TheSunNews.com: Sports

Three sets of twins get double takes from area teams

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:36 EST

Stacy Hughes claims her starting back-court hasn’t tried to get involved in twin shenanigans.

The Carolina Forest coach believes identical twins Britney and Whitney Burgess have not taken part in any of the normal scams. It’s exactly what the sisters want her to think.

Tonight, the Burgesses may be playing their final game together when the Panthers complete their regular-season against Conway, and for all the memories of their time at Carolina Forest and playing for Hughes, it’s not hard to recall their favorite trick.

St. James girls basketball wins first region title

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:10 EST

In a span of two months, St. James girls basketball team took history and smacked it in the mouth.

The Sharks capped off the program’s first region championship with a 58-41 victory over rival Socastee Thursday night. With the win, the team also earned the first 20-win season in school history.

“Since we’re the first team in school history to win a region championship, it’s pretty special,” senior forward Stephanie Roberts said after the win.

Former Myrtle Beach resident Johnson tied for lead at Pebble Pro-Am

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:54 EST

Twenty months later, Dustin Johnson finally hit the drive he wanted at Pebble Beach. Ten years later, Tiger Woods must have wondered what kept him away from the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

On a spectacular day of scenery and scoring, Johnson – a former Myrtle Beach resident and Coastal Carolina golfer – blasted a tee shot on the third hole at Pebble Beach and then pitched in for eagle from 41 yards in front of the green. He added another eagle on his way to a 9-under 63 and a three-way tie atop the leaderboard Thursday.

Woods was five shots to par out of the lead, a solid start to his PGA Tour season. He had six birdies in a 4-under 68 at Spyglass Hill, the fourth-best score on that course. Spyglass was hardest of the three courses, though not by much. The weather was so pure that all three courses played about one shot under par.

High Point holds on for upset over Coastal Carolina

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:52 EST

CONWAY With five games left in the regular season, the Coastal Carolina men’s basketball team finds itself facing a familiar issue and one the Chanticleers will have to overcome if they are going to make the kind of postseason push they have in mind.

For the second time in three days, the Chants faced a zone defense content to let them decide their fate from the perimeter, and for the second straight game they couldn’t get enough shots to fall.

High Point took the lead about midway through the first half Thursday night and never let it go on the way to a 70-65 win over Coastal inside Kimbel Arena.

Gregg Holshouser outdoors column | Spring is in the air, but for how long?

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:51 EST

Even the saltiest old-timer would be sure to tell you, the winter of 2011-12 has been one of the mildest in memory along the S.C. coast, thus far.

Now this is the reason so many now-local residents moved “down here.”

But, what a difference a year makes. About a year ago, on Feb. 3, the surface temperature in the Atlantic Ocean in Myrtle Beach according to the Apache Pier data station was 46.07 degrees on Feb. 3, 2011 after dropping below 44 degrees in late January, 2011.

Area fishing report

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:47 EST

Estuary

Look for | Red drum, spotted seatrout, black drum, sheepshead.

Comments | Capt. Mark Dickson of Shallow-Minded Inshore Charters reported water temperature readings in the mid 50s, even approaching the upper 50s last Saturday in the Little River vicinity, yes, in early February. “I even saw 57 in places,” said Dickson. Although most juvenile flounder never leave the estuaries in the winter, they normally are dormant and aren’t actively feeding. Keeper flounder (14 inch minimum size limit) have been caught this week, indicating that, indeed, the water temperature is warm enough for the flatfish to be active. “It makes sense – the water temperature is 55-56 degrees,” said Dickson. “The premature fish lay dormant and don’t go offshore. They’re just feeding because they’re not that cold, and there is a lot of mullet in the creeks, from 3 to 15, 16 inches, and glass minnows.” Capt. Mark Stacy had success with keeper flounder in the Ocean Isle Beach vicinity earlier this week using Berkeley Gulps and mud minnows on jig heads. Red drum and spotted seatrout are also available for anglers. It is certainly a rarity for all three species to be actively feeding in early February, but that is the case.

Coastal Carolina TE Duran granted extra year of eligibility

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:20 EST

The Coastal Carolina football program received some good news as standout tight end David Duran has been granted an extra year of eligibility after having his senior season cut short by a shoulder injury in 2011.

Duran, who graduated from the university in December, was granted an extension of eligibility waiver by the Big South Conference and the NCAA, Coastal announced Thursday.

“I am thrilled,” Duran said over the phone. “We thought it was going to take a month to hear back from the NCAA, but it ended up taking less than 24 hours [after the petition was sent].”

Coastal Carolina releases 2012 football schedule

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:14 EST

A year after encountering all kinds of hurdles while trying to complete its football schedule, Coastal Carolina had no such issues this time around and released its 2012 season slate Wednesday.

The Chanticleers unveiled a lineup featuring five home games and intriguing non-conference road matchups with Furman, Toledo and Appalachian State.

The Chants, who will be launching a new era under first-year head coach Joe Moglia, open Sept. 1 at home against North Carolina A&T and will also host Eastern Kentucky in the season’s opening weeks.

Moore ready to contribute if needed for Chants

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:14 EST

Senior guard Dexter Moore had scored a total of 11 points over his previous 10 games while finding himself mostly buried at the fringe of coach Cliff Ellis’ rotation since the start of Big South Conference play. Some nights, he wasn’t even on the court long enough to get off a shot attempt.

But his opportunity came Tuesday night against Campbell, and Moore’s smooth, high-arching 3-point stroke was right in form as he poured in a season-high 17 points and drained four 3s in Coastal Carolina’s 81-75 loss.

It was a breakout performance for the veteran guard – a reminder of the spark he can provide the Chanticleers when his shot is falling – but that doesn’t mean his role is about to change going forward.

Woods feels youth, not game, slipping away

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:31 EST

You know it’s been awhile for Tiger Woods at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am when nearly half the questions he fielded Tuesday were about aging.

Ten years’ absence, particularly between the ages of 26 and 36, can change your perspective on a lot of things, and not just golf. Tiger admitted that while he’s finally feeling great health-wise, he does have his moments when he feels old.

“Yeah, there’s no doubt,” he said. “It is what it is. I don’t recover quite as well. I know that I’m sore quite often, just about every day when I’m playing with my kids. They’re not very tall yet, and bending down there and playing with them and building things, that’s pretty low to the ground. So I do get sore. I don’t ever remember being like that.”

A real chance for change in the BCS

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:42 EST

LSU fans had all but disappeared into the New Orleans night by the final minutes of last month’s dreary BCS title game, leaving en masse when they figured out a team that couldn’t get past the 50-yard-line wasn’t going to magically find a way to cross the goal line. They weren’t alone, with people across the nation abandoning their TVs in hope of finding something even remotely more interesting.

The cartel that runs the BCS got what it deserved in a rematch no one outside of Alabama wanted. A lopsided game with horrible television ratings seemed an appropriate way to cap an awful bowl season that generated less buzz than rapper M.I.A.’s extended middle finger at the Super Bowl.

How bad was it? So bad that it woke up some people who matter.

Campbell rallies to down Coastal Carolina

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:55 EST

Playing perhaps its best basketball of the season and riding a stretch of seven wins in eight games, the Coastal Carolina men’s basketball team was rolling again Tuesday night with an 11-point second-half lead.

But this one would not be another boost to the Chanticleers’ mounting momentum – rather it was another reminder of how perilous the path is in the Big South Conference this season.

Campbell rallied for an 81-75 win over Coastal, using its hot shooting to quiet the crowd inside Kimbel Arena and all but extinguish the Chants’ hopes for a third straight regular-season conference championship.

Myrtle Beach boys, girls sweep Georgetown

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:56 EST

Craig Martin preached patience.

With his team serving a one-year playoff ban last season, the Myrtle Beach boys basketball team knew that a handful of seniors would have just one more chance to make this season count. Now, the Seahawks are within striking distance of not only returning to the playoffs, but hosting a game there, as well.

That much is possible after Martin’s squad used a monster third quarter to overcome a poor first half and defeated Georgetown 63-51 Tuesday night.

Coastal Carolina hires Colman as linebackers coach

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:35 EST

Coastal Carolina announced another new assistant to its football coaching staff Tuesday, naming former Nebraska and NFL linebacker Doug Colman as the Chanticleers’ new linebackers coach.

Colman spent the past two seasons in the same position at Tulane after previous stints as a defensive quality assistant with Nebraska and as a linebackers/special teams assistant with the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europa.

Colman played at Nebraska from 1991-95 and was part of back-to-back national championship teams there in 1994 and 1995. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the New York Giants and played in 64 NFL games over five seasons with the Giants, Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns.

Tuesday’s area sports briefs: Socastee boys clinch playoff spot

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:57 EST

SOCASTEE Travis Frye had a game-high 31 points and See Man added 11 as the Socastee boys basketball team got past the North Myrtle Beach Chiefs in a double-overtime thriller to clinch the fourth playoff spot in Region VIII-AAA on Tuesday.

Frye grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double and was 12-of-14 from the free throw line. Socastee went hard in the paint, outscoring North Myrtle Beach 36-8 from the key.

Josh Lindsey nailed seven 3-pointers for a team-high 23 points and Jaquan Grissett had 21 for the Chiefs. Rodrick Hemingway also had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds for North Myrtle Beach.

On the fringe: Attention returns to Tiger Woods at Pebble Beach

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:08 EST

Bill Murray stumbled into the back of a crowded conference room Tuesday just as Tiger Woods was wrapping up his press conference at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The “Caddyshack” star looked more confused than usual.

“Where’s the other guy?” Murray asked.

Murray, as it turned out, was an hour late.

Column: No rivalry can top Duke-North Carolina

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:03 EST

The North Carolina-Duke college basketball rivalry is:

• The best rivalry in all of sports. Yes, I said it. Better than Yankees-Red Sox or Ohio State-Michigan or Clemson-South Carolina or any other one you care to name.

The closest contender is Alabama-Auburn in college football, but even that doesn’t quite get to the level of these gorgeous, brutal, frenzied, neighborly bloodbaths that occur two or three times every single year.

Stoglin has 27 as Maryland holds off Clemson

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:00 EST

Terrell Stoglin scored 27 points and helped Maryland hold off a late Clemson rally in a 64-62 victory on Tuesday night.

The Terrapins (14-9, 4-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) looked like they were in control, ahead 53-39 with 7:55 to go. That’s when the Tigers (11-12, 3-6) went on a 19-6 run to cut the lead to a point on Devin Booker’s two foul shots.

But Alex Len made a bucket and Stoglin followed with two foul shots to put Maryland out front 63-59.

Coastal Carolina’s Cole Big South Freshman of the Week for fourth time

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:53 EST

Coastal Carolina guard Shatia Cole was tabbed the Big South Freshman of the Week on Tuesday.

Cole earned the honor for the fourth time, joining Brooke Weisbrod (1997-98) as the only Chanticleers to complete the feat.

Cole, a Myrtle Beach High graduate, averaged 15.5 points and shot 45 percent from the field in a pair of Coastal wins last week.

Giants lauded as Super Bowl champs in New York City parade

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:27 EST

Thousands of fans roared as New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning hoisted the team’s Super Bowl trophy from a glittering blue-and-white float Tuesday during a victory parade through New York City, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg quipped should now be nicknamed the “Big Blue Apple.”

The parade set off from the southern tip of Manhattan and moved slowly north to City Hall as fans stood dressed head to toe in Giants gear and confetti wafted slowly down from the high-rises that line the street.

The MVP Manning, joined by coach Tom Coughlin, Bloomberg, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other teammates, waved and grinned from the float as a deep roar rose from the crowds.