March 18, 2022 3:53 am
UNDATED (AP) – Top seeds Gonzaga and Baylor have advanced to the second round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament on a day a No. 2 seed was dispatched. That second seed was Kentucky, which suffered an 85-79 overtime loss to St. Peter’s. Darryl Banks poured in 27 points as the Peacocks became the 10th No. 15 seed to win a first-round game since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. St. Peter’s also handed Kentucky its first opening-round loss under coach John Calipari. Banks’ two free throws with 1:45 left in overtime gave Saint Peter’s the lead for good. Gonzaga struggled to shake No. 16 seed Georgia State for 30 minutes before going on a 24-1 run in a 93-72 victory. Drew Timme scored 22 of his 32 points in the second half and finished with 13 rebounds. Matthew Mayer scored a career-high 22 points and Baylor improved to 27-6 by ripping Norfolk State, 85-49. Freshman standout Jeremy Sochan added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Bears, who are trying to become the first repeat champion since Florida in 2007.
In other first-round action Thursday:
– Jacob Gilyard scored 24 points and 12th-seeded Richmond leaned on its graduate senior-experienced lineup to defeat Big Ten champion Iowa, 67-63. Tyler Burton scored 18 points and had 11 rebounds for the Atlantic 10-champion Spiders, who improved their tournament record against fifth-seeded teams to 4-0.
– Teddy Allen scored 37 points and New Mexico State won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in almost three decades, 70-63 over No. 5 Connecticut. The game was tied at 58 until Allen delivered a 3-pointer and a 3-point play on consecutive possessions.
– Tyger Campbell bailed out UCLA by scoring eight straight points late in the second half of the Bruins’ 57-53 win over No. 13 seed Akron. Campbell finished with 16 points and Jaime Jaquez added 15 for the fourth-seeded Bruins.
– Logan Johnson scored 20 points and fifth-seeded Saint Mary’s rolled to an 82-53 pounding of Indiana. Tommy Kuhse added 19 points and six assists for the Gaels, the only team to beat Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference this season.
– Trey Alexander converted a go-ahead, three-point play late in overtime to carry Creighton to a 72-69 victory over San Diego State. Alexander scored 18 points for the Bluejays and Ryan Kalkbrenner had 16 points and 10 rebounds before leaving with an apparent left leg injury in OT.
– Brady Manek scored 28 points and Caleb Love had 21 of his 23 before halftime of North Carolina’s 95-63 rout of Marquette. Love made six 3-pointers, all in the first 19 minutes, to tie Carolina’s single-game tournament record as the Tar Heels built a 28-point lead.
– Al Durham had 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Providence in a 66-57 win over South Dakota State. Jared Bynum made three free throws with 29.9 seconds left as fourth-seeded Providence snapped the longest winning streak in college basketball.
– Santiago Vescovi scored 18 points and Tennessee pounded Longwood 88-56, showing exactly why it felt it deserved better than a No. 3 seed. The Volunteers shot 60% from the field and had four players score in double figures.
– Stanley Umude scored 21 points and JD Notae provided all 17 of his in the second half as fourth seed Arkansas escaped with a 75-71 victory over 13th-seeded Vermont. Jaylin Williams scored 13 points and had 10 rebounds for the Razorbacks.
– DeAndre Williams had 14 points and Memphis held off a second-half Boise State rally for a 64-53 victory. The ninth-seeded Memphis advanced in the West Region to play Gonzaga.
– Freshman Frankie Collins scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds off the bench to help 11th-seeded Michigan overcome a shaky start to beat sixth-seeded Colorado State 75-63. The Wolverines committed nine turnovers in the first 12 1/2 minutes and trailed 28-13, causing coach Juwan Howard to send out Collins from the bench.
March 16, 2022 10:42 pm
Chartiers Valley was held to a season low 39 points by Gettysburg but took the lead for good, late in the third quarter and made it stand up as the Colts downed the Warriors, 39-35. With a one-point lead early in the fourth, the Colts held the ball at midcourt for nearly four minutes, then turned it over. Gettysburg turned it right back over and the Colts came out of the media timeout with a drive and dish bucket by Perri Page, the Colts’ leading scorer with 11 points. With the win, CV moves to the semifinals, a round they’ve reached each year since 2019 (except for the cancelled 2020 brackets). The Colts face McKeesport, a 58-52 winner over Moon.
Tuesday, Mt. Lebanon’s relentless pressure forced multiple turnovers in the first half, helping the Blue Devils to a 23-point halftime lead that was never challenged. Mt. Lebanon used a pair of 11-point runs in the first 16 minutes to take control of the game. The Blue Devils are in the state semifinals Friday for the first time since winning four straight semis and three consecutive championships a decade back. Easton won two state playoff games in one year for the first time ever. Click for PIAA brackets
PIAA Basketball Semifinals
Friday, March 18
6A Girls Mt. Lebanon vs. Central Dauphin, 5:45 pm at Altoona Area HS — WJPA-FM (95.3) or Listen Here
Saturday, March 19
5A Girls Chartiers Valley vs. McKeesport, 11:45 am at Peters Township HS — WJPA-FM (95.3) or Listen Here
March 17, 2022 3:46 am
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) – Wright State has earned its first NCAA men’s basketball tournament victory, and Notre Dame needed double-overtime to advance. Tanner Holden had 37 points on 11 of 15 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds and Wright State beat Bryant, 93-82 on Wednesday night for its first NCAA Tournament victory. Tyler Calvin added 21 points, and Grant Basile had 14.
Wright State advanced to play top-seeded Arizona in San Diego on Friday in the West Region.
A put-back layup by Paul Atkinson Jr. with 1.4 seconds left gave Notre Dame an 89-87 win over Rutgers. Atkinson finished with 20 points, Nate Laszewski 18 and Cormac Ryan 16 to lead the Irish, who will take on Alabama on Friday. Ron Harper Jr. tied the score with a long 3-pointer with 22 seconds left, capping his 22-point effort for the Scarlet Knights.
March 17, 2022 3:44 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers’ new-look offensive line won’t include right tackle Zach Banner. The team cut the charismatic Banner in a move that will save them $5 million against the salary cap. The decision ends Banner’s comeback bid from a torn ACL that cost him two seasons and eventually his starting job. The decision to release Banner came after the Steelers re-signed tackle Chukwuma Okorafor to a three-year contract. Pittsburgh also brought back quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who signed a one-year contract. Haskins will compete with Mason Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky for the right to take over the starting job created when Ben Roethlisberger retired.
March 16, 2022 2:36 am
Cal U men’s basketball team held a one-point lead with less than four minutes to play Tuesday night but fell to host IUP 68-59 at the Atlantic Regional Championship at the Kovalchick Convention & Athletic Complex in Indiana, Pa. IUP won all four meetings between the two teams. The Vulcans end the season with a 23-10 overall record after advancing to the regional championship for the first time since 2008. IUP advances to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight next week in Evansville, Indiana.
March 16, 2022 3:59 am
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) – Bryson Etienne scored 21 points and Texas Southern beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 76-67 in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament. The Cowboys earned their third NCAA Tournament win in five seasons and will play top-seeded Kansas in the Midwest first round. The First Four returned to the University of Dayton Arena for the first time in three seasons. PJ Henry hit a go-ahead free throw to highlight a 7-0 run in which Texas Southern took the lead and never surrendered. He finished with 14 points and shot 10 of 13 at the free throw line.
Later in the evening, Trayce Jackson-Davis had 29 points and nine rebounds, Jordan Geromino scored a career-high 15 points and Indiana beat turnover-prone Wyoming 66-58 in a First Four game. With the crowd at University of Dayton Arena heavily tilted – Bloomington, Indiana, is less than a three-hour drive away – the Hoosiers led by as many as 10 with under two minutes left in the game. Hunter Maldonado paced the Cowboys with 21 points but turned the ball over 10 times. Graham Ike had 17 to go along with and nine rebounds.
March 16, 2022 3:57 am
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Juuse Saros made 35 saves to lead the Nashville Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Mattias Ekholm, Tanner Jeannot, Eeli Tolvanen and Yakov Trenin scored for the Predators, who have won five of six. Roman Josi had three assists and Colton Sissons added two. Jake Guentzel had the lone goal and Casey DeSmith stopped 21 shots for Pittsburgh, which won its previous two games.
March 15, 2022 2:24 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A person with knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press that Mitchell Trubisky is going to get a shot at replacing Ben Roethlisberger. Trubisky and the Pittsburgh Steelers have agreed to terms on a two-year contract that will give Trubisky a chance to compete for the starting quarterback job following Roethlisberger’s retirement in January. The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet official. Financial details were not disclosed.
March 15, 2022 3:50 am
The Seattle Mariners have acquired All-Star outfielder Jesse Winker and third baseman Eugenio Suarez from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for a package of players. Seattle is sending the Reds pitcher Justin Dunn, outfielder Jake Fraley and top pitching prospect Brandon Williamson and a player to be named.
– The Texas Rangers have signed free agent outfielder Jake Marisnick, right-handed reliever Brandon Workman and lefty Matt Moore to minor league contracts that include invitations to big league spring training. Clayton Kershaw can earn $5 million in performance bonuses for starts as part of his new contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, which would raise his earnings to $22 million. Kershaw’s deal calls for a $2.5 million signing bonus, payable within 15 days of the deal’s approval by the commissioner’s office. He gets a $14.5 million salary and would earn $1 million apiece for 16, 20, 22, 24 and 26 starts. The 33-year-old left-hander was coming off a $93 million, three-year deal.
– Freddie Freeman’s tenure with the Atlanta Braves appears to be over after the World Series champions acquired All-Star first baseman Matt Olson from the Oakland Athletics. The A’s are getting a prize package of four players from Atlanta, including young outfielder Cristian Pache, in the deal.
– The San Diego Padres say All-Star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. likely will need surgery for a broken left wrist and could miss up to three months for an injury suffered the injury in the offseason.
March 14, 2022 3:52 am
The California University of Pennsylvania men’s basketball team is headed to the Atlantic Regional Championship after beating West Virginia State 67-65 Sunday. The Vulcans improve to 23-9 on the season and will face top-seed and host IUP Tuesday evening. Cal U went on a 24-3 run in the second half to advance. The Vulcans return to the regional championship for the first time since 2008.
