SPORTS WITH WALTER MOORE


Walter Moore
Walter Moore

Alabama State Rallies Past SSU Women

Alabama State overcame a 11-point deficit in the first half and rallied to defeat Savannah State 57-52 on December 22 in a game played at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome. A trio of free throws by Ezinne Kalu gave SSU a 24-13 lead with 5:37 left in the first half but the Hornets closed the period with a 10-2 run to cut SSU’s halftime lead to 26-23. In the second half, SSU led by four with just under six minutes left but a 11-4 spurt by the Hornets put ASU ahead 50-47 with just over two minutes remaining. A 3-pointer by Kalu tied the game at 52 with 37 seconds left but Alabama State scored the final five points of the contest. Kalu had 12 points and 7 rebounds for SSU (5- 6) while Tiyonda Davis had 10 points and 8 rebounds and Kenyata Hendrix contributed 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

Hampton Hires New Football Coach

Hampton has hired Connell Maynor as the Pirates new football coach. Maynor has served the past four seasons as head coach at Division II Winston-Salem State; prior to that, he served as offensive coordinator at Fayetteville State. In his four seasons at Winston-Salem State, Maynor led the Rams to a 45-6 overall record and a 29-2 mark in the CIAA. He led the Rams to three straight CIAA championships; three straight appearances in the NCAA Div. II playoffs; two Super Region One titles; an NCAA Semifinal appearance in 2011; and an NCAA Div. II National Championship appearance and runner-up title. Maynor played at WSSU and North Carolina A&T; he led the Aggies to the 1991 MEAC title and was named the MEAC Offensive Player of the Year.

Jackson State Fires Football Coach

Jackson State fired football coach Rick Comegy on December 18 after eight seasons. Comegy had a 55-35 record during his tenure and he led the Tigers to the 2007 Southwestern Athletic Conference championship.

Jackson State had an 8-4 record this season, including an 8-1 mark in the SWAC. The Tigers lost to Southern in the SWAC championship game 34-27 in double overtime. Comegy, who made $200,000 this season, will be paid a $50,000 buyout. Comegy’s current deal with JSU was to end at the end of 2014. Assistant coach Antonio Knight, who is also the recruiting coordinator, will lead the program while JSU looks for a new coach. The rest of Comegy’s staff will be released after their contracts expire on Dec. 31, but could be re-hired by the new coach.

Jerry Mack Named Head Football Coach At NCCU

Jerry Mack was announced as North Carolina Central’s 22nd head football coach on December 19 during a press conference in the Alfonso Elder Student Union on the campus of NCCU. Mack comes to NCCU after spending the past two seasons with the University of South Alabama as wide receivers coach. A native of Memphis, Tenn., Mack, 33, becomes the third-youngest active Division I head football coach. Mack started his coaching career as an offensive graduate assistant at Delta State in 2004-05.

He has also coached at Jackson State (2006-07), Central Arkansas (2008-09), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2010) and Memphis (2011). Mack began his collegiate playing career at Jackson State before transferring after one season (1999) to Arkansas State. He lettered three years at Arkansas State (2001-03) before earning his bachelor’s degree in management information systems in 2003. He completed his master’s degree in physical education from Delta State in 2006 after serving on the Statesmen coaching staff as a graduate assistant.


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