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12 The Savannah Tribune • Wednesday, February 22, 2023
SSU Grads Looking Forward To SIAC Tourney
Anthony Holloman
When the Southern
Intercollegiate Athletic Con
ference selected Savannah as
the official site for the 2023
Men’s and Women’s Basket
ball Tournament, many local
basketball enthusiasts were
overjoyed with excitement.
“After exploring
multiple options for this year’s
tournament, I believe that Sa
vannah will provide the best
combination of facilities and
cultural engagement from a
student-athlete perspective
while being able to accom
modate our fans, alumni, and
staff,’’ stated SIAC Commis
sioner Anthony Holloman in a
press release.
Savannah was select
ed over other cities such as At
lanta, Birmingham and Mem
phis. The tournament was held
in Rock Hill, South Carolina
for the past three years. Other
prior host cities for the tour
nament included Birmingham
and Atlanta.
When asked if Sa
vannah was awarded a one
year contract to host the bas
ketball tournament or can we
expect the tournament to be
in Savannah for the next few
years Holloman said that “this
is one year agreement with a
formal bid process to follow.’’
Although this is the
first time that Savannah State
has hosted the SIAC basket
ball tournament, its not the first
tournament hosted at the cam
pus. SSU was the site of the
Georgia Association for Inter
collegiate Athletics for Women
(AIAW) tournament in the 70s
as well as the men’s NCAA Di
vision III South Regional Bas
ketball Tournament in 1981.
Former SSU men’s
basketball player and Savan
nah native Anthony Roper stat
ed that hosting the tournament
is a tremendous opportunity for
Savannah State and their ath
letic program. “This is a grand
opportunity to market and pro
mote the Tiger Brand both ath
letically and academically. This
should assist in the relationship
building with SSU and the
community. This is also a time
Col. Anthony Roper
for economic growth, for both
those at the school and those
from the community.’’
Anita Walsh Harris is
a former Savannah State wom
en’s basketball player who
later returned to coach at her
alma mater. She was happy to
hear that Savannah will be the
host city for the 2023 tourna
ment. “As an alum and former
student athlete of SSU I was
excited to hear that we have
the privilege to host this years
tournament which will allow
the city of Savannah to support
in the masses.’’
Season ticket holder
Eugene Johnson, Jr. said that
as he watched the 2022 tourna
ment on television he wonder
if they would ever bring it to
Savannah.
“Watching last years
tournament on TV, I was say
ing to my father (Eugene
Johnson Sr.), ‘just imagine if
the tournament was to finally
come to Savannah at Savannah
State’. “I think it would be on
par with the CIAA in Charlotte
and the MEAC in Norfolk.’’
Johnson reflected on
his times as a youth growing
up just a few blocks from Sa
vannah State. “I remember the
excitement and the anticipation
of seeing the annual Ella Fisher
Tournaments. As a kid, sitting
in the stands and watching Fort
Valley State and Albany State,
in a packed Wiley Wilcox Gym
was the highlight to start the
new season. Bringing the SIAC
Tournament, now has brought
back the excitement and antici
pation once again to Savannah
State University.’’
The tournament
which will have 14 women’s
teams and 15 men’s teams vy
ing for the SIAC crown, starts
on February 25 and concludes
on March 4.
Savannah State
Sports Round Up
The Savannah State
baseball team improved to 3-0
in conference play after sweep
ing a weekend series from vis
iting Lane College on February
18-19. The Tigers won a dou
bleheader on Feb. 18 by scores
of 5-1 and 11-4 and completed
the sweep with a 12-1 victory
the following day. During the
series, Joe Smith led SSU by
going 10 for 12 at the plate
with seven runs and four runs
batted in.
The Savannah State
tennis team hosted the SIAC
Cluster from Feb. 18-19. The
Lady Tigers defeated Fort Val
ley State 5-1 but lost to Clark
Atlanta (4-3) and Tuskegee (5-
2). SSU’s Gabrielle Benn and
her sister Amarlia both won all
their singles matches.
The SSU indoor track
team traveled to Columbia,
South Carolina and participat
ed in the USC Indoor Open
on Feb. 17. A’mijya Dudley
and Kennedy Spears finished
fourth in the women’s high
Gabrielle Benn
jump while Kayla Chance was
fourth in the 300m race and
10th in the 800m run. On the
men’s side Winfred Porter was
second in the 60m race while
Nyzaveon Thompson finished
ninth in the 60m hurdles. In
the high jump, Aidan Holliman
was seventh followed by Cam
eron Edwards (8th) and Dae-
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Amarlia Benn
shaun Logan (10th).
The SSU basketball
ventured to southwest Geor
gia on Feb. 18 to tangle with
the Rams of Albany State. The
Savannah State women came
home with a 58-54 win under
their belt while the Tigers suf
fered a heartbreaking 53-51
loss. Nyla Allen had a team
high 12 points for the SSU
women while Bria Gibbs had
nine rebounds.Eleik Bowles
had a game-high 16 points for
the SSU men while Andrew
Okorodudu grabbed eight re
bounds in the loss.
Super Bowl LVII Was A Venue For
History-Making
By Tirany Reeves
Patrick Mahomes
The 2023 Super Bowl
LVII was played at the State
Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ar
izona on February 12 with the
American Football Conference
(AFC) champion Kansas City
Chiefs besting the National
Football Conference (NFC)
champion Philadelphia Eagles
with a final score of 38 - 35.
This year’s game marked the
Chiefs’ fifth Super Bowl ap
pearance overall and third win
(including Super Bowls IV and
LIV) and the Eagles’ fourth Su
per Bowl appearance with one
previous win (Super Bowl LII).
The game, dotted
with historical moments during
Black History Month, began
with performances by Chris
Stapleton (National Anthem),
Sheryl Lee Ralph (Lift Every
Voice and Sing), and Babyface
(.America the Beautiful). In a
celebration of the 50th anni
versary of women flying in
the U.S. Navy, the flyover was
crewed entirely by females for
the first time in Super Bowl
history. An Indigenous artist,
Lucinda “La Morena’’ Hinojos,
was commissioned to create
artwork featured in the official
branding for the game for the
first time in Super Bowl histo
ry and also collaborated with
other Indigenous artists on an
8,500 sq. ft. mural in down
town Phoenix.
Super Bowl LVII also
marked the debut of the young
est starting quarterback pair
of Patrick Mahomes (27 years
old - Chiefs) and Jalen Hurts
(24 years old - Eagles) and the
first game between two black
starting quarterbacks in Super
Bowl history. Hurts became the
youngest quarterback to start a
Super Bowl in Eagles history,
while Mahomes became the
first player to win an NFL Most
Valuable Player award, his
second overall, and the Super
Bowl in the same year since
1999 (Kurt Warner). Jalen
Hurts also set the rushing yards
and rushing touchdowns by a
quarterback Super Bowl record
along with tying the record for
rushing touchdowns and points
scored (20) in a Super Bowl.
Both the Kansas City Chiefs
and the Philadelphia Eagles
ended the regular season with
a 14 - 3 league-best record.
The game received
two interesting nicknames
from spectators. It was dubbed
the “Andy Reid Bowl” after
the Chiefs’ current head coach
who had previously served as
the Eagles’ head coach (1999 -
2012), becoming the fifth head
coach to face his former team
in the Super Bowl. It was also
informally referred to as the
“Kelce Bowl” after Chiefs tight
Jalen Hurts
end Travis Kelce and Eagles
center Jason Kelce became the
first brothers to play against
each other in a Super Bowl.
The headliner for Su
per Bowl 57’s Halftime Show
was Rihanna, marking her
first live performance since
2018. Social media exploded
with speculation as Rihan
na performed her 12-song set
concluding with “Diamonds”
while seemingly pregnant
with her second child with
A$AP Rocky. After the show,
her representative confirmed
the pregnancy making her the
first-known pregnant person to
star in a Super Bowl Halftime
Show. She now also holds the
title of the first female billion
aire to star in a Halftime Show
along with the most-watched
halftime show with 118.7 mil
lion viewers, almost 6 million
more viewers than the actual
game itself. Even the Ameri
can Sign Language interpreter
for Rihanna’s headline perfor
mance, Justina Miles, found
herself going viral for an ex
tremely expressive interpreta
tion of the setlist. Miles, who is
considered deaf despite being
able to hear to an extent, be
came the first deaf woman to
serve as an interpreter for the
Super Bowl.
The Philadelphia Ea
gles began the game with the
ball after the Chiefs won the
coin toss and deferred to the
second half. During the second
quarter, Chiefs quarterback
Patrick Mahomes aggravated
the high right ankle sprain in
jury that he suffered earlier in
the season against the Jackson
ville Jaguars and many were
worried that he may be forced
from the game, but he was able
to return. Before halftime, the
Chiefs were trailing the Ea
gles at 24 - 14. Kansas City
received the ball beginning
the second half and were able
to close in on the still-leading
Philadelphia by the end of the
third quarter with a score of
27 - 21. In the fourth quarter
with less than two minutes left,
Mahomes threw an incomplete
pass, but the Chiefs received a
first down after a penalty for
holding was called on the Ea
gles’ James Bradberry. This
call was highly criticized,
but even Bradberry ended up
supporting the call. From that
point, Kansas City ate up the
time on the clock, ending their
drive and leaving eight seconds
on the clock. Jalen Hurts’ final
incomplete Hail Mary pass
ended the game with a Chiefs
win and a final score of 38 - 35.
The 35 points scored by Phila
delphia were the most by a los
ing team in the Super Bowl.
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