Photo by: Carson Ming

By; Kobe Scales, Sports Editor 

Talladega College and Shaw University kicked off the second annual ATL Has Something to Say HBCU All-Stars Challenge in a defensive battle down to the wire. Talladega pulled out the win with two crucial stops at the end of the game, leading to a final score of 69-66. 

Shaw University was down most of the way. Nonetheless, they were able to battle back, forcing many steals behind their full-court press. In the end, it was not enough to overpower Talladega. 

“It’s game three, and I’m proud of those guys for fighting. This is the third game we’ve had come down to crunch time, and all of these are character-checking games,” coach Bobby Collins of Shaw University said. 

Talladega won the free throw battle, shooting 45 total free throws compared to Shaw’s 29. Of the  45 free throws, Talladega made 33 compared to Shaw’s 20. 

The foul differential led to an enraged Shaw team picking up two technical fouls. 

Talladega also had three players with double-digit scoring to go along with 33 points from the free-throw line. Jevon Tatum led the way with 18, Javonni Bickham was not far behind with 15, and Milfred Campbell scored 12. 

“I didn’t think that we were tough with the basketball, and that led to easy buckets, which was an issue for us,” coach Dannton Jackson of Talladega said. “We got a little tougher, started to attack the press a bit, and had more success.” 

The 16 turnovers almost proved costly for Talladega, but mental toughness would be enough to beat a good CIAA team at Shaw University. 

Copy edited by: Justin Darden, Sports Producer