The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, December 22, 2018, Image 10

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The times., December 22, 2018, Image 10

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Newspaper Page Text2B Saturday, December 22, 2018 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com SPORTS NORTH ■ Continued from 1B Johnson made 6 of 7 free throw attempts to supple ment its four field goals in the second period and only trailed by nine at intermis sion as a result. “You just gotta be able to adjust,” Sanders said of their early foul troubles. “I felt like after we got up big in the first quarter, our foul ing allowed them to catch their breath and get back in the game. And I credit coach (Brandon) Pickell. He does a good job with those guys. ” But the visitors failed to get the job done from the stripe for the remainder, only hitting on a pair of free throws over the final 16 min utes, and the Knights fin ished a dismal 6-of-16. “It’s never a question of effort or energy with our team,” first-year Johnson coach Brandon Pickell said. “We really felt too, offen sively, that if we could work the ball on the perimeter, that would open up some driving lanes for us — which it did.... We get the foul, we get what we wanted, we just couldn’t knock down free throws. That was big.” The Knights slowly chipped away at North Hall’s lead to twice come within six at the start of the third period. Lead scorer Jesse Harbin (13 points, two steals) kickstarted the charge, drilling a 3 to open the second half and initially making it a six-point game at 27-21. Minutes later, Harbin did it again. His drive inside the paint and contested make off the dribble cut it to 31-27 inside one minute in the third period. With their backs seem ingly against the wall, Drew Faulkner gave the Trojans the gear they needed to pull away in the end. Faulkner knocked down a trey from near the left wing to push North Hall back out front by seven points seconds before the third-quarter buzzer. “That was a big momen tum play there by Drew,” Sanders said. “With the things we’ve talked about, the skid we’ve had, you just gotta step up and make shots. ... That was big on Drew, being a senior, just knocking it down.” Baskets from Faulkner, Daniel Jackson and Ty Smith — who’s second of two scores underneath put North Hall ahead by 13 — helped the Trojans outscore the Knights 12-6 in the final period. “North Hall, their record to me doesn’t reflect how good they are,” Pickell said. “They are in a very difficult region as it is. They played Dawson (County) very close, and took East Hall to over time. “They are a good bas ketball team. They have a system, and they run it well. Tyler’s doing a good job.” North Hall opened the game on a 3-point barrage, knocking down its first five attempts from outside the arc while getting a pair of nifty jumpers from Jackson to jump out to a 19-4 lead at the end of the first period. But foul troubles ensued for the Trojans. North Hall had six players tagged with two fouls, while Johnson, after shooting a spotty 2 of 9 from the field in the opening period, capitalized during the chippy second period. The Knights closed the half by outscoring the Trojans 14-6, and a last-ditch drive pullup jumper inside the paint by Danny Garcia (eight points) pinballed the rim before falling in to beat the buzzer for a 27-18 score at halftime. Luke Gunter finished with nine points to lead the Trojans’ scoring efforts. Faulkner and Nate Nixon each had seven points, fol lowed by Josh Cook and Ty Smith with six apiece. For Johnson, Jonathan Williams hauled in 10 rebounds to go with his seven points and three steals. As the No. 6 seed, North Hall opens Lanierland against No. 3 seed Flowery Branch for a 2 p.m. tip next Thursday at Chestatee High in Gainesville. Meanwhile, seventh-seeded Johnson plays a first-round Lanier land game against two-seed East Hall at 5 p.m. next Thursday on the same court. Bowl glance Friday’s games Bahamas Bowl Nassau FIU 35, Toledo 32 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Boise BYU 49, Western Michigan 18 Today’s games Birmingham (Ala.) Bowl Memphis (8-5) vs. Wake Forest (6-6), Noon (ESPN) Armed Forces Bowl Fort Worth, Texas Houston (8-4) vs. Army (10-2), 3:30 p.m. (ESPN) Dollar General Bowl Mobile, Ala. Buffalo (10-3) vs. Troy (9-3), 7 p.m. (ESPN) Hawaii Bowl Honolulu Louisiana Tech (7-5) vs. Hawaii (8-5), 10:30 p.m. (ESPN) Wednesday’s games SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Dallas Boston College (7-5) vs. Boise State (10-3), 1:30 p.m. (ESPN) Quick Lane Bowl Detroit Minnesota (6-6) vs. Georgia Tech (7-5), 5:15 p.m. (ESPN) Cheez-lt Bowl Phoenix California (7-5) vs. TCU (6-6), 9 p.m. (ESPN) Thursday, Dec. 27 Independence Bowl Shreveport, La. Temple (8-4) vs. Duke (7-5), 1:30 p.m. (ESPN) Pinstripe Bowl Bronx, N.Y. Miami (7-5) vs. Wisconsin (7-5), 5:15 p.m. (ESPN) Texas Bowl Houston Baylor (6-6) vs. Vanderbilt (6-6), 9 p.m. (ESPN) Friday, Dec. 28 Music City Bowl Nashville, Tenn. Purdue (6-6) vs. Auburn (7-5), 1:30 p.m. (ESPN) Camping World Bowl Orlando, Fla. West Virginia (8-3) vs. Syracuse (9-3), 5:15 p.m. (ESPN) Alamo Bowl San Antonio Iowa State (8-4) vs. Washington State (10-2), 9 p.m. (ESPN) Saturday, Dec. 29 Peach Bowl Atlanta Florida (9-3) vs. Michigan (10-2), Noon (ESPN) Associated Press Football/NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pet PF PA New England 9 5 0 .643 374 310 Miami 7 7 0 .500 295 374 Buffalo 5 9 0 .357 215 333 N.Y. Jets 4 100 .286 292 359 W South L T Pet PF PA Houston 10 4 0 .714 352 281 Indianapolis 8 6 0 .571 372 300 Tennessee 8 6 0 .571 268 254 Jacksonville 4 100 .286 225 289 W North L T Pet PF PA Pittsburgh 8 5 1 .607 384 316 Baltimore 8 6 0 .571 341 253 Cleveland 6 7 1 .464 309 348 Cincinnati 6 8 0 .429 337 413 W West L T Pet PF PA x-Kansas City 11 3 0 .786 499 380 x-L.A. Chargers 11 3 0 .786 395 298 Denver 6 8 0 .429 306 299 Oakland 3 11 0 .214 260 418 NATIONAL CONFERENCE W East L T Pet PF PA Dallas 8 6 0 .571 276 269 Philadelphia 7 7 0 .500 311 318 Washington 7 7 0 .500 265 310 N.Y. Giants 5 9 0 .357 307 348 South W L T Pet PF PA y-New Orleans 12 2 0 .857 459 292 Carolina 6 8 0 .429 333 344 Atlanta 5 9 0 .357 356 381 Tampa Bay 5 9 0 .357 344 403 W North L T Pet PF PA y-Chicago 10 4 0 .714 383 264 Minnesota 7 6 1 .536 323 308 Green Bay 5 8 1 .393 332 331 Detroit 5 9 0 .357 284 333 W West L T Pet PF PA y-L.A. Rams 11 3 0 .786 448 343 Seattle 8 6 0 .571 363 292 San Francisco 4 100 .286 301 373 Arizona 3 11 0 .214 192 367 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division Today’s Games Washington at Tennessee, 4:30 p.m. Baltimore at L.A. Chargers, 8:20 p.m. Sunday’s Games Atlanta at Carolina, 1 p.m. Houston at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. N.Y. Giants at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. Green Bay at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m. Minnesota at Detroit, 1 p.m. Buffalo at New England, 1 p.m. Cincinnati at Cleveland, 1 p.m. Jacksonville at Miami, 1 p.m. Tampa Bay at Dallas, 1 p.m. L.A. Rams at Arizona, 4:05 p.m. Chicago at San Francisco, 4:05 p.m. Pittsburgh at New Orleans, 4:25 p.m. Kansas City at Seattle, 8:20 p.m. Transactions BASEBALL American League BOSTON RED SOX — Agreed to terms with RHP Heath Hembree on a one-year contract. NEW YORK YANKEES — Signed LHP Danny Coulombe and LHP Rex Brothers to minor league contracts. OAKLAND ATHLETICS — Agreed to terms with RHP Joakim Soria on a two-year contract. TEXAS RANGERS — Acquired LHPs Kyle Bird and Brock Burke and RHP Yoel Espinal from Tampa Bay and INF Eli White and an interna tional slot from Oakland. Sent INF Jurickson Profar to Oakland and RHP Rollie Lacy to Tampa Bay. Oakland sent RHP Emilio Pagan and a 2019 Competitive Balance Round A draft pick to Tampa Bay. Signed RHPs Ariel Hernandez and Phillips Valdez, LHPs Miguel Del Pozo and Jack Leathersich, and INF Nolan Fontana to minor league contracts. National League COLORADO ROCKIES —Agreed to terms with INF Daniel Murphy on a two-year contract. LOS ANGELES DODGERS — Signed RHP Joe Kelly to a three-year contract. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — Signed LHP Jeremy Bleich, C Rob Brantly, INFs Phil Gosselin and Gregorio Petit, RHP Josh Martin, C-1B-0F Matt McBride and OF Shane Robinson to minor league contracts. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS — Agreed to terms with LHP Andrew Miller on a two-year contract. SAN DIEGO PADRES — Signed LHPs Ryan Bollinger and Dietrich Enns, RHP Tyler Higgins, INFs Allen Craig, Seth Mejias-Brean and Aderlin Rodriguez, and OFs Alex Dickerson and Jacob Scavuzzo to minor league contracts. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS — Agreed to terms with LHP-RHP Pat Venditte on a one-year con tract. BASKETBALL National Basketball Association WASHINGTON WIZARDS — Signed G Ron Baker. FOOTBALL National Football League BUFFALO BILLS — Signed QB Matt Barkley to a two-year contract extension. MIAMI DOLPHINS — Promoted S Maurice Smith from the practice squad. Waived C-G Hroniss Grasu. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS — Signed DL Ufomba Kamalu from the practice squad. Signed OL Tony Adams to the practice squad. WASHINGTON REDSKINS — Placed 0T Austin Howard on injured reserve. Signed 0T Timon Parris from the practice squad. HOCKEY National Hockey League ARIZONA COYOTES — Recalled F Michael Bunting from Tucson (AHL). CALGARY FLAMES — Assigned F Buddy Robinson to Stockton (AHL). LOS ANGELES KINGS — Recalled Fs Austin Wagner and Michael Amadio, and D Sean Walker from Ontario (AHL). NEW JERSEY DEVILS — Placed F Marcus Johansson on injured reserve. Activated F Stefan Noesen from injured reserve. SOCCER Major League Soccer COLUMBUS CREW — Acquired D Milton Valenzuela on a permanent transfer as a Young Designated Player from Newell (Argentina). COLLEGE EAST CAROLINA — Named Ryan Robinson executive associate athletics director for exter nal operations. MICHIGAN — Junior DT Aubrey Solomon announced he is transferring to Tennessee. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — Promoted Joe DeForest to outside linebackers coach. Basketball/college Men’s Top 25 Friday’s results 1. Kansas (10-0) did not play. Next: at No. 18 Arizona State, Saturday. 2. Duke (11-1) did not play. Next: vs. Clemson, Saturday, Jan. 5. 3. Tennessee (9-1) did not play. Next: vs. Wake Forest, Saturday. 4. Michigan (11-0) did not play. Next: vs. Air Force, Saturday. 5. Virginia (10-0) did not play. Next: vs. William & Mary, Saturday. 6. Nevada (11 -0) did not play. Next: vs. Akron, Saturday. 7. Auburn (9-2) did not play. Next: vs. Murray State, Saturday. 8. Gonzaga (10-2) vs. Denver. Next: vs. North Alabama, Friday. 9. North Carolina (8-2) did not play. Next: vs. No. 19 Kentucky, Saturday. 10. Michigan State (10-2) beat Oakland 99-69. Next: vs. Northern Illinois, Saturday, Dec. 29. 11. Florida State (10-1) did not play. Next: vs. Saint Louis, Saturday. 12. Texas Tech (10-1) did not play. Next: vs. Texas-Rio Grande Valley, Friday, Dec. 28. 13. Virginia Tech (10-1) did not play. Next: vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore, Friday, Dec. 28. 14. Buffalo (11-0) at No. 20 Marquette. Next: at Canisius, Saturday, Dec. 29. 15. Ohio State (10-1) did not play. Next: vs. UCLA, Saturday. 16. Wisconsin (9-2) did not play. Next: vs. Grambling State, Saturday. 17. Mississippi State (10-1) did not play. Next: vs. Wright State, Saturday. 18. Arizona State (8-2) did not play. Next: vs. No. 1 Kansas, Saturday. 19. Kentucky (8-2) did not play. Next: vs. No. 9 North Carolina, Saturday. 20. Marquette (9-2) vs. No. 14 Buffalo. Next: vs. Southern University, Friday. 21. Houston (11-0) did not play. Next: vs. Coppin State, Sunday. 22. Indiana (10-2) did not play. Next: vs. Jacksonville, Saturday. 23. Iowa (9-2) did not play. Next: vs. Savannah State, Saturday. 24. Furman (12-0) at LSU. Next: at ETSU, Saturday, Dec. 29. 25. Nebraska (9-2) did not play. Next: vs. Cal State Fullerton, Saturday. TODAY ON TV BASKETBALL FOOTBALL ■ Wake Forest at Tennessee, noon, ESPN2 ■ Georgia at Georgia Tech, noon, ESPNU ■ Connecticut vs. Villanova, 12:30 p.m., CBS ■ Womens: Notre Dame at Marquette, 1:30 p.m., FSN ■ Clemson at South Carolina, 2 p.m., ESPN2 ■ UCLA vs. Ohio State, 3 p.m., CBS ■ Indiana State vs. Colorado, 3 p.m., ESPNU ■ Boston College at DePaul, 3:30 p.m., FS1 ■ Wichita State atVCU, 4 p.m., ESPN2 ■ UNLV at Hawaii, 5 p.m., ESPNU ■ Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 5:15 p.m., CBS ■ Seton Hall at Maryland, 5:30 p.m., FS1 ■ Vanderbilt vs. Kansas State, 7 p.m., ESPN2 ■ Sacred Heart at St. John’s, 8 p.m., FS1 ■ Kansas at Arizona State, 9 p.m., ESPN2 ■ San Diego vs. Washington State, 10 p.m., FSN ■ Birmingham Bowl: Memphis vs. Wake Forest, noon, ESPN ■ Armed Forces Bowl: ouston vs. Army, 3:30 p.m., ESPN ■ Dollar General Bowl: Buffalo vs. Troy, 7 p.m., ESPN ■ High School: St. Frances at Lee County, 7:30 p.m., ESPNU ■ Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii vs. Louisiana Tech, 10:30 p.m., ESPN SOCCER ■ Arsenal vs. Burnley, 7:25 am, NBCSN ■ AC Milan vs. Florentina, 8:55 am, ESPN2 ■ Leipzig vs. Werder Bremen, 9:30 am, FS1 ■ Chelsea vs. Leicester City, 10 a.m., CNBC ■ Manchester City vs. Crystal Palace, 9:55 am, NBCSN ■ Real Madrid vs. Al-Ain, 11 am, FS1 ■ Cardiff City vs. Manchester United, 12:30 p.m., NBC NFL NOTES League now offering fans chance to assess analytics Associated Press Into analytics? Then the NFL has a competition for you. The league has scheduled the inaugural NFL Big Data Bowl, a football analytics event for affording college students and profession als. Entrants will have the opportunity to utilize his torical data sets of the same player tracking data used by teams, and suggest innova tions about how football is played and coached. Finalists will present to league and club personnel at the combine in Indianapolis in late February, accessing NFL player tracking data used by teams to analyze league trends and develop on-field strategies. Participants can sign up for the competition on a website at ops.nfl.com/ big-data-bowl. There are two competing categories: undergraduate/graduate student division, and an open division for participants not in higher education. “As the sports analytics community continues to expand and progress, we are excited to host an ana lytics competition focusing on creative and innovative ways to approach and use football data,” says Damani Leech, the NFL’s senior vice president of football strategy and business development. “The NFL and its clubs use of football analytics contin ues to grow and focusing the competition on college stu dents and young profession als allows us to hear from the next generation of young minds that will help shape the industry in the years to come.” Submissions using NFL-provided data fall under three themes: “Understanding On-Field Speed;” ’’Proposing a Rule Change;” and “Identifying the Best Receiver-Route Combinations.” Eight finalists in the Big Data Bowl - four from each of the two participant cat egories - will head to India napolis to showcase their work on Feb. 27, the first day of the combine. Two grand- prize winners will receive four tickets to any regular- season game of their choice. RB RECEPTIONS: Run ning backs Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley both are approach ing records — and not in the ground game. Carolina’s McCaf frey, in his second NFL season, leads all players at his position with 94 catches. He needs nine to surpass the league mark set by Matt Forte in 2014 with Chicago. It will be difficult to reach because starting quarterback Cam Newton is sidelined with a shoulder problem. Or maybe not, because replacement inex perienced Taylor Heinicke might concentrate on short throws. The other run ning backs with at least 100 catches in a sea son are LaDainian Tomlinson for the Chargers in 2003 and Larry Centers for the Cardinals in 1995. The Giants’ Bar kley has caught 82 balls, tops among rookies. Reggie Bush set the mark for rookie running backs with 88 for the Saints in 2006. FITZ’S GIFTLarry Fitzgerald and the Arizona Cardinals won’t be playing in the Super Bowl. They might wind up with the first pick in the NFL draft. Fitzgerald, though, is mak ing sure someone deserving makes the trip to the big game in Atlanta: Jameson Lopez, a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Teaming with with USAA and The Pat Tillman Foun dation — USAA will be coor dinating similar efforts with other players around the NFL — Fitzgerald will host Lopez for Super Bowl week end, something Fitzgerald calls “a trip of a lifetime.” Earlier this year, during the “My Cause My Cleats” campaign, Lopez and Fitzger ald met; Lopez is a Tillman scholar and shared with the star wide receiver how he has ben- efitted from the foundation set up to honor Pat Tillman’s legacy. Lopez was the leader of a tank platoon deployed in support of Oper ation New Dawn. During his deployment to Iraq, he was responsible for coordinating more than 300 combat missions with the Iraqi and Kurdish security forces. A member of the Kwat’san (Quechan) Tribe in Fort Yuma, California, Lopez spent a significant amount of his childhood and adult years with Native American communities. He is hoping to bring his father to the Super Bowl. APOLOGIES: Los Angeles Char gers running back Melvin Gordon was a fantasy football player in college and said he used to get ticked when play ers would be unable to go. Gordon missed last Thurs day’s game at Kansas City, which for many fantasy football leagues was the first week of the playoffs, and he posted a message on Twitter saying he understood their frustration. McCaffrey Barkley EARLY ■ Continued from 1B of a growing trend in college football. At least 20 players are plan ning to skip their teams’ bowl games to focus instead on getting ready for the NFL and avoid injuries. The importance of non playoff postseason games depends on who you ask and changes from player to player and team to team. But for many coaches, win ning a bowl game has a set value. Six coaches who have players sitting out bowl games this year have nearly $400,000 in total bonuses at stake in those games. Arizona State’s Herm Edwards would have earned the largest bonus in the group, $166,667 for winning the Las Vegas Bowl against Fresno State last week. The Sun Devils lost 31-20, playing without star receiver N’Keal Harry. The junior is a possible first-round draft pick who led the team with 73 catches for 1,088 yards and nine touchdowns. Like Doeren, Minnesota coach PJ Fleck and Mem phis coach Mike Norvell can each earn $50,000 bonuses for winning their bowl games. Fleck’s Gophers face Georgia Tech in the Quick Lane Bowl on Dec. 26 on Detroit without linebacker Blake Cashman, the team’s leading tackier, and offen sive tackle Donnell Greene. Norvell’s Tigers play Wake Forest in the Birmingham Bowl on Saturday without All-America running back Darrell Henderson. Houston coach Major Applewhite would earn a $25,000 bonus if the Cougars can beat Army in the Armed Forces Bowl on Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas. NEWBY ■ Continued from 1B Patrick crashed out of both the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500. She fin ished 35th out of 40 drivers in her final stock-car race, followed by 30th out of 33 in her Indy-car capper. While Patrick was undoubtedly a highly influential figure, it feels as if her career was largely an opportunity wasted. BEST DEBUT: Talk about a longshot. The Vegas Golden Knights brought the NHL to the glittery land of all-you-can-eat buf fets, watered-down drinks and washed-up stars. But instead of going through the growing pains that are a rite of passage for most expansion franchises, the Golden Knights won their division and made it all the way to the Stanley Cup final. Alas, that’s where the fairytale ended with a loss to the Washington Capitals. Too bad. If nothing else, it would’ve been fun to needle Toronto fans that an expan sion team we presume was coached by Wayne Newton held the title champions of hockey, while the Maple Leafs haven’t won the cup in over a half-century. SPECIAL RECOGNI TION FOR REDUN DANCY: The College Football Playoff is certainly a welcome upgrade over previous methods for select ing a national champion, but it’s also clear that changes are needed. The same teams keep showing up in the four-team field, including Alabama all five years, Clemson four times and Oklahoma on three occasions. Notre Dame is the only newcomer this sea son. An eight-team playoff would be an easy fix, giving automatic berths to each of the Power Five conference champions, another auto matic berth to the top team from the Group of Five, and two wild-card spots to round out the field. Of course, that makes so much sense we can expect the powers-that- be to resist with all their might. Oh well, maybe next century. MOST UNLIKELY TITLE: The city of Atlanta was once dubbed “Losers- ville,” with good reason. Until this year, the 1995 World Series-winning Braves were the A-T-L’s only big-time champions (though those who remem ber soccer’s Atlanta Chiefs, all 14 of them, would beg to differ). Atlanta United broke the 23-year drought by winning the Major League Soccer championship in just its sec ond season. While certainly out of character for the city United calls home, the title was a fitting reward for a franchise that has stun ningly become one of the best-supported teams in the world. Atlanta broke its own league record by averaging more than 53,000 fans per game during the regular season. Every playoff game drew more than 70,000. MOST AMERICAN- LIKE PERFORMANCE AT THE RYDER CUP: Returning to form after winning golf’s premier team competition in 2016, the star-studded U.S. team was blown out by the Europeans at Le Golf National outside Paris. One week removed from his first victory in more than five years, Tiger Woods went 0-4 in the Ryder Cup. Phil Mickelson lost both his matches as well. Europe romped to a 17V^- 10(4 victory — its ninth triumph in the last 12 tries of the one-sided rivalry. JUAN ANTONIO SAMA RANCH BOONDOGGLE CUP: This award will now be handed out every other year. In other words, during every Olympic year, when the city that just hosted the games realizes what a financial mess it left behind. After this year’s Winter Games, Pyeongchang was saddled with empty venues, feuding over who pays for upkeep and a glistening ski course that’s now an abandoned dirt runway. To the surprise of no one, there wasn’t much use for a speedskating arena, or a hockey center, or a bobsled track, or a ski-jump stadium once the 2 (4-week party was over. Now, it looks as if many of those venues might have to be razed because it’s too costly to keep them open. Kudos to the South Koreans, who faithfully fol lowed the wasteful tradition established by Montreal and Athens and Sochi and Rio de Janeiro. We look forward to hand ing out the next prize to Tokyo in 2020. Paul Newberry is a sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at pnewberry@ap.org or at www.twitter.com/ pnewberryl 963