LeMoyne-Owen Brings Down Stillman

by Dr. Jesse F. McClure
Special to the Tri-State Defender

The Stillman College men’s basketball team was leading the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) with five wins and no losses when players and coaches arrived at historic Bruce Hall in Memphis to play The LeMoyne-Owen College (LOC) Magicians on Tuesday evening.

The team from Tuscaloosa, Ala., was ranked in the top 25 among Division 2 NCAA schools. By the time the game was over, Stillman had suffered its first conference loss  (93-80) and the Magicians had demonstrated its potential as a force to be reckoned with in the SIAC.

Five LeMoyne-Owen players scored in double figures. Ladarius Johnson led the Magicians with 23 points and 9 rebounds. Maurice Mickens added 18 points; DeAndre Gant had 15; Taurean Moy scored 13; and Jeremy Anderson added 10 to the LOC cause.

In the first half, the score seesawed back and forth until the Stillman Tigers took a one point halftime lead, 46-45. Both teams shot better than 50 percent in the first half. In the second half, LeMoyne-Owen’s defense got stingier and held the visitors to 40.7 percent, while the Magicians improved their shooting percentage to 54.5 percent.

Foul trouble plagued Stillman’s leading scorer and rebounder, Gerard Devaughn. The six-foot eight-inch, senior center and team captain from Fairburn, Ga., played only 19 minutes of the 40-minute game. Devaughn, who entered the game averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds, had but 8 points and 5 rebounds against the Magicians.

Stillman was led in scoring by Omari Murray and Marquell Jones, who each had 16 points. Stillman’s floor leader, Skyler Williams, scored 15 points, but with 14:06 left to play in the game injured his arm during a failed, uncontested dunk. He did not return until 3:08 was left to play and the Magicians had taken a significant lead.

During Williams’ absence, LOC’s  Mickens helped seal the victory down the stretch with his quickness and ball handling.

LeMoyne-Owen Coach William Anderson praised his team for “stepping it up in the second half. We played better defense and made our free throws down the stretch.”

Lady Magicians Tough in Second Half

The Lady Magicians of The LeMoyne-Owen College had a one point lead, 36-35, at the end of the first half of their game against Stillman’s Lady Tigers at Bruce Hall Tuesday night.

Then came the second half. The Lady Magicians outscored the visitors by ten points, grabbing a 76-65 victory with a display of some long-range shooting and solid defense.

“When we play good defense it makes all the difference,” said LeMoyne-Owen Lady Magicians’ Coach Myquita Mackey. “This was a tough win.”

Shonice Sprouse led LOC with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Amber Johnson added 18 points and some dazzling ball handling. Ryan Herd added 15 points and Karen Barr contributed 11 to the  Lady Magicians’ cause.

Stillman’s Lady Tigers were led by sophomore Phyllice Eubanks with 17 points and 10 rebounds, Alicia Young with 17 points and 6 rebounds, and Jasmon Hazley with 15 points.

‘Possibilities’ Abound with LeMoyne-Owen Basketball

by Dr. Jesse F. McClure
Special to the Tri-State Defender

Although William Anderson is the men’s basketball coach of a small college team, he has large ambitions. He thinks that his team at The Lemoyne-Owen College could be a factor in the NCAA Division 2 Championship picture at season’s end.

Anderson’s team began the season by playing exhibition games against the University of Memphis Tigers and the University of Arkansas Razorbacks, which are both Division 1 powerhouses. LeMoyne-Owen lost both games but gained confidence, visibility and experience. Anderson, who also serves as the college’s athletic director, was pleased with the substantial payments received from those games. “These dollars are really helpful to our program,” he said.

Last year, the men’s team won the S.I.A.C. conference tournament and Andersen is building upon that strong foundation. He points to sophomore forward DeAndre Gant, a scoring machine who heralds from Detroit, a favorite recruiting spot of LeMoyne-Owen coaching legend Jerry Johnson.

Anderson said the Magicians also will count on senior guards Maurice Mickens and LaDarius Johnson to be major contributors this year. Sophomore Calvin Stoudemire, the 6’6” brother of Phoenix Suns star Amare Stoudemire, is expected to bring some needed front-court power to this year’s team.

Anderson beamed when speaking of Chris Noel, a 5’7” guard from Harlem, N.Y. “Noel is our Christmas gift. He plays like a New Yorker and he can be a really valuable member of our team.”

Memphis high school legend, Taurean “T-Head” Moy, returns to the team as a walk-on player this season. Moy was one of the most prolific scorers in Memphis prep basketball history. Anderson says that Moy, whose college career was sidetracked by legal issues, “has done everything we have asked of him. He has been a model citizen and he still has a beautiful shooting stroke.”

The Lady Magicians

The LeMoyne-Owen women’s team is also poised to have an exciting year. Anderson, who coached the women’s team from 2000-09, thinks the new Lady Magicians’ coach, Myquita Mackey, “is ready to build a solid program.” Mackey, a former LeMoyne-Owen star player, thinks she has “some of the “pieces in place to be competitive this year.”

Mackey is especially proud of 5’9” guard Shonice Sprouse, a Memphis native who transferred from McNeese State in Louisiana.

Jasmine Massey, a 5’5”junior guard from Memphis’ Booker T. Washington High School, should be another leader of this year’s Lady Magicians.

Coach Mackey also thinks that another McNeese State transfer, Ryen Hurd, will be a valuable addition. She expects solid contributions from former Southwest Tennessee Community College star Ashley Mason. Mackey, who played for Coach Andrea Martre at Southwest Community College before transferring to LeMoyne-Owen, hopes Mason is the first of many Southwest   players who will find their way to the LOC campus.

Anderson says this could be an exciting year for both the women and men basketball teams at LeMoyne-Owen.

“This is my dream job and I am excited by the possibilities we have here,” he says.