The Charleston girls’ basketball team got a tough challenge in the Regional semifinal last night from Mahomet-Seymour. The unbeaten Lady Trojans did prevail by a 51-43 score. Charleston will take a 28-0 record into Thursday’s championship game against Champaign Central, who beat Urbana 68-54 last night. Paris advanced to the title game in the Mt. Zion Regional by taking out the host Lady Braves 40-31. Paris will play MacArthur on Thursday. Effingham was a 63-45 winner over Cahokia and will play Columbia in the Waterloo Regional championship. Olney beat Herrin 48-37 in the Benton Regional.
Boys basketball: T-Town held off Mattoon 70-61; Charleston beat Paris in overtime 70-68; other winners include Effingham, Shelbyville, Marshall, St. Anthony over Altamont, Tuscola beat Neoga 65-56, Sullivan fell to Maroa-Forsyth, Villa Grove/Heritage beat Cumberland in overtime, Tri-County took down Martinsville.
Number-two Duke trailed by 23 in the second half before staging a massive comeback to win 71-69 at 20th-ranked Louisville. It was the Blue Devils’ largest second-half comeback since 1950 against Tulane when they rallied from 29 down. Zion Williamson had 27 points and 12 rebounds as Duke improved to 22-and-2. Louisville fell to 17-and-8.
Fifth-ranked Kentucky fell at the buzzer to #21 LSU 73-71. Michigan was upset by Penn State 75-69. Marquette beat DePaul, Maryland over Purdue in a battle of ranked teams, Michigan State topped Wisconsin 67-59, and Buffalo beat Akron 76-70.
The NBA is clearing the Lakers of any wrongdoing over potential contact with 76ers guard Ben Simmons. The league determined Magic Johnson’s statements regarding Simmons do not constitute a tampering violation. The Sixers had sent an email to the Lakers in November asking if Simmons could talk to Magic bout his Hall of Fame career.
Disgruntled Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown wants out of Pittsburgh. ESPN reports he has formally requested a trade. It comes on the heels of a Twitter post in which he said it’s time to move on and forward. Brown has been at the forefront of trade speculation since no-showing the day before the season finale against Cincinnati.
The NHL is suspending Penguins center Evgeni Malkin one game for a stick-swinging incident Monday at Philadelphia. The league determined he swung his stick intentionally with force to retaliate against Flyers forward Michael Raffl. Malkin will sit out tonight’s home game against Edmonton. It’s the first suspension of his 13-year career.
David Krejci scored two goals as the Bruins beat the Blackhawks 6-3 in Boston. The loss snapped the Hawks’ seven-game winning streak. Alex DeBrincat, Duncan Keith, and Erik Gustafsson lit the lamp for Chicago, which is four points behind the Wild for a wild card spot in the West. The Blackhawks return home to face the New Jersey Devils tomorrow night.
The Bulls welcome the Grizzlies tonight to the United Center. Chicago has lost a franchise-record 11 straight at home. The Bulls are 13th in the East with a 13-and-44 record. Memphis enters at 23-and-35.
Spring training is underway for the Cubs. Pitchers and catchers reported to Mesa, Arizona yesterday. The team will hold its first official workout today. Shortstop Addison Russell will be able to go through workouts this spring despite being suspended until May 3rd for violating MLB’s Domestic Violence Policy.
Alex Pietrangelo and Ivan Barbashev each had two goals and an assist in the Blues 8-3 win against the New Jersey Devils at the Enterprise Center. Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Bozak, Jaden Schwartz, and Mackenzie MacEachern also lit the lamp for St. Louis, which extended their season-high winning streak to seven games. The Blues hold the first wild card in the Western Conference. They travel to face Arizona tomorrow night.
The Cardinals are holding their first official spring training workout today. Pitchers and catchers reported to the team’s facility in Jupiter, Florida yesterday. It is the first spring training under manager Mike Shildt, who led the Cardinals to an 41-and-28 record after replacing Mike Matheny last July. The full squad reports Sunday.
The clock is ticking for the Mets to get a contract extension done with ace pitcher Jacob deGrom. Multiple reports say agents for the reigning NL Cy Young winner have set an Opening Day deadline to work out a new deal, saying talks will end during the regular season. DeGrom went 10-and-9 with a league-leading 1.70 ERA last season.
