(Photo by Dave Winder)
RACERS OUTSLUG ARKANSAS STATE
OVC Baseball Player of the Week Jordan Cozart blasted a 3-run homer to lead Murray State over Arkansas State 9-6 yesterday in a game moved to Reagan Field after weather issues in Jonesboro. Winning pitcher Jake Jones notched his first decision of the year with Conner Holden picking up his second save. The 4-4 Racers play a three game series at top ranked Arkansas beginning Friday.
RACER WOMEN FINISH 6TH IN SOUTH CAROLINA
The Murray State women’s golf team shot a three round total 901 and brought home a sixth place finish at the Kiawah Island Classic in South Carolina. The Racers Raeysha Surendran placed second with a 215, two shots behind medalist Faith DeLaGarza of team champion Dallas Baptist. MSU’s Payton Carter placed seventh at 220.
RAIN CANCELS FINAL ROUND IN MISSISSIPPI
Rain yesterday kept the Murray State men’s golf team from playing their final round at the Gulf Coast Collegiate at the Diamondhead Country Club in Mississippi. MSU’s Avery Edwards 149 led the Racers with an 11th place finish, while the Racers finished at 627 for a spot in 10th place in the field of 12 teams. UT Martin and Southeastern Louisiana tied for first with 589’s.
WILLIAMS AND BROWN NAMED ALL-OVC
The OVC announced postseason honors yesterday. The Murray State men’s basketball team landed KJ Williams and Tevin Brown on the All-Ohio Valley Conference First Team. The men’s OVC Player of the Year is Terry Taylor of Austin Peay, the Defensive Player of the Year is Grayson Murphy of Belmont, the Freshman of the Year is Johni Broome, of Morehead State and his coach, Preston Spradlin is the OVC Coach of the year.
TURLEY AND YOUNG LAND ON ALL-OVC TEAM
On the women’s side, MSU landed Macy Turley and Katelyn Young on the First Team. Young was also named to the All-Newcomer team. Chelsey Perry of UT Martin is the Player of the Year, Destinee Wells of Belmont is the Freshman of the Year. The Defensive Player of the Year is LaTrese Saine of Southeast Missouri with the OVC Coach of the Year award going to Kevin McMillan of UT Martin.
The OVC Tournament begins today at the Ford Center in Evansville with 2 women’s games this afternoon and two men’s games tonight. The Racer women play SEMO tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 while the Racer men face Jacksonville State tomorrow night at 7. Here is today’s slate:
WOMEN’S GAMES
1:00 pm 1 UT Martin vs 8 Eastern Illinois
3:30 pm 2 Belmont vs 7 Austin Peay
MEN’S GAMES
7:00 pm 1 Belmont vs 8 SIUE
9:30 pm 2 Morehead State vs 7 Southeast Missouri
TUESDAY’S MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL SCORES
Keion Brooks Jr. had 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench in the Wildcats’ 70-62 loss at Ole Miss. Devontae Shuler scored 17 points and KJ Buffen had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Rebels. Kentucky drops to 8-and-15. The Wildcats close out the season Saturday hosting South Carolina.
(12) Arkansas 101, South Carolina 73
(8) Alabama 70, Auburn 58
LSU 83, Vanderbilt 68
Memphis 73, South Florida 52
Northern Kentucky 70, Detroit 69
Michigan State 64, Indiana 58
(3) Baylor 94, (6) West Virginia 89 (OT)
(15) Texas 81, Iowa State 67
(4) Illinois 76, (2) Michigan 53
(18) Texas Tech 69, TCU 49
(23) Purdue 73, (25) Wisconsin 69
LOUISVILLE GAME CANCELED
The ACC announced yesterday that the Louisville at Virginia Tech men’s basketball game scheduled for tonight has been canceled following a contract tracing review within the Virginia Tech men’s basketball program. Louisville will play its final game of the regular season against Virginia on Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center.
MARSHALS SWEEP MURRAY HIGH
In high school basketball last night, Marshall County picked up a sweep of Fourth District games against Murray High in Draffenville. In the girls game, the 18-1 Lady Marshals rolled to a 65-10 win over the Lady Tigers. Angela Geirhart led 8-5 Murray with 4 points, while Alyssa Daughrity was the rebound leader with 10. In the boys game, Marshall County rallied for a 51-49 win over the Tigers. Murray led 25-16 at the half, but were outscored 35-24 in the second half. Grant Whitaker led the Tigers with 24 points, while Quannie McCallister had 9. Zion Harmon paced the 8-8 Marshals with 20 points.
LADY LAKERS DOWN CFS
Skylar Waller scored 20 points to lead Calloway County over Christian Fellowship 45-33. Madison Futrell had 11 points and Elle Carson 10 as the Lady Lakers improved to 15-5 heading into Thursday night’s game at Fulton City.
TUESDAY’S GIRLS BASKETBALL SCORES
McCracken County 79, Community Christian 11
Paducah Tilghman 79, Ballard Memorial 58
Livingston Central 63, St. Mary 30
Mayfield 43, Hickman County 37
Graves County 55, Webster County 33
Crittenden County 51, Caldwell County 48
Lyon County 46, Daviess County 45
TUESDAY’S BOYS BASKETBALL SCORES
Graves County 82, Christian Fellowship 55
St. Mary 69, Livingston Central 54
Mayfield 66, Hickman County 62
McCracken County 87, CCA 49
Paducah Tilghman 70, Ballard Memorial 26
MORANT SHINES IN MEMPHIS WIN
Ja Morant scored 35 points and dished out 10 assists in the Grizzlies’ 125-111 win over the Wizards in Washington. De’Anthony Melton and Dillon Brooks each contributed 20 points to the win. The Grizz will host the Bucks tomorrow. Memphis is 16-and-15.
AREA HOCKEY ROUNDUP
The Nashville Predators were dealt a 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Nashville. Nashville drops to 10-12-and-0 and will remain home tomorrow to meet Florida. The Blues will look to improve to a perfect 3-and-0 on the current six-game West Coast road trip when they face the Ducks for the second time in three days.
CARDINALS BATTLE TO ANOTHER TIE
Adam Wainwright and four other Cardinals pitchers held the Marlins to just two hits in a 0-0 tie in Jupiter, Florida. St. Louis managed only four hits in the seven-inning exhibition game. Nolan Arenado did record his first hit in a Cards’ uniform. St. Louis hosts the Mets today in a game that airs at 11:55 this morning on WNBS AM and FM.
AAA SEASON DELAYED
The Nashville Sounds and Memphis Redbirds are having the start of their season delayed. MLB is delaying the start of the Triple-A season one month. ESPN reports this will give more time for players to be vaccinated for the coronavirus before reporting to their minor league cities. Instead of opening in early April, the Sounds and Redbirds will be pushed back likely to early May.
COZART NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After a big week, Murray State baseball’s Jordan Cozart has been named OVC Player of the Week. In seven games versus Lipscomb, Middle Tennessee and Purdue Fort Wayne, Cozart hit .407 (11-27) with two home runs, four doubles, five RBI and seven runs scored. He had a slugging percentage of .778 and an on-base percentage of .448. Cozart’s biggest game came on Friday when he went 4-for-4 with one home run, two doubles, two runs scored and three RBI. He had multiple hits in four of the seven games over the weekend. The senior becomes the first Racer to win OVC Player of the Week in 2021, but this is not the first-time Cozart has taken home the honor, having done so the week of March 9 in 2020.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
Former Rockets star James Harden returns to Houston tonight as the Nets wrap up a two-game Texas road trip. The three-time reigning league scoring champ tells ESPN he hopes he is “received with love.” Harden was dealt to Brooklyn as part of a four-team trade in January.
The fields are set for NBA All-Star Sunday. Steph Curry and Devin Booker highlight the Three-Point Contest, Chris Paul and Luka Doncic headline the Skills Challenge, and Anfernee Simons, Cassius Stanley and Obi Toppin will take part in the Slam Dunk Contest.
In college basketball, fourth-ranked Illinois blew out number-two Michigan 76-53 in Ann Arbor. The Illini are now 19-and-6 and the Wolverines 18-and-2. Third-ranked Baylor won 94-89 in overtime at fifth-ranked West Virginia. The Bears are 19-and-1 and the Mountaineers 17-and-7. Baylor clinched the Big 12 title for its first basketball conference championship since 1950.
The Penguins skated to a 5-2 win over the Flyers in Pittsburgh despite being without captain Sidney Crosby. The 33-year-old entered COVID-19 protocol yesterday and the Pens’ morning skate was canceled as a result. The game was Pittsburgh’s first with fans this season.
The Indians may have known about complaints of sexual misbehavior against former coach Mickey Callaway. The Athletic reports president Chris Antonetti, GM Mike Chernoff, and manager Terry Francona were all made aware of complaints. Antonetti denied knowing last month.
TUESDAY’S SCOREBOARD
NBA
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Memphis Grizzlies 125, Washington Wizards 111
Boston Celtics 117, LA Clippers 112
Atlanta Hawks 94, Miami Heat 80
San Antonio Spurs 119, New York Knicks 93
Denver Nuggets 128, Milwaukee Bucks 97
Phoenix Suns 114, Los Angeles Lakers 104
NHL
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New York Islanders 2, New Jersey Devils 1
New York Rangers 3, Buffalo Sabres 2
Pittsburgh Penguins 5, Philadelphia Flyers 2
Columbus Blue Jackets 4, Detroit Red Wings 1
Montreal Canadiens 3, Ottawa Senators 1
Winnipeg Jets 5, Vancouver Canucks 2
Carolina Hurricanes 4, Nashville Predators 2
Tampa Bay Lightning 2, Dallas Stars 0
MLB Grapefruit League
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Detroit Tigers 6, Pittsburgh Pirates 1 (F/5)
Atlanta Braves 6, Minnesota Twins 0 (F/7)
New York Yankees 4, Baltimore Orioles 2 (F/7)
St. Louis Cardinals 0, Miami Marlins 0 (F/7)
Boston Red Sox 9, Tampa Bay Rays 3
Toronto Blue Jays 4, Philadelphia Phillies 2 (F/6)
New York Mets 2, Houston Astros 0 (F/7)
MLB Cactus League
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Chicago Cubs 3, Kansas City Royals 2 (F/7)
Texas Rangers 5, Chicago White Sox 5 (F/6)
Cleveland Indians 6, Seattle Mariners 1 (F/8)
Oakland Athletics 2, Milwaukee Brewers 1 (F/7)
San Diego Padres 7, Arizona Diamondbacks 2 (F/8)
Cincinnati Reds 7, Los Angeles Angels 5 (F/8)
Los Angeles Dodgers 1, San Francisco Giants 1 (F/7)
WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE (All times are Eastern)
NBA
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7:00 p.m. – Indiana Pacers at Cleveland Cavaliers
7:00 p.m. – Utah Jazz at Philadelphia 76ers
7:00 p.m. – Detroit Pistons at Toronto Raptors (at Tampa, FL)
7:30 p.m. – Brooklyn Nets at Houston Rockets
8:00 p.m. – Atlanta Hawks at Orlando Magic
8:00 p.m. – Charlotte Hornets at Minnesota Timberwolves
8:00 p.m. – Chicago Bulls at New Orleans Pelicans
8:30 p.m. – Oklahoma City Thunder at Dallas Mavericks
10:00 p.m. – Golden State Warriors at Portland Trail Blazers
10:00 p.m. – Los Angeles Lakers at Sacramento Kings
NHL
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7:00 p.m. – Washington Capitals at Boston Bruins
8:00 p.m. – Toronto Maple Leafs at Edmonton Oilers
9:30 p.m. – St. Louis Blues at Anaheim Ducks
10:00 p.m. – Minnesota Wild at Vegas Golden Knights
10:00 p.m. – Arizona Coyotes at Los Angeles Kings
10:30 p.m. – Colorado Avalanche at San Jose Sharks
MLB Grapefruit League
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1:05 p.m. – Baltimore Orioles at Atlanta Braves
1:05 p.m. – Boston Red Sox at Minnesota Twins
1:05 p.m. – Miami Marlins at Washington Nationals
1:05 p.m. – New York Mets at St. Louis Cardinals
1:05 p.m. – Philadelphia Phillies at Detroit Tigers
1:05 p.m. – Pittsburgh Pirates at Tampa Bay Rays
6:35 p.m. – Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees
MLB Cactus League
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3:05 p.m. – Arizona Diamondbacks at Cleveland Indians
3:05 p.m. – Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals
3:05 p.m. – Seattle Mariners at Chicago Cubs
3:10 p.m. – Milwaukee Brewers at San Diego Padres
3:10 p.m. – Oakland Athletics at Colorado Rockies
3:10 p.m. – Texas Rangers at Los Angeles Angels
8:05 p.m. – Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles Dodgers
Top-25 College Basketball (Coaches’ Poll)
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8:30 p.m. – #9 Villanova Wildcats host #12 Creighton Bluejays
9:00 p.m. – #11 Florida State Seminoles host Boston College Eagles
9:00 p.m. – #21 San Diego State Aztecs at UNLV Rebels
