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2B – Daily News – Saturday, March 20, 2010 NCAA (Continued from page 1B) of his career. As it turns out, that didn’t matter at all for Ohio State. The Buckeyes leaned on the slick shooting of a sick player, Jon Diebler, and defensive domination by Dallas Lauderdale for a 68-51 victory over persistent UC Santa Barbara in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday night. ‘‘I can’t picture another game being like this,’’ Turner said. ‘‘It’s cool. I’m glad my teammates picked us up.’’ Diebler scored 23 points and Lauderdale blocked a career-high eight shots and grabbed 12 rebounds for the second-seeded Buckeyes (28-7), who won without much offense from their top player. Diebler’s performance was par- ticularly impressive, given the fact that he spent the week fighting off flulike symptoms. ‘‘I knew I was going to be fine,’’ he said. ‘‘Yesterday I felt a little bet- ter after the practice — after I threw up.’’ Joked Buckeyes coach Thad Matta, ‘‘He’s the only guy that takes the 24-hour flu to 72 hours.’’ Turner was held to nine points on 2-of-13 shooting from the field. He did have 10 rebounds. Orlando Johnson scored 20 points for No. 15 seed UC Santa Barbara (20-10). No. 10 Georgia Tech 64, No. 7 Oklahoma State 59 MILWAUKEE (AP) — Gani Lawal scored 14 points, Derrick Favors came within a rebound of a double-double and the free throw- challenged Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets scored their last 13 points at the line to hold off Oklahoma State. It was a disappointing finish for James Anderson and the seventh- seeded Cowboys (22-11), who never seemed to find their rhythm. Anderson, the nation’s third-lead- ing scorer, was just 3 of 12 for 11 points, half his average. Obi Muonelo was held to 10 points and the Cowboys, one of the nation’s best from beyond the arc, were just 6 of 22 from 3-point range. No. 10 seed Georgia Tech moved to 5-0 in NCAA tourna- ment games at the Bradley Center. The Yellow Jackets (23-12) had struggled at the foul line all year, coming in shooting less than 65 percent. But they made them when it counted. Held without a field goal the last 8 minutes of the game, Georgia Tech finished 24 of 25 from the line. No. 10 Missouri 86, No. 7 Clemson 78 BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Kim English and Keith Ramsey each scored 20 points, and Missouri’s swarming defense lived up to its reputation against Clemson. Missouri (23-10), the 10th seed in the East Regional, has won five straight opening-round games and will play West Virginia in the sec- ond round Sunday. No. 7 seed Clemson (21-11) goes home for the third straight year after a first-round loss to a lower-seeded team. Tigers coach Oliver Purnell is winless in six trips to the NCAA tournament with three schools. Missouri’s defense, small, swift and smart, played at a high level. It forced 20 turnovers, nabbed 15 steals and stifled Clemson star Trevor Booker for 35 minutes. Booker finished with 11 points, eight coming in a late 3-minute span, and pulled down 11 rebounds in the final game of his stellar career. No. 4 Wisconsin 53, No. 13 Wofford 49 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jon Leuer scored 20 points, includ- ing a jumper and two free throws in the final 17 seconds, and fourth- seeded Wisconsin eked out a win over No. 13 seed Wofford. Trevon Hughes added 19 points for Wisconsin, including 12 of the team’s first 21. The Badgers advanced to the second round for the fourth consecutive year and will play Cornell on Sunday. The Badgers (24-8) slowed it down early, playing their typical plodding style, then turned things up when the Terriers (26-9) opened the second half with a flurry of points. Jamar Diggs scored 11 of his 13 points in the first five minutes after the break, helping Wofford over- come an eight-point deficit in its NCAA tournament debut. The Southern Conference champions, who made just seven of 25 shots in the first half, hit their first eight bas- kets to start the second and took a 38-37 lead. No. 5 Michigan State 70, No. 12 New Mexico State 67 SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Kalin Lucas scored a career-high 25 points and Raymar Morgan emerged from a quiet night by hit- ting key shots down the stretch as fifth-seeded Michigan State edged No. 12 New Mexico State. Morgan broke a late tie with four straight points, then made two free throws with 18.6 seconds remaining with the aid of a lane- violation call. Still, it was an uneven game for the Spartans (25-8), a microcosm of their at-times dazzling, other times dumbfounding season fol- lowing a loss to North Carolina in last year’s national championship game. Troy Gillenwater scored 17 points, including a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left that got New Mexi- co State (22-12) within 68-67. Jonathan Gibson added 16. No. 8 Gonzaga 67, No. 9 Florida State 60 BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Matt Bouldin and eighth-seeded Gonza- ga showed Florida State it still has a way to go in its quest to be consid- ered a basketball power. Bouldin scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half in helping the Bulldogs close out a victory over the ninth-seeded Seminoles. Steven Gray scored 15 points while Robert Sacre added 13 points and nine rebounds for the ’Zags (27-6), who nearly squandered an 18-point lead. Deividas Dulkys scored 14 points and Solomon Alabi had 13 for the Seminoles (22-10), who didn’t have enough offense to dig themselves out of their big hole. No. 4 Purdue 72, No. 13 Siena 64 SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Keaton Grant ignited a decisive 20- 3 run with 11 points to begin the second half, and Purdue rallied past giant-killer Siena despite playing without do-it-all forward Robbie Hummel. Grant, the senior who became a starter after Hummel injured his knee three weeks ago, opened up the inside for teammate JuJuan Johnson’s 23 points. Johnson, the tallest player on either team at 6- foot-10, tied his career high with 15 rebounds. E’Twaun Moore added 12 points for the fourth-seeded Boiler- makers (28-5). They were steamed that even President Barack Obama had joined a national chorus pre- dicting the 13th-seeded Saints (27- 7) would pull a first-round upset in the third consecutive NCAA tour- nament. Take that, Mr. President! No. 1 Syracuse 79, No. 16 Vermont 56 BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Wes Johnson had 18 points to lead five Syracuse players in double figures, and the top-seeded Orange beat No. 16 Vermont. Syracuse (29-4), playing with- out injured center Arinze Onuaku, avenged a stunning overtime loss to Vermont (25-10) in the 2005 tour- nament. The Orange will play Gon- zaga in the second round on Sun- day. Scoop Jardine had 14 points, Rick Jackson added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Andy Rautins finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Orange. Marqus Blakely led Vermont with 17 points. Onuaku injured his knee in the Big East tournament and the status of the man in the middle of the back of the 2-3 zone is up in the air for the second round. Syracuse used an overwhelming start that had Vermont trailing by as many as 25 late in the first half. No. 1 Duke 73, No. 16 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 44 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Kyle Singler had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Jon Scheyer scored 13 and No. 1 seed Duke rolled past Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Lance Thomas added 12 points and Nolan Smith 10 as the Blue Devils began their quest for a fourth national championship in dominat- ing fashion. Duke (30-5) jumped out to an early lead, never trailed and reached 30 wins for the 11th time under coach Mike Krzyzewski. The 16th-seeded Golden Lions (18-16), who beat Winthrop 61-44 in the opening round Tuesday to earn a date with Duke, turned in a respectable defensive performance. But they struggled to score against Duke’s bigger, more physical front- court. Tavaris Washington led Pine Bluff with nine points. No. 2 West Virginia 77, No. 15 Morgan State 50 BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Kevin Jones scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half to lead sec- ond-seeded West Virginia over No. 15 seed Morgan State. Despite the margin of victory, it wasn’t an easy start for the Big East tournament champs after West Vir- ginia missed its first 11 shots and trailed 10-0 before the game was five minutes old. With leading scorer Da’Sean Butler handcuffed by a double- teaming Bears defense, Jones proved to be the difference. The sophomore forward went 4 for 4 for nine points during a decisive 21- 4 run over a 6-minute stretch in the first half. Devin Ebanks had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Mountaineers (28-6). Reggie Holmes scored 12 for Morgan State (27-10), the Mid- Eastern Athletic Conference champ, which followed up its first tournament appearance last year with another bid this season. No. 3 Pittsburgh 89, No. 14 Oakland 66 MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jer- maine Dixon and Gilbert Brown scored 17 points apiece and Pitts- burgh avoided becoming the latest Big East powerhouse to get knocked off in the first round, over- coming a slow start to rout Oak- land. Brown’s strong performance off the bench was a boost for the third- seeded Panthers (25-8), who are making their ninth straight NCAA appearance and have advanced to the round of 16 in five of the previ- ous eight. They’ll try to continue Scoreboard MLB Spring Training Glance AMERICAN LEAGUE WL Pct Tampa Bay 12 4 .750 Cleveland 9 5 .643 Toronto 8 6 .571 Kansas City 7 6 .538 Detroit Boston 9 8 .529 8 8 .500 New York 8 9 .471 Minnesota 7 8 .467 A’s Chicago 6 8 .429 Texas Baltimore 6 10 .375 Seattle Angels 4 9 .308 NATIONALLEAGUE WL Pct Atlanta 11 5 .688 GIANTS 12 6 .667 Chicago 10 6 .625 Philadelphia 8 5 .615 New York 10 7 .588 Colorado 11 8 .579 Milwaukee 10 8 .556 Houston 8 7 .533 Arizona 9 8 .529 Florida Cincinnati 7 7 .500 Dodgers 5 7 .417 Padres 6 9 .400 Pittsburgh 5 10 .333 St. Louis 5 10 .333 Washington 3 12 .200 NOTE:Split-squad games count in the stand- ings;games against non-major league teams do not. ——— Friday’s results Colorado 10, Oakland 4 San Francisco 7, Cleveland (ss) 6 Atlanta 4, Detroit (ss) 4, tie, 10 innings Baltimore 2, Philadelphia 0 Chicago Cubs 8, Chicago White Sox 4 Cincinnati 6, Seattle 2 Cleveland (ss) 12, Texas 2 Florida 7, St. Louis (ss) 6 Houston 2, Toronto 0 Kansas City 24, Arizona 9 L.A. Angels 10, Milwaukee 5 Minnesota 7, N.Y.Mets 3 N.Y.Yankees (ss) 6, Detroit (ss) 2 Pittsburgh 9, Boston 7 San Diego 9, L.A. Dodgers 4 Tampa Bay 6, N.Y.Yankees (ss) 2 Washington 13, St. Louis (ss) 5 Saturday’s Grapefruit League games Atlanta vs Toronto, 10:05 a.m. Baltimore (ss) vs Boston, 10:05 a.m. Florida at Washington, 10:05 a.m. Minnesota vs Tampa Bay, 10:05 a.m. N.Y. Mets vs St. Louis, 10:05 a.m. N.Y.Yankees vs Houston, 10:05 a.m. Philadelphia vs Detroit, 10:05 a.m. Pittsburgh vs Baltimore (ss), 10:05 a.m. Saturday’s Cactus League games Chicago Cubs (ss) vs Oakland (ss),1:05 p.m. Cincinnati vs San Francisco, 1:05 p.m. Oakland (ss) vs Cleveland, 1:05 p.m. Arizona vs Seattle, 1:05 p.m. Kansas City (ss) vs Chicago Cubs (ss), 1:05 p.m. Kansas City (ss) vs Milwaukee, 1:05 p.m. L.A. Dodgers (ss) vs Texas, 1:05 p.m. San Diego (ss) vs Chicago White Sox, 1:05 p.m. L.A. Angels vs Colorado, 1:10 p.m. 78 .467 6 9 .400 5 10 .333 San Diego (ss) vs L.A.Dodgers (ss), 7:05 p.m. Sunday’s Grapefruit League games Baltimore vs Philadelphia, 10:05 a.m. Boston (ss) vs Toronto, 10:05 a.m. Detroit vs N.Y.Yankees, 10:05 a.m. Houston (ss) vs Boston (ss), 10:05 a.m. N.Y. Mets vs Houston (ss), 10:05 a.m. St. Louis vs Atlanta, 10:05 a.m. Tampa Bay (ss) vs Minnesota, 10:05 a.m. Tampa Bay (ss) vs Pittsburgh, 10:05 a.m. Washington vs Florida, 10:05 a.m. Sunday’s Cactus League games Cincinnati (ss) vs Oakland, 1:05 p.m. San Francisco vs Arizona, 1:05 p.m. Chicago Cubs vs Cincinnati (ss), 1:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox vs Milwaukee, 1:05 p.m. Cleveland vs L.A. Dodgers, 1:05 p.m. Colorado vs Kansas City, 1:05 p.m. Seattle vs L.A. Angels, 1:05 p.m. Texas vs San Diego, 1:05 p.m. NCAA EAST REGIONAL 9 8 .529 First Round — Friday’s results 2) West Virginia 77, 15) Morgan State 50 4) Wisconsin 53, 13) Wofford 49 10) Missouri 86, 7) Clemson 78 12) Cornell 78, 5) Temple 65 Second Round — Saturday’s games,CBS At New Orleans Arena, New Orleans 1) Kentucky vs 9) Wake Forest, 5:15 p.m. At HP Pavilion, San Jose, Calif. 3) New Mexico vs 11) Washington, 2:50 p.m. Second Round — Sunday’s games,CBS At HSBC Arena, Buffalo, N.Y. 2) West Virginia vs 10) Missouri, 11:40 a.m. At Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Fla. 4)Wisconsin vs 12) Cornell, 11:50 a.m. SOUTH REGIONAL First Round — Friday’s results 1) Duke 73, 16) Arkansas-Pine Bluff 44 4) Purdue 72, 13) Siena 64 5) Texas A&M 69, 12) Utah State 53 8) California 77, 9) Louisville 62 Second Round — Saturday’s games,CBS At Dunkin’Donuts Center, Providence, R.I. 2) Villanova vs 10) Saint Mary’s, 10:05 a.m. At New Orleans Arena, New Orleans 3) Baylor vs 11) Old Dominion, 2:45 p.m. Second Round — Sunday’s games,CBS At Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena Jacksonville, Fla. 1) Duke vs 8) California, 2:20 p.m. At Spokane Arena, Spokane, Wash. 4) Purdue vs. 5) Texas A&M, 2 p.m. MIDWEST REGIONAL First Round — Friday’s results 2) Ohio State 68, 15) UC Santa Barbara 51 4) Maryland 89, 13) Houston 77 5) Michigan State 70, 12) New Mexico State 67 10) Georgia Tech 64, 7) Oklahoma State 59 Second Round — Saturday’s games,CBS At Dunkin’Donuts Center, Providence, R.I. 14) Ohio vs 6) Tennessee, 12:35 p.m. At The Ford Center, Oklahoma City 1) Kansas vs 9) Northern Iowa, 2:40 p.m. Second Round — Sunday’s games,CBS At The Bradley Center, Milwaukee Ohio State vs. Georgia Tech, 11:20 a.m. At Spokane Arena, Spokane, Wash. Maryland vs. Michigan State, 11:30 a.m. WEST REGIONAL First Round — Friday’s results 1) Syracuse 79, 16) Vermont 56 3) Pittsburgh 89, 14) Oakland, Mich. 66 6) Xavier 65, 11) Minnesota 54 8) Gonzaga 67, 9) Florida State 60 Second Round — Saturday’s games,CBS At The Ford Center, Oklahoma City 2) Kansas State vs 7) BYU, 5:10 p.m. At HP Pavilion, San Jose, Calif. 13) Murray State vs 5) Butler, 12:20 p.m. Second Round — Sunday’s games,CBS At HSBC Arena, Buffalo, N.Y. Syracuse vs. Gonzaga, 9:10 a.m. At The Bradley Center, Milwaukee 3) Pittsburgh vs.6) Xavier, 1:50 p.m. NIT Second Round Friday’s result Mississippi 90, Memphis 81 Saturday’s games North Carolina at Mississippi State, 9 a.m. Jacksonville at Texas Tech, 1 p.m. N.C. State at UAB , 2 p.m. Monday’s games Nevada at Rhode Island, 3 p.m. Connecticut at Virginia Tech, 4 p.m. Kent State at Illinois, 5 p.m. Dayton at Cincinnati, 6 p.m. CBI Quarterfinals Monday’s games College Charleston at Va.Commonwealth, 4 p.m. Princeton at IUPUI, 4 p.m. Morehead State at Boston U., 4 p.m. Wis.-Green Bay at Saint Louis, 5 p.m. CIT Quarterfinals Monday’s games Appalachian State at Marshall, 4 p.m. Fairfield at Creighton, 5:05 p.m. Louisiana Tech at Missouri State, 5:05 p.m. Pacific at Northern Colorado, 6:05 p.m. NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division Lakers WL Pct GB 51 18 .739 — Phoenix 43 26 .623 8 Clippers 26 43 .377 25 KINGS 23 46 .333 28 WARRIORS 19 49 .279 31.5 Southwest Division WL Pct GB 46 22 .676 — Dallas San Antonio 41 26 .612 4.5 Houston 35 32 .522 10.5 Memphis 36 33 .522 10.5 New Orleans33 37 .471 14 Northwest Division WL Pct GB Denver 47 22 .681 — Utah 44 25 .638 3 Okla. City 42 25 .627 4 Portland 42 28 .600 5.5 Minnesota 14 56 .200 33.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL Pct GB Boston 44 24 .647 — Toronto 33 34 .493 10.5 New York 25 44 .362 19.5 Philadelphia 24 45 .348 20.5 New Jersey 7 61 .103 37 Southeast Division WL Pct GB x-Orlando 49 21 .700 — Atlanta 44 24 .647 4 Charlotte 35 33 .515 13 Miami 35 34 .507 13.5 Washington 21 46 .313 26.5 Central Division WL Pct GB y-Cleveland 55 15 .786 — Milwaukee 37 30 .552 16.5 Chicago 31 37 .456 23 Detroit 23 46 .333 31.5 Indiana 23 46 .333 31.5 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division ——— Friday’s results San Antonio 147, Golden State 116 Milwaukee 114, Sacramento 108,2OT Atlanta 93, Charlotte 92, OT Boston 94, Houston 87 Cleveland 92, Chicago 85 Indiana 106, Detroit 102 L.A. Lakers 104, Minnesota 96 New York 92, Philadelphia 88 Oklahoma City 115, Toronto 89 Phoenix 109, Utah 98 Portland 76, Washington 74 Saturday’s games Golden State at Memphis, 5 p.m. Chicago at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Charlotte at Miami, 4:30 p.m. Toronto at New Jersey, 4:30 p.m. Boston at Dallas, 6 p.m. Milwaukee at Denver, 6 p.m. New Orleans at Utah, 6 p.m. Sunday’s games Sacramento at L.A. Clippers, 12:30 p.m. Houston at New York, 10 a.m. Oklahoma City at Indiana, 11:30 a.m. Detroit at Cleveland, 3 p.m. San Antonio at Atlanta, 5 p.m. Washington at L.A. Lakers, 6:30 p.m. Portland at Phoenix, 7:30 p.m. NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL OT Pts GF GA SHARKS 43 18 10 96 231 187 Phoenix 44 22 5 93 193 173 Kings Ducks Dallas 40 24 5 85 206 185 33 29 8 74 198 215 30 27 13 73 201 223 Central Division WL OT Pts GF GA Chicago 45 19 6 96 230 174 Nashville 40 26 5 85 202 201 Detroit 34 23 13 81 189 189 St. Louis 33 28 9 75 193 196 Columbus 29 31 11 69 187 228 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA Vancouver 44 24 3 91 233 183 Colorado 40 24 6 86 211 185 Calgary 36 26 9 81 181 177 Minnesota 34 31 6 74 194 208 Edmonton 22 42 7 51 179 247 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA Pittsburgh 42 24 5 89 222 202 New Jersey 42 24 4 88 189 168 Philadelphia 37 28 5 79 209 191 N.Y.Rangers 31 31 9 71 185 195 N.Y.Islanders 29 32 10 68 189 221 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. y-clinched division Friday’s results Calgary 4, San Jose 3 Anaheim 5, N.Y. Islanders 4, OT Columbus 4, Minnesota 2 Edmonton 3, Detroit 2, SO Saturday’s games Carolina at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m. Ottawa at Dallas, 11 a.m. Buffalo at Florida, 4 p.m. Montreal at Toronto, 4 p.m. Philadelphia at Atlanta, 4 p.m. St. Louis at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Washington at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m. Columbus at Nashville, 5 p.m. Chicago at Phoenix, 6 p.m. Detroit at Vancouver, 7 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s games San Jose at Edmonton, 5 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at Boston, 9:30 a.m. Calgary at Minnesota, Noon Buffalo at Carolina, 2 p.m. Tampa Bay at Florida, 2 p.m. Nashville at St. Louis, 3 p.m. Atlanta at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Phoenix at Dallas, 4 p.m. Colorado at Anaheim, 5 p.m. Thursday’s late results Vancouver 3, San Jose 2 Chicago 3, Los Angeles 0 PGA Transitions Championship, NBC At Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club, Copperhead Course Palm Harbor, Fla. Purse: $5 million Yardage: 7,340;Par 71 Padraig Harrington 69-65—134 -8 Carl Pettersson Jim Furyk Bubba Watson Retief Goosen Steve Stricker Jeff Maggert Steve Elkington David Toms Jonathan Byrd K.J. Choi Ross Fisher Alex Cejka Jeff Quinney Second Round Leader Board 67-68—135 -7 67-68—135 -7 70-65—135 -7 67-68—135 -7 70-66—136 -6 67-69—136 -6 68-68—136 -6 74-63—137 -5 67-70—137 -5 69-69—138 -4 68-70—138 -4 69-69—138 -4 68-70—138 -4 Nicholas Thompson 70-68—138 -4 Brandt Snedeker Rickie Fowler Luke Donald Adam Scott Justin Leonard Mathew Goggin Spencer Levin 69-69—138 -4 67-71—138 -4 71-68—139 -3 73-66—139 -3 71-68—139 -3 70-69—139 -3 69-70—139 -3 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Buffalo 37 22 10 84 192 176 Ottawa 37 29 5 79 190 207 Montreal 36 29 6 78 194 195 Boston 31 27 12 74 174 180 Toronto 25 34 12 62 189 236 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA y-Washington 47 14 10 104 280 202 Atlanta 30 29 11 71 210 227 Tampa Bay 28 30 12 68 185 217 Florida 28 30 11 67 180 204 Carolina 29 33 8 66 195 219 DEALS National Basketball Association WASHINGTON—Signed G Shaun Liv- ingston for the remainder of the season. National Hockey League CAROLINA—Recalled D Bryan Rodney From Albany (AHL). CHICAGO—Reassigned G Corey Crawford to Rockford (AHL). COLORADO—Signed F Mike Carman. MINNESOTA—Recalled D Justin Falk from Houston (AHL). PHOENIX—Signed F Josh Lunden to an entry level contract. VANCOUVER—Signed F Ryan Kesler to a six-year contract extension through the 2015- 16 season. Major League Baseball American League BALTIMORE—Optioned LHP Wilfrido Perez to Bowie (EL). CLEVELAND—Optioned C Carlos Santana, RHP Hector Rondon, RHP Jeanmar Gomez and OF Jordan Brown to Columbus (IL). Optioned INF Carlos Rivero and OF Nick Weglarz to Akron (EL).Reassigned INF Beau Mills to their minor league camp. Announced INF Brian Bixler cleared waivers and has been sent outright to Columbus. NEW YORK—Optioned RHP Romulo Sanchez to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (IL). Reassigned RHP Ryan Pope to their minor league camp. TEXAS—Assigned INF-OF Mitch Moreland, 1B Justin Smoak and INF-OF Chad Tracy to their minor league camp. National League CHICAGO—Optioned RHP Blake Parker, RHP Jeff Stevens and C Welington Castillo to Iowa (PCL).Assigned RHP Andrew Cashner, RHP Casey Coleman, RHP Thomas Dia- mond, LHP J.R. Mathes and INF Bryan LaHair to their minor league camp. FLORIDA—Optioned LHP Taylor Tankersley, RHP Cristhian Martinez, OF Scott Cousins, OF Jai Miller to New Orleans (PCL). Reas- signed RHP Kasey Olenberger, C Vinny Rot- tino, INF Danny Richar to their minor league camp. MILWAUKEE—Optioned OF Lorenzo Cain, RHP Marco Estrada and C Angel Salome to Nashville (PCL). Sent LHP Zach Braddock and RHP Kameron Loe to their minor league camp. PITTSBURGH—Optioned 3B Pedro Alvarez and OF Jose Tabata to Indianapolis (IL). Reassigned OF Jonathan Van Every, INF Doug Bernier, RHP Jimmy Barthmaier, LHP Neal Cotts, RHP Craig Hansen and RHP Tyler Yates to their minor league camp. National Football League ARIZONA—Agreed to terms with LB Joey Porter on a three-year contract. N.Y. JETS—Signed LB Lance Laury. TENNESSEE—Acquired DE Jason Babin after the Philadelphia Eagles declined to match the Titans’ offer. Major League Soccer DC—Waived M Danny Szetela. NEW ENGLAND—Re-signed D Darrius Barnes. College OREGON—Announced the resignation of athletic director Mike Bellotti, effective April 5. ST. JOHN’S—Fired men’s basketball coach Norm Roberts. that streak Sunday against Xavier. Big center Keith Benson scored 28 points for the 14th-seeded Gold- en Grizzlies (26-9), who played much of the first half without start- ing forward Derick Nelson after an elbow from Panthers center Gary McGhee opened a cut over his left eye. No. 4 Maryland 89, No. 13 Houston 77 SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Freshman Jordan Williams set career highs with 21 points and 17 rebounds, and Maryland beat Houston 89-77 on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA tour- nament’s Midwest Regional. Maryland (24-8) overcame an off night by ACC player of the year Greivis Vasquez, who had a quiet 16 points. The fourth-seeded Ter- rapins will play Sunday against fifth-seeded Michigan State (25-8), a 70-67 winner over New Mexico State. Aubrey Coleman, the nation’s leading scorer, had 26 points for 13th-seeded Houston (19-16). The senior averaged 25.6 points per game this season. No. 5 Texas A&M 69, No. 12 Utah State 53 SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — First-round victories in the NCAA tournament are becoming routine for Texas A&M, although this time it took freshman Khris Middleton to make it happen. Middleton scored a career-high 19 points and fifth-seeded Texas A&M (24-9) beat No. 12 Utah State to advance to the second round for the fifth consecutive year. The Aggies will face Purdue on Sunday. David Loubeau added 12 points for Texas A&M, which disrupted Utah State into one of its worst shooting performances of the sea- son and dominated the rebounding. Utah State (27-8) lost its fifth consecutive first-round game. Its last win came in 2001 over Ohio State. No. 6 Xavier 65, No. 11 Minnesota 54 MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jordan Crawford scored 17 of his 28 points in the second half and Xavier kept up its run of tournament success by beating Minnesota. Xavier (25-8) advanced to the second round for the fourth straight year, this time under first-year coach Chris Mack. Mack has a star in Crawford, the Indiana transfer playing in his first NCAA tournament game in two years. But it was far from a one- man show. Dante Jackson smothered the Gophers’ best shooters on defense, Jamel McLean had 14 rebounds and Crawford provided the high- light plays for the sixth-seeded Musketeers.