Jackson State prepping for SWAC competition

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Wednesday’s 23-point home triumph against Southeastern Louisiana was a much needed bounce-back performance by Jackson State.

The Tigers dropped back-to-back road games in Ohio two weeks before that. The result was pleasing, but JSU coach Wayne Brent still had to put it in context for his players.

“Like we told them (the players), that game doesn’t mean as much as the next two coming up,” Brent said.

Those two upcoming games represent the first two contests of SWAC play for the Tigers (5-8), who will host Alabama State (5-7) at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Lee E. Williams AAC.

At 5-8, JSU owns the best record it has had entering conference play under Brent. Statistical categories place the Tigers in good light among other SWAC teams.

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Livingstone College's Rodney Hughey Named Assistant Coach of Dream Bowl IV -- College Football All-Star Game

SALISBURY, North Carolina  --  Rodney Hughey was selected as the defensive backs coach for Dream Bowl IV College Football All-Star game. This is his fifth season as the assistant head coach for Livingstone College football program. Hughey was promoted to Defensive Coordinator in 2013, after serving as Defensive Backs coach since the 2010 season.

The fourth annual Dream Bowl will be played January 18, 2016 at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex in Virginia Beach, VA. Dream Bowl IV is the premier small college football all-star game in the country and the only game to have NFL and CFL scouts in attendance. The game will allow the best FCS, D-II, and D-III athletes from across the country showcase their talents to help them make it to the next level of professional football. The game and the series of events held over Martin Luther King Weekend is a celebration of the excellence, commitment, and sacrifice made by the players and their families.

The Dream Bowl treats seniors to a real bowl game experience. The Dream Bowl provides first-class accommodations, meals, and facilities for the players, along with a full weekend of football and social related activities for their friends and families, which will create a lifetime of memories for their collegiate send-off game.

For more information on Livingstone College football, visit the official Blue Bear website at www.bluebearathletics.com.

COURTESY LIVINGSTONE COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION

American Sports Network & Cutting Edge Sports Management Agree to Multi-Year Deal for Dream Bowl Broadcast

DREAM BOWL IV ALL-STAR ROSTER 

MILLTOWN, New Jersey -- American Sports Network (“ASN”), a division of Sinclair Networks Group, which is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI), announced that it has entered into an agreement with Cutting Edge Sports Management to broadcast the Dream Bowl for the next two years. The college all-star game will be played on Monday, Jan. 18, 2016 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The Dream Bowl was created to provide opportunities for FCS, Division II and Division III athletes to showcase their talents. Under the agreement, ASN will air the game on Sinclair broadcast stations and other affiliates around the country.

“We have found the perfect broadcast partner in American Sports Network to help us expand the reach and exposure of the game and these individual players,” said Neil Malvone, president of Cutting Edge Sports Management.  

Malvone added “the broadcast reach of ASN, through its parent company, Sinclair, will permit the entire country to see the talented players competing in this year\’s Dream Bowl.” 

“We are pleased to enter into this relationship, to deliver a college all-star game that provides a service to our communities,” said Doron Gorshein, COO of Sinclair Networks Group. “With this agreement with Cutting Edge Sports Management, we continue to enhance our product offering, and provide relevant, high quality live sports events for students, alumni and fans from the institutions of those competing in the game.”

Ray Katz, Managing Partner ROI Sports Marketing Group said: “The promotional commitment of ASN across their college football schedule will ensure tremendous value for our sponsors and partners. ROI Sports Group is the sponsorship partner of Cutting Edge Sports Management and led negotiations with ASN. 

About American Sports Network

ASN is a division of Sinclair Networks Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., the largest and one of the most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country with 164 television stations it owns, operates and/or provides services to in 79 markets, broadcasting 384 channels. Sinclair’s portfolio reaches approximately 43 million television households and is affiliated with all the major networks. In addition, ASN’s content is syndicated to other broadcasters and regional sports networks. ASN, which launched in August 2014, produced 250 college events in nine sports in its first year and plans to air more than 375 events in the 2015/2016 academic year.

About Cutting Edge Sports Management

CESM is a full-service leader in sports management with areas of expertise in event planning, strategic marketing, business management, player development, and media relations. CESM creates innovative all-star event competitions at every level of sports. The CESM difference is to continue to revolutionize the sports industry with strategic partnerships and full service capabilities. With CESM, the athletes come first to maximize their potential and get them to the next level

Shaw Bears Persevere to Defeat Bluefield State, 83-79

RALEIGH, North Carolina – The Shaw University men's basketball team rallied from a 12 point deficit in the second half to defeat the visiting Blues of Bluefield State College on Thursday evening to conclude the 2015 portion of the season in their non-conference finale.

Shaw improves to 4-9 on the season, while Bluefield State drops to 4-12 on the year.

Larry Richardson, II (Garner, NC) scored 17 points, including 6-of-6 from the foul line, while Joell Hopkins, Jr. (Raleigh, NC) and David Madol (Manchester, NH) scored 12 points each. Defensively, Madol had a team-best nine rebounds, while Hopkins, Jr. collected seven.

The Bears opened up play with an 8-2 run over the Blues but BSC would claw their way back to tie the game at 15-all at the 9:31 mark.

The lead changed four times before the Blues took the final lead of the half sparked by hot shooting from their guards. BSC was able to connect 8-of-18 from the 3-point line for 44.4 percent in route to a 39-35 lead over the Bears at halftime.

Although the Bears outscored the Blues in the paint 14-8, BSC was able to score 11 points off of Shaw's turnovers, while adding eight points in second chances and posting a 12-3 advantage in bench scoring.

Richardson, II opened up the second half with a 15-footer to chop at the Blues lead (39-37) but BSC responded with an easy layup to extend the lead to three points at the 18:56 mark. From there the Blues would continue to lead most of the half as they built their largest lead of the game at 12 points with 11:20 left.

Despite sluggish play and trailing by double digits, the Bears showed life and intensity as they were able to get within two-points with 6:00 showing on the game clock. The next possession down, Jamar Cooper (Petersburg, VA) gave the Bears their first lead of half with a deep 3-pointer at the 5:45 mark (65-64) which charged a 7-2 run for the Bears.

From there, Shaw was able to maintain control the game at their tempo to close out the contest with the 83-79 win.

Mark Durgan led all scorers with 31 points and six assists, while Joshua Windham and Chas Harvey scored 15 points each for the Blues.

Shaw will return action on Monday, Jan. 2nd to host Chowan University for a CIAA conference matchup. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m.

For the most up-to-date information on Shaw men's basketball and its 11 varsity sport teams, visit shawbears.com.

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COURTESY SHAW UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Tom Archdeacon: Wilberforce AD goes back to the future

WIBERFORCE, Ohio -- This, too, is what is meant by “Back to the Future.”

Rather than the science fiction adventure movie of the mid-1980s, this is a real life love story that began over six decades ago and now, thanks to an unexpected realignment of the sports stars, has been rekindled into another moment of the heart today.

In the early 1950s, Barbara Jean Townsend came to Wilberforce University from Cleveland, Mississippi, and Homer Lockett Jr., of Kansas City did the same. The two education students met and soon fell in love — with each other and the school.

They got teaching degrees, married after graduation and became educators in Alliance, Ohio. She was a teacher, he a school principal. Over the years they would return to the university that meant so much to them and often they brought their daughter, Beverly, along with them.

The place became magical to her as well and many years later, long after she had begun a family of her own, Beverly passed along her glorious stories of Wilberforce to her oldest child, Dorianne.

By then, though, Dorianne Johnson was on a different collegiate path. A big-time prep basketball talent, her sights weren’t set on a small NAIA school in Greene County.

She was recruited by several Division I programs across the South and chose the University of Mississippi, where she became a three-year starter, was team captain, led the Lady Rebels in blocked shots and ended up an integral part of teams that made two NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearances and had several top-15 national rankings.

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Winston-Salem State Rams Baseball Ranked #21 in Collegiate Baseball Preseason Poll

COURTESY WINSTON-SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

TUCSON, Arizona -- Collegiate Baseball Newspaper has released its first set of 2016 NCAA Division II College Baseball preseason rankings and the Winston-Salem State Rams have been tabbed the #21 team in the rankings.

"Preseason rankings are exciting because it means the season opener is right around the corner," said Kevin Ritsche, WSSU head baseball coach. "Being only a few votes from the top 12 is a sign of respect for our program. Now it's up to us to uphold it in February," added Ritsche.

Winston-Salem State finished 42-15 in 2015, capturing their fifth consecutive CIAA Baseball Championship. The 42 wins by WSSU in 2015 are the most in school history and the Rams advancing to within 2 wins of the NCAA DII College World Series is the furthest a CIAA baseball team has ever advanced.

The 2016 WSSU baseball team will open the season on Friday, February 5th, when the Rams host Millersville University of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, at BB&T Ballpark in downtown Winston-Salem. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 pm.

Rank, School	2015 Record	Pts
1. Tampa	(43-13)	630
2. Catawba	(47-15)	626
3. Mercyhurst	(40-11)	623
4. Franklin Pierce	(48-4)	619
5. Minnesota St.	(43-9)	616
6. St. Cloud St.	(54-5)	614
7. Florida Tech.	(38-13)	611
8. West Alabama	(42-11)	608
9. Colorado Mesa	(48-9)	606
10. Cal. Poly Pomona	(46-15)	603
11. St. Edwards, TX	(40-13)	600
12. St. Mary's, TX	(41-16)	597
13. Angelo St.	(42-18)	595
14. Southern Arkansas	(40-18)	592
15. North Georgia	(38-17)	590
16. Henderson St.	(33-21)	589
17. Nova Southeastern	(39-13)	585
18. Millersville	(45-11)	584
19. Seton Hill	(43-13)	581
20. Lynn	(35-15-1)	576
21. Winston-Salem St.	(42-15)	572
22. Quincy	(40-17)	596
23. S. New Hampshire	(31-14)	565
24. Missouri Southern St.	(40-14)	562
25. Armstrong St.	(34-14)	560
26. U.C. San Diego	(36-21)	557
27. West Georgia	(33-15)	554
28. Ashland	(38-19)	552
29. Mt. Olive	(39-16)	550
30. Alabama-Huntsville	(36-11-1)	546
31. Colorado St.-Pueblo	(41-16)	544
32. Lander	(22-26)	541
33. Southern Indiana	(28-21)	538
34. Azusa Pacific	(34-10)	535
35. Grand Valley St.	(34-18)	532
36. Trevecca Nazarene	(36-18)	529
37. Flagler	(32-15)	526
38. Emporia St.	(39-16)	522
39. West Florida	(30-18)	519
40. Drury	(33-24-1)	516

COURTESY WINSTON-SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION 

Beck Leads BSU Bulldogs in 95-62 Beating of Millersville Marauders

BOWIE, Maryland -- After a 17-day layoff, the Bowie State University men's basketball team closed out 2015 with a 95-62 non-conference home victory against Millersville University on Thursday afternoon. Bowie State improves to 7-4 on the year and Millersville drops to 2-10 overall.  
 
Senior Justin Beck (Ellicott City, Md.) paced the Bulldogs with a team-high 25 points and fellow senior Julian Livingston (Bowie, Md.) added 17 points. Sophomore Omari George (Baltimore, Md.) came off the BSU bench to contribute a career-high 12 points to go along with five rebounds. Sophomore Ahmaad Wilson (Baltimore, Md.) rounded out the Bulldogs' double figure scorers with 10 points and added a game-high five assists.
 
Millersville held an early 3-2 first half advantage before Bowie State took charge of the game with a 10-0 run to take a 12-3 lead at the 15:34 mark. The Bulldogs grew to 25-12 by the midway point of the first half and helped Bowie State to a 52-31 cushion by halftime.
 
The Bulldogs knocked down 19-of-36 (52.8 percent) first half field goals and Bowie State's defense held the Marauders to 8-of-26 (30.8 percent) over the first 20 minutes.
 
With a very comfortable half time lead, Bowie State head coach Darrell Brooks played many of his reserves for much of the second half. The Bulldogs only the margin below 20 only once in the second half (54-35) following a Mont layup at the 16:23 mark. Bowie State's lead ballooned to a game-high 39 points (90-51) with 4:38 left to play.
 
Bowie State ended the afternoon with a field goal shooting percentage of 51.5 (34-of-66) which included 11-of-27 (40.7 percent) beyond the arc and the Bulldogs won the battle on the glass with a 38-36 advantage. Beck and senior Miles Jackson (Silver Spring, Md.) tied for team high-rebound honors with seven each.
 
"Millersville was a little beat up with several starters out due to injuries, but I'm really pleased that our guys were able to maintain their focus. I thought we defended well, rebounded well and did a good job sharing the ball", said Brooks.
 
The Marauders were led by Markeith Mont (Philadelphia, Pa.) with a game-high 27 points while Tommy Patterson (York, Pa.) chipped in 12 points.
 
Millersville made just 18-of-53 field goals (34.0 percent) but shot 80 percent at the free throw line, making 20-of-25.
 
The Bulldogs open conference play at Johnson C. Smith University – Monday, January 4th as part of a doubleheader with the women's team.
PHOTO GALLERY

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COURTESY BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS