From staff reports
Catawba’s men’s basketball team is hot heading into today’s first-round Southeast Regional game against Armstrong Atlantic in Augusta, Ga.
Catawba has won its last five games, including three to take the SAC tournament championship.
It’s been a roller-coaster season. Catawba opened with eight straight wins before enduring a midseason stretch in which it lost four SAC games in a row. Then the Indians righted the ship for a nice stretch run.
This is Catawba’s third straight trip to a regional. It has lost in overtime in the first round the past two years at Augusta State’s Christenberry Fieldhouse.
Catawba is seeded sixth in the regional, while tall Armstrong Atlantic (23-6) is the No. 3 seed. Dwight Tolbert, Brian Moultrie and Calvin Wilson are standouts for Armstrong Atlantic.
WSAT-1280 is broadcasting the game. Tipoff is at noon.
The winner plays Lenoir-Rhyne’s Bears or USC Aiken’s Pacers at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
n Catawba’s Antonio Houston was honored as a second-team all-district pick.
n Women’s basketball
Two SAC teams won first-round Southeast Regional games Friday at Lenoir-Rhyne.
n Jasmine Gunn scored 19 points to lead No. 2 seed Tusculum to an 87-70 win against Lander.
n Denise Moore’s 17 points sparked top-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne to a 69-58 win against Anderson.
n No. 6 seed Carson-Newman fell to Clayton State 68-66. Angela Volentine scored 12 points for the Eagles.
n College baseball
Brett Shore (South Rowan) had three hits for Davidson in a 7-1 win against Elon on Friday.
n Daniel Wagner (South) homered, scored four times and drove in three runs as Belmont crushed East Tennessee State 17-6 on Friday.
n Coaching changes
West Iredell boys coach Brian Cantrell has resigned. Cantrell had been head coach at West since 2000. His Warriors were 9-15 last season.
West Iredell will be in a new-look, seven-team NPC with Statesville, North Iredell, West Rowan, East Rowan, South Rowan and Carson, starting this fall.
n Legendary football coach Burton Cates is leaving Eastern Randolph for Lee County High in Sanford. Cates was 236-81 record in 25 years at Eastern Randolph.
n Prep softball
East Rowan (2-0) got off to a strong start with a 10-0 romp against North Rowan and a 5-0 win against West Iredell, expected to be one of top contenders in the NPC.
East sophomore Chelsea White pitched a no-hitter and struck out 13 in five innings against North Rowan. She allowed one hit and fanned 15 against the Warriors.
Winter Heno was 3-for-3, scored three runs and stole three bases against North Rowan. White was 2-for-2 with two RBIs. Ericka Nesbitt was 2-for-2 with three RBIs.
Mallory Drew hit an inside-the-park homer against West Iredell. Drew and Kayla Kirk had two RBIs apiece.
n South Rowan freshman Kayla Corriher had a run-scoring triple in a 7-2 loss against Northwest Cabarrus in Friday’s NPC game.
n 7th-grade hoops
Monifa Angle scored 21 points, and Brielle Blair added 18 as the Knox girls beat Corriher-Lipe 51-18. Nyasia Harris added 12 points.
Kacie Stamey led Corriher-Lipe with 12 points.
– Trey Williams scored 13 points to lead Southeast’s boys to a 52-34 win over China Grove.
The Patriots also got eight points from John Patella and seven from Seth Martin. Myquan Stout and Darius Gabriel added five apiece.
n SAC Excellence Award
Carson-Newman continues to lead the race for the SAC Excellence Award for combined athletic standings in all sports. Wingate is second. The Bulldogs are followed by Tusculum, Lenoir-Rhyne, Newberry, Catawba, Mars Hill, Lincoln Memorial and Brevard.
n Woo! Flair lands job
Lowe’s Motor Speedway officials announced that Ric Flair, 16-time heavyweight wrestling champion of the world, will serve as Honorary Race Director for the 25th NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on May 16.