For the first time since the 2004-05 season, the South Carolina State men’s basketball team has posted five straight victories. The Bulldogs broke open a close contest in the second half led by Arsenio Williams who finished with 13 points and Brandon Smalls who came off the bench with nine points for the second straight game.

With the win, the Bulldogs (13-8, 7-3) will either have second place outright or share it with Delaware State, which was leading Norfolk State 41-39 with 3:12 remaining. Bethune-Cookman fell to Morgan State 48-47 in the final seconds. 

It was a tale of scoring runs in the first half for the Bulldogs. After several early lead changes, S.C. State opened a 20-14 advantage before getting outscored 16-3 over the next five minutes. The Bulldogs had gone cold from behind the arc, while Curtis White connected on a pair to put the Bison ahead.

The Bulldogs answered by scoring the final seven points of the first half. Darnell Porter broke the dry spell from behind the arc with a three-pointer, then connected on a twisting, driving layup. With less than 10 seconds remaining, Carrio Bennett forced a turnover and converted it into a layup with four seconds left to tie the game at halftime.

The Lady Bulldogs hold off a late rally by the Lady Bison to snap a three-game losing streak. The win improved S.C. State to 7-15 overall, 2-8 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

After managing just 12 first-half points in Saturday’s loss, a much more fiery Lady Bulldogs’ squad matched that total in less than five minutes.

Three-point shooting by Whitney Wiley, who had 11 points on 3-3 from behind the arc, allowed S.C. State to stretch its lead as many as 12 points. The Lady Bison would rally to cut the deficit to four by halftime, led by Saadia Doyle’s 14 points and 12 from Zykia Brown, but not before becoming the first team to trail the Lady Bulldogs at halftime in about a month.

Despite missing five open fastbreak scoring opportunities, the Bulldogs matched head coach Tim Carter’s longest winning streak at four with the victory. S.C. State led as many as 17 points despite having two players (Carrio Bennett and Darnell Porter) foul out and the missed scoring opportunities.

S.C. State returns to action Monday to face Howard.

A late run to answer a scoring barrage by Hampton senior guard Vincent Simpson has the Bulldogs holding a five-point halftime advantage. The Bulldogs led as many as 12 points before Simpson scored 14 points, including four, three-pointers, two well within 25 feet, to put the Pirates ahead 27-26. The Bulldogs answered back by scoring eight of the last 10 points of the first half.

In earlier action, S.C. State fell to 6-15 overall, 1-8 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference following a 67-47 loss to the Lady Pirates. The Lady Bulldogs were held scoreless for close to seven minutes and managed just five field goals in the first half in falling behind 32-12.

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With one dial of the fax machine, Central defensive end Kegan Funderburk sent in his letter of intent to enroll at South Carolina State University this morning.

The 6-4, 262-pound Shrine Bowl selection and three-star recruit makes a class ranked third among Football Championship Sudvision schools in position to rank even higher.

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From the S.C. State Sports Information Office:

          Jebreh Harris has been named assistant cross-country/track and field coach at

         Harris joins the SC State staff after serving the past season five seasons (2004-2009) as a volunteer-assistant coach at his alma mater University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UT). While at UT, Harris also served several years as a track coach with the Knoxville Track Club working with the youth program.  He also has spent time as a sports specific/personal trainer (Performance Training Inc.) Where he has trained several world class athletes and designed workout for clients with particular needs.

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It will probably be late this afternoon before Central defensive lineman Keegan Funderburk will decide whether to sign with South Carolina State or Georgia Military Junior College.

On Wednesday, Eagles’ head coach Joey Mangum said he was ‘99 percent’ certain the 6-4, 262-pound senior will sign with the Bulldogs. By signing with S.C. State, he would have an opportunity to play four years if he regains a lost year of eligibility as a possible Prop 48. If he enrolls at Georgia Military, Funderburk would only have two years of eligibility at a Division I school.

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The fax machine has been burning overtime at Rowe Hall Wednesday morning with incoming recruits sending in their letters of intent.

As of noon Wednesday, 19 student-athletes have submitted letters:

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