BRIEFLY FAMILY LEAVES WACO DEJECTED.

Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services

In a rental truck filled with Patrick Dennehy's clothes and furniture, the dejected family of the missing Baylor basketball player left Waco, Texas, on Friday with few answers about his disappearance more than a month ago.

His mother and stepfather, Valorie and Brian Brabazon, appeared tired and sad as they walked out of the Waco Police Department after a three-hour meeting with a detective before driving back to their Carson City, Nev., home. They said the meeting went well but would not discuss specifics about the investigation.

Carlton Dotson, who played basketball at Baylor last season and had been living with Dennehy since April, has been charged with murder. Dotson, 21, remained jailed without bond in his home state of Maryland. An extradition hearing is set for Aug. 19.

Waco police have called off the search for Dennehy, 21, until Dotson can return to Texas and lead them to the body, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Friday, citing an unidentified police source.

In a separate matter, Baylor's three-member compliance investigation committee is looking into whether the men's basketball program violated NCAA rules by making improper payments to Dennehy, university officials announced.

The allegations came to light from media reports that a Baylor coach told Dennehy his education and living expenses would be paid if he gave up his scholarship.

Dotson's estranged wife, Melissa Kethley, told the Dallas Morning News for a story in today's editions there were other problems with the men's basketball team. She said Dotson told her he often got cash from his assistant coaches. She also told the newspaper she witnessed Dotson fake a drug test.

--Fresno State has ended its practice of signing high school students who don't qualify academically under NCAA standards. The move comes as the NCAA Infractions Committee is deciding whether additional penalties are warranted for the men's basketball program.

--Vanessa Nygaard, who was recently hired as an assistant coach for the Long Beach State women's basketball program, was signed to a seven-day contract by the Sparks, the team announced.

FOOTBALL: University of Washington officials aren't saying when they'll announce their new football coach or who it will be, but they're hoping he can attend the Pacific-10 Conference's annual football media day in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

The university also said Rick Neuheisel's lawyers will meet with NCAA officials Monday, then meet later that day with Norm Arkans, special assistant to the UW president. Arkans was to have the university's final say on Neuheisel's firing.

SOCCER: Kelly McDonald scored in the 66th minute, rallying the U.S. women's under-21 team to a 1-1 tie against Norway in the Open Nordic Cup in Denmark. The U.S. won Group A and will meet Group B winner Sweden in the final Sunday.

--Chris Sutton scored in the 59th minute as Glasgow Celtic beat Boca Juniors 1-0 in an exhibition game in Cleveland.

TENNIS: Nicolas Thomann, who turned professional in 1996, reached his first ATP semifinal, beating 14th-seeded Nicolas Kiefer at the RCA Championships in Indianapolis.

In the semifinals today, the Frenchman will play Paradorn Srichaphan, and Andy Roddick will face Sjeng Schalken.

--Jelena Dokic was upset at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, beaten in the quarterfinals by qualifier Maria Vento-Kabchi of Venezuela.

--Juan Carlos Ferrero will regain the lead in the ATP Champions Race despite losing to Mariano Zabaleta in the Generali Open quarterfinals in Austria.

BOXING: Welterweight champion Ricardo Mayorga is accused of hitting a woman who was trying to collect a debt, but the boxer denied the accusation, saying he was not in Managua, Nicaragua, at the time.

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PATRICK DENNEHY

Search for missing Baylor basketball player has been called off.