NEW YORK (AP) — Shabazz Napier scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half as Connecticut downed No. 4 Michigan State 60-54 to win the East Regional of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden. Napier hit three huge free throws with 37.6 seconds left to put the Huskies ahead 56-51. The 30-8 Huskies rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to become the first No. 7 seed to reach the Final Four since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Aaron Harrison and the Kentucky Wildcats ended Michigan’s bid for an NCAA men’s basketball title by defeating the second-seeded Wolverines 75-72 at Indianapolis. The game was tied at 72 until Harrison drained a 3-pointer from NBA range with 2.3 seconds left, moments after Julius Randle inadvertently tipped in the tying shot on Michigan’s previous possession. Harrison scored all 12 of his points off 3-pointers in the final 8:05.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Padres won their season opener by scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1. Seth Smith led off the rally with a game-tying homer before Chris Denorfia hit a two-run single. The Padres came back on Brian Wilson after Hyun-Jin Ryu threw seven scoreless innings.
CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indiana Pacers suffered their fifth straight road loss as their lead in the NBA’s Eastern Conference shrunk to one game over Miami. Dion Waiters scored 19 points and Luol Deng (LOO’-ul dehng) added 15 in Cleveland’s 90-76 win over the Pacers. Tristan Thompson had 16 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who led by 21 in the fourth quarter and snapped a nine-game losing streak against Indiana.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma City has pulled within three games of the NBA’s Western Conference-leading San Antonio Spurs by drubbing Utah 116-96. Kevin Durant had 31 points and nine assists, Russell Westbrook finished with 19 points and Serge Ibaka (ih-BAH’-kah) had 17 in the Thunder’s sixth victory in seven games. Durant has scored at least 25 points in 38 straight games, the NBA’s longest such streak since Chicago’s Michael Jordan did it in 40 straight in 1986-87.
