Digital Sports Desk

Online Destination for the Best in Boston Sports

Archives for March 2024

BIG EAST Names Award Winners

by

NEW YORK – (March 11, 2024) The BIG EAST Conference announced the winners for four individual awards for its 2023-24 men’s basketball season.

For the third season in a row, Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner has been named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year. Desmond Claude of Xavier was chosen BIG EAST Most Improved Player. Hassan Diarra of Connecticut has been selected for the BIG EAST Sixth Man Award. Creighton’s Steven Ashworth has been tabbed the winner of the BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award.

The league’s head coaches make the selections and they are not permitted to vote for their own players. The BIG EAST will announce the remaining individual awards: BIG EAST Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete on Wednesday, March 13, at 1:30 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden. The BIG EAST Media Award will also be presented.

Kalkbrenner, a 7-1 senior center from Florissant, Mo., is the third player in BIG EAST history to win Defensive Player of the Year honors three times. Georgetown’s Alonzo Mourning won three times (1989, ’90, ’92) and former Hoya Patrick Ewing won four times (1982, ’83, ’84, 85). This season, Kalkbrenner is the BIG EAST’s blocked shot leader in league games with a 3.4 mark. His 2.97 blocked shot average in all games ranks third nationally. Kalkbrenner is an All-BIG EAST Second Team selection.

Xavier’s Claude, a 6-6 sophomore guard, has improved across the board for the Musketeers. As a freshman, he was used in a sixth-man role and averaged 4.7 points and 2.5 rebounds. This year, Claude brought his scoring mark up to 16.0, his rebound average up to 4.1. His assist/turnover ratio improved from 1.24 to 1.50 and his free throw shooting went from 57.1 percent to 79.2 percent. This season, he has scored in double figures in 28 of 31 games compared to five in 35 games last year.

UConn’s Diarra has been a most effective sixth man for the regular-season champions. A 6-2 senior guard, he is playing 19.1 minutes per game and is averaging 6.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists. He is shooting 77.8 percent from foul line and 36.7 percent from 3-point range. Diarra has 72 assists while committing only 33 turnovers. In addition to his offensive contributions, he often draws a top defensive assignment.

Creighton’s Ashworth has made an immediate impact with his sportsmanlike play and his steady production. A 6-1 guard transfer from Utah State, he took over the starting point guard on a team that enters this week’s BIG EAST Tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Bluejays are 23-8 overall and 14-6 in league play. Ashworth is averaging 10.5 points and 4.1 assists. His assist average ranks ninth in the conference. 

BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year

Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

BIG EAST Most Improved Player

Desmond Claude, Xavier

BIG EAST Sixth Man Award

Hassan Diarra, Connecticut

BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award

Steven Ashworth, Creighton

Celtics Look to Extend Road Streak

by

SALT LAKE CITY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Celtics will be looking to extend their road winning streak to three games when they face the slumping Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.

After beating Phoenix 117-107 on Saturday, the Celtics earned a 121-99 victory at Portland on Monday. Jaylen Brown led Boston with 27 points and Jayson Tatum added 26. Sam Hauser came off the bench to make 6 of 10 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 22 points.

“We just played hard, made the right reads on offense, knew our personnel on defense and made a lot of shots,” Hauser said. “I had a rough first half but turned it around in the second half. Once you see a couple (shots) go, the rim gets bigger and you get more confidence.”

Jrue Holiday (knee) and Kristaps Porzingis (hamstring) sat out Boston’s win over Portland. Al Horford scored 11 points against the Trail Blazers but may not be available against Utah since he typically does not play on back-to-back nights.

Tuesday’s contest will be the final game of Boston’s five-game road trip. The Celtics opened the trip with losses to Cleveland (105-104) last Tuesday and Denver (115-109) on Thursday.

Utah has lost two in a row, five of its last six and 10 of its last 12. The Jazz trailed by 39 points in the first half of Saturday’s 142-121 loss at Denver. Utah outscored the Nuggets 44-24 in the third quarter to pull within 14 but failed to get any closer. Denver made 19 of its 32 3-point attempts in the game.

“Obviously when you’re down 39 points at one point it’s a long road back to win the game, but I do think the second half is something we can build on,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said.

Utah’s Lauri Markkanen has missed the last three games with a right quadriceps contusion. Markkanen is averaging 23.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 51 games this season.

Utah’s Walker Kessler returned to the lineup against Denver after missing four games with a right foot sprain. Rookie Keyonte George scored 29 points against the Nuggets, and fellow rookie Brice Sensabaugh made 7 of 11 field-goal attempts for 16 points.

“I think both of those guys (George and Sensabaugh) … the best thing is they show a tremendous amount of confidence in themselves,” Hardy said. “They have a tremendous amount of confidence in each other — the way they speak to each other during the game and encourage each other. The way they feed off each other I think is a positive. They both know there’s a lot of work to be done, though. To get to the level they want to get to, to be a team that’s competing for a championship, those guys are really going to have to up their level.”

The matchup will be the second game between the Celtics and Jazz this season. Utah shot 36.2 percent from the field (34 of 94) and 17.6 percent from behind the 3-point line in a 126-97 loss at Boston on Jan. 5. The Celtics never trailed and led by as many as 36 points in the first half.

Tatum led Boston with 30 points in the win. Utah, which turned the ball over 18 times in the game, received 17 points, five rebounds and five assists from Markkanen.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Drill Blazers, Brown 27 Points

by

PORTLAND – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Jaylen Brown recorded 27 points, six rebounds and five assists and the Boston Celtics became the first NBA team to reach the 50-win mark this season with a 121-99 victory over the host Portland Trail Blazers.

Jayson Tatum added 26 points and eight assists and Sam Hauser scored a season-best 22 points off the bench for Boston.

Payton Pritchard added 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Al Horford had 11 points and three blocked shots and Derrick White contributed 11 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots for the Celtics.

Deandre Ayton had 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who lost for the 10th time in their past 11 home games.

Anfernee Simons scored 17 points, Jerami Grant added 14 and Scoot Henderson had 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Portland.

Boston won for the 13th time in its past 15 games despite playing without Kristaps Porzingis (hamstring) and Jrue Holiday (knee).

The Celtics shot 49 percent from the field, including 15 of 40 (37.5 percent) from 3-point range.

Portland connected on 44.8 percent of its shots and was 10 of 28 (35.7 percent) from behind the arc.

Boston led 79-60 with 7:44 left in the third quarter after a 7-0 run.

The Trail Blazers answered with a 15-5 charge, and Grant’s three-point play pulled Portland within 84-75 with 1:36 remaining in the third. The Celtics scored the final four points of the stanza for a 13-point lead.

Tatum and Hauser connected on back-to-back treys to boost Boston’s advantage to 101-83 with 8:40 left in the contest.

Hauser later buried a trey to push the lead to 115-95 with two minutes remaining as the Celtics closed out their seventh win in the past nine meetings with the Trail Blazers.

Brown scored 17 first-half points to help the Celtics hold a 66-52 lead at the break. Ayton scored 14 in the half for Portland.

Boston made six treys in the first quarter en route to a 37-28 lead. A dunk by Luke Kornet made it 50-33 with 7:47 left in the half.

Simons hit two 3-pointers during an 11-0 surge that allowed the Trail Blazers to move within 56-50 with 3:37 to play. The Celtics answered with a 10-2 run to make it a 14-point halftime margin.

–Field Level Media

PGA Tour: Next Up -> The PLAYERS

by

PONTE VEDRA BEACH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The 2024 PGA Tour season gets serious this week as the Tournament Players Club hosts the annual PLAYERS Championship, otherwise known as “The Fifth Major.”

LAST TOURNAMENT: Arnold Palmer Invitational (Scottie Scheffler); Puerto Rico Open (Brice Garnett)

THIS WEEK: The Players Championship, Ponte Vedra Beach, March 14-17
Course: TPC Sawgrass (Par 72, 7,275 yards)
Purse: $25M (Winner: $4.5M)
Defending Champion: Scheffler
FedEx Cup Leader: Scheffler

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday, 2-7 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (NBC)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Saturday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 a.m.- 6 p.m.
X: @ThePlayers

NOTES: This is the 50th playing of the event, which began in 1974, and the 42nd edition at TPC Sawgrass, which became the venue in 1982. … Scottie Scheffler is the first defending champion to arrive at The Players ranked No. 1 in the world since Rory McIlroy in 2020. McIlroy won in 2019 and the event was ultimately cancelled the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. … There are 22 players in the field making their event debuts this week, including Sweden’s 10th-ranked Ludvig Aberg and Nick Dunlap, who turned pro after winning the American Express in January. … Tiger Woods, the 2001 and 2013 champion, is not in the field. … Each of the past four winners of The Players entered the week ranked in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking. … The three hole-in-ones at the signature 17th hole last year marked the first time there were multiple aces on that hole. … LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman holds the tournament scoring record of 24-under 264 set in 1994.

BEST BETS: Scottie Scheffler (+650 at BetMGM) is coming off a five-shot victory at Bay Hill, and also won The Players by five shots last year. His seven PGA Tour wins since 2021-22 are the most of anyone during that span. … Rory McIlroy (+1500) missed the cut last year and has an average finish of 34th over his past four appearances. However, he did win in 2019 and was in contention last week until a 76 on Sunday. … Justin Thomas (+2300) finished T12 at Bay Hill after going 72-73 over the weekend. The 2021 Players champion has only one finish worse than T12 in his past nine worldwide starts. … Wyndham Clark (+3400) is a career-best fifth in the world rankings following his runner-up last week. The defending U.S. Open champion also won at Pebble Beach last month. … Shane Lowry (+3400) has finished T4 and third the past two weeks. … Tom Hoge (+7100) set the course record with a third-round 62 en route to finishing T3 last year.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Valspar Championship, Palm Harbor, Fla., March 21-24

Big East Names All-Star Teams

by

NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Marquette guard Tyler Kolek is the lone repeat selection on the 2023-24 All-BIG EAST First Team as the conference has announced the All-BIG EAST First and Second Teams, Honorable Mention and All-Freshman Team.  The league’s head coaches select the all-conference squads and were not permitted to vote for their own players.

The other five All-BIG EAST First Team honorees are: Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer of Connecticut, Baylor Scheierman of Creighton, Devin Carter of Providence and Kadary Richmond of Seton Hall. Kolek, Newton, Scheierman and Carter were unanimous picks.

The BIG EAST Player of the Year will come from the All-BIG EAST First Team.  The conference will announce Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Wednesday, March 13, at Madison Square Garden at 1:30 p.m. ET.  Other league individual awards, including BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, Sixth Man Award and Sportsmanship Award will be announced Monday, March 11, at 11 a.m. ET.

Kolek, a 6-3 senior, is averaging 15.0 points and leads the nation in assists with a 7.6 mark. He is averaging 1.6 steals and 2.74 assist/turnover ratio ranks third in the BIG EAST.

The UConn guard pair of Newton and Spencer helped UConn win the BIG EAST regular season title and lift the Huskies to the No. 1 position in the national poll for six weeks. Newton is averaging 15.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and ranks second in the league in assists at 5.8. Spencer’s numbers are 14.9 points, a 50.0 percent shooting percentage, a league-leading 45.1 percent 3-point shooting percentage and 3.3 assists.

Creighton’s Scheierman and Providence’s Carter are the only two players in the conference to rank among the top five in scoring and rebounds. Scheierman, a 6-7 senior, is third in scoring with an 18.5 average while ranking second in rebounding at 8.8. Carter, a 6-3 junior, is second in the BIG EAST in scoring with a 19.4 mark and is third in rebounding with an 8.6 average. Scheierman is second in the league with 97 made 3-point baskets. Carter is fourth in 3-point shooting, making 38.5 percent.

Seton Hall’s Richmond was the floor general behind the Pirates’ 20-11 overall record and 13-7 BIG EAST mark. The 6-6 senior leads the team in scoring at 16.2, is second in rebounding at 6.6, and is first in assists at 4.8 assists and steals at 2.1. His steal mark ranks second in the league.

The All-BIG EAST Second Team includes two Creighton players, Trey Alexander, a 6-4 junior guard, and Ryan Kalkbrenner, a 7-1 senior center. The Bluejays are the only club with three players on the first two all-conference teams. The other Second Team picks are senior forward Oso Ighodaro of Marquette, grad student guard Daniss Jenkins of St. John’s and senior forward Eric Dixon of Villanova.

All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention has three players: UConn sophomore center Donovan Clingan, Providence grad student forward Josh Oduro and grad student guard Quincy Olivari of Xavier.

The BIG EAST Freshman of the Year will come from the All-Freshman Team. UConn guard Stephon Castle was the only unanimous selection. He garnered BIG EAST Freshman of the Week a record 11 times. The other All-Freshman Team picks are: Finley Bizjack of Butler, Rich Barron of Providence, Isaiah Coleman of Seton Hall, and guard Trey Green and guard-forward Dailyn Swain of Xavier.

ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM

*Tristen Newton, Connecticut, G, Gr., 6-5, 195, El Paso, Tex.

Cam Spencer, Connecticut, G, Gr., 6-4, 205, Davidsonville, Md.

*Baylor Scheierman, Creighton, G, Sr., 6-7, 205, Aurora, Neb.

*Tyler Kolek, Marquette, G, Sr., 6-3, 195, Cumberland, R.I.

*Devin Carter, Providence, G, Jr., 6-3, 195, Miami, Fla.

Kadary Richmond, Seton Hall, G, Sr., 6-6, 210, Brooklyn, N.Y.

ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM

Trey Alexander, Creighton, G, Jr., 6-4, 190, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton, C, Sr., 7-1, 270, Florissant, Mo.

Oso Ighodaro, Marquette, F, Sr., 6-11, 235, Chandler, Ariz.

Daniss Jenkins, St. John’s, G, Gr., 6-4, 180, Dallas, Texas

Eric Dixon, Villanova, F, R-Jr., 6-8, 255, Willow Grove, Pa.

ALL-BIG EAST HONORABLE MENTION

Donovan Clingan, Connecticut, C, So., 7-2, 280, Bristol, Conn.

Josh Oduro, Providence, F, Gr., 6-9, 290, Gainesville, Va.

Quincy Olivari, Xavier, G, Gr., 6-3, 200, Atlanta, Ga.

 

BIG EAST ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM

Finley Bizjack, Butler, G, 6-4, 195, Trophy Club, Texas

*Stephon Castle, Connecticut, G, 6-6, 215, Covington, Ga.

Rich Barron, Providence, F/G, 6-5, 220, Chicago, Ill.

Isaiah Coleman, Seton Hall, G, 6-5, 180, Fredericksburg, Va.

Trey Green, Xavier, G, 6-0, 160, Charlotte, N.C.

Dailyn Swain, Xavier, G/F, 6-7, 200, Columbus, Ohio

*Denotes unanimous selection

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | March 10

by

The Baseball Bats will be Cracking as will the Beer cans at Fenway Johnnies/Boston

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – That’s a Boston dateline, not Fort Myers (Florida) or Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) where all good Boston baseball writers should be for a pair of games this weekend. The two Red Sox games against Tampa Bay will be played at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal for an official Major League Baseball event, tabbed as The Dominican Republic Series, as part of MLB’s “World Tour.”

The great Marichal pitched for the San Francisco Giants from 1960 through 1973 – then the Red Sox and LA Dodgers in his final two MLB seasons. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, garnering 83.7% of the votes. Honestly, there’s no indication as to what planet the other 16.3% of the voters were living back in ‘83 when the vote was taken. It might’ve been George Lucas’ Alderaan for God’s sake when you consider that a gorgeous stadium in the DR was named after the speed-baller but 16.3% of the BBWAA writers missed him on the vote?

Toss in Red Sox greats Pedro Martinez and David “Big Papi” Ortiz and you have an Old Timer’s Game waiting to happen. But, more immediately, you can look for Boston’s All-Star 3B Rafael Devers or starting pitcher Brayan Bello with Tampa’s Yandy Diaz, Jose Siri, and Randy Arozarena and you’ll be preparing for the 2024 MLB All-Star Game or close to it.

Aside from those players, the Dominican Republic is home to a variety of Major League Baseball education and training programs at various league-run academies. The idea behind this year’s inaugural DR Series is to honor the players who’ve competed at those academies and have made it all the way to the Big Leagues.

Remember, Major League Baseball will open its 2024 season when the LA Dodgers and San Diego Padres travel to Seoul, Korea for a pair of games, March 20 and 21. Earlier, March 17 and 18, the two MLB teams will play exhibitions vs local Korean teams. The rest of MLB will celebrate Opening Day on March 28. Both LA and SD will have home games to continue their regular season.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Last week’s theme was dedicated to the anticipation of March Madness. This week, we’ll tease March Madness some more as the various college conference tournaments have begun and the Big Boys will tip-off their respective tournaments this week. … Digital Sports Desk will be on-site at Madison Square Garden for the annual BIG EAST Tournament where UConn will be the heavy favorites.

The A-10 will be a subway ride away from Madison Square Garden/Penn Station with their tournament March 12-16th at Barclays in Brooklyn. … Meanwhile the blue bloods of North Carolina and Duke will take on their ACC rivals March 12-16 at the Capital One Arena in Washington DC.

This week, the following Division I tournaments tipped-off and are on-going as this is written:

  • Ohio Valley
  • Big South
  • Missouri Valley Conference
  • Atlantic Sun
  • Sun Belt
  • Southern Conference
  • Horizon League
  • Northeast Conference
  • Coastal Athletic Assn. (CAA)
  • West Coast Conference
  • Summit League
  • Southland
  • Big Sky
  • Patriot League
  • America East
  • Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
  • Southwestern Conference

Then, the “weekend” conferences, including the IVY

  • Big 12
  • Mountain West
  • Big East
  • Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
  • Mid-American
  • Conference USA
  • Atlantic Coast Conference
  • Big West
  • Pac-12 (what’s left of it)
  • Western Athletic Conference
  • IVY League
  • Atlantic 10
  • Southeastern Conference
  • American Athletic Conference
  • Big 10

TID-BITS: While College Basketball is front and center this week, the PGA Tour will stage its “Fifth Major” with The PLAYERS Championship taking place at TPC Sawgrass (The PLAYERS Stadium Course) in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Much like The BIG EAST in New York – the very best college basketball tournament in the USA – there is no better pro golf event in the world, and that includes The Masters, The Open, Pebble Beach and the other Majors.

It is at The PLAYERS when the split between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf becomes very apparent – call it annoying. When the PLAYERS rolls around, you want to see the very best – Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Tyrrell Hatton, Bubba Watson, Joaquin Niemann, Louis Oosthuizen, Patrick Reed and even Phil “All Bets Off, No More Bets” Mickelson compete for one of golf’s biggest purses. This year, Tiger Woods will not be healthy enough to compete.

Meanwhile, the LIV golfers went from Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) to Hong Kong and will be watching The PLAYERS from their homes before they pick up the sticks in Miami on April 5-7.

Niemann won two of the first three LIV events with the final round in HK with the shotgun start at 11:05 Saturday night (tonight for those who read the Bulldog edition).

TOO MUCH: Center Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves thinks he’s a wise guy. Not a real Wise Guy, but a wise guy. Gobert earned his sixth personal foul in a March 8th 113-104 overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. With 27.1 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter, Gobert was whistled for a loose ball foul, then hit with a technical. The reason? After the foul and his impending DQ, Gobert gestured towards NBA official Scott Foster with Gobert’s fingers rubbing together, as though he was caressing money – implying Foster was on the take.

The “T” allowed Cavaliers guard Darius Garland to drain a free throw to tie the game at 97-all, a costly foul/point as the 4th Q ended with the score tied at 97.

“A technical foul with 27 seconds in the game, to be honest, is unacceptable,” said acting head coach Micah Nori said after he filled in for head coach Chris Finch who was ill. “That’s who Rudy is, but you’ve got to be smart. He made a visual that was automatic. He was obviously frustrated — both teams were — but we have to be smarter.”

Gobert admitted he was wrong in making the gesture.

“My reaction, which I think was the truth, but it wasn’t the time to react that way,” he said. “It cost my team the game. It was an immature reaction. It’s not just one call. Everyone makes mistakes, but when it’s over and over and over again, of course it’s frustrating.”

The gesture might earn a cool $50,000 fine but the quotes should be call for a one game suspension without pay.

Enough is enough.

Minnesota is at the LA Lakers today (Sunday, March 10), so if there’s a suspension, it’ll come down before the game.

Celtics Handle Suns; Tatum 29 Points

by

PHOENIX – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Jayson Tatum had 29 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and his teammate Jaylen Brown finished with 27 points to help the visiting Celtics avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season by beating the Phoenix Suns 117-107 on Saturday night.

Tatum scored 22 points in the second half, 13 of them in the fourth quarter.

Phoenix received a season-high 45 points to go with 10 rebounds and six assists from Kevin Durant, who was 18 of 26 from the field. It was Durant’s fifth game with at least 40 points this season.

The Celtics were up by nine after three quarters and stretched the lead to 15 on a 3-pointer by Tatum with 9:19 to play. Phoenix trailed 107-102 following a three-point play by Durant with 3:55 left, but the Suns failed to get any closer.

Bradley Beal added 25 points for the Suns, who were seeking their third straight victory. Jusuf Nurkic finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Boston’s Al Horford had nine points and 12 rebounds, and Luke Kornet came off the bench to contribute 14 points and six rebounds.

Kristaps Porzingis, Boston’s starting center, was a late addition to the injury report and didn’t play because of hamstring tightness. Boston coach Joe Mazzulla termed Porzingis day-to-day.

Devin Booker (ankle) missed his fourth straight game for the Suns.

Boston ended the first quarter with a 9-2 run and led 31-26. The Celtics extended their lead to 15 points late in the second quarter and had a 62-50 advantage at halftime. Durant (20) and Brown (18) were the leading scorers in the half.

Phoenix trimmed Boston’s lead to 77-74 when Durant capped a 9-0 run by making a 3-pointer with 3:56 remaining in the third. The Celtics went on a 10-4 spurt after that, however, and led 87-78 entering the final quarter.

The teams will meet again Thursday in Boston.

–Field Level Media

Scheffler, Lowry Lead at Bay Hill

by

ORLANDO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Scottie Scheffler of the USA and Shane Lowry of Ireland survived a breezy afternoon to each shoot 2-under-par 70 and claim a share of the lead Saturday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational played at Bay Hill CC..

Embed from Getty Images

Wyndham Clark fired a 1-under 71 to sit third, with Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (72), Will Zalatoris (71) and Russell Henley (72) in a three-way tie for fourth.

Scheffler, who won this event in 2022, struggled on the front, going out in 38, but birdied five of his first seven holes on the back nine to surge toward the front.

Zalatoris briefly held a five-shot lead with his four birdies from Nos. 3-8 on the front, but stumbled with a bogey at No. 14 and double-bogeys at Nos. 15 and 18.

Harris English, who enters Sunday in seventh place, and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy tied for the day’s low round, shooting 68.

McIlroy, in a tie for eighth at 5-under, moved quickly up the board with a blazing, bogey-free 30 on the back nine that included six birdies.

-Field Level Media

Celtics to Get Back on Track vs Suns?

by

PHOENIX – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Phoenix Suns will attempt to hand the visiting Boston Celtics their third consecutive loss when the teams meet Saturday night.

Boston’s 11-game winning streak came to an end when the Celtics squandered a 22-point fourth-quarter lead in a 105-104 loss at Cleveland on Tuesday. After that, the Celtics suffered a 115-109 loss at Denver on Thursday.

Jaylen Brown had 41 points and 14 rebounds against Denver, but was 7 of 14 from the free-throw line. Kristaps Porzingis added 24 points and 12 rebounds for Boston, but Jayson Tatum had a rare off night and finished with 15 points.

“It stings,” Porzingis said. “It stings real bad, but I like that there’s a big margin that we can improve from this game. It’s not always going to go your way of course. You’re not always going to have perfect games, but what I like is there’s a margin for us to get better, to play better.”

Tatum was 5 of 13 from the field in 39 minutes.

“We talk all the time about respecting each other’s space and understanding the flow of the game,” Tatum said. “It’s not for me to hijack the game because it’s a national TV game and make it about me. Other guys had it going.”

Tatum (ankle) is listed as probable for Saturday’s game. Brown (sacroiliac) is questionable.

The Suns are hoping to have guard Devin Booker in the lineup Saturday. Booker has missed three games since he sprained his right ankle during a 118-109 loss to Houston on March 2 but was listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report. Booker is averaging 27.5 points, 6.8 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game this season.

Before his team’s 120-113 victory over Toronto on Thursday, Phoenix coach Frank Vogel said Booker is making progress and is day to day.

“He definitely wants to be back as soon as possible,” Vogel said. “We understand the big picture, and we’re going to bring him back when he’s ready.”

Kevin Durant tossed in 35 points during Thursday’s win against Toronto. Grayson Allen set a franchise record by making seven 3-pointers in the first quarter and finished with 26 points (eight 3-pointers), all in the first half. He also made eight 3-pointers during Tuesday’s 117-107 overtime victory at Denver.

The Suns acquired Allen in a trade shortly before preseason training camp. After Thursday’s win, he was leading the NBA in 3-point percentage (47.5 percent).

“He knows his role in our system and he’s a great shooter,” Vogel said. “Everybody knew he was a good player when he was coming in, but he’s a great player. He’s playing phenomenally for us.”

Saturday’s contest will be the first of two meetings between Boston and Phoenix during the regular season. The teams will also play Thursday in Boston.

“They have had an incredible year thus far,” Durant said. “Best starting five in the league by far.

“They have a big lineup with versatile guys up and down the lineup. They’ve been around each other for a while, so they understand one another. Adding Jrue (Holiday) was huge. Adding Kristaps was huge. We have our work cut out for us. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

“I like where we are right now,” Durant said. “I think we can keep growing. That’s the best thing about it — we’ve still got room to grow as a team. We’re getting more and more comfortable as the day goes on.”

–Field Level Media

Sox: Bello Reaps $55m Extension

by

FORT MYERS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston Red Sox right-handed starter, Brayan Bello, agreed to terms on a six-year, $55 million extension, multiple media outlets reported. Per The Boston Globe, the deal includes a $21 million club option for a seventh season.

The reported contract comes on the heels of Red Sox offseason acquisition Lucas Giolito’s potential season-ending injury. ESPN reported Tuesday that initial imaging revealed a partially torn UCL and flexor strain in his pitching elbow for Giolito.

Bello, who turns 25 in May, posted a 12-11 record with a 4.24 ERA in 28 games (all starts) last season. He struck out 132 batters in 157 innings but gave up 24 home runs.

That’s still an improvement from his first season with Boston in 2022. He was 2-8 with a 4.71 ERA in 13 games (11 starts).

“He’s an exciting, young starting pitcher that was acquired and developed internally. I think he embodies exactly what we’re trying to do,” chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said recently, per The Globe.

“We still think that his best years are ahead of him. We recognize some opportunities to further optimize the repertoire and we’re super excited about having him.”

–Field Level Media