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Dynasty Athlete Representation

1/12/09 News & Notes

1/9/09

Rio Grande Valley State (Clay Moser) (7-12) vs. Albuquerque

The Albuquerque Thunderbirds beat the Vipers 97-95 in a close game on Friday night. The Vipers were led by Alpha Bangura who scored 29 points and had 8 rebounds in the game. Trent Stickland had 19 points and 5 rebounds for the Vipers.

1/10/09

#15 Marquette (Scott Monarch) vs. #22 WVU

For a half, the matchup between Marquette (No. 15 ESPN/USA Today, No. 18 AP) and West Virginia (No. 22 ESPN/USA Today, No. 25 AP) looked more like rugby than basketball. At one point, a pair of Golden Eagles players ended up on the floor tangled in a scrum with a couple of Mountaineers as 3-on-3 play continued down the court without a whistle. But after going into halftime bruised, beaten up and trailing by two, the Golden Eagles’ high-octane offense recovered to take control down the stretch for a 75-53 victory over the Mountaineers on Saturday. Jerel McNeal led Marquette with 26 points. Dominic James added 17 points and Wesley Matthews scored all 13 of his points in the second half for the Golden Eagles (15-2, 4-0 Big East).

Louisiana-Lafayette (Robert Lee) (6-9) vs. Troy

Randell Daigle hit five of Louisiana-Lafayette’s school-record tying 15 3-pointers to lead the Ragin’ Cajuns to an 83-81 victory over Troy on Saturday night. It was the first road victory of the season for Louisiana-Lafayette (6-9, 3-2 Sun Belt Conference). Daigle, who had 17 points, hit Louisiana-Lafayette’s final 3-pointer to give the Ragin’ Cajuns a 74-69 lead with 4:33 remaining in the game. Travis Bureau, who scored 21 points, was fouled on a 3-point attempt and hit three free throws for a 77-71 advantage with 3:14 left. Troy (7-10, 2-3) cut the lead to 79-78 but the Louisiana-Lafayette sealed the game at the line.

SE Missouri State (Rodney Hamilton) (3-13) vs. Eastern Illinois

Eastern Illinois got an 83-63 win over Southeast Missouri on Saturday. Kenard Moore led Southeast Missouri (3-13, 0-5) with 20 points, Jaycen Herring had 14 and Calvin Williams added 10. Eastern Illinois outrebounded the Redhawks 41-29 and had a 19-8 advantage in second-chance points. The Panthers also had a 30-9 edge in points off the bench. Eastern Illinois led 36-28 at halftime and used a 29-13 run in the second half to open a 22-point lead, the largest of the game. Southeast Missouri never led.

Arkansas State (Elwyn McRoy) (11-5) vs. North Texas

North Texas beat Arkansas State 86-83 in triple overtime on Saturday night. North Texas guard Josh White, who earlier forced a second OT on a layup with 1 second remaining, sank two free throws with 10 seconds left in the final overtime to close out the victory.

It was the longest game in Denton for North Texas (9-7, 2-3 Sun Belt) since 1980.

Donald Boone led Arkansas State (11-5, 3-2) with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including a game-tying jumper late in regulation to force overtime. Ifeanyi Koggu added 13 points for the Red Wolves.

UIC (Tracy Dildy) (8-7) vs. Cleveland State

Cleveland State grabbed an early lead and cruised to a 79-69 win over Illinois-Chicago Saturday night. Cleveland State (13-5, 4-2 Horizon League) rattled off 14 straight points early in the first half to take the lead for good. The Vikings led by double digits for most of the game, although Illinois-Chicago (8-7, 1-4) closed to within six in the final minute on Tori Boyd’s 3-pointer. Boyd scored 15 points, Jelani Poston added 14, Jeremy Buttell had 12 and Spencer Stewart 10 for Illinois-Chicago.

NCCU (Henry Dickerson) (0-18) vs. Chicago State

Chicago State got a 115-96 win over North Carolina Central on Saturday night. Jamar Briscoe led the Eagles (0-18) with 32 points, Bryan Ayala added 20 and Joshua Worthy had 15. Ayala was 4-for-8 on 3s for the Eagles, who hit 11 of 26 from long range. The teams were close in almost every category, but Chicago State made the difference by scoring 27 points off of turnovers compared to 10 for N.C. Central.

Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Clay Moser) (7-13) vs. Albuquerque

The Thunderbirds got their second win in as many days over the Vipers. The Vipers were again led by Trent Strickland and Alpha Bangura who had 22 and 21 points, respectively.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.