Temple Men's Basketball Closes Out Non-Conference Slate Sunday vs. Delaware State

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania  --  Temple men's basketball wraps up the non-conference poriion of its schedule Sunday with a home game against Delaware State. It will be the first-ever meeting between the schools with tip time set for 5:00 p.m. The game will be televised by ESPN3 and broadcast on 1210 AM WPHT.

Fans bringing new, unwrapped toys to game will receive $5 off the price of tickets.   Temple basketball players will deliver these toys to Shriner's Hospital for Children in early January.  

Fresh off an incredible upset of #10 Kansas, the Owls (8-4) will look to remain unbeaten at the Liacouras Center,  Temple is 5-0 in the building this season and 175-55 all-time.

A trio of guards tops the Cherry and White in scoring with senior Jesse Morgan leading the way with a 16.5 average.  JuniorQuenton DeCosey, who has scored in double figures in 11 straight games, is averaging 15.1 points per game while senior co-captain Will Cummings (14.8 ppg.) tops the team in assists (3.8 apg.).

Junior transfer Jaylen Bond (6.3 ppg.) leads the team in rebounding (6.6 rpg.) while junior Devontae Watson (2.3 rpg.) rounds out the starting five.

Delaware State (5-7) has lost three of its last four, including an 83-70 defeat at Oregon.  Senior center Kendall Gray (11.5 ppg,), who leads the MEAC with a 10.4 rebound average, did not make the trip to Oregon, and is listed as game-to-game due to suffering from an undisclosed illness. 

Senior guard Amere Gray leads DSU in scoring with a 19.1 average and is the reigning MEAC Player of the Week. Senior forward Tyshawn Bell also averages double figures with 11.5 points per game.

Delaware State has played all but two of its games on the road. The Hornets toppled Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, 72-65, on November 28 and also have wins at Penn (77-75, OT) and at Delaware (66-53).   

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Marquette Hosts Morgan State Sunday At 1 p.m. CT

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin -- The Marquette University men’s basketball team (7-4, 0-0 BIG EAST) wraps up its season-long five-game homestand Sunday, Dec. 28 at 1 p.m. CT when the squad hosts Morgan State (2-10, 0-0 MEAC) in non-conference action at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. FOX Sports 1 will feature MU’s 10th national television broadcast of the campaign, with John Sadak (play-by-play) and Dickey Simpkins (analyst) calling the action. Sunday’s action will also mark the conclusion of the non-league portion of the Golden Eagles’ 2014-15 campaign. Marquette opens BIG EAST Conference action Dec. 31 at DePaul.

TV Info: FOX Sports 1 | Radio Info: 540 ESPN

Marquette Game Notes  | Morgan State Game Notes 

BIG EAST Featured During New Year’s Marathon

The BIG EAST Conference will ring in the New Year with a full day of BIG EAST Basketball for the second annual New Year’s Eve Tip-Off Marathon on FOX Sports 1.

From noon until midnight, fans can watch the debut of the 2014-15 conference slate as all 10 teams battle it out for BIG EAST glory.

The schedule of games is St. John’s at Seton Hall (11 a.m. CT), Butler at Villanova (1:30 p.m. CT), Marquette at DePaul (4 p.m. CT), Creighton at Providence (6:30 p.m. CT) and Georgetown at Xavier (9 p.m. CT).

Marquette Has Had Success In Morgan State Series

The Golden Eagles have claimed each of the five all-time meetings with Morgan State, with the most recent matchup coming during the 2006-07 campaign (77-57, Dec. 22).

The two programs first met in the 1988-89 campaign and each of the outings have come in Milwaukee. Marquette is 27-0 all-time against programs currently in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

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Tennessee State Tigers Travel to UT Volunteers, Saturday

NASHVILLE, Tennessee  -- The Tennessee State University men’s basketball team will travel to the University of Tennessee on Saturday for a game at Thomson Boling Arena at 7:30 p.m.

The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

The Tigers (2-10) will face the Volunteers (6-4) for the fourth time in their history. UT has won the previous three meetings. The last game between the two took place last season with TSU falling 88-67.

TSU lost 67-45 their last time out to Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders went on an 18-0 run to begin the game. The Tigers were able to quell the offensive onslaught for the remainder of play, but could not drum up their scoring efforts in response. At its smallest, the gap between the two teams was nine before ballooning to the final of 22.

On the other hand, Tennessee is coming off a 64-54 victory against Mercer. The Volunteers beat the Bears for the second time in a calendar year. Their first meeting was in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Josh Richardson heads up a three-pronged scoring attack with 16.3 points per game. Kevin Punter (10.1) and Armani Moore (10.0) are the other two Volunteers who average double-digit scoring.

TSU will look to counter with their double edged sword of Jay Harris and Marcus Roper. Both average 11 points per game and have been the go-to guys on offense for the Tigers.

The game will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Knoxville. For those who cannot make it to the game, it will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Just three non-conference games remain on the Tigers’ schedule before the gauntlet of OVC play begins.

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After up-and-down career, Howard University Bison Greg McGhee eyes NFL future

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Howard quarterback Greg McGhee is an advocate of correct posture.

Down 26-13 with four minutes remaining in the third quarter of the season finale against rival Hampton, Howard returner Richard Aiyegoro muffed a punt. Hampton recovered. Knowing the turnover would likely cost Howard the game, Aiyegoro put his head down in anguish.

McGhee pulled Aiyegoro’s helmet back up.



“We’re going to get [the football] right back,” said, McGhee, who then relayed that message to other teammates, many of whom surrounded the quarterback with their heads down. “Keep the same energy and swagger we had the first kickoff.”

McGhee would be fully justified if he lowered his head as well. Since he played his last down of high school football, his pursuit of an NFL roster spot has suffered repeated setbacks.

However, whether the Bison rebounded to beat Hampton or were blown out in ...

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2014 FAMU Wind Symphony In Concert

Ram Ramblings: A lot to be thankful for on Christmas Eve

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Nobody really knows why folks take stock of their lives around the holidays but it's a tradition that continues.

That's why Christmas Eve is as good a time as any to be thankful for a lot of things. A healthy family is atop the list and my wife and I couldn't be prouder of our 11 and 9-year-old.
But as they get older it's apparent they are getting somewhat of an attitude but I guess that will be more of an issue when they become teenagers.

If you are a Winston-Salem State fan then 2015 should be a good year. From all indications the new chancellor (Elwood Robinson) will be engaging and is definitely a fan of athletics.

During football season Dr. Robinson wasn't shy about ...

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JCSU Golden Bulls up and down at break

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- Johnson C. Smith can get off the see-saw for the holidays.

The Golden Bulls’ up-and-down season has produced a 6-6 record heading into January’s CIAA schedule, revealing a team that has yet to establish an identity.

“I thought we could be better. I think we have to remain at our growing edge and I thought there were times we did not do that, so we were not focused on growing and getting better. That’s what I’m still after – trying to get the team better and more mature. Hopefully, we’re getting some signs of consistency.”

JCSU hasn’t been able to sustain it during nonconference play, although the Golden Bulls have been competitive despite losing all-CIAA forward Emilio Parks for a month with a knee injury. The initial diagnosis suggested a ligament tear that would sideline him for the season, but a second revealed a less severe injury. He returned last week and scored 25 points in two games.

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