Sports briefs 11/24/03

Basketball

Orlando Magic forward Pat Garrity will have knee surgery on Dec. 1 and expects to miss most, if not all, of the season.

College

Tennessee State University's Charles Anthony was named the Ohio Valley Conference's offensive player of the week after he rushed for a career-high 194 yards and one touchdown on 38 carries in a 35-10 victory over Murray State.

Linebacker Justen Rivers of Eastern Kentucky was named OVC defensive player after making 11 solo tackles and forcinga fumble in a 27-14 win over Tennessee Tech.

Richie Rhodes of Jacksonville State was named special teams player of the week. He recorded five kicks for a 44.8-yard average, including a long punt of 61 yards to lead the Gamecocks to a 22-17 win over Southeast Missouri State.

Nebraska coach Frank Solich is not considering retiring after the Cornhuskers' final regular-season game.

"That's never crossed my mind," Solich told reporters Sunday after Nebraska's practice at Cook Pavilion.

Solich commented after the Lincoln Journal Star, citing three unnamed sources, reported Sunday that the 59-year-old coach could be forced into retirement after Friday's game against Colorado.

Solich declined to comment directly on the report.

Golf

Meg Mallon outplayed Annika Sorenstam over the final nine holes and took advantage of a rare hiccup by the world's best female player to beat her by one stroke in the season-ending ADT Championship.

Mallon made five birdies over the back nine and put together a closing round of 5-under-par 67 .

Needing a par to force a playoff, Sorenstam bogeyed the final hole.

Denmark's Thomas Bjorn shot an even-par 71 to overtake third-round leader Sergio Garcia and win the Dunlop Phoenix tournament in Miyazaki, Japan.

Bjorn had three birdies on the 6,917-yard, par-71 Phoenix Country Club for a 12-under 272 total.

Japan's Daisuke Maruyama fired a 70 to finish second, two strokes back. Garcia, who had a three-stroke lead heading into the final round, shot a 78 that left him in sixth place.

The United States kept the UBS Cup after Scott Hoch rallied from two holes down with five to play for a draw against Eduardo Romero.

That gave the Americans a half point and they tied the Rest of the World 12-12, allowing the U.S. team to retain the title.

The Americans have defeated the Rest of the World in all three meetings of the match-play event in which six members of each team are 50 years or older and six are 40 to 49.

-- From wire reports