SPORTS BRIEFS: Lee County loses first baseball game

Lee County baseball loses first game

The Lee County baseball team lost its first game of the season Monday afternoon at Hardaway. The Trojans lost 4-3 in eight innings and managed just six hits. They left 10 runners in scoring position.

The Trojans (12-1) will play host to defending Region 1-AAAAAA champion Tift County tonight in Leesburg at 6 p.m.

Albany State’s Holston named to All-South Region Team

Junior Artisha Holston has been named to the 2016 NCAA Division II D2CAA All-South Region Team. This is the third consecutive year she has earned a spot on the squad’s second team.

A 6-foot-1 forward from Butler, Ga., Holston averaged 14.4 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 steals this season. She also recorded 11 double-doubles. Holston was voted as the 2016 SIAC Player of the Year and named to the SIAC All-Conference First team.

In addition to her performance on the court, Holston is also a stellar student in the classroom. She has been named to the University’s dean’s list and athletic department’s academic success list each semester she has been at ASU. Recently, Holston was named to the 2015-2016 Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.

Sherwood Christian soccer beats Central Georgia

The Sherwood Christian Academy boys soccer team took a 4-3 victory over Central Georgia Arts and Athletics in Macon Monday night. Emmanuel Davis scored the game-winner in the last minute on a free kick.

Caleb Thompson, Anthony Adams and Odoey Koffie scored goals for the Eagles, while Samuel Orr, Davis and Landon Davidson had assists in the game.

Westwood baseball beats Crisp Academy

Westwood defeated Crisp Academy 8-7 in a nonregion game Monday night. In a back-and-forth affair, Westwood scored early and went up 3-1. Crisp battled back and went up 6-3. But Westwood tied the score in the bottom of the fifth and took the lead in the bottom of the sixth. The Wildcats held on in the top of the seventh to post the victory.

Morgan Bell earned the victory on the mound, improving to 2-0 with sophomore Hunter Lassetter earning a save after striking out the side in the seventh. Collier Baggett went 2 for 4, while Kevin Hall went 3 for 4 with a double.

Westwood will play at Tiftarea Tuesday night in a Region 3-AAA game at 6 p.m.

NCAA investigating bracket leak

The NCAA is initiating an investigation after the full bracket for the men’s basketball tournament was leaked online early into CBS’s Sunday selection show.

“We go to great lengths to prevent the tournament field from being revealed early and the NCAA took its usual measures to prevent this from happening,” the NCAA said in a statement Sunday night. “Unfortunately, and regrettably, the bracket was revealed prior to our broadcast partners having the opportunity to finish unveiling it. We take this matter seriously and we are looking into it.”

The selection show, which started at 5:30 p.m. ET, was extended to two hours this year. But the entire bracket was posted by an anonymous Twitter account by 6:20 p.m. After first being received with skepticism, it proved to be 100 percent accurate.

The original posting of the bracket and the entire account that sent it out disappeared from Twitter late Sunday evening.

Steelers’ Bryant suspended for year

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant on Monday was suspended for a year by the NFL for a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.

Bryant will not appeal the suspension, which begins immediately. His agent had said on Saturday that Bryant had planned to appeal.

He was scheduled to make $600,000 this season.

Bryant was suspended for the first four games of the 2015 regular season due to violations of the same policy.

The former fourth-round draft pick out of Clemson is reportedly fighting depression and will enter rehab.

The Washington Post reported that Bryant missed several drug tests, which counts the same as failed tests and had a diluted specimen that is also the same as a failed test along with a failed test for marijuana.

One of his agents, Brian Fettner, confirmed the ban stems from multiple missed drug tests.