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Written by Howie Rumberg, Associated Press
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Alex Ruoff scored 25 points, Devin Ebanks had 17 rebounds and West Virginia built a big halftime lead then held off a surge led by Luke Harangody to beat Notre Dame 74-62 Wednesday night in the second round of the Big East tournament.
West Virginia went up 36-18 at halftime with a smothering defense that pushed Harangody off the ball and forced him to shoot just 2-of-6 for four points in the half. Harangody muscled his way open in the second and ran off nine straight points and 15 of 18 to help the Irish get within eight with 2:27 to play,
But Notre Dame (18-14) got no closer and the Mountaineers (22-10) advanced to the quarterfinals and a matchup with No. 2-seeded and second-ranked Pittsburgh. Pitt is one of three Big East teams that could end up with a top seeding in the NCAA field.
The Big East's regular-season scoring leader, Harangody finished with 27 points and eight rebounds after shooting just 3-for-17 in Notre Dame's first-round win.
Ruoff became West Virginia's leader for 3-pointers when he hit one at 13:52 of the first half. He shot 4-for-7 from beyond the arc as West Virginia was 11-for-20 from 3-point range. Da'Sean Butler, despite shooting 4-of-15 in the first half, had 20 points for the Mountaineers. Ebanks added seven points and Darryl Bryant had 17 for West Virginia.
As time ran out, Ruoff brought the ball upcourt to a loud ovation from the crowd at Madison Square Garden, where West Virginia improved to 11-5.
Kyle McAlarney had 17 points in Notre Dame's second loss this season to West Virginia.
West Virginia overwhelmed Notre Dame from the start, holding the Irish to just two field goals in its first 13 shots to open a 17-5 lead with 11:48 to go in the first half. With the score 20-5 Ruoff committed a turnover but raced back to block the breakaway layup attempt by Tory Jackson.
Notre Dame finished 7-of-27 (25.9 percent), and it could've been worse had the Mountaineers shot better than 35 percent (14-for-40).
The Mountaineers outrebounded the Irish 31-16, 13-2 on offense, in the first half and 52-32 overall.
After being thoroughly outplayed in the half, Notre Dame came out and made its first five shots of the second to cut the lead to nine, 39-30. Harangody made his first three shots in the run.
But West Virginia replied and built the lead back to 20, going 9-for-9 from the free throw line in the stretch, including three when Ruoff was fouled on a 3-point attempt, before Harangody helped bring the Irish back.
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Written by Associated Press
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Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 of his 34 points in the second half and the Dallas Mavericks beat Phoenix 122-117 on Tuesday night to widen their lead over the Suns for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The Suns lost their season-worst fifth in a row to fall five games behind the Mavericks, with 18 to play, for the eighth playoff berth in the West.
Jason Terry added 25 points and Jose Barea 16 for Dallas. Shaquille O'Neal scored 21 on 9-of-10 shooting for Phoenix to pass Elvin Hayes for sixth on the NBA's career scoring list. Steve Nash had 23 points and 13 assists for the Suns. Matt Barnes added 21 points.
Dallas took final control with a 10-2 run late in the fourth quarter. Nowitzki made a pair of outside jumpers to start the spurt, then Jason Kidd sank two 3-pointers and it was 112-99 with 3:08 to play.
The Suns scored the next six to cut it to 112-105 on Jason Richardson's inside basket with 1:35 to play. But after a timeout, Terry broke loose for a layup to boost it to 114-105 and Dallas won on the road for the first time in six tries.
Phoenix led 70-64 after O'Neal's 10-foot bank shot with 9:31 to play in the third quarter, but the Suns managed just two field goals — both by Leandro Barbosa — over the next 6:10.
Nowitzki, who had 15 points in the third quarter, scored the last four in an 18-4 Dallas run that put the Mavericks ahead 82-74 on his two free throws with 3:56 left in the period.
Phoenix cut it to 89-87 on Barnes' breakaway layup with 22 seconds to play. But Terry made one 3-pointer with 52 seconds left and another with 6 seconds remaining, and Dallas led 92-87 entering the fourth quarter.
The Mavs' lead reached 100-92 on Brandon Bass' 11-footer with 7 1/2 minutes to play. Phoenix twice cut it to five points, the last on Barnes' layup with 6:33 to play. The Suns had two chances to get closer but couldn't score, then Dallas was off on its game-clinching run.
O'Neal got his 13th point of the night with 1:34 left in the first half to pass Hayes on the career scoring list. With 27,322 points, O'Neal needs 88 to pass Moses Malone for fifth.
The basket, on an assist from Nash, capped a string of five straight points by the Suns' big man to give Phoenix its biggest lead of the half, 59-52. He was fouled on the play but missed the free throw.
On the next possession, O'Neal threw the ball away, resulting in Terry's 3-pointer that cut it to 59-55. Barbosa and Antoine Wright each made 3-pointers in the final 1:03 and Phoenix led 62-58 at the break.
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Written by Sports Know It Alls Staff
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NHL General Managers are trying to limit incidents of “staged fights” during league contests.
Apparently, some players avenge clean hits against teammates—staged fight.
Team GMs proposed that face-off fight participants should incur an additional 10-minute penalty for misconduct. Also, the GMs said that the instigator penalty should be called more often.
The proposal will be sent to the competition committee, which will forward the request to the Board of Governors—who will vote on possible adoption.
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