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WASHINGTON, DC – After failing to overcome an early 12-2 deficit, the Howard lacrosse team fell to Presbyterian, 19-9, in what was a statistically even match on Saturday afternoon. Despite the loss, the Bison (0-3) generated their highest scoring performance on the season.
An early goal would ignite the Blue Hose with only 55 seconds chipped off the clock. Presbyterian (1-2) went on to disperse 11 more scores throughout period to secure the win. Following halftime the Bison produced their best offensive stance of the season, as they battled back to generate a 5-0 opening lead.
Leading the Bison for the third consecutive game in scoring was senior Desiree Cox, who was a part of four goals, scoring three and assisting one. Headlining alongside the senior midfielder was her younger sister Courtney Cox who snagged three goals of her own on the day. The freshman’s triple-scoring day pushed her to second on the team in goals (4) behind her sister who leads the Bison with seven.
Courtney Lackey also added to Howard’s successful offensive putout with a pair of goals and Taylor Tynes also chimed in with a score.
Howard kept it even with Presbyterian in the latter half of the game at seven goals a piece. HU would produce 15 shots in the second half, three more than PC, marking the first time this season that the Bison were able to outshoot an opponent in a half.
Presbyterian finished with a 20-9 advantage in draw control, but the Bison limited PC to only 30 shots, the lowest an opponent committed against Howard all season. Howard finished with 26 shots in all and junior goalkeeper Amber Meeks finished the game with nine saves as did the Blue Hose.
The Howard Bison will look to take their first win of the season on Tuesday, March 1 at 3:00 p.m. against Marywood at home.
NaKena Cromartie was elected Miss FAMU 2011-2012 yesterday in a runoff election. Cromartie won the title with 1,072 votes, besting runner-up Chelsea Earby, who had 734 votes.
Cromartie, 22, a fourth-year accounting student from Tampa, Fla, came up short with votes on election night held on Tuesday with 1042 votes while Earby had a solid 1328, but the close count called for a run-off.
After an additional day of campaigning and voting, Cromartie claimed victory.
TUSCALOOSA, AL | Kevin Johnson’s road to Stillman College and a potential Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference basketball championship has been a winding one, to say the least.
In the seven years since graduating from Akron High School, Johnson has played at three different local colleges and worked in the restaurant business, the auto parts industry and at a local fast food chain.
At Stillman, as a senior, he has finally found his niche. He and the Tigers are on the verge of the 2011 SIAC regular-season championship. The Tigers are 20-5 overall and 19-4 in SIAC play and, with a win at Tuskegee today, Johnson and his teammates will own a share of the championship.
The road to this season's CIAA Southern Division title goes through Fayetteville.
Winston-Salem State, tied for first place, can win the division title with a win today at Fayetteville State. The Rams (18-6, 6-3 Southern Division) also can lose the game and win the title if Shaw loses tonight to St. Augustine's.
Tipoff for the game between WSSU (18-6, 6-3) and Fayetteville State (13-12, 4-5) in Capel Arena is 5 p.m.
WSSU is coming off one of its most impressive wins of the season, 59-49 over Shaw at the Gaines Center. Six seniors got a win in their final home game and can add to their success with a division title and first-round bye in the CIAA Tournament.
She spent five seasons at Prairie View A&M - which had lost at least 20 games 12 times in the 15 years before her arrival - and won or shared three straight Southwestern Athletic Conference regular-season titles while taking the Panthers to NCAA tournaments in 2007 and '09.
"I felt like, being in the SWAC, no matter what we did, no matter who we played in the (nonconference schedule), we were always going to get that 16th seed and always be seeded against a No. 1,'' she said. "Because our RPI is so good (in the Colonial Athletic Association), I really felt like being in the CAA would give us an opportunity to legitimately fight for a title.''
TOWSON, Md. -- As Cynthia Cooper-Dyke turned to walk out a side door of the Towson Center to board the team bus for a seven-hour ride in the middle of the night back to Wilmington, N.C., it was gently brought to her attention that she had broken yet another clipboard in that night's game in frustration over her team's play.
"How many is that this year?" asked Cooper-Dyke. "Five," answered an assistant coach. There are three things that make that situation pregnant with irony. First, UNC-Wilmington, where Cooper-Dyke is in her first season as head coach, had just beaten Towson by 29.
Second, the win moved the Seahawks to a 21-6 overall record and to 13-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association, keeping them in contention for an at-large NCAA tournament bid.
Vyron Brown, recently tabbed by Spears as the Braves’ new offensive coordinator, has left Alcorn and will be returning to Grambling State to be with newly named coach Doug Williams.
LORMAN, MS — Alcorn State head football coach Melvin Spears has hired 2002 Alcorn State graduate Louis Green as the linebacker and special teams coach.
Green played for Alcorn coach Johnny Thomas from 1998-2002 as a linebacker. He played high school football at Jefferson County High and lettered in track and field and basketball as well.
After finishing at Alcorn, he played in the National Football League for the Baltimore Ravens and the Denver Broncos. He was with the Broncos from 2004-2009 when he was a linebacker and also played on special teams. He won the Ed Black Courage Award while with the Broncos and was in the National Youth Program at Alcorn for four years.
PRINCESS ANNE, MD -- The once popular UMES Homecoming Parade that had disappeared during the past few decades will be resurrected this Saturday featuring the campus' new pep band.
University officials originally planned to keep the parade small and limited to campus, but recently changed the route to go through downtown Princess Anne after student and alumni groups signed up to participate, said Kimberly Dumpson, director of Alumni Affairs and planned giving at the university.
"The parade has taken on a whole new life," she said. "It's really turned into something bigger than what we thought."
At the center will be the pep band, which will turn into a marching band for the occasion.
Orangeburg, S.C.-- On National Signing Day, while all the buzz was about the eventual announcement of Jadeveon Clowney and Clemson's late rally, South Carolina State was putting together a class ranked first in the MEAC.
Head coach Buddy Pough, who is entering his 10th season at his alma mater, says the Bulldogs' streak of three straight years in the post-season made quite an impression on the prospects. Pough says the good news for his program is that he may not have to rely on those newcomers this season, a sign that recruiting has been going well even before this year.
ITTA BENA, MS - The Mississippi Valley State Department of Athletics has announced its 2011 football schedule. The 2011 slate of contests includes facing non-conference institution South Alabama along with the other nine members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
The season opener for the Delta Devils will be on September 3 when MVSU hosts the Hornets of Alabama State. After on open week, MVSU will take on in-state rival Alcorn State (Sept. 17) followed by 2009 conference champion Prairie View A&M (Sept. 24).
The month of October will see MVSU host Southern (Oct. 1), travel to Alabama A&M (Oct. 8), host Jackson State (Oct. 15), travel to Grambling State (Oct. 22) and host 2010 SWAC champion Texas Southern (Oct. 29). The game against the TSU Tigers will be the highlight of Homecoming 2011.
The month of November will see MVSU travel to Mobile, Alabama to face the Jaguars of South Alabama on a Thursday night contest on November 3. The game will be the first time the Jaguars will take on a member of the SWAC in football. The regular season concludes as the Delta Devils host conference rival Arkansas-Pine Bluff on November 12.
Delta Devils 2011 Football Schedule Date Game Location Time
September
3 Alabama State Itta Bena, Miss. Rice-Totten Stadium 5pm
10 OPEN
17 @ Alcorn State Alcorn State, Miss. Jack Spinks Stadium TBA
24 @ Prairie View A&M Prairie View, Texas Blackshear Stadium TBA
October
1 Southern Itta Bena, Miss. Rice-Totten Stadium 2pm
8 @ Alabama A&M Huntsville, Ala. Louis Crews Stadium 1pm
15 Jackson State Itta Bena, Miss. Rice-Totten Stadium 2pm
22 @ Grambling State Grambling, La. Robinson Stadium 2pm
29 Texas Southern (Homecoming 2011) Itta Bena, Miss. Rice-Totten Stadium 2pm
November
3 (Thu.) @ South Alabama Mobile, Ala. Ladd-Peebles Stadium TBA
12 Arkansas-Pine Bluff Itta Bena, Miss. Rice-Totten Stadium 1pm
December
10 SWAC Football Championship 2011 Birmingham, Ala. Legion Field 1pm
Courtesy Mississippi Valley State University Media Relations
ALBANY, GA - Sharod Minus scored 27 points off the bench for the Stillman College Tigers, including 7-for-8 shooting from 3-point range, in a 90-71 victory Thursday night over Albany State in men's basketball action.
Rakee Anderson added 18 points and six assists for the Tigers, while LaJay Sears scored 17 with four assists. Lee Riley contributed 10 points and six rebounds.
Albany State was led by Oscar Morris with 16 points. Stillman (20-5, 19-4 SIAC) plays at Tuskegee at 3 p.m. Saturday.
ALBANY, Ga. — And that’s why you don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
Just ask the Albany State women’s basketball team, which thought it would lock up the No.1 seed in next week’s SIAC Tournament with a win against Stillman on Thursday, but after a second-half meltdown — ending in a 75-67 loss — all the Lady Rams can now look forward to is the No. 2 seed.
“We had a lack of execution on offense (Thursday night),” said Lady Rams coach Robert Skinner, whose team watched Stillman blow the lid off a game that was all knotted up at 29-29 at halftime. “We just didn’t play good defensively."
Wildcats Open With MEAC/SWAC Challenge; Face Miami on 10/1
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - A season opening ESPN game and a first-ever meeting with a renowned national powerhouse highlight the 2011 Bethune-Cookman University football schedule released today.
Coming off a 10-2 season that saw them claim a share of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship, advance to their first NCAA FCS playoff appearance since 2003 and being named National Black College Football Champions, the Wildcats will open the season against SWAC foe Prairie View A&M in ESPN's MEAC/SWAC Challenge on September 3 in Orlando. On October 1, the Wildcats travel to south Florida for a date with the Miami Hurricanes; their first foray against a BCS team.
"We announced in 2010 that we wanted to upgrade our schedule. The success of our program in Brian Jenkins' inaugural season paved the way for us to consider new and bigger opportunities for our team, university and fans to experience," said B-CU Athletic Director Lynn Thompson. "We are proud to move in this new direction."
Jenkins agreed with Thompson and is looking forward to the challenging 11-game slate. "It's a strong schedule that will test us early," Jenkins said.
Of the Wildcats' 11 games, eight are in the state of Florida, including five in Daytona Beach. The Daytona Beach games includes two early season matchups against MEAC power South Carolina State and Hampton that will set the tone for the conference race.
"It will be very convenient for our fans to follow us in record numbers like they did last year," Thompson said. "We're excited about what 2011 will bring to our fans."
Two key dates always important for Wildcat fans are Homecoming - slated for October 15 against Fort Valley State, an old rival from the days of Division II -- and the Florida Classic November 19 against Florida A&M.
For season ticket information, contact the BCU ticket office at (386) 481-2465.
2011 B-CU Wildcats Football Schedule DATE OPPONENT LOCATION
September 4 Prairie View (MEAC/SWAC Challenge) Orlando, Fla.
September 10 South Carolina State * Daytona Beach, Fla.
September 17 Open
September 24 Hampton * Daytona Beach, Fla.
October 1 Miami Miami, Fla.
October 8 North Carolina A&T * Greensboro, N.C.
October 15 Fort Valley State (Homecoming) Daytona Beach, Fla.
October 22 Norfolk State * Norfolk, Va.
October 29 North Carolina Central * Durham, N.C.
November 5 Morgan State * Daytona Beach, Fla.
November 12 Savannah State Daytona Beach, Fla.
November 19 Florida A&M * (Florida Classic) Orlando, Fla.
Morgan State suffered through atrocious foul shooting (7-for-19), unforced turnovers (17 in all) and a 14-point second half Wednesday, but the Bears still managed to pull out a 42-39 victory over Delaware State at Hill Field House on Wednesday night.
The victory, on Senior Night, moved Morgan (10-3) within a half-game of first-place Bethune-Cookman (11-3) in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with three games to play. It was the Bears' fifth straight win in February and the 100th of the Todd Bozeman era at Morgan.
"You want to do it more efficiently, like we practice it, but I'll take the win," Bozeman said.
BALTIMORE -- Delaware State missed two potential game-tying 3-point shots in the last eight seconds, falling 42-39 to Morgan State in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference action on Wednesday night.
Desi Washington fired off a 3-point shot that rattled inside the rim before coming out with eight seconds left to play.
Morgan State rebounded the miss, and the Hornets fouled Justin Black with 6.7 seconds remaining. Black missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving DSU another chance with 3.8 seconds left. Washington took the inbounds pass, but misfired on a long 3-point try as time expired.
DOVER, DE -- When Delaware State University athletics director Derek Carter introduced Kermit Blount as the Hornets' new head football coach on Friday morning, he referred to him as an "automotive repair wizard."
Blount will definitely have to rely on some of his tune-up skills if he wants to get Delaware State's sagging football program running smoothly again.
Just after his introduction as the Hornets' coach, Blount immediately faced a challenging question from the crowd gathered at Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center -- when is Delaware State going to be able to beat the University of Delaware?
GRAMBLING, La. — Grambling State University was thought to have pulled off some sort of coup by luring back Doug Williams for a second stint as the Tigers' head football coach.
After all, how often does a school lose a coach the caliber of Rod Broadway, after signing day, and manage to take a monumental leap forward?
Hardly ever, as you could tell by the visible and audible jubilation pouring from Grambling alums, athletes and supporters — many who made lengthy journeys to mark the occasion Wednesday.
Doug Williams sat intently as Grambling president Frank Pogue and athletics director Lin Dawson talked about him, but as the Tigers' new head football coach stood, held his black and gold baseball cap and began to address the room, he couldn't help but crack a wide smile.
"Wow," he said. "We are Grambling."
About 200 people tried to pile into a room with about 100 chairs for the press conference Wednesday morning at the Eddie Robinson Museum to officially announce the old news that Robinson was returning for a second stint as the head coach.
When Thomas Wolfe penned, "You Can't Go Home Again," it's obvious Doug Williams didn't get the memo. Maybe he skipped that class when he was a student at Grambling State University.
But today, the Grambling community is quite happy Doug Williams doesn't know you can't go home again. And if he did indeed dash out on literature, it hasn't shown up on his permanent record.
Doug Williams acknowledges that coaching his son in his second stint at Grambling State may be a challenge, but it has to be easier than navigating what he calls the NFL's good ol' boys "fraternity."
Williams resigned over the weekend as general manager of the Virginia Destroyers of the UFL in order to return to Grambling State and criticized front-office opportunities for minorities in the NFL. He spent six seasons in the Tampa Bay Bucs' scouting department (from 2004 until last May) and hoped to become an NFL GM.
"The good ol' boy network is alive and well,'' Williams said in an interview with tampabay.com. "But it's changed from the good ol' boy network to the fraternity. I always find a way to overcome and just keep going forward. I look at it this way, you've got guys sitting in the front office that never coached.
TAMPA, FL - As he looked out at the faces of his football players gathered in the Tampa Bay Tech auditorium early Wednesday afternoon, C.C. Culpepper couldn't hold back the tears.
Culpepper was overcome with emotion as he revealed he was leaving TBT as head coach to accept a job as defensive backs and special teams coach at Grambling State University.
"If it wasn't for your hard work, practicing and playing, listening to me scream and cuss, I would not have this opportunity," Culpepper told his players. "It's the young men of Tampa Bay Tech who have given me this chance."
And despite how much work he put into TBT to change it from a perennial loser to one that reached the region semifinals the past three seasons, Culpepper said coaching at Grambling was just an opportunity that doesn't come around often.
The most prosperous era in Tampa Bay Tech football history concluded earlier today, when Titans coach C.C. Culpepper informed his players he is stepping down to join Doug Williams' staff at Grambling State University.
TBT principal Scott Brooks confirmed Culpepper, also a highly respected business teacher at the school, informed him first thing this morning he was resigning. He's the fourth Hillsborough County coach to step down -- either voluntarily or by force -- this offseason.
"When Doug Williams calls and asks you, I'm not sure how you tell him no," Brooks said.
LORMAN — Alcorn State University head football Melvin Spears continues to round out his coaching staff, naming New Orleans native and former Grambling State University star Bruce Eugene as his quarterbacks coach.
Eugene, a 2005 graduate of Grambling, played for newly named Grambling coach Doug Williams, and got tutelage from Spears, who was the quarterbacks coach at the time.
Eugene became one of the top players in Division 1-AA college football, breaking Grambling and SWAC records in the process. He was a three-time finalist for the Walter Payton Award.
Videographer: UrbanSportsITG
CURRENT HIRES:
Melvin Spears Jr., Head Football Coach
Vyron Brown, Offensive Coordinator
Quantas Floyd, Defensive Backs Coach
Darius Matthews, Tight End and Wide Recievers Coach
Bruce Eugene, Quarterbacks Coach
Alcorn State University head football coach Melvin Spears announces that Grambling State graduate Darius Matthews has been added to his coaching staff In charge of the wide receivers and tight ends. Matthews worked with Spears in 2006 at Grambling State as the running backs coach.
Matthews is glad to be at Alcorn State: “It’s a chance for me to play a role in establishing a winning program. I’ll have the chance to work with a proven winner in coach Spears and to become a part of the Alcorn State family.”
Matthews comes to ASU from East Feliciana High in Jackson, Louisiana where he served as offensive coordinator. He was offensive coordinator at Clinton High in Clinton from 2007 thru 2010 and running backs coach at Grambling from 2006 thru 2007.
Jackson, MS - A three-game homestand comprises half of the six that Jackson State football will play at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium during its 11-game schedule this season.
Jackson State will kick off the season on Sept. 3 against Division III Concordia College in the fourth annual W.C. Gorden Classic. The Tigers will play one other non-conference game, Sept. 10 against Ohio Valley Conference member Tennessee State in the Southern Heritage Classic in Memphis.
The Tigers' remaining five home games are against Southwestern Athletic Conference opponents, including...
2011 Jackson State University Football Schedule Date Opponent Site Time
September
3 Concordia College “Hornets” (Selma, AL) Jackson, MS 1:30 PM
(4th Annual W.C. Gorden Classic)
10 Tennessee State “Tigers” Memphis, TN 6:00 PM
(Southern Heritage Classic)
17 Southern “Jaguars” Baton Rouge, LA TBA
24 Alabama State “Hornets” Jackson, MS 4:00 PM
October
1 Texas Southern “Tigers” Jackson, MS 4:00 PM
8 Arkansas‐Pine Bluff “Golden Lions” Jackson, MS 4:00 PM
(Homecoming)
15 Mississippi Valley State” Delta Devils” Itta Bena, MS TBA
22 OPEN
29 Prairie View A&M “Panthers” Prairie View, TX TBA
November
5 Grambling State “Tigers” Jackson, MS 2:00 PM
12 Alabama A&M “Bulldogs” Huntsville, AL TBA
19 Alcorn State “Braves” Jackson, MS 1:00 PM
(Capital City Classic)
December
10 SWAC Championship Game Birmingham, AL TBA
Five Virgin Islanders from five different colleges competed at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference indoor track and field championships last weekend in Landover, Md.
Delaware State University junior Leslie Murray and Florida A&M senior Leon Hunt walked away with first-place medals around their necks, and Murray was a member of a record-setting relay team.
"It was a great experience. All of us have come from different programs and it was cool to have us all under the same roof going up against the best from our conference," said Leon Hunt, who is ranked 14th among the nation's best long jumpers. "It was like we were going against rival schools and friends. It was very competitive."
Hunt set a personal best in the long jump earlier this month at the Niswonger Invitational track meet, when he leaped 7.75 meters (25 feet, 4 inches). Hunt was ranked among the conference's elite for most of the indoor season and finished with 7.69 on Saturday.
Saadia Doyle is the winner of the HSRN National basketball fan poll. The Atlanta, Georgia native currently leads the MEAC in scoring (18.3 ppg, 38th in NCAA), ranks second in rebounding (8.8 rpg), and fourth in field goal percentage (.448). She was recently tabbed as MEAC Player of the week.
The sophomore is seven points away from hitting the 1,000-point milestone and has tallied over 500 rebounds for her career. In addition, she has also recorded 12 double-double performances on the year.
Doyle was nominated for her performances against Norfolk State and Florida A&M. She led the Bison to a 2-0 week averaging a double-double with 28 points and 11.5 rebounds. In the 66-49 win over Norfolk St. she had 38 points, 10 rebounds, one assist and three steals. In the 67-58 victory over Florida A&M she finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Each week during the season, HSRN's staff select the top performances from all HBCU action and give the fans across the country a chance to vote for the Player of the Week.
HSRN developed the fan poll to get all HBCU alumni, students and fans involved with the Edit HTMLnational process and to also give everyone a chance to consistently keep up with the individual performances around the country. This web site and its broadcasts are designed to keep people abreast of all action around HBCU athletic competition.
By Jamilah Corbitt Assistant Director of Sports Information Howard University
Grambling's 2010 season will be a tough one to follow. After finishing the regular season with an 18-30 overall record, the Tigers became scorching hot in the postseason.
They swept through the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament, outscoring the opposition 47-10 over four games to capture the program's first conference title in 25 years.
The Tigers have had a lot of turnover in their roster since then, but they still enter the 2011 season with ...
Grambling State baseball coach James Cooper can be forgiven for looking back a little bit.
Nine months ago, Cooper and his Tigers authored one of the greatest weekends in recent GSU baseball history — sweeping through the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament at Shreveport's Fair Grounds Field to earn an NCAA regional berth.
"We've actually tried to pick up where we left off," said Cooper, whose team opens the season against...
Columbia, SC (WLTX) --- Xavier Collier scored 25 points and five assists to lead Benedict to a 72-63 win over Morehouse College Tuesday night, clinching the SIAC regular season title for the Tigers.
Marcus Goode, the reigning SIAC player of the week, scored 22 points and pulled down 14 rebounds for Benedict which won its fourth SIAC regular season championship in the Fred Watson era.
Jackson State University's football team will be banned from postseason play this fall and the athletic department's membership in the National Collegiate Athletic Association is likely to be restricted by 2012 if the NCAA does not grant the school's waiver request.
The team's Academic Progress Rate, a rolling, four-year figure that calculates academic performance, has fallen below a critical benchmark for the third straight year, according to documents obtained recently by The Clarion-Ledger through a public records request.
JSU 2011 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent / Event Location Time / Result
09/03/11 Concordia (Selma, AL) Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium 1:30 p.m. CT
09/10/11 vs. Tennessee State Memphis, TN 6:00 p.m. CT
09/17/11 at Southern Baton Rouge, LA TBA
09/24/11 vs. Alabama State Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium 4:00 p.m. CT
10/01/11 vs. Texas Southern Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium 4:00 p.m. CT
10/08/11 vs. Arkansas - Pine Bluff Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium 4:00 p.m. CT
10/15/11 at Mississippi Valley State Itta Bena, MS TBA
10/29/11 at Prairie View A&M Prairie View, TX TBA
11/05/11 vs. Grambling St. Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium 2:00 p.m. CT
11/12/11 at Alabama A&M Huntsville, AL TBA
11/19/11 vs. Alcorn State Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium 1:00 p.m. CT
Arkansas-Pine Bluff has officially announced in a press release that Alonzo Hampton has resigned from the school to take a position with WKU. The release did not say that Hampton has officially joined the Toppers yet, and no official word has come from WKU.
WKU may have filled one of its two football coaching vacancies.
David Harten, the Arkansas-Pine Bluff football beat writer for the Pine Bluff Commercial, reported Tuesday that UAPB defensive coordinator Alonzo Hampton has resigned from the school to join WKU as defensive backs coach.
The Daily News confirmed with a source Monday that Arkansas-Pine Bluff defensive coordinator Alonzo Hampton has interviewed for the open defensive backs coaching position at Western Kentucky.
Hampton - a Louisiana-Monroe product - spent the past four seasons at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, with 2010 being his first as the team’s defensive coordinator.
Before becoming the team’s defensive coordinator, Hampton served as cornerbacks and defensive backs coach for UAPB. Prior to that, Hampton served as head coach at Dumas High School in Arkansas for two seasons.
Saint Augustine’s College swept the CIAA basketball rookie of the year awards Tuesday for the second time in four seasons.
Freshman guard Joel Kindred (Raleigh, N.C.) was named the men’s top rookie and freshman center Umeka Benson (Charlotte, N.C.) was voted the women’s best rookie Tuesday by the CIAA-Sports Information Directors Association. The last time a CIAA school produced two rookie of year winners in the same year was 2008 when Allison Sikes (women) and Hayward Fain (men) of Saint Augustine’s College took freshman honors.
Both Kindred and Benson were also named to their respective All-CIAA rookie teams. Redshirt freshman Chris Johnson (Hampton, Va.) of the Falcons joined Kindred on the men’s rookie squad.
Kindred was a unanimous choice for men’s rookie of the year. A 6-foot-4, 185-pound guard, Kindred leads CIAA freshmen in scoring (13.2 ppg) and is also the Falcons’ best rebounder (5.0 rpg). He shoots 44 percent from the floor and has scored in double figures 17 of 25 games including five games of 20 or more points. His play this season was reflected in the voting for CIAA rookie of the week which he won a league-high seven times.
“This is a great honor for Joel, the basketball program, Saint Augustine’s College and the community,” said Ken Spencer, the first-year head men’s coach at Saint Augustine’s College. “He is the type of player I want to bring in. Joel represents the basketball program well on the court, in the classroom and in the community.”
Kindred is the first Falcon to win the honor since Fain in 2008. He played high school ball last season in Raleigh, N.C., at Word of God Academy, which produced NBA rookie standout John Wall. Current Falcon assistant coach Erasto Hatchett was Kindred’s head coach at Word of God.
“I am thankful for winning the award,” Kindred said. “I thank the coaches, my teammates, my brothers and my mom for pushing me.”
Kindred is the younger brother of former Falcon high jump standout Joe Kindred, a track and field All-American and national Division II champion who won national field performer of the year honors. Joel’s brother Jon Kindred (Raleigh, N.C.) also plays for the Falcons’ basketball team.
Benson is the latest Lady Falcon to win the rookie honor since Keyona Bryant (2009) and Sikes (2008), making it three out of four seasons a Lady Falcon has claimed the award. A 6-0 center, Benson leads CIAA freshmen in scoring (10.0 ppg) and ranks second among CIAA rookies in rebounding (8.6 rpg). She debuted with 21 points against Davis & Elkins in the season opener and went on to reach double figures in points 10 times and rebounds eight times. A tenacious and athletic player in the paint, Benson has tallied four double-doubles for the Lady Falcons, who are 17-9 overall and tied for second in the CIAA’s Southern Division with one regular-season game to play.
“I am so excited for Umeka,” said Rachel Bullard, the first-year women’s head coach at Saint Augustine’s College. “She has worked very hard and has grown as a person and player throughout the year. What an awesome honor for her and the team.”
Benson plays her best against top-level competition. She had 10 points and 15 rebounds on Nov. 13, 2010, against West Liberty, currently ranked second in the Atlantic Region. Benson had 16 points and 14 rebounds on Feb. 12 in the first meeting against Johnson C. Smith. In the rematch Monday, Benson put up 12 points and 10 rebounds against JCSU, ranked seventh regionally and 24th nationally. The Lady Falcons won both games against JCSU, which is located in Benson's hometown of Charlotte, N.C.
“I am excited and caught off guard about receiving rookie of the year,” Benson said. “I am grateful to my team because I could not have won this award without them. I give thanks to my family, coaches and Saint Augustine’s College. We are looking forward to the CIAA Tournament.”
Johnson rebounded from knee injury last season to become a contributor for the Falcons. A 6-foot-5, 225-pound forward, Johnson averaged 5.0 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16.7 minutes of action. His rebounding average is fourth-best on the Falcons, and he is the team’s second-best offensive rebounder.
Johnson scored a season-high 14 points in a January win over Shaw. He pulled down 11 rebounds against Armstrong Atlantic State in December 2010.
The rookies of the year and All-CIAA rookie teams will be recognized at the league’s Women’s and Men’s Basketball Tip Off Ceremonies on Feb. 27 and March 1 in Charlotte, N.C.
By Sports Information Office Saint Augustine's College
Women: Umeka Benson Saint Augustine's College - CIAA Women's Rookie of the Year
Umeka Benson Saint Augustine's College C 6-0 Charlotte, NC
Alisha Hardley Saint Paul's College F/C 6-0 Stafford, VA
Racquel Davis Johnson C. Smith University F 6-0 Bamberg, Germany
Leslie Slayton Virginia Union University G 5-5 Clinton, MD
Cynthia Johnson Lincoln University (PA) PG 5-7 Randallstown, MD
Joel Kindred
Men: Joel Kindred Saint Augustine's College - CIAA Men's Rookie of the Year
Joel Kindred Saint Augustine's College G 6-4 Raleigh, NC
Chris Johnson Saint Augustine's College G/F 6-5 Hampton, VA
Tyrell Tate Fayetteville State University F 6-5 Raleigh, NC
Rasheem King Bowie State University F 6-4 Brooklyn, NY
James Theus Virginia Union University G 6-4 Portsmouth, VA
