Avery Journal-Times LIVE FROM... CAROLINA BARNSTORMING TOUR

We're LIVE at the Holmes Convocation Center in Boone on the campus of Appalachian State University for tonight's Carolina Barnstorming Tour, featuring members of the recently-minted University of North Carolina Tar Heels taking on a group of players from various schools across Western North Carolina.

The unofficial rosters for tonight's game as listed previously are as follows:

Carolina Barnstorming Tour Squad
Tyler Hansbrough (UNC)
Danny Green (UNC)
Bobby Frasor (UNC)
Jack Wooten (UNC)
Mike Copeland (UNC)
J.B. Tanner (UNC)
Patrick Moody (UNC)
David McClure (Duke)
Hugh "Baby Shaq" Jones (And 1)
Antwan Scott (Wake Forest)

High Country All-Stars
Eddie Bermudez (ASU)
Jeremy Clayton (ASU)
Ochigbo Ameh (Lees-McRae)
Joe Chilton (Brevard College)
Jermon Walsh (Warren Wilson College)
Shawn Creal (Limestone College)
MJ Njoku (Montreat College)
PJ Gore (Mars Hill College)
Akeene Coakley (Mars Hill College)
Reid Augst (UNC Asheville)
Jason Ridenhour (UNC Asheville)
Tim Magowan (Western Carolina University)

There has been a late change to the Barnstormers roster, as Greg Paulus will not be playing in tonight's game due to exams.

The start of the game, which was scheduled for 7:30, has been delayed 15 minutes due in part to transportation issues with the Barnstorming Bus (flat tire). Good news, though... the players have arrived and will be putting on a heck of a show, with a slam dunk and 3-point contest at halftime of the actual game.

Proceeds from tonight's game are directly benefitting the building of a Ronald McDonald House in Charlotte, with extra funds going to high school athletic programs of nearby host high schools. The tour visited Hickory last night and visits Greensboro on Friday night.

We'll be bringing photos, comments and much more during the night. Thanks for reading!

7:45 PM - Teams have been announced and the ACC-All Star group is fresh off the bus. About five minutes of warmup time, the National Anthem, Starting Lineups have been announced and we're ready to tip off!

8:04 PM - halfway through the first half of play and we're tied at 22. Hansbrough and McClure each have 4 pts, along with Patrick Moody.

8:15 PM - with a running clock, we hit halftime pretty quickly. The Western North Carolina All-Stars have made quite a showing for themselves for the half. Mars Hill's PJ Gore has been particularly impressive. The WNC All-Stars lead 55-51 at intermission. Quick point totals for the Carolina All-Stars are as follows:

Copeland-3; Green 7; McClure 8; Scott 4; Moody 4; Hansbrough-10, Jones-10; Tanner-3; Frasor-2 - Total: 51

Halftime contests coming up!

David McClure from Duke was the winner of the Slam Dunk contest with a pair of high-flying jams. Jason Ridenhour from UNC-Asheville was the winner of the three-point shootout with 5 of 10 made. Second half to come!

9:00 PM- By a final score of 114-107 the Western North Carolina All-Stars get the win over the Carolina All-Stars behind 16 second-half points from ASU's Eduardo Bermudez. Bobby Frasor led the Carolina All-Stars with 18 second-half points.

Here are the statistics as best could be kept during the fast-paced 20-minute halves with running clock...

Carolina All-Stars (107): Green 21, Frasor 20, Hansbrough 18, McClure 10, Jones 10, Scott 10, Moody 8, Copeland 7, Tanner 3

WNC All-Stars (114)* - Bermudez 16, Njoku 8, Walsh 7, Gore 6, Ridenhour 6, Ryan Goodson (ASU bball team manager and expert basketball dribbler) 7, Coakley 5, Augst 4

*-second half point totals only

NOTE: For those who didn't make the game in person, it will be broadcast on the local MTN television network over the weekend along with interviews with players and other extras.

Lady Vikings Sweep Season Series with Warlassies for Third Win of Week

On Wednesday night the Lady Vikings completed the gauntlet of three matches in three consecutive nights when they ventured back into conference play for a rematch with the Owen Warlassies.

Avery easily handled Owen in their previous meeting at Swannanoa, winning by a 9-1 score. The rematch was a closer affair, but the Big Red was up to the task nonetheless, as they blanked the Warlassies 4-0.

Despite the cool conditions and snow having melted off turf earlier in the afternoon at MacDonald Stadium, Avery showed no tired legs as they drew first blood in the match.

Sophomore Melinda Eggers provided the offensive punch in the first half, tallying a pair of goals to spot Avery the 2-0 lead at the half. Eggers scored her first goal off a cross from fellow sophomore forward Emily Banner in the 20th minute, then scored off an assist from Mary Chesnut Smith in the 26th minute.

The Big Red matched their offensive proficiency with another pair of goals in the second 40 minutes of play. Avery made good on a corner kick in the 42nd minute when Banner scored with a header off a Smith corner.

The final goal of the match came in the 75th minute when Rachel Buchanan assisted on Teddi Jablonski’s first-ever goal.

Avery’s defense was smothering all night as they turned away virtually every Warlassies attack effort. The Lady Vikings laced 23 shots on goal to Owen’s two. Avery senior keeper Cailan Calloway was a wall again in goal, recording a save and her sixth shutout for the season.

The Lady Vikings take a well-deserved break next week to heal injuries and rest. Avery’s next scheduled match is a big one, slated for Monday, April 20th with conference leader Polk County ventures to MacDonald Stadium for a key Western Highlands Conference match.

Lady Vikings Overcome Elements, Defeat Mitchell and Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy

Despite the blustry and snowy conditions in the High Country early this week, the Avery Lady Vikings soccer team was unfazed as it shut out the Mitchell Lady Mountaineers 4-0 in action at MacDonald Stadium on Monday and beat Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy 5-2 in Mooresboro on Tuesday.

Monday' match was marked by snow, chilling winds, and plummeting temperatures. but the Lady Vikings came out determined to block everything out of their minds and play a disciplined match against their border rivals.

The elements made handling the wet ball difficult to handle on the slick FieldTurf surface. As play commenced in the first half, Avery was not playing with the crispness of previous matches, so the Avery coaches decided to clear the bench and discuss the lack of execution with the players. The talk made a difference as the team showed better precision in spite of the deteriorating weather conditions.

Avery scored first in the match as sophomore Katelynn Eudy headed a ball down in order for senior Rachel Buchanan to send a pass to fellow midfielder Mary Chesnut Smith. who sent a shot past the Lady Mountaineer keeper at the 16-minute mark.

The Vikings continued to fire shots on offense and managed to score one other goal in the first 40 minutes of play. Forward Emily Banner sent a ball to freshman Hannah Washburn who, despite just beginning to play soccer this season, looked like a seasoned pro as she tallied her first career high school goal, staking the Big Red to a 2-0 lead at halftime.

During intermission the coaches for both squads and the referees conferred regarding the worsening weather and agreed to cut the second half to only 20 minutes rather than the usual 40-minute stanza.

In the 54th minute of the match, Banner crossed a ball to sophomore Melinda Eggers, who dished a helper to Smith for a second score of the night, making the score 3-0. The final goal of the evening came three minutes later when the Mountaineers were called for a handball in the penalty area, awarding the Lady Vikings a penalty shot. Senior goalkeeper Cailan Calloway took the penalty shot and demonstrated her great versatility as she blazed a shot past the reach of the keeper for the team's fourth and final goal of the match.

It was another sterling night for the Big Red squad as the defense played strong and keeper Calloway registered yet another shutout in goal for her fifth this season. Avery took 13 shots on goal for the match, seven of which came in the abbreviated second half of play.

The following evening the Big Red ventured to Rutherford County to take on Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy. Next season the Lady Gryphons will be joining the Western Highlands Conference, so the match gave each team a taste of what to expect in conference play when the foes collide in the future.

Although the day was a snowy reprise of winter in the High Country, the weather was improved off the mountain, as the two teams squared off on a cool, windy afternoon. Avery managed to take advantage of an overmatched TJCA squad.

The game for the most part was a mismatch on the pitch, but the Lady Vikings still showed periods of inaccuracy with passes and a lack of anticipation or execution which was of concern to the coaches on the Avery bench.

A number of the Lady Vikings errors were self-inflicted as the team was unable to take advantage of opportunities when they had extra time to make crisp passes and take clean shots.

In spite of the imperfections, the match was still dominated by the visitors in red. Similar to Monday evening, weather played a role in the game as a strong breeze often made for hard turf which made it difficult to judge the speed put on passes between teammates.

Avery got on the board in the ninth minute of play as Mary Chesnut Smith sent a cross to Melinda Eggers for the first goal of the evening. The second goal occurred when Emily Banner assisted on a goal by Smith. The Lady Gryphons sliced the lead in half on a goal off a corner kick in the 28th minute, which remained the score until halftime.

Neither team managed to break through for a tally until Avery put a third goal on the scoreboard at the 61st minute. Eggers netted her second goal of the evening off an assist from Elyse Perry. Seven minutes later Banner scored off an assist from Smith to put Avery in the lead 4-1.

TJCA managed a second goal at the 72-minute mark, but Avery answered four minutes later when Eggers assisted on the first goal of the season by Noelle Henline to provide for the final margin.

Avery took five shots on goal in the first half and nine in the second for 14 shots in all. The Big Red defense continued its stretch of impressive play, anchored by goalkeeper Cailan Callaway who earned yet another win in goal and added a second half save. The Lady Vikings played without the services of Hayley Pyatte for the second match in a row, and were also without Katelyn Beverly for the trip.

The Lady Vikings improve its record to 8-2-1, with a 4-1 conference mark. Avery is scheduled to host Owen at MacDonald Stadium this afternoon in a Western Highlands Conference match starting at 6 p.m.

Former Avery Standout Griewisch Sets New XC Record at Duke Asics Invitational

Kate Griewisch (5,000-meter run) and Jakob Maidens (3,000-meter steeplechase and 1,500-meter run) established new school records

Durham, N.C. – The Lenoir-Rhyne University Men's and Women's Track and Field Teams competed at the Duke Asics Invitational this past weekend at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., with several records falling for the Bears.

Freshman Kate Griewisch (Banner Elk, N.C.) once again lowered the school mark in the 5,000-meter run after finishing with an 18:32 while freshman Jakob Maidens (Lebanon, Va.) set L-R records in the 1,500-meter run (4:06) and the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:19).

Sophomore Bobby Komisarski (Xenia, Ohio) had a strong outing in the 400-meter hurdles for the Bears, finishing with a 56.09s.Lenoir-Rhyne next hosts the PowerSox Invitational on Saturday, April 11, in the first-ever meet at the Moretz Sports Complex-Irwin Belk Track.

NOTHING COULD BE FINER! HEELS CLAIM SECOND TITLE IN FIVE SEASONS WITH WIN OVER SPARTANS

The UNC Tar Heels led from wire-to-wire as the Heels defeated the Michigan State Spartans by the final score of 89-72 and claim the school's sixth national championship.

Wayne Ellington was named Most Outstanding Player as the Tar Heels led 55-34 at intermission and never led by less than 13 points in the second half.

The win is the second title for head coach Roy Williams as the Heels won each game of the NCAA Tournament by over 12 points.

"The only thing I know is the youngsters standing behind me are great young men and I'm a lucky man," Coach Roy Williams said while clutching the national championship trophy in athe television interview immediately after the win. "I think of my family and of Coach Smith. Coach, I hope you're watching and I hope you're enjoying this moment."

"We fell short last year and wanted to redeem ourselves, and we worked so hard to get back," Most Outstanding Player Wayne Ellington remarked.

"This is the best way to go out. I couldn't picture it any other way," stated an overjoyed Tyler Hansbrough.

Michigan State (31-7) could never get untracked against the UNC defense. From the start, it was clear there was no way Carolina was losing control of the contest. In a pregame hype surrounding a team embracing a state and its slumping economy, it was the Tar Heels that embraced the pressure and was dominant in putting its indellible stamp on a magical season.

The Tar Heels (34-4) were up 55-34 at halftime, breaking a 42-year-old title-game record for biggest lead at the break and setting the mark for most points at the half.

The Heels will be returning to Chapel Hill for a celebration at the Smith Center at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

Tar Heels and Spartans Play for National Title

Tonight the UNC Tar Heels will take on the Michigan State Spartans at Ford Field in Detroit for the crown of 2009 NCAA Men's National Champions.

Carolina dispatched Villanova in one semifinal at Ford Field Saturday night by an 83-69 final score, while Michigan State defeated Connecticut 82-73.

Tonight's championship game should be a battle of wills between a UNC team that likes to transition and run relentlessly and a Michigan State squad that is just plain tough and is the best rebounding team in the country.

Tipoff is at 9:21 PM as the Tar Heels look for its second national title in five years and second title for head coach Roy Williams, who would tie the number of titles won by his mentor Dean Smith.

A win for the Spartans will give head coach Tom Izzo his second title this decade, as Michigan State captured the title in 2000.

Jay Bilas of ESPN has a good breakdown of tonight's game at the Worldwide Leader's website located here, and the governors of both the respective teams have placed a little wager on tonight's contest.

According to an Associated Press report, North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue has accepted a friendly wager from Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm as North Carolina faces Michigan State in the NCAA championship.

"Both governors are planning to attend the Monday night showdown in Detroit. Both have agreed to be photographed afterward wearing the winning team's jersey and dine on food from the winner's state," the report states. "If the Tar Heels lose, Perdue will trade her Carolina blue for Michigan State's green and white colors and eat Michigan sausages and cherries. If North Carolina wins, Granholm will eat Krispy Kreme doughnuts from the company headquartered in Winston-Salem."

On a slightly biased note, this Tar Heel alumnus (UNC '96) will not be in Chapel Hill as he has been for the past two title games, but will be rooting alongside the rest of Tar Heel Nation tonight. Go Heels!