Ex-arlington star helps Wofford get to Big Dance
Nathan Hoover, the basketball player, has been afforded the opportunity to go dancing in 2019.
Specifically, it’s the Big Dance, otherwise known as the NCAA Tournament.
Hoover, the former Arlington standout, is a junior for Wofford College, and following Thursday’s 84-68 victory over Seton Hall, the seventh-seeded Terriers earned the right to play Kentucky in Saturday’s Midwest Region second-round contest.
Since arriving in Jacksonville, Hoover, a 6-foot-4 guard, has been all about soaking up the experience.
“We pulled up to the hotel, and all the workers were in a line clapping; we walked in between them, kind of like a red-carpet kind of thing,” he said. “We get police escorts to wherever we are going. It’s really cool. We came here to win, but we’re also enjoying the moment.”
Wofford entered the postseason with a 29-4 record and a 20-game winning streak. Hoover started all 33 games, averaging 13.3 points. He teamed up with senior Fletcher Magee to form one of the country’s most prolific three-point shooting duos. Hoover shot 46 percent, while Magee shot 43 percent.
Wofford traveled to Asheville, N.C., for the Southern Conference Tournament and got past VMI and East Tennessee State in the first two rounds. In the championship, the Terriers squared off against UNC Greensboro. They trailed 31-27 at halftime. The second half, thanks to Hoover, was a whole different story.
“We weren’t playing too well. The ball got into my hands, and shots started falling,” he said. “I was able to score 20 (points) in the second half get everybody fired up. I could see the team we’ve had the whole year start to come out at the end of the game.”
As did the accolades, with Hoover, Magee and senior forward Cameron Johnson being named to the Socon Alltournament Team. Prior to that, the Terriers cracked the Top 25 poll for the first time in school history.
Hoover and Co. haven’t lost since Dec. 19, when Wofford let a nine-point halftime advantage slip away in an eventual 98-87 setback at Mississippi State. There’s also little shame in losing to perennial powers North Carolina (Nov. 6), Oklahoma (Nov. 18) and Kansas (Dec. 4). The Bulldogs, Tar Heels, Sooners and Jayhawks are all NCAA Tournament teams.
Against Seton Hall, Hoover finished with 18 points, including a pair of clutch 3-pointers during a decisive 17-0 run down the stretch.
“We had a bunch of returning players, and we didn’t lose any starters, so I knew we had the talent to be a very good team,” said Hoover, who is majoring in business economics. “But as the year went on, we started playing better together, and playing better defensively. And once that started clicking, we were very successful.”
Big wins on the diamond
The Christian Brothers University baseball team beat Delta State for the first time since 2002. The 7-4 victory came March 16 in the opening game of a home doubleheader at Nadicksbernd Field.
CBU took advantage of five runs in the second inning and added two more in the fourth. Jared Cramer and Kyle Hindman drove in two runs apiece, while Garett Reason-kerkhoff contributed a game-high three hits. The win went to reliever Nick Myers.
Meanwhile, courtesy of last weekend’s 5-3 softball victory over Texas Tech, the University of Memphis won its first game over a Top 10 team. The Red Raiders were ranked No. 10 in the espn.com/usa Softball Top 25. Ashley Threatt and Regan Hadley both homered. Former Collierville star Bayleigh Wisher was the winning pitcher.
Odds & ends
Southwest Tennessee’s Makayla Pugh and Lily Soverns were recently honored as the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association’s Player and Pitcher of the Week. … A pair of CBU track and field members won their events at last Saturday’s Rhodes Invitational. Chelsea Walker was first in the 100-meter hurdles (14.32), while Emma Montoya took the top spot in the 400meter dash (56.79). … Memphis freshman Adar Sheere was selected as the American Athletic Conference Male Field Athlete of the Week. At the Rhodes Invitational, Sheere won the discus (185-0) and was fourth in the hammer (181-6) … Rhodes College recently hired Alexis Kavanaugh as its new field hockey head coach. Kavanaugh, who served as a graduate assistant last season at Long Island University Brooklyn, becomes the fifth coach in the Rhodes history.
Sunday Sports Brunch is a weekly look at movers, shakers and newsmakers on the Memphis sports scene, from youth level to the pros. If you have an item of interest, please contact Chris Van Tuyl at christopher.vantuyl@ commercialappeal.com.