Ex-UALR announcer Morgan dies in Dallas
Max Morgan, who sat courtside for many of the UALR men's basketball team's greatest moments while serving as the team's radio play-by-play man during its three NCAA Tournament appearances and two NIT appearances, died Monday night at a hospital in Dallas.
Morgan, 59, was the Trojans' radio voice from 1984 to 1990 for KAAY-AM, KHLT-AM and KTHV-TV, a time during which the Trojans went 133-60 and won three Trans America Athletic Conference titles. He went on to serve as sports anchor at TV stations in Baltimore and Dallas
Morgan died of congestive heart failure.
"Max Morgan was a true professional," said current UALR radio voice Ray Tucker, who worked with Morgan first at KTHV and broadcast some games with him. "I don't know anybody who enjoyed life more than Max Morgan, and he never forgot his roots."
Morgan was born in Dardanelle where he competed in football and track and field in high school. He served as the radio voice for Arkansas Tech football and basketball (1975-1981) and Harding basketball (1981-1982) before working at KTHV in Little Rock (1982-1991). He also served as sports anchor at KARK.
In 1984, Morgan began doing play-by-play for UALR men's basketball, which was also Mike Newell's first season as coach. Morgan called UALR's victory over Centenary in the 1986 TAAC tournament final at Barton Coliseum, its upset of Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and its double-overtime loss to North Carolina State.
The next season, UALR advanced to the semifinals of the NIT played at Madison Square Garden in New York. Tucker helped Morgan call that game on KTHV.
"It was kind of wild," Tucker said. "Here we are, a kid from Helena and a kid from Dardanelle, and we're sitting in Madison Square Garden broadcasting a college basketball game."
Morgan left Little Rock in 1990 for a Baltimore TV station, and then moved to KDFW-TV in Dallas in 1993. Morgan served as KDFW's sports anchor for 21 years, covering two Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl titles, a Dallas Stars Stanley Cup title, a Dallas Mavericks NBA title and two World Series trips by the Texas Rangers.
Morgan is survived by his wife, Marla, and two sons, Byron and Shawn.
Services are pending.
-- Troy Schulte
GOLF
UALR finishes third, UCA sixth
The UALR women's team finished third and three individuals placed in the top 10, while the Central Arkansas women finished sixth Tuesday at the Fred Marx Invitational in Monroe, La.
UALR finished at 914, six shots behind winner Louisiana-Monroe (908) and two shots behind runner-up Sam Houston State (912).
Trojans Sofie Kvarnstrom and Stina Resen each shot 7 over to tie for third, and Sabrina Bonanno finished 14 over to finish 10th. UCA's Fernandra Lira shot a final-round 71 to finish seventh, while Malin Senneryd finished tied for 20th.
Arkansas Tech men fourth, Harding fifth
Harding's Alex Williamson shot a 2-over par 73 Tuesday to finish third and Arkansas Tech's Austin Smith finished in a tie for sixth at the NSU Classic in Bartlesville, Okla.
Smith shot a final-round 77 after shooting rounds of 72 and 69 Monday, leading Arkansas Tech to a fourth-place finish. Alex Mahlik finished tied for 12th with Harding's Mason Banger at 6-over 222, and D.J. Godoy finished tied for 17th with an 8-over 224.
The Bisons shot 896, the fifth-best score in program history, to finish fifth. Brad Lamb shot a 70 to finish tied for 15th at 10-over 223.
Central Oklahoma won the title at 879, followed by West Texas A&M and Central Missouri.
VOLLEYBALL
UCA sweeps Alabama A&M
Central Arkansas won its final nonconference match Tuesday, sweeping Alabama A&M 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-23) in Conway. Heather Schnars led the Sugar Bears (6-7) with a matchhigh 15 kills, 3 digs and 1 service ace. Fulani Petties and Evie Grace Singleton had 12 kills each, while Kristine Hjembo had a match-high 34 assists and Shelbee Berringer had 18 digs.
Harding's comeback falls short
Arkansas Tech defeated Harding 3-2 (25-23, 25-19, 23-25, 15-25, 15-13) in Russellville.
Emily Todd had 18 kills and four blocks to lead Arkansas Tech (8-4, 4-0 Great American Conference). Madison Nagel set a conference record with 48 digs.
The loss ended a 32-match conference winning streak and a 13-match road winning streak for Harding (7-4, 2-1). Erica Heim led Harding with 16 digs and 13 kills.
UAM splits matches
Arkansas-Monticello split two matches at a tri-match hosted by Southern Arkansas on Tuesday, losing 3-1 (25-19, 25-18, 20-25, 25-16) to the Muleriders and defeating Central Baptist 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-20).
Lani Kaiwi led UAM with 18 digs against Southern Arkansas, while Kaila Kikugawa had 17 assists and Jessica Cuba added 15. Aubrey Harrison, Tasha Evans and Sydni Schulz had 10 kills each to lead SAU. Schulz added 12 digs, while Amanda Monge and Hailey McNee had 12 kills each.
Cuba led UAM with 10 kills agianst Central Baptist. Brittney Beckham had 28 assists and Aspen Luna added eight kills and nine digs.
SOCCER
Hendrix men fall to LeTourneau
The Hendrix men fell in an early hole and couldn't dig out as they lost 4-1 to LeTourneau University on Tuesday in Conway.
Jacob Pierce had the only goal for Hendrix (2-7-1), which came on a penalty kick in the 72nd minute.
LeTourneau got goals from Adam Schultz and Alan Flores in the game's first 10 minutes. Schultz scored again in the second half, and Hunter Swift added the final goal in the 80th minute.
TRACK AND FIELD
Scott earns SEC honor again
Arkansas redshirt junior Dominique Scott was named the SEC's runner of the week Tuesday for the second consecutive week.
It's the third time in her career that Scott has earned the honor. She ran a career-best 5,000-meter time of 16 minutes, 32.78 seconds Saturday to win her second consecutive race at the Missouri Southern Stampede meet.
Sports on 09/24/2014