NCAAMBB – Men’s College Basketball
Yesterday
Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament – Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY – Round 2
#10 Notre Dame 71, #7 Virginia Tech 65
Notre Dame 71, Virginia Tech 65 – Irish rally stuns Va Tech at ACC tourney
The biggest comeback in Fighting Irish history came just in time Wednesday night. Bonzie Colson banked in a go-ahead, 3-point heave that barely beat the shot clock with two minutes remaining, and Notre Dame rallied from 21 down in the second half to stun Virginia Tech 71-65 at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. Matt Farrell scored 22 points for the 10th-seeded Irish (20-13), who overcame a dreadful start in extending their late push to reach the NCAA Tournament. Finally healthy after injuries to Colson and Farrell nearly wrecked a promising season, Notre Dame advanced to play Thursday night in the ACC quarterfinals against fifth-ranked and second-seeded Duke, the defending tournament champion.
Tonight (local teams only)
Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament – Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY – Quarterfinals
#10 Notre Dame vs. #2 Duke, 7:00 p.m.
Mid American Conference Tournament – Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH – Quarterfinals
#9 Central Michigan vs. #1 Buffalo, 12:00 p.m.
#11 Akron vs. #3 Eastern Michigan, 7:30 p.m.
NCAAWBB – Women’s College Basketball
Yesterday (local teams only)
Mid American Conference Tournament – Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH – Quarterfinals
#1 Central Michigan 67, #9 Eastern Michigan 64
#6 Western Michigan 65, #3 Ball State 54
NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Toronto Raptors 121, Detroit Pistons 119 – OT
Chicago Bulls 119, Memphis Grizzlies 110
Utah Jazz 104, Indiana Pacers 84
Raptors 121, Pistons 119 – OT – DeRozan scores 42, VanVleet makes winning shot for Raptors
DeMar DeRozan scored 42 points, then fed Fred VanVleet for the tiebreaking jumper from the left corner with 1.1 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Toronto Raptors to a 121-119 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. The Raptors became the first NBA team to clinch a playoff berth this season. Toronto trailed by 17 in the second quarter but was able to outlast Blake Griffin and the Pistons in a back-and-forth thriller. Griffin, who had tied the game with less than a second remaining in regulation, missed a 3-pointer on the final possession of overtime. Detroit has lost four in a row and 10 of 12. Griffin led Detroit with 31 points, Andre Drummond had 10 points and 21 rebounds.
Bulls 119, Grizzlies 110 – Bulls hang on down stretch, beat Grizzlies 119-110
Lauri Markkanen scored 22 points, Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn added 21 apiece, and the Chicago Bulls hung on to hand the Memphis Grizzlies their 15th straight loss, 119-110 on Wednesday night. The Bulls had a 21-point lead whittle to one but came away with their fourth win in 18 games. Dunn scored 11 in the fourth quarter and made four free throws in the final 33.7 seconds to help Chicago come out on top.
Utah 104, Indiana 84 – Gobert lifts Jazz over Pacers; Utah 15-2 over past 17 games
Rudy Gobert had 23 points and 14 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell finished with 20 points and six assists, and Utah crept closer to a possible playoff berth with a 104-84 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night. The Jazz were 17-26 after losing to the Pacers on Jan. 15, but they’ve gone 18-4 since to reach 35-30. They are in a three-way tie with the Clippers and Nuggets for the eighth seed.
NHL – National Hockey League
Tonight
Vegas Golden Knights at Detroit Red Wings, 7:30 p.m.
Carolina Hurricanes at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m.
NHL – Bruins’ Backes suspended 3 games for hit on Nielsen
Boston Bruins forward David Backes has been suspended for three games for a shoulder to the head of Detroit’s Frans Nielsen. The decision was announced by the league Wednesday, a day after Backes knocked Nielsen from Boston’s 6-5 overtime victory. Nielsen had already unloaded the puck when Backes drove his shoulder into the Red Wings forward, who fell to the ice, left the game and did not return. The fact that Nielsen was injured was taken into account, as was Backes’ clean record.
MLB – Major League Baseball – Spring Training
Yesterday
Toronto Blue Jays 6, Detroit Tigers 5
Chicago White Sox 14, Cincinnati Reds 12
Chicago Cubs 11, Cleveland Indians 6
Today
Detroit Tigers at Pittsburgh Pirates, 1:05 p.m. Bradenton, FL
Chicago White Sox (split squad) at Texas Rangers, 3:05 p.m. Surprise, AZ
Kansas City Royals at Chicago White Sox (split squad), 3:05 p.m. Glendale, AZ
San Diego Padres at Chicago Cubs, 3:10 p.m. Mesa, AZ
MLB – Cubs dropped from lawsuit filed by man blinded by foul ball
A judge has dismissed the Chicago Cubs from a lawsuit filed by a fan blinded in one eye by a foul ball at Wrigley Field. John Loos of Schaumburg, Illinois says in the lawsuit filed in October he was sitting along the first-base line near the outfield during an August 29 game when he was struck in the face. The Chicago Tribune reports Major League Baseball remains a defendant in the lawsuit. The attorney for Loos will have another chance to make the case the Cubs should be a defendant because the team “willfully and wantonly” failed to erect safety netting despite knowing of the injury risk to fans. A Cubs spokesman was unavailable for comment on the court’s action. Judges across the country frequently thrown out such lawsuits. Illinois is one of four states with a so-called “baseball rule.” The law absolves stadium owners of liability so long as an adequate number of seats are behind protective netting.
NFL – Manning sold Papa John’s stores 2 days before NFL cut chain
Peyton Manning sold 31 Denver-area Papa John’s stores last week, two days before the NFL dropped the chain as its official pizza sponsor. The Denver Post reported Wednesday that Papa John’s spokesman Peter Collins confirmed the former NFL quarterback sold his stake to an existing Papa John’s franchisee. Manning will remain Papa John’s celebrity spokesman and brand ambassador. He wasn’t immediately available for comment. The NFL and Papa John’s ended their deal Feb. 27, and the league announced a multiyear marketing deal with Pizza Hut the following day. The NFL’s relationship with Papa John’s was strained last year when company founder John Schnatter criticized the league’s leadership about national anthem protests by players.
NJCAA – Junior College Sports
Yesterday
Men’s Baseball
Chattanooga State Community College 10, Lake Michigan College 0 – 5 Innings – Game 1
Chattanooga State Community College 15, Lake Michigan College 0 – 5 Innings – Game 2
Women’s Softball
Lurleen B. Wallace Community College 7, Lake Michigan College 2 – Game 1
Lurleen B. Wallace Community College 9, Lake Michigan College 1 – Game 2
Today
Women’s Softball
Lake Michigan College at Chipola College, 2:00 p.m. (doubleheader)
MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Basketball – District Quarterfinals
Class B at Berrien Springs
Benton Harbor 77, Coloma 49
- Benton Harbor and Coloma traded leads in the 1st quarter and were tied at the end. But the Tigers grabbed the lead in the second and never looked back, winning it 77-49. Coloma’s Zack Goodline led all scorers with 25 in the losing cause. Benton Harbor was paced by Elijah Baxter with 18.
South Haven 80, Buchanan 56
- South Haven came out strong in the 1st quarter of their semi-final game with Buchanan, taking a 27 to 8 lead, and rolling to an 80 to 56 win. South Haven was paced by Caleb Ford, who ended the game with 17 points. Six of his teammates were in double figures. The Bucks’ Carter Jeffries had game high honors with 19 in the losing cause.
Class D at River Valley
Michigan Lutheran 63, Covert 25
- Michigan Lutheran advanced to the Class D District Finals with a 63-25 win over Covert. The Titans took an eight point lead after the first quarter and steadily pulled away from there, outscoring the Bulldogs by eight in the second quarter, by seven in the third, and by 15 in the fourth. Kasen Kerns led Lutheran with a game high 13 points. Covert got seven points from Reynaldo Contreras. The win puts Lutheran in Friday’s District Championship game against Lake Michigan Catholic.
Lake Michigan Catholic 55, Dream Academy 52
- Lake Michigan Catholic got by DREAM Academy 55-52 to advance to the Class D District Finals. The final score was a good indication as to how close the game was. Lake Michigan Catholic’s largest lead of the night was five points while DREAM Academy’s largest advantage was four. The Toros held a 12-11 lead after the first quarter, maintained a one point lead going into the half, and led by three heading into the fourth. Tommy Koening connected on five 3-pointers and finished with a game high 20 points for the Lakers. Arlando Lamb led the Toros with 12 points. With the win, Catholic improves to 16-6 on the season as they move on to face Michigan Lutheran Friday night for the District Championship.
Other Districts
Class A at Kalamazoo Central
Portage Central 72, Portage Northern 59
Kalamazoo Central 51, Mattawan 43
Class A at Gull Lake
Coldwater 58, Battle Creek Lakeview 44
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 60, Harper Creek 54
Class B at Three Rivers
Paw Paw 63, Edwardsburg 50
Dowagiac 61, Three Rivers 60
Class B at Otsego
Wayland 43, Otsego 42
Hopkins 73, Allegan 26
Class B at Hamilton
Holland Christian 44, Allendale 34
Hudsonville Unity Christian 75, Fennville 39
Class C at Watervliet
Cassopolis 95, Eau Claire 44
Brandywine 62, Hartford 44
Class C at Schoolcraft
Marcellus 47, Constantine 42
Schoolcraft 69, Lawton 35
Class C at Gobles
Kalamazoo Christian 66, Kalamazoo Lakeside 43
Kalamazoo Hackett 71, Bloomingdale 53
Class C at GR Covenant Christian
GR Northpointe Christian 66, Saugatuck 54
GR Covenant Christian 62, Holland Black River 15
Class D at Martin
Howardsville Christian 61, Martin 50
Burr Oak 57, Climax-Scotts 47
Tonight
Girls Basketball – Regional Finals
Class B at Hopkins
Edwardsburg vs. Hamilton, 7:00 p.m.
Class C at Bridgman
Brandywine vs. Schoolcraft, 7:00 p.m.
Class D at Burr Oak
Martin vs. Athens, 6:30 p.m.
