Former Western Kentucky men’s basketball player Jeremy Evans survived the final round of cuts and is on the Utah Jazz roster for the start of the 2010-11 NBA season.

Evans was selected in the second round of the 2010 NBA Draft and went through the NBA Summer League and preseason camp on a nonguaranteed contract. Utah waived four players Thursday to get its roster down to 13, and Evans was not one of them.

“Number one, he started off in the summer league and I thought he played extremely well,” Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said about Evans. “He’s a wonderful guy, he’s a hard worker and he tries to do what he’s told to do. He was guarding (Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar) Odom the other night in the ballgame, and he put everything he had into trying to guard the guy. That’s not an easy assignment for anybody. But that’s how you get better – if you’re willing to try hard to make yourself better, which he did. We like Jeremy. We think he has a chance to play in this league.”

Evans finished his WKU career in 2009-10 as the school’s all-time leader in blocked shots (224). He is also a member of WKU’s illustrious 1,000-point club with 1,065 career points, and he wrapped up his career with an average of 7.9 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game. Evans’ senior season saw him average 10.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, both career bests.

The Crosset, Ark., native has averaged 7.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in six NBA preseason contests so far, and he has logged nearly 20 minutes per game. Evans leads all NBA rookies who have played multiple preseason games in field goal percentage (.727).

Evans and the Jazz open the 2010-11 regular season Wednesday at Denver.

WKU volleyball wins again

The Western Kentucky volleyball team extended its Sun Belt Conference winning streak to five games with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-9) sweep of Louisiana-Lafayette on Friday night at E.A. Diddle Arena.

The Lady Toppers (20-6, 9-1) had five players with hitting percentages over .500 and finished the match with a season-high team hitting percentage of .420.

The WKU volleyball program has reached the 20-win mark in 11 straight seasons, including 12 of the last 13.

Louisiana-Lafayette (13-11, 3-5) was limited to a -.099 hitting percentage while committing 24 attack errors.

WKU spread out the offense against the Ragin’ Cajuns as five different players recorded at least five kills. Sophomore Jordyn Skinner paced the team with seven kills while adding nine digs to lead the defense. Junior Tiffany Elmore and redshirt freshman Paige Wessel each tallied six kills and a hitting percentage over .500. Senior Emily Teegarden finished the night with five kills in seven attempts for a season-high hitting percentage of .714.

Defensively, freshman Ashley Potts recorded eight digs and classmate Melanie Stutsman added six digs. Sophomore libero Sarah Rogers had five digs. Elmore finished the night with five total blocks, including one solo.

The Lady Toppers return to action at 5 p.m. today against Louisiana-Monroe at E.A. Diddle Arena.

WKU golf in sixth

The Western Kentucky men’s golf team shot an opening-round 303 to begin play in the Mission Inn Intercollegiate in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., and the squad is in sixth place with two rounds to play.

The tournament, hosted by St. John’s University, is played at the 6,902-yard Colinas Golf Course. Round two begins at 7 a.m. today, and the tournament will wrap up with round three beginning at 7 a.m. Sunday.

WKU is eight shots behind the leader, Florida Atlantic. Sam Ryder of Stetson is the individual leader after firing an opening-round 69.

Will Beard shot a season-best even-par 72 in the first round for WKU and is tied for sixth place. Doug Kleeschulte’s first-round 74 has him in 10th place and Bryan Alred is tied for 31st after shooting a 78.

Andrew Heiser and Adam McDonald are tied for 39th and 49th after first-round scores of 79 and 81, respectively.

WKU swim and dive returns to pool

The Western Kentucky swimming and diving team will return to the pool for the second straight weekend when it takes on Sun Belt Conference foe Florida Atlantic and Georgia Tech at noon today at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta.

WKU had mixed results in its opening meet of the season, facing off against Vanderbilt and South Carolina last weekend. The Lady Toppers split, defeating the Commodores 235-58 and falling 194-105 to South Carolina. The Gamecocks were strong on the men’s side as well, handing the Hilltoppers a 203-97 loss.

Lady Topper senior Claire Donahue picked up event wins in the 100-yard and 200-yard butterfly events while Hilltopper sophomore Billy Kunkel earned first-place finishes in the 50 and 100 free along with a second-place finish in the 200 free. Kunkel earned SBC Swimmer of the Week honors for his performance against South Carolina.

On the women’s side, Eszter Bucz continues to shine in the pool with wins in her last seven races competing as an individual. Maegan Butler won the 1- and 3-meter diving competitions in a home dual meet against Florida Gulf Coast. The wins were the first of the season for a diver.

Lady Tops lose to Troy

The Western Kentucky soccer team had its three-game winning streak snapped Thursday against Troy, losing 2-1. The Lady Toppers are now 8-6-2 overall and 6-3 in the Sun Belt Conference.

At a two-goal deficit in the 86th-minute, Sydney Sisler scored WKU’s lone goal to stop the Trojans from grabbing a shutout.

Troy took the lead in the 10th minute as it took advantage of a corner kick with a goal by April Madden off a header. Troy’s Mary Morris scored the second goal in the 51st minute.

Western Kentucky returns to action Sunday for its final regular season home match, hosting South Alabama at 1 p.m.