Another SWAC title has TSU riding high

HOUSTON, Texas -- This is what Texas Southern men's basketball head coach Mike Davis envisioned when he took the helm in 2012.

He wanted to make TSU a basketball school. Conference championships help do that.

The Tigers (16-12, 15-1 in SWAC play) won a third regular-season SWAC title in four years after a 96-86 win over Alabama State on Monday.

"I want to take this job to another level," Davis said. "Make it when people play us, that we get great respect and make our fans excited about the season every year.

"I want them to expect this every year."

TSU has four regular-season conference titles since 2011. The Tigers also have three consecutive conference tournament titles. Winning a fourth consecutive conference tournament is the supreme goal now that the calendar has turned to March.

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XU's Harris, Albrecht are GCAC Players of the Week

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Dasia Harris and Adam Albrecht are the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Players of the Week in tennis for Feb. 22-28. The GCAC announced the honors Tuesday.
      
Harris, a sophomore from Sugar Land, Texas, and a graduate of Elkins High School, was unbeaten in three Friday matches during the Gold Nuggets' 3-0 week. Harris teamed with Sha'Nel Bruins for an 8-0 victory against Belhaven's Brittany Keeling and Ellen Scott. Harris beat Keeling 6-1, 6-1 and Tougaloo's Tynaka Hunter 8-2 in singles.
    
Albrecht, a junior from Ladna, Czech Republic, and a graduate of Gymnasium Breclav, won twice in singles against NCAA Division I opponents — Austin Racine of Troy (3-6, 6-1, 6-1) and Ben Kelley of Presbyterian (6-2, 7-5) — and extended his singles win streak to six. He also won in doubles during a 4-3 victory Thursday against Troy, and he teamed with Tushar Mandlekar for a 6-3 victory against Tomas Fernandez and Filip Mansson that clinched the doubles point.
    
The GCAC awards are the first for Harris and the second for Albrecht, who also won in 2015.
    
Xavier's upcoming schedule:
     •  Friday:  men and women at William Carey, Hattiesbug, Miss., 3 p.m.
     •  Saturday:  women vs. LSU-Alexandria at XU Tennis Center, noon
     •  Sunday:  men and women vs. William Woods at XU Tennis Center, 11 a.m.


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold 

Grambling women aim for SWAC title

GRAMBLING, Louisiana -- The Grambling State Tigers go into their game Saturday night with their eyes on winning the SWAC regular season championship.

Grambling (16-10, 13-4) is one of four teams atop the SWAC standings. The Lady Tigers will be playing one of the other leaders when they visit Alabama State at 5:30 Saturday. Alabama State is 15-11 overall and 13-4 in the SWAC. Also atop the SWAC are Texas Southern and Southern.

Grambling comes into the game with the momentum of a six-game winning streak. Also, the Lady Tigers are facing a team they defeated 89-69 on Jan. 4 in Grambling.

Shakyla Hill leads the Lady Tigers in scoring at 13.2 points per game and Jazmine Boyd is second at 10.8 points per game.

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FAMU Baseball Back on Track with 14-7 Win at Mercer on Wednesday

MACON, Georgia – Florida A&M (4-5) handed Mercer (7-2) just their second loss off the season as the Rattlers pounded out 16 hits on their way to a 14-7 win at Claude Smith Field on Wednesday. FAMU scored five runs in the second inning and added five more in the eighth inning to help put the game away. Marlon Gibbs and Ben Ellzey each went 3-for-6 on the day, while Gibbs added a home run and three RBI.

Cameron Johnson, Jacky Miles, Jr. and AJ Elkins each had two hits and two RBI for the Rattler offense, while Willis McDaniel had three RBI for FAMU.

Reliever Kenny McDonald (1-1) earned the win after he came in to pitch the final out of the fourth inning and worked the next three innings of relief. McDonald allowed two runs on three hits with one walk and one strikeout. Starting pitcher Ryan Anderson worked 3.1 innings and gave up five runs (three earned) on seven hits with four walks, a wild pitch and one hit batter.

The Bears got on the board first with a single run in the bottom of the first inning for an early 1-0 lead. Ryan Hagan walked with one out and came around to score on Danny Edgeworth’s, two out, RBI double for the first run of the game.

FAMU grabbed the lead, at 5-1, with five runs on three hits in the top of the second inning and never looked back. With one out, Ellzey reached on a hard hit single to third base and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Miles, Jr. and Cameron Johnson then followed with back-to-back walks to load the bases. AJ Elkins’ two-run double, into right center, brought home Ellzey and Miles, Jr. for the Rattlers first runs of the game. Johnson then tagged up and scored on Willis McDaniel’s sac fly to left for the third run of the inning. Marlon Gibbs capped off the scoring in the inning as he belted his first home run of the season, a two-run shot to left center.

Mercer picked up an unearned run in the second inning to cut the FAMU lead to 5-2.
The Rattlers pushed their lead to 6-2 with another run in the third inning. Ellzey singled to center with two outs and Miles, Jr. then roped an RBI double off the wall in center field to score Ellzey all the way from first.

MU scored three runs in the fourth inning to make the score 6-5. Trey Truitt singled to right with one out and Matt Meeder followed with a two-run home run to left center. Hagan then walked and moved to second on a wild pitch as Kyle Lewis was also walked to put runners at first and second. Edgeworth would reach first on a fielding error by Ryan Kopenski as he was ruled off the bag on the cover play that loaded the bases. Hagan later scored from third on a groundout by Hunter Bening for the unearned run.

Florida A&M answered with three runs in fifth inning for a score of 9-5. Brian Davis led off with a walk and Dylan Dillard was hit-by-pitch to start the inning. Davis then scored from second on a perfectly executed hit-and-run on Miles, Jr’s RBI single to right, which also allowed Dillard to advance to third base. Dillard scored the second run on Johnson’s RBI single through the right side. Miles Jr. also scored in the inning on Gibbs bases loaded RBI single to the shortstop.

In the seventh inning, Ben Upton’s pinch hit two-run home run cut the FAMU lead to 9-7.

FAMU put the game out of reach with five more runs in the eighth inning for the final score of 14-7. Gibbs poked a single through the right side to open the inning, Alec Wong drew a walk and Davis singled through the right side to load the bases with no outs. Peter Jackson then drew a bases loaded walk to plate Gibbs from third. Ellzey would hit into a 3-2-4 double play and Davis scored on a wild pitch before Johnson’s RBI single brought home Jackson. McDaniel put the final two runs of the game on the board for FAMU with a two-run single through the left side.

Mercer starter Nick Spear (1-1) allowed five runs on three hits in just two innings of work for the loss. Spear also had two walks and two strikeouts.

The Rattlers return home to Moore-Kittles Field this weekend to face Western Michigan in a three-game series beginning of Friday. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 4:00 PM, while Saturday and Sunday’s games will begin at 1:00 PM.

As always, fans can follow Rattler Baseball on Twitter @BaseballFAMU and on Facebook.

Box Score

 

COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

GCAC honors Nuggets' Gathright, Mayfield, Hopkins

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Whitney Gathright was named first-team Gulf Coast Athletic Conference in women's basketball for the third consecutive season Wednesday, and teammates Donyeah Mayfield and Trana Hopkins made the second team.
    
The Gold Nuggets (19-11) will meet city rival Dillard (9-16) at noon Friday at SUNO's The Castle in the opening round of the GCAC Tournament. Semifinals and finals for women and men will be played this weekend at XU's Convocation Center.
    
Gathright, a 5-foot-4 senior guard from New Orleans and a John Curtis Christian School graduate, is the ninth Gold Nugget to earn all-district or all-conference three-or-more times. She is averaging 13.8 points per game and leads the GCAC in free-throw percentage (.798) and in aggregate assists (130) and steals (65). Her 158 free throws and 198 attempts are XU season records.
 
Mayfield, a 5-11 senior forward from Vicksburg, Miss., and a graduate of Vicksburg High School, is averaging 11 points and a team-best 7.4 rebounds. She is the only Gold Nugget to reach 25 made 3-pointers and 30 blocked shots in the same season. Mayfield has made 26 3s and blocked 31 shots.
    
Hopkins, a 5-6 senior guard from Marietta, Ga., and a former Marietta High School and Chattahoochee Valley Community College standout, averages 9.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.7 steals. This is her fourth award in two days; Hopkins on Tuesday was named GCAC, Louisiana and NAIA Division I Player of the Week.
    
Xavier was not represented on the inaugural GCAC All-Defensive team, but senior guard Emoni Harvey (Memphis, Tenn./Briarcrest Christian School) received honorable mention.
    
The GCAC's seven head coaches voted on the honors. Major awards, such as Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, will be announced Thursday evening at a tournament banquet at Xavier's University Center.

2015-16 All-GCAC Women's Basketball First Team
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.
Shakeen Benton	Talladega	G	Sr.
Kyeshia Dawkins	Edward Waters	G	Jr.
Whitney Gathright	Xavier	G	Sr.
Rayvin Miller	SUNO	G/F	Sr.
Tajanee Wells	Talladega	G/F	Jr.
Second Team
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.
Montoria Atkinson	Tougaloo	F	So.
Micah Brooks	SUNO	G	Jr.
Juquecia Chaney	Philander Smith	G	Sr.
Alena Evans	Dillard	F	Sr.
Trana Hopkins	Xavier	G	Sr.
Brittany Leonard	Philander Smith	G	Sr.
Donyeah Mayfield	Xavier	F	Sr.
Honorable Mention
Shaelynn Moore, Dillard (G, Fr.); Jermisha Collins, Edward Waters (G, Fr.); Valerie Hill, Edward Waters (F, Jr.); Tamara Heard, Philander Smith (G, Sr.); Casey Chenevert, Tougaloo (G, Fr.); Arnissayur Robinson, Tougaloo (G, Jr.)

2015-16 GCAC All-Defensive Team
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.
Kadajah Allen	Edward Waters	F	Jr.
Montoria Atkinson	Tougaloo	F	So.
Micah Brooks	SUNO	G	Jr.
Alena Evans	Dillard	F	Sr.
Rayvin Miller	SUNO	G/F	Sr.
Honorable Mention
Bianca Thornton, Edward Waters (G, Jr.); Juquecia Chaney, Philander Smith (G, Sr.); Tamara Heard, Philander Smith (G, Sr.); Ashari Shakir, SUNO (F, Fr.); Shakeena Benton, Talladega (G, Sr.); Tatyana Calhoun, Talladega (G, Jr.); Thomesha Smith, Talladega (F, Sr.); Sashanique Youngblood, Talladega (G, Jr.); Arnissayur Robinson, Tougaloo (G, Jr.); Emoni Harvey, Xavier (G, Sr.) Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director XULAgold.com XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA  twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold

XU's Wright, Carter collect GCAC season honors

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Morris Wright and Elex Carter earned season honors in Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball Wednesday. Wright was chosen first-team All-GCAC for the third consecutive season, and he and Carter were named to the inaugural GCAC All-Defensive team.
    
The Gold Rush (19-11) will play Tougaloo (13-11) at 2 p.m. Friday at Dillard's Dent Hall in the opening round of the GCAC Tournament. Semifinals and finals for men and women will be played this weekend at XU's Convocation Center.
    
Wright, a 5-foot-10 senior guard from Zachary, La., and a former Zachary High School and Baton Rouge Community College standout, is the seventh from the Gold Rush to earn all-district or all-conference three times. He is averaging 18.9 points per game and is in the top 10 at Xavier in seven career categories, including No. 5 with 1,494 points. He leads the GCAC with a .423 3-point field-goal percentage and is top-4 in eight categories.
    
Carter, a 6-7 sophomore forward from LaPlace, La., and a graduate of East St. John High School, has blocked 34 shots — 11th on the Gold Rush all-time season list and XU's most since Angel Pinales blocked 38 in 1992-93. Carter also has 21 steals and 128 defensive rebounds. Wright leads Xavier with 54 steals and is tied for 10th at Xavier with 167 career steals.
    
Xavier's defense again is one of the best in NAIA Division I, ranking second in scoring defense (62.3) and field-goal percentage defense (.385). Xavier was the only team with more than one player named to the GCAC All-Defensive squad.
    
The GCAC's seven head coaches voted on the honors. Major awards, such as Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, will be announced Thursday evening at a tournament banquet at Xavier's University Center.

2015-16 All-GCAC Men's Basketball First Team
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.
Demetric Austin	Dillard	F	Jr.
Courtney Mack	Talladega	F	Sr.
Quintarius Porter	Tougaloo	G/F	Sr.
Jordan Washington	Talladega	G	Sr.
Morris Wright	Xavier	G	Sr.
Second Team
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.
Rashad Brackeen	Philander Smith	G	Jr.
Joe Brown	SUNO	C	Sr.
Dennis Hightower	Dillard	G	Jr.
Ronald March	Philander Smith	G	Sr.
De'Andre Scott	Tougaloo	G	Sr.
Charles-Eddie Smith	Edward Waters	G	So.
Keith Williams	Edward Waters	G	Jr.
Honorable Mention
Oceann Maddox, Edward Waters (G/F, Jr.); Christ Ward, Philander Smith (F, Jr.); Ezekiel Brown, SUNO (G, Fr.); Dominique Suggs, SUNO (G/F, Jr.); Jarmell Anderson, Tougaloo (G, Jr.); Andravious Smith, Tougaloo (F, Jr.)

2015-16 GCAC All-Defensive Team
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.
Joe Brown	SUNO	C	Sr.
Elex Carter	Xavier	F	So.
Courtney Mack	Talladega	F	Sr.
Oceann Maddox	Edward Waters	G/F	Jr.
Morris Wright	Xavier	G	Sr.
Honorable Mention
Kristian Clark, Dillard (G/F, Jr.); Dennis Hightower, Dillard (G, Jr.); Cameron Venus, Edward Waters (F, Sr.); Chris Ward, Philander Smith (F, Jr.); Ezekiel Brown, SUNO (G, Fr.); Jarmell Anderson, Tougaloo (G, Jr.); Denevian Cunningham, Tougaloo (F, Jr.); De'Andre Scott, Tougaloo (G, Sr.); Andravious Smith, Tougaloo (F, Jr.) Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director XULAgold.com XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA  twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold

MEAC Players Make Some Noise at NFL Combine

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana -- The NFL Combine this year was loaded with talent once again. Division 1 FBS players from Ohio State, Alabama, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Oregon were n attendance. But lets not forget about the small schools players as well. This years NFL Combine was loaded with talent from as the analyst say "small schools." Prospects from Southern Utah, South Carolina State, North Carolina Central, and many more small schools were in Indianapolis this year. But a few players really stood out from Division 1-AA(FCS) schools. Surprisingly the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference made its stamp on this years combine.

Javon Hargrave DT: South Carolina State- ​Measuring in at 6'1 weighing a whopping 309lbs this defensive lineman can move. The FCS All-American ran a 4.93 40 yard dash and had a vertical of 34.5 inches. Hargrav did 225 on the bench 29 times and looked dominant in position drills. His speed and quickness in every drill showed scouts why he was so dominant at the FCS level. His stock definitely increased over the past week.

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