NIT-PENN ST-MARQUETTE
Lamar Stevens tied his career high with 30 points, Tony Carr added 25 and Penn State beat Marquette 85-80 on Tuesday night to advance to the NIT semifinals.
The Nittany Lions will face Mississippi State at Madison Square Garden in New York on March 27. They advanced to the NIT semis for the first time since winning the 2009 tournament.
NIT-MISSISSIPPI ST-LOUISVILLE
Quinndary Weatherspoon scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and Mississippi State advanced to the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York with a 79-56 victory over Louisville on Tuesday night.
Lamar Peters opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer and Mississippi State led by at least nine points the rest of the way. Weatherspoon scored eight points during a 12-3 run to start the third for a 51-31 advantage and MSU cruised.
Mississippi State will face Penn State on March 27.
NBA-RAPTORS-MAGIC
Kyle Lowry scored 25 points and Toronto used a strong fourth-quarter defensive effort to beat the Orlando Magic 93-86 on Tuesday night.
Toronto limited Orlando to 3-of-19 shooting (15.8 percent) in the fourth quarter, helping the Raptors overcome an eight-point deficit and win for the 12th time in their last 13 games. Serge Ibaka had 14 points and Deion Wright and Norman Powell had 10 apiece for Toronto.
Shelvin Mack led Orlando with 17 points. Aaron Gordon, returning after missing five games with a concussion, added 16 points. Nikola Vucevic had 15 points and nine rebounds for Orlando, which has lost seven of its last eight.
CAVALIERS-KORVER FAMILY DEATH
Cavaliers forward Kyle Korver has been excused from the team to be with family following the death of a younger brother.
The team issued a statement late Tuesday saying Korver's brother, Kirk, died earlier in the day.
The Cavs say, "We extend our deepest condolences and heartfelt best to Kyle and his entire family as they go through this very difficult time."
Korver is expected to miss Wednesday's home game against Toronto.
Kyle Korver, who is in his second season with Cleveland, left the Cavs last week after his 27-year-old brother became seriously ill in Iowa. Korver played in Monday night's home win over Milwaukee, scoring 12 points.
Also in the NBA:
James Harden had 42 points and the Houston Rockets snapped Portland's 13-game winning streak with a 115-111 victory over the Trail Blazers. Portland's winning streak was tied for the second-longest in franchise history.
Blake Griffin narrowly missed a triple double and the Pistons celebrated the return of Reggie Jackson by handing the short-handed Phoenix Suns their ninth straight loss, 115-88 on Tuesday night. Jackson was back in the Detroit starting lineup after missing 24 games with a severe ankle sprain. Phoenix played without their two leading scorers — Devin Booker and T.J. Warren — due to injuries and lost for the 24th time in 26 games.
Dennis Schroder scored a career-high 41 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, and the Atlanta Hawks stunned the Utah Jazz 99-94. Dewayne Dedmon had 15 points and 15 rebounds to help the Eastern Conference-worst Hawks snap their six-game losing skid and stop Utah's winning streak at nine.
Karl-Anthony Towns racked up 30 points and 10 rebounds for his NBA-best 60th double-double and Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points in an all-around performance. They led the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 123-109 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers that was critical for their push for the playoffs.
Marcus Morris made a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left and the Boston Celtics stunned the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-99. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Morris added 21 points as Boston snapped the Thunder's six-game win streak. Russell Westbrook finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Oklahoma City, which fell apart in the closing minute.
Anthony Davis scored 37 points, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame the absence of second-leading scorer Jrue Holiday to beat the struggling Dallas Mavericks 115-105. Rajon Rondo added 19 points and 14 assists, and Ian Clark also scored 19 points for the Pelicans, who are in a tight, seven-team race for one of the final five Western Conference playoff spots.
NFL-JAGUARS-LEWIS RELEASED
Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Marcedes Lewis says he has been released after 12 seasons with the team.
Lewis told The Associated Press he got the news from his agent and feels "disrespected" by the timing of the move. It came a week after free agency began.
He says, "I wish they would have done it sooner. I think I deserved a little better than this."
The Jaguars picked up an option in Lewis' contract last month that would have paid him $3.5 million in 2018. The Jaguars also released receiver Allen Hurns on Tuesday to save another $7 million in 2018.
The 33-year-old Lewis, a first-round draft pick in 2006, had been the longest-tenured player on the team. Lewis has played in 170 games. His 375 receptions and 4,502 yards receiving both rank third in team history. His 33 receiving touchdowns are second-most in franchise history, trailing only Jimmy Smith.
In other NFL news:
Former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin has been charged with threatening former teammates who had harassed him in the NFL. Los Angeles County prosecutors say Martin pleaded not guilty Tuesday to making criminal threats and carrying a loaded firearm. A menacing post from Martin's Instagram page last month showed a shotgun and mentioned the Instagram names of two former Dolphins teammates, Richie Incognito and Mike Pouncey.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have started their overhaul in the secondary, signing free agent safety Morgan Burnett to a three-year deal. The deal, announced today is pending Burnett passing a physical. Financial terms were not released.
The San Francisco 49ers signed free agent guard Jonathan Cooper to a one-year deal. The deal announced today provides another option for San Francisco on the interior of the offensive line. Cooper was originally the seventh overall pick by Arizona in 2013. He was traded to New England in 2016 and also spent time with Cleveland and Dallas the past two seasons.
The Indianapolis Colts have signed free agent receiver Ryan Grant. Grant spent his first four seasons in the NFL with the Washington Redskins. In 64 career games, he made 15 starts, caught 84 passes for 985 yards with six touchdowns.
The Buffalo Bills have agreed to re-sign linebacker Ramon Humber to a one-year contract. Humber returns for a third season in Buffalo after starting a career-high nine games last year.
The Chicago Bears have matched the Green Bay Packers' offer sheet for cornerback Kyle Fuller and signed him to a four-year contract. Fuller had 22 passes defensed and two interceptions last season. He emerged as a key player after struggling in 2015 and sitting out 2016 because of a knee injury.
NHL-STARS-CAPITALS
John Carlson scored the go-ahead goal with five minutes remaining to help the Washington Capitals beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 on Tuesday night and extend their lead atop the Metropolitan Division.
T.J. Oshie, Matt Niskanen and Alex Ovechkin also scored for Washington, which leads the tight Metropolitan by four points over Pittsburgh and Columbus. The Capitals are on pace for their third consecutive division title and playoff appearance with nine games remaining.
SENATORS-KARLSSON
The Ottawa Senators say the infant son of captain Erik Karlsson has died.
Erik and Melinda Karlsson were married last year and announced in November they were expecting their first child in the spring. Karlsson had been posting on social media about his son's upcoming birth, most recently sharing a photo of he and Melinda on Feb. 19 with the caption "just me and my little family."
Karlsson sat out Ottawa's game against Florida on Tuesday night. The team released a statement saying the Karlssons had "the collective thoughts and prayers of the Ottawa Senators organization, the city of Ottawa and entire hockey community."
The 27-year-old defenseman has had a difficult season on the ice as Ottawa has plummeted in the standings. The two-time Norris Trophy winner was the subject of trade speculation for weeks ahead of the NHL trading deadline.
Elsewhere in the NHL:
Kyle Connor scored his second goal of the game 1:37 into overtime to lift the Winnipeg Jets over the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 despite losing Patrik Laine to a lower-body injury. Connor fired the winner past goalie Jack Campbell to help the Jets set a franchise record for wins at 44. Laine was helped down the tunnel to the dressing room about a minute and half into the second period. He wasn't putting any weight on his left foot after blocking a shot by Kings defenseman Alec Martinez.
Jannik Hansen scored his first goal of the season and fellow fourth-liners Eric Fehr and Barclay Goodrow also scored to help the San Jose Sharks win their season-high fifth straight game, 6-2 over the New Jersey Devils. Logan Couture added his 30th goal of the season and Joe Pavelski and Mikkel Boedker also scored to give the Sharks a four-point lead over third-place Los Angeles in the Pacific Division with one game in hand.
Frans Nielsen scored his NHL-record 22nd shootout winner and the Detroit Red Wings edged the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 to end their 10-game losing streak. Dylan Larkin scored twice, Luke Glendending had a goal and Evgeny Svechnikov got his first in the NHL for the Red Wings. Jimmy Howard made 27 saves through overtime and stopped all three attempts he faced in the shootout.
Alex Killorn broke a tie midway through the third period and the Tampa Bay Lightning scored the final four goals to rally past the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3. Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh and Nikita Kucherov also scored as Tampa Bay reached 50 wins for the second time in franchise history.
Artemi Panarin had three goals and an assist, Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves and the Columbus Blue Jackets extended their winning streak to nine games with a 5-3 victory over the New York Rangers. It is Columbus' longest winning streak since its 16-game run last season from Nov. 29, 2016, to Jan. 3, 2017.
Leon Draisaitl had a goal and three assists and the Edmonton Oilers rode three-goal first period to a 7-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. Drake Caggiula, Matt Benning and Ryan Strome scored in a span of 4:24 in the opening period after Carolina jumped to a 1-0 lead, and Edmonton led the rest of the way.
Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech scored in the first period and the New York Islanders went on to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1. Anders Lee had a goal in the third period and Jordan Eberle added an empty-netter to help the Islanders snap a three-game skid with just their second win in 13 games.
Kyle Connor scored his second goal of the game 1:37 into overtime to lift the Winnipeg Jets over the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 despite losing Patrik Laine to a lower-body injury. Connor fired the winner past goalie Jack Campbell to help the Jets set a franchise record for wins at 44.
Jared McCann had a goal and two assists to lead the Florida Panthers over the Senators 7-2 as Ottawa captain Erik Karlsson sat out following the death of his son. The team announced the death of Karlsson's son before the game. Erik and Melinda Karlsson were married last year and announced in November they were expecting their first child in the spring.
Nathan MacKinnon had two assists, extending his point streak to a career high-tying 13 games, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1. Alexander Kerfoot scored twice and Semyon Varlamov made 44 saves as Colorado won for the fifth time in six games and improved to 8-1-3 in its last 12.
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