Hoopville - Southwestern Athletic Conference

Alabama State Player Dies: Deshean Porchea, a sophomore at Alabama State, died after collapsing as he walked off the court following a pick-up game on campus. Porchea, 19, never regained consciousness. He averaged two points per game last season. [5/01/08]

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]

Alcorn State Dismisses West: Alcorn State has fired coach Samuel West after the Braves went 7-23 this season. West said he was surprised by the decision after the team worked through injuries to nine of its 11 players. In five seasons at Alcorn State, West compiled a 44-103 record. His contract ends in June, and Alcorn State will retain West as an adviser until his contract expires. [4/02/08]

Tigers' AD Cleans House: New Grambling State Athletic Director Troy Mathieu fired the men's and women's head basketball coaches as he seeks to take the programs to higher levels of competitiveness, Mathieu said. Larry Wright led the Tigers to a 7-18 season and 7-11 record in the SWAC. Until Mathieu hires a new coach, assistant coach Kenny Sykes will lead the team as interim coach. [4/02/08]

West Region - First Round: No. 1 UCLA annihilated No. 16 Mississippi Valley State 70-29 in the most lopsided game of the first round. Freshman center Kevin Love was the only player from either team to score in double figures, posting 20 points and nine rebounds. The Bruins' starters played no more than 26 minutes in the blowout. The Delta Devils made only nine shots the entire game and collected 29 rebounds to UCLA's 50. Junior forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute did not play for the Bruins after injuring his ankle during the Pac-10 Tournament last weekend.

No. 15 Belmont almost became the fourth No. 15 seed in NCAA Tournament history to beat a No. 2 seed. No. 2 Duke needed a coast-to-coast layup by sophomore guard Gerald Henderson to give the Blue Devils a decisive 71-70 lead with 11 seconds remaining. The Bruins had two opportunities to win in the closing seconds but turned it over with four seconds remaining and missed a half-court desperation shot at the buzzer. Henderson led the Blue Devils with 21 points and eight rebounds. The Blue Devils will play West Virginia in the second round.

No. 14 Georgia finally ran out of gas against No. 3 Xavier but not before giving the Musketeers a scare. Xavier won 73-61 after erasing an 11-point deficit in the second half. The Bulldogs struggled to score in the final minutes of the game while Xavier was solid from the free throw line, finishing 27-of-33. Senior forward Josh Duncan led Xavier with 20 points. Georgia reached the NCAA Tournament by winning four SEC Tournament games in three and a half days, including two games in one day after a tornado forced the SEC to cancel a night game between the Bulldogs and Kentucky.

The young Boilermakers played enough defense to hold down No. 11 Baylor and give No. 6 Purdue a 90-79 win. Five Boilermakers reached double figures, led by sophomore guard Keaton Grant with 17 points. The Bears struggled in the first half and fell behind by 20 points early in the second half before making a run to trim the lead to about 10 points. Purdue was 15-of-18 from the free throw line, which helped prevent Baylor from seriously threatening down the stretch. The Boilermakers will play Xavier in the second round.

Only five different Wildcats scored for No. 10 Arizona, which ran out of gas in a 75-65 loss to No. 7 West Virginia. The Mountaineers were on fire from long range, hitting 11-of-19 three-pointers to extend their lead every time Arizona threatened to take the lead. Junior guard Alex Ruoff was especially timely with his five three-pointers and team-high 21 points. Sophomore forward Chase Budinger led the Wildcats with 23 points, and Arizona's bench contributed only three pointers as the starters played nearly the entire game.

No. 9 Texas A&M won a tight match up with No. 8 BYU 67-62 as junior swingman Josh Carter dumped 26 points on the Cougars. He hit six three-pointers and finished 10-of-16 from the field. Senior forward Joseph Jones contributed a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Aggies shot better than 50 percent from the field and collected most errant shots with a 36-23 rebounding advantage. [3/20/08]

Holt Resigns at Arkansas-Pine Bluff: After finishing his sixth season with the Golden Lions, Arkansas-Pine Bluff coach Van Holt resigned. The Golden Lions finished 13-18 this season and 8-10 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. In six seasons, Holt finished with a 50-124 record. Thirty-five of those wins came in SWAC play. [3/18/08]

Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Championship: No. 2 Mississippi Valley State hit three free throws in the final 30 seconds to get past No. 4 Jackson State 59-58 and win the SWAC championship. Trailing 58-56, the Delta Devils got senior guard Stanford Speech to the free throw line, where he hit the first attempt but missed the second. Mississippi Valley State got the rebound, and senior swingman Carl Lucas hit two free throws with 0.4 seconds remaining to win it. Senior forward Chris Watson led the Delta Devils with 10 points. [3/15/08]

Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals: No. 2 Mississippi Valley State led by double digits for nearly the entire second half in a 70-59 victory against No. 6 Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Senior swingman Carl Lucas led the Delta Devils with 20 points.

No. 4 Jackson State upset No. 1 Alabama State 77-72 in overtime to move into the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament championship game against Mississippi Valley State. Only two Tigers reached double figures in scoring, but sophomore forward Grant Maxey had 23 points and junior guard Darrion Griffin added 22 points to lead Jackson State. The Hornets shot better from the field but shot only 53.8 percent from the free throw line. [3/14/08]

Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals: No. 6 Arkansas-Pine Bluff took out No. 3 Alabama A&M 72-59 with a big run to open the second half. The Golden Lions used a 14-3 run to extend a five-point halftime lead to 14, and the Bulldogs could pull no closer than 11 points the rest of the way. Senior guard Larry Williams led Arkansas-Pine Bluff with 18 points. The Golden Lions will play Mississippi Valley State in the semifinals.

Senior guard Catraiva Givens lifted No. 4 Jackson State to a 56-55 victory against No. 6 Southern by hitting two free throws in the final 10 seconds. He finished with 12 points. Junior guard Darrion Griffin led the Tigers with 18 points. Jackson State held Southern to 32.7 percent shooting from the field. The Tigers will play No. 1 Alabama State in the semifinals. [3/13/08]

Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals: No. 2 Mississippi Valley State and No. 7 Grambling State both shot better than 50 percent from the field, but the Delta Devils held off the Tigers for a 79-73 win the quarterfinals. Junior forward Eric Petty led Mississippi Valley State with 19 points, one of five players to reach double figures in scoring for the Delta Devils.

No. 1 Alabama State remained the favorite to win the SWAC championship by beating No. 8 Texas Southern 67-49. The Hornets had three players reach double figures in scoring, led by junior guard Andrew Hayles and freshman forward Roland Fitch with 14 points. None of Texas Southern's players reached double figures. The Tigers shot 26.6 percent from the field. Alabama State would have won by much more if the Hornets had hit more free throws -- they were 5-of-17 from the free throw line. [3/12/08]

Midwest Region - First Round: No. 1 Florida was able to roll into the second round after defeating No. 16 Jackson State 112-69 in the first round. Jackson State was able to take the lead early in the contest until the Gators put up 71 points in the second stanza. Florida will now play No. 9 Purdue in the second round. Joakim Noah was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field, but teammate Corey Brewer led the Gators with 21 points in the victory.

No. 2 Wisconsin let No. 15 Texas A&M - Corpus Christi build a 25-7 lead in the first half. The Badgers couldn't hit any shots to open the game, while the Islanders seemingly could do no wrong. Wisconsin climbed back before halftime to trail only 27-19. The Badgers were sensational in the second half, outscoring Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 57-36 to win 76-63. Senior leaders Kammron Taylor and Alando Tucker had 20-plus games to help the Badgers overcome the Islanders. Taylor finished with a game-high 24 points, and Tucker was right on his heels with 23 points.

No. 3 Oregon proved it can do more than run up the score against No. 14 Miami, Ohio. The Ducks persevered 58-56 in a slower defensive battle. Senior Aaron Brooks helped Oregon pull off its first NCAA Tournament win in five years by scoring 18 points. Sophomore Michael Bramos missed a three-pointer that would have tied the game with 10 seconds remaining. He finished with 18 points, and junior Tim Pollitz had a game-high 21 points. Oregon committed only five turnovers in a clean game.

No. 11 Winthrop completed its destiny by beating No. 6 Notre Dame 74-64 to win its first NCAA Tournament game. The Eagles have played well in two consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament but failed to break through for the upset. Winthrop ended the game on an 11-2 run to negate the Fighting Irish's furious second-half rally, which erased a 20-point hole. Seniors Craig Bradshaw and Torrell Martin scored at will against Notre Dame. Bradshaw finished with 24 points, and Martin added 20.

Senior-laden No. 7 UNLV got big games from Wendell White and Michael Umeh to lead the Rebels to a 67-63 victory against No. 10 Georgia Tech. White and Umeh scored 19 points apiece to form a masterful inside-out combination that flustered the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech got 11 points from junior Anthony Morrow and sophomore Alade Aminu. But freshmen stars Thaddeus Young and Javaris Crittenton struggled, shooting only 7-of-23 from the field and combining for 16 points.

Purdue was able to ride an 11-point lead after an 8-0 run to start the second half to advance to the second round to play Florida. Purdue was led by Senior Carl Landry with 19 points and 12 boards to a victory over a staple of the NCAA Tournament -- Lute Olson's Arizona Wildcats. The No. 9 Boilermakers converted the Wildcats' 17 turnovers into 20 points and were able to hold off Arizona to play another day. [3/16/07]

Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals: By shooting only 38.6 percent from the field, No. 2 Jackson State didn't have an easy run through No. 6 Arkansas - Pine Bluff in the semifinals of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament. Senior Trey Johnson was unstoppable for the Tigers, scoring 32 points on 13-of-27 shots to guide Jackson State to the 64-62 win. The Golden Lions kept the game close using a more team-oriented approach -- no player scored in double figures. Jackson State will play No. 1 Mississippi Valley State in the championship game. The Delta Devils beat No. 5 Texas Southern 54-50 to set up the predicted match up with the Tigers. [3/09/07]

Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals: No. 6 Arkansas - Pine Bluff held No. 3 Grambling to nearly 30 percent shooting from the field, fueling a 51-48 quarterfinal upset. Freshman Terrance Calvin was the only Golden Lion to score in double figures with 16 points, but he played 39 minutes to lead Arkansas - Pine Bluff from start to finish. The Golden Lions will play No. 2 Jackson State in the semifinals. [3/08/07]

Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals: No. 2 Jackson State forced 25 turnovers against No. 7 Southern, fueling the 74-65 victory in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals. Freshman Grant Maxey led the Tigers with 22 points and nine rebounds. Jackson State will play the winner of No. 3 Grambling and No. 6 Arkansas - Pine Bluff in the semifinals Friday. No. 1 Mississippi Valley State remained on an apparent collision course with Jackson State by dispatching No. 8 Alabama State 62-52 in the quarterfinals. Stanford Speech led the Delta Devils with 18 points and 11 rebounds to send the team into the semifinals against the winner of No. 3 Grambling and No. 6 Arkansas - Pine Bluff. [3/07/07]

Gladness Sets New NCAA Blocks Record: Move over, David Robinson. Sit down, Shawn Bradley. Later, Roy Rogers. Bye-Bye, Loren Woods. Mickell Gladness of Alabama A&M had an NCAA record 16 blocks against Texas Southern Saturday night, breaking the single game record of 14 shared by those four men. As a team, Alabama A&M had 21 blocks, tying the NCAA single-game record. The Bulldogs won 79-73. [2/26/07]