LSC Roundup 12-22

Pierce Holt speaks with KSAN 12-21-10 - KSAN video
Todd Whitten speaks with KSAN 12-21-10 - KSAN video

Home where Holt's heart is - Nathan Wright, San Angelo Standard Times
Pierce Holt may very well bleed blue and gold.

The former Angelo State University All-American and NFL All-Pro with the San Francisco 49ers would like nothing more than to return to his alma mater as its next head football coach.

He believes he has the qualifications to do just that.

Holt was the third of four finalists to interview for the vacant ASU head coaching job on Tuesday, following Abilene High head coach Steve Warren and Northwest Missouri State associate head coach Will Wagner.

“Regardless of what happens in this process and how it ends up, I will never stop supporting this university,” Holt said. “It is basically what I am, who I am and probably what I have financially. This university means everything to me and it means a lot to a lot of people in this community.”

Been there, won in that - Nathan Wright, San Angelo Standard Times
Todd Whitten knows, and has been successful in, the Lone Star Conference. That is one attribute that separates him from the other coaches seeking the vacant Angelo State University head coach position.

Whitten was in town on Tuesday as the last of the four finalists to be interviewed for the job. The former Tarleton State and Sam Houston State head coach and current Lamar University offensive coordinator also spoke with the media.

Whitten spent six seasons at Tarleton State, where he led the Texans to a 45-23 record from 1996 to 2003. He was named LSC Coach of the Year four times and led TSU to the playoffs in 2001 and 2003. Whitten then spent five seasons at Sam Houston State, where he led the Bearcats to conference runner-up finishes and winning records in 2006 and 2007. He spent the last season as the offensive coordinator at Lamar University.

“We had a really good run at Tarleton,” Whitten said. “I love the league and we had a lot of good kids. I got to Sam Houston and was disappointed that I didn’t do a better job. That was 11 years of being a head coach and I enjoyed every day of it.”


JUCO signing day brings commitments from Navarro Bulldogs - Corsicana Daily Sun
Signing day was a hub of activity for Navarro players Monday as 18 players will move on to four-year colleges. Several more are considering offers or waiting for grade reports, which were finalized Tuesday.

Coach Nick Bobeck said he would have liked to see some of his players get more attention but thought they made good decisions.

"I was actually disappointed with the recruitment of some of these kids," he said. "It's hard to stand out at Navarro. If a guy doesn't do a great job of evaluation, they're missing out on kids."

...Other Bulldogs headed to Texas schools include wide receivers Joe Jones and Brad Croak, who along with lineman Andre Jones will attend Tarleton State.

(Jones played for the Texans in 2009, collecting 29 tackles, 5 for losses in 11 games)

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UCO basketball drops to 22nd in poll - UCO Sports Information

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Dec. 21) – A split of its last two games dropped Central Oklahoma nine spots to No. 22 in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)/Division II Coaches’ Poll that was released Wednesday.

The Bronchos, 11-2 on the season, fell to West Texas A&M 67-60 on the road last Saturday before bouncing back to rout Eastern New Mexico 103-85 last night. UCO is off until hosting Arkansas-Fort Smith on Dec. 30.

Bellarmine (Ky.) topped the rankings, followed by Findlay (Ohio), West Liberty (W.Va.), Alabama-Huntsville and Augusta State (Ga.).

The Bronchos are one of three Lone Star Conference teams in the poll. Incarnate Word, which handed UCO its only other loss this season, is 14th while two-time defending league champion Midwestern State is No. 21.

NABC/Division II Coaches Poll
1. Bellarmine (Ky.)
2. Findlay (Ohio)
3. West Liberty (W.Va.)
4. Alabama-Huntsville
5. Augusta State (Ga.)
6. Fort Hays State (Kan.)
7. Hillsdale (Mich.)
8. Grand Valley State (Mich.)
9. Montevallo (Ala.)
10. Kentucky Wesleyan
11. Central Washington
12. Southern Indiana
13. South Carolina-Aiken
14. Incarnate Word (Texas)
15. Cal State-Dominguez Hills
16. Minnesota State
17. Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.)
18. Indiana (Pa.)
19. Missouri Southern
20. Winona State (Minn.)
21. Midwestern State (Texas)
22. Central Oklahoma
23. Christian Brothers (Tenn.)
24. (tie) Bentley (Mass.)
24. (tie) Eckerd (Fla.)

Others Receving Votes: Merrimack (Mass.) 12; Saint Anselm (N.H.) 10; Clarion (Pa.) 8; Shaw (N.C.) 6; Tampa (Fla.) 6; West Texas A&M 5; Colorado Mines 4; Drury (Mo.) 4; Rollins (Fla.) 3; Valdosta State (Ga.) 3; Cal Poly Pomona 2; Harding (Ark.) 2; Northern Kentucky 2; American International (Mass.) 1.


LSC Basketball Weekly Release: Three teams remain unbeaten
Lone Star Conference basketball teams will take a break for the holidays before resuming non-conference and crossover games next week. Three LSC teams will take a perfect record into 2011 - Incarnate Word and West Texas A&M on the men’s side and Northeastern State on the women’s.

The LSC men have a 99-63 overall record so far this season, including a 53-25 mark in the South Division and 46-38 in the North. In league crossover action, the South Division holds a 27-14 record over its North opponents. In the NCAA South Central Region, the men’s teams are currently 19-11 combined versus Heartland Conference teams and 6-2 against the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA).

The LSC women are 64-60 overall, with a 30-43 mark in the South and 49-32 in the North this season. In league crossover play the North has the advantage, 27-20. The women’s teams are currently 15-18 combined versus Heartland Conference squads and 4-2 against the MIAA in the NCAA South Central Region.

Click here for the complete release

STAT LEADERS
In men’s games played last week, the LSC had two score more than 30 points, 14 over the 20-point mark and 10 double-digit rebounders, while six recorded a double-double. Top performances included:
Points, Men: 33, Dauntae Williams, UCO vs. ENMU
Rebounds, Men: 14, Ridge McKeither, ASU vs. ECU
Assists, Men: 12, Jamal Edwards, ECU vs. ASU Steals, Men: 7, Desmond Woodberry, ACU vs SE

On the women’s side, the league had one player over the 30-point mark, 11 with more than 20 points and 14 double-digit rebounders, while 12 posted double-doubles in action last week. Top performances included:
Points, Women: 35, Mack Lankford, ACU vs SE
Rebounds, Women: 16, Sumiya Darden, SWOSU at UIW
Assists, Women: 9, Casi Rawls, ECU at ASU
Steals, Women: 5, Two players

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
NORTH MEN’S OFFENSIVE
Dauntae Williams, University of Central Oklahoma, SR, Guard, Missouri City, Texas, Missouri City HS
Williams led UCO to a split of two road LSC crossover games, averaging 28.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals a contest while shooting 57.1 percent from the field. The senior guard scored a game-high 23 points with five rebounds and three steals in a 67-60 loss to unbeaten West Texas A&M and came back two days later to score 33 points on 14-of-19 shooting while adding eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals in a 103-85 rout of Eastern New Mexico.

NORTH MEN’S DEFENSIVE
Vinicius Telo, Cameron University, SO, Forward, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Marianapolis Prep HS
Telo was Head Coach Wade Alexander’s go-to defender this week as he was utilized to play the perimeter to stop the opposing team’s best three-point shooter. In Monday’s opponent, that was Mark Stevenson of Texas A&M-Kingsville, who was just 1-of-7 from behind the arc and finished the night with just three points. Telo’s efforts helped hold CU opponents to 63.33 points and a .387 field goal percentage last week.

SOUTH MEN’S OFFENSIVE
Tracy Robinson, University of the Incarnate Word, SR, Forward, San Antonio, Texas, Sam Houston
UIW kept its season-opening string perfect (11-0) with a pair of wins during the week. Robinson was the team leader by scoring double points in both games and recording his fourth double-double (31 points, 11 rebounds) against Southwestern Oklahoma. Those 31 points were the second time this year he has topped 30. In the two victories he shot .640 from the field and .800 at the line.

SOUTH MEN’S DEFENSIVE
Kelcey Solomon, University of the Incarnate Word, SO, Guard, Houston, Texas, Worthing HS
In winning two games in the week and running its perfect mark to 11-0, UIW limited the two opponents to 34 percent shooting from the floor. Solomon paced the team with five steals as the Cardinals forced an average of 20.5 turnovers a game. The opponent’s starting guards shot but 24 percent from the field. Also, Solomon scored a game-high 21 points against Cameron to go with 8 rebounds.

NORTH WOMEN’S OFFENSIVE
Taylor Lewis, Northeastern State University, SO, Guard, Broken Arrow, Okla., Broken Arrow HS
Lewis paced Northeastern State to a pair of LSC crossover road wins by scoring a total of 37 points in the two outings. The sophomore guard from Broken Arrow had a career-high 22 points in a 65-62 win at West Texas A&M on Monday, Dec. 20. She was 8-of-17 from the floor, 3-of-6 from behind the arc and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. She also had 15 points in NSU’s 55-45 win at Eastern New Mexico. For the week, Lewis was 13-of-27 (.481) from the field, 6-of-13 from the arc and perfect on five tries from the charity stripe as Northeastern State (9-0) closed out the first semester as the LSC’s only unbeaten women’s team.

NORTH WOMEN’S DEFENSIVE
Ali Brown, Cameron University, FR, Guard, Chattanooga, Okla., Chattanooga HS
Brown was a defensive wall for Aggies Head Coach Tom Webb during a two-game road trip to LSC crossover opponents. Webb brought in Brown to strategically shut down the opponent’s hottest shooter and the young guard did not let him down. Against Incarnate Word, hot shooting Katy Cooke was 4-of-5 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from behind the arc for 12 points. Brown was assigned to Cooke after halftime and kept Cooke to just 5 points in the second half which all came from the foul line. In Kingsville, facing the Javelinas, Brown was assigned to leading scorers Kelly Bastow and Brenna Gonzalez after the break. In the first, Bastow scored 12 points but finished with only 15 after having to face Brown one-on-one. Gonzalez had a similar story, posting eight in the first and finishing with just 13 for the game. The pair combined to shoot 7-for-15 (47-percent) in the first but just 3-for-15 (20-percent) in the second.

SOUTH WOMEN’S OFFENSIVE
Katy Cooke, University of the Incarnate Word, SO, Marble Falls, Texas, Marble Falls HS,
Cooke led Incarnate Word to a split in two crossover games last week with a team-high 18.5 points per game. She scored 20 points with six rebounds, six assists and five steals in the Cardinals first win of the season over Southwestern Oklahoma, 71-64. Cooke’s performance (17 point and six assists) against Cameron paced UIW in the defeat.

SOUTH WOMEN’S DEFENSIVE
Katiya Jackson, Midwestern State University, SR, Guard, Wichita Falls, Texas, Burkburnett HS
Jackson delivered her first collegiate double-double while helping the Mustangs limit the opposition to 37 percent from the floor in wins over Texas Woman’s and Texas A&M-Commerce last week. The senior from Wichita Falls poured in a team-high 16 points and pulled in a career-best 12 rebounds while adding a blocked shot and two steals in 26 minutes Monday night against A&M-C after going for eight points and four rebounds in 23 minutes Saturday versus TWU. Jackson averaged 12 points, eight rebounds and 2.5 assists a game for the week.