BCSP Notes . . .
First American Heritage Bowl goes to the Northeast, 24-7
The Northeast squad got touchdown throws from quarterback Chris Wallace of Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Casey Hansen of Norfolk State in downing the Southwest squad 24-7 in the inaugural American Heritage Bowl Saturday night in Titan Stadium at Cal State Fullerton.
Wallace hit UAPB teammate Jason Jones on a 70-yard scoring strike that put the Northeast ahead 14-7 late in the third period. After Delaware State placekicker Peter Gaertner added a 39-yard field goal, Hansen connected with Tennessee State's Larry Shipp on a 4-yard TD pass to complete the scoring.
Jones also had a 24-yard reception and was honored as the offensive player of the game.
Wallace and Jones were two of only three players from the SWAC on the Northeast team which was primarily made up of seniors from the MEAC and CIAA players. Most of the Southwest squad had senior stars from the SWAC and SIAC.
The Southwest took a 7-0 lead and got its only score when Jackson State running back Lavarus Giles went 90 yards on a screen pass from JSU quarterback Jimmy Oliver. Oliver completed nine of 26 passes for 206 yards and a score, but also threw four interceptions and was sacked three times.
Elizabeth City State lineman Greg Moore returned an interception 8 yards that allowed the Northeast to tie the score at 7. Moore was named the defensive player of the game.
CIAA revises format for basketball tourney
The format for this year's 63rd annual
CIAA Basketball Tournament has been revised slightly now that the league has ten teams.
There will now be two opening round games on Monday (women) and Wednesday (men) evening. Last year, prior to the departure of North Carolina Central, there were three games on the opening nights.
This year, teams seeded seventh thru tenth (7-10) will face off in the first round games with the seventh seed facing the tenth seed and the eighth seed facing the ninth seed.
Teams seeded 1 thru 6 will advance to Tuesday's (women) and Thursday's (men) quarterfinal rounds.
Also, just as was done last year, the teams will be seeded this year based on conference record rather than division record. Division records will be used as a tie-breaker followed by head-to-head competition.
The CIAA Tournament is set for February 24 thru March 1, 2008 at Bobcats Arena in Charlotte, N.C. Details of the week's events are available at the conference's tournament website at www.ciaatournament.org.
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