Estimated read time: 8-9 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
NCAA TOURNAMENT
Mercer shocks Duke
UNDATED (AP) — It's one and done for the Duke Blue Devils in the NCAA tournament.
Fourteenth seed Mercer trailed by five with 4:52 left before embarking on a 20-5 run to earn a 78-71 win over Duke. Jakob Gollon had 20 points and Daniel Coursey 17 to help the Bears overcome the Blue Devils' season-high 15 3-pointers.
Duke has lost its opening game of the tournament twice in the last three years. The Blue Devils fell to Lehigh in the second round in 2012.
Next up for Mercer is No. 11 Tennessee after Jarnell Stokes scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the Vols to an 86-67 rout of Massachusetts. Jordan McRae added 21 points and helped the Volunteers shoot 54 percent from the field.
In other NCAA action:
— Top-seed Arizona got 18 points from Nick Johnson in a 68-59 win over Weber State in West Regional play at the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats got an early scare when they fell behind by eight points, but they came up with runs of 14-2 and 13-3 to go up 32-20 at halftime.
— Arizona's next opponent is No. 8 Gonzaga, which got 26 points from Kevin Pangos in an 85-77 win over Oklahoma State. Gary Bell Jr. added 17 points to help the Bulldogs overcome Marcus Smart's 23 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and six steals for the Cowboys.
— Third seed Creighton will take on No. 6 Baylor in the third round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday. Doug McDermott scored 30 points and third-seeded Creighton got three huge 3-pointers in the second half from Ethan Wragge to beat No. 14 Louisiana-Lafayette 76-66.
— Cory Jefferson scored 16 points and Baylor kept 11th-seeded Nebraska winless in its NCAA tournament history with a 74-60 victory over the Huskers. Isaiah Austin scored 13 points and Brady Heslip added 12 points the Bears, who made 38 of 48 free throws compared to 10 of 16 for the Cornhuskers.
— Andrew Wiggins scored 19 points and Jamari Traylor finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds to lead No. 2 Kansas to an 80-69 triumph against Eastern Kentucky. Perry Ellis had 14 points and 13 boards for the Jayhawks, who trailed by three with nine minutes left before closing on a 27-13 run.
— Chasson Randle scored 23 points and Stanford earned a third-round meeting with Kansas by building an early 16-point lead before holding off New Mexico 58-53. The Cardinal got four crucial free throws from reserve Robbie Lemons and Randle in the final half-minute after New Mexico had cut the deficit to two points.
— James Michael McAdoo sank two free throws in the final 3.5 seconds to lift sixth seed North Carolina over Providence 79-77. Marcus Paige had a team-high 19 points for the Tar Heels, who withstood a career-high 36 points by Friars star Bryce Cotton.
— Michael Dixon Jr. scored 19 points and hit four free throws in the final 10 seconds to help Memphis top George Washington 71-66 in the East Regional. Joe Jackson added 15 points for the eighth-seeded Tigers.
— Cleananthony Early had 23 points as top seed Wichita State silenced Cal Poly 64-37. The Shockers are 35-0, surpassing the NCAA's previous best start set by UNLV in 1991.
Meanwhile, a second day of upsets has ended any chance of someone having a perfect NCAA tournament bracket in Warren Buffet's $1 billion challenge. The last three brackets were eliminated when Memphis beat George Washington.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-VIRGINIA TECH/WILLIAMS
There's a Buzz in Blacksburg
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Buzz Williams has left Marquette to become head coach at Virginia Tech
Williams was 139-69 with five NCAA tournament appearances in six seasons at Marquette, but the Golden Eagles missed the tourney this year. He replaces James Johnson, who was fired after the Hokies went 9-22 and finished last in the ACC.
NBA-SCHEDULE
Pacers, Heat win...Sixers fall again
UNDATED (AP) — The Indiana Pacers still lead the NBA's Eastern Conference by three games over Miami. And the Philadelphia 76ers still own a losing streak that's approaching NBA-record proportions.
Luis Scola had 19 points and Lance Stephenson add 15 in Indiana's 91-79 win over Chicago. The Pacers took control with a 19-0 run in the third quarter and improved their league-best home record to 32-4.
The Heat kept pace as Ray Allen scored a team-high 18 points in a 91-86 triumph over Memphis. LeBron James provided 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds in the win.
The 76ers made it 23 straight losses as Amare Stoudemire had 22 points and 10 rebounds in the New York Knicks' eighth consecutive victory, 93-92 over Philadelphia. That leaves the Sixers three shy of the NBA record for consecutive losses, set by Cleveland in 2010-11.
Elsewhere in the NBA:
— Brooklyn picked up its 11th straight home win as Joe Johnson hit six 3-pointers while scoring 27 points in the Nets' 114-98 rout of Boston. Mason Plumlee chipped in 18 points and former Celtic Paul Pierce added 14 in the Nets' ninth victory in their last 10 games overall.
— Anthony Davis had 34 points and 11 rebounds as New Orleans downed Atlanta 111-105. The Hawks ended a five-game winning streak and saw their lead over the Knicks cut to three games as the two teams battle for the last Eastern Conference playoff berth.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Rangers rally to pass Blue Jackets
UNDATED (AP) — The New York Rangers have strengthened their Stanley Cup playoff hopes while preventing the Columbus Blue Jackets from doing the same.
The Rangers climbed into sixth place in the Eastern Conference by scoring three times in the third period of a 3-1 win at Columbus. Nick Foligno (foh-LEE'-noh) tallied 18 seconds into the final stanza before Derick Brassard and Derek Stepan (STEP'-ahn) put the Rangers ahead 2-1. Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves against the Blue Jackets, who remain just one point ahead of Detroit and Washington for the final Eastern Conference playoff berth.
NFL-TEXANS-RAIDERS-SCHAUB
Raiders acquire Schaub
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — The Raiders have acquired Matt Schaub from the Houston Texans for an undisclosed draft pick, giving the quarterback a second chance after he lost his starting job with the Texans last season.
Schaub comes in as the presumptive starter ahead of Terrelle (teh-REHL') Pryor and Matt McGloin, who were inconsistent last year as Oakland had a second straight four-win season.
The 32-year old Schaub was Houston's starter from 2007 until last season, when he was benched in favor of Case Keenum.
NFL-JETS/QUARTERBACKS
Vick in, Sanchez out
UNDATED (AP) — The New York Jets have signed quarterback Michael Vick and released Mark Sanchez. Vick was a free agent after spending the last five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. Sanchez was the Jets' starting quarterback for four seasons before missing all of last season with a right shoulder injury.
GOLF-ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL
Scott sets blistering pace
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Adam Scott matched the lowest 36-hole score at the Arnold Palmer Invitational to take a record seven-shot lead into the weekend.
The Masters champion ran off five birdies in an eight-hole stretch late in the second round on the way to a 4-under 68. That puts him at 14-under 130, tying the two round record at Bay Hill shared by Tom Watson and Andy Bean in 1981.
J.B. Holmes, Chesson Hadley and Francesco Molinari share second.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Couples grabs lead
SAUCIER, Miss. (AP) — Fred Couples shot a 6-under 66 to take a two-shot lead after the first round of the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic.
Jeff Maggert shot a 68 in his Champions Tour debut, joining Kenny Perry, David Frost, Jay Haas and last year's tournament champion Michael Allen in second place.
LPGA-JTBC FOUNDERS CUP
Crowded leaderboard
PHOENIX (AP) — Sun Young Yoo has the clubhouse lead during the second round of the JTBC Founders Cup on the LPGA Tour. She stands 10-under after 36 holes of play, two shots in front of Lizette Salas, Amy Yang, Michelle Wie (wee) and Eun-Hee Ji.
Mirim Lee stands 12-under after 17 holes.
MLB-OPENING GAME
Dodgers to face Diamondbacks
UNDATED (AP) — The opening game of the 2014 Major League Baseball season is being played Saturday in Sydney, Australia. With the time difference, the contest is taking place at 4 a.m. Eastern time.
The Dodgers and Diamondbacks will be on display at a converted cricket ground. The pitching matchup has Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw going for Los Angeles against Wade Miley, who was pressed into duty with the spring training injury to Patrick Corbin.
— The Tigers have acquired Andrew Romine from the Los Angeles Angels for left-hander Jose Alvarez. The deal came a day after the Tigers learned Iglesias could miss the season because of stress fractures in both legs. The 28-year old Romine played in 47 games for the Angels last season and hit .259.
— Detroit reliever Bruce Rondon needs surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right elbow and will be sidelined for the entire season. A candidate to be Detroit's eighth-inning setup man, Rondon felt discomfort Monday after pitching a scoreless inning against Washington the previous day.
— Reds manager Bryan Price doesn't expect right-hander Mat Latos (LAY'-tohs) to be ready for the start of the season. Latos had surgery to repair cartilage in his left knee on Feb. 14 and won't have enough time to get ready for the first week of the season.
— Contract talks between pitcher Justin Masterson and the Cleveland Indians have been suspended. The right-hander had offered the team what looked to be a reduced deal to stay in Cleveland but the two sides couldn't find common ground.
NASCAR
Kenseth wins Fontana pole
FONTANA, Calif. (AP) — Matt Kenseth has won the pole for Sunday's Sprint Cup race in Fontana, Calif., edging Brad Keselowski. Kenseth turned a lap at 187.315 mph for his first pole of the season and 12th of his NASCAR career.
Jimmie Johnson was third in qualifying, followed by Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer (BOY'-ur).
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
