AP Sports SummaryBrief at 2:54 a.m. EST
Evans, Boozer help No. 1 Duke beat No. 11 Virginia 77-51 to clinch ACC Tournament’s top seed
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Isaiah Evans scored 19 points to help No. 1 Duke beat No. 11 Virginia 77-51. That win clinched the top seed for the upcoming Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. Evans hit five 3-pointers, with three coming in the opening minutes. Star freshman Cameron Boozer had 18 points with most of that production coming at the foul line. Thijs De Ridder scored 16 points for the Cavaliers. Virginia had won nine straight but fell to 0-17 against top-ranked Duke teams. Duke led 41-26 at the break.
LeBron James’ 11-year-old daughter Zhuri has a fun shootaround with father before game with Warriors
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Zhuri James stood with her back to the basket at the free-throw line and heaved an over-the-head shot that banked in after several previous attempts. A little coaching and love from her superstar dad did the trick. LeBron James’ 11-year-old daughter held a shooting session of her own at Chase Center on Saturday night after he concluded his own warmup routine. She also dribbled on the baseline as he dribbled, and James caught a glimpse and gave her a smile, then Zhuri came out on the court for some shots from different spots around the key. Zhuri even threw him an alley-oop and James slammed it home. They shared a sweet handshake and he told her “love you” before heading back to the locker room.
Luka Doncic scores 26 points, LeBron James adds 22 as Lakers run away from Warriors for 129-101 win
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Luka Doncic had 26 points, eight assists and six rebounds, LeBron James added 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers ran away from the short-handed Golden State Warriors for a 129-101 win. The Warriors struggled to produce enough offensive power as Stephen Curry missed his 10th straight game for Golden State still nursing a right knee injury and newly acquired center Kristaps Porzingis sat out with an illness. Gui Santos scored 14 points to lead the Warriors after he received a multi-year contract extension earlier in the day.
Oft-injured New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson ‘tweaks’ right ankle in win over Utah Jazz
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) — Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has another potential injury to deal with after leaving New Orleans’ game at Utah in the second quarter. The Pelicans announced Williamson would not return due to an injury to his right ankle in a game New Orleans went on to win 115-105. Interim coach James Borrego said Williams tweaked the ankle, but didn’t have an immediate update on severity of the injury. Borrego said he hopes the injury is not serious and Williamson can return soon. It’s the latest setback for the oft-injured player who had already missed 16 games this season due to various ailments.
Knight delivers joke during ‘SNL’ appearance featuring US men and women hockey gold medal winners
This time it was Hilary Knight’s turn to provide a big laugh in the wake of a weeklong dustup involving the United States women and men’s gold medal-winning hockey teams. Knight, the U.S. women’s captain, along with teammate Megan Keller and men’s team brothers Jack and Quinn Hughes, made an appearance during “Heated Rivalry” star Connor Storrie’s opening monologue on SNL. Knight joked it was going to be only the women, but they decided to invite the men, too. The remark was a reference to a controversy that arose when President Trump invited the men to attend his State of the Union speech. He then joked he’d have to invite the women or risk getting impeached.
Lewis makes seven 3s as Saint Mary’s beats No. 9 Gonzaga 70-59 to share WCC regular-season title
MORAGA, Calif. (AP) — Mikey Lewis made seven 3-pointers and scored 31 points to help Saint Mary’s beat No. 9 Gonzaga 70-59 to give the Gaels a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title. Joshua Dent scored 14 points and Mantas Juenaz added 12 to help the Gaels to their seventh consecutive win and 26th straight at home. It’s the fourth straight year Saint Mary’s has won at least a share of the conference title. Graham Ike had 17 points for Gonzaga before fouling out with four minutes left. It was the final regular-season game between the long-time WCC rivals before Gonzaga joins the Pac-12 next season.
Zuby Ejiofor has triple-double for No. 15 St. John’s against Villanova
NEW YORK (AP) — Zuby Ejiofor’s penultimate regular-season home game at St. John’s was certainly a memorable one. The senior big man had 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double as the 15th-ranked Red Storm bounced back from an embarrassing defeat by routing Villanova 89-57 at Madison Square Garden. The 6-foot-9, 245-pound Ejiofor, who also blocked three shots, delivered the fifth triple-double by a St. John’s player since the 1985-86 season, the school said. It was the second in the past 26 years, after Kadary Richmond had one in the regular-season finale last year at Marquette. Ejiofor, the preseason Big East player of the year, said it was probably his first triple-double in organized basketball.
Karaban helps No. 6 UConn edge Seton Hall 71-67 after being added to Huskies of Honor
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Alex Karaban scored 23 points after being added to the Huskies of Honor before his final home game, and No. 6 UConn rallied for a 71-67 victory over Seton Hall on Saturday. Solo Ball had 12 of his 14 points in the second half for UConn (27-3, 17-2 Big East). Karaban and Ball combined to go 7 for 8 from the foul line in the final minute. Karaban became the first active UConn men’s basketball player to join the Huskies of Honor in pregame ceremony at Gampel Pavilion. The two-time national champion who is the men’s career leader in victories moved into 10th on the career scoring list with a 3-pointer during the game.
John Calipari matches the worst loss of his career and wishes it ‘would have gone faster’
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Arkansas coach John Calipari matched the worst margin of defeat in his 34-year career. It came in a 111-77 loss at No. 7 Florida. Calipari looked like he would top the mark until D.J. Wagner hit a 3-pointer in the final minute. His other 34-point loss came while he was at Kentucky in 2018. That one came against Duke. The game was mostly a debacle for Arkansas. Florida built a double-digit lead early and stretched it 30 midway through the second half. The biggest drama came when Calipari and Florida’s Todd Golden screamed at each other early in the second half and drew double technicals.
Notre Dame, Penn St. running back tandems share stage once again at NFL’s scouting combine
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Former Notre Dame running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price rekindled some fond memories at this week’s NFL’s scouting combine. They shared a room — just as they used to when they were college teammates. Only here, one of college football’s best backfield duos is no longer working in tandem. Instead, they’re here to showcase their own skills and increase their prospects heading into April’s NFL draft. Love and Price might be the highest-rated running backs in this year’s draft class. But they’re not the only backfield tandem in Indianapolis. So are Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton, two of the most productive runners in Penn State history.
