Archive for the ‘Basketball’ Category

Tennessee used a nine-point run to balloon a 12-point halftime lead to 21 and then held off Kennesaw State 76-67 in the college basketball opener for both teams at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn., on  Friday night.

Senior forward Aaron Anderson and sophomore guard Delbert Love scored a game-high 16 points each and  freshman guard Yonel Brown scored 10 and had three assists in his collegiate debut for the Owls.

Kennesaw State, which opened its second season under coach Lewis Preston, travels to Orangeburg, S.C., to take on South Carolina State at 7:30 p.m. Monday.

Continue reading Tennessee stops Kennesaw State in opener »

Former Duke star Christian Laettner will be in Atlanta for Tuesday’s Duke-Kentucky game, which is part of the State Farm Champions Classic at the Georgia Dome.

Laettner and former Kentucky standout Jeff Sheppard (1994-98), a McIntosh High graduate, are hosting a pre-game party to honor Dick Vitale at the Hilton Garden Inn at 275 Baker Street from 4-6 p.m. on Tuesday. Proceeds will benefit the V Foundation for cancer research.

Laettner spoke to AJC staff writer Carroll Rogers recently about how he got the idea for the event, about making his first appearance at a Duke-Kentucky game since his miracle shot over the Wildcats in the 1992 regional final, and this year’s Duke team. Here are excerpts:

Q. How did the event come about?

A. Jeff Sheppard and I did something really fun last year in Kentucky. He had the “Villains vs. Heroes game,” and I was the head villain. So I called him up two months ago and said ‘Let’s do something before the Duke-UK game in Atlanta’ and …

Continue reading Laettner to mingle with Kentucky fans at charity event »