NSU Triumphs in OT Thriller, 72-70, against St. Francis Brooklyn

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey – Things looked bleak early on when the Norfolk State men's basketball team fell behind by double digits before even scoring its first points of the game against St. Francis Brooklyn. But in a late Friday afternoon matchup in the Barclays Center Classic, it was the Spartans who ended up pulling off the remarkable comeback.

A wild finish to regulation led to an even wilder overtime ending, and the Spartans came away with a 72-70 victory at the Yanitelli Center on the campus of Saint Peter's.

All of it came after NSU (3-3) faced a 15-0 deficit to start the contest. But that Terrier lead dropped to just nine at the half and was completely erased with a little more than nine minutes left in regulation. From there, the madness ensued.

The Terriers (0-5) scored seven points in a row, while the Spartans were held scoreless for a three and a half minute span to fall behind by six. Junior Jeff Short hit a 3-pointer from the left corner and junior RaShid Gaston converted a layup to cut the St. Francis Brooklyn lead to just one, 57-56, with 3:39 left in the game.

Junior D'Shon Taylor twice sank a pair from the line, the latter with 1:25 left for a 3-point Spartan edge, 61-58. Brent Jones, though, drained a tough-angle trey from the right corner with 53.8 seconds left to tie it up. NSU came up empty on the next possession, but Jones was called for traveling in the middle of the lane to give the Spartans one last shot with seven seconds left. Short got the ball at midcourt and drove down the left side of the lane, but his off-balance layup right at the buzzer did not fall.

In overtime, Taylor got things going by sinking a pair from the line. He later hit a short floater in the middle of the lane – he had eight of NSU's nine points between the end of regulation and the start of overtime – and senior Malik Thomas got the loose-ball offensive rebound for an easy layup for a 67-64 Spartan lead at the 3:22 mark. On the very next possession, however, Antonio Jenifer answered with a 3-pointer from the right corner to tie it up.

Jones converted a traditional 3-point play with 1:02 left to put the Terriers back up by three. Short hit two free throws with 41.3 seconds left, and junior Jamel Fuentes crashed into the courtside chairs going after the inbounds pass. Before he fell out of bounds, though, Fuentes got the ball to Thomas, who drove into the middle of the lane and hit a floater from a few feet out.

Now up 71-70, NSU had to weather one last storm from the Terriers. Jones missed a trey deep beyond the left wing with 13 seconds left, and Thomas corralled the rebound and went 1-of-2 from the line. Jones got the loose ball rebound off the second shot, but Tyreek Jewel missed from the right baseline, around 15 feet out, to close out the crazy finish.

Thomas finished with a career-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting to go with seven rebounds. Short totaled 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while Gaston contributed a double-double of 14 points (6-of-8 from the floor) with 10 rebounds.

Taylor added 14 points as well, while the rest of the team scored just four.

NSU hit 54.2 percent overall for the game on 26-of-48 shooting but committed 21 turnovers. St. Francis Brooklyn also had 21 giveaways while connecting on 24-of-54 field goal attempts, including 6-of-22 from 3-point range.

Jalen Cannon finished with 23 points and nine rebounds for the Terriers.

NSU got off to a slow start, committing six fouls in the first four-plus minutes and falling behind by a 15-0 score. Short hit a short runner in the lane to end the drought at 15:27 and start an 8-0 run for the Spartans. The Terriers then scored seven straight, part of a longer 15-6 run for St. Francis Brooklyn that extended its lead to the largest of the half, 30-14, with 5:16 to go.

Taylor made a pair of free throws to cap an 8-1 run as NSU held the Terriers to without a field goal for the last five minutes of the first stanza. Short's 12-foot baseline jumper with 1:16 left cut the deficit to 33-24 going into the intermission.

Cannon had 15 points and seven rebounds in the first half.

The Spartans struck quickly early in the second half, cutting the deficit to four at 35-31 when Thomas drained the team's first 3-pointer of the game from the right wing. He hit another trey four minutes later and then a pair of free throws to make it 42-39 in favor of the Terriers at the 12:50 mark.

Gaston hit a turnaround hook shot and then found Taylor streaking down the court thirty seconds later for a fastbreak dunk to tie it up at 45-45. On NSU's next possession, Thomas drained a shot near the left elbow to finally give the Spartans their first lead of the game.

The Spartans shot 12-of-19 from the floor in the second half.

The game featured a combined 47 fouls between the two teams.

NSU will face Saint Peter's Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the championship game.

Box Score

Mike Bello, Asst. SID
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NCCU Eagles Dominate EIU Panthers in Third Round of Emerald Coast Classic

NICEVILLE, Florida -- North Carolina Central University raced out to a 20-point first half lead behind stellar defense as the Eagles dominated Eastern Illinois on the way to a 65-40 victory in the third round of the 2014 Emerald Coast Classic inside Raider Arena in Niceville, Florida.
 
Through the first four minutes, NCCU led EIU 9-5, but an 11-2 spurt overt the next three minutes forced Panther head coach Jay Spoonhour to call a timeout as the Eagles led 20-7 with 12:10 remaining in the first stanza.
 
Redshirt junior Dante Holmes (Baltimore, Maryland) stormed out with 10 points in the first eight minutes, going a perfect 4-for-4 from-the-field, including 2-for-2 from-deep.
 
NCCU continued to pressure the Panthers, forcing Eastern Illinois to shoot a paltry 6-for-23 (26.1 percent) from-the-field , just 1-of-8 (12.5 percent) from three-point range as the Eagles pulled away for a 40-20 halftime advantage.
 
Both Holmes and senior forward Karamo Jawara (Bergen, Norway) scored in double figures through the first half as Jawara ended up with 10 points, while point guard Nimrod Hilliardadded four helpers and just one turnover through the first 20 minutes.
 
The second half was more of the same as the maroon and gray gave Eastern Illinois no chance to comeback as the lead grew to as high as 26 following one of the three three-pointers by senior Anthony McDonald (Aberdeen, Mississippi) to make 57-31 with 11:26 to go in the game.
 
NCCU (2-3) went on to win 65-40 to end a two-game skid, while EIU (1-5) dropped its fourth straight matchup.
 
The Eagles outrebounded the Panthers 33-23 and outscored EIU 30-to-12 in-the-paint.
 
Senior Jordan Parks (Queen, New York) finished the night with 13 points, while McDonald gave the maroon and gray four players in double figures with 11 points in the win.
 
NCCU will take on the winner of the Northern Arizona/Southern matchup at 2:30 p.m. (EST) for the final round of the Emerald Coast Classic inside Raider Arena on the campus of Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Florida.
 
Visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com or download the NCCU Sports Network app available in the App Store, Google Play and Amazon for the latest on NCCU Athletics.

BOX SCORE   

NCCU's LeVelle Moton's Postgame Comments  

PREVIEW NEXT GAME: Northern Arizona University, 2:30 p.m., Nov. 29, 2014. 

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Texas Southern's Thomas secures a double-double in 71-59 win over Lamar

HOUSTON, Texas -- The Texas Southern Tigers defeated Lamar 71-59 on Friday in a game in which TSU played well on both sides of the ball.

Chris Thomas erupted for 23 points and 10 rebounds to help lead the Tigers to their first win of the season.

Malcolm Riley added 15 points and four rebounds as Texas Southern played dominate basketball for the majority of the contest.

"We did a good job of moving the basketball and getting stops when we had to have them," said TSU head coach Mike Davis. "Offensively I thought we started off slow but we got things going as the game progressed."

Texas Southern will face Baylor on Dec. 1 in Waco, Texas.

Box Score

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Alabama State Hornets Basketball Picks Up Win Over Texas-Pan American

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- Alabama State got back in the win column with a 91-79 win over Texas-Pan American out in Salt Lake City at the Utah Tournament.

"I thought unlike last night we came out tonight with a lot of energy," Head Coach Lewis Jackson said. "Guys were out there giving second and third efforts in what we were trying to do. We wanted to get the ball out and run and press them. In the first half it was going really, really good for us. We played a lot of guys and they were all doing what we ask them to do."

The Hornets (2-2) made a big run at the midway point of the first half. With the score even at 21 ASU went on an 18-5 run to push the lead out to 39-26 lead and went on to lead by as many as 19 in the first half.

"If we could have kept going (without halftime) it would have been good for us," Jackson said. "Like all good teams we knew they were going to come out in the second half and make a run. Our thing was to try and hold off the run and not panic and lose our cool. They ran off five quick points early and I thought our guys stuck with it. We didn't do everything right because we turned it over way too much in the second half, but the guys were able to hold on and get a good team victory."

Five players reached double figures for ASU with Jamel Waters and Wendell Lewis leading the way with 14 each. Bobby Brown and Luther Page added 13 and DeMarcus Robinson added 10.

Waters added a game-high eight assists and three steals. ASU out rebounded UTPA 47-34 with Lewis leading the team with nine. Maurice Strong had eight and Brown added seven.

The Hornets finished the game shooting 45 percent from the field and hit eight of their 17 three point attempts for 47 percent. ASU managed to get to the free throw line 17 times and hit 13 (77%).

During its second half run the Broncs got as close as nine points (85-76) with 1:23 left in the game, but that would be as close as they would get. Janari Joesaar had a solid game for UTPA (3-2) with a double-double. He finished with a game-high 28 points and another game-high 11 rebounds.

Free throws also helped the Broncs get back in the game. They finished the game shooting 36 free throws and hitting 27 of them for 75 percent. They managed to shoot 43 percent from the field and hit six of their 12 three point field goals.

The Hornets had a big advantage in the paint out scoring UTPA 48-21 in the paint. ASU had 18 second-chance points on 20 offensive rebounds and scored 21 points off 18 UTPA turnovers. The Hornets also had a huge game from its bench outscoring UPA 32-5.

ASU put 55 points on the scoreboard in the first half as they pushed the ball up the court on each possession. Page was the only Hornet in double digits with 11 points, but the Hornets had 10 players score in the opening half.

ASU shot 48 percent from the field and hit seven of its 10 three point field goals (70%). The Hornets also hit the boards out rebounding UTPA 25-22.

Joesaar scored 15 first-half points to keep UTPA in the game. He also led the Broncs with seven first half rebounds. UTPA shot 38 percent from the field but did get to the free throw line attempting 18 free throws and hitting 13 of those.

"Our defense has to be better going into tomorrow," Jackson said. "In saying that we have to help more and we have to be poised on offense. We had the lead there and took some ill-advised shots early in the shot clock when we were up 12 or 13 points and that gave them a chance to get some run outs. It's still early and we are still working on everything."

The Hornets will end their trip to Utah by playing the host Utes tomorrow at 8 p.m. (CT). The game will be carried live on the Pac-12 Network. Check for all the viewing opportunities on Game Day Central tomorrow at bamastatesports.com.

Box Score

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North Carolina A&T Aggies Win Away From Home, Defeat ORU

HATTIESBURG, Mississippi  --  The North Carolina A&T women’s basketball team saw its first action away from Corbett Sports Center in 2014-15. Despite the different venue, the Aggies were victorious.

The 17th-ranked Aggies (mid-major poll) used 13 points, five assists and four steals from Christina Carter to defeat Oral Roberts 47-38 the Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic at Southern Mississippi University.

This win was head coach Tarrell Robinson’s 50th. He is the fastest to 50 wins (68 games) in school history. Teams are shooting just 36 percent against the Aggies this season and only one team, William & Mary, scored more than 50 points.

“Defense will continue to be the staple of our team and my program,” said Robinson. “I thought our team came down here and set the tone.”

The Aggies defense was certainly relentless Friday night. A&T held the Golden Eagles to just 36 percent shooting. The one bright spot for the Golden Eagles (2-4) was Vicky McIntyre who finished with 10 points, 19 rebounds and six blocks on 5-for-7 shooting. Outside of McIntyre, however, the Golden Eagles were 10-for-35 (.286) from the floor.

A&T (4-1) didn’t exactly have superb day from the floor, shooting just 33 percent. But the Aggies significantly cut down on their turnovers – 15 – while forcing the Golden Eagles into 33 miscues.

For the second straight game, the Aggies found themselves down 5-0. Also, for the second straight game the Aggies initial run gave them the lead for good. Debbie Smith took a pass from Carter and gave the Aggies an 11-9 lead eight minutes into the game. The Aggies turned Smith’s jumper into an 11-0 run that was capped off by an Eboni Ross steal and a Carter transition layup to give the Aggies a 20-9 advantage.

The Golden Eagles scored the next four points before an Adriana Nazario 3-pointer gave the Aggies a double-digit lead. The Aggies relinquished their double-digit lead once the remainder of the first half as McIntyre’s jumper with 1:19 to play made it a 28-19 halftime score.

It didn’t take the Aggies long to rebuild their lead once the second half started. Dana Brown scored in transition and Carter pumped in a three to give the Aggies a 33-19 lead. Nazario, Carter and sophomore Kenya Hailey all followed with baskets of their own to complete the 11-0 run to start the half as A&T took its biggest lead of the game at 39-19 at the 14:26 mark.

Oral Roberts did get the lead down to seven, 45-38, on a McIntyre jumper with three minutes to play. But the Aggies, who had 20 steals, picked up two more over the next two minutes to keep the Golden Eagles at a distance.

The Aggies are now 4-1 overall as they look to win the tournament tomorrow night at 7 against Southern Mississippi.

BOX SCORE

 

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NCCU Makes Astounding Comeback in Victory over UNC Asheville

DURHAM, North Carolina -- The North Carolina Central University women's basketball team created a 19-0 comeback run in the final 3:27 to beat out the UNC Asheville Bulldogs, 55-52 Friday, Nov. 28 in McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium.

"I'm excited for the young women," said head coach Vanessa Taylor. "To see the tenacity and the toughness and the fight we have to play with, and for it to materialize into a win for us is really exciting."

Redshirt senior Racquel Davis (Brooklyn, New York) accumulated 18 points, 17 rebounds, and five steals during Friday's contest.

Redshirt senior Khyra Conerly (Oakland, California) added 15 points and three steals.

With a low-scoring first half of 29-20, NCCU was down by as much as 16 points, and was only shooting 22.7% from the field. The Lady Eagles also allowed 20 Bulldog points off turnovers.

The Lady Eagles sparked a fire with 3:27 remaining in the game, taking the Bulldogs on a 19-0 run led by Davis, who contributed 11 of her 18 points.

During the NCCU comeback, freshman Imani Atkinson (Greensboro, North Carolina) collected three steals and the Eagles managed to score 20 points off turnovers in the second half.

NCCU was trimming the Bulldogs' lead point-by-point, and a free-throw shot by Davis knotted the score at 52 with 25 seconds remaining on the clock.

"We were clutch with our free-throw shooting at the end of the game," said Taylor, as the Lady Eagles shot 71% from the free-throw line.

A steal from Davis and a Bulldogs' foul put Davis back at the free-throw line for two shots; both were good and the Lady Eagles took a three-point lead.

UNCA sophomore Ja'Da Brayboy attempted a game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds, but was unsuccessful as NCCU took the victory against the Bulldogs, 55-52.

The Lady Eagles will be on a six-game road trip, starting with No. 1/2 University of South Carolina Monday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m., in Columbia, South Carolina.

BOX SCORE

Written By Andrea Wheeler, Assistant Sports Information Director
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Gold Nuggets beat Fisk, reach .500 for 1st time this year

XU women's basketball vs. Fisk (41 photos)

NEW ORLEANS -- Xavier University of Louisiana's Ireyon Keith scored a career-high 13 points and did not miss a shot Friday in a 74-51 women's basketball victory against Fisk in the Xavier Classic.

The Gold Nuggets (4-4), ranked 18th in NAIA Division I, reached .500 for the first time this season and extended their home winning streak to 22 games. They are 3-0 at home this season.

Keith, who did not start, was 4-of-4 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the line in 15 1/2 minutes. She became the first XU freshman in six years to score in double figures in three consecutive games.

Xavier trailed 11-4 through seven minutes, then scored 16 consecutive points to start a 36-6 run which gave the Gold Nuggets a 40-17 halftime advantage.

Kelsee Singleton scored a season-high 10 points for Xavier, Whitney Gathright and Eliqua Brooks scored nine apiece, and freshman Daylin Boatner scored a career-high eight. Donyeah Mayfield grabbed seven rebounds, and Boatner had five to match her career high.

Ataya Horn and Nailah Whitlock scored 11 points apiece for Fisk (0-9), which lost to a ranked team for the second consecutive day at this event. Sommer Griffin grabbed 10 rebounds.

Keith's layup with 8:35 remaining gave Xavier its largest lead, 69-33.

No one played more than 22 minutes for Xavier, and all 11 Gold Nuggets scored.

Xavier shot 38.9 percent from the floor, and Fisk shot 28.8, the lowest by an XU opponent this season. Xavier shot a season-best 85.7 percent from the line (12-of-14) and produced a season-best 18 assists.

The Gold Nuggets' next game will start at 6 p.m. Monday at NAIA No. 22 Mobile. The Nuggets' next home game will start at 6 p.m. Wednesday against LeMoyne-Owen of NCAA Division II.


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

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