Live from Easter Tourney Championship

Kings Mountain vs. South Caldwell

The two teams are about to take infield here at Veterans Field and Keeter Stadium. I'll be providing updates every half inning from tonight's title game of the Shelby Savings Bank Easter Tournament.

Pitching matchup - KM's Kyle Bell vs. SC's Cody Poarch

Top 1st - SC goes 1-2-3 in a quick top of the first.
Bottom 1st - KM goes 1-2-3 in an equally quick bottom of the first

Top 2nd - SC' s Cody Prestwood starts the inning with a single, then Bell records three straight outs.
Bottom 2nd - KM's Brent Hunt reaches on a single to start the inning, then Poarch records three straight outs.

Top 3rd - SC goes down 1-2-3.
Bottom 3rd - KM gets runners on 1st and 3rd with two outs as Cody Austin is hit by a pitch and Tyler Ross singles to right, but Poarch records the third out with a strikeout to escape damage.

Top 4th - SC goes up 6-0 as Cody Prestwood (2B), Tyler Dillard (1B) and Jimmy Messer (1B) provide RBI. The Spartans score three more runs on throwing erorrs. Brantley Blalock took over in the middle of the inning on the mound in relief of Bell.
Bottom 4th - KM gets on the board to make it 6-1 as Brent Hunt, who started the inning by getting hit by a pitch, scores on a 4-6-3 double play with the bases loaded. Luke Proctor had a single in the inning for KM.

Top 5th - Cody Austin on the mound for KM. Austin gets a 1-4-3 double play to end the inning with no damage.
Bottom 5th - Tyler Ross reaches on an error with two outs, but Poarch gets out of the inning with a fly ball to center.

Top 6th - SC goes down 1-2-3. Score remains, 6-1 in favor of SC.
Bottom 6th - KM goes down 1-2-3.

Top 7th - SC goes down 1-2-3.
Bottom 7th - KM goes down 1-2-3. South Caldwell, runner-up the last two years, wins the 2008 Shelby Savings Bank Easter Tournament.

Keeter Stadium construction photos

Went over to Shelby High's Veterans Field and Keeter Stadium today and took a few pictures of the progress over there.

According to the contractor, the concession building, pressbox and bathrooms will not be completely finished in time for the Shelby Savings Bank Easter Tournament, which begins Monday. There will be a portable concession stand and port-a-potties brought in for the event. The contractor also said the canopy will begin to be constructed around late April/early May at the end of the high school season.

It's hard to believe the Southeast Regional and World Series are less than five months away!

Concessions stand


A couple of shots of the pressbox






New batting cage behind fieldhouse under construction


Columns down the left side of the stadium
From second base

The picks are in

T-Minus 18 hours and counting until the Big Dance ....

There may be a handful of late-Wednesday/early-Thursday adjustments to my NCAA Tourney picks, but I finally sat down and worked through the 64-team bracket today.

Here's my Final Four: UNC vs. Kansas; UCLA vs. Texas. UNC defeats Kansas, and Texas pulls a mild upset of UCLA - setting up a UNC and Roy Williams vs. Texas and Rick Barnes National Championship. I like the Tar Heels to defeat the Longhorns and cut down the nets in San Antonio for their fifth title (sixth if you count 1924).

I know, pretty "chalk" picks but I do have my fair share of upsets in the early rounds. Here's a few of them: No. 7 Butler over No. 2 Tennessee (Second round, East Region); No. 11 Baylor over No. 6 Purdue (First round, West Region); No. 12 Temple over No. 5 Michigan State (First round, South Region)
Mild upsets: No. 10 Davidson over No. 7 Gonzaga (First round, Midwest Region); No. 6 Marquette over No. 3 Stanford (Second round, South Region)

Picks I may regret not making: No. 10 Davidson over No. 2 Georgetown in the second round; No. 13 Winthrop over No. 4 Washington State in the first round; No. 11 St. Joseph's over No. 6 Oklahoma in the first round; No. 5 Clemson over No. 1 Kansas in the Sweet 16.

The first No. 1 seed I have going down is Memphis in the Sweet 16 to Big East champ and No. 4 Pittsburgh in the South Region. I've got a feeling the South is where you'll see the most surprises this year.

I've got No. 2 Duke in the Sweet 16, then falling to Drew Lavender and No. 3 Xavier.

NCAA Tournament announcers

If you haven't already, I recommend signing up for March Madness on Demand. It's free at the NCAA's Web site at http://www.ncaasports.com/mmod
You can't beat watching every game for free ...

Looks like Jim Nantz and Billy Packer are at Raleigh where North Carolina and Davidson are playing, and Craig Bolerjack and Bob Wenzel are at Washington D.C. with Duke.

My favorite two crews: Gus Johnson and Len Elmore - Johnson is one of the most intense play-by-play guys in the business.
Dick Enberg/Carter Blackburn and Jay Bilas - Bilas has emerged as one of the best color commentators/analysts, and Enberg is still solid at 73-years-old.

Thursday Games:

(12) Temple (21-12) vs (5) Michigan State (25-8) 12:20 PM South (Denver): Gus Johnson and Len Elmore
(14) Georgia (17-16) vs (3) Xavier (27-6) 12:20 PM West (Washington, DC): Craig Bolerjack and Bob Wenzel
(16) Portland State (23-9) vs (1) Kansas (31-3) 12:25 PM Midwest (Omaha): Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner
(11) Kentucky (18-12) vs (6) Marquette (24-9) 2:30 PM South (Anaheim): Dick Enberg/Carter Blackburn and Jay Bilas
(11) Baylor (21-10) vs (6) Purdue (24-8) 2:50 PM West (Washington, DC): Craig Bolerjack and Bob Wenzel
(9) Kent State (28-6) vs (8) UNLV (26-7) 2:55 PM Midwest (Omaha): Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner
(13) Oral Roberts (24-8) vs (4) Pittsburgh (26-9) 3:00 PM South (Denver): Gus Johnson and Len Elmore
(14) Cornell (22-5) vs (3) Stanford (26-7) 4:55 PM South (Anaheim): Dick Enberg/Carter Blackburn and Jay Bilas
(11) Kansas State (20-11) vs (6) USC (21-11) 7:10 PM Midwest (Omaha): Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner
(15) Belmont (25-8) vs (2) Duke (27-5) 7:10 PM West (Washington, DC): Craig Bolerjack and Bob Wenzel
(13) Winthrop (22-11) vs (4) Washington State (24-8) 7:20 PM East (Denver): Gus Johnson and Len Elmore
(9) Texas A&M (24-10) vs (8) BYU (27-7) 7:25 PM West (Anaheim): Dick Enberg/Carter Blackburn and Jay Bilas
(14) Cal State Fullerton (24-8) vs (3) Wisconsin (29-4) 9:40 PM Midwest (Omaha): Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner
(12) George Mason (23-10) vs (5) Notre Dame (24-7) 9:50 PM East (Denver): Gus Johnson and Len Elmore
(16) Mississippi Valley State (17-15) vs (1) UCLA (31-3) 9:50 PM West (Anaheim): Dick Enberg/Carter Blackburn and Jay Bilas
(10) Arizona (19-14) vs (7) West Virginia (24-10) 9:50 PM West (Washington, DC): Craig Bolerjack and Bob Wenzel

Friday Games:

(15) American (21-11) vs (2) Tennessee (29-4) 12:15 PM East (Birmingham): Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery
(10) Davidson (26-6) vs (7) Gonzaga (25-7) 12:25 PM Midwest (Raleigh): Jim Nantz and Billy Packer
(10) St. Mary's (CA) (25-6) vs (7) Miami (FL) (22-10) 12:30 PM South (Little Rock): Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel
(12) Western Kentucky (27-6) vs (5) Drake (28-4) 12:30 PM West (Tampa): Tim Brando and Mike Gminski
(10) South Alabama (26-6) vs (7) Butler (29-3) 2:45 PM East (Birmingham): Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery
(15) UMBC (24-8) vs (2) Georgetown (27-5) 2:55 PM Midwest (Raleigh): Jim Nantz and Billy Packer
(13) San Diego (21-13) vs (4) UConn (24-8) 3:00 PM West (Tampa): Tim Brando and Mike Gminski
(15) Austin Peay (24-10) vs (2) Texas (28-6) 5:00 PM South (Little Rock): Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel
(16) Play-In Winner (TBD) vs (1) North Carolina (32-2) 7:10 PM East (Raleigh): Jim Nantz and Billy Packer
(11) St. Joseph's (21-12) vs (6) Oklahoma (22-11) 7:10 PM East (Birmingham): Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery
(13) Siena (22-10) vs (4) Vanderbilt (26-7) 7:20 PM Midwest (Tampa): Tim Brando and Mike Gminski
(9) Oregon (18-13) vs (8) Mississippi State (22-10) 7:25 PM South (Little Rock): Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel
(9) Arkansas (22-11) vs (8) Indiana (25-7) 9:50 PM East (Raleigh): Jim Nantz and Billy Packer
(14) Boise State (25-8) vs (3) Louisville (24-8) 9:50 PM East (Birmingham): Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery
(12) Villanova (20-12) vs (5) Clemson (24-9) 9:50 PM Midwest (Tampa): Tim Brando and Mike Gminski
(16) UT Arlington (21-11) vs (1) Memphis (33-1) 9:55 PM South (Little Rock): Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel

From http://awfulannouncing.blogspot.com

First glance at the Madness

As always, it will take me a couple days to finalize my official picks for the NCAA Tournament, but here's my first take on the 2008 brackets. I'll follow this up a little later in the week after I've looked deeper at the matchups.

- Lowest seeds with the best chances to advance:
Winthrop (No. 13, East); Davidson (No. 10, Midwest); Baylor (No. 11, West); Temple (No. 12, South); Siena (No. 13, Midwest)

- Interesting storylines:
O.J. vs. Beasley - Two of the best freshmen in the country, USC's O.J. Mayo and Kansas State's Michael Beasley - both lottery picks when they decide to move on to the NBA - will meet in the first round of the East Region.

Zags vs. Wildcats - No. 7 Gonzaga and No. 10 Davidson, two strong programs from mid-major conferences, going head-to-head in the first round of the Midwest Region. Stephen Curry and Davidson should have a strong following in Raleigh and has a legit shot to get to the Sweet 16.

It's academic - Stanford and Cornell are two of the most highly regarded academic institutions in the nation. In the South Region, the No. 3 Cardinal match up with the No. 14 Big Red as they'll have a meeting of the minds on the hardwood.

- Of regional interest:
North Carolina, the No. 1 overall seed, is in a stacked East Region. Neither Indiana nor Arkansas will be an easy second-round foe. I think it's possible to see a Winthrop vs. UNC matchup in the Sweet 16 in Charlotte. I like UNC vs. Louisville or Butler (undecided) in the East final.

Duke takes on Atlantic Sun champ Belmont, a team GWU and its fans are familiar with. The Blue Devils should cruise past the Bruins, then deep in the tourney until they face another set of Bruins, UCLA, in the West final.

I picked Clemson to win the ACC Championship, and if the Tigers would have knocked down a few free throws and taken care of the ball, they could have knocked off UNC. Those are big IF's, and they remain as concerns. Clemson takes on a well-coached Villanova team out of the Big East in the first round. If the Tigers are on their game, they should at least get to the Sweet 16.

I see Davidson and Winthrop as two of the more dangerous mid-majors in this year's Big Dance. In recent years, the Wildcats have dominated the Southern Conference, while the Eagles have controlled the Big South. Davidson has a great chance for its first NCAA tourney win since 1969. Winthrop defeated Notre Dame in the first round of last year's tournament. If they both get out of the first round this season, the Eagles and Fighting Irish would play again in the second round.

ACC Tournament picks

With all the parity among the teams in the middle of the pack, it wouldn't really shock me to miss all of the first rounders and throw off my whole pick sheet. But for tradition's sake, I'll at least give it a shot.

First round
Wake Forest over Florida State
Miami over N.C. State
Virginia over Georgia Tech
Maryland over Boston College

Quarterfinals
North Carolina over Wake Forest
Miami over Virginia Tech
Duke over Virginia
Clemson over Maryland

Semifinals
North Carolina over Miami
Clemson over Duke

Championship
Clemson over North Carolina

First round: 1-3 - awful.
Quarterfinals: 3-1
Semifinals: 2-0
Championship: 0-1
Final record: 6-5

My take on the championship: The best team clearly won the 2008 edition of the ACC tourney. When the Tar Heels are playing that balanced, they're going to be tough for anybody to beat. Both teams had trouble handling defensive pressure. The Heels committed 20 turnovers, but that was offset as Clemson gave it up 17 times leading to 26 points for UNC. Neither team can afford those kind of turnover numbers in the Big Dance.

Speaking of which, Selection Sunday is always one of my favorite days on the sports calendar and we're about 1:30 away from the picks being announced. UNC looks to be a lock for the No. 1 seed in the East. It'll be interesting to see where they send Duke (likely a No. 2 or No. 3) and Clemson (likely a No. 4 or No. 5). It looks like Miami is safe to get in, but Virginia Tech finds itself floating around the bubble.

I'll have a quick bracket breakdown on the blog tonight after the picks are released.

Blog assist at Winston-Salem Saturday

Gaston Gazette sports writer Phil Gardner is in Winston-Salem covering the Forestview girls in the 3A Regional final at 7 p.m. at the Joel Coliseum Annex on Saturday. He's offered his assistance and will be blogging at the Shelby-Pisgah 2A boys Regional final at 4 p.m. at the Coliseum.

Here's the link to his blog ...
http://blogs.gastongazette.com/PhillipGardner/Default.aspx

Sports Editor Alan Ford will be in Winston-Salem covering the game. I'll be working in the office, and shortly after I receive Alan's game story, it will be available online at http://www.shelbystar.com/

In Friday's 2A Eastern Regional action: West Bladen defeated South Lenoir, 65-48 and Farmville Central dropped Southern Vance, 72-58. West Bladen (28-2) and Farmville (23-3) will meet Saturday at 7 p.m. at ECU's Minges Coliseum for the Eastern championship.

Shelby vs. East Lincoln follow-up

Be sure to check out the Gaston Gazette's Phil Gardner's video clips from the game at www.varsitync.com

A few follow-up notes from Shelby's contest against East Lincoln Wednesday night ...

- The Golden Lions outscored the Mustangs, 19-4, in bench points. Zacc Gullatte's seven points and Nick Stamp's six highlighted Shelby's reserves.
- Shelby scored 10 fast-break points to East's two.
- The Lions shot 26 free throws and made 14. The Mustangs were 10-of-14 from the stripe.
- East blocked 12 shots with five coming from guard Breon Jones - mostly from the backside on double teams in the post. On most of the blocks, the possession didn't change as Shelby recovered the blocks.
- Tim Gullatte had four assists and three steals for Shelby, while Eric Mayo had three steals and three blocks. The Lions won most of the statistical categories Wednesday, but they also won most of the "hustle stats." Shelby hit the floor and won a lot of loose balls and had 19 second-chance points.
- Shelby was 6-of-13 from 3-point range with two makes each by center Quevalas Murray and guard Miles Lawrence. The Lions are used to Lawrence making long-range shots, but the 6-3, 245-pound Murray isn't known as well for his outside shot in game situations. Left alone beyond the arc in the first half, Murray stepped up and knocked down two early three's and looked confident in his shot. Forward Eric Mayo also hit a first-quarter trifecta. Those were Murray's second and third 3-pointers of the year, while Mayo has now made six.

2A West Regional schedule
Wednesday's semifinals
at North Forsyth High School, Winston-Salem
Pisgah 69, Starmount 60
Shelby 76, East Lincoln 48
Saturday's final
at Lawrence Joel Coliseum, Winston-Salem
Shelby (26-3) vs. Pisgah (24-4), 4 p.m.

2A East Regional schedule
at Minges Coliseum, Greenville
Friday's semifinals
South Lenior (16-12) vs. West Bladen (27-2), 7 p.m.
Farmville Central (22-3) vs. Southern Vance (16-8), 8:30 p.m.
Saturday's final
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.

Note: The regional winners will play next Saturday, March 15 at 2 p.m. at N.C. State's Reynolds Coliseum in the State Championship.

Shelby 76, East Lincoln 48

Thanks to everyone for reading the blog tonight.

I'll post a few more stats, notes and quotes from the game when I get back to Cleveland County in a few hours.

The two teams are warming up ... at 8:33 p.m. there is still 13 minutes until tip-off. I'll have updates as frequent as possible during the game, so check back often.

In case you missed on the first blog, Shelby is the visitors and are wearing its black tops and shorts with white and gold trim. East Lincoln is the home team and is in white tops and shorts with green and orange trim.

Starters
Shelby Golden Lions
G - Michael Manning
G - Miles Lawrence
F - Tim Gullatte
F - Eric Mayo
C - Quevalas Murray

East Lincoln Mustangs
G - Wes Glover
G - Breon Jones
G - Adrian Forney
F - Keith Rendleman
C - Alex Newsome

First quarter under way
With 4 minutes left in the first, Shelby leads 9-7.
First quarter complete with score tied at 14-14. Shelby has missed out on a couple of chances near the basket, but has done a solid job on the defensive end. Two of Shelby's four field goals are 3-pointers by big men Quevalas Murray and Eric Mayo.

Second quarter under way
A quick 8-0 run by Shelby to start the 2nd makes it 22-14 Golden Lions at the 6-minute mark.
Now a 9-0 run after 1-of-2 at the stripe by Tim Gullatte makes it 23-14. Shelby is doing a solid job of limiting EL to just one shot per possession.
Shelby leads 28-20 with 2:15 left in the half.
Shelby leads 33-24 at halftime. A bit of an offensive lull down the stretch of the second quarter by the Lions, but they have turned in solid defense and rebounding through the half with the 6-foot-9 Alex Newsome and 6-foot-7 Rendleman roaming the paint.

Points leaders
Shelby
Murray 11 points; Mayo 9 points
EL
Newsome 10 points; Forney 6 points

A few stats ... Shelby shooting 36 percent from the floor; EL shooting 34 percent. Shelby outrebounding EL, 22-16 and has held EL to just four offensive boards. Shelby with six teals to EL's two. EL's Rendleman with three of teams' five fouls in first half.

Third quarter under way
Eric Mayo and Michael Manning with early baskets to make it 37-24 with 7 minutes left.
EL has found some rhythm offensively, but SHS still leads 41-34 with 3 minutes left.
Miles Lawrence drains Shelby's fifth 3-pointer of the game to make it 44-34 with 2:40 left.
Michael Manning threads a pass through the paint to Murray, who converts a 3-point play to make it 47-34 with 2 minutes left.
11-0 SHS run over a 1:30 stretch makes it 52-34 with 1:13 left.
Shelby will take a 52-38 lead into the fourth. Eric Mayo drills a halfcourt shot at the buzzer, but it was waved off by the referee.

Fourth quarter under way
Shelby leads 58-39 with 6:30 left. Murray now with 18 points on the night.
Shelby has increased lead to 63-41 with 5 minutes left.
Murray with 2-of-2 at the line as Shelby now leads 65-41 with 4:30 left. EL has just one FG and 3 points in the fourth quarter. SHS has outscored the Mustangs, 17-4 in the fourth quarter and leads 69-42.
With 2 minutes left, Hollifield is clearing the bench with five subs on the floor. SHS leads 73-44.
Shelby wins 76-48 and will face Pisgah Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem with a berth in the 2A State title game at stake.

First semifinal - Pisgah 69, Starmount 60

Set up on the baseline here at North Forsyth's gym. Interesting set up ... The scorer's table is behind one of the baskets - situated in the middle of a row of tables with all of the media representatives. The two teams are seated on opposite sidelines, and substitues have to come down the sideline and behind the basket to check in the game.

The place is packed for the first semifinal game between Boonville Starmount and Canton Pisgah. There are already a few Shelby and East Lincoln fans in the stands as well.

Semifinal No. 1 updates
With 5:34 left in the second quarter, Starmount leads 26-17.

Halftime - Since I posted the first update, Pisgah went on a 13-2 run to close the half and leads 30-28 going into the break.

The second half is under way with Pisgah leading 37-35 with 5:30 left .... Shelby's boys just arrived at the gym and the Golden Lions are watching the action. Shelby went to Mount Tabor High and had a shoot-around before coming to North Forsyth. According to head coach Aubrey Hollifield, "The shoot-around went great. We were able to get loose and get our legs under us."

Shelby will be the visitors and will wear its black uniforms with gold trim, while East Lincoln will be in its white uniforms with green and orange trim.

End of third quarter - Pisgah leads 45-41 after three. Middle of third quarter, Pisgah has taken control of the game and leads 58-47. With 2:25 left, Pisgah leads 62-52.

Pisgah wins 69-60 behind a dominant second-half effort. The Black Bears will face the Shelby/East Lincoln winner Saturday at 4 p.m. at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem for the Western Regional title.

In case you were wondering, here are the teams battling it out in the 2A East regional.

Friday at ECU's Minges Coliseum

7 p.m.: South Lenoir (16-12) vs. West Bladen (27-2)

8:30 p.m.: Farmville Central (22-3) vs. Southern Vance (16-8)

Blogging from Winston-Salem Wednesday

Wanted to let folks know that I'll be blogging live Wednesday night from Shelby High's 2A Western Regional semifinal contest against East Lincoln at North Forsyth High School. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m., and the contest will follow the first semifinal between Boonville Starmount and Canton Pisgah, which starts at 7 p.m.

I hope to be at North Forsyth in time to catch a good portion of the first semifinal and will try to post some information from that game as well.

From Alan Ford's story in Tuesday's edition ...
Game info: Tickets will be $8. Because the semifinal games are at a high school gym with limited capacity (as compared to the Saturday finals at Lawrence Joel Coliseum), local fans planning to attend may want to arrive in time to watch both games. When the gym capacity is reached, no more will be allowed in and the gym will not be cleared after the first contest is done.

Directions: Traveling east on Interstate 40 from the Hickory-Statesville corridor, take Business 40 when you get to Winston Salem. Go to exit 6B and take U.S. 52 north. Proceed on 52 to exit 115 (the University Parkway South exit). Turn right onto Hanes Mill road. The North Forsyth Campus entrance is a half-mile ahead on left.