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NEW ORLEANS — Jalen David broke out of a scoring slump with 18 points, and Seth Jackson scored seven of his 13 points in overtime Saturday to lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a 74-69 men's basketball victory against Tougaloo.
The Gold Rush (4-11, 1-0 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference) snapped a six-game losing streak, XULA's longest since the 1998-99 season.
David, XULA's season scoring leader, reached double figures for the first time in five games and sent the game into overtime with a basket with 20 seconds remaining. Jackson's 3-point play at 1:50 of overtime put the Gold Rush ahead to stay, 66-65.
Wesley Pluviose-Philip scored 14 points to tie a career high, grabbed a season-high-tying nine rebounds and blocked two shots for XULA. Leland Alexander had his second double-double of the season, 10 points and 11 rebounds, and freshman point guard Donovan Armstrong had eight assists and no turnovers in 38 minutes.
Andravious Smith had 29 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulldogs (5-7, 0-1), Anfernee Parker scored 20, and Jarmell Anderson had 10 assists.
Tougaloo entered the game averaging 82 points, but XULA limited the Bulldogs to 59 in regulation. The Gold Rush outshot Tougaloo 49 to 33.3 percent from the floor. In overtime XULA made 11-of-15 free throws, a significant improvement from 14-of-25 in regulation.
XULA beat Tougaloo for the 12th consecutive time. The Gold Rush eliminated the Bulldogs in double overtime in the opening round of the GCAC Tournament last season.
XULA's home stand will continue with a 7 p.m. game Friday against NCAA Division III's Rust and a 7:30 p.m. game Jan. 16 against GCAC and city rival SUNO. BOX SCORE
SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota -- The Sioux Falls Storm is thrilled to announce the signings of quarterback Lorenzo Brown and rookiequarterback Drew Powellfor the Storm in 2017.
Brown (6'0, 205lbs) will be entering his seventh season with the Sioux Falls Storm. He is a versatile player both through the air and on the ground. During the 2016 season, Lorenzo completed 183 passes out of 295 attempts for 2,428 yards and 56 touchdowns. He also rushed 152 times for 724 yards earning 21 rushing touchdowns. Brown earned the United Bowl Most Valuable Player and made the IFL's Honorable Mention list during the 2016 season.
Powell (6'3, 220) was a four-year starter for Livingstone College. He tallied 10,861 total yards (conference record), 732 career completions (conference record), 1,312 career attempts (conference record), and 100 total touchdowns (school record) during his collegiate career. Drew was the 2015 Hero Sports D2 Offensive Player of the Year, the 2015 Conference Player of the Year and received 2015 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) First Team quarterback honors.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- After trailing by double-digits, the Tennessee State University women’s basketball team fought back to defeat UT Martin, 85-80, in overtime Saturday night in the Gentry Center.
TSU (6-7, 1-2 OVC) trailed by as many 14 points heading into the fourth quarter before outscoring UTM (4-13, 1-3 OVC) 30-18 in the final frame. The Lady Tigers also outscored the Skyhawks 13-8 in the extra period to claim the victory.
Tia Wooten led TSU with a career-high 21 points while I’mani Davis and Kaliya Griffin each tallied 20 points. Davis’ 20-point performance lifted her to her 1,000th career point. Jayda Johnson finished the game with a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds.
UTM had four players in double-digits led by Kendall Spray’s 29 points. Myah Taylor (13), Emanye Robertson (12) and Ansley Eubank also notched double-figures for the visitors.
Five quick points by UT Martin got the game started but Tennessee State maintained its composure and pulled even a few plays later. The score was a close, 8-7, in favor of UT Martin and both teams were shooting 43 percent from field at the first media timeout
Out of the break, however, TSU took control. The home team fired off nine unanswered points to capture the lead, 16-8. The Lady Tiger defense held the Skyhawks scoreless for the last seven and a half minutes of the quarter.
A steal followed by an old fashioned three-point play by Diamond Beatty opened the second frame and gave TSU a double-digit advantage.
The Lady Tigers were up, 29-18, when the Skyhawks, used a 7-2 run to cut TSU’s lead down to 31-25 just before the half.
The visiting team did not waste time erasing the deficit in the second half and pulled to within one shortly before taking the lead.
TSU moved back on top, 39-37, when Tia Wooten connected in the paint, got fouled then made the ensuing free-throw.
The Lady Tigers then suffered through a scoring drought that saw them fall behind, 45-39. At the 1:02 mark, the Skyhawks extended their advantage to, 50-40 before carrying a 54-42 edge into the final stanza. The Lady Tigers were outscored, 29-11, in the third quarter and committed nine turnovers.
In the fourth frame, the Lady Tigers came out with a sense of urgency and used timely buckets and defensive pressure to pull within five with just two minutes ticked off the clock.
A break-away lay-up by Tia Wooten closed the gap to three points, 57-54 and forced a UTM timeout.
With 4:59 left to play, a three-point bomb from the top of the key by Kaliya Griffin made the score, 61-59, in favor of the home team.
In a fiercely contested back-and-forth battle, the score was knotted 65-65 with 2:06 on the clock.
With the shot clock winding down and TSU trailing, 68-67, Kaliya Griffin drained a three-pointer to put TSU on top, 69-68 with 46.3 seconds remaining.
On the next possession, UTM’s two shot attempts were off the mark and were forced to foul.
Jayda Johnson stepped up to make two clutch free-throws but the Skyhawks’ Kendall Spray answered with a three-pointer on the next possession. She was also fouled on the attempt and made the free-throw to put UTM up, 72-71, with 21.7 seconds remaining.
On the next play, Kaliya Griffin was fouled attempting to go the basket and made one of two to tie the game 72-72. UTM missed its final two shot attempts and the game went into overtime.
In the extra period, TSU took advantage of consecutive turnovers by UTM and I’mani Davis scored on back-to-back layups. TSU managed to build a 78-72 lead but UTM clawed back to within three.
With 27.9 seconds remaining, TSU was up, 82-80, and UTM was once again forced to foul. This time Kaliya Griffin made both to give TSU an 84-80 edge with 24.6 on the clock.
TSU got a crucial defensive stop on the next trip down the floor then sealed the win with another made free-throw.
Both teams shot at least 40 percent from the field and committed 28 turnovers in the contest. TSU held the advantage in points scored in the paint, 50-18, second chance points, 21-6, and bench points, 26-7.
Tennessee State returns to action on Wednesday, Jan.11 at home versus Morehead State. Game time is set for 6 p.m. in the Gentry Center. BOX SCORE PHOTO GALLERY
TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Balanced scoring carried the Tennessee State men’s basketball team to a 76-65 win over UT Martin at the Gentry Center on Saturday night in Ohio Valley Conference action.
Delano Spencer (Atlanta, Ga.) led TSU (11-5, 2-1 OVC) with a career-high 19 points as Tahjere McCall (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Wayne Martin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 17 points apiece.
UT Martin (11-8, 1-3 OVC) led by as many as 12 points in the first half and had a 30-26 halftime edge before the Tigers outscored the Skyhawks by a 50-35 margin in the second half.
McCall, who played his first two collegiate seasons at Niagara, scored his 1,000th career Division I point on the night. The redshirt senior scored 330 points at Niagara and now has 683 for TSU for a total of 1,013 points. McCall had another all-around strong game with 17 points and seven rebounds while tying a career high with eight assists.
The Tigers dug themselves a 12-point hole just over 11 minutes into the game with the Skyhawks holding a 21-9 advantage. TSU clawed back into the game, cutting the deficit to single digits on a layup from Jordan Reed (Philadelphia, Pa.).
Tennessee State continued to battle, closing the half on a 7-0 run to trim UT Martin’s lead down to 30-26 at halftime.
Out of the break, TSU was able to take the lead less than two minutes into the half thanks to a pair of jumpers from Darreon Reddick (Belleville, Ill.). A 14-3 run gave the Tigers a double-digit advantage at 49-38 with 12:13 showing on the second half clock.
TSU would go on to lead by as many as 12 points on two occasions later in the half.
UT Martin closed the gap to five points with 6:34 remaining, but the Tigers regained their footing and stretched the advantage up to 11 in the last four minutes.
TSU forced 15 turnovers on the night and shot 48.3 percent (28-for-58) on the offensive end.
Fatodd Lewis paced the UT Martin offense with 11 points on the night.
TSU returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 12, with a road test at Eastern Kentucky.
GAME NOTES: Redshirt senior Tahjere McCall (Philadelphia, Pa.) scored his 1,000th career point on a dunk with 6:34 left in the first half. McCall scored 330 in two seasons while playing for Niagara before transferring to TSU… TSU is now 33-25 in the all-time series versus UT Martin… The win snapped UT Martin’s three-game winning streak in the series… Third-year Head Coach Dana Ford has now beaten the 11 other OVC teams.
TSU Head Coach Dana Ford “It is a good win for us. I have a lot of respect for that program and what they have been able to do the last two plus years now. I think over the last two years ourselves and them have the most wins in the OVC. I thought our players did a really good job of attacking the zone in the second half not so much in the beginning. If we are going to win we have to get stops and rebound and I thought in the second half we did a much better job. We were down by seven on the glass at half time and we finished the game plus two. That is our standard and that’s what we are going to win with. We are going to live and die with defense and rebounding.”
- Opening Statement “I thought he was awesome and that’s why he started the second half. He struggled with his shot a little bit this year; but he made a big shot for us late in the half. He is a really good player, he puts a lot of pressure on himself. We love him to death. He makes us a better team. It is a long season, this second half of the season hopefully he steps up and plays well for us every game. We know he is capable of it. He is really just finding his way.”
- On the Play of Armani Chaney
“His number one role is leadership. If he does not lead us then we are not going anywhere. He had a couple of games there where he was not being a good leader. Those are two games we did not win. The last two games he has really been a leader for us. Tonight we needed him to be a play maker, and give us a spark in that zone. The basketball part is easy. He can do that every day of the week. It is the mental things the leadership, his mindset, his commitment to do it every single day. Those are the things that can make him a great player.”
- On Tahjere McCall’s Role “We brought him here to make some shots. Last year we had a kid by the name of Marcus Roper to make shots. This year that is supposed to be Delano Spencer. He does not have the luxury that Rope had last year of being in the program for a year, and what we want, and how to get it done. It has taken him a little time to do that. This is like his third or fourth game hitting like five threes. He makes us a better team. He is a guy that can get us 12 to 13 points off the bench.”
- On the Play of Delano Spencer “He was awesome tonight. It was a total team effort and his game was the epitome of that. I do not think he scored a basket but he helped on their guards. He rebounded, he defended, he deflected balls, he protected the basket, he got loose balls, he handled the ball against the press. It was just a total team effort. When I told him he was not starting the second half he just kept on doing what he does. That speaks to the character of the kid and that is why we won tonight.”
- On the Play of Christian Mekowulu
Sophomore, Armani Chaney
“I was just trying to be very aggressive for the team. They started off pretty hot, so I was just trying to get everybody involved and knock down the open shot. I am kind of a quick pace guard. I like to get into transition a lot, so that is how we normally go.”
- On His Spark to the Team
Redshirt Senior, Tahjere McCall
“I love playing with him. When he comes in, it brings a different pace. He is good in traffic and does great getting in cracks. And with their zone, it is a really good zone, it is tough to penetrate because they fly around and match up so well. When he came in, it allowed me to get off the ball and cut with him. He is a great passer. Playing with him really opens up the passing lanes. We just know we have to cut and get open and he will find us.”
- On Armani Chaney’s Play
“I wish I could put a price on it. When you have shooters like (Delano Spencer), Darreon (Reddick), Armani (Chaney); Ken’Darrius (Hamilton) didn’t get to shoot that much today, but when you have shooters knocking down shots it is hard to stay in a zone. So, you need people to extend the zone so the people that slash have a chance to get in cracks and find our way. Delano was big for us today, as he has been all year. It is always somebody different each game. We just need to keep having a team effort.”
- On the Play of Delano Spencer
“Darreon (Reddick) is more than just a shooter. When he picked his spots, we weren’t surprised. We expect that out of him. When he’s playing like that, it is pretty hard to stop everybody on our team, because everybody brings something different. So when you have to stop a shooter that can also drive, it is pretty hard to stay in front of him.”
- On the Play of Darreon Reddick
“It means a lot. Many people do not get to do that, so it just goes to show how much my teammates mean to me. It was my 1,000th point, but we celebrate together. Especially here at Tennessee State with the family I have grown to love and they love me. It’s priceless.”
- On Scoring his 1,000th Career Point BOX SCORE PHOTO ALBUM
TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Texas Southern University's Lady Tigers scored 11 of the game's final 15 points during the last two minutes of Saturday's contest at Prairie View A&M to defeat the Lady Panthers 70-62.
Joyce Kennerson scored a game-high 25 points and handed out three assists and four steals to lead the Lady Tigers (9-5), who improved to 3-0 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play. Kennerson shot 7-of-10 from the floor and made nine out of her 10 free throw attempts.
Kaitlyn Palmer scored 14 points and handed out four assists for Texas Southern, while Artavia Ford scored 12 points and blocked two shots for the Lady Tigers.
Alexus Parker scored a game-high 22 points for Prairie View A&M (5-10, 0-3 SWAC).
Texas Southern trailed by as many as seven points early in the second half, but scored 13 unanswered points between the 9:24 and 5:00 marks of the third quarter to take a six-point lead. Palmer scored seven points during that run, including one of her two 3-pointers.
The teams battled back-and-forth during a forth period that saw five lead changes before Ford knocked down a layup off a Kennerson pass with 52 seconds remaining to give TSU a four-point lead. The Lady Panthers would get no closer as the Texas Southern sealed the game at the free throw line.
Kennerson is averaging 24.0 points per game over the course of TSU's three conference games. The Lady Tigers claimed their fourth consecutive win over Prairie View A&M dating back to the 2014-15 season.
The Lady Tigers play their conference home opener next Saturday when they host Grambling State. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. BOX SCORE
TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas -- The Texas Southern University Tigers erased a 10-point halftime deficit Saturday as they scored 56 in the second half en route to an 87-82 win at Prairie View A&M.
Zach Lofton scored a team-high 21 points to lead four TSU players scoring in double figures. The Tigers (7-9) improved to 3-0 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play.
Jalan McCloud came off the TSU bench to score 16 points, which included a 12-for-12 showing at the free throw line. Kevin Scott and Marvin Jones scored 15 points apiece for the Tigers.
Tevin Bellinger scored a game-high 24 points to lead Prairie View A&M (3-14, 0-3 SWAC). Zachary Hamilton chipped in 13 points for the Panthers.
The visiting Tigers trailed 41-31 at halftime but wasted no time chipping away at the deficit as they scored seven unanswered points in the first two minutes of the second time. Jones ignited the run with five points in the first 44 seconds of the half.
TSU seized momentum later in the half during a 15-4 run between the 16:57 and 12:45 marks of the period. Scott scored seven points during the run, which was highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from him and Tyree Bynum.
A 10-1 TSU run between the 11:58 and 9:04 marks of the half gave the Tigers a 12-point lead, their largest of the game. Stephan Bennett capped the run with a layup while getting fouled, and then hit the subsequent free throw to stretch TSU's lead to 68-56.
The Tigers held a seven-point lead with barely three and a half minutes remaining in the game, but PVAMU fought back with a 6-1 run to cut the visitors' advantage to 79-77. A steal and fast-break layup by Bellinger made it a one-possession game.
The Panthers then forced another turnover to give themselves a chance to tie, but a steal and subsequent pair of free throws by McCloud stretched TSU's lead back to four with 1:22 left to play. The Tigers sealed the victory at the free throw line, while the Panthers would not get closer than five points for the rest of the contest.
After opening the season with 16 consecutive road games, the Tigers make their home debut Saturday when they host Grambling State. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. BOX SCORE TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
FRISCO, Texas - James Madison held Youngstown State to 292 total yards on Saturday afternoon and rolled to a 28-14 victory, as the Dukes captured the FCS 2016 NCAA Division I Football Championship, the second title in program history.
The Dukes, who finished the season 14-1 and undefeated against FCS foes, saw their defensive line dominate from start to finish, holding the Penguins (12-4) to just 21 rushing yards after YSU entered the contest averaging 257.5 yards on the ground.
Senior linebacker Gage Steele paced an all-around dominant performance by the JMU defense, racking up six tackles, including five solo stops, a pair of sacks and a pass breakup as the Dukes forced a pair of crucial turnovers in the third quarter to put the game away.
No defensive player had more tackles for the Dukes than junior defensive back Jordan Brown's seven, but nine different players had at least three, while sophomore defensive back Curtis Oliver picked off his second pass of the season and sophomore Darrious Carter scooped up a fumble.
Senior running back Khalid Abdullah ended his career in style, rushing 26 times for 101 yards and a pair of scores for an afternoon that put him atop the JMU record books in career touchdowns, single-season touchdowns and single-season rushing yards.
The Dukes needed just 12 passes to take home the trophy, as junior quarterback Bryan Schor went 7-of-12 for 112 yards with a pair of first-quarter touchdowns to junior tight end Jonathan Kloosterman and senior wide receiver Rashard Davis.
JMU put the Penguins in an early hole, as Abdullah stretched the lead to 21-0 on a 1-yard touchdown plunge with 8:17 to play before halftime, though YSU responded with a touchdown of its own less than five minutes later.
Abdullah scored from two yards out with 10:10 to play in the third quarter for an advantage that proved to be all the Dukes' defense needed, as Youngstown State managed just one more scoring drive that ended with 10 seconds left before the final whistle.
TITLE HISTORY
JMU captured its second NCAA Division I Championship in program history, joining the 2004 team that defeated Montana 31-21 in Chattanooga. The Dukes are the eighth FCS program to earn multiple national titles and the first ever with multiple in the Colonial Athletic Association. JMU ended the five-year national-title run by North Dakota State and became the first CAA national champion since Villanova in 2009.
HOUSTON'S HEIGHTS
Head Coach Mike Houston earned his first career national championship, having finished runner-up in the NCAA Division II title game at Lenoir-Rhyne in 2013. Houston improved to 5-1 all-time in the FCS playoffs, 4-0 at JMU thanks to the 2016 run.
FINAL NUMBERS
JMU won its 12th game in a row for the longest active streak in FCS football and second-longest in all of Division I behind Alabama (26)
JMU's 14-1 overall record included a perfect 14-0 mark against FCS opponents and set a new school record for victories
JMU finished as the nation's leader in scoring margin at +25.5 points per game, second in points per game (46.7) and 16th in points allowed (21.2)
JMU went 6-0 vs. ranked opponents this season, all during the last seven contests
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Abdullah became JMU's single-season rushing record holder with 1,809 yards, passing record-holder Rodney Landers (1,770 in 2008).
Abdullah increased his school records for season (22) and career (41) rushing touchdowns as well as his records for combined rushing and receiving touchdowns for season (25) and career (45)
Abdullah is also JMU's season (150) and career (270) record holder for scoring
Schor climbed to eighth in career total offense with 4,697 yards
Schor tied for fifth in career touchdown passes with 35
JMU set CAA records for single-season rushing offense (4,125), total offense (7,612) and first downs (380) DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
JMU finished the season 16th nationally in points allowed after ranking 77th in 2015 in that category. In addition to allowing 21.2 points per game, the Dukes limited opponents to 16.4 points per game over the last eight games and 15 per game in the playoffs, all against ranked teams. Also, 21 of the 60 postseason points allowed came in the final two minutes of games in which the outcome was already decided.
