CIAA, SIAC Tourneys tip; SIAC tragedy
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
BSU, under head coach Luke D'Alessio, took over the No. 1 spot in the NABC Div. II Top 25 last week for the first time in its history. The Bulldogs, who won the CIAA E. Div. regular season title for the second year in a row and earned a first round bye in the tournament, will begin play in Thursday's quarterfinals vs. the Fayetteville State/Elizabeth City State winner.
Luke D'Alessio's troops started the season behind No. 1 Virginia Union in the national rankings but got two wins over the Panthers during the course of the regular season eventually overtaking them in the CIAA East and in the national polls. VUU, the East runner-up, and W. Div. champ Winston-Salem State are considered the Bulldogs' top challengers.
Shaw, with Jacques Curtis at the helm, is No. 2 nationally in the women''s WBCA Top 25 rankings. The Lady Bears won the women's E. Div. regular season title for the third year in a row and are aiming to match Norfolk State's (1991-93) Bowie State's (1997-99) mark of winning three straight women's tournament titles. They received a first round bye and played Tuesday vs. St. Augustine's.
The Lady Bears have swept through CIAA competition, posting a 16-0 mark and are overwhelming favorites to take home the title. Their closest CIAA contests were a five-point win over Bowie State and a nine-point victory vs. St. Augustine's.
Winston-Salem State (21-6, 8-2 W) is the top seed in the bracket opposite BSU. VUU (21-4, 8-2 E) is expected to be the Rams' toughest competition in the bracket. Both also received first round byes.
With a win over N. C. Central on the last day of regular season, Johnson C. Smith (15-12, 5-5) claimed the men's West runner-up spot and that division's second first-round bye. The Golden Bulls are in the same bracket with BSU.
Fayetteville State (18-6, 9-1 W) claimed the women's West Division crown and got a first round bye along with runner-up N. C. Central (15-12, 8-2 W). Elizabeth City (15-11, 7-3 E) was the E. Div. runner-up.
SIAC
Top seeded Albany State (16-11, 15-5) will lead the men into the
SIAC Tournament that began Wednesday, March 2 and goes thru Saturday,
March 5, in Albany, Ga.
The Golden Rams held off Benedict (18-9, 14-6), Paine (16-12, 13-7) and Morehouse (15-12, 12-8) to grab the regular season title paced by Nick Wallery's 17.6 points per game and Frank Pinson's 15 ppg. The Rams' other double-figure scorer is Jarrett Mathis (12.9 ppg.).
Paine beat ASU in the final regular season game to pull within a game of the Rams. Paine also has three double-figure scorers led by Daniel Lomax (12.9 ppg.)
Tuskegee (18-9, 15-3) edged Fort Valley State (19-8, 14-4) for the women's regular season title. The Tigerettes swept both FVSU and third-place Benedict this season.
The SIAC family was hit with a tragedy just before the start of the Tournament. The conference reported Tuesday that Commissioner William Lide returned from New York on Sunday to report that his 17-year old daughter, Amber, died of complications from a surgical procedure last Friday.
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