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16 The Savannah Tribune • Wednesday, January 11,2023
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Savannah State Basketball Roundup
Myasia Jones
The Savannah State
basketball programs are off to
a great start in 2023. The SSU
men are 6-0 when playing at
home while the Lady Tigers
have only one home loss thus
far.
Savannah State swept
LeMoyne-Owen at Tiger Are
na on January 2 with the SSU
women winning 57-48 while
Amari Heard
the Tigers won 65-62. Myasia
Jones had 16 points and 13
rebounds for the SSU women
while Za’Khari Cobb had 13
points for the men.
The teams split their
games against Lane on Jan. 4
with the Lady Tigers falling in
double overtime 78-75 while
the SSU men were victorious
filAC
Za’Khari Cobb
65-55. Jones had 25 points
and 10 rebounds while Amari
Heard added 22 points and 12
rebounds for the women. Eleik
Bowles had 27 points for the
SSU men.
On Jan. 7, Savannah
State swept their rival Fort Val
ley State with the Lady Tigers
crushing the Wildcats 85-69
and the men completing the
sweep with a 64-53 win in the
nightcap. Bria Gibbs led five
Lady Tigers in double figures
with 19 points while Heard
added 18 points, 13 rebounds,
six assists and four steals. Cobb
Eleik Bowles
had a game-high 19 points for
the Savannah State men.
The teams hosted Al
bany State on Jan. 9 and will be
in Atlanta for the MLK Jr. Hol
iday weekend but will return
to Tiger Arena in late January
for the three-game home-stand
against Edward Waters (Jan
21), Allen (Jan 23) and Bene
dict (Jan 25).
At press time, the
SSU women were in first place
in the SIAC East with a 10-3
overall record while Savannah
State men were leading their
division with a 8-4 overall re
cord.
Curtis Wins 400th
Game at Shaw
Jacques Curtis
Savannah native and
current Shaw University head
women’s basketball coach
Jacques Curtis hit a coaching
milestone on January 4 when
his Lady Bears defeated John
son C. Smith in overtime 70-
69.
The victory gave
Curtis 400 career wins while
serving as the Lady Bears head
coach, a position he has had
since 2000.
When asked about his
secret of his coaching success
over the years, Curtis replied
“Quality players and support
from your administration. If
you don’t have the quality play
ers, you better have support
from your administration. Also,
you have to have a good staff.
I’ve brought the right people in
to work for me. That’s a key.
I got a great staff that does a
great job of teaching the kids in
what we are trying to do. Prob
ably after my second year here,
all my staffs have been great
and they move on to become
head coaches.’’
During his time at
the Raleigh, North Carolina
based HBCU, Curtis has guid
ed the Lady Bears to six CIAA
Tournament Championships in
eight years with appearances
in the NCAA Division II Tour
nament in 2003, 2004, 2005,
2006,2008,2011 and 2015.
Curtis, who served as
the Savannah State men’s bas
ketball coach for two seasons
(1998-99), earned his under
graduate degree from SSU and
also attended Benedictine Mili
tary School.
Heard Laid To Rest
Paul Heard
Funeral services were
held for former Savannah State
football player Paul Heard on
January 3 at Jefferson Mortu
ary in Memphis, Tennessee.
Heard, 54, died on
December 26 at his Memphis
residence, after a extended ill
ness.
While at Savannah
State, Heard played two years
for the Tigers during the 1988
& 89 seasons as a nose guard.
Before coming to SSU, he
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played for two years at East
Central Community College in
Decatur, Mississippi.
Heard was a part of a
1989 senior class that posted a
9-1 record that featured Shan
non Sharpe and Richard Basil
as well as Savannah natives
Earl Bryant, Edwin Ford and
Damon Simmons.
During his junior sea
son, Heard, who was listed at
6-foot-2 and 240-pounds, fin
ished the season with 53 tack
les, three fumble recoveries
and one tackle for loss.
At the time of his
death, Heard was living in
Memphis and since 2007 had
been employed as a eligibility
counselor at the Tennessee De
partment of Human Services.
Heard, who received
his undergraduate degree from
SSU in criminal justice, was
buried on Jan. 4 in his home
town of Heflin, Alabama at Mt.
Grove Baptist Church Ceme
tery.
Brewton, Blackshear Earn SoCon
Football Honors
Ben Brewton
Savannah native Ben
Brewton and Travis Blackshear
both had productive football
seasons in 2022 which resulted
in them earning Southern Con
ference football honors.
Brewton is a junior
defensive lineman at Chatta
nooga while Blackshear was a
red-shirt senior defensive back
at Furman.
Both were named
to the SoCon all conference
coaches team and Brewton was
named to the all conference
media team.
During the season,
Brewton played in 11 games
and ended the year with 29
Travis Blackshear
tackles (13 solo), 10 tackles for
loss, 7.5 sacks, six quarterback
hurries, five pass breakups, 11
pass deflections, two forced
fumbles and one fumble recov
ery.
Blackshear helped
Furman to the FCS playoffs
and finished the season by play
ing in 12 games and making 46
tackles (35 solo), six tackles
for loss, two forced fumbles,
one interception (which was
returned 41 yards for a touch
down) and four pass breakups.
Brewton is a graduate
of Jenkins High while Black
shear attended Benedictine.
A Georgia Legend Comes Out Of
Retirement For Winter Freeze Modifieds
Submitted By Roby Helm, Helm Communication
#7 Mike Vaughn Racing Vaden Chevrolet/Wren’s Body
Shop Modified I Rendering by Bruce Carroll
A Georgia Racing
legend is coming out of retire
ment to compete in the Win
ter Freeze XIII Savannah Car
Rentals Modified Division on
February 2-4 at Screven Mo
tor Speedway. Mark Miner,
formerly of Stockbridge, GA,
now living in Fenton, MO will
climb into a Mike Vaughn Rac
ing #7 Vaden Chevrolet Spe
cial for a pair of $2,000-to-win
$200-to-start races.
Miner was a force to
be reckoned with in both dirt
and asphalt late models during
the 1980s and 1990s after mov
ing from Fenton, MO to Stock-
bridge, GA in 1982. Miner
worked with and drove for
some of the top competitors of
the day that are now enshrined
in the National Dirt Late Model
Hall of Fame.
Miner is excited to
have the opportunity to return
to competitive racing at Winter
Freeze XIII at age 62. While
it’s been five years since he
raced competitively, he has
been behind the wheel of Mod
ified working with his lifelong
friend, former NASCAR star
Ken Schrader of Fenton, MO,
who will also compete in the
Winter Freeze XIII Savannah
Car Rentals Modified Races
presented by Vaden Chevrolet.
In addition to the
Vaden Chevrolet sponsorship,
a longtime sponsor of Miner’s
during his dirt late model days
will also be on the side of the
Mike Vaughn Racing Modi
fied. Wren’s Body Shop with
11 locations in Georgia and
two in Florida will be reunit
ed with Miner for the Winter
Freeze run at Screven Motor
Speedway.
Miner will replace
veteran Johnny Stokes in the
Mike Vaughn Racing Vaden
Chevrolet/Wren’s Body Shop
Special for the Modified events
at the Winter Freeze XIII.
Stokes had a scheduling con
flict and had to step out of the
ride. Schrader, who is also a
part of Team Vaden, suggested
Miner to Vaughn. Miner was a
driver that fit just right with his
racing program.
The ’’Mad Dog,’’ as
Miner had become known as
through the years, said he got a
little emotional when Schrader
told him there was an oppor
tunity for him to return to the
Peach State to drive competi
tively again.
Miner said he feels a
little pressure about driving the
Mike Vaughn Racing Vaden
Chevrolet Dirt Modifieds be
cause just about everyone that
has driven the car, has won in
it over the last few years. But
Miner said it’s a good pressure
because he knows he’s step
ping into a good race car.
The Savannah Car
Rentals Modifieds Presented
by Vaden Chevrolet will run
a $2,000-to-win $200-to-start
30-lap Main Event on both Fri
day night, February 3 and Sat
urday night, February 4 during
the Screven Motor Speedway
Winter Freeze XIII. There will
also be an Open Practice Night
on Thursday, February 2.
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