Hoopville - Ohio Valley Conference

Mississippi Valley State Coach to Take Over at Jacksonville State: Despite an embarrassing 70-29 loss to UCLA in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Mississippi Valley State coach James Green was able to parlay taking the Delta Devils to their first NCAA Tournament in 16 years into a new job, as he will take over at Jacksonville State. Green went 17-16 with the Delta Devils last season, his third year with the team after eight years coaching Southern Miss. [4/23/08]

Hudson Enters Draft: Lester Hudson will make himself eligible for June's NBA Draft but will not hire an agent so he can return to Tennessee-Martin in case he doesn't feel the opportunity is right. He has until June 16 to make a final decision on his draft status. Hudson was fifth in the nation in scoring, averaging 25.7 points per game. [4/16/08]

South Region - First Round: No. 1 Memphis used a 15-2 first-half run to pull away from No. 16 Texas-Arlington and eventually win 87-63. Junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts led the Tigers with 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Memphis shot 51.9 percent from the field to overwhelm the Mavericks in waves. Junior forward Anthony Vereen did his best to keep Texas-Arlington close by scoring 20 points, but the Mavericks didn't have enough firepower to stay close.

Sophomore point guard D.J. Augustin had only six points for No. 2 Texas in a 74-54 win against No. 15 Austin Peay. But Augustin didn't need to score in bunches this afternoon with junior guard A.J. Abrams shooting 10-of-17 from the field and finishing with 26 points. Augustin orchestrated the dissection of the Governors with eight assists. Austin Peay could not answer Texas on offense, shooting only 28.3 percent from the field. Texas will play Miami in the second round.

Trailing by five at halftime, No. 7 Miami used a 25-5 run to seize the lead and cruise to a 76-61 win against No. 10 St. Mary's. Junior guard Jack McClinton dominated the second half, scoring 32 of his 38 points in the half. McClinton was unstoppable going to the basket or shooting from long range, and he finished 12-of-18 from the field and a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line. The Gaels struggled against Miami's defense, shooting 37.5 percent from the field. Only freshman guard Patrick Mills scored in double figures, with 21 points.

No. 9 Oregon started the first half on a torrid shooting pace and built a 13-point lead moments into the second half after hitting the team's eighth three-pointer. But the Ducks didn't hit another three until the final seconds in a 76-69 loss to No. 8 Mississippi State. The Bulldogs clamped down on defense, holding Oregon to 9-of-38 shooting from three-point range for the game. Senior forward Charles Rhodes provided much of Mississippi State's offense with 34 points on 10-of-12 shooting. [3/21/08]

Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championship: A year after a heart-breaking loss in the same game, No. 1 Austin Peay took home the Ohio Valley Conference title with an 82-64 win over No. 6 Tennessee State. For the second year in a row, the Governors (24-10) won the regular season title, and this time they followed it up with a game that was never in doubt after the first few minutes of the second half. Austin Peay shot nearly 52 percent from the field, including a 9-of-15 mark from long range, and held the Tigers below 37 percent. Tournament MVP Todd Babington led four Governors in double figures with 24 points and five rebounds, going 6-of-8 from long range. Jerrell Houston had 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead Tennessee State (15-17). [3/08/08]

Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Semifinals: No. 1 Austin Peay has advanced to the OVC championship game for the second year in a row after a free throw by Drake Reed with 2.2 seconds left gave the Governors a 78-77 win over No. 4 Tennessee-Martin. It was a back and forth battle for much of the second half, with the Governors (23-10) at times looking to break the game open. But UT-Martin (17-16) stayed alive behind the sterling play of Lester Hudson, who scored 22 of his game-high 31 points in the second half. Wes Channels led four Governors in double figures with 16 points.

The Governors will take on No. 6 Tennessee State, who held off a late rally by No. 2 Murray State for an 83-75 win. The second half went back and forth a couple of times, but the Tigers (15-16) responded every time the Racers (18-13) grabbed the lead and made enough defensive stops down the stretch. Bruce Price led Tennessee State with 20 points and eight assists, while little-used big man James Craft had 10 points on 5-7 shooting. Ray George led Murray State with a career-high 25 points, including 5-7 shooting from long range, in his final college game. [3/07/08]

Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Quarterfinals: No. 6 Tennessee State delivered the first upset in conference tournament action with a 68-61 win at No. 3 Morehead State. Junior forward Jerrell Houston led the Tigers with 16 points. Tennessee State advances to play No. 2 Murray State, which beat No. 7 Tennessee Tech 77-74. Senior guard Bruce Carter led the Racers with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

No. 1 Austin Peay handled No. 8 Eastern Kentucky 76-51 to advance to the semifinals. Sophomore forward Ernest Fields came off the bench to lead the Governors with 15 points in only 16 minutes. The Governors get No. 4 Tennessee-Martin Friday in the semifinals after the Skyhawks beat No. 5 Samford in the game of the night. Tennessee-Martin won 101-94 in triple overtime as freshman guard Marquis Weddle delivered 39 points in his first OVC Tournament game. [3/04/08]

Jacksonville State Ditches LaPlante: Jacksonville State has fired coach Mike LaPlante, ending his eight-year run as the Gamecocks' leader. Jacksonville State finished 7-22 this season and 5-15 in the Ohio Valley Conference, and the Gamecocks failed to qualify for the OVC Tournament. LaPlante finishes his tenure at Jacksonville State with a 95-137 record. He has been an assistant coach at Yale, Maine and Auburn. [3/03/08]

East Region - First Round: No. 1 North Carolina built a 27-point lead in the first half before letting No. 16 Eastern Kentucky claw its way back into the game. But sophomore Tyler Hansbrough and senior Reyshawn Terry repelled the Colonels for an 86-65 victory. Hansbrough looked more comfortable in his new, tight-fitting mask. He was 9-of-11 from the field for 21 points and 10 rebounds. Terry added 18 points for the Tar Heels, who shot nearly 65 percent from the field. But North Carolina's defense allowed Eastern Kentucky to keep pace for part of the game, shooting 50 percent. Junior Darnell Dialls led the Colonels with 17 points in the loss.

No. 2 Georgetown weathered an early storm against No. 15 Belmont, quickly erasing an 11-4 deficit and rolling to an 80-55 victory to move into the second round. The Hoyas will play No. 7 Boston College Saturday. Jessie Sapp was 8-of-10 from the field en route to 20 points to lead the Hoyas. Georgetown's superior height wore down the Bruins, who couldn't keep pace and shot only 35.7 percent from the field.

No. 3 Washington State made nine of their first 11 shots to begin the second half and used an 18-4 run to turn a two-point first-half deficit into a resounding 70-54 victory vs. No. 14 Oral Roberts Thursday in the East Regionals. The Cougars, who were led by senior reserve Ivory Clark with 19 points, shot a blistering 59 percent from the field after halftime and committed only one turnover. The Golden Eagles, who shot only 36 percent from the field for the game, led at the end of the first period but trailed 44-32 with 13:41 left after the Cougars' second-half outburst. Washington State controlled the pace thereafter. They will face No. 6 Vanderbilt in the next round.

No. 6 Vanderbilt got 18 points from junior forward Shan Foster and held No. 11 George Washington to 27 percent shooting from the field en route to an easy 77-44 victory Thursday in the East Regionals. The Commodores got off to a surprisingly fast start and led 45-20 by halftime behind a strong defensive effort. SEC player of the year Derrick Byars scored 12 points for Vanderbilt but shot only 5-of-14 from the field. No Colonial registered more than nine points for the game.

No. 7 Boston College got 26 points from sophomore Tyrese Rice and 21 from senior Sean Marshall to lead the Eagles past No. 10 Texas Tech 84-75. The Eagles shut down the Red Raiders' Jarrius Jackson, holding him to only 10 points. Martin Zeno led Texas Tech with 21 points.

No. 9 Michigan State took care of No. 8 Marquette 61-49 as the Spartans opened the game on an 11-0 run. The Golden Eagles never found their shooting touch, hitting less than 32 percent of their shots. Freshman Raymar Morgan led Michigan State's balanced offense with 14 points, and junior Drew Neitzel scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished five assists. The Spartans shot better than 50 percent for the game. [3/15/07]

Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championship: No. 1 Austin Peay's valiant efforts went to waste as reserve Josh Taylor made a layup with 2.9 seconds left for No. 2 Eastern Kentucky to give his team a hard-fought 63-62 victory and the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament crown. The championship gives Eastern Kentucky its seventh NCAA tournament berth.

Fighting back from a first-half deficit and a second-half dry spell that saw them clang 13 straight shots, the Governors took a brief 62-61 lead after Wes Channels hit two free throws with 21.8 seconds left in the game. The Colonels then lost the ball out of bounds with 6.6 seconds to go but retained possession, setting up the stage for Taylor's game-winner. Austin Peay's Derek Wright's three-pointer at the buzzer missed. Guard Mike Rose scored 19 points to lead the Colonels. OVC Player of the Year Drake Reed had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Austin Peay. [3/03/07]

Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Semifinals: No. 1 Austin Peay got 19 points from Fernandez Lockett and overcame a five-point second-half deficit to defeat pesky No. 5 Samford 65-55 Friday night and advance to the Ohio Valley Conference tournament's final. The Governors turned the game around when they went on an 11-2 run midway through the second half to make the score 48-44. They never trailed again. Austin Peay will face No. 2 Eastern Kentucky in the final Saturday. Randall Gulina led the Bulldogs with 21 points.

Eastern Kentucky hit all its free throws in the game's final minutes, including two with 4.9 seconds left, and was able to hold off No. 3 Tennessee Tech 57-54 and advance to the Ohio Valley Conference tournament's final Saturday. The Golden Eagles stayed close throughout the second half, getting as near as one point but could not overtake the lead. After Colonel guard Mike Rose hit a couple of clutch free throws with less than five seconds left in the game, Anthony Fisher missed a potential game-tying three-pointer as the final horn blew, sealing the Eagles' fate. Rose and Adam Leonard scored 16 points apiece for the Colonels. Fisher and Belton Rivers led Tennessee Tech with 13 points each. [3/02/07]

Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Quarterfinals: No. 1 Austin Peay used an early 8-2 run in overtime to get past pesky No. 8 Tennessee State 89-84 Tuesday night and move into the Ohio Valley Conference semifinals to face No. 5 Samford Friday. The Governors' Drake Reed scored 27 points, but Austin Peay still needed a Fernandez Lockett jumper with 30 seconds left to tie the score at 69 and send it into overtime. Ervin Reiley paced the Tigers with 24 points.

Randall Gulina and Jerry Smith scored 20 points apiece, and Samford shot a blistering 75 percent from the field in the second half to overcome No. 4 Murray State 70-60. Samford and Murray State were tied at 26 going into the half, but the Bulldogs began the second period with a 10-0 run to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Guard Ed Horton led the Racers with 16 points.

No. 2 Eastern Kentucky had little trouble dismissing No. 7 Morehead State 63-45 and will play No. 3 Tennessee Tech Friday. The Colonels never trailed and put the game away early with a 16-0 first-half run. Reserve Jamaal Douglas, who played only 19 minutes, led Eastern Kentucky with 16 points. Morehead was led by Cordaryl Ballard with 17 points.

No. 6 Southeast Missouri State couldn't throw it in the ocean Tuesday night, as Tennessee Tech handed them an 88-60 whooping that puts the Golden Eagles in the Ohio Valley Conference semifinals. The Red Hawks shot only 35 percent from the field, while the Eagles shot 60 percent. Tennessee Tech, which scored 50 points in the second half, was by Belton Rivers and Anthony Fisher with 17 points apiece. [2/28/07]

Murray State Dismisses Three: Murray State will enter next season without Trey Pearson, Mike McCoy or Marqis Wright, all of whom the team dismissed recently. Pearson violated team rules and is off the team. He averaged 10 points and 3.2 rebounds per game last season for the Racers' NCAA Tournament squad. McCoy and Wright didn't meet academic standards and are ineligible. [5/24/06]

Edgar Fills the Redhawks' Nest: Scott Edgar, recently named Southeast Missouri State's coach, announced his staff hires. Ronnie Dean and Toby Lane -- retained from the previous Southeast Missouri State staff -- in addition to Scepter Brownlee, were named assistant coaches. Dean will remain the head recruiter, while Lane will continue to work closely with the players. Brownlee was with Edgar at Tennessee last season and will take a similar position with the Redhawks. [5/14/06]

Edgar Rejoins Coaching Ranks: Tennessee assistant coach Scott Edgar has accepted the Southeast Missouri State job offer to move back into the first chair. An assistant under Volunteers coach Bruce Pearl, Edgar helped guide the Volunteers to an impressive run through the SEC this past season. He has experience leading a team because he coached at Duquesne and Murray State before working as an assistant at Alabama - Birmingham. Edgar replaces Gary Garner, whom the Redhawks dismissed when his contract expired at the end of this past season. [4/17/06]

Racers Pick Kennedy: Murray State officials have hired Miami assistant coach Billy Kennedy to become the Racers' next head coach, replacing Mick Cronin, who left the school for Cincinnati. Kennedy was an assistant under coach Frank Haith for one season after coaching Southeast Louisiana for six seasons. He compiled an 80-94 record at Southeast Louisiana and led the team to two conference regular-season titles. The Racers are a perennial contender in the Ohio Valley Conference and finished 24-7 this year, including a hard-fought loss to No. 3 North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament. [4/12/06]