MEAC

Hampton Cruises Into MEAC Finals

Hampton advances into the MEAC finals against Howard


Richmond, VA – South Carolina State, bidding to make the finals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament for a sixth consecutive year, came up short Friday as Tommy Adams poured in 33 points, including a critical 3-pointer in the closing minute, to lift top-seeded Hampton to an 80-70 win over the Bulldogs in semifinal action.
The Bulldogs, who had won the tournament in each of the past three even numbered years under Cy Alexander, ended the campaign at 15-16.
Greg Gray, one of six SCSU seniors to wind up their careers, paced the Bulldogs with 18 points and three assists. LaRon Mapp, another senior, came off the bench for 14 points and Dexter Hall, who is competing as a first-year graduate student, added 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Senior Andre Riviera, who had a career-high 29 points in Thursday’s 63-61 win over North Carolina A&T in the quarterfinals, scored just six points before leaving the game after spraining an ankle with 11:05 to play.
Mackel Purvis followed Adams in the scoring for Hampton with 20 points, while David Johnson contributed 12 in the victory.
The Pirates, who earned a spot in Saturday’s final for a second straight year, improved to 25-6 on the season.
The Bulldogs, who never led in the contest after taking a 4-0 lead on two free throws by Riviera and a dunk by
 Hall with 18:22 left in the first half, erased all but two points of an 11-point, 62-51, second-half Hampton lead
 when Moses Malone, Jr. got a driving layup with 1:21 left to close the gap to 70-68.
Malone’s basket capped a 7-2 SCSU spree, however, on the Pirates’ ensuing trip down court, Adams put up 
a 3-pointer which bounced around several times before dropping through to give Hampton a 73-68 edge with
 just 1:04 on the scoreboard clock.
Following a Bulldog miss, Isaac Jefferson made one of two from the line to put Hampton ahead 74-68 before Gray 
got a layup for SCSU to pull the fourth seed to within 74-70. That was as close as the Bulldogs would come as Purvis
 and David Johnson added two free throws each to put the Pirates ahead 78-70 with 21.5 ticks left, sealing the win,
 Hampton’s fifth in a row against SCSU.
The Bulldogs, after grabbing an early 4-0 lead, fell behind 23-12 when Adams connected from long range 
with 12:21 on the first half scoreboard. Alexander’s team came back with a 14-5 run, capped by a tip-in by Hall,
 to pull to within 28-26 before Hampton took a 37-32 edge to the locker room.
Hampton’s outside shooting was a big difference in the contest. The Pirates made good on 9-21 attempts from 
behind the arc in the game, however, none was bigger than the one by Adams with just over a minute remaining.
“The 3-pointer by Adams was huge,” said the Bulldogs’ Alexander. “We had closed the gap to two points and 
they ran a high-post screen for him. He came around, stepped back and got it to fall.
“I thought that was the difference,” he continued. “But that’s why Adams in the Player of the Year in our league. 
He hits the big shot and at crucial times in the game. That’s exactly what he did against us in the game.
“I have to give credit to Hampton. They got it done when they needed to, but I have to salute our team too,
 because we battled all afternoon and gave it a good effort. A bounce here or there that could have gone our
 way may have made the outcome in our favor.
“We certainly didn’t have the type of season we had envisioned when we began the season, but I’m proud
 of the effort our young men gave in this tournament, and I wish all the best for our six seniors.”
In addition to Gray, Mapp, Riviera and Hall, other Bulldogs seniors included Luis Radford and Dawani Fladger, 
who was a starting offensive tackle on the SCSU 6-5 football squad. 

Landover, MD – South Carolina State captured four firsts and snared three runner-up finishes in amassing 76 points to capture
 the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship Saturday at the Prince George’s Sports Complex.
 The SCSU women compiled 33 points to grab sixth place in the women’s division, which was won by Delaware State with 75 points.
In capturing their first indoor title since 1991, the Bulldogs had to survive a protest by second place North Carolina A&T, which was disqualified
 in the 4x400 meter relay, one of the four events won by SCSU. The protest was denied.
Coach Ernest Tche’, who captured the first title of his five-year tenure as SCSU men’s and women’s coach, was named the meet’s outstanding coach in
 the men’s division. 
“It’s been a long time coming,” said an elated Tche’ after his team’s championship. “We have been working toward this day and I’m very happy. 
“Our athletes have worked hard,” he continued, “and it’s great that they have been rewarded with a championship. I’m happy for them as well for our staff.”
North Carolina A&T had 73 points to earn the runner-up trophy. Rounding out the top six teams were Florida A&M with 58 points, Coppin State with 54,
 Norfolk State with 49 and Bethune-Cookman with 35.
Earning firsts for the Bulldogs were Spencer Stephens in the pole vault (14-06.00), Jermaine Brown in the 200 meters (21.80), an event in which SCSU
 swept the top three places, Jeffrey Fourth in the 55 meters (6.27) and the 4x400 meter relay team of 
Kelvin Green, Dwayne Webley, Kenneth Telemaque and Jamar Glenn (3:15.07).
Grabbing seconds for SCSU were Glenn in the 200 meters (21.84), Justin McCorkle in the long jump (7.41m) and Errick Dixon in the 55-meter hurdles (7.67).
Fourth accounted for 16 SCSU points to finish third in the individual totals behind winner Nickle Peters (22.5) of Coppin and Ben Chesang (20) of 
Bethune-Cookman.
Other high finishes for the Bulldogs were DaShawn Gregg, third in the 55-meter hurdles (7.82), and Fourth, third in the 200 meters (21.96).
Falawna Ingram captured the 200 meters in 24.45 seconds, her best showing of the season in the event, for the only first place finish for the SCSU women. 
Ingram, who amassed 22 points to finish third in the individual competition, was clocked in 7.84 to finish third in the 55-meter hurdles, giving her a provisional
 qualification for the upcoming NCAA Championship. The Augusta native was also third in the 55-meter run.
Other high finishers for the SCSU women were Celine Nyansa, fourth in the 55 meters, and Kimberly Works, fifth in the 55-meter hurdles, and Cora Johnson,
 fifth in the long jump. 
Following Delaware State in the women’s competition was Hampton with 63 points. Rounding out the top six were Morgan State with 54, Norfolk State with 51, 
Florida A&M with 48 and SCSU with 33.

SCSU To Renew Football Series With Benedict and Wofford in 2002 
Orangeburg, SC - South Carolina State will renew series with intrastate rivals Benedict and Wofford during the 2002 
season, according to the football schedule released by the university Monday.
The 2002 Bulldog slate includes eleven contests, with five of them set for Oliver C. Dawson Bulldog Stadium in
 Orangeburg.
First-year head coach Buddy Pough’s team will open the season 
against Benedict Sept. 7 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia. The two teams last played 
during the 1999 campaign when the rivalry was renewed after a 33-year after Benedict dropped its program. 
The contest was cancelled in 2000 due to events surrounding the Confederate flag, and last season, both teams had full schedule commitments and were unable to play each other.
Wofford returns to the SCSU schedule for the first time since 1977 and will meet the Bulldogs at Orangeburg Sept. 14. 
Other home games include Bethune-Cookman (Homecoming), Oct. 19; Hampton, Oct. 26; Howard, Nov. 9;
 and Morgan State, Nov. 16.
In addition to the Benedict game, other road games include Savannah State, Sept. 21; Florida A&M, 
Oct. 5; Norfolk State, Oct. 12; Delaware State, Nov. 2, and North Carolina A&T, Nov. 23 at Atlanta.
For additional information, call 803/536-8579, 803/536-7060 or 803/536-7242. 
2002 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE (Tentative)

Date Opponent Site Time 
September 07 Benedict #Columbia, SC 7:00 p.m. 
14 WOFFORD Orangeburg, SC 6:00 p.m. 
(Hall of Fame Game) 

21 Savannah State Savannah, GA 7:00 p.m. 
28 OPEN 
October 05 Florida A&M* Tallahassee, FL TBA 
12 Norfolk State* Norfolk, VA 1:30 p.m. 
19 BETHUNE-COOKMAN Orangeburg, SC 1:30 p.m. 
(Homecoming) 
26 HAMPTON* Orangeburg, SC 1:30 p.m. 
November 02 Delaware State* Dover, DE 1:00 p.m. 
09 HOWARD* Orangeburg, SC 1:30 p.m. 

16 MORGAN STATE* Orangeburg, SC 1:30 p.m. 
(Youth/Senior Citizen/Senior Day) 
23 North Carolina A&T* $Atlanta, GA 2:00 p.m. 
* MEAC Conference Contest #Williams Brice Stadium $Georgia Dome 
%Subject to Change…Call for updates: 803/536-7242, 803/536-7060, 803/536-8579