Contributed
(Feb. 8, 2010)

Former Jeff Davis High School star Courtney Fortson of Arkansas was named SEC Player of the Week after he averaged 25.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists  in wins over Georgia and Auburn.

Fortson scored 10 of Arkansas’ 15 points in overtime against Auburn while also recording his third double-double in just nine games played. He also had a season-best 10 rebounds against Auburn. Fortson has scored at least 20 points in five of his nine games this season, including a 27-point effort at Georgia.

Kentucky’s DeMarcus Cousins, a native of Birmingham, was named SEC Freshman of the Week after averaging 18.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in wins over No. 25 Ole Miss and at LSU. He had double-double efforts with 18 points and 13 rebounds against Ole Miss and then 19 points and 14 rebounds at LSU. He has recorded six straight double-doubles, becoming the first Wildcat since 1989 to accomplish that feat. Cousins’ 14 double-doubles on the season lead the SEC and are the most by a UK player since 2000.

Baseball TV schedule released

The Southeastern Conference has announced its 2010 SEC Baseball television schedule, the first under a new 15-year contract with ESPN. The regular-season package will include 46 broadcasts in 2010, up from eight games in 2009. In addition, all games from the 2010 SEC Tournament will continue to be broadcast, with the championship game airing nationally on ESPN2.

The television package is derived from broadcasts on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, FSN, SportSouth and CSS. In addition, ESPN360.com will also stream all broadcasts live online (except for games that appear on ESPNU).

SEC schools maintain the rights to air additional games not included in the official SEC package with various television outlets, including official SEC TV partners.

The 2010 SEC regular season begins Friday, February 19, with conference play set to begin Friday, March 19. The SEC Tournament will be played at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala., May 26-30.

Pairings for this week’s AISA Regional finals at Huntingdon and Faulkner are listed below. Winners advance to the State finals beginning Wednesday, Feb. 17 at Huntingdon College.

Contributed
(Feb. 8, 2010)

Tanner Williams’ two-out pinch-hit single, scored Charles Lester and sent Auburn University at Montgomery to a 5-4 comeback win over 11th ranked Tennessee Wesleyan College.  The win for AUM was the program’s 900th win in the 23-year history of the program, and was also Q.V. Lowe’s 900th career win at AUM.

The Senators entered the ninth down 4-3 and were down to their last strike when Jacob Salter started the rally with a two-strike single up the middle.  Lester followed Salter and was hit, putting runners on first and second.  Justin Williams, who had just missed a grand slam the inning before, shot a ball into left field scoring Salter.  Lester moved to third on the play, which set up the game-winner from Tanner Williams.

TWC scored in the first inning on a sacrifice fly from Cody Gaskill to score Ryan Santos.

The Senators evened the score in the bottom of the fourth inning when Justin Williams scored on a misplayed ground ball on the Bulldogs infield.

Both teams scored in the fifth.  TWC’s David Lindsay led the top half of the inning off with a double and came around to score on an AUM error on a sacrifice bunt.  AUM scored its run in the bottom half of the inning as Salter tripled past a diving C.J. McElroy in right field and scored on Lester’s single to center.

TWC took the lead in the seventh with two runs on an RBI single from Jonathon Smith and a squeeze play off the bat of Gaskill.

AUM cut the lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the inning after a leadoff double from Sam Judah who eventually scored on bases loaded walk to Lester.

Jared Fonseca (2-0) picked up the win pitching the final inning and a third and did not allow a run giving the Senators a chance for the comeback.

Jason Ferguson (0-1) picked up the loss for TWC, allowing the two runs on three hits in the bottom of the ninth.

Salter scored two runs and had three hits, while Lester added two RBI and also scored a run.  Judah had a RBI and two hits and both Tanner and Justin Williams had a hit an RBI.

Santos finished with three hits and two runs scored for TWC and Lindsay also had two hits.

With the 900th win, the Senators have averaged over 39 wins per season and Lowe, who started the program in 1987, has been at the helm for all 900 wins.

AUM moves to 4-3 on the season and TNC is now 0-2.  The Senators will make its first road trip of the season on Tuesday, when it travels to Mobile to face Spring Hill College.

Tide players celebrate first win over Auburn since 2006. (Photo courtesy Unv Alabama Athletic Dept.)

Contributed
(Feb. 8, 2010)

TUSCALOOSA. - Junior forward Tierney Jenkins notched her 10th double-double of the season and 22nd of her career with a game-high 17 points and 13 rebounds to lead the women’s basketball team to a victory over rival Auburn, 55-53, at Coleman Coliseum on Sunday.

The win marks the first Alabama victory in the series since Jan. 8, 2006, snapping an eight-game losing streak to Auburn. The Crimson Tide, who had not won multiple conference games since the 2006 season, improves to 10-14 (2-9 SEC) on the season while the Tigers fall to 12-12 (3-8).

"We had some people step up and just play their hearts out," head coach Wendell Hudson said. "Auburn is a good basketball team, and they can play with anyone in the country. You knew they were not going to quit, so it was just one of those Alabama-Auburn games. That’s what it was."

Junior guard LaToya King added 11 points to join Jenkins in double figures. It was a career-high for King in SEC games.

For most of the game, the Tide either led or was tied with the Tigers. Alabama used a 12-2 scoring run to take a 10-point advantage, 18-8, over Auburn by the 12:39 mark of the first half. Alabama held the lead over Auburn for all but two minutes and nine seconds of the game and trailed for just 1:16.

The Tigers would eventually tie the game at 25 with 2:50 left to play in the first half, but were unable to regain the lead. A successful free throw and a two-point jumper by Jenkins with 1:01 remaining in the half would give the Tide a three-point lead as the teams headed to the locker rooms for halftime.

With eight minutes left in the game, Alabama began to pull away with the assistance of a 10-2 run, extending its lead to a game-high 12 points.

The determined Tigers squad continued to battle back, bringing the game back within two points with 46 seconds remaining. A missed jumper by senior Dedrea Magee gave Auburn the ball and a chance to tie or take the lead with 21 seconds left in the game.

King made sure the Tigers didn’t get a shot off, taking the ball straight from Auburn’s KeKe Carrier’s hands and running out the clock to a thunderous applause from the crowd.

Auburn shot well, connecting on 23-of-54 (42.6 percent) from the field, but it wasn’t enough as Alabama made a crisp 22-of-52 (42.3 percent) from the field for the game, despite making just 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) from beyond the arc.

The Tigers’ struggled from the free throw line, making only 5-of-16 (31.3 percent) while the Tide was able to tally 7-of-11 (63.6 percent).

"Today was a tough day for us," said Auburn head coach Nell Fortner. "We could not knock down our free throws. If we could have hit some of those, it would have given us an opportunity to do something."

The Tide defense proved too much for the Tigers as Alabama forced Auburn into 18 turnovers, including nine steals on the day.

"I think our effort was the key and playing on both ends of the court, especially the defensive end of the court," Hudson said. "We made Auburn earn every point that they got in the second half and I thought that was the key to the game. When we went up by 12, we did a lot of good things and had a lot of fast break points."

The Tide looks for back-to-back SEC wins for the first time since 2006 and its third conference victory of the season when they travel to No. 14 Georgia on Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. (CST).

Auburn will return to action at 6 p.m., Thursday as the Tigers host Arkansas (9-14, 1-9 SEC) at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

Combined Reports
(Feb. 8, 2010)

The Huntingdon baseball team dropped its second-straight decision to open the 2010 season on Sunday, falling to in-state rival Birmingham-Southern, 16-4, at Posey Field.

The Panthers (1-1) blew the contest open with 10 unanswered runs, including seven in the ninth inning.

Former LAMP star Austin White led the Hawks (0-2) with two hits and two runs batted in, while junior Miles Walding and fellow freshman Evan Agnew also drove in runs. Agnew plated a run in the bottom of the ninth inning with a RBI single, his first collegiate hit. Junior Greg Clayton and sophomore Cody Turner also recorded their first career hits with the Hawks.

Birmingham-Southern was able to get to Huntingdon starter John Rice (0-1), roughing the sophomore up for seven runs on seven hits in just 4.0 innings. Junior Sam Griffin tossed the next three frames, surrendering a pair of runs, before giving way to senior Douglas Pate, who tossed a scoreless eighth. Freshman Lucas Haynes and senior Blake Gillies combined to toss the final frame.

The Panthers pounded out 19 hits in the game, including three each by Drew Leachman, Brandon Ricco, Bruce Maxwell and Brian Higgenbotham. Birmingham-Southern’s 4-6 hitters combined to go 9-for-16 with five RBIs and six runs scored, while its top two hitters, Leachman and J.D. Hulse, drove in six runs.

John Narramore tossed the first 4.0 innings for BSC, allowing just one earned run before giving way to Michael McCalib, who tossed four scoreless innings of relief to earn the victory.

Huntingdon will look to pick up its first victory of the season on
Tuesday, when it hosts Millsaps at Posey Field at 4 p.m.

Combined Reports
(Feb. 7, 2010)

Cody Chizmar had three hits and an RBI and Matthew Ingram had two RBI to lead Auburn University at Montgomery to a 12-2 win over 11th ranked Tennessee Wesleyan College.

The visitors scored a quick run in the first inning off AUM starter Robby Davis (1-1).  Jonathon Smith had a one-out double, and came around to score on Cody Gaskill’s RBI single.   That would be the only run Davis would give up in picking up the win.  He went six innings allowing five hits and striking out three.

AUM would take advantage of two TNC errors in the bottom of the first the take the lead for good.  Jacob Salter reached second base to lead off the bottom of the inning when TNC’s centerfielder dropped his ball.  He would later come around to score on a Bruce Alter fielder’s choice.  Later in the inning Justin Williams would come around to score on another infield error to give AUM a 2-1 lead.

The Senators scored two more runs in the fourth, three in the fifth and was able to push across five unearned runs in the sixth in picking up the win.

Sam Judah had two hits and scored a run while Williams scored two runs and had a hit.  Jordan Johnson scored three runs and also added a hit.  AUM out hit the visitors 12-6 and played solid defense while committing only one error.

Troy Graybill (0-1) took the loss pitching four innings and allowing five hits and four runs, two earned.  He had five strikeouts.  Six TNC players had hits with Gaskill and Ryan Santos gaining the RBI hits.

AUM evens its record at 3-3 while TNC opens the season with a loss.  The two teams will play again tomorrow in a single game beginning at 1 p.m.

Faulkner sweeps Georgetown College

Faulkner needed extra innings to win 3-2,  in Game 1 and followed with an easy 10-2 victory  in the nightcap to beat Georgetown College Saturday at for a doubleheader this afternoon at Harrison Field.

The Eagles found themselves behind by a pair of runs late in the opener, but the offense sparked in the sixth inning with three hits and two runs to give Faulkner the tie.

Antonio Kendrick opened the inning with a double and Justin Jones followed soon after with an RBI-triple for the Eagles’ for score. Ryan Reece drove in Jones with an RBI-single to send the game into extra innings.

The scoreless showdown held until the 11th inning when Kenny Miramontes knocked in the game winning run with loaded bases.

Mike Zenko pitched just over 10 innings for Faulkner in the contest. The senior gave up only three hits and two earned runs while striking out five at the plate. Junior left-hander Jeff Baldwin pitched the final two outs for the Eagles for the win.

Kendrick was 2-for-4 with a run in the opener, while Jones and Kevin Villarreal each went 1-for-4 with a run.

Faulkner put up 12 hits and 10 runs in the game two victory. The Eagles held the Tigers to just two runs on six hits.

Jacob Simmons held the mound for the first six innings of the nightcap giving up six hits and a pair of earned runs. The junior tallied four strikeouts in the win.

Senior Rusty Mills pitched the seventh inning for Faulkner and posted a strikeout.

Jones went 3-for-3 in game two and scored a pair of runs. Topher Blanchette was 2-for-4 with two runs and Michael Clayton was 2-for-3 with a run. Tyler Courson and Ronald Tarvin were each 1-for-2 with a run and Kenny Miramontes and Jonathan Gober were each 1-for-3 with a score.

Faulkner (5-3) will return to Harrison Field again Sunday afternoon for a follow-up doubleheader with Georgetown College. The first game is scheduled for noon.

Hawks drop season opener

Despite a pair of hits from senior Kyle Eller, including his first home run of the season, the Huntingdon baseball team dropped a 5-2 decision to Mississippi College in each teamˇ˝s season opener on Saturday at Posey Field.

Eller led the Hawks (0-1) with the two hits, while senior Chris Knight, junior Drew Harrell and freshman Austin White each added singles. The ninth-inning hit by White was the first of his collegiate career.

Senior Alex Sanford (0-1) struck out seven in 5.0 innings of work, but also walked four and scattered three hits. However, the Prattville native allowed three runs, only one of which was earned, to take the loss.

Fellow senior Scott Holloway saw his first action since the final game of the 2008 season, as he tossed 2 1/3 innings of relief, allowing two runs on two hits, while striking out one. Junior Ryan Harrison tossed 2/3 of an inning, while sophomore Caleb Cofield worked a scoreless ninth inning.

Bo Bell delivered the big blow for the Choctaws (1-0), a two-run home run in the eighth inning to put the game out of reach. Dakota Bodree also added a RBI triple for Mississippi College.

Huntingdon jumped out to a 2-0 lead after one inning, after Harrell led off the inning with a single past Choctaw starter Tyler Seaman (1-0). Harrell stole second and moved around to third on a groundout by senior Josh Bennefield, before scoring on a passed ball by Jacob Daniel. Eller followed one pitch later with a monster shot over the right field wall to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead.

Bodree cut the lead in half with his run-scoring hit in the third inning, before MC took the lead for good in the top of the fourth.

Bell led off the frame with a five-pitch walk, while Shane Bennett followed with a single to left field, moving Bell to third. After Bennett stole second, both runners came around to score on a throwing error by Knight.

After the first inning, Seaman settled down to scatter just two hits over the next five innings, as he struck out six and walk just two. Daniel Cowart tossed two perfect innings, before giving way to Brock Campbell, threw a scoreless ninth to pick up his first save.

Huntingdon had its opportunities to push across runs, leaving seven runners on base, including the bases loaded in the sixth inning. The Hawks also had a pair of runners on in the bottom of the ninth.

The Hawks will return to action on Sunday, when they host in-state rival Birmingham-Southern at 4:30 p.m. The Choctaws and the Panthers will also square off on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Contributed
(Feb. 7, 2010)

ROME, Ga. - Shorter overcame a big deficit with a pair of big runs in the second half and then raced away from Faulkner for a 69-61 victory Saturday afternoon in a key Southern States Athletic Conference  game.

Faulkner led by as many as 16 points in the first half and was on top 40-26 with 17:51 to play. That’s when things went ice cold for the Eagles, as the Hawks reeled off 15 straight points to grab their first lead since the opening minutes of the game. The Eagles regained the lead at 49-46 with 5:48 left, only to see Shorter go on an 11-0 run over the next two minutes to effectively slam the door shut.

"I think we lost our composure in the second half," Faulkner coach Jim Sanderson said. "We’re really disappointed with the second half and how they just dominated us on the boards. But give Shorter credit, they did what they had to do to come back."

The Hawks (16-8, 4-6 SSAC) outrebounded the Eagles (14-9, 4-5 SSAC) 38-24, with 15 coming on the offensve end that resulted in 18 second-chance points.

Camille Ngon’ angon scored 10 points and was the only Faulkner player in double figures. Marqise Wright had 18 points and 12 rebounds to pace Shorter.

Faulkner hosts Auburn Montgomery Tuesday night at 7. The game will be shown live on the Web on River Region Sports.

Contributed
(Feb. 7, 2010)

BERRY, Ga.—Will Blackwell poured in 32 points to lead Berry College to an 80-75 overtime win over Auburn University at Montgomery.  It was the second consecutive overtime for the Senators in the past three days.

Charles Perona sent the game into overtime with two free throws with 51 seconds left in the game with the game even at 68-68.

The game was tied at 75 with 24 seconds left until Blackwell hit his eighth three-pointer of the game to give Berry a 78-75 cushion.  AUM had two tries at threes in the final seconds but both shots missed and Blackwell grabbed the final rebound and was fouled.  His two free throws with only a few seconds left gave Berry the win.

Berry has lived and died by the three all season, and in this game they really lived by it, connecting on 14 of its 30 three point attempts.  AUM, on the other hand, only hit six of its 25 attempts.

Berry shot 47 percent from the field for the game and held AUM to 41 percent.  Berry made its trips to the line count, knocking down 14 of its 18 attempts.

David Holloman scored 15 points for Berry and teammate Josh Bracken scored 14.

The Senators had five players in double figures led by La Norris Smith’s 14.  Nathan Thomas had 13 points and Perona, Daniel Quinlan and Stephen Jordan all had 12.  Jordan led all players with seven rebounds.

AUM is now 11-9 overall and Berry moves to 7-12.  The Senators will be back in action Tuesday night, when they travel to cross-town rival Faulkner University for a 7 p.m. game. The game will be broadcast live on the Web on River Region Sports.

Lady Senators lose

Kate Ross scored 24 points to lead Berry College to a 76-61 win over AUM.

Berry led 37-31 at halftime and outscored AUM 39-30 in the second half.  The Lady Senators outscored Berry 13-3 in the first 10 minutes of the second half to lead 44-40.  The home-standing Lady Vikings regained their momentum and outscored AUM 36-21 the rest of the way to pull away.

Joining Ross in double digits was Brittany Couglan with 18, while Holly Compton and Tikedra Jones added 11 points each.

Berry shot 43 percent from the field, but hit eight of its 17 three point attempts, while the Lady Vikings’ defense held AUM to only 33 percent shooting.

Carlie Ainsworth hit four of her first five three point shots and finished the game with 19 points.  Cassie Moore added 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

AUM falls to 10-13 overall while Berry improves 11-7 overall.  The Lady Senators return home to take on Southern Wesleyan University Tuesday. The game is set to begin at 6 p.m.

Contributed
(Feb. 7, 2010)

Junior Adrian Williams scored a season-high 19 points to lead four Huntingdon players in double figures, as the Huntingdon men’s basketball team defeated the top team in the Great South Athletic Conference Piedmont, 87-79, on Saturday at Roland Arena.

Piedmont entered the game with a 14-6 overall record and were undefeated in league play at 3-0, but ran into a hot-shooting Hawks’ (10-9, 2-2 GSAC) squad, which shot 50.8 percent from the floor for the game. The Lions also shot well from the field, hitting 47.5 percent of their shots, including 55 percent of their treys.

Junior Ephraim Hudson added 16 points for the Hawks in the victory, while senior Heath Miller and junior Deshaun Williams each chipped in 11 points. Miller led Huntingdon with eight rebounds, while fellow senior Reggie Sprouse finished with seven boards. Junior Jack Montgomery added six boards, including three offensive, off the bench.

Huntingdon jumped out the gates quickly, taking a 14-6 lead, following a lay-in by A. Williams with 15:09 left in the opening half.

However, the Lions (14-7, 3-1 GSAC) rallied back, taking a two-point lead, 23-21, after a trey by Michael Rubio with just over seven minutes remaining in the half. The two squads were tied as late as 3:16 left in the period, but Huntingdon took the lead for good by closing the half with an 11-3 run to close the half.

In the opening period, the Hawks held a commanding 28-10 advantage in the glass, led by Williams’ 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Huntingdon also turned eight turnovers into 15 points to take a 43-35 lead to the intermission.

Piedmont pulled to within one point early in the second half by opening the period with a 7-0 run. The Hawks put the game out of reach by scoring the next eight points, to take a 51-42 lead with 13:30 remaining.

Despite Piedmont cutting the deficit to three points, Huntingdon went on to lead by as many as 15 points with 6:15 left in the game on a jumper by Hudson.

Keying the Hawks down the stretch was their performance at the charity stripe, as they hit 10-of-12 free throws in the final two minutes. Huntingdon knocked down 23-of-30 shots from the line for the game, compared to just 12-of-23 for the Lions.

Deshaun Williams paced the Hawks with four assists, while Adrian Williams led the squad with three blocked shots. Sprouse added three steals.

Josh Haymore and Samuel Coppage led the Lions with a combined 41 points off the bench, including seven 3-pointers. Peter Ricks added 11 points, while J.C. Herebia, who entered the contest averaging 14.5 points and 5.6 rebounds, was limited to just seven points and two rebounds.

Huntingdon will return to action on Wednesday when it travels to Lookout Mountain, Ga., to take on Covenant. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Piedmont beats Lady Hawks

Senior Kayla Schuran and junior Ashton Salter each scored 11 points, but the Huntingdon women’s basketball team could not find an answer for the inside presence of Piedmont’s Sada Wheeler, who finished with 29 points, in a 55-40 victory for the Lady Lions on Saturday at Roland Arena.

Wheeler also added 14 rebounds to complete the double-double to help Piedmont improve to 10-11 overall and 9-2 in the Great South Athletic Conference. Huntingdon fell to 3-16 overall and 2-7 in league play.

Schuran added a team-high eight rebounds for the Lady Hawks, while senior Lori Bonds chipped in nine points and five rebounds.

For the game, Huntingdon converted just 27.1 percent of its shots, hitting 16-of-59 attempts from the field. Both teams struggled from outside, hitting a combined 2-of-24 3-point attempts.

Piedmont held a 44-35 advantage on the glass, while outscoring the Lady Hawks 46-16 in the paint.

Huntingdon will look to rebound on Tuesday, when it hosts Agnes Scott at 6 p.m.

Head coach Anthony Grant watched his team blow a 23-point second-half lead against Ole Miss on Saturday. (Photo courtesy Unv Alabama Athletic Dept.)

Contributed
(Feb. 7, 2010)

OXFORD, Miss - Sophomore forward JaMychal Green scored 18 points while freshman forward Tony Mitchell added 16 points and eight rebounds but it wasn’t enough to counter a furious second half rally that allowed No. 25 Mississippi to pull away with a 74-67 victory over Alabama on Saturday at C.M. "Tad" Smith Coliseum.

Senior guard Mikhail Torrance had 12 points and seven assists for the Crimson Tide which falls to 13-10 (3-6 SEC) on the season after losing its third straight. The Rebels improve to 17-6 (5-4 SEC).

Alabama held a 40-20 halftime lead but were outscored 54-27 in the second-half by Mississippi. It was the 12th consecutive game in which the Crimson Tide has held the halftime lead. Additionally, Alabama has led at the midway point in all nine SEC games this season.

"I think today was a microcosm of what we’ve experienced through the season,” said Alabama head coach Anthony Grant. “Ole Miss is a very good team and we knew in the second half they were going to fight and we were going to have to fight back. In the second half, I felt like we played not to lose instead of playing to win.”

A pair of three’s by Torrance and senior guard Anthony Brock at the midway juncture of the second half briefly quelled the Mississippi momentum built from a 23-12 run over the first 9:42 that cut the Alabama lead to 55-43.

The two teams traded baskets over the next minute of play until a 14-0 Rebel run, spanning just over three minutes, proved to be the Tide’s undoing.

The Rebels would eventually tie the game at 56 at the 6:26 mark before taking its first lead of the game, at 58-56, on the ensuing possession. Alabama would later cut the margin to 61-60 on a Torrance layup, but were never able to regain the lead.

Mississippi outscored the Tide 13-6 over the final 3:53 to come away with the victory.

"I’m disappointed, but at the same time with every game, I’m finding out a little bit more about who we are,” said Grant. “As a coach I understand what it takes to win and today had nothing to do with talent but everything to do with will. Their will was great and we’ve got to find a way to fix what ails our team.”

The Crimson Tide played arguably its most complete first half of the year, taking a 40-20 lead over the Rebels.

Alabama connected on five of its first six shots to take an 11-4 lead over the first 4:28 of the game. From there, the Tide would expand the margin to 17-9 over the next four minutes before taking control of the half.

A 13-2 run from the 11:47 mark to the 5:57 mark of the first half gave Alabama a 30-11 lead. At that point, Mitchell and Torrance led the Tide with nine points each, respectively, while Green had seven.

Alabama held the Rebels to 7-of-28 (25 percent) from the field including just 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) from beyond the arc in the opening half.

Alabama will be on the road again for its next contest against No. 4/3 Kentucky. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. CST on Tuesday at Rupp Arena.