Sports briefs
Belle Vernon sets 1,000-point nights
Two nights of athletes will be celebrated when the Belle Vernon Area High School athletic department salutes its 1,000-point basketball scorers.
The first event will be Thursday, when the Leopards will host Laurel Highland. It will feature Belle Vernon’s five 1,000-point scorers: Megan Backstrom, Sasha Zuro (deceased), Jessica Slagus, Kaitlyn Slagus and Jocelyn Connolly. The second night will be Feb. 10 when the Leopards’ boys team will play Elizabeth Forward. The night will feature the eight male 1,000-point scorers: Ron Haten, Tom Parks, Tom Emelo, Vinnie Graham, Matthew Rowland, Jacob Dudzinski, Joshua Pohlot and Devin Whitlock.
The ceremonies will take place during halftime of both games, which will begin at 7 p.m.
W&J promotes Fees to head coach
After serving as the interim head coach for the 2022 season, Maggie Fees has been named the head the Washington & Jefferson College field hockey program.
Under the direction of Fees this past fall, the Presidents finished 5-4 in Empire 8 Conference play and 6-10 overall. W&J qualified for the six-team Empire 8 tournament.
“Coach Fees did a terrific job during the 2022 season and we are excited for the positive impact she will continue to have for our field hockey program,” said athletic director Scott McGuinness. “In a short period of time, it was evident that Coach Fees fostered solid chemistry with our students and families. As we move into a new era of W&J field hockey in the North Coast Athletic Conference, we feel Coach Fees is the right leader to develop and mentor our students on and off the field.”
In the NFL
The Tennessee Titans are tearing up the grass field at Nissan Stadium and replacing it with a synthetic surface before the 2023 season.
In the NHL
Sebastian Aho scored on a power play with 53.8 seconds left in overtime and the Carolina Hurricanes claimed another comeback win, beating the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 Tuesday night.
Brent Burns, Paul Stastny, Jordan Staal and Teuvo Teravainen also scored for the Hurricanes, who trailed 4-1 entering the third period. Andrei Svechnikov had two assists and Frederik Andersen stopped 17 shots.
- Evgeny Kuznetsov scored 26 seconds in overtime, and the Washington Capitals defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-3.
The win extended Washington’s lead over Pittsburgh for fourth place in the Metropolitan Division to three points.
Trevor van Riemsdyk scored twice, Garnet Hathaway added a goal and Kuznetsov also contributed an assist. Charlie Lindgren stopped 31 shots.
In the NBA
Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, Bam Adebayo added 18 points and 11 rebounds and the Miami Heat showed their experience down the stretch in a 100-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
In college basketball
Makai Ashton-Langford had two key driving baskets in the closing two minutes and finished with 15 points to help Boston College beat No. 20 Clemson 62-54 Tuesday night.
Jaeden Zackery added 13 points for the Eagles (11-12, 5-7 Atlantic Coast Conference). BC held Clemson to one field goal – and that came with 18 seconds left – in the final 13:16.
Hunter Tyson led Clemson (18-5, 10-2) with 22 points and Chase Hunter had 12. The Tigers fell into a tie in the loss column atop the ACC with No. 6 Virginia (9-2 ACC).