Penn State stuns Michigan for first league win
STATE COLLEGE, Pa., Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Jermaine Marshall fueled a second-half comeback Wednesday that brought Penn State a shocking 84-78 victory over No. 4 Michigan.
The Nittany Lions won a Big Ten Conference game for the first time this season, overcoming a 15-point deficit in the final 10:30.
Marshall scored 25 points, his second-largest production of the season, and finished his night by grabbing the rebound on a missed 3-pointer by Michigan's Trey Burke with 9 seconds remaining to clinch the win.
Of the 340 schools competing in the 31 conferences that receive an automatic berth into the NCAA tourney, Penn State had been one of just two without a league victory.
Grambling, of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, is the lone team remaining that does not have a league win this season.
D.J. Newbill added 17 points for Penn State (9-18, 1-14 Big Ten) and Ross Travis had 15.
Marshall's two free throws with 3:55 to play gave Penn State the lead for good and Michigan managed only four points the rest of the way. The Nittany Lions took an 81-78 lead on Marshall's jumper with 1:08 to go.
Michigan (23-5, 10-5) fell 1 1/2 games behind Indiana in the race for the regular-season conference title. The Hoosiers (12-3) lead Michigan State and Wisconsin by a game.
The Wolverines were paced by Tim Hardaway, Jr. with 19.
Kings end long road losing streak
ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 27 (UPI) -- John Salmons delivered 21 points and was one of seven Sacramento players in double figures Wednesday, lifting the Kings to a 125-101 blasting of Orlando.
The Kings had lost nine consecutive road games, but piled up 67 points in the first half to take a 23-point lead.
Sacramento's offensive show came 24 hours after they had taken Miami to a second overtime before suffering its sixth straight loss overall.
Marcus Thornton produced 20 points for the Kings, Tyreke Evans had 17 and DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson and Jimmer Fredette all had 13.
Orlando, which returned home after a 14-point win in Philadelphia on Tuesday, suffered its sixth loss in seven games. Tobias Harris scored 23 points for the Magic.
4 Alabama footballers dismissed from team
TUSCALOOSA, Ala., Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Four University of Alabama football team members were dismissed following arrests related to campus robberies, head Coach Nick Saban said Wednesday.
Saban said defensive lineman D.J. Pettway, linebacker Tyler Hayes, cornerback Eddie Williams -- all freshmen -- and redshirt freshman H-back Brent Calloway are no longer with the squad.
The dismissals came after Pettway, Hayes and Williams were charged with second-degree robbery.
Williams was also charged with fraudulent use of a credit card, as was Calloway.
Authorities allege the four were involved with the robberies of two Alabama students this month.
"Based on all the information we've received and gone through in trying to determine the future of the four guys that got in trouble, those guys are no longer associated with the football program," Saban said.
"Their actions do not reflect the spirit and character that we want our organization to reflect. It's obviously very disappointing and unacceptable what happened."
Saban also said wide receiver Danny Woodson was suspended for violating team rules.
Reports: 49ers to trade Smith to Chiefs
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Quarterback Alex Smith will be traded from the San Francisco 49ers to the Kansas City Chiefs, several media outlets, citing NFL sources, reported Wednesday.
Reports by ESPN, NFL.com and Fox Sports say the 49ers will receive draft picks, but apparently not the Chiefs' No. 1 overall selection in the upcoming NFL draft, in exchange for Smith. None of the reports named their sources, however.
The trade cannot be formalized until the NFL year begins March 12.
Smith was the No. 1 overall choice in the 2005 draft but lost his starting position to Colin Kaepernick last season after suffering a concussion Nov. 11. With Kaepernick at quarterback, the 49ers advanced to the Super Bowl where they lost 34-31 to the Baltimore Ravens.
Smith, who turns 29 in May, completed 70.2 percent of his passes last season for 1,737 yards and 13 touchdowns. He was intercepted five times. Over his 80-game NFL career, Smith is 1,290-for-2,177 (59.3 percent) for 14,280 yards and 81 touchdowns with 63 interceptions.
