Sports Rundown – November 17, 2025
- Vincent Mendoza
- Nov 17
- 5 min read
The Seawanhaka Sports Rundown is a weekly roundup of five stories that examine developments in sports news at the local, state, national and international levels.
BY: VINCENT MENDOZA / CHIEF OF SPORTS
LIU Basketball Continues to Thrive to Open Their Seasons
Our LIU Sharks are getting more dangerous for their opponents, as both our men’s and women’s basketball teams have jumped out to impressive 3-1 records to start the season.
The men’s team, led by fourth-year Head Coach Rod Strickland, defeated the James Madison Dukes 88-79 Saturday night and held off their late second half comeback. Seniors and 2025 All-NEC recipients Malachi Davis and Jamal Fuller stuffed the stat sheet, each scoring 21 points. Davis added eight assists, four rebounds and two steals, with Fuller totaling eight rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block.
Senior transfer Greg Gordon, who has produced outstanding play to open the season, dropped 17 points and grabbed five rebounds. Junior transfer Jomo Goings built on the win, finishing with 13 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Overall, the team shot a staggering 59 percent from the field and 47 percent from three, one of the program’s most efficient outings in recent history.
Alternatively, the women’s team, spearheaded by first-year head coach Neil Harrow, took down the Delaware State Hornets with a final score of 70-56. Junior transfer Kadidia Toure is not only one of the best players in the state or region, but the entire country.
In just 24 minutes, Toure tallied 21 points, 13 rebounds and three assists. Despite 12 of her 21 points coming from the charity stripe, she made her presence felt defensively, blocking two shots and getting a steal. Junior forward Janessa Williams, the longest-tenured player on the women’s team, aided heavily in their win, scoring 10 points, grabbing eight rebounds and accumulating three steals.
Looking ahead to this week, the men’s team travels to the north-most borough to face off against the Fordham Rams on Thursday night, then go on the road to Illinois to play the No. 8 ranked Illinois Fighting Illini. The women’s team only has one game this week, going against the American University Eagles at 7:00 pm in the Steinberg Wellness Center.
Eagles’ Defense Dominate in their Home Victory over Lions
Philadelphia possesses the most talented defensive unit on paper, and they displayed again tonight that they can produce when it matters most.
Coming into this game, the Lions had one of the league’s premier offenses, placing top three in points and touchdowns per game. Alongside this, All-Pro players like wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and running back Jahmyr Gibbs have had great starts to the season. However, this offensive success came to a halt Monday night.
Jared Goff, who went into Monday night’s matchup leading the league in completion percentage and ranking second with 20 touchdown passes, struggled heavily, totaling just one touchdown and going 14 for 37 on pass attempts. Interestingly enough, Detroit completed none of their five fourth down attempts, marking the worst output amongst the league in 2022, when this same time finished zero for six.
The Eagles’ defensive line, featuring the dynamic duo of Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, ran through the Lions’ offensive line – one of their best attributes in the Dan Campbell era. Davis and Carter finished with two and three pass breakups, respectively, not letting Goff’s passes get to the hands of Detroit’s star-studded skill position group.
Eagles’ linebacker Nakobe Dean caused massive dismay for Goff in the second half, hitting him twice, and one for a sack and tackle for loss. His partner in crime at the position, Zack Baun, led the team in tackles with seven. Cornerbacks Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell did much of the same, each of them deflecting two passes, in addition to causing St. Brown to haul in just two of the 12 passes Goff threw his way.
For the Eagles, despite the continuous offensive woes, a win is a win, especially in this fashion, shutting down one of the league’s premier offenses. For Detroit, despite missing tight end Sam LaPorta and having a banged-up offensive line, this game felt quite similar to their Week one meltdown in Green Bay, coming up empty on nearly every drive.
The loss bumps Detroit down two spots in the division, placing them behind the 7-3 Chicago Bears and 6-3-1 Green Bay Packers, and are now on the outside looking in in the NFC playoff race.
Texas A&M Completes Largest Comeback in School History Against South Carolina
After being down 30-3 at halftime, the No. 3 ranked Texas A&M Aggies went on a 28-0 run in the second half to complete their largest comeback in school history to overcome the South Carolina Gamecocks and remain undefeated. The comeback was the biggest in school history, eclipsing a 21-point rally by a Johnny Manziel-led team in a 52-48 win in the 2013 Chick-fil-A Bowl over Duke.
Despite the rough start, throwing two interceptions, Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed threw for a career-high 439 yards and three touchdowns, and it couldn’t have been done without the wide receiver duo of KC Concepcion of Ashton Bethel-Roman. Concepcion tallied up 158 yards on seven receptions, while Bethel-Roman concluded with four receptions worth 139 yards and one touchdown.
With their backs against the wall, the Aggies, who have been by far one of the two best offensive forces in college football, proved they can fight through adversity – a necessity in every team’s chase for the Championship trophy. A&M will finish out their season at home against the 1-10 Samford Bulldogs, then play their in-state rival – the Texas Longhorns – on the road.
For South Carolina, this loss marks their fifth straight and is the epitome of their season. Despite existing in the toughest conference in college football, this team is a disappointment from what many thought they were going to be able to produce this season. Their final two games will be at home against Coastal Carolina and Clemson.
The New Orleans Pelicans are a Disaster
The New Orleans Pelicans have been nothing short of a disaster to start the season, going just 2-11 in their first 13 games, leading to the termination of then-Head Coach Willie Green.
The last-ranked team in the Western Conference – that being the Pelicans – haven’t found their footing on either side of the ball, placing bottom five in offensive rating, defensive rating, and net rating.
This team has had its fair share of injuries, with key players like Zion Williamson, Jordan Poole, and Yves Missi being in and out of the lineup. Although one might believe this is an explanation for their poor performance, this claim is disproven through the eye test and statistical analysis.
When Williamson and Poole are healthy, they’ve been wildly inefficient offensively and have severely lacked effort on the other end of the floor. What makes this situation even more detrimental is the fact that Williamson and Poole are supposed to be leaders for rookies Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, and have been anything but that.
As the season progresses, it will be interesting to see whether management chooses to keep this core intact or sell their older players and rebuild around their younger core in Trey Murphy III, Fears, and Queen.