NCAA MEN’S FINAL FOUR
The semifinals have begun
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kentucky’s bid for a perfect basketball season is over.
The Wisconsin Badgers have moved into the NCAA title game for the first time since 1941 by handing the Wildcats their only loss of the season, 71-64 at Indianapolis. AP Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Wisconsin, who were tied at 60 before closing on an 11-4 run in the final 1:42. Kaminsky and Nigel Hayes combined to go 7-for-8 from the line over the final 24 seconds to allow the Badgers to pull away.
Sam Dekker drained a 3-pointer that put Wisconsin ahead to stay, part of his 16-point performance.
Kentucky was trying to become the first unbeaten NCAA champion since Indiana in 1976. Karl-Anthony Towns had team highs of 16 points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats, who finish 38-1.
Monday’s championship game will pit Wisconsin against Duke in a matchup of No. 1 seeds. The Blue Devils rolled to an 81-61 win over Michigan State as freshmen Justise Winslow and Jahlil Okafor (jah-LIHL’ OH’-kah-fohr) combined for almost half of Duke’s points. Winslow got off to a poor start and was in early foul trouble before finishing with a team-high 19 points, one more than Okafor. The pair helped the Blue Devils maintain a double-digit lead in the second half after carrying a 36-25 advantage into intermission.
Senior Quinn Cook had 17 points for the Blue Devils, who shot 51 percent and dominated the game after falling behind 14-6.
Denzel Valentine finished with 22 points for the Spartans.
Indianapolis remains Duke’s home away from home as the program seeks its fifth national championship, all under coach Mike Krzyzewski (shuh-SHEHF’-skee). The Blue Devils won national titles in 1991 and 2010, the last two times they played in a final at Indianapolis.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
AP Awards
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Florida State’s Sue Semrau (SAM’-row) is The Associated Press Coach of the Year in women’s basketball while Connecticut’s Breanna Stewart is the AP women’s player of the year. Semrau led FSU to its best season ever, winning 32 games before losing to South Carolina in the regional finals.
Stewart is the fifth player to earn the honor twice in a career. She averaged 17.6 points and 7.6 rebounds this season in helping UConn roll to a 36-1 record and an eighth straight trip to the Final Four.
NBA-SCHEDULE
Rockets take over division lead as Grizzlies fall
UNDATED (AP) — The Memphis Grizzlies have lost their share of the NBA’s Southwest Division lead and the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
Bradley Beal finished with 20 points and John Wall added a double-double of 18 points and 14 assists as Washington downed the Grizzlies 92-83 in Memphis. Drew Gooden had 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting, including 3 of 5 from beyond the arc to help the Wizards gain their third straight win.
Marc Gasol (gah-SAHL’) had 18 points for the Grizzlies, who are a half-game behind Houston in the division and conference races.
In other NBA action:
— Klay Thompson scored 21 points and Golden State clinched home-court advantage throughout the playoffs with its 12th straight victory, 123-110 at Dallas. Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points to lead the Mavericks, who lost for the sixth time in eight games but are close to securing the seventh seed in the West.
— J.J. Redick scored 24 points and the Los Angeles Clippers beat Denver, 107-92, to move a half-game ahead of San Antonio for fifth in the West. Chris Paul delivered 23 points and nine assists, while DeAndre Jordan added 14 points and 22 boards in the Clippers’ ninth victory in 10 games.
— Portland ended New Orleans’ four-game winning streak by downing the Pelicans 99-90. LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Kris Kaman (KAY’-man) added 16 points and 11 boards to help the Trail Blazers keep the Pelicans a half-game behind Oklahoma City for the last Western Conference playoff spot.
— Tobias Harris had 23 points and 10 rebounds to carry Orlando to a 97-90 triumph at Milwaukee. Harris made a career-best five 3-pointers on nine attempts.
— The Nets’ six-game winning streak is over after Al Horford and DeMarre Carroll scored 20 points each to help Atlanta crush Brooklyn 131-99. The Hawks picked up their franchise record-tying 57th win, but they also played the second half without forward Paul Millsap because of a right shoulder injury. The outcome allowed Boston to climb within a half-game of the Nets for seventh in the East.
— The Celtics pulled out a 117-116 overtime victory at Toronto on Marcus Smart’s buzzer-beating layup in overtime. Isaiah Thomas scored a team-high 25 points and threw a pass to Smart for the game-winning shot.
— Reggie Jackson scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, including the winning layup with 5 seconds remaining, to push Detroit past Miami 99-98. Andre Drummond had 11 points and 17 rebounds for the Pistons, who dropped the Heat a half-game behind Boston for the final Eastern Conference playoff berth.
— Charlotte beat Philadelphia 92-91 on Gerald Henderson’s driving layup with 6 seconds left. Kemba Walker had 24 points and Mo Williams added 18 as the Hornets won despite playing without three starters, including center Al Jefferson.
— Eric Bledsoe scored 16 points and Brandan Wright added 14 as Phoenix pulled out an 87-85 win against Utah.
NBA-PACERS
Great news for Pacers fans
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Pacers star Paul George will play Sunday against Miami, eight months after he broke his right leg while playing for Team USA in an exhibition game in Las Vegas. George says he’s excited, but points out that he is still in a rehab stage and needs to work to get back to full strength.
The two-time All-Star was expected to sit out the entire 2014-15 season after suffering the injury. The Pacers can use him as they remain in the hunt for a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Rangers blast Devils to widen East lead…Lightning catch Habs
UNDATED (AP) — The New York Rangers are closer to wrapping up home-ice advantage throughout the NHL’s Eastern Conference playoffs.
The Blueshirts lead the East by three points over Montreal and Tampa Bay following a 6-1 rout of New Jersey. Dominic Moore scored twice and Rick Nash notched his 42nd goal as the Rangers picked up their third straight win.
Nash, Derek Stepan (STEP’-ahn) and Keith Yandle each had a goal and an assist for the Blueshirts.
The Lightning have pulled even with the Canadiens for the Atlantic Division lead, although the Habs have one game in hand. Steven Stamkos (STAM’-kohs) scored the first two goals and had an assist as Tampa Bay blanked Florida 4-0. Ryan Callahan added a goal and an assist to support Ben Bishop, who stopped 34 shots in his fourth shutout of the season.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— Cody Eakin (EE’-kihn) scored on his first career penalty shot in overtime to give Dallas a 4-3 verdict over Nashville. Colton Sceviour (SEE’-vee-ur) and Travis Moen each had a goal and an assist as the Stars caused the Predators to move just one point ahead of St. Louis for the Central Division lead.
— Gustav Nyquist and Riley Sheahan each scored once in regulation and once in a shootout before Darren Helm’s tally in the eighth round gave Detroit a 3-2 win over Minnesota. Zach Parise scored twice for the Wild, who moved a point closer to securing a playoff berth. The Red Wings moved into a three-way tie with Boston and Pittsburgh for the last three Eastern Conference playoff slots.
— Jaroslav Halak (YAH’-roh-slahv hah-LAHK’) picked up his sixth shutout of the season and Kyle Okposo (oh-POH’-soh) scored the game-winner as the New York Islanders beat Buffalo 3-0. Brock Nelson and Nikolay Kulemin (KOO’-leh-mihn) also scored for the Isles, who need another victory or an Ottawa loss to wrap up a playoff berth.
— The Senators squandered a 3-0 lead before getting a goal by Kyle Turris at 3:14 of overtime to knock off Washington 4-3. Clarke MacArthur and Mika Zibanejad (MEE’-lah zih-BAH’-neh-zhahd) each had a power-play goal and an assist for the Senators, who stayed three points behind Boston for the final Eastern Conference playoff berth. The Capitals fell one point behind the second-place Islanders in the Metropolitan Division.
— Patrice Bergeron (pah-TREES’ BEHR’-zhur-ahn) scored once in regulation and added the lone shootout goal in the Bruins’ 2-1 verdict over Toronto. Maple Leafs netminder James Reimer made 49 saves to send the game to a shootout.
— Nick Foligno (foh-LEE’-noh) notched his first career hat trick and the Columbus Blue Jackets picked up their team-record ninth consecutive win by downing Pittsburgh 5-3. Foligno snapped a 2-2 tie early in the third period and put his 30th goal of the season into an empty net. The Penguins are 2-7-1 in their last 10, leaving them three points behind the second-place Islanders with four games remaining.
— Winnipeg bolstered its playoff hopes as Lee Stempniak (STEHMP’-nee-ak) scored twice and Mathieu Perreault (peh-ROH’) had three assists in a 5-4 triumph over Vancouver. Stempniak provided the go-ahead goal and the eventual game-winner as the Jets remained tied with Los Angeles in the race for the final Western Conference playoff berth.
— Markus Granlund scored twice and Jonas Hiller turned back 27 shots in Calgary’s 4-0 shutout of Edmonton. The Kings remain third in the Pacific Division and one point ahead of Winnipeg and Los Angeles for the final playoff berth.
— Alec Martinez scored the game-winner midway through the second period and Jonathan Quick faced just 10 shots in the Kings’ 3-1 triumph over Colorado. Dwight King and Marian Gaborik (GAB’-uh-rihk) also scored in the Kings’ fifth victory in seven games.
— Carolina blew a 2-0 lead before Nathan Gerbe (GUR’-bee) and Chris Terry scored in a shootout to lift the Hurricanes over Philadelphia 2-0. Jordan Staal had a goal and an assist for the ‘Canes.
— Oliver Ekman-Larsson had two goals and an assist as Arizona beat San Jose 5-3. The Coyotes are now four points ahead of Buffalo as the two teams vie for the best chance of getting the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft.
NHL-OBIT-LACH
Hockey Hall of Famer dies
MONTREAL (AP) — Hall of Fame forward Elmer Lach (lahk), who centered Montreal’s famed Punch Line with Toe Blake on left wing and Maurice “Rocket” Richard (rih-SHARD’) on the right, has died. He was 97 and had been the oldest living NHL player.
Lach retired as the league’s career leader in points with 623, a far cry from the current record of 2,857 by Wayne Gretzky but accomplished in an era of 50-game seasons in a super-competitive six-team league.
WOMEN’S HOCKEY-WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
US beats Canada to take title
MALMO, Sweden (AP) — The United States has successfully defended its women’s world hockey championship with a 7-5 victory over Canada.
The Americans blew a 5-2 lead before Brianna Decker and Kendall Coyne scored in the third period.
The U.S. has won five of the last six world titles.
MLB-INDIANS-KLUBER
Indians work out lengthy package with Kluber
CLEVELAND (AP) — A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber and the Cleveland Indians have agreed to a five-year contract.
The deal includes two club options and is contingent upon him passing medical tests, which should be concluded within the next few days.
Kluber went 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA last season, his first full year in the majors.
MLB-GIANTS
To the DL for Ishikawa
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) —Giants outfielder and first baseman Travis Ishikawa will begin the season on the disabled list with a back injury. Ishikawa was traded back to the Giants last season and played in 47 games before playing a key role for the team in the playoffs. He hit .191 with a homer, six RBIs and 14 strikeouts in 17 Cactus League games this spring.
MLB-ROYALS
New deal for Ventura
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Pitcher Yordano Ventura has reached agreement on a five-year contract worth $23 million with the American League champion Kansas City Royals. The 23-year-old went 14-10 with a 3.20 earned run average as a rookie last season. The hard-throwing righty pitched seven shutout innings against San Francisco to win Game 6 of the World Series.
LPGA-ANA INSPIRATAION
Kim leads through 54
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) — Sei Young Kim carded a pair of late birdies to take a three-stroke lead over Stacy Lewis through three rounds of the ANA Inspiration, the first LPGA major of the year.
She holed a downhill 18-footer from the fringe on the par-4 16th and made a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th to take command.
Kim is 10-under following a 3-under 69.
Lewis bogeyed 15 and 17 for a 4-under 68.
PGA-HOUSTON OPEN
Spieth leads
HOUSTON (AP) — Jordan Speith (speeth) has the lead after three rounds of the PGA’s Houston Open. He shot a third round 5-under-67 to stand 14-under par, one shot in front of three players, Scott Piercy, Johnson Wagner and Austin Cook.
Phil Mickelson entered the round one stroke back before carding a 75 that puts him six off the pace.
TENNIS-MIAMI OPEN
Williams wins, again
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) — Serena Williams just keeps on rolling as the world’s top female tennis player. She has won her eighth Key Biscayne title and remains unbeaten this year, drubbing Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-0 in the final of the Miami Open.
Williams became the fourth woman to win the same WTA event at least eight times. Martina Navratilova (nah-vrah-tih-LOH’-vuh) won Chicago 12 times, the most titles by a woman at any tournament.
