Temple's Crusaders playing in USCAA final and other sports news

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

Tennessee Temple University will play for the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's basketball championship tonight after beating the Apprentice School from Newport News, Va., in Thursday's late game, 73-59. Temple (21-11) took control early and led 45-27 at halftime. The Crusaders were led by Weedlens Beauvil with 18 points on 5-of-11 3-point shooting and Darius Davis with 16 points. Elliot Johnson had 15 rebounds with nine points, and Jarrett Smith and Jake Freeze contributed five and four assists. Johnnie Ferebee had 17 points and five assists for the Builders (16-10), who were seeded seventh but beat No. 2 seed and defending champion Rochester College in the quarterfinals. Sixth-seeded Temple now faces No. 4 seed Washington Adventist, which upset top-seeded Daemen College on Thursday, 58-57.

• The nationally second-ranked Walters State Lady Senators improved to 31-0 with a 91-66 win over Chattanooga State in the TCCAA/NJCAA Region VII basketball tournament Friday evening at Roane State. MiShannon Wilbanks from Red Bank scored 23 points and Jephany Brown had 17 points and 11 rebounds while Karly Frye had nine assists for Walters. Amber Howard and Lakendria Williams each scored 15 points with three and four 3s for the Lady Tigers (15-14). Their game was delayed because Motlow's men took top-seeded Columbia State to double-overtime before falling 122-121. T.J. Dunans had 47 points and 12 rebounds for Columbia, and Matt Smith and Justin Pride had 25 and 20 points with nine rebounds apiece, plus four blocks for Smith and seven assists for Pride. Tre'Von James had 25 points and 15 rebounds and Dequon Miller had 23 points and five assists for the Bucks, who led 54-35 at halftime. Kytrell Williams and Greg Mason added 19 and 17 points in defeat. The Walters State men beat Southwest Tennessee 76-67 with 25 points and 12 rebounds from Chattanoogan Trey Suttles and 17 and 10 from Aaron Wheeler.

• The Tennessee Wesleyan women's basketball team is one of the four 5 seeds in the NAIA Division II national tournament in Sioux City, Iowa, and opens play at 2:45 p.m. EST Wednesday against Siena Heights from Michigan.

Baseball

• The Bryan College baseball team improved to 12-9 overall and 4-0 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference with an 11-2 home win Friday against Point University. L.J. Rowden pitched all nine innings and Cody Rhinehart and Hunter Tipton each was 2-for-4 with two RBIs for Bryan, while Kevin Roberts also was 2-for-4 and Justin Morhardt and Preston King also had two RBIs each. King and Rhinehart homered. Trevor Maxey was 3-for-4 with an RBI for Point.

• Tennessee Temple lost 6-3 to Berea on Friday at Marion County High School and takes a 3-8 record into today's doubleheader between the schools.

• Cleveland State's scheduled TCCAA baseball game Friday at Dyersburg State was moved to Sunday afternoon. The teams play a doubleheader today.

Running

• State champion Dylan Smith from Gordon Lee High School signed a letter of intent Thursday to run cross country for Dalton State College. He is a reigning state champion in both cross country and the mile run in track for the Chickamauga school. "We're blessed to have a runner of his caliber with two state titles and a 3.7 GPA," Roadrunners coach Andy Meyer said in a DSC release. "He will be a great addition to next season's team." Said Smith: "Dalton State is a good fit for me. I have taken notice of the early successes and the runners the school has attracted. I also like that it is close to home."

Lacrosse

• Matthew Stiefel and Davis Brown scored four and three goals, including two each in a 6-0 first quarter, as the Sewanee men's lacrosse team beat visiting Trine 14-3 on Friday. Hayden Byrd scored three in the third quarter and Cotter Brown and Reed Daniel each had a goal and two assists for the Tigers (3-1), who had a 68-17 advantage in shots. Matt Lamb made 26 saves for Trine (0-3).

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