Overtime

High School Soccer

Aiken Prep will play Covenant, of Columbia, for the SCISA state championship at 5 p.m. today at Citizens Park in Aiken.

Aiken Prep (9-0) beat Covenant (8-3) twice in the regular season, 4-3 and 3-2. Aiken Prep, in the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year, is playing in the state title game for the second season in a row.

Golf

In St. Simons Island, Ga., Augustan Elaine Montano 's team is tied for fourth place after the first round of the Georgia Women's Team Championship.

Montano and Lee Burton , of St. Simons Island, shot 74 at Sea Palms Golf Resort and are three off the lead.

Darlene Werhnyak , of Law-renceville, and Cheryl Grigg , of Sea Island, led the way with 71. Two teams shot 72.

Two other teams with area players are tied for eighth place at 77. They are Augusta's Mary Helen McElreath and Waynesboro's Sandra Moody ; and Evans' Jan Cross and Alpharetta's Sherrie Tindle .

The final round will be played today.

- Registration is under way for the Augusta State Birdie Club Jaguar Golf Jamboree, which will be held in November at Forest Hills Golf Club.

A Texas scramble-style event will be Nov. 6, followed by the Alumni Challenge for the Henry Thomas Cup on Nov. 7.

Colleges

USC Aiken will stage the 2009 Midnight Madness extravaganza on Oct. 14. It is slated to begin at 8 p.m. The baseball team will be honored before the men's and women's basketball teams are unveiled.

- North Dakota's state Board of Higher Education extended a deadline to decide whether to keep or scrap the University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname.

The board voted 6-1 on Thursday to extend its deadline for deciding for 30 to 60 days. Board members said more time is needed to get opinions on the matter from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe's new tribal council.

The NCAA considers the nickname "hostile and offensive."

Tennis

Former Georgia star Isner in quarterfinal

In Bangkok, American John Isner advanced to the quarterfinals of the Thailand Open by defeating Mischa Zverev 7-6 (5), 6-4.

The 48th-ranked Isner, a former Georgia standout, will face fourth-seeded Viktor Troicki of Serbia.

Defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won a three-tiebreaker match against Ernests Gulbis 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) to advance to the quarterfinals.

- In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Fernando Gonzalez defeated Rohan Bopanna 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of the Malaysian Open.

Fifth-seeded Gael Monfils , Richard Gasquet , Tomas Berdych , Fernando Verdasco , Robin Soder-ling also will join top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko in the final eight.

NBA

With its regular referees locked out, the NBA is confident in its roster of replacements -- even the two it previously fired.

The NBA began preseason play Thursday night with 62 referees. The league said more than half have officiated in the NBA Development League, and all but five have worked the summer league.

It said the two with NBA experience, Michael Henderson and Robbie Robinson , were some of the best replacements available.

Knowing the scrutiny the backups face, the league has reminded teams about its rules against publicly criticizing the officials. But head of referee operations Ron Johnson said, "I think some people rise to the most amazing level of performance at amazing times."