NCAA
Donovan Clingan, Tristen Newton and top overall seed UConn overwhelmed an undermanned Northwestern team 75-58 to sail into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Newton had 20 points and 10 assists, while Clingan finished with 14 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks as the Huskies led wire-to-wire and became the first defending national champions to reach the regional semifinals since Duke in 2016. Connecticut built a 30-point cushion with 13:27 left and matched a program record for wins set by the 2013-14 national title squad with 33. They’ll play Thursday night in the East Region semifinals against No. 5 seed San Diego State in Boston, about an 85-mile drive from UConn’s campus.
Mark Sears had 26 points and 12 rebounds, Mouhamed Dioubate scored all nine of his points in the final 5 1/2 minutes, and fourth-seeded Alabama used a late surge to beat No. 12 seed Grand Canyon 72-61 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Sears carried the Crimson Tide for the better part of 35 minutes before getting some unexpected help from Dioubate. Alabama advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 10th time overall and third time in the last four seasons under coach Nate Oats. The Tide will face top-seeded North Carolina in the West Region semifinals in Los Angeles. Tyon Grant-Foster scored 29 points for Grand Canyon.
Chase Hunter had 20 points and six assists, and No. 6 seed Clemson held off third-seeded Baylor for a 72-64 victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in coach Brad Brownell’s 14 seasons. They also made it in 2018, when they lost to Kansas in the third round. Joseph Girard III scored 13 points for the 23-11 Tigers, and Ian Schieffelin and PJ Hall each had 11. Next up for Clemson is No. 2 seed in Arizona in the West Region semifinals in Los Angeles. RayJ Dennis led Baylor with 27 points, including 21 in the second half.
Zach Edey had 23 points and 14 rebounds, and No. 1 seed Purdue cruised into the Sweet 16 by pounding eighth-seeded Utah State 106-67 with an impressive offensive performance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Trey Kaufman-Renn added 18 points and eight boards for 31-7 Purdue, which broke the school’s single-season record for victories. Fletcher Loyer had 15 points. Purdue also set a school record for most points in a March Madness game. Next up is fifth-seeded Gonzaga in the Midwest Region semifinals in Detroit. Great Osodor, the Mountain West Player of the Year, had 14 points and six rebounds for Utah State.
Tyler Kolek had 21 points and 11 assists, and David Joplin made two free throws with 7.4 seconds left to help Marquette finally put away Colorado 81-77 on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In their third season under coach Shaka Smart, the second-seeded Golden Eagles reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2013 by outlasting the 10th-seeded Buffaloes and their dynamic offense. Kam Jones scored 18 points and Joplin finished with 14 for Marquette, which will face No. 11 seed North Carolina State in a South Region semifinal in Dallas on Friday. KJ Simpson scored 20 points and Tristan da Silva had 17 for Colorado.
Emanuel Sharp started overtime with a 3-pointer that put top-seeded Houston ahead to stay as the Cougars advanced to the Sweet 16 by topping ninth-seeded Texas A&M 100-95. The Aggies forced overtime with a furious rally, outscoring Houston 17-5 in the final two minutes of regulation. Andersson Garcia beat the buzzer with his ninth 3-pointer of the season, and then was mobbed by his teammates. Sharp fouled out after his 3, finishing with 30 points. His teammates outscored Texas A&M 7-1 to start the extra session and close it out. The win by Houston means all eight teams seeded 1 and 2 advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fifth time since the NCAA tourney started seeding in 1979. They’ll play 4-seed Duke Friday.
Jared McCain scored 22 of his 30 points in the first half and set a Duke record for an NCAA Tournament game with eight 3-pointers as the Blue Devils ended 12th-seeded James Madison’s dream season with a 93-55 second-round victory. The fourth-seeded Blue Devils are headed to the Sweet 16 to face either Houston or Texas A&M in the South Region Friday in Dallas. McCain and Duke emphatically ended the nation’s longest active winning streak at 14 games, taking a 22-point lead into halftime. The Dukes set a program record for victories and finished 32-4. Terrence Edwards Jr. led JMU with 13 points.
Jaedon LeDee scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Darrion Trammell added 18 points, and fifth-seeded San Diego State used a fast start to overwhelm 13th-seeded Yale and rolled to an 85-57 win in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs scored the first 10 points of the game, led by 24 at halftime and removed any suspense of another potential March Madness, bracket-busting upset. San Diego State (26-10) earned a rematch with No. 1 seed and defending national champion UConn on Thursday in Boston in the Sweet 16. LeDee was again the star for the Aztecs after he scored 32 points in the first-round win over UAB.
WOMEN’S MARCH MADNESS
Freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley had 20 points including four 3-pointers and unbeaten South Carolina powered into its 10th straight Sweet 16 with an 88-41 victory over eighth-seeded North Carolina in the women’s NCAA Tournament. Kamilla Cardoso had 12 points and 10 rebounds in her return from a one-game suspension for the Gamecocks. South Carolina used a 15-0 first-quarter run to take control and get within four victories of a perfect championship season. The Gamecocks will play either No. 4 seed Indiana or No. 5 seed Oklahoma on Friday. Alyssa Ustby led North Carolina 12 points.
Aaliyah Moore matched her career best with 21 points, had 10 rebounds and made a timely defensive play in the fourth quarter to help No. 1 seed Texas beat Alabama 65-54 on Sunday in a second-round women’s NCAA Tournament game. Freshman Madison Booker also scored 21 for Texas, which will face the Utah-Gonzaga winner in the Sweet 16 on Friday in Portland, Oregon. Booker wears No. 35 in honor of Kevin Durant, who was at the game. Texas (32-4) has its most victories since finishing 32-3 in 1987-88. Sarah Ashlee Barker scored 17 for Alabama (24-10), a No. 8 seed, and Aaliyah Nye added 14.
Brooke Demetre hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 18 seconds left in overtime and Kiki Iriafen scored 11 of her career-high 41 points in OT, securing No. 2 Stanford a place in the Portland Regional with a thrilling 87-81 win over seventh-seeded Iowa State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Addy Brown knocked down a 3 from the top of the arc with 31 seconds left in OT to put Iowa State ahead, only for Demetre to answer from nearly the same spot moments later — and six of her eight total points came on timely 3s. She also hit two free throws with 11.7 seconds left to help seal it.
Angel Reese had 20 points and 11 rebounds and third-seeded LSU responded to a nine-point third-quarter deficit with a dominant finish to defeat upstart No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee 83-56 in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament. Flau’Jae Johnson scored 21 for Tigers and played central role in helping LSU surge to a comfortable second-half lead that spelled the end of the Blue Raiders’ 20-game winning streak. Savannah Wheeler, the Conference USA Player of the Year, scored 21 and Scott scored 15 for Middle Tennessee, which lost for the first time since Dec. 30. Aneesah Morrow scored 19 points and Mikaylah Williams scored 16 for LSU. The Tigers advanced to the Albany 2 Region semifinals.
Raegan Beers had 19 points and nine rebounds before she was hurt at the end of the third quarter and third-seeded Oregon State advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 73-51 victory over No. 14 Eastern Washington on Friday night. Oregon State will face sixth-seeded Nebraska, which held off No. 11 Texas A&M 61-59. Beers, who was averaging 17.7 points an 10.4 rebounds this season, fell to the court as time expired in the third quarter, clutching her right ankle and crying in pain but said after the game she hoped to practice Saturday.
Tyler Kolek had 21 points and 11 assists, and David Joplin made two free throws with 7.4 seconds left to help Marquette finally put away Colorado 81-77 on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In their third season under coach Shaka Smart, the second-seeded Golden Eagles reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2013 by outlasting the 10th-seeded Buffaloes and their dynamic offense. Kam Jones scored 18 points and Joplin finished with 14 for Marquette, which will face No. 11 seed North Carolina State in a South Region semifinal in Dallas on Friday. KJ Simpson scored 20 points and Tristan da Silva had 17 for Colorado.
Jada Walker scored 26 of her career-high 28 points in the second half to lead Baylor to a 75-72 victory over Virginia Tech in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Sunday. Fifth-seeded Bears (26-7) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2021. Playing in her home state, Walker connected on 9 of 16 from the floor and 9 of 10 from the free-throw line.Matilda Ekh paced fourth-seeded Virginia Tech (25-8) with 19 points, while Georgia Amoore and Clara Strack each finished with 18. Strack was once again filling in for All-American Elizabeth Kitley, who tore her ACL in the regular season finale.
7 Duke 75 2 Ohio State 63
Reigan Richardson scored 28 points and added seven rebounds as No. 7 Duke rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit to beat No. 2 Ohio State 75-63 on Sunday and earn a spot in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2018. Richardson hit a 3-pointer from the wing to put Duke up 59-57 with 5:21 left. That sparked a 13-2 run by the Blue Devils that began to put the game out of reach. Cotie McMahon paced the Buckeyes with 27 points.
NBA
Tobias Harris scored 24 points and Tyrese Maxey added 19 of his 24 in the second half of the Philadelphia 76ers’ 121-107 victory over James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers. Harden had 12 points and 14 assists in his first game against the 76ers since he forced his way out of Philadelphia last November. The 10-time All-Star and 2018 MVP will head back to Philadelphia with the Clippers on Wednesday for the rematch. Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points and Paul George had 18 for the Clippers, who have lost five of eight and haven’t beaten a team with a winning record in three weeks.
Zion Williamson scored 36 points and led the New Orleans Pelicans to a 114-101 victory over the short-handed Detroit Pistons. CJ McCollum scored 23 points for the Pelicans (44-27), who have won five of six. The Pistons played without four of their five starters. Cade Cunningham (knee), Jalen Duren (back), Isaiah Stewart (hamstring) and Ausar Thompson (illness) missed the game. Chimezu Metu and Malachi Flynn each scored 17 points for Detroit (12-59), which lost its sixth straight.
CJ McCollum scored 30 points, Jose Alvarado added 17 and the New Orleans Pelicans had no trouble in a 111-88 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. It was McCollum’s fifth 30-point game of the season and his second in the last week. Trey Murphy III scored 14 points and Naji Marshall had 13 for New Orleans, which only got four points in 25 minutes from Zion Williamson and rolled anyway. Jimmy Butler scored 17 points for the Heat, who fell four games behind Orlando in the Southeast Division race and missed a potential opportunity to climb out of play-in tournament range.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points and a season-high 19 rebounds, Khris Middleton recorded his second career triple-double and the Milwaukee Bucks trounced the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-93 on Sunday. Middleton had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his first triple-double since Jan. 20, 2018. Milwaukee broke open a close game in the second half as Oklahoma City (49-21) fell out of the Western Conference lead. The reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets (50-21) didn’t play Sunday and moved a half-game ahead of the Thunder. Oklahoma City posted its lowest point total and shot its lowest percentage (.371) of the season.
Anthony Edwards scored 23 points and made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 12 seconds for the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 114-110 victory over the Golden State Warriors. Naz Reid had 20 points and a season-high-tying 12 rebounds and Rudy Gobert added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Wolves. They matched their season best with 21 made 3-pointers. Steph Curry scored 31 points for the Warriors. He missed the tying 3-point try with 1:27 to go. Gobert converted both free throws at the other end for a five-point lead.
Anthony Davis had 36 points and 16 rebounds, LeBron James added 26 points and 10 assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers survived the Indiana Pacers’ strong fourth-quarter comeback for a 150-145 victory. Spencer Dinwiddie had 26 points in his biggest offensive game since joining the Lakers, who have won three straight and five of seven. Pascal Siakam scored 19 of his 36 points in the third quarter for the Pacers, who dropped to 2-1 on their five-game road trip. The Lakers avoided a repeat of Indiana's last visit in November 2022 when they blew a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter.
NHL
Jack Hughes and Timo Meier each had a goal and an assist, Kaapo Kahkonen made 37 saves in his first shutout of the season and the New Jersey Devils beat the New York Islanders 4-0. Alexander Holtz and Chris Tierney also scored for New Jersey. Kahkonen, acquired at the trade deadline, earned his first win as a member of the Devils. New Jersey captain Nico Hischier left the game late in the second period after colliding with New York’s Anders Lee. Lee received a major penalty and a game misconduct. Hichier did return at the start of the third period. Ilya Sorokin finished with 26 saves for the Islanders, who lost for the seventh time in eight games.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 32 saves, Tage Thompson had a goal and an assist and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Calgary Flames 4-1 on Sunday night. JJ Peterka, Peyton Krebs and Connor Clifton also scored to help Buffalo improve to 34-33-5 and finish 2-3 on a five-game trip. Jonathan Huberdeau scored for Calgary, coming off a 4-2 loss at Vancouver on Saturday night. The Flames dropped to 33-32-5. Peterka gave Buffalo a 2-1 lead with 8:56 left. Thompson stepped out from behind the net to feed Peterka in the slot for his 24th goal. Dustin Wolf made 25 saves for the Flames.
Sam Reinhart scored two goals to reach 50 on the season, Brandon Montour added three assists and the Florida Panthers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday night. Vladimir Tarasenko and Carter Verhaeghe also scored for the Panthers, who tied Boston with 97 points atop the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division. Florida will host the Bruins on Tuesday night. Bobby Brink scored for the Flyers. Both teams were playing the second games of a back-to-back and used their backup goalies. Anthony Stolarz made 32 saves for the Panthers while Philadelphia’s Felix Sandstrom allowed three goals on 14 shots.
Jonathan Drouin scored his second goal of the game 54 seconds into overtime, and the Colorado Avalanche rallied from a four-goal deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 for their ninth straight win. Nathan MacKinnon extended his point streak to 18 games with a goal and two assists. MacKinnon has at least a point in 34 straight home games, second all-time behind Wayne Gretzky’s 40-game streak in 1988-89. Alex Nedeljkovic, who had 21 saves, was replaced by Tristan Jarry at 5:17 of the third after a collision with Casey Mitteltstadt. Jarry had four saves and allowed the tying goal.
Alex Ovechkin scored twice to help the Washington Capitals beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-0. Ovechkin has 26 goals this season after scoring eight in his previous five games. Charlie Lindgren stopped all 27 shots he faced for the shutout and John Carlson also scored. The Capitals have won two in a row and four of five to move into a playoff position in the Eastern Conference. Winnipeg lost its final three games on a lengthy road trip.
Thomas Chabot and Mathieu Joseph each scored and had an assist to help the Ottawa Senators snap a three-game skid with a 5-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils. Angus Crookshank, Ridley Greig and Drake Batherson also had goals and Brady Tkachuk had two assists for the Senators. Joonas Korpisalo stopped 18 shots for his 16th win. Jesper Bratt and Tomas Nosek scored for the Devils, who had their two-game winning streak stopped. Jake Allen had 20 saves for the Devils and fell to 3-2 since coming to New Jersey in a trade with Montreal.
Brady Skjei and Sebastian Aho scored as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 on Sunday night for their sixth win in seven games. Frederik Andersen made 31 saves and earned his sixth straight win since returning from injury on March 7 as the Hurricanes picked up points in their seventh straight game. Nicholas Robertson scored and Joseph Woll stopped 41 shots for Toronto, which had a two-game winning streak halted.
Miro Heiskanen broke a tie with 5:28 left and the Dallas Stars won their fourth consecutive game, beating the Arizona Coyotes 4-2 on Sunday night. Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Matt Duchene also scored, with Duchene getting an empty-netter with 1:30 to play. Duchene also had two assists to help the Stars keep pace with Colorado for the Central Division lead. The Avalanche also won Sunday, giving each team 97 points. Jake Oettinger made 26 saves for Dallas. Clayton Keller scored his 30th goal for Arizona. It’s his fifth straight game with a goal, a career best, and he joined Keith Tkachuk (1996-99) and Jeremy Roenick (1999-2001) as Coyotes with consecutive 30-goal seasons. Nick Bjugstad also scored for the Coyotes.
Anthony Cirelli scored 59 seconds into overtime on a two-man breakaway to give Tampa Bay a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 on Sunday night, extending the Lightning's points streak to seven games. Cirelli and Brandon Hagel had a clear path to the net after Mason McTavish’s pass to Alex Killorn on a rush off ice went off a skate. Cirelli got the loose puck and moved into the offensive zone and passed back to Hagel, who sent it back to Cirelli, who beat Lukas Dostal on the short side. Anthony Duclair and Luke Glendening also scored for the Lighting, who have the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Jonas Johansson made 30 saves. Ross Johnston and Pavel Mintyukov scored for Anaheim.
Alex Newhook scored twice and the Montreal Canadiens sent Seattle to its eighth straight loss, beating the Kraken 5-1 on Sunday night. Kaiden Guhle had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points. Nick Suzuki and Mike Matheson also scored, and Cayden Primeau stopped 36 shots to help Montreal snap a a four-game losing streak. The Canadiens matched their season high for goals despite being outshot 37-17. Jordan Eberle scored his 16th goal for the Kraken, with Seattle either being shut out or held to one goal in six of the losses during the streak that tied its longest skid of the season. Philipp Grubauer allowed four goals on six shots before being pulled in favor of Joey Daccord, who had 10 saves.
CONCACAF
Tyler Adams scored from about 35 yards in his first start in more than a year for club or country, Gio Reyna added a second-half goal and the United States beat Mexico 2-0 for its third straight CONCACAF Nations League title. Adams put the U.S. ahead in the 45th minute when he received a pass from Weston McKennie, took a touch and curled a shot that just eluded the right hand of diving goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. Reyna added a 63rd-minute goal following a pair of extra-time assists in Thursday’s semifinal win over Jamaica.
The U.S.-Mexico CONCACAF Nations League final match was suspended in the late stages for the second straight year because of homophobic chants by pro-Mexican fans. Canadian referee Drew Fischer stopped play in the 88th minute of the United States’ 2-0 victory in Sunday night’s final at AT&T Stadium. Play resumed after a 4 1/2-minute wait, and Fischer halted it again six minutes into stoppage time. Last year’s semifinal at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas was stopped by Salvadoran referee Iván Barton in the eighth minute of a scheduled 12 minutes of stoppage time with the U.S. ahead 3-0.
MLB
Shohei Ohtani plans to speak to the media Monday for the first time since the illegal gambling and theft allegations involving the Los Angeles Dodgers star and his interpreter emerged during the team’s trip to South Korea. The interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired by the Dodgers last week when the team opened the season with two games against the San Diego Padres in Seoul. Manager Dave Roberts says he's glad Ohtani will “speak to what he knows and give his thoughts” on the situation. Ohtani received a huge cheer as he walked to the plate for the first time at Dodger Stadium on Sunday in the exhibition against his former team, the Los Angeles Angels.
PGA TOUR
Peter Malnati is a PGA Tour winner again and this time is going to the Masters. Malnati shot a 67 to win the Valspar Championship by two shots over hard-luck Cameron Young. It's Malnati's first win in more than eight years. He got a huge break when he was able to go from the rough to the fringe on the 16th hole while tied for the lead. That made par a lot easier. And then he followed with a tremendous tee shot on the par-3 17th to 6 feet. The birdie gave him the lead and led to the win.
NASCAR
William Bryon started on pole and delivered a dominant drive Sunday to win NASCAR’s first road race of the season at the Circuit of the Americas. The Daytona 500 winner earned his second win of the season and delivered the fourth in six races for Chevrolet. The Hendrick Motorsports driver led 42 of 68 laps and held off hard-charging Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell over the final two laps. Bell shaved nearly three seconds of Byron’s lead to create some late drama before Byron slammed the door over the final corners. Byron earned career win No. 12.
INDYCAR
A race meant for all-stars was fittingly won by Alex Palou. The two-time and reigning IndyCar champion won the Thermal $1 Million Challenge in a total rout. Palou dominated the three day weekend. He was among the fastest drivers in practice sessions and led every lap of anything that counted while winning his qualifying group, his heat race and all 20 laps of IndyCar’s first non-points race since 2008. The race at the members-only Thermal Club was for 12 drivers who earned their way into the main event through a pair of heat races earlier Sunday.
© 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
