In brief: Warren leads N.C. State into round of 64
College men’s basketball: T.J. Warren scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half on Tuesday night, showing why he was the ACC’s player of the year, and North Carolina State led most of the way in a 74-59 victory over Xavier in the NCAA tournament’s First Four at Dayton, Ohio.
N.C. State (22-12) didn’t have much time to celebrate. The 12th-seeded Wolfpack headed to Orlando, Fla., for a game on Thursday against St. Louis in the Midwest Regional.
• Danes face No. 1 Florida next: D.J. Evans scored 22 points, including two clinching free throws with 12.6 seconds left, to lead Albany to its first NCAA tournament victory, 71-64 over Mount St. Mary’s in the First Four opener at Dayton, Ohio.
The Great Danes (19-14) advance to meet overall No. 1 seed and top-ranked Florida on Thursday in Orlando.
• Huse resigns at Montana State: Montana State men’s basketball coach Brad Huse has resigned after eight seasons.
Huse’s teams posted a 107-133 record, including a 64-72 mark in Big Sky Conference play.
• Boston College fires coach: Steve Donahue has been fired as Boston College’s basketball coach after an 8-24 season. The Eagles failed to reach the NCAA tournament in his four years on the job.
LeBron scores 43 as Heat top Cavs
NBA: LeBron James scored 43 points – 25 in a bewildering first-quarter shooting display – and Chris Bosh added 21, leading the visiting Miami Heat to a 100-96 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who played their first game without injured All-Star guard Kyrie Irving.
James added two crucial blocks and made six free throws in the final two minutes and Bosh added a key rejection to lead the Heat to just their third win in eight games.
• Curry, Thompson spark Warriors: Stephen Curry had 23 points and five assists, Klay Thompson scored 20 points and the undermanned Golden State Warriors overwhelmed the Orlando Magic 103-89 at Oakland, Calif.
The backcourt duo sparked an 18-4 run at the start of the second half that put the Warriors ahead by 24 points. They became the first pair of teammates in NBA history to combine for at least 400 3-pointers in consecutive seasons.
• Blazers hold off Bucks: Wesley Matthews had 26 points, including a key 3-pointer in overtime, and the host Portland Trail Blazers overcame the tenacious Milwaukee Bucks 120-115.
Robin Lopez added 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Blazers, who had losses in five of their last six games.
• Jackson meets the press: Phil Jackson has returned to the New York Knicks as their team president.
The Knicks announced Jackson’s hiring at a news conference in the lobby of Madison Square Garden, where a giant sign reading “Welcome Home Phil” was overhead and shirts with the No. 18 Jackson wore as a player lined the racks in the merchandise store.
Bruins whip Devils for 10th straight win
NHL: Brad Marchand and Jarome Iginla scored in a 59-second span early in the second period and the visiting Boston Bruins beat the New Jersey Devils 4-2 for their 10th straight win.
The 10-game winning streak ties Anaheim for the NHL’s longest this season.
• Crosby connects twice: Sidney Crosby scored his 32nd and 33rd goals of the season and picked up an assist and Pittsburgh’s top line led the way in a 5-1 victory over Dallas.
Chelsea advances to Champions quarters
Soccer: Chelsea ended England’s one-year absence from the Champions League quarterfinals, beating Galatasaray 2-0 T on first-half goals by Samuel Eto’o and Gary Cahill to complete a 3-1 aggregate win.
In the night’s other match, Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in Real Madrid’s 3-1 victory at home over Schalke, finishing a 9-2 rout in the home-and-home, total-goals series.
• Bayern’s Green applies to play for U.S. team: Munich forward Julian Green wants to play for the U.S. national team and has applied to FIFA to change his association from Germany.
The 18-year-old, who was born in Tampa, Fla., played for Germany in three qualifiers for the 2014 European Under-19 Championship, making his debut last Oct. 12 against Belarus and getting assists two days later against Latvia and on Oct. 15 vs. Scotland.