Wichita State beats Alabama for NIT title

Men’s basketball: J.T. Durley and Graham Hatch scored 12 points each to lead a balanced offense, and the Wichita State Shockers overwhelmed top-seeded Alabama (25-12) 66-57 on Thursday night to win the NIT championship at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Hatch was 4 for 4 from beyond the arc, including back-to-back baskets in the closing minutes, as Wichita State (29-8) finished up a remarkable postseason run in style.

After getting left out of the NCAA tournament, the Shockers beat Nebraska by 27 points, won at Virginia Tech, beat College of Charleston, then set a school record for wins in a season with a 75-44 romp over Washington State in the semifinals.

Celtics snap funk with victory over Spurs

NBA: Rajon Rondo had 22 points and 14 assists, Paul Pierce scored 21 and the visiting Boston Celtics stopped slipping further from first in the East, beating the slumping San Antonio Spurs 107-97.

Kevin Garnett added 20 points and the Celtics, winning for just the second time in five games, moved within two games of Chicago for the No. 1 playoff seed in the East. Tony Parker led the Spurs with 23 points.

• Bryant scores 28 to lead Lakers over Mavs: Kobe Bryant scored 28 points, Andrew Bynum had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and the host Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 110-82.

The Lakers won for the 16th time in 17 games since the All-Star break, helping them pull within 21/2 games of slumping San Antonio for the NBA’s top overall record.

St. Louis scores, leads Lightning to playoffs

NHL: Martin St. Louis scored his 30th goal of the season, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning clinch their first playoff berth since 2007 with a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Tampa, Fla.

Steve Downie also scored for the Lightning, who have won three in a row following a four-game losing skid.

Pittsburgh, which had won its previous four road games, got a goal from Michael Rupp.

• Canucks top Kings to clinch Presidents’ Trophy: Vancouver defenseman Christian Ehrhoff scored the go-ahead goal with 0.9 seconds left in the second period and the Canucks won their first Presidents’ Trophy for the NHL’s best record with a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Daniel Sedin tied it with 5 minutes left in the second period, then added his NHL-leading 100th point of the season by setting up Ryan Kesler’s goal on a two-man advantage with 4:26 left in the third.

• Maple Leafs beat Bruins in shootout: Nazem Kadri scored the only shootout goal to help the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 4-3.

With the point for reaching overtime, the Bruins clinched a tie for the Northeast Division title.

• Mason gets shutout in Thrashers’ win over Flyers: Nik Antropov scored the only goal, and Chris Mason stopped 43 shots for his first shutout of the season in the Atlanta Thrashers’ 1-0 win over the host Philadelphia Flyers.

Lincicome, Lewis lead at Kraft Nabisco

Golf: Brittany Lincicome and Stacy Lewis overcame the stifling desert heat for 6-under 66s, taking the first-round lead at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in Rancho Miraga, Calif.

Sandra Gal and Mika Miyazato were one shot back at the LPGA Tour’s first major of the year.

Wendy Ward (Edwall, Wash.) sits four shots back of the leaders after an opening-round 2-under 70.

• Walker ties Houston Open course record: Jimmy Walker tied the course record with a 9-under 63 to take a two-shot lead over Josh Teater and Nick O’Hern after the first round of the Houston Open in Humble, Texas.

Walker matched the record set by Johnson Wagner and Adam Scott in the first round of the 2008 tournament.

Alex Prugh (Ferris High, UW) shot a first-round 69, good for a tie for 21st.

Nadal, Federer reach final at Key Biscayne

Miscellany: Rafael Nadal has advanced to a semifinal showdown against rival Roger Federer at the Sony Ericsson Open at Key Biscayne, Fla.

The top-ranked Nadal won his quarterfinal match against Tomas Berdych, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

Federer won his quarterfinal match without breaking a sweat when Gilles Simon retired with a stiff neck after losing the first three games.

Nadal and Federer will play tonight for the 23rd time – but for the first time in six years in the United States.

• Azarenka, Sharapova to face off for SEO title: Victoria Azarenka advanced to the final of the Sony Ericsson Open, where she’ll meet Maria Sharapova.

Azarenka, the 2009 champion, beat Vera Zvonareva 6-0, 6-3. Sharapova, seeking her first title since May 2010 and her first at Key Biscayne, defeated Andrea Petkovic 3-6, 6-0, 6-2.

• Ex-KU official gets nearly 4 years in ticket scam: Rodney Jones, a former assistant athletics director at the University of Kansas, was sentenced in a Wichita, Kan. courtroom, to 46 months in prison for a $2 million ticket-scalping conspiracy so extensive that the judge cited the length of time it lasted and the economic damage it caused in rendering his decision.

In addition to the prison term, Brown ordered Jones to pay restitution, including more than $1.19 million to be paid jointly by all the co-defendants to the university and $113,843 in back taxes.