Johnson Returns, Aggies Beat SCSU
GREENSBORO, N.C. - It wasn't a storybook return for senior forward Robert Johnson.
The Greensboro native scored just six points in North Carolina A&T's 67-58 win over S.C. State in men's basketball action Saturday at SMH Memorial Coliseum. Johnson's six points and his return were just what a struggling Aggies team needed. Johnson had missed the Aggies last five games with a shoulder injury.
The Aggies went 1-4 in that stretch, including two home losses.
The Aggies had been hampered by slow starts most of the season. But Saturday was different. They played even with the Bulldogs until a steal by Tavarus Alston led to a no-look pass from Alston to Thomas Coleman for a dunk. That was followed by a Dwane Joshua 3-pointer from the corner that gave the Aggies a 30-23 lead with 6:34 remaining in the first half.
N.C. A&T stretched its lead to as many as 11 in the first half before going into the locker room with a 36-27 lead. When Tavarus Alston hit a 3-pointer to open the second half, the Aggies found themselves up by 12, their biggest lead of the game. It would not be that easy for the Aggies, however. The Aggies had won in Orangeburg just once in the last 14 seasons, and the Bulldogs didn't want to see it happen again.
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Fisher and Davis Score 19 Points as Rams Hold Off Spartans 82-70
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Brian Fisher and Paul Davis each scored 19 points to lead the Rams to an 82-70 victory over Norfolk State in front of the nearly 3,200 raucous fans that were on hand to see WSSU move to 6-10 overall on the season.
The Rams, playing the third game of a four-game home stand, found themselves trailing early as Norfolk State led by as many as eight points during the first 20 minutes of play behind Michael Deloach's 11 first-half points. Deloach, the second leading scorer in the MEAC and the 17th-ranked scorer in the nation (20.6 ppg), hit five of eight field goal attempts in 17 minutes of play in the first half.
WSSU blistered the nets at almost a 50 percent shooting pace and hit 14 of 30 first-half field goals including five of 10 3-point field goals. Eight Rams' recorded points in the first half.
Senior guard Brian Fisher matched Deloach as he recorded 11 points in the half en route to helping the Rams convert an eight-point deficit into a nine-point lead, a margin that they would take to the locker room at halftime as WSSU led 36-27 at the break.
Read the complete story at WSSURams.com.
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Rattlers Hold off Howard, 72-65
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Florida A&M Rattlers team picked up their fourth win of the season as they defeated Howard 72-65, Saturday afternoon at Burr Gymnasium.
FAMU (4-14, 2-4 MEAC) was paced by Dale Hughes with 15 points off the bench. Rasheem Jenkins added 14, while Larry Jackson pumped in 12. Jackson led the team on the boards with seven and Brandon Bryant dished out a team high six assists.
Howard (5-15, 4-2 MEAC) had four Bison to score in double figures with Dadrian Collins scoring a team high 14 points. Calvin Thompson pumped in 13, while Mike Phillip added 13 and Curtis White finished with 10 to round out the cast of Bison in double figures.
Dale Hughes tied the game at 10 for the Rattlers on a 3-pointer at the 14:52 mark of the first half.
The Bison would take a 19-13 lead on a Mike Phillips layup with 11:50 to go, capping a 9-3 run.
Howard extended their lead to 11 on a White layup with 6:47 to go, 31-20.
FAMU cut Howard's lead to four on a pair of free-throws from Larry Jackson with 20 seconds left in the half, giving the Bison a 36-32 lead at the half.
Both teams shot in the forty percentile in the first half as the Rattlers shot 41.4 percent (12-of-29) from the field, while the Bison shot 46.7 percent (14-of-30).
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Morgan State Extends Perfect MEAC Start
BALTIMORE, Md. - Morgan State outscored Delaware State 25-4 in the final six minutes to pull out an exciting come from behind victory at Hill Field House.
Morgan State (13-7, 5-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) extended its home record to 28-5 under head coach Todd Bozeman. The Bears also improved its win streak against conference opponents to 10 straight since last season.
Reggie Holmes scored 28 points, hitting a career-high 18-of-20 free throws to erase Delaware State's lead in the second half, and Morgan State handed the Hornets its second conference loss of the season, 72-62 on Saturday night.
Freshman DeWayne Jackson added 19 points (6-8 FG) along with two steals and two blocks and was a valuable factor on the defensive end to help spur the Bears in the second half.
Morgan State had a tough time slowing down conference standout Frisco Sandidige. The 6-foot-6 senior forward scored 24 points for Delaware State, including six points as the Hornets closed the first half with a 17-3 run and led 39-26 at the half.
Delaware State (8-8, 3-2 MEAC) outplayed the Bears in just about every facet in the opening stanza. The Hornets scored 15 points off of 13 Morgan State turnovers, and shot 14-for-27 from the field (51.9%) and was 5-for-10 from 3-point territory.
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Pitt and Burns Lead UMES to Victory over Coppin State, 70-62
BALTIMORE, Md. - Senior Neal Pitt recorded his second double-double of the season and the 13th of his career as the University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team defeated Coppin State, 70-62, at the Physical Education Complex Saturday afternoon.
Pitt scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and was joined by junior Tim Burns and redshirt sophomore Hillary Haley in double-digit scoring. Burns led all scorers with 20 points while Haley had 13 of his own.
The game started off slow for both the Hawks and Eagles as they went into the first media timeout with a score of 5-3. CSU led for the first part of the first half until a free throw by Burns tied the game at 13-all. A defensive rebound by Pitt was then converted into a 3-pointer for junior Josh Bright to make the score 16-13 in favor of UMES at the 11:08 mark.
A pair of free throws by both Pitt and junior Kevin White put the Hawks up at 24-21 with under five minutes remaining in the half. A 3-pointer by Burns at the 1:21 mark put the halftime score at 27-24 with the Hawks leading.
The Eagles got off to a fast start in the second half going on a 12-5 run in the first four minutes.
At the 13:24 mark, Haley took a charge from CSU's Michael Harper, which sparked a run for UMES. A layup by Haley just over a minute later put the Hawks up 40-39 and they would not look back.
A defensive rebound by White led to an exciting 3-point play by Burns at the 8:02 mark as Quinston Reggins fouled him and layup just barely fell into the hoop after rolling around the rim. With the play, UMES went up by eight at 51-43.
Wildcats Snap Seven-Game Streak to Hampton with 57-52
HAMPTON, Va. - The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats increased their overall record to 12-7 by earning a solid road win Saturday night with a 57-52 victory over the Hampton Pirates. The win increases the Pirates record to 5-1 in conference play.
Albert Abrahams scored 17 points (13 in the second half) and C. J. Reed scored 16 points to lead the 'Cats to the win - snapping a seven-game losing streak vs. the Pirates dating back to 2004.
B-CU went on a 14-5 scoring run midway through the first half to go ahead 28-14 with over six minutes to play in the first half. The Wildcats did not score in the final 6:20 of the half and led 28-21 at the intermission. C. J. Reed scored 10 first half points and freshman guard Kevin Dukes hit two long back-to-back 3-pointers to key the 'Cats offense in the opening twenty minutes.
Read the complete story at BCUAthletics.com.
Read more at HamptonPirates.com.