BOWLING
ASU advances to national championship match
THe No. 3 seed Arkansas State women's team will play for its first Division I national title at 8 p.m. Central today after going 2-0 on Day 1 of the National Collegiate Bowling Championship Friday in Las Vegas.
Following a 2-0 win over second-seeded Vanderbilt, the Red Wolves met No. 4 seed and six-time NCAA champion Nebraska. ASU (84-29) combined for 14 strikes over its final 20 frames of the traditional point game -- led by 222 pins from Emma Stull -- to grab a 1-0 lead in the mega-match with a 1,008-987 win.
In the Baker 5-game series, the Cornhuskers won each of the first three games, building a 78-pin lead. The Red Wolves closed to within 44 going into the final game, then edged Nebraska by 47 in the fifth game, taking the series by a total score of 1,070-1,067.
Nebraska will play Vanderbilt in an elimination match this morning to determine who ASU will meet tonight on ESPNU in a single best-of-seven Baker series.
BASKETBALL
Razorbacks' Dunning to enter portal
Arkansas freshman forward Barry Dunning is entering the NCAA transfer portal.
Dunning, 6-6 and 195 pounds, played in 16 games and averaged 3.2 minutes per game. He scored 5 points and had 3 rebounds and 2 steals, and started in a Nov. 28 game against Troy.
He played a season-high 7 minutes in a win over San Diego State at the Maui Invitational on Nov. 23.
ESPN rated him as a 4-star recruit, the No. 21 small forward and No. 74 overall prospect in the nation for in the 2022 recruiting class. He was a two-time Gatorade Alabama Player of the Year as a junior and senior at McGill-Toolen Catholic in Mobile.
He is the second Razorback to enter the portal this offseason, along with center Makhel Mitchell.
The Hogs have four transfers committed and are still actively recruiting other transfers.
With the four transfer pledges, Arkansas currently has 13 spots accounted for with forwards Jalen Graham and Trevon Brazile, guards Joseph Pinion and Derrian Ford having stated plans to return. Schools are allotted 13 players on scholarships.
Arkansas has two high school signees in point guard Layden Blocker and center Baye Fall.
Guard Davonte Davis had declared for the NBA Draft while maintaining the option to return to the Hogs. Forward Jordan Walsh hasn't announced if he'll return or enter the draft. Should one or both leave, that would open up additional scholarships.
Freshman guards Anthony Black and Nick Smith have declared for the NBA Draft and projected to go No. 7 and No. 11, respectively, in the first round of the NBA Draft on June 22, according to NBADraft.net.
Junior guard Ricky Council has also declared for the NBA. NBAdraft.net projects him to be the No. 43 player taken in the second round.
-- Richard Davenport
Central Arkansas adds transfer
The University of Central Arkansas men's basketball team added big man Ubong Etim, a transfer from Bowling Green, on Friday night.
Etim, a 2021 graduate of North Little Rock High School, played 15 games for Bowling Green this season as a freshman, starting six.
He will be a redshirt sophomore for the Bears next season.
Etim is the second transfer in as many days for UCA after adding West Florida transfer Daniel Sofield on Thursday.
-- Sam Lane
TENNIS
Arkansas men suffer home loss
The University of Arkansas men's team lost to Alabama 6-1 on Friday at the Billingsley Tennis Center in Fayetteville.
The Crimson Tide (11-14, 3-9 SEC) won the doubles point to take the early lead, then won the first two singles matches to push the lead to 3-0. The lone point of the match for the Razorbacks came from Benedikt Ernesz, who defeated Yair Sarouk 7-6 (5), 6-2. With the victory, Ernesz improved to 6-5 overall for the dual season. Alabama then rallied to win the final three singles matches.
Arkansas will take on Tennessee in its final home match Sunday.
Troy tops ASU women in narrow affair
Arkansas State couldn't get a win in its final home match of the season, falling 4-3 to Troy Friday afternoon at the A-State Tennis Courts in Jonesboro.
The Trojans grabbed the doubles point with 6-3 and 6-4 wins, then straight-set wins on Courts 3 and 6 in singles to go up 3-0 in the match. ASU (2-15, 0-9 Sun Belt Conference) then got a 6-2, 6-2 win from Sarah Millard at No. 1 singles as well as a 6-4, 6-2 win from Rebecca Brody and a 6-3, 6-3 win from Olivia Elliott to pull level.
Troy (13-5, 6-3), however, snatched a three-set win on Court 4 to clinch a victory.
BASEBALL
Williams Baptist splits doubleheader
Williams Baptist College split a doubleheader Friday with Missouri Baptist, falling 2-1 in 10 innings in the first game and winning the second game 8-4 in Walnut Ridge.
The Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on a solo home run from Jacob Watkins, but a Williams Baptist error in the fifth allowed the tying run to score. The Spartans then won the game in the 10th with a solo home run.
Parker Jeffries had a two-run single in the first inning of the second game and Dylan Creech added an RBI single, tying the game at 3-3. Creech added a solo home run, while Watkins and Tate Isaacs each had an RBI single for the Eagles in the second game.
The two teams will conclude the series today at 11 a.m.
UCA, N. Florida alter weekend series
Due to anticipated weather Sunday, the University of Central Arkansas and North Florida have agreed to move the third game of their weekend series to today.
The teams will now play a doubleheader today in Jacksonville, Fla., beginning at 1 p.m. Central. The second game will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first.
-- Democrat-Gazette Press Services