Area sports digest

March 20, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

area

Murray named

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. — Westminster College men’s basketball player Ryne Murray was named first team all-Great Lakes region by D3hoops.com.

Murray, a 6-foot-4 junior forward, was the only underclassmen honored on the first team Great Lakes all-region team. Also honored on the first team were guards Nate Stahl of Capital and Desmond Young of Adrian, forward Jesse Reimink of Hope and center Andrew Bene of Baldwin-Wallace.

Murray is also the first-ever Westminster men’s basketball player to earn first-team all-region honors from D3hoops.com since the Titans joined NCAA Division III in 2002-03.

Benefit basketball

LORDSTOWN — There will be a basketball game between teams from Lordstown and McDonald on Saturday to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank.

After a 5:30 preliminary game at Lordstown High School, the high school faculties will play at 6 p.m.

In the 8 p.m. feature game, Lordstown Mayor Mike Chaffee and his employees will meet McDonald Village employees.

Chine splits pair

ST. LOUIS — Eric Chine, a fifth-year senior for the Kent State University wrestling team from Austintown Fitch High, split a pair of matches Thursday in the 197-pound class at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

Chine, who qualified for his fifrst NCAA meet as a wild-card selection by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee, upended 12th-seeded Brent Jones of the University of Virginia, 7-6, in the afternoon, before falling to Jon Oplinger of Drexel at night, 9-8.

Chine now will compete in the wrestle-backs portion of the double-elimination meet starting today. His opponent and time of his next match was determined later Thursday night.

state

Browns sign Ivy

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns have signed free agent cornerback Corey Ivy, who spent the past three seasons with division rival Baltimore.

The 32-year-old Ivy, who was with the Browns in training camp in 2000 before being waived, has three interceptions, 9 1/2 sacks and forced six fumbles in 110 games with 21 starts.

He also played for New England, Tampa Bay, and St. Louis and has been a special teams contributor throughout his career.

nation

Transitions golf

PALM HARBOR, Fla. — After a late start to the year, Jim Furyk might be getting up to speed.

Furyk made two long birdie putts and was equally thrilled with a 10-foot par save on his final hole Thursday, which gave him a 6-under 65 in the Transitions Championship. It was the first time he has held the outright lead since his last PGA Tour victory 20 months ago.

Stephen Ames was one shot behind after a 66 on a Copperhead Course that was demanding as ever, but one he enjoys far more than the Blue Monster last week at Doral that favors the big hitters.

The group at 67 included 48-year-old Kenny Perry.

Madeira Open

PORTO SANTO, Madeira Islands — Sweden’s Joakim Haeggman had five birdies in a six-hole stretch and finished with a 5-under 66 for a share of the first-round lead with Ireland’s Damien McGrane in the Madeira Islands Open.

The 39-year-old Haeggman, winless on the European tour since 2004, played the front nine in even par, then birdied Nos. 10 and 12-15 on the Seve Ballesteros-designed Porto Santo Golfe course that features 500-foot seaside cliffs. England’s Andrew Butterfield, Argentina’s Estanislao Goya and Spain’s Carl Suneson opened with 68s.

Spadafora sprains ankle, cancels fight

PITTSBURGH — Former International Boxing Federation lightweight champ Paul Spadafora has canceled a March 31 fight at the Pittsburgh Hilton because he sprained his ankle during a training run.

The 33-year-old boxer from the Pittsburgh suburb of McKees Rocks, will now fight Carlos Mairena May 9 at the Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Spadafora will then fight in Pittsburgh in June or July.

Mairena (20-11-1, 17 KO) is from Nicaragua and has lost his last three fights.

Tournament renamed

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The PGA Tour’s stop in Memphis will be known as the St. Jude Classic for 2009, dropping its reference to the Stanford Financial Group, which is under investigation..

Vindicator staff/wire reports