Sports Radio 1400 WSJM @wsjmsports wsjmsports.com Thursday, March 17, 2016
NCAA – NCAA Tournament – First Four
Last Night
#16 Holy Cross 59, #16 Southern 55
#11 Michigan 67, #11 Tulsa 62
Michigan 67, Tulsa 62 – Michigan wins on another late shot, beating Tulsa 67-62
Zak Irvin hit a go-ahead 3-pointer and a pair of free throws in the closing minute as Michigan pulled out another one at the end on Wednesday night, beating Tulsa 67-62 in the First Four. The Wolverines (23-12) made the leap from bubble team to the NCAA Tournament with their last-second drama. They hit a pair of end-game shots for wins in the Big Ten Tournament, including one by Irvin that beat Northwestern. His 3-pointer put the Wolverines up 62-60 with 52 seconds to go, and his two free throws with 10 seconds left sent the 11th-seeded Wolverines into a matchup against rival Notre Dame in Brooklyn on Friday night. Tulsa (20-12) got 23 points from Shaquille Harrison, but its senior-laden lineup couldn’t keep up at the end. There were five ties and 12 lead changes in the frantic second half.
Holy Cross 59, Southern 55 – 15-19 Crusaders advance to play Oregon
Robert Champion scored 19 points, including a key 3-pointer in the final minute, to help Holy Cross beat Southern University 59-55 for its first NCAA Tournament victory in 63 years. The 15-19 Crusaders out of the Patriot League advance to play West regional top seed Oregon Friday.
Today’s Games – Sports Radio 1400 WSJM will be airing a national mix of games all day
#13 UNC Wilmington vs. #4 Duke, 12:15 PM, Dunkin Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island
#9 Butler vs. #8 Texas Tech, 12:40 PM, PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
#9 Connecticut vs. #8 Colorado, 1:30 PM, Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
#13 Iona vs. #4 Iowa State, 2:00 PM, Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
#12 Yale vs. #5 Baylor, 2:45 PM, Dunkin Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island
#16 Hampton vs. #1 Virginia, 3:10 PM, PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
#16 Austin Peay vs. #1 Kansas, 4:00 PM, Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
#12 Arkansas-Little Rock vs. #5 Purdue, 4:30 PM, Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
#14 Buffalo vs. #3 Miami, 6:50 PM, Dunkin Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island
#12 Chattanooga vs. #5 Indiana, 7:10 PM, Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
#16 Florida Gulf Coast vs. #1 North Carolina, 7:20 PM, PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
#14 Fresno State vs. #3 Utah, 7:27 PM, Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
#11 Wichita St vs. #6 Arizona, 9:20 PM, Dunkin Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island
#13 Stony Brook vs. #4 Kentucky, 9:40 PM, Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
#9 Providence vs. #8 USC, 9:50 PM, PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
#11 Gonzaga vs. #6 Seton Hall, 9:57 PM, Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
Philadelphia Flyers 3, Chicago Blackhawks 2
Flyers 3, Blackhawks 2 – Flyers beat Blackhawks 3-2 to move into playoff position
Defenseman Radko Gudas scored on a deflected shot in the third period, and the surging Philadelphia Flyers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Wednesday night to move into position for a wild-card playoff spot. Michal Neuvirth made 24 saves as Philadelphia improved to 8-1-1 in its last 10 games and leapfrogged idle Detroit for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers beat the Red Wings 4-3 at home on Tuesday night. Gudas’ slap shot at 9:53 of the third went off the stick of Blackhawks defenseman Christian Ehrhoff and then bounced off the ice before elevating past goaltender Scott Darling. It was Gudas’ third goal of the season _ with each coming in the last six games. Chicago lost its fourth consecutive game.
Tonight
Detroit Red Wings at Columbus Blue Jackets, 7:00 p.m.
NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Washington Wizards 117, Chicago Bulls 96
Atlanta Hawks 118, Detroit Pistons 114
Wizards 117, Bulls 96 – John Wall’s 29, 12 and 10 lead Wizards past Bulls 117-96
Finally playing as if their chance at a playoff berth was on the line, which it is, the Washington Wizards picked up their second consecutive lopsided victory over a team just ahead of them in the standings, beating Derrick Rose’s Chicago Bulls 117-96 behind John Wall’s triple-double Wednesday night. Wall, an All-Star point guard, produced 29 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, outplaying Rose, who returned after missing two games with a strained left groin and finished with 16 points and four assists. Wall received plenty of help, including 20 points from Bradley Beal and 15 from reserve Garrett Temple, all in the first half, when he shot 5 for 5 on 3-pointers. Chicago’s Taj Gibson played only 8 minutes and had three points.
Hawks 118, Pistons 114 – Hawks hold off Pistons for 118-114 win
Jeff Teague scored 22 points, including two crucial free throws with 17.9 seconds left, and the Atlanta Hawks held off the Detroit Pistons 118-114 on Wednesday night for their sixth win in seven games. Atlanta went on a 10-0 run late in the fourth quarter to take a 113-104 lead, then let the Pistons back in the game. Marcus Morris cut the lead to two with a three-point play with 18 seconds remaining, but Teague’s pair of free throws made it 118-114, and neither team scored after that. Andre Drummond had 18 points and 18 rebounds for Detroit, but he went only 8 of 17 from the free throw line, and the Hawks were more than willing to foul him. Al Horford scored 21 points for Atlanta.
Tonight
Brooklyn Nets at Chicago Bulls, 8:00 p.m.
MLB – Major League Baseball – Spring Training
Yesterday
Detroit Tigers 7, Houston Astros 3
Milwaukee Brewers 5, Chicago White Sox 2
Kansas City Royals 10, Chicago Cubs 0
Tigers 7, Astros 3 – Tigers beat Astros 7-3 behind Zimmermann
Jordan Zimmermann pitched three shutout innings and Ian Kinsler hit one of three home runs by the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday in their 7-3 win over the Houston Astros. Gerber and Bryan Holaday homered for the Tigers in the first inning off Houston starter Brad Peacock.
Brewers 5, White Sox 2 – Braun singles, scores in debut as Brewers beat White Sox
Ryan Braun had an RBI single in his first at-bat of the spring and scored in the second as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago White Sox 5-2 on Wednesday. Matt Garza pitched four scoreless innings for Milwaukee. He allowed two hits and striking out three. Tim Anderson tripled and scored in the fifth for the White Sox.
Royals 10, Cubs 0 – Young throws 4 scoreless innings as Royals top Cubs 10-0
Chris Young pitched four scoreless innings as the Kansas City Royals topped the Chicago Cubs 10-0 on Wednesday. Young allowed two hits, walked two and struck out five. Cubs right-hander John Lackey allowed two runs on six hits over five innings.
Tonight
St. Louis vs. Detroit at Lakeland, Fla., 1:05 p.m.
Arizona vs. Chicago Cubs at Mesa, Ariz., 7:05 p.m.
White Sox are off
MLB – LaRoche quits after dispute with owner over son in clubhouse
Told to cut down his son’s time in the clubhouse, Chicago White Sox first baseman Adam LaRoche took a different path: He said he planned to retire and walk away from a $13 million salary. White Sox President Kenny Williams confirmed that he twice asked LaRoche in the last week to “dial it back” with his 14-year-old son. The result is the 36-year-old LaRoche is retiring.
MLB – Chicago approves ban on chewing tobacco at sporting events
Chicago is knocking chewing tobacco out of the ballpark as aldermen approved a ban on chewing tobacco at professional and amateur sporting events in the Windy City. White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf voiced his support in a letter to the city’s finance committee last week. Similar bans are taking effect in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston.
NFL – Bears sign long snapper Brewer to 1-year contract
The Chicago Bears have signed long snapper Aaron Brewer to a one-year contract. The Bears announced the move on Wednesday. Brewer spent his first four years with the Broncos after entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2012 and played for Bears coach John Fox in Denver. He appeared in all 64 regular-season games, along with eight postseason games.
NCAA Football – Smith’s Illinois contract could pay him up to $29 million
University of Illinois trustees have approved a contract that could pay new football coach Lovie Smith as much as $29 million over six years. Smith will be paid $2 million a year his first two seasons under the deal approved Wednesday. His salary would rise to $3 million in his third year, $4 million in his fourth season and $5 million in years five and six. Smith will be paid a $1 million bonus if he remains at Illinois for three seasons and again if he stays all six seasons. The former Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach could also be paid up to $1 million every season in performance bonuses. Details of Smith’s buyout if he is fired have not yet been made public.
AHL – American Hockey League
Last Night
Grand Rapids Griffins 4, Texas Stars 1
ECHL – East Coast Hockey League
Tonight
Brampton Beast at Kalamazoo Wings, 7:00 p.m.
Toledo Walleye at Indy Fuel, 7:05 p.m.
NBADL – NBA Developmental League
Tonight
Grand Rapids Drive 123, Westchester Knicks 105
MHSAA – Boys Regional Finals
Last Night
Class B at Battle Creek Harper Creek
Lakeshore 42, South Haven 40
The Lakeshore Lancers outlasted the South Haven Rams, 42-40 in the Class B Regional championship game at Harper Creek. Lancer senior center, 6 foot 11 Braden Burke led all scorers with 21 points, while teammate Max Gaishin added 15. The Rams were led by senior guard Spencer Adams with 14 points on the night. With the two teams tied at 40 in the last 7 seconds, South Haven called a timeout, which resulted in a technical foul since the Rams didn’t have any time outs left. Lakeshore hit 1 of 2 free throws and got the ball back, and another free throw provided the final outcome. Lakeshore advances to the quarterfinals next Tuesday at Vicksburg High School, and will face Hudsonville Unity Christian.
Class D at Portage Northern
Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian 73, Countryside Academy 52
MHSAA – Girls Semifinals
Today
Class C at Michigan State University
Brandywine (24-2) vs. Traverse City St. Francis (25-1), 1:00 p.m.
