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MEAC Tournament Recap
Hampton men, Norfolk
State women take titles
March 11, 2002
By Larry Barber
Onnidan Online Contributing Writer
GREENSBORO, NC -- The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) brought
a close to its annual gem March 9 in Richmond, Virginia with the Hampton
University men and Norfolk State women winning the 2002 basketball tournament
titles and taking home the gold.
Hampton, defending its MEAC tourney crown, backed it by dismantling Howard
80-62 in the championship game. The Pirates, who also won the regular
season title to earn the number one seed, was led by Most Valuable Player
Tommy Adams' 19 points. Teammate Mackel Purvis, named to the All-Tournament
Team along with Adams, put in a strong performance with 15 points and
ten rebounds. Duane McNeal and Barry Hairston added 13 and 12 points
respectively. Howard was led by Ron Williamson's 14 points and Kyle Williams'
12. Aki Thomas had a game-high 13 rebounds and eight points. Bison starter
Gil Goodrich rounded out double-figure scoring with 11, all in the second
half. To reach the finals, Hampton shook off South Carolina State 80-70,
energized by Adams' monster game. He had 33 points, six rebounds, five
assists and two steals. Purvis added 20 points and David Johnson had
12. Greg Gray's 18 points and nine rebounds and Dexter Hall's 11-point,
12-rebound effort led SC State. In the quarterfinals, Hampton got 21
points from Adams and 16 from Purvis to whip Morgan 93-70. Howard was
seeded number three, but knocked off second seeded Delaware State 65-56
in a semifinal war.
Norfolk State's ladies came back from a 28-23 halftime deficit to win
its first MEAC basketball title 61-52 over scrappy Hampton. Suawana Taylor,
who was named tournament MVP, scored 12 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and
dished out five assists to propel the Spartans to victory. She got help
from Lawanda Newman (game-high 14 points) and All-Tournament pick Shavonne
Burke (11 points). NSU's key was controlling Hampton guard LaShondra
Dixon and yielding just nine points to her. Dixon, an All-MEAC and All-Tournament
performer, averaged 17 on the season. The Lady Pirates were led by Lineri
Noa's 13 points and Halisi Johnson's 12 points and nine rebounds. In
the women's Friday night semifinals, Norfolk State, coming out of the
third seed slot, whacked second-seeded SC State 69-56 on the strenghth
of Taylor's 20 points and eight rebounds. Taylor also had a game-high
20 points in the 66-51, quarterfinal win over Maryland Eastern Shore.
Number four Hampton reached the championship round by dethroning number
one seed and defending champion Howard 66-60 in the semifinals.
MEAC WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT
SCORES - March 4 Play-ins: NCA&T 57, Bethune-Cookman
53; UMES 63, Morgan State 44; March 5 Play-in: FAMU 67, Delaware
State 64; March 6 Quarterfinals: Howard 83, NCA&T 53; SC
State 85, FAMU 79 (OT); March 7 Quarterfinals: Norfolk 66, UMES
51; Hampton 60, Coppin State 52; March 8 Semifinals: Hampton
66, Howard 60; Norfolk 69, SC State 56; March 9 Championship:
Norfolk State 61, Hampton 52.
MEAC WOMEN'S ALL-TOURNAMENT
TEAM - (MVP) Suawana Taylor, Norfolk State; Shavonne Burke,
Norfolk State; LaShondra Dixon, Hampton; Halisi Johnson, Hampton; Asia
Petty, Howard.
MEAC WOMEN'S OUTSTANDING
TOURNAMENT COACH - James Sweat, Norfolk State.
MEN'S MEAC TOURNAMENT
SCORES - March 4 Play-ins: Morgan State 94, FAMU 91
(2 ots); Coppin State 61, Norfolk State 46; March 5 Play-in:
B-Cookman 82, UMES 70; March 6 Quarterfinals: Hampton 90, Morgan
State 70; Delaware State 54, Coppin State 45; March 7 Quarterfinals:
Howard 71, B-Cookman 52; SC State 63, NCA&T 61; March 8 Semifinals:
Hampton 80, SC State 70; Howard 65, Delaware State 56; March 9 Championship:
Hampton 80, Howard 62.
MEN'S MEAC ALL-TOURNAMENT
TEAM - (MVP) Tommy Adams, Hampton; Mackel Purvis, Hampton;
Kyle Williams, Howard; Andre Matthews, Delaware State; Greg Gray, SC
State.
MEN'S MEAC OUTSTANDING
TOURNAMENT COACH - Steve Merfeld, Hampton.
MEAC TOURNAMENT NOTES:
Pro Scout Spotted- Wali Jones, Miami Heat talent searcher and
former NBA star, was spotted taking good looks at Bruce Jenkins of NCA&T,
Tommy Adams of Hampton, Andre Matthews of Delaware State and Greg Gray
of SC State. He said the MEAC younger talent had some future promise
as well. Jones stated that he saw some female players that he would pass
on to his NBA sisters (Miami Sol).
Celebrity Watch- Former All-NBA star Moses Malone was in the
tournament house watching the action and especially his son, Moses Malone,
Jr., who plays for SC State.
Live Television- Major Broadcasting Cable Network (MBC) televised
the women's and men's semifinal games and the women's championship. ESPN
had the broadcast rights to the men's championship.
Caught On Camera- Two incidents during the tournament were caught
on camera and prominently shown over national TV, especially the ESPN
highlights Saturday morning. Prior to the Howard-Delaware State men's
game Friday night, the start was delayed 20 minutes because of a horn
malfunction, prompting the huge scoreboard assembly to be lowered to the
floor for repair. Also in the first half of that match, a Delaware State
player went down to an injury that the MEAC Basketball Tournament Games
Committee stated was because of a punch to the groin by a Howard player.
Following the contest and after viewing the film, the committee took action
by suspending the Howard player for the first half of Saturday's championship
game against eventual winner Hampton. According to an official MEAC press
release, the suspension was a result of a violation of the MEAC Sportsmanship
Policy.
Coaching Changes- Norfolk State men's head coach Wil Jones was
relieved of his duties following his team's loss to Coppin State in Monday's
play-in game. Jones, who won the 1982 NCAA Division II National Championship
while at the University of District of Columbia, had coached the Spartans
since the 1999 season. NCA&T head women's coach Alfonso Scandrett
will sack himself after taking over the program in mid-January. Scandrett,
who also is the Athletics Director, is expected to hire a coach soon.
Attendance Looking Up- The MEAC announced a Friday night attendance
of more than 9,500 and a Saturday mark of some 9,700. Those numbers are
encouraging and will certainly prompt the city of Richmond to bid passionately
to keep the MEAC during
Contract Negotiations. The last MEAC extension release stated
the contract runs out after 2003. NCAA - Both men's and women's
champions earn automatic berths into the NCAA Division I Basketball Championships.
The Hampton men (seeded 15th in the East Regional) have a date
with second seeded Connecticut at the MCI Center in Washington, DC Friday,
March 15. Hampton shocked the college basketball world last year by whipping
highly touted Iowa State 58-57 in the opening round. The Pirates then
lost to Georgetown 76-57 in the second round. Hampton will haul a glittering
26-6 record into the fray. UConn is 24-6. The Norfolk State women,
now 22-8 overall and participating in their first Division I national
tournament, drew a 16th seeded slot and will face the East
Region's top seed and first round host, Duke University, Friday at 8:30pm
in Durham. Duke (24-3) won the ACC championship. Norfolk State coach
James Sweat, while at Hampton, led his team to the NCAA Division II title
in 1988.
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