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Sasser, Houston moving on at March Madness, beating Auburn

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:33 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Marcus Sasser looked just fine, scoring 22 points, and top-seeded Houston stifled local favorite Auburn in the second half for an 81-64 victory in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night.The Cougars (33-3) overcame a 10-point halftime deficit, returning after the break with a chip on their shoulders.Essentially shutting down the lane, Houston played with the desperation of a national championship contender that wasn’t ready to suffer the same fate as Purdue and Kansas — No. 1s that already were sent home.Led by Tramon Mark with 26 points, Houston advanced to face either No. 4 Indiana or No. 5 Miami, which play Sunday, at the Sweet 16 in Kansas City, Missouri. The Tigers (21-13) were doomed by a stretch of more than 10 1/2 minutes without a field goal and finished just 4 of 24 from the field in the second half.Auburn did draw plenty of fouls, only to struggle mightily at the line at 19 of 36. Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome led the Tigers with 14 points a...

UFC 286: Edwards retains title by majority decision vs Usman

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:33 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Leon Edwards retained his welterweight title Saturday, beating challenger Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 by majority decision.Judges scored the trilogy fight at the O2 Arena in London 48-46, 48-46, 47-47 in favor of the Jamaican-born Brit, who landed the cleaner blows as their third fight went the distance.Edwards made an encouraging start, connecting with two heavy body kicks in the opening round.The 31-year-old Edwards’ greater speed unsettled Usman, but the challenger took Edwards down briefly in round two before both fighters traded some heavy blows.Usman grappled Edwards to the floor again early in the third and the latter was docked a point for grabbing the fence.A similar pattern unfolded in the fourth, which was just as tight, with Edwards looking to keep his distance as Usman tried to get in close.Edwards evaded two more takedown attempts in the final round and caught Usman with an uppercut, but took a hit to the body as his title defense went down to the wire.Edward...

No. 8 seed Arkansas sends defending champ Kansas home

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:33 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Kansas’ national title defense ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday when Arkansas’ Ricky Council IV made five free throws in the closing seconds and the eighth-seeded Razorbacks beat the No. 1 seed Jayhawks 72-71.Davonte Davis scored 25 points and Council added 21 as Arkansas rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit. Kansas, playing without ailing coach Bill Self, became the second top seed not to escape the tournament’s first weekend after Purdue lost on Friday night to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson.Arkansas (22-13) and coach Eric Musselman return to the Sweet 16 for the third straight year. The Razorbacks will play either Saint Mary’s or UConn in the West Region semifinals in Las Vegas on Thursday.Self has been with the Jayhawks (28-8) since they arrived in Des Moines and has attended practices and meetings, but he still didn’t feel well enough to coach a game after having a heart procedure March 8 to clear clogged arteries.Davi...

15th-seeded Princeton beats Missouri 78-63 to reach Sweet 16

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:33 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — As the final minute ticked off the clock, the Princeton fans started chanting “Sweet 16! Sweet 16!” and coach Mitch Henderson cleared the bench with the victory easily in hand.This upset was no small-school fluke against a more heralded team. It was a thoroughly dominating performance that sent Princeton to a place it hadn’t been in more than a half-century.Blake Peters made five 3-pointers in the second half and Princeton shocked another power conference team to reach the NCAA Tournament regional semifinals for the first time in 56 years by beating Missouri 78-63 on Saturday.“The world looks at us as two upsets,” forward Tosan Evbuomwan said. “But I feel like we’re supposed to be here. We have a lot of confidence in one another, what we’re doing. There’s definitely no letup with this group.”The No. 15 seeded Princeton (23-8) followed up a first-round win over Pac-12 tournament champion Arizona by overwhelming seventh-seeded Missouri (25-10) of ...

First round of March Madness features double-digit comebacks

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:33 GMT

No lead seemed safe on Saturday in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament. Baylor, Miami and Ohio State all rallied from double-digits deficits to advance to the second round.The Bears trailed by 18 points against Alabama early on and overcame it for a 78-74 win. It was tied for the third-largest comeback in the history of the tournament. Baylor was down by 11 at the half and coach Nicki Collen took a calm approach at the break. “No swear words, I gave those up for Lent, but a lot of challenges thrown out about how we needed to compete,” she said. “I challenged like, ’You have to be better, you just have to be better.”Texas A&M still holds the biggest rally in NCAA history, coming back from 21-down against Penn in 2017. Oklahoma State’s 19-point rally in 2010 against Chattanooga is No. 2 on the list.Hours before the Bears’ rally, Miami trailed Oklahoma State by 17 points at the half. The team had a heart-to-heart at the break and used a stellar third qu...

Raptors win 7th straight at home, beat Timberwolves 122-107

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:33 GMT

TORONTO (AP) — Pascal Siakam had 27 points and 10 rebounds and the Toronto Raptors extended their season-high home winning streak to seven by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 122-107 on Saturday night.Jakob Poeltl had 14 points and 11 rebounds, matching his career high with his fourth straight double-double, to help the Raptors improve to 24-4 all-time in home meetings with Minnesota.Fred VanVleet scored 28 points for Toronto, while Gary Trent Jr. added 19, O.G. Aunoby 15 and Scottie Barnes 10.Rudy Gobert had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Naz Reid scored 22 points for the Timberwolves, who were playing the second game of a back-to-back. Minnesota lost in double overtime at Chicago on Friday.The Wolves played without guard Anthony Edwards, who left in the first quarter Friday because of a sprained right ankle. Coach Chris Finch said Edwards is using a walking boot, adding there’s no timetable for his return. A first–time All-Star this season, Edwards was injured when he landed awkw...

Astros’ Altuve leaves WBC game after hit on hand by a pitch

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:33 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Jose Altuve left Venezuela’s World Baseball Classic quarterfinal against the United States after he was hit on the hand by a pitch from Daniel Bard on Saturday night.The Houston Astros second baseman, an eight-time All-Star and the 2017 American League MVP, fell to the field after he was struck by the 95.9 mph sinker in the fifth inning. He grimaced as he walked off with an athletic trainer, and Altuve was replaced by Luis Rengifo.Bard relieved Lance Lynn to start the inning and was wild throughout, walking two batters and throwing a pair of wild pitches. Bard, a 37-year-old Colorado right-hander, allowed all four batters who faced him to reached base as Venezuela overcame a three-run deficit to take a 6-5 lead.___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Strong earthquake kills at least 14 in Ecuador, 1 in Peru

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:33 GMT

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — A strong earthquake shook southern Ecuador and northern Peru on Saturday, killing at least 15 people, trapping others under rubble, and sending rescue teams out into streets littered with debris and fallen power lines.The U.S. Geological Survey reported an earthquake with a magnitude of about 6.8 that was centered just off the Pacific Coast, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s second-largest city. One of the victims died in Peru, while 14 others died in Ecuador, where authorities also reported that at least 126 people were injured.Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso told reporters the earthquake had “without a doubt … generated alarm in the population.” Lasso’s office in a statement said 12 of the victims died in the coastal state of El Oro and two in the highlands state of Azuay. In Peru, the earthquake was felt from its northern border with Ecuador to the central Pacific coast. Peruvian Prime Minister Alberto ...

‘My whole livelihood is in that apartment’: Multi-family home in Somerville goes up in flames

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:33 GMT

Firefighters battled a fast-moving blaze that raced through a multi-family home in Somerville on Saturday.As he watched his home on Walker Street go up in flames, one of the tenants told 7NEWS, “I’m freaked out, my whole life is in that apartment … I’m glad everybody got out.”Emergency crews could be seen giving oxygen to a cat that was pulled from the building. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Dolphins signing former Broncos and Steelers OLB, reuniting him with Vic Fangio, Bradley Chubb

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:33 GMT

The Miami Dolphins are bringing in a new pass rusher in former Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Malik Reed, his agent announced and a source confirmed to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.Reed is reunited with new Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio in Miami. Reed played his first three NFL seasons in Denver, coinciding with Fangio’s head coaching tenure with the Broncos. He also rejoins former Broncos edge defender Bradley Chubb, who was traded to the Dolphins last season.An undrafted player out of Nevada in 2019, Reed first developed to start eight games that rookie season. Between the 2020 and 2021 seasons with the Broncos, he made 13 starts apiece and combined for 96 tackles, 13 sacks and three forced fumbles. Reed had a career-high eight sacks in 2020.Reed was traded to the Steelers ahead of the 2022 season. In Pittsburgh, he saw a decrease in playing time, starting just two games, registering 25 tackles and a sack. He has been a special teams ...