Sports News

Maple Leafs down Avalanche

TORONTO (AP) — Joseph Woll was outstanding in making 38 saves and Steven Lorentz scored short-handed early in the third period as the Toronto Maple Leafs topped the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 on Wednesday night.

Auston Matthews, with his fourth in the last three games, had the other goal for Toronto.

Valeri Nichushkin scored for Colorado, and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 24 shots.

The Leafs won their second straight after thumping the Calgary Flames 6-2 on Monday following an ugly 1-4-1 stretch.

The Avalanche, meanwhile, saw their 8-0-1 run come to an end — including a 7-4 victory over Toronto on March 8 in Denver — and lost in regulation for the first time since Feb. 23.

The Leafs are aiming for top spot in the Atlantic Division as part of a three-horse race with the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

WILD 4, KRAKEN 0

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Ryan Hartman, Matt Boldy and Liam Ohgren scored 1 minute, 42 seconds apart early in the first period and Minnesota beat Seattle.

Filip Gustavsson made 34 saves for his fifth shutout of the season, Boldy added an empty-net goal, and Minnesota moved within two points of third-place Colorado in the Central Division.

Gustavsson is 4-1-1 in his last six home games with a 1.48 goals-against average, a .949 save percentage and two shutouts.

Philipp Grubauer stopped 24 shots for Seattle.

Tillis scores 24 as UC Irvine takes down Northern Colorado 82-72 in NIT

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) — Devin Tillis had 24 points in UC Irvine's 82-72 win over Northern Colorado on Wednesday in the NIT.

UC Irvine (28-6) will play Jacksonville State in the second round.

Tillis had seven rebounds for the Anteaters. Bent Leuchten scored 17 points while finishing 8 of 14 from the floor and added 10 rebounds and three blocks. Justin Hohn shot 3 for 12 (3 for 9 from 3-point range) and 6 of 8 from the free-throw line to finish with 15 points.

The Bears (25-9) were led in scoring by Brock Wisne, who finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Langston Reynolds added 15 points and five assists for Northern Colorado. Jaron Rillie also put up 14 points and four assists.

Hohn scored the last seven points for UC Irvine.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Luka Doncic scores 31 after a big 1st quarter, and the Lakers rout the depleted Nuggets 120-108

Luka Doncic had 31 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in just three quarters of work, and the Los Angeles Lakers routed the Denver Nuggets 120-108 on Wednesday night in a matchup of injury-depleted Western Conference contenders. Nikola Jokic (elbow) and Jamal Murray (ankle) missed their second straight games for Denver, while LeBron James (hamstring) and Rui Hachimura (knee) continued their longer-term absences for Los Angeles.

SMU earns 73-63 victory against Northern Iowa in NIT

DALLAS (AP) — B.J. Edwards had 16 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals in SMU's 73-63 victory over Northern Iowa on Wednesday night in the NIT.

SMU advances to face Oklahoma State in the second round.

Kario Oquendo added 12 points while going 4 of 9 (2 for 4 from 3-point range) while he also had seven rebounds for the Mustangs (24-10). Chuck Harris shot 4 for 11, including 2 for 6 from beyond the arc to finish with 12 points.

Trey Campbell finished with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Panthers (20-13). Tytan Anderson added 14 points and four assists.

SMU entered halftime up 33-32. Samet Yigitoglu paced the team in scoring in the first half with seven points. Matt Cross' layup with 10:14 left in the second half gave SMU the lead for good at 54-52.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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