Sports Radio 1400 WSJM @wsjmsports wsjmsports.com Thursday, January 21, 2016
NCAA Basketball – Men’s
Last Night
Nebraska 72, (11) Michigan State 71
Michigan 74, Minnesota 69
Notre Dame 83, Virginia Tech 81
Nebraska 72, #11 Michigan State 71 – Shields scores 28, Nebraska beat No. 11 Michigan State 72-71
Shavon Shields scored 28 points, playing through hip pain, and Denzel Valentine missed a shot just before the buzzer to allow Nebraska to hold on for a 72-71 win over No. 11 Michigan State on Wednesday night. The Cornhuskers (12-8, 4-3 Big Ten) have won four straight, three on the road, this season. Michigan State (17-4, 3-4) has lost three straight and suddenly looks nothing like the top-ranked team it was earlier in the season. The Spartans trailed by eight late in the game, but pulled within two with 45.8 seconds to go when Eron Harris connected on a 3-pointer. Shields made a floater over Valentine on the ensuing possession. Valentine’s 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left cut the deficit to one point, but couldn’t make one more shot.
Michigan 74, Minnesota 69 – Michigan holds off upset-minded Minnesota 74-69
Zak Irvin had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Michigan overcame uncharacteristically poor shooting to hold off upset-minded Minnesota 74-69 on Wednesday night. The Wolverines (14-5, 4-2 Big Ten) led by as many as 15 in the first half, but Minnesota closed the gap, and with Michigan shooting well under 40 percent from the field, the Golden Gophers (6-13, 0-7) were able to hang around. The Wolverines led 52-49 before Aubrey Dawkins and Derrick Walton made 3-pointers to give Michigan a more comfortable advantage. Nate Mason scored 25 points to lead Minnesota. Michigan shot 9 of 31 from 3-point range, snapping a streak of seven games in which the Wolverines had made at least 10 shots from beyond the arc.
Notre Dame 83, Virginia Tech 81 – Notre Dame outlasts Virginia Tech
Notre Dame’s Zach Auguste produced a double-double Wednesday night to help the Fighting Irish edge Virginia Tech 83-81 on Wednesday night in Atlantic Coast Conference basketball. Auguste finished with 22 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for Notre Dame (13-5, 4-2). He had 14 points and nine rebounds in the second half. Zach LeDay paced Virginia Tech (12-7, 4-2) with 22 points. LeDay scored the game’s final basket with 41 seconds left. A 3-point attempt by Virginia Tech’s Seth Allen rimmed out as time expired. A three-play play by Demetrius Jackson at 3:23 put the Irish ahead 76-75. It was Notre Dame’s first lead since 28-26 in the first half. Another three-point play, this by Auguste, gave the Irish their biggest lead of the game at 81-77 with 1:38 remaining before Allen sank two free throws. A basket by Steve Vasturia put Notre Dame up 83-79 with just under a minute left.
NCAA Basketball – Women’s
Yesterday
Western Michigan 92, Buffalo 78
Central Michigan 72, Miami (OH) 58
Ball State 76, Eastern Michigan 54
Tonight
(7) Ohio State at Michigan, 6:00 p.m.
Syracuse at (3) Notre Dame, 7:00 p.m.
NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
St. Louis Blues 2, Detroit Red Wings 1
Blues 2, Red Wings 1 – Elliott, Jaskin lead Blues to 2-1 win over Red Wings
Brian Elliott stopped 29 shots, Dmitri Jaskin scored a key third-period goal, and the St. Louis Blues beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 Wednesday night. Ty Rattie also scored for St. Louis. Elliott came within 2:13 of becoming the first goalie in 69 games to shut out the Red Wings, but Henrik Zetterberg spoiled his bid with a power-play goal through Justin Abdelkader’s screen. Detroit pulled Petr Mrazek with two minutes left, but their momentum was destroyed when Dylan Larkin took a penalty with 58 seconds to play. Mrazek finished with 18 saves.
Tonight
Chicago Blackhawks at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7:30 p.m.
NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Detroit Pistons 123, Houston Rockets 114
Golden State Warriors 125, Chicago Bulls 94
Pistons 123, Rockets 114 – Caldwell-Pope scores 22 as Pistons beat Rockets 123-114
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Marcus Morris each scored 22 points and the Detroit Pistons beat the Houston Rockets 123-114 on Wednesday night, despite Andre Drummond setting an NBA record by missing 23 free throws. Drummond set a career high and franchise record by attempting 36 free throws on a night he was intentionally fouled 21 times. The previous record for most misses was 22, set by Wilt Chamberlain on Dec. 1, 1967. The Hack-A-Shaq tactic allowed the Rockets to take the lead in the third quarter when they did it 12 straight times, but it didn’t help them close the gap in the fourth when Drummond went out for good with 5 1/2 minutes left after seven hacks in the quarter and Detroit leading 107-94. James Harden had his first triple-double of the season and seventh of his career with 33 points, a career-high 17 rebounds and 14 assists in the loss. Drummond finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Warriors 125, Bulls 94 – Curry scores 25 as Warriors breeze past Bulls 125-94
Stephen Curry scored 25 points, and the Golden State Warriors made it look easy again, beating the Chicago Bulls 125-94 on Wednesday night. Curry tied a season high with 11 assists and grabbed seven rebounds. Klay Thompson added 20 points. Harrison Barnes scored 19, and the defending champions simply outclassed Chicago after embarrassing LeBron James and the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Monday night. The Warriors built a big lead in the first quarter and never were threatened after that, improving their league-best road record to 20-4. Derrick Rose scored 29 and Jimmy Butler added 23 points after a slow start for Chicago. Pau Gasol was a nonfactor with one point and the Bulls missed 19 of 20 3-pointers on the way to their fifth loss in seven games.
Tonight
Detroit Pistons at New Orleans Pelicans, 8:00 p.m.
MLB – Tigers introduce Justin Upton after announcing deal
The Detroit Tigers have finalized their $132.75 million, six-year contract with free-agent outfielder Justin Upton. The Tigers introduced Upton at a news conference Wednesday. The 28-year-old gives Detroit another powerful bat in the middle of the lineup and fills a need in left field after Detroit dealt slugger Yoenis Cespedes at the deadline last year. It was another big move for the Tigers, who are coming off a last-place finish in 2015 but signed right-hander Jordan Zimmermann earlier this offseason. Upton hit .251 with 26 homers and 81 RBIs for the San Diego Padres last season. The Tigers designated infielder Jefry Marte for assignment to make room for Upton on the 40-man roster.
NFL – Bills have NFL’s first full-time female coach
The Buffalo Bills have made Kathryn Smith the first full-time female member of an NFL coaching staff. Smith has been hired as the Bills’ special teams quality control coach. She spent last season working as an administrative assistant for Bills coaches on Rex Ryan’s staff. Before that, Smith had a 12-year run working in various capacities for the New York Jets, including a player personnel assistant from 2007-13.
NFL – Pro Bowl coaches picked…Carr subs for Rodgers
Kansas City’s Andy Reid will coach one team and Green Bay’s Mike McCarthy will be on the other side for the Pro Bowl on Jan. 31. Players were selected without regard to conference in voting by fans, coaches and players. The Pro Bowl format first was used in the 2014 game. Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was added to the Pro Bowl roster as an injury replacement for Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers. Carr originally was an alternate.
Tennis – Australian Open – Murray, Isner advance in Melbourne
Andy Murray continues to be a rude guest at the Australian Open. The second-seeded Murray maintained his perfect record against Australian opponents when he defeated Sam Groth 6-0, 6-4, 6-1 in a second-round match. It was his 17th consecutive win against players from Down Under. American John Isner and 13th Milos Raonic also advanced to the third round. The 10th-seeded Isner won a pair of tiebreaks in a 6-3, 7-6, 7-6 victory over Marcel Granollers. Women’s third seed Garbine Muguruza had little trouble winning her second-round match, beating Kirsten Flipkens, 6-4, 6-2. No. 14 Victoria Azarenka, 15th seed Madison Keys and No. 18 Ana Ivanovic also advanced.
AHL – American Hockey League
Last Night
Grand Rapids Griffins 3, Lake Erie Monsters 2
MCCAA – Junior College Basketball
Last Night
Women’s: Lake Michigan College 70, Grand Rapids Community College 65 – OT
LMC 70, GRCC 65 – OT – LMC beats GR in overtimes
Hailey Maas had 24 points, including the game tying three pointer at the end of regulation as Lake Michigan College needed overtime to beat Grand Rapids Community College 70-65. Shannon Dingman added 17 points for the Lady Redhawks, who improve to 14-3.
Men’s: Lake Michigan College 92, Grand Rapids Community College 66
LMC 92, GRCC 66 – Redhawks blow out GRCC
Lake Michigan College had 5 players score in double figures as the Redhawks beat Grand Rapids Community College 92-66. Terry Davis had 25 points in the win. Lake Michigan College improves to 13-5 on the season
MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Basketball
Battle Creek Central 61, St. Joseph 43
Battle Creek Central outscored St. Joseph 19-4 in the third quarter to pull away for a 61-43 win at St. Joseph. Juan Warren led Central with 13 points. St. Joe got a team high 8 points from Michael Hunn.
Girls Basketball
St. Joseph 51, Battle Creek Central 35
Shelby Madison, Anna Fischer, and Kenzie Arent each had a dozen points as St. Joe won 51-35 at Battle Creek Central. The Lady Bears improve to 9-1 on the season.
River Valley 49, New Buffalo 33
Wrestling
St. Joseph, Benton Harbor, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix, at Gull Lake, 5:00 p.m.
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 61, St. Joseph 15
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 72, Benton Harbor 14
(results vs. Gull Lake, N/A)
Lakeshore, Niles, Kalamazoo Central, at Mattawan, 5:00 p.m.
Lakeshore 61, Kalamazoo Central 8
Lakeshore 58, Mattawan 13
Niles 72, Kalamazoo Central 9
Niles 54, Mattawan 19
Tonight
Girls Basketball
Bridgman at Berrien Springs, 7:15 p.m.
Brandywine at Comstock, 7:30 p.m.
