From staff reports

Two Salisbury football players have made college choices, according to coach Joe Pinyan.

Gordon Witte, a 6-foot-6 offensive and defensive lineman, verbally committed to Appalachian State. He will receive a full scholarship from the two-time defending I-AA national champions.

A story is upcoming.

* Salisbury kicker Zach Collins will be on the Wake Forest team next year as a preferred walk-on.

Title teams honored

Salisbury will pay tribute to its two state championship teams from the fall between basketball games with Central Davidson on Friday night.

Dale Snyder’s girls golf team and Chris Myers’ girls tennis team will be honored.

Catawba men fall on road

Newberry’s men’s basketball team scored 50 points in the first half and held off Catawba down the stretch to take an 83-77 SAC win on Wednesday night.

Newberry made 52.6 percent of its shots in the first half but managed only a 50-44 edge at intermission. Both teams scored 33 points in the second half.

Catawba (9-9, 4-3) trailed 77-75 after a clutch field goal by Chris Wooldridge with 2:40 remaining, but Clemente Martin made a key steal and four late free throws for Newberry (8-8, 3-4).

Wooldridge led Catawba with 19 points. Antonio Houston followed with l8. Ahmad Murphy had 16 points, and Brian Graves scored 15.

Catawba made 44.3 percent of its shots from the floor.

CATAWBA (77) — Wooldridge 19, Houston 18, Murphy 16, Graves 15, Monroe 5, Brinkley 2, Fields 2, Williams, Rose, Diggs, Magnusson.

NEWBERRY (83) — Hinds 17, Martin 17, Chandler 14, Alexander 11, Spillers 9, Burke 6, Friend 4, Etheridge 4, Newawel 3, Johnson 2.

Catawba 44 33 — 77

Newberry 50 33 — 83

Catawba women lose

Catawba’s women’s basketball team lost 63-57 at Newberry on Wednesday.

Down 11 points with six minutes left, Catawba (14-5, 4-3) rallied to take a 57-56 lead with 2:36 remaining but could not hang on. Catawba has lost two straight games for the first time this season.

Newberry (15-2, 5-2) led the SAC contest 25-24 at halftime.

Ingrid Easter led Catawba with 12 points. NeKeithia Howard and Sicilia LoSauro scored 11 apiece.

College basketball

Remember West Rowan’s Antwan House? He’s now a backup forward for Fayetteville State and is averaging 2.1 points and 2.5 rebounds for the Broncos.

* Avery Patterson (A.L. Brown) scored seven points for St. John’s in Tuesday’s 71-68 win over Notre Dame.

* Tracey Croner (East Rowan) scored 13 points in Guilford’s 49-46 loss to Washington & Lee on Tuesday.

* Brittany Cornelius (East) scored 14 points for Meredith in Monday’s 94-76 loss to Salem.

* Allison Schafer scored 12 points for Mars Hill in Wednesday’s 72-50 SAC win over Lincoln Memorial.

CCC swimming

Central Davidson squads swept the CCC swim meet on Wednesday.

North Rowan’s boys tied East Davidson for second place. Salisbury was fifth.

Salisbury’s girls finished third behind West Davidson. North’s girls were sixth.

Salisbury’s Madi Ralston won the 200 freestyle, and Garrison Stevens won the 100 breaststroke.

North Rowan’s 200 free relay team of Adam Gill, Justin Snider, Jason Ridenhour and Ryan Carter took first place.

Team results and top-five finishers from Salisbury and North can be found in scoreboard.

Davie tops Starmount

Davie County’s boys basketball team upset Starmount 59-54 on Wednesday.

Davie (6-14) broke a seven-game losing streak against the Rams (13-4), who are ranked No. 2 in 2A. Eric Lowery had 19 points and eight assists for the War Eagles. Drew Absher scored 18 points.

Concord comes close

Concord’s boys basketball team lost to Oak Hill 71-70 on Wednesday at Cabarrus Arena when Brandon Jennings hit a last-second 3-pointer.

Alex Legion (committed to Michigan) and Nolan Smith (committed to Duke) combined for 40 points for Oak Hill.

Lance Lewis (21 points) and Dee Bost (20) paced Concord (14-4).

Pittman third in meet

Zach Pittman (North Rowan) placed third in the 400 meters for Bellarmine in the team’s first track meet of the season. Pittman ran a time of 51.99. He was also a member of the third-place 4×200 relay (1:37.34).

Catawba football schedule

Catawba has released its 2007 football schedule. Catawba will play six home games, including first-ever meetings with Brevard, Chowan and Elizabeth City State.

The season opens with long road trips to Murfreesboro to play Chowan and to Elizabeth City State.

The home opener is against Livingstone on Sept. 8. A home game against Mars Hill on Sept. 29 opens the SAC schedule.

Catawba will make back-to-back trips to Tennessee to Carson-Newman and Tusculum in October and closes the regular season at home against traditional rival Lenoir-Rhyne.

Carolina Speed

Former Catawba stars Corey Ready and Jamel Jackson will take the field on Feb. 12 when the Carolina Speed opens its AIFA indoor season-opener against the Tallahassee Titans.

The Speed will play home games at Cabarrus Arena. Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster outlets and the Cabarrus Arena box office.

North Hills hoops

The North Hills varsity girls basketball team lost to Union Grove 55-15. Johanna Tansey scored 10 points.

* The North Hills varsity boys defeated Union Grove 60-55. Josh Richardson and Ethan Marsh led the Eagles with 17 points. Robert Powell had 13 points. Travis Williams added 10.

* The North Hills Middle girls (9-4) defeated Woodlawn. Cacy Honeycutt scored 16 points.

The NH Middle boys (10-4) also beat Woodlawn. Cole Honeycutt had 20 points.

Sacred Heart hoops

Sacred Heart’s boys basketball team defeated Knox’s seventh-graders 59-25.

Phil Tonseth had 14 points and eight rebounds. James Kyger and Colin Sullivan scored 13 points apiece for the Dolphins (22-5).

Roy Dixon had 10 rebounds. Mike Strobel had eight rebounds. Jack Young had five steals and five assists.

Kyle Wolf had seven points for Knox.

Erwin sweeps Cannon

Erwin’s seventh-grade basketball teams swept Cannon School.

Erwin’s boys won 55-20. Gavin Wike scored 10 points for the Eagles (1-1). Jared Hough had nine rebounds.

* Erwin’s girls rolled 40-18. Ashley Goins scored 14 points for the Eagles, and Sydney Safrit had 12. Tasha Gaines and Samantha Jacobs had seven rebounds apiece.

Knox sweeps Erwin

Knox’s eighth-grade boys basketball team defeated Erwin 47-42.

Knox (12-0) will be the top seed for the conference tournament.

Alex Weant led the Trojans with 19 points. Devonte Horne scored 10, and Darien Rankin had nine.

Erwin (2-12, 2-10) was led by Will Johnson’s 11 points. Jamey Blalock scored eight points, and Ethan Curlee and Will Sapp had seven apiece.

* Knox’s second-place girls (10-2) defeated Erwin 49-39. Jessica Heilig led Knox with 19 points. Olivia Rankin scored 14.

Erwin (9-5, 8-4) was paced by Taylor Honeycutt with 16 points and seven rebounds. Kristen Hatley added six points. Olivia Sabo grabbed six boards.

Salisbury Academy

The Salisbury Academy varsity boys basketball team (11-4) defeated Covenant Christian 37-26. Alan Lebowitz, David Coggin and Scott Van der Poel led the Jaguars.

* The SA varsity girls are 12-4 after beating Community Baptist 20-18 and falling to Covenant Christian 24-23.

Erika Nelson and Alee Johnson combined for 16 points against Covenant, while Kaylin Hunter, Joy Loeblein and Jenna Boyd starred against Community.

Jr. Sting registration

The Salisbury Parks and Recreation Department still has a few basketball spots available for girls ages 13-15.

Girls interested in playing can register at Hall Gym or come to the draft on Sunday Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. Cost is $30 for city residents and $60 for non- residents.

Contact Tim Pittman at 704-638-5289.

Revolution Jiu-Jitsu

Shane Earnhardt (lightweight), Shawn Burton (welterweight) and Trey Hudson (heavyweight) won silver medals at the recent Budweiser Jiu-Jitsu World Cup held at Cabarrus Arena.

All three fight out of Granite Quarry’s Revolution Jiu-Jitsu.

Nationwide golf

The Nationwide Golf Tour starts today with the $550,000 Movistar Panama Championship in Panama City.

Salisbury native Tripp Isenhour won the event and $99,000 last year.

This is the first of 32 events scheduled on the Nationwide Tour, and purses will total $18 million.

Salisbury’s Elliot Gealy is expected to play in Panama.