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Williamson and Ingram come through late to lift Pelicans past Nuggets 115-110

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Zion Williamson scored 26 points and Brandon Ingram added 21, and both came through in the final minutes to lift the New Orleans Pelicans to a 115-110 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.Williamson and Ingram each scored twice during a late 8-0 run and the Pelicans narrowly held on after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Reggie Jackson and Aaron Gordon each missed 3-point shots for a tie game during the same possession in the final 30 seconds.The ball went out of bounds off Denver with 15 seconds left after Gordon’s miss, and Herb Jones hit two free throws for New Orleans after being fouled immediately on an inbound pass with 13.5 seconds remaining.Jonas Valanciunas scored 22 to help New Orleans win its second straight NBA In-Season Tournament game, improving the Pelicans’ record in West Group B to 2-1 and leaving Denver with the same mark. New Orleans could have a chance to win its bracket against the Clippers in Los Angeles on Nov. 24.Nikola Joki...

Woodruff, Lewis among 63 new free agents as 19 players reach deals and teams make flurry of trades

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff was cut loose by Milwaukee and former AL Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis by Arizona, among 63 players who became free agents Friday night when their teams declined to offer 2024 contracts.Nick Senzel, the No. 2 pick in the 2016 amateur draft, was dropped by Cincinnati and Gold Glove catcher Jacob Stallings by Miami.A pair of 2019 All-Stars were allowed to go free, designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach by the New York Mets and outfielder Austin Meadows by Detroit. Veteran pitchers Dakota Hudson of St. Louis and Matt Bush of Texas also were cut.The deadline marked the last time a team could drop an arbitration-eligible player without committing to at least 30 days of termination pay if the player is released.Atlanta jettisoned two more arbitration-eligible players in separate trades with Kansas City, sending right-handers Kyle Wright and Nick Anderson to the Royals. Atlanta acquired right-hander Jackson Kowar in the Wright deal. Anderson wa...

Bacot and Ingram help No. 20 North Carolina beat UC Riverside 77-52 for a 3-0 start

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Armando Bacot had 21 points and No. 20 North Carolina blew the game open with 19 straight points out of halftime to beat UC Riverside 77-52 on Friday night.Harrison Ingram added 10 points and nine boards for the Tar Heels (3-0), who led by 21 midway through the first half before the Highlanders clawed back to within 37-26 at the break. But as UNC got its offense moving again and kept stretching out its lead, UC Riverside (1-3) went cold.RJ Davis had a three-point play off a double-pump jumper on an inbounds pass, then added a 3-pointer during the flurry. Jalen Washington followed with his own from the corner and Jae’Lyn Withers closed the spurt with two free throws to push the margin to 56-26 with 11:04 left.The Highlanders missed their first 13 shots and committed five turnovers before Barrington Hargress found Vladimer Salaridze for a layup at the 10:33 mark to end the drought.Ben Griscti scored 14 points for UC Riverside.BIG PICTURE UC Riverside: Th...

Lauren Betts and Charisma Osborne lift No. 3 UCLA over Princeton 77-74

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lauren Betts had a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 3 UCLA pulled away in the fourth quarter to hold off Princeton 77-74 on Friday and avoid the upset bug among the top 10 teams in the AP poll.Only No. 1 South Carolina and the Bruins (4-0) haven’t lost yet.Charisma Osborne scored 13 of her 21 points in the fourth for UCLA. Kiki Rice added 13 points and Gabriela Jaquez had 11 points.The Tigers (2-1) were led by Kaitlyn Chen with 24 points and Skye Belker with 20 points. Madison St. Rose added 15 points and freshman Mari Bickley had 10.NO. 7 LSU 73, SE LOUISIANA 50Sophomore Flau’jae Johnson scored 17 points and 11 rebounds and junior Annesah Morrow added 10 points and 11 rebounds as LSU raced past SE Louisiana in their first game of the season without All-America forward Angel Reese.Kennedy Paul and Hailey Giaratano led SE Louisiana with 12 points each.Even without Reese, LSU (4-1) had enough firepower to handle the Lady Lions (2-2) in Mulkey’s homecom...

Braves trade right-handers Kyle Wright and Nick Anderson to Royals

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves jettisoned two more arbitration-eligible players in two separate trades with Kansas City on Friday, sending right-handers Kyle Wright and Nick Anderson to the Royals.Atlanta acquired right-hander Jackson Kowar in the Wright deal. Anderson was traded for $100,000.A day earlier, Atlanta dealt pitcher Mike Soroka and infielder Nicky Lopez to the Chicago White Sox along with pitchers Jared Shuster and Riley Gowens and infielder Braden Shewmake for left-handed reliever Aaron Bummer.The 28-year-old Wright is expected to miss the 2024 season after he had surgery in October to repair a torn capsule in his pitching shoulder. He went 1-3 with a 6.97 ERA in nine games with Atlanta this year.Wright had a breakout performance in 2022, going 21-5 with a 3.19 ERA in 30 starts. He became the first Braves pitcher to lead the majors in wins since Tom Glavine in 2000.Kowar was selected by Kansas City in the first round of the 2018 amateur draft. He went 2-0 with a 6.4...

Krikke’s 25 points leads Iowa past Arkansas State

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Ben Krikke scored 25 points, Dasonte Bowen scored 17 and Iowa led by double digits for most of the second half to beat Arkansas State 88-74 on Friday night.Tony Perkins scored 11 points, and reserve Josh Dix and Patrick McCaffrey each scored 10 for Iowa.Freddy Hicks scored 21 points, Taryn Todd 16, Caleb Fields 14 and reserve Derrian Ford 11 for Arkansas State.Iowa (3-1) built a 7-0 lead and never trailed. Lado Laku threw down a dunk for the Red Wolves (1-3) with 10:49 to reduce the deficit to 22-18. Later, Todd made a 3-pointer to bring Arkansas State within 41-39 with 3:27 before intermission, but Iowa responded with an 8-0 run and led 49-39 at the break.Todd’s layup with 8:09 left made it 67-59 — the closest Arkansas State would get in the second half — before Krikke made a layup, Bowen made two foul shots and Payton Sandfort made a layup for a 14-point advantage.___Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll throughout the season. Sign up here ___ AP col...

Miller, Nelson propel TCU to 86-52 victory over Mississippi Valley State

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Emanuel Miller and Jameer Nelson Jr. scored 13 points apiece and TCU breezed to an 86-52 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Friday night.Miller sank 5 of 9 shots, adding five assists, four rebounds and two blocked shots for the Horned Frogs (4-0). Nelson hit 4 of 6 shots with a 3-pointer, adding five steals. Micah Peavy totaled 12 points and four assists. Reserve Avery Anderson III scored 12 on 5-for-7 shooting with a 3-pointer, adding four steals and three assists.Rayquan Brown scored 17 points for the Delta Devils (0-4).Nelson had eight points in the first half, hitting all three of his shots and both of his free throws, Miller scored seven and TCU took a 41-26 lead into halftime.TCU shot 53.6% overall and made 6 of 17 from beyond the arc (35.3%). Mississippi Valley State shot 38.5% overall and hit 3 of 11 from distance (27.3%). The Horned Frogs made 20 of 30 at the free-throw line, while the Delta Devils hit 9 of 15.TCU is 6-0 all time against MVSU....

Lillard scores 27, leads 3-point barrage as Bucks beat Hornets to remain unbeaten in tourney play

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Damian Lillard scored 27 points, Malik Beasley added 20 and the Milwaukee Bucks overcame a 37-point effort from LaMelo Ball to beat the Charlotte Hornets 130-99 on Friday night and remain unbeaten in NBA In-Season Tournament play.Giannis Antetokounmpo had 16 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Bucks, who’ve won three straight. Beasley had six 3s and Lillard five as the Bucks went 22 of 45 from beyond the arc and outscored the Hornets 38-18 in the fourth quarter.“I loved how we shared the ball and moved the ball and were looking for each other,” Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said. “That is what we have been stressing the last week or so, and it’s a fun way to play. Giannis really spearheaded that and was spreading it around and we were getting open shots.”Milwaukee’s victory sets up a showdown on Nov. 28 in Miami against the Heat, the only other undefeated team in East Group B in what might determine who’ll advance to the single-elimination knock...

Mark Sears leads No. 22 Alabama over Mercer 98-67

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Mark Sears scored 24 points to go with five rebounds and six assists as No. 22 Alabama beat Mercer 98-67 on Friday night.Sears shot 8-for-12 from the field and made seven of his eight free throw attempts. Nick Pringle and Jarin Stevenson scored 14 for the Crimson Tide and Aaron Estrada had 10. Mercer (1-3) was led by Jalyn McCreary with 17 points and eight rebounds and Amanze Ngumezi had 11 points.Alabama (4-0) trailed early in its last two home games against Indiana State and South Alabama, but had no such trouble with the Bears, jumping out to a 15-4 lead in the first four minutes. Alabama shot 79% from the field in the first half, its first time shooting better than 70% in a half since Nov. 29, 2019.BIG PICTUREAlabama is about to get a significant increase in the quality of its competition, with a chance that six of its next seven games are against teams from Power 5 conferences. It goes into that series of games with a red-hot offense, having scored 98 or...

Horne, defense leads N.C. State in rout of Charleston Southern, 87-53

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — DJ Horne scored 14 of his team-high 18 points in the second half as N.C. State rolled to a third-straight win, beating Charleston Southern 87-53 on Friday night.N.C. State has now started the season 3-0 six times in seven seasons under coach Kevin Keatts. DJ Patrick and Louis Hutchinson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to pull Charleston Southern (2-2) within one, 18-17, with 8:53 left but the Wolfpack closed out the half on a 24-6 run and led 42-23 at the break. The Wolfpack forced a season high 22 turnovers, turning them into 29 points. They forced the Buccaneers into three 10-second violations and 12 turnovers in the first half.DJ Burns Jr. scored 16 points, Dennis Parker Jr. had 12 points and four steals and Casey Morsell added 10 points.Taje’ Kelly and RJ Johnson each had a dozen points to lead the Buccaneers and Louis Hutchinson added 11 points and seven rebounds. NC State faces Vanderbilt Thursday night in the Vegas Showdown in Las Vegas.Charleston South...