College basketball usually doesn’t start before sunrise. Grambling State tipped off against Northern Illinois at 3 a.m. Eastern (2 a.m. Central) on Monday at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center in Rock Hill, S.C., as part of the Field of 68’s 24-hour opening-day marathon. The Tigers walked away with an 89-87 win before most of the country was awake.

It was the first of 40 games involving HBCU men’s and women’s programs on Monday. Talladega beat Alabama A&M despite turning the ball over 33 times. Virginia State, a Division II program from the CIAA, beat Norfolk State by one point. Howard’s women took Missouri to overtime before falling 91-88.

Grambling State Wins the Early Shift

Northern Illinois shot the lights out from deep, making 14 of 31 three-pointers (45.2%), but still lost because Grambling State didn’t miss inside the arc.

Grambling State made 27 of 37 two-point attempts (73%) and finished 32 of 50 from the field (64.0%). They took only 13 threes and made five.

7’2″ Isaiah Miranda was the reason. He scored 29 points with eight rebounds and three blocks, shooting 10-for-12, including 4-for-5 from three. The rest of the Grambling State roster went 1-for-8 from deep, so Miranda provided nearly all the outside shooting, along with his work at the rim.

Dwayne Pierce added 19 points and eight assists, Isaiah Howard scored 13 off the bench, and Mekhi Fitts finished with 12, 10 of them in the final eight minutes. Grambling State led 43-36 at halftime and pushed the lead to 65-53 with 10:23 left before Northern Illinois came charging back.

The ending got tense. Grambling State made only two of its last six free throws, and Nino Carter-Smith’s free throws cut the deficit to 88-87 with six seconds left. Chancellor Perkins split a pair with four seconds to go, and Max Weisbrod’s buzzer-beater missed. Trevor Polite led Northern Illinois with 15 points, Carter-Smith had 13 off the bench, David Douglas Jr. scored 12, and Weisbrod finished with 11 points and eight assists.

For the game, Grambling State went 20 of 29 at the line and Northern Illinois went 17 of 22. Neither team was careless with the ball: Grambling State committed nine turnovers and Northern Illinois eight.

Talladega Survives 33 Turnovers at Alabama A&M

Talladega turned the ball over 33 times against Alabama A&M’s women and still won 59-53. Alabama A&M grabbed 14 steals, but Alabama A&M couldn’t turn the extra possessions into points. They shot 17 of 54 from the field (31.5%) and 16 of 31 at the free-throw line.

Talladega won the glass 40-30. Tashiana Farmer grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked three shots. Ty’Veonna Davis led Talladega with 16 points and made four of her five three-point attempts.

Aaliyah Golston went 5 for 5 from the field for 10 points and added eight rebounds. Te’Nequa Rhodes scored nine points and grabbed four steals, as part of a Talladega defense that came up with 13 steals of its own.

Depth carried Talladega. Thirteen players saw the floor, and the bench outscored Alabama A&M’s reserves 25-15. Golston and Courtney Lowe, who scored seven, led that second unit. Talladega also made five of its 12 three-point attempts, with Davis accounting for four, while Alabama A&M went 3 of 15 from deep.

Shun’teria Anumele led Alabama A&M with 14 points and five steals, and Asianae Nicholson had 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench. The rest of the lineup struggled to score. Miracle Akpotayobo went 2-for-10 from the field, and Alisha Murray handed out four assists but went 0-for-4 in 30 minutes.

Virginia State Edges Norfolk State

Virginia State’s women went to Norfolk State and left with a 63-62 win over the MEAC program. Virginia State won the boards 38-34 and outshot Norfolk State from the field, 23-for-51 to 17-for-52.

Taylor Ragland had 14 points and seven rebounds, and Kendahl Spearman scored 14 on 4-for-6 shooting. Tamia Darden added 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting, including 2-for-2 from three. Raigan McCalla pulled down nine rebounds.

Norfolk State lived at the free-throw line, going 23-for-36. Jizelle James scored 19 points, 10 of them on free throws. Alexis Davis made all three of her shots and scored 12 off the bench; LeAire Nicks added 12, and Cire Worley handed out six assists.

Virginia State won the game from the field, scoring 51 points on field goals to Norfolk State’s 39. That more than erased an 11-point deficit at the line. Norfolk State went 5-for-21 from three. James (3-for-7) and Asia Keels (2-for-6) made all five, and the rest of the roster went 0-for-8.

The Virginia State bench played a big role. Reserves outscored Norfolk State’s bench 28-18, led by Spearman’s 14 and five points each from Marasia Dyes and Briseis Estrada. That depth mattered because Ragland and McCalla both finished with five fouls. Virginia State turned the ball over 23 times and still found a way.

Howard Takes Missouri to Overtime

Howard’s women took the SEC’s Missouri to overtime on the road before falling 91-88. Howard was the better shooting team, making 33 of 74 from the field (44.6%) to Missouri’s 29 of 78 (37.2%), and they also had more three-pointers, 7 to 6, and more assists, 15 to 8.

The difference came at the free-throw line. Missouri went 27 of 42, while Howard went 15 of 24, a 12-point gap in a three-point game. Howard was whistled for 27 fouls to Missouri’s 22, and Zoe Stewart and Ariella Henigan both finished with five. Missouri also grabbed 23 offensive rebounds to Howard’s 16, even though the teams split the boards 51-51.

Howard’s bench kept it in the game, outscoring Missouri’s reserves 37-9. April Edwards led Howard with 15 points off the bench, Indiah Hutchinson added 12, and Saniya Jones went 4-for-4 with eight points and 10 rebounds. Destiny Bynum-Johnson posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds; Sa’lah Hemingway scored 13 on 5-for-6 shooting; Stewart had 14, and Rayne Durant pulled down 10 rebounds. Henigan handed out six assists, and Howard blocked seven shots.

Missouri leaned on McKenzie Mathurin, who played nearly 41 minutes and scored 29 points, nine of them at the free-throw line. Khloe Ford had 15 points and 15 rebounds, eight of them on the offensive glass.

Around HBCU Basketball

• Morgan State’s men and women both scored 103 points in home wins.
• South Carolina State’s women beat Trinity Baptist 112-42, and Bethune-Cookman’s women beat Florida Memorial 102-30.
• Alabama A&M’s men beat Oakwood 90-57.
• NC A&T’s women beat Wingate 70-59.
• Bethune-Cookman’s men fell 79-70 at Furman.

Monday’s Men’s Results

Monday’s Women’s Results

What to Expect From Our Basketball Coverage

We are covering every Division I HBCU men’s and women’s program this season, along with the full CIAA and SIAC, Lincoln (Mo.) of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, and UDC of the East Coast Conference in Division II.

Every week brings four roundups: Division I men, Division I women, Division II men, and Division II women, each broken out by conference. Every week also brings four editions of the Data Driven HBCU Hoops Computer Poll. Like our football poll, it is built on results: record, strength of schedule, how convincingly teams win and lose, and head-to-head games. Follow along with #DataDrivenHBCUTop5.

Two season dashboards are on the way, one for Division I and one for Division II, each with a switch between the men’s and women’s sides. They will open with the full poll, conference standings, and schedules. Stat leaders join once conference play starts.

As March gets closer, we will add tournament projections. The NCAA’s Division I men’s and women’s tournaments grow to 76 teams this season, and the 12 lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers will play in the new March Madness Opening Round. We will track where each HBCU conference champion projects to land under the new format.