biefs
In college basketball
Race Thompson set career highs with 22 points and 13 rebounds, Al Durham added 19 points, and Indiana beat Providence 79-58 on Monday in the relocated Maui Invitational.
Thompson scored with 9:50 remaining in the first half to give Indiana a 19-9 lead, and the Hoosiers held a double-digit lead the rest of the way. Durham closed the first half with two free throws for a 37-24 advantage.
Thompson, who is in his fourth year in the program, recorded his first career double-double after making 8 of 12 shots. He topped his previous bests of 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Trayce Jackson-Davis had 12 points and seven rebounds, and Rob Phinisee added 11 points with five assists for Indiana (2-0). The Hoosiers shot 45.2% from the field, scored 17 points off turnovers and outrebounded Providence 42-33.
- Courtney Ramey and No. 17 Texas offered a glimpse Monday of the Longhorns’ potential depth to start the relocated Maui Invitational. Coach Shaka Smart wants to see the defense look a little sharper, too.
Ramey hit the go-ahead driving score with 20 seconds left and the Longhorns survived a pair of final-possession Davidson shots for the win to beat the Wildcats 78-76 in Monday’s tournament opener.
Texas (2-0) shot 48% and led nearly the entire second half, yet missed too many free throws and struggled to get stops as Davidson (1-1) shot nearly 57% for the game.
At The Meadows
He’d had only two lifetime drives, neither a win, but John “The Greek” Sikaras changed that arithmetic dramatically Friday at The Meadows when he and Explosive Leggs roared wide through the lane to pull off a 23-1 upset in an $8,500 Great Lakes Amateur Driving Association (GLADA) leg at The Meadows.
A longtime Standardbred owner but a neophyte driver, Sikaras trailed by 4 lengths into the stretch when he and Explosive Leggs found their best stride. They prevailed in 1:59 over a “good” surface, ½ length better than Jerry Kehm (Vegas Ticket). Alesha “The Hoosier Hotshot” Binkley (Delcrest Holiday) overcame a parked-out opening panel to finish third.
Carl Cocciolone trains Explosive Leggs, an 8-year-old Explosive Matter-American Leggs gelding who lifted his lifetime bankroll to $280,441, and owns with Mark Sosovicka.
Action continues through the winter at Northfield.