HARRISON, N.J. (AP) — Wiki Carmona scored two goals against his former team after Prince Owusu found the net on a penalty kick and CF Montreal thumped the New York Red Bulls 3-0 on Sunday.
Montreal (1-2-0) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 8th minute on a PK goal by Owusu. Montreal's first goal of the season was set up when Iván Jaime drew a foul on Red Bulls' defender Justin Che.
Carmona scored unassisted in the 44th minute off a free kick to give Montreal a 2-0 lead at halftime.
Carmona stole the ball and capped the scoring with another unassisted goal in the 68th minute. Carmona had six goals in 102 appearances over five seasons with the Red Bulls. He failed to score in 21 starts over 34 appearances last season.
Thomas Gillier finished with five saves for Montreal, earning his first clean sheet in his 11th career start. Gillier allowed eight goals through the first two matches.
Ethan Horton finished with one save for the Red Bulls (2-1-0) in his third MLS start. Horton was coming off his first clean sheet in a 1-0 victory over the New England Revolution.
New York started teenagers Julian Hall (17), Adri Mehmeti (16) and Matthew Dos Santos (17) for a third straight match.
First-year coach Michael Bradley's Red Bulls were trying to open a season with three straight victories for the first time in club history.
Marco Donadel notched his first victory as Montreal's head coach after taking over on an interim basis last season when the club finished 13th and missed the playoffs.
New York outscored Montreal 3-0 in a pair of victories last season.
Up next
New York: At Toronto FC on Saturday.
Montreal: At Orlando City on Saturday in the fourth of six straight road matches to begin the season.
Mar 8, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Boston Celtics guard Baylor Scheierman (55) reacts after a play against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Eight minutes into the third quarter, Baylor Scheierman chased down Payton Pritchard’s missed 3-pointer and slapped the rebound back to him. The extra effort led to a feed to a wide-open Sam Hauser, who buried a second-chance three to give the Celtics a 26-point lead and forced a Cavaliers timeout.
That relentless hustle sums up the difference Scheierman makes.
“He’s just another connector,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters, per NBC Sports Boston. “He doesn’t care about starting. He doesn’t care about anything but competing. That doesn’t get rewarded enough — his competing and his care factor. He doesn’t care about anything but competing at the highest level and executing — he takes a ton of pride in that.”
In the fourth quarter, with 10 minutes remaining, Jaylen Brown launched a deep three to beat the shot clock. Right under the basket, it was Scheierman who boxed out 6-foot-11 Cavaliers center Evan Mobley and secured the offensive rebound. It didn’t lead to a second-chance look this time, and even though Scheierman didn’t need to chase the ball, he still attacked the glass anyway.
No matter how long it had been since Scheierman last touched the ball, the Celtics could count on him to be in the right place at the right time. He was a pest on defense, disrupting Cleveland’s offense at every opportunity. He delivered an elite offensive performance en route to his fourth career double-double — all of which have come in his last 14 games. To go along with his 10 rebounds, Scheierman also scored 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
He knocked down four of six 3-point attempts, including a deep 31-footer to free Pritchard from a double team.
It had been over five weeks since Scheierman last scored at least 16 points and knocked down four 3-pointers, but Boston’s trust in him never wavered. Like everyone else filling a role, it was only a matter of time before he found his next opportunity. In Cleveland, Scheierman stabilized the second-unit offense, delivered key defensive possessions, and outrebounded everyone except starter Neemias Queta, who finished with 11 boards.
Scheierman’s performance wasn’t just a confidence booster — it was a reminder of what he’s capable of.
“Obviously, we’ve got a great team — a lot of great players. Credit to them for finding me when I was open,” Scheierman told Abby Chin, per NBC Sports Boston. “They trust me to make the right play, and I just try to do that every time.”
When it came to protecting the glass and disrupting Cleveland’s offense, Scheierman’s impact was contagious. He played a major role in holding the Cavaliers to 36 first-half points, including just 10 in the second quarter. That marked Boston’s best defensive quarter of the season, as Scheierman and company limited Cleveland to 4-for-25 shooting, including a miserable 0-for-14 from three.
The Celtics used that momentum to build a convincing 56-36 advantage at the half.
“We were just really together defensively as a unit,” Scheierman told Chin. “Everyone was helping each other out. Obviously, they’ve got talented players over there, and they’re tough to stop one-on-one. We don’t play defense one-on-one — we play it as a unit, and I think we did that at a very high level, especially in the second quarter.”
Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, and Evan Mobley combined to shoot just 8-of-23 from beyond the arc against Boston’s defense. The Cavaliers finished 28.9 percent overall, converting only 13 of 45 attempts in one of their ugliest offensive showings this season. Even when they rallied and cut into Boston’s lead, they couldn’t navigate the Celtics’ defense or hit the critical, clutch shots needed to muster up a comeback.
It required playing both ends of the floor to ensure Cleveland’s comeback never materialized. Scheierman’s two-way versatility made him a problem that Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson had to account for. His first basket was an unforeseen left-handed hook over Thomas Bryant to beat the shot clock that has since become a must-see social media clip. He’s more than just a catch-and-shoot threat, and over the season he’s steadily putting teams across the league on notice.
Scheierman’s recent surge might fly under the radar for many, but it hasn’t escaped Mazzulla’s notice one bit.
“When you have a guy that doesn’t miss a beat, regardless of the situation or the circumstances that he’s in, you see stuff like that,” Mazzulla told reporters. “I think he’s doing a great job handling it.”
This was the type of win that has eluded the Lakers for most of the season.
Controlling.
Decisive.
And just as importantly, it was against one of the NBA’s best teams.
Luka Doncic helped key the Lakers’ home win Sunday against the Knicks. NBAE via Getty Images
The Lakers’ 110-97 victory over the Knicks on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena wasn’t only significant because of the stage — a nationally televised matchup on ABC between the most popular teams in the league’s biggest markets — but because it put a pause to the concerns whether the Lakers have what it takes to beat the league’s best.
And on Sunday afternoon, while LeBron James was in street clothes on the bench for the second consecutive game, they put together arguably their best performance of the season against a healthy Knicks team that won 16 of its previous 21 games.
The shotmaking and playmaking from their stars was present, with Luka Doncic (35 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals) and Austin Reaves (25 points, five assists, four rebounds) combining for 60 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.
Austin Reaves scored 25 points in the victory. NBAE via Getty Images
The role players contributed with energy and hustle plays, with Marcus Smart, Jaxson Hayes, Deandre Ayton and Jake LaRavia leading the way with impactful plays that don’t show up in the box score.
And the defense was as dialed in as it’s been all season, with the Lakers also benefiting from the Knicks’ poor 3-point shooting.
“We played hard, stuck to the game plan and competed,” Reaves said. “That’s what it came down to. I thought we played harder than them, and we set the tone early and had a really good third quarter.”
What it means
The Lakers’ win over the Knicks put them at 5-12 on the season against teams with .600-or-better records.
They had lost the previous six and 12 of their last 13 matchups against those teams, with the lone win in that stretch being against the Nikola Jokic-less Nuggets on Jan. 20.
Turning point
When Hayes and Smart made multiple hustle plays underneath the Lakers’ basket that ended with Smart throwing the ball off Mikal Bridges out of bounds, helping the Lakers maintain possession.
Doncic hit a step back 2 on the out-of-bounds play, putting the Lakers up 101-86 with 7 ½ minutes left.
“Obviously, he needs to be aggressive like this,” Doncic said of Reaves. “Playing with him is so easy, because he draws so much attention, helps others, too. So, just playing with him, it makes my life easy.”
MVP: Luka Doncic
With the Knicks hanging in, Doncic made a 3-pointer with 1:05 left to put the game out of reach.
Doncic’s shooting numbers weren’t stellar (11 of 25, 5 of 16 on 3s), but he controlled the game.
Stat of the game: 23
That was the combined number of field goal and free-throw attempts Reaves took against the Knicks.
It was the second most Reaves combined for in the statistical categories since he returned to the floor from a calf injury last month.
Reaves shot 8 of 16 from the field and 6 of 7 on free throws.
Up next
The Lakers will host the Timberwolves on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.
They already have won the season series, 2-0, over the Timberwolves after beating Minnesota twice in October.
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 9: Tre Johnson #12 of the Washington Wizards drives to the basket during the game against the New Orleans Pelicans on January 9, 2026 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Kenny Giarla/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
the Washington Wizards play the New Orleans Pelicans at 7 PM tonight. Let’s get a win.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Brooklyn Meyer had 26 points to go with nine rebounds and second-seeded South Dakota State claimed another Summit League championship, defeating top-seed North Dakota State 64-51 on Sunday.
The Jackrabbits improved to 13-2 in Summit League title games and will play in the NCAA Tournament for the 14th time, all since 2009.
South Dakota State took the lead for good with a about 3 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. The Jackrabbits built a seven-point lead early in the fourth quarter but a 3-pointer from Molly Lenz got the Bison within 48-44 with seven minutes remaining. However, North Dakota State made only two field goals the rest of the game.
Playing with the lead in the fourth quarter, the Jackrabbits made 14 of 16 free throws with eight of the makes coming in the final minute. SDSU made 21 of 29 free throws for the game, compared to just 5 of 9 for North Dakota State.
Avery Koenen led North Dakota State (28-4) with 12 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Lenz also scored 12 and Karrington Asp had 10 points off the bench.
Hadley Thul had 10 points for South Dakota State (27-6).
An 11-3 run over a six-minute stretch of the second quarter helped the Jackrabbits build a 27-18 lead. North Dakota State regrouped and Marisa Frost's buzzer-beating 3-pointer got the Bison within 31-27 at halftime.
After the Bison took what would be their last lead at 36-34 midway through the third quarter, South Dakota State scored the next eight points for a 42-36 lead.
North Dakota State has not appeared in the NCAA Tournament at the Division I level but is a five-time Division II national champion.
Up next
NCAA Tournament decisions are due on Selection Sunday, March 15.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers point guard Tyrese Maxey will sit out at least the next two games with a sprained finger and the two-time All-Star will have additional tests to determine how long he'll be sidelined, the team announced Sunday.
The 76ers said Sunday that Maxey will be consulted after the additional tests to determine a treatment plan. The team added that it would have no further update until after the 76ers' next two games: at Cleveland on Monday night and home against Memphis on Tuesday night.
Maxey, who was selected to his second All-Star team this season, led the 76ers with 31 points against the Hawks before injuring his finger. He's Philadelphia's leading scorer with 29 points per game, which ranks him fourth in the NBA, while also averaging 6.7 assists and two steals.
The 76ers (34-29) entered Sunday eighth in the Eastern Conference, 1 1/2 games ahead of the ninth-place Hawks.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves is fouled by New York's Mikal Bridges, right, while driving to the basket in front of Karl Anthony-Towns, left, in the first half of the Lakers' 110-97 win over the Knicks on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The Lakers have struggled against the NBA's elite teams this season, something that's been a source of consternation for the team.
The opportunity to start shaping another narrative was presented Sunday against one of the league’s top teams in the New York Knicks.
Doncic had 35 points and eight rebounds. Though he was 11 for 25 from the field and five for 16 from three-point range, his three with 1:05 left sealed the win for the Lakers (39-25).
Reaves had 25 points, five assists and four rebounds. He was eight for 16 from the field and three for six from three-point range.
Rui Hachimura (13 points, seven rebounds) and Luke Kennard (12 points) helped make sure the Lakers didn’t blow a 23-point lead against a New York team that is third in the Eastern Conference.
Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds, and Jalen Brunson had 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Knicks (41-24).
The Lakers entered the game with a 4-12 record against teams with a winning percentage over .600. Many of their losses to top teams have been by double digits, which has become a significant reason for concern with the playoffs fast approaching.
Lakers center Jaxson Hayes, left, dives for a loose ball in front of New York Knicks forward Og Anunoby during the first half Sunday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
It wasn’t going to be easy against a Knicks team that’s one of the NBA's best on the defensive end. They entered Sunday ranked fifth in points allowed (110.6) and seventh in both field-goal percentage (45.7) and defensive rating (111.7).
When the Lakers extended their lead to 21 points in the third quarter, they did so, in part, by playing stingy defense. They held the Knicks to 24 points in the third, with 35% shooting from the field and 18% shooting from three-point range.
The Lakers also scored 34 points in the quarter, shot 55% from the field and 50% (five for 10) from three-point range.
The Lakers played without LeBron James, who missed his second straight game because of a left elbow contusion and left foot arthritis. James sustained his elbow injury after falling to the court in the fourth quarter of a loss to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.
But Lakers center Deandre Ayton, who missed Friday's win over Pacers with left knee soreness, returned.
It has been an up-and-down season for Ayton, but Lakers coach JJ Redick said he is confident the 7-foot center can be more consistent moving forward.
Ayton showed flashes of his talent against the Knicks by being more engaged. He was active on defense from the start, blocking a shot in the first quarter. He set a hard screen to get Doncic open and then rolled to the basket and took a lob pass from Doncic for a two-handed dunk in the first quarter.
Ayton finished with six points and eight rebounds.
“Ultimately, the player has to be consistent," Redick said. "And that's not to say that's a knock on DA. That's just the NBA. We've been very consistent with how we've coached him. And we recognized early that was, maybe not a change, but that was something we had to be adaptable with. And I think we're hopeful and optimistic that we're gonna get a consistent version down the stretch of the season."
GLEN ALLEN, Va. (AP) — Brooklyn Gray scored 16 points and Rhode Island beat George Mason 53-51 on Sunday for the Rams' first Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament title.
Top-seeded Rhode Island (28-4) will make just its second trip to the NCAA Tournament and the first since 1996. No. 2 seed George Mason (23-9) won the tournament last season.
Rhode Island led by as many as seven points in the fourth quarter, but Jada Brown hit a 3-pointer with 15.4 seconds left to pull George Mason to 51-48.
Gray added a pair of free throws with 8.9 seconds left before Mary Amoateng hit a 3 at the buzzer.
Gray made two 3-pointers and shot 8 of 8 from the free-throw line. She made six free throws and scored eight in the fourth quarter.
Rhode Island used a 15-9 third quarter to take a 39-34 lead into the fourth. Kennedy Harris hit a 3 to pull George Mason to 42-39, but the teams then went scoreless for nearly a four-minute stretch before layups from Gray and Sophia Vital stretched the Rhode Island lead to 46-39 with 1:06 left.
Albina Syla grabbed 10 rebounds to go with nine points for the Rams.
Harris scored 15 points to lead George Mason. Amoateng finished with 13 points and Zahirah Walton added 10.
The Rams made it to the final in 1984, 2003, and 2024. There hasn't been back-to-back champions in the A-10 tourney since George Washington in 2015-16.
His mindset changed after he started for the U.S. in a 9-1 win over Britain on Saturday night.
“I didn’t expect these types of emotions to run through my brain or my thoughts to differ,” Skubal told reporters. “I was pretty committed to making a start and getting back to camp. Things have changed, obviously. That’s why I’m going to have some conversations and try to figure out a plan for me. But yeah, I don’t know either way.”
Skubal, who has won the last two AL Cy Young Awards, said he was talking to his agent, Scott Boras, and the Tigers about the situation. But the left-hander, who can become a free agent after this season and is expected to command a huge contract next winter, added he was “not in the right headspace to make a decision right now.”
Last month, Skubal said he would make only one WBC start regardless of how far Team USA advances because he wanted to remain on a regular spring training regimen and ramp up for opening day mostly with the Tigers.
Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said Sunday in Florida that he talked with Skubal briefly on Saturday night.
“I don’t think anything’s been determined,” Hinch said, according to MLB.com. “I think he’s incredibly emotional about the experience. It’s a difficult time that weighs heavily on players because they want to do it all.”
Hinch said they planned to have more conversations about it soon.
“We agreed to talk again as things settled down a little bit and he got a good night’s sleep,” Hinch said. “He’ll wake up and get a good work day in today.”
Skubal added the situation has created “one of the tougher decisions I’ve made in my career so far.”
He also expressed appreciation for the U.S. team supporting whatever he chooses to do.
“They’ve been extremely supportive of everything,” Skubal said. “They totally get what’s going on with my situation — it’s unique. I’ve had these discussions with people, and most of it is, they’re extremely supportive of me being here in the first place. And I’ve got a ton of respect for that. But it’s just hard. When you get in these environments, and you get this team, it’s hard to walk away from that.”
Skubal gave up a home run to Nate Eaton on his first pitch Saturday night but allowed just one single after that while striking out five in three innings. The U.S. improved to 2-0 with the win and faces Mexico on Monday night with reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes on the mound.
The Sixers All-Star collided with Adem Bona while diving for a loose ball in the final seconds of their 125-116 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, March 7. Maxey stayed down for a few moments longer as he grabbed at his right hand before getting up and heading to the locker room while wrapping his hand in the bottom of his jersey.
It's a tough blow for Maxey, who is averaging career-highs across the board with 29.0 points, 6.7 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game on 46% shooting. During a season in which the Sixers (34-29) have at times looked like bona fide contenders at their best, Maxey has been their most consistent presence.
But th 76ers have been marred by injuries and other issues all season.
Joel Embiid has missed the team's last four games with a right oblique strain and won't be re-evaluated until March 14, so he'll be out at least three more games. Paul George hasn't lived up to the max contract he signed with the 76ers in 2024 and is currently serving a 25-game suspension for violating the league's anti-drug policy. Even Rookie of the Year candidateVJ Edgecombe has been out the last three games with a lumbar contusion.
The injury bug comes at a crucial point in the season for Philadelphia as they're currently locked in a heated race for playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference. Entering Sunday, they sit half a game behind the Orlando Magic for the sixth seed, but also just a game and a half ahead of the ninth-seeded Hawks, who now own the tiebreaker after the March 7 contest.
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico (AP) — Ricky Castillo made back-to-back birdies right after 18-year-old Blades Brown came undone with one bad hole, closing with a 5-under 67 to win the Puerto Rico Open for his first PGA Tour title.
Castillo, playing in the final group behind Brown, holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 13th, and then hit a beautiful pitch over the mounds to 5 feet for birdie on the par-4 14th.
Castillo narrowly missed out — by 11 points in the FedEx Cup standings — on getting into the $20 million signature event at Bay Hill this week. He headed to Puerto Rico, played bogey-free in the final round at Grand Reserve and earned his way into his first major championship as a pro.
The victory gets him into the PGA Championship. He already was eligible for The Players Championship next week at the TPC Sawgrass.
“It's really cool to put into words to be able to win my first event,” Castillo said. “I felt like I wanted to be in Bay Hill and I decided to just come out here and play this and ended up winning, so it all works out in the end. Yeah, surreal week.”
He finished at 17-under 271, one shot ahead of Chandler Blanchet, who birdied the final hole for 67.
Brown, who turned pro last year and didn't graduate high school until January, birdied his last hole for a 69 to finish alone in third, his first top 10 on the PGA Tour.
But it was one hole — the 455-yard 13th — that did him in. It was similar to The American Express in January, when Brown played in the final group with Scottie Scheffler. He put a tee shot into the water on the fifth hole and made double bogey and was quickly out of reach of golf's best player.
This time, he drove into a fairway bunker and his approach to a green with water all the way down the right side drifted well to the right. He took his drop, then got too aggressive with a wedge and the ball trickled over the green. He chipped to 7 feet and missed the putt, taking triple bogey.
Brown had a one-shot lead going to the 13th and was four shots behind when he finished the 14th.
John Daly II, the 22-year-old son of two-time major champion John Daly, started three shots behind and shot 34 on the front nine. But he fell back quickly with five bogeys in seven holes to start the back nine and shot 74.
“I learned that you’ve got to put four rounds together and it’s not easy out here,” Daly said. “But very happy, not mad at all. Just a great day, great week.”
He heads back to Arkansas with eyes on trying to win an NCAA title.
Brown earned his spot in the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook with his first top 10. He already had a sponsor exemption into the event.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Jillian Huerter scored 19 points and Meghan Andersen added 18 points and nine rebounds as No. 25 Fairfield advanced to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference final with a 65-48 win over Merrimack on Sunday.
The second-seeded Stags (27-4) will take on top-seeded Quinnipiac in Monday's championship game. Quinnipiac was a 63-62 overtime winner over fourth-seeded Iona on Sunday.
Huerter was 7-of-13 shooting, including 5 of 8 from the arc. Andersen missed all eight of her 3-point tries but was 7 of 9 otherwise. Janelle Brown added 10 points as the trio came through with conference player of the year Kaety L’Amoreaux (18.6 ppg) held to no points on just three shots in 26 minutes.
Se'Lah Reddick scored 17 points and Paloma Garcia 10 for the Warriors (19-12).
Fairfield led the entire second half but was only up by two in the third quarter before finishing the period on a 7-2 run. Brown's four-point play to open the fourth quarter made it a double-digit lead where it would stay.
Huerter hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute of the first quarter for a 14-10 lead. Merrimack came back to tie the game early in the second period, but Huerter hit her second 3 of the quarter to restore the advantage and the Stags led 28-24 at halftime.
Up next
Fairfield advances to its 14th MAAC title game. The Stags defeated fellow finalist Quinnipiac 84-65 in December.
"I go out every game and I play hard. I don't intentionally try to hurt anyone,” Fears said after Michigan State's game at Minnesota back in February, according to the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network. "I go out and play every game like it's my last, because at one point it was my last. So I don't take a game for granted. I don't take a moment for granted. So I'm going to go out there and play as hard as I can every possession, every game.
"Like at one point, I had basketball taken away from me, so something I love to do, I couldn't do it for a whole year. So most people wouldn't understand that. And that's on them, I guess. At the end of the day, it doesn’t change who I am or what I do. I'm just go out there and play 150(%) no matter what."
Mar 7, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) reacts and is assisted after being injured against the Atlanta Hawks during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
Maybe one day the Sixers can have nice things.
Tyrese Maxey suffered a sprain of his right pinky in the team’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks Saturday night. He will miss the next two games and undergo additional testing, per the Sixers.
Sixers say Tyrese Maxey suffered a sprain of the right fifth finger. He will undergo additional testing and consultation in the coming days to determine a treatment plan. He is OUT for the next two games and further updates will be provided after the back-to-back.
The play occurred with 16.2 seconds left in the game. Maxey and Adem Bona collided while going for a loose ball. The All-Star guard went down immediately, favoring his right hand. He looked to be in a great deal of pain and went straight back to the locker room with the hand tucked inside his jersey.
Doesn't get much worse than this for the Sixers: Tyrese Maxey exits the loss early after immediately grabbing his right hand in pain after this collision with Adem Bona.
Hard to see exactly what happened in the collision, but it did not look good based on Maxey's reaction. pic.twitter.com/uRkU6q3bLC
Not only will the Sixers be missing Maxey, but Joel Embiid (right oblique strain) and Paul George (suspension) will remain out when the team travels to Cleveland to take on James Harden and the Cavaliers. The only bit of good news is rookie VJ Edgecombe is listed as questionable. He’s missed the last two games with a lumbar contusion.
It’s not hyperbolic to say the Sixers’ season is on the brink. After Saturday’s loss, their record is 34-29. They’ve fallen out of a guaranteed playoff spot and sit in eighth. They’re only 1.5 games up on the Hawks and 2.5 up on the surging Charlotte Hornets. After the matchup with the Cavs, they play the very next night at home against the Memphis Grizzlies — without any members of the Big 3 — before hitting the road again to take on the East-leading Detroit Pistons.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Chris Ashby made 10 3-pointers and scored 34 points to lead Queens University to an NCAA berth in its first year of eligibility with a 98-93 win over Central Arkansas in the Atlantic Sun Tournament on Sunday despite 49 points by Camren Hunter.
The third-seeded Royals (21-13) of Charlotte, North Carolina, survived a late fourth-quarter collapse and Hunter's heroics to reach the NCAA Tournament in its fourth season of Division I play.
Queens had an 11-point lead with 3:25 remaining in regulation but couldn't handle the Bears' full-court pressure, turning the ball over five times while Hunter went on a 20-point scoring binge to tie the game at 82.
Ashby scored the first five points of overtime and the Royals kept the lead, making 9 of 10 free throws including two more by Ashby for a 95-90 edge.
All of Ashby's shots came from beyond the arc, finishing with a tourney record 10 made 3s on 19 attempts. Jordan Watford added 19 points, Nasir Mann 14 and Yoav Berman 10 with Avantae Parker collecting 10 rebounds to go with eight points.
Hunter bested his career high by 16 points, hitting 17 of 30 shots, including 8 of 12 on 3-pointers on his way to his tournament-record total. Ty Robinson added 16 points and Javion Guy-King 10 for the Bears (22-12), who were also seeking their first NCAA berth.
The teams combined for 74 3-point attempts, Queens making 16 of 38 and Central Arkansas 15 of 36.
Queens had a six-point lead in the first half before Central Arkansas closed the final 5 1/2 minutes on an 12-2 run to take a 34-30 lead.
