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Mavs Rally Past Nets, for Lucky 13
Top scorer Dirk Nowitzki was struggling, and the Dallas Mavericks needed points from other sources. Jason Kidd, Caron Butler, rookie Roddy Beaubois and Shawn Marion picked up the slack.
Kidd had 20 points and nine assists, hitting 5 of 8 from 3-point range, and the Mavericks recovered from a lethargic start to match the NBA’s longest winning streak this season with their 13th straight victory, 96-87 over the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night in the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Butler and Beaubois each added 16 points and Marion had 14 points and 13 rebounds, helping the Mavericks equal Cleveland’s winning streak from Jan. 10-Feb. 11. (more…)
Big 12 Tournament Schedule/Scores
Sprint Center – Kansas City, MO
Thursday March 11
11:30am – #1 Kansas vs. #9 Texas Tech
2:00pm – #4 Texas A&M vs. #12 Nebraska
6:00pm – #2 Kansas State vs. #7 Oklahoma State
8:30pm – #3 Baylor vs. #6 Texas (more…)
Texas Tech Topples Colorado, 82-67
John Roberson scored 19 points, Nick Okorie added 18 and Texas Tech overcame a sloppy start defensively to open the Big 12 tournament with an 82-67 victory over Colorado on Wednesday.
Texas Tech (17-14) has been plagued by shoddy defense since reaching No. 16 in the polls midway through the season and started off that way against Colorado. The ninth-seeded Red Raiders pulled it together during a big first-half run and held on to end a seven-game losing streak.
Texas Tech assured itself of a winning record to bolster its NIT chances and keep alive its slim NCAA hopes. The Red Raiders move on to face top-ranked Kansas in the quarterfinals Thursday.
Colorado (15-16) beat Texas Tech to end the regular season on a three-game winning streak but became uncharacteristically careless with the ball in the rematch, turning it over 19 times.
Texas Tops Iowa State, 82-75
Damion James had 28 points and 16 rebounds, and Texas pulled away from plucky Iowa State on Wednesday night, beating the Cyclones 82-75 in a hard-fought Big 12 opening-round game.
James, a Nacogdoches native, had three points, three rebounds and an assist during an 11-0 run that turned a one-point lead into a 12-point spread. The sixth-seeded Longhorns (24-8) play third-seeded No. 21 Baylor, a team that beat them twice during the regular season, in the quarterfinals.
After Iowa State (15-17), the No. 11 seed, cut the lead to six points at 75-69, Jai Lucas hit a free throw for Texas and missed the second attempt. James grabbed the rebound, and Avery Bradley sank a pair of foul shots to put the Longhorns on top 78-69. (more…)
Sabres Skate Past Stars, 5-3
As tall as he is, Tyler Myers’ stock on the Buffalo Sabres grew even larger after the rookie defenseman enjoyed a career-best performance.
At 6-foot-8, Myers had a goal and three assists to spark the Sabres’ sluggish offense in a 5-3 win over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night at HSBC Arena in Buffalo. Aside from helping Buffalo score five goals for the first time in 18 games, the rookie of the year candidate helped the team regain the top spot in the Northeast Division.
“He’s been an important piece to our team,” coach Lindy Ruff said of the player who celebrated his 20th birthday last month. “I thought even in the third period, he was just having fun playing.” (more…)
Boys Basketball State Tournament Pairings
UT Frank Erwin Center, Austin, TX
Class 1A Div. I State Semifinals
Cayuga (20-2) vs. Spurger (27-5) – 10am Thursday
Gruver (28-5) vs. Bronte (26-5) – 8:30am Thursday (more…)
Harden Has Mixed Outing in Rangers, A’s Tie
Rich Harden breezed through the first two innings but never finished the third in his second outing with the Texas Rangers on Tuesday.
Harden gave up four runs on two hits in 2 2/3 innings. He struck out four, walked three and threw a wild pitch in the Rangers’ 8-8 tie with a split-squad of Oakland Athletics.
“I felt really good early, the first couple of innings,” Harden said. “If I can repeat how I felt the first couple of innings, mechanically be consistent, then I can be consistent throwing strikes and hitting spots.” (more…)
Lady Cards Beat TJC For Region 14 Title
The Trinity Valley Lady Cardinals continued their strangle hold of the Region XIV Conference on Monday night by winning the post-season tournament title game 88-71 over Tyler Junior College at UT Tyler’s Herrington Patriot Center. The victory gives the Lady Cards their third straight conference championship, while the loss ends the Apache Ladies season at 25-8.
Latika Smith led the way for TJC with 18 points and 9 rebounds as the Apache Ladies improved 15 games over last year’s 9-21 season. The Freshman out of Houma, Louisiana was also named to the Tourney first team and the all-region team. Conference and tourney MVP Gloria Brown lead all scorers with 18 points.
The Cardinals are now 28-5 on the season and will now move on to the NJCAA National Tournament in Salina, Kansas next week. Trinity Valley has won five National Championships in their program’s storied history, the last one coming in 2004.
Region 14 Basketball Tournament Scores
March 4-8, 2010
Herrington Patriot Center – UT Tyler
Monday, March 8 (Men’s/Women’s Finals)
Women’s Championship – Trinity Valley 88 Tyler 71 – Final
Men’s Championship – Navarro 55 Paris 46 – Final
Sunday, March 7 (Men’s/Women’s Semifinals) (more…)
Cowboys’ Marty B Wants Offense to Change
Tight end Martellus Bennett has a wonderful personality. Sometimes that voice gets him in trouble with the organization, like when he made a rap video last year and used a gay slur when talking about quarterback Tony Romo.
On the field, Bennett came into the 2009 season with high expectations based on his performance in training camp, where he was catching everything. But his 2009 season fizzled, as he finished with 15 catches for 159 yards and no touchdowns.
In an interview with CBS 11’s Steve Dennis, Bennett said things have to change — like the Cowboys’ offensive system. (more…)
OSU’s Anderson named Big 12 Player of the Year
Oklahoma State’s James Anderson was named the Big 12 Player of the Year on Sunday. Kansas center Cole Aldrich earned Defensive Player of the Year over Baylor’s Ekpe Udoh, who was named the league’s Newcomer of the Year.
Anderson, a unanimous All-Big 12 first-team choice, led the conference in scoring with 22.9 points per game. He averaged 24.1 points in conference play, the fifth-best scoring mark in league history. He had five 30-point outings — the most of any player in the Big 12 — and has scored 25 points or more 17 times. He is the second Oklahoma State player to garner player honors, following Tony Allen in 2003-04.
Aldrich wins defensive recognition after sharing the honor a year ago. The junior center finished second in the conference with 110 blocks, including 54 in league action. He was a key component on a Jayhawks squad that led the Big 12 and ranked third nationally by holding opponents to 37.7 percent shooting from the floor. (more…)
Neches Lady Eagles Win State!!!
East Texas has a Girls Basketball State Champion. Sophomore Roddricka Patton scored 15 points and had eight steals in leading Neches to the Class 1A Division II state crown with a 61-32 win over McLean. Patton was also named the title game’s MVP.
Neches overwhelmed McLean, building a 22-point lead by halftime Saturday night. Neches forced 25 turnovers, turning them into 29 points. Neches’ final points came after Senior Dianna Patton stole the ball and passed to her younger sister for a fast break layup with 5 seconds left. Down 37-15 to start the third, McLean went five minutes in the third without a field goal.
Neches (37-2) returned to the state tournament after losing in the 2009 championship game. Sheri Haynes scored 12 points for McLean (29-5), which made it to the tournament for the first time since 1951, the first season Texas played a girls state championship.
Navarro Ends Apaches Season
Unfortunately, the third time was not the charm for the Tyler Junior College men’s basketball team Saturday night, as they fell to Navarro 69-59 in the quarterfinal round of the Region 14 Tournament at UT Tyler’s Herrington Patriot Center. The loss to the Bulldogs is the third on the season for TJC and ends their year with a 18-11 mark. With the win, Navarro moves on to Sunday’s semi-final round where they will take 11th seeded Lee College and look to advance to their fourth straight Conference Championship game.
Malcolm Moore led the Apaches in the loss with 24 points and eight rebounds, but was the only TJC player in double figures. Shooting woes hampered the Apaches all night, as they shot a mere 33 per-cent for the game.
In other quarterfinal round action on Saturday, top seeded Paris cruised past Jacksonville 70-52 and Trinity Valley escaped Lamar St. 73-67. Those two teams will face off on Sunday at 6pm with a trip to the title game on the line.
Girls Basketball State Tournament Scores
Saturday March 6 – UT Frank Erwin Center, Austin, TX
Class 1A Div. II State Championship Game
Neches 61 McLean 32 – Final (more…)