March 27, 2022 7:46 am
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Villanova coach Jay Wright has won national championships with well-balanced and fundamentally sound teams, yet even he knew staying in contention for another title was going to take a rugged and exhaustive effort. Ugly at times, the final result was beautiful for the Wildcats, who are going to their third Final Four in the past six NCAA Tournaments. Jermaine Samuels had 16 points and 10 rebounds as Villanova grinded out a 50-44 victory over the gritty and athletic Houston team in the South Region final Saturday. Caleb Daniels added 14 points for the Wildcats (30-7), and fifth-year senior Collin Gillespie’s only made field goal was a clutch shot late, even though Villanova led throughout to clinch the first spot in this year’s Final Four in New Orleans.
March 27, 2022 4:15 am
The winter sports season came to a close Saturday with the PIAA Basketball Championships at Giant Center, Hershey. The WPIAL sent a District-record nine teams to the finals with three coming home with gold medals: 2A Neshannock (girls) and OL/Sacred Heart (boys) and 1A Bishop Canevin (boys) won their state championship games while girls teams from Mt. Lebanon (6A), Chartiers Valley (5A) and Freedom (3A) along with Aliquippa (3A), Quaker Valley (4A) and New Castle (5A) boys squads all were forced to settle for silver. Click for PIAA brackets
March 26, 2022 4:14 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Chris Kreider scored twice, Mika Zibanejad had three assists and Igor Shesterkin made 20 saves as the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1. Alexis Lafreniere, Frank Vatrano and newcomer Andrew Copp also scored for the Rangers, who scored three times in the opening four-plus minutes against Penguins goalie Tristian Jarry, who entered with a five-game winning streak and a 7-1-0 mark in his last eight appearances.
March 26, 2022 4:11 am
UNDATED (AP) – Saint Peter’s has made history in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The Peacocks are the first No. 15 team ever to advance to the regional finals following their 67-64 win over Purdue. Daryl Banks III scored the tying and go-ahead baskets over the final three minutes, helping Saint Peter’s to continue what is now an unprecedented run. Banks led the Peacocks with 14 points, Clarence Rupert scored 11 and Doug Edert had 10. Jaden Ivey buried an NBA-distance 3 with 8 seconds left that pulled Purdue within 65-64 and momentarily stifled the crowd. But Edert then swished two free throws to seal the win. Trevion Williams had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Boilermakers.
Kansas remains the lone No. 1 seed remaining in a tournament of wild upsets. Remy Martin came off the bench to score a season-high 23 points for the Jayhawks in a 66-61 victory over Providence. The Jayhawks allowed the Friars to shoot just 20% in the first half while holding them to 17 points. Jalen Wilson added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Jayhawks, who are back in a regional final for the first time since reaching their 15th Final Four in 2018.
North Carolina and Miami also reached the Elite Eight. North Carolina moved within a victory of its 21st Final Four as Caleb Love hit game-tying and go-ahead 3-pointers 37 seconds apart to send the Tar Heels past the UCLA Bruins, 73-66. The sophomore finished with a career-high 30 points, including six 3s and two game-clinching free throws with 7.8 seconds left. Love scored 27 of Carolina’s 45 points in the second half, including one stretch of 10 straight.
The Bruins fell two wins short of their 20th Final Four appearance, getting 16 points from Jules Bernard and 15 from Tyger Campbell. Kameron McGusty scored 27 points and Miami advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time by stifling Iowa State, 70-56. Jordan Miller added 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting as No. 10 seed Miami more than held its own in a matchup of two of the tourney’s most suffocating defenses. The 11th-seeded Cyclones shot 32% from the field in the second half and finished with 18 turnovers. Coach Jim Larranaga is one victory away from taking a second team to the Final Four, 16 years after doing it with George Mason. (Photo: AP)
March 25, 2022 3:55 am
UNDATED (AP) – A second grand jury in Texas has declined to indict new Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by 22 women and still faces civil lawsuits. Only hours before the decision was announced, Watson arrived at Cleveland’s headquarters wearing an orange throwback Browns jacket. His arrival was delayed so Watson could give depositions Tuesday and Wednesday in Houston in the civil lawsuits. Two weeks ago, a grand jury in Harris County, Texas, declined to indict Watson on criminal charges. That jury considered evidence related to nine criminal complaints that had been filed with Houston police.
March 24, 2022 3:46 am
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Tage Thompson scored two goals and added another in a shootout, Alex Tuch also had a shootout goal, and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Wednesday night for their third consecutive win. Zemgus Girgensons also scored for the Sabres, who have won five of six in their best stretch of the season. Craig Anderson made 23 saves and stopped both shots he faced in the shootout. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin each had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who had won three in a row. Kris Letang had the other goal, Bryan Rust had two assists, and Casey DeSmith stopped 29 shots. Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, Pittsburgh opened a two-game trip by dropping its league-best road record to 21-7-5.
March 24, 2022 3:43 am
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) – Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star center fielder Bryan Reynolds is heading to arbitration. Reynolds asked for a salary of $4.9 million for the 2022 season. The Pirates countered with an offer of $4.25 million. Reynolds is coming off the best season of his young career, hitting 24 home runs while batting .302. The 27-year-old Reynolds says he understands arbitration cases can get “messy” but said it does not affect the way he feels about staying in Pittsburgh. Reynolds says he would be open to an extension, but the Pirates have not approached him with a long-term offer.
March 24, 2022 3:47 am
UNDATED (AP) – Tyreek Hill has changed teams and received a big pay hike. The Kansas City Chiefs have traded the wide receiver to Miami for a package of draft picks. The Dolphins immediately gave the three-time All-Pro a $120 million, four-year contract extension. The Chiefs will get the Dolphins’ first- and second-round picks along with their fourth-rounder in this year’s draft, and fourth- and sixth-round picks next year. Hill’s agent said the next extension from Miami includes $72.2 million guaranteed.
March 23, 2022 3:44 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Jake Guentzel scored twice in the second period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins breezed past the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-1. Radim Zohorna and Bryan Rust also scored during the second for Pittsburgh. Evgeni Malkin added a power-play goal in the third as the Penguins won their third straight. Tristan Jarry stopped 26 shots to improve to 7-1 in his last eight starts. Gustav Nyquist gave the Blue Jackets an early lead with a power-play goal but Columbus simply couldn’t keep up.
March 23, 2022 3:47 am
UNDATED (AP) – Back-to-back defending champion Tampa Bay wasn’t the only recent Stanley Cup winner to bolster itself at the trade deadline for the playoffs. St. Louis, Washington and Pittsburgh all made moves in the hope of recapturing some old magic this spring. The Blues traded away another member of the 2019 Cup team in Oskar Sundqvist to upgrade on defense with Nick Leddy. The Capitals brought back Marcus Johansson, whom they traded away before winning the Cup in 2018. And the Penguins shuffled out two roster players to add winger Rickard Rakell.
