TheSunNews.com: Sports

North Myrtle Beach clinches playoff spot

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:14 EST

Socastee coach Marty Jacobs saw it coming.

With his team ahead by five after the first quarter, Jacobs told his players, "Don't let (No.) 20 pump fake you. She could start shooting at anytime."

The 20 he was referring to was Taylor Allman, whose eight-point run in the third quarter capped a North Myrtle Beach rally and helped propel the Chiefs to a 48-44 overtime win at Socastee on Tuesday night. The win cemented North Myrtle Beach's third-place spot in Region VII-AAA and locked up a playoff berth.

Grand Strand to host more MMA fights

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:14 EST

Piggybacking on the success of the first Mixed Martial Arts event at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on Jan. 23, DEA Fight Promotions of the Grand Strand will stage the second MMA fight card at the venue on March 6.

While the sold-out Jan. 23 Carolina Fight Promotions production featured three professional fights and 11 amateur bouts, the DEA card will feature approximately 15 amateur matches.

"We were really impressed with the crowd they put in there," said Andy Hall, one of a few DEA owners and the event's coordinator. "It's something that's very impressive to see, but it's not something that comes as a surprise. The popularity of this sport has just exploded."

Edwards settling into role as leader for Coastal Carolina

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:14 EST

Coastal Carolina's Mario Edwards has officially earned a diploma as a Division I basketball player.

It took Edwards a little longer than expected to shake the unpredictable habits that many athletes pick up in the junior college ranks, but he's become a dependable Division I player and Coastal's hottest player over the last month. The 6-foot-3 guard is averaging a team-high 15.9 points per game, while shooting 55.1 percent from the field in those seven games.

It typically takes junior college players half of a season to transition to the Division I game, Coastal coach Cliff Ellis said. Edwards wasn't expecting such a steep learning curve, but he's finally caught on.

High school roundup: Lake City boys lock up region

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:14 EST

The Lake City boys basketball team clinched Region VII-AAA thanks to more late-game heroics.

With the Panthers trailing by one, Bryce Thomas scored with less than 10 seconds left to give Lake City the lead and later the region title-clinching 67-66 victory Tuesday when St. James failed to get a shot off with 1.1 seconds left.

The Panthers needed to win one of their final two games to clinch the region, thus ensuring Myrtle Beach can finish no higher than second. The Panthers' win Tuesday was their fifth by a margin of two points or fewer in region play.

Clemson faces tough test in matchup with Florida State

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:14 EST

Oliver Purnell was asked Tuesday if he has had to resist leaning on the Tigers' hot hand in hopes of thawing the offensive deep freeze.

The perplexed Clemson coach asked: "Well, who would that be?"

Clemson (16-6, 4-5 ACC) has lost four of its last five games due to widespread offensive failings.

Tumbling Tar Heels trying to regain control of season

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:26 EST

Ed Davis walks to class wearing headphones like a shield against the negative vibe hanging over the North Carolina campus. Teammate Deon Thompson goes one better, rarely venturing out into public any more than he has to these days.

"I just try to stay out of sight," the senior said. "It's just tough to be around people when you're losing."

That's never supposed to be a problem at a storied program that boasts five NCAA championships, 18 Final Fours and nearly 2,000 total victories. Yet when the defending champion Tar Heels host rival Duke tonight, they'll be in a position few could have imagined: unranked, near the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference and hurtling toward the NIT.

Time running out on South Carolina men's basketball

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:14 EST

When he came to South Carolina four years ago, Brandis Raley-Ross expected he would play in the NCAA tournament at least once, if not more.

Now the guard is a senior, the last half of his final SEC season has arrived, and the possibility exists that Raley-Ross will end his career without a trip to the Big Dance.

"A sense of urgency, that's the word," Raley-Ross said. "I'm not really trying to look at it like that, I just know I want to do all I can and try to motivate the guys and make sure we go out fighting.

Injury won't keep McIlroy out of event

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:14 EST

Rory McIlroy has stretched ligaments in his lower back, although it is not expected to affect his play or keep him from the Match Play Championship next week in Arizona.

His agent, Chubby Chandler, says the 20-year-old from Northern Ireland had a back scan Monday that revealed nothing more than stretched ligaments. Chandler says it came from 10 days of practice last month to get ready for the season, then playing two tournaments in three weeks.

McIlroy, the seventh-ranked player in the world, was third at Abu Dhabi and tied for sixth last week in Dubai.

NASCAR money woes ease, sponsors seek bargains

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:14 EST

With the NASCAR season revving up at Daytona International Speedway this week, companies still have a chance to associate themselves with the sport's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

And they can do so at the relative bargain-bin prices found in NASCAR's second-tier Nationwide series.

In happier economic times a few years ago, the possibility of such a deal would have triggered a stampede of potential sponsors tradin' paint with briefcases as they raced from the boardroom to the track. But as of this week, the Earnhardt family's JR Motorsports team had sponsorship contracts in hand for only 12 of 35 races for its main No. 88 car; the team has struck separate deals for Danica Patrick to run a part-time schedule in a second car.

Wednesday, Feb. 10 local sports TV schedule

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:14 EST

College basketball: One college basketball's biggest rivalries continues tonight when Duke visits North Carolina. The Tar Heels are in desperate need of a win to keep NCAA tournament hopes alive. Duke, however, is vying for the ACC regular-season title. 9 p.m., WWMB, ESPN

NFL notes: Feeling ignored, Peppers doesn't want long-term deal with Panthers

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:14 EST

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Julius Peppers no longer wants a long-term contract with Carolina, saying the Panthers have ignored him this offseason.

In an interview aired Tuesday morning on Charlotte radio station WFNZ-AM, the five-time Pro Bowl defensive end indicated he's irritated by the team's "silence" and has changed his stance on whether he wants to continue his career in Carolina.

Loris makes Lower State finals

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:58 EST

The Loris wrestling team may be considered a favorite to win another state title, but the Lions weren't looking that far ahead.

Keyed by pins from juniors Jamar Gore and Steven Jenerette, the Lions (38-7) kept focus on the task at hand Monday night as they topped Edisto 46-14 in the second round of the Class AA duals.

Loris coach Thomas Britt said the biggest factor in the win was that his team gave up just one pin in the match. "If our kids do that, we can be pretty successful," Britt said.

SEC midseason report

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:52 EST

The midpoint of the SEC regular season has arrived, and the stretch is upon us. The league fared better in nonconference play, as expected, and much of the league play has gone according to expectations, too.

Kentucky is strong, and the race for second in the East is frantic. But it is a bit strange to see Arkansas atop the West.

A review of the first half of the SEC season:

High school notebook: Teams scrambling for playoff spots

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:57 EST

With two regular-season games left for most area boys basketball teams, the postseason forecast remains cloudy.

Conway controls its own path to the playoffs. With wins today against South Florence and Friday against Carolina Forest, the Tigers are in. Carolina Forest has Region VI-AAAA leader Hartsville tonight before meeting Conway. The Panthers need a win in either game to get in. South Florence is still in the hunt as well, and is likely in with a win tonight with a game left against West Florence (0-8) on Friday.

In Class AAA, No. 6-ranked Lake City still has the lead in Region VII-AAA at 7-1 and would have to lose to St. James (1-7) and Georgetown (4-4) this week to give Myrtle Beach (6-2) a chance to overtake the region lead, provided the Seahawks (6-2) win out against Georgetown (4-4) and North Myrtle Beach (5-3). If North Myrtle Beach beats Socastee (1-7) and Myrtle Beach tops Georgetown tonight, the Chiefs' game against the Seahawks on Friday will decide which team will be the No. 2 seed from the region and have a first-round playoff game if Lake City wins out. Georgetown is in the playoffs and is the No. 4 even if it loses this week against Myrtle Beach and Lake City. Socastee and St. James have been eliminated.

Area sports briefs: Coastal Carolina women rout UNC Asheville

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:55 EST

Coastal Carolina rode a 26-2 first-half run en route to a 60-41 win over UNC Asheville at Kimbel Arena on Monday night.

With the victory, the Chanticleers moved to 14-8 overall and 5-5 in Big South Play, while the Bulldogs fell to 6-17 and 1-9 in the league.

Amanda Stull led Coastal (14-8, 5-5 Big South) with 12 points, while Katie White and Sydnei Moss added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Bobcats' Chandler close to return, won't start

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:58 EST

Tyson Chandler arrived in Charlotte recovering from ankle and toe surgery. After slogging through the first third of the season with unimpressive results, he was shelved again with a stress reaction in his left foot.

Finally healthy, Chandler is ready to return - and wary of fitting in with a team that hit its stride without him.

Chandler participated in his first full practice Monday since being sidelined just before Christmas. After missing 22 games, Chandler says it's possible he could play some on tonight against Washington.

Patrick will race in Nationwide Series race at Daytona

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:58 EST

Here's something to consider: Maybe Danica Patrick is a pretty good race car driver.

She certainly has her detractors, the ones who have dismissed her as nothing more than a well-marketed, attractive female who has tallied all of one victory in five seasons of IndyCar racing. So she of course was written off long before she ever climbed into a stock car with the intention of giving NASCAR a spin.

Her critics rolled their eyes at her intentions.

Tuesday, Feb. 9 local sports TV schedule

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:58 EST

College basketball: It's a pivotal SEC battle tonight when the Tennessee Volunteers visit Nashville to take on in-state rival Vanderbilt. 7 p.m., ESPN

Dat's who! Saints win Super Bowl

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:07 EST

Who Dat won the Super Bowl? The New Orleans Saints, that's who.

Ain't kidding.

Put away those paper bags forever: Drew Brees and the Saints are NFL champions, rallying to upset Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 Sunday night in one of pro football's most thrilling title games.

Stricker wins at Riviera; Myrtle Beach resident Johnson ties for third

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:53 EST

In a tournament everyone expected him to win, Steve Stricker was trying not to lose.

Instead of firing at flags and trying to make birdies, which allowed him to build a six-shot lead at Riviera, he suddenly found himself playing it safe and trying not to make bogeys. Instead of having a chance to break the 25-year-old tournament scoring record, he feared matching a PGA Tour record for blowing the biggest lead.

The Northern Trust Open ultimately ended Sunday the way everyone thought it would - Stricker in tears after another victory.