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BySchuylerDixon TheAssociatedPress DALLAS Stephen Curry had several dazzling plays on his way to 31 points, fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson scored 39 and the Golden State War- riors tuned up for a showdown in San Antonio with a 130-112 victory over the Dallas Maver- icks on Friday night. Among a number of displays that drew roars from the typi- cal swarm of the sharpshooting star's fans on the road, Curry stole the ball from Dirk Nowit- zki near midcourt before hitting a 35-footer over him at the first- quarter buzzer. Then he glanced a 3-pointer off the glass from the corner with Nowitzki in his face again in the second quarter. The Warriors made 14 of their first 17 from long range, finished 22 of 38 and won their seventh straight. Now they try to tackle the NBA's longest losing streak on another team's court — 32 straight at the Spurs going back to Feb. 14, 1997. Nowitzki had 24 points for the Mavericks (34-35), who dropped under .500 for the first time since Nov. 11. Curry missed Golden State's first trip to Dallas on Dec. 30, when the Warriors lost for just the second time this season. So there was plenty of antic- ipation, including before the game when Masters champion NBA WarriorsbeatDallas,setupshowdown Golden State plays Spurs on Saturday, team hasn't won game in San Antonio since 1997 BRANDONWADE—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) battles Dallas Mavericks guard J.J. Barea (5) for space during the second half Friday in Dallas. Golden State won 130-112. The Associated Press ST. LOUIS Reality hit Middle Tennessee State guard Jaqawn Raymond as he walked trium- phantly off the floor. Giddy Potts thought it might come later, once he returned to the team hotel and flipped on the TV. It sunk in immediately for Michigan State. Relying on the same bal- anced scoring that carried them to the NCAA Tournament, the No. 15 seed Blue Raiders ended the second-seeded Spartans' ti- tle hopes in convincing fashion Friday. They never trailed in a 90-81 first-round victory that sent brackets around the coun- try into trash cans. "We wanted to win this game as bad as anybody wanted us to win," said Potts, the Blue Raid- ers' hot-shooting sophomore guard. "We played our (butts) off today." Reggie Upshaw had 21 points and Potts finished with 19 for Middle Tennessee State (25- 9), which became the eighth No. 15 seed to knock off a No. 2 since seeding began in 1985. The last time it happened was 2013, when Florida Gulf Coast beat Georgetown on its way to the Sweet 16. The Blue Raiders will try to do the same against No. 10 seed Syracuse on Sunday. "I'll be honest with you, in my wildest dreams I didn't think they'd hit some of the shots they hit," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "We didn't guard them good, but man, they made some shots." The Spartans (29-6) were a trendy pick to win the national championship after capturing the Big Ten Tournament title. In other Midwest Regional games: NO.10SYRACUSE70,NO.7DAYTON 51 Malachi Richardson scored 21 points, Syracuse stumped Dayton with its trademark zone and the Orange rolled to a vic- tory in their return to the NCAA Tournament. Tyler Roberson added 10 points and 18 rebounds for the Orange (19-13), banned from the field last season following an NCAA investigation into aca- demic misconduct and improper benefits. NO. 2 OKLAHOMA 82, NO. 15 CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD 68 Buddy Hield scored 27 points to help Oklahoma defeat Cal State Ba- kersfield. Isaiah Cousins scored 16 points and Jordan Woodard added 15 for the Sooners (26- 7), who made 11 of 20 3-point- ers and shot 50 percent overall. SouthRegional NO. 5 MARYLAND 79, NO. 12 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 74 Maryland needed a turnover in the clos- ing seconds to ensure it would avoid a place with all the other top seeds that lost in the first round, holding off South Da- kota State behind a career-high 27 points from Jake Layman. Deondre Parks fumbled a pass from Keaton Moffitt for the 12th-seeded Jackrabbits (26- 8) and Rasheed Sulaimon picked up the ball and stuffed it for the final score. South Dakota State was seeking its first victory in the NCAA Tournament, but was undone by cold shooting in the NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT BlueRaidersofMTSU upsetMichiganState Eighth time a No. 15 seed has defeated a No. 2, 1st since 2013 JEFF ROBERSON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Middle Tennessee's Reggie Upshaw, front, reaches for a rebound along with Michigan State's Gavin Schilling during the second half in a first-round NCAA Tournament game Friday in St. Louis. Middle Tennessee won 90-81. CHARLIE RIEDEL — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Middle Tennessee's Reggie Upshaw puts up a shot under pressure from Michigan State's Gavin Schilling (34) during the second half of a first-round NCAA Tournament game Friday in St. Louis. WARRIORS 130, MAVS 112 Up next: Golden State Warriors at San Antonio Spurs, 5:30p.m. Saturday, TV on ABC. THESCORE By Noah Trister The Associated Press AUBURN HILLS, MICH. Marcus Morris scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made a couple big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to lift the Detroit Pistons to a 115- 108 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Friday night. The Pistons (35-34) pulled into a virtual tie with Chicago (34- 33) for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Detroit is in the middle of a nine-game homestand, and the Pistons can take a small step toward their first postseason berth since 2009 simply by winning home games against struggling teams such as the Kings. Morris made all six of his 3-point attempts in the first half, and Detroit led 67-54 after two quarters. Sacramento rallied to tie it early in the fourth, but the Pis- tons didn't let this game slip away. NBA Pistons go up big, then hold off Kings Sacramento has lost 11 of last 13 games in free-fall CARLOS OSORIO — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) pressures Detroit Pistons forward Stanley Johnson (3) before Johnson makes the basket during the second half Friday in Auburn Hills, Mich. PISTONS 115, KINGS 108 Up next: Sacramento Kings at New York Knicks, 4:30p.m. Sun- day, TV on CSNCA. THESCORE JEFF CHIU — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Oakland A's starting pitcher Jesse Hahn throws against the Cubs on Sunday. By Carl Steward Bay Area News Group GOODYEAR,ARIZ. Evenwithsome early-inning issues with tempo he still has to work out, Jesse Hahn is already looking like the Oak- land A's second-best starter be- hind Sonny Gray even though he missed the entire second half of last year. Hahn is popping his fastball in the mid-90s, something the A's probably didn't expect to see this early. Hahn certainly didn't. His curveball looks sharp, and having abandoned the slider, he's deter- mined to make the change-up a quality third pitch. But more than anything, Hahn looks as healthy as a horse through three spring starts. With 20 added pounds on his 6-foot-6 frame, he no longer looks like a rubber-band man but something closer to Madison Bumgarner in stature. There hasn't been a hint of the forearm strain problem that fin- ished his 2015 season on July 1 and led some observers to believe he might be an inevitable candi- date for Tommy John elbow sur- gery, which he already had once in 2010. It's still a concern, but SPRING TRAINING A's may have No . 2 st ar te r already with he al th y Ha hn A'S PAGE 2 KINGS PAGE 2 NCAA PAGE 2 WARRIORS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, March 19, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1