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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In Brief: McDermott passes Bird in Bluejays win

Creighton’s Doug McDermott scored 39 points to pass Larry Bird for 13th place on all-time D-I scoring list with 2,863 career points. (Associated Press)
From Staff And Wire Reports

Men’s basketball: Doug McDermott matched his season high with 39 points, passing Larry Bird for 13th place on the Division I career scoring chart, as the No. 18 Creighton Bluejays (21-4, 11-2 Big East) defeated sixth-ranked Villanova 101-80 in Omaha, Neb.

Creighton’s second win over Villanova in a month moved the Bluejays (21-4, 11-2) a half-game ahead of the Wildcats (22-3, 10-2) in the Big East. They also won their 16th straight at home, matching their longest streak since moving into the CenturyLink Center in 2003.

James Bell scored 18 points for the Wildcats (22-3, 10-2) before fouling out with 6:11 left.

• Wichita State stretches unbeaten streak: Ron Baker scored 26 points and Fred VanVleet finished with 18 points, eight assists and five steals, leading No. 4 Wichita State (27-0, 14-0 Missouri Valley Conference) to an 84-68 victory over the host Evansville (Ind.) Purple Aces (11-16, 4-10).

The Shockers are the 21st team in D-I history to go 27-0.

• Nebraska outlasts No. 9 Michigan State: Terran Petteway scored 23 points and Walter Pitchford added 18 as Nebraska (14-10, 6-6 Big Ten) earned a 60-51 win over No. 9 Michigan State (21-5, 10-3) in East Lansing, Mich.

• Wisconsin smothers Michigan: Frank Kaminsky had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 21 Wisconsin (21-5, 8-5 Big Ten) smothered No. 15 Michigan (18-7, 10-3) in the first half before holding on for a 75-62 win in Ann Arbor, Mich.

• Lamar fires Knight: Lamar (3-22, 2-11 Southland) has fired coach Pat Knight, son of Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight, following a 6-50 record over the past two seasons. Knight was 29-62 overall during his three seasons with Lamar.

Former assistant Tic Price will serve as the interim coach.

Wildcats rally past Lady Vols in Knoxville

Women’s basketball: Jennifer O’Neill scored 24 points and sparked a comeback as No. 18 Kentucky (19-6, 7-5 SEC) rallied for a 75-71 win over No. 8 Tennessee (20-5, 9-3), earning the Wildcats’ first win in Knoxville, Tenn., since 1985.

Isabelle Harrison’s 20 points and 16 rebounds led Tennessee.

• DeShields shines in Tar Heels’ win: Diamond DeShields set a school freshman record with 38 points to help No. 17 North Carolina (20-6, 8-4 ACC) to an 89-82 win over No. 10 North Carolina State (22-4, 9-3) in Raleigh, N.C.

• Cal handles Arizona State: Afure Jemerigbe scored a career-high 23 and Brittany Boyd had 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists to lead No. 22 California (18-7, 10-4 Pac-12) to a 74-63 victory over No. 15 Arizona State (20-6, 9-5) in Berkeley, Calif.

• Mississippi State upsets Vanderbilt: Martha Alwal’s jumper with 3.3 seconds left gave her 23 points and lifted Mississippi State (17-9, 4-8 SEC) to a 64-62 upset over No. 16 Vanderbilt (17-8, 6-6) in Starkville, Miss.

• Purdue slips past Iowa: Courtney Moses had 25 points, including two game-winning free throws with 7 seconds left as No. 23 Purdue (18-7, 8-5 Big Ten) held on for a 74-73 win over Iowa (20-7, 8-5) in West Lafayette, Ind.

Nishikori defends Memphis title

Tennis: Kei Nishikori of Japan successfully defended his title at the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships in Memphis, Tenn., beating Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 6-4, 7-6 (0).

Nishikori won his fourth career title along with the $103,100 winner’s check and 250 points on the ATP Tour.

American Eric Butorac and Raven Klaasen of South Africa beat Bob and Mike Bryan 6-4, 6-4 for the doubles title.

• Berdych tops Cilic in ABN Amro final: Tomas Berdych has won his first ATP tournament title since October 2012, beating Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-4, 6-2 in the ABN Amro final in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

• Halep claims Qatar Open title: Seventh-seeded Simona Halep of Romania defeated sixth-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-2, 6-3 to earn her first title of the season in the Qatar Open final in Doha, Qatar.

Ravens’ Rice arrested in Atlantic City

Miscellany: Police in Atlantic City, N.J., say Baltimore running back Ray Rice was arrested at a casino early Saturday after an argument with his fiancée turned physical.

Atlantic City police said that Rice and Janay Palmer were both arrested on simple assault charges and were released on a summons.