AP Sports Wrap from Monday, April 4, 2016

HOUSTON (AP) — One of the great NCAA men's championship games came down to one shot -- and Kris Jenkins seized the moment.

The Villanova junior forward canned the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to send 'Nova to its second national championship with a heart-stopping 77-74 victory over top seed North Carolina.

Jenkins said afterward that he believes every shot he takes is good -- "and this one was no different."

There's something about playing in a NCAA national title game that brings out the best in Villanova.

The second-seeded Wildcats erased a five-point halftime deficit to win their first national championship in 31 years. It may not have been as flawless as Villanova's upset of Georgetown in 1985 or its 44-point semifinal performance against Oklahoma on Saturday, but the Wildcats were poised and plenty good enough to deny North Carolina its sixth national title.

North Carolina's Marcus Paige had just tied the game with an off-balanced 3-pointer with 4.3 seconds left. But Ryan Arcidiacono got the inbounds pass at midcourt quickly and fed Jenkins for the winning basket.

Phil Booth led Villanova with 20 points. Arcidiacono scored 16 and was named the tournament's most outstanding player. Jenkins added 14 -- but owns the 3-pointer that will forever go into Villanova basketball lore.

As 'Nova coach Jay Wright said of Jenkins' winning shot, "Kris lives for that moment."

NCAA MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP-COACHES

Dapper Wright can now show off NCAA hardware

HOUSTON (AP) — Jay Wright may still be the best dressed coach in college basketball. Now he has a national championship to go with those expensive suits.

Not since N.C. State's Jim Valvano ran around looking for someone to hug after his Wolfpack pulled off a miracle finish in 1983 has a coach enjoyed ending a season like this.

Kris Jenkins' 3-pointer swished as time expired and Wright joins the list of coaches with one title, something that seemed far from his grasp the last few years. Wright just completed his 15th season at Villanova. He reached the Final Four in 2009.

Now Wright is no longer just a regular season coach with Big East titles, he has a national championship.

Wright says "just to see their eyes, to see their satisfaction, their enjoyment. There's no better feeling in the world for a coach or a parent."

North Carolina's Roy Williams, the coach whose season ended when Jenkins' shot went through, had a chance to become just the sixth man to win three national championships. Instead, he will remain tied with his mentor and former boss, Dean Smith, with two titles.

NCAA MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP-ALUMNI

Jordan, Massimino in the house

HOUSTON (AP)— MJ was in the house. Coach Rollie, too.

Michael Jordan was at NRG Stadium to watch his North Carolina Tar Heels lose a heartbreaker to Villanova 77-74 for the NCAA championship. Jordan was one of several dozen former Tar Heels in attendance as North Carolina was denied its sixth national title.

On the Villanova side, former coach Rollie Massimino made it to the game. He sat alongside Ed Pinckney, one of the stars of Villanova's 1985 championship team. The 81-year-old Massimino is still coaching in Florida at NAIA Northwood. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to get to the game because his wife has been ailing.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL-PRO OR NO?

Duke loses Ingram...Arizona's Trier staying

UNDATED (AP) — Duke freshman Brandon Ingram says he has had enough college ball and that he is headed to the NBA draft. A school spokesman says Ingram is hiring an agent and is looking for a career as a pro.

Ingram is the seventh Duke freshman since 2011 to head to the NBA, a run that started with eventual NBA rookie of the year Kyrie (KY'-ree) Irving and continued last year when three freshmen made the jump after winning the program's fifth national title.

In other NBA draft news:

— Arizona guard Allonzo Trier (TREER) is returning for his sophomore season. The talented 6-foot-6 guard was projected as a late first-round pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, but opted to stay at Arizona. Trier was Arizona's third-leading scorer with 14.8 points per game, with a high of 27 against Fresno State on Dec. 9. He missed seven games with a broken right hand.

BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME

Class of 2016 announced

HOUSTON (AP) — Former NBA stars Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson head the 2016 class at the Basketball Hall of Fame.

They are joined by longtime Michigan State coach Tom Izzo (IH'-zoh), Chinese NBA star Yao Ming, Sheryl Swoopes and Jerry Reinsdorf.

O'Neal was the top overall pick in the 1992 draft and was a 15-time All-Star who was the NBA MVP in 2000 and a three-time NBA Finals MVP.

Iverson was an 11-time NBA All-Star who was named rookie of the year in 1996-97.

Izzo led the Spartans to the national championship in 2000 and has taken his team to the Final Four seven times.

Swoopes helped Texas Tech to a national title was a three-time WNBA MVP and won three Olympic gold medals.

Yao was the top overall pick in 2002 and was an eight-time NBA All-Star for the Houston Rockets.

Reinsdorf has been the owner of the Chicago Bulls for more than two decades.

NFL-NEWS

Bills' McCoy off the hook

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy won't be charged over a Philadelphia nightclub brawl that left two off-duty police officers injured. McCoy could still face discipline from the NFL.

District Attorney Seth Williams says he can't prove who initiated the fight and says it's legal to act in self-defense or the defense of others.

Defense lawyer Dennis Cogan says McCoy was only trying to break up a fight between the officers and his friends over a $350 bottle of Champagne.

MLB-SCHEDULE

Newcomers Span and Murphy have impressive debuts with new clubs...Greinke does not

UNDATED (AP) — Denard  Span had quite a debut for the Giants in their 12-3 win over Milwaukee.

The off-season acquisition homered and drove in five runs in the season opener. Span hit a three-run shot with two outs in the eighth inning and Joe Panik and Buster Posey followed with home runs off Ariel Pena.

Matt Duffy also got off to a good start in the new season with a home run and 4 RBIs for San Francisco.

Madison Bumgarner picked up the win despite being under the weather. He worked five innings allowing three runs on five hits and striking out six.

Elsewhere:

— New Washington second baseman Daniel Murphy homered and lined an opposite-field RBI double in the 10th inning to give the Nationals a come-from-behind 4-3 win over Atlanta in the opener for both teams. National League MVP Bryce Harper homered in his first at-bat for the Nats. Nats closer Jonathan Papelpon earned his 350th career save.

— Zack Greinke had a rough debut for his new team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Greinke allowed three home runs for the first time since 2009. He gave up seven runs on nine hits in four innings as the D-Backs fell to the Colorado Rockies 10-5. New Rockies shortstop Trevor Story homered twice and drove in four.

— Cole Hamels handed Felix Hernandez his first opening day loss and the Texas Rangers managed to win with just one hit, beating the Seattle Mariners 3-2. Prince Fielder blooped an RBI single off Hernandez during a three-run fifth inning that included three walks and two errors.

— The L.A. Dodgers routed San Diego 15-0. Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw went seven innings of one-hit ball, striking out nine. Kershaw and two relievers combined on a four-hitter. That ruined the debut of new Padres manager Andy Green.

— Zack Cozart had three hits and drove in the tying run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, and Joey Votto (VAH'-toh) followed with a bases-loaded single that sent the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-2 victory over Philadelphia.

— Matt Wieters (WEE'-turz) delivered the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to give the Baltimore Orioles a 3-2 win over Minnesota. — Chris Sale struck out eight and the Chicago White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 4-3. Adam Eaton hit an RBI triple and Jimmy Rollins drove in a run during a four-run third inning.

— The Chicago Cubs blanked the L.A. Angels 9-0. Jake Arrieta (ehr-ee-ET'-uh) gave up two hits over seven dominant innings. Miguel Montero homered and drove in three.

— Josh Donaldson, Michael Saunders and Josh Thole (TOH'-lee) homered to help R.A. Dickey and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-3.

— Bad weather has forced the postponement of two opening day games. Cleveland's home opener against Boston has been rescheduled for Tuesday. The same goes for the Yankees home opener against Houston.

MLB-PIRATES

Pirates lock up Polanco

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates have worked out a deal with outfielder Gregory Polanco. A person familiar with the decision tells The Associated Press the 24-year-old right fielder has agreed to a five-year contract that will begin at the start of the 2017 season. The agreement includes club options for 2022 and 2023. The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the deal has not been announced.

NHL-SCHEDULE

Isles playoffs magic number down to 2...Rangers clinch playoff spot

UNDATED (AP)— John Tavares got his 30th goal and two assists, and the New York Islanders scored three times in a 5:15 span to get a crucial 5-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Ryan Pulock, Matt Martin, Brock Nelson and Johnny Boychuk also scored for the Islanders, and Thomas Greiss had 32 saves. New York holds the Eastern Conference's first wild-card spot. The Islanders won for the third time in four games to reduce their magic number to two over Boston to secure a third straight postseason berth.

In other hockey:

— The New York Rangers are in the playoffs after doubling up Columbus 4-2. Chris Kreider (KRY'-dur) and Derek Stepan each scored their 20th goals and had an assist.

— The St. Louis Blues topped Arizona 5-2 to tie Dallas for first place in the Western Conference. Vladimir Tarasenko's 37th goal midway through the third period was the go-ahead score.

— Jared McCann scored the winner in the second period, Ryan Miller made 40 saves and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2. The Kings remain a point back of Anaheim for the Pacific Division lead with three to play.

— Florida nipped Toronto 4-3. Rocco Grimaldi scored twice as the Panthers set a franchise record with their 99th point.

NHL-NEWS

Stamkos has surgery for blood clot... Allen, Backes out for Blues... Toronto's Kadri suspended

UNDATED (AP) — Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos has had surgery to remove a blood clot from near his right collarbone and is expected to miss 1 to 3 months.

Doctors plan to re-evaluate Stamkos in two weeks and have a better idea about his prognosis.

Stamkos has 36 goals and 65 points in 77 games. That's helped Tampa Bay move to within a point of clinching a playoff spot.

In other NHL news:

— St. Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen and forward David Backes (BAH'-kehs) will miss at least the last three regular-season games with lower body injuries. The team says both players will be re-evaluated before the playoffs.

— The NHL has suspended Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri for four games without pay for cross-checking Detroit's Luke Glendening in the back of the head. The discipline will cost Kadri $200,000 and he will also miss Toronto's final four games of the season.

MASTERS

Couples withdraws

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Fred Couples has pulled out of the Masters this week because of acute back pain. It will be the first Masters the 1992 winner will miss since 1994.

His career has been slowed by back problems the last two decades. The 56-year old Couples says the recent pain has been too much for him to prepare or to compete.