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Virginia hires Washington State's Bennett

A University of Virginia source has confirmed that Virginia has reached agreement with three-year Washington State head coach Tony Bennett as its new head.

Bennett, 39, was named Associated Press national coach of the year following his first season in Pullman, Wash., when Washington State was a preseason choice for last in the Pac-10 Conference before posting the first of back-to-back 26-win seasons

Washington State was 17-16 this year but finished first in Division I in scoring defense with an average field of 54.9 points per game.

The Big East is the best

The debate over which league is the best men's basketball conference in the land certainly seems over. It's the Big East, hands down. The league has five teams in the Sweet 16, compared to three from the Big 12 and two from both the ACC and the Big Ten. Most folks believed during the regular season that either the Big East or the ACC was the best conference, with the Big Ten also in the discussion. I thought the Big East was a big stronger because of how good its top six or seven teams were, and the NCAA tournament has done nothing thus far to change my mind. The first-round losses by Wake Forest, Boston College, Clemson and Florida State have ruined the ACC's argument -- Mark Berman

Richard Stockton advances to final

Richard Stockton scored the last five points -- all in the last minute -- to defeat Franklin & Marshall 62-58 and advance to Saturday's final of the Division III men's basketball tournament at Salem Civic Center.

Stockton (30-2), a public university in New Jersey named after one of that state's signers of the Declaration of Independence, was led by Kai Massaquoi and Omar Smith, who both had 20 points and seven rebounds.

Franklin and Marshall outshot the Ospreys both from the field and at the free throw line, but were 0-for-6 from 3-point range.

Stockton will take on defending national champion Washington University of St. Louis in the final. See The Roanoke Times for in-depth coverage.

Good night, now from Salem Civic Center.

D-III tourney update: F&M, Stockton tied at half

Behind Kai Massaquoi's 15 points, Richard Stockton came on strong late in the first half and forged a 26-26 halftime tie with Franklin & Marshall at Salem Civic Center.

The Richard Stockton fans -- one of whom had a sign that stated: "Jersey is Here!" did not have to cheer for early in the first half, as the Ospreys had just eight points at the 9-minute mark. But the offense did start to make some things happen as time went on.

Franklin & Marshall was led by Anthony Brooks and James McNally with seven points apiece. Their student section is not quite as large as Stockton's, but one young fan did have his "Go Dips" sign to put up. F&M's mascot is the Diplomats. I have never heard our No. 1 Division III beatwriter Randy King ever refer to F&M as the Dips, however.

D-III update: Washington U advances to final

With the help of a 16-0 second-half run, defending Division III national champion Washington University advanced to Saturday's championship game with a 77-58 win over ODAC entry Guilford on Friday at the Salem Civic Center.

Aaron Thompson dominated for Washington (28-2) scoring 30 points and pulling down nine rebounds. Sean Wallas added 15 for the Bears, who will play the winner of the second semifinal between Richard Stockton and Franklin & Marshall.

Clay Henson scored 23 points to lead Guilford, which got as close as five points in the second half before a Washington went on its game-deciding run.

By the way, Washington University's women also beat Amherst on Friday in the women's D-III final four and will play for the championship in that division as well.

D-III update: Washington withstands rally

Midway through the second half, Washington University has just gone on a 16-0 run to thwart what had been an impressive run by Guilford.

The Quakers were as close a 46-41before the Bears went on the devastating run.

D-III semifinals: Defending champs lead at the half

Defending
Division III national champion Guilford leads Guilford 39-26 at the
half in the national semifinals at Salem Civic Center.

Junior Aaron Thompson, who had 11 points in last year's title game, already has 16 points and seven rebounds for the the Bears.

Guilford's Clay Henson scored 11 in the first half. The Quakers have
been outrebounded 20-12 and have yet to convert an offensive rebound
into points. Meanwhile, Washington has seven second-half points and its
bench has outscored Guilford 8-2.

So what should we expect in the second half? Well, according to the
Guilford sports information department, the Quakes -- as our Division
III ace beatwriter Randy King likes to call them -- have come from
behind to win 21 of their 25 games.

And just last week, GC trailed by 12 to Texas-Dallas before coming
back to win 64-59 in overtime. Good seats are still available at Salem
Civic Center. So if your bracket's busted, come on by.

The second game pits Franklin & Marshall against Richard Stockton.

Timesland's top swim times

2008-2009 TOP TIMESLAND SWIM TIMES

(Final, unofficial)

c-Indicates times converted from meters to yards

GIRLS 200 FREE

1:54.83 – Lauren Gray (Hidden Valley)

1:55.09 – Ali Horn (Cave Spring)

1:57.73 – Lauren Hines (Hidden Valley) Read more »

Updated Timesland swim records

TIMESLAND SWIM RECORDS

GIRLS

200 FREE — Sasha Malanina, William Byrd, 1:51.52 (2003)

200 IM — Ali Horn, Cave Spring, 2:03.31 (2009)

50 FREE — Nancy Baar, Patrick Henry, 23.62 (2006)

100 FLY — Ali Horn, Cave Spring, 54.69 (2009) Read more »

Leitao out at UVa

UVa press release on Leitao's exit:

Dave Leitao Resigns As UVa’s Men’s Head Basketball Coach
CHARLOTTESVILLE--Craig Littlepage, University of Virginia director of athletics, today announced the resignation of Dave Leitao as men’s head basketball coach, effective immediately. 

Littlepage met with Leitao earlier today to discuss the future of the men’s basketball program. At that time, Leitao, who has just concluded his fourth season at the University, determined it was in the best interest of the program to step down.

“Dave has been a respected colleague and a fine University representative in the local community during his tenure here. He brought a great deal of leadership, discipline and integrity to his coaching responsibilities,” Littlepage said. “I appreciate his hard work and dedication to athletics at the University of Virginia.”

Leitao, who came to Virginia from DePaul University, began coaching at UVa in April 2005. His four teams compiled an overall record of 63-60 and participated in three post-season tournaments, including the 2007 NCAA tournament. 

A national search for a new men’s head basketball coach will get under way immediately. Littlepage did not specify a time frame for concluding the search, taking into account the fact that many of the possible candidates are currently involved in post-season play. “We expect to attract a strong pool of candidates interested in becoming a part of our University community,” Littlepage said.

“Our intention is to hire the very best person to lead the University’s basketball program consistent with our overall department goals,” he added. “Our team has a promising nucleus of young players who we expect will continue to develop.”

Leitao and the University have come to a financial agreement that will pay Leitao approximately $2.1 million. 



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    The Press Box blog will post entries on a variety of sports at both the high school and collegiate levels in Southwest Virginia. Contributions come from staff writers of The Roanoke Times sports section.

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    • Nelson: UVa has lost 16 straight times to Duke, and 7 straight times to UNC! UVa is not playing the same sport in...
    • Nelson: Monica Wright has had a tremendous individual career by going to UVa!
    • Myra Cole: Glad to watch it here in central Texas. Formerly lived in Roanoke but after reaching age of 89 still...
    • Derrick: fox and wdbj7 see above comments, “joke” skins lost again only 6 pts.
    • Derrick: local TV stations, since the “joke” skins are “still” losing, can you please show...