Livingston’s Career-High Helps Bowie State Dump Elizabeth City State 88-86

BOWIE, Maryland -- Bowie State men's basketball held off a feisty Elizabeth City State team and captured an 88-86 CIAA division win on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs improve their season record to 17-6, 9-2 in league play and 4-1 in the North.

The Bulldogs shot a season-best 54.9 percent from the field on 28-of-51 shooting and were led by junior Julian Livingston (Bowie, Md.) with a career-high 25 points. Livingston shot a blistering 8-of-11 from the field which included 8-of-9 behind the arc. Senior Cameron Knox (Baltimore, Md.) contributed 15 points while Zafir Williams (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Justin Beck (Ellicott City, Md.) chipped in 11 points each. Beck led Bowie State on the glass with eight rebounds.

"I was pleased with the flow of our offense … We played faster today and did a good job moving the ball but I was not pleased with us defensively and did not come out with a defensive mindset", stated Bowie State head coach Darrell Brooks.

Three Elizabeth City State players scored in double figures with Miykael Faulcon (Durham, N.C.) scoring a game-high 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting to go along with three rebounds. Brachon Griffin (Fayetteville, N.C.) scored 17 points in the loss while Darnell Ward contributed a double-double of 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

The lead changed hands 15 times during the contest and 6 times over the final 12 minutes of the second half. The Vikings faced their largest deficit of the afternoon, a fourteen point spread (55-41) after Cameron Knox hit a three pointer at the 17:36 mark. ECSU then went on a tear with a 20-4 run which included 11 unanswered following a jumper by Faulcon, giving the Vikings took their first lead of the game since the first half, 61-59.

There were four more lead changes before senior Andre Jackson (Baltimore, Md.) knotted the count at 75-all with 5:51 to go.

A three-pointer from Jackson sparked a short 7-2 run giving BSU some cushion with 2:45 left. Griffin pulled the Vikings within three points twice in the final 1:41, first with a layup and then with two free throws with 26 seconds on the clock.

Beck countered Griffin's free throws with two of his own with 12 ticks remaining and a three at the buzzer by Jermaine Brown accounted for the final point spread.

The Bowie State Bulldogs hit the road for their next contest, making a short drive to The Lincoln University on Saturday (February 7th). Tip-off between the Bulldogs and Lions is set for 4 pm.

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JC Smith men’s basketball gets efficient to surpass Shaw

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina  -- Johnson C. Smith was short on healthy bodies against Shaw but long on efficiency.

The Golden Bulls men’s basketball team outscored Shaw 25-13 over the final eight minutes to earn an 83-67 CIAA South win Saturday at Brayboy Gym. It was the team’s second victory in a row after four straight losses.

J.C. Smith (11-11, 5-6) got sterling performances from forward Emilio Parks, who pumped in a game-high 28 points, and swingman Diondre Pratt, who came off the bench for 20. The Golden Bulls shot a torrid 62.5 percent (30-of-48) from the floor.

“I’m just glad my teammates believed in me to actually still score and still play the way I played,” said Parks, who connected on 12 of 14 shots. “I’m glad they got me the ball tonight.”

Parks knew what to do in the post, taking the ball strong against Shaw’s bigger defenders with a deft touch from either side of the basket.

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Stillman women's basketball can’t pull out upset over Kentucky State

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- Stillman College women’s basketball team held up strong against top SIAC opponent, Kentucky State University, in its game at Birthright Gymnasium on Saturday. But The Lady Tigers made too many mistakes and weren’t able to pull off the upset, losing, 61-58, to the Lady Thorobrettes.

Stillman slowed down Kentucky State (13-4, 8-2), which is the most efficient field goal shooting team per game in the SIAC (43 percent), holding them to 36 percent from the field. However, Stillman couldn’t stop Shaia Horton from hitting three, heart-wrenching 3-pointers to give her team the edge in the second half. She finished with a game-high 17-point, 11-rebound double-double.

Stillman had an opportunity to make a push late in the game, but turnovers plagued any attempt the Lady Tigers made at a comeback. Stillman ended with 23 turnovers on the night.

Stillman (6-13, 5-6) kept the game close thanks to a lively performance from senior center Samantha Thomas and senior guard Angel Mitchell.

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Fayetteville State edges Saint Augustine's

FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina -- Fayetteville State had to stop the CIAA's top scorer on one play Saturday to score a critical Southern Division win.

And they did it.

Barely.

The Broncos thwarted a game-tying attempt by Jack Britt High School graduate Raheem Jolliffe that went down, then spun out of the basket as time expired to pull out a 77-75 victory against Saint Augustine's at Capel Arena.

The dramatic win helped FSU end a three-game losing streak and improve its record to 11-10 overall, 5-6 in CIAA play and 2-3 in the Southern Division.

"We needed this win,'' FSU coach Alphonza Kee said. "We have had everything happen to us. We've played well and lost, then we weren't very good against Shaw (in a Wednesday loss). We just wanted to get back going again and beat a good team, which we did the hard way because we didn't shoot the ball very well.''

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WSSU Lady Rams Give Great Effort in 64-56 Loss to #11 Livingstone

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- The Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (7-13, 3-7 CIAA) gave the #11 Livingstone Blue Bears (20-0, 11-0 CIAA) all they could handle in a hard-fought 64-56 loss, Saturday evening. Though the Lady Rams took the loss, the team was never short on fight as they staged a furious second half rally against their only ranked opponent of the season.

After struggling in the first half, the Lady Rams gave a stellar second half effort that saw the team outscore the Blue Bears, 46-36 in the second half. However, the Lady Rams could not overcome their toughest first half of the season as they managed just 10 first half points. As a team, the Lady Rams shot 31.4% from the floor, including shooting 9.5% (two-of-21) in the first half of the game.

WSSU senior forwards Dionna Scott and Jovanah Graham led the way for the team with 12 points each in the game. Redshirt-senior guard Taylar Wells added 12 points off the bench as well. Sophomore forward Jasmine Carter pulled in a team-high eight rebounds as well.

The Lady Rams gave a great effort in the early going of the game when a Graham jumper at the 14:25 mark, left the Lady Rams within one point of the Blue Bears, 6-5. However, the jumper marked the last field goal of the half for the Lady Rams. For the remainder of the half, the Lady Rams managed just five more points in the half, all from free throws and took a 28-10 deficit into the locker room at halftime.

The second half turned out to be a much different story as the Lady Rams clawed their way back into the game with a great offensive showing. For the half, the Lady Rams shot 46.7% (14-of-30) from the floor in the half. The Lady Rams kicked things off with an 11-4 run that included a three-point barrage from Edwards and Wells. Edwards hit a pair of three-pointers while Wells added one of her own during the run. The effort cut the WSSU deficit down to just 12 points, 33-21 with 16:15 left.

The Lady Rams were able to get their deficit down to single digits when junior forward Jeri Craine hit a lay-up at the 10:39 mark that pulled the Lady Rams within striking distance, 42-34 with 10:39 left. The lay-up capped an 11-6 run by the Lady Rams. Things got really interesting for the Lady Rams when sophomore center Sha'Quira Palmer hit a jumper at the 8:26 mark that pulled the Lady Rams within four points, 42-38 with 7:48 left to play. Unfortunately, the effort turned out to be a last stand for the Lady Rams as the team allowed Livingstone to push its lead back to double-digits after a 10-2 run by the Lady Rams that left the team trailing, 54-40 with 3:49 left to play. The Lady Rams made their last stand in the final minutes of the game when Edwards' fourth three-pointer of the game pulled the team within six points, 60-54 with 00:48 left to play. However, the connected on four free throws and held the Lady Rams to just one lay-up for the remainder of the game to seal the tough loss.

The loss marked the Lady Rams' first loss to Livingstone since 2007. After the tough loss, the Lady Rams won't have long to relax as they will return to the road for their next action as they take on the Virginia Union Lady Panthers in Richmond, Va. For more information on Lady Rams basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on to www.WSSURams.com.

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Abbes earns another singles win in XU loss

NOUR ABBES

NEW ORLEANS -- Nour Abbes produced a dominating victory at the top women's singles flight Saturday, but she was the lone Xavier University of Louisiana player to score in a 6-1 loss to Tulane at City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center.

Abbes, a sophomore and the NAIA's top-ranked singles player, defeated Naz Karagoz 6-0, 6-2. It was the 32nd victory in 33 singles decisions for Abbes.

Tulane (5-0) won the doubles point with victories at the second and third flights, and the Green Wave dropped a collective six games in the other five singles matches.

Abbes and Carmen Nelson were still on the court with a tie at 4 against Karagoz and Sade Atkinson when Tulane clinched the doubles point.

Xavier (1-1) is ranked third in the NAIA. It was the first of six dual matches for the Gold Nuggets this season against NCAA Division I opponents.

"Tough matchup for us today," XU coach Alan Green said. "Doubles play was decent but we could get better there. Nour had a good match and won convincingly."

The Gold Nuggets will play twice at home next weekend -- noon Saturday against Belhaven and noon Sunday against LSU-Alexandria. Xavier's next men's dual will start at 6 p.m. Friday at Louisiana-Lafayette.

NOTES: Green said he added to the schedule men's and women's duals against Northwestern Ohio. Those will be played March 29 during XU's trip to California, but venue and time have not been determined. Northwestern Ohio's women are ranked 19th in the NAIA, and the men were 12th in the 2014 postseason poll.


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director 
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ETSU Riley’s heroics spark dramatic 61-59 win over N.C. Central

JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee --  Senior guard Jalen Riley (Racine, Wis.) scored the final 12 points and finished with a game-high 24, as the ETSU men’s basketball team closed on a 15-1 offensive run to cap a dramatic 61-59 comeback win over North Carolina Central Saturday evening inside Freedom Hall.

Riley hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 13 seconds left in regulation, and the Bucs defense then held the Eagles on their final offensive possession of the game. With the win, ETSU improved to 13-8 on the season while also snapping the Eagles 10-game winning streak. With the loss, North Carolina Central dropped to 16-6 on the year.

“That’s a huge win – one that we may look back on a few weeks from now and really say that one was big,” said ETSU head coach Murry Bartow, whose team snapped a two-game losing streak. “That’s what Jalen can do. He can make some really big shots and he did that tonight. (North Carolina Central) is a really good team, a NCAA tournament team. That’s a great win.”

The Bucs trailed by double digits throughout most of the second half and were facing a 12-point deficit at 58-46 with 5:44 left in regulation. At that point, sophomore guard Devin Harris (Tampa, Fla.) made three of four free throws on back-to-back possessions, and Riley hit a 3-pointer to make it 58-52.

N.C. Central’s Anthony McDonald then made one of two at the foul line before Riley closed the game with nine straight points, including the game-winning 3-pointer. The Eagles had one last opportunity to tie or win, but the Bucs forced N.C. Central’s Karamo Jawara to force up a desperation 3-pointer that missed the mark at the buzzer.

For the game, Riley was joined in double figures by junior forward Lester Wilson (Knoxville), who finished with 10. The Eagles got a team-high 22 from McDonald, while Jordan Parks and Jawara netted 14 and 10 points, respectively.

The Bucs opened the first half with a pair of 3-pointers from Wilson and A.J. Merriweather (Jackson) to take an early 6-0 lead. ETSU’s advantage then grew to seven at 10-3, but at that point N.C. Central went on a 10-0 run of its own to grab a 13-10 edge. The Eagles went on to ultimately build a 10-point lead at 30-20 with five minutes left in the half.

ETSU used a 6-0 run to get to within four at 32-28, but a 3-pointer by Karamo Jawara at the first half buzzer made it 35-28 at the break. In the first half, N.C. Central shot 54 percent from the field and held an 18-14 advantage on the glass.

In the second half, the Eagles opened with a 7-0 run to take their largest lead of the game at 42-28. ETSU responded with its own 7-0 spurt to get back to within seven, but later on N.C. Central still led by 10 at 56-46 with 7:42 left in regulation.

The Eagles’ advantage then grew to 58-46 before the Bucs started their comeback.

ETSU finished the game with a season-low four turnovers, shooting 36 percent from the floor and holding its own on the glass, as the Eagles held a 34-33 edge in the paint.

N.C. Central finished the game shooting 46 percent from the floor and 44 percent from the 3-point line. The Eagles’ 50 percent effort (6-of-12) at the foul line was critical to the outcome, especially late in the contest when the Eagles went 1-of-4 at the charity stripe over the last two minutes of the game.

The Bucs will be home again to take on SoCon foe Wofford on Thursday night, with tip set for 7 p.m. inside Freedom Hall. For more on ETSU men’s basketball throughout the 2014-15 season, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s hoops link.

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