KINGSPORT, Tenn. – For the first time in the 2024-25 season, the No. 6 Freed-Hardeman University Lions eclipsed the century mark in a 106-68 rout of the Reinhardt (Ga.) University Eagles to close out The Show 2024.

The Lions (11-1) flooded the paint to start the matchup with Jayson Nixon, Makai Vassell, and Geraldo Lane all hitting jumpers to start the game 6-0. In a two-minute span, Peyton Law managed six points of his own to set FHU’s lead at 14-6 with 15:35 remaining in the opening half. Adding even more separation, the Lions went on a nine-point run with Phil Horton’s free throws putting the Lions on top 23-8 with 11:37 before intermission. Late in the half, the Eagles would begin to find their stroke, eventually pulling within two possessions before Ryley McClaran’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer – the only of the half for FHU – giving the Lions a 46-35 halftime lead.

Beginning the second frame the same way the ended the first, the Lions kept momentum going with McClaran scoring five points in the first two minutes. Reinhardt (5-5) strung together a good run by out-scoring Freed-Hardeman 11-2 with a steal and a score at 11:37 making the FHU lead 66-52. Making offensive waves of their own, the Lions would go on three different 7-0 runs down the stretch with Brian Carter’s layup at 1:58 giving the Lions triple digits. Carter knocked down a triple for FHU’s final points in the 106-68 victory.

The Lions dominated nearly every statistical category, shooting 57% to Reinhardt’s 37% while out-rebounding the Eagles 48-25.

Peyton Law continued his white-hot start of the season by dropping 26 points to continue his streak of 20+ point games. Now with four straight 20+ point games, Law has met the mark eight times in 12 games his season.

Joining Law with double-figures were Phil Horton and Makai Vassell – both tallying 15 points. Brian Carter netted 11 points wile Blake Dean and Ryley McClaran each connected for 10. Law had his third double-double of the season with a game-high 11 rebounds while Horton led with four steals.

The Lions now take a well-deserved break before returning to Henderson to face Tougaloo (Miss.) College on December 10 at 6 p.m.

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NEW ORLEANS – Fisk University volleyball player Reagan Jones headlines the All-Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference Teams as the 2024 Player of the Year, as the teams were announced by the conference on Friday. The teams and Player of the Year awards were determined by the conference’s head volleyball coaches. Jones led the HBCUAC with 422 kills and 3.46 per set. She ranks 14th in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in total kills. During the 12-week season, Jones garnered five Attacker of the Week awards. She recorded double-digit kills in 25 matches. Her 488 points leads the conference and is ninth in the nation. Along with earning Player of the Year, Jones was selected as Attacker and Newcomer of the Year.

Also representing Fisk on the first team was Trinity Britt, who led the HBCUAC with 990 assists and 8.25 per set, Nialah Gupton, the conference leader with 515 digs; and Sydney Willis, who leads the conference with 121 total blocks. La’Niyah Lumpkin and Laila Esters earned All-HBCUAC Second Team selections.

The two-time defending conference champion Talladega College also had a strong presence with seven selections, including the Defender of the Year Briyith Echeverri, and the Setter of the Year Giovana Costarelli. Echeverri ranked second in the conference with 447 digs. She was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year and a four-time Defender of the Week. Echeverri also recorded her 1,000th career dig. Costarelli set for the top attacking team in the conference with 11.72 kills per set. Her 5.23 assists per set ranked sixth in the conference. Costarelli surpassed 1,000 career assists and earned two Setter of the Week awards.

Joining Echeverri and Costarelli on the first team were Franchesca Rivas and Re’na Ashley. Kortni Johnson, Marcelly Perez, and Josephine Gates earned All-HBCUAC Second Team.

The runner-up Dillard University earned six selections, with three on the First Team. Cadence Thomas ranked third in the HBCUAC with a .311 hitting percentage. She ranked in the top 10 with 2.18 kills per set, 53 block assists, 61 total blocks, and 0.84 blocks per set. Vanae Sapp placed fourth in the conference with 2.51 kills per set and four points per set. She ranked in the top 10 with 198 kills, 6.96 attacks per set, and 2.90 digs per set. Sara Da Silva ranked eighth in the HBCUAC with a .249 hitting percentage. She ranked in the top 10 with 47 block assists and 0.77 blocks per set. Gabrielle Washington, Nanyelis Moreno, and Tyramae Fautanu earned All-HBCU Second Team.

Philander Smith University had two First Team selections with Zarea Winn and Essence Wren. Southern University at New Orleans earned one selection in Armoni Harris.

Ava Cameron of Stillman College earned Freshman of the Year and All-HBCUAC Second Team. She ranked third in the conference with 22 solo blocks and in the top 20 with 31 block assists, 53 total blocks, and 0.65 blocks per set.

Also earning Second Team selections were Kiah Rucker and Christlove Lauture from Philander Smith, Emily Powell from Stillman, Kaliyah Shavers from Tougaloo College, and Kamaria Murray from Oakwood University.

Oakwood’s Cameryn Bucknor, Wiley University’s Shyla Starks, SUNO’s Alaina Obianoze, and Tougaloo’s Ke’Ira Collier earned Honorable Mentions.

Fisk head coach Jessica Enderle earned HBCUAC Coach of the Year. She led the Lady Bulldogs to 22 wins and a 13-2 record in conference play. After finishing as tournament runner-up last season, Fisk contended for the regular season title until the final week of the regular season.

Talladega College’s Kyle Liechti won HBCUAC Assistant Coach of the Year. He helped head coach LaShaunda Spurgeon guide the Tornadoes to their second straight conference title and an automatic berth to the NAIA Volleyball Championship Opening Round.

The award winners will be honored during the 2024 HBCUAC Volleyball Championship reception on Sunday. Matches get underway on Monday at Bossier Parish Community College’s Billy Montgomery Gymnasium. The championship is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Awards Committee and Small College Basketball are extremely excited to announce the Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List for the 2023-24 season. Once again this year, the Top 100 Watch List consists of some of the top players from NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, USCAA and NCCAA. John McCarthy spoke about this years Top 100 list.

Congratulations to all of the 100 players on the Bevo Francis Award Watch List,” McCarthy said. “This is a very elite list of players, as there are only 100 players listed out of approximately 13,000 – 16,000 players that are playing at the various levels of small college basketball. While the Bevo Francis Award is ultimately an individual award, team success is a big component, so these players have helped their teams to tremendous success thus far this season.”

The Clarence “Bevo” Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character and team achievements. This is an incredibly prestigious award, as this award will only be given to one player within Small College Basketball per season.

2024 marks the eighth year of the Bevo Francis Award. Past winners include Dominez Burnett of Davenport University in 2016, Justin Pitts of Northwest Missouri State University in 2017, Emanuel Terry of Lincoln Memorial University in 2018, Aston Francis of Wheaton College in 2019, Kyle Mangas of Indiana Wesleyan University in 2020 and Trevor Hudgins of Northwest Missouri State University in 2022. In 2023, RJ Sunahara of Nova Southeastern was named the winner of the Bevo Francis Award. The award was not presented during the 2021 season. John McCarthy added this about the Bevo Francis Award:

“The Bevo Francis Award is the most prestigious award that is given to a player that has the finest overall season, based on our criteria, in a single season,” McCarthy said. “Importantly, I am very grateful to our National Awards Committee for their tremendous insight and information.”

On February 15, the list will be reduced to the Top 50 players. One month later on March 15, the Top 25 players will be announced. The finalists and Bevo Francis Award winner announcement release date is TBD. More information will be available in the coming months.

The Bevo Francis Awards Committee consists of the following coaches: Gary Stewart – Stevenson (Md.), Chris Briggs – Georgetown (Ky.), Bill Dreikosen – Rocky Mountain (Mont.), Mark Berokoff – Oklahoma City, Mike Donnelly – Florida Southern, Sam Hargraves – Olivet (Mich.), Richard Westerlund – Great Lakes Christian, Chase Tiechmann – Florida College, Aaron Siebenthall – Ottawa (Kan.), Mark Vanderslice – USC – Aiken, Matt O’Brien – Southwestern (KS), Chris Wright – Langston (OK), Ben Thompson – Emory & Henry, Justin Leslie – Midwestern State, Raul Placeres – Maryville College (TN), Chris Martin – Loras (IA), John Lamanna – Whitman (WA), Brian Miller – MSOE, Justin Downer – Point Loma Nazarene.

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COLUMBUS, Ga. – The Southeastern University Fire have secured a spot as one of only four teams remaining in the NAIA with a come-from-behind 4-2 victory over the No. 6 seeded Indiana Wesleyan in game four of the World Series.

In the bottom of the third, a walk and an error allowed a Wildcat double to bring home the first two runs of the contest.

Three innings later, the Fire’s offensive silence was broken after a single by Jamie Mead and a walk by Haleigh Harrell set up an RBI situation for Erica Stahl. Stahl continued her clutch streak, lining a single into center field and scoring Mead to cut the deficit in half. Ashley Ellison would immediately follow it up with a two-run double into right field, giving her team the 3-2 lead.

“I just wanted to get a good pitch, hit it hard, and score the runs because I knew our pitching staff would be able to hold the lead,” Ellison said

Chapel Cunningham added one more insurance run in the sixth with a single up the middle, concluding the four run inning.

A groundout, popout, and strikeout by Sekinger in the bottom of the seventh secured the Fire victory and a spot in the final four.

Sekinger advanced to 25-6 on the season with a complete game, allowing just five hits and two earned runs and striking out seven Wildcat hitters.

“I felt really strong on the mound, especially with my changeup, and I knew my team had my back the whole time and they pulled through,” Skinner said

The Fire will now play tomorrow at 4 p.m. against the winner of Freed-Hardeman and Science and Arts.

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LEWISTON, Idaho -They had been there before, just not in the World Series.

Southeastern was down six runs after five innings and came back for a 9-7 win over the defending national champions in Georgia Gwinnett in their first game of the 2022 Avista NAIA World Series.

Sam Faith’s two-out, two-run homer to center in the bottom of the ninth sealed the dramatic comeback.

“It doesn’t matter who we are playing, we’re just ecstatic to be out here,” said Faith. “I had a lot of guys picking me up after my second strikeout and that flipped me around because you can’t go far if you don’t have a team that backs you like the guys we do.”

The Grizzlies (46-15) took a 2-0 lead on a pair of two-out solo homers in the first and racked up four more during the fifth on four hits and an error.

Southeastern responded in the bottom of the inning with an RBI double by Thomas Broyles and a sacrifice fly by Brian Fuentes. Gary Lora got the team within a run with a three-run homer to center to complete the five-run inning.

Broyles scored on a throwing error when GGC attempted to turn a double play in the seventh to tie the game and Faith gave the Fire their first lead of the night on an RBI single.

A throwing error in the eighth allowed the Grizzlies to tie the game, but also set the stage for Faith.

Abdel Guadalupe doubled to lead off the inning for his team-best third hit of the game and Faith’s homer gave the Fire their 55^th win in 58 games.

In eight postseason games this season, Faith is hitting .516 with three home runs and 11 RBIs after his 2-for-5 night.

Alex Munroe picked up the win, going an inning and a third scoreless in relief of Robb Adams. Adams tossed 133 pitches over 7.2 innings allowing four earned on seven hits with 10 strikeouts.

Southeastern will now face LSU Shreveport on Monday at 6 p.m. Eastern.

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COLUMBUS, Ga.– With their backs against the wall, the Southeastern University Fire fought to keep their World Series dreams alive as they defeated Oregon Tech tonight by a score of 3-2 to remain one of the six teams still in the National Tournament.

The Fire quickly fell behind the Owls after a single, walk, and wild pitch allowed the first run in the top of the first.

In the bottom of the second, Ashley Ellison doubled into right center and would come around to score off of a Chapel Cunningham single and a throwing error, tying the contest at one.

The must-win contest would remain tied until Erica Stahl once again played hero, driving her sixth long ball of the season over the left field wall for two more Fire runs.

“My approach was just to pick a good pitch, swing at it, and move the runner,” Stahl said.

The Owls would make it a one-run game in the top of the seventh after a double and two singles but a fly out would strand the tying and go-ahead run on base, securing the Fire’s narrow 3-2 victory.

Autumn Hunter went five innings allowing one run on four hits while Claire Sekingerwas granted the win after going two innings, giving up one more run on four more hits and striking out two.

Cunningham ended the contest going 2-3 while Stahl collected the Fire’s two RBI’s.

The Fire will now face off against Indiana Wesleyan on Monday at 1 p.m.

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COLUMBUS, Ga. – Two runs were all that was needed for the second-seeded Oklahoma City to send Southeastern University to the losers bracket as they took the Fire’s second World Series contest by a score of 2-0.
 
The Stars claimed their first run in the bottom of the second after back-to-back hits and a sacrifice fly into center field.
 
One inning later, OCU again led off the inning with back-to-back hits and grabbed their second run off of a throwing error.
 
Shelbey Cornelson would go on to concede just two hits to the Fire to close the 2-0 victory and advance her team to 51-6 on the season.
 
Claire Sekinger fell to 23-6 on the season after giving up one earned run on five hits and striking out four.
 
The Fire will now await the winner of Tennessee Wesleyan and Oregon Tech for their 6 p.m. losers bracket contest tomorrow.

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COLUMBUS, Ga.– The Southeastern University softball team kicked off the NAIA World Series in dramatic fashion today after taking a 5-4 victory over Webber International thanks to a one-out, game-ending home run by Haleigh Harrell in the bottom of the seventh.

The 10^th seeded Warriors got on the board first in the top of the third after two walks and a wild pitch allowed the first run of the World Series to cross.

For the second and third time in just over a week, Erica Stahl stepped up in two different big-time moments for her team. In the fourth, back-to-back singles by Jamie Mead and Katie Atkins set up a sacrifice fly scenario for Stahl. The Plant City native would then go on to give her team the lead two innings later with an RBI single up the middle that scored Chapel Cunningham. The Fire would go on to score three runs, all with two outs, in the sixth after Ashley Ellison doubled home a run and Madison Williams followed with an RBI single.

The Fire would need just one out to claim the 4-1 victory but the Warriors would manage to bring three across behind two hits, three walks, and two hit-by-pitches.

With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Harrell took the second pitch she saw and sent it over the left field fence, concluding the Fire’s 5-4 victory and 50^th win of the season (50-11).

Autumn Hunter threw four complete innings with just one run allowed on three hits and three walks while Claire Sekinger (23-5) was granted the win after going three innings and allowing three earned runs.

Williams ended the day as the lone Fire hitter with multiple hits with Stahl collecting two RBI’s.

The Fire will next face off against the second-seeded team in the tournament and the program with the most World Series Championships in the NAIA, Oklahoma City, tomorrow at a time to be announced.

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KANSAS CITY – The NAIA this week named a pair of graduate students in St. Mary’s Luke Skinner and Southeastern’s Zach Nichols as its National Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week.

Skinner’s 1000m time is the No. 1 NAIA mark this year as well as a school record. His 800m time is the No. 3 NAIA mark this year as well as a school record. He won both events.

Nichols posted a career-best in the Weight Throw and the No. 3 mark nationally this season with a 19.93 to win The Sun Conference title. He also hit the B qualifying standard in the Shot Put to win the event and post a 20-point day and help the Fire win their second consecutive Sun Conference Indoor championship.

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KANSAS CITY — The Southeastern University women’s basketball team moved up one spot in today’s edition of the NAIA Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.
 
That’s all it was able to move up because the Fire were ranked second in the previous poll.
 
Southeastern is ranked at the top of the poll for the third time in the last five seasons, checking in with an overall record of 24-1 and have been victorious in their last 20 games.
 
Offensively, SEU averages 84.9 points per game which is fourth nationally, and is second nationally in field goal percentage at 48.5%. On defense, Southeastern is sixth nationally in steals per game at 14.4.
 
Grad transfer Angela Perry is averaging just shy of 20 points per game. Leilah Vigil has added 13 points per game and Marta Aranda another 10.7.
 
The Fire return to the floor on Thursday at St. Thomas.

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