Local race to benefit sports medicine center

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Published: Monday, March 11, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. Last Modified: Monday, March 11, 2013 at 10:28 a.m.

Since its creation in 2010, the Sports Medicine Center at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center has helped provide free sports-medicine coverage to local high-school athletic teams.

The center is looking to raise awareness of its services by sponsoring a 5K race and half-mile run/walk at Oak Valley Plantation (located at 3645 La. 18) in Vacherie on Saturday.

The race, which is called "Reveille at Oak Alley," will start with registration at 7 a.m. Saturday, and the race will follow at 8 a.m. The entry fee is $25 for pre-registration and $30 on the day of the race.

Registration for 5K Run/Walk also includes admission to 22nd annual Oak Alley Spring Arts & Crafts Festival, which will be held on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The course will be held entirely on the scenic grounds of Oak Alley Plantation, with a "spectacular finish" planned for participants who complete the race through the oaks of the historic site.

Awards for the 5K race will be handed out to winners of several divisions, including overall open winner, youth, masters, grandmasters and seniors.

The age groups range from 10-and-under to 80-and-over.

Awards will also be given out to the top 10 male and female youth age finishers in the half-mile race. Post-race refreshments will be provided for all runners.

The Sports Medicine Center at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center has provided several services to local high schools, which include free athletic-training care services at local high-school sporting events and donating 15 automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) to local high schools in the last two years.

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Local race to benefit sports medicine center

Penn Medicine Study Examines Health Providers’ Perspectives on ICD Deactivation In End-of-Life Situations

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Newswise San Francisco In the United States alone, an estimated 100,000 patients per year receive implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) devices that detect life-threatening heart rhythm irregularities and deliver a high-voltage shock to return the heart to a normal pace. Despite their lifesaving purpose, many patients and clinicians will ultimately be faced with difficult decisions about deactivation of these devices as patients age and develop other conditions that may prove terminal. Little is understood about physicians' views surrounding the ethical aspects of ICD deactivation in end-of-life situations, especially as it relates to other medical interventions and patient and family directives. Now, new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has revealed that many electrophysiology practitioners believe ICD and pacemaker deactivation to be ethically distinct and that an ICD should not be deactivated without discussion with patients and families, even in the face of medical futility. The study results were reported today at the 2013 American College of Cardiology meeting in San Francisco (Abstract # 1277-28).

Decisions by medical providers not to resuscitate patients, despite patient and/or family wishes to the contrary, are extremely controversial. However, they have been argued to be ethically justified in cases of medical futility and may be gaining traction in an era of cost-consciousness, concern over ICU beds as a scarce resource, spiraling costs of care at the end of patients lives, and frustrations on the part of medical providers over the provision of futile care, said senior study author James N. Kirkpatrick, MD, assistant professor in the Cardiovascular Medicine Division and the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Penn. In general, medical providers are not expected to provide care they believe is futile. Most patients and providers see no ethical distinction between defibrillation by an ICD and external defibrillation in the performance of CPR. In this study, we sought to explore ethical beliefs of clinicians regarding deactivation of ICDs in end-of-life situations, including deactivation against patient and family/surrogate wishes, known as unilateral deactivation.

To better understand practitioners viewpoints, the research team polled 383 electrophysiology providers (including doctors, nurses, technicians) to gain insights into the ethical considerations involved in deactivation. Seventy-seven percent of respondents indicated that an ICD should not be unilaterally deactivated, whether against the wishes of a patient or against the wishes of the family/surrogate, even in the face of medical futility.

They also found that 43 percent of respondents believe that ICDs were not like any other medical intervention, including external defibrillation, dialysis, and coronary stents. In regards to other life-sustaining interventions, 73 percent of respondents indicated that deactivating an ICD was not ethically/morally different than not performing CPR; however, 83 percent of respondents indicated that deactivating a pacemaker was ethically/morally different than deactivating the shocking function of an ICD.

In our study, there was a mixed response regarding the ethical nature of ICDs and the justification for deactivating them in end-of-life situations, but most of the sample did not believe ICDs fit into any of our currently accepted categories for types of therapies we withdraw, such as mechanical ventilation, said Dr. Kirkpatrick. Based on these findings, we need to further explore ways to help clinicians address end-of-life management of ICDs.

Other authors from Penn include Margaret Grace Daeschler and Ralph J. Verdino, MD.

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Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine is currently ranked #2 in U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $479.3 million awarded in the 2011 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.

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Penn Medicine Study Examines Health Providers' Perspectives on ICD Deactivation In End-of-Life Situations

Stem cell medicine in Iloilo

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THE Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine has brought early March a technology in Iloilo City in a bid to promote stem cell medicine and therapy.

Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog said the arrival of the stem cell medicine in Iloilo would attract tourists and for physicians to practice in the city.

Mabilog said aside from stem cell medicine, Iloilo City is ready to absorb other branches of science such as in-vitro fertilization and cryogenic as several hospitals have adequate facilities, specialist doctors and trained personnel to offer.

In Iloilo City alone, there are seven private tertiary hospitals and one government medical center, seven district health centers and more than 100 barangay health centers out of the 180 barangays, more than 20 private health service providers on top of private medical practitioners with their own clinics.

Society president Dr. Leo Olarte said a memorandum of agreement (MOA) will be forged between the association and St. Pauls Hospital here for the acceptance of the program and put up a stem cell center to serve the needs of the Ilonggos.

Olarte said stem cell medicine is a new wonder medicine and the cure of the future. Its successful effects had stemmed the tide of several devastating diseases today and it is considered a good cure for multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons disease, even tuberculosis, diabetes, HIV-Aids and all types of degenerative diseases.

Olarte said although the Department of Health (DOH) has approved the new technology, he warned that harvest of stem cells must be from the human body or the patient himself.

The DOH is expected to issue a guideline on stem cell medicine with the month of March.

The activated stem cells may come from the combined sources of blood, bone marrow and adipose tissue of the patient that maybe operated or injected in three to five hours operation, Olarte said.

The private hospitals operating in the city are Iloilo Doctors Hospital, St. Pauls Hospital, West Visayas University Hospital (Don Benito Hospital), Iloilo Mission Hospital, Medical City, St Therese Hospital and Amoesup International Hospital.

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Stem cell medicine in Iloilo

National Nutrition Month Tips for Athletes from the Austin Sports Medicine Doctors at Medicine in Motion

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The Austin Sports Medicine Doctors at Medicine in Motion Celebrate Marchs National Nutrition Month by Sharing Important Food-Related Healthcare Tips for Athletes of All Levels

Austin, Texas (PRWEB) March 11, 2013

Whether a person is new to physical fitness activities or a pro, sports nutrition can seem complicated. Many nutritionists create intense and detailed food regimens for their clients, but a solid nutrition program can be simple and still very beneficial. For those wanting the most from a diet and fitness routine but not interested in the details of sports nutrition, the following tips can help:

1. Daily balanced diet.

For consistent performance at the gym or with a sport, the body needs a regular supply of quality energy for the muscles. A few daily essentials for meeting the bodys needs include: a balanced breakfast; carbohydrates for fuel; and proteins and fats appropriate for a persons individual body-type and fitness goals.

2. Day of the workout.

For those tackling a workout first thing in the morning, be sure to have a light breakfast like fruit, toast, and/or an egg. For those who workout in the evenings, have a lunch that easily digestible but includes complex carbs. Pasta, fruits, vegetables or a salad with lean meat (chicken or fish) are good examples.

3. Immediately prior to workout.

About 30 minutes before an intense workout, eat a light to moderate snack and drink some water. The amount of food a person should ingest depends on the length and intensity of their upcoming workout. Longer, harder activities may require the individual to eat an energy bar or large banana.

4. During workout.

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National Nutrition Month Tips for Athletes from the Austin Sports Medicine Doctors at Medicine in Motion

Penn Medicine at the 2013 American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Sessions, March 9 11, San Francisco, CA

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MEDIA TOOLKIT

March 2013

Penn experts will present research findings that could come to define new standards of cardiovascular diagnostics and care at the 2013 American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Sessions. Cardiovascular experts from around the world will gather in San Francisco, CA March 9 - 11 to present and discuss the latest advances in cardiovascular medicine, science and education.

Experts

To arrange interviews with Penn cardiovascular experts, please contact Jessica Mikulski at 215-349-8369, or email jessica.mikulski@uphs.upenn.edu or on Twitter (@PennMedNews). All research results are embargoed until the time they are presented during the conference.

News Releases

New Research Shows that While Niacin Added to Statin Therapy Increases HDL Cholesterol Levels It Does Not Improve HDL Functionality

Penn Medicine Researchers Show that Combination Therapy of CPAP and Weight Loss for Obstructive Sleep Apnea is Effective for Lowering Blood Pressure in Obese Patients

Penn Study Examines Health Providers' Perspectives on ICD Deactivation In End-of-Life Situations

Related Links

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Penn Medicine at the 2013 American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Sessions, March 9 11, San Francisco, CA

"60 Minutes": Lethal medicine linked to meningitis outbreak

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The following script is from "Lethal Medicine" which aired on March 10, 2013. Scott Pelley is the correspondent. Michael Radutzky, Oriana Zill de Granados and Michael Rey, producers.

Last fall, 17,000 vials of a steroid were shipped to clinics and hospitals in 23 states. The drug had to be sterile because patients would have it injected into their joints or their spines to relieve chronic pain. What happened next is the worst pharmaceutical disaster in decades.

The steroid was contaminated with fungus. Forty-eight people have been killed, 720 are being treated for persistent fungal infections. The tragedy has exposed a failure in drug safety. And, in a moment, you will hear the commissioner of the FDA acknowledge that she can no longer guarantee the safety of many high risk drugs.

The steroid was produced by New England Compounding Center and in the six months since the first deaths, no one at New England Compounding has revealed what happened. But tonight they will. As for the victims, this has been an unrelenting horror after just one injection of lethal medicine.

Julie Otto: I've been in the hospital seven times, total of 75 days. I've missed Thanksgiving and Christmas and my son's birthday.

Julie Otto is one of 13 injured patients who met us at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital outside Detroit.

Willard Mazure: I'm on 60 milligrams of morphine a day with no cure in sight. There is no cure in sight for me.

Willard Mazure's morphine is to kill the pain from the fungal infection. We asked the patients to sit down in the first two rows and many of them brought family to the auditorium. Michigan is a hotspot for the toxic steroid, one of 23 states that received the drug from Massachusetts. St. Joseph Mercy has treated 189 patients -- all of whom endure brutal anti-fungal drugs.

Willard Mazure: The medicine is just unbearable. You know, they talk about cancer treatments, and I'm sure they're unbearable too. But this is some unbearable stuff.

This is the fungus. It is a sample that has been grown from the spinal fluid of a patient. The fungus is a form of mold that attacks bone and nerves. The patients who had it injected in the spine have an infection called meningitis which can also reach the brain.

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"60 Minutes": Lethal medicine linked to meningitis outbreak

Regenerative Medicine Market to Catapult to Over $35 Billion by 2019

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NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Mar 11, 2013) - TriMarkPublications.com cites in its newly published "Regenerative Medicine Markets" report that the regenerative medicine market will catapult to over $35 billion by 2019. For more information, visit: http://www.trimarkpublications.com/regenerative-medicine-markets/.

Regenerative medicine (RM) can be categorized into three main modalities: tissue engineering, biomaterials and biomolecules, e.g., scaffolds, growth factors and stem cell therapy. Tissue-engineered bone products in the orthopedic segment will see steady growth, from $7.5 billion in 2012 to $3.29 billion in 2019. The up-and-coming cardiology and vascular products segment will also see substantial growth, reaching a market value of $3.29 over the forecast period.

The "Regenerative Medicine Markets" report covers:

The "Regenerative Medicine Markets" report examines companies manufacturing regenerative medicine equipment and supplies in the world. Companies covered include: Amorcyte, Ars Arthro, Axiogenesis, AxoGen, Bellicum, BetaStem, Bioheart, Biomet, BioMimetic, BioTissue, Biovest, BrainStorm Cell, California Stem Cell, Cardio3, Cellartis, CellSeed, Cellular, Chromocell, Cognate, Cook, Cytomedix, Cytonet, Cytori, DanDrit, Fibrocell, Forticell, Gamida, Harvest, Histogenics, Humacyte, Integra, Intercytex, iPierian, Japan Tissue Engineering, Kensey Nash, Kiadis, Life Cell, Living Cell, MaxCyte, MediStem, Mesoblast, MolMed, NanoCor, Neuralstem, NeuroNova, NewLink Genetics, Olympus Terumo, OncoMed, Opexa, Organogenesis, Orthovita, Osiris, Osteotech, Pervasis, Pluristem, Proneuronnologies, RegeneRx, ReNeuron, Revivicor, SanBio, Saneron, Sangamo, Stem Cell Authority, StemCells, Stemline, Stratetech, Synthecon, Tengion, Thermogenesis, TiGenics, Tissue Genesis, ViaCyte, Vistagen and Zen-Bio.

Detailed charts with sales forecasts and marketshare data are included. For more information, visit: http://www.trimarkpublications.com/regenerative-medicine-markets/.

About TriMarkPublications.com

TriMarkPublications.com is a global leader in the biotechnology, healthcare and life sciences market research publishing. For more information, please visit http://www.trimarkpublications.com.

Important Notice

The statements contained in this news release that are forward-looking are based on current expectations that are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks, and actual results may differ materially.

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Regenerative Medicine Market to Catapult to Over $35 Billion by 2019

Medicine Park Telephone and ADTRAN Deliver First FTTH Service for Remote Oklahoma Communities

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HUNTSVILLE, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

ADTRAN, Inc. (ADTN), a leading provider of next-generation networking solutions, today announced that Medicine Park Telephone is deploying ADTRANs comprehensive broadband portfolio in its Broadband Stimulus funded, Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) high-speed broadband service. Currently served by a variety of Tier 1 and Tier 2 providers for telephony voice service, residents in these communities are vastly unserved up to 100% of the households in some of the regions by any type of high-speed broadband accessibility. Medicine Parks FTTH service opens up connectivity to thousands of households in these remote access communities some of which are isolated by a national wildlife refuge and others that reside in the former Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Reservation in southwestern Indian Territory.

Medicine Park Telephone is leveraging ADTRANs Total Access 5000 broadband access platform to deliver high-speed broadband, IP telephony and high-definition television services for the first time to residential customers plus high-value business Ethernet services to small business customers. The Total Access 5000 delivers these services over an all-Ethernet access platform with the GPON infrastructure providing up to 2.5Gbps of bandwidth. Medicine Park is also utilizing ADTRAN's modular Ethernet access gateway, the NetVanta 8044M, in combination with the Total Access 5000, for a complete end-to-end Ethernet access migration solution for 4G/LTE cell-site backhaul to further increase accessibility for its underserved customer base.

For so long, residents in our remote communities have been lucky just to have reliable phone service, let alone any sort of high-speed broadband capability. Now, for the first time, we are able to deliver any mix of telephone, internet and television services that our residential and business customers need to be connected with the rest of the country, said Eddie Hilliary, president, Medicine Park Telephone. With ADTRAN, we are able to do this with the latest optical network technology and can provide our customers with the most advanced, next-generation services and infrastructure.

Finding a way to get the maximum number of customers connected with high-bandwidth broadband access is a problem faced by many rural service providers today, said Mitch Fleming, vice president of sales for ADTRANs Carrier Networks Division. For Medicine Park Telephone, they found ADTRANs FTTH platform, based on the Total Access 5000, to be the most cost-effective solution that provides the ultra-high service density they need to reach their entire addressable market and ensure that no customer is left behind.

About Medicine Park Telephone Company

Medicine Park Telephone Company has been providing communications services in Medicine Park, Oklahoma and the surrounding areas since 1903. Services include telephone, Fiber-to-the-Home and DSL High-Speed Internet. For more information, visit: http://www.mptelco.com/.

About ADTRAN

ADTRAN, Inc. is a leading global provider of networking and communications equipment. ADTRANs products enable voice, data, video and Internet communications across a variety of network infrastructures. ADTRAN solutions are currently in use by service providers, private enterprises, government organizations, and millions of individual users worldwide. For more information, please visit http://www.adtran.com.

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Medicine Park Telephone and ADTRAN Deliver First FTTH Service for Remote Oklahoma Communities

New medical school out to make its mark

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By Gwendolyn Ng My Paper Tuesday, Mar 12, 2013

SINGAPORE - The dean of the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine has a message for those who might perceive the new school as a second choice among potential students.

Professor Dermot Kelleher said: "We are looking to provide excellence in our own right, rather than looking over our shoulder at anybody else."

"It's (The school's) a new kid on the block."

When its first school term opens in August, the medical school - a partnership between the Imperial College London and the Nanyang Technological University - will be the third here.

Speaking to the media yesterday, Prof Kelleher said: "I think inevitably medical schools tend to be competitive.

"What we've really learnt both in Dublin and in London is that it's far more important to be collaborative," said Prof Kelleher, who is also the head of Imperial's medical faculty.

The Irishman formerly worked at the prestigious Trinity College Dublin, where he was head of its medical school and vice-provost for medical affairs.

Potential medical students have to sit the BioMedical Admissions Test, administered by international examinations group Cambridge Assessment in Britain.

Currently, 832 students here have taken the test for admission to Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, and about 400 will be selected for interviews next month. This will be further whittled down to 54 students for the first intake.

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New medical school out to make its mark

2014 Best Graduate Schools Preview: Top 10 Medical Schools

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Want more than a sneak peek at the rankings of these schools and others? Visit usnews.com on March 12.

Thinking about applying to graduate school? Whether you're interested in pursuing an MBA, or attending law school or medical school, there are some big decisions to make. Each year, U.S. News & World Report surveys more than 1,200 graduate schools and programs and ranks them according to our methodology to help students decide what to study and find the right school for them.

Here, we offer a sneak peek of the 2014 Best Graduate Schools rankings.

U.S. News surveyed 149 fully accredited medical and osteopathic schools. In alphabetical order, here are the top 10 highest-ranked medical schools for research and the top 10 schools for primary care.

The actual ranking and score of these and other graduate schools will be available March 12, 2013, on usnews.com.

(Note: Due to ties, there are more than 10 schools listed among research schools.)

Access the U.S. News Medical School Compass for more in-depth rankings and searchable data, tools, and an expanded directory of programs.

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2014 Best Graduate Schools Preview: Top 10 Medical Schools

El Paso medical school receives full accreditation

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POSTED: Monday, March 11, 2013 - 1:14pm

UPDATED: Monday, March 11, 2013 - 1:20pm

EL PASO An El Paso medical school has been approved for full accreditation for the next eight years, officials announced Monday.

The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine received the approval from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for a period of eight years.

The LCME, sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Medical Association, is the nationally recognized accrediting authority for medical education programs leading to a medical degree in the United States and Canada.

"It has been an arduous task moving the accreditation process to a successful outcome, but well worth it. The rewards can be seen everywhere," said Jose Manuel de la Rosa, M.D., Paul L. Foster School of Medicine founding dean and vice president for health affairs. "It is because of a team effort that our students, our city and the world now have the only fully accredited, four-year medical school on the U.S./Mexico border. We thank the El Paso community for helping make us what we are today - a symbol of their hope and pride in our community."

The accreditation approval process for the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine began in 2008 when the school received provisional accreditation that allowed it to begin recruiting students for its inaugural class of 40 students. That class, the Class of 2013, will graduate in May.

Students at the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine are educated using an innovative approach that includes a clinical presentation curriculum with early clinical experiences.

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El Paso medical school receives full accreditation

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Reduced Misery: Paul Krugman at TEDxColumbiaSIPA – Video

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Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Reduced Misery: Paul Krugman at TEDxColumbiaSIPA
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TED...

By: TEDxTalks

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Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Reduced Misery: Paul Krugman at TEDxColumbiaSIPA - Video

Liberty ‘improves retention methods’

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TRADITIONAL insurers are no longer just competing with each other, but also with cellphone and fashion retailers with licences to sell insurance, Liberty Retail CEO Steven Braudo said on Friday.

This has prompted Liberty to improve its systems aimed at signing up and retaining quality customers.

Liberty was now in a better position to retain its clients and sell insurance policies that last longer, with consistent premium payments, Mr Braudo said.

Liberty Retail, whose products include life, disability insurance and retirement cover, is core to the Liberty Group, contributing more than a third in group earnings last year.

To drive up business, the division has introduced IT systems which can assess, over a long time, the quality of business that brokers bring to Liberty.

Mr Braudo and his colleagues said the systems help the division to retain the best brokers and let go of those who sign up poor business.

One of the systems is aimed at underwriting business quickly by reducing the time it takes to sign up a client to about two-and-a-half hours, compared to 5-10 days through the traditional method.

This has helped reduce the amount of business that ends up not been written because of a client changing their mind.

Liberty said the average of policies not taken up had come down to 17% from about 20%.

Liberty has also built up a customer defence team which now retains 1,400 policies per month. As part of its retention strategy, last year the insurer launched a rewards programme.

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Liberty ‘improves retention methods’

Give me Liberty , rather than blue bloods, for Big Dance

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March Madness arrived Sunday, when the players and cheerleaders representing Liberty University stormed onto the floor to celebrate the teams improbable inclusion in the NCAA basketball tournament.

Although the brackets wont be revealed until next weekend, its safe to presume the Liberty Flames will be designated the 68th seed in the 68-team field. Liberty not only looks like the least impressive entry in the 2013 tournament, Id nominate it as a leading candidate for Least Impressive NCAA Tournament Entry Of All Time.

The Flames began the season by losing to Richmond a 42-point drubbing that presaged an 0-8 start. They werent thinking about the Big Dance at that point. They were thinking how refreshing it would be to score more points than the opposition.

Liberty then turned things around a bit, improving from an abomination that was losing all its games to a mediocrity that was losing only half of them. The Flames took a 10-20 record into March. They entered the Big South Conference tournament with an RPI of 293, the college-basketball equivalent of running a 40-yard dash for pro scouts at noon and finishing a few minutes before sunset.

But Liberty (15-20), from Lynchburg, Va., got hot when it had to, winning four games in a conference tournament that culminated with an 87-76 victory over Charleston Southern. Still, for only the second time in NCAA tournament history, a 20-loss team is under the tent, awaiting Selection Sunday with the kind of giddy, wide-eyed anticipation students at powerhouse schools like Duke or Indiana never are able to experience.

In 2008, a 16-20 Coppin State team preceded Liberty into the tournament, and you might bemoan how gradual expansion including the implementation of a two-game play-in round has diluted the quality of the field.

But teams with losing records have been crashing this party for decades. George Washington, which finished its regular season 9-16, found a way into the 1961 tournament. Fairfield, in 1997, became the third team in three years to qualify at 11-18. Fairfield was supposed to be devoured by North Carolina in a contest between 1 and 16 seeds, but the Stags had a different notion.

With no starter listed taller than 6-foot-6, the Stags scared the Tar Heel out of a 25-6 Carolina team that featured such future NBA players as Vince Carter, Shammond Williams, Antawn Jamison and 7-3 Serge Zwikker. Early in the second half, Fairfield led 37-28, and it kept the issue in suspense until the final minute.

Thats when Carter turned to Jamison during a timeout and said, One shining moment, its all on the line. To which Jamison responded, One shining moment, there frozen in time.

OK, so that conversation didnt happen. What happened was that the Tar Heels played as if they could turn on their competitive switch whenever they felt like it, and they waited until the final minute to feel like it.

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Give me Liberty , rather than blue bloods, for Big Dance

Ticket Punched: Liberty becomes second 20-loss team ever to secure NCAA bid

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Andrew Smith and Liberty earned their first NCAA bid since 2004 (USA Today Sports Images)

Very few college basketball coaches get even one chance to experience the euphoria of making an out-of-nowhere run to a conference tournament title and an automatic NCAA tournament bid.

Dale Layer has now accomplished it twice.

Ten years after Layer's sixth-seeded Colorado State team toppled Wyoming, BYU and UNLV in the Mountain West tournament to earn an improbable NCAA bid, the veteran coach piloted Liberty to a similar feat in the Big South. The Flames became the second 20-loss team to make the NCAA tournament, joining Coppin State's 2008 team on that list by upsetting Charleston Southern 87-76 in Sunday's Big South title game.

"Before the tournament started, I shared with my team what we did at Colorado State and I told them that if you keep working, there's always a chance," Layer said. "I think that gave them some hope. When you have some hope, you have some hard work and you have really good kids, it gives you an opportunity to pull something like this off."

To fully appreciate how improbable Liberty's first NCAA tournament appearance since 2004 is, consider how the season began for the Flames. They lost their first eight games and 10 of their first 11, failing to beat a single Division I opponent until Dec. 31 when they snuck past Western Carolina 63-62.

The start of league play didn't signal a reversal of fortune either considering Liberty went 6-10, finished fifth in its half of the Big South and did not even manage a single two-game win streak. Some early injuries and the loss of standout forward Antwan Burrus for the season put Liberty so far behind in its preparation and cohesiveness that it took the Flames almost the full season to catch up.

"It was really difficult," Layer said. "We came out of the chute losing eight straight, our best returning player never played a minute and we had a time early when we had three starters out. In January, I thought we were playing November basketball, in February, I thought we were playing January basketball and I thought 10 days ago we were getting closer to where we needed to be."

Despite that incremental improvement, even Layer considered his team a long shot entering the Big South tournament, especially since the Flames' draw wasn't exactly favorable.

[Related: Injured Saint Mary's forward creeps out his coach]

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Ticket Punched: Liberty becomes second 20-loss team ever to secure NCAA bid

Liberty heads to NCAA tournament

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UpdatedMar 10, 2013 4:14 PM ET

Liberty coach Dale Layer doesn't care how many losses it took to get his players to the NCAA tournament.

The Flames became just the second 20-loss team to reach college basketball's marquee event, beating Charleston Southern 87-76 Sunday to win the Big South Conference title. Liberty opened the season with eight straight losses and had never won more than three in a row until this week. Yet, it joined Coppin State in 2008 as the only schools with 20 or more defeats in the field of 68.

The Flames' .429 winning percentage (15-20) is the lowest for an NCAA tournament team since Oakland (Michigan) had a 12-18 record (.400) in 2005.

''That's awesome,'' the fourth-year coach said of his team. ''We've got the hats, right?''

Yes, you do, Coach.

The Flames finished their best stretch of basketball this year, winning their fifth in a row - and their fourth game since Tuesday - to take their first Big South tournament crown since 2004. John Caleb Sanders led the way with 27 points and tournament MVP Davon Marshall had 20 off six 3-pointers.

Marshall and Sanders got things going in a hurry over top-seeded Charleston Southern (19-12) with 3-pointers in the first 90 seconds - and the Flames barely lost their outside touch. Marshall was 6 of 7 from beyond the arc and Liberty finished 9 of 18 on long-range baskets.

The performance ended a hard-to-imagine run through the field where Liberty defeated home-standing Coastal Carolina and both Big South divisional winners in High Point and Charleston Southern. Sanders said the team began to believe when they topped the Chanticleers 78-61. ''When you can beat Coastal by 20 on their home floor, we knew we could beat anybody in this tournament,'' he said.

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Liberty heads to NCAA tournament

Liberty 87, Charleston Southern 76

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After going 0-8 to start the season, Liberty is going to the Big Dance. Junior guards John Caleb Sanders and Davon Marshall combined for 47 points, helping fifth-seeded Liberty upset No. 1 Charleston Southern 87-76 in the Big South Conference final Sunday at the HTC Center in Conway, S.C., to gain an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Sanders scored 27 points and Marshall added 20 for Liberty (15-20), which became the second team to make the NCAA Tournament with 20 losses. Sophomore guard Saah Nimley scored 17 points for Charleston Southern (19-12). Liberty maintained a slim lead through much of the first half. Charleston Southern went up by one on a free throw from Sheldon Strickland with 12 seconds left, but Tavares Speaks made a jumper with one second to go, giving the Flames a 35-34 lead at the break. The game remained close until midway through the second half, when Liberty mounted 8-1 and 8-0 runs to take a 68-54 lead with 5:33 remaining. The Flames lost their first eight games this season but have won five in a row and six of seven, including four wins in the Big South tournament.

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Liberty 87, Charleston Southern 76