XU's Quincy runs 3rd in 400 at Rhodes Invitational

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Kayla Quincy's third-place finish in the women's 400-meter dash was the Saturday highlight for Xavier University of Louisiana in the Rhodes Invitational track and field meet.
    
Quincy's time of 58.13 seconds matches the second-fastest in this event by an XU woman since SiMon Franklin's school-record performance of 56.74 at the 2013 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Championships.
    
The Gold Nuggets also got top-10 individual performances from Tylor Row in the women's 100 hurdles (fifth in 16.61), Destini Thomas in the women's 100 (10th in 12.72) and Clarke Allen in the women's 200 (10th in 26.05). For the XU men, Keairez Coleman was seventh in the long jump (6.07 meters/19 feet, 11 inches), and Christopher Kennie was eighth (6.04 meters/19-9 3/4).
    
There was no team scoring in the meet, which was Xavier's second of the outdoor season. The Nuggets and Gold Rush will compete Friday and Saturday in the Louisiana Classics at Lafayette, La.
    
Here are all the Xavier Saturday results from the Rhodes Invitational:

Women
    
400 Relay:  Martina Wright, Destini Thomas, Clarke Allen, Alexis Milton, 5th in 49.23; Kailey Williams, Katelyn McMorris, Janelle Jones,Kee-Myah Henderson, 6th in 49.46
    
Mile:  Maliya Vaughan, 28th in 5:48.06; Dionysia Love, 31st in 5:48.61; Brianna Pace, 42nd in 5:59.54
  
100 Hurdles:  Tylor Row, 5th in 16.61
    
400:  Kayla Quincy, 3rd in 58.13; Janelle Jones, 13th in 1:01.74; Kailey Williams, 23rd in 1:04.40; Ky'Reon McBride, 24th in 1:04.51
    
100:  Destini Thomas, 10th in 12.72; Martina Wright, 16th in 12.87; Katelyn McMorris, 17th in 12.94; Alexis Milton, 20th in 13.05; Kee-Myah Henderson, 23rd in 13.26; Dorian Hill, 30th in 14.05.
  
800:  Maliya Vaughan, 12th in 2:31.58; Chinyere Jones, 15th in 2:34.17; Brianna Pace, 18th in 2:35.04.
    
400 Hurdles:  Tylor Row, 12th in 1:13.98
    
200:  Clarke Allen, 10th in 26.05; Kailey Williams, 17th in 26.37; Martina Wright, 20th in 26.51; Alexis Milton, 21st in 26.54; Katelyn McMorris, 23rd in 26.68; Kee-Myah Henderson, 28th in 26.97; Destini Thomas, 31st in 27.04
    
1,600 Relay:  Ky'Reon McBride, Kailey Williams, Chinyere Jones, Kayla Quincy, 6th in 4:05.56
    
Long Jump:  Dorian Hill, 17th in 4.56 meters (14 feet, 11 1/2 inches)

Men
    
Mile:  Christopher August, 49th in 4:57.13; Ammiel Williams, 61st in 5:17.23; Darrick Williams, 62nd in 5:24.66
  
 110 Hurdles:  Erwin Simmons, 12th in 17.92
    
100:  Ethan Gipson, 26th in 11.46
    
800:  Ammiel Williams, 21st in 2:07.38
    
400 Hurdles:  Erwin Simmons, 12th in 1:13.66
    
200:  Ethan Gipson, 31st in 23.24
  
Long Jump:  Keairez Coleman, 7th in 6.07 meters (19 feet, 11 inches); Christopher Kennie, 8th in 6.04 meters (19 feet, 9 3/4 inches)

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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FAMU Athletics Mourns The Loss Of Two Rattlers

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TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- FAMU Athletics mourns the loss of two members of their family. Mary Adams, who recently served as Assistant Athletic Director for Business Operations, transitioned on Mar. 6 in Tallahassee. Anthony "Tony" Messina, a former assistant coach and film coordinator, transitioned on Mar. 17th in Tallahassee.

Adams, came to FAMU Athletics with a host of experience in finance, including decades of experience in the banking industry. She served as the director of the athletic department's business operations for nearly a decade, before being elevated to the position of assistant athletic director. In her position she handled all aspects of the department's business affairs, including but not limited to travel, department revenues and overseeing the entire athletic department budget.

Messina enjoyed a hall of fame career at FAMU. The energetic New England native was a part of FAMU football for over two decades, serving under Rudy Hubbard, Ken Riley and Billy Joe. He served dual roles as the team's cinematographer/film coordinator and kicking coach. He enjoyed a successful career molding eight kickers into All-MEAC selections and five of those into All-Americans.

"In any athletic department, there are more people working behind the scenes than there are on any given game day. On behalf of FAMU Athletics, I salute the work of these two outstanding Rattlers. Our prayers are with their families and we request the same from our Rattler nation," FAMU Director of Athletics Milton Overton said.

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Tony Messina remembered for fun-loving attitude, dedication

Messina was inducted into FAMU’s Hall of Fame in 2007

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Anthony “Tony” Messina’s legacy at Florida A&M is about more than the prowess of the kickers he coached.

He coached some of FAMU’s all-time great legs, but those players still talk about the time they spent away from the gridiron with a man who, above all else, was excited about life.

“You never knew where a day of practice would take us,” said James Vertuno, a former place kicker who Messina coached to All-MEAC and All-American honors. “We’d laugh all day in between kicks.”

Messina, a Watertown, Mass., native, died Thursday at the age of 81. He worked at FAMU from 1980 until 2002, starting as a film coordinator and eventually coaching special teams. Under Messina, FAMU produced eight All-MEAC kickers and five All-Americans, including Vertuno.

Rudy Hubbard, head football coach when Messina came to FAMU, said Messina had no troubles pulling double duty, and was a consistently-reliable coach. Hubbard said Messina’s miltary background – 22 years with the U.S. Coast Guard – came through in his punctuatiality and dedication to getting the job done.

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Offense Scores Early as FAMU Baseball Downs Savannah State 12-5 on Sunday

SAVANNAH, Georgia – Florida A&M (14-6, 5-1 MEAC) scored nine runs in the first two innings on its’ way to a 12-5 win over Savannah State (6-15, 1-2 MEAC) at Tiger Field on Sunday afternoon. The Rattlers sent 17 batters to the plate in the first two innings and totaled 13 hits in the win. Alec Wong went 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored and Dylan Dillard added two, two-run, triples in his first two at bats as he went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and four RBI on the day.

FAMU starter Chase Jarrell (3-1) earned the win after pitching five strong innings and allowed just two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and one walk.

The Rattlers jumped out to a quick lead with six runs on six hits in the top of the first inning. Marlon Gibbs led off with an infield single that dribbled up the third base line and Wong followed with a double to right field. After a pop out from Brian Davis, Dillard roped a bases clearing triple to center field and was able to come home as the second baseman missed played the relay throw from center field. After a single from Ben Ellzey and a hit-by-pitch to Cameron Johnson, Jacky Miles, Jr. ripped an RBI double down the right line as Ellzey came around to score. AJ Elkins would follow with a two-run single that dropped in over the first baseman’s head to bring home the fifth and sixth runs of the inning.

Florida A&M would score three more runs on four hits in the second inning to put the game out of reach at 9-0. With one out, Wong singled to left center and Davis doubled to left as runners were now on second and third. Dillard then roped his second triple in as many at bats, this time to right center, to score both Wong and Davis. Ellzey was able to bring home Dillard from third with an RBI single up the middle.

SSU picked up a pair of runs in the third inning to make the score 9-2. Jonathan Moore led off with a single up the middle and Charles Sikes dropped in a blooper into center field. Both runners moved up a base on Mendez Elder’s ground out before Moore came home on Jakeel Daniel’s groundout to short. Somto Egbuna then doubled home Sikes with a ball down the left line.

FAMU scored its’ final three runs in the fifth inning to put the Rattlers back up by 10 runs at 12-2. Johnson reached on an error by the first baseman, Sikes, and Miles, Jr. followed with a single to right field. With one out, Willis McDaniel hit a two-run double to left field. McDaniel then advanced to third on a groundout from Gibbs and scored on a wild pitch.

The Tigers scored a run in the sixth inning for a score of 12-3 and added two more runs in the ninth inning on bases loaded walks for the final score of 12-5. Hunter Fillingim walked five batters in the ninth inning, twice with the bases loaded to allow Jacob Lightle and Cole Bruce to score.

Tiger starter Greg Hollman (0-3) took the loss as he allowed six runs on six hits and recorded just one out with a hit batter in the first inning.

Florida A&M returns home for a three-game series with Florida Gulf Coast beginning on Thursday, March 24. Thursday and Friday’s games will begin at 5:00 PM, while Saturday’s series finale will start at 1:00 PM.

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

Box Score

 

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Florida A&M Rattlers Baseball Wins10th Straight, Splits Doubleheader at Savannah State

SAVANNAH, Georgia  – Florida A&M (13-6, 4-1 MEAC) won it’s 10^th straight game, but split the doubleheader at Savannah State (6-14, 1-1 MEAC) by scores of 7-2 and 1-2 at Tiger Field on Saturday. Senior Ricky Page struck out a career high six batters in the game two loss, while starter Danny Rodriguez (3-0) earned the win in game one after he pitched a season long seven innings and allowed two unearned runs on three hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

Page (1-1) pitched a complete game in the loss and allowed two unearned runs on six hits with the career-high six strikeouts and one walk. Dylan Dillard (2-for-4), Brian Davis (2-for-3) and Jacky Miles, Jr. all had multi-hit performances in game one, while Ryan Hutson went 2-for-3 in game two.

The Tigers scored first in game one with a pair of unearned runs in the home half of the first inning for a 2-0 lead. Jalen Atterbury reached on an error by Dillard on a ground ball at first base to lead off the inning. Jonathan Moore followed with a single to left and Charles Sikes walked to load the bases with no outs. Atterbury came home from third for the first run of the game as Mendez Elder grounded into a 4-6-3 double play and Moore was also able to later score on a wild pitch.

FAMU finally was able to get on the board with an unearned run in the sixth inning to cut the lead in half at 2-1. Alec Wong reached on a throwing error by the pitcher and after Ben Ellzey flew out to right field, Dillard singled through the left side. Davis was then hit-by-pitch to load the bases and Jacky Miles, Jr. plated Wong from third with a sac fly to left field for Florida A&M’s first run of the day.

The Rattler offense erupted for five runs on five hits in the seventh inning, including a two-run triple from Miles, Jr. to take their first lead of the game at 6-2. Willis McDaniel led off with a single to left and advanced to second on a sac bunt from Peter Jackson. Marlon Gibbs then singled through the left side to place runners on the corners with one out. FAMU loaded the bases as Wong was hit-by-pitch and Ellzey brought home McDaniel with an RBI single to left that to tie the game at 2-2. With the bases still loaded, the Tigers made a pitching change as Alex Wright came into the game. Dillard, the first batter Wright faced, singled home Gibbs from third and a sac fly to right field by Davis allowed Wong to come home for the third run of the inning. Miles, Jr. then roped a two-run triple, his first of the year, into the left-center gap.

Florida A&M scored their final run of game one in the eighth inning in what proved to be the final score of 7-2. Gibbs and Wong drew back-to-back walks with one out and Ellzey was hit-by-pitch to load the bases. Gibbs was then able to score on a sac fly from Dillard.

Tiger starter Trevor McKenna (1-2) suffered the loss in game one after allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits in 6.2 innings of work. McKenna had six strikeouts and two walks.

In game two, it turned into a pitchers duel. The Tigers scored all they would need with two runs in the bottom of the third inning for a 2-0 lead. Atterbury drew a walk with two outs and a misplayed ball by Ellzey allowed Moore to reach second before Sikes' two-run single into left field gave SSU the lead for good.

FAMU had a chance in the seventh inning, but was only able to come up with one run. Dillard led off with a single to left and went to third, with one out, as Cameron Johnson singled to right. Shane Gordon then came in to pinch run at first base for Johnson before Dillard came home on a pinch hit groundout from Miles, Jr. With Gordon representing the tying run at second base with two outs, Hutson popped up to second base to end the game.

Savannah State game two starter Ryan McCranie (1-1) had a solid outing as he allowed just one run on four hits with two strikeouts and one walk in a complete game win.

The Rattlers and Tigers will close out the three-game series on Sunday at 1:00 PM.
As always, fans can follow Rattler Baseball on Twitter @BaseballFAMU and on Facebook.

Game 1 Box Score                                                                 

Game 2 Box Score

 

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Jackson State Hall of Famer Eugene Short Dies

HATTIESBURG, Mississippi -- Eugene Short, one of the best basketball players in Hattiesburg High history, died Wednesday in Houston, Texas, following a long battle with diabetes.

Short was 62 years old.

The 6-foot-6 Short, along with his younger brother, Purvis, helped lead Hattiesburg High to the school’s first state championship in the 1972-73 season.

“Eugene was so instrumental in Hattiesburg High’s success then,” said Hattiesburg High athletic director Cheyenne Trussell. “But it was also a unique time since it was right after integration. He helped bring the community together. It wasn’t about black and white. It was about Hattiesburg High School.”

After graduating from Hattiesburg High, Short was a star player at Jackson State, earning SWAC Player of the Year honors twice. He was inducted into the Jackson State Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.

Short was picked by the New York Knicks in the first round (ninth overall) of the 1975 NBA Draft. The year before, he was chosen in the fifth round by the San Antonio Spurs of the American Basketball Association. Short also played for the Seattle Supersonics during his two-year NBA career. In addition, he was a member of the U.S. national team at the FIBA World Championship in 1974.

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Les East: Postseason opportunities gave Southern teams an extra edge

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Both Southern basketball teams saw their seasons come to disappointing ends in the past few days.

The men followed their Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament championship with an uneven performance in a 59-55 loss to fellow No. 16 seed Holy Cross in the First Four of the NCAA tournament Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio.

One night later, the women, who had fallen one win short of an NCAA tournament appearance of their own, couldn’t get going offensively and lost at Arkansas State 68-45 in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

But the fact that both teams were automatic qualifiers for postseason play in the first season in three that they were eligible for such drove home the significance of being able to compete for championships.

The men’s victory in the SWAC tournament earned them the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

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#2/3 Irish Win NCAA Opener, 95-61, Over North Carolina A&T

Box Score  |  Box Score |  Notes |  Photo Gallery  | NCAA 1st/2nd Rounds Central | Irish NCAA Tournament Central | ND Post-Game Quotes 

SOUTH BEND, Indiana -- Top-seeded Notre Dame dominated No. 16-seed North Carolina A&T for three quarters, earning praise from coach Muffet McGraw for unselfish play.

The Fighting Irish had 20 assists on 21 baskets in the first half and finished with 29 assists on 34 field goals en route to a 95-61 victory Saturday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

''That is amazing how unselfish we were,'' McGraw said. ''There were times somebody had a wide-open shot and they gave it to somebody for just a little better shot. It's really fun to watch them play that way when they share the ball.''

Brianna Turner scored 16 points on 7 of 8 shooting, Madison Cable added 14 points and seven rebounds and Notre Dame 32-1) dominated inside, Aggies (19-12) 52-18 in the paint.

''LA (Lindsay Allen) just got me wide open layups. So I just had to finish it,'' Turner said.

Kathryn Westbeld added 12 points as the No. 2 Fighting Irish (32-1) shot 59 percent to win their 29th straight at home, the third longest streak in school history. Notre Dame outscored the Aggies (19-12) 52-18 in the paint.

The Irish jumped quickly to a 7-0 lead and pulled away throughout most of the game, leading by 28 at halftime and 41 at the end of three quarters.

Kala Green, who missed her first 10 shots, led the Aggies with 12 points on 5 of 18 shooting, Dana Brown scored 11 and Aprill McCrae had 10 points and seven rebounds. The Irish held North Carolina A&T to 33 percent shooting, repeatedly forcing the Aggies to settle for outside shots.

''When they doubled me I couldn't make my moves like I wanted to so I had to kick the ball out,'' McCrae said.

Aggies coach Tarrell Robinson said his team was overwhelmed by the Irish defense and the large Notre Dame crowd.

''The environment, us not having been there before and not understanding how crazy it is in this arena, and I thought our girls weren't in it mentally. I know they wanted to play hard and wanted to show up. But when you are playing one of the best teams in the country you've got to be rolling on all cylinders and we weren't today,'' he said.

''The environment, us not having been there before and not understanding how crazy it is in this arena, and I thought our girls weren't in it mentally."

The Irish jumped quickly to a 7-0 lead and pulled away throughout most of the game, leading by 28 at halftime and 41 at the end of three quarters before being outscored 21-14 in the fourth quarter. McGraw wasn't pleased.

''I thought we were just lackadaisical. I don't think we were aggressive in coming to the ball,'' McGraw ssaid. ''We just got careless. I thought it was really careless, just sloppy and careless.''

Marina Mabrey added 13 points and Mychal Johnson matched her season-high 12 points as the Notre Dame's reserves outscored the Aggies bench 45-23. Allen had 10 assists in 21 minutes and Michaela Mabrey had six.

GAME STATS

The 29 assists were the most ever by the Irish in an NCAA Tournament game. The previous record was 26 against Tennessee-Martin in 2013. ... Allen's 10 assists were the fifth most by the Irish in the tournament and the most since Skylar Diggins had 11 against Maryland in 2012. ... Turner's 87.5 percent shooting was the third best for the Irish in the tournament and the best since Ruth Riley was 6 of 6 against Alcorn State in 2001. ... The 95 points tied for the third most by the Irish in a tournament game.

TIP-INS

North Carolina A&T: The Aggies fell to 0-3 in NCAA Tournament play. ... North Carolina A&T, which finished second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in scoring defense at 57.6 points a game, hadn't given up more than 89 points in a game this season. ... The loss wasn't the most lopsided ever for the Aggies in the tournament. In 1994, A&T was beaten by 74 points by Tennessee, 111-37, which remains the largest margin of victory in tournament history.

Notre Dame: improved to 19-4 in opening-round games. Its last loss was 79-71 to Minnesota at home in the first round in 2009. ... Notre Dame improved to 13-0 against first-time opponents in the NCAA Tournament over the past 15 years. The last first-time opponent to beat the Irish in the tournament was Texas Tech 82-67 in the second round in Lubbock, Texas, in 1996. ... Notre Dame is 23-0 when scoring 80 or more points in the tournament.

UP NEXT

North Carolina A&T: Season's over.

Notre Dame plays No. 9 seed Indiana on Monday at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2/WatchESPN.

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