Weekday Morning Sports – Monday 2/20/17

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95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Monday, February 20, 2017

NCAAMBB – Men’s College Basketball
Last Night
Minnesota 83, Michigan 78 – OT

Minnesota 83, Michigan 78 – OT – Murphy, Minnesota outlast Michigan, 83-78
Jordan Murphy had 16 points and 15 rebounds and Eric Curry scored all 12 of his points in the second half to lift Minnesota to its fifth straight victory, 83-78 in overtime over Michigan on Sunday night. Reggie Lynch added 11 points and eight rebounds while battling foul trouble for most of the night for the Golden Gophers (20-7, 8-6 Big Ten), who overcame a furious rally from Michigan to inch closer to an NCAA tournament bid. The Gophers were just 28 of 41 from the line, but made 15 of their last 16 to hold off Michigan. Derrick Walton Jr. scored 10 of his 16 points in the final five minutes of regulation and D.J. Wilson added 16 points, including the tying 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds to play in regulation, for the Wolverines (17-10, 7-7). But Michigan missed nine free throws and Walton missed a decent look from 3 in the closing seconds of overtime to allow the Gophers to escape.

NCAAMBB – Michigan State’s Harris out with season-ending knee injury
Michigan State starting guard Eron Harris will need season-ending surgery on his injured right knee, ending his college career. Harris, a 6-foot-3 transfer who played his first two seasons at West Virginia, was hurt in the second half of Michigan State’s 80-63 loss at No. 16 Purdue on Saturday. Harris had an MRI and the diagnosis was that surgery was required.  Harris, from Indianapolis, finished his career with 1,489 points. He started 46 of 62 games at Michigan State, including 24 this season.  Harris was third on the Spartans with a 10.7 point scoring average.  Michigan State coach Tom Izzo called it “cruel” for a senior’s career to end like this. Izzo said Harris is expected to make a full recovery and continue pursuing a basketball career when healed.

NHL – National Hockey League
Yesterday
Detroit Red Wings 5, Pittsburgh Penguins 2
Chicago Blackhawks 5, Buffalo Sabres 1

Red Wings 5, Penguins 2 – Tatar, Vanek lead Red Wings past Penguins
Tomas Tatar and Thomas Vanek scored early third-period goals to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-2 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday. Nick Jensen and Steve Ott also scored and Luke Glendening added a late empty-netter for the Red Wings, who completed a back-to-back sweep of Washington and Pittsburgh, two of the top teams in the league. Petr Mrazek made 24 saves for his second win in as many days; he lost his previous four games.  Detroit defeated Washington in a shootout at home Saturday and followed with the win at Pittsburgh, the NHL’s best home team. It was the Red Wings’ second victory against Pittsburgh this season. Detroit, which lost five straight before the weekend victories, remained near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, but within striking distance of the final playoff spot.  Sidney Crosby scored his league-leading 32nd goal and Tom Kuhnhackl added his third with the Penguins short-handed. The Pens lost in regulation for the first time since the All-Star break. Matt Murray stopped 19 shots.

Blackhawks 5, Sabres 2 – Kane leads Blackhawks to 5-1 win in Buffalo homecoming
Patrick Kane scored his 20th goal of the season, making the South Buffalo native the league’s first American-born player to score that many in each of his first 10 seasons and led the Blackhawks to a 5-1 win at Buffalo. Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews broke it open with second-period goals for Chicago, which won for the sixth time in seven games. Ryan Hartman and Artem Anisimov also scored, helping the Blackhawks bounce back from a 3-1 loss to Edmonton on Saturday.  Scott Darling, subbing for starter Corey Crawford, made 25 saves in just his seventh appearance in two months. Evander Kane scored and Robin Lehner stopped 32 shots for Buffalo in its final game before its five-day bye. The Sabres were trying for their first four-game win streak since December 2014.  Kane has scored in eight straight games against the Sabres. He upped his career total to eight goals and four assists in 13 meetings.  Chicago won its 11th consecutive game over Buffalo. The Blackhawks haven’t lost to the Sabres since a 2-1 defeat at Buffalo on Dec. 11, 2009.

NBA – National Basketball Association – 2017 All Star Game – New Orleans, LA
Last Night
Western Conference 192, Eastern Conference 182

West 192, East 182 – Davis takes MVP honors in leading West
Pelicans center Anthony Davis set an NBA All-Star game record by scoring 52 points as the Western Conference beat the East, 192-182 at New Orleans. Davis topped the previous scoring record of 42 points established by Wilt Chamberlain in 1962. Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook hit seven 3-pointers and poured in 41 points in just 19 minutes, while teammate Kevin Durant had a triple-double of 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the highest-scoring game in NBA history.

NBA – Cousins packing bags
The Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans reportedly have swung a deal as the two teams try to snare the NBA’s final Western Conference playoff berth. A person familiar with the situation says the Kings have agreed to trade DeMarcus Cousins and Omri Casspi to the Pelicans. Sacramento would receive Tyreke Evans, 2016 first-round draft pick Buddy Hield, Langston Galloway and first- and second-round draft picks this summer.

NCAAWBB – Women’s College Basketball
Yesterday
Michigan State 86, (20) Michigan 68
(7) Notre Dame 85, (21) Syracuse 80

Michigan State 86, #20 Michigan 68 – Michigan State beats No. 20 Michigan before record crowd
Tori Jankoska made five 3-pointers in setting a single-season school record and scored 28 points in leading Michigan State over Number 20 Michigan 86-68 Sunday before a record sellout crowd of 12,707 who watched the in-state rivals in their only meeting this season. The Spartans shot 58 percent and made half of their 20 3-point attempts while the Wolverines were 3 of 17 from the arc.  Hallie Thome scored 21 points with a game-high eight rebounds for the Wolverines, who lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. Kysre Gondrezick added 19 and Nicole Munger 12.

#7 Notre Dame 85, #21 Syracuse 80 – No. 7 Notre Dame rallies past No. 21 Syracuse, 85-80
Brianna Turner scored a career-high 31 points, Marina Mabrey added 22, and Number 7 Notre Dame rallied past Number 21 Syracuse, 85-80 Sunday. Syracuse (18-9, 9-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) had won 18 straight games at home, and even though the Orange set a school attendance record of 11,021 for the big game, the Irish had too much at the end. Notre Dame (24-3, 12-1 ACC), has beaten Syracuse 16 straight times.

NASCAR – Elliott takes pole, Logano wins the Clash
Chase Elliott nosed out teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the final qualifying lap to take the pole for next Sunday’s Daytona 500. Elliott is the race’s first repeat pole-winner in 27 years. The winner of the Clash was Joey Logano, who moved past leaders Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski on the final lap as they were involved in a wreck.

Golf – PGA – Johnson takes over No. 1 status by winning Genesis Open
Dustin Johnson has won the PGA’s Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club to move to No. 1 in the world rankings. Johnson closed with an even-par 71 for a 17-under total and a five-stroke win over Scott Brown and Thomas Pieters. He led by as many as nine shots in the final round and went 49 holes without a bogey.

ECHL – East Coast Hockey League
Today
Cincinnati Cyclones at Kalamazoo Wings, 10:30 a.m.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Tonight
Boys Basketball
Edwardsburg at Niles, 7:00 p.m.

Girls Basketball
Wyoming Godwin Heights at Benton Harbor, 7:00 p.m.
Edwardsburg at Allegan, 6:30 p.m.
Decatur at White Pigeon, 7:30 p.m.
Burr Oak at Marcellus, 7:00 p.m.