AP Friday Sports Roundup

NCAA: Tournament

Couple of No. 3 seeds gone early...11th-seed UCLA nips SMU

UNDATED (AP) — For the first time in 20 years a pair of 14th seeds has moved into the Round of 32 in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

Robert Brown scored 21 points and William Lee provided the final four points for No. 14 UAB in a 60-59 triumph over third seed Iowa State. Lee finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Blazers, who outrebounded the Cyclones 52-37.

R.J. Hunter's 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds remaining capped 14th seed Georgia State's comeback from a 12-point deficit in a 57-56 victory over No. 3 Baylor. Hunter finished with 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting.

Top seeds were 2-for-2 on Thursday.

Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 21 points and 11 rebounds in sending top-ranked Kentucky past Hampton 79-56. Andrew Harrison added 14 points as the Wildcats improved to 35-0 and advanced to take on Cincinnati on Saturday in Louisville.

No. 1 Villanova clobbered Lafayette 93-52 as Dylan Ennis provided 16 points in the Wildcats' 33rd win. Daniel Ochefu had 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds for Villanova, which used a 13-0 run to lead 34-13.

Xavier and Butler have moved into the third round, but fellow No. 6 seed SMU was upset as Bryce Alford made four 3-pointers in the final 3:40 to lead 11th seed UCLA past the Mustangs 60-59. Alford delivered 27 points and Norman Powell had 19 for the 11th-seeded Bruins, who survived the Mustangs' 19-0 run over a 6 ½-minute stretch of the second half. Next up for UCLA is UAB.

Xavier ripped No. 11 Mississippi 76-57 as Matt Stainback scored 20 points and Dee Davis added 17. Stainback also had nine rebounds and five assists, while Davis was 4 of 9 from 3-point range to help the Musketeers set up a meeting with Georgia State Saturday in Jacksonville.

Kellen Dunham scored 20 points, including a clutch 3-pointer with 1:18 to play in Butler's 56-48 triumph over No. 11 Texas. The Longhorns shot just 34 percent and had 15 turnovers.

In other NCAA finals:

— Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 16 of his 23 points in the first half and finished with 10 rebounds as No. 2 Arizona clobbered Texas Southern 93-72. Stanley Johnson added 22 points for the Wildcats, who led by as many as 27 in their 32nd win.

— Zach Auguste scored 25 points and Jerian Grant added 17 to help third seed Notre Dame escape with a 69-65 win over Northeastern. Auguste made 10 of 14 shots and clinched the victory with two free throws as the Irish earned the right to take on Butler in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

— North Carolina blew a 16-point, second-half lead before Justin Jackson hit a tying jumper in the final minute and provided a fast-break dunk to help the fourth-seeded Tar Heels edge Harvard 67-65. Jackson finished with 14 points and Marcus Paige had 10 for the Tar Heels.

— Next up for North Carolina is Arkansas after Michael Qualls scored 20 points in a 56-53 triumph against Wofford. SEC player of the year Bobby Portis finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds for the fifth-seeded Razorbacks.

— D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera led Georgetown's 84-74 win over Eastern Washington, scoring 25 points and grabbing eight rebounds for the fourth-seeded Hoyas. Mikael Hopkins chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds as Georgetown moved on to play Utah.

— Jakob Poeltl had 18 points and eight rebounds to push fifth seed Utah past Stephen F. Austin 57-50. Jordan Loveridge added 12 points for Utah.

— Eighth seed North Carolina State beat LSU 66-65 on BeeJay Anya's hook shot with a second remaining. Cat Barber had a team-high 17 points for the Wolfpack, who trailed by 16 before advancing to Saturday's play against Villanova.

— D'Angelo Russell poured in 28 points to carry 10th seed Ohio State to a 75-72 overtime victory against VCU. Amir Williams added 13 points for the Buckeyes, who trailed by 12 before advancing to face Arizona on Saturday in Portland.

— Coreontae DeBerry scored four of his 13 points in overtime to help eighth-seeded Cincinnati complete a comeback in a 66-65 triumph against Purdue. The Bearcats closed regulation on a 10-3 run in the final minute, capped by Troy Caupain's buzzer-beating layup.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL-BUSTED BRACKETS

Longshots Georgia State, UAB leave brackets in tatters

NEW YORK (AP) — How's your bracket looking?

It was barely after lunch on the West Coast when Georgia State finished the second big upset of the day - in just the first three games. Between the Panthers upset of Baylor and UAB's takedown of Iowa State, two No. 3 seeds falling that quickly on the tournament's first big day left almost every bracket blemished.

Just 3.1 percent of Yahoo Sports users picked UAB to win and 5.9 picked Georgia State.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Syracuse coach denies wrongdoing

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Syracuse men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim has gone on the offensive in his fight with the NCAA. Boeheim was recently suspended for the first nine games of the 2015-2016 Atlantic Coast Conference season by the association, and the school was stripped of some scholarships for alleged wrongdoing.

Boeheim has disputed the ruling that he was not running his program in a responsible manner, saying the basketball team has had a successful track record of academic success. Consequently, he says he will appeal the decisions by the NCAA.

NBA-SCHEDULE

Harden gets 50 for Rockets

UNDATED (AP) — The Houston Rockets are within a game of the NBA's Southwest Division lead following the finest offensive performance of James Harden's career.

Harden poured in a career-high 50 points and had 10 rebounds as the Rockets beat Denver 118-108. He hit the 50-point plateau with a trey in the final minute, helping Houston clinch the victory.

Harden also hit 22 of the Rockets' free throws in their third consecutive win.

Also in the NBA:

— Brandan Wright scored 16 points and matched his career high with seven blocked shots as Phoenix stifled New Orleans 74-72, dropping the Pelicans a full game behind Oaklahoma City for the last Western Conference playoff spot. The Pelicans were without star Anthony Davis due to an ankle injury.

— Gordon Hayward scored 22 points and Trey Burke came off the bench to add 17 in Utah's 80-73 win over the Lakers in Los Angeles. The Jazz are 12-2 since the All-Star break after dealing the Lakers their 50th loss.

— Zach LaVine made the tying and go-ahead free throws with 10.7 seconds left and scored six of his 20 points in overtime as Minnesota downed the Knicks 95-92 in New York. Kevin Martin scored 22 points and Andrew Wiggins added 20 to help the Timberwolves snap a tie with the Knicks for the NBA's worst record.

NHL-SCHEDULE

Canadiens blank Hurricanes

UNDATED (AP) — The Montreal Canadiens have broken a tie with the New York Rangers for the NHL's Eastern Conference lead.

Carey Price finished with 31 saves and the Habs moved two points ahead of the Blueshirts with a 4-0 win against Carolina. Max Pacioretty and Dale Weise each had a goal and an assist to support Price's eighth shutout of the season.

Although the Rangers fell into second in the East, they now have three games in hand on Montreal.

Elsewhere on NHL ice:

— Alex Ovechkin netted his league-leading 46th and 47th goals, including the game-winner in Washington's 3-2 triumph at Minnesota. The outcome puts the Capitals within two points of the second-place Islanders in the Metropolitan Division and leaves the Wild just a point ahead of eighth-place Winnipeg in the West.

— The Jets topped St. Louis 2-1 as Drew Stafford tied the game with 6:44 left in regulation before notching one of Winnipeg's two shootout goals. Ondrej Pavelec stopped 32 shots against the Central Division leaders, who are two points ahead of Nashville.

— Brett Ritchie and Jamie Benn scored 83 seconds apart in the second period to put Dallas up 2-0 in a 2-1 verdict over Pittsburgh. Kari Lehtonen stopped 31 shots as the Stars kept the Penguins from catching the Islanders in the division standings.

— Ottawa beat Boston 6-4 to pull within two points of the Bruins for the final Eastern Conference playoff berth. Kyle Turris scored twice and had an assist for the sizzling Senators, who are 13-1-1 in their last 15 games.

— Johnny Gaudreau netted his 20th goal and had two assists to lead Calgary's offense in a 4-1 win against Philadelphia. Kari Ramo made 26 saves as the Flames moved a point ahead of Los Angeles in the fight for the last Western Conference playoff slot.

— Calgary is within a point of second-place Vancouver in the Pacific Division after the Canucks allowed the last six goals in a 6-2 loss to Columbus. Marco Dano had two goals and an assist as the Blue Jackets dealt the Canucks just their second loss in six games.

— San Jose's Logan Couture had a goal and an assist, while Joe Thornton set up two tallies in a 4-1 verdict over Toronto. Antti Niemi handled 27 shots for the Sharks, who remain six points out of a Western Conference playoff berth.

Jaromir Jagr had a goal and an assist as Florida downed Detroit 3-1 to climb within five points of the eighth-place Bruins. Roberto Luongo stopped 25 shots and helped the Panthers put the Red Wings 10 points behind the Atlantic Division-leading Canadiens.

— Ryan O'Reilly and Jarome Iginla scored 29 seconds apart in the second period to put Colorado ahead to stay in a 5-2 win over Arizona. Freddie Hamilton's first NHL goal was the eventual game-winner.

NFL-FREE AGENCY

Falcons and Bills land tight ends

UNDATED (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons have signed free agent tight end Jacob Tamme, who had 14 catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns with Denver last season.

Tamme set career highs with 67 catches for 631 yards and four touchdowns with quarterback Peyton Manning and the Colts in 2010. He then followed Manning to Denver, where he played the last three seasons.

Also in the NFL:

— Tight end Charles Clay is switching teams in the AFC East as the Miami Dolphins have decided against matching the contract offer Clay received from the Buffalo Bills. That five-year offer is worth $38 million. The Dolphins had the right to match after giving Clay a transition tag two weeks ago, but they decided the price was too high, and will go with newcomer Jordan Cameron and holdover Dion Sims at tight end.

— The New York Giants have re-signed tight end Daniel Fells. The eight-year veteran shared the position with Larry Donnell last season, playing in all 16 games and providing 16 receptions for 188 yards and a career-high four touchdowns.

— A person familiar with the negotiations says free agent wide receiver Dwayne Bowe has agreed to contract terms with the Cleveland Browns. He spent the past eight seasons with Kansas City and will fill the void created when former Pro Bowler Josh Gordon was suspended for one year for multiple violations of the NFL's drug policy.

— The Tennessee Titans have agreed to terms with offensive tackle Byron Stingily on a multi-year contract. He played 10 games and made five starts for the Titans last season.

MLB-TRANSACTIONS

Deals in Milwaukee and Miami

PHOENIX (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers have exercised their 2016 option on manager Ron Roenicke. He replaced Ken Macha after the 2010 season and has led the Brewers to a 335-313 record.

Milwaukee won the NL Central in his first season, then finished third and dropped to fourth in 2013.

MIAMI (AP) — A person familiar with negotiations tells The Associated Press that Miami Marlins left fielder Christian Yelich has accepted a seven-year contract worth about $49.6 million. The 23-year old won a Gold Glove and hit .284 with nine homers and 54 RBIs in his first full major league season last year.

PGA-PALMER

Annual Arnold Palmer event under way

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Morgan Hoffmann has grabbed the first-round lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, hours after learning his 97-year-old grandmother had died. Hoffman eagled the par-5 sixth en route to a 6-under-par 66 that puts him one stroke ahead of five players, including Ian Poulter and Kevin Na. The group at 68 included Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson and Brandt Snedeker.

Rory McIlroy made his Bay Hill debut with a 70.

LPGA-JTBC FOUNDERS CUP

Opening action

PHOENIX (AP) — Rain held up the start of play in the LPGA's JTBC Founders Cup tournament in Phoenix by four hours. It's a four-round event with Karrie Webb the defending champion. She has won the event in two of the last four years.

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