Hawks fire Pierce after 2-plus years
The Hawks fired coach Lloyd Pierce on Monday less than halfway into a season that began with heightened expectations but was beset by injuries.
The Hawks are 14-20 and 11th in the Eastern Conference, following a 109-99 road loss to the Heat on Sunday night.
It was the Hawks’ 11th loss after holding a fourth-quarter lead.
Pierce, 44, hired in 2018, was 63-120 with the Hawks. It was his first head-coaching job. The Hawks named Nate McMillan interim coach. He was added to Pierce’s staff in the offseason.
College basketball: Buddy Boeheim had 26 points as Syracuse (14-8, 8-7 ACC) helped its NCAA hopes by holding off visiting North Carolina 72-70. Armando Bacot had 18 points and 15 rebounds for UNC (15-9, 9-6). ... Leslie Nkereuwem had 18 points as Longwood (12-15) won 77-61 at UNC Asheville in a Big South quarterfinal, giving Norfolk Academy graduate Griff Aldrich’s team a chance to play at top-seeded Winthrop in a semifinal . ... Taylor Funk had 22 points as Saint Joseph’s upset Richmond 76-73 in the last game before the Atlantic 10 tournament, snapping a nine-game road losing streak . ... Florida State and coach Leonard Hamilton, 72, agreed to a five-year extension through the 2024-2025 season that will pay him $2.25 million annually plus bonuses . ... Albany and coach Will Brown agreed to part ways after 20 years and five NCAA berths . ... The NIT will feature 16 teams rather than its usual 32, and all of its games will be held in the Dallas-Fort Worth area . ... The Texas A&M women (22-1) moved up to No. 2, their highest AP ranking ever, a day after clinching their first SEC regular-season title with a 65-57 victory over then-No. 5 South Carolina. UConn remained No. 1.
College football: James Madison (2-0) climbed atop the FCS STATS poll, moving up from No. 2 to replace North Dakota State after the Bison’s 38-14 loss Saturday at Southern Illinois ended their FCS-record 39-game win streak . ... Alabama plans to host full-capacity games at Bryant-Denny Stadium next season, athletic director Greg Byrne announced.
NFL: The Chiefs are hopeful QB Patrick Mahomes will be ready for minicamp in June, but are confident he will be 100% for training camp later in the summer. Mahomes underwent surgery for turf toe after the Super Bowl.
Soccer: Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu, his adviser Jaume Masferrer, the club’s CEO Oscar Grau and head of legal services Roman Gomez Ponti were arrested following a raid at the club’s offices at Camp Nou. The operation was related to last year’s “Barcagate,” in which club officials were accused of launching a smear campaign against current and former players who were critical of the club and then-president Bartomeu.
Tennis: Roger Federer withdrew from this month’s Miami Open so he can spend extra time preparing to “work his way back out on tour,” his agent said. Federer, 39, who has won 20 major titles, hasn’t competed in more than a year after having two operations on his right knee last season. He’s still scheduled to play a hard-court tournament next week in Doha, Qatar.