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Coach Cleo Hill Jr. didn’t sugarcoat his answer about what the first Winston-Salem State practice looked like this week.

A few days after the Rams had won the school’s 13th CIAA title with a hard-fought win over Lincoln (Pa.) they hit the Gaines Center court.

“It was terrible,” Hill said about the practice, “but I knew it would be because they are still sort of living on the moment.”

That moment, however, has passed because the NCAA Division II Tournament is the next challenge for the eighth-seeded the Rams, who will play top-seeded Indiana (Pa.), the PSAC champions, on its home court on Saturday at 5 p.m.

The NCAA Division II Tournament pairings were announced late on Sunday night.

The Atlantic Region has eight teams with the winner of the region going to Evansville, Indiana later this month for the Elite Eight.

“That will be the challenge,” Hill said about getting back to the court and trying to bring that same intensity from Baltimore and into the NCAA tournament.

There’s also the challenge of not having point guard Isaac Parson, who is out for the season after undergoing wrist surgery. His injury happened in the CIAA semifinal game against Virginia Union last Friday, and thanks to the team’s depth, the Rams still had enough to win the title the next day.

The long-term effect of not having Parson is certainly the biggest obstacle the Rams will face.

The Rams (21-8) played the Crimson Hawks (30-1) on Nov. 13 at the Clarion Tournament in Pennsylvania and lost 67-50.

“I told (the team) after that game that we’d see them again in the tournament,” Hill said.

The 67 points that the Crimson Hawks scored were the second fewest in a win this season.

“We’re familiar with IUP, and I’m familiar with the PSAC conference and Coach (Joe) Lombardi has done a great job,” Hill said about the Crimson Hawks who will play host to the Atlantic Region for the fourth time in the last five seasons. “I’m sure they have improved since the second game of the season and I’m sure we have, so it will be a good game.”

Last season the Crimson Hawks won the Atlantic Region and reached the Final Four and finished with a 33-3 record. They have been ranked in the top 5 all season.

Since the 2019-20 season, the Crimson Hawks have a 91-6 record, the best in the country in Division II.

The Rams’ defense has been their calling card all season and Hill said that has to be the case in the tournament.

Hill is also counting on his depth, especially with the loss of Parson. While Jaylin Parker, who is a senior, had some good moments in the CIAA Tournament, he’ll be counted on to be in the 10-man rotation.

“We feel comfortable playing Parker because he’s a senior,” Hill said about the 5-foot-8 Parker who is a good shooter. “He was on the (2020) championship team also. He’s got a high basketball IQ, so not having Isaac will be a test for us but I’ve liked our depth all season.”

In 2020 after the Rams won the CIAA Tournament they made it to the NCAA Division II Tournament and were at Indiana (Pa.) when COVID-19 arrived. Everything was shut down and the tournament was not played.

Four players – Parker, Jon Hicklin, Xavier Fennell and Jalen Alston – were on that team. Now, they’ll actually get to play in the NCAA Tournament.

“I’m very excited and grateful because a lot of the guys from that 2019-20 team couldn’t play so we had to come home,” Alston said.

Alston said flipping the switch after the CIAA Tournament championship will not be hard to do.

“The coaches are always teaching us to look at the next game and we have to have that positive mindset and positive thoughts,” Alston said. “It’s great for us that we won the CIAA, but we have to look at what’s next.”

All season long, the Rams have been celebrating the 55th anniversary of WSSU’s national championship in 1966-67.

“We wanted to recognize that team all year long because that was a historic team,” Hill said of the team led by Earl “The Pearl” Monroe and coached by Big House Gaines. “I’m just glad we did enough to get into the NCAA Tournament so we’ll see what we can do.”

Virginia Union is also in the regional despite losing to WSSU in the CIAA Tournament semifinals. The other games Saturday will be second-seeded West Liberty against seventh-seeded Pitt-Johnstown at 2:30 p.m. and third-seeded Mercyhurst against sixth-seeded East Stroudsburg at noon. The final game on Saturday will be fourth-seeded Virginia Union against fifth-seeded Fairmont State at 7:30 p.m.

The 64-team field is made up of eight regionals with those eight winners travelling to Evansville, Ind. for the Elite Eight next weekend.

Courtesy: WSSU Athletics

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) men’s basketball team will open the 2023 NCAA Division II championship tournament against Indiana University (PA) in Indiana, Pennsylvania on March 11th. The game starts at 5 p.m. Eastern Time and will be live-streamed on IUPAthletics.com.

The Rams (21-8 overall) were seeded No. 8 in the Atlantic Region. Meanwhile, IUP (30-1) is the No. 1 seed.

The Rams and IUP met back in November this season in the Clarion Classic where the Rams fell 67-50.

“We had a great turnout for the watch party, I thought it was very inspiring for my staff and my players,” said head coach Cleo Hill, Jr. “We’re familiar with IUP, we played them earlier in the season, and I am familiar with the PSAC conference and Coach Lombardi have done a great job. I’m sure they have improved since the second game of the season and I’m sure we have, so it will be a good game.”

The Crimson Hawks captured their fourth straight (2019, 2020, 2022, 2023) Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament championship following a 54-53 win against Mercyhurst on March 5 at Shippensburg. They enter the NCAA tournament with a 30-1 overall record.

WSSU defeated Lincoln (Pa.) 62-57 on Saturday, February 25 in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (CIAA) Men’s Basketball Championship inside the CFG Bank Arena. The title is the 13th in the Rams’ storied basketball history, including two under head coach Cleo Hill Jr.

Led by 14 points from Samage Teel and 11 each from Jaylon Gibson and Jon Hicklin, the Rams staved off a late comeback from a feisty Lincoln team that was playing in its first-ever CIAA Tourney finals.

Jaylen Alston was named the Food Lion Tournament MVP and was also named to the CIAA Men’s All-Tournament Team along with Jaylon Gibson and Samage Teel.

In the preseason poll, the Rams were picked to finish third in the season and second in the Southern Division.

First-round games begin Saturday, March 11 with the semifinals following on Sunday, March 12. The regional championship is set for Tuesday, March 14 at the KCAC.

The Rams and IUP open the NCAA Tournament at 5:00 p.m., while other first-round matchups on March 11 include No. 2 West Liberty and No. 7 (2:30 p.m.), No. 3 Mercyhurst vs. No. 6 East Stroudsburg (noon) and No. 4 Virginia Union vs. No. 5 Fairmont State (7:30 p.m.).

After starting the season losing 3-of-4 games to Charlotte (5-6), Ball State Baseball has won six of its last eight.

The dissatisfaction, as expressed by junior right handed pitcher Ryan Brown, that came with the Cardinals’ opening series against the 49ers drove them to a three-win weekend in the Swig and Swine Classic February 24-26, including a win over the projected No. 2 team in the B1GTEN, Rutgers (3-6). The Cardinals rode that momentum into another three-win weekend in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. March 3-5.

However, head coach Rich Maloney is still not satisfied.

“We still have to improve at some things,” Maloney said. “We're going to continue to grow as a team and play better in some facets, but I'll give the guys this: we're finding ways to win, which is a tremendous positive. We're not playing our best baseball right now, but we are gritting it out.”

Maloney said the Cardinals (7-5) need to cut back on strikeouts, walks allowed and multiple “little things” that are holding Ball State back from playing at its highest level. While the Cardinals’ play may not have met Maloney’s lofty expectations for his program, Ball State left the weekend winners in all games but one.

In the first contest, the Cornell Big Red (0-5) got out to an early 2-0 lead. However, Ball State held Cornell scoreless after the second inning and took advantage, scoring five runs in that stretch to emerge victorious 5-2. While freshman first baseman Blake Bevis had a two RBI single, it was senior right handed pitcher Tanner Knapp who stood out for Ball State.

Knapp pitched six and ? innings in relief, allowing no runs, one hit and two walks, while striking out eight. Sophomore right handed pitcher Jacob Hartlaub earned the win for the Cardinals after pitching a hitless and runless one and ? innings with two strikeouts.

In game two, Ball State allowed only five hits to Purdue Fort Wayne in a 11-0 route. The Cardinals scored at least one run in innings two through seven.

Graduate student third baseman Ryan Peltier hit 2-for-6 with two RBI, sophomore designated hitter Hunter Dobbins hit 1-for-4 with two RBI, junior right fielder Decker Scheffler hit 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and an additional RBI, and Bevis hit 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.

On the mound, junior right handed pitcher Ty Johnson earned the win, pitching five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out five.

In game three, the Cardinals took on the No. 3 team in the nation, Wake Forest (12-0). While the Demon Deacons got out to an early 2-0 lead, the Cardinals answered right back in the third inning when Peltier hit a two-run home run to tie the game at two.

Wake Forest scored three runs in the third inning to respond, two of which coming via a home run from redshirt junior second baseman Justin Johnson. Ball State scored two runs in the fourth, cutting the score to 5-4, however that was the end of the Cardinals’ offense in the contest.

The Demon Deacons added two more runs, defeating Ball State 7-4. Though the Cardinals scored four runs, they only had three hits. Maloney said the biggest reason for Ball State’s loss came down to strikeouts.

“I don’t care how good somebody is, you can’t punch out 16 times and think you’re gonna win,” Maloney said.

Senior right handed pitcher Trennor O’Donnell pitched five scoreless innings in relief, only allowing three hits and one walk while striking out three.

The Cardinals bounced back in game four, once again defeating Purdue Fort Wayne (2-10), this time in a high-scoring 13-9 affair. In the first inning, graduate student first baseman Braedon Blackford started the Mastodons off hot with a two-run home run.

Blackford hit another home run and collected three more RBI for Purdue Fort Wayne over the course of the next eight innings, but his efforts came up short in Ball State’s scoring barrage. The Cardinals scored in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth innings, amassing 13 hits in the game.

For Ball State, junior left fielder Casey Turturici hit 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI, Scheffler hit 1-for-2 with two RBI, senior second baseman Justin Conant hit 1-for-5 with two RBI and Dobbins hit 1-for-5 with a two-run home run.

Ball State returns to action March 7 at Florida A&M (5-8) at 5 p.m. Maloney said this contest against the Rattlesnakes is an “outlier game”, as each side will be on just two or three days rest after playing multiple games over the weekend beforehand.

“You can lose the game and not have anything to do with your team being good or bad, it’s just simply numbers on the [pitching] staff,” Maloney said. “It'll give an opportunity for some guys to get out there to get some innings they maybe wouldn't have gotten. So in the big scheme of it, we're gonna do everything we can to try to pull this one off, but on the same token, someone's gonna have to rise up on the pitching side to help us out.”

Three days later, the Cardinals host Eastern Michigan (5-4) March 10-12 in a four-game series, the first Mid-American Conference (MAC) play of the season.

“That's part of the spring. So these are the growing pains that you have, [and] the good thing is we went 3-of-4 through the growing pains,” Maloney said. “But the reality is we gotta continue to grow. We're getting ready for MAC play next week, and there's no turning back there.”

Contact Kyle Smedley with comments via email at kyle.smedley@bsu.edu or on Twitter @KyleSmedley_.

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Over the weekend, the Cardinals played five games in the Bulldog Classic. They ended their stay in Athens, Georgia, with a 3-2 tournament record.

Severe Weather Preparedness Week starts today and ends March 11. Forsyth County Emergency Management officials encourage residents to plan for the severe weather, which can occur at any time during the year.

The statewide annual tornado drill will be at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools and city and county government buildings will take part in the drill. The drill will begin with the National Weather Service announcing it on NOAA weather radio and the Emergency Alert System.

Officials also advise that people become familiar with severe weather terms.

A Watch means severe weather is possible. For example, a severe thunderstorm or tornado watch means that weather conditions are favorable for severe weather.

A Warning means that a tornado has been seen and people should immediately find a safe place to go. It also means that a severe thunderstorm is occurring in the warning area.

Here are some additional safety tips from emergency management:

Know where the nearest safe room is, such as a basement or interior room and away from windows, and go there immediately if you hear or see a tornado.

If driving, you should leave your vehicle immediately to seek safety in an adequate structure. Do not try to outrun a tornado in your vehicle, and do not stop under an overpass or a bridge.

If you are outdoors, and there is no shelter available, take cover in a low-lying flat area. Watch out for flying debris.

After a storm, wear sturdy shoes, long sleeves and gloves when walking on or near debris, and be aware of exposed nails and broken glass.

FBI offers reward for kidnapped Americans; food consumption may lead to global warming; government rolling out new airline dashboard | Top headlines for March 6 & 7, 2023

FBI offers reward for kidnapped Americans; food consumption may lead to global warming; government rolling out new airline dashboard | Top headlines for March 6 & 7, 2023

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Be aware of damaged power or gas lines and electrical systems that may cause fires, electrocution or explosions.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tips on what you might need if the power goes out:

Food and water: They recommend you have at least a three-day supply, including one gallon of water per person per day; non-perishable foods that are easy to make and can be eaten unheated; a manual can opener; and basic utensils to prepare and serve meals.

Health supplies: You should have, at minimum, a three-day supply on hand of all medicines, as well as medical supplies that you may need such as syringes, or batteries for hearing aids.

Personal-care items: That includes soap, toothbrushes, and toothpaste, baby wipes, glasses and contact lenses. Clothes, underwear, socks, and sturdy shoes.

Safety supplies: Should include a first-aid kit, an emergency blanket, a multipurpose tool (preferably one that can act as a knife, file, pliers and screwdriver) and a whistle. It’s also wise to have spare masks and hand sanitizer.

Electronics: A flashlight, a radio (battery-powered, solar or hand-cranked) that can be used to get updates on the situation, a cellphone with charger, and extra batteries and charged power banks.

Important documents: Identification, insurance cards, paperwork about any serious medical conditions. Also, cash and extra house and car keys.

For children: Baby supplies, and games and activities for older kids.

For pets: A three-day supply of food and water, plus bowls, cleaning supplies, a sturdy leash for dogs or pet carrier for cats and smaller dogs, plus current documentation, including photos, to help others identify them as your pets if you become separated from them. They recommend taking pet toys and, if you can easily bring it, the pet’s bed to help reduce stress.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Winston-Salem State University men's basketball team will open the 2023 NCAA Division II Championship Tournament against Indiana University (PA) in Indiana, Pennsylvania on March 11th. The game starts at 5 p.m. Eastern Time and will be live streamed on IUPAthletics.com.

The Rams (21-8 overall) were seeded No. 8 in the Atlantic Region. Meanwhile, IUP (30-1) is the No. 1 seed.

The Rams and IUP met back in November this season in the Clarion Classic where the Rams fell 67-50.

"We had a great turnout for the watch party, I thought it was very inspiring for my staff and my players," said head coach Cleo Hill, Jr. "We're familiar with IUP, we played them earlier in the season, and I am familiar with the PSAC conference and Coach Lombardi have done a great job. I'm sure they have improved since the second game of the season and I'm sure we have, so it will be a good game."

The Crimson Hawks captured their fourth straight (2019, 2020, 2022, 2023) Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament championship following a 54-53 win against Mercyhurst on March 5 at Shippensburg. They enter the NCAA tournament with a 30-1 overall record.

WSSU defeated Lincoln (PA) 62-57 on Saturday, February 25 in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (CIAA) Men's Basketball Championship inside the CFG Bank Arena. The title is the 13th in the Rams' storied basketball history, including two under Head Coach Cleo Hill Jr.

Led by 14 points from Samage Teel and 11 each from Jaylon Gibson and Jon Hicklin, the Rams staved off a late comeback from a feisty Lincoln team that was playing in its first-ever CIAA Tourney finals.

Jaylen Alston was named the Food Lion Tournament MVP and was also named to the CIAA Men's All-Tournament Team along with Jaylon Gibson and Samage Teel.

In the preseason poll, the Rams were picked to finish third in the season and second in the Southern Division.

First-round games begin Saturday, March 11 with the semifinals following on Sunday, March 12. The regional championship is set for Tuesday, March 14 at the KCAC.

The Rams and IUP open the NCAA Tournament at 5:00 p.m., while other first-round matchups on March 11 include No. 2 West Liberty and No. 7 (2:30 p.m.), No. 3 Mercyhurst vs. No. 6 East Stroudsburg (noon) and No. 4 Virginia Union vs. No. 5 Fairmont State (7:30 p.m.).

Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.ncaa.com.