November 25, 2009
Flames suffer road loss
EVANSTON, Ill. - Freshman Drew Crawford scored 22 points, nearly double his output from the first three games combined, to lead Northwestern to a 69-53 win over over Liberty yesterday John Shurna added 14 points for Northwestern (3-1), which needed only five points from top scorer Michael Thompson. Thompson entered the game averaging 19.7 points and scored 31 in Sunday’s narrow victory over Tennessee State.
November 24, 2009
VCU shakes malaise, pulls away from Hampton 63-52
HAMPTON—It wasn’t exactly Tylenol-free, but Virginia Commonwealth was able to avoid an Oklahoma hangover last night. Two days after whipping the 17th-ranked Sooners, the Rams had to work to overcome impatient shooting, sloppy turnovers and some malaise to shake off Hampton 63-52. “It certainly wasn’t the prettiest of victories,“ VCU coach Shaka Smart said, “but it was a ‘W.‘“
November 22, 2009
Cavaliers cruise to win
CHARLOTTESVILLE—Mike Scott scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Sylven Landesberg added 14 points to lead Virginia to a 76-55 win over Oral Roberts in the final states-side game of the Cancun Challenge yesterday. “It’s baby steps, as they say,“ said first-year Virginia coach Tony Bennett, when asked about his team’s progress. “I thought we reeled it back in and defensively didn’t let it get out of hand in the second half.
November 21, 2009
George Mason falls in tourney
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—Gani Lawal had 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead Georgia Tech over George Mason 70-62 yesterday in the consolation round of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off. Lawal scored six of his team’s last 15 points as the Yellow Jackets (2-1) held off a late rally by the Patriots. Derrick Favors scored 18 points for Georgia Tech. He had six points in a 13-0 run that gave the Yellow Jackets a 43-23 lead with 15 minutes to play.
November 20, 2009
Timely 3s lift Tribe past Spiders, 78-71
WILLIAMSBURG For two stretches, University of Richmond defenders lost William and Mary shooters. As a result, the Spiders lost the game. The Tribe pulled a 78-71 upset before 2,104 at William and Mary Hall last night. The Tribe made 10 3-pointers, not an extraordinary number. But three in a row came in the last 1:18 of the first half, and that flurry allowed W&M to take a one-point lead and momentum at intermission. The sequence repeated in the second half. W&M’s David Schneider (25 points) hit two 3-pointers and a shorter jumper in less than 60 seconds, moving the Tribe (1-2) to a six-point lead with 10 minutes left in its home opener.
Williams’ 3 lifts Dayton
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—Paul Williams scored seven of his 13 points in the final minute, including a go-ahead 3-pointer, in Dayton’s 63-59 win over No. 21 Georgia Tech in the opening game of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off yesterday. Chris Johnson scored 19 points for the Flyers (2-0), going 4 for 8 from behind the 3-point line. Luke Fabrizius added 12 points.
November 19, 2009
Wednesday’s state men’s basketball
LEXINGTON—Nick Gore scored 20 points off the bench, pacing six Keydets in double figures, as VMI rolled to an easy home victory. Michael Sparks score 19, Austin Kenon 14, Ron Burks 13 and Stan Okoye and Keith Gabriel 12 each for VMI (2-1). Justin Caldwell scored 25 to lead West Virginia Wesleyan (0-1). WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN (0-1)
November 15, 2009
Basweti captures second consecutive SunTrust Marathon title
Dueling with Jynocel Basweti over 26.2 miles, said Michael Wardian, is invariably an all-or-nothing proposition. “Either he’s going to crash and burn or he’s going to run pretty well,“ Wardian said. “Today he ran pretty well, I guess.“ Basweti, a 22-year-old Kenyan, became the SunTrust Richmond Marathon’s first back-to-back winner in five years by delivering an elegant effort yesterday in raw, windy conditions. He finished in 2:18:28—the sixth-fastest time in the event’s 32-year history—and defeated Wardian, the runner-up, by nearly seven minutes.
November 14, 2009
Rams off to a flying start in Smart’s debut
Joey Rodriguez and the Virginia Commonwealth basketball team got a text message from Eric Maynor at 8 a.m. yesterday. “Time to get up,“ it read in part. “It’s game day. You guys get ready.“
Spiders pull away from Lehigh with second-half surge
The University of Richmond spent most of last night’s game vs. Lehigh looking for combinations that could score. The winning combination was Kevin Anderson and the ball. The 6-0 junior guard scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half as the Spiders overcame 38.6 percent shooting and won 65-53 before 4,139 at the Robins Center. Also pivotal in UR’s season-opening success was a stretch midway through the second half during which the Spiders turned up the intensity of their half-court defense and caused turnovers on seven consecutive Mountain Hawks possessions.
November 03, 2009
College basketball: Harangody, Kansas duo top preseason A-A team
Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody and Kansas teammates Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins are the leading vote-getters on The Associated Press’ preseason All-America team. They are joined by Patrick Patterson of Kentucky and Kyle Singler of Duke on the team selected by a national media panel. Harangody, the only player to rank in the top 10 last season in scoring and rebounding, was a preseason pick last season and then was a second-team All-American after averaging 23.3 points and 11.8 rebounds for the Fighting Irish.
October 25, 2009
Hokies eye return to Big Dance
Virginia Tech’s basketball team last made the NCAA tournament in 2007, when just one of the Hokies’ current players was on the roster. They settled for National Invitation Tournament appearances the past two seasons, leaving this season’s team longing to play in the NCAAs. How they answer several questions will determine if they get there. There are broad issues, like replacing last season’s leading scorer and eliminating defensive lapses that frustrated coach Seth Greenberg. And there are narrower storylines, like the development of a young point guard and the search for another scoring option in the post.
July 04, 2009
Federer stands at history’s doorstep; Roddick is final obstacle
WIMBLEDON, England—Rising, rising, rising, high above the most famous patch of grass in tennis, Roger Federer offered his best impression of Pete Sampras on match point in the Wimbledon semifinals yesterday, tucking both feet back beneath his body and uncorking an overhead smash. And now, after years of chasing Sampras, Federer is poised to surpass him.
July 02, 2009
Federer and Roddick lead advance into Wimbledon men’s semifinals
Andy Roddick (above) defeated 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt in a five-set quarterfinal epic. WIMBLEDON, England—Roger Federer neutralized Ivo Karlovic’s huge serves yesterday to reach the Wimbledon semifinals and move a step closer to a record 15th Grand Slam championship. Two-time finalist Andy Roddick, Andy Murray and Tommy Haas completed the final four.
June 12, 2009
Va. Tech names Brizendine soccer coach
Virginia Tech yesterday promoted assistant men’s soccer coach Mike Brizendine to replace Oliver Weiss, who resigned earlier this month after seven seasons as the Hokies’ head coach. Brizendine had been Weiss’ top assistant for the past five seasons. Brizendine came to Tech from Bridgewater College, where he was the men’s and women’s assistant in 2000 and the men’s head coach from 2001-03. In 2003, he was named Old Dominion Athletic Conference coach of the year after leading Bridgewater to a 12-6 record, its best ever.
