No. 2 Abilene Christian Going Dancing After 77-60 Victory Over No. 4 New Orleans
Scott Plaisance Jr. New Orleans F R-Sr. Marrero, La. Jaylen Franklin Abilene Christian G Sr. Little Rock, Ark. Josh Nzeakor Lamar F Sr. Mesquite, Texas Box ScoreKATY, Texas – Six years ago, Abilene Christian finished 2-12 in the Southland Conference. Six years later, the Wildcats stand atop the Southland Conference.A punishing interior game and a swarming defense keyed No. 2-seed ACU to a 77-60 victory over No.-4 seed New Orleans in Saturday night’s Southland Conference men’s basketball tournament championship game, putting the Wildcats into the NCAA Men’s Basketball Division I Tournament for the first time in program history.“It’s just a dream come true,” said ACU (27-6) forward Jaren Lewis, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding player after scoring 20 points and grabbing six rebounds in the title win. “When you’re younger watching college basketball, that’s what you dream about all the time. This is what I was dreaming about when I came to ACU, like ‘one day, this is where I want to be.’ Coach G (Joe Golding) sold me on that, and we finally got it.”Abilene Christian becomes the 2nd team this season to make their first NCAA Tournament! ?? pic.twitter.com/4b4PqIw98r— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) March 17, 2019Lewis was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Jaylen Franklin and Payten Ricks, New Orleans’ Scott Plaisance and Lamar’s Josh Nzeakor.The Wildcats forced 20 turnovers and never trailed after taking a 4-2 lead in the first two minutes of the game, taking as much as a 22-point lead late in the contest. ACU scored 48 of its points in the paint, which was a key reason why they shot a solid 56.1 percent from the field.“We wanted to be the first team at Abilene Christian to make the tournament,” said Franklin, who had 16 points and six assists. “It’s a big surprise, but we stuck through it and trusted each other.”“I’m going to sit back, and like I did (Saturday night), I’m going to sit back and watch,” said Golding. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. If it’s anybody that deserves it’s these three seniors (Franklin, Lewis and Hayden Farquhar).”Playing in their first Southland Conference tournament, the Wildcats looked like a team familiar with being in a championship setting.ACU thrived inside from the outset as a mixture of fast breaks and well-timed passes resulted in a host of layups and short jumpers by the Wildcats, who scored 20 of their first 25 points from the paint. Several of those caming during a 13-0 run over a stretch of 5:12 midway in the first half put them up by as much as 34-19 at the 5:02 mark.New Orleans shook off its shooting malaise with a 7-0 run to begin climbing back into the contest, but the 24-10 deficit in the paint was a major culprit behind their 40-29 halftime deficit.A Bryson Robinson trey to open the second half got the Privateers within 40-32 but they could not whittle away at the Wildcats’ lead despite ACU opening the half by missing seven of their first 10 shots. However, Lewis’ short jumper helped the Wildcats regain an offensive groove that helped them stretch the lead to 54-40 at the 10:53 mark of the half.New Orleans was unable to maintain the breakneck pace that ACU had established early in the game and by the time they tried to get into a groove, it was too late.“We kind of got caught playing their style. It fits for them,” said Robinson. “It was their game plan. They executed it and it worked well.”The Wildcats began to put the game away over the next two minutes. A tip-in from Joe Pleasant was followed by a dunk from Lewis and a layup from Franklin extended the lead to 61-46 and forced Slessinger to call time out with 8:30 on the clock. MBB: Next stop: @marchmadness. ???????#SouthlandStrong #GoWildcats #ChampWeek #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/70mhkGuP9B— #SouthlandStrong (@SouthlandSports) March 17, 2019Showing their blue-collar spirit, the Privateers mustered one last run, bringing the lead again down to eight following a Plaisance free throw. Farquhar – who missed all nine of his attempts in Friday’s semifinal win over Sam Houston State – then delivered the decisive blows in the form of consecutive three-pointers to put the Wildcats on course for the NCAA Tournament.Despite the loss, the Privateers will be heading to postseason play for a third straight season, as they were informed shortly after the game they would be a part of the College Invitational Tournament (CIT) and plan to host a first round game on Wednesday night.“We’re excited,” said Plaisance. “The season is broken up into several pieces, and postseason is one of my favorites. To go out there one more time and put New Orleans on my chest is definitely an honor.”“It’s a great testament to our program,” said Privateers coach Mark Slessinger. “It’s another compliment to the university as a whole and their investment in building a championship program.”For Golding and the Wildcats, Sunday continues a remarkable journey. “I’m going to let these guys enjoy it,” he said. “We’re going to go down there and compete. I don’t know who we’re going to play. I’m sure we’ll be an underdog, but we’re going to play hard and represent this conference in a first-class manner.”2019 Southland Conference All-Tournament Team Name Institution Pos. Class Hometown Payten Ricks Abilene Christian G Jr. Wichita, Kan. Jaren Lewis (MVP) Abilene Christian F Sr. Orlando, Fla.
Five Southland schools will be playing on Saturday, Nov. 23. Sam Houston State will host Houston Baptist for a noon showdown, while McNeese visits Lamar in a Battle of the Border contest at 3:30 p.m. CT. Abilene Christian closes its regular season Saturday with a non-conference match-up at Mississippi State. That game will be available on SEC Network+ beginning at 6:30 p.m. CT. The Southland Game of the Week will be held on Friday, Nov. 22, as Central Arkansas visits UIW for a 6:30 p.m. contest in San Antonio. FRISCO, Texas – The Southland Conference and its television partners have revealed football game selections and start times for Week 13 contests on Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 21-23.The final Thursday night of the regular season puts the River Bell Classic trophy on the line when Southeastern Louisiana hosts Nicholls for a 6 p.m. kick. The game will be carried regionally by Cox Sports Television, while ESPN+ will simulcast the production outside CST’s territory. Entering the final two weeks of the regular season, there is a four-way tie atop the Southland standings as Central Arkansas, Nicholls, Sam Houston State and Southeastern Louisiana have all compiled a 5-2 mark in league play. McNeese is one game behind at 4-3 and could still claim a share of the conference title. Week 12 television selections were announced last week. *Southland Conference Game**All Times Central Saturday, November 23* Houston Baptist at Sam Houston State, 12 p.m., ESPN+* McNeese at Lamar, 3 p.m., ESPN3Abilene Christian at Mississippi State, 6:30 p.m., SEC Network+ ESPN+ is an integrated part of the ESPN App, the leading sports app and the premier all-in-one digital sports platform for fans. The ESPN App is a showcase of the company’s culture of innovation, delivering a rich, personalized experience that curates all of ESPN’s incredible content around each fan’s individual tastes. ESPN+ is also available through ESPN.com.
About ESPN+ Friday, November 22* Central Arkansas at UIW, 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ Programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of MLB, NHL and MLS games, thousands of college sports events (including football, basketball and multiple other sports from more than 15 conferences), exclusive Top Rank boxing, UFC (beginning in 2019), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby, cricket, new and exclusive documentary films and series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time. Thursday, November 21* Nicholls at Southeastern Louisiana, 6 p.m., CST/ESPN+ ESPN+ is the premium multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment in conjunction with ESPN. It offers fans thousands of additional live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks.
JOCKEY QUOTES DRAYDEN VAN DYKE, NEPTUNE’S STORM, WINNER: “This is a very game horse. We had (early pacesetter) Big Scott Daddy as a target and when we passed him on the far turn, he threw his ears up and waited a little bit on those other horses. When they came to him, he re-broke and really ran hard. He’s a nice horse.”TRAINER QUOTESRICHARD BALTAS, NEPTUNE’S STORM, WINNER: “We got lucky with this horse, he came to us in great shape from Billy (Morey). He was a little lazy in his first work, but he’s been training well. I saw this morning that two of the clocking sheets had each given him a B-plus, which I’ve never seen. He doesn’t show off in the morning, but as you saw, he can run.”OWNER QUOTESDAN WEINER, NEPTUNE’S STORM, WINNER: “We have always felt that he had the ability to look another horse in its eye and just take a look and keep going. He has that heart and musculature, I owe it all to Drayden and Richie, but this group has always believed in him and today we got it.“We were here in the mud a couple months back in February and we always had this turf race as a target. We are hoping we get to take him through another mile and an eight race here then hopefully bring him back for the Breeders’ Cup.”NOTES: The winning owners are Cybertec International Inc, Saul Gevertz, Lynn Gitomer, Mike Goetz and Daniel Weiner.
The Spaniard is the best-paid manager in the country, having led Manchester City to two consecutive Premier League titles.The Eithad club want to tie him down to a new contract and the former Barcelona boss’ wage is estimated to be between £15m and £20m.Mourinho’s former protegee Frank Lampard agreed a £5.5m per season deal to take charge of Chelsea, in only his second season in the dugout.Super Frank’s boyhood club West Ham went all out to land Manuel Pellegrini by paying him £7m, while Southampton fork out £6m a year to Ralph Hasenhuttl for his services.Arsenal coach Unai Emery is also on a £6m salary, ironically off the pace again of his top-four competitors.Most Read in FootballTHROUGH ITRobbie Keane reveals Claudine’s father was ’50-50′ in coronavirus battleTOP SELLERGavin Whelan has gone from League of Ireland to David Beckham’s InstagramExclusiveRIYAD RAIDMan City’s Riyad Mahrez has three luxury watches stolen in £500,000 raidPicturedAN EYEFULMeet Playboy model and football agent Anamaria Prodan bidding to buy her own clubI SAW ROORodallega saw Rooney ‘drinking like madman’ & Gerrard ‘on bar dancing shirtless’NEXT STEPJonny Hayes set to move to English Championship having been let go by CelticCompleting the top ten are Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers, on £5m per season, and £4m earner Eddie Howe of Bournemouth.Burnley manager Sean Dyche is thought to be on £3.5m after keeping the club up once again last season with Everton and Wolves’ Portuguese bosses, Marco Silva and Nuno Espirito Santo, taking home £3m.Steve Bruce is thought to be the worst paid boss in the top-flight, reportedly netting a paltry £1m, a sixth of what predecessor Rafa Benitez was taking home.2Tottenham sack Mauricio Pochettino in shock axe after poor run of form TOTTENHAM have appointed Jose Mourinho as their new manager — but the cost of winning silverware has finally forced Daniel Levy to loosen the purse strings.The Special One will earn almost double the wage of his predecessor Mauricio Pochettino at a whopping £15million a year.2 Jose Mourinho’s yearly salary at Tottenham will be almost double his predecessor Mauricio PochettinoThe Portuguese manager, 56, has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal at the north London club that is worth the same as his contract at Manchester United, according to the Daily Mail.It means that Mourinho will also be replacing Pochettino as the Premier League’s second-highest-paid boss…but at double the cost.But Poch, 47, – who was sacked five months after leading Spurs to their first-ever Champions League final – was on £7.5m less than his successor following the £42.5m-worth deal he signed last year.After impressing as United interim manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was handed half of Mourinho’s wage at £7.5m for three years, with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp understood to be on the same amount.Meanwhile Jose, who counts finishing second with the Red Devils as among his best achievements, may not be so thrilled to be runners-up in the wages table to old rival Pep Guardiola.
Even on the back of a 62-14 victory over Northampton Saints on Saturday, the Pool 2 runners-up still faced the possibility of elimination with their fate in the hands of other teams.But Premiership rivals Wasps did them a favour with a comfortable 26-7 victory over Ulster, securing Sarries’ qualification as one of the three best second-placed teams, though they face a last-eight clash against a Leinster side who won all of their pool games.Wasps were in command for virtually the entire contest and Guy Thompson, Tom Cruse, Willie le Roux and Jake Cooper-Wooley sealed a the bonus-point win, eliminating Ulster in the process.Thanks to yesterday’s 62-14 win over @SaintsRugby and today’s results, Saracens will take their place in the Quarter-Finals of the @ChampionsCup to continue the defence of their title, get in there!!!Fixture details to follow… pic.twitter.com/VXn4LF2Zcm— Saracens Rugby Club (@Saracens) January 21, 2018That victory kept Wasps’ hopes of progression alive but they were soon extinguished by Munster, who sealed top spot in Pool 4 with an easy win over Castres.Ian Keatley kicked 12 points and Keith Earls, Rhys Marshall, Simon Zebo, Alex Wootton and James Cronin all crossed as Munster cruised to a 48-3 success, leapfrogging Racing 92 into top spot.Racing, who beat Leicester Tigers 23-20 with a late Maxime Machenaud penalty, still go through as one of the best runners-up – the Parisian side progressing alongside fellow second-placed sides Toulon and Sarries.La Rochelle wrapped up top spot in Pool 1, finishing three points ahead of Wasps as they overcame Harlequins 16-7.European Champions Cup quarter-final draw:Leinster v SaracensScarlets v La RochelleMunster v ToulonClermont Auvergne v Racing 92 Photo Getty Images. Caption: Saracens will face Leinster in the last eight of the European Champions Cup
Concerns had been raised over the financing of the Games after KwaZulu-Natal Finance MEC Belinda Scott admitted in March that the province would not be able to contribute ZAR580 million (£26 million/$38 million/€34 million) as initially promised, to help stage the event.The matter was brought to the attention of the National Treasury to make them aware that they would need to help provide the funding.It was claimed last week that the National Treasury had not offered final assurances or paid the first host city payment Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), with Durban 2022 chairman Mark Alexander admitting he had “no idea when the guarantees will be signed and the money paid”.The CGF sought to downplay concerns by stating that they had been reassured that the first payment would be received after governance and structures were finalised.The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) had also missed a deadline set by the Commonwealth Games Federation to establish an Organising Committee.They had been given a cut-off point for the appointment of an Organising Committee of February 29 following a recommendation from the CGF that it be in place within 180 days of the General Assembly.Mbalula has now confirmed that the Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has provided the guarantees and reiterated that the South African Government remained committed to delivering the first Commonwealth Games on African soil.
PNG Hunters utility Justin Olam will travel to Melbourne after the games this Sunday with the Redcliffe Dolphins to visit Melbourne Storms coach Craig Bellamy to see where he will be residing to play with his new NRL club.Hunter’s coach Michael Marum said Justin is a dangerous player being in the Hunters team and his performance has boosted the team in many games.“Replacing Co-Captain Noel Zeming, he has played well scoring tries and defending the corner lanes,” Marum said.However, Olam will be in Melbourne for three days before travelling back to PNG to join his current team to play in the finals.
In December the state of the finger could be seen: a picture of him next to the Barcelona striker Kheira Hamraoui in Dubai, he caught the attention of social networks: his finger showed a stranger red lump.. that has not prevented him from continuing to score goals. Since Karim wears that bandage she has scored 30 goals in 37 games Among all competitions. Karim Benzema he won’t forget it easily: the last Monday it was fulfilled one year from his pinky fracture of his right hand. The end of the first part of the Betis-Real Madrid last season when, in a fortuitous set with Marc Bartra, defender Benzema was falling on the grass of the verdiblanco stadium and the left hand was brought towards the right hand: the pinky had just fractured. It was replaced at restso for Christ, because, according to Solari, his coach at the time, “it hurt a lot, although Karim has hands on his feet …” Evaluated upon his return from the capital of Spain, the medical opinion He was reassuring at first: “After reviewing our player Karim Benzema he has been diagnosed with a fracture in the phalanx of the fifth finger of his right hand.” That day, the forward appeared in Valdebebas driving his own vehicle, showing protection covering the affected area… and so He has continued playing since then: with a protection manufactured “with soft, light and padded material“, as established in point 4.4 of the FIFA Regulation. Interestingly, his first rival with the protected finger was Sevilla, the same as this Saturday …
Anabel Medina confused the significance of the function of Carla Suárez as crew chief after the absence of Muguruza. “It’s a essential qualifier for us and, as well as, very particular as a result of for Carla Suárez it will be her final 12 months within the Federation Cup. The entire crew may be very excited and we encourage the followers to come back and assist La Manga, “mentioned the nationwide coach.Osaka will lead JapanGarbiñe will be low with Spain … however Japan will take the very best tennis participant to the tie: Naomi Osaka The Japanese, absent in final 12 months’s tie, will lead the Japanese crew that will be accomplished by Misaki, Doi, Yumi Nara, Eina Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama and that they will have Toshihisa Dobashi as captain. Garbiñe Mugurza will not be on the Spain crew that faces Japan within the Fed Cup on February 7 and eight on the La Manga Membership Tennis Middle in Cartagena, the place Spain will play the cross to the ultimate part of the match that will happen in Budapest from April 14 to 19 and the place 12 nations will play.The captain of the Spanish crew, Anabel Medina, has launched an inventory that will lead Carla Suárez, who’s taking part in his final season as knowledgeable, and during which they will even be Sara Sorribes, Aliona Bolsova, Lara Arruabarrena (who returns two years later) and Georgina García-Pérez, heroine final 12 months earlier than the Japanese.
Luka Jovic has finished in the sights of Naples. The Azzurri, in the next course, could quite change the face of their forward, at the end of a cycle. If Dries Mertens is one step away from renewing his contract that expires in June, José Maria Callejón and Arkadiusz Milik could say goodbye. The motrileño can leave for free in June (although his agent, on Friday, said the club wants to renew him), while the Polish has another contract year left. Southerners have a very good relationship with their representative, Fali Ramadani, and already have four players from their team (Kalidou Koulibaly, Nikola Maksimovic, Diego Demme and Kévin Malcuit). In the past months they have already taken information on the forward, who If I had to leave Madrid, I would look forward to an adventure under Vesuvius. The Real Madrid, meanwhile, I would rather not part after just one season of such a young soccer player, which cost around 60 million and, in this course, barely had prominence. Yes, whites would certainly consider a transfer feasible (which Naples would hardly accept) or a transfer with repurchase option. Obviously, everything will depend on the fate of Milik, who also likes Atlético de Madrid: if he Naples It doesn’t sell you, you can’t go for another striker. 18 Negotiations to prolong the link of the former Ajax have not come to fruition, and for now the idea of separating after four years after his arrival seems the most likely. To replace him, Of Laurentiis I would like to get the services of a young tip, but guarantees, Y Luka Jovic It is one of the names you are considering.
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