The Covenant College men's basketball team rose to 2-0 under new coach Arte Culver with a 100-67 defeat of the University of Dallas on Friday on Lookout Mountain. Sixteen Scots played at least four minutes, and 15 of them scored, led by Berto Dryden with 13 points and Connor Sears and Z Arima with 11 each. Dryden also had four steals and matched Will Portlock and Bailey Spragg with five assists. The team was 19-of-32 on 3-point shots.
* Kaley Hallmark had 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists in leading the Covenant women to a 48-42 win Friday night against the host team in the Centre Classic in Danville, Ky. Aleigha Williams had nine points and four steals for the Lady Scots (2-0).
* Brody Stone had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Hunter Buescher also scored 13 points as the Sewanee men's basketball team beat Boyce 76-47 in the Lon Varnell Classic at Sewanee. Hannah McCormack scored 18 points, Sue Kim had 13 and Allison Hitchcock passed for six assists as the Sewanee women (0-2) lost 80-56 at Emory & Henry.
Baseball
* Cleveland State Community College reported that five of its baseball sophomores recently signed letters of intent to NCAA schools: Devin Gardner to Belmont, Sean McDermott to Mercer, Jake Rogers to Georgia State, Jordan Ransom to Kentucky State and Elijah Haynie to Chowan. Haynie is a left-handed pitcher who came to the Cougars from nearby Walker Valley High School, while outfielder Ransom is from Ringgold High and Rogers is from Gordon Lee. Rogers compiled a pitching record of 6-5 with an earned run average of 3.96 and 91 strikeouts in 72 innings last season. First baseman McDermott from Adairsville (Ga.) High hit .370 with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs as a freshman, and Gardner was a first-team All-TCCAA outfielder from Maryville Heritage who batted .409 with eight homers, 15 doubles and 38 RBIs. "Each one of them has worked hard both in the classroom and on the field," Cougars coach Mike Policastro said in a school release. "I am excited about their future, as they all are outstanding young men." Belmont assistant coach Aaron Smith said Gardner "possesses all the skills we look for in a junior college player. He has the ability to hit for power as well as be a plus defender that has great speed."
* Kentucky State coach Rob Henry had announced seven signees for this year in late September, including Cameron Hughes from Heritage High School by way of Dalton State, a left-handed pitcher and outfielder who has four years of eligibility left, and shortstop and right-handed reliever Matthew Oxford from Hixson High. Of Hughes, Henry said, "His ability to throw quality strikes from the left side and swing the bat effectively gives him a chance to see the field at the start of the season." Oxford, Henry said, "has a love for the game that is infectious, and he makes his teammates around him better. He's long and rangy with a good glove and good arm."
High Schools
* Girls Preparatory School has been awarded the BCBST Championship Series Award for TSSAA Division II-AA for the second year in a row and the third time in the five years BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee has been presenting it. One school is honored annually in each of five classications for having the highest performing athletic program in the state, averaged for all its TSSAA sports, with no unsportsmanlike-behavior incidents. GPS won for the 2011-12, 2014-15 and now 2015-16 school years; Baylor won for 2012-13. The award comes with a $2,500 donation from BCBST.
* Lookout Valley and Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe high schools received PowerAde Power Through awards of $2,000 for their athletic programs this past week - for soccer and baseball, respectively. PowerAde (Coca-Cola United) and Food City collaborated on the project. Schools tried for the Southeast-wide awards with a three-minute video or 300-word written presentation submitted by Sept. 30 on how they plan to use the money to help their sports.