For the Week oF February 26 - March 4, 2013

AZEEZ Communications, Inc. Vol. XIX, No. 29

CIAA, SIAC CROWN HOOPS CHAMPS; OVC UNDER-
WAY THIS WEEK; MEAC, SWAC UP NEXT WEEK
LEADING
THE
CHARGE
MILLER: All-OVC frst
team guard lead 4th-
seed Tennessee State
Tigers in Nashville to
OVC Tournament.
2 0 1 2 - 1 3 B L A C K C O L L E G E B A S K E T B A L L (Results, Standings and Weekly Honors thru 3/4/13)
SWAC
SOUTHWESTERN
ATHLETC CONFERENCE
DIV ALL
MEN (FINAL) W L W L
* Texas Southern 16 2 17 14
Southern 16 2 21 9
* Ark. Pine Bluff 15 3 16 14
Jackson State 9 9 10 17
Prairie View A&M 8 10 13 18
Alabama State 8 10 10 21
Alcorn State 8 10 10 23
Alabama A&M 6 12 10 19
* Miss. Valley St. 5 13 5 23
Grambling State 0 18 0 27
* Ineligible for postseason
SWAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PLAYER
Omar Strong, 5-9, Sr., G, TEXAS SOUTHERN - Aver-
aged 26 points in two wins that clinched regular season
title for Tigers. He lit up Southern for 34 points, canning
9 of 15 feld goals including 7 3-pointers in 79-66 win
that put TSU in frst place. Then added 18 points in win
over Alcorn State that clinched the title. Shot 18 of 27
on the week, 11 of 21 from 3-point range.
NEWCOMER
NA
MD EASTERN
ATHLETC CONFERENCE MEAC
C I A A T O U R N A M E N T R E S U L T S
SWAC
SOUTHWESTERN
ATHLETC CONFERENCE
DIV ALL
WOMEN (FINAL) W L W L
Texas Southern 16 2 19 10
Southern 12 6 13 16
Miss. Valley St. 12 6 15 14
Prairie View A&M 11 7 14 14
Jackson State 9 9 12 15
Alabama A&M 8 10 9 19
Ark. Pine Bluff 7 11 11 17
Alabama State 7 11 9 20
Grambling State 6 12 8 22
Alcorn State 2 16 2 25
SWAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PLAYER
KierraEtienne, 5-10, Sr., G, PRAIRIEVIEW- Scored
18pointsandhad6reboundsinwinoverAlcornState.
Got 13 points with 4 boards in win over Southern.
Made 13 of 28 shots in two games.
NEWCOMER
NA
MD EASTERN
ATHLETC CONFERENCE MEAC
CONF ALL
WOMEN W L W L
Hampton 15 0 24 5
NC A&T State 12 3 20 8
Howard 12 4 18 10
SC State 10 5 18 8
Coppin State 9 6 13 15
Florida A&M 8 7 11 17
Morgan State 8 7 11 17
Bethune-Cookman 7 8 12 15
Delaware State 6 9 9 19
Norfolk State 4 11 6 20
Md. E. Shore 3 12 7 19
Savannah State 2 13 7 21
North Carolina Central 2 13 2 26
MEAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PLAYER
BiancaJarrett, 5-5, Sr., G, MSU- Scoredgame-high
27 points on 10 of 17 shooting, 6 of 11 from3 in win
over UMES. Alsohad6rebounds, 1assist andsteal.
ROOKIE
TishaDixon, 5-11, Fr., F, NCCU- Scoredteam-high
12 points with 10 boards vs. Savannah State. Was
3 of 4 from foor, 3 of 4 from FT line.
DEFENSE
Erin Hogue, 5-11, Sr., F, SSU - Pulled down 15
rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block vs. NCCU.
Fannie Goodwin, 6-2, Sr., C, SCSU - Totaled 15
boards, 2 blocks and steals vs. FAMU and A&T.
Tenn. State Sports Photo
Places set for SWAC, MEAC tournaments
WOMEN
Tuesday, March 12
#10 Alcorn State vs. #7 Ark.-Pine Bluff - 5:30 pm
#9 Grambling vs. #8 Alabama State - 8 pm
Wednesday, March 13
Alcorn/UAPB vs. #2 Southern - 3 pm
GSU/ASU vs. #1 Texas Southern - 5:30 pm
Thursday, March 14
#5 Alabama St. vs. #3 Miss. Valley St. - 10 am
#5 Jackson St. vs. #4 Prairie View - 5:30 pm
Friday, March 15
Women's Semifnals - 12 pm
Women's Semifnals - 5:30 pm
Saturday, March 16
Women's Finals - 12 noon
MEN
Wednesday, March 13
#7 Grambling vs. #6 Alabama A&M - 8 pm
Thursday, March 14
#5 Alabama St. vs. #2 Jackson St. - 12:30 pm
#4 Prairie View vs. #3 Alcorn State - 8 pm
Friday, March 15
Men's Semifnals - 2:30 pm
Men's Semifnals - 8 pm
Saturday, March 16
Men's Finals - 3:30 pm
BASKETBALL THIS WEEK
GAME SCHEDULES
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
While the CIAA and SIAC
completed their tournaments and
crowned champions last week (see
Championship Game Recaps and
Results), the SWAC and MEAC
are just about to get started.
TheSWACfnisheditsregular
season last week and has a week
off before it begins tournament
play next week on Tuesday (March
12) in Garland, Texas.
The MEAC winds up its regu-
lar season this Thursday (March 7)
with six games before tournament
play begins on Monday, March 11
at the Norfolk (Va.) Scope.
SWAC
The big news in the SWAC
is that three men's teams regu-
lar season champ Texas Southern
(16-2), third-place Arkansas-Pine
Bluff (15-3) and defending cham-
pion Mississippi Valley State
(5-13) are not eligible for next
week's conference tournament.
All three are under postsea-
son bans from the NCAA and the
SWAC for below-average Aca-
demic Progress Rates (APR).
That elevates second-place
Southern (15-3) under head coach
Roman Banks to the top seed in
the tournament. Jackson State (9-
9) is the second seed.
It also shifts around pairings
for the tournament. Southern gets a
bye into Friday's semifnals while
the other six teams will battle on
Wednesday and Thursday to get to
the semis.
On the women's side, Cynthia
Cooper-Dyke's Texas Southern
((16-2) squad clinched the top spot
a couple of weeks ago and will play
its frst game in the quarterfnal
round Wednesday (March 13, 5:30
p.m.) vs. the winner of Tuesday's
frst round game between Gram-
bling State and Alabama State.
Southern (12-6) who won the
coin fip with Mississippi Valley
State (12-6) for second place, will
play at 3 p.m. in Wednesday's quar-
terfnalsvs.theAlcornState/Arkan-
sas-PineBlufffrstroundwinner.
MEAC
The top three seeds and frst-
round byes to next week's MEAC
Tournament are set for both the men
and women.
Conference unbeaten Hamp-
ton (15-0) has clinched the top seed
and frst bye in the women's race.
The Lady Pirates, who have won 15
straight, close out the regular season
Thursday hosting North Carolina
Central (2-13).
North Carolina A&T (12-3),
who is currently second and can
fnishnoworsethanthird,hasalso
earned a bye. The lady Aggies need
a win over Norfolk State Thursday
to secure second place.
Howard (12-4), who has fn-
ished its regular season, has also
earned a bye. An A&T loss would
give the second seed to the Lady
Bison who defeated A&T 44-42 on
THURSDAY, MARCH 7
MEAC
Florida A&M @ Morgan State
Delaware State @ SC State
Md.-E. Shore @ Savannah State
Bethune-Cookman @ Coppin State
NC A&T @ Norfolk State
Jan . 19 in their only head-to-head
meeting.
Norfolk State (15-0), unde-
feated in conference play and on
a 14-game win streak, has already
securedatleastashareofitsfrst-
ever regular season men's MEAC
title, a frst-round bye in the tour-
nament and a postseason berth to
theNITbyvirtueofitsfrst-place
fnish.
Anthony Evans' Spartans
playtopostthefrstregularseason
undefeated mark since the 1993-94
Coppin State team when it hosts
North Carolina A&T Thursday.
North Carolina Central (15-
1) has secured second place and a
frst-round tournament bye. The
Eagles can tie Norfolk State for the
regular season title with a Norfolk
State loss and a win Thursday in its
seasonfnaleatHampton.
Norfolk State would still re-
tain the top seed and the regular
season title (and NIT bid) by virtue
of the MEAC tie-breaking formula
which matches winning percent-
ages against teams in a descending
order.
With a Norfolk State loss and
NCCU win Thursday over Hamp-
ton, NSU and NCCU would be
undefeated vs. Hampton but NSU
would have a better record than
NCCU vs. Savannah State. NSU is
1-0 vs. SSU while NCCU is 1-1.
The third bye in the men's race
was decided in two crucial games
Monday night.
North Carolina A&T (8-7)
got a hard-fought 59-57 win over
Savannah State in Greensboro to
knock Horace Broadnax's Tigers
(10-5) out of third place. Hamp-
ton's 75-66 win over Bethune-
Cookman Monday moved the
Pirates (11-4) into third place and
securedthefnaltournamentbye.
Hampton hosts second-place
N.C. Central Thursday to close out
the regular season while Savan-
nah State hosts Maryland-Eastern
Shore. Regardless of Thursday's
outcomes, Hampton will retain
third place and the frst-round bye
by virtue of its 71-68 overtime win
vs. Savannah State on Feb. 7.
CONF ALL
MEN W L W L
Norfolk State 15 0 20 10
NC Central 14 1 21 8
Hampton 11 4 14 15
Savannah State 10 5 17 13
Morgan State 9 6 13 14
NC A&T 8 7 15 15
Delaware State 8 7 13 15
Bethune-Cookman 7 8 12 18
Florida A&M 5 10 8 21
Coppin State 4 11 7 23
Howard 4 12 7 23
Maryland-E. Shore 2 13 2 24
SC State 1 14 5 23
MEAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PLAYER
Ramon Mercado, 6-4, Jr., G, HAMPTON - Had 18
points in win vs. FAMU, 12 in win over DelState. Shot
7 of 14 vs. FAMU, with 6 boards, 2 assists and steals.
Was 5 of 11, 2 of 4 from 3 vs. DSU.
ROOKIE
Rashid Gaston, 6-8, Fr., F, NSU- Haddoubledouble
of 10 points and 11 rebounds in win over B-CU
DEFENSE
Du'Vaughn Maxwell, 6-7, Jr., F, HAMPTON - Had
10 rebounds, 5 blocks and 1 steal in two games.
Hoops Notes
Three TSU Tigers, one Lady Tiger
named all-OVC; Tourney begins
The men of Tennesse State (11-5, 17-13) will
enter this week's Ohio Valley Conference tourna-
ment in Nashville as the No. 4 seed in the eight-team
feld.
TheTigerswillfacethewinnerofthefrst-round
game between 5th-seed Morehead State and 8th-
seed UT-Martin on Thursday at 6 p.m. in Municipal
Auditorium.
Top-seed Belmont (14-2, 24-6), second-seed
Murray State (10-6, 20-9) and third-seed Eastern
Kentucky (12-4, 23-8) are seeded ahead of Travis
Williams' TSU Tigers.
Six-one junior guard Patrick Miller (14.6 ppg,
5.5 assists per game), who was named frst team
all-OVC, will lead the Tigers into the tournament.
Six-nine senior forward Robert Covington,
who put up 16 points per game and 7.8 boards per
game and 6-8 senior Kellen Thornton (15.5 ppg.,
7.8 rpg.) are the other stalwarts for the Tigers. Cov-
ington and Thornton were all-OVC second team
selections.
Senior guard Kesi Hess was named to the
women's all-OVC second team. Hess averaged
12.8 points and hit 60 treys this season for the Lady
Tigers (13-14). The Lady Tigers enter the women's
tournament as the seventh seed and faced SIU-
Edwardsville Wednesday (March 8) at 2 p.m.
More notes and tourney results
West Virginia State was knocked out of the
men's WVIAC Tournament in the frst round by
Charleston, 97-83 Tuesday. The WVSU ladies
bowed out Monday to West Virginia Wesleyan,
66-56.
Cheyney freshman Brandon Norfeet
was named the PSAC East Freshman of the
Year and senior Jason Sabb was named tothe
all-PSAC second team.
Norfeet,a6-4freshmanguard,averaged
13.6pointsandshot.455fromthefeld.Sabb,
a 6-3 guard, averaged 17.8 points to fnish
ffthintheconferenceandshot.481fromthe
feldand.853fromtheline.
UDC freshman forward Tatyana
Calhoun was named to the East Coast
Conference women's basketball all-Rookie
Team. Calhoun averaged 6.1 points and 6.3
rebounds. She had her best game in a 19-point
outing vs. Molloy.
S I A C T O U R N A M E N T R E S U L T S
MEN
FIRST ROUND
Virginia State 75, Fayetteville State 65
Chowan 69, Shaw 58
SECOND ROUND
St. Augustine's 62, Virginia State 55
Bowie State 78, Chowan 56
QUARTERFINALS
Elizabeth City State 65, J. C. Smith 63
W-Salem State 84, Virginia Union 74
Livingstone 95, St. Augustine's 70
Bowie State 67, Lincoln 60
SEMIFINALS
Livingstone 68, Eliz. City State 53
Bowie State 83, W-Salem State 66
FINALS
Bowie State 85, Livingstone 74
ALL TOURNAMENT
Mark Thomas, Livingstone
Jody Hills, Livingstone
Ethan Anderson, Livingstone
Byron Westmoreland, Bowie State, MVP
Dameatric Scott, Bowie State
Christopher Greer, Virginia State
Derrick Washingtone, Lincoln
Angelo Sharpless, Eliz. City State
WOMEN
FIRST ROUND
St. Augustine's 67, Chowan 63
Virginia State 57, Livingstone 50
W-Salem State 73, Bowie State 56
Lincoln 50, J. C. Smith 46
QUARTERFINALS
Virginia Union 57, Virginia State 55
Eliz. City State 74, St. Augustine's 68
Fayetteville State 60, Lincoln 46
Shaw 62, W-Salem State 55
SEMIFINALS
Fayetteville State 71, Virginia Union 57
Shaw 76, Eliz. City State 61
FINALS
Shaw 72, Fayetteville State 53
ALL TOURNAMENT
Shuanda Ashford, Fayetteville State
Kristen Hanzer, Fayetteville State
Akysia Resper, Fayetteville State
Tierra Coleman, Fayetteville State
Taylor Dalrymple, Shaw, MVP
Crystal Harris, Shaw
Issy Diaz, Shaw
Crystal Wilson, Shaw
Shatara Jackson, Eliz. City State
Ashle Freeman, VIrginia Union
MEN
FIRST ROUND
Clafin 79, Lane 68
Albany State 67, Miles 53
Paine 75, LeMoyne-Owen 73
Kentucky State 60, Fort Valley State 57
Stillman 84, Clark Atlanta 77
QUARTERFINALS
Tuskegee 67, Clafin 55
Benedict 72, Albany State 52
Morehouse 66, Kentucky State 65
Paine 86, Stillman 64
SEMIFINALS
Benedict 68, Paine 55
Morehouse 63, Tuskegee 59
FINALS
Benedict 68, Morehouse 60
ALL TOURNAMENT
Darrius Wililams, Morehouse
Ricky Jackson, Benedict
Andrae Nelson, Morehouse
Marcus Goode, Benedict, MVP
Calvin Thomas, Tuskegee
WOMEN
FIRST ROUND
Fort Valley State 100, Paine 61
Albany State 73, Miles 51
Paine 59, LeMoyne-Own 45
Clafin 82, Stillman 62
QUARTERFINALS
Benedict 64, Albany State 55
Fort Valley State 73, Tuskegee 71
Kentucky State 74, Paine 70
Clark Atlanta 67, Clafin 63
SEMIFINALS
Benedict 74, Kentucky State 57
Clark Atlanta 65, Fort Valley State 62
FINALS
Clark Atlanta 75, Benedict 48
ALL TOURNAMENT
Conisha Hicks, Clark Atlanta, MVP
La'Quisha Lewis, Clark Atlanta
London Richardson, Benedict
Monique Weathers, Benedict
Ashley Watts, Paine
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME RECAPS
CIAA MEN
Westmoreland leads Bowie State to CIAA title
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - All-CIAA senior guard Byron West-
moreland and North Division fourth-seed Bowie State complet-
ed a scintillating run thru the CIAA Tournament knocking off
South Division top seed Livinstone 85-74 in the championship-
game Saturday night.
Westmoreland scored a career-high 38 points, 26 in the
second half, as BSU (16-13) pulled away from a narrow 43-41
halftime lead. A key stretch was a 9-0 BSU run, four by Westmo-
reland, after the teams were tied at 56 with 13:11 to play. The run
gave the Bulldogs a working margin that they did not relinquish.
BSU won four games in four days, knocking off two No. 1
seeds Lincoln, the No. 1 seed from the North, and Livingstone
and also unpended Winston-Salem State, the second seed from
the South.
Westmoreland shot 13 of 19 in the title game, many on
swooping drives to the hoop allowing the Bulldogs to claim their
secondtournamentcrowninhistory,tenyearsaftertheirfrsttitle
in 2003. He scored 25 points in a second round win over Chowan,
18vs.Lincolninthequarterfnalsand27inanupsetofWinston-
Salem State in the semis.
Livingstone's all-CIAA guard Mark Thomas did all he
couldtodelivertheBears'(22-6)theirfrsttitle,nearlymatching
Westmoreland with his own career-high 34 points.
CIAA - Women
Shaw women three-peat in CIAA Tourney
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Shaw Lady Bears and head
coach Jacques Curtis continued their sterling run thru recent
CIAA Tournaments, employing a dominant inside game to pull
away from Fayetteville State in the second half and win their
third straight championship Saturday evening.
The title was also the eighth in 11 years for Curtis and the
Lady Bears (25-4), who won last year's Div. II national champion-
ship.
Crystal Harris, Crystal Wilson and Taylor Dalrymple did
most of the damage, combining for 52 points and 22 rebounds
and spurring a decided 40-16 edge in points in the paint that took
down the Lady Broncos (24-5).
Harris had 18 points and 8 rebounds while Wilson had 18
points and 6 boards. Arizona transfer Dalrymple, named the tour-
nament's MVP, had 16 points and 8 boards and averaged 17 points
and 8 rebounds thru the Lady Bears three tournament wins. Point
guard Isayra Diaz joined them on the all-tournament team.
Leading 30-26 at the break, Shaw went on a 24-12 run over
thefrst12minutesofthesecondhalfandled54-38justpastthe
eight-minute mark. FSU got not closer than 15 after that.
Akysia Resper's 16 points and Alicia Person's 12 led FSU.
SIAC - Men
Benedict takes second consecutive men's title
ATLANTA, GA - East Divsion top seed Benedict beat back
a second-half push from Morehouse to claim its second straight
SIAC Men's Tournament title, 68-60, Saturday evening at Forbes
Arena on the campus of Morehouse. It's the fourth tournament
title since 2004 for Benedict and head coach Fred Watson.
Benedicts 6-10 all-SIAC center Marcus Goode came thru
with 17 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks to lead the Tigers' vic-
tory and earn his second staight MVP award. SIAC Player of the
Year, point guard Xavier Collier, had 10 points and a game-high
nine assists for the Tigers (23-6) while Lamar Adkins had 15
points off the bench.
Morehouse (20-8) led 32-31 at the half and opened the sec-
ond half with a 9-3 run to go up 41-34. Benedict fought back and
took the lead for good at 48-47 on an Adkins jumper with 10:17
to play, part of an 18-4 run that swung the momentum back to the
Tigers. Morehouse pulled to within 61-58 with 1:43 to play but
got just one Darrius Williamsfeldgoaloverthefnalstretch.
Andrae Nelson led Morehouse with 20 points while Wil-
liams tallied 17 with a team-high 11 rebounds.
SIAC- Women
Hicks fuels Clark Atlanta over Benedict
ATLANTA, GA - Tournament MVP, Clark Atlanta point
guard Conisha Hicks, had game-highs of 20 points and 7 assists
and added 7 rebounds while leading four Lady Panthers in double
fgures as they knocked off Benedict 75-58 to claim the SIAC
Women's Tournament title.
The Lady Panters (17-11) began the game on a 22-8 run and
settled for a 35-25 halftime lead. Benedict's London Richardson
had12consecutivepointstoopenthesecondhalftocutthedefcit
to two, 46-44. With Hicks leading the charge breaking Benedict's
full-courtpress,CAUshot68.2%fromthefeldinthesecondhalf
led by 11 points from La'Quisha Lewis, pushing the lead to 20
with three minutes remaining.
Lewis fnished with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Shevon
Caldwell had 13 and Denessia Law 10. Richardson led Benedict
(19-12) with 18. Monique Weathers had 13 and Ashley Thomp-
son 11.
Thornton Covington Hess Norfeet Sabb
TOURNAMENT MVPs: (From top l. to r.)
Bowie State's Byron Westmoreland, Shaw's
Taylor Dalrymple, Clark Atlanta's Conisha
Hicks and (l.) Benedict's Marcus Goode