TIGERS CLAIM 4TH DISTRICT BOYS TITLE; LADY LAKERS FALL
The third time was a charm for the Murray High boys as they exploded out of the gates with a 15-4 first quarter and went on to a 61-46 win over Marshall County in the Fourth District Tournament championship game. The win avenged two earlier losses in the regular season to the Marshals. Grant Whitaker scored 18 points while Quannie McCallister added 12 points to lead the Tigers who improved to 15-7 while Marshall County slipped to 11-9. In the girls game, Marshall County defeated Calloway County 54-36. Skyler Waller led the Lady Lakers with 13 points. Calloway County fell to 18-6 while Marshall County improved to 19-2. All four teams now await the results of the Region 1 Tournament draw which will be held tomorrow. In other district tournament scores last night:
GIRLS
McCracken County 66, Paducah Tilghman 46
Graves County 49, Mayfield 47
Carlisle County 48, Hickman County 38
BOYS
Lyon County 94, Livingston Central 58
Crittenden County 82, Trigg County 63
RACER VOLLEYBALL DOWNED BY EIU
The Murray State volleyball team fell to Eastern Illinois (2-10) in four sets yesterday at Racer Arena. The scores were 25-16, 23-25, 19-25, and 23-25. Taylor Beasley led the 5-7 Racers with a season-high ten total blocks, four solo blocks and six block assists. The Racers host Tennessee Tech on Sunday and Monday at Racer Arena.
RACER FOOTBALL RANKED 25TH
For the first time in 10 years, the Murray State football team is nationally ranked in the STATS FCS Top 25 poll. The Racers came in at 25th after starting the season 3-0 for the first time from 1998. The ranking marks the first time Murray State has appeared in the poll since September of 2011 when it was 24th and just the second time since the final poll of the 2002 season. James Madison is ranked first in the poll and Jacksonville State is eighth.
RACER MEN’S GOLF DROPS TO 7TH HEADING TO FINAL ROUND
The Murray State men’s golf team slipped two places yesterday after a second round 297 at the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate in Sevierville, Tennessee. MSU’s 36-hole mark of 582 was good for a spot in seventh place in the field of 15 teams. UT Martin is the leader at 566. MSU’s Avery Edwards was in 16th place after scores of 68 and 75 to sit at 143. The final round will be played today.
RACER SOCCER HOSTS AUSTIN PEAY TODAY
The 4-0 Murray State soccer team will conclude its two-game home stand when they host Austin Peay in a Battle of the Border rivalry match this afternoon at 1 at Cutchin Field.
RACER BASEBALL BATTLES UK IN LEXINGTON
The 7-8 Murray State baseball team will play at 11-2 Kentucky today in a game that will be televised on SEC Plus.
PROHM OUT AT IOWA STATE
Steve Prohm is out as Iowa State’s men’s basketball coach. Prohm and athletic director Jamie Pollard met last night and the two sides agreed to “part ways,” according to the school. Iowa State finished 2-22 overall, going winless in the Big 12 and losing 18 games in a row to end the season. The Cyclones went to the NCAA tournament in three of Prohm’s first four seasons, including a Sweet 16 run in 2016. They also won a first-round game in 2017. The past two seasons, Iowa State was a combined 14-42 overall and 5-31 in the Big 12.
LOUISVILLE A 2 SEED IN WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT
Louisville received a second seed in the NCAA Women’s Tournament, while Kentucky was awarded a fourth seed. Louisville will meet Marist in the first round on Monday, while Kentucky faces Idaho State Sunday. Third-seeded Tennessee will meet Middle Tennessee in the first-round Sunday. Belmont is seeded 12th and will play Gonzaga in the first round Monday.
MEMPHIS FALLS AS MORANT AND PAYNE REACH DOUBLE DIGITS
Jonas Valanciunas led the Grizzlies with 24 points and 17 rebounds in a 122-99 loss to the Suns in Phoenix. In a battle of former Murray State Racers, Ja Morant started and scored 15 points for the Grizzlies while Cam Payne came off the bench to score 13 for the Suns. The Grizz host the Heat tomorrow night.
AREA HOCKEY ROUNDUP
The Nashville Predators beat the Lightning 4-1 for their first win in six games over the defending Stanley Cup champs. Pekka Rinne made 38 saves for Nashville, which ended a three-game skid. Severe weather is being blamed for postponing last night’s game between the Blues and Kings in Los Angeles. The contest was postponed after a blizzard kept the Kings grounded in Denver. A makeup date has not yet been announced. The Kings and Blues are scheduled to play tomorrow night.
TITANS SIGN DUPREE, EXTEND LAMM, LOSE SMITH
Bud Dupree is leaving the Steelers to join the Titans. The pass rushing linebacker reportedly agreed to a five-year, 85-million dollar contract with 35-million guaranteed. He played last season under the Pittsburgh franchise tag for 15.8-million. NFL Network also reported Tennessee has agreed to terms with offensive tackle Kendall Lamm on a two-year deal worth up to 8.5-million dollars. Jonnu Smith is leaving the Titans to join the Patriots. ESPN reports the tight end has agreed to a four-year, 50-million dollar contract, with 31.25-million guaranteed.
CARDINALS WIN, WILL BEGIN TICKET SALES THIS WEEK
Dylan Carlson, Nolan Gorman, and Nolan Arenado each drove in runs in the Cardinals 4-2 win over the Nationals in Jupiter, Florida. Kodi Whitley earned the victory in relief. St. Louis visits the Astros tomorrow…Single-game tickets for the Cardinals thirteen home games in April go on sale this week. Multi-game tickets can be purchased beginning today and single-game go on sale tomorrow. Tickets are still available for the home opener on April 8th and can be purchased on cardinals.com or over the phone. For health and safety, the Cards are selling stubs in pods, with a maximum of four per sale. All tickets will be delivered digitally.
UK HIRES NEW FOOTBALL ASSISTANT
Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops has named John Settle the new running backs coach/co-special teams coordinator, he announced Monday. He will coach the special teams along with safeties coach Frank Buffano.
Settle comes to the Bluegrass with 26 years of coaching experience, including six in the National Football League, 19 bowl appearances and a long list of successful running backs. Eleven years of his coaching career were spent at Wisconsin, the most recent as the running backs coach from 2015-2021. He also coached the Badger running backs from 2006-10.
REGION 1 TOURNAMENT TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for each game in the regional tournament will be made available to the public the morning of each game. All tickets can be purchased through Murray High School’s GoFan Page. All tickets will be $7.00 plus an additional $1 for GoFan service charge. All games will be played at Murray State’s CFSB Center. Each night gates will open 45 minutes before game time. All seating will be designated by the schools that are participating. After each game the arena will be cleared for sanitization. A ticket must be purchased for each game. Masks and social distancing are required for the entirety of the tournament. For any questions please feel free to contact any athletic director from our local schools. Tournament Schedule-
Saturday, March 20th- Girls First Round Games: 11:00, 1:30, 4:00, 6:30
Monday, March 22nd – Boys First Round Games: 5:30, 8:00
Tuesday, March 23rd – Boys First Round Games: 5:30, 8:00
Thursday, March 25th- Girls Semifinal Games: 5:30, 8:00
Friday, March 26th- Boys Semifinal Games: 5:30, 8:00
Saturday, March 27th- Girls and Boys Championship Games: 3:00, 6:00
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
The NFL free-agent frenzy is underway. Reported deals have quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick going to Washington, QB Jameis Winston going back to the Saints, tight end Rob Gronkowski returning to the Bucs and the Patriots adding pass-rusher Matthew Judon and receiver Jonnu Smith.
The NBA says it could find no proof of an alleged bigoted comment made by former Utah Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey. Former guard Elijah Millsap had accused Lindsey of making the remark to him during his 2015 exit interview. Millsap played 20 games for Utah the next season.
Iowa is rewarding men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery with a four-year extension. He’s under contract through 2027-28 after guiding the Hawkeyes to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals and a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament. McCaffery is second all-time at Iowa in wins.
Archie Miller will not be back as men’s basketball coach at Indiana. The Hoosiers have fired him after four seasons. IU ended this season on a six-game losing streak and missed the NCAA Tournament at 12-and-15. Miller guided the Hoosiers to the NIT quarterfinals in 2019.
Stanford is the top overall seed for the NCAA women’s basketball tournament. The Cardinal are 25-and-2 on the season with 14 straight wins. Connecticut, North Carolina State, and South Carolina were awarded the other number-one seeds. All games will be played at sites in Texas.
MONDAY’S SCOREBOARD
NBA
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Charlotte Hornets 122, Sacramento Kings 116
Milwaukee Bucks 133, Washington Wizards 122
Brooklyn Nets 117, New York Knicks 112
San Antonio Spurs 109, Detroit Pistons 99
LA Clippers 109, Dallas Mavericks 99
Denver Nuggets 121, Indiana Pacers 106
Phoenix Suns 122, Memphis Grizzlies 99
Los Angeles Lakers 128, Golden State Warriors 97
NHL
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Nashville Predators 4, Tampa Bay Lightning 1
Philadelphia Flyers 5, New York Rangers 4 (OT)
Florida Panthers 6, Chicago Blackhawks 3
Pittsburgh Penguins 4, Boston Bruins 1
Vancouver Canucks 3, Ottawa Senators 2 (OT)
Washington Capitals 6, Buffalo Sabres 0
Montreal Canadiens 4, Winnipeg Jets 2
Calgary Flames 4, Edmonton Oilers 3
Vegas Golden Knights 2, San Jose Sharks 1
MLB Grapefruit League
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Tampa Bay Rays 3, Boston Red Sox 2
Miami Marlins 6, Houston Astros 5
Atlanta Braves 5, Minnesota Twins 1
New York Yankees 4, Philadelphia Phillies 2
Baltimore Orioles 12, Pittsburgh Pirates 3
Toronto Blue Jays 4, Detroit Tigers 0
St. Louis Cardinals 4, Washington Nationals 2
MLB Cactus League
——
Chicago Cubs 4, Chicago White Sox 4 (F/10)
Cleveland Indians 7, Oakland Athletics 3
Kansas City Royals 6, San Francisco Giants 1
Arizona Diamondbacks 6, Seattle Mariners 2
Cincinnati Reds 7, Los Angeles Angels 3
Los Angeles Dodgers 12, Colorado Rockies 5
San Diego Padres 13, Milwaukee Brewers 3 (F/8)
TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE (All times are Eastern)
NBA
——
7:30 p.m. – Utah Jazz at Boston Celtics
8:00 p.m. – Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat
8:00 p.m. – New York Knicks at Philadelphia 76ers
8:00 p.m. – Oklahoma City Thunder at Chicago Bulls
8:00 p.m. – Atlanta Hawks at Houston Rockets
10:00 p.m. – New Orleans Pelicans at Portland Trail Blazers
10:00 p.m. – Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Lakers
NHL
——
7:00 p.m. – Buffalo Sabres at New Jersey Devils
7:00 p.m. – New York Islanders at Washington Capitals
7:00 p.m. – Boston Bruins at Pittsburgh Penguins
7:30 p.m. – Carolina Hurricanes at Detroit Red Wings
8:00 p.m. – Arizona Coyotes at Minnesota Wild
8:30 p.m. – Tampa Bay Lightning at Dallas Stars
9:00 p.m. – Anaheim Ducks at Colorado Avalanche
MLB Grapefruit League
——
1:05 p.m. – Atlanta Braves at Boston Red Sox
1:05 p.m. – Baltimore Orioles at Tampa Bay Rays
1:05 p.m. – Detroit Tigers at New York Yankees
1:05 p.m. – Pittsburgh Pirates at Minnesota Twins
1:05 p.m. – Toronto Blue Jays at Philadelphia Phillies
1:10 p.m. – Houston Astros at New York Mets
6:05 p.m. – Miami Marlins at Washington Nationals
MLB Cactus League
——
4:05 p.m. – Milwaukee Brewers at Los Angeles Dodgers
4:10 p.m. – Chicago White Sox at San Diego Padres
4:10 p.m. – Cleveland Indians at Los Angeles Angels
4:10 p.m. – Oakland Athletics at Arizona Diamondbacks
9:05 p.m. – Colorado Rockies at Cincinnati Reds
9:05 p.m. – Seattle Mariners at Kansas City Royals
10:05 p.m. – Texas Rangers at San Francisco Giants
