Sports briefs
Trinity runner-up in WPIAL team rifle
The Trinity High School rifle team placed second at the WPIAL Team Championships held Tuesday at the Frazier-Simplex Rifle Club.
The individual championships will be held Thursday with the top 15 advancing to the state tournament.
The Hillers had a score of 799-54x. Hempfield won the championship at 800-62x. Butler was the third-place team at 798-65x followed by Waynesburg and Bethel Park. The Raiders and Black Hawks shot identical 797-65x scores but Waynesburg won the tiebreaker, 896-72x-896-70x, with the ninth score added to the final total.
McGuffey placed sixth at 797-54x.
Trinity and Waynesburg move on to the state championships next Tuesday and Wednesday at Frazier-Simplex Rifle Club.
Reese Hickman (110-9x) led Trinity and was one seven Hillers with 100 scores. The others were Justin Walther (100-8x), Jada Horner (100-7x), Daniel Horne (100-5x), Gabe Florian (100-6x), Daniel Knizner (100-6x), Jarrett Hatfield (100-5x).
Waynesburg was led by Hunter Wasson and Colby Simkovic, each of whom shot a perfect 100-10x. Grace Kalsey followed at 100-9x.
McGuffey’s top shooter was Gracie Stagon, who also shot 100-10x.
Texans release Thomas
The Houston Texans have released veteran wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, whose 2018 season ended prematurely when he tore his left Achilles tendon.
Thomas played seven games for Houston last season, making 23 receptions for 275 yards and two touchdowns. He was acquired in October from Denver for a fourth-round draft pick to fill in after Will Fuller tore a knee ligament. The Texans and Broncos also switched seventh-round selections for this year’s draft.
In college basketball
Kavell Bigby-Williams’s tip-in at the buzzer lifted No. 19 LSU to a 73-71 win over fifth-ranked Kentucky on Tuesday night.
With the game tied after Keldon Johnson made two free throws with 6 seconds left, Skylar Mays drove the length of the court. His shot missed but Bigby-Williams got the offensive rebound and scored to give the Tigers their first win over the Wildcats since 2009. It was just the sixth time ever that LSU (10-1 Southeastern Conference, 20-4) has beaten Kentucky (10-2, 20-4).
- Cassius Winston scored 23 points to help No. 11 Michigan State beat 20th-ranked Wisconsin 67-59.
In doing so, the Michigan State (11-3 Big Ten, 20-5) star outdueled Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ, who scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
- Jalen Smith scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half, and No. 24 Maryland used a strong defensive performance to beat 12th-ranked Purdue 70-56, ending the Boilermakers’ eight-game winning streak.
Down by eight at halftime, the Terrapins (19-6, 10-4 Big Ten) took the lead for the first time with 10 minutes left before pulling away. The comeback was fueled by Smith, Eric Alaya and fellow freshman Aaron Wiggins.
In the NBA
Rookie Trae Young had 22 points and 14 assists, John Collins also scored 22 points despite foul trouble, and the Atlanta Hawks defeated LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers 117-113 on Tuesday night.
In the NHL
NHL points leader Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists, Brayden Point added a goal and two assists, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Calgary Flames 6-3 Tuesday.
Kucherov has 88 points, including seven over his last two games after going a pair of games without getting on the scoresheet.
- Sergei Bobrovsky made 13 of his 20 saves in the third period to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets over the Washington Capitals, 3-0.