LOCAL

MEMORIAL FRESHMEN, JV DOMINATE OZEN

Port Arthur Memorial got its sub-varsity football season off to a solid start Thursday with a pair of victories.

The Memorial freshman team beat Beaumont Ozen 33-8 at Memorial Stadium. Terrence Lee, Tejauan Mack and Chris Thomas were named defensive players of the game for Memorial, with Kenneth Washington, JaQuaylin Jones and Javon Butler earning offensive player-of-the-game honors for the Titans.

The freshman Titans play at Beaumont Central next Thursday.

In Beaumont, Memorial’s junior varsity blanked Ozen 33-0.

NEDERLAND PICKS UP PAIR OF VICTORIES

KINGWOOD — Nederland’s volleyball team got a busy day in the Kingwood tournament started with a close sweep of Stratford.

The Lady Bulldogs pulled out a 25-23, 26-24 win before taking on Summer Creek in a match where they needed to overcome a set loss to win in three. The final was 17-25, 25-17, 25-20 in Nederland’s favor.

Against Stratford, Marlie Lee, Tatum Kieschnick and Caroline Noel had four kills each. Emma Forsythe led Nederland with nine assists, Abbey Montalvo added seven assists, Lee made seven digs and Darcie Jones dug six to go with two aces.

Montalvo tallied 18 assists and Jones had four aces in the win against Summer Creek. Lee recorded 11 digs, eight kills and two aces, Kieschnick also made eight kills, Courtney Noel chalked up six kills, Forsythe assisted on 10 kills and Payton Swanson dug eight.

Nederland hosts Tarkington beginning with the varsity at 4:30 today and will return to Kingwood to face Huntsville at 9 a.m. Saturday.

STATE

RANGERS RECALL MARTINEZ FROM RR

ARLINGTON (AP) — The Texas Rangers have recalled right-hander Nick Martinez from Round Rock and optioned right-hander Spencer Patton to that Triple-A team.

Texas made the move Thursday, a day after Patton gave up five runs without getting an out in the Rangers’ 12-4 loss to Toronto.

Patton has a 9.00 ERA in 27 relief appearances over three stints with the Rangers this season.

Martinez provided some needed depth in the bullpen for the series finale against the AL East-leading Blue Jays.

As a starter earlier this season for Texas, Martinez was 7-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 21 games. He has made five major league relief appearances, all last season, when he allowed only one run in 11 2/3 innings of relief.

NATIONAL

‘CHOCOLATE THUNDER’ DAWKINS, 58, DIES

Darryl “Chocolate Thunder” Dawkins, an NBA center known for his thunderous dunks during the 1970s and 1980s, died Thursday. He was 58.

In 1975 Dawkins became the first player to be drafted directly out of high school, according to the Philadelphia 76ers’ website, and played for the team from 1975-82, playing in three NBA Finals during that time (but never winning one). Twice during his career he shattered the backboard on a dunk.

Dawkins was traded to the New Jersey Nets and also played with the Utah Jazz and Detroit Pistons through 1989.  He averaged 12 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks for his career.

He spent the next 11 years playing in Italy, the Continental Basketball Association, International Basketball Association and with the Harlem Globetrotters.

Dawkins was known to give his dunks names such as Rim Wrecker, Go-Rilla, In-Your-Face Disgrace and Cover Your Head.