FOOTBALL ASU quarterbacks lead the way

No starting quarterback has emerged for Arkansas State during fall practice, at least not prior to its first scrimmage Thursday night.

During an 80-play scrimmage at Liberty Bank Stadium, all six quarterbacks alternated taking snaps and all six led touchdown drives. Senior Adam Kennedy, sophomore Fredi Knighten and freshman Cameron Birse each threw a touchdown pass.

Coach Bryan Harsin said the quarterbacks did good things but “need to be more consistent.”

“Part of that is because the rotation we had tonight with the quarterbacks makes it hard to get into a rhythm,” he said. “They didn’t do anything that you would see from the outside that was bad, but we’ve got to perform within the framework of the play.”

Carlos McCants, R.J. Fleming and Carl Lee each caught touchdown passes.

McCants’ came from 19 yards out from Knighten, while Fleming caught a 19-yard touchdown thrown by Kennedy and Birse found fellow freshman Lee on a 5-yard pass. Fleming also caught a 29-yard pass, the longest of the scrimmage.

Senior running back David Oku scored on a 13-yard run, while freshman Johnston White scored on a 5-yard run.

Defensively, safety Jeremy Fulcher and linebacker Brad Shearin each intercepted passes. The defense had three sacks and six tackles for loss.

BASKETBALL ASU releases 2013-2014 schedule

A pair of in-state nonconference games highlight Arkansas State’s 2013-2014 men’s basketball schedule which was released Thursday.

Arkansas State, which went 19-12 and reached the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament last season, open the sixth season under Coach John Brady on Nov. 11 at Jackson State and play its first home game Nov. 13 against Tennessee-Martin. The Red Wolves also host Central Arkansas on Nov. 24 and Southern Arkansas on Dec. 30. Other nonconference home games include Niagara (Dec. 2) and Toledo (Dec. 17).

Nonconference road trips include Wyoming (Nov. 16), Colorado (Nov. 18), Lamar (Nov. 30), Nebraska (Dec. 14) and Marshall (Dec. 21).

The Red Wolves open the Sun Belt season Jan. 2 at league newcomer Texas-Arlington, then play their Sun Belt home opener Jan. 9 against Troy. They will host UALR on Jan. 25 and travel to Little Rock on March 1 to face the Trojans.

Sun Belt sets basketball tournament dates

The Sun Belt Conference announced last spring that it was moving its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments from Hot Springs to Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. Now, the league is moving its tournaments on the calender, too.

The Sun Belt announced Thursday that its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will be played March 12-16, a week after the tournaments have been played in the past.

The men’s tournament will begin March 13 and its championship game will be played at noon March 16, the day the NCAA Tournament field will be revealed. It will be aired on ESPN2.

The women’s tournament will begin March 12 and its final will be at 8 p.m. March 15, and will be aired on ESPN3.

The men’s tournament will include the top eight teams based on regular season standings, with the top two teams receiving byes to the semifinals and the Nos. 3 and 4 teams receiving byes to the quarterfinals.

The women’s tournament will include the top eight teams, too, but will use a more traditional bracket.

GOLF Tubert eliminated from U.S. Amateur

A bogey on the 19th hole eliminated University of Arkansas golfer Emily Tubert from the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship on Thursday at the Country Club of Charleston in Charleston, S.C.

Tubert never led Cammie Gray, of Northport, Ala., for more than one hole, but also didn’t trail until the deciding 19th hole. She was 1-up after the first hole and the match was all square for Nos. 2 and 3. Tubert made par on the 4th and held a one-hole lead over the next six holes.

She was 1-up heading into No. 18, but bogeyed the hole, while Gray made par. The two played No. 1 in the playoff, which Gray made par to advance.

Sports, Pages 23 on 08/09/2013