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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

No. 3 Virginia bounces back from first loss for 75-64 men’s basketball win over UNC

Virginia's Justin Anderson scores two of his 16 points as the No. 3 Cavaliers defeated No. 12 North Carolina 75-64 on Monday. (Associated Press)

Men’s Basketball: Malcolm Brogdon scored 17 points and No. 3 Virginia’s defense locked down in the second half to beat No. 12 North Carolina 75-64 Monday night in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Justin Anderson added 16 for the Cavaliers (20-1, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who responded to their first loss of the season by blowing open a tight game at halftime for an impressive road win.

Coming off Saturday’s loss to Duke in one of the program’s biggest home games in years, Virginia erased a 33-32 halftime deficit by shooting 50 percent while holding the Tar Heels (17-6, 7-3) completely in check to build an 18-point lead and improve to 8-0 in true road games this year.

• Kansas handles ISU: Wayne Selden Jr. scored 20 points in a hot-shooting second half to spark No. 9 Kansas past No. 15 Iowa State 89-76 in Lawrence, Kansas.

Selden, after missing all three of his shots and scoring only one point in the first half, drilled four of his first five 3-pointers after intermission, often finding himself virtually unguarded on the right wing, as the Jayhawks (19-3, 8-1 Big 12) padded their lead in the Big 12 race to 1 1/2 games.

Georges Niang had 24 points for Iowa State (16-5, 6-3), which dropped out of a second-place tie with West Virginia.

Cavaliers top Sixers, push streak to 11

NBA: Kyrie Irving scored 24 points, LeBron James added 18 points and 11 assists, and the host Cleveland Cavaliers staggered to their 11th straight win, 97-84 over the Philadelphia 76ers.

The winning streak is Cleveland’s longest since reeling off 13 in a row – a franchise record – in 2010, the last season of James’ first stint with the club. The Cavs had trouble putting away the young Sixers, who did all they could to stay close but don’t have the firepower to keep up with Irving, James and one of the NBA’s hottest teams.

• Grizzlies rally past Suns: Jeff Green converted a three-point play with 4.5 seconds to play and the Memphis Grizzlies rallied from seven down in the final 1:35 to beat the host Phoenix Suns for the seventh straight time, 102-101.

Pau Gasol blocked Markieff Morris’ shot at the finish to preserve the victory.

The Grizzlies, who won their seventh in a row overall and 11th in the last 12 games, scored the final eight points after Isaiah Thomas’ 3-pointer put Phoenix up 101-94 with 1:49 to play.

Thomas scored all 24 of his points in the second half, 16 in the fourth quarter, and Phoenix used its three point-guard lineup to take a lead after trailing most of the game.

• Rondo sidelined: Dallas Mavericks point guard Rajon Rondo will miss at least three games after breaking the orbital bone of his left eye and fracturing his nose Saturday in an on-court accident in Orlando.

Rondo missed Monday night’s game against Minnesota.

He has averaged 9.2 points and 6.5 assists since arriving from Boston.

Late surge helps Rangers beat Panthers

NHL: Dan Boyle scored a deflected goal 8:10 into the third period, Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello added insurance late, and the host New York Rangers beat the Florida Panthers 6-3.

Boyle flipped a shot from the left point that hit the stick of veteran Florida defenseman Willie Mitchell and bounded past surprised goalie Roberto Luongo. Zuccarello made it 5-3 with 4:02 left to play.

• Flames down Jets: Brandon Bollig and Raphael Diaz scored their first goals of the season as the Calgary Flames beat the visiting Winnipeg Jets 5-2.

With just a one-goal lead heading into the third period, the Flames struck on the power play at 4:24, making it 3-1 when Diaz let a rocket go from the blue line that found the top corner.

Signed as a free agent in the offseason, Diaz scored his first goal in a Flames uniform.

Former Tiger Bergman passes away at 61

• MLB: Dave Bergman, a member of the Detroit Tigers’ 1984 World Series championship team, died at 61.

A first baseman and outfielder, Bergman spent nine seasons in Detroit, where he arrived via trade in 1984.

In 17 years, he hit .258 with 54 home runs and 289 RBIs in his career. He also played for the Astros and Giants.

• Robinson to advise Manfred: Hall of Famer Frank Robinson is leaving his job as executive vice president for baseball development in the commissioner’s office to become a senior adviser to Commissioner Rob Manfred.

• Betemit banned: Infielder Wilson Betemit has been suspended for 50 games following a positive test for a banned amphetamine under baseball’s minor league drug program.

Betemit is a free agent after playing for Tampa Bay’s Triple-A team at Durham last year.

• Nats add Janssen: Casey Janssen and the Washington Nationals finalized a one-year, $5 million contract that includes a mutual option for 2016.

Janssen had spent his entire big league career with the Toronto Blue Jays, going 29-24 with 90 saves and a 3.52 ERA since 2006.

• Belt, Giants agree: Giants first baseman Brandon Belt agreed to a $3.6 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration.

Belt hit .308 with two RBIs in the World Series after missing time over the final 2 1/2 months with a concussion.

• Mets sign Duda: First baseman Lucas Duda and the New York Mets agreed to a $4.2 million, one-year contract and avoided arbitration.

Duda hit .253 with 30 homers and 92 RBIs last season.

Whittingham shakes up staff at Utah

Miscellany: Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham announced several changes to his staff.

Running backs coach Dennis Erickson, the former head coach at Idaho and Washington State, is adding assistant head coach to his title while quarterbacks coach Aaron Roderick and offensive line coach Jim Harding were named co-offensive coordinators.

John Pease came out of retirement to take over the defensive coordinator position while Justin Ena will coach linebackers. Safeties coach and recruiting coordinator Morgan Scalley will head special teams.

• Anthony enters plea: Basketball analyst Greg Anthony pleaded not guilty to a charge of soliciting a prostitute. CBS and Turner Sports suspended Anthony after his arrest. His next schedule court appearance is Feb. 11.

• No IndyCar replacement: IndyCar says it will not schedule another race to replace the canceled season-opener that was expected to take place in Brazil in early March.

The announcement comes four days after Brazilian officials canceled the event, saying it would be too costly for the local government.