Providence takes Big East tournamnet title over Creighton

NEW YORK — Providence Friars coach Ed Cooley had a gut feeling that playing zone against the best 3-point shooting team in the country might just work in the Big East Conference tournament championship. He was right. Providence worked the zone to near perfection, earning a 65-58 win over the No. 4 Creighton Bluejays at […]

Jeff Hawkins  •  15 Oct 2021
Crowd helps Iowa State claim Big 12 title

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It may have been a neutral-site game, but it felt more like a home game for Iowa State. The 16th-ranked Cyclones surged ahead late to defeat Baylor 74-65 in front of a largely favorable crowd to claim their second Big 12 tournament title — and first since 2000 — on Saturday […]

Jeff Hawkins  •  15 Oct 2021
Bulls grind out win vs. Kings

CHICAGO — Plenty of things did not look good on the stat sheet, but the Sacramento Kings were able to stay with the Chicago Bulls in a physical contest on Saturday night at the United Center by building a big edge in rebounds. Eventually, it was not enough. Chicago center Joakim Noah piled up 23 […]

Jeff Hawkins  •  15 Oct 2021
Pacers kick into gear for OT win

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — A fiery halftime speech and a major boost from two newcomers fueled the Indiana Pacers’ biggest comeback victory of the season. Small forward Paul George poured in 30 points and the Pacers erased a 25-point deficit to defeat the Detroit Pistons 112-104 in overtime on Saturday night at The Palace. George […]

Jeff Hawkins  •  15 Oct 2021
Antic’s clutch shot pushes Hawks over Nuggets

ATLANTA — At age 31, Atlanta Hawks center Pero Antic qualifies as a rookie in definition only. The Macedonian’s years of international experience paid dividends again Saturday night when he calmly made what turned out to be the winning shot in the final minute. Antic hit an off-balanced fadeaway 3-pointer from the corner as the […]

Jeff Hawkins  •  15 Oct 2021
Wall, Gooden lead Wizards past Nets

WASHINGTON — Guard John Wall scored 33 points in the Washington Wizards 101-94 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night. That was not enough for Wizards coach Randy Wittman to receive a single question about the All-Star point guard during his postgame media session. That’s because forward Drew Gooden’s turn-the-clock-back performance in a playoff […]

Jeff Hawkins  •  15 Oct 2021
Grizzlies send 76ers to 20th loss in a row

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown insisted it was “not slit-your-wrists time” before his team dropped its 20th straight game on Saturday night. Memphis guard Mike Conley might have had a different view if the Sixers had managed to break their slide against the Grizzlies. As it was, Conley scored 15 of his team-high […]

Jeff Hawkins  •  15 Oct 2021
Iowa State 74, Baylor 65

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — No. 16 Iowa State rallied late to defeat Baylor 74-65 in the championship game of the Big 12 tournament on Saturday night at Sprint Center. It was the second Big 12 tournament championship for the Cyclones and their first since 2000. Iowa State (26-7) was led by guard DeAndre Kane, who […]

Jeff Hawkins  •  15 Oct 2021
New Mexico gets revenge in Mountain West title game

LAS VEGAS – It took just a week for the New Mexico Lobos to get some sweet revenge. On March 8, the 20th-ranked Lobos blew a 16-point lead in the final 12 minutes of their Mountain West Conference regular-season, title-deciding loss at San Diego State. But one week later, the Lobos got sweet payback with […]

Jeff Hawkins  •  15 Oct 2021