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Photo Courtesy of Leikwaivion Davis, Truth and Service Players waiting to catch a rebound.

An excited crowd of students filled the Burr gymnasium seats last Wednesday night to show support for their fellow Bison in the midst of Springfest for UGSAs annual Truth and Service basketball game. With music playing and the crowd engaging activities, Howards school spirit was in full effect.

The game also included a Procter and Gamble (P&G) Stem leaders $10,000 scholarship prize for top diverse students in STEM focused curriculum who will bring new perspectives to P&G. The prize was awarded to Trevor Jones, a junior engineering major.

Students played for the Truth team, blue jersey, versus Service team, white jersey. In the first quarter, both teams came out strong on both the offensive and defensive end. The biggest play of the night occurred in the first quarter, as Service player Zach Royster took a fast break to the hoop and flushed an electrifying one-handed dunk on two opposing defenders.

People in the stands stood to their feet to show support in awe with the score after the first quarter, 20-17 with Service in the lead. During the transition into the second quarter, fellow Bison competed in a competitive lay up relay race. Students from the crowd cheered the students on as they ran across the court to see who hit the free throw first.

Midway through the second quarter, the Service team began separating. The team hit deep threes and played solid defense making it difficult for the Truth team to find a rhythm. Turnovers also hurt the Truth team all night.

The halftime show featured a basketball knockout game with students in the crowd being chosen to participate.

Zach Royster, a freshman finance major and a player for team Service, talked about how he felt after the play of the night.

It felt great to be on that side of the interaction. When I went to the games this year as a fan, I would be someone supporting and rooting from the stands whenever there was an electrifying play, Royster said,Being on the receiving end of that support is on another level and just gives you that boost of confidence while playing.

In the second half, it was the same story. The Truth team struggled to produce offensively and was overwhelmed by the Service teams offensive prowess. The Service team exposed gaps in the paint with slashing plays and created turnover after turnover for the Truth team. At the end of the third quarter, the final score was 74-55 with the Service team in the lead.

One player for the Truth team stood out every chance he got the ball. Ahmaz Atias, a senior computer science major, found ways to score effortlessly for the Truth team and ended the game scoring 24 points. From getting to the free throw line to knocking down contested three-pointers, Ahmaz was dominating on the court.

I was trying to do everything possible. I know it was just a game for fun but I hate losing so I was down with doing whatever to win, Ahmaz said. It was a great experience and all for a great cause. I would have been better if we came out with the win but its all good.

The fourth quarter was much of the same, as team Service tumbled over team Truth with a score 90-68. Both teams shook hands at the end of the game with LB Towns Jr. taking home the title as the most valuable player.

The game didnt disappoint with the crowd being engaged every minute. Students were able to come support their fellow Bison during Springfest and come together for this annual gem on campus.

Gabe Sebhatu, a sophomore political science major , shared his experience coming to the game and his favorite moment of the night.

I thought the game was entertaining. It was cool to see both teams were evenly matched so it made it more interesting to watch, Sebhatu said,My favorite moment in the game was probably during halftime when they started to play a knockout game, he added.

Copy edited by Jasper Smith

More here:
Howard University Holds Annual Truth and Service Game - The Hilltop Online

The competition in the Super Cup is heating up as the last matchday of the Group Stage is on the horizon. Mumbai City FC are set to take on Chennaiyin FC in their last Group D game on the 19th of April at the Payyanad Stadium in Manjeri, Kerala for a virtual knockout clash between the two ISL clubs.

Mumbai City FC lost 2-1 to NorthEast United FC in their most recent game in the Super Cup, in a game that was thoroughly dominated by the Islanders but were unlucky to lose to a resolute Highlanders side.

While talking about the game against NorthEast United, Mumbai City head coach Des Buckingham spoke about his sides comprehensive performance. He said, I was pleased with how we played. All the internal measures that we have were as high, if not higher in some areas than the marks that we try and hold ourselves to. Unfortunately, the external measure, the end result was 2-1 to NorthEast. We hit the crossbar twice. We had two clear penalties turned down. We had other chances which we could've normally and wouldve scored. So, when I monitor and measure our performances across that game, I was. Very happy with how we played in the game.

The 38-year-old Englishman went on to talk about how his squad is preparing for what will be a virtual knockout game against Chennaiyin FC. Buckingham said, Chennaiyin are at full strength. They're a good team. We've played them twice so far this season in the league, and they were competitive games. As always, we will do what we've done in all the games - make sure we get ourselves as prepared as we can to do what we want to try and do.

Mumbai City FC and Chennaiyin FC have clashed twice in the league and once in the Durand Cup already this season with the Islanders winning all three meetings. Across the three games, the Islanders have scored 13 and conceded 6 goals against Chennaiyin FC. Speaking on what he expects from the game, Des Buckingham said, it will certainly be an exciting one. We know, both teams are going into the game, they need to win it if they want to stand a chance of progressing. Tournament football always sets games up for an exciting 90 minutes.

He concluded by talking about how his young all-Indian squad has been performing in the Super Cup so far, We'll be doing everything we can to showcase our football and showcase how good our players can be and our team can be regardless of what players we field. Whether it's the young ones or the older ones - I say older but we haven't got many older ones in our squad right now - it's a wonderful experience for them to showcase not that they are capable of competing against a good ISL team, also showcasing the style of football that we want to continue playing, regardless of what player takes the pitch.

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Des Buckingham buoyant ahead of exciting game vs Chennaiyin FC in Super Cup - Hindustan Times

ULSTER backrow David McCann has found the transition from schoolboy rugby to the professional ranks a steep learning curve.

McCann captained RBAI to a Schools Cup semi-final in 2018 and also donned the skippers armband for Ireland at U19 and U20 level.

McCann also led Ulster at A level but has had a battle to secure a place in the provinces backrow which includes South African World Cup winner Duane Vermeulen (below) and Ireland grand slam winner Jordi Murphy.

The flanker has started Ulsters last four games at blindside and has featured in 12 games already this season - his best return in a white shirt since making his debut against Benetton in October 2020.

Its weird being one of the biggest at underage stuff and then you go in and youre the smallest, so you get bullied and thrown about, recalled McCann.

Its good to experience it and it brings you down to earth a wee bit and then slowly youre building up the physicality, size and then experience and thats the big thing - it takes a couple of years for some people. Look at Harry Sheridan, hes fine, other people it takes a bit longer so its an individual path.

Its not a great sensation or feeling when someone is throwing you about, so you need to go and work a bit harder.

Its a good blend of experience and less experienced (in the backrow), but also vying for the same position, its good because it pushes you on and if I start looking behind me thats not going to help me get into the team.

So Sherry (Harry Sheridan) is obviously pushing and there are people in the Academy as well in the back-row who are working hard to get in the team and arent far off and then the likes of Jordi who has 30 caps for Ireland or whatever its hard to get ahead of him and then he obviously pushes you in training.

Playing for his club Banbridge in Division 1B of the All Ireland League has toughened the 22-year-old up for the rigours of professional rugby.

Its definitely a different pace but it gives you an opportunity to work on basic elements of your tackling and your ball-carry, he said.

You might not be getting the same exposure to the pace of the game and lineout etc, but basic things like hitting people hard and getting your entry right, thats pretty valuable.

McCann recently penned a new contract to stay at his childhood club and now after experiencing a European knockout game against Leinster he wants to help Ulster end their long 17 year wait for a trophy by winning the United Rugby Championship.

Obviously growing up watching Ulster and sitting in the stands or on the terrace and then getting the sensation of actually playing its kind of just chasing that for the next two years. But the Leinster game down in the Aviva was a special experience so just representing the team youve watched for your whole life is good, he said.

Weve got a good balance of older guys and younger guys coming through so I dont think anyone would be sticking around if they didnt think there was a chance of winning.

Leinster, its definitely quite a moment to get your first start in Europe and youve got to separate the result sometimes from what the actual experience was like.

The bigger the game, you get a taste for it, and then you just want more and more, he added.

Having experience of that you dont ever want to step back but keep going and building on that and win stuff ultimately.

Link:
Duane Vermeulen and Jordi Murphy inspiring rising Ulster star ... - The Irish News

April 18, 2023 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) - Florida Tropics SC News Release

LAKELAND, Florida - The Florida Tropics had two players as part of the Major Arena Soccer League's post-season awards announced Monday, including Rafa Alves who was named Defender-of-the-Year.

Alves, also a member of the MASL 'Elite Six", joined defender Chad Vandegriffe on the first-team of all-stars. Vandegriffe won Defender-of-the-Year honors last year, and Drew Ruggles won the award in 2019-20 giving a Florida player that honor in three of the last four seasons.

Alves led the MASL with 59 blocked shots in just 18 games played, missing a quarter of the season because of injury. He also chipped in with four goals. For his career, which began in the Tropics first ever season in 2016-17, he has 111 blocks and 23 total points.

He had three or more blocks in a game 11 times this year, including 10 blocks in a 6-5 win in Kansas City. That, and his 59 total blocks, are single season records for Forida.

Vandegriffe, who won the award last year with 54 blocks, followed that up with another 54-block season in 2022-23, good for second most blocks in the MASL. In his nine-year pro indoor career, which started with his hometown St. Louis Ambush, Vandegriffe has 240 career blocks.

"Rafa wand Chad were both fantastic this year. Rafa took his game to a new level altogether, and game in and game out, year in and year out, there's no better defender in our game than Chad," Head Coach Clay Roberts said. "They are both deserving honorees who could be depended on every night to keep opposing forwards in check and anchor our defensive efforts."

Honors were decided in a vote of front office representatives and league broadcasters.

The Tropics were in the post-season for the fourth consecutive season this year, but were eliminated in the Eastern Conference semi-finals by the Baltimore Blast. The t wo teams split the first two games of the series, with Baltimore winning the 15-minute knockout game 3-2 to advance.

Discuss this story on the Major Arena Soccer League message board...

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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Alves Is MASL Defender-Of-Year; Vandegriffe Also Honored as ... - OurSports Central

Were dropping Sixers knowledge all weekend

Looking to be the smartest in the office on Monday when it comes to Sixers talk?

Why not start on getting up to speed in the aftermath of the teams 121-101 win today ahead of Mondays Game 2 at the Wells Fargo Center (7:30 p.m., TNT).

David Murphy opines on just how good James Harden was in Game 1 and on Saturday was the Sixers believed was the Harden the Sixers believed they acquired last season.

The Sixers cooked the Nets in Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs, with a performance our Sixers writer Keith Pompey said Brooklyn had no answers for.

Its the latest Inquirer insight ahead of the Sixers hoping to go two-up in the series when it hosts Brooklyn again in Game 2.

Looking for even more Sixers and NBA playoff coverage? We got you.

Sixers cruise as Nets have no answers

An excerpt from the analysis of Inquirer Sixers beat writer Keith Pompey:

On Saturday, the Brooklyn Nets had no answers for the 76ers balance and depth. And so the Sixers took a 121-101 victory in Game 1 of the first-round series at the Wells Fargo Center.

Joel Embiid had 26 points while going 11-for-11 from the foul line. The MVP finalist also had five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. James Harden had 23 points,13 assists, and four rebounds. Tobias Harris added 21 points, four rebounds, and four assists.

In all, the Sixers played 10 players all in the first half. Nine of the 10 players scored. And even thats misleading, considering Danuel House Jr., the player who didnt score, was only in for eight seconds in the first quarter.

The Sixers made 21 of 43 three-pointers and were 16-for-16 from the foul line. They also scored 31 points off 20 Brooklyn turnovers.

Brooklyns Mikal Bridges, a Philly native and former Villanova star, led all scorers with 30 points. But the Nets must find a way to overcome the Sixers balance if they expect to win Mondays Game 2 matchup (6:30 p.m., TNT).

The Sixers dominance was far from surprising for Brooklyn.

Read Keiths complete game analysis below.

READ MORE:Sixers cruise to 121-101 win over Brooklyn Nets in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series

Social media shows love to Paul Reed

The Paul Reed love affair on social media came in bunches after his reverse two-handed jam put the Sixers ahead 102-83 with a little over 8 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Needless to say, a dunk like that, not only had Reed feeling himself but also got the Wells Fargo Center crowd and Twitterverse into a frenzy. Reed dropped 11 off the bench in 13 minutes of play.

It should be noted that the assist from James Harden was his 10th of the game and stamped his double-double performance with authority. Harden was on 20 points and those 10 boards after the jam. He finished the game with 23 points and 13 assists.

Kerith Gabriel

Sixers put clamps on Bridges

The Sixers held Mikal Bridges scoreless for the last 8 minutes of the third, thanks largely to the defense of DeAnthony Melton. Bridges has 25 for the Nets. Sixers lead by 12 entering the fourth. He finished with 30 points.

Marcus Hayes

Playoff duel between friends

Harden leading the way at halftime

The Nets and Mikal Bridges are targeting James Harden, who gave up five points in the matchup. Of course, Harden also scored nine straight, so

And the Sixers happen to have a 67-58 halftime lead behind Hardens 17 points and six assists.

Marcus Hayes

Bridges lead Nets, while Sixers spread the love

The Sixers are having some trouble keeping Mikal Bridges from doing whatever he wants. That said, he might need to finish with 80 points in order for it to matter. Seven different Sixers knocked down a three-pointer in the first 13 minutes of the game. Thats a difficult thing to do.

David Murphy

Rebounds, defense keeping Sixers in game

The Sixers have seven offensive rebounds in the first eight minutes. P.J. Tucker has three of them. They lead by a point, and thats why.

And then theres Joel Embiid, who led the NBA in scoring. He has altered or discouraged three shots in the first nine minutes. Thats why hes the real MVP the past three seasons.

READ MORE:"You need a P.J. on your team: Former teammates, coaches explain what makes P.J. Tucker so special

Marcus Hayes

Bridges gets off to a hot start

Mikal Bridges is 3-for-4 and he probably got fouled on his miss. The Sixers simply dont have an answer for him. The Philly native and Villanova champion isnt shrinking from the moment against his hometown team.

Marcus Hayes

Sixers-Nets Game 1 is underway

It started 15 minutes later than it was scheduled to begin, but the Sixers playoffs are officially underway. Keep it locked here for live updates and analysis throughout Game 1 and head over to Gameday Central for live stats and play-by-play action.

Matt Mullin

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni rings the bell before Game 1

Which is fitting because of his strong friendship with Doc Rivers. The two have become pen pals, checking in over text and discussing coaching principles, as The Inquirers Gina Mizell noted in our pages and on Twitter.

Rating the Sixers pregame outfits from Game 1

The Sixers are in full postseason mode, and they have the fits too match. PJ Tuckers purple crochet piece is a winner, and Georges Niang makes his mark with an Awake NY x Carhartt active Jacket and Pine Green Jordan 4s.

And now, we rate the fits...

DeAnthony Melton: 6/10

Earl Hopkins

Heres who will start Game 1 for the Sixers

Sixers Game 1 Drip Watch: Tyrese Maxey and Montrezl Harrell

Point guard Tyrese Maxey pulls up to Wells Fargo Center decked out in a matching cotton candy mint fit.

Maxeys rating: 6/10

Meanwhile, backup big man Montrezl Harrell came out strong during pregame warmups. But P.J. Tucker no surprise stole the show with his kicks.

Earl Hopkins

Georges Niang describes the intensity of the NBA playoffs

Steph Curry said it best. I heard it in an interview: The playoffs are like two regular-season games in one. Thats how freaking hard youre playing. Guys minutes may go down. Guys minutes may go up. But thats how hard youre playing. Its super physical. There are not ticky-tack fouls being called. It is very intense. Theres no helping people up off the floor. Its cut-throat. Everybody wants to win it. Its the most intense part of the season. When I first got into the NBA, Kevin Pritchard in Indiana told me theres five stints in the season. Preseason. The beginning of the season, when everybodys kind of feeling each other out. Pre-All-Star break, when everybodys exhausted and cant wait until the break. After All-Star break. And then playoffs. Playoffs are when young boys get exposed, and the men really flourish. Ive always taken that to heart and realized that playoff basketball is just so intense with the attention to detail. Youre going to know everything that they run. Theyre going to know everything that you run. Its just whos going to fight through the crap and all that to come out victorious. Its like going into the room and being like, All right, whos coming out alive?

Down in the bubble with Utah, we were up 3-1 against Denver. Youre thinking were going to beat them, and anything can happen. Then you kind of realize the knockout game is the hardest freaking game. All weve got to do is get one out of the next three, and they come back and we lose three straight because the unexpected happened. So you always have to prepare to cover all your bases. Theres no taking your foot off the gas. Sometimes, in the regular season, you can get away with doing that. Theres no place for that at all in the playoffs.

READ MORE:This is an opportunity that weve all been waiting for: Georges Niangs Inquirer diary lifts curtain on Sixers playoff run

Georges Niang, as told to Gina Mizell

How to profit from a dominant 76ers first-round victory over Brooklyn

FanDuel has assembled a full menu of betting options for how the series might unfold.

All signs point to an easy Sixers win.

But how many games will the series go? Will the Sixers win the series by more than 2 games? Will they win it in four games and award bettors laying +270 odds?

Theres no reason to get overwhelmed by all these betting options, as its best to begin your process by identifying a winner in this series (likely the Sixers) and then assessing how you can extract the best value.

According to our Action Labs database, the Sixers are 24-11 straight up against the Nets in the past 35 meetings. That includes a 4-1 series win in the first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs.

Moreover, Philadelphia won all four games against Brooklyn this season.

While backing the Sixers to win the series at -800 odds offers little value, if you like the 76ers to overwhelm the Nets in this series, you can back them on the series spread of -2.5 (-162).

Wed also recommend taking a shot with a 76ers sweep, or the series ending with a Sixers victory in five games.

READ MORE:Is there any value in betting on the series in Sixers vs. Nets? We have a few ideas.

Jeff Neiburg and Michael Arinze, The Action Network

Watch: Franklin jumps out of a plane to get ready for the playoffs

Look up in the sky! Its a bird! Its a plane! Its ... a dog?!

If youve ever been to a Sixers game, youve seen Franklins high-flying antics before. But youve probably never seen him get this high or fall back to earth this quickly.

Thats because the Sixers mascot teamed up with the Red Bull Air Force on Friday, ahead of Phillys playoff opener against Brooklyn, and decided to dive out of a plane and head-first into the postseason.

Unlike with the Phillies or Eagles, Franklin wasnt able to land on the playing surface prior to the game you know, because of that pesky Wells Fargo Center roof but that doesnt make the feat any less impressive.

Matt Mullin

P.S. Do you have any idea how hard it was to write this without making a raining cats and dogs reference?

The betting value is with Brooklyn in Game 1

The Sixers are a sizable favorite in Saturdays opener, which isnt shocking, given that Philly swept the season series from the Nets and finished nine games ahead of their Atlantic Division rivals in the standings.

What might be a bit of a surprise? Were taking the points with the road underdog in Game 1.

Theres not a lot of head-to-head data to support a hypothesis that Brooklyn will keep it close.

After all, Philadelphia dominated various iterations of the Nets this year, going 5-0 SU and 4-1 ATS. That includes one meaningless 19-point victory that kicked off the preseason and one meaningless 29-point victory that concluded the regular season.

It didnt matter if Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons were on the court in Nets uniforms (as was the case to start the season) or not (as will be the case in this series). Philadelphia took care of business each and every time.

So whats the logic for fading the Sixers in Game 1 especially since they finished with the NBAs best overall ATS record (48-34) and fourth-best ATS mark at home (25-16)?

Three words: Inflated point spread.

READ MORE:Nets vs. 76ers prediction: Betting value is with Brooklyn in Game 1 in Philadelphia

Matt Jacob, The Action Network

Almost-Sixer Mikal Bridges leading the way for Nets

The Brooklyn Nets, in just a little more than two months, have gone from a tiresome group of mercenaries to an interesting young team led by a rather amiable Villanova alumnus. They may not have enough firepower to make a deep run as when they had Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, but with Mikal Bridges leading the way, the Nets definitely are more tolerable. At least until that first hard foul on Joel Embiid.

Of our 25 things to ponder as this first-round series gets under way, several related to Sixers playoff opponents who played in the Big 5 including Bridges, who won big at Villanova before almost becoming a Sixer on draft night ...

Bridges, who helped Villanova win a pair of national titles, exploded after the Nets plucked him away from Phoenix in the Kevin Durant deal in February. Bridges averaged 17.2 points with Phoenix, but 27.2 in his first 26 games with Brooklyn before making a nominal, four-second appearance in the season finale.

Bridges has never missed a game for which he was eligible in his NBA career, which includes the leading active streak of 392 regular-season games, in addition to 35 playoff games. He played in all 116 possible games at Villanova, too. Whew.

Bridges was drafted 10th overall by the Sixers in 2019, but quickly traded to Phoenix for Zhaire Smith (ugh) and a 2021 first-round pick which Philadelphia used to acquire Tobias Harris. Bridges, who attended Great Valley High School, freely admits he was angry when the Sixers traded him. Smith, by the way, hasnt played in the NBA since 2019-20.

Bridges arrival to the Sixers seemed like a natural fit even his mother worked for the teams human resources. But that wasnt the way it played out. Mom, though, was thrilled when Bridges was traded from Phoenix to Brooklyn. Tyneeha Rivers, according to the New York Post, is the Chief People Officer for Curaleaf in New York. When Bridges dropped 45 points on Miami in February, he was able to hand his game-worn jersey to Mom sitting courtside.

READ MORE:25 things to know about Sixers-Nets as Game 1 of their first-round series approaches

Ed Barkowitz

Sixers will have to beat the Nets without Ben Simmons

Read the rest here:
Sixers vs. Nets: Philly wins 121-101 to take Game 1 after clamping down Mikal Bridges in second half - The Philadelphia Inquirer