The hilltop at 5th and

Area teams make early exits in CIAA Tournament Glory, dreams and nightmares

Left, Winston-Salem State University’s defense leaps into action to block Fayetteville State University’s attempt to score during the CIAA championship game last Saturday in Charlotte, N.C. Right, Katisha Hyman of the Fayetteville State Broncos goes up for a basket during the CIAA women’s final against the Bowie State Bulldogs. The Broncos won the title 61-53.

Photos by Randy Singleton/Richmond Free Press

Winston-Salem State wins CIAA crown in final 4 minutes

Winston-Salem State University will forever cherish memories of the final CIAA Tournament in Charlotte, N.C., before the event moves in 2021 to Baltimore.

Meanwhile, Virginia Union and Virginia State universities may be inclined to burn their 2020 scrapbooks.

First, about the champions: Winston-Salem State Coach Cleo Hill Jr.’s Rams defeated Fayetteville State University 63-62, in the final last Saturday before about 8,000 fans at the Spectrum Center and a national TV audience.

Tournament MVP Robert Colon hit three free throws with 4.6 seconds left, sending the Rams’ “Red Sea” cheering section into a frenzy.

The team received pregame inspiration from iconic superstar Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, who led the Rams to 1966 CIAA and NCAA championships.

Monroe, now 75, called the locker room from a hospital

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in New York City where he is being treated. He had planned to be in Charlotte, but was unable to attend because of health issues.

Coming from 11-points behind in the final 4:16, the Rams claimed their 12th CIAA title and first since 2012. Coach Hill also won a CIAA crown in 2011 while at Shaw University.

The name “Hill” is synonymous with Rams greatness. Cleo Hill Sr. helped Winston-Salem to titles in 1960 and 1961 and became the first HBCU athlete selected in round one of the NBA draft by the St. Louis Hawks. This year was the 75th anniversary of the CIAA Tournament. The event was born in 1946 at Turner’s Arena in Washington, D.C.

While the Rams celebrated, VUU and VSU had to ponder what went wrong.

The Panthers, seeded No. 2 in the Northern Division, lost 72-67 in last Thursday’s quarterfinals to Fayetteville State University.

It was a case of too much Will Brown for the Broncos

Lady Panthers awaiting invitation to NCAA regionals

The Virginia Union University Lady Panthers basketball season has been placed on hold.

Having failed to win the CIAA crown and the automatic postseason NCAA Division II playoff bid that comes with it, Coach AnnMarie Gilbert’s squad won’t know until the Sunday, March 8, NCAA Selection Show whether it will be going to the big game.

With a stellar 23-4 record, the Lady Panthers likely will be assigned to the Atlantic Region as an at-large entry, with games March 13, 14 and 16.

VUU has hosted the NCAA Atlantic Region competition in the past but is unlikely to have the home court advantage this go-round.

The Atlantic Region awards automatic bids to champions of the CIAA, Mountain East and Pennsylvania Athletic conferences.

VUU has gone to NCAAs in each of Coach Gilbert’s four previous seasons. It’s very possible Virginia Union, Bowie State and Fayetteville State universities could be in same eight-team region, making for something of CIAA2.

VUU came up short in the CIAA semifinals in Charlotte, N.C., falling last Friday to Bowie State 53-41. Seeded No. 1 in the CIAA Northern Division, the Lady Panthers routed Virginia State University 83-43 in the quarterfinals on Feb. 26.

In defeat, the Lady Panthers shot just 28 percent from the floor and had 17 turnovers. Dy’Manee Royal led VUU with 12 points and Jasmine Carter added nine points and nine rebounds.

Fayetteville State won the automatic NCAA bid by defeating Bowie State 61-53 in the championship game on Saturday. Katisha Hyman had 20 points and five steals for the Broncos and was named MVP. and, unfortunately, not enough of Terrell Leach for the VUU Panthers, who finish 18-11.

Brown, a 7-foot senior, played the game of his life, scoring 22 points, grabbing 17 rebounds, blocking three shots and hitting 12 of 14 free throws.

“Brown played like a pro,” said VUU Coach Jay Butler in a postgame news conference.

The Panthers likely never saw it coming. In a 61-58 VUU win over Fayetteville State on Dec. 21, the same Will Brown had two points and four rebounds.

Meanwhile, the normally brilliant Terrell Leach couldn’t find the range in his college swan song.

The All-CIAA senior was 5-for-22 from the floor, including 0-for-7 behind the arc. His 14 points were 10 below his average.

Still, Leach finished with 1,052 career points for VUU in just 47 games after transferring from Winston-Salem State.

With high hopes, VUU had won seven straight games heading to Charlotte. Raemaad Wright had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Panthers’ season closed.

Virginia State’s final trip to the Queen City was just as short. Seeded No. 1 in the Northern Division, Coach Lonnie Blow’s defending champion Trojans were surprise 63-58 quarterfinal losers to Claflin University on Feb. 26.

There was a bright spot in the clouds, however. In defeat, VSU’s Walter Williams, a senior from Henrico High School, netted his 1,000th career point. All-CIAA pick Andrew Corum led the Trojans with 19

points against Claflin.

Winston-Salem State will now advance to the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional as the CIAA’s automatic qualifier.

There are no assurances any other CIAA teams will be selected for the NCAAs. VSU was on the bubble for a bid prior to Charlotte, but now that bubble may have burst.

Following a 15-year run in Charlotte, the tournament moves next year to Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, a short stroll from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

The CIAA has signed a three-year contract with Baltimore. Bowie State University of Maryland will serve as host school.

There has been no CIAA member school in Baltimore since Morgan State University left the conference in 1970.

4 VUU athletes named to All-CIAA teams

Terrell Leach

Jordan Peebles Four Virginia Union University athletes have been selected to the All-CIAA basketball teams. Chosen in a vote of coaches and sports information directors were senior guard Terrell Leach and junior forward Jordan Peebles.

On the women’s team, Lady Panthers Shameka McNeill, a junior from Charlotte, N.C., and Jasmine Carter, a senior out of Richmond’s John Marshall High School, were named to the 10-person AllCIAA squad.

Virginia State University center Andrew Corum also made the 10-man squad.

Livingstone College’s Roger Ray won Player of the Year honors in a close vote over Leach.

Also, VUU’s Charles Tart was named to the All-Rookie team.

Winston-Salem State University’s Cleo Hill Jr. was named CIAA Coach of the Year. Shameka McNeill

Jasmine Carter

Becton turns on the speed at the NFL Scouting Combine

Mekhi Becton has long attracted attention with his mountain of a frame.

Now he’s drawing raves for his speed, too. The former Highland Springs High School and University of Louisville offensive lineman turned heads at the NFL Scouting Combine last week in Indianapolis.

Measured at the Combine at 6-foot-7 and 364 pounds, Becton covered the electronically timed 40-yard dash in a take-notice 5.1 seconds.

That’s the fastest clocking in the 40-yard dash in Combine history for a man weighing 350-plus. Becton’s 5.1 was the fifth fastest time overall among this year’s offensive lineman prospects, many being 50 to 75 pounds lighter than the former Springer.

After passing up his senior year at Louisville to enter the NFL draft, Becton also impressed with a surprisingly low 17 percent body fat and 36-inch arms.

Known as the “Big Ticket,” Becton won the ACC’s Jacobs Blocking Trophy last fall and was a first-team, All-ACC pick for the Cardinals. Becton’s NFL stock is rising. According to the NFL.com mock draft, he may be the fourth overall pick after Louisiana State University quarterback Joe Burrow, Ohio State University defensive lineman Chase Young and Ohio State defensive back Jeff Okudah. The New York Giants have the fourth pick.

Highland Springs High has a storied history of its former athletes reaching the NFL.

Among those preceding Becton are Waddey Harvey (1969-70), Greg Taylor (1982), Ron Burton (1987-90), Brian Washington (1988- 1996), Jim Davis (2005-07), Victor “Macho” Harris (2009-11) and Marcus Burley (2013-17).  Another athlete stirring up a breeze in Indianapolis was former University of Alabama receiver Henry Ruggs III, who ran the fifth fastest 40 yards — 4.27 seconds — in Combine annals. The 5-foot-11, 188-pound Ruggs passed on his senior season in Tuscaloosa to enter the NFL draft.

The only faster Combine times than Ruggs’ have been John Ross (a record 4.22 seconds in 2018), Chris Johnson, Dri Archer and Marquise Goodwin.

The NFL has used electronic timing since 1999. Prior to that, Auburn University’s Bo Jackson ran the fastest hand-time 40 yards in a stunning 4.12.

 Mekhi Becton

Of the approximate 330 players invited to the workouts at Lucas Oil Stadium, only one, Alex Taylor, hails from an HBCU.

Taylor is a 6-foot-8, 308-pound offensive lineman from South Carolina State University.

The 2020 NFL Draft will be April 23 through 25 in Las Vegas.

Richmond’s Maliek White gives big boost to Providence College

Providence College is among the hottest teams in NCAA basketball, and Richmonder Maliek White is a key reason why.

White, a senior guard from Richmond’s George Wythe High School, has been a catalyst for the Friars in a remarkable month of upsets.

Since Feb. 1, the Big East Conference school has felled five Associated Press Top 25 teams.

In Providence’s nationally televised 58-54 victory last Saturday at No. 12 Villanova, White had 15 points in 29 minutes coming off the bench for Coach Ed Cooley.

The win improved Providence College’s record to 17-12, while providing a huge boost to the Friars’ NCAA at-large chances. Earlier last month, the Friars upset No. 16 Butler University, No. 21 Creighton University, No. 10 Seton Hall University and No. 19 Marquette University.

For the season, the 6-foot-3 White averages eight points and two rebounds. He has 75 assists and 30 steals.

Career-wise, White has 654 points, 181 rebounds and 102 steals through games of last Saturday.

White was the State 3A Player of the Year in 2015, leading George Wythe Coach Willard Coker’s Bulldogs to the state title at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Siegel Center.

The Big East Tournament will be March 11 through 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Maliek White