CHANGE OF VENUE: It was announced last week that the fourth SWAC/MEAC Challenge football game will be played this year in Orlando, Florida. ESPN Regional Television (ERT), which owns the game, said the game will be played on Sunday, August 31, live on ESPN2 at 2 p.m. from the Florida Citrus Bowl. The game, pitting a team from the SWAC versus a team from the MEAC, has been played the past three years at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. The teams for this year's game have not been announced.

INDOOR TRACK TITLES: The Jackson State women and Prairie View A&M men took home titles at the SWAC Indoor Track and Field Championships that finished Saturday in Baton Rouge, La. JSU scored 127 points to outscore Alabama State (101) and Grambling State (99) in the women's competition. Prairie View totalled 143 points in the men's competition while JSU was second with 112. Southern finished third with 83.5 points. Pauline Banks of JSU (women) and Clifton Gillard of Prairie View (men) were named coaches of the year.

FINALS RECAPS

CIAA WOMEN
Shaw 61, Johnson C. Smith 50

Top-seed Shaw University used a tenacious defense to shut out Johnson C. Smith for almost 11 second-half minutes and pull away to a 61-50 win in the Women's Championship game of the CIAA Basketball Tournament Saturday in Charlotte. It was Shaw and head coach Jacques Curtis's fifth CIAA Tourney championship in the last six years.

Prior to its drought, JCSU (21-9) had stayed close, trailing only 32-29 at the half. But after Shamekia Jones' layup off glass at the 13:42 mark pulled them within 43-40, the Lady Golden Bulls would not score again until Tyra Breaux's jumper with just 2:45 left.

Shaw's 1-2-2 three-quarter court defense continuously forced JCSU into turnovers or beginning its offense late in the shot clock. As a result, JCSU committed 24 turnovers for the game and shot a dismal 9-for-33 (27.3%) in the second half.

Senior Jamie Goshen led Shaw (21-11) with 13 points while fellow senior Shana Andrus tallied 12 points with six boards. Nikki Souther finished with a double-double scoring 12 and snaring a game-best 11 rebounds. All-CIAA forward Kyria Buford and Shemika Jones led JCSU with 11 points each.

Shaw's Celanese Bozeman, who had 27 points in a semifinal win over Fayetteville State, added eight points in the final to her eight in the quarterfinals and was selected tournament MVP.

CIAA MEN
Johnson C. Smith 65, Fayetteville State 57

Fourth-seeded Johnson C. Smith completed its surprising run through the CIAA Men's Tournament field, disposing of sixth-seed Fayetteville State to win its second ever championship Saturday night in Charlotte.

The Golden Bulls (21-9), who knocked off top seed Virginia Union Friday night to earn its spot in the final, played solidly throughout both halves, leading 32-19 at the break, and beating back an FSU charge midway through the final stanza.

FSU made its move after Ronald Thornhill's 3-pointer with 11:30 to play gave JCSU a 46-33 lead. The Broncos put together a 14-2 run with big 3-pointers from Phillipe Harris, his third of the half, and Andy Gebru, and culminating with Darshawn Johnson's two free throws to pull within 48-47 with 5:36 to play. But the Broncs would go the next five minutes without a field goal while JCSU used two free throws by Ryan Scott to go up 50-48 and then canned ten of 11 free throws over that span to salt away the victory.

Fayetteville had trouble penetrating the JCSU zone in the first half, connecting on only 7 of 30 shots. JCSU was able to get just about any shot it wanted, shooting 50% (13 of 26) led by Jerry Hollis's eight points and six from Maurice Hooper.

Edmund Rainey, who led the Golden Bulls with 16 points and nine rebounds in the final game, after getting 18 points and 7 rebounds in the semis and 11 points and 5 rebounds in the quarters was named tourney MVP. Hollis finished with 15 and Hooper 13. Harris had 18 and Gebru 13 to lead FSU.

© 2008 Azeez Communications, Inc.

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