Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/6220
By RICH GREENE DN Sports Editor Problems on the defensive glass plagued the Spartans, Friday night, as the Foothill Cougars remained unde- feated in the Eastern Athletic League with a 69-52 win in Red Bluff. The Cougars (13-4, 5-0) jumped all over a Spartan team that uncharacteris- tically came out timid in the opening minutes. The loss dropped the Spartans to 1- 4 in the EAL and 8-9 on the season. Devin Crisosto scored 17 of his 18 points in the first half as Foothill broke open a double-digit lead by halftime. The Spartans never seemed to settle into a groove, outside of a short run in the third period when they closed the gap to seven points following an A.J. Avila 3-pointer. But the Cougars responded by clos- ing out the third period strong and pushing their lead back up to 13 and had the game in hand early in the fourth quarter. Trevor Miller led the Spartans with 14 points. Trevor Capik, Devin Shoop and Cody Gappa each had eight points. Red Bluff travels to Paradise on Wednesday. Lady Spartans A poor shooting night plagued the Lady Spartans, Thursday, who lost to Foothill 47-40. Red Bluff shot 12-for-49 from the field and 14-for-31 from the free throw line and fell to 1-4 in the East- ern Athletic League and 5-12 over- all. The Cougars (8-7, 2-3) also had trouble putting points on the board in the first half, but led Red Bluff 18-12 at halftime. Foothill had pushed out to a nine- point lead when Roxy Luppino sparked a 9-0 Spartan run to tie the game at 29-29 with a 3-pointer. The game stayed close until about the 5-minute mark when the Spartans missed open looks on four consecutive possessions. Lily Brose led the Spartans with 15 points. Lottie Jones had 12 and Luppino finished with eight. Red Bluff hosts Paradise (14-3, 3-2) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Lady Cardinals Corning improved to 2-0 in the Northern Athletic League, Friday night, with a 46-35 win against Yreka behind a strong defensive effort in the second half. Coach Kurt Eller said it took the Lady Cardinals awhile to get going defensively, but once they did Yreka had trouble running their offense. Corning held Yreka to 14 second half points and broke open the game during a 14-6 third period. Brittany Garrett's 16-point, nine- rebound effort led Corning. Chante' Dale chipped in 11 points, Michelle Silva scored seven and Regan Albee had six points and eight assists. Lady Card soccer Corning overcame muddy condi- tions and a one-goal deficit, Thursday, to top West Valley 2-1. Cynthia Ramirez and Karen Torres each had a goal and an assist for Corn- ing (7-3, 4-1). Lady Bulldogs Los Molinos fell to a strong Hamil- ton team 70-31, Thursday night. The Lady Bulldogs dropped to 4-8 overall and 1-1 in league play. Sports 1B Weekend January 23-24, 2010 Weekend Sat — Wrestling — Corning, Red Bluff in Sacramento Sat — Wrestling — Los Molinos at Bonanza Tourny Sat — NBA — Kings at Heat, 4:30 p.m., CSNCA Sat — NBA — Warriors at Suns, 6 p.m., CSNBA Sun — NFL Playoffs — Jets at Colts, Noon, CBS Sun — NFL Playoffs — Vikings at Saints, 3:40 p.m., FOX Second chances doom Spartans Scoreboard Scoreboard NFL Conference Championships Sunday's games N.Y. Jets at Indianapolis, Noon, CBS Minnesota at New Orleans, 3:40 p.m., FOX NBA Friday's results Golden State 111, New Jersey 79 Orlando 100, Sacramento 84 Atlanta 103, Charlotte 89 Boston 98, Portland 95, OT Chicago 115, Phoenix 104 Houston 116, San Antonio 109 Indiana 105, Detroit 93 L.A. Lakers 115, New York 105 Memphis 86, Oklahoma City 84 Miami 112, Washington 88 New Orleans 96, Minnesota 94 Philadelphia 92, Dallas 81 Toronto 101, Milwaukee 96 Saturday's games Sacramento at Miami, 4:30 p.m. Golden State at Phoenix, 6 p.m. Orlando at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Philadelphia at Indiana, 4 p.m. Oklahoma City at Cleveland, 4:30 p.m. Portland at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. Chicago at Houston, 5:30 p.m., WGN Minnesota at Milwaukee, 5:30 p.m. New Jersey at Utah, 6 p.m. New Orleans at Denver, 6 p.m. Sunday's games L.A. Clippers at Washington, 10 a.m. Dallas at New York, 10 a.m. L.A. Lakers at Toronto, 3 p.m. Thursday's late result Denver 105, L.A. Clippers 85 NCAA Tuesday's Top 25 results No games scheduled Saturday's Top 25 games No. 1 Texas at Connecticut, 1 p.m., CBS No. 2 Kentucky vs. Arkansas, 1 p.m. No. 3 Kansas at Iowa State, 11 a.m., ESPN No. 4 Villanova vs. St. John's, 9 a.m., ESPN No. 5 Syracuse vs Marquette, 11 a.m. No. 6 Michigan St. at Minnesota, 9 a.m., CBS No. 7 Duke at No. 17 Clemson, 6 p.m., ESPN No. 8 Tennessee at Georgia, 2 p.m. No. 10 Kansas State vs. Oklahoma State No.11 West Vir.vs.No.21 Ohio St., 11 a.m., CBS No. 12 Georgetown vs. Rutgers, 9 a.m. No. 13 Purdue vs. Michigan, 1 p.m., ESPN No. 14 BYU at San Diego State, 7 p.m. No. 15 Gonzaga vs. Loyola Marymount, 5 p.m. No. 16 Temple at Fordham, 10 a.m. No. 22 Mississippi at LSU, 10:30 p.m. No. 23 Miss. St. at Alabama, 9 a.m., CBS No. 25 Baylor vs. Massachusetts, 1 p.m. Saturday's other televised games Middle Tenn. at West. Kentucky, 10 a.m., ESPN2 Oregon State at California, 11 a.m., CBS Washington State at UCLA, 1 p.m., FSN South Carolina at Florida, 3 p.m., ESPN N.C. State at Maryland, 3 p.m., ESPN2 Houston at Memphis, 5 p.m., ESPN2 Sunday's Top 25 games No. 9 Pittsburgh at Seton Hall, 11 a.m. No. 18 Wisconsin vs. Penn State, 11:30 a.m. No. 19 Georgia Tech at Florida State, 9 a.m. No.20 Northern Iowa at Indiana State, 11:05 a.m. NHL Friday's results Colorado 2, Nashville 1 Dallas 4, Edmonton 3 Montreal 3, New Jersey 1 Saturday's games Buffalo at San Jose, 7:30 p.m., CSNCA Carolina at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. Ottawa at Boston, 10 a.m. Los Angeles at Detroit, 4 p.m. New Jersey at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at Montreal, 4 p.m. Phoenix at Washington, 4 p.m. Toronto at Florida, 4 p.m. Atlanta at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m. Anaheim at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Columbus at Minnesota, 6 p.m. Chicago at Vancouver, 7 p.m. Sunday's games Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 9:30 a.m., NBC Boston at Carolina, 2 p.m. Dallas at Colorado, 5 p.m. Thursday's late results San Jose 3, Anaheim 1 Chicago 3, Calgary 1 Los Angeles 4, Buffalo 3, SO Phoenix 4, Nashville 2 Vancouver 4, Dallas 3 NY JETS (11-7) at INDIANAPOLIS (15-2) Sunday, Noon, CBS OPENING LINE — Colts by 7 SERIES RECORD — Colts lead 40-28 LAST MEET- ING — Jets beat Colts 29-15, Dec. 27, 2009 LAST WEEK — Jets beat Chargers 17-14; Colts beat Ravens 20-3 JETS OFFENSE — OVERALL (20), RUSH (1), PASS (31) JETS DEFENSE — OVERALL (1), RUSH (8), PASS (1) COLTS OFFENSE — OVERALL (9), RUSH (32), PASS (2) COLTS DEFENSE — OVERALL (18), RUSH (24), PASS (14) STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — First conference championship game to pit rookie head coaches against one another. ... Jets are 2-0 in postseason meetings between teams, winning 41-0 in January 2003 — Colts' worst play- off loss — and pulling 16-7 upset in Super Bowl in January 1969. ... Jets ended Colts' perfect season with win in Week 16 after Colts pulled starters in third quarter. ... Rex Ryan's father, Buddy, was on Jets coaching staff on Super Bowl team. ... New York hasn't played in AFC championship game since January 1999, when it lost to Denver 23-10, and hasn't played in Super Bowl since 1969. ... Jets have won five straight road games and seven of eight overall. ... Mark Sanchez is fourth rookie QB to play in conference title game. The others are Shaun King, Ben Roethlisberger and Joe Flacco. None reached the Super Bowl. ... Shonn Greene has 263 yards rushing and two TDs in postseason, third rookie in league history with 100-yard games in each of his first two playoff games. ... CB Darrelle Revis has an interception in each of Jets' playoff games and needs one more to tie Greg Buttle for most in Jets playoff history. ... Jets allowed 14.8 points, lowest per-game average in NFL, and held opposing quarterbacks to league-low passer rating of 58.8. ... Jets DE Shaun Ellis is expected to play with broken left hand. ... Colts have reached AFC championship game for third time since 2003. ... Indy is hosting its second title game in four years and is 5-2 in home playoff games since 2003. ... Pey- ton Manning needs 57 yards to pass Hall of Famer Dan Marino for fourth on NFL's postseason yardage list. Man- ning has thrown for 4,454 yards; Marino had 4,510. ... Man- ning is trying to become first reigning MVP to win Super Bowl since Kurt Warner in 1999. ... Manning's next 300- yard playoff game will be his seventh, breaking NFL playoff record with Warner and Joe Montana. ... Manning needs 18 completions to pass Tom Brady for No. 3 in postseason completions. Manning has 378, Marino had 385 and Brady has 395. ... Manning also has 99.4 passer rating in eight home playoff games. ... WR Reggie Wayne needs 142 yards receiving and one reception to move into third on all-time postseason list ... TE Dallas Clark needs 109 yards receiving to pass Brent Jones (740), Shannon Sharpe (814) and Keith Jackson (834) for most by a tight end in postseason history. Clark has 726. ... Colts set NFL record with seven fourth- quarter comebacks this season. ... Indy allowed league-low 13 sacks in 2009 but gave up two last week vs. Baltimore. MINNESOTA (13-4) at NEW ORLEANS (14-3) Sunday, 3:30 pm., Fox OPENING LINE — Saints by 4 1/2 SERIES RECORD — Vikings lead 20- 7 LAST MEETING — Vikings beat Saints 30--27, Oct. 6, 2008 LAST WEEK — Vikings beat Cowboys 34-3; Saints beat Cardinals 45-14 VIKINGS OFFENSE — OVERALL (5), RUSH (13), PASS (8) VIKINGS DEFENSE — OVERALL (6), RUSH (2), PASS (19) SAINTS OFFENSE — OVER- ALL (1), RUSH (6), PASS (4) SAINTS DEFENSE — OVERALL (25), RUSH (21), PASS (26) STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — Vikings are 2-0 vs. Saints in post- season. ... This is fifth time top two scoring teams in league meet in con- ference championship game. ... Minnesota playing in NFC title game for ninth time, has gone 4-4 but is 0-4 in Super Bowls. ... This will be 45th postseason game for franchise since joining NFL in 1961, third behind Dallas (57) and Pittsburgh (50) in that span. ... QB Brett Favre has started 23 postseason games, including 1-1 in Super Bowls, all for Green Bay. ... Favre is closing in on postseason records for yards gained (Joe Montana, 5,772), needing 227; TDs pass- ing (Montana, 45), needing two; and completions (Montana (460), needing seven. ... Favre had career-high 107.4 passer rating. He has a TD pass in NFL playoff-record 19 consec- utive games and threw for postseason career-high four TDs last week. At 40 years, 106 days old on Sunday, Favre will become oldest QB to start conference championship game. ... RB Adrian Peterson led league for scoring among non- kickers with 18 TDs. Peterson was second in NFC with 1,383 yards rushing. and third in league with 1,819 yards overall. ... WR-KR is Offensive Rookie of the Year, and tied for NFL rookie lead with 60 catches. He led NFC rookies with eight TDs (6 receiving, 2 kick returns). ... DE Jared Allen led NFC with 14 1/2 sacks. Minnesota had 48 as a team, added six more, three by DE Ray Edwards and one by Allen, vs. Dallas. ... Saints are 0-1 in conference title games, losing to Chicago three years ago. ... Saints won franchise record 13 games during season. They led NFL with 510 points, ninth most in NFL history. ... QB Drew Brees set NFL record with 70.62 completion percentage and topped league with career-high and franchise-record 109.6 rating. Brees had 4,388 yards passing, his fourth con- secutive 4,000-yard season. In his last game vs. Minnesota, he threw for 330 yards and a touchdown. All-Pro S Darren Sharper, who played for Packers with Favre and then was with Vikings until this season, tied for league lead with nine INTs. Sharper set NFL record for most interception return yards in a season with 376 and had three TDs. ... DE Will Smith had 13 sacks, second to Allen in NFC. ... RB Reggie Bush had huge game in win over Arizona with 83-yard punt return TD, 84 yards rushing on just five carries, with a TD, and four receptions. Bush became second player in post- season history with touchdown rushing and on punt run- back in same game, tying Hall of Famer Charley Trippi. ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Dwight Howard has stopped playfully singing before free throws. He shoots about 100 after every practice and has worked to focus his atten- tion on the rim and not the crowd. If only briefly, the dedi- cation is starting to pay off. Howard had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic became the latest team to bully the struggling Sacramento Kings with a 100-84 victo- ry Friday night that wasn't even that close. Howard beat and bruised an undersized Sacramento front line to help Orlando build a 32- point lead and cruise to its second straight blowout win. The much-maligned free throw shooter made his first 10 shots from the line and finished 11 for 12. ''They can keep fouling me if I'm shooting (at least) 70 or 75 percent,'' he said. Tyreke Evans had 19 points, and Jason Thomp- son scored 10 for the Kings, who have lost six straight and 11 of 12 games. Sacramento coach Paul Westphal offered a partial explanation for his team's skid. ''We're playing against division leaders every night,'' he said. ''That's pretty much the commonal- ity. When you look at our schedule, it doesn't mean you chalk up losses in advance, but we haven't been favored very often.'' And they likely won't be anytime soon. Orlando held the Kings to just 33 percent shooting and forced a smaller Sacra- mento team to take some woeful shots from outside. The Kings managed just 10 points in the second quarter. ''We could not make a shot,'' Thompson said. The Magic were off and running with every Kings miss. They scored the first nine points of the second quarter and had strong con- tributions from nearly their entire roster. Rashard Lewis (15 points), Redick (15 points) and Vince Carter (11 points) all contributed early and rested late with the game decided. Sacramento did little to respond as Orlando went on another spurt, capped by a short buzzer-beating jumper by Nelson over Jon Brockman that banked off the backboard to give Orlando a 48-32 halftime lead. The Kings didn't help themselves with a series of gaffs. Brockman airballed a free throw in the third quar- ter. Evans was dribbling in the paint later in the period when, unaware of the clock, Sacramento was called for shot-clock violation. The Kings had a slew of other shots that clanked hard or completely missed the rim. Warriors lose Ellis, beat lowly Nets OAKLAND (AP) — Stephen Curry scored a career-high 32 points, Corey Maggette added 29 points and the Golden State War- riors beat the New Jersey Nets 111-79 on Friday night despite losing leading scorer Monta Ellis to a right ankle injury. Cartier Martin, a Devel- opment League call-up playing on his second 10- day contract with Golden State, added 16 points and eight rebounds for the War- riors (13-28), who beat the Nets for the second time this season. Ellis, the NBA leader in minutes played, was hurt in the second quarter and did not play after halftime, fin- ishing with a season-low four points with five assists. He was taken for X-rays. Howard powers Magic past Kings Daily News photo by Rich Greene Grant Blaser tries to lay up a shot, Friday night, against Foothill.