Racers head coach Billy Kennedy is a Hugh Durham Award finalist.
Tuesday Sports Briefs
BOYS REGION 1 FINAL SET
Tilghman made just enough free throws in the 2nd half for a 64-57 win over Marshall County boys First Region Tournament semifinals at the RSEC in Murray. The Tornado improve to 23-8 and will face defending regional champion Graves County in tonight’s title game. The Eagles improved to 28-4 with a 49-40 win over Heath in the other semifinal game. You can hear the title game tonight, with pre-game coverage beginning at 6 on WNBS and Froggy 103.7.
REGION 2: COLONELS VS COLONELS
In the second region, Christian County defeated Lyon County 56-43 in the Second Region boys’ basketball tournament in Madisonville. The Colonels will face Henderson County in tonight's title game after they beat Madisonville 88-76 in the other semifinal.
MSU GOLF IN HUNT FOR TITLE
The Murray State men’s golf squad stood in third place after 36 holes of the 54-hole Samford Intercollegiate in Birmingham. The Racers finished with a two round total of 586 and trailed second place Vanderbilt and leader Kennesaw State each at 575. Individually, the Racers were led by Cameron Carrico who had a143 for a spot in seventh in the field of 75 competitors, while Nick Newcomb was in 11th with a 145. The final round is being played today at the Limestone Springs Golf Course.
BK A DURHAM FINALIST
Murray State head men's basketball coach Billy Kennedy has been named as one of 15 finalists for the 2010 Hugh Durham Mid-Major Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com. Kennedy became a candidate for the award after his Racers completed a 17-1 championship season in the Ohio Valley Conference and won the league's tournament and a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the 14th time in school history. The Hugh Durham Award is given annually to the nation's top mid-major coach, as voted on by the 20-member panel and the winner will be presented with the award at the Final Four in Indianapolis.
TOPPERS TOPPLED IN SUN BELT SEMIS
Brandon Hazzard tallied 17 points and the top-seeded Troy Trojans edged the fourth-seeded Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, 54-48. Troy plays North Texas in the title game tonight.
SOFTBALL OFF, BASEBALL ON
The Murray State softball double-header scheduled for today has been postponed due to rain. The teams will try to reschedule the games for later in the season. The Racers (2-9) will now have the week to prepare for the Racer Classic as they welcome Belmont and Alcorn State for the two day tournament Saturday and Sunday at Racer Field...The Murray State baseball team is hosting Arkansas State today at Reagan Field in a 2pm game.
CARDINALS LOSE TO BOSTON
The Cardinals were no-hit for six innings only to take the lead but eventually lose in a 7-6 final to the Red Sox in Fort Myers. Shane Robinson broke up the no-no with a double off Manny Delcarmen. Daryl Jones doubled home a pair of runs in the eighth to give St. Louis a 3-2 lead, but Boston came right back with three in the bottom half. The Redbirds responded with three more in the top of the ninth to lead 6-5, but the BoSox tallied two in the bottom half to pull out the win. Josh Reddick doubled home the tying run and scored on a a single by Che-Hsuan Lin. Evan MacLane took the loss. Chris Carpenter allowed four hits and one run in two innings in his spring debut for the Cards, who fell to 1-and-4 on the spring. Adam Wainwright will face the Twins today in Fort Myers.
Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols did not make the trip to Fort Myers yesterday. The two-time reigning NL MVP stayed behind in Jupiter due to discomfort in his back. The slugger had his back looked at by a chiropractor. Manager Tony La Russa said Pujols would also be held from today's game against the Twins, but could return to action tomorrow.
DAVENDER PLEAS
A former UK Wildcat standout has taken a plea deal in connection with a ticket scam in Fleming County. Ed Davender was accused of bilking a victim out of nearly 750-dollars for basketball tickets which were never received. He's scheduled to be sentenced on the Fleming County charges on April 16th, but charges are still pending in Fayette County. Davender was sentenced in Harrison County earlier this year on similar charges to five years of supervised release.
Dylan Harris of CCHS signs with Brescia
Monday Sports Headlines
CATS FINISH PERFECT AT RUPP
Darius Miller and Eric Bledsoe each scored 14 points, as third-ranked Kentucky held off Florida, 74-66, to complete a perfect season at Rupp Arena. Patrick Patterson added 13 points and John Wall ended with 11 points and eight assists for the Wildcats, who went 18-and-0 at home this season, en route to a 29-and-2 record. Kentucky, which had already won the regular season SEC title outright and will likely be a number-one seed in the NCAA Tournament, heads into the conference tourney on a two-game win streak. Alex Tyus had 12 points to pace the Gators, who have lost three in a row heading into the SEC Tournament.
Kentucky freshman phenom John Wall is among the six finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, which is presented to the top point guard in college basketball. The finalists were announced Saturday by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and the list was whittled down from 73 nominees. The award will be presented April 5th at the Final Four.
BREDS LOSE
Northwestern State took advantage of five Murray State errors to complete a three-game sweep over the Breds with a 13-3 victory Sunday afternoon at Brown-Stroud Field. It marked the first time since Indiana State in 2007 that the Breds have been swept in a three-game series.The Breds return to the diamond Tuesday afternoon as they play host to Arkansas State. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Reagan Field.
MSU SOFTBALL WINS
The Murray State softball team rallied in the top of the eighth inning to earn a 5-4 extra-inning decision over Eastern Kentucky in its final game of the Lady Bison Classic hosted by Lipscomb. Junior Lauren Buch was placed on second to start the inning due to international tie-breaker rules. Freshman Stephanie Edwards then grounded out to the short stop, but Buch was able to advance to third. Freshman Kaitlyn England then reached on an error by the first baseman and Buch was able to cross the plate for the winning run. The Racers are back in action tomorrow at Racer Field when they host Travecca Nazarene for a 3 p.m. double-header.
RACERS DANCE
The Murray State Racers punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the 14th time Saturday when they defeated the Morehead State Eagles 62-51 in the championship game of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The Racers (30-4) broke open a tight game in the second half and a freshman came up big. With the game tied 31-31 with 10:13 remaining, MSU put together an 11-2 run that gave them a 42-33 lead when Jeffery McClain scored. After Morehead State cut the lead to seven at 6:18, freshman Isaiah Canaan hit a three-pointer with 5:48 left for a 45-35 lead and moments later at 4:14 he hit another and the Racers had a 10-point lead again. The lead went to 14 points in the final seconds, before MSU advanced to the NCAA’s with a school and OVC record 30 wins. Canaan was named the OVC Tournament MVP on a night when he was the only Racer to score in double-figures with 16 points.
HALEY TO THE VICTORS!
Haley Armstrong made 2 free throws with 1.2 second remaining to give Murray High a 45-44 overtime win over Calloway County Saturday night in the championship game of the Girls First Region Tournament at the RSEC. The win leaves the Lady Tigers 30-4, and sends them to this week’s Sweet 16 at Diddle Arena where they will face 12th Region champion Rockcastle County Thursday night at 6:30. Boys action resumes tonight at the RSEC: Marshall County vs. Paducah Tilghman, 6 p.m.; Graves County vs. Heath, 7:45 p.m. Coverage at 4pm on WNBS.
HARRIS SIGNS
Calloway County High School senior Dylan Harris has signed a letter of intent to attend Brescia University and become a part of their cross country and track teams. Harris was a member of the Lakers 2008 State runner-up Cross Country team and also part of the 2009 State Champion 4 x 800 Relay team.Brescia University is a Catholic affilaited Liberal Arts institution located in Owensboro.
CARDS FRY FISH
Kyle McLellan hurled three strong innings and Joe Mather went 2-for-3 with four RBI as the Cardinals claimed their first Grapefruit League win 7-4 over the Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium. McLellan fanned four without a walk while allowing just one hit over the first three frames for the win. Mather's three-run double in the fourth staked St. Louis to a 4-0 lead. He added an RBI single in the sixth to make it 5-1. The Cardinals are now 1-and-3 on the spring. They'll take on the Red Sox this afternoon in Ft. Myers.
The Cardinals cut 10 players from their Spring Training roster on Sunday. The players were reassigned to minor league camp, which begins this week. The cuts included pitchers Sam Freeman and Charlie Zink, catchers Steven Hill, Charlie Cutler, Tony Cruz and Robert Stock and position players Daniel Descalso, Donovan Solano, Pete Kozma and Tyler Henley. A few of the players will continue to participate with the major league squad in Grapefruit League action this week.
Utilityman Allen Craig won't be playing for at least two more days, but top pitching prospect Shelby Miller could be in line for some game action. Craig is recovering from soreness in his left quadriceps and will not travel with the team for its two-game road trip to Ft. Myers.
