Saturday, February 27, 2016

2016 SIAC Women's Basketball Bracket Released

ATLANTA, Georgia – The 2016 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) women's basketball tournament bracket was released on Friday with Benedict and Kentucky State earning the top seeds in their respective divisions.

Benedict (24-2), the 2015-16 east division champion finished with a 14-2 record in the SIAC. The Lady Tigers are currently ranked 12th in the Women's Basketball Division II Media Poll, sponsored by D2SIDA and 14th in the latest USA Today Sports Division II women's basketball poll. Additionally, Benedict is ranked second in the NCAA Division II regional rankings. The Lady Tigers earned a first-round bye and will face the winner between No. 4 Lane (5-21, 5-11) or No. 5 Paine (9-18, 6-10) on Wednesday, March 1 at 1 p.m.

WOMEN'S BRACKET
 
Kentucky State (21-3) won the west division title with a 14-2 mark in the conference. KSU is ranked second in the NCAA Division II regional rankings and is currently on a 14-game winning streak. KSU received a bye will meet either No. 4 Fort Valley State (10-16, 9-7) or No. 5 Stillman (10-15, 5-11) on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

Albany State (14-12, 12-4) also earned a first-round bye and was seeded second in the east division. The Lady Rams will play the winner between No. 3 Central State (13-13, 6-10) or No. 6 Clark Atlanta (6-20, 4-12).

Miles (15-11, 9-7) earned the No. 2 in the west and will take on No. 7 Tuskegee (5-20, 4-12) in an opening round game. Claflin (16-10, 11-5) was seeded third and is set to face No. 6 LeMoyne-Owen (7-18, 5-11) on Tuesdsay, March 1 at 10 a.m.

The 2016 SIAC Basketball Tournament begins on MondayCLICK HERE.
, Feb. 29 and will conclude on Saturday, March 5 with the women's championship game scheduled to start at 4 p.m. For more information, tickets, and events please

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2016 SIAC Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket Released

ATLANTA, Georgia – The 2016 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) men's basketball tournament bracket was released on Friday with Stillman and Benedict earning the top seeds in their respective divisions.

Stillman (23-5) won the west division with a 17-1 mark and enters next week's conference tournament at Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham, Ala. on a 14-game winning streak. The Tigers who are 19-1 in their last 20 games, earned a first-round bye and will play either No. 4 Clark Atlanta (9-19, 7-12) or No. 5 Tuskegee (13-12, 9-9) on Wednesday, March 2 at 7:45 p.m.

In the east, Benedict (16-11, 11-7) claimed the divisional title and also received a first-round bye. Benedict will face the winner between No. 4 LeMoyne-Owen (13-14, 10-8) and No. 5 Fort Valley State (6-22, 4-14) on Wednesday, March 2 at 3:15 p.m.

Miles (16-12, 14-5) was seeded second in the west and will face Paine (7-21, 3-14) who garnered the seventh seed on Tuesday, March 1 in the opening round. Claflin (14-12, 10-8) earned the No. 2 seed in the east and play No. 7 Central State (11-14, 9-9) on Tuesday.

Lane (16-12, 12-6) was seeded third and will meet No. 6 Albany State (5-21, 4-14) in its opening game. Morehouse (13-9, 9-8) also claimed a third seed and will face No. 6 Kentucky State (11-14, 9-9) on Tuesday.

The 2016 SIAC Basketball Tournament begins on Monday, Feb. 29 and will conclude on Saturday, March 5 with the men's championship game scheduled to start at 7 p.m. For more information, tickets, and events please  CLICK HERE.

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Virginia State Edges Out Bowie State, Trojans Advance to CIAA Championship Game

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – Virginia State built a big lead with its suffocating defense, then held off a late Bowie State rally to win 81-70 in the CIAA Tournament men's semifinals at Time Warner Cable Arena on Friday, Feb. 26, 2016. With the victory, the Trojans advance to the finals for the first time since 1991.

The Trojans, who are the Northern Division champions, will aim for their first conference title since 1988 when they face either Virginia Union or Livingstone in Saturday's championship game, which will be held Saturday, Feb. 27, at 7:00 p.m. The contest will be televised live on ESPN3 and shown on tape delay at 10 p.m. on ESPNU.

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"It is exciting about where our program is right now," said Trojans' Head Coach Lonnie Blow, Jr., who is leading his second team to the CIAA finals after guiding Saint Augustine's to the 2010 title.
Forward Elijah Moore scored 18 points and guard Kevin Williams, the Food Lion MVP, added 17 points for the Trojans (22-5 overall), who held the Bulldogs to 36.1 percent shooting. The Trojans entered the contest ranked ninth nationally in Division II in field-goal percentage defense.

The Trojans relied on its defense to take a commanding lead. A 19-8 run erased a one-point deficit and put the Trojans ahead 34-24 at halftime. They extended the score to 49-33 in the second half when guard-forward Cyonte Melvin canned a three-pointer.

"We did a really nice job of getting off to a good start both halves, especially on the defensive end of the floor," Blow said. "We contained them early and got ourselves a little working margin. We were able to be consistent enough to maintain the lead throughout the game. I am proud of my guys."

The Bulldogs, the No. 3 Northern Division seed, threatened late in the contest. Down 72-56 with 2:48 remaining, they outscored the Trojans 12-4 to close within 74-66 on forward Andre Jackson's three-pointer with 1:31 remaining.

"We were able to pressure them and started driving the ball," Bulldogs' Head Coach Darrell Brooks said. "We really wanted to drive the basketball most of the game. We felt if we could attack them, we could have some success offensively. Unfortunately, we didn't do that for 40 minutes."

The Trojans fended off the Bulldogs with key stops and timely free throw shooting. Moore and guard Tyler Peterson, who finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, both made 3 of 4 free throw attempts down the stretch to preserve the win.

Guard Ahmaad Wilson scored 17 points for the Bulldogs, who had four players score in double figures. Forward Enuoma Ebinum added 14 points, guard Justin Beck chipped in 13 points and Jackson had 12 points for the Bulldogs, who ended their season at 17-13 overall.

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CIAA Tournament: Two-Time Defending Champion Livingstone Tops Virginia Union 75-70, Advances to Finals


CHARLOTTE, North Carolina  — Guard Daryl Traynham swished a huge three-pointer to break a tie with 38 seconds left and hit two free throws with one second left to ice the game as Livingstone outlasted Virginia Union 75-70 in the CIAA Tournament semifinals to reach their fourth consecutive men's basketball final at Time Warner Cable Arena on Friday, Feb. 26, 2016.

The two-time defending CIAA champions will take on Virginia State in Saturday's championship game at 7 p.m. The contest will be televised live on ESPN3 and shown on tape delay at 10 p.m. on ESPNU.

Traynham's three-pointer snapped a 69-69 tie after guard Ray Anderson made a free throw with 54 seconds left. John Mitchell of the Panthers sliced the Blue Bears' lead to two points after Traynham's trey with a free throw, but Traynham answered with a free throw with five seconds left. Traynham put the game away with his final two free throws after the Panthers committed a turnover.

Traynham scored nine of his game-high 19 points in the final two minutes. His free throw at the 1:55 mark broke a 66-66 tie and his jumper with 1:23 left put the Blue Bears (15-16 overall) ahead after the Panthers led 68-67 on guard Timonne Whatley's basket.

"Like coach [James Stinson] says, if it doesn't go in, I'm going to fuss you out," Traynham said. "If it does go in, then it's a good shot. I shot the ball with confidence and it went in."

Forward Ty Newman added 17 points for the Blue Bears, who had six players score seven or more points. Guards Juwan Cole and Eric Dubose both scored nine points for the Blue Bears, seeded No. 4 in the Southern Division.

Guard Kory Cooley of the Panthers (16-14 overall) led all scorers with 29 points. Anderson added 18 points and 12 rebounds and forward Tavon Mealy chipped in 10 points for the Panthers, the No. 2 Northern Division seed.

The Blue Bears, playing their third game in three nights including a double overtime win over Johnson C. Smith Thursday, led much of the contest but could not pull away from the Panthers, who stayed close by controlling the boards. They outrebounded the Blue Bears 47-38 which led to a 20-15 edge in second-chance points.

With nine reserves playing 10 or more minutes, the Blue Bears prevailed by outscoring the Panthers in bench points 40-21. While the Blue Bears substituted often, only seven Panthers logged 17 or more minutes.

"They were kind of tired [after the Smith victory] but did everything they were supposed to do that night," Stinson said. "That's a credit to our coaching staff. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart."

The Blue Bears led 43-39 in a high-scoring first half. Dubose sparked a balanced scoring attack with nine points and Traynham added eight points. Cooley scored 16 first-half points and Anderson added 11 for the Panthers.

Both teams were scorching hot in the first 20 minutes. The Blu
e Bears shot 53.1 percent and the Panthers made 51.5 percent of their attempts. They cooled off considerably in the second half with the Blue Bears shooting 28.1 percent and the Panthers shooting 33.3 percent.

But the Blue Bears made the clutch shots during crunch time.

"I want to congratulate Livingstone College and Coach Stinson," Panthers' Head Coach Jay Butler said. "There is a reason why they are two-time champions. They are a very experienced team. They made plays down the stretch."

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Friday, February 26, 2016

CIAA TOURNAMENT: Shaw beats Chowan in ladies semifinals

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- Shaw University secured a spot in the CIAA Championship game with an 86-77 victory over Chowan University on Friday afternoon. The Lady Bears entered the contest as the No. 1 seed out of the CIAA Southern Division while the Hawks were the No. 2 seed from the Northern Division. Shaw advances with a 24-6 overall record while the Hawks move to 20-8 on the year after Friday's setback.

Jacques Curtis, Head Coach at Shaw University noted, "We got off to a good start. We knew it was going to be a tough game for us as Chowan is one of the stronger teams in the conference. We pride ourselves on playing good defense and the team did a good job tonight, especially in the first half despite us giving second chances in the second half."

Head Coach Patrick Mashuda added, "Today was a tale of two halves for sure. The team that played with the greatest energy won each half…Hats of to Shaw, they shot the ball very well. We gave Shaw everything we had in the second half and really just ran out of time…This is a great learning experience for the younger players on our team. I thought they handled the adversity of the first half well in the second half."

Kaula Jacks paced Shaw with a team-high 19 points while Aaliyah Mercer added 16 points in the win. Laquisha Taylor and Eboni Ross both notched 13 points for the Lady Bears with Ross grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds (three offensive, nine defensive).

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CIAA TOURNAMENT: Johnson scores 41 points for Virginia Union in semis

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- Virginia Union's Kiana Johnson lit up Livingstone to the tune of 41 points as the Northern Division top-seed rolled over the Blue Bears 93-63. The win puts Virginia Union into the CIAA Championship game for their fourth appearance and their first time since 2004. The Panthers will take on Southern Division top-seed Shaw for the league crown on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.

First quarter play saw Virginia Union (24-2), the top seed from the Northern Division, fall down early 4-0 as Livingstone connected on its first two attempts before Kiana Johnson nailed a three-pointer, her first points of a 27-point first half performance. VUU would then stretch their lead to as many as 11 at 19-8, after an Ashley Smith converted a layup at the 4:08 mark. Livingstone would trim the lead to six points after Amber Curtis drained a three-pointer to pull the Blue Bears to within 23-17. The Panthers got a jumper and a three pointer from Johnson to extend their lead back to 11 points at 28-17 at the end of the quarter.

In the second quarter, Livingstone again cut the Panther lead to six points (35-29) with 4:08 to go, but VUU went on a 12-3 run to boost their lead to 44-32 at the half. During that stretch, Johnson scored nine points, including a three pointer to stake VUU to the halftime margin.

The third quarter started much of the same, with the Panthers able to extend their lead to 51-34 following a 10-2 run. During that stretch of play, Johnson had the first two baskets followed by free throws from Ashley Smith and a three pointer from deep in the corner by Rahni Bell.

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Niagara Baseball Topped By N.C. Central

DURHAM, North Carolina -- The Niagara baseball team was defeated by North Carolina Central, 7-3, on Friday.

"We didn't play well today and they did," said Purple Eagles' head coach Rob McCoy. "We've got to limit free 90's, throw more strikes and simply play better pitch to pitch. It's something we've been working a lot on and we will have good days at it and bad days. As the season progresses, so will our game process."

Niagara (1-4, 0-0 MAAC) got out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. With Michael Fuhrman already on base, Greg Rodgers hit a triple, sending Fuhrman home for the Purple Eagles' first run of the day. North Carolina Central (1-3, 0-0 MEAC) answered quickly, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first to take a 3-1 lead.

Over the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings, North Carolina Central scored a total of four more runs, taking a 6-1 lead over Niagara . Fuhrman led off in the top of the sixth, doubling to left center. He later scored on a wild pitch. With Christian Vangeison and Joel Brophy on base, Geoff Seto singled down the right field line, sending home Vangeison for Nigara's final run of the game.

Fuhrman led the Purple Eagles, going 2-for-5 at the plate and scoring a team-high two runs. Rodgers and Seto both recorded one RBI. In the field, Brophy led with 11 putouts. He also had two assists. James Walker pitched 3.2 innings and took the loss.

The Purple Eagles are back in action with a doubleheader against North Carolina Central on Saturday, Feb. 27.

Stay connected with the Purple Eagles through social media. Follow Niagara Athletics on Twitter @NUPurpleEagles and @NiagaraBASE. Check in with the Purple Eagles on Facebook/PurpleEagles and on Instagram @NUPurpleEagles.

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