PROVIDENCE, R.I. — On Saturday, the Seton Hall men's basketball team won 81-72 at No. 12-ranked Providence.
It was the Pirates' first game since senior guard Derrick Gordon called a players-only meeting.
"We knew this was going to be a hard-fought game, and coach told us to be aggressive on the offensive end," Gordon said to The Setonian after the win.
Gordon, the team's only senior, followed the advice. He scored a season-high 15 points and had seven rebounds to make sure Seton Hall (13-4 overall, 3-2 Big East) ended a two-game losing streak.
On Jan. 9, Creighton handed Seton Hall the second of those losses, 82-67. That night, Gordon called a players-only meeting.
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"Me being a veteran, I've got to make sure we stay together and don't put our heads down," Gordon, a transfer from UMass, said to the Asbury Park Press. "I wasn't here last year, but I've heard what happened last year. I've got to make sure that doesn't happen again."
What happened last year was Seton Hall started 12-2 but finished the season 16-15. This year, the Pirates opened the season 12-2 but then lost at No. 11-ranked Villanova 72-63 and at home to Creighton.
Gordon, who announced he's gay in 2014, was a highlight of the two losses. Against Villanova on Jan. 6, he had eight points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Playing Creighton, Gordon had 14 points, four rebounds, and two steals.
If Gordon and his teammates continue to play well, he could make his first NCAA tournament since coming out as gay. Entering the Providence game, ESPN's Joe Lunardi had Seton Hall among his first four out of the tournament, and CBS's Jerry Palm had Seton Hall slotted as a No. 10 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Gordon previously reached the NCAA tournament with Western Kentucky in 2011 and UMass in 2013 and 2014.
Names in bold are people that have announced publicly they identify as LGBT.
Division I
Schuyler Bailar (freshman, Harvard men's swimming) swam the 100 and 200 breaststroke as exhibition during Saturday's meet against Brown and Penn.
Sean Collins (sophomore, Penn men's track and field) tied for 20th in the 60 meters (7.54 seconds) and finished 13th in the pole vault (10 feet) during Saturday's five-team Angry Birds Invitational at Lehigh.
Konrad Eiring (freshman, Illinois men's track) captured his first college win Saturday in the 600 meters at the Illini Classic in 1 minute, 21.79 seconds, which helped Illinois win the six-team meet. He made his college debut Jan. 9 against Iowa and Missouri with a fourth-place finish in the 600 (1:21.63). "Konrad Eiring was really good for us. I think he showed some real promise," Illinois head coach Mike Turk said after the Iowa/Missouri meet.
Taylor Emery (freshman, Tulane women's basketball) received the American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Freshman of the Week honor Jan. 4, the second time this season the AAC gave her this honor. She continued to play well the last two weeks, highlighted by 12 points against Central Florida on Jan. 10 and 10 points and a career-high five steals against Tulsa on Saturday. Tulane (13-5 overall, 4-2 AAC) went 3-1 the last two weeks.
Griffin Hay (senior, Portland men's track) ran the 3,000 meters in 8:50 at the high-performance meet hosted at the Portland House of Track on Friday. Matthew Centrowitz, who finished fourth in the 1,500 meters at the 2012 Olympics, won Friday's 3,000 in 7:55.25.
Bree Horrocks (sophomore, Purdue women's basketball) helped her team go 3-1 the last two weeks. Purdue (14-3 overall, 5-1 Big Ten) lost Sunday at No. 5-ranked Ohio State, which ended a nine-game win streak. Horrocks' highlight in the past four games was her career-high 11 rebounds Jan. 14 against Minnesota.
Liam Huffman (junior, George Washington men's swimming) won three events Saturday against Georgetown in the 500-yard freestyle (4:46.93), the 1,000 freestyle (9:49.92), and the 400 free relay. On Jan. 9, he took second in the 500 free (4:48.92) and third in the 1,000 free (9:55.0) against William & Mary.
Nick Jessee (junior, St. Louis men's swimming) earned third-place finishes in the 100-yard freestyle (49.13 seconds) and on the 200 freestyle relay in Saturday's home meet against Evansville.
Ayrton Kasemets (sophomore, Oakland men's swimming) finished fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke (58.03 seconds) and seventh in the 200 individual medley (1:57.49) to highlight his five events in a meet at Kenyon College with Cincinnati on Friday and Saturday.
Ryan Murtha (senior, Villanova men's swimming) took second in both the 50-yard freestyle (22.57 seconds) and on the 200 medley relay Saturday against Providence in a dual meet, which was Villanova's Senior Day. On Jan. 7 against the Merchant Marine Academy, he placed fifth in both the 50 free (23.48) and 200 free (1:53.88).
Alex Obendorf (sophomore, West Virginia men's diving) won the 1- and 3-meter springboard competitions in Saturday's meet at Texas Christian by scoring 320.97 and 364.88 points, respectively. On Jan. 9 against Pittsburgh, Obendorf took third in both springboard events.
Austin Parrish (junior, Eastern Illinois men's swimming) took sixth in the 1,000-yard freestyle (11:04.94) during Saturday's dual meet against Western Illinois in Charleston, Illinois.
Tanner Williams (senior, Oklahoma men's track and field) won the pole vault Saturday by clearing 16 feet, 5 1/2 inches at the season-opening J.D. Martin Invitational indoor meet in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners won the men's team title, and it was Williams' best indoor performance since his sophomore year.
Chris Burns (assistant coach, Bryant men's basketball) watched his team go 3-2 the last two weeks, which included an 82-79 double overtime win at Mount St. Mary's on Jan. 9 and beating St. Francis Brooklyn 61-59 on Thursday when Bryant's Shane McLaughlin hit a shot with 1.3 seconds left. Bryant is 7-12 overall.
Galen Dodd (assistant coach, Southern California men's volleyball) has so far not seen the Trojans win a match. No. 13-ranked USC is 0-4 with all its losses to top-15 teams (No. 14 Cal State Northridge, No. 10 Penn State, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 3 Long Beach State).
Randy Lane (assistant coach, UCLA women's gymnastics) helped his No. 5-ranked Bruins beat Alabama, ranked No. 3 at the time, 196.55-196.3 on Jan. 10, but on Friday, current No. 3-ranked Florida gave UCLA its first loss of the season 197.675-196.925.
Lee-J Mirasolo (assistant coach, Harvard women's hockey) has been part of an up and down 2016 with No. 8-ranked Harvard (10-6-1 overall) beating Cornell and Colgate to start January before losing to unranked St. Lawrence and No. 5 Clarkson.
Ryan Mizner (assistant coach, Central Michigan men's basketball) saw his team go 2-2 the last two weeks with wins against Bowling Green and Akron. Central Michigan is 9-8 overall, 2-2 in the Mid-American Conference.
Division II
Drew Davis (senior, Limestone College men's volleyball) announced on social media Dec. 9 his plan to enroll at Limestone and return to playing volleyball after spending the fall as a volunteer assistant with the College of Charleston women's team. Limestone opened its season Jan. 12, but Davis is redshirting this season. "Everything is going amazing here," said Davis, who played at Erskine College from 2013-15. "I'm really, really happy I transferred."
Austin Olivares (junior, Lindenwood men's swimming) swam two relays during a Jan. 12 dual meet at Colorado Mesa, and both his 500-yard freestyle relay and his 3×50 breaststroke relay took fourth. Lindenwood won the meet, which was part of their week of Colorado altitude training.
Division III
Greg Arther (sophomore, Wisconsin-Platteville men's track) took sixth place running the mile in 4:49.19 at Saturday's Platteville Open, which was his first meet since coming out publicly.
Chris Cassingham (sophomore, Mary Washington men's swimming) helped the 200-yard freestyle relay win in Saturday's dual meet against St. Mary's of Maryland, and he also took second in the 1,000 freestyle (10:29.13). On Jan. 9 at Salisbury, Cassingham finished second in the 800 freestyle (9:15.78) and third in the 400 freestyle (4:26.40).
NAIA
David Gilbert (junior, Lewis-Clark men's track and field) missed the team's meet Saturday. He suffered a setback in recovery from his left ankle injury and now aims to return for the team's Feb. 6 meet.
Jesse Taylor (redshirt-sophomore, Dakota Wesleyan men's basketball) did not play during the last two weeks as the Tigers (15-6 overall) went 3-1.
Upcoming competitions involving LGBT college athletes and coaches that have announced their sexuality publicly. (All times are Eastern).
Wednesday, Jan. 20
Taylor Emery, Tulane women's basketball at SMU; Dallas, Texas, 8 p.m.
Derrick Gordon, Seton Hall men's basketball vs. Villanova; Newark, N.J., 9 p.m. (CBSSN)
Bree Horrocks, Purdue women's basketball vs. Nebraska; West Lafayette, Ind., 7 p.m.
Simon Thibodeau (coach) UC Santa Barbara women's tennis vs. Southern California; Santa Barbara, Calif., 4:30 p.m.
Jesse Taylor, Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball vs. Briar Cliff; Mitchell, S.D., 9 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 21
Chris Burns (ast. coach) Bryant men's basketball vs. Saint Francis U.; Smithfield, R.I., 7 p.m.
Galen Dodd (ast. coach) Southern California men's volleyball vs. UC Santa Barbara; Los Angeles, 10 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 22
Konrad Eiring, Illinois men's track and field at Rod McCrary Memorial Invite; Lexington, Ky., All Day
Connor Griffin, Fordham men's swimming vs. Iona; Bronx, N.Y., 4 p.m.
Simon Thibodeau (coach) UC Santa Barbara women's tennis vs. Utah; Santa Barbara, Calif., 4:30 p.m.
Patrick Jeffrey, Stanford diving coach (men & women) vs. Arizona State; Stanford, Calif., 4 p.m.
Austin Olivares, Lindenwood men's swimming vs. Washington University; Maryland Heights, Mo., 7 p.m.
Nick Clark (coach) Clarke University men's volleyball at Lourdes Invite; Sylvania, Ohio, TBA
Saturday, Jan. 23
Schuyler Bailar, Harvard men's swimming at UNLV, Air Force; Las Vegas, Nev., 3 p.m.
Alex Clark, East Carolina men's diving vs. Maryland-Baltimore County; Greenville, N.C., 1 p.m.
Sean Collins, Penn men's track and field at Tiger Open; Princeton, N.J., All Day
Konrad Eiring, Illinois men's track and field at Rod McCrary Memorial Invite; Lexington, Ky., All Day
Taylor Emery, Tulane women's basketball vs. East Carolina; New Orleans, 3 p.m.
Derrick Gordon, Seton Hall men's basketball at Xavier; Cincinnati, Ohio, 2 p.m.
Connor Griffin, Fordham men's swimming at LaSalle; Philadelphia, 11 a.m.
Fred Hartville, Illinois men's gymnastics at Iowa; Iowa City, Iowa, 2 p.m.
Liam Huffman, George Washington men's swimming at Old Dominion w/ St. Andrews; Norfolk, Va., 2 p.m.
Nick Jessee, St. Louis men's swimming vs. Truman State; St. Louis, 6 p.m.
Ayrton Kasemets, Oakland men's swimming at Michigan State; East Lansing, Mich., 1 p.m.
Ryan Murtha, Villanova men's swimming at Delaware; Newark, Del., 1 p.m.
Austin Parrish, Eastern Illinois men's swimming at Valparaiso; Valparaiso, Ind., TBA
Tanner Williams, Oklahoma men's track & field at Texas A&M quadrangular; College Station, Texas, 1 p.m.
Patrick Jeffrey, Stanford diving coach (men & women) vs. Arizona; Stanford, Calif., 3 p.m.
Chris Burns (ast. coach) Bryant men's basketball vs. Robert Morris; Smithfield, R.I., 4 p.m.
Galen Dodd (ast. coach) Southern California men's volleyball at UCLA; Westwood, Calif., 6 p.m.
Randy Lane (ast. coach) UCLA women's gymnastics at Arizona; Tucson, Ariz., 3 p.m.
Lee-J Mirasolo (ast. coach) Harvard women's hockey vs. Dartmouth; Cambridge, Mass., 4 p.m.
Ryan Mizner (ast. coach) Central Michigan men's basketball vs. Ohio; Mount Pleasant, Mich., 4:30 p.m.
LeQuan Chapman, Ian Davies & Austin Shupp, Shippensburg University men's track & field at Gulden Invitational; Lewisburg, Pa., TBA
Greg Arther, Wisconsin-Platteville men's track and field at Eau Claire triangular; Eau Claire, Wis., All Day
Chris Cassingham, Mary Washington men's swimming at Gettysburg; Gettysburg, Penn., 1 p.m.
Max Korten, Moravian College men's track and field at Ursinus College Invitational; Collegeville, Pa., All Day
David Gilbert, Lewis-Clark State College men's track at WSU Open; Pullman, Wa., All Day
Nick Clark (coach) Clarke University men's volleyball at Lourdes Invite; Sylvania, Ohio, TBA
Sunday, Jan. 24
Bree Horrocks, Purdue women's basketball vs. Iowa; West Lafayette, Ind., 3 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
Nick Jessee, St. Louis men's swimming at Butler Invitational; Fishers, Ind., Noon
Simon Thibodeau (coach) UC Santa Barbara women's tennis vs. Oklahoma; Santa Barbara, Calif., 3 p.m.
Jesse Taylor, Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball vs. Midland Univ.; Mitchell, S.D., 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 26
Taylor Emery, Tulane women's basketball vs. Temple; New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Galen Dodd (ast. coach) Southern California men's volleyball vs. Pepperdine; Los Angeles, 10 p.m.
Ryan Mizner (ast. coach) Central Michigan men's basketball at Miami (Ohio); Oxford, Ohio, 7 p.m.
Nick Clark (coach) Clarke University men's volleyball at Culver-Stockton; Canton, Mo., 8 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 27
Derrick Gordon, Seton Hall men's basketball vs. St. Johns; Newark, N.J., 7 p.m. (FS1)
Bree Horrocks, Purdue women's basketball at Michigan State; East Lansing, Mich., 7 p.m.
Drew Davis, Limestone College men's volleyball vs. Pfeiffer University; Gaffney, S.C., 7 p.m.
Jesse Taylor, Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball at Mount Marty College; Yankton, S.D., 9 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 28
Chris Burns (ast. coach) Bryant men's basketball at Central Connecticut; New Britain, Conn., 7 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 29
Schuyler Bailar, Harvard men's swimming vs. Princeton, Yale; Princeton, N.J., 6 p.m.
Griffin Hay, Portland men's track and field at UW Invite; Seattle, All Day
Ryan Murtha, Villanova men's swimming, at Alex Obendorf, West Virginia men's diving; Morgantown, W.V., 6 p.m.
Tanner Williams, Oklahoma men's track & field at Razorback Invitational; Fayetteville, Ark., noon
Patrick Jeffrey, Stanford diving coach (women) at UCLA; Los Angeles, 5 p.m.
Lee-J Mirasolo (ast. coach) Harvard women's hockey vs. Quinnipiac; Cambridge, Mass., 3 p.m.
LeQuan Chapman, Ian Davies & Austin Shupp, Shippensburg University men's track & field at National Invitational; University Park, Pa., TBA OR at Bison Open & Multi; Lewisburg, Pa., TBA
Javier Ruisanchez, Gannon University men's swimming at Indiana Invitational; Indiana, Pa., All Day
Saturday, Jan. 30
Schuyler Bailar, Harvard men's swimming vs. Princeton, Yale; Princeton, N.J., All day
Alex Clark, East Carolina men's diving vs. South Carolina/William & Mary; Greenville, N.C., 1 p.m.
Sean Collins, Penn men's track and field at Wesley Brown Invitational; Annapolis, Md., All Day
Derrick Gordon, Seton Hall men's basketball at Creighton; Omaha, Neb., 8 p.m.
Connor Griffin, Fordham men's swimming at Massachusetts; Amherst, Mass., 1 p.m.
Fred Hartville, Illinois men's gymnastics at Penn State; University Park, Pa., 4 p.m.
Griffin Hay, Portland men's track and field at UW Invite; Seattle, All Day
Bree Horrocks, Purdue women's basketball at Penn State; University Park, Penn., TBA
Nick Jessee, St. Louis; Austin Parrish, Eastern Illinois men's swimming at St. Louis, 3 p.m.
Ayrton Kasemets, Oakland men's swimming vs. Cleveland State, Xavier; Rochester, Mich., 1 p.m.
Alex Obendorf, West Virginia men's diving at Ohio State vs. Michigan & Buffalo; Columbus, Ohio, 1 p.m.
Tanner Wilfong, Miami men's diving vs. Florida International; Coral Gables, Fla., 11 a.m.
Tanner Williams, Oklahoma men's track & field at Razorback Invitational; Fayetteville, Ark., noon
Patrick Jeffrey, Stanford diving coach (women) at USC; Los Angeles, 3 p.m.
Chris Burns (ast. coach) Bryant men's basketball at Sacred Heart; Fairfield, Conn., 3:30 p.m.
Lee-J Mirasolo (ast. coach) Harvard women's hockey vs. Princeton; Cambridge, Mass., 4 p.m.
Ryan Mizner (ast. coach) Central Michigan men's basketball vs. Bowling Green; Mount Pleasant, Mich., 4:30 p.m.
LeQuan Chapman, Ian Davies & Austin Shupp, Shippensburg University men's track & field at National Invitational; University Park, Pa., TBA OR at Bison Open & Multi; Lewisburg, Pa., TBA
Javier Ruisanchez, Gannon University men's swimming at Indiana Invitational; Indiana, Pa., All Day
Greg Arther, Wisconsin-Platteville men's track and field at Pioneer Open; Platteville, Wis., All Day
Chris Cassingham, Mary Washington men's swimming at York (Penn.); York, Penn., 1 p.m.
Max Korten, Moravian College men's track and field at Lehigh University Covert Classic; Bethlehem, Pa., All Day
Mark Kroll, Coe College men's tennis vs. University of Chicago, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Noon
Jesse Taylor, Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball at Doane College; Crete, Neb., 5 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 31
Galen Dodd (ast. coach) Southern California men's volleyball vs. Stanford; Los Angeles, 7 p.m.
Erik Hall can be reached via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @HallErik or on Facebook. If you are an out LGBT athlete or coach and want your accomplishments recognized, email Erik.
