SPORTS WITH WALTER MOORE


Walter Moore
Walter Moore

Howard 55 SSU 9

It was Halloween and Savannah State thought they had a tick for Howard by inserting several new starters into their offensive lineup but in the end it was the Bison who ended up with the treat as Howard won their first game of the season with a victory over SSU (1-6). The loss guarantees the Tigers their 17th consecutive losing season. Howard (1-7) jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter. SSU scored all of their points in the second quarter as John Barron kicked a 30 yard field goal and Rashad Saxton caught a 34 yard touchdown pass from Leon Prunty. SSU trailed 34-9 at the half and were outscored 21-0 in the second half. Prunty passed for 113 yards and a touchdown for the Tigers but he also threw two interceptions and fumbled once. Saxton ran for 57 yards and Dereon London caught four passes for 40 yards. Mulik Simmons and Leonardo Myers each had eight tackles for the defense while Marcus Lee had two sacks. SSU was penalized 15 times for 142 yards.

SSU Counting On Newcomers

The Savannah

State men’s basketball team added 12 new faces during the offseason in an attempt to get back to their winning ways. The Tigers have had two losing seasons in a row and posted a 9-22 mark last year. SSU lost its top three shooters but return three starters. Head coach Horace Broadnax will be counting on several newcomers to contribute right away. Among those newcomers are graduate students Chris Martin and Lenjo Kilo (6- 8, 240). Both have been named team captains for the upcoming year. Martin’s father (Billy) was a teammate of Broadnax while at Georgetown. Freshmen guards Kamil Williams and Isaiah Felder can expect to see some minutes as are junior college transfers Casey Wells (6-4, 180), Troyce Manassa (6-4, 215) and Teslim Idris (6-6, 200). Key returnees include junior swingman Javaris Jenkins (7 points a game), senior forward Brian Pearson (6.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game) and sophomore guard Khalen Pinkett.

Lady Tigers Set To Defend Title

The Savannah State women’s basketball team lost three starters off of last years team and two of those were their top two scorers. Returning to the starting lineup are juniors Kenayata Hendrix (5-10) and Tiyonda Davis (6-2). Hendrix averaged 9 points a game last year and led the squad with 48 made 3-pointers. Davis averaged 8.5 points a game and led the team in rebounds by averaging 7.6 per game. Davis also shot 54 percent from the field and had 67 blocks. The defending MEAC tournament champs added four junior college transfers in hopes of a even better season. The jewel of the recruiting class may be guard Chelsea Frazier who was a junior college All American at Dakota College Bottineau. The 5-8 Frazier averaged 24.4 points, 8.7 points, 4.2 assists and 2.9 steals per game while shooting 49.9 percent from the floor, 74 percent from the free throw line and 40.6 percent from 3-point land. Head coach Cedric Baker will rely on defense to carry to team until the team can gel offensively.

New Rules For Women’s Basketball This Year

In an attempt to speed up the game, several new rules have been implemented for Division I women’s basketball this season. The biggest change will be the switch from playing 20-minute halves to four 10-minute quarters. Teams will now reach the bonus and shoot two free throws on the fifth team foul in each quarter. In the four-quarter format, team fouls will be reset at the start of each quarter. If a team reaches the bonus in the fourth quarter, it would remain in the bonus during any additional overtime periods. Another change will allow teams to advance the ball to the frontcourt following a timeout immediately after a basket in the last 59.9 seconds of the fourth quarter and any overtime periods. There will be one media timeout for each quarter. Media timeouts will happen at the first dead ball at or beyond the five-minute mark of each quarter. If a team calls a timeout before the five-minute mark, that would be treated as a media timeout. Additionally, the first called team timeout in the second half would be considered as a full media timeout.


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