UNDER THE BANNER
What's Going On In and Around Black College Sports
What's Going On In and Around Black College Sports
TOURNEY
FINALS RECAPS
SWAC (Men)
Texas Southern 77, Alcorn State 68
Alcorn State coaching legend Davey Whitney's final season didn't have a storybook ending as his Braves fell behind 40-30 at the half and lost to Texas Southern 77-68 in the SWAC men's basketball championship in Birmingham, Al., Saturday night. Whitney, who coached Alcorn for 27 years, retires one game away from the NCAA Tournament. Texas Southern coach Ronnie Courtney will take his Tigers (18-12) to the tournament, thanks to three SWAC all-tournament performers. MVP Ra'Kim Hollis scored 18, Allan Lovett led the winners with 23 and Lionel Willis had 12. Brian Jackson, another all-tourney choice, and Tori Harris led Alcorn State (14-19) with 19 points each.
SWAC (Women)
Alabama State 80, Grambling St. 67
Alabama State (20-10) came back from an eight-point halftime deficit and used its inside game to wear down Grambling (20-10) and earn its second SWAC title and first NCAA appearance. The Lady Hornets were down 42-34 at the half but shot 55.6% (15-27) in the second half while outscoring the Lady Tigers 46-25. Tourney MVP Shemeka Jackson led the way with 23 points and eight rebounds while Crystal Kitt added 16 points and four boards. The Lady Hornets will play at Tennessee Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Div. I Tournament.
NCAA DIV. II SOUTH ATLANTIC REGION (Men)
Bowie State 67, Presbyterian 53
For the third straight year, the CIAA men's tournament champion will be going to the Div. II Elite Eight after Bowie State (29-4) knocked off Presbyterian at Columbus (Ga.) State for the South Atlantic Region title. The Bulldogs joined immediate past CIAA champions Johnson C. Smith and Shaw in making the national quarterfinals as Stephen Moss-Kelley and regional MVP Tim Washington combined for 38 points in the win. Moss-Kelley scored all of his season-high 21 points from three-point range converting 7 of 10 from behind the arc while Washington added 17 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Jon Smith finished with 11 points and eight rebounds as the Bulldogs dominated the boards, 45-27. They led 32-24 at the half but Presbyterian got within three at 50-47 before the Bulldogs again pulled away. BSU will face Northeast Region champ Massachusetts-Lowell (28-4) as it begins play in the Elite Eight in Lakeland, Fl., on March 26-29.
NCAA DIV. II SOUTH ATLANTIC REGION (Women)
North Florida 71, Shaw 58
North Florida went on a 16-1 run after the score was tied at 48 midway through the second half to knock off CIAA champ and top seed Shaw in the finals of the women's South Atlantic Regional in Salisbury, N.C., Monday night. UNF (20-11), the sixth-seeded team, got wins over the third, second and first seeds to sew up its first South Atlantic Region title ever. The Ospreys led 39-34 at the break but Shaw opened the second half on a 14-9 run to tie the score at 48 with 10:18 left. The Lady Bears would not score another field goal until 2:58 remained. Meanwhile tourney MVP Skye Barber scored 11 of her game-high 30 points during that game-deciding run. Margiella Mobley tallied 15 points and had 10 rebounds while sister Naomi Mobley got 14 points and six boards to lead Shaw.
MEAC (Women)
Hampton 69, Delaware State 57
Hampton's pressure defense held DelState to just 29% (19-64) shooting for the game as the top-seeded Lady Pirates (23-8) won the MEAC title in Richmond. LaShondra Dixon, Hampton's 5-5 Tournament MVP whose buzzer-beater vs. Florida A&M got the Lady Pirates into the finals, had 25 points and eight rebounds while forward Nicole Brathwaite tallied 26 with nine boards. The Lady Pirates took a 31-28 halftime lead and never trailed in the contest. Mandy Clark (13), Ashley Etheridge (12) and Terrelle Waller (10) led the Lady Hornets (17-12).
MEAC (Men)
SC State 72, Hampton 67
Two-time defending champion Hampton roared out to a 26-6 lead early in the MEAC finals but could not hold on to it as South Carolina State (20-10) ended the Pirates run in Richmond, Va., Saturday afternoon. SCSU cut the lead to eight, 38-30, at the break and took a 50-49 lead midway through the second half on two free throws from tournament MVP Dustin Braddick. The Bulldogs took the lead for good on Thurman Zimmerman's three-point play at the 5:16 mark and made enough free throws down the stretch to hold off the Pirates. Braddick (25) and Zimmerman (21) were the only Bulldogs in double figures. Devin Green had 20, Barry Hairston got 18 and Isaac Jefferson 16 for Hampton (19-11).
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