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No. 1 seeds stay perfect in NCAA Tournament

SALT LAKE CITY, March 21 (UPI) -- Kevin Pangos' fourth 3-point shot proved to be difference Thursday in No. 1-seeded Gonzaga's shaky 64-58 victory over 16th-seeded Southern in the NCAA Tournament.

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Gonzaga (32-2) led by 11 in the final 10 minutes but Southern stubbornly fought back to 59-58 before Pangos hit a 3-point shot from the right corner to give the Bulldogs breathing room at 62-58.

Southern missed two chances to get closer and Pangos was fouled. His two free throws proved to be the game's final points.

No. 1 seeds improved to 114-0 all-time against No. 16 seeds thanks to the win by Gonzaga and another one later in the evening by Louisville.

Louisville had a much easier time upholding the tradition of the No. 1 seeds in its 79-48 decision over North Carolina A&T.

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The lightly regarded Pacific-12 Conference finished the first full day of the tournament with a 3-0 record.

Arizona cruised past Belmont 81-64 and both Oregon and California pulled off upsets as a No. 12 seed. Oregon defeated Oklahoma State 68-55 and California fought off UNLV 64-61.


Rose leads by two at Palmer Invitational

ORLANDO, Fla., March 21 (UPI) -- Justin Rose holed an eagle putt en route to a 7-under 65 Thursday that left him two shots in front after one round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Tiger Woods put himself in contention as he opened a bid to regain the No. 1 world ranking while Phil Mickelson found himself far back in the pack.

Rose, who has won on the PGA Tour at least once in each of the last three years, reached the par-5 16th in two shots and then ran in a 10-foot putt for his eagle. That was part of a stretch of five holes which he played in 4-under and he also had four birdies in a row on the front nine of the Bay Hill course.

His only bogey came at the par-4 11th and he eventually turned in his lowest score in four starts on the tour this season.

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John Huh was alone in second after firing a 67 while both John Rollins and rookie Brad Fritsch were at 68.

Woods was part of a group at 3-under 69 that included Charley Hoffman, Ryo Ishikawa, Nick Watney, Sean O'Hair and 2011 FedEx Cup winner Bill Haas.

A win for Woods this week would be his eighth at this tournament and would also boost him past Rory McIlroy into the top spot in the world rankings. Woods fell as low as No. 50 following the personal problems in 2009 that led to a prolonged absence from the tour.

Woods ended a PGA Tour victory drought of more than two years when he won this event in 2012. He is the only multiple winner on the circuit this season.

Mickelson made seven bogeys in a round of 73, leaving him in a tie for 57th place. Brandt Snedeker, who suffered a rib injury after winning at Pebble Beach last month and has been out of action ever since, returned to competition and struggled to a 4-over 76 in the opening round.

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Brodeur credited with goal in comeback

RALEIGH, N.C., March 21 (UPI) -- New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur was credited with the third goal of his career Thursday and made 17 saves in the Devils' 4-1 win over Carolina.

Brodeur had missed 13 games due to soreness in his back and he celebrated his return in unusual fashion.

With less than 4 minutes having gone by in a scoreless game, Brodeur stopped Carolina's Jeff Skinner on a breakaway attempt, but New Jersey defenseman Marek Zidlicky was called for hooking.

Because it was a delayed penalty, Carolina goaltender Dan Ellis left his net to bring on an extra attacker. Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal controlled the puck and sent a pass to the left point, but there was no one there to collect it and the puck bounced off the boards.

It then traveled the length of the ice and slid into an empty net. Because Brodeur was the last member of the Devils to touch the puck, he was given the goal.

That turn of events stunned the Hurricanes, who fell behind 3-0 through two periods on additional goals from Adam Enrique and Peter Harrold.

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Jeff Skinner scored the only goal against Brodeur, who recorded the 665th regular-season victory of his record-breaking career.

Ellis gave up all four New Jersey goals on 22 shots in what was the Hurricanes' fifth straight loss.


Williams sisters advance at Sony Open

MIAMI, March 21 (UPI) -- Serena and Venus Williams both reached the third round of the Sony Open Thursday, using very different methods to do so.

Serena Williams, the No. 1 seed and winner of this event five times, had no trouble in getting past Flavia Pennetta to set up a third-round matchup with Ayumi Morita.

Venus Williams, seeded 19th, outdueled Kimiko Date-Krumm 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-4. The older of the Williams sisters will next meet Magdalena Rybarikova, who surprised No. 27 seed Mona Barthel 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).

Fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska also advanced by overcoming Su-Wei Hsieh 6-3, 6-2. Radwanska won this tournament a year ago, defeating Maria Sharapova in the championship match.

In other second-round matches Thursday Australian Open runner-up Li Na defeated Kiki Bertens 6-3, 6-1 and former Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova ousted Peng Shuai 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.

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Caroline Wozniacki rallied for a 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 decision over Karolina Pliskova and Dominika Cibulkova won over Kristina Mladenovic, 6-2, 6-3.

Also advancing were Sloane Stephens, Garbine Muguruza, Ajla Tomljanovic and Kirsten Flipkens.

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