Ohio State hands Michigan first loss
Men’s basketball: A ball that rattled around the rim and bounced out separated Michigan from its first No. 1 ranking in more than 20 years. Point guard Trey Burke’s stepback jumper with 17 seconds went down, then came out, leaving No. 2 Michigan on the wrong side of a 56-53 loss to rival and 15th-ranked Ohio State (13-3, 3-1 Big Ten) at Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday.
After No. 1 Duke lost to North Carolina State a day earlier, the Wolverines were in prime position to ascend to No. 1 for the first time since November 1992. Instead, they went home with their first loss, also depriving them of the best start in school history.
“Some go in and some don’t,” said Burke, a sophomore. “I thought it was going in. It looked good. I think it went in and then came out.”
Michigan (16-1, 3-1 Big Ten) trailed 52-50 and had the ball as the seconds sifted away. Everyone in a hoarse, capacity crowd of 18,809 knew that Burke, a star at Columbus’ Northland High School where he was a teammate of former Buckeye Jared Sullinger, would likely take the last shot.
Aaron Craft prevented Burke from driving. His path blocked, Burke jumped back and then launched the shot.
Lenzelle Smith Jr. grabbed the rebound. A moment later he was fouled and hit two free throws for breathing room. Craft, who had struggled on offense most of the season, then made two more foul shots to more than offset Burke’s circus 3-pointer with a second left.
• Butler’s leading scorer has light workout: Butler says guard Rotnei Clarke went through a light workout at Hinkle Fieldhouse, one day after he crashed into a basket support and injured his neck.
Team trainer Ryan Galloy calls the injury a “significant” neck sprain. The 14th-ranked Bulldogs have not yet said when their leading scorer can resume contact.
He’s averaging 16.3 points this season.
Butler is host to Richmond on Wednesday and No. 9 Gonzaga on Saturday.
Stanford’s league win streak over at 81
Women’s basketball: Gennifer Brandon had 14 points and 12 rebounds and No. 7 California snapped host fifth-ranked Stanford’s 81-game winning streak against conference opponents with a commanding 67-55 win in the second meeting between the Bay Area rivals in six days.
The Golden Bears (13-2, 3-1 Pac-12) beat a top-five opponent for the first time since a 66-52 victory against No. 2 Rutgers on Nov. 22, 2008. The Cardinal are 13-2, 3-1.
Durant ends Blazers’ Rose Garden streak
NBA: Kevin Durant had 33 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped Portland’s nine-game winning streak at the Rose Garden with an 87-83 victory over the host Trail Blazers.
The Thunder played without starters Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha because of injuries.
• Howard returns, Lakers throttle Cavs: Dwight Howard had 22 points and 14 rebounds in his return from a three-game injury absence, and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped their six-game losing streak with a 113-93 victory over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.
Kobe Bryant scored 23 points for the Lakers, who finally earned their first victory of 2013 while ending their longest skid since February 2007. Howard went 9 for 11 despite his injured shoulder while leading Los Angeles to a comfortable victory over the lowly Cavaliers, who beat the Lakers last month.
• In other NBA games: Tony Parker scored 20 points to lead host San Antonio in a 106-88 victory over Minnesota, extending the Spurs’ home winning streak to 12 games. … Deron Williams had 22 points and nine assists, Joe Johnson scored 20 points and host Brooklyn rallied from 12 points down in the third quarter to beat Indiana 96-86. … Carmelo Anthony snapped out of a slow start by scoring 18 of his 27 points in the second quarter, and host New York ended its season-high, three-game losing streak by beating New Orleans 100-87. … Brandon Jennings had 19 points and 10 assists, rookie John Henson scored 19 and Milwaukee rallied from a 20-point first quarter deficit to beat host Toronto, 107-96, for the eighth straight time. … Danilo Gallinari scored 21 points, Ty Lawson had 20, and host Denver rallied for its season-high fifth straight win by defeating Golden State 116-105.
Maze completes discipline sweep
Skiing: Tina Maze of Slovenia reached another milestone in her stellar season by winning her first super-G at St. Anton, Austria, and becoming the sixth female skier to win a World Cup race in all five Alpine disciplines.
• Hirscher wins slalom: Marcel Hirscher turned in a scintillating second run to win a World Cup slalom in Adelboden, Switzerland, after being eighth in the opening leg.
Ted Ligety of the United States remained third overall after finishing 11th.
Ethiopian runners sweep at Houston
Running: Ethiopian runners withstood heavy rain to dominate the Houston Marathon and half marathon. Bazu Worku and Merima Mohammed gave the nation a sweep of the men’s and women’s divisions of the marathon.
This was Worku’s first marathon title. He finished in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 17 seconds and won by more than two minutes. Mohammed was timed in 2:23:37 on a day when temperatures were in the 40s.