The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, December 12, 2018, Image 10

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The times., December 12, 2018, Image 10

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Newspaper Page Text2B Wednesday, December 12, 2018 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com SPORTS MEN’S TOP 25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL No. 17 Villanova upset by Penn AJ Brodeur scored 16 points as Penn beat No. 17 Villanova 78-75 on Tuesday night, the Quakers’ first win over the Wildcats since 2002. Penn fans stormed the court after Villanova’s Phil Booth missed the tying 3-point attempt and set off a regular-season celebration not seen in Philly in years. And with good reason — the national champion Wild cats had won a city-record 25 straight games against Big 5 rivals Temple, Saint Joseph’s, La Salle and the Quakers. Penn’s student section started rocking the bleach ers with minutes left, and the Quakers avoided a late scare and delivered the lat est memorable moment at the Palestra. Penn coach Steve Dona hue, who led Cornell to the Sweet 16 in 2010, may have another blooming Ivy League power. Penn last beat Villanova at the Pal estra on Dec. 5, 2001 and hadn’t beat them at all since Dec. 10, 2002. No. 23 FURMAN 77, CHARLESTON SOUTH ERN 69: Noah Gurley scored 17 points, Alex Hunter and Andrew Brown had 16 points apiece and No. 23 Furman pulled away late to beat Charleston Southern on Tuesday night in its first- ever home game as a Top 25 team. The Paladins (11-0) have been one of college basket ball’s biggest surprises with their school-record run to start the season — a stretch that included defeating defending national champs Villanova and a second Final Four team from last year in Loyola-Chicago. But Furman struggled to break away from the Buc caneers (4-5) until the final nine minutes. Charleston Southern trailed 54-52 on Dontrell Shuler’s layup with less than 10 minutes left. After that, the Paladins went on a 14-4 run to move in front. Tre Clark had four points during the surge and when Noah Gurley nailed a 3-pointer with 5:51 to go, Furman was up 68-56. Charleston Southern could not respond and col lege basketball’s feel-good story of the season remained on track. Associated Press GOLF ■ Continued from 1B PGA Championship when he came to the 248-yard 16th hole at Bellerive. He hit a laser of a 4-iron to 6 feet for a birdie that sent him to his second major of the year. “That will prob ably go down as one of the best shots I’ve ever hit under pressure,” he said. 5- IRON: “We’re not here to lay up. It’s a major. You’re going to have to take some chances at some point during the week,” Marc Leishman said. And that’s what he did on the par-5 15th hole at Augusta National in the second round at the Masters. His tee shot was too far left, leaving trees between him and the flag. Leishman hooded his 5-iron and hit a 40-yard hook that just caught the front of the green, bounced up and rolled out to 6 feet for eagle. 6- IRON: Francesco Moli- nari started the back nine of his flawless finish in the Quicken Loans National with a 50-foot eagle putt. But his best shot was on the next hole, where his 6-iron to a back right pin settled just under 2 feet for birdie. The 11th hole at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm yielded only one other birdie in the final round. Molinari shot 62 and won by eight. 7- IRON: Jason Day had a one-shot lead at the Wells Fargo Championship when he came to the par-3 17th hole, with a back pin on a peninsula green that was running hard and fast. On one of the most daunt ing holes at Quail Hollow, his 7-iron from 230 yards hit the pin and settled 3 feet away for birdie that sent him to his second victory of the year. 8- IRON: Finau had a Ryder Cup debut to remem ber, especially on the par-3 16th hole. Finau and Koepka were 1 down when Finau’s 8-iron was headed for the water. Instead, it struck a 12-inch wide board framing the green, soared into the air and plopped down 3 feet away to square the match, which the Americans won on the 18th. It was as lucky as any shot in the Ryder Cup. And it still didn’t help the Americans end 25 years of losing on European soil. 9- IRON: Koepka is most proud of his 9-iron into the par-3 17th for par because it was such a hard green to hold. But it was his 9-iron to a back pin on the par-516th hole at Shinnecock that set tled 3 feet away. The birdie gave him a two-shot lead in the U.S. Open with two holes to play. PITCHING WEDGE: Woods thought it was the moment that would lead to victory in the British Open. He was in a bunker on the 10th fairway and looked almost certain to lay up short of the burn. Instead, Woods gener ated enormous speed with a pitching wedge for a shot that narrowly cleared the vetted face of the bunker and came up a few feet short of the green. It would have been the signature moment, except that he made double bogey two holes later and slid from contention. He still called it his best of the year. GAP WEDGE: Justin Thomas knew he needed a birdie on the 18th hole of the Mexico Champion ship to have even a remote chance. He did one better. His gap wedge from 119 yards spun back into the cup for an eagle and a 64, and it was good enough to get into a playoff. He wound up losing to Phil Mickelson on the first extra hole. LOB WEDGE: Molinari played bogey-free in the final round at Carnoustie while all of his challengers made mistakes over the final few holes of the Brit ish Open. He wasn’t in the last group. The Open wasn’t over. After a clutch drive that avoided a bunker on the 18th, the Italian hit lob wedge to 5 feet and holed the birdie putt, effectively clinching his first major championship. PUTTER: The most memorable shot with the putter didn’t go in the hole. Phil Mickelson only wanted to make sure it didn’t go off the front of the 13th green on Saturday at the U.S. Open. So he trotted over and slapped at the ball as it was still moving, an egregious rules violation. Mickelson says he knew the penalty (two shots) and liked that better than having to play from off the green. He also knew his U.S. Open was over. He made a 10 and shot 81, matching his worst score in the only major he hasn’t won. Doug Ferguson is golf columnist for the Associated Press. He can be reached at dferguson@ap.org Football/NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pet PF PA New England 9 4 0 .692 364 293 Miami 7 6 0 .538 278 333 Buffalo 4 9 0 .308 201 320 N.Y Jets 4 9 0 South .308 270 330 W L T Pet PF PA Houston 9 4 0 .692 323 259 Indianapolis 7 6 0 .538 349 300 Tennessee 7 6 0 .538 251 254 Jacksonville 4 9 0 .308 212 273 North W L T Pet PF PA Pittsburgh 7 5 1 .577 367 306 Baltimore 7 6 0 .538 321 241 Cleveland 5 7 1 .423 292 332 Cincinnati 5 8 0 .385 307 397 West W L T Pet PF PA x-Kansas City 11 2 0 .846 471 351 L.A. Chargers 10 3 0 .769 366 270 Denver 6 7 0 .462 290 282 Oakland 3 100 .231 244 388 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East W L T Pet PF PA Dallas 8 5 0 .615 276 246 Philadelphia 6 7 0 .462 281 295 Washington 6 7 0 .462 249 297 N.Y Giants 5 8 0 South .385 307 331 W L T Pet PF PA y-New Orleans 11 2 0 .846 447 283 Carolina 6 7 0 .462 324 332 Tampa Bay 5 8 0 .385 332 383 Atlanta 4 9 0 North .308 316 367 W L T Pet PF PA Chicago 9 4 0 .692 359 247 Minnesota 6 6 1 .500 282 291 Green Bay 5 7 1 .423 315 307 Detroit 5 8 0 .385 271 319 West W L T Pet PF PA y-L.A. Rams 11 2 0 .846 425 313 Seattle 8 5 0 .615 340 266 Arizona 3 100 .231 178 327 San Francisco 3 100 .231 275 350 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division Monday’s Games Seattle 21, Minnesota? Thursday, Dec. 13 L.A. Chargers at Kansas City, 8:20 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15 Houston at N.Y. Jets, 4:30 p.m. Cleveland at Denver, 8:20 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 16 Tennessee at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m. Green Bay at Chicago, 1 p.m. Detroit at Buffalo, 1 p.m. Tampa Bay at Baltimore, 1 p.m. Arizona at Atlanta, 1 p.m. Oakland at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. Dallas at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. Miami at Minnesota, 1 p.m. Washington at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. Seattle at San Francisco, 4:05 p.m. New England at Pittsburgh, 4:25 p.m. Philadelphia at L.A. Rams, 8:20 p.m. Football/college FCS playoffs Semifinals Friday’s game North Dakota State (13-0) vs. South Dakota State (10-2), 8 p.m. Saturday’s game Maine (10-3) vs. Eastern Washington (11- 2), 2 p.m. Championship Saturday, Jan. 5 At Toyota Stadium Frisco, Texas Semifinal winners, Noon Division II playoffs Semifinals Saturday, Dec. 8 Valdosta State 30, Notre Dame (Ohio) 24 Ferris State 42, Minnesota State-Mankato 25 Championship Saturday’s game At McKinney, Texas Valdosta State (13-0) vs. Ferris State (15- 0), 4 p.m. Division III playoffs Semifinals Saturday, Dec. 8 Mount Union 28, Johns Hopkins 20 Mary Hardin-Baylor 31, Wisconsin- Whitewater 14 Championship Friday’s game At Shenandoah, Texas Mount Union (14-0) vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor (14-0), 7 p.m. Basketball/college Top 25 schedule Today’s Games No. 11 Texas Tech vs. Northwestern State, 7:30 p.m. No. 24 Houston vs. LSU, 9 p.m. Thursday’s Game No. 16 Wisconsin vs. Savannah State, 8 p.m. Friday’s Games No games scheduled Saturday’s Games No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 17 Villanova, Noon No. 3 Tennessee at Memphis, Noon No. 4 Gonzaga at No. 12 North Carolina, 7 p.m. No. 5 Michigan vs. Western Michigan, 2 p.m. No. 7 Nevada vs. South Dakota State, 9 p.m. No. 8 Auburn vs. UAB at Legacy Arena, Birmingham, Ala., 7:30 p.m. No. 11 Texas Tech vs. Abilene Christian, 7 p.m. No. 13 Virginia Tech vs. Washington at Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, N.J., 7 p.m. No. 14 Buffalo vs. Southern Illinois, 2 p.m. No. 15 Ohio State vs. Bucknell, Noon No. 18 Mississippi State vs. Cincinnati, 8:30 p.m. No. 19 Kentucky vs. Utah, 5 p.m. No. 20 Arizona State at Georgia, 6 p.m. No. 22 Iowa vs. Northern Iowa at Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa, 7 p.m. No. 23 Furman vs. UNC Wilmington, 4 p.m. No. 25 Indiana vs. Butler at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, 3:45 p.m. Transactions BASEBALL American League KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Signed OF Billy Hamilton to a one-year contract. TORONTO BLUE JAYS — Released SS Troy Tulowitzki. National League MIAMI MARLINS — Assigned RHP Brett Graves and 3B Yadiel Rivera outright to New Orleans (PCL). MILWAUKEE BREWERS — Signed RHP Deolis Guerra and C Tuffy Gosewisch to minor league contracts. PITTSBURGH PIRATES — Traded RHP Ivan Nova to the Chicago White Sox for RHP Yordi Rosario and international signing bonus pool money. BASKETBALL National Basketball Association NBA — Named Shareef Abdur-Rahim presi dent of the NBA G League. ATLANTA HAWKS — Recalled G/F Daniel Hamilton from Erie (NBAGL). WASHINGTON WIZARDS — Recalled F Troy Brown Jr. from Capital City (NBAGL). FOOTBALL National Football League ARIZONA CARDINALS — Placed LB Thurston Armbrister and DT Robert Nkemdiche on injured reserve. Signed DT Vincent Valentine from Seattle’s practice squad and LB Jonathan Anderson. Signed 0L Justin Evans to the prac tice squad. LOS ANGELES RAMS — Placed RB Malcolm Brown and CB Dominique Hatfield on injured reserve. Signed LB Trevon Young from the practice squad. MINNESOTA VIKINGS — Fired offensive coor dinator John DeFilippo. Promoted quarterbacks coach Kevin Stefanski to interim offensive coordinator. TENNESSEE TITANS — Placed 0T Jack Conklin and TE Jonnu Smith on injured reserve. Signed OL Austin Pasztor. Signed TE Cole Wick from San Francisco’s practice squad. Canadian Football League WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS — Agreed to terms with FB Mike Miller on a two-year contract. SOCCER Major League Soccer ATLANTA UNITED — Traded D Greg Garza to FC Cincinnati for targeted and general alloca tion money. COLLEGE NORTH CAROLINA — Named Phil Longo offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, Lonnie Galloway wide receivers coach and Brandon Jones offensive line coach. SOUTHERN CAL — Named Mike Jinks run ning backs coach and Chad Kauha’aha’a defen sive line coach. UTAH STATE — Named Gary Andersen foot ball coach. VANDERBILT — Named Malcolm Turner ath letic director. WISCONSIN — Announced junior men’s basketball F Micah Potter will transfer from Ohio State. TODAY ON TV BASKETBALL SOCCER ■ NBA: Thunder at Pelicans, 8 p.m., ESPN ■ Chicago State at DePaul, 8 p.m., FS1 ■ NBA: Hawks at Mavericks, 8:30 p.m., FSSE ■ LSU at Houston, 9 p.m., ESPN2 ■ NBA: Raptors at Warriors, 10:30 p.m., ESPN ■ Champions League: Real Madrid vs. CSKA Moscow, 12:55 p.m., TNT ■ Champions League: Valencia CF vs. Manchester United, 3 p.m., TNT MLB I Winter Meetings Big moves taking place Philadelphia picks up outfielder McCutchen Associated Press Andrew McCutchen moving into Philadelphia’s outfield, more talk about a megadeal involving Noah Syndergaard and J.T. Realmuto and veteran pitcher Ivan Nova on the go. The winter meet ings picked up a bit Tuesday, but any big deals for the likes of Corey Kluber, Manny Machado and Bryce Harper remained on deck. There were reports the Baltimore Orioles, finally, were close to hiring a man ager in Chicago Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde. But the O’s said those stories were premature and they wouldn’t make a decision before leaving Las Vegas. “We don’t have a man ager,” newly hired general manager Mike Elias said. The World Series cham pion Red Sox made a move, too — with their lineup. AL MVP Mookie Betts will shift out of the leadoff spot and bat behind Andrew Benin- tendi, manager Alex Cora said. “I think we’re going to maximize Mookie in a dif ferent spot. Flip-flop them, Beni leading off and Mookie hitting second. Talked to him, it makes sense,” Cora said. “And I know Beni’s OK with it. But if you play 162 games, you’re going to come up 162 at-bats with nobody on,” said. “And last year, what I wanted from him in the leadoff spot, we accomplished. It’s a different season and we have to make adjustments, and that’s where we’re going to go.” Betts led the majors in batting (.346) and slugging percentage (.640) and was second in on-base average (.438) for the 108-win Red Sox. He also had 84 extra-base hits, including 32 home runs. Speculation continued to swirl about a huge swap that would include the Yankees and Mets. The New York teams don’t usually do business directly, but this trade would enlist a third team — the Miami Marlins and Real muto, their star catcher. “I’d like to think that we’re very open-minded and aggressive and talk to every body about what’s available in the marketplace. And so it doesn’t matter really for most part what the team is.,” Yankees GM Brian Cash- man said. McCutchen, meanwhile, and the Phillies agreed to a $50 million, three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement, which includes a club option for 2022, is sub ject to a successful physical. The 32-year-old was the NL MVP in 2013, highlight ing his long run in Pitts burgh. He split last season with San Francisco and the Yankees, hitting a com bined .255 with 20 homers and 65 RBIs. The Phillies have a surplus of outfield ers, including Odubel Her rera, Nick Williams, Aaron Altherr and Roman Quinn. Rhys Hoskins is shifting from left field to first base after Carlos Santana was dealt to Seattle. Nova was traded from the Pirates to the Chicago White Sox for minor league pitcher Yordi Rosario and $500,000 in international signing bonus pool allocation. The 31-year-old righty was 9-9 with a 4.19 ERA in 29 starts this season. The White Sox were searching for a starter after prized rookie Michael Kopech had Tommy John surgery in September. “We think he’s going to be able to eat up some innings and pitch effectively for us,” Chicago manager Rick Renteria said. “I think the front office was doing their due diligence in trying to acquire someone of Nova’s status and stature, and all the reports from everybody we’ve spoken to, this kid’s a good pick up for us. ” McCutchen EAST ■ Continued from 1B Cherokee Bluff coach Ben- jie Wood’s aggressive press defense. “We practice with pres sure,” Thompson said. “.. That’s all we do. That’s like a practice for us. Coach Wood does a great job, and he’s had so many good teams, and he consistently wins. .. He’s a Hall County leg end. We practice with that though. That’s not something we’re not used to.” Rucker started off the second quarter with a block followed by an and-one opportunity that he con verted on the other end of the court to give the Vikings a comfortable cushion. Cherokee Bluff kept things close and eventually closed East Hall’s lead to just two points, but an alley-oop from Campbell to Rucker put the game just out of reach once again. The Bears cut it to a one- point deficit later on in the quarter, but another alley- oop to Rucker with about a minute to play until halftime — this one with Curry on the other end — once against kept the Vikings ahead on the scoreboards. “(The alley-oops) help a lot,” Rucker said. “It gets the crowd going. It’s something we do every day in practice in our drills, and to come out and do it in a game just like we do it in practice is fun.” The teams kept going back and forth to start the third quarter, with Cherokee Bluff tying the game up after a Norman steal and transi tion layup and a Wainer free throw. But a timely 4-0 run from East Hall and a Rucker block to close out the third frame made it a four-point game going into the final eight minutes. And from there, the Vikings came alive. Rucker and Curry scored the first five points, and then after Norman made a pair of free throws and grabbed a steal on the ensuing East Hall in-bound, Rucker blocked two Cherokee Bluff shots from in close, deny ing the Bears access to the rim. Rucker said closing out games strong has been an emphasis at practice for the team all season long. “Coach Thompson, he really drills that in prac tice,” Rucker said. “We do a lot of full-court stuff so when we’re tired we still have to execute, and that’s something we’ve been prac ticing since the summer. So when we come out and have a game, it’s something we’re used to, something we can do easily. I give all the credit to coach Thompson. He’s really prepared us for games like this.” East Hall kept rolling throughout the quarter, fin ishing things off with a cor ner 3 from Clete Cooper that gave the Vikings a 15-point advantage. “The next level for us is to be able to finish games, especially against well- coached teams,” Thompson said. This was a big step for us. .. For us to be able to finish this one off, that’s the next level to go for us. That’s big for us. That’s big for our program, big for our season.” EAST HALL GIRLS 56, CHEROKEE BLUFF 29: After allowing 14 first-quar ter points, East Hall tight ened things up defensively to run away with a dominant victory. The Lady Vikings (3-7,1-2) got 11 points from Ivey Shad- burn and 10 from Alexis Burce in the win. Madi Phil lips and Timber Gaither led the way for the Lady Bears (5-4,0-3), scoring eight apiece. “I thought our girls played excellent,” East Hall coach Justin Wheeler said. “I thought they played hard. We played great defense. Second half, we did a great job of getting 50/50 balls. One thing I’m just excited about is they came out and competed. I’m happy for them.” Cherokee Bluff started things off strong, running out to a 12-5 lead early behind four points each from Phil lips and Gaither. After one quarter, the hosting Lady Bears were on top by a point, 14-13. But the Lady Vikings turned up the heat from that point forward, giving up just six points, in the second quarter, four in the third and six again in the fourth. Once East Hall started making stops defensively, things started opening up for the Lady Vikings on the other end of the court. The Lady Vikings hit eight 3-pointers over the final three quarters. “Our region is very com petitive,” Wheeler said. “I think anybody can beat any body on any given night. So to go on the road and get a win, that’s pretty big.” PERRY ■ Continued from 1B Cooper said. “He’s also a local person, we feel like, can dig into our community and get kids out there to play for us,” Cooper added. “(Based on) what he brings — what he stands for, his character and the traits that he has — I’m looking forward to working with him.” Perry’s interest in the East Hall job wasn’t just a recent development. Perry said he had a kept watchful eye on that particular post since his time at Gainesville, and first reached out to Coo per for additional details back in 2016. The feeling was mutual according to Cooper, who had him as a desired candidate last year, but the timing was not right. “This year, we made sure I reached out to (Perry) to get things going as quickly as we could at the end of this season,” Cooper added. “He’s been a target for us that we really wanted.” At Centennial, Perry compiled a 15-8 record as head coach and guided the program to back-to-back region runner-up finishes. In 2017, the Knights won their first playoff game in 15 seasons. Centennial’s offense also ranked No. 1 in the state, according to Perry, averaging 517 yards a game. From the 2006-2015 sea son at Gainesville, Perry started as quarterbacks coach and eventually took over as offensive coordi nator. Perry was on Bruce Miller’s Gainesville staff for the 2012 state championship, three state semifinal appear ances and numerous region championships. Perry voiced his sincere gratitude for GACA Hall of Fame coach Wayne Vick ery, and Miller, a future Hall of Fame coach, as two of the most influential role models in his career. “I’ve been very blessed to have some mentors in my career, and I owe them a lot, to have the opportunities I’ve gotten,” Perry said. Perry’s solid rapport with every quarterback he’s coached can’t be overlooked either. He has watched a number of passers climb to higher ranks, Watson — of course — winning a college football national champion ship at Clemson before being selected by the Houston Tex ans as the 12th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Blake Sims (Gainesville), Mikey Gonzalez (Gainesville) and soon-to-be New Hampshire quarterback Max Brosmer out of Centennial were oth ers to thrive in his system. Not trying to sound boast ful, Perry said, but he’s con fident his system works. It’s worked everywhere he’s been, he added, and looks to lead the Vikings on the path toward success. Perry’s identical twin brother Tyler, who coached alongside him at Gaines ville, will be another addi tion to the East Hall staff. “I have great passion for what I do, and I know it’s gonna work at East Hall also,” he said. Former assistant coach Scott Patrick was head coach at East Hall in 2018 and guided the program to a 3-7 record. Patrick took over for long-tenured coach Bryan Gray, who stepped down after 11 seasons.