Sports Briefs

Posted: Friday, December 28, 2012 12:00 pm

Trip to SEMO begins UTM’s league slate The UT Martin men’s basketball team begins its 20th season of Ohio Valley Conference play when it takes on Southeast Missouri in an early afternoon matchup at the Show Me Center on Saturday. Tip-off time is scheduled for noon. It will be the first action in 10 days for the Skyhawks (3-9), who will be playing their fourth road game in the last five outings. In its last game, UT Martin fell 75-62 at home to Samford on Dec. 19. Junior Mike Liabo led all scorers with 23 points off the bench, while sophomore Myles Taylor tallied 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds — cracking double-figures for the 11th time in 12 games this season. Southeast Missouri (8-6) has won two straight, including a 66-65 thriller at Kansas City on Saturday. The Redhawks, who lead the OVC with a .368 defensive field goal percentage, limited Kansas City to 34.9 percent shooting for the game. Junior college DB signs with Vols KNOXVILLE (AP) — Garden City (Kan.) Community College defensive back Riyahd Jones is the first player to sign with Tennessee since the arrival of new coach Butch Jones. Tennessee announced the signing Friday. After beginning his college career at Georgia Southern, Jones transferred to Garden City, where he had 22 tackles and a team-high five pass breakups. Jones, who is 6 feet and 186 pounds, is rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals, Scout and 247Sports. He will arrive at Tennessee as a junior with two years of eligibility remaining. Teams, day added in SEC baseball HOOVER Ala. (AP) — The Southeastern Conference has added two teams and a fifth day to the baseball tournament. Commissioner Mike Slive announced Friday that the field will expand to 12 teams in the 14-team league starting in 2013 in Hoover, Ala. The top four seeds will earn a bye in the double-elimination tournament, which starts on May 21.

Published in The WCP 12.27.12