Justin Brown didn’t get a chance to hit another buzzer beater.

He did his damage early.

Brown scored 12 points in the first half and Lebanon cruised past Twin Valley, 57-21, in the Alpha Natural Resources Basketball Classic on Wednesday evening at Virginia High.

It was just one of four lopsided scores from day one of the four-day tournament at the Bearcat Den.

Castlewood defeated John Battle, 67-45, in the nightcap. Earlier in the day Honaker pulled away late past Chilhowie, 67-43, and University High scored 26 unanswered points to open the game and crushed Eastside, 70-41.

Lebanon  held Twin Valley  to single digits in each quarter and in the entire first half.

Brown scored six points of an 8-0 game-opening run, and contributed to a stifling defense that helped the Pioneers build a 26-8 halftime lead.

A senior, Brown is famous around the region for hitting three game-winning shots at the buzzer, including one in the state quarterfinals in the same gym two years ago.

He hit three 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 15 points.

“Justin did a lot of work in the offseason, he’s gotten stronger and he’s gotten quicker,” Lebanon coach Thad Lambert said. “He has high expect

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After a second violation of team rules, Nebraska-Omaha has dismissed senior forward Alex Hudson from their team. Hudson came into this season as UNO’s leading returning scorer and the captain of the Mavericks, but he missed the first four games of the season due to a suspension for a violation of team rules, which cost him the captaincy.

UNO should be able to absorb the loss, but it does make an already young team even younger, with just 3 seniors and 3 juniors on the UNO roster.

What: McMurry University 2011 Fall Commencement

When: 10 a.m. Saturday

Where: Radford Auditorium, on campus

Total grads: 79 (all undergrads)

Next up: Hardin-Simmons graduation (Friday)

Thomas Metthe/Reporter-News Alaisha Guerra is graduating from McMurry University on Saturday with a degree in business.

Thomas Metthe/Reporter-News McMurrys Alaisha Guerra (right) rounds the turn on the final lap of the womens 1,500 m run on her way to third-place finish at the 2010 American Southwest Conference Championships in April at the Hardin-Simmons Track and Field Complex. Guerra graduates Saturday with a degree in business.

For Alaisha Guerra, cross-country runner and soon-to-be McMurry University graduate, there’s nothing like the end of a race.

“Your body is drained, your mouth is dry, you feel like you’re about to fall over,” Guerra said, as if describing a warm bubble bath.

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Primary school pupils could be banned from using calculators until they have learned basic sums, ministers said, amid concerns that an over-reliance on the devices is damaging children’s arithmetic.

Nick Gibb, the Schools minister, suggested calculators should only be used once a child masters basic maths.

Figures show 18 per cent of pupils in England aged from seven to 11 failed to make the progress expected of them in maths.

Congratulations to the other 9 entrants to the “Top 10 UK Education and Teaching Blogs” alongside my blog Don’t Waste Your Time, at number 8.

1. Clive on Learning
2. OUseful.Info, the blog…
3. Box of Tricks
4. The Whiteboard Blog
5. Ewan McIntoshs edu.blogs.com
6. dougbelshaw.com/blog
7. TheUniversityBlog
8. eLearning Blog Dont Waste Your Time
9. Teaching News
10. Learn 4 Life

Described as the fundamentals of working with bloggers are the same as with traditional journalists at traditional media outlets: respect their schedules; take time to read their material to learn their interests; and only contact them if/when they want to be contacted.

NEW YORK—Former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky said he never spoke with Joe Paterno about any suspected misconduct with minors, the New York Times reported Saturday.

Sandusky has been charged with 40 counts of molesting eight boys over 15 years and is free on bail while awaiting a preliminary hearing Dec. 13. A grand jury investigating Sandusky said in a report that some of the allegations occurred in the team showers, including a 2002 allegation in which a graduate assistant testified he saw Sandusky assaulting a young boy.

University trustees fired Paterno on Nov. 9, four days after charges were filed against Sandusky, amid mounting pressure that school leaders should have done more to prevent alleged abuse.

During a lengthy interview at his lawyer’s home, Sandusky in an interview with the Times painted a picture of chaotic but friendly scenes involving children he described as extended family at his State College, Pa., home. The descriptions sharply contrast the shocking allegations involving children outlined in a grand jury report. <

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