Cleveland grad Sanders sets SAC career 3s record and other sports news

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

Ish Sanders did not have his usual shooting accuracy Wednesday night, but the Carson-Newman senior from Cleveland High School did enough to become the all-time South Atlantic Conference leader in 3-point goals. The second of his three 3s in 12 attempts shot him past former Tusculum star Kyle Moore, and he later reset the SAC career record at 308 made 3s. Sanders hit a tying basket with 20 seconds left in the game at Anderson, but the hosts won 83-81. Sanders, a 6-foot-1 guard, leads the Eagles (11-6, 8-5) in minutes played and by a wide margin with 41 steals, and he is second on the team in scoring with 18.6 points a game. He had 15 in Wednesday's loss.

• Tennessee Temple won both basketball games against visiting Fisk University on Thursday, 54-51 for the Lady Crusaders' sixth straight victory and 103-96 for the Crusaders. Amanda Rector had 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists, Jess Salera had 12 points and eight rebounds and TaQuasha O'Neal had five assists for the Lady Crusaders (10-10), who also know they will receive a forfeit victory from Lynchburg College on Feb. 8. Rashida Ademosu had 27 points and eight rebounds for the Fisk women. Jarrett Smith's 21 points and seven assists paced the 12-9 Crusaders' victory, while Elliot Johnson and Hampton Mack added 18 and 16 points and Weedlens Beauvil and Jordan Brown scored 14 and 12. Cameron Lewis had 34 points with eight rebounds for Fisk.

• Life University dropped Dalton State's first-year men's basketball team to 21-3 for the season with a 110-90 victory Thursday night at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center. Latraius Mosley had 33 points, 10 rebounds and four steals and Jonathan Tinch scored 32 points for Life (14-9), while Preston Earle's 31 points and eight rebounds and Demetrice Jacobs' 22 points led the Roadrunners.

• Lee University's Hollie German from Polk County in NCAA Division II (District 5) and Samford's Christy Robinson from Northwest Whitfield in Division I (District 4) were College Sports Information Directors of America Capital One all-district selections announced Thursday. German, the Lady Flames' leading scorer, has a 3.95 grade point average as a math and secondary education major, and Robinson is a nursing major with a 3.95.

• Covenant College junior guard Nate Frierson and women's senior forward Jessie Blankenship made the Capital One academic District 5 basketball first teams for NCAA Division III. Blankenship was honored for the second year in a row. She is averaging team highs of 13.3 points and 9.4 rebounds a game, having tied the Lady Scots' record of 22 rebounds in one game, and has a GPA of 3.95 as a double major in business and art. Frierson, who scored 23 points in one game and is averaging 8.6 plus 3.2 assists a game, is a history major with a 3.87 GPA.

• Bryan College scoring and rebounding leader Brandon Cole made the CoSIDA District 2 college division men's basketball academic first team. The 6-foot-2 sophomore forward from Crossville is an exercise and health science major with a 3.68 GPA, and he's averaging 24.9 points and 11.4 rebounds a game. He was the AAC freshman of the year last season.

• The UTC Mocs Club will host a "Breakfast With the Coach" at 8:15 a.m. Saturday at Wally's restaurant on McCallie Avenue, and a member of the UTC men's basketball staff will be the special guest. The public is invited to come and order off the menu; reservations are not taken.

Softball

• Two days before the scheduled start of the 2014 season, Lee University softball coach Emily Russell announced Thursday the signing of two pitchers for 2015: Brianna Eichbaum from Tippecanoe High School in Tipp City, Ohio, and Leigh Taylor Beatenbough from Canon, Ga., and Franklin County High School in nearby Carnesville. Eichbaum, also an outfielder, batted .392 and had a 1.02 earned run average last season and was all-state, and she is the senior class president. "I wanted to attend a Christian college with a great softball team," she said in a Lee release. "I fell in love with the location and all the academic, athletic and spiritual qualities Lee had to offer." Beatenbough is a two-time all-stater and the 2012 Region 8-AAA pitcher of the year and 2013 player of the year for a team that reached the state elite eight. The Georgia Impact summer standout had a 1.57 ERA and a .425 batting average with 42 RBIs this past fall for Franklin County. She has a 4.0 GPA and plans to major in pre-med. "I was looking for a university with a great Christian atmosphere and a successful softball program where I would fit in. I have found that in Lee," Beatenbough said. "I want to continue and grow in my walk with God." Said Russell: "Leigh and Bri are both very talented athletes. They have a great competitive fire, and we are thrilled to have them join the program." The Lady Flames open their season with four games Saturday and Sunday in Armstrong Atlantic State's tournament in Savannah, Ga.

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