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HEAD COACH OLIVER "BUDDY" POUGH SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- South Carolina State head coach Buddy Pough said lack of consistent offensive production may have keep cost the Bulldogs a postseason appearance in 2014. Thus far, S.C. State seems to be addressing those needs in recruiting, assembling the projected No. 1 class in the MEAC as ranked by 247sports.com.
Pough, who said he’d hoped to bring in at least two quarterbacks this recruiting cycle, has two committed. Charlotte, North Carolina (Providence High School) product Caleb York is a 6-2, 200-pound pro-style quarterback expected to sign on Wednesday. The Bulldogs also look to add two-star dual-threat quarterback Marquane Goodman (6-2, 200) from West Florence.
The Bulldogs also expect a signature from a potential game-breaker at receiver in Charlotte Latin School’s Canyon Tuttle (6-0, 170) and should also add running back Bishop Ford (5-5, 175) of William Amos High in Cornelius, North Carolina.
Hunter-Kinard-Tyler senior quarterback Khaliq Anthony is no stranger to Oliver C. Dawson Stadium at South Carolina State. The Trojans occasionally practiced at the venue throughout his high school career. Anthony is expected to cement his return to S.C. State as a member of the Bulldogs’ 2015 class. Anthony, The T&D Region’s All-Area first-team QB, accounted for 48 touchdowns, throwing for 2,009 yards and rushing for 1,542 as he led H-K-T to a second straight state title in 2014.
TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Cornelius Jones has not given up. So circle April 11 on your calendar.
That’s when a Florida historic marker will go up at 212 Young Street, at the former home of Florida A&M University football coaching legend Jake Gaither — which has been lovingly restored by Jones.
Jones, 44, is a Tallahassee real estate entrepreneur, who bought the house more than a year ago simply to re-sell. But when he learned the house was the home of the late Gaither — and was still filled with all his photos, trophies and memorabilia — Jones decided to restore it as a meeting place and museum.
Already, the house has hosted several parties and receptions. It will host a grand opening when the historic marker is erected on April 11 — Gaither’s birthday.
A native of Cleveland, Jones played one year of football for FAMU before earning a degree in civil engineering in 1994. He never met Gaither, but saw his name all over campus and Tallahasssee and came to rever his role in local history.
ALBANY, Georgia -- It was a win that everybody could feel good about.
There’s nothing like beating your rival on homecoming.
Even Albany State women’s basketball coach Robert Skinner had to smile about what he saw Saturday evening.
The Lady Rams kicked off homecoming Saturday with a 74-64 win over Fort Valley State at the HPER Gymnasium.
ASU took an early 4-2 lead after a 3-pointer from Keidra Green. Both teams continued to trade baskets in the first half, with points in the paint being nearly nonexistent. The Lady Wildcats ended the first half with six blocks, while ASU had seven.
A pair of free throws and a basket from Artisha Holston helped the Lady Rams end the first half with a 33-28 lead.
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.
Box Score BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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.
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.
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.''
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.
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.
JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee -- Senior guardJalen 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.
NORFOLK, Virginia --Hampton University again put itself in position to win, and again late game details haunted the Pirates.
Norfolk State stars Jeff Short and RaShid Gaston made critical plays in the final minutes to carry the Spartans to a 63-60 win Saturday at jam-packed Echols Hall in a typically fierce matchup between the rivals.
“We’re snake-bitten right now, but we’ll get through it,” HU coach Ed Joyner Jr., said. “We’ve got the month of February. We’re going to get better and we’ll be OK.”
The Pirates (8-13, 4-5 MEAC) dropped their fifth consecutive conference game, their longest losing streak since Jan. 1999.
“Everybody hurts,” Pirates’ guard Deron Powers said, “but I think we’re still pushing toward our goal at the end of the year, and that’s to win the MEAC championship, and that’s not over.”
ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- The South Carolina State Bulldogs avenged its early season loss with a, 78-74, victory over Delaware State Saturday (Jan. 31) at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center. "It was a great win tonight and I would like to thank the fans and all loyal Bulldog supporters for coming out tonight," said SC State head coach Murray Garvin. "Anytime you play a good team like Delaware State, one of the better teams in the conference it's going to be a dog fight.
The Bulldogs had four players in double figures with freshman guard Edward Stephensleading the way with a team-high 21 points, five rebounds and four assist. Sophomore guard Greg Mortimer tossed in 13, while junior forward Darryl Palmer fell one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Freshman forward Tashombe Riley added 10 points and four rebounds in the victory. SC State controlled the boards majority of the game out-rebounding Delaware State 44-39, while shooting 12-of-24 (50%) from the free-throw line.
All-MEAC forward Kendall Gray finished with the games only double-double with 21 points and 16 rebounds, while senior guard Amere May tossed in 22 and guard Kendall Williams added 20 in the loss.
SC State led Delaware State by as many as 14, 56-42, late in the second-half before the Hornets sparked a 15-4 run off three-pointers by May, Williams and senior forward Tyshawn Bell to cut the lead to three, 60-53 with 5:10 remaining.
A dunk by Gray with 0:17 seconds remaining pulled the Hornets within two, 76-74, but free-throws were the deciding factor down the stretch with Riley connecting on a pair from the charity stripe to seal the 78-74 victory.
"Our guys are finally having fun and playing Bulldog basketball, so things are finally turning around for us and it feels good to be 6-3 in league play at this point," said Garvin.
SC State returns to action on Wednesday (Feb. 4) against St. Andrews College in a non-conference matchup at Smith –Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center. Tipoff is 7 p.m. For more information on South Carolina State University basketball, please call the Office of Athletic Media Relations at (803) 536-7060, or visit the official Bulldogs website.
BOX SCORE COURTESY SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Winston-Salem State got a little revenge on Livingstone with a hard-fought 89-80 win at Joel Coliseum on Saturday night.
The Rams lost to the Blue Bears in last year’s CIAA championship game, but balanced scoring and better defense in the second half put them over the top.
“We talked about getting revenge all week,” guard Kerry Campbell of the Rams said. “This was a big win for us and we turned it up in the second half. Our defense was a lot better and that was a big key.”
Another key was the play of Donta Harper, who scored 20 points in 26 minutes. Harper, an undersized center at about 6-5, used his quickness to go right at the Blue Bears — and for one stretch in the second half, Harper couldn’t be stopped.
“I was just taking what the defense gave me and found some openings,” said Harper, who was 7 of 15 from the field. “We needed a win like this in the division because they were in first place.”
ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- My name is Dennis Richmond Jr. and I am a 19-year-old African Diaspora Studies major with a minor in mass communications matriculating at Claflin University in Orangeburg. I am a native of Yonkers, New York, and a 2013 graduate of Riverside High School.
As one of my mentors, Professor Patricia Koger of South Carolina, would say: I am “beating the drum” for college education across the Lower Hudson Valley and Harlem. The Journal Newspaper mentioned me as did Jet in its magazine as I am executing an initiative about HBCUs. The initiative is important since many New York residents in Westchester do not know about Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
I received a call from Dr. George Cooper, executive director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs. I will be working with the White House during this effort. I have also raised the funds to create a short documentary about the HBCU experience and I am beginning a web series to discuss the modern-day college experience with hundreds of students on the campuses of Claflin University and South Carolina State University.
I started down this path because I know that in Westchester County, many students do not know about HBCUs, as the schools are not a part of the Northern experience. The atmosphere in New York tolls the bells for SUNYs, CUNYs and community colleges, where as in the Southern areas of the United States, there are more than 100 HBCUs. Unfortunately, since the 1980s, many HBCUs have been closing their doors and are continuing to do so. Students are not applying to attend HBCUs due to lack of interest and receiving a misguidance that most are party schools. CONTINUE READING
HOUSTON, Texas -- Madarious Gibbs scored 24 points, and Texas Southern beat Alabama State 80-65 on Saturday at H&PE Arena.
The win pulls TSU (10-11) into a tie with Alabama State (11-6) atop the Southwestern Athletic Conference at 7-1.
TSU ran off eight straight points midway through the first half - four on a pair of Malcolm Riley layups - and led 41-34 at the break.
The Tigers pushed the lead over 20 on Riley's trey with 9:29 left and cruised to the win.
Gibbs was 10-of-20 from the field with five assists. Riley finished with 17 points and eight boards, and Chris Thomas had 10 points. TSU shot 55 percent and was 10-of-18 beyond the arc.
NEW ORLEANS -- Alena Evans' 12 points and six rebounds Saturday led Dillard to a 53-42 women's basketball victory against Xavier University of Louisiana at DU's Dent Hall.
The Gold Nuggets (12-11, 5-2 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference) lost to the Lady Bleu Devils (12-8, 4-2) for the first time in 13 meetings.
Evans scored in double figures for the 13th consecutive game. Ciara Morgan had 11 points and six rebounds for Dillard, and Keylantra Taylor had 10 points and three steals.
Alesha Smith led Xavier with nine points. Donyeah Mayfield grabbed 10 rebounds and reached double figures for the fourth time this season.
Dillard led for the final 37:51. The Lady Bleu Devils led 25-15 at halftime and twice held 16-point leads in the second half.
Kelsey Joseph's basket with 3:12 remaining cut Dillard's deficit to 40-34, but Dillard clinched the victory by scoring 12 of the next 14 points. Kaylynn Walker's two free throws capped the run and gave the Lady Bleu Devils a 52-36 advantage in the final minute.
Xavier scored its fewest ever against Dillard and its fewest points overall since a 38-37 victory against William Carey in the GCAC Tournament quarterfinals on Feb. 28, 2007, at The Barn.
Xavier leads the series with its longtime city rival 62-20 and won 21 of the past 23 meetings. The teams will play again at 5 p.m. Feb. 28 in the Crosstown Classic at XU's Convocation Center.
NEW ORLEANS -- Sydney Coleman scored 15 points Saturday, and Morris Wright's drawn charge, defensive rebound and two free throws in the closing seconds helped NAIA No. 19 Xavier University of Louisiana secure a 54-49 men's basketball victory against Dillard.
The Gold Rush (17-6, 6-1 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference) extended its season-best win streak to six games. Xavier clinched a 15th consecutive winning season, which extended a school record.
Xavier beat its longtime city rival for the 11th consecutive time at Dillard's Dent Hall -- the streak began in 2002 -- and beat the Bleu Devils (3-18, 1-5) for the 21st time in 24 meetings during Dannton Jackson's 12 seasons as XU's head coach.
"It was a hard-fought game by both teams for 40 minutes," said Jackson, who is 266-113 with the Gold Rush. "We kept our composure in an emotional atmosphere and got some key stops at the end."
Dillard erased most of a 10-point deficit in the final five minutes and twice had a chance to tie with 3-pointers in the final minute. But Wright drew a charge against JaCarre Crockett with 31 seconds remaining, passed to Coleman on the next possession for Xavier's final field goal, then grabbed a rebound and made two free throws after Houston Chatman missed a 3-pointer for Dillard with Xavier leading 52-49.
Wright had 14 points, made two of Xavier's four 3-pointers and produced a career-high-tying five steals.
Jarrain Jenkins scored 13 points and Kristopher Allmon 10 for Dillard, which has lost 32 of its last 35 games.
Jarvis Thibodeaux's 3-point play with 19:08 remaining put Xavier ahead to stay, 29-26. Before that there were five ties and four lead changes. Xavier led 26-24 at halftime.
The Gold Rush outshot the Bleu Devils 58.8 to 32.6 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 29-22. Xavier committed 10 turnovers, its fewest in the last 22 games of the series.
Xavier leads the series 81-48. The teams will meet at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 in the Crosstown Classic at XU's Convocation Center.
Xavier began its streak of winning seasons in 1999-2000, when Jackson was an assistant to Dale Valdery. Earlier in the week, Xavier extended its streak of consecutive non-losing seasons to 24.
"It's all about the guys who play the game," Jackson said of XU's continued success. "They've weathered different storms, established chemistry. Day in and day out they do the hard work. It's about them. It's about team. They've faced adversity many times, and their success is a monument to their toughness and their will."
Next for the Gold Rush will be a 7:30 p.m. Monday game against GCAC opponent Edward Waters at the Convocation Center. It's the opener of a three-game home stand.
PRINCESS ANN, Maryland -- The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Men’s basketball team couldn’t have played much worse for the first 12 minutes of Saturday’s home matchup with Coppin State.
And the Eagles took advantage getting out to a 34-21 lead, while hitting often from the outside.
But the Hawks (13-10, 5-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) clawed their way back to within three at the half and then went on to a 92-82 win.
Devon Walker and Dominique Elliott propelled the first-half comeback with 17 and 12 points respectively. Walker was dropping 3s with no conscience and finished the first half 5 of 6.
In the second half, it was Ryan Andino who was on from the outside dropping four from behind the arc and finishing with 14 points.
NORFOLK, Virginia -- Hampton University's women went almost three years without losing a conference game. They've lost two in the past eight days.
The Lady Pirates' dominance of rival Norfolk State ended Saturday amid an avalanche of missed shots and spotty defense.
The Spartans overcame early deficits and made plays at critical times for a 71-66 win in overtime at Echols Hall, snapping a 17-game losing streak in the series that stretched back more than eight years.
Hampton (10-11, 6-2 MEAC) remained in first place in the conference, one game in the loss column ahead of Savannah State and Norfolk State. But the league race is unofficially wide open after the Lady Pirates' second consecutive Saturday loss.
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Kendra Cooper and Terrenisha Hollis scored 19 points apiece to lead the visiting Bethune-Cookman women's basketball team to a 70-57 victory Saturday against Florida A&M in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference action at The Lawson Center.
Hollis had eight rebounds, eight assists and eight steals for the Wildcats (9-12, 6-3 MEAC), who have won five consecutive games overall, the first time that has occured since 2009-10. Kailyn Williams contributed 14 points, 11 rebounds and a game-highs seven blocks. It is her fourth double-double in the past five games.
It also was the first win for coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis against the Rattlers in Tallahassee.
“(The win) feels great,” Blair-Lewis said. “It's really great for these young ladies to come out here and not just win, but turn four wins into five wins.”
ORLANDO, Florida -- For most who follow National Signing Day, football recruits often are viewed through the promise of coming days.
Saturdays, mostly.
A player's value directly correlates to his production on the field for his chosen school. How he got there matters little. What he does once he arrives means everything.
At Oak Ridge, Nyqwan Murray (FSU), Deangelo Antoine (USF), Jehojada Jean-Baptiste (Florida A&M)and Darren Bostick (Nassau Community College in VINew York) are expected to sign Wednesday. They will be not unlike many of the estimated 150 area football players who eventually make their commitments official with Football Bowl Subdivision or Football Championship Subdivision schools.
RAYNARD WARE MOREHOUSE COLLEGE MAROON TIGERS FOOTBALL
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The friend request popped onto Josh Kaplowitz’s Facebook page one afternoon. He was at his office at a top-shelf D.C. law firm, but the name on the screen transported him to a very different place, a decade earlier, to a time of humiliation and failure.
Just seeing Raynard Ware’s name that January day in 2012 spiked the young lawyer’s heart rate. His first thought: “You ruined my life.” It had been only in the past few years that Kaplowitz had been able to live without The Incident looming over him — the assault allegation, the arrest, 33 hours in a detention cell, trial, acquittal, a $20 million lawsuit against him, the impossibility of knowing if he would ever really recover.
Even now, with a new career and a family, Kaplowitz had yet to tell his children about what 7-year-old Raynard had said he had done to him. Kaplowitz hadn’t even told his kids that he had been a D.C. public school teacher — an idealist fresh out of Yale who thought he was going to help transform the lives of poor, inner-city children but who was instead besieged by unruly kids and, then, in a whirlwind of accusations and acrimony, was said to have pushed a 7-year-old to the floor.
NORFOLK, Virginia -- Jeff Short admits he sometimes peruses the NCAA scoring stats just to see his name ahead of players from powers like Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia.
The online list proves two things: that Short, after a major detour that had him buried on the bench of his hometown team, has finally arrived, and that what he's doing at Norfolk State is not a dream.
Short, a 6-foot-4 native of the Bronx, N.Y., leads the MEAC and is 15th in the country with 20.0 points per game entering today's 6 p.m. showdown with rival Hampton.
Only four players in the nation have made more field goals than Short's 156, and the guard is a big reason the Spartans (14-9, 7-1 MEAC) remain contenders for a regular-season title with just eight games left.
But Short, a product of New York City's fabled AAU system, came by it the hard way. Basketball was his way out of an adolescence fraught with temptations like gangs, drugs, violence and other distractions.
NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana dropped a collective 21 games out of 193 Friday and opened the spring 2015 portion of its men's and women's tennis schedules with 9-0 victories against city rival Loyola at XU Tennis Center.
The Gold Nuggets are ranked third in the NAIA, and the Gold Rush are eighth.
Xavier did not lose a game in 7-of-16 matches. The Gold Nuggets won 6-0, 6-0 in 4-of-5 contested singles matches. Loyola defaulted two women's matches because it had five available players.
Winning 6-0, 6-0 in singles for the Gold Nuggets were Carmen Nelson, Brion Flowers, Sha'Nel Bruins and Dasia Harris. Tushar Mandlekar won by the same score for the Gold Rush. Flowers and Bruins won 8-0 in doubles, as did Kyle Montrel and Jordan Harrell in men's doubles.
Montrel clinched the men's dual with a 6-0, 6-1 victory against Trivesh Singh at No. 1 singles. Nelson's shutout of Alexa Mancuso clinched the women's dual.
Nour Abbes, the NAIA's top-ranked women's singles player, defeated Meghan de Baroncelli 6-1, 6-1. Abbes, a sophomore, is 31-1 in singles at Xavier. Abbes and Nelson beat Baroncelli and Mancuso 8-2 in doubles.
Harris, a redshirt freshman, competed in a collegiate dual match for the first time. So did first-year freshman Jeremiah Capdeville, who dropped the first three games against Anthony Zaleski but rallied for a 6-3, 6-1 victory at No. 6 men's singles.
"It felt good to get the season started again," 12th-year XU coach Alan Green said. "Everyone was feeling good today, and we showed it with some efficient victories. It will be a long season, and hopefully we can learn something from each match and improve each time we get on the court."
Both Loyola teams are 0-2.
In six seasons of competition against Loyola, Xavier has lost just two matches on the court — none since 2011.
The Gold Nuggets will play another city rival, Tulane (3-0), at 2 p.m. Saturday at City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center. The next Gold Rush dual will start at 6 p.m. Friday at Louisiana-Lafayette.
January 31, 2015
1:00 P.M. EST – Women/3:00 P.M. EST – Men
AL Lawson Center;Tallahassee, Florida
General Admission $10/With canned good $5
Family 4 Pack $20
Video: Rattler Vision
TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- In 1985 FAMU women’s basketball team was first in the state and 14th nationally in attendance, averaging 1,555 attendees per game. In February of 1986 these Rattlerettes would face the FSU Seminoles before a crowd of 2,301 of mostly Rattler partisan fans in the Tallahassee Civic Center. It was FAMU back then who had most of the fan support. In fact, during the 1985 game between Florida State and FAMU with FSU as the home team, the FAMU pep band was requested to play the national anthem because the Seminole pep band was too small to tackle the feat.
FAMU starters, sisters Ester and Gail Myrick, and Valerie Seay would challenge all comers including the University of Central Florida, who along with the Rattlerettes were part of the New South Women’s Athletic Conference. The Rattlerettes did it as much with their defense as they did with their offense. They became the top defensive team in the conference holding other teams to 65 points per game. One star on that team, 5’10 small forward Cynthia Lee, remembers how tenacious they were on defense. “I remember this girl named Sue on FSU’s team, who could kill it with set shots. My goal (defensively) was to not let her get in her rhythm.”
FAMU Rattlers vs BCU Wildcats 