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UNDER THE BANNER What's Going On In and Around Black College Sports
FORT VALLEY BOWS OUT: Fort Valley State (8-3) picked off five Dusty Bonner passes and got seven turnovers but it was not enough to beat top-ranked Valdosta State (12-0) in an opening round NCAA Div. II playoff game. VSU prevailed 40-24 as Bonner, last year's Div. II player of the year, threw for 497 yards and five touchdowns. Bonner hit on two early TD passes as Valdosta State jumped on top 19-0 in the first quarter only to see the Wildcats battle back to trail only 19-11 at halftime. FVSU senior tailback Orlando Wiley, who rushed for 106 yards in the game, scored on a one-yard run 11 seconds before halftime. Sophomore quarterback Cecil Lester threw two second half touchdown passes but Bonner opened the third quarter with his third scoring strike and added two more for the final margin.
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FAMU
PLAYOFF BOUND: Florida A&M eschewed its pass-oriented Gulf Coast offense
and rushed for a season-high 269 yards as they knocked off Bethune-Cookman
31-21 before a sellout crowd of 70,153 at Orlando's Citrus Bowl. Running back
Kelsie Lordeus ran for a Florida Classic-record 186 yards and had one TD
and backfield mate O. J. Marchbanks ran for 65 yards and three scores as
the Rattlers scored all their points via the ground game. The win gives head coach
Billy Joe and his 7-3 squad their second straight Mid Eastern Athletic
Conference title and the automatic berth to the NCAA Div. I-AA playoffs that
goes with it. It will be FAMU's sixth consecutive berth in the playoffs. First
round pairings for the I-AA championship tournament will be announced Sunday during
the NCAA I-AA Playoff Selection Show which can be seen live on the internet at
www.ncaachampionships.com.
ALMOST
A SWEEP: Hampton University's men's and women's basketball teams took
on Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouses over the weekend and almost came away
with a sweep. The Hampton men, defending Mid Eastern Athletic Conference champions
and first round upset winners over Iowa State in last year's NCAA Div. I tournament,
went into Chapel Hill's Dean Dome and came away with a 77-69 win over 19th-ranked
North Carolina, only the second opening-game loss for the Tar Heels in 73 years.
Head coach Steve Merfeld's 2-3 zone defense held the Tar Heels to six-of-34
shooting from three-point range and senior guard Tommy Adams had 20 points
to lead four Pirates in double figures. The Lady Pirates scored only 12 first
half points but stormed back to lead women's power Virginia before falling 51-48.
The scrappy Hampton squad forced 31 UVA turnovers and were led by the backcourt
duo of Lineni Noa (17 points) and LaShondra Dixon (13 points and
six rebounds).