Weekday Morning Sports Report – Friday 1/18/19

sportsreport-564
sportsreport-564

NCAAMBB – Men’s College Basketball
Last Night
(6) Michigan State 70, Nebraska 64

(6) Michigan State 70, Nebraska 64 – Winston’s career-high 29 lifts No. 6 Spartans over Huskers
Cassius Winston scored a career-high 29 points, Nick Ward added 15 and sixth-ranked Michigan State pulled away from Nebraska late for a 70-64 win Thursday night. Michigan State (16-2, 7-0) relied on tough defense to extend its school-record Big Ten winning streak to 19 games. The Cornhuskers (13-5, 3-4) had their school-record 20-game home win streak end.  The Spartans led by 12 points in the final 2 minutes, but Nebraska cut the lead to four twice before Matt McQuaid made a pair of free throws for his first points with 14.2 seconds to put the game away. Nebraska shot a season-low 32.8 percent and was just 5 of 26 on 3-pointers, 1 of 12 in the second half. James Palmer, who led Nebraska with 24 points, struggled mightily from the field, going 6 of 21, but he made all 11 of his free throws. Isaac Copeland added 13 for the Huskers.

Tonight
Eastern Michigan at (16) Buffalo, 7:00 p.m.

Saturday
(2) Michigan at Wisconsin, 12:00 p.m.                      95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports 11:30
(17) NC State at Notre Dame, 2:00 p.m.
Western Michigan at Bowling Green, 2:30 p.m.
Ball State at Central Michigan, 4:30 p.m.

NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Philadelphia 76ers 120, Indiana Pacers 96
Denver Nuggets 135, Chicago Bulls 105

Sixers 120, Pacers 96 – Embiid, Butler lead 76ers’ 120-96 rout of Pacers
Joel Embiid had 22 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists Thursday night to lead the Sixers to their seventh win in nine games, a 120-96 blowout of the Indiana Pacers.  Jimmy Butler added 27 points and eight assists as Philadelphia shot 53 percent and finished with 38 assists, the most by an Indiana opponent this season.  Indiana, held to 40 percent shooting, never challenged again. Ex-Sixer Thaddeus Young had 27 points and six rebounds. Oladipo ended up with 15 points and seven assists.

Nuggets 135, Bulls 105 – Murray, Jokic lead Nuggets to 135-105 rout of Bulls
Jamal Murray scored 22 of his 25 points in the third quarter, Nikola Jokic finished two rebounds shy of another triple-double and the Denver Nuggets cruised past Chicago 135-105 on Thursday night for their 12th straight home win over the Bulls. Chicago hasn’t knocked off the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center since Feb. 8, 2006. The Bulls also remain winless in 2019, with their losing streak stretching to nine in a row. Jokic had 18 points and 11 assists as the Nuggets bounced back from a 142-111 drubbing Tuesday at the hands of Golden State in a matchup of the top two teams in the Western Conference. Lauri Markkanen scored 27 for a Chicago team that finished up a fruitless five-game trip.

Tonight
Miami Heat at Detroit Pistons, 7:00 p.m.

NFL – National Football League – Conference Championship Sunday
Sunday
Both games on 95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports
Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints, 3:05 p.m.
New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs, 6:40 p.m.

NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
New York Rangers 4, Chicago Blackhawks 3

Rangers 4, Blackhawks 3 – Kreider, Lundqvist lead Rangers to 4-3 win over Blackhawks
Chris Kreider had a goal and an assist, Henrik Lundqvist moved into a tie for sixth place on the NHL’s career wins list and the New York Rangers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 Thursday night. Mats Zuccarello, Filip Chytil and Mika Zibanejad also scored to help New York win for the third time in four games after a five-game skid. Lundqvist stopped 24 shots to tie Terry Sawchuk with 445 wins. Brandon Saad, Alex DeBrincat and Dominik Kahun scored for Chicago, which has lost five straight (0-3-2) and seven of eight. Collin Delia, making his eighth start of the season, finished with 29 saves.

Last Night
Detroit Red Wings at Calgary Flames, 9:00 p.m.

NCAAWBB – Women’s College Basketball
Last Night
(17) Michigan State 77, (9) Maryland 60
(22) Iowa 75, Michigan 61

(17) Michigan State 77, (9) Maryland 60 – No. 17 Michigan State knocks off No. 9 Maryland 77-60
Jenna Allen scored 16 points and Nia Clouden added 15 to lift No. 17 Michigan State to a 77-60 victory over No. 9 Maryland on Thursday night. It was only the 10th loss to a conference opponent for the Terrapins since 2014-15, but seven of those have occurred in the last 12 ½ months.  The Spartans (13-4, 3-3 Big Ten) led almost throughout, racing out to a 20-4 advantage in the first quarter. Maryland (15-2, 4-2) closed to within three at halftime, but Michigan State took control again in the third in this matchup between the highest-ranked Big Ten teams in this week’s AP Top 25.  It was the second victory over a top-10 team for the Spartans this season. They beat No. 3 Oregon on Dec. 9.  Brianna Fraser led Maryland with 22 points.

(22) Iowa 75, Michigan 62 – No. 22 Iowa women take charge in 3rd, defeat Michigan 75-61
Megan Gustafson had 21 points and 16 rebounds for her 16th double-double and added six assists to lead No. 22 Iowa to a 75-62 win over Michigan on Thursday night.  Eight players scored in the third quarter when the Hawkeyes made 10 of 16 shots, including two 3-pointers, to stretch a 32-29 lead to 54-38. The Wolverines went 4 of 12 and never got the deficit below double figures in the fourth quarter despite making 11 of 17 shots. Hannah Stewart had 16 points for the Hawkeyes (13-4, 4-2 Big Ten Conference), who improved to 8-0 at home. Tania Davis and Kathleen Doyle both added 10. Davis also had six assists and Iowa had 25 helpers on 34 baskets. Naz Hillmon had 16 points and Hallie Thome 15 for Michigan (11-7, 2-4). Despite the hot fourth quarter, the Wolverines shot 33 percent for the second half and 42 percent for the game. They went 1 of 15 from 3-point range. The teams only had a combined 17 free throws and 16 turnovers.

Saturday
Central Michigan at Kent State, 12:00 p.m.
Eastern Michigan at Ohio, 1:00 p.m.
Buffalo at Western Michigan, 2:00 p.m.

Sunday
Boston College at (1) Notre Dame, 1:00 p.m.
(17) Michigan State at (20) Rutgers, 2:00 p.m.
Ohio State at Michigan, 3:00 p.m.

Tennis – Day 5 at Melbourne
The United States could have a rising star at the Australian Open. American teenager Amanda Anisimova knocked off 11th-seeded Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2 to reach the fourth round. The 17-year-old is the youngest player still in contention in the women’s draw after dropping just seven games against seeded players in the last two rounds. Local favorite Ashleigh Barty has become the first player through to the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Maria Sakkari at Rod Laver Arena. Next up for Barty is the winner of today’s match between defending champion Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova. On the men’s side, six-time champion Roger Federer conceded only three points on his first serve in a 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 win over 21-year-old American Taylor Fritz. The defending champ was playing his 100th match on Rod Laver and advanced to the Round of 16 at a Grand Slam event for the 63rd time. Stefanos Tsitsipas won his third-round match by knocking off Nikoloz Basilashvili, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.

AHL – American Hockey League
Tonight
Grand Rapids at Rockford, 8:00 p.m.

ECHL – ECHL Hockey
Tonight
Cincinnati at Kalamazoo, 7:30 p.m.

MCCAA – Junior College Basketball
Tonight
Women’s Basketball
Lake Michigan College at Grand Rapids Community College, 5:30 p.m.

Men’s Basketball
Lake Michigan College at Grand Rapids Community College, 7:30 p.m.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Girls Basketball
Michigan Lutheran 55, Lawrence 18
Buchanan 35, Berrien Springs 28
Comstock 56, Bridgman 28
Brandywine 67, Parchment 17

Boys swimming and diving
St. Joseph 102, Coldwater 69

Competitive Cheerleading
BCS Meet at Parchment
1.       Berrien Springs                   666.22
2.       Parchment                          654.80
3.       Lake Michigan Catholic        642.78
4.       Comstock                           615.30
5.       Lawrence                           589.00
6.       Buchanan                           575.62

Tonight
Boys Basketball
SMAC
Lakeshore at Niles, 7:15 p.m.          WSJM Sports
Portage Central at St. Joseph, 7:15 p.m.
Mattawan at Portage Northern, 7:15 p.m.
Battle Creek Lakeview at Gull Lake, 7:15 p.m.
Loy Norrix at Battle Creek Central, 7:15 p.m.

Wolverine
South Haven at Allegan, 7:15 p.m.   COSY-FM
Edwardsburg at Vicksburg, 7:15 p.m.
Dowagiac at Three Rivers, 7:15 p.m.
Sturgis at Plainwell, 7:15 p.m.
Paw Paw at Otsego, 7:15 p.m.

BCS
Covert at Lake Michigan Catholic, 7:30 p.m.
New Buffalo at River Valley, 7:30 p.m.
Michigan Lutheran at Lawrence, 7:30 p.m.
Countryside at Howardsville Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Buchanan at Berrien Springs, 7:30 p.m.
Comstock at Bridgman, 7:15 p.m.
Parchment at Brandywine, 7:15 p.m.

Non-Conference/Independent
Wyoming at Benton Harbor, 7:15 p.m.
Kalamazoo Homeschool at Bangor, 7:30 p.m.
Schoolcraft at Centreville, 7:30 p.m.

Southwest 10
Decatur at White Pigeon, 7:30 p.m.

SAC
Coloma at Watervliet, 7:30 p.m.
Constantine at Lawton, 7:30 p.m.
Gobles at Martin, 7:30 p.m.
Fennville at Saugatuck, 7:30 p.m.
Delton-Kellogg at Galesburg-Augusta, 7:30 p.m.

Girls Basketball
SMAC
Lakeshore at Niles, 5:45 p.m.          WSJM Sports
Portage Central at St. Joseph, 5:45 p.m.
Mattawan at Portage Northern, 5:45 p.m.
Battle Creek Lakeview at Gull Lake, 5:45 p.m.
Loy Norrix at Battle Creek Central, 5:45 p.m.

Wolverine
South Haven at Allegan, 5:45 p.m.
Edwardsburg at Vicksburg, 5:45 p.m.
Dowagiac at Three Rivers, 5:45 p.m.
Sturgis at Plainwell, 5:45 p.m.
Paw Paw at Otsego, 5:45 p.m.

BCS
Covert at Lake Michigan Catholic, 6:00 p.m.
New Buffalo at River Valley, 6:00 p.m.

Non-Conference/Independent
Benton Harbor at Wyoming, 7:30 p.m.
Bangor at Michigan Lutheran, 7:00 p.m.
Schoolcraft at Centreville, 6:00 p.m.

Southwest 10
Decatur at White Pigeon, 6:00 p.m.

SAC
Coloma at Watervliet, 6:00 p.m.
Constantine at Lawton, 6:00 p.m.
Gobles at Martin, 6:00 p.m.
Fennville at Saugatuck, 6:00 p.m.
Delton-Kellogg at Galesburg-Augusta, 6:00 p.m.