From staff reports
Mark Thomas hit five 3-pointers and scored 29 points to lead Livingstone to a 72-67 win against Davis & Elkins on Monday at Trent Gym.
Livingstone (8-1) got 12 points from Eladio Espinoza and 11 from Jody Hill. Ethan Anderson had 12 rebounds.
The Blue Bears led by three at halftime and enjoyed a 13-point lead midway through the second half, but they couldn’t pull away from the Senators (1-6).
D’Quan Lynch scored 28 for the visitors from West Virginia.
Livingstone starts CIAA play on Thursday night at Bowie State.

DAVIS & ELKINS (67) — Lynch 28, Wamsley 11, Premasunas 9, Miller 7, Brown 6, Hammond 3, Dixon 2, White 1.
LIVINGSTONE (72) — Thomas 29, Espinoza 12, Hill 11, Anderson 8, Johnson 7, Ford-Bey 4, A. Welch 1, Flint, Turner, King, D. Welch.

Davis & Elkins 30 37 — 67
Livingstone 33 39 — 72
Men’s hoops
Louisburg College, coached by Mark Vanderslice (West Rowan), is the No. 1 team nationally in the junior college rankings.
Louisburg placed fifth in the national tournament last March and began this season ranked No. 4.
The Hurricanes (12-0) moved up to No. 2 in November and ascended to the top spot in December. After a holiday break, Louisburg returns to action on Jan. 5 when it hosts Tidwater Community College.
Vanderslice was a standout for West’s 1997 2A state champs and played at UNC Asheville. He took the head job at Louisburg in August, 2010.
Vanderslice was previously an assistant coach at Toledo and Furman.
• Kaleb Kimber (West) contributed a 3-pointer as Rio Grande blasted Cincinnati-Clermont 78-49 on Monday.

College football
DB Domonique Noble (West Rowan) played for Georgia Tech in Monday’s Sun Bowl, a 21-7 win against USC.

Prep hoops
North Rowan plays at home against YVC opponent South Davidson on Wednesday, with the girls game starting at 6 p.m.
The remainder of the Rowan teams and A.L. Brown return to action Friday.

Local golf
Notable golfer Ed Rabon, 84, died on Dec. 27. His obituary was in the Dec. 29 edition.

Local softball
Salisbury’s E.J. Harrison, 68, a member of the National Senior Softball Hall of Fame, died on Dec. 24. His obituary was in the Dec. 31 edition.
Competing for Thomas Engineering, Harrison was a member of five national championship teams.

Umpire clinic
The National Softball Association will hold an umpire clinic at the Salisbury Civic Center on Sunday, Jan. 20, for slow-pitch officials.
Registration is at 10 a.m., and the clinic lasts until 2 p.m. The fee is $56. Those interested in umpiring in NSA leagues or tournament play should plan on attending.
Rules and new mechanics will be taught by Eastern Zone umpire-in-chief Mike Snyder.
For information, contact Genna Livengood at 704-239-6693.