SWAC champion Delta Devils tame Tigers with 3-point clinic

COACH SEAN WOODS

JACKSON, Mississippi  -  Half of the players seated on the Mississippi Valley State bench leaped to their feet. All of them held up the same amount of fingers on each hand. Not one - the usual and something you'd expect from a team that has already claimed a conference championship. No, they held up three fingers.

The Delta Devils hit 14 3s - Kevin Burwell alone had seven during a career-high day - and this hot-rolling team from the Delta continued its winning ways, beating Jackson State 78-69 on Monday night in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPNU.

"I did that in high school," Burwell said afterward. "It was just one of those days." Winner of 17 straight, Mississippi Valley (18-11, 17-0 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference) moved a step closer to accomplishing a first in this league.

No team has gone 18-0 in the regular season.

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Savannah State Tigers claim share of MEAC title

SAVANNAH, Georgia - It’s never been more fun to be a fan of Savannah State men’s basketball. The Tigers won again Monday night and gave their fist-pumping, key-shaking faithful of 2,490 in Tiger Arena at least a share of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular-season title.

SSU defeated North Carolina A&T, 62-50, for its 12th straight victory — a school best since the records began being kept 31 years ago. The Tigers (20-10, 13-2 MEAC) can claim the conference title outright and earn a bid to a national tournament by defeating Maryland Eastern Shore on the road Thursday.



“It’s funny, you look forward to this day happening, and then it happens before you know it,” SSU coach Horace Broadnax said. “I’m happy for the players and alumni who endured (the tough times) and understood what basketball is all about.”

Broadnax’s first team went 2-28 — a part of a disappointing six-year stretch from 2000-2006 when the Tigers combined for a 15-151 mark.

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XU' Erves earns a pair of player-of-the-week awards



DENZELL ERVES #15
6'-7"/205 FORWARD, JUNIOR
Hometown: VICKSBURG, MS
VICKSBURG HIGH SCHOOL



NEW ORLEANS -- Xavier University of Louisiana's Denzell Erves received a pair of honors Monday. He was chosen Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week in men's basketball, and he shared Louisiana Player of the Week with two others.

Erves, a 6-foot-7 junior forward from Vicksburg, Miss., and a graduate of Vicksburg High School, averaged 17 points, 9.5 rebounds and shot 56.5 percent from the floor to help the Gold Rush (22-7) close the regular season with GCAC road victories against Fisk and Dillard. Against Fisk he had 16 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season -- the most by an XU player since the start of 2003-04 -- and he had 18 points, nine rebounds and two blocks to help the Rush complete a regular-season sweep of its longtime city rival. He helped Xavier score back-to-back 20-point victories in conference for the first time since January 1996.

Erves tied for the Louisiana award, which is chosen by a Louisiana Sports Writers Association panel, with Trevor Gaskins of Louisiana Tech and Ricky Tarrant of Tulane.

It's the third time this season that Erves won the GCAC award. Teammate Anthony Simmons has won twice this season, and Cordell Hadnot and Nick Haywood did it once each.

In 29 games this season, Erves is averaging 9.4 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds. He has started 28 times and leads Xavier with 29 blocked shots.

Xavier will play Fisk at 4 p.m. EST Thursday in the quarterfinals of the GCAC Tournament at Jacksonville, Fla.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

Grice helps FAMU Rattlers women's basketball team earn 20th victory

TALLAHASSEE, Florida - Just before game time Monday night, Florida A&M senior women's basketball player Antonia Bennett had a sit-down with sophomore Jasmine Grice. The conversation lasted about 10 minutes.

"I was telling her she's got to shoot the ball and be confident when she shoots it," Bennett said. "I just felt like I had to talk with her."

Grice later admitted she was so inspired by the talk and that's why she went out and scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Rattlers to an 81-64 victory over Norfolk State at the Lawson Center.

FAMU needed the spark Grice provided, especially after an uninspired first half that ended with the Spartans leading 32-29. The story changed in the second half, though, and 10 minutes in it was clear FAMU wouldn't be denied its first 20-win season in 15 years.

FAMU (20-7, 12-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) was denied a chance for its 20th win Saturday night when it lost to Hampton. With that loss went first place in the MEAC as well.

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Shaw seeks sweet sweep

RALEIGH, North Carolina -- The Shaw men's and women's basketball teams enter this week's CIAA tournament as favorites to win back-to-back championships.

The men's team closed out the regular season with a two-point victory over St. Augustine's last Thursday and carry a 20-game winning streak into their first game. As the No. 1 seed in the Southern Division bracket, the Bears received an opening-round bye and will play 9 p.m. Thursday at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte.



The Shaw women's team also closed out the season with a victory over St. Augustine's and earned the top seed in the Southern Division. The No. 1 seeded Bears face today's winner between No. 4 Elizabeth City State and No. 5 St. Augustine's College on Wednesday. They have a chance to repeat as champions for the first time since winning four straight league tournament championships from 2002 to 2006.

"We've got to stay sharp," Shaw women's coach Jacques Curtis said. "We're playing well now. Besides us, the three best teams are Johnson C. Smith, Winston-Salem State and St. Aug's. All the top teams on our side. We beat Winston by 30. We beat Smith by 33. And (Thursday) we beat St. Aug's by 40-something. We have to stay sharp."

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Tuskegee Men, Fort Valley State Women Lead SIAC Tournament Brackets

ATLANTA, Georgia  -  Tuskegee, winner of the regular season SIAC men's hoops title, will join Fort Valley State Lady Wildcats as the top seeds of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament.

The tournament for the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II playoffs kicks off Tuesday at Frank L. Forbes Arena on the campus of Morehouse.

Tuskegee won the men's title with a 16-8 mark (16-10 overall). FVSU was 18-4 in conference (20-6 for the season).

Men's Bracket

2/28/2012

Game 1: Claflin vs. Lane, 2 p.m.

Game 2: Fort Valley State vs. Miles, 8 p.m.

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Xavier's Taylor is first GCAC Player of the Week for 2012

NEW ORLEANS -- Zach Taylor, who delivered in doubles and singles for Xavier University of Louisiana in a comeback victory against William Carey on Saturday, is the first Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week of the men's tennis season.

Taylor, a senior from Monroe, La., and a graduate of St. Frederick High School and Ventura College, teamed with Loic Didavi for an 8-5 No. 1 doubles victory against the Crusaders' Jody Claassen and Thomas Rizk.

Taylor's 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 victory at No. 2 singles against 31st-rated Ricky Keppeler tied the dual at 4. Xavier, ranked ninth in the NAIA, rallied from a 4-1 deficit to beat 13th-ranked William Carey 5-4.

Taylor was 4-0 in singles and 4-0 in doubles in February. He and Didavi were third -- Xavier's highest NAIA position ever -- in the ITA's preseason doubles rankings. Taylor was a three-time GCAC Player of the Week in 2011. Xavier (4-1) will play NAIA No. 10 Shorter at 2 p.m. next Monday at City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS