March gladness for SSU women

SAVANNAH, Georgia -- The Savannah State women enter March with big goals in mind as well.

The Tigers are currently in second place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, a game behind defending league champion Hampton.

But SSU (16-10) surprised the Pirates earlier in the season to hold the tiebreaker if the teams are deadlocked in the conference standings. Two games remain for both teams, but Hampton must play third-place Norfolk State — a school that handed the Pirates one of their two league losses this season.

Savannah State, a winner of six in a row, ends the regular season with games at home against North Carolina Central (7-19) and on the road against Florida A&M (8-18).

The Tigers would have to win just one of their last two games to earn a first-round bye in the upcoming conference tournament.

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Shell inducted into BCF Hall of Fame; SCSU's Javon Hargrave honored by SBN

ATLANTA,Georgia  --  Former All-American defensive back Donnie Shell was one of seven inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame Saturday during the BCF Hall of Fame and Sheridan Broadcasting Network College Football Awards Ceremony in Atlanta.

Shell is the fourth Bulldog to be inducted in the Black College Football Hall of Fame. He earned All-MEAC and All-America honors during his Bulldog career (1970-73) and went on to an outstanding NFL career as a safety with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The 2015 class also includes DT Roger Brown (Maryland Eastern Shore), DE Richard Dent (Tennessee State), DE L.C. Greenwood (Arkansas Pine Bluff), DT Ernie Ladd (Grambling State), DB Ken Riley (Florida A&M) and Coach W.C. Gorden (Jackson State).

Meanwhile, current S.C. State All-America junior defensive lineman Javon Hargrave was honored by Sheridan Broadcasting Network for being named the SBN Mel Blount Defensive Player of the Year.

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FAMU’s Riley joins Black College Football Hall of Fame

ATLANTA, Georgia -- Ken Riley’s work on the football field speaks for itself.

He was a record-breaking quarterback at FAMU who won the Southern Intercollegiate Conference (SIAC) championship during each season on campus. He was a sixth-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals. He made a smooth transition from quarterback to cornerback as a pro by collecting 65 career interceptions, which ranks fifth all time in NFL history.

He later returned to Tallahassee serving as head coach and later an athletics director for his alma mater.

Now, he can add another bullet point on his gridiron resume — Black College Football Hall of Famer.

Riley stood alongside six other football heavyweights for ...

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Gastonia's Holmes ready for next chapter of his basketball career

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – When Preston Holmes played at Forestview High, he helped the Jaguars to a pair of Big South Conference titles and a berth in the state championship game, even earning All-Gazette honors.

Some might think major college basketball or NBA was in their future after such success.

Instead, Holmes entered Fayetteville State University knowing he wanted to be a coach – and that dream will start being realized next season at his college alma mater.

A 2010 Forestview High graduate, Holmes’ college career ended with the Broncos’ loss to Winston-Salem State at Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena in Friday’s CIAA tournament semifinals. (Livingstone won the championship on Saturday in a 106-91 victory over Winston-Salem State.)

But Holmes is set to graduate from Fayetteville State in May and will pursue a Master’s degree at the school while also serving as a Broncos assistant coach.

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Tate-DeFreitas, Lupoe Lead Hampton Lady Pirates to Blowout

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Sophomore guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas and freshman forward Kaylah Lupoe each had career performances on Saturday evening in Burr Gymnasium, leading the Hampton University women's basketball team to a 106-57 win over rival Howard.

The Lady Pirates (16-11, 12-2 MEAC) won their sixth straight game overall and their 15th in a row over Howard. It also marked the first time since Feb. 12, 2001 (a 104-71 win over Coppin State) that the Lady Pirates scored 100 points in a game.
 
Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.) registered her third 30-point game of the season, dropping a career-high 39 points on 16-for-24 shooting. Lupoe (Phoenix, Ariz.) added a career-high 20 points while also grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds.
 
Lupoe went 9-for-16 from the floor.
 
Junior guard Ryan Jordan (Manassas, Va.) added 16 points, while redshirt junior forward Brielle Ward (Baltimore, Md.) grabbed 10 rebounds to go along with eight points.
 
The Lady Pirates shot 51.9 percent (42-for-81) from the floor – including a 64.1 percent clip (25-for-39) in the second half – while hitting five of their 17 3-pointers and scoring 35 points off of 27 Howard turnovers.
 
Hampton also out-scored Howard 64-22 in the paint.
 
The Lady Pirates opened the game on an 11-4 run, taking that lead with 15:40 left in the first half following a pair of free throws from Ward.
 
The Bison cut Hampton's lead to 16-13 with 11:53 left in the first half, but the Lady Pirates went on a 16-6 run, taking a 32-19 lead at the 6:01 mark after a jumper in the paint from Lupoe. In fact, Hampton out-scored Howard 29-12 to end the half after the Bison had cut the lead to three.
 
In fact, the Lady Pirates led by 20 at the break, taking a 45-25 lead after senior guard Kenia Cole (Silver Spring, Md.) hit a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left.
 
Tate-DeFreitas had 12 points at the break.
 
The Lady Pirates opened the second half on a 15-3 run, picking up right where they left off and taking a 60-28 lead after a fastbreak layup from Tate-DeFreitas with 16:37 left to play. Another layup from Tate-DeFreitas at the 13:58 mark put Hampton up 68-30.
 
Jordan gave Hampton its first 50-point lead of the game with 9:17 remaining, hitting a trey to put the Lady Pirates up 85-35.
 
The Lady Pirates led by as many as 56 on two occasions – going up 99-43 with 5:40 left to play following a layup from Ward, and taking a 101-45 lead with 4:25 remaining after a layup from Lupoe.
 
Howard (3-25, 3-12 MEAC) shot 31.5 percent (23-for-73) from the floor, but hit just two of 21 3-pointers. The Bison shot just 28.6 percent (12-for-42) from the floor in the second half. Howard also struggled at the free throw line, going just 9-for-20 (45.0 percent).
 
Gonzales led the Bison with 25 points and 15 rebounds.
 
The Lady Pirates will be in Dover, Del. on Monday to take on Delaware State at 5:30 p.m. For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.

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Rush, Nuggets topple Rhodes, Tougaloo on same day

NEW ORLEANS -- Xavier University of Louisiana's tennis teams did not lose any sets Saturday in 9-0 dual-match victories against Rhodes and Tougaloo.

Sha'Nel Bruins, Brion Flowers, Brandi Nelson, Jana van der Walt and Caroline Vernet won three matches apiece for the Gold Nuggets (7-5), ranked third in the NAIA.

For the Gold Rush (6-1), ranked eighth, Kyle Montrel and Tushar Mandlekar won four matches apiece. Adam Albrecht, Manav Chakma and Vincenzo Ciccone won three matches apiece.

Xavier's women have won six straight at home and three in a row overall. The XU men have won five in a row and are 6-0 this season at home.

By defeating Tougaloo, the Gold Rush won for the 48th consecutive time in the regular season against a Gulf Coast Athletic Conference opponent. That streak began in 2004. The Gold Nuggets have won 13 straight GCAC regular-season duals and 67 of their last 68.

Both XU teams will play Martin Methodist at noon Friday in the AUM Invitational, a three-day event at Montgomery, Ala. The next home duals for the Nuggets and Rush will start at 2:30 p.m. April 10 against perennial NAIA power Auburn Montgomery.


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director  XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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TSU Tigerbelles Finish Second at OVC Championship

CHARLESTON, Illinois – The Tennessee State track and field teams closed out the Indoor Season on Saturday at the OVC Championship. The Tigerbelles came in second place with 101 points while the Flying Tigers finished in fifth by tallying 59.5.

Sophomore Amber Hughes dominated the second day of the event with five top-four finishes. Hughes started by coming in fourth in the 60 meter dash (7.62 seconds) and continued with a second-place showing in the 60 meter hurdles (8.44). She later placed third in the 200 with a final time of 24.96 seconds.

The Atlanta, Ga. native found more success in her newest event, the triple jump. She bested the rest of the competition and earned 10 points with a leap of 12.41 meters.

Hughes later teamed with Clairwin Dameus andChristian Pryor and Kayla Pryor to repeat as champions in the 4x400 meter relay. The squad clocked a time of 3:48.88 and had to fight off a charge from rival Austin Peay.

For the Flying Tigers, defending OVC Male Athlete of the Year Quamel Prince came in second in the 800 meter dash with a finals time of 1:52.06.

Freshman Jemarruse Amos continued his solid second-half of the season with a fourth place showing in the 60 meter hurdles (8.26 seconds) and Ronnie Scott also finished just outside the top-three with a 14.78 meter hop in the triple jump.

Prince, Kenji Anderson, Jakeenan Guthrie and Jalon McCutcheon closed out the day by picking up eight points in the 4x400 meter relay (3:22.70).

The squads will open the Outdoor Season on March 19 in the Alabama Relays in Tuscaloosa.

    Final Results

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