Sports briefs
In softball
Madison Lampe hit two home runs as West Greene defeated Worthington Christian, Ohio, 11-1, in six innings at the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Lampe’s two home runs, an inside-the-park home run in the first inning and a solo blast in the third, gave the Pioneers a 3-0 lead.
West Greene then sent 11 batters to the plate, had three hits, four walks and a hit batsman to explode for seven runs in the fifth inning and took a 10-1 lead.
Kaitlyn Rizor, who went 2-for-4 with a double, forced the mercy rule in the sixth after scoring on a passed ball.
Sophomore pitcher Jade Renner had eight strikeouts to earn the win in the circle for West Greene (2-0).
Brunson, Bennett win top AP awards
Villanova guard Jalen Brunson is the Associated Press men’s college basketball player of the year and Virginia’s Tony Bennett is the coach of the year.
The 6-3 Brunson is being presented with the award at the Final Four, where the Wildcats are chasing their second national championship in three seasons. He earned 36 of 65 votes from AP Top 25 writers with ballots submitted before the start of the NCAA Tournament.
Oklahoma freshman Trae Young was second with 15 votes after leading the country in scoring and assists. Arizona freshman Deandre Ayton earned seven votes, followed by Duke freshman Marvin Bagley III with four votes. All three have all declared for the NBA draft.
Brunson is averaging 19.2 points and shooting nearly 53 percent entering Saturday’s national semifinal against Kansas. He’s the first Villanova player to win the AP award.
Bennett was the runaway winner for the coaching award. Bennett earned 50 of 65 votes from AP Top 25 writers with ballots submitted before the start of the NCAA Tournament.
The Cavaliers set a program single-season record for wins, dominated the Atlantic Coast Conference and reached No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the first time since the Ralph Sampson era. But the season ended with the Cavaliers falling to UMBC to become the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16-seed in NCAA Tournament history.
In the NBA
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid will need surgery on an orbital fracture of his left eye and he has a concussion.
There was no timetable Thursday on how long Embiid would be sidelined. The 76ers are set to play Friday in Atlanta and Sunday in Charlotte.
Markelle Fultz was driving toward the basket Wednesday against the Knicks when he appeared to accidentally head-butt Embiid. The 7-footer immediately went to the floor. He remained on the floor for several minutes before he was assisted by Philadelphia’s trainer. Embiid sat up once before lying back down on the court. Eventually, he was helped off the court.
- Andre Drummond scored 24 points and pulled down 23 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons beat the Washington Wizards 103-92 for their fifth win in six games.
Bills great Kelly
has cancer surgery
Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly is expected to be hospitalized for two weeks as he recovers from another cancer surgery.
Dr. Mark Urken says he successfully removed cancer from Kelly’s upper jaw and lymph nodes and reconstructed his upper jaw during an all-day surgery Wednesday. Urken operated on the 58-year-old former football player at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City.
Kelly had surgery in June 2013 to have a portion of his upper jaw removed after first being diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma.
Follow-up tests nine months later showed the cancer spread to his sinus, which led to radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
Kelly had been cancer-free since September 2014 before announcing March 1 that a test had again revealed the presence of oral cancer.