COLLEGE HOOPS

Although your favorite team may or may not still be dancing, the NCAA Tournament continues on, with Sweet 16 games running through the weekend.

James Madison announced Wednesday that Virginia Tech Women’s Basketball head coach Kenny Brooks has been selected for the James Madison Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2022.

Virginia Tech director of athletics Whit Babcock announced Friday that the contracts or letters of appointment of six Tech head coaches have been extended as indicated below. Mike Young (men’s basketball) and John Szefc (baseball) are both under contract through the 2027 seasons, while Dave Cianelli (track and field, cross country) is under contract through 2024. The other three coaches have had their letters of appointment extended through the dates indicated below.

NC State made 15 of its last 17 free-throw attempts. The Wolfpack led 17-4 after nine minutes, but Virginia used a 13-4 run to close within 25-21 two minutes before halftime. But N.C. State steadied itself, getting four points each from Manny Bates and Moore and a 3-pointer from Braxton Beverly as it scored 12 of the next 14 points. N.C. State hit 9 of its first 13 shots in opening a 21-10 lead, but made just 3 of 12 the rest of the half. POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Wolfpack is surging and Virginia is headed in the opposite direction and struggling, but this loss won’t look as bad on paper because of the way N.C. State has played of late.

RADFORD, Va. – The Radford men’s basketball team fell to Winthrop, 55-47, on Friday night inside the Dedmon Center. Radford held Winthrop to just 24.0 percent (6-for-25) shooting in the first 20 minutes, including a 0-for-7 stat line from long range. On the other end Radford shot 10.5 percent better (34.5 percent) and carried a four-point lead into halftime, 22-18. On the very next possession, a missed 3-pointer by Radford and a defensive rebound by Winthrop forced the Highlanders to foul with 25 seconds. AdStat of the GameAfter 25 second chance points a night ago for Winthrop, the Highlanders didn’t allow them to get any second chance points even though the team corralled 13 offensive rebounds.

PITTSBURGH, PA – The Virginia Tech women’s basketball team earned its third successive victory Thursday night with a 74-55 win at Pitt. It was the fifth straight win over the Panthers for Kenny Brooks’ club. GAME NOTES•Virginia Tech is now 12-5 against the Panthers and have won five in a row in the series. •Kenny Brooks’ record moves to 96-56 at Virginia Tech and 433-178 in his career. •The starting lineup of Georgia Amoore, Aisha Sheppard, Cayla King, Azana Baines and Elizabeth Kitley accounted for 65 points.

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty found themselves in a battle in Game 1 of its weekend series at Jacksonville. Down nine points with seven minutes left in the game, Liberty rallied to defeat the Dolphins 59-54. Liberty improves to 13-5 and 5-2 in the ASUN Conference while Jacksonville falls to 9-8 and 3-4 in conference. Jacksonville (30 percent) outshot Liberty (27 percent) from the floor in the opening period but the two went into halftime tied at 22-22. Liberty outscored Jacksonville 26-12 sparked by Chris Parker scoring 11 points along with two assists in the final seven minutes of the game.

The Lady Flames’ final 32-point margin of victory (78-46) marked their largest ever in an ASUN Conference game. Key Team Stats: Liberty’s three triples made equaled a season low, but the Lady Flames shot 30-of-44 (68.2 percent) from inside the arc. The Lady Flames scored 23 points off Jacksonville’s 18 turnovers and tripled up the visitors in bench points (39-13). AdThird Quarter• Nine different Lady Flames scored points in the third quarter. The Lady Flames’ 32-point margin of victory was their largest since a 73-36 triumph over Longwood on Feb. 27, 2018 at the Vines Center.

DELAND, Fla. – Liberty’s second half struggles proved costly in Game 1 of the weekend series at Stetson, as the Flames drop the 66-59 contest to the Hatters. First HalfBlake Preston kickstarted Liberty’s offense scoring six points in the first three and a half minutes of the game. Turnovers proved costly for the Flames in the second half, committing nine turnovers, which led to 14 points for Stetson. · This was the second game this season Liberty has outshot its opponent from the field and yet lost. Thoughts from Head Coach Ritchie McKay“Their (Stetson) game plan was shoot the three, and if you don’t have it, drive it.

After a Terrier defensive stop, Murphy nailed the game winner and a VMI desperation shot from midcourt fell short. Junior Jake Stephens had 11 of his 13 points in the second half and added six assists to tie a career high. Wofford shot 53 percent for the game (30-57) and 54 percent (14-26) from three-point range. We did a better job in the second half. In the second half, we were able to get the ball to Jake Stephens better and get some high-low plays.”

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty completed the weekend sweep over Kennesaw State, defeating the Owls 76-47. Liberty improves to 11-4 this season and 3-1 in the ASUN Conference while Kennesaw State drops to 3-9 and 0-4 in conference. The Flames took advantage of Kennesaw State inside the paint, as 14 of Liberty’s first 20 points were inside the paint. · Liberty out-rebounded Kennesaw State 39-29. · Liberty outscored Kennesaw State 40-14 inside the paint.

SALEM, Va. – The Roanoke College men’s basketball team is taking everything in stride, including an offseason where the players were essentially alone. Wherever we were, we were always trying to keep in touch and keep that team chemistry going,” junior guard Tripp Greene said. “We don’t always know what’s going to happen week to week, so we’ve got to be prepared to adapt and adjust when need be. When we practice, we practice for the best and 100%,” junior Nick Price added. “We’re just prepared for everything that comes at us so we just have to adjust going straight into the hardest part of the season.”The Maroons begin play on Jan. 23 against Hampton-Sydney.

RADFORD, Va. – The Radford men’s basketball team used stifling defense and held a Hampton team that averages 41.0 percent shooting to just 38.7 percent in a 76-65 win on Tuesday night inside the Dedmon Center. It was the Highlanders’ first lead since the early minutes of the game. Jeffers had 14 first half points, which set a career-high, topping his previous of 12. He ended the game with 16 points on 5-of-5 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers and four free throws. He finished the game with 14 rebounds and 13 points, picking up his second career double-double.