Fisk Sweeps Rust in Conference Home Opener

NASHVILLE (November 21, 2024) – Murphy's Law is defined as; "Whatever could go wrong, will go wrong". For the Fisk University women's and men's basketball teams, the beginning of their games against HBCU Athletic Conference foe Rust College, everything seemed to go wrong early on, but both teams survived in their first home conference games.

Dawgs Use Late Run to Defeat Rust

HBCUAC Player and Newcomer of the Week Doyel Cockrill III scored 18 of his game-high 23 points in the decided second half, to help the Bulldogs (4-5, 2-1 HBCUAC) stave off a valiant Rust College team 73-61 in conference play from Nashville.

"Rust gave us problems earlier, so we had to make some adjustments at the half," said Fisk head coach Jeremiah Crutcher. "We hung in there in the first half despite a couple of their guys getting hot. We defended much better in the second half. When we defend like that, we are hard to beat."

First Half Rust 28-27

Rust players Jordin Jackson (11 points) and Jayden Stephens (nine points) combined for 20 of their team's 28 first half points, going 7-of-8 from the field and hitting all four of their three-point shots. Fisk stayed close and took a three-point lead with 2:29 left in the half on a Mark Cooper basket. Jackson and Stephens hit consecutive three-point shots to give Rust a 28-25 lead. Two Cooper free throws with three seconds left made the score 28-27 go into the locker room.

Second Half Fisk 73-61

Fisk sprinted out to a five-point lead after a three-point basket by Asa Hardyway. Rust then went on a run and took a 38-37 lead with 15-11 to go. The Bulldogs got cooking, going on a 9-0, on two three-pointers by Cockrill III and one by Justin McNelkan (15 points), to take a 46-38 lead with 13:22 left.

Rust stormed back again going on a 7-0 run to take a 54-52 lead with 6:24 left. Cockrill III and McNelkan got the Bulldogs rolling again, hitting consecutive threes. Two Mitch Seay free throws made it an 8-0 run, making the score 60-54. Rust scored the next five points to stay in it.

Cockrill III and McNelkan combined for all 13 points on a 13-0 run to finish off Rust. Seay kept Fisk in the game before Cockrill III and McNelkan caught fire. He had a double-double with 18 points and ten rebounds. Cooper had ten assists and Michael Ashley grabbed ten rebounds.

"We were cold in the first half so I had to help out as much as I could," said Seay. "Our goal is to win conference, so we have to protect our home court. Rust is a tough team to play. They are well-coached and play hard. They wouldn't go away. This is how all the conference games will be."

Rust College (61)
Jordan Fordyuce 6-13 1-3 14, Kalub Hunt 0-3 0-0 0, Jordin Jackson 5-11 0-0 13, Isiah McCallum 5-15 2-6 12, Darryl Scott 0-0 0-0 0, Jayden Stephens 7-12 3-3 18, Jalin Thomas 1-9 0-0 2, Jahsan Upshaw 0-4 2-2 2, Chaunterion Ward 0-1 0-0 0, Marcus Wilson 0-0 0-0 0, Kory Young 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-69 8-14 61

Fisk (73)
Mark Cooper 1-4 2-4 4, Doyel Cockrill III 9-23 0-0 23, Lucious Jackson 1-1 0-0 2, Justin McNelkan 5-9 0-0 15, Tyler Coley 0-1 0-0 0, Carrington Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Mitch Seay 7-14 2-2 18, Michael Ashley 1-4 1-2 3, Kailon Benton-Hamilton 1-4 0-0 2, Solomon Mustafa-Reid 0-1 0-0 0, Asa Hardyway 2-5 0-0 6. Totals 27-66 5-8 73

FG%: Rust College .348, Fisk .409. 3-pt FG: Rust College 5-18 (Fordyuce 1-3, Hunt 0-2, Jackson 3-5, McCallum 0-1, Stephens 1-2, Thomas 0-3, Upshaw 0-1, Ward 0-1), Fisk 14-37 (Cooper 0-1, Cockrill III 5-14, McNelkan 5-8, Seay 2-5, Ashley 0-1, Benton-Hamilton 0-3, Hardyway 2-5). Rebounds: Rust College 37 (Stephens 10), Fisk 52 (Ashley 12). Fouls Rust College 13, Fisk 15. Fouled out: none. Technical: none. Assists: Rust College 11 (Jackson 3), Fisk 24 (Cooper 10). Steals: Rust College 9 (Jackson 3), Fisk 5 (Cooper 2). Blocked shots: Rust College 1 (Upshaw 1), Fisk 5 (Ashley 3). Turnovers: Rust College 13, Fisk 20. Attendance: 773.

Lady Dawgs Make Late Rally to Defeat the Four-Time Conference Champs

Courtney Lumpkins scored nine of her team-high 14 points in the second half and Dee Scott added ten points and 14 rebounds, as the Fisk Lady Bulldogs (2-4, 2-1 HBCUAC) grinded out a 60-53 victory over the four-time conference champion Rust College Bearcats (1-6, 0-2 HBCUAC). The victory was the Lady Bulldogs' first win over Rust since January 2019 and the first time in nine games.

"Not sure how we won tonight, but I am glad we did," said Fisk women's coach Victoria Crawford. "When you have two starters go down with injuries and a starter to foul out, we had to dig deep. We found a way to win and that is a plus. We still have a lot to work on."

First Quarter Rust 15-12

Laila Eliotti started the game by hitting a three-pointer to start the game and it looked like the Lady Dawgs would take charge. Rust had none of it, and eventually took the lead late in the quarter on a three-point shot by Patsy Johnson.

Half Time Rust 30-24

Rust took control of the quarter in the final minutes, going on a 9-3 run. Once again, a three-point basket by Johnson, this time at the buzzer was a key moment.   

Third Quarter Rust 44-41

Rust scored the first five points of the quarter to stretch their lead to 35-24. The Lady Dawgs woke up and went on a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to 40-39. Johnson hit yet another three-point shot late in the quarter to make the score 44-39. Lumpkins then hit a basket to cut the lead back to two. Fisk lost Eliotti to an upper body injury in the middle of the quarter, and she did not return.

Fourth Quarter Fisk 60-53

Fisk outscored Rust 19-9 in the final quarter but had to overcome a lot of adversity. For the second straight quarter, Rust scored the first five points to take a 49-41 lead. In the middle of the Lady Dawgs mounting a comeback, they lost A'Niya Young (17 boards) to a lower body injury with 4:59 left in regulation. Fisk stretched their comeback to a 10-0 run to take the lead at 51-49 after Jayla Bibbs' two free throws with 3:33 left.

With the score tied at 51, things looked bleak when Scott fouled out with 3:01 left. After being fouled, Bibbs was called for a technical foul. The call seemed to give Fisk the lift they needed, as they outscored Rust 7-0 the rest of the way.

The Lady Bulldogs will now go on a two-week Thanksgiving break. Their next game will be at home on December 5 against Talladega.

Rust College (53)
Talyia Cawton 4-8 3-5 11, Tatiana Davis 0-3 1-4 1, Genae Garner 0-5 0-0 0, Patsy Johnson 8-23 0-1 21, Samaria Jones 3-8 0-0 9, Cameryn Morris 0-2 0-0 0, Jalisa Outlaw 1-2 0-0 3, Michaela Payton 1-6 4-6 6, Kyara Reynoso 0-4 0-0 0, Amber Scott 1-8 0-2 2. Totals 18-69 8-18 53

Fisk (60)
Keeli Burton-Oliver 3-12 1-4 7, Courtney Lumpkins 6-12 2-8 14, Jayla Bibbs 0-4 5-8 5, Teniya Williams 3-9 0-0 6, Jordyn Bailey 0-1 0-0 0, Laila Eliotti 3-11 0-0 8, A'Niya Young 4-9 0-0 8, Mya Robinson 1-3 0-0 2, Dee Scott 2-7 6-9 10. Totals 22-68 14-29 60

FG%: Rust College .261, Fisk .324. 3-pt FG: Rust College 9-31 (Cawton 0-3, Davis 0-1, Garner 0-1, Johnson 5-9, Jones 3-8, Morris 0-2, Outlaw 1-2, Reynoso 0-2, Scott 0-3), Fisk 2-13 (Williams 0-5, Eliotti 2-6, Young 0-1, Robinson 0-1). Rebounds: Rust College 40 (Payton 12), Fisk 70 (Young 17). Fouls Rust College 24, Fisk 21. Fouled out: Scott Payton Scott. Technical: BIBBS. Assists: Rust College 8 (Scott 3), Fisk 13 (Bibbs 3, Eliotti 3). Steals: Rust College 15 (Cawton 4, Johnson 4), Fisk 12 (Lumpkins 3). Blocked shots: Rust College 7 (Payton 5), Fisk 3 (Burton-Oliver 1, Young 1, Robinson 1). Turnovers: Rust College 21, Fisk 25. Attendance: 0.