NCAA berths awarded
ORLANDO, Fla., March 3 (UPI) -- The NCAA basketball champion will likely come from a group that includes Kansas, Maryland, Duke, Cincinnati and Oklahoma, but there will be a lot more teams in the tournament and the first of them were determined Saturday.
Florida Atlantic became the first school to make it to the NCAA Tournament this season and regulars Murray State and Winthrop joined them later Saturday.
Florida Atlantic (19-11) earned its first trip to the NCAA Tournament with a thrilling 76-75 victory over Georgia State in the title game of the Atlantic Sun Conference tourey.
Rob Williams made a free throw with six seconds left and the Owls survived a last-second shot by the Panthers to emerge victorious in Orlando. Raheim Brown scored 19 points to lead Florida Atlantic, located in Boca Raton and coached by former NBA player Sidney Green.
The loss prevented Georgia State from repeating as champions in a league formerly known as the Trans America Athletic Conference. It also denied Panthers coach Lefty Driesell his 14th trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Murray State (19-12) reached the "Big Dance" for the ninth time in 15 years with a 70-69 triumph over top-seeded Tennessee Tech in the championship of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in Louisville. Justin Burdine made a jumper with nine seconds left to give the Racers the lead and they survived a pair of misses by the Golden Eagles.
Burdine scored 24 points for Murray State, which won the OVC title for the first time since 1999. The loss spoiled a fabulous season for Tennessee Tech, which had won 19 of 20 games and was making its first appearance in the final since 1967.
Winthrop (19-11) won its fourth straight Big South Conference championship with a 70-48 rout of surprising High Point in Roanoke, Va. Big South Player of the Year Greg Lewis recorded his 18th double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Eagles.
Another NCAA bid will be determined today when the Southern Conference title game is played in Charleston, S.C. Davidson and Furman will play for that berth.
Oklahoma seeks to finish strong
BOULDER, Colo., March 3 (UPI) -- No. 5 Oklahoma kept alive hopes of a top seed in the NCAA Tournament Saturday, closing the regular season with an 82-71 Big 12 Conference victory over Colorado.
Hollis Price scored 23 points for the Sooners, who set a school record with their 13th Big 12 victory.
Oklahoma (24-4, 13-3 Big 12) ended the regular season with a five-game winning streak and have the second seed in the conference tournament behind Kansas.
James Wright had 16 points for the Buffaloes, who have dropped 41 of their last 44 contests with the Sooners. Despite Oklahoma's recent dominance in the series, Colorado still has a 28-26 edge at home.
The top four ranked teams in the country will all play today with No. 1 Kansas at Missouri, No. 2 Maryland hosting Virginia, No. 3 Duke at home against North Carolina and No. 6 Cincinnati entertaining Memphis.
Els leads Woods by eight
MIAMI, March 2 (UPI) -- Ernie Els shot a 6-under 66 in difficult conditions Saturday, the best round of the day by three shots, to open a staggering eight-stroke lead over second-place Tiger Woods with 18 holes remaining in the Genuity Championship.
It is the largest 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour in two seasons and no player has ever lost that big an advantage in the final round of a Tour event.
Els, however, did lose an eight-shot advantage over the final 18 holes to Woods in Thailand last year.
Despite blustery winds, Els moved to 17-under 199 at the Doral Country Club's Blue Monster course. Woods was at 207 along with Australian Peter Lonard. Two shots further back were Vijay Singh, Justin Leonard, Rich Beem and Craig Perks.
Els made eight birdies and steadily increased his lead as the winds prevented any other players from recording an exceptional score. Woods, Lonard, Perks and Singh all shot 70.
On the LPGA Tour, Annika Sorenstam birdied the first hole of a sudden-death playoff Saturday to defeat defending champion Lorie Kane of Canada and win the season-opening Takefuji Classic.
Tragedy strikes at Maple Leafs game
TORONTO, March 3 (UPI) -- J.P. Dumont scored a power-play goal with 5 1/2 minutes left in the third period Saturday night as the Buffalo Sabres rallied for a 3-3 tie with the Toronto Maple Leafs on a tragic night at the Air Canada Centre.
It was supposed to be a festive night as the Maple Leafs marked their 75th anniversary by honoring their all-time team. But Art Jackson, the 75-year-old nephew of honoree Busher Jackson, collapsed as he was being introduced and died later.
While the introductions of Toronto greats like Darryl Sittler and Lanny McDonald continued, the start of the game was delayed as paramedics treated Jackson.
Mats Sundin scored his second goal of the game on the power play just 2:04 into the third period to give the Maple Leafs a 3-2 lead.
But Dumont helped Buffalo salvage a point by ending his 13-game goalless drought.
Other NHL results: Dallas 2, Colorado 1; Detroit 4, Pittsburgh 2; New York Rangers 6, Philadephia 5; Columbus 2, Los Angeles 0; New York Islanders 4, Atlanta 1; Carolina 4, Montreal 3; Washington 3, Ottawa 2 in overtime; Tampa Bay 3, Florida 2; Calgary 5, Nashville 2; Vancouver 6, Minnesota 3; St. Louis 1, Edmonton 1.
Blazers win ninth straight
MILWAUKEE, March 3 (UPI) -- Damon Stoudamire hit a three-pointer with two-tenths of a second remaining in overtime Saturday night as the Portland Trail Blazers extended their winning streak to nine games with a wild 104-103 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Stoudamire's second three-pointer in the final 73 seconds came after Sam Cassell completed a rare four-point play to give the Bucks a 103-101 lead with 3.4 seconds left.
Portland erased a 94-87 lead in the final three minutes of regulation. Scottie Pippen, not known for his outside shooting, made a jumper that originally was credited as a three-pointer with 6.4 seconds to go in the fourth quarter.
But the referees conferred and changed it to a two-pointer, leaving the contest tied, 94-94. Although Portland coach Maurice Cheeks screamed at the officials, television replays showed that Pippen clearly had his foot on the line.
The Bucks had a good chance to win, but Glenn Robinson's 10-footer in the lane caromed off the rim at the buzzer.
Other NBA results: Atlanta 84, Cleveland 81; Miami 109, Dallas 95; Houston 104, Phoenix 97; Minnesota 116, Utah 105; Los Angeles Clippers 109, Golden State 95.
USA national team impresses
SEATTLE, March 3 (UPI) -- Midfielder Clint Mathis, who sparked the United States to its World Cup berth, dispelled any doubts about his fitness Saturday, scoring twice to give the American national team a 4-0 victory over Honduras.
Landon Donovan added two goals of his own to almost certainly secure a spot in the starting lineup when the United States plays in soccer's biggest event this summer.
American coaches had been waiting for the chance to see what Mathis and Donovan could do paired with Brian McBride. The answer was positive.
McBride had three assists and was involved in the fourth goal as the trio gave the Honduran defense plenty of problems.
