WWAY’s Wednesday night sports – March 20

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — We’ve posted scores and notes from Wednesday’s high school sports below.

HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
TOPSAIL SHUTOUT CLINTON 20-0
SUMMER DARNELL STRUCK OUT 13 BATTERS FOR THE PIRATES

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS SOCCER
HOGGARD BEAT FAYETTEVILLE ACADEMY 8-1
ALI FRANKENY SCORED 3 GOALS FOR THE VIKINGS

GIRLS LACROSSE
TOPSAIL BEAT GREENVILLE ROSE 10-5
DAYNA ROGERS SCORED 6 GOALS FOR THE PIRATES

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BUIES CREEK, NC (WWAY) — In a pre-season soccer game the Wilmington Hammerheads beat Campbell on Wednesday 2-0. The Hammerheads will play Charleston on Saturday in Charleston in their next pre-season game. Next Wednesday UNCW will host the Hammerheads in a pre-season friendly.

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AP-Tournament-Scorecard

Here are the latest scores from today’s sports events:

COLLEGE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTS

CBI

First Round
at Dayton, Ohio
Final Wright St. 72 Tulsa 52

at Houston
Final Houston 73 Texas 72

at Smithfield, R.I.
Final Richmond 76 Bryant 71

at University Arena in Read Fieldhouse
Final OT W. Michigan 72 N. Dakota St. 71

at West Lafayette, Ind.
Final Purdue 81 W. Illinois 67

First Round
at Chicago
Final Ill.-Chicago 80 Chicago St. 69

CIT

First Round
at Arlington, Texas
Final Oral Roberts 84 Texas-Arlington 76

at Buffalo, N.Y.
Final Canisius 69 Elon 53

at Crawford Court
In 2nd UC Irvine 43 High Point 33

at Dee Events Center
Final Weber St. 85 Cal Poly 43

at Honolulu
Air Force vs Hawaii 25 mins. after previous game

at McLeod Center
Final N. Iowa 77 North Dakota 66

at Memorial A & C Center
Final Kent St. 73 Fairfield 71

at New Orleans
Final Tulane 84 South Alabama 73

at Peoria, Ill.
Final Bradley 75 Green Bay 69

NCAA

First Round
at University of Dayton Arena
Final James Madison 68 LIU Brooklyn 55
Final La Salle 80 Boise St. 71

NIT

First Round
at Amherst, Mass.
Final Stony Brook 71 UMass 58

at Hattiesburg, Miss.
Final Southern Miss. 78 Charleston Southern 71

at Iowa City, Iowa
Final Iowa 68 Indiana St. 52

at Knoxville, Tenn.
Final Mercer 75 ( 5) Tennessee 67

at Providence, R.I.
Final Providence 75 Charlotte 66

at Tempe, Ariz.
In 2nd Arizona St. 59 Detroit 46

at Waco, Texas
Final Baylor 112 Long Beach St. 66
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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WILMINGTON, NC (UNCW) — Hunter Ridge’s infield single in the seventh inning
broke UNCW’s career hits record and highlighted the Seahawks 10-3 win over visiting
Charleston Southern at Brooks Field on Wednesday.

The Seahawks, winners of eight of their last nine games, improved to 14-7 overall
and 13-4 at home. CSU dropped its sixth straight outing to fall to 8-14 on the
season. UNCW avenged a 7-6 loss in Charleston to the Buccaneers earlier this season.
Ridge, who entered the game as the nation’s active career hits leader, broke Jason
Appel’s previous record of 260 hits, a record that was set in 2008. Joining Ridge
with multiple hit games were Luis Renvill (2-3), Ryan LaGrange (2-4) and Drew Farber
(2-4). Farber also knocked in two runs.

Evan Phillips (1-0) earned the win in relief for UNCW, allowing one run on two hits
over three innings. CSU starter Andrew Tomasovich (0-4) dropped his fourth decision
after surrendering seven runs, but only one earned, in 4 and 1/3 innings.
Kevin Hickey and Zack Hagaman each had two hits for the Bucs.

Next up: The Seahawks return to Colonial Athletic Association action on Friday with
a 6 p.m. start against Georgia State.

How it happened: Trailing 2-1, UNCW plated three in the third to take the lead and
extended the lead with a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth for a 7-2 lead.
Renvill plated the first run of the third with a single to right, scoring Farber,
who singled to lead off and moved around to third on a throwing error by Tomasovich,
the first of two errors by the righthander on the game. CSU totaled six errors on
the evening.

Inside the numbers: With six errors, CSU allowed just four earned runs . UNCW
pitchers allowed just one leadoff hitter to reach base, coming in the first inning .
UNCW, meanwhile, put 6-of-8 leadoff hitters on base . CSU used eight pitchers in the
game, UNCW five . Seahawk relievers retired the first batter they faced all four
times.

Notes: Ridge is hitting .407 (11-27) in his last six games . Michael Bass extended
his hitting streak to 17 games, with a single in the eighth, and his on base streak
to 22 . Bass also swiped his 12 base in as many attempts this season . Also
extending hitting streaks was LaGrange (10 games) . Farber posted his sixth
multi-RBI game of the season with two runs knocked in . Terence Connelly moved his
on base streak to 13 games . Christian Wolfe had a pinch hit double to score two in
the seventh inning.

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Note: Jermaine Jones is a graduate of New Hanover High School. Here’s an article on his recent achievement in indoor track and field.

BIRMINGHAM, AL (ST.AUG) -– Led by the strength of its sprinters, Saint Augustine’s University claimed the NCAA Division II Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championship at the Birmingham Cross Plex on Saturday, March 9, 2013.

The title is the latest achievement in the illustrious history of the famed St. Aug track and field program. The Falcons have won 12 men’s indoor crowns and 32 national championships overall under legendary Head Coach George Williams.

“The kids stepped up,” said Williams, coaching his 37th season at St. Aug. “They wanted it and they got it. Everybody chipped in and did their part to win it.”

The Falcons scored 72 points to earn the title. Ashland was second with 59.50 points and Adams State finished third with 55 points. In the women’s division, Academy of Art was the winner with 59 points followed by Grand Canyon with 45 points and Lincoln (Mo.) with 44 points.

The Falcons produced three national individual champions in the running events. Moussa Dembele won the 60 meter hurdles, Dane Hyatt captured the 400 meter dash and Jermaine Jones was the victor in the 200 meter dash.

It was Jones’ victory in the 200 dash which helped the Falcons separate themselves from the pack. They entered the race tied with Ashland for the lead with 47 points, but Jones led three Falcon runners who scored in the event.

Jones won in 21.03 seconds and teammate Josh Edmonds was third in 21.36. Hyatt, who was eighth in 24.36, was the top seed in the 200 but ran injured.

The Falcons scored 17 points in the 200 which gave them the cushion they needed. They led Ashland 64-49.5 with two events left.

“Even though Dane ran hurt, Jermaine stepped up,” Williams said. “That race turned the whole thing around. Nobody could catch us then.”

With victory pretty much assured, the Falcons capped the championship meet with a second-place finish in the 4×400 relay, the final event of the evening. Even with the injured Hyatt sitting out the relay, the Falcons still ran 3:10.63.

The Falcons, who entered Saturday with one point, got off to a brilliant start. DeJon Wilkinson placed second and David Shaw Jr. was sixth in the triple jump to give the Falcons 11 points in the first event. Wilkinson leaped 51-11 and Shaw Jr. jumped 49-9 ¾.

Then Dembele defended his top ranking in the 60 hurdles by winning a tight race. Dembele ran 7.84 to hold off Sabiel Anderson of Lincoln (Mo.), who was second in 7.85. Ty’reak Murray of the Falcons was third in 7.93, giving the Falcons 16 more points and moving them into second place with 28 points. The Falcons trailed by one to Central Missouri at the time.

Jones gave the Falcons their first lead when he finished fifth in the 60 dash in 6.78. His four points put the Falcons up 32-29 over Central Missouri after nine events. After Adams State surged ahead with a big showing in the mile run, the Falcons moved back in front after Hyatt won the 400 dash in 46.71. With Edmonds finishing fifth in the 400 in 47.48, the Falcons scored 14 points in the race for a 46-41 lead over Adams State.

Marcelis Lynch of the Falcons was eighth in the 800 in 1:54.27, but Ashland won the event to move into a tie with the Falcons. The Falcons’ depth in the sprints proved to be the difference down the stretch.

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CLEVELAND, OH (AP) – LeBron James scored 25 points as the Miami Heat overcame a 27-point deficit in the third quarter and won their 24th straight game, 98-95 over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night to extend the second-longest winning streak in NBA history.

The Heat are within nine games of matching the record of 33 consecutive wins held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.

James and his teammates have insisted the record isn’t one of their goals, and for more than 30 minutes the defending champions seemed disinterested and on the verge of losing for the first time since Feb. 1. Miami trailed 67-40 with 7:44 left in the third quarter.

But behind the irrepressible James, who added 12 rebounds and 10 assists, the Heat inched closer to history by matching the biggest comeback in the NBA this season, according to STATS.

James had 14 points in the fourth as Miami completed its second straight comeback. The Heat rallied from 17 down – 13 in the fourth quarter – to beat Boston 105-103 Monday night and snap a tie with the 2007-08 Houston Rockets for the second-longest winning streak in NBA history.

Although the Cavs were missing All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters and Anderson Varejao – their top three scorers – they pushed Miami to the limit.

It wasn’t until James, playing his fourth game back in Cleveland since leaving as a free agent in 2010, made two free throws with 4.7 seconds left that Miami could relax a little. The Cavs had one last chance to tie it, but C.J. Miles was long with a 3-pointer in the final second, letting Miami off the hook.

Following the game, James stopped to sign a few autographs as he made his way to Miami’s locker room. This was much tougher than he and the Heat could have imagined.

Mario Chalmers added 17 points and Dwyane Wade had 11 for the Heat, who outscored the Cavs 30-18 in the fourth quarter and 64-40 in the second half.

Wayne Ellington had 20 points and Tristan Thompson 18 for Cleveland, which went from a stunning upset to blowing the biggest lead in a loss in franchise history.

Down by nine to open the fourth, the Heat were up 95-86 with 3:02 left and seemed to have the Cavaliers on the ropes.

But Cleveland bounced back and closed to 96-95 on Thompson’s two free throws with 44 seconds to go. Wade then missed a jumper, but Ellington misfired on a step-back 23-footer with 5.2 seconds to go.

James was fouled and the reigning MVP, with a sellout crowd of 20,562 roaring, stepped to the line and dropped both free throws to make it 98-95.

Miles was contested on his final shot, and once it clanked off the rim, the Heat headed home with a chance to extend their streak to 25 on Friday against Detroit.

This game had a little of everything, including a fan running on the floor in the fourth quarter. The young man was wearing a T-shirt that said: “We Miss You, 2014 Come Back,” a reference to James’ possible free agency and return to Cleveland, where he played seven seasons.

James patted the fan on the head as security rushed him off the floor.

The start of the game was delayed 35 minutes because of a spill on the floor caused by condensation from a carbon dioxide container inside the scoreboard.

James scored eight straight points to open the fourth, hitting a 3-pointer to tie it 77-all. He then turned toward the crowd and delivered an icy stare, his way of saying, ‘OK, enough is enough.’

The Heat had to work extra hard for this one, but they may look back on the comeback as a defining moment.

Trailing by 27 – matching their biggest deficit this season – in the third quarter, the Heat were in major danger of getting blown out.

But Miami rallied and outscored Cleveland 28-10 in a 7-minute stretch to pull to 74-68 on Ray Allen’s 3-pointer from the left wing. With Cavaliers fans holding their breath and swallowing hard, Daniel Gibson drilled a 3 just before the horn to put the Cavs up 77-68 heading to the fourth.

The Cavs led by 21 at halftime, a stunning development for a team that had to sign a journeyman guard earlier in the day just to have some depth.

Cleveland reeled off a 19-0 run and outscored Miami 23-3 over final 6:45 of the first half. As they walked to the locker room at halftime, the Heat had to be wondering what was happening and any thoughts they may have had of matching the Lakers’ record were vaporizing quickly.

Downstairs, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert joked that he didn’t know what was happening.

“I was out, what’s the score?” he cracked.

James wasn’t sure what kind of reaction he would get from Cleveland’s fans. However, he was confident it would be nothing like his first visit here after he signed with the Heat in 2010.

“It can’t get no worse than Year One, Dec. 2, 2010,” he said, referring to the night Quicken Loans Arena was transformed into a cauldron of hate – directed at him. “It can’t get no worse than that, so I’ll be all right.”

James has moved on and he believes Cleveland fans aren’t nearly as mad at him as they once were.

Even Gilbert seems to have softened. Gilbert, who sent his infamous letter to Cavs fans ripping James on the night he announced he was signing with the Heat, went to his Twitter account to offer something of an olive branch to his former employee.

“Cleveland Cavaliers young talent makes our future very bright,” Gilbert tweeted. “Clearly, LeBron’s is as well. Time for everyone to focus on the road ahead.”

James was standing at midcourt awaiting the opening tip when arena workers first noticed a pool of liquid on the floor. As ball boys tried to mop it up, the officials sent both teams to their locker rooms and the giant, fire-breathing, fog-spewing scoreboard was lowered to the floor so the problem could be fixed.

The team returned and warmed up for five minutes before the game got under way.

Once it began, the Cavs came out energized. Cleveland opened a 24-16 lead and was outhustling Miami’s players, who swore they wouldn’t overlook a banged-up Cleveland squad.

NOTES: The Cavs are going to wait a week before they evaluate Waiters, who has loose cartilage, and decide whether he needs surgery. Cleveland coach Byron Scott hopes his young guard comes back in the final month. “If he gets back, I’ll be thrilled to death,” Scott said. … Miami’s three wins over Cleveland this season have been by a total of nine points.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)