March 20, 2023 4:05 am
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Xavier spent the first half of its 84-73 NCAA Tournament win over Pittsburgh sharing the ball at an incredible rate. The Musketeers tallied 17 assists on their 19 first-half baskets. That amounted to a rate of better than 89%. And it helped them build a 48-34 margin at the break in the second-round matchup. They finished the game with 22 assists. Colby Jones finished with seven assists, Souley Boum had five, and Adam Kunkel and Jack Nunge each had three.
March 20, 2023 3:55 am
MIAMI (AP) — Trea Turner homered twice to give him a tournament-leading four, and the defending champion United States romped over Cuba 14-2 to reach its second straight World Baseball Classic final. Paul Goldschmidt and Cedric Mullins also homered for the Americans, who scored in seven of eight innings — putting up crooked numbers in five of them. Turner and Goldschmidt had four RBIs each. The U.S. plays Japan or Mexico in Tuesday night’s championship, trying to join the Samurai Warriors as the only nations to win the title twice. Turner, hitting No. 9 in the batting order, has a tournament-leading 10 RBIs.
March 20, 2023 3:55 am
HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — Joey Logano dominated early and then passed Brad Keselowski on the final lap to win NASCAR’s race at Atlanta and end the early season domination of Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports. Logano won the pole but Keselowski looked like the Ford driver to beat late in the race. Keselowski had help from Corey LaJoie but Logano got a push from Christopher Bell that proved decisive on the final lap. Logano’s win ended a streak of four consecutive victories by Chevrolet to open the NASCAR Cup season, including back-to-back wins by Hendrick’s William Byron.
March 19, 2023 7:52 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Mika Zibanejad had a goal and two assists, Artemi Panarin scored twice and Igor Shesterkin made 33 saves as the New York Rangers routed Pittsburgh 6-0 for their second win over the Penguins in three days. Vladimir Tarasenko, Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba also scored for the surging Rangers, who have won nine of their last 11 home games and are 12-4-0 in their past 16 at Madison Square Garden. Shesterkin won his fifth straight and posted his second shutout this season. He nimbly denied Pittsburgh forward Mikael Granland with a sprawling save five minutes into the third period to preserve the shutout, the 10th of his career.
March 19, 2023 7:53 am
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Dylan Disu had a season-high 28 points and Texas advanced to its first Sweet 16 in 15 years with a 71-66 victory over Penn State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The second-seeded Longhorns made just one of 13 shots from 3-point land. Disu turned this one into a mid-range game. He went 5 for 5 over the final 4 1/2 minutes and grabbed 10 rebounds for good measure. Texas will play the Pittsburgh-Xavier winner on Friday in the Midwest Region semifinals. Camren Wynter scored 16 points for Penn State.
March 18, 2023 1:40 am
Peters Township’s run through the PIAA playoffs came to an end Friday night, losing an overtime decision to District 3 champion Exeter. Peters led by five with 2:28 to play in regulation, then by four with 1:50 in overtime but couldn’t hold either lead. The Indians missed 15 of 33 foul shots including nine in the fourth quarter and overtime. Upper St. Clair girls managed just 10 points in the first half and only 12 in the second, falling to District 3 champion Cedar Cliff. And Carlynton’s stay in the playoffs ended at the hands of WPIAL runner-up Union.
Saturday afternoon, South Fayette girls, the WPIAL champions, trailed by 12 points with 13 minutes to play, but rallied to tie it late and win it at the buzzer on Maddie Webber’s swish three-pointer. The Lions held Cathedral Prep to just one field goal over the final 15 minutes to get the win. Freshman Juliette Leroux came off the bench with just over a minute to play and nailed a pair of foul shots to pull even, setting the stage for Webber’s bucket. PIAA Brackets
Friday, March 17, Quarterfinals (winners to Monday)
5A Boys Exeter 75, Peters Township 72 OT
1A Boys Union 75, Carlynton 55
6A Girls Cedar Cliff 39, Upper St. Clair 22
Saturday, March 18, Quarterfinals (winners to Tuesday)
5A Girls South Fayette 40, Cathedral Prep 37
2A Boys Aliquippa 67, Bishop Canevin 56
Tuesday, March 21, Semifinal (winners to PIAA Final Saturday)
5A Girls South Fayette vs. Oakland Catholic, 6:15 pm at Peters Township, WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
March 17, 2023 2:25 am
WJPA-AM (1450) is your radio home for all the action, running right through the Men’s National Championship Game April 3 in Houston. You can also listen online through our partnership with Westwood One and the NCAA! Our coverage includes feature games each day with live ‘look-ins” for the 1st & 2nd Rounds, then expanded coverage through the national semifinals. And the Women’s Tournament comes back to WJPA starting March 24 with Sweet 16 action running through the Women’s National Championship Game Sunday, April 2 in Dallas. WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here
Friday, March 17, First Round
#7 Michigan State 72, #10 USC 62
#3 Xavier 72, #14 Kennesaw State 67
#3 Baylor 74, #14 UC Santa Barbara 56
#5 Saint Mary’s 63, #12 VCU 51
#2 Marquette 78, #15 Vermont 61
#11 Pitt 59, #6 Iowa State 41
#6 Creighton 72, #11 North Carolina State 63
#4 Connecticut 87, #13 Iona 63
#16 Fairleigh Dickinson 63, #1 Purdue 58
#6 Kentucky 61, #11 Providence 53
#5 Miami 63, #12 Drake 56
#3 Gonzaga 82, #14 Grand Canyon 70
#9 Florida Atlantic 66, #8 Memphis 65
#3 Kansas State 77, #14 Montana State 65
#4 Indiana 71, #13 Kent State 60
#6 TCU 72, #11 Arizona State 70
Saturday, March 18, Second Round (Feature Games)
12 noon #5 San Diego State vs. #13 Furman
2:40 pm #4 Tennessee vs. #5 Duke
5:15 pm #1 Kansas vs. #8 Arkansas
6:10 pm #7 Missouri vs. #15 Princeton
7:10 pm #1 Houston vs. #9 Auburn
7:45 pm #2 Texas vs. #10 Penn State
8:40 pm #2 UCLA vs. #7 Northwestern
9:40 pm #1 Alabama vs. #8 Maryland
March 18, 2023 4:05 am
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Nelly Cummings scored 13 points and No. 11 seed Pittsburgh held sixth-seeded Iowa State to 23% shooting in a 59-41 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Jamarius Burton added 11 points and Greg Elliott had 10 for coach Jeff Capel’s Panthers, who stormed to a 22-2 lead after Iowa State missed its first 11 shots. Things didn’t get much better for the Cyclones, who had three stretches where they missed at least eight consecutive shots. Gabe Kalscheur and Jaren Holmes each had 12 points for Iowa State. Pitt moves on to Sunday’s second-round game against third-seeded Xavier in the Midwest Region.
March 18, 2023 4:06 am
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Penn State and Texas will present one of the most intriguing and meaningful second round games in the NCAA Tournament when the two teams meet for the first time in men’s basketball. The 10th-seeded Nittany Lions and the second-seeded Longhorns are coming off sharp debuts in Des Moines, Iowa, in the Midwest Region. Reaching the second weekend would be a source of satisfaction for each program. They’re both playing in their own way for the long-term futures of their beloved head coaches, too. No. 1 seed Houston plays No. 9 seed Auburn in the other Midwest second-round game on Saturday.
March 17, 2023 3:56 am
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Andrew Funk had the shooting game of his career on Penn State’s biggest stage in more than two decades. Funk made 8 of 10 3-pointers and scored 27 points in a 76-59 win over Texas A&M for the Nittany Lions’ first NCAA Tournament victory in 22 years. Funk is in his first year at Penn State after transferring from Bucknell. He led the 10th-seeded Nittany Lions to their ninth win in their last 11 games. They next play No. 2 seed Texas in the second round of the Midwest Region on Saturday. It will be the first meeting between Penn State and Texas in men’s basketball.
