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News Nuggets, 12.23.06
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NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...

Compiled from staff and electronic reports
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Nifong hangs on to unraveling Duke rape case

Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong dismissed first-degree rape charges against three former Duke lacrosse players Friday, but he let stand accusations that they kidnapped an exotic dancer and committed a first-degree sex offense against her during an off-campus party in March, according to a Durham Herald-Sun report.

The new twist in the case caused many legal observers to further question the accuser's already embattled credibility. Nifong had no comment on the development.

In court paperwork, Nifong said the dismissal resulted from an interview that his investigator, Linwood Wilson, conducted with the dancer on Thursday.

The alleged victim told Wilson that "while she initially believed that she had been vaginally penetrated by a male sex organ," she was no longer certain that a penis was used, Nifong wrote.

As a result, "the state is unable to meet its burden of proof with respect to this offense," he said.

Penetration by a penis is necessary to convict someone of first-degree rape. But under the law, the three suspects — Collin Finnerty, Reade Seligmann and David Evans — still could be convicted of committing a first-degree sex offense if jurors believed they used a finger or other item to vaginally penetrate the woman against her will.

The defendants also could be convicted of first-degree kidnapping if they restrained the dancer in a bathroom during the alleged assault, as she said they did.

At a news conference Friday, Joe Cheshire, attorney for Evans, and Wade Smith, who represents Finnerty, defended their clients and appealed to Nifong to drop the remaining charges.

As things stand now, "the case is quite clearly not over," said Cheshire, noting that the additional charges "still carry significant active prison time."

The sex assault charge carries a presumptive sentence of 20 to nearly 25 years, while the kidnapping charge carries a presumptive 7-year sentence.

The lawyers maintained that their clients did not commit any of the crimes with which they are charged.

"These boys are absolutely innocent. They never touched her," Cheshire said. "They were never alone with her together in any place. It's not possible that they kidnapped her, touched, raped her or whatever."

BYU seniors realize their dream in Las Vegas

Each one of these seniors, from John Beck and Curtis Brown to Cameron Jensen right down the line to several lesser-knowns, lived out a fantasy that few experience, according to a Las Vegas Bowl report in the Salt Lake Tribune on Brigham Young's 38-8 win over Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl.

From the day they committed to BYU, every one of these players dreamed of a conference championship and success in the postseason. They pictured the time that came Thursday, when thousands of of their closest friends swarmed the field, basking in the glow of football excellence.

Securing its place among the program's greatest teams, BYU rolled to victory before a record crowd of 44,615. The Cougars, who won a bowl game for the first time in 10 years, finished at 11-2 and could possibly end up in the top 15.

"It's everything that we could ask for as seniors," said Curtis Brown, who capped off his career by becoming the first BYU running back to rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons.

"It feels so great," said tight end Jonny Harline, named the game's MVP after catching nine passes for 181 yards and one touchdown.

Paulus wows homefolks, Coach K in Big Apple

Slowly but surely, Duke sophomore Greg Paulus has inched toward reaching his comfort zone coming off a preseason foot injury.

Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, playing in his home state of New York, Paulus looked like he finally felt at home, according to a Durham Herald-Sun report.

Paulus scored a career-high 20 points — eight in the first half to keep Duke close and 12 in the second half to keep Gonzaga at bay in the Blue Devils' 61-54 victory.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski called the performance the best of Paulus' career, though Paulus didn't look at it in those terms.

"I'm not even thinking about it like that," said Paulus, who was playing in front of about 50 family members and friends. "I just thought of it as doing whatever we needed to do to win — whether that was getting a long rebound or hitting an open shot or making a pass."

Paulus' play helped the sixth-ranked Blue Devils (11-1), playing in their annual home-away-from-home game, survive against a 22nd-ranked Gonzaga team (9-4) that brought more of a neutral-court feel by bringing more fans than expected from the other side of the country.

Appalachian State basking in a multi-sport roll

Appalachian State has capped an impressive run of victories with an 87-79 overtime win over Vanderbilt in the championship game of the San Juan (Puerto Rico) Shootout, according to a Winston-Salem Journal report.

Donte Minter, a 6-8, 250-pound junior who transferred from Virginia and was playing in his fifth game for ASU, paved the way with 27 points and seven rebounds.

"It's been quite a week," Coach Houston Fancher of the Mountaineers said. "First the national championship for football, and we just beat an ACC team, an SEC team and a Conference USA team in a span of three days. I'd say it's been a pretty good week for the Apps."

The Mountaineers (10-3) followed wins over Virginia and Central Florida in the eight-team tournament with their first victory against an SEC team in 18 tries.

It was also the first championship in a regular-season tournament by the Mountaineers since a first-place finish in the Toledo MVP Classic in 1988.

"This is a huge confidence booster," Minter said. "I think we've shown that if we play like this we can play with anybody."

The Mountaineers shot 52 percent from the field in their three victories. Yesterday's 7-of-23 performance (30 percent) from 3-point range was well off a cumulative 49-percent mark from long range in their previous two games, but Minter, who hit 11 of 14 field-goal attempts, led a productive inside attack.

Minter won the battle against Ted Skuchas, a 6-11, 250-pound center, and Minter's teammate Jeremy Clayton, a 6-7 forward, was a force as well — totaling 11 points and 11 rebounds. The Mountaineers wound up with a 41-28 advantage in rebounds.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from electronic services and other sources. Copyright 2006 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007 12:54 PM