the third time in four seasons, Alcorn State University will have a new head football coach patrolling the sidelines in 2011.

The University of Northern Colorado announced Tuesday that Earnest Collins has accepted the head coaching position for the Bears. Collins coached the Braves in 2009 and 2010, amassing an 8-12 overall record and a 7-9 record in the SWAC.

Collins served as associate head coach at Alcorn in 2008 under then-head coach Earnest Jones. After Jones was relieved of his duties following the 2008 season, Collins was elevated to head coach. He finished 3-6 overall and 3-4 in the SWAC in 2009, and was 5-6 overall and 4-5 in the SWAC this past season.

Northern Colorado hires Earnest Collins as its football coach

GREELEY, CO — Northern Colorado found its new football coach at Alcorn State and in the UNC record book. Earnest Collins Jr., a former UNC defensive back, punt returner and assistant coach who still has a school record, is returning to his alma mater to be the Bears' head coach. Collins was Alcorn State's coach the last two seasons.

"This is a chance for me to come home to the place that made me who I am," Collins said in a statement. "My mom and UNC made me the man I am today, so I am thankful for the opportunity to come home. I believe every coach's dream is to come back and coach at his alma mater and win championships at his alma mater. I can't wait to get started and see what we can accomplish. I know we can do some great things at UNC."

Former UNC football standout to take over as head coach

GREELEY, CO — A former Northern Colorado assistant coach has been named as the school's new coach. Athletics director Jay Hinrichs said Tuesday that Ernest Collins Jr. will be the Bears' 16th football coach. Collins, on the team from 1991 to 1994, is the school's single-season school record holder for punt return yards — 497 his senior season. He amassed a total of 978 punt return yards.

Collins told the Greeley Tribune that a press conference on his new job is planned for Thursday. Collins will succeed Scott Downing, fired in November after five seasons and a 9-47 overall record.

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Coppin State finds Wrong Gym

Coach Fang Mitchell plays 66% of Eagle games on the road

Since he has been at Coppin State, Coach Fang Mitchell has played 66 percent of his games on the road - half the MEAC games and practically all the nonconference games when his team collects guarantees to play the big boys in their arenas.

Amazingly, Coppin had never shown up at the wrong gym - until last week. Even though it was supposed to play UConn in Hartford on Dec. 20, the team was instructed to show up in Storrs the night before to practice, according to Mitchell. The gym was closed.

Eventually, Coppin got inside. They had one ball for half-an-hour. Eventually, they got enough balls to conduct a practice. And played the game the next night at the XL Center in Hartford. Coppin lost, 76-64, not a bad result against a really good team.

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Clemson Cruises Past Delaware State, 76-41

Jerai Grant scored 15 points to lead a balanced Clemson attack Monday night as the Tigers cruised past Delaware State 76-41.



Clemson Tigers crush Delaware State Hornets

Grant scored 15 while also dishing out five assists while Milton Jennings added 11 points and nine rebounds.
Delaware State trailed 12-11 with 12 minutes left in the first half before the Tigers responded with an 18-0 run over the next five minutes of play.

“It was a really good win for our guys. I thought we played really efficient basketball," head coach Brad Brownell said afterwards. "I talked to our team about playing with basketball sureness tonight—making the extra pass, sharing the ball, being strong, meeting passes, and limiting turnovers.

"We were facing a team that plays a bunch of different defenses and tries to make you get out of rhythm. They go trap at different times. I think our guys showed good poise.”

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