SPARTANBURG, S.C. — The Southern Conference men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will return to the North Charleston Coliseum in 2008 before moving to Chattanooga, Tenn., for the next two years.
The league announced its sites Tuesday after a vote of the conference’s athletic directors.
It will be the sixth time in seven seasons the tournaments will be held in the Charleston area.
In 2009 and 2010, the tournaments will shift to Chattanooga’s McKenzie Arena.
‘‘Our membership is fortunate to have two strong destinations on either end of the conference’s geographical footprint,’’ SoCon commission John Iamarino said. ‘‘We are coming off one of our best tournaments ever in greater Charleston and hope to build on that momentum there next year.’’
The four-day event at the North Charleston Coliseum drew 27,722 this year — the league’s second highest total the past decade.
Davidson won the men’s tournament and Chattanooga won the women’s tournament to advance to the NCAAs.
Chattanooga last hosted the Southern Conference tournament in 2005 when it drew 24,596 people.
Eagles visit No. 6 Clemson tonight
The Georgia Southern baseball team concludes a four-game road stretch tonight at No. 6 Clemson. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
The Eagles are coming off a weekend in Myrtle Beach having won 2 of 3 games, improving to 13-8 overall. After the Clemson game, Georgia Southern will play 13 of its next 18 games at J.I. Clements Stadium.
Freshman Brian Wilkerson will get the start against the Tigers. He is coming off a win against Ball State, allowing one run on four hits in eight innings. Overall he leads the SoCon throwing 40.0 innings and is tied for second in victories at 4-1. Wilkerson owns a 3.83 ERA, walked eight and struck out 20.
Clemson, playing all but one game at home so far this season, improved to 10-4 after winning 2 of 3 against Memphis last weekend. The Tigers post a .287 team batting average, .968 fielding percentage and 3.16 team ERA.
SHS tennis splits
with Effingham
The Statesboro High boys tennis team improved to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the region with a 5-0 win over Effingham County Monday at the Statesboro Recreation Department. Winners were: No. 1 singles: Jordan Jones (8-0), No. 2 singles: Alex Yang (8-3), No. 3 singles: John Washington (8-1), No. 1 doubles: Michael Campbell and Tyler Richardson (8-2), and No. 2 doubles: Jeffery Corley and Samay Bhushan (8-0).
The Lady Blue Devils fell to Effingham 3-2 to drop to 0-3 overall and 0-1 in region play. Winners for the girls were: No. 1 singles: Olivia Burnsed (8-6) and No. 1 doubles: Brittany Anderson and McKenzie Bragg (8-0).
SEB baseball scores
Jared Page went 2-for-4 and Ben Carter was 2-for-2 to lead the Southeast Bulloch ninth grade baseball team to a 7-5 win over the Portal JV team. Avery Woods was 1-for-3 with three RBIs.
The SEB ninth grade team (1-2-1) also lost to the Jenkins County JV team 12-6 on Monday. David Lewis was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a RBI.
SEB’s JV team and Portal’s JV squad played to a 9-9 tie. Ben Carter went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a RBI, while Alan Jackson was 1-for-1 with two RBIs for the Yellow Jackets (2-1-1).
SEB hosts Emanuel County Institute Saturday with the ninth grade game beginning at 11 a.m. with the JV contest to follow.
Panther baseball
wins big
The Portal Panthers bested the Jenkins County Eagles 17-5 on Wednesday night in Portal. Brandon Mock got the complete-game win from the mound going the distance and striking out seven. From the plate, Mock was 2-for-4 with a homerun and four RBIs. Tagg Lanier went 3-for-4 with two doubles and drove in three runs.
The Panthers return to the diamond today as they take on the Metter Tigers at 5 p.m. in Portal.
SEB, SHS tennis split
The Southeast Bulloch girls tennis team improved to 6-1-1 on the year with a 3-2 win over Statesboro Tuesday.
SEB girls winners were: No. 1 singles: Shelby Forehand (7-6, 6-7, 10-5 in a tiebreaker), No. 3 singles Jordan Sherrod (6-4, 6-3), and No. 2 doubles: Sarah Burkhart and Sara Ervin (8-6) to decide the match.
SHS girls winners were: No. 2 singles: Olivia Chester (6-4, 6-1) and No. 1 doubles: Brittany Anderson and McKenzie Bragg (8-6).
The Statesboro boys defeated SEB (4-4) 5-0. Winners were: No. 1 singles : Jordan Jones (6-4, 6-3), No. 2 singles: Alex Yang (6-0, 6-0), No. 1 doubles: Michael Campbell and Tyler Richardson (6-1, 6-3) and No. 2 doubles: Jeffrey Corley and Samay Bhushan (6-0, 6-0).
The No. 3 singles proved to be the closest competition of the day as Statesboro’s John Washington defeated Aaron Groover (6-4, 3-6, 12-10 in a tie breaker).
SEB hosts Laney of Augusta Tuesday at 4 p.m. to open Region 2-AA play.
Lady Jackets fall
The Southeast Bulloch girls soccer team lost to Savannah Country Day 2-0 Tuesday. Lady Yellow Jacket keeper Kacey Jones recorded 28 saves.
Calvary Baptist tops Bryan County
The Calvary Baptist baseball team picked up a 2-1 win over Bryan County Tuesday. Brad Hudson (3-0) earned the win, while Wesley Wilkes (0-2) suffered the loss. Wilkes recorded eight strikeouts and went 2-for-3 at the plate, and Ricky Myrick was also 2-for-3 for the Redskins (3-5, 0-1). Calvary improved to 6-0 overall and 1-0 in region play.
Bryan County hosts Emanuel County Institute Friday at 6 p.m.
SHS girls soccer falls
The Statesboro High girls soccer team fell to Greenbrier 7-0 Tuesday at home. Christen Mitchell recorded 15 saves for the Lady Blue Devils, who travel to Toombs County for a 6 p.m. game Thursday.
Screven tennis sweeps Metter
Both Screven County tennis teams beat Metter Tuesday in Sylvania to improve to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in region 3-AA.
The girls won 4-1. Winners were: No. 2 singles: Kate Blackburn (6-2, 6-2), No. 3 singles: Katherine Wells (6-2, 6-2), No. 1 doubles: Natalie Hunter and Carter Mills (6-0-6-2), No. 2 doubles: Evan Sheppard and Missy Zeagler (6-2, 6-3).
Boys won 5-0 and winners were: No. 1 singles: Eric Boddford (6-0, 6-2), No. 2 singles: Kyle Reynolds (6-0, 6-0), No. 3 singles: Bo Evans (forfeit), No. 1 doubles: Adrian Graham and Samuel Woods (6-0, 6-0), and No. 2 doubles Zachary Parker and Hunter Summers (6-0, 6-0).
Screven travels to Lakeside-Evans for a 4 p.m. match today.
Screven soccer
hammers Josey
Randi Brown scored five goals to lead the Screven County girls soccer team to a 12-0 win Tuesday at Josey. The Lady Gamecocks are 6-2 overall and 2-0 in area 4 A-AA.
Andrea Crews added three goals for Screven. Haley Iten scored two and had two assists and Megan McGuire and Symone Roberts scored one goal apiece. Brittany Brinson recorded the shutout.
Screven travels to Aquinas on Friday.
Swainsboro baseball tops SEB
Starting pitcher Fisher Strickland allowed four hits over six innings but suffered the loss as Swainsboro beat Southeast Bulloch 5-3 Tuesday in Brooklet.
Dustin Stall went 2-for-3 with a RBI and Casey Woodram was 1-for-3 and scored a run for the Yellow Jackets (5-3), who travel to Portal Thursday for a 5:30 game.
BA baseball gets
first win
Bulloch Academy avenged an early-season loss to Curtis Baptist with a 4-2 victory Tuesday.
The Gators (1-5) pounded out 10 hits in the contest. Junior Drew Cheshire was 2-for-2 with two walks, sophomore Matt Simons with 2-for-3 with three RBI, freshman Matthew Sapp was 2-for-3 and freshman Taylor Burke was 2-for-4.
Simons, who had a two-run homer to right in the third, pitched a complete game for the win. He allowed just four hits to the Crusaders (4-6) while striking out six and walking two.
Bulloch scored one in the first, two in the third and one in the fourth for a 4-0 lead. Curtis Baptist pushed their runs across in the sixth.
In the opening frame, Cheshire singled, moved to third on a Sapp double and scored on a Simons’ single. In the third, Burke reached on a one-out single. Then the BA big man crushed a pitch over the right-field fence for a 3-0 lead. In the fourth, freshman Taylor Morgan walked and later scored when eighth grader Walker Blitch doubled to left center.
The Gators host John Hancock Academy Thursday at 4 p.m.
BA girls soccer teams split with CF
Bulloch Academy won one and lost one in junior varsity/varsity doubleheader girls’ soccer action Tuesday.
In the opener, the BA JV squad downed Central Fellowship 2-0 for the first-year program’s inaugural win in its first-ever game. Eighth grader Kaylee Sheppard and seventh grader Haley Burke each had second-half goals.
In the finale, Central Fellowship’s varsity downed the Lady Gators 6-1.
BA junior Abi Foy had the Gators’ lone goal. Freshman keeper Ansley Hickman had 10 saves. Bulloch drops to 0-2.
Both BA squads travel to Tifton Friday to battle Tiftarea Academy.
Pigeon race results
The Bulloch Area Flyers flew the third race of the old bird season Sunday from Dublin. The race was originally scheduled to be flown Saturday from McDonough but was changed due to weather considerations.
Dean Baynon of Statesboro had the winning bird — No. 619, a blue bar homer. The bird flew home at a speed of 780.7 yards a minute.
Dean's son, Deano, clocked in second place, Frank Nesmith of Reidsville was third and Chris Purvis and Dave Bacon of Statesboro were fourth and fifth, respectively.
The "dash for cash" charity race to benefit Habitat for Humanity of Bulloch County raised $350 thanks to sponsors.
The league announced its sites Tuesday after a vote of the conference’s athletic directors.
It will be the sixth time in seven seasons the tournaments will be held in the Charleston area.
In 2009 and 2010, the tournaments will shift to Chattanooga’s McKenzie Arena.
‘‘Our membership is fortunate to have two strong destinations on either end of the conference’s geographical footprint,’’ SoCon commission John Iamarino said. ‘‘We are coming off one of our best tournaments ever in greater Charleston and hope to build on that momentum there next year.’’
The four-day event at the North Charleston Coliseum drew 27,722 this year — the league’s second highest total the past decade.
Davidson won the men’s tournament and Chattanooga won the women’s tournament to advance to the NCAAs.
Chattanooga last hosted the Southern Conference tournament in 2005 when it drew 24,596 people.
Eagles visit No. 6 Clemson tonight
The Georgia Southern baseball team concludes a four-game road stretch tonight at No. 6 Clemson. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
The Eagles are coming off a weekend in Myrtle Beach having won 2 of 3 games, improving to 13-8 overall. After the Clemson game, Georgia Southern will play 13 of its next 18 games at J.I. Clements Stadium.
Freshman Brian Wilkerson will get the start against the Tigers. He is coming off a win against Ball State, allowing one run on four hits in eight innings. Overall he leads the SoCon throwing 40.0 innings and is tied for second in victories at 4-1. Wilkerson owns a 3.83 ERA, walked eight and struck out 20.
Clemson, playing all but one game at home so far this season, improved to 10-4 after winning 2 of 3 against Memphis last weekend. The Tigers post a .287 team batting average, .968 fielding percentage and 3.16 team ERA.
SHS tennis splits
with Effingham
The Statesboro High boys tennis team improved to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the region with a 5-0 win over Effingham County Monday at the Statesboro Recreation Department. Winners were: No. 1 singles: Jordan Jones (8-0), No. 2 singles: Alex Yang (8-3), No. 3 singles: John Washington (8-1), No. 1 doubles: Michael Campbell and Tyler Richardson (8-2), and No. 2 doubles: Jeffery Corley and Samay Bhushan (8-0).
The Lady Blue Devils fell to Effingham 3-2 to drop to 0-3 overall and 0-1 in region play. Winners for the girls were: No. 1 singles: Olivia Burnsed (8-6) and No. 1 doubles: Brittany Anderson and McKenzie Bragg (8-0).
SEB baseball scores
Jared Page went 2-for-4 and Ben Carter was 2-for-2 to lead the Southeast Bulloch ninth grade baseball team to a 7-5 win over the Portal JV team. Avery Woods was 1-for-3 with three RBIs.
The SEB ninth grade team (1-2-1) also lost to the Jenkins County JV team 12-6 on Monday. David Lewis was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a RBI.
SEB’s JV team and Portal’s JV squad played to a 9-9 tie. Ben Carter went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a RBI, while Alan Jackson was 1-for-1 with two RBIs for the Yellow Jackets (2-1-1).
SEB hosts Emanuel County Institute Saturday with the ninth grade game beginning at 11 a.m. with the JV contest to follow.
Panther baseball
wins big
The Portal Panthers bested the Jenkins County Eagles 17-5 on Wednesday night in Portal. Brandon Mock got the complete-game win from the mound going the distance and striking out seven. From the plate, Mock was 2-for-4 with a homerun and four RBIs. Tagg Lanier went 3-for-4 with two doubles and drove in three runs.
The Panthers return to the diamond today as they take on the Metter Tigers at 5 p.m. in Portal.
SEB, SHS tennis split
The Southeast Bulloch girls tennis team improved to 6-1-1 on the year with a 3-2 win over Statesboro Tuesday.
SEB girls winners were: No. 1 singles: Shelby Forehand (7-6, 6-7, 10-5 in a tiebreaker), No. 3 singles Jordan Sherrod (6-4, 6-3), and No. 2 doubles: Sarah Burkhart and Sara Ervin (8-6) to decide the match.
SHS girls winners were: No. 2 singles: Olivia Chester (6-4, 6-1) and No. 1 doubles: Brittany Anderson and McKenzie Bragg (8-6).
The Statesboro boys defeated SEB (4-4) 5-0. Winners were: No. 1 singles : Jordan Jones (6-4, 6-3), No. 2 singles: Alex Yang (6-0, 6-0), No. 1 doubles: Michael Campbell and Tyler Richardson (6-1, 6-3) and No. 2 doubles: Jeffrey Corley and Samay Bhushan (6-0, 6-0).
The No. 3 singles proved to be the closest competition of the day as Statesboro’s John Washington defeated Aaron Groover (6-4, 3-6, 12-10 in a tie breaker).
SEB hosts Laney of Augusta Tuesday at 4 p.m. to open Region 2-AA play.
Lady Jackets fall
The Southeast Bulloch girls soccer team lost to Savannah Country Day 2-0 Tuesday. Lady Yellow Jacket keeper Kacey Jones recorded 28 saves.
Calvary Baptist tops Bryan County
The Calvary Baptist baseball team picked up a 2-1 win over Bryan County Tuesday. Brad Hudson (3-0) earned the win, while Wesley Wilkes (0-2) suffered the loss. Wilkes recorded eight strikeouts and went 2-for-3 at the plate, and Ricky Myrick was also 2-for-3 for the Redskins (3-5, 0-1). Calvary improved to 6-0 overall and 1-0 in region play.
Bryan County hosts Emanuel County Institute Friday at 6 p.m.
SHS girls soccer falls
The Statesboro High girls soccer team fell to Greenbrier 7-0 Tuesday at home. Christen Mitchell recorded 15 saves for the Lady Blue Devils, who travel to Toombs County for a 6 p.m. game Thursday.
Screven tennis sweeps Metter
Both Screven County tennis teams beat Metter Tuesday in Sylvania to improve to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in region 3-AA.
The girls won 4-1. Winners were: No. 2 singles: Kate Blackburn (6-2, 6-2), No. 3 singles: Katherine Wells (6-2, 6-2), No. 1 doubles: Natalie Hunter and Carter Mills (6-0-6-2), No. 2 doubles: Evan Sheppard and Missy Zeagler (6-2, 6-3).
Boys won 5-0 and winners were: No. 1 singles: Eric Boddford (6-0, 6-2), No. 2 singles: Kyle Reynolds (6-0, 6-0), No. 3 singles: Bo Evans (forfeit), No. 1 doubles: Adrian Graham and Samuel Woods (6-0, 6-0), and No. 2 doubles Zachary Parker and Hunter Summers (6-0, 6-0).
Screven travels to Lakeside-Evans for a 4 p.m. match today.
Screven soccer
hammers Josey
Randi Brown scored five goals to lead the Screven County girls soccer team to a 12-0 win Tuesday at Josey. The Lady Gamecocks are 6-2 overall and 2-0 in area 4 A-AA.
Andrea Crews added three goals for Screven. Haley Iten scored two and had two assists and Megan McGuire and Symone Roberts scored one goal apiece. Brittany Brinson recorded the shutout.
Screven travels to Aquinas on Friday.
Swainsboro baseball tops SEB
Starting pitcher Fisher Strickland allowed four hits over six innings but suffered the loss as Swainsboro beat Southeast Bulloch 5-3 Tuesday in Brooklet.
Dustin Stall went 2-for-3 with a RBI and Casey Woodram was 1-for-3 and scored a run for the Yellow Jackets (5-3), who travel to Portal Thursday for a 5:30 game.
BA baseball gets
first win
Bulloch Academy avenged an early-season loss to Curtis Baptist with a 4-2 victory Tuesday.
The Gators (1-5) pounded out 10 hits in the contest. Junior Drew Cheshire was 2-for-2 with two walks, sophomore Matt Simons with 2-for-3 with three RBI, freshman Matthew Sapp was 2-for-3 and freshman Taylor Burke was 2-for-4.
Simons, who had a two-run homer to right in the third, pitched a complete game for the win. He allowed just four hits to the Crusaders (4-6) while striking out six and walking two.
Bulloch scored one in the first, two in the third and one in the fourth for a 4-0 lead. Curtis Baptist pushed their runs across in the sixth.
In the opening frame, Cheshire singled, moved to third on a Sapp double and scored on a Simons’ single. In the third, Burke reached on a one-out single. Then the BA big man crushed a pitch over the right-field fence for a 3-0 lead. In the fourth, freshman Taylor Morgan walked and later scored when eighth grader Walker Blitch doubled to left center.
The Gators host John Hancock Academy Thursday at 4 p.m.
BA girls soccer teams split with CF
Bulloch Academy won one and lost one in junior varsity/varsity doubleheader girls’ soccer action Tuesday.
In the opener, the BA JV squad downed Central Fellowship 2-0 for the first-year program’s inaugural win in its first-ever game. Eighth grader Kaylee Sheppard and seventh grader Haley Burke each had second-half goals.
In the finale, Central Fellowship’s varsity downed the Lady Gators 6-1.
BA junior Abi Foy had the Gators’ lone goal. Freshman keeper Ansley Hickman had 10 saves. Bulloch drops to 0-2.
Both BA squads travel to Tifton Friday to battle Tiftarea Academy.
Pigeon race results
The Bulloch Area Flyers flew the third race of the old bird season Sunday from Dublin. The race was originally scheduled to be flown Saturday from McDonough but was changed due to weather considerations.
Dean Baynon of Statesboro had the winning bird — No. 619, a blue bar homer. The bird flew home at a speed of 780.7 yards a minute.
Dean's son, Deano, clocked in second place, Frank Nesmith of Reidsville was third and Chris Purvis and Dave Bacon of Statesboro were fourth and fifth, respectively.
The "dash for cash" charity race to benefit Habitat for Humanity of Bulloch County raised $350 thanks to sponsors.
