UVU Wolverines End Homestand Against N.C. Central

OREM, Utah -- Utah Valley University looks to gain a season split with North Carolina Central on Saturday afternoon at 4:05 p.m. in the UCCU Center. The Wolverines (6-7) fell 70-52 in Durham to the Eagles (5-6) on Nov. 27.  "North Carolina Central completely outplayed us in our first meeting," said UVU coach Dick Hunsaker. "They were more physical, quicker to the ball, they out-hustled us and dominated at every position. They know they can beat us."

On Wednesday, UVU beat Troy for the second time in overtime this season after picking up a double-OT victory on Dec. 8 in Alabama. The Wolverines' last three victories have all come in overtime.

In Wednesday's 67-64 overtime win, Ben Aird finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocks with Nick Thompson adding 13 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Holton Hunsaker scored 13 including six in overtime and Antoine Hosley chipped in 10 off the bench for UVU.  N.C. Central has played just three games since the Nov. 27 contest against UVU, picking up a win over North Carolina A&T in its MEAC opener on Dec. 1. Since, the Eagles have suffered pair of narrow defeats against Eastern Kentucky and, most recently, by three points on Dec. 19 at Drake.


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WVIAC Football: Fairmont State picks Woodman as new Falcons’ football coach

HEAD COACH JASON WOODMAN
FAIRMONT STATE UNIVERSITY
FIGHTING FALCONS

FAIRMONT,  West Virginia —  Jason Woodman has been named the 18th head football coach at Fairmont State, Director of Athletics Rusty Elliott announced today. Woodman, a 2002 Fairmont State graduate, returns to his alma mater with extensive success at the Division I and Division II levels.

Woodman will be formally introduced as the head coach at a press conference on Saturday, Dec. 22, at 1 p.m. at the Feaster Center. The press conference will be webcast live on FightingFalcons.com.

“We are very excited to welcome back Jason Woodman to his alma mater,” Elliott said. “Jason is a great, young coaching talent who has worked for some of the best in the business and he has already had a lot of great experiences during his career.”

He spent the previous two seasons as the offensive coordinator at Bowie State where Bulldogs set several school records and has ranked among the best in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA).

Prior to his stint at Bowie State, Woodman worked for two years at Concord as the wide receivers coach and special teams coordinator and helped resurrect the Mountain Lion program.

Woodman began his college coaching career with three seasons at Louisiana State University (2004-2006) under head coaches Nick Saban and Les Miles. Woodman worked as a graduate assistant under Jimbo Fisher, then the Tigers’ Offensive Coordinator.

When Florida State hired Fisher in 2007, Woodman followed to Tallahassee to work under legendary head coach Bobby Bowden.

The following year, Woodman was hired at California University (Pa.). With Woodman as running backs coach, the Vulcans went 13-1, winning their first outright Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship and setting a school record for wins in a season while helping the Vulcans to the national semifinals.

Woodman and his wife, Kari, have four children, sons Taner, Knox and Brodi and daughter Kinleigh.

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Southern's football attendance ranked number one in SWAC

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  --  Southern University football finished the 2012 season ranked No. 9 in the Football Championship Subdivision in average home attendance and No. 1 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, the university recently announced.

Southern posted an average home attendance of 16,602 with only four home contests at the 25,500-seat A.W. Mumford Stadium. The Jaguars also played in the No. 2 (vs. Grambling), No. 4 (vs. Florida A&M) and No. 21 (vs. Texas Southern) overall highest attended single games.

"This year's significant increase in home attendance and uptick in Bayou Classic attendance was the result of a multifaceted marketing and social media campaign and robust community outreach combining with an improved on-the-field product," said William Broussard, Southern athletics director. "We were able to host 750 area youth and over 1000 prospective high school students through various initiatives and do much more through discounted/group sales."

As a result, Southern football produced a 28 percent increase year-over-year.

Southern, by virtue of the Bayou Classic, also ranked No. 4 in total home accumulated attendance at 112,389.

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No more waiting for Morgan State's Anthony Hubbard

BALTIMORE, Maryland  --  As the team bus left Baltimore and headed south to Norfolk, Anthony Hubbard’s mind began racing.

In a few hours, he would take the court for the first time as a Division I men’s basketball player when Morgan State would play the University of Texas at San Antonio and he wasn’t sure what might happen.

For a year, the Woodbridge resident had waited for this opportunity after the NCAA ruled he had to sit out a year after transferring from Iowa. Hubbard never played for the Hawkeyes, but he had signed a national letter of intent and received institutional aid while attending summer school there. Morgan State applied for a waiver, but to no avail.

Then of course, there was Hubbard’s back story beyond Iowa. At age 18, Hubbard went to jail for almost four years for an armed robbery he and three other boys committed in Woodbridge on Dec. 13, 2003.

When he was released from prison on Dec. 20, 2007, Hubbard had straightened out his life and saw a bright future ahead of him.

Still, as excited as he was about finally suiting up for Morgan State, there was no denying the impact of the moment.

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Close to home, HU Avant thrives as on-court leader

HAMPTON, Virginia  -- Keiara Avant wasn't ready to leave.

After averaging a double-double at Indian River High School and receiving a couple of out-of-state scholarship offers, the Chesapeake native wanted to continue her basketball career close to home.

She loved having her family in the stands - a little extra motivation, she said, that helps her play harder. She wanted the hand-made signs, the cheers and the familiarity.

When Hampton coach David Six extended her an offer, the choice was simple. The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference school felt like - and was close to - home.

"Having my family come to the games, support me, it's just great," Avant said. "Hampton blue is strong in my family."

The senior said at least six of her relatives are Hampton alumni. They've watched her and the Pirates win three consecutive MEAC championships.

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Crusaders' last-minute comeback defeats Gold Rush

HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Jeremiah Dunnings' 5-point play with five seconds remaining lifted William Carey to a 72-71 victory against Xavier University of Louisiana in a matchup of ranked NAIA Division I men's basketball teams Tuesday.

The Crusaders (11-1), ranked 10th, completed a two-game season sweep of the Gold Rush (11-3), ranked 16th.

Dunnings, who finished with 17 points, helped William Carey erase a five-point deficit in the final minute. He scored and was fouled by Wanto Joseph on William Carey's final possession to cut Xavier's lead to 71-69. XU coach Dannton Jackson was assessed a technical foul after Dunnings' basket. Dunnings made three consecutive free throws — the last two as a result of the technical — to give the Crusaders their only lead of the second half.

Xavier then committed a turnover on the final possession.

Denzell Erves scored a season-high 22 points for Xavier and grabbed 10 rebounds in his eighth double-double of the season and 15th of his career. Nick Haywood had season highs of 19 points and six 3-pointers, and Joseph had 12 points and seven assists.

Daron Bell scored 16 points, Guy Payne 14 and Kelvin Nixon 10 for William Carey.

The Gold Rush rallied from an 18-9 deficit to lead 36-33 at halftime. Erves' basket with 11:09 remaining gave Xavier its largest lead, 60-47.

William Carey outshot Xavier 49 to 43.8 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Gold Rush 39-29. The Crusaders made 19-of-27 free throws, and the Rush made 7-of-12 to set season lows for free throws attempted, made and accuracy.

The loss was Xavier's first of the season in six road games and its second consecutive one-point decision. The Rush defeated Voorhees 56-55 Saturday.

The Gold Rush will break for Christmas, then resume the schedule at 2 p.m. on New Year's Eve at Belhaven in Jackson, Miss. The next XU men's home game will start at 5 p.m. on Jan. 12 against Tougaloo in the new Convocation Center.

Box score

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

SC State Women Defeat Coastal Carolina 78-55

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina  --  The South Carolina State women, off to their best start in 31 years, built a 27-point halftime lead over visiting Coastal Carolina and went on to a 78-55 victory over the Chanticleers Tuesday night in a non-conference matchup at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.

Guard Cabriel Duren had 15 points and four assists to lead SC State. Also in double figures were guards Kourtney Williams with 12 points and Tiara Knotts with 11. Center Fannie Goodwin added nine points and was one of three Lady Bulldogs with a team-leading seven rebounds. Knotts and forward Brittany Cochran also grabbed seven boards.

Coastal Carolina also had three players in double figures, led by Kayla Cook, who came off the bench for 14 points. Alex Puckett added 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds and Katelyn Connor chipped in 10 points for the Chanticleers, who fell to 6-4 with the loss.

The victory, the fourth in a row for the Lady Bulldogs gave SC State an 8-2 overall mark, the team's best start since the 1978-79 campaign when the Orangeburg institution was 9-1 in its first 10 games on its way to a 33-2 campaign, which included the AIAW Division II National Championship. It is also the best start at SC State for fifth-year head Coach Doug Robertson, who succeeded Tonya Mackey in 2008-2009.

“It's good to be off to a good start,” Robertson said following the game. “We played well in the first half, got a big lead, but played a little lackadaisical in the second half.

“I'm glad we are where we are this point in the season,” he continued, “but we are not at the place where I want us to be yet. We have to learn to put two good halves together. We've gotten off to quick starts several times this season, only to have the teams come back in the second half.”

SC State got off to a quick 18-8 start when Knotts scored on a breakaway with 13:13 on the first period clock. Following a basket by Cook, the Lady Bulldogs went on a 14-2 run to build a 28-10 cushion on a short jumper by Williams with 10:40 left in the opening.

AJ Jordan connected inside the lane for the Chanticleers at the 9:35 mark but a 21-10 spree by the host to end the half sent SC State to the locker room with a 49-22 edge, matching its highest first-half point production of the season. The Lady Bulldogs also scored 49 first-half points in a 94-46 triumph over Southern Wesleyan on Nov. 27th.

Coastal scored 12 of the first 17 points in the second half to slice the lead to 54-34 following back to back baskets by Connor with 11:53 remaining but the Lady Bulldogs got 13 of the next 17 points, to fashion a 67-38 advantage with 8:48 to play on a 3-pointer by Cherisha Floyd, who had seven points in the win.
SC State took its biggest lead – 71-40 – on two foul shots by Duren with 7:46 to play and closest Coastal Carolina came after that was 19 points at 71-52 with 5:28 left on the clock.

SC State will have little time to enjoy the win as the Lady Bulldogs travel to Columbia Friday to face 21st-ranked South Carolina, which was 10-0 on the season going into a Wednesday matchup with No. 1 ranked Stanford.

The Gamecocks dominate the series as SC State's last win in the rivalry came during the 1977-78 campaign by a score of 68-64 in Orangeburg. USC won 63-44 at Columbia last season.

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