Sports (1098)
CVCC Women's Basketball Defeats Bryant and Stratton
Written by Jason Savage
The 15th-ranked Catawba Valley Community College women’s basketball team remained undefeated in Region 10 play on Sunday with a 67-47 road victory against Bryant & Stratton at Maury High School.
Sophomore forward Alliyah Chaplin paced the Red Hawks (10-1, 3-0 in Region 10) with 20 points — her fourth game this season with at least 20 points scored.
Sophomore guard Tazah Hardin and freshman guard Ariana Montgomery added 14 points apiece in the win for Catawba Valley.
CVCC took a commanding 36-14 lead at halftime paced by 13 points from Chaplin and eight points from Hardin.
Leading by 22 points at halftime, the Red Hawks would be outscored by the Bobcats by only two points in the second half, and Catawba Valley’s first half advantage was more than enough to secure it the 20-point conference win.
The CVCC women’s basketball team returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts conference foe Guilford Tech at the Tarlton Complex.
Tip off between the Red Hawks and Titans is set for 6 p.m. Admission is free.
Appalachian State women's basketball fell to Troy, 84-55, on Saturday afternoon in Trojan Arena in the second of two Sun Belt games to open league action.
Appalachian falls to 3-10 (0-2 SBC) and Troy improves to 11-2 (2-0 SBC) on the season.
Ashley Polacek highlighted the App offense with a game-high 22 points on nine field goals and a trio of 3-pointers. It's the third game this season with at least 20, which all have come on the road. It also ties her career high (2018-19) with three 20-point performances.
Pre Stanley rounded out the leading scorers with 12 points and Bayley Plummer grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, scored six points and blocked three shots.
Plummer's layup and a trifecta by Polacek gave the Black and Gold an early 5-2 lead with 7:39 left in the opening period. Both teams shot less than 25 percent in the opening minutes of the game. As the game went on, Troy closed the frame with a 16-5 run to take an 18-10 advantage going into the second quarter.
Despite the Trojans, App State stayed within striking distance, slicing the gap to five after trailing by 11. Brooke Bigott hit a 3-pointer before consecutive field goals by Polacek brought App to within five, 30-25, after free throws by Troy. With the clock winding down, Emely Rosario hit a buzzer-beater to put Troy up 33-25.
The offense went into the half with some momentum, which carried over into the second half. Plummer's putback layup closed the gap to six, 33-27. While App went on a 6-of-8 stretch over a 3:57 span in the second and third periods, Troy's offense didn't let up as it still went up by as much as 14 during the run. Lainey Gosnell's lone field goal brought App to within 11, 43-32. That was the closest the Mountaineers got as Troy scored the next seven points and didn't look back.
App State turned the ball over just 13 times, but eight of those miscues were in the third period when Troy had its largest margin of any quarter.
Troy was led by four players in double figures with Jasmine Robinson netting 15.
App State hosts UTA at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday in the Holmes Center.
Lenoir-Rhyne Sweeps Bluegrass Mountain Swimming Awards
Written by Jason Savage
The Bluegrass Mountain Conference announced Lenoir-Rhyne freshman Micah McRea and sophomore Kimberly Scheiber as the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Swimmers of the Week for the week of December 19th. The duo completed in the four-day Spartan Invite in Clearwater, Florida.
During the Event, McRea had 13 record breaking swims for the week, including his 400 IM time of 3:50.86, which was good for second in the nation. McRea ended up qualifying for four events for the NCAA Championship in March.
On Day 2 of the Spartan Invite, Scheiber had a career day she will never forget. In the 400 IM, she broke the school record by 8 seconds, make a NCAA 'B' cut and secured the 14th best time in the Nation.
During the four day event, Scheiber broke four school records and was part of five different relays that also broke school records. During the week, Scheiber qualified for four events for the NCAA Championships in March.
This is Scheiber's second Swimmer of the Week honor.
Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Basketball Bury 19 Three-Pointers in Win
Written by Jason Savage
The Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Basketball Team buried 19 3-pointers to draw even with the mark set on Jan. 15, 2014 as the Bears defeated Coker 89-70.
The Bears were on fire from long range, connecting on 19-of-34 (55.9 percent) from the 3-point line. Both Cooper Fowler and Darius Simmons made six threes and the duo combined to go 12-for-17 from deep.
LR was particularly hot in the second half, finishing the final 20 minutes 11-for-18 from distance. Five different Bears hit at least one three and four made three or more. Fowler tied his career-high (which was set a game ago against Wingate) with 22 points and added five boards. Joining Fowler with 20-plus points were R.J. Gunn (21) and Simmons (20).
Tyson McClain came off the bench to score 14 points, his second-most in his career. On Nov. 9, the sophomore scored a career-best 17 against Young Harris.
Leading by six at the half, the Bears overpowered Coker with a 15-0 run to start the second half. The Bears held the Cobras scoreless for the first 4:28 of the second half and never looked back.
Royce Hunter led the visitors with 24 points and six boards. Chandler Lindsey and Malcolm Kennedy came off the bench to combine for 27.
A game after committing just eight turnovers, the Bears established a new season-low with just six turnovers. Mason Hawks and McClain finished with five assists and zero turnovers and Simmons had five dimes and one giveaway.
Fowler finished an outstanding week where he averaged 22 points and 7.5 rebounds and hit nine three-pointers.
The Bears have now won two straight and haven't lost when they reach 80 points. With the back-to-back wins, LR jumps from an 11th place tie to a tie for seventh in the SAC standings.
Gunn is just seven points shy of 600 for his career.
The Bears are 6-5 overall and 2-4 in the South Atlantic Conference. L-R continues a four-game homestand when they host Carson-Newman on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. inside Shuford Gym.
App State Men's Basketball Wins in Buzzer Beater
Written by Jason Savage
Justin Forrest drained a three-pointer in the final seconds to lead App State men's basketball past Georgia Southern 74-72 on Saturday evening.
A layup by Forrest with 41 seconds remaining cut the Eagles (9-6, 3-1 SBC) to 72-71. App State (9-6, 3-1 SBC) got a stop on Georgia Southern's next possession and called a timeout. Out of the timeout, O'Showen Williams found Forrest who pump faked to his left and then drained a step back three at the top of the key with 0.9 seconds left to give the Mountaineers the 74-72 lead. A last second shot by Georgia Southern was no good giving the Mountaineers the two-point victory.
In the first half, the Black and Gold scored six consecutive points to open a 17-9 lead. Georgia Southern stormed back to tie the game at 24-24 and closed the half on a 15-5 run to take a 39-29 advantage into the intermission.
App State scored the first four out of the locker room and cut the deficit to a point at 42-41 on a pair of free throws from Kendall Lewis. Forrest knotted the score at 47-47 with a triple, but Georgia Southern countered with the next four points to take a 51-47 edge with 13:40 remaining. The Mountaineers answered right back with seven straight to open a 54-51 lead, only to see the Eagles jump back in front 58-54 with seven consecutive points.
Georgia Southern opened a seven-point lead at 71-64 with 3:15 to play. From there, the Black and Gold closed the game on a 10-1 run, capped by the clutch trey from Forrest for the win.
Forrest finished with a game-high 25 points, while adding five rebounds and four assists. Williams tallied 20 points, three rebounds and three assists. Forrest has now scored 20 or more points seven times this season and Williams poured in at least 20 points twice.
Lewis reached double figures with 11 points, while adding six rebounds. Hunter Seacat had eight points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Isaac Johnson chipped in with eight points and seven rebounds.
App State finished 24-of-56 (42.9 percent) from the field and went 17-of-19 (89.5 percent) from the free throw line. Georgia Southern went 24-of-60 (40.0 percent) from the field and 16-of-26 (61.5 percent) from the charity stripe.
The Mountaineers won the rebounding battle 42-31.
App State concludes its three-game home stand on Monday against Louisiana at 7 p.m. on Make an Impact Monday. The first 500 fans through the door will receive a rally towel.
Jacob Greene and Micah McRea were a part of four wins each as the Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Swimming Team dominated Barton 172-90 on Saturday Afternoon.
Team Scores:
Lenoir-Rhyne 172 , Barton 90
Bears Winners:
Spencer Ashby- 200 Medley Relay (1:36.44), 400 Free Relay (3:15.43)
Alex Ballard-1000 Free (9:57.76), 100 Fly (53.78)
Dillon Carey- 100 Free (49.43), 400 Free Relay (3:15.43)
Jacob Greene- 200 Medley Relay (1.36.44), 100 Back (53.37), 200 Back (1:56.56) 400 Free Relay (3:15.43)
Micah McRea- 200 Medley Relay (1:36.44), 200 Free (1:42.43), 200 IM (1:55.11) 400 Free Relay (3:15.43)
Alex Murphy- 500 Free (5:03.55)
John Ryan- 200 Medley Relay (1:36.44), 100 Breast (1:01.69), 200 Breast (2:14.63)
Bears will return home for a tri-meet with Catawba and Wingate on Saturday January 18th.
L-R Women's Swimming Drops Road Meet to Barton
Written by Jason Savage
Lenoir-Rhyne Women's Swimming traveled to Wilson, NC to face Barton College Saturday afternoon and won six out of 14 events but fell to Barton College 146-115.
Team Scores:
Lenoir-Rhyne 115, Barton 146
Bears Winners:
Lisa Boernigen- 200 Medley Relay (1:47.72), 500 Free (5:30.63)
Kelsey Krumanocker-1000 Free (11:20.76)
Lauren Rutherford- 200 Medley Relay (1:47.72) 200 IM (2:20.86)
Kimberly Scheiber 200 Medley Relay (1:47.72) 200 Breast (2:31.47)
Kiana Schumacher 200 Medley Relay (1:47.72) 100 Back (1:02.70)
The Bears will travel to Salisbury, N.C. for a tri-meet with Catawba and Wingate on Friday, January 17th at 5 PM.
The Lenoir-Rhyne Women's Basketball team returned home for their first game in 45 days and Madeline Hardy had her fifth double-double of the year to lead the Bears to a 74-58 win over Coker.
The opening quarter saw the Bears get out to a 17-8 lead. Hardy led the Bears with seven points as Coker struggled from the field shooting only 4-23 in the quarter.
LR extended their lead in the second quarter to take a 31-21 lead into halftime. Coker had 12 offensive rebounds in the first half to lead them to a eight second chance points. Laney Fox hit two of her three first half three-pointers in the quarter to lead the Bears with nine points at half.
LR started the third quarter with a 12-0 run, Hardy had nine of the 12 points during the run. The Bears extended their lead to 26 points after three quarters.
The Bears shot a season high 45% from three point (9-20). Kennedy Weigt shot 5-9 from deep and Laney Fox went 4-8.
LR's defense forced Coker into 31.1% shooting from the field and forced 19 turnovers. The Bears added 10 steals on the day. LR has forced at least 10 steals in four out of the last five games.
Lenoir-Rhyne started their season with 9 of their first 11 games on the road, In the SAC, Only LR (9) and Mars Hill (8) have played more then 6 games on the road in the first half of the season.
Tonight's win marks the 7th straight win and 9 out of the last 10 against Coker. Coker's last win against the Bears was February 10, 2016 at Coker.
With 11 rebounds tonight, Madeline Hardy eclipses 100 rebounds on the season. Hardy is currently sixth in the SAC conference with 8.7 rebounds a game.
With 22 points tonight, it marks the third twenty point game for Madeline Hardy on the season.
Bears moved to 4-1 on the year when scoring at least 70 points.
Two-sport star Jackie Denny played in her first game since February 28, 2018 against Carson-Newman. Denny missed all last year due to injury.
LR improves 4-8 overall and 2-4 in the South Atlantic Conference. The Bears welcome Carson-Newman to Shuford Gymnasium on Wednesday evening at 5:30
High School Girls Basketball Results From Friday, 1/3/20
Written by Jason Savage
Northwestern 3A/4A Conference:
Freedom: 63
Hickory: 46
McDowell: 58
St. Stephens: 45
Alexander Central: 49
Watauga: 46
Northwestern Foothills 2A Conference:
Bunker Hill: 63
West Iredell: 55
Draughn: 78
Fred T. Foard: 56
East Burke: 50
Hibriten: 13
Patton: 61
West Caldwell: 43
South Fork Athletic 2A Conference:
Newton-Conover: 67
Bandys: 50
High School Boys Basketball Results From Friday, 1/3/20
Written by Jason Savage
Northwestern 3A/4A Conference:
Freedom: 58
Hickory: 46
McDowell: 90
St. Stephens: 76
Alexander Central: 67
Watauga: 49
Northwestern Foothills 2A Conference:
Draughn: 78
Fred T. Foard: 62
Hibriten: 58
East Burke: 48
West Caldwell: 60
Patton: 57
West Iredell: 66
Bunker Hill: 53
South Fork Athletic 2A Conference:
Newton-Conover: 71
Bandys: 66
Maiden: 60
West Lincoln: 18
More...
Jones Named Associate AD for Football Operations at App State
Written by Jason Savage
App State head football coach Shawn Clark has hired veteran administrator Nolan Jones as Associate Athletics Director for Football Operations.
“I’ve known Nolan for a long time. He has great experience and will be a strong asset to the organization of our football program,” said Clark, who worked with Jones at both Eastern Kentucky and Kent State. “We’re excited to welcome Nolan, Lisa, Brycen, Parker and Lauren to the App Family.”
A college football athletics administrator for the past two decades, Jones arrives in Boone after one year at Ole Miss. He will coordinate the day-to-day internal and external operations for the Mountaineer football program.
Jones was the associate A.D. for football operations for the Rebels during the 2019 season after spending three seasons (2016-19) as director of football operations for the Kansas Jayhawks.
During his career, he has also served as director of football operations at Kent State (2015-16), director of football operations at Michigan (2013-14), director of football operations at Kentucky (2011-13), director of football operations at Northwestern (2005-11), director of football operations at Princeton (2004-05) and director of football operations/GA at Eastern Kentucky (2003-04).
At Northwestern, Jones coordinated operations for three bowl game appearances and a 2010 game at Wrigley Field against Illinois.
Jones was a finalist for FootballScoop’s 2012 Director of Football Operations of the Year award while at Kentucky.
Jones earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and a master’s degree in physical education with an emphasis in sport administration from Eastern Kentucky University. While on staff at EKU, he also served as director of football operations and a graduate assistant coach during the 2003 season. Jones got his start as an operations and recruiting intern at Kentucky from 2002-03.
Jones and his wife, Lisa, have two sons, Brycen and Parker, and a daughter, Lauren.
CVCC Women's Basketball Needs Overtime to Get By Walters State
Written by Jason Savage
The 15th-ranked Catawba Valley Community College women’s basketball team not only avenged its only loss of the season on Thursday at the Tarlton Complex, but it also made program history with its first-ever win against Division I Walters State.
The Red Hawks (9-1) defeated the Senators 67-60 in overtime — the second time this season that the two teams played into an extra session.
Tazah Hardin paced CVCC with 14 points, nine steals and five rebounds — one of four Red Hawk players who reached double figures in scoring.
Sophomores Alliyah Chaplin (13 points, seven rebounds) and Aniya Taylor (11 points, six steals, four rebounds) and freshman Ariana Montgomery (10 points) also helped lead the charge for Catawba Valley.
Walters State (9-5) led 18-11 after the first quarter and opened the second quarter on a 7-0 run to further increase its lead to 25-11.
However, CVCC answered by closing the second quarter on an 18-3 run to cut its deficit to a single point — 30-29 — by halftime.
Catawba Valley continued its momentum in the second half, eventually gaining a 49-41 lead through three quarters of play. Hardin scored eight of her points and recorded four steals during the quarter.
However, Senators post player Paris Mullins opened the fourth quarter by converting back-to-back three-point plays to pull her team back in the non-conference contest.
Tied 59-59 in the game’s final seconds, the Red Hawks had possession, but were unable to secure the game-winning basket in regulation, sending the game into an extra five-minute session.
In overtime, the Red Hawks capitalized at the free throw line, making 5-of-7 attempts, including 4-of-4 shots from Taylor, to secure its historic first-ever win against the Senators.
The CVCC women’s basketball team returns to action on Sunday for a conference match up with Bryant & Stratton College. Tip off in Virginia Beach is set for 1 p.m.
The Catawba Valley Community College men’s basketball team overcame an eight-point deficit to secure a 73-64 Region 10 victory against Lenoir on Thursday afternoon at the Tarlton Complex.
The win for the Red Hawks (9-4, 4-2 in Region 10) is their sixth straight this season.
Zach De La Cruz led Catawba Valley in the victory with 15 points — all of them coming in the second half.
Jahleer Black (13 points), Charles Bryson (12) and Jonathan McFall (11) also reached double figures in scoring for the Red Hawks.
Lenoir (2-11, 1-7 in Region 10) led through the first 31 minutes of Thursday’s league contest, going ahead by as many as eight points. The Lancers took a 35-30 lead at halftime.
Battling its way back in the second half, CVCC took the lead for good on a tipped in basket by forward Jehlon Johnson with 7:18 left in the contest, pulling the Red Hawks ahead 55-54.
From there, Catawba Valley would outscore Lenoir 18-9 in the final seven minutes to secure its fourth conference win of the winter.
The CVCC men’s basketball team will try to extend its winning streak to seven games when it returns to action on Saturday against conference opponent Bryant & Stratton.
Tip off between the Red Hawks and Bobcats is set for 3 p.m. in Virginia Beach, Va.
Appalachian State Women's Basketball Drops Sun Belt Opener
Written by Jason Savage
Appalachian State women's basketball fell to South Alabama, 81-66, in the Sun Belt opener on Thursday evening in the Mitchell Center.
App State falls to 3-9 (0-1 SBC) while the Jaguars move to 6-7 (1-0 SBC).
Pre Stanley (Rockledge, Fla.) bounced back from a nine-point performance at UNCG with a team-high 19 points on five buckets and a 9-of-11 showing from the charity stripe. Lainey Gosnell (Demorest, Ga./Habersham Central) (12 points) and Ashley Polacek (Ottawa, Canada/UCF) (11 points) scored 20 of their combined 23 points in the second half. Polacek also added five boards and three assists.
Bayley Plummer (Thomasville, N.C./East Davidson) posted her 25th-career game with 15 boards, which was a game-best on top of three blocks and five points. She helped limit Antoinette Lewis to just two points on 1-of-4 shooting and four rebounds. The Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year came in averaging a double-double of 13.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. Nicola Mathews (Adelaide, Australia/College of Central Florida) had her best performance of the season with 10 points off the bench, shooting 4-of-5 from the field with three helpers.
Trailing by as much as 18, 44-26, in the third quarter, the offense hit seven of its next 10 shots to slice the gap to seven. Mathews started the surge late with back-to-back buckets before four Mountaineers hit five shots capped off by a trifecta from Gosnell to make the score 61-54 with 8:49 left in the game.
Just when momentum started to shift towards the Black and Gold, the Apps' offense went cold the rest of the way as they hit only three shots. USA capitalized by scoring seven straight points to push the lead back to double-digits and pulled away for the win.
App State's offense struggled in the first 15 minutes of the game. South Alabama jumped out to a 10-4 lead before consecutive treys by Brooke Bigott (Katy, Texas/Seven Lakes) and Michaela Porter (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy/Cincinnati) tied the game up. The hosts answered with an 11-2 run over the last 3:37 of the first to take a 21-12 advantage.
After a 4:18 scoring drought led South Alabama holding a 29-16 edge, baskets by Plummer and Mathews dwindled the deficit to single digits, 29-20. The Jags stretched their lead to 37-24 at the end of the first half after trading buckets with the Apps.
The Mountaineers were able to corral 17 offensive rebounds, which is the second most in a game this season, but scored only nine second-chance points to the Jags' 17. App also shot a season-high 81 percent (17-21) from the charity stripe. Eighteen miscues by App led to 20 points for South Alabama, and it also hit 10 3-pointers.
App will look for an even weekend on Saturday against Troy at 3 p.m. (ET).
