Celebrated former Chattanooga Times and Philadelphia Inquirer sports editor Jay Searcy died Saturday morning at the age of 84. A memorial service is scheduled for this Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Community Church at Tellico Village at Loudon, Tennessee. The family will meet with friends after the service, according to Click Funeral Home in Lenoir City, which is handling the arrangements. Searcy grew up in Oak Ridge and began his journalism career while in high school by writing for the Oak Ridger at $1 per story. While in Chattanooga in the 1960s and 1970s he excelled in writing columns as well as heading the Times sports section, and he was a two-time Tennessee sports writer of the year. He also was a feature writer and copy editor for the New York Times in addition to his award-winning stint at the Inquirer. The Associated Press Sports Editors gave his Philadelphia newspaper three honors as best daily sports section, one as the best Sunday sports section and nine consecutive top-10-daily designations. He was president of APSE in 1984.
Basketball
* Lee University’s basketball teams resumed their schedules with wins Monday at Trevecca Nazarene in Nashville, 74-61 in the women’s game and 61-44 in the men’s. Freshman Haley Schubert scored 18 points and Abby Bertram and Nicky Widenski added 14 apiece for Lee’s Lady Flames (9-3). Bertram was 4-of-5 on 3-point shots. Adi Hale had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Trevecca (3-8). Colton Blevins also was 4-of-5 on 3s in leading the Flames (7-5) to their sixth straight win with 20 points, while Michael McGuirk and Ryan Montgomery added 13 and 12. Parker Suedekum and Montgomery had five and four assists, and Quay Kennedy had seven rebounds.
* Sewanee point guard Luke Smith was chosen the Southern Athletic Association men’s basketball player of the week for the second time this season after being named most valuable player of Oglethorpe’s tournament. Smith totaled 39 points in the two wins for the Tigers (11-1), and he leads the SAA with 20.4 points a game and a .918 free-throw percentage.