Grambling has eyes on Houston, SWAC title

2016 BAYOU CLASSIC  REMAINS A WINNER WITH ATTENDANCE AT 67,845, the largest crowd for the annual classic since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and forced the move of the game to Houston.

NEW ORLEANS — Minutes after claiming a decisive victory on the Superdome turf, a few Grambling players held up the shiny Bayou Classic trophy and hoisted it in the air while coach Broderick Fobbs reached to the sky with the Southwestern Athletic Conference West Division trophy.

The crowd erupted. Toward the front of the celebration, Grambling held the most important object — a sign indicating the Tigers were headed back to Houston for the 2016 SWAC championship.

Chants of "H-Town! H-Town! H-Town!'' filled the front of the stage. Ruston native Justin Miller danced to the beat of the repetitive words.

Grambling is coming for the title that Alcorn State hasn't relinquished in the past two years.

"Ever since they clinched their side, we said we need our remix," Grambling running back Martez Carter said following a 52-30 win over Southern on Saturday. "We sung this song before. We're just going to remix it a little bit and we're going to have a different ending to it."

Talk of returning to Houston is nothing new around the program. Ever since a 49-21 loss to Alcorn State in the 2015 title game, Grambling (9-1, 9-0) has vowed to finish business this time.

At just 5-5 on the year, Alcorn State, the two-time defending league champions, wrapped up the East division a few weeks ago to secure its spot in Houston.



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Alabama State Lady Hornets draw #11 Florida in NCAA Tournament

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- The NCAA Division I women's volleyball selection show watch party brought cheers and a reflection on their accomplishments Sunday night on the campus of Alabama State University in the theater room of the student center as the Lady Hornets discovered their bracket fate.

The season will continue for Alabama State with a trip to Gainesville, Florida to take on the No. 11 Gators in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

ASU capped off their perfect conference regular season of 18-0 with a SWAC Championship triumph last Sunday in Jackson, Miss. after rallying back to defeat Texas Southern in four sets.

It extended their consecutive conference winning streak to 21 straight matches.

Now, Alabama State (24-8) will take on Florida (26-3) for the second time in three seasons in a NCAA Tournament match up on Friday, Dec. 2 at Florida for a 7 p.m. ET / 6 CT start in Gainesville.

It marks the Lady Hornets' third overall NCAA Tournament appearance in the last four seasons.

"She means a great ordeal to this team," said senior Jamie Coleman of head women's volleyball coach Penny Lucas-White.

"You're able to just go to her about any situation. She knows volleyball like no other so whatever she says is gold. She also acts like a mother figure for us and helps us come together as a team. Since I've been here, we've been nothing but been very successful."

Alabama State has won at least 20 games in each of the last four seasons.

"It's a surreal feeling," Coleman said.

"I don't really think that it's hit me yet. I do understand that we've been to four SWAC championship matches and won three of them and made three NCAA Tournament trips. I don't necessarily think that I understand the full magnitude of it, but I just know that it's great. To be a part of it, to succeed at that and come here to do what I set out to do, I'm just really excited for this weekend. It's something that will stick with me forever."

ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

Howard University Volleyball To Battle No. 3 Wisconsin In NCAA Tournament

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Champion Howard University volleyball team will face No. 3 Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship, the NCAA announced on Sunday.

The Bison will battle Wisconsin (25-4) on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 8:30 p.m. ET in UW Field House. Wisconsin will be one of the host sites for the first and second rounds of the tournament. Washington State (21-11) will take on Marquette (23-8) on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 5 p.m. in UW Field House. The winners of Thursday's matches will face off for a berth to the NCAA Regional.

Howard enters the postseason with a 26-5 overall record, having finished a perfect 12-0 in MEAC play. The Bison earned an automatic bid into the tournament by defeating Florida A&M, 3-1, for their second straight MEAC Championship.

The Bison are poised to make their third overall and second consecutive appearance in the tournament. Thursday's matchup will be the first-ever meeting between Howard and Wisconsin.

Check back to www.HUBison.com throughout the week for more information and a preview of Thursday's match.

HOWARD UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Women's college volleyball: Field for 2016 DI championship announced; Howard at Wisconsin, Alabama State at Florida

MEAC CHAMPIONS ROSTER
HOWARD UNIVERSITY BISON
OVERALL SEASON RECORD: 26-5, MEAC 12-0

SWAC CHAMPIONS ROSTER
ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY HORNETS
OVERALL SEASON RECORD: 24-8, SWAC 18-0

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — The NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball committee announced on Sunday the 64-team field that will compete in the 2016 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship. Thirty-two conferences were awarded an automatic qualification, while the remaining 32 positions were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket.

2016 DI Women's Volleyball Championship: Interactive Bracket | Printable Bracket

The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and placed within four regions. The University of Nebraska, Lincoln, the defending national champion, earned the top seed followed by No. 2 University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, No. 3 University of Wisconsin-Madison and No. 4 University of Texas at Austin.

Per the established bracketing principles the top 16 seeds were provided the opportunity to host. Additionally, team pairings were determined by geographic proximity, with the exception that teams from the same conference were not paired during the first- and second-rounds.

The Big Ten and Pac-12 led all leagues with eight teams selected from their conferences to compete in the championship tournament. The Big 12 Conference was third with six programs advancing to the tournament. Pennsylvania State University and Stanford University are the only two teams that have earned berths to all 36 championship tournaments. Three programs are making their first appearances in the tournament: University of North Dakota, Boise State University and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

During the previous 35 years of the championship 10 schools have won a national title, eight of which earned a place in this year’s bracket.

Previous winners competing in the field are: UCLA (1984, 1990, 91, 2011), University of Hawaii, Manoa (1982, 83, 87), Nebraska (1995, 2000, 06, 15), University of Southern California (1981, 2002, 03), Stanford (1992, 94, 96, 97, 2001, 04), Penn State (1999, 2007, 08, 09, 10, 13, 14), Texas (1988, 2012) and University of Washington (2005).

First- and second-round matches will be played December 1-3 at 16 campus sites. Teams winning both matches will move on to regional play December 9 and 10. Regionals for the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship will be held at four non-predetermined campus sites, which will be announced after play concludes, on December 3. At each site, four teams will compete in single-elimination regional semifinal competition. All regional semifinal matches will be shown on ESPN3. Regional final matches will air on ESPNU.

The regional winners will advance to the national semifinals and championship final co-hosted by the Ohio State University and the Greater Columbus Sports Commission at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on December 15 and 17. Both national semifinal matches as well as the championship match will be broadcast by ESPN2.

COURTESY NCAA MEDIA RELATIONS

Home Sweet Home: Georgetown Men’s basketball picks off Howard Bison in return to Verizon Center

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Georgetown men’s basketball team (3-4, Big East) defeated Howard (0-5, MEAC), 85-72, on Sunday afternoon. While the Hoyas led from the tip to the final buzzer and the Bison never threatened, Georgetown’s cushion was earned early on, as they had built a 16-0 lead by the under-16 timeout, and then were outscored 72-69 in the subsequent 36 minutes. Graduate guard Rodney Pryor led the Hoyas with 26 points as well as 6 rebounds. Redshirt junior guard James Miller carried Howard with 30 points. This was the closest game of the season for a Howard team with a KenPom ranking of 308th amongst Division I schools.

Georgetown invested fully in the press in the early minutes, and it payed dividends, yielding three early steals sparking the early lead. Junior guard L. J. Peak had four steals on the game to compliment his 14 points. Peak also limited himself to three personal fouls, an area in which he chronically struggles, despite starting for the Hoyas. However, after building a lead as large as 17, Georgetown began to struggle. Learning from their initial miscues, Howard began breaking Georgetown’s pressure, and midway through the second half, the lead was back to single digits.

“We knew they were going to press us, but not having [senior]point guard [James Daniel III] on the floor, we kinda had to learn on the fly,” said Howard Head Coach Kevin Nickelberry. Daniel, who averaged over 27 points a game last season, is out indefinitely with a sprained ankle.

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PVAMU Women's Basketball Grabs First Road Victory; Hands Marshall Thundering Herd First Loss

PVAMU ROSTER

EDINBURG, Texas -- The Prairie View women's basketball team closed out the final day of the Feast on the Border Tournament with a 78-68 win over Marshall

Alexus Parker paced another impressive game as she scored a season and team-high of 25 points, including three three-pointers and making 8-of-10 at the free-throw line. Teammate Tori Carter posted 24 points, four assists and two steals, and Dominique Newman made her first start scoring 14 points.

The Thundering Herd (4-1) took control of the game early creating a 7-0 run lead, but eventually PVAMU got on the board after back-to-back free throws made by Parker at the 6:25 mark. Marshall continued on their spree to advance its lead to 13 points, however, the Lady Panthers would not relent and cut the lead to six on back-to-back buckets starting off with a jumper by Parker and PV forcing a turnover to allow Newman to place a three-pointer. Carter's bucket closed out the quarter with the Lady Panthers trailing by six, 20-14.

Prairie View A&M continued the momentum from the first quarter into the second, resulting in a 10-0 run. PV only allowed seven second-quarter points as Marshall led only 27-26 at halftime.

After the half, the Lady Panthers came out determined battling back taking their first lead of the game. Neither team allowed the other to relinquish the lead keeping it close throughout the third quarter. La'Sha Haynes free throws knotted the game for a sixth time at 41, before Prairie View A&M ended the quarter with a 46-45 lead over the Herd.

Newman opened up the fourth quarter with her fourth three of the contest to extend the lead at 49-45. After a brief Marshall run to give them their final lead at 56-54 with just over five minutes to play, the Lady Panthers took control for good with a 9-0 run.

The Lady Panthers return to action Tuesday, November 29th at Texas Tech at 6:30 p.m.

BOX SCORE

PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Preview: Texas Southern vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

LAFAYETTE, Louisiana – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team returns from the Thanksgiving break on Sunday when it plays host to Texas Southern at Blackham Coliseum.

Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. Live video streaming will be available on RaginCajuns.com with the game being broadcast in the Lafayette area on KHXT 107.9 FM and ESPN 1420-AM, with fans also able to hear the game worldwide on the Radio Pup app.

The game against Texas Southern (4-1) marks the final regular-season contest for Louisiana in its former home before moving back to the newly refurbished Cajundome on Thursday against Nicholls. Louisiana, which has worn retro uniforms during its games at Blackham Coliseum, will be auctioning off the uniforms after the game. The Ragin' Cajuns will honor several of its former players and coaches before the game, including the late Beryl Shipley, who was recently inducted into the UL Athletics Hall of Fame.

Louisiana (3-2) earned its first non-conference road victory since defeating Louisiana Tech in 2013 as it cruised to an 82-70 win at James Madison on Wednesday. Frank Bartley and Jay Wright combined for 55 points as the Ragin' Cajuns shot 57 percent from the floor and pulled away from a 39-31 lead at halftime.

Bartley, who is second in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring, leads Louisiana with a 19.2 average with Bryce Washington ranked 10th in the league in scoring (14.4) while leading the SBC in rebounds (11.4). Jay Wright averages 13.0 points per game for the Ragin' Cajuns with freshman Justin Miller averaging 10.8.

TSU (4-1), off to its best start under head coach Mike Davis, defeated James Madison, 67-56, last Monday behind a balanced scoring attack of three players in double figures. Dulani Robinson led all scorers with 17 points and seven assists against the Dukes with Zach Lofton contributing 16 points and Derrick Griffin racked up recording a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

GAME 6: Louisiana (3-2) vs. Texas Southern (4-1)
November 27, 2016 | 4 p.m. CST | Lafayette, La. | Blackham Coliseum (5,000)
TV: None
Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM / ESPN 1420 AM | Talent: Jay Walker (PBP)
Video: RaginCajuns.com
Live Stats: RaginCajuns.com
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsMBB; @ULRaginCajuns
Series: Texas Southern leads, 1-0
In Lafayette: 0-0 | In Houston: Texas Southern leads, 1-0

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Career Record: 458-260 (24th season), Record at UL: 110-94 (7th season)

TEXAS SOUTHERN
Head Coach: Mike Davis (Thomas Edison St., 2000)
Career Record: 317-210 (17th season), Record at TSU: 80-58 (5th season)

STORY LINES
• Louisiana plays its final regular-season game today at Blackham Coliseum – its former home from 1950-84 before moving to the Cajundome.

• The game will pit two of the nation's top offensive rebounders in Louisiana's Bryce Washington (8th, 4.8) and Texas Southern's Derrick Griffin (4th, 4.8).

• Louisiana looks to extend its win streak to four games after opening the season with losses at Minnesota and Montana State.

• A win would mark the first time in school history the Ragin' Cajuns would have won four straight games during the month of November.

• A win would give Louisiana a 4-2 record in the month of November, one win shy of the 2013-14 squad that started 5-2 in the opening month and would reach the NCAA Championships.

QUICK HITS
• Louisiana is ranked nationally in the top-20 in turnovers forced (10th, 19.2), steals per game (15th, 9.8), offensive rebounds per game (16th, 15.0), is 22nd in turnover margin (+5.2) and is 24th in scoring offense (87.8).

• Bryce Washington is ranked eighth nationally in offensive rebounds per game (4.8), 11th in rebounds per game (11.4), 13th in double-doubles (3) and 20th in total rebounds (57).

• Jay Wright (16th, 2.6) and Frank Bartley (32nd, 2.4) are ranked in the top 50 nationally in steals per game.

THE SERIES
• The meeting between Louisiana and Texas Southern is the second between the schools with TSU claiming a 74-71 overtime victory over the Ragin' Cajuns on Nov. 16, 2012 in Houston.FAYTET

UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

Challenge accepted: Grambling succeeds in going after Southern's stingy secondary in Bayou Classic victory

NEW ORLEANS -- Grambling could have taken the easy way out Saturday in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The Tigers could have attacked Southern’s young defensive line — a line that has allowed the fourth-most yards rushing of any team in the conference.

Keeping the ball on the ground would have allowed Grambling to wear down the Jaguars defense while avoiding their hawkish secondary, which entered the Bayou Classic with 19 interceptions and had allowed only 205 yards passing per game.



Challenge accepted.

Instead of using the running game to set up the passing game, Grambling went right at the heart of the Jaguars defense.

By the end of the night, Grambling threw for 315 yards on a 75 percent completion rate, the second-most Southern allowed all season.

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Bayou Classic: Turnovers pivotal as Southern stumbles, Grambling pulls ahead

NEW ORLEANS -- Southern's defense has produced a plethora of turnovers this season, but a relentless Grambling offense helped turn the tables Saturday in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The Jaguars, who had feasted on turnovers to the tune of a plus-17 turnover margin, were thrown off by an early pair of their own unforced mistakes. The turnovers helped morph a game expected to be a memorable Bayou Classic into one Southern would prefer to forget.

Southern had a chance to go into halftime with the lead, but a fumble and an interception set the table for Grambling to run up a 52-30 win. It was the most points Grambling has scored on Southern since a 55-20 win in 1977.

“It's one or two plays in the football game (that make the difference), the momentum swung from that moment forward,” Southern coach Dawson Odums said. “We talked about that all week: You’ve got to protect the football.”

The first turnover came with five minutes left in the first quarter and Southern trailing 7-6. The Jaguars were in the process of finishing a 12-play, 88-yard drive that could have given them the lead, but ball-handling problems changed that.

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Bayou Classic notebook: No safety nets, Willie Quinn falls short of 1,000 and the Lenard Tillery era comes to a close

NEW ORLEANS -- Southern’s tight ends had been one of quarterback Austin Howard’s favorite targets all season.

Whenever Howard needed a quick outlet under pressure, Dillon Beard or Austin Opara or even freshman Jeremias Houston were always a safe option to dump the ball off.

Not Saturday.

Grambling clamped down on Howard’s safety nets all night in the Bayou Classic, limiting his targeting of tight ends to just five of his 44 attempts.

All of the targets went to Beard, who reeled in three receptions for 36 yards, all of which came in the second half.

Quinn falls short
One of Southern’s most prolific careers ended without a 1,000-yard season.

Senior receiver Willie Quinn fell 45 yards short of one of the few milestones to elude him the past four years after gaining 60 yards on six receptions Saturday.

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2016 Bayou Classic: Grambling's 'dominant' offensive performance sinks Southern, 52-30

NEW ORLEANS -- Grambling went into Saturday's 43rd annual Bayou Classic with the reputation as the best offense in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and it did everything it needed to to live up to that title.

The Tigers clinched a spot in next week's SWAC title game against two-time defending conference champion Alcorn State by racking up 571 yards of total offense on the way to a 52-30 win over Southern. But what made their performance so special was how they went about doing it.



Grambling came in with the reputation as an explosive passing offense, but it took over Saturday's game by pounding Southern's defense with the running game and it eventually paid off in the second half.

"We did a really good job of running the football," said Grambling coach Broderick Fobbs. "We saw some things from the way they were lining up in the first half and we were able to take advantage of it. We did a good job of running the football with (running backs) Martez Carter and Jestin Kelly and all those guys did an exceptional job of getting the ball into the endzone.

"We have a lot of exceptional athletes and they were on display tonight."

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Darrell Walker brings NBA experience and new attitude to Clark Atlanta University

ATLANTA, Georgia -- There’s a wind of change coming to Clark Atlanta University, a historically black university in the heart of Atlanta — change coming by way of the school’s Division II men’s basketball program and its new head basketball coach, Darrell Walker.

“Just because you’re in Division II doesn’t mean you have to act like it,” said Walker during a recent interview. The former NBA assistant and head coach (Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, New Orleans Hornets, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks), Continental Basketball Association head coach (Rockford Lightning) and WNBA head coach (Washington Mystics) took what many might have thought was an easy opportunity for him — to coach the college game — as a direct challenge.

“I’ve been trying to get into college coaching for a while,” said Walker as he prepared for the inaugural Darrell Walker Art and Basketball Fundraiser at the Thomas W. Cole Research Center for Science and Technology on the Clark Atlanta campus on Nov. 3. “When this opportunity came open, I applied, and here I am.”

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Scoring droughts doom Northern Kentucky in loss to NC Central

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Kentucky – The Northern Kentucky University men's basketball team used a 19-5 run to come within five points of North Carolina Central with 21 seconds to play on Saturday, but fell to the Eagles, 82-74, at BB&T Arena despite 20-point performances from both Drew McDonald and Lavone Holland II.

With the loss, NKU moves to 3-3 overall while the Eagles improve to 3-2.

BOX SCORE

STAT LEADERS

• McDonald turned in his third double-double in the last four games and posted his fourth-straight game with 20 or more points. He brought down 11 rebounds including seven on the offensive end and tied Holland with a team-best 20 points.
• Holland reached the 20-point mark with a 6-for-12 showing from the field including a 3-for-7 performance from behind the arc.
• Freshman Blake Spellman dished out a career-high and team-best five assists in 19 minutes of action.

TURNING POINT

• The Norse led throughout the first portion of the game until North Carolina Central closed the first half on an 18-0 run. The Eagles claimed their first lead of the game amid the run when they jumped ahead 30-29 with 5:04 left in the half.
• McDonald and Holland combined for 11 points across a two-minute span to bring the Norse within four of NCC at 53-49 with 10:50 on the clock, the closest they would get to the Eagles throughout the remainder of the game.

FIRST-HALF SUMMARY

• The Norse claimed their largest lead of the game as they rode an 8-0 run to lead it 17-8 at the midway point of the first period. The run featured a pair of triples from Cole Murray and Spellman as the Norse held NC Central without a field goal for over three and a half minutes.
• The Eagles chipped away at the deficit using 9-for-12 shooting across the final seven minutes as they put together their 18-0 run. The Eagles' Patrick Cole – the game's leading scorer – contributed eight points to the run as he closed the half with a game-high 15 points.
• North Carolina held a 23-18 edge in first-half rebounds, with the Norse bringing down nine offensive boards to NCC's six.

SECOND-HALF SUMMARY

• Spellman broke NKU's scoring drought with a triple at the 17:35 mark to spark eight uninterrupted points from the Norse that also included a three from McDonald and a Williams layup.
• The run helped bring the Norse within seven as they cut the NCC lead to 44-37 with 16:17 remaining.
• McDonald and Holland then chipped in for 11 combined points to come within four of NCC at 53-49 with 10:50 on the clock.
• The Eagles responded 11 uninterrupted points to get back out to a 66-51 lead with just under seven minutes to play.
• NKU out-scored NC Central, 19-5, over a five minute span to come within five with 21 seconds left to play but the Eagles would close out the victory with four points in the final stretch.

GAME NOTES

• While McDonald has posted four-straight games with 20 or more points, Holland has turned in back-to-back 20-point performances. The junior has 45 points across the last two games.
• Despite being narrowly out-rebounded 41-39, the Norse brought down 16 offensive boards to NCC's seven. NKU has out-rebounded its opponents 65-40 on the offensive glass this season. The only game in which the Norse did not win the offensive rebounding battle was against Miami (Ohio) when the teams were tied with eight offensive rebounds apiece.
• Northern Kentucky shot 51.3 percent in the second half on 16-for-31 shooting, including an 8-for-15 (53.3 percent) showing from three. The Norse out-scored NCC, 45-40, in the second period.

NEXT UP

• The Norse open a two-game road swing on Wednesday, Nov. 30 when they travel to take on in-state foe Morehead State at 7 p.m.  NCCU travels on Nov. 28 to University of Missouri - Columbia.  The game will be a televised on the SEC Network.

NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

Walker: Another big day for Southern's Lenard Tillery, but this Bayou Classic didn't end how he was hoping

NEW ORLEANS -- The walk-on walked off the field for the final time Saturday.

This wasn’t quite the way Lenard Tillery envisioned his college career ending.

He surely would have traded every last one of the 230 yards he rushed for Saturday for a win that would have extended his college career another week and sent Southern traveling west down Interstate 10 to Houston for the SWAC championship game next Saturday.

Instead, the Jaguars were on the wrong end of a 52-30 loss, far more lopsided than anyone expected in this battle of SWAC unbeatens for the 43rd installment of the Bayou Classic.

Tillery, whose goal was to go out with a SWAC title, will have to settle for the SWAC ring he won in 2013. He took his No. 21 jersey off for the final time, finishing his career with more yards than any other player in SWAC history.

And, yes, that includes the late Walter Payton, the Jackson State star who went on to a career that earned him a gold blazer and a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Not bad for a guy who just five years ago wasn’t considered good enough for a scholarship when he graduated from McKinley High School. He ended up walking on at his hometown school.

CONTINUE READING

2016 Bayou Classic Half-Time Field Shows: Grambling State University World Fame vs. Southern University Human Jukebox

Grambling surges past Southern in the second half to win Bayou Classic 52-30, secure spot in SWAC championship game

NEW ORLEANS -- The Grambling Tigers left no room for doubt about who was the best team on the Mercedes-Benz Superdome turf for Saturday's 43rd Bayou Classic.

Grambling gashed Southern and its previously stingy defense for 571 yards. It forced a pair of critical early turnovers against a Jaguars unit that had taken great care of the ball all season and kept an explosive Southern offense largely at bay.

Most importantly, Grambling snapped Southern’s eight-game winning streak and extended its own to nine, punching its ticket to the SWAC championship game and ending Southern’s season with a 52-30 win.

All of this was despite a herculean effort from Southern running back Lenard Tillery, whose college career ended on a day when he ran for nearly 200 yards in the first half. He finished with 230 yards on 25 carries and three total touchdowns.

Thanks to Tillery’s heroics, it was only a four-point game at halftime. Then Grambling (9-1, 9-0) stepped on the accelerator and breezed past Southern (8-3, 8-1) with a series of explosive plays.

Grambling quarterback Devante Kincade was effective through the air, but it was his legs that lit the powder keg when he zoomed through the heart of the Jaguars defense for a 45-yard touchdown on the Tigers’ first drive of the second half.

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Norfolk State Powers Past Lehigh 81-57 at Christmas City Classic

BETHLEHEM, Pennsylvania – Four players scored in double figures for Norfolk State to help lead the Spartans past Lehigh 81-57 on Saturday at Stabler Arena. Junior Quinci Mann led Lehigh with 13 points, sophomore Hailey Pascoe had eight points and freshman Cameryn Benz added seven points, five rebounds and two steals. Freshman Gena Grundhoffer registered nine points and three rebounds. Fellow freshman Hannah Hedstrom and senior Kiernan McCloskey led the team with six rebounds apiece and sophomore Bryce Menendez collected six points and two rebounds. Lehigh (4-2) will now play in Sunday's consolation game against Monmouth, while Norfolk State (2-3) advances to play Hartford in the Christmas City Classic Championship.



The Spartans turned in their best shooting performance of the season by shooting (32-for-60) 53.3 percent for the game, including a sizzling 73.3 percent (11-for-15) in the second quarter. Lehigh shot just 30.6 percent from the field and was 6-for-22 from three-point range. NSU junior Kayla Roberts led the way for the Spartans with 23 points and 14 rebounds on 11-of-15 shooting. She was one of four NSU players in double figures along with Gabrielle Swinson who had 15 points and seven rebounds. Norfolk State also held a 46-24 advantage in the paint and outscored Lehigh 16-0 on the fast break.

After falling behind 2-0, Lehigh grabbed its only lead of the game within the first minute when Camryn Buhr drained a three pointer, followed by a Grundhoffer layup to give the Mountain Hawks a 5-2 advantage. NSU answered with 13 of the next 17 points to take a 15-9 lead at the 4:24 mark of the opening quarter. A free throw by Bernadette Devaney got Lehigh within 15-12 with 3:27 to go in the first, but that was as close as Lehigh would get for the remainder of the game as the Spartans carried a 22-14 lead into the second quarter.

The Spartans blew the game wide open in the second quarter, spurred by a 21-4 run to open up a 46-21 edge. McCloskey collected an offensive rebound off a missed three-point attempt in the final seconds and put in a layup to beat the buzzer and cut the deficit to 46-23 going into halftime.

"I thought in the first half, the shots didn't fall and that led to a lack of intensity on the defensive end, and I think that's a good learning lesson to take away from this game," said head coach Sue Troyan. "I thought when we starting missing shots, we stopped getting back and allowed them some really easy buckets in transition. And give credit to Norfolk State, I thought they came out and really set the tone on the defensive end."

Strode drove coast to coast for a fast break layup to give NSU a 55-26 lead early in the third quarter, forcing a Lehigh timeout. The Spartans followed with another basket for their largest lead of the game at 57-26 at the midway point of the quarter. Pascoe and Menendez then sparked Lehigh with 14 points, including a pair of triples from Pascoe and a spin move in the lane from Menendez to help get Lehigh within 21 in the final minute of the quarter.

"I thought Bryce played really well. She brought athleticism and size and played with confidence," Troyan said. "And some of Hailey's shots started falling there as well. It was just one of those games where we didn't make a lot of shots early in the game, and then when we did start making shots, we got some defensive stops.

"Monmouth is a strong team. Hopefully we can take some lessons from this game and come back tomorrow and apply them against Monmouth."

Sunday's second and final day of the tournament at Stabler Arena will begin with Lehigh and Monmouth at 2 p.m., followed by the title game between Hartford and Norfolk State. Hartford defeated Monmouth 75-72 on Saturday to advance to Sunday's championship game.

BOX SCORE

LEHIGH UNIVERSITY MOUNTAIN HAWKS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

2016 SWAC Championship: Alcorn State vs Grambling State

BAYOU CLASSIC FINAL: GRAMBLING 52, SOUTHERN 30

NSU Signs N.C. High School State Champion Zairya West

NORFOLK, Virginia – The Norfolk State women's basketball program added its first player this week to its 2017 recruiting class when guard Zairya West signed a national letter of intent to play for the Spartans beginning in the 2017-18 season.

The 5-foot-6 West attends Millbrook High School in Raleigh, N.C. She was named to the Cap-8 4A second team during her sophomore year and first team after her junior season, when she helped Millbrook win the 4A North Carolina High School Athletic Association state championship. She also earned North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association second-team all-district honors after her junior year, while garnering the Most Outstanding Defensive Player honor.

West is one of four Millbrook seniors who have signed with Division I basketball programs.

"We are extremely excited to welcome Zairya to the Norfolk State family," head coach Larry Vickers said. "She is a state champion, good defender and should flourish offensively in our up-tempo pressing style for the next four years."

West is the Spartans' only signee in November's early signing period. Vickers and his staff expect several additional signees in the spring.

Michael High / Sports Information
NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

16-0 Run Lifts Grambling Past Savannah State,110-104

NICEVILLE, Florida -- Grambling reeled off 16 straight points midway through the second half to rally for a 110-104 victory past Savannah State in the seventh place game of the Destin Realty Emerald Coast Classic Saturday at the Arena on the Northwest Florida State campus.

Senior guard Ervin Mitchell scored a game-high 36 points, including 21 in the second half, for Grambling which improved to 2-4.

Grambling shot 61.1 percent from the floor (22-36) to fuel the comeback.

Sophomore guard Dexter McClanahan paced Savannah State (2-5) with 27 points, including 22 in the first half.

Savannah State, which entered the tournament, leading the NCAA in three-point baskets made 17 treys, including 12 in the first half to race to a 55-45 halftime lead. But the Tigers were limited to five treys in the second half.

Savannah State used back-to-back three-point baskets by McClanahan sparking a 7-0 run to give the Tigers a 30-15 cushion with 10:22 left in the first half.

Trailing 69-59, Mitchell hit a three-point basket with 15:39 left in the game that ignited the 16-0 run and also added a trey to close out the rally giving Grambling a 75-69 lead with 13:40 left.

Savannah State tied the game at 85-85 following a three-point play by Casey Wells with 8:30 left. Grambling answered with four straight points from Mitch to go ahead 89-85 and never relinquished the lead. A layup by Mitchell gave Savannah State a 103-93 lead.

Senior guard Remond Brown scored 21 points for Grambling, while junior forward Avery Ugba added 18 points and 16 rebounds.

Troyce Manassa contributed 21 points for Savannah State.

BOX SCORE

GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS