Former area hoops standouts shine at Anderson

By Earl Gault - The Herald

Two former Rock Hill-area prep basketball standouts helped Anderson University open the 2008-2009 season on a winning note.

Guard Kevis Cornwell (York Comprehensive High School) and forward Taylor Shugart (Northwestern) contributed as the Trojans defeated Tusculum 71-57 last Sunday.

A 6-2 sophomore, Cornwell scored 11 points, hitting 5-of-10 field goals, including one 3-pointer. He also had three rebounds and three steals in 26 minutes of play.

Shugart, a 6-7 freshman, saw his first college action. Shugart played nine minutes, was 0-for-1 from the floor, but snatched three rebounds.

Tusculum's leading scorer was guard Kyle Moore, who started his college career at Winthrop. Moore finished with 21 points for the Pioneers.

Anderson carried a 1-0 record into Wednesday night's road game at Lander.

• CENTRAL ARKANSAS: Junior forward King Cannon (York Comprehensive High) got some playing time in the Bears' 81-39 loss to Big Ten Conference foe Northwestern.

The 6-5, 215-pound Cannon played 16 minutes for the Bears, members of the Southland Conference. He was 0-for-4 from the floor but had two rebounds for the Bears, who were 0-1 going into Wednesday night's home opener against Bacone College.

Entering this season, Cannon had played in 55 Bears' games, averaging 2.4 points and 1.6 rebounds a contest.

• FLORIDA STATE: Jamie Robinson (Northwestern) is scheduled to make his fourth career start at free safety when the Seminoles visit Maryland for a 7:45 p.m. ACC football game on Saturday.

A 6-2, 192-pound junior, Robinson made his first career start against Wake Forest this season. He was also in the starting lineup against Miami and Clemson.

Robinson has played in all 10 Seminole games, recording 14 solo tackles, 12 assists with a half-tackle for loss. Robinson has one interception, that against Colorado.

The Seminoles are 7-3 overall and 4-3 in the ACC.

• NEWBERRY: Mike Grase, Stewart Good and Chris Reed, three senior linebackers from Rock Hill schools, finished their regular-season college careers among Newberry's top 10 tacklers for 2008.

Grase, a 5-10, 225-pounder out of Rock Hill High School, had 42 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and one sack to finish as the fourth top tackler this season.

Good, a 5-10, 203-pound former Rock Hill standout, was seventh on the Newberry team with 37 tackles, four tackles for loss and a sack.

Reed, a former Northwestern Trojan, was 13th among Newberry tacklers. The 5-10, 218-pound Reed had 26 stops and two tackles for loss.

Another area native, sophomore defensive back Kamaal McIlwain (Indian Land), was 10th with 30 tackles, one tackle for loss and a sack.

Newberry ended the regular season with a 6-4 overall record and a 5-2 mark in the South Atlantic Conference.

• SOUTH CAROLINA: Gamecocks junior tight end Jared Cook is one of eight semifinalists for the 2008 John Mackey Award ,which goes to college football's best tight end, on and off the field.

Cook, a 6-5, 242-pound native of Suwanee, Ga., has caught 34 passes, second on the team to only wide receiver Kenny McKinley's 41 receptions. Cook leads the Gamecocks in receiving yards with 548. He has two touchdown catches with a long reception of 66 yards.

Other semifinalist for the award are Chase Coffman (Missouri), Jermaine Gresham (Oklahoma), Mark Hafner (Houston), Branden Ledbetter (Western Michigan), Brandon Pettigrew (Oklahoma State), Dennis Pitta (Brigham Young) and D.J. Williams (Arkansas).

The winner will be announced on Dec. 11.