The second time around
The second round of MEAC women’s and men’s basketball begins this week.
Positioning is so important at this time of year as each team work to put themselves in ideal position when the post-season tournament comes around in mid-March.
“(The) only thing that matters to me (is) what we do in conference … to be in the best seed possible,” noted Coppin State WBB Coach Jermaine Woods to reporters, including the MSR during the Feb. 5 coaches conference call.
Howard Men’s Coach Kevin Blakeney added that his Bison must approach the remaining MEAC regular season contests simply as “one-game segments.”
All the coaches agreed that regardless of win-loss records, each league team will be tough to beat the second time around, reaffirmed Ed Davis, Jr., the Morgan State women’s coach.
“We’re still in the mix,” he pointed out. “We have to find ways to win.”
Though it appears that both Norfolk State teams, with only one loss between them would be the teams to beat down the stretch, WBB Coach Larry Vickers warns as he apologized for using a well-worn sports cliché: “We are just focusing on one game at a time. We are trying to focus on our mini goals.”
“Whatever you do in the first half, can you do it again,” surmised MBB Coach Robert Jones. “You have to be that much better.”
WBB standings (as of Feb. 5) – Norfolk State 7-0; Howard 4-1; Coppin State 5-2; UMES and North Carolina Central, 3-3; Morgan State 3-4; South Carolina State 1-6; Delaware State 0-7
MBB standings (as of Feb. 5) – Norfolk State 6-1; Howard 3-2; Delaware State, South Carolina State, and Morgan State 4-3; North Carolina Central 3-3; Coppin State 2-5; UMES 0-6
MEAC weekly honors
Women – Coppin State’s Laila Lawrence, Player of the Week; Mickelle Lowry (Coppin State), Rookie of the Week; Norfolk State’s Kierra Wheeler, Defensive Player of the Week
Men – Howard’s Blake Harper, Player and Rookie of the Week; Norfolk State’s Kuluel Mading, Defensive Player of the Week
HBCU Athletic Conference weekly honors
Women — Jaida Minter of Stillman College, Offensive Player and Newcomer of the Week; Cassidy Lowe (Dillard University), Defensive Player of the Week; Oakwood University’s Saniya Keys, Freshman of the Week
Men – University of the Virgin Islands’ Amayoa’ah Phillips, Offensive Player and Newcomer of the Week; Jamal Gibson (Southern University at New Orleans), Defensive Player of the Week; Donte Briggs, Southern University at New Orleans, Freshman of the Week