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ForsvthSnorts
Wednesday, February 1,2012
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Jared Putnam Forsyth County News
Forsyth Central center Andrew Fishier puts up a shot against Pinecrest Academy earlier this sea¬
son.
College basketballs worst team ends streak
It’s over!
The Streak died
Saturday afternoon.
After an NCAA
Division 1 record 41
straight losses, the
Towson University Tigers
finally won a basketball
game.
“I’m not saying we’re
on the road to New
Orleans,” director of ath¬
letics Mike Waddell told
The Sporting News. “But
as long as you keep fight¬
ing ... They literally
come out and play hard,
every day in practice, in
every game. You can’t
SPORTS BRIEFS
Lanier Crappie Anglers Club
The Lanier Crappie Anglers Club currently
has 55 members and is looking to add more.
Monthly meetings are held at 6:30 p.m. on the
last Wednesday of each month at Hammond's
Fishing, located at the corner of Highway 369
and Highway 306.
Guest speakers update our members on cur
E snt conditions, updated tackle, current fishing
ot spots on the lake, etc. Members also dis
uss their latest fishing trips.
This is a club for people who like fishing for
crappie (and holding fish frys with family and
friends) and want to keep up with current tech¬
niques. If you don't have a boat, existing mem¬
bers will welcome you aboard their boat for a
day of fishing and camaraderie.
See BRIEFS 12B
Sports Editor Jared Putnam can be reached at sports@forsythnews.com or (770) 887-3126 ext. 513.
give up on kids. These
kids are resilient.”
First-year head coach
Pat Skerry echoed those
sentiments after Towson’s
66-61 upset of UNC
Wilmington. "This was a
great team win!" Skerry
exclaimed, opening his
post-game press confer¬
ence. “I’m really happy
for my guys.
“Sometimes people
think it’s ‘coach speak’
when talking about how
hard the guys have been
working, but they really
have been. Every day."
Towson hadn’t won a
For the Forsyth County News
Top row, from left: Brian Hales, John Newman,
Head Coach Mathew Newman, Brandt Hansen,
Ryan Peppenhorst, Team Manager John Roten,
Josh Sage and Matt Panetta. Bottom row: Elijah
Martell, Kenan Roten, Drew Whitehead, Ryan
Krueger, Sal Mendosa, Noah Cromer, Brandon
Lund, James Bloor and Alex Whitehead.
c 4
DENTON ASHWAY
Columnist
game since defeating
LaSalle in overtime,
93-90, on December 29,
2010. They closed out
last season with 19
straight losses, prompting
coach Pat Kennedy’s res¬
ignation.
Last season’s lowlight?
The team bus got caught
in a snowstorm en route
to a game against George
Mason. The 70-mile drive
took 10 hours. The only
casualty was coach
Kennedy’s coat, sacri¬
ficed in an attempt to help
the bus gain traction on a
slippery highway ramp.
Typically, the bus
remained stuck, the tire
shredded Kennedy’s coat,
and the next night,
Towson lost the resched¬
uled game, 84-58. Season
record: 4-26.
Shortly after Kennedy
left, leading scorer Isaiah
SOCCER
United FA Dawson's
97 Black wins USSSA
Regional Tournament
From staff reports
United Futbol Academy
Dawson’s 97 Black team
won the USSSA
Southeast Regional
Tournament earlier this
month, securing an invita¬
tion to the National
Championship in
Overland Park, Kan.
United FA defeated
HSH'
TALE
Bulldogs’ center
matures into
versatile threat
By Phil Ervin
phil.ervin@forsythnews com
Johns Creek’s zone defense is in a pre¬
dicament.
As Forsyth Central guard T.J Custer
whips the hall crosscourt to Chap
Lindstrom, all five Gladiators tentatively
lean in Lindstrom’s direction. They dare
not extend their perimeter too far, not
with such a productive scorer shuffling
from post to post, his hand waving for
the ball and nearly grazing the rim.
Johns Creek’s indecisiveness costs
them. A quick pass back to Custer, and
the Bulldogs’ marksman drills a 3-point¬
er that puts Central in the lead for good.
The play doesn't happen without
Andrew Fishier, but he’s not around to
celebrate it. The Dawgs center is already
halfway down the floor, ready to defend
his team’s lead at the D.B. Carroll
Complex.
Catching defenders’ attention is just
one of many attributes in the big man’s
duffel bag.
“1 couldn't imagine playing without
him this year,” Custer said. “He’s such a
good blocker, defender, shooter, he
dunks. 1 mean, he’s just such a good
threat in the post.”
Fishler’s dominance in the paint has
helped Central earn its highest win total
since before 2004-05. It will be of the
utmost necessity if the Bulldogs are to
sneak into the state playoffs at the
Region 7-AAAA tournament next week¬
end.
The senior’s development has drawn
looks from some small colleges, too, just
a few short years after Fishier wasn't
See FISH 12B
Philmore transferred to
Xavier. Another player
left to play professionally
in Israel. Then the lone
returning starter earned a
dismissal from the team.
But if there’s anyone
who might succeed wad¬
ing into this quagmire,
it’s Skerry. Here’s a guy
who really loves the
game. He played his col¬
lege ball at Tufts, of all
places. After his 1992
graduation, he went to
work for an international
education firm.
Four days into the job,
he won S473 in the lot¬
tery. He promptly quit,
and went back to Tufts—
as an assistant basketball
coach. Form there, his
odyssey led him to
Stonehill College, Curry
College, Northeastern,
William & Mary, College
of Charleston, Rhode
Island, Providence and
Pittsburgh.
Towson hired Skerry
from Jamie Dixon’s staff
at Pitt. “He was willing to
pay his dues, and he’s
done that,” Dixon told the
New York Times in
See ASHWAY 12B
teams from Florida,
Tennessee and Brazil en
route to the champion¬
ship.
The team capped the
tournament with a last
minute, 3-2 victory in the
final when Ryan
Peppenhorst scored on a
penalty kick after John
Newman was taken down
in the penalty area.