SURPRISE, AZ (March 22, 2021) – The Kansas City Royals announced today that four players, pitchers Jackson Kowar and Daniel Lynch, infielder Bobby Witt Jr. and outfielder Kyle Isbel, have been reassigned to Minor League Camp.

Following the moves, 35 players remain in Major League Camp, including nine non-roster invitees.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/3/1616413648992.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>SURPRISE, AZ (March 22, 2021) – The Kansas City Royals announced today that four players, pitchers Jackson Kowar and Daniel Lynch, infielder Bobby Witt Jr. and outfielder Kyle Isbel, have been reassigned to Minor League Camp.Following the moves, 35 players remain in Major League Camp, including nine non-roster invitees.

Royals reassign four to minor league camp including Witt Jr.

SURPRISE, AZ&nbsp;– The Kansas City Royals announced today that four players, pitchers&nbsp;Jackson Kowar&nbsp;and&nbsp;Daniel Lynch, infielder&nbsp;Bobby Witt Jr.&nbsp;and outfielder&nbsp;Kyle Isbel, have been reassigned to Minor League Camp.

SURPRISE, AZ&nbsp;– The Kansas City Royals announced today that four players, pitchers&nbsp;Jackson Kowar&nbsp;and&nbsp;Daniel Lynch, infielder&nbsp;Bobby Witt Jr.&nbsp;and outfielder&nbsp;Kyle Isbel, have been reassigned to Minor League Camp.Following the moves, 35 players remain in Major League Camp, including nine non-roster invitees.

Royals reassign four players to minor league camps

Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:

Final	(17)Loyola Chicago	71	(2)Illinois	58	

		(23)Southern Cal	at	(12)Kansas	9:40 p.m.	

		(22)Colorado	at	(14)Florida St.	7:45 p.m.	

AP-ScorecardHere are the scores from yesterday's sports events:___NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATIONFinal OT	Indiana	109	Miami	106	Final	Oklahoma City	114	Houston	112	Final	New Orleans	113	Denver	108	Final	Boston	112	Orlando	96	Final	Chicago	100	Detroit	86	Final	Brooklyn	113	Washington	106	Final	Cleveland	116	Toronto	105	Final OT	Philadelphia	101	New York	100	Final	Dallas	132	Portland	92	Final	Phoenix	111	L.A. Lakers	94	___NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUEFinal OT	New Jersey	2	Pittsburgh	1	Final	Tampa Bay	5	Florida	3	Final	Los Angeles	3	Vegas	1	Final SO	Nashville	4	Dallas	3	___TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALLFinal	(17)Loyola Chicago	71	(2)Illinois	58	Final	(3)Baylor	76	Wisconsin	63	Final	(6)Houston	63	Rutgers	60	Final	(10)Arkansas	68	(21)Texas Tech	66	Final	Oregon St.	80	(11)Oklahoma St.	70	Final	Syracuse	75	(13)West Virginia	72	Final	(18)Villanova	84	North Texas	61	___TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE___NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION		Sacramento	at	Cleveland	7:30 p.m.			Oklahoma City	at	Minnesota	8 p.m.			Charlotte	at	San Antonio	8:30 p.m.			Boston	at	Memphis	9 p.m.			Indiana	at	Milwaukee	9 p.m.			Toronto	at	Houston	9 p.m.			Utah	at	Chicago	9 p.m.			Atlanta	at	L.A. Clippers	10 p.m.	___NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE		Buffalo	at	N-Y Rangers	7 p.m.			Calgary	at	Ottawa	7 p.m.			Carolina	at	Columbus	7 p.m.			Edmonton	at	Montreal	7 p.m.			N-Y Islanders	at	Philadelphia	7 p.m.			Anaheim	at	Minnesota	7:30 p.m.			Colorado	at	Arizona	10 p.m.			St. Louis	at	Vegas	10 p.m.			Winnipeg	at	Vancouver	10 p.m.			Los Angeles	at	San Jose	10:30 p.m.	___TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL		Oklahoma	at	(1)Gonzaga	2:40 p.m.			LSU	at	(4)Michigan	7:10 p.m.			Maryland	at	(5)Alabama	8:45 p.m.			Oregon	at	(8)Iowa	12:10 p.m.			(23)Southern Cal	at	(12)Kansas	9:40 p.m.			(22)Colorado	at	(14)Florida St.	7:45 p.m.			Ohio	at	(19)Creighton	6:10 p.m.	___

Sports Scores from Sunday

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

UNDATED (AP) — Several freshmen showed no jitters on the opening day of the women's NCAA Tournament. In fact, they embraced the bright lights of the Big Dance. It came as no surprise that Iowa's Caitlin Clark began a run of impressive performances in the first game of the tournament. She was the nation's leading scorer during the regular season. There were others. Anaya Boyd averaged only eight minutes a game for Georgia Tech. She made major contributions down the stretch to help the Yellow Jackets avoid being upset in the first round.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Freshman Caitlin Clark, the nation's leading scorer, had 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, Monika Czinano also scored 23 points, and No. 5 seed Iowa beat 12th-seeded Central Michigan 87-72 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Clark was held to two points in the third quarter but teammate McKenna Warnock, who was scoreless in the first half, scored 11 straight Iowa points — capped by a 3-pointer to give the Hawkeyes a 63-52 lead. Clark scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to start Iowa's 8-3 run to build an 18-point lead. Micaela Kelly finished with 23 points in 27 minutes for Central Michigan.

UNDATED (AP) — The Oregon Ducks moved on to the next round in a way they didn't wish for, want or expect when positive COVID-19 tests bounced VCU from the NCAA Tournament before the teams' first-round game in the West Region. Now it's on to face No. 2 seed Iowa. By the time No. 7 seed Oregon takes the floor for the second round, it will have been 10 days since the Ducks played a game. The Ducks straddle a fine line between rested and rusty. The Hawkeyes are now tournament-tested after an 86-74 win over Grand Canyon. Elsewhere in the West, top-seeded Gonzaga takes on Oklahoma.

UNDATED (AP) — The Kansas City Royals have given six-time All-Star catcher Salvador Pérez the richest contract in club history, an $82 million, four-year deal that begins in 2022. The contract includes a club option worth an additional $13.5 million and has a $2 million buyout for 2026. The deal surpasses the four-year, $72 million contract the Royals gave to outfielder Alex Gordon in 2016. That deal wound up being a disappointment and Gordon retired after last season. Pérez is coming off a season in which he won his third Silver Slugger. He is also a five-time Gold Glove winner.

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Zion Webb threw for a touchdown and ran for another and Jacksonville State handled Southeast Missouri State 21-3. Webb's 9-yard run finished a nine-play, 75-yard drive to start the game for a 7-0 Gamecocks lead. Webb wrapped it up with a 54-yard scoring pass to Josh Samuel as part of a six-play, 78-yard drive with 1:44 left in the third for the game's final score. Andrew Bunch threw for 120 yards for the Redhawks. Kenny Doak's 33-yard field reduced Southeast Missouri State's deficit to 7-3 with 2:44 left in the first.

UNDATED (AP) — Loyola Chicago made a surprising run through the NCAA Tournament as an 11th seed three years ago, and the Ramblers are at it again.

Loyola Chicago became the first team to knock out a No. 1 in this tourney as Cameron Krutwig had 19 points and 12 rebounds in a 71-58 victory over Illinois. Lucas Williamson chipped in 14 points and helped the Ramblers build a 14-point lead late in the first half.

Kofi (KOH'-fee) Cockburn had team highs of 21 points and nine rebounds for the Illini, but Ayo Dosunmu (EYE'-oh doh-SOO'-moo) was held to nine points and Trent Frazier added just two on 1 of 10 shooting.

Meanwhile, Oral Roberts became just the second No. 15 seed in NCAA Tournament history to advance to the round of 16. Kevin Obanor (oh-BAN'-ur) and Max Abams carried the Golden Eagles out of an 11-point deficit to knock off No. 7 seed Florida, 81-78. Obanor scored 28 points and Abmas finished with 26. 

The Golden Eagles closed the game on a 25-11 run to overcome the 11-point lead Florida held with less than 10 minutes remaining.

— Buddy Boeheim (BAY'-hym) carried his father, Jim, to the Hall of Fame coach's 20th Sweet 16 appearance, scoring 22 of his 25 points after halftime to lead 11th-seeded Syracuse past No. 3 West Virginia, 75-72. Boeheim finished 6 of 13 from deep and 8 of 17 overall, and he helped put the game away with three late free throws. Joe Girard III scored all 12 of his points before halftime, steadying the Orange while Boeheim struggled.

— No. 12 Oregon State continued its surprisingly good postseason as Ethan Thompson delivered 26 points in an 80-70 victory over fourth seed Oklahoma State. Jarod Lucas and Maurice Calloo each had 15 points for the Beavers, who never looked back after building a 44-30 halftime lead. Cowboys guard Cade Cunningham had 24 points in what's expected to be his final college game.

— Davion Mitchell scored 16 points, dished out eight assists and spearheaded a dominant defensive first half that propelled top seed Baylor to a 76-63 win over Wisconsin. Matthew Mayer was high man for the Bears with 17 points and Jared Butler added 16 while Baylor didn't allow a single Badger to score more than 12. Wisconsin cut an 18-point deficit to seven in the second half before Baylor advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fifth time under Scott Drew.

— Justin Smith had 20 points and helped No. 3 Arkansas secure a final-play defensive stop to beat Texas Tech 68-66, securing the Razorbacks' first trip to the Sweet 16 in a quarter-century. Star freshman Moses Moody added 11 of his 15 after halftime for Arkansas. Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 20 points to pace the sixth-seeded Red Raiders, but Mac McClung was limited to nine points.

— Quentin Grimes dropped in 22 points and Tramon Mark converted a soaring three-point play with 24 seconds left in Houston's 63-60 decision over Rutgers. DaJon Jarreau overcame a series of bumps and bruises to score a key bucket down the stretch and finished with 17 points for the second-seeded Cougars. The 10th-seeded Scarlet Knights still had a chance after Mark's free throws, but Geo Baker turned the ball over and Marcus Sasser made two more to extend the lead. 

— Fifth seed Villanova fell behind early before cruising to an 84-61 rout of No. 13 North Texas. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl scored 18 points and Jermaine Samuels Jr. had 15 for the Wildcats, who knocked down 15 3-pointers. Nova went 9 for 15 from 3-point range in the first half and finished the first 20 minutes on a 34-6 run after falling behind, 21-13.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — UNLV has announced that Kevin Kruger is the new men's basketball coach.

Kruger spent the past two seasons as an assistant at UNLV after returning to his alma mater in 2019. He will replace T.J. Otzelberger, who left to become the head coach at Iowa State.

The former Runnin' Rebels point guard is the son of Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger, who led UNLV to four NCAA Tournament appearances between 2004-11.

UNDATED (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers stayed in sole possession of the NBA's Eastern Conference lead by beating the New York Knicks for the 15th straight time.

Tobias Harris made two free throws with 5.3 seconds left in overtime to send the Sixers past the Knicks, 101-100. Shake Milton had a team-high 24 points and Harris added 20 as Philadelphia improved to 30-13 with its eighth win in its last 10 games.

Julius Randle scored 24 points, but his last shot rimmed out just before the buzzer as New York dropped to 21-22.

The Nets stayed a game behind the Sixers by bouncing back from Friday's loss at Orlando. 

Kyrie Irving scored 28 points and James Harden had 26 to lead the Nets to a 113-106 victory over the Wizards.

Blake Griffin made his Nets debut and dunked for the first time since December 2019. Nicolas Claxton added 16 points, including two three-point plays down the stretch to help hold off the Wizards.

Russell Westbrook had 29 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for Washington. 

— Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton both had 26 points and the Suns won for the 17th time in their last 21 games by thumping the LeBron-less Lakers, 111-94 , Chris Paul had a triple double with 11 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds as Phoenix climbed within two games of West-leading Utah. The Lakers were playing without 17-time All-Star LeBron James, who suffered a high ankle sprain in Saturday's 99-94 loss to the Hawks and is expected to miss significant time.

— The Mavericks hammered the trail Blazers, 137-92 as Luka Doncic (DAHN'-chich) scored 37 points in three quarters. Doncic made his first eight 3-point shots and finished with 8-for-9 shooting from long distance. Josh Richardson scored 21 points, DorianFinney-Smith added 13 and Kristaps Porzingis 12 for Dallas.

— Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson each scored 30 points and the Pelicans overcame another triple-double by Nikola Jokic (nih-KOH'-lah YOH'-kihch) to beat the Nuggets, 113-108. Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 20 points as New Orleans won the finale of a road trip after dropping its first two games in Portland. Jokic had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his 52nd career triple-double, including 11 this season. 

— Justin Holiday scored 15 points and hit consecutive 3-pointers in overtime to lead the Pacers to a 109-106 win over the Heat. Myles Turner finished with 16 points and five blocks as Indiana completed a two-game sweep in Miami. Doug McDermott scored 17 points and Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who swept their two-game set in Miami.

— Boston's three-game skid is over after Jaylen Brown scored 34 points and Jayson Tatum added 23 in a 112-96 decision over the Magic. The Celtics made 23 3-pointers in the game, one short of the franchise record. Brown was 10 for 18 from the distance and one short of Marcus Smart's team record.

— The Rockets' team-record losing streak has reached 20 games with a 114-112 setback against the Thunder. Lu Dort had a team-high 23 points and Moses Brown added 13 with 14 rebounds for Oklahoma City. Houston fell despite 27 points from Christian Wood, 24 from John Wall and 23 from Victor Oladipo (oh-lah-DEE'-poh).

— Collin Sexton scored 23 of his 36 points in the second half to help the Cavaliers deal the Raptors their eighth loss in a row, 116-105. Jarrett Allen had 17 points and 15 rebounds as the Cavs won for just the second time in seven games. Dean Wade scored 16 points and Darius Garland had 15 points and six assists for Cleveland.

— Laurie Markkanen had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Bulls in a 100-86 win over the Detroit Pistons. Zach LaVine scored 18 points for the Bulls, who had lost two straight. Daniel Galford added eight points and 11 rebounds as Chicago held Detroit to 16% shooting on its 25 3-point attempts.

UNDATED (AP) — The NBA has fined Toronto coach Nick Nurse $50,000 for throwing his facemask behind the scorer's table and toward the stands, plus for directing profanity toward game officials before leaving the floor at the end of a game Friday night. 

Nurse was upset at the end of Toronto's 115-112 loss to the Utah Jazz, a game in which the Jazz took 41 free throws, compared with the Raptors' 14.

The 27-shot difference in free throw attempts between the teams was the second largest in the NBA this season.

UNDATED (AP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning have widened the game in the NHL's Central Division.

Tyler Johnson broke a tie on a power play midway through the third period to help the Lightning beat the Florida Panthers, 5-3.

Yanni Gourde (YAH'-nee gohrd) and Brayden Point each had a goal and an assist as Tampa Bay opened a four-point lead over Florida in the division. 

Alex Killorn (kih-LOHRN') and Mathieu Joseph also scored, and Curtis McElhinney stopped 29 shots to improve to 3-3-1. 

— Jesper Bratt ran his point streak to four games by scoring on a wraparound at 2:50 of overtime, giving the Devils a 2-1 win over the Penguins. Sami Vatanen also scored and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 35 shots in his first game since aggravating an upper-body injury during warmups on Thursday. Sidney Crosby scored his 12th of the season for the Penguins, who have dropped three of four since a six-game winning streak.

— The Kings ended the Golden Knights' five-game winning streak as Sean Walker and Dustin Brown scored 51 seconds apart in the second period of a 3-1 victory by Los Angeles. Cal Petersen made 41 saves and fell just short of his second career shutout as the Kings avenged the Knights' 4-2 win at Staples Center on Friday. Captain Anze Kopitar had two assists.

— Calle Jarnkrok (KAL'-ee YAHRN'-krahk) scored in the fifth round of the shootout and the Predators finished a franchise-record eight-game road trip the same way they started it, with a 4-3 shootout victory over the Stars. Eeli Tolvanen had the tying goal with six minutes remaining in regulation and two assists for his first career three-point game. Ryan Johansen had a power-play goal in the first period and Filip Forsberg pulled Nashville to 3-2 late in the second. 

UNDATED (AP) — The Kansas City Royals have given six-time All-Star catcher Salvador Pérez the richest contract in club history.

The four-year, $82 million deal begins in 2022 and includes a club option worth an additional $13.5 million, with a $2 million buyout for 2026.

The deal surpasses the four-year, $72 million contract the Royals gave to outfielder Alex Gordon in 2016.

Perez is coming off a season in which he hit .333 with 11 homers and 32 RBIs to win his third Silver Slugger.

— Diamondbacks relief pitcher Tyler Clippard has a sprained right shoulder and won't throw for at least the next six weeks. Clippard said the injury was diagnosed as a "capsule sprain" and his shoulder will be re-evaluated at the end of six weeks of rest. 

— The Pirates have signed 26-year-old knuckleballer Steven Wright to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to big league camp. The right-hander last pitched in the majors in 2019, when he was limited to six appearances with Boston after serving an 80-game suspension following a positive test for human growth hormone. Wright is 24-16 with a 3.86 ERA in 81 career appearances, with 44 starts. 

— Indians center fielder Óscar Mercado has been optioned to the minor leagues, continuing his slide after a promising rookie season. Mercado's batting average plummeted to .128 in 36 games last season after he hit .269 with 15 homers and 54 RBIs in 115 games as a rookie in 2019. 

CB Kyle Fuller signs with Broncos after being released by Bears

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Former All-Pro cornerback Kyle Fuller is reuniting with coach Vic Fangio in Denver. 

Fuller quickly agreed to a one-year, $9.5 million contract with the Broncos on Saturday following his release from the Chicago Bears.

Fuller was an All-Pro in 2018 when he tied for the NFL lead with seven interceptions. That was Fangio's last season as Chicago's defensive coordinator before he became head coach in Denver. 

Chicago replaced Fuller by signing cornerback Desmond Trufant to a one-year contract Saturday.

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — Ryan Blaney became the sixth different winner in as many races to start NASCAR's Cup season.

Blaney surged to the front with nine laps to go after Kyle Larson's dominant performance at Atlanta Motor Speedway fell apart on a fading set of tires. Larson easily won the first two stages and led 269 of 325 laps on the 1.54-mile trioval. But his tires failed him following his final pit stop with 56 laps to go, leading to a runner-up finish.

Alex Bowman was third, followed by Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Matt Jones won the Honda Classic by five shots, a final round of 2-under 68 good enough to finish the week at 12-under 268 at PGA National. The margin matched the largest in tournament history, tying the mark set by Jack Nicklaus in 1977 and matched by Camilo Villegas in 2010.

Jones started the week with a course record-tying round of 9-under 61. 

Brandon Hagy closed with a 66 to finish 7 under and alone in second on his 30th birthday. Chase Seiffert, Brendan Steele, C.T. Pan, Denny McCarthy and Russell Henley tied for third at minus-6.

Serena Williams latest star to withdraw from Miami Open

MIAMI (AP) — Serena Williams is the latest Grand Slam champion to withdraw from the Miami Open.

Williams pulled out Sunday, citing recent oral surgery. Novak Djokovic (NOH'-vak JOH'-kuh-vich), Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer announced earlier they would skip the tournament, which begins Tuesday.

<h2>Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press</h2>UNDATED (AP) — Several freshmen showed no jitters on the opening day of the women's NCAA Tournament. In fact, they embraced the bright lights of the Big Dance. It came as no surprise that Iowa's Caitlin Clark began a run of impressive performances in the first game of the tournament. She was the nation's leading scorer during the regular season. There were others. Anaya Boyd averaged only eight minutes a game for Georgia Tech. She made major contributions down the stretch to help the Yellow Jackets avoid being upset in the first round.SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Freshman Caitlin Clark, the nation's leading scorer, had 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, Monika Czinano also scored 23 points, and No. 5 seed Iowa beat 12th-seeded Central Michigan 87-72 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Clark was held to two points in the third quarter but teammate McKenna Warnock, who was scoreless in the first half, scored 11 straight Iowa points — capped by a 3-pointer to give the Hawkeyes a 63-52 lead. Clark scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to start Iowa's 8-3 run to build an 18-point lead. Micaela Kelly finished with 23 points in 27 minutes for Central Michigan.UNDATED (AP) — The Oregon Ducks moved on to the next round in a way they didn't wish for, want or expect when positive COVID-19 tests bounced VCU from the NCAA Tournament before the teams' first-round game in the West Region. Now it's on to face No. 2 seed Iowa. By the time No. 7 seed Oregon takes the floor for the second round, it will have been 10 days since the Ducks played a game. The Ducks straddle a fine line between rested and rusty. The Hawkeyes are now tournament-tested after an 86-74 win over Grand Canyon. Elsewhere in the West, top-seeded Gonzaga takes on Oklahoma.UNDATED (AP) — The Kansas City Royals have given six-time All-Star catcher Salvador Pérez the richest contract in club history, an $82 million, four-year deal that begins in 2022. The contract includes a club option worth an additional $13.5 million and has a $2 million buyout for 2026. The deal surpasses the four-year, $72 million contract the Royals gave to outfielder Alex Gordon in 2016. That deal wound up being a disappointment and Gordon retired after last season. Pérez is coming off a season in which he won his third Silver Slugger. He is also a five-time Gold Glove winner.JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Zion Webb threw for a touchdown and ran for another and Jacksonville State handled Southeast Missouri State 21-3. Webb's 9-yard run finished a nine-play, 75-yard drive to start the game for a 7-0 Gamecocks lead. Webb wrapped it up with a 54-yard scoring pass to Josh Samuel as part of a six-play, 78-yard drive with 1:44 left in the third for the game's final score. Andrew Bunch threw for 120 yards for the Redhawks. Kenny Doak's 33-yard field reduced Southeast Missouri State's deficit to 7-3 with 2:44 left in the first.<h2>Update on the latest sports</h2>COLLEGE BASKETBALL-NCAA TOURNAMENTLoyola Chicago ousts first No. 1 seedUNDATED (AP) — Loyola Chicago made a surprising run through the NCAA Tournament as an 11th seed three years ago, and the Ramblers are at it again.Loyola Chicago became the first team to knock out a No. 1 in this tourney as Cameron Krutwig had 19 points and 12 rebounds in a 71-58 victory over Illinois. Lucas Williamson chipped in 14 points and helped the Ramblers build a 14-point lead late in the first half.Kofi (KOH'-fee) Cockburn had team highs of 21 points and nine rebounds for the Illini, but Ayo Dosunmu (EYE'-oh doh-SOO'-moo) was held to nine points and Trent Frazier added just two on 1 of 10 shooting.Meanwhile, Oral Roberts became just the second No. 15 seed in NCAA Tournament history to advance to the round of 16. Kevin Obanor (oh-BAN'-ur) and Max Abams carried the Golden Eagles out of an 11-point deficit to knock off No. 7 seed Florida, 81-78. Obanor scored 28 points and Abmas finished with 26. The Golden Eagles closed the game on a 25-11 run to overcome the 11-point lead Florida held with less than 10 minutes remaining.Also in the NCAA Tournament:— Buddy Boeheim (BAY'-hym) carried his father, Jim, to the Hall of Fame coach's 20th Sweet 16 appearance, scoring 22 of his 25 points after halftime to lead 11th-seeded Syracuse past No. 3 West Virginia, 75-72. Boeheim finished 6 of 13 from deep and 8 of 17 overall, and he helped put the game away with three late free throws. Joe Girard III scored all 12 of his points before halftime, steadying the Orange while Boeheim struggled.— No. 12 Oregon State continued its surprisingly good postseason as Ethan Thompson delivered 26 points in an 80-70 victory over fourth seed Oklahoma State. Jarod Lucas and Maurice Calloo each had 15 points for the Beavers, who never looked back after building a 44-30 halftime lead. Cowboys guard Cade Cunningham had 24 points in what's expected to be his final college game.— Davion Mitchell scored 16 points, dished out eight assists and spearheaded a dominant defensive first half that propelled top seed Baylor to a 76-63 win over Wisconsin. Matthew Mayer was high man for the Bears with 17 points and Jared Butler added 16 while Baylor didn't allow a single Badger to score more than 12. Wisconsin cut an 18-point deficit to seven in the second half before Baylor advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fifth time under Scott Drew.— Justin Smith had 20 points and helped No. 3 Arkansas secure a final-play defensive stop to beat Texas Tech 68-66, securing the Razorbacks' first trip to the Sweet 16 in a quarter-century. Star freshman Moses Moody added 11 of his 15 after halftime for Arkansas. Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 20 points to pace the sixth-seeded Red Raiders, but Mac McClung was limited to nine points.— Quentin Grimes dropped in 22 points and Tramon Mark converted a soaring three-point play with 24 seconds left in Houston's 63-60 decision over Rutgers. DaJon Jarreau overcame a series of bumps and bruises to score a key bucket down the stretch and finished with 17 points for the second-seeded Cougars. The 10th-seeded Scarlet Knights still had a chance after Mark's free throws, but Geo Baker turned the ball over and Marcus Sasser made two more to extend the lead. — Fifth seed Villanova fell behind early before cruising to an 84-61 rout of No. 13 North Texas. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl scored 18 points and Jermaine Samuels Jr. had 15 for the Wildcats, who knocked down 15 3-pointers. Nova went 9 for 15 from 3-point range in the first half and finished the first 20 minutes on a 34-6 run after falling behind, 21-13.COLLEGE BASKETBALL-UNLV-KRUGERLAS VEGAS (AP) — UNLV has announced that Kevin Kruger is the new men's basketball coach.Kruger spent the past two seasons as an assistant at UNLV after returning to his alma mater in 2019. He will replace T.J. Otzelberger, who left to become the head coach at Iowa State.The former Runnin' Rebels point guard is the son of Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger, who led UNLV to four NCAA Tournament appearances between 2004-11.NBA-SCHEDULE76ers continue dominance over KnicksUNDATED (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers stayed in sole possession of the NBA's Eastern Conference lead by beating the New York Knicks for the 15th straight time.Tobias Harris made two free throws with 5.3 seconds left in overtime to send the Sixers past the Knicks, 101-100. Shake Milton had a team-high 24 points and Harris added 20 as Philadelphia improved to 30-13 with its eighth win in its last 10 games.Julius Randle scored 24 points, but his last shot rimmed out just before the buzzer as New York dropped to 21-22.The Nets stayed a game behind the Sixers by bouncing back from Friday's loss at Orlando. Kyrie Irving scored 28 points and James Harden had 26 to lead the Nets to a 113-106 victory over the Wizards.Blake Griffin made his Nets debut and dunked for the first time since December 2019. Nicolas Claxton added 16 points, including two three-point plays down the stretch to help hold off the Wizards.Russell Westbrook had 29 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for Washington. Checking out Sunday's other NBA action:— Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton both had 26 points and the Suns won for the 17th time in their last 21 games by thumping the LeBron-less Lakers, 111-94 , Chris Paul had a triple double with 11 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds as Phoenix climbed within two games of West-leading Utah. The Lakers were playing without 17-time All-Star LeBron James, who suffered a high ankle sprain in Saturday's 99-94 loss to the Hawks and is expected to miss significant time.— The Mavericks hammered the trail Blazers, 137-92 as Luka Doncic (DAHN'-chich) scored 37 points in three quarters. Doncic made his first eight 3-point shots and finished with 8-for-9 shooting from long distance. Josh Richardson scored 21 points, DorianFinney-Smith added 13 and Kristaps Porzingis 12 for Dallas.— Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson each scored 30 points and the Pelicans overcame another triple-double by Nikola Jokic (nih-KOH'-lah YOH'-kihch) to beat the Nuggets, 113-108. Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 20 points as New Orleans won the finale of a road trip after dropping its first two games in Portland. Jokic had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his 52nd career triple-double, including 11 this season. — Justin Holiday scored 15 points and hit consecutive 3-pointers in overtime to lead the Pacers to a 109-106 win over the Heat. Myles Turner finished with 16 points and five blocks as Indiana completed a two-game sweep in Miami. Doug McDermott scored 17 points and Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who swept their two-game set in Miami.— Boston's three-game skid is over after Jaylen Brown scored 34 points and Jayson Tatum added 23 in a 112-96 decision over the Magic. The Celtics made 23 3-pointers in the game, one short of the franchise record. Brown was 10 for 18 from the distance and one short of Marcus Smart's team record.— The Rockets' team-record losing streak has reached 20 games with a 114-112 setback against the Thunder. Lu Dort had a team-high 23 points and Moses Brown added 13 with 14 rebounds for Oklahoma City. Houston fell despite 27 points from Christian Wood, 24 from John Wall and 23 from Victor Oladipo (oh-lah-DEE'-poh).— Collin Sexton scored 23 of his 36 points in the second half to help the Cavaliers deal the Raptors their eighth loss in a row, 116-105. Jarrett Allen had 17 points and 15 rebounds as the Cavs won for just the second time in seven games. Dean Wade scored 16 points and Darius Garland had 15 points and six assists for Cleveland.— Laurie Markkanen had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Bulls in a 100-86 win over the Detroit Pistons. Zach LaVine scored 18 points for the Bulls, who had lost two straight. Daniel Galford added eight points and 11 rebounds as Chicago held Detroit to 16% shooting on its 25 3-point attempts.NBA-NEWSRaptors coach fined for outburstUNDATED (AP) — The NBA has fined Toronto coach Nick Nurse $50,000 for throwing his facemask behind the scorer's table and toward the stands, plus for directing profanity toward game officials before leaving the floor at the end of a game Friday night. Nurse was upset at the end of Toronto's 115-112 loss to the Utah Jazz, a game in which the Jazz took 41 free throws, compared with the Raptors' 14.The 27-shot difference in free throw attempts between the teams was the second largest in the NBA this season.NHL-SCHEDULEBolts top CatsUNDATED (AP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning have widened the game in the NHL's Central Division.Tyler Johnson broke a tie on a power play midway through the third period to help the Lightning beat the Florida Panthers, 5-3.Yanni Gourde (YAH'-nee gohrd) and Brayden Point each had a goal and an assist as Tampa Bay opened a four-point lead over Florida in the division. Alex Killorn (kih-LOHRN') and Mathieu Joseph also scored, and Curtis McElhinney stopped 29 shots to improve to 3-3-1. Elsewhere on NHL ice:— Jesper Bratt ran his point streak to four games by scoring on a wraparound at 2:50 of overtime, giving the Devils a 2-1 win over the Penguins. Sami Vatanen also scored and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 35 shots in his first game since aggravating an upper-body injury during warmups on Thursday. Sidney Crosby scored his 12th of the season for the Penguins, who have dropped three of four since a six-game winning streak.— The Kings ended the Golden Knights' five-game winning streak as Sean Walker and Dustin Brown scored 51 seconds apart in the second period of a 3-1 victory by Los Angeles. Cal Petersen made 41 saves and fell just short of his second career shutout as the Kings avenged the Knights' 4-2 win at Staples Center on Friday. Captain Anze Kopitar had two assists.— Calle Jarnkrok (KAL'-ee YAHRN'-krahk) scored in the fifth round of the shootout and the Predators finished a franchise-record eight-game road trip the same way they started it, with a 4-3 shootout victory over the Stars. Eeli Tolvanen had the tying goal with six minutes remaining in regulation and two assists for his first career three-point game. Ryan Johansen had a power-play goal in the first period and Filip Forsberg pulled Nashville to 3-2 late in the second. MLB-NEWSPerez becomes rich RoyalUNDATED (AP) — The Kansas City Royals have given six-time All-Star catcher Salvador Pérez the richest contract in club history.The four-year, $82 million deal begins in 2022 and includes a club option worth an additional $13.5 million, with a $2 million buyout for 2026.The deal surpasses the four-year, $72 million contract the Royals gave to outfielder Alex Gordon in 2016.Perez is coming off a season in which he hit .333 with 11 homers and 32 RBIs to win his third Silver Slugger.Also around the majors:— Diamondbacks relief pitcher Tyler Clippard has a sprained right shoulder and won't throw for at least the next six weeks. Clippard said the injury was diagnosed as a "capsule sprain" and his shoulder will be re-evaluated at the end of six weeks of rest. — The Pirates have signed 26-year-old knuckleballer Steven Wright to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to big league camp. The right-hander last pitched in the majors in 2019, when he was limited to six appearances with Boston after serving an 80-game suspension following a positive test for human growth hormone. Wright is 24-16 with a 3.86 ERA in 81 career appearances, with 44 starts. — Indians center fielder Óscar Mercado has been optioned to the minor leagues, continuing his slide after a promising rookie season. Mercado's batting average plummeted to .128 in 36 games last season after he hit .269 with 15 homers and 54 RBIs in 115 games as a rookie in 2019. NFL-BRONCOS-FULLERCB Kyle Fuller signs with Broncos after being released by BearsENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Former All-Pro cornerback Kyle Fuller is reuniting with coach Vic Fangio in Denver. Fuller quickly agreed to a one-year, $9.5 million contract with the Broncos on Saturday following his release from the Chicago Bears.Fuller was an All-Pro in 2018 when he tied for the NFL lead with seven interceptions. That was Fangio's last season as Chicago's defensive coordinator before he became head coach in Denver. Chicago replaced Fuller by signing cornerback Desmond Trufant to a one-year contract Saturday.NASCAR-ATLANTASix races, six different winnersHAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — Ryan Blaney became the sixth different winner in as many races to start NASCAR's Cup season.Blaney surged to the front with nine laps to go after Kyle Larson's dominant performance at Atlanta Motor Speedway fell apart on a fading set of tires. Larson easily won the first two stages and led 269 of 325 laps on the 1.54-mile trioval. But his tires failed him following his final pit stop with 56 laps to go, leading to a runner-up finish.Alex Bowman was third, followed by Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch.PGA-HONDA CLASSICJones wins in a routPALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Matt Jones won the Honda Classic by five shots, a final round of 2-under 68 good enough to finish the week at 12-under 268 at PGA National. The margin matched the largest in tournament history, tying the mark set by Jack Nicklaus in 1977 and matched by Camilo Villegas in 2010.Jones started the week with a course record-tying round of 9-under 61. Brandon Hagy closed with a 66 to finish 7 under and alone in second on his 30th birthday. Chase Seiffert, Brendan Steele, C.T. Pan, Denny McCarthy and Russell Henley tied for third at minus-6.TENNIS-MIAMI OPEN-SERENA WITHDRAWSSerena Williams latest star to withdraw from Miami OpenMIAMI (AP) — Serena Williams is the latest Grand Slam champion to withdraw from the Miami Open.Williams pulled out Sunday, citing recent oral surgery. Novak Djokovic (NOH'-vak JOH'-kuh-vich), Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer announced earlier they would skip the tournament, which begins Tuesday.

Sports Headlines for Monday

By STEVE CARPENTER - Hutchinson CC Sports Information

<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/bios/reetz_will_n5g4">Will Reetz</a>&nbsp;dropped a single to shallow right field to score&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/bios/lowe_mason_k4ea">Mason Lowe</a>&nbsp;for a walk-off victory on Saturday at Hobart-Detter Field, giving the Hutchinson Community College baseball team a second-straight Jayhawk West series victory.

Reetz's walk-off hit gave the Blue Dragons a 7-6 victory over the Saints in the series finale. Seward County won the first game on Saturday 11-7. The Dragons won the series 3-1 after winning a pair in Liberal on Friday.

The Blue Dragons are now 11-7 overall and are in first place in the Jayhawk West at 6-2. The Saints are 6-12 overall and 3-5 in the Jayhawk West. The Blue Dragons play host to Redlands in a pair of seven innings games on Tuesday at Hobart-Detter Field.

GAME 2 RECAP Hutchinson had leads of 4-3 and 6-4 late in the final game of the series. Seward County rallied to tie the game twice to tie the game at 4-4 and 6-6 heading to the bottom of the ninth.

The Blue Dragons loaded the bases with no outs on a&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/bios/sutcliffe_sterling_pmrv">Sterling Sutcliffe</a>&nbsp;single, an error off the bat of&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/bios/totosian_jack_hwf9">Jack Torosian</a>&nbsp;and a Lowe walk. Both&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/bios/callahan_austin_vm9d">Austin Callahan</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/bios/steele_jenner_eobj">Jenner Steele</a>&nbsp;had hard-hit balls, but right at infielders for force outs at home. Then Reetz hit his walk-off with a hit to shallow right field for the game winner.

Steele capped a huge series against the Saints by going 3 for 6 with a home run and three RBIs to lead the Blue Dragons in Game 4. Steele's fourth home run of the series led off the fifth with a solo and game-tying home run. For the series, Steele went 7 for 17 with eight RBIs.

Callahan went 3 for 6 with a pair of doubles with two runs scored and an RBI.&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/bios/beebe_daniel_zoxm">Daniel Bebee</a>&nbsp;and Sutcliffe had two hits each.

<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/bios/pogue_caden_5qyj">Caden Pogue</a>&nbsp;was the winning pitcher for the Blue Dragons. He worked the final two innings with three strikeouts. He allowed three hits and three runs allowed.&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/bios/mitchell_josh_resl">Josh Mitchell</a>&nbsp;threw four shutout innings out of the bullpen. He allowed three hits and a walk while strikeout out three.

GAME 1 RECAP Seward County took advantage of nine Blue Dragon walks and hit a pair of home runs as the Saints built a nine-run lead before holding on for a four-run victory, Seward's first of the series.

The Saints had nine hits off three Blue Dragon pitchers. Kase Johnson and Braden Boisvert both homered as Hutchinson lead 11-2 after 5 1/2 innings.

The Blue Dragons tried to make a big comeback. Steele hit a two-run home run in the sixth to cut the deficit to 11-4. Lowe had a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth and Steele hit his second of the game to make it 11-7.

Hutchinson had nine hits in Game 1 led by Torosian's three runs. He had a single, two triples – the seventh Blue Dragon to hit two triples in a single game – with two runs and an RBI. Lowe was 2 for 4 with three RBIs. Steele was 2 for 4 with three RBIs.

By STEVE CARPENTER - Hutchinson CC Sports Information<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/bios/reetz_will_n5g4">Will Reetz</a>&nbsp;dropped a single to shallow right field to score&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/bios/lowe_mason_k4ea">Mason Lowe</a>&nbsp;for a walk-off victory on Saturday at Hobart-Detter Field, giving the Hutchinson Community College baseball team a second-straight Jayhawk West series victory.Reetz's walk-off hit gave the Blue Dragons a 7-6 victory over the Saints in the series finale. Seward County won the first game on Saturday 11-7. The Dragons won the series 3-1 after winning a pair in Liberal on Friday.The Blue Dragons are now 11-7 overall and are in first place in the Jayhawk West at 6-2. The Saints are 6-12 overall and 3-5 in the Jayhawk West. The Blue Dragons play host to Redlands in a pair of seven innings games on Tuesday at Hobart-Detter Field.GAME 2 RECAP Hutchinson had leads of 4-3 and 6-4 late in the final game of the series. Seward County rallied to tie the game twice to tie the game at 4-4 and 6-6 heading to the bottom of the ninth.The Blue Dragons loaded the bases with no outs on a&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/bios/sutcliffe_sterling_pmrv">Sterling Sutcliffe</a>&nbsp;single, an error off the bat of&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/bios/totosian_jack_hwf9">Jack Torosian</a>&nbsp;and a Lowe walk. Both&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/bios/callahan_austin_vm9d">Austin Callahan</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/bios/steele_jenner_eobj">Jenner Steele</a>&nbsp;had hard-hit balls, but right at infielders for force outs at home. Then Reetz hit his walk-off with a hit to shallow right field for the game winner.Steele capped a huge series against the Saints by going 3 for 6 with a home run and three RBIs to lead the Blue Dragons in Game 4. Steele's fourth home run of the series led off the fifth with a solo and game-tying home run. For the series, Steele went 7 for 17 with eight RBIs.Callahan went 3 for 6 with a pair of doubles with two runs scored and an RBI.&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/bios/beebe_daniel_zoxm">Daniel Bebee</a>&nbsp;and Sutcliffe had two hits each.<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/bios/pogue_caden_5qyj">Caden Pogue</a>&nbsp;was the winning pitcher for the Blue Dragons. He worked the final two innings with three strikeouts. He allowed three hits and three runs allowed.&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/bios/mitchell_josh_resl">Josh Mitchell</a>&nbsp;threw four shutout innings out of the bullpen. He allowed three hits and a walk while strikeout out three.GAME 1 RECAP Seward County took advantage of nine Blue Dragon walks and hit a pair of home runs as the Saints built a nine-run lead before holding on for a four-run victory, Seward's first of the series.The Saints had nine hits off three Blue Dragon pitchers. Kase Johnson and Braden Boisvert both homered as Hutchinson lead 11-2 after 5 1/2 innings.The Blue Dragons tried to make a big comeback. Steele hit a two-run home run in the sixth to cut the deficit to 11-4. Lowe had a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth and Steele hit his second of the game to make it 11-7.Hutchinson had nine hits in Game 1 led by Torosian's three runs. He had a single, two triples – the seventh Blue Dragon to hit two triples in a single game – with two runs and an RBI. Lowe was 2 for 4 with three RBIs. Steele was 2 for 4 with three RBIs.

⚾ Blue Dragon walk off claims series win over Saints

SURPRISE, ARIZ. (March 21, 2021) – The Kansas City Royals announced today that they have agreed to a four-year contract extension with catcher Salvador Perez that begins with the 2022 season and has a team option for 2026. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Perez, 30, is coming off a 2020 season in which he was named American League Comeback Player of the Year, a Louisville Silver Slugger Award winner, a first-team All-MLB selection and was the Les Milgram Royal Player of the Year. He hit a career-best .333 with 11 homers and 32 RBI over 37 games. Perez also added 12 doubles, 22 runs scored, 17 walks and one stolen base, while recording a .353 on-base percentage and a career-high .633 slugging percentage, which was the second highest in franchise history (min. 150 plate appearances) behind only Hall of Famer George Brett, who amassed a .664 mark during his AL MVP Award-winning season in 1980. The 11 home runs hit by Perez led the team and were tied for third-most by a player who played 37 games or fewer, trailing only Hall of Famers Frank Thomas (12 in 34 games) in 2005 and Ted Williams (13 in 37 games) in 1953.

He led the Royals to the franchise’s first World Series championship in 30 years in 2015, garnering World Series MVP honors, after batting .364 (8-for-22) with two doubles and two RBI in five games vs. the Mets.

A six-time All-Star, five-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner and three-time Louisville Silver Slugger Award winner, Perez enters the year with 138 career home runs as a catcher, which are third most in the Majors among active players, trailing only Yadier Molina (158) and Matt Wieters (140). Since 2013, his 776 starts behind the plate are second to only Molina’s 910, despite

missing the entire 2019 campaign. Salvy has also thrown out 142 would-be base stealers since 2013, which are second-most in the Majors to Jonathan Lucroy (167) in that span, while his 22 career pickoffs are four more than any other catcher since his debut in 2011. He enters the year seventh in franchise history in homers (152), ninth in extra-base hits (351), 10th in RBI (535) and total bases (1,657) and tied for 10th in slugging percentage (.449).

Perez was originally signed by the Royals as an international free agent on October 10, 2006.

<div><iframe width="660" height="415" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mme5rMrCf8k" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>SURPRISE, ARIZ. (March 21, 2021) – The Kansas City Royals announced today that they have agreed to a four-year contract extension with catcher Salvador Perez that begins with the 2022 season and has a team option for 2026. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.Perez, 30, is coming off a 2020 season in which he was named American League Comeback Player of the Year, a Louisville Silver Slugger Award winner, a first-team All-MLB selection and was the Les Milgram Royal Player of the Year. He hit a career-best .333 with 11 homers and 32 RBI over 37 games. Perez also added 12 doubles, 22 runs scored, 17 walks and one stolen base, while recording a .353 on-base percentage and a career-high .633 slugging percentage, which was the second highest in franchise history (min. 150 plate appearances) behind only Hall of Famer George Brett, who amassed a .664 mark during his AL MVP Award-winning season in 1980. The 11 home runs hit by Perez led the team and were tied for third-most by a player who played 37 games or fewer, trailing only Hall of Famers Frank Thomas (12 in 34 games) in 2005 and Ted Williams (13 in 37 games) in 1953.He led the Royals to the franchise’s first World Series championship in 30 years in 2015, garnering World Series MVP honors, after batting .364 (8-for-22) with two doubles and two RBI in five games vs. the Mets.A six-time All-Star, five-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner and three-time Louisville Silver Slugger Award winner, Perez enters the year with 138 career home runs as a catcher, which are third most in the Majors among active players, trailing only Yadier Molina (158) and Matt Wieters (140). Since 2013, his 776 starts behind the plate are second to only Molina’s 910, despitemissing the entire 2019 campaign. Salvy has also thrown out 142 would-be base stealers since 2013, which are second-most in the Majors to Jonathan Lucroy (167) in that span, while his 22 career pickoffs are four more than any other catcher since his debut in 2011. He enters the year seventh in franchise history in homers (152), ninth in extra-base hits (351), 10th in RBI (535) and total bases (1,657) and tied for 10th in slugging percentage (.449).Perez was originally signed by the Royals as an international free agent on October 10, 2006.

Royals announce extension with Salvador Perez

Final	(14)Florida St.	64	UNC-Greensboro	54	

Final	(19)Creighton	63	UC Santa Barbara	62	

		(17)Loyola Chicago	at	(2)Illinois	12:10 p.m.	

		(21)Texas Tech	at	(10)Arkansas	6:10 p.m.	

		Oregon St.	at	(11)Oklahoma St.	9:40 p.m.	

		Syracuse	at	(13)West Virginia	5:15 p.m.	

		North Texas	at	(18)Villanova	8:45 p.m.	

AP-ScorecardHere are the scores from yesterday's sports events:___NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATIONFinal	Atlanta	99	L.A. Lakers	94	Final	Philadelphia	129	Sacramento	105	Final	Memphis	111	Golden State	103	Final	Milwaukee	120	San Antonio	113	Final	L.A. Clippers	125	Charlotte	98	___NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE		Boston	at	Buffalo	1 p.m.	(Postponed)Final	Pittsburgh	3	New Jersey	1	Final	Florida	2	Nashville	0	Final	Colorado	6	Minnesota	0	Final	Tampa Bay	4	Chicago	1	Final	N-Y Islanders	6	Philadelphia	1	Final	Dallas	3	Detroit	0	Final	N-Y Rangers	3	Washington	1	Final	Toronto	2	Calgary	0	Final SO	Columbus	3	Carolina	2	Final SO	Montreal	5	Vancouver	4	Final	Arizona	5	Anaheim	1	Final	St. Louis	5	San Jose	2	Final	Edmonton	4	Winnipeg	2	___TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALLFinal	(1)Gonzaga	98	Norfolk St.	55	Final	(4)Michigan	82	Texas Southern	66	Final	(5)Alabama	68	Iona	55	Final	(8)Iowa	86	Grand Canyon	74	Final	Abilene Christian	53	(9)Texas	52	Final	(12)Kansas	93	E. Washington	84	Final	(14)Florida St.	64	UNC-Greensboro	54	Final	Ohio	62	(15)Virginia	58	Final	(19)Creighton	63	UC Santa Barbara	62	Final	(22)Colorado	96	Georgetown	73	Final	(23)Southern Cal	72	Drake	56	Final	UCLA	73	(23)BYU	62	___TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE___NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION		Indiana	at	Miami	1 p.m.			Oklahoma City	at	Houston	2 p.m.			New Orleans	at	Denver	3 p.m.			Orlando	at	Boston	3:30 p.m.			Chicago	at	Detroit	7 p.m.			Toronto	at	Cleveland	7 p.m.			Washington	at	Brooklyn	7 p.m.			Philadelphia	at	New York	8 p.m.			Dallas	at	Portland	10 p.m.			L.A. Lakers	at	Phoenix	10 p.m.	___NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE		New Jersey	at	Pittsburgh	1 p.m.			Florida	at	Tampa Bay	4 p.m.			Vegas	at	Los Angeles	6 p.m.			Nashville	at	Dallas	8:30 p.m.	___TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL		(17)Loyola Chicago	at	(2)Illinois	12:10 p.m.			Wisconsin	at	(3)Baylor	2:40 p.m.			Rutgers	at	(6)Houston	7:10 p.m.			(21)Texas Tech	at	(10)Arkansas	6:10 p.m.			Oregon St.	at	(11)Oklahoma St.	9:40 p.m.			Syracuse	at	(13)West Virginia	5:15 p.m.			North Texas	at	(18)Villanova	8:45 p.m.	___

Sports Scores from Satruday

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Austin Reaves scored 23 points, Brady Manek added 19 and Oklahoma slipped by ninth-seeded Missouri to win 72-68 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The eighth-seeded Sooners are on to the second round for fourth time in the last six tournaments and will face No. 1 seed Gonzaga on Monday in the West Region. The Sooners pulled out to an eight-point lead with 1:08 left behind Reaves' free-throw shooting, but Dru Smith made two 3-pointers in the final minute to keep the pressure on and pull Missouri within 70-67. Oklahoma's Elijah Harkless committed a heads-up foul with 2.1 second left to keep Missouri from attempting a potential tying 3-pointer. Smith led the Tigers with 20 points.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Iowa got 24 points from Luka Garza to move into the second round of the NCAA Tournament with an 86-74 victory over Grand Canyon. The second-seeded Hawkeyes avoided the early upset that sent high seeds Ohio State, Purdue and Tennessee home on a wild opening first day of the tournament. Iowa shot 54% from the field and went 10 of 22 from behind the arc. Joe Wieskamp added 16 points to help lead the Hawkeyes into the next round They will play Oregon, which advanced after Virginia Commonwealth bowed out of the bracket due to a positive COVID-19 test.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — David McCormack had 22 points and nine rebounds in his return from COVID-19 quarantine and helped No. 3 seed Kansas rally from a 10-point second-half hole and beat No. 14 seed Eastern Washington 93-84 in the NCAA Tournament. Ochai Agbaji scored 21 points, Marcus Garrett fought foul trouble to add 20 and Dajuan Harris Jr. had 13 as Kansas advanced to play sixth-seeded Southern California or No. 11 seed Drake for a spot in the Sweet 16. Tanner Groves scored a career-high 35 points and younger brother Jacob Groves had 23 for the Eagles.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Christian Bishop made both ends of a one-and-one with 16 seconds left to give fifth-seeded Creighton the lead and the Bluejays hung on to beat 12th-seeded UC Santa Barbara 63-62 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Creighton advanced to face 13th-seeded Ohio in the West Region on Monday. Bishop was fouled by Amadou Sow on the floor after grabbing an offensive rebound and went to the line with the Gauchos up 62-61. The junior came into the game making 57%, but dropped in both barely touching the rim. Creighton continues a turbulent season in which coach Greg McDermott was suspended for racially insensitive language.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Iowa won its first NCAA wrestling team title since 2010, and Hawkeyes star Spencer Lee took his third individual title Saturday night competing on a badly injured knee. Already one of Iowa's greats, Lee further burnished his image in the state's wrestling lore when he revealed after his 7-0 victory over Arizona State's Brandon Courtney that he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in one of his knees eight days earlier. The 125-punder outscored his opponents 59-8 in St. Louis to become the seventh Iowa wrestler, and first since 1998, to win three national titles. His match against Courtney was the only one this season in which he didn't earn bonus points.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Ryan O'Reilly snapped a third-period tie 12 seconds after San Jose was penalized for a faceoff violation, Jordan Kyrou scored twice and the St. Louis Blues beat the Sharks 5-2. St. Louis capitalized after a penalty that drew the ire of Sharks coach Bob Boughner. O'Reilly won the offensive-zone draw and then got the puck back in the circle, where he beat Devan Dubnyk 4:22 into the third to make it 3-2. Kyrou added his second goal of the game late in the period and David Perron scored an empty-netter to give the Blues a sweep of the back-to-back set. The Sharks have lost three straight. &nbsp;

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Evan Mobley had 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead &nbsp;No. 6 seed Southern California to a 72-56 victory over Drake in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Mobley made 7 of 15 field goals and blocked three shots. Isaiah Mobley scored 15 points and Drew Peterson added 14 for USC. The Trojans will play No. 3 seed Kansas in the second round. Joseph Yesufu scored 26 points for Drake. None of his teammates scored more than six. Drake shot 29%, including a dismal 19% in the second half.&nbsp;

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Matt Struck was 19-of-25 passing for 174 yards and the game's only touchdown to help Missouri State beat Northern Iowa 13-6. Struck threw a 3-yard TD pass to Carson Buddemeyer to open the scoring with four minutes left in the first quarter and Missouri State (3-4, 3-1 Missouri Valley Conference) led the rest of the way. Northern Iowa (2-3, 2-3), which went into the game ranked No. 10 in the STATS FCS poll, had won its last to matchups with the Bears by a combined score of 59-0. Redshirt freshman Justin Fomby was 18-of-29 passing for 215 yards with an interception for Northern Iowa. He started in place of Will McElvain, who missed to game due to issues surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.&nbsp;

UNDATED (AP) — The NCAA men's basketball tournament has had its first COVID-related postponement.

VCU was pulled from the tournament because of COVID-19 protocols. The NCAA says the 10th-seeded Rams' first-round game Saturday against Oregon has been declared a no-contest.

The seventh-seeded Ducks will advance to the second round without playing.

The announcement came a little more than three hours before the teams were set to play in the West Region. The NCAA did not offer specific details, citing privacy concerns.

UNDATED (AP) — David McCormack returned to the Kansas lineup in the nick of time following a bout with COVID-19.

McCormack delivered 22 points and the third-seeded Jayhawks advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament by escaping with a 93-84 victory against Eastern Washington. He also had nine rebounds for Kansas, which had to rally from a 10-point second-half deficit to beat the No. 14 seed. 

Tanner Groves scored a career-high 35 points and younger brother Jacob Groves had 23 for the Eagles.

The biggest stunner of the day came in an all-Texas matchup. Joe Pleasant made a pair of free throws with 1.2 seconds left to send No. 14 Abilene Christian past No. 3 Texas, 53-52. Pleasant was shooting 58% from the line this season before allowing the Wildcats to win their first-ever meeting with the Longhorns. Pleasant finished with 11 points as did Coryon Mason. 

Andrew Jones almost was the hero for Texas, hitting two free throws with 56 seconds left and adding a go-ahead, 3-pointer.

Meanwhile, the defending champs were taken out in the first round.

Ben Vander Plas scored eight of his game-high 17 points during an 18-4 second-half run that erased a 38-31 deficit and gave Ohio a 62-58 triumph over fourth seed Virginia. Jason Preston finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists for the Bobcats, who held the Cavaliers to 35% shooting.

— Corey Kispert scored 15 of his 23 points by halftime on 3-pointers and No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga rolled past Norfolk State, 98-55. Kispert had made 8 of 12 shots and 6 of 9 3-pointers to lead an attack that shot 55.7%, including 14 of 27 from behind the arc. Anton Watson had 17 points on 7-for-7 shooting for the 27-0 Bulldogs, who shook off a slow few opening minutes. 

— Mike Smith scored 18 points and Hunter Dickinson added 16 as top seed Michigan rolled to an 82-66 rout of Texas Southern. The Wolverines never trailed in building a lead that reached 24 early in the second half. Eli Brooks and Brandon Johns Jr. had 11 points apiece for the Wolverines, who won with ease as they continue to playing without injured forward Isaiah Livers.

— Rick Pitino's latest trip to the tournament was short as Iona was beaten by second seed Alabama, 68-55. Herb Jones led Alabama with 20 points, including a steal and layup that highlighted an 11-0 run and gave the Crimson Tide breathing room at 54-46. Jahvon Qujinerly (KWIHN'-ur-lee) furnished 11 points off the bench for the Tide, while Jaden Shackelford and John Petty added 10 apiece.

— No. 2 Iowa got 24 points from Luka Garza and avoided the early exit with an 86-74 victory over Grand Canyon. Joe Wieskamp (WEES'-kamp) added 16 points and helped the Hawkeyes shoot 54%, including 10 of 22 from 3-point range. Iowa made six 3s and hit 16 of 29 shots to stretch the lead to 42-31 at halftime.

— Christian Bishop made both ends of a one-and-one with 16 seconds left to give fifth-seeded Creighton the lead in a 63-62 downing of UC Santa Barbara. Marcus Zegarowski scored 17 to lead the Bluejays and Bishop had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Amadou Sow committed the foul that sent Bishop to the line, and he missed an attempt at the rim before time expired.

— Fifth seed Colorado nailed 11 3-pointers in the first half of a 96-73 rout of Georgetown, ending the Hoyas' surprising postseason run. Freshman Jabari Walker had a career-high 24 points to lead the Buffaloes, which went 16 for 25 from long range and had 27 assists. D'Shawn Schwartz had 18 points and made four of his five 3s in the first half to put Colorado into cruise control.

— Raiquan Gray provided 17 points as No. 4 Florida State held off UNC Greensboro, 64-54. The Seminoles went 0 for 9 from 3-point range, winning a game without a made 3 for the first time since February 2018. Balsa Koprivica (koh-prah-VEET'-sah) had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Noles, who led just 51-50 with 4:52 to play.

— Freshman Cameron Thomas contributed 27 points and his LSU teammates provided the rebounding muscle in defeating St. Bonaventure, 76-61. Darius Days and Aundre Hyatt each had 13 points and Trendon Watford had 11. Days and Watford also had 11 rebounds each while Hyatt grabbed 10 in the Tigers' fifth win in six games.

— Johnny Juzang poured in 27 points and Jules Bernard provided a big second-half lift for No. 11 UCLA in a 73-62 victory against sixth-seeded BYU. Juzang followed up his 23-point performance in the First Four round by going 8 of 11 from the floor and scoring 19 first-half points. Bernard finished with 16 points and Jaime Jaquez (HY'-may HAH'-kwehz) Jr. added 13 in the Bruins' first regulation win since Feb. 25.

— Austin Reaves furnished 23 points and Brady Manek added 19 for eighth-seeded Oklahoma in a 72-68 decision over Missouri. The Sooners pulled out to an eight-point lead with 1:08 left behind Reaves' free-throw shooting, but Dru Smith made two 3-pointers in the final minute to keep the pressure on and pull the Tigers within 70-67 with 46.7 left. Smith led the Tigers with 20 points.

— Evan Mobley had 17 points and 11 rebounds for No. 6 Southern Cal in a 72-56 victory over Drake. Isaiah Mobley scored 15 points and Drew Peterson added 14 for the Trojans. Joseph Yesufu scored 26 points for the 11th-seeded Bulldogs, but none of his teammates scored more than six as Drake shot 29% overall.

— Eric Ayala scored 23 points and Maryland clamped down on defense down the stretch to snag a 63-54 victory over No. 7 UConn. The 10th-seeded Terrapins held UConn to 32% shooting to overcome the Huskies' 40-29 rebounding edge. The Terps shot 51% for the game and converted 9 of 18 from behind the arc. 

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers already are without Anthony Davis, and they could have to get used to playing without LeBron James.

The 36-year-old James rolled his right ankle in the second quarter of the Lakers' 99-94 loss to the visiting Atlanta Hawks. James briefly returned to the game and even hit a corner 3-pointer to extend his NBA-record streak of games with at least 10 points to 1,036. But he called a timeout and left the court shortly afterward, knocking over a chair in frustration as he went to the locker room. 

John Collins had 27 points and a season-high 16 rebounds to lead the Hawks who earned their eighth straight win. Trae Young had 14 points and 11 assists for the Hawks, whose winning streak began after they hired Nate McMillan as head coach.

Montrezl (mahn-TREHZ') Harrell had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, while Dennis Schröder (SHROO'-dur) had 16 points and seven assists against his former team. 

Checking out Saturday's other NBA action:

— Tobias Harris scored 23 of his 29 points by halftime and fell just short of a triple-double to lead the 76ers to a 129-105 thumping of the Kings. Shake Milton had 28 points and Danny Green scored 18 for Philadelphia. Harris added 11 rebounds and eight assists.

— Giannis Antetokounmpo (YAH-nihs an-teh-toh-KOON'-poh) had 26 points and a season-high 15 assists in guiding the Bucks to a 120-113 decision over the Spurs. The Bucks earned their season-best sixth straight win as Khris Middleton scored 23 points and Jrue Holiday added 21. Antetokounmpo grabbed eight rebounds, barely missing a triple double.

— Paul George had 21 points and 10 assists in the Clippers' 125-98 blowout over the Hornets. Los Angeles had seven scorers in double figures and went 23-for-23 from the free throw line during just its third win in eight games. Kawhi Leonard contributed 17 points, Terance Mann scored 16 points and Lou Williams had 15 for the Clippers.

— Jonas Valanciunas (val-an-CHOO'-nuhs) and Dillon Brooks scored 19 points each, Valanciunas added 15 rebounds and the Grizzlies beat the Warriors, 111-103 to split the two-game series. Brandon Clarke added 16 points, and Ja (jah) Morant had 14 points and eight assists, including six points in Memphis' closing 10-3 run. Jordan Poole led Golden State with 26 points, connecting on 10 of 21 shots. 

UNDATED (AP) — The Lightning and Panthers won on Saturday, keeping Tampa Bay two points ahead of second-place Florida in the NHL's Central Division.

Andrei Vasilevskiy (va-sih-LEHV'-skee) stopped 30 shots for his franchise-record tying 11th consecutive victory, leading the Bolts to a 4-1 win against the Blackhawks. Steven Stamkos had a goal and an assist to help the Lightning improve to 12-2 at home. Victor Hedman set up three goals. 

Chris Driedger (DREE'-gur) turned back 21 shots and Aleksander Barkov provided the opening goal in the Panthers' 2-0 win over the Predators. Barkov tallied midway through the second period to support Driedger's first shutout of the season and second in 28 NHL games.

Anthony Duclair added an empty-netter after Juuse Saros (YOO'-see SAH'-rohs) made 47 saves for Nashville.

The Hurricanes dropped their third in a row since an eight-game winning streak to fall one point behind the Panthers.

Oliver Bjorkstrand scored in the fourth round of the shootout to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.

Bjorkstrand and Seth Jones scored third-period goals for the Blue Jackets, whose only lead in the game came on the last attempt in the shootout. 

— Washington's seven-game winning streak has ended as Keith Kincaid handled 28 shots in the Rangers' 3-1 verdict over the Capitals. Mika Zibanejad (MEE'-kah zih-BAN'-eh-jad) scored the go-ahead goal with 2:32 left, two games after collecting three goals and three assists in the second period of New York's 9-0 rout of the Flyers. Pavel Buchnevich (booch-NEH'-vihch) opened the scoring in the Rangers' third win in four games.

— The Islanders erupted for four goals in the first period and moved back into a virtual tie with the Caps for the East Division lead by whipping the Flyers, 5-1. Casey Cizikas (sih-ZEE'-kuhs) scored twice in the opening frame for the Isles, who also got goals from J.G. Pageau (PA'-zhoh), Jordan Eberle, Anthony Beauvillier (boh-VIH'-lee-ay) and Josh Bailey. Rookie Ilya Sorokin (sah-ROH'-kihn) stopped 23 shots for his seventh straight win. 

— Philipp Grubauer completed his fifth shutout of the season and the 16th of his career by handling 31 shots in Colorado's 6-0 laugher against the Wild. Gabriel Landeskog (LAN'-dehs-kahg) had a goal and two assists as the Avalanche ended Kappo Kahkonen's (KAH'-koh-nehnz) nine-game winning streak. Cale Makar (mah-KAHR') had a goal and an assist, Nathan MacKinnon had three assists and Mikko Rantanen (MEE'-koh RAN'-tah-nehn) scored his third goal in two games.

— The Penguins made it seven wins in their last nine games as Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel (GEHNT'-sul) each had a goal and an assist in their 3-1 win at New Jersey. Pittsburgh erased a one-goal deficit on goals by Zach Aston-Reese and Rust 96 seconds apart early in the second period. Sidney Crosby had two assists and Casey DeSmith stopped 24 shots for the Pens.

— Tanner Kero broke a scoreless tie late in the second period, Anton Khudobin (koo-DOH'-bihn) stopped all 21 shots he faced in the Stars' 3-0 shutout of the Red Wings. Andrej Sekera (AHN'-dray seh-KEHR'-uh) gave the Stars a two-goal cushion midway through the third period. The Stars sealed the win with 6:17 left, when Ty Dellandrea scored to make it 3-0. 

— Jordan Kyrou (KY'-roo) scored twice and the Blues took advantage of a rarely-called faceoff violation to beat the Sharks, 5-2. Ryan O'Reilly set up three goals and snapped a third-period tie 12 seconds after San Jose was penalized for a faceoff violation. Vince Dunn also scored, and David Perron also collected three assists.

— The Coyotes stopped a five-game losing streak as Derick Brassard completed a hat trick early in the second period of a 5-1 dumping of the Ducks. Jakob Chychrun (CHIHK'-ruhn) had a goal and an assist, while Clayton Keller scored for the second straight game. Antti Raanta (AN'-tee RAHN'-tah) made 27 saves, allowing only Adam Henrique's (hen-REEKS') late goal.

— The Oilers trailed 2-1 until Jesse Puljujarvi (pool-YAHR'-vee) set up third-period goals by Darnell Nurse and Leon Draisaitl (DRY'-sy-tul), pushing Edmonton past the Jets, 4-2. Connor McDavid finished with a goal and an assist in the Oilers' seventh victory in nine games. The outcome keeps Edmonton in a virtual tie with Toronto for the North Division lead.

— The Maple Leafs blanked the Flames, 2-0 as Jack Campbell made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season. Jason Spezza (SPEHT'-suh) and Zach Hyman scored to help Toronto snap a three-game losing streak and win for just the second time in eight games. David Rittich stopped 30 shots for Calgary, which beat the Leafs 4-3 the previous night.

— Tomas Tatar (tah-TAHR') scored the shootout winner in the Canadiens' 5-4 victory over the Canucks. Tatar also had a goal and an assist in regulation. Nick Suzuki, Joel Edmundson and Brendan Gallagher also scored, and Shea Weber and Phillip Danault (dah-NOH') each had two assists.

Avalanche land Johansson in trade with Sabres

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche have acquired Jonas Johansson from the Buffalo Sabres in a bid to shore up their shaky backup goaltending. 

Buffalo received Colorado's sixth-round draft pick in a trade first agreed to Friday. 

The Sabres are in sell-off mode. They're in the midst of an 0-11-2 skid and on target to extend their playoff drought to a 10th season.

Miami releases Wilson less than 2 weeks after acquiring him

UNDATED (AP) — Tackle Isaiah Wilson, a first-round bust for the Tennessee Titans, lasted less than two weeks with the Miami Dolphins.

Miami released Wilson on Saturday. A person familiar with the decision tells The Associated Press that Wilson was late for his physical and team meetings and failed to show up for workouts he had scheduled. 

Wilson was the 29th overall draft pick last year. His one season in Tennessee was filled with turmoil on and off the field. 

— New York Jets safety Marcus Maye has signed his franchise tag tender from the team and the sides have until July 15 to negotiate a long-term deal. The 28-year-old Maye has been a steady playmaker and leader for the Jets since being drafted in the second round out of Florida in 2017. 

— The Chicago Bears have signed veteran cornerback Desmond Trufant to a one-year contract to replace former All-Pro Kyle Fuller. Trufant played his first seven seasons in Atlanta after being drafted out of Washington with the No. 22 overall pick in 2013. 

— The Los Angeles Chargers have agreed on a one-year deal with Oday Aboushi, who spent the last two seasons with Detroit. It is their third offensive line signing since free agency started. 

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Aaron Wise's implosion allowed Matt Jones to take the lead through three rounds of the PGA's Honda Classic.

Wise had a six-shot lead on Saturday before playing his final 13 holes in 7 over, capped by hitting his tee shot into a quagmire of weeds and muck on the 18th for what became another bogey in a 3-over 75.

Jones shot a 69, two days after opening the tournament with a course record-tying 61. His 10-under total is three strokes ahead of Wise and J.B. Holmes.

VAIL, Colo. (AP) — A minor league baseball player is facing drug charges after police in Colorado found 21 pounds of methamphetamine and 1.2 pounds of oxycodone pills in his Chicago Cubs duffel bag.

The Vail Daily reports Jesus Camargo-Corrales appeared in Eagle County Court on Thursday on charges including unlawful distribution of methamphetamine and oxycodone, both class 1 drug felonies, as well as charges of unlawful possession of each drug, both class 4 drug felonies.

The Major League Baseball website says the 25-year-old Camargo-Corrales was first signed to a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs in 2014.

Spectators from abroad to be barred from Tokyo Olympics

TOKYO (AP) — Spectators from abroad will be barred from the Tokyo Olympics when they open in four months. 

The decision was announced Saturday after an online meeting of the International Olympic Committee, the Japanese government, the Tokyo government, the International Paralympic Committee, and local organizers.

Officials said the risk was too great to admit ticket holders from overseas during a pandemic. 

Organizers said 600,000 tickets were sold to fans from outside Japan and another 30,000 were sold for the Paralympics. 

Sports Headlines for Sunday

For the second time this season, the Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team rallied from at least a 15-point deficit to win a game.

The latest comeback victory came with first place in the Jayhawk West on the line against archrival Seward County as the No. 22-ranked Blue Dragons defeated the Saints 78-76 in a Jayhawk West thriller.

The Blue Dragons (15-3) maintain sole possession of first place in the Jayhawk West at 14-3. Hutchinson has a 1.5 game lead over Barton and a two-game lead over Seward County with four games remaining in the regular season. Hutchinson plays at Pratt on Wednesday.

Seward County started the game hitting 10 of its first 14 shots and took a game-high 15-point lead when a Sydney Wetlaufer steal and layup for a 26-11 lead with 2:09 remaining in the opening quarter. The Saints led 26-17 after one quarter and 37-26 at halftime.

<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/gore_lojong_i68o">Lojong Gore</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/ervin_kalyn_foze">Kalyn Ervin</a>&nbsp;combined for 13 points in the third quarter as Hutchinson outscored Seward County 23-15 in the period and got within 50-49 after a Gore offensive rebound and outback with 29 seconds to play in the third quarter. Wetlaufer's putback with 13 seconds left gave Seward County a 52-49 lead heading to the fourth quarter.

The Blue Dragons tied the game at 56, 58 and 60 in the fourth quarter and grabbed a 63-60 lead when&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/suttington_ishante_gbs8">Ishante Suttington</a>&nbsp;snared an offensive rebound off a missed fourth quarter and found Ervin for a wide-open 3-pointer with 7:00 to play in the fourth quarter.

The Saints tied the game at 69 on a Sierra Morrow 3-pointer and then led 71-69 on a Morrow bucket inside the paint with 2:24 to play. The Blue Dragons answered with two&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/ogle_kate_kntm">Kate Ogle</a>&nbsp;free throws with 2:06 remaining and then took a 73-71 lead on a K.K Adams steal and layup with 1:40 to play. Seward County tied the game at 73 on a Sierra Lynch short floater in the lane with 1:22 to play.

The Blue Dragons grabbed the lead for good on a&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/alford_tor-e_j660">Tor'e Alford</a>&nbsp;jumper with 52 seconds left. Ervin then made two of the biggest plays of the final second, getting a steal with 37 seconds left and then snitching away an offensive rebound from Hulda Joakim. Suttington was fouled with 5.5 seconds remaining and she hit two free throws for a 77-73 lead.

Hutchinson CC Sports InformationFor the second time this season, the Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team rallied from at least a 15-point deficit to win a game.The latest comeback victory came with first place in the Jayhawk West on the line against archrival Seward County as the No. 22-ranked Blue Dragons defeated the Saints 78-76 in a Jayhawk West thriller.The Blue Dragons (15-3) maintain sole possession of first place in the Jayhawk West at 14-3. Hutchinson has a 1.5 game lead over Barton and a two-game lead over Seward County with four games remaining in the regular season. Hutchinson plays at Pratt on Wednesday.Seward County started the game hitting 10 of its first 14 shots and took a game-high 15-point lead when a Sydney Wetlaufer steal and layup for a 26-11 lead with 2:09 remaining in the opening quarter. The Saints led 26-17 after one quarter and 37-26 at halftime.<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/gore_lojong_i68o">Lojong Gore</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/ervin_kalyn_foze">Kalyn Ervin</a>&nbsp;combined for 13 points in the third quarter as Hutchinson outscored Seward County 23-15 in the period and got within 50-49 after a Gore offensive rebound and outback with 29 seconds to play in the third quarter. Wetlaufer's putback with 13 seconds left gave Seward County a 52-49 lead heading to the fourth quarter.The Blue Dragons tied the game at 56, 58 and 60 in the fourth quarter and grabbed a 63-60 lead when&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/suttington_ishante_gbs8">Ishante Suttington</a>&nbsp;snared an offensive rebound off a missed fourth quarter and found Ervin for a wide-open 3-pointer with 7:00 to play in the fourth quarter.The Saints tied the game at 69 on a Sierra Morrow 3-pointer and then led 71-69 on a Morrow bucket inside the paint with 2:24 to play. The Blue Dragons answered with two&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/ogle_kate_kntm">Kate Ogle</a>&nbsp;free throws with 2:06 remaining and then took a 73-71 lead on a K.K Adams steal and layup with 1:40 to play. Seward County tied the game at 73 on a Sierra Lynch short floater in the lane with 1:22 to play.The Blue Dragons grabbed the lead for good on a&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/alford_tor-e_j660">Tor'e Alford</a>&nbsp;jumper with 52 seconds left. Ervin then made two of the biggest plays of the final second, getting a steal with 37 seconds left and then snitching away an offensive rebound from Hulda Joakim. Suttington was fouled with 5.5 seconds remaining and she hit two free throws for a 77-73 lead.The game wasn't quite clinched yet. After a Saints time out and advancement to the front court, Morrow hit a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds to play to cut the Dragon lead to 77-76. Suttington was fouled with 1.7 seconds left and hit the first of two free throws for a two-point lead. The second free throw was missed, but the Saints weren't able to fire a final shot before the buzzer sounded.Ogle led the Blue Dragons with 18 points with six rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots to lead Hutchinson. Ogle was 6 of 6 from the free-throw line.Gore had 16 points and nine rebounds. Suttington finished with 12 points and eight rebounds with four assists. Ervin and Adams had nine points each and Alford had eight points.The Blue Dragons shot 27 of 65 overall (41.5 percent), hitting 5 of 17 from 3-point range and 19 of 25 from the free-throw line. The Dragons had 17 turnovers, only five in the second half and out-rebounded Seward County 43-28.Morrow, who had 39 against Hutchinson in the first meeting a 41 on Friday against Cloud County, finished with a game-high 22 points to lead the Saints. Lynch had 18 points and eight assists.Seward County shot 30 of 64 from the field (46.9 percent), hitting 10 of 32 from the 3-point line and 6 of 7 from the free-throw line.GAME NOTES&nbsp;– The 29 points scored in the fourth quarter by the Blue Dragons tied a season high. … With the regular-season sweep of the Saints the all-time series between Hutchinson and Seward County is tied at 48-48. … Ogle's six free throws are a career high. … Suttington tied a career high with four assists. … There were five lead changes and eight ties in the game.