NEW ORLEANS -- Southern University offensive coordinator Chad Germany recalled the summer conversation he had with freshman quarterback Austin Howard before preseason camp began.
Howard didn't sound arrogant, Germany noted, just determined.
"He said, 'Hey coach, I've started for four years. I've never sat on the bench,' '' Germany said. "That competitive approach he has is something that I like about him. It will carry him a long way.''
It already has.
This time last year, Howard, a 6-foot, 190-pounder, was the starting quarterback for West St. John High.
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Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Benedict Fires Football Coach James Woody
COLUMBIA, South Carolina -- Benedict College has released head football coach James Woody from his contract, announced Willie Washington, the school's Director of Athletics."We appreciate the hard work Coach Woody and his staff performed over the last few seasons," Washington said. "But after a careful review of the entire football program, it was determined that a change in direction was necessary."
Woody took over midway through the 2011 season and went 1-5 as interim coach. Benedict went 1-9 in 2012 before going 4-6 in 2013 and 2014. Woody went 10-26 in three and a half seasons as head coach. He was 4-10 in home games and 6-20 in SIAC conference games.
A national search for a head football coach will begin immediately, Washington said.
COURTESY BENEDICT COLLEGE TIGERS SPORTS INFORMATION
Morgan State makes FCS playoffs for first time
The Bears won a share of the conference championship and grabbed the MEAC's automatic bid to the NCAA FCS playoffs.
Morgan State crushed Delaware State 69-7 on Saturday putting it in position for their first MEAC football championship and their first trip to the FCS playoffs. They finished in a five-way tie for the top spot with Bethune-Cookman, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central and South Carolina State.
Morgan State (7-5 overall, 6-2 MEAC) will face Richmond (8-4 overall, 5-3 CAA) this Saturday at Robins Stadium. The winner of this contest will play No. 7 seeded Coastal Carolina on Dec. 6.
It's been an amazing year for Lee Hull, Morgan State's first-year head coach, who took over the Bears football program after spending six years as the wide receivers coach at the University of Maryland. Hull saw a lot of good things with the Morgan State football team.
After Bayou Classic, Southern awaits another NCAA visit, hopes for relief
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- The postseason ban the NCAA has placed on Southern will not prevent the Jaguars from participating in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game if they defeat Grambling in the Bayou Classic on Saturday.Soon, Southern hopes to be rid of the ban altogether.
The one-year ban, which the NCAA instituted as punishment for inadequate reporting of student-athletes’ Academic Progress Rates, expires Tuesday. A group of NCAA officials will visit the Southern campus next Thursday to determine what to do next, athletic director William Broussard said.
“I imagine everything is on the table,” Broussard said Tuesday. “They’ve given us a list of things they wanted done, and we’re going to show them that we’ve done them.”
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S..C. State Women Knock Off USC Upstate 60-50
ORANGEBURG, South Carolina – Senior guard Kourtney Williams had game-highs of 18 points and three blocks, while teammate junior guard Amber Howard tallied 14 points and six rebounds to lead the South Carolina State women's basketball team to a 60-50 win over USC Upstate on Wednesday night at the S-H-M Memorial Center.Upstate (3-3) got on the board first with a jumper by Brittany Clency with 18:57 left in the first half and led by four, 13-9, after a layup by Brittany Starling at the 11:28 mark. Seventeen seconds later, freshman guard Brittany Drumgoole was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer and made all three free throws. Drumgoole forced an Upstate turnover and Howard scored a bucket to give SC State (3-0) a two-point lead (15-13). With 10:31 left in the half.
The Lady Bulldogs extended their lead to nine, 32-23, after a pair of free throws by junior forward Toni Grier to go into halftime.
SC State kept the Spartans at bay the entire second period, leading by as many 17 (51-34) along the way.
Upstate shot 33.3 percent from the floor for the game (18-of-54), was 3-of-17 from the 3-point line and made 11 of its 19 free-throw attempts. Raven Jefferson led the Spartans with 11 points, while Starling had a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Lady Bulldogs were 20-of-48 from the floor, including 3-of-10 from beyond the arc. They missed just one free throw (17-of-18), but lost the rebound battle 35-33 on the boards. Junior forward Jasmine Coleman grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and added four points, two blocks and a steal.
The Lady Bulldogs hit the road for the first time this season when they travel to Clinton, S.C. to take on Presbyterian on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
Box Score
Karen M. Carty, Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations
COURTESY SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
Daniel, Miller Combine To Lead Howard To Road Win Over UMBC
BALTIMORE, Maryland -- James "J-Byrd" Daniel scored a game-high 19 points and James "JT" Miller and James "JC" Carlton added 18 and 10, respectively to lead Howard University (3-3) to a 68-54 win over the University of Maryland Baltimore County at the RAC.Daniel, who suffered a thigh contusion in the last game and was doubtful up until game time, got the Bison going by scoring 12 of his points in the first 20 minutes. With the attention focused on Daniel, Miller stepped up as Howard led 26-19 at the half.
"J-Byrd was doubtful for the game but he pushed through his thigh contusion and he and JT led the charge early for us," said Howard Coach Kevin Nickelberry.
Added UMBC assistant coach John Zito, following the game, "We knew going in that we had to stop Daniel but he got them going. His play was key for them early."
Buoyed by the play of Daniel and Miller, Carlton, Damon Collins and Jared Norsworthy began to contribute and resulted in a 28-16 second half run that opened a 17-point lead and all but decided the outcome.
The Bison defense and rebounding were also keys. Howard forced the Retrievers (0-4) into a 2 for 15 shooting from beyond the arc. The Bison swarming defense forced too many scoring droughts. Howard held a 38-28 advantage on the boards.
"I'm very proud of this group of young men," said Nickelberry. "They played in another loud arena, but you could tell they learned from earlier losses. They started the game with the mentality that no matter what we were coming out with a victory. A very solid performance on the road and relieved to break the non-conference losing streak."
Collins finished with 9 points and 7 rebounds, Norsworthy with 6 points and 5 rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench and Carlton with a team-high 8 rebounds.
UMBC was led by Aaron Morgan with 13 and Charles Taylor and Jourdan Grant with 11 and 10, respectively.
NEXT UP: Howard will look to go above .500 when it hosts Gwynedd Mercy University at 4 pm Saturday in Burr Gymnasium.
Gold Rush end losing streak at Wiley, win 80-44
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| Jarvis Thibodeaux 6'-8" 200 lbs,, Junior Houston, Texas St. Pius X (Presbyterian) |
The Gold Rush (8-2), ranked 13th in NAIA Division I, had lost six straight to the Wildcats at Alumni Gymnasium since a 96-68 victory on Dec. 11, 2003.
Guard Troy Salvant, a 26-year-old freshman who spent seven years in the Army before enrolling at Xavier, scored all of his career-high 20 points in nine first-half minutes. Gary Smith and Morris Wright scored 12 points apiece, and Jacques Johnson and Wesley Pluviose-Philip scored 11 apiece. Smith and Pluviose-Philip reached season highs.
Xavier shot a season-high 59.6 percent from the floor and made 11-of-16 3-pointers for its most accurate long-range performance in nearly three years.
"We played well and hit shots," XU coach Dannton Jackson said. "This was close to being one of our best games."
Xavier took the lead for good in the second minute and led 47-24 at halftime after shooting 62.1 percent from the floor. Salvant was 7-of-7 from the floor, 4-of-4 from 3-point range and 2-of-2 from the line in the first half.
"Troy hit an early first shot and was feeling it," Jackson said, "so we kept him in there."
Xavier made 11 treys for the first time since its Convocation Center debut against Morehouse on Nov. 3, 2012. Wright made three, and Smith and Johnson made two apiece.
Xavier led by 30 or more for the final 5:27. The Gold Rush posted the third-largest winning margin in the 59-game series and the biggest since a 41-point victory in the 1972-73 season.
Wiley (2-4) shot 31.4 percent from the floor, the lowest this season by an XU opponent.
The Gold Rush outrebounded the Wildcats 36-31. Wright and Pluviose-Philip grabbed a seaosn-high six apiece.
"Jacques Johnson hit some big shots in the second half," Jackson said. "Mo Wright was steady. Another guy who played steady was Josh Freeman in relief of Mo. Josh didn't fill up the stat sheet, but he did the small things well, got us into the offense and defended at a high level."
Xavier produced its biggest winning margin on an opponent's floor since a 110-61 decision against Faith Baptist on Dec. 8, 1994.
Xavier, 6-0 this season against NAIA opponents, will play NAIA No. 9 William Carey at 7 p.m. Monday at the Convocation Center.
Box score
Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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