AP Wednesday Sports Roundup

NCAA-TOURNAMENT

Hampton wins, gets Kentucky next...Ole Miss rallies from 17 down to beat BYU

DAYTON, Oho (AP) — Hampton defeated Manhattan 74-64 to qualify for the 64-team NCAA field. That's the good news. The bad news for the Pirates out of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference is they now go up against the top-seeded, 34-0 Kentucky Wildcats.

The Pirates are the seventh team in NCAA Tournament history to win a game with a losing record. They are 17-17 entering Thursday night's game against Kentucky.

Reginald Johnson scored 15 points and added two late critical defensive plays to seal the win. Quinton Chievous added 15 points and 13 rebounds before leaving in the final minutes with an ankle injury.

In the second game, Mississippi rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit to beat Brigham Young 94-90 despite a 33-point performance by the Cougars' Tyler Haws. Ole Miss did it with a 62-point performance in the second half. Stefan Moody scored 26 points to lead Ole Miss, which now advances to play sixth-seeded Xavier Thursday in the East Regional.

Wednesday's matchups feature Boise State going against Dayton and Robert Morris playing North Florida.

NCAA-WISCONSIN/JACKSON

Point guard takes part in light practice

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Injured Wisconsin point guard Traevon Jackson has returned to practice, though it is still unclear whether the senior will be ready for the start of the NCAA Tournament.

Jackson has been out two months after breaking his right foot in a 67-62 loss on Jan. 11 at Rutgers.

Wisconsin (31-3) had a light practice on Tuesday, when Jackson participated in shootaround and individual drills. Jackson's replacement, Bronson Koenig, missed practice on Tuesday with an apparent minor illness. But the sophomore has played well overall starting for Jackson.

The top-seeded Badgers play Coastal Carolina on Friday night in their NCAA opener in Omaha, Nebraska.

NCAA-O'BANNON CASE

NCAA attorney makes his case on appeal

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — An attorney for the NCAA says a ruling that opened the door for college football and basketball players to be paid goes against previous court rulings, including a 1984 U.S. Supreme Court decision. The NCAA is appealing a decision in a case brought by former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon that the organization violated antitrust laws by limiting student-athlete compensation.

Seth Waxman told a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that courts have never said the rules meant to protect student-athletes' amateur status violated antitrust law. He cited a 1984 Supreme Court ruling that said athletes must not be paid in order to preserve the character and quality of college athletics.

Plaintiffs' attorney Michael Hausfeld told the appeals court the Supreme Court's comment about paying athletes was made in passing and was not integral to the outcome of that case.

NBA-SCHEDULE

Knicks surprise Spurs in OT...23-point, 20-assist night for Pistons' Jackson

UNDATED (AP) — Alexey Shved scored 21 points and made the key defensive play in overtime, and the New York Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs 104-100.

Rookie Langston Galloway had a career-high 22 points for the Knicks, who held the Spurs to just one basket in overtime to surprise the defending NBA champions. Lou Amundson finished with 12 points and a career-high 17 rebounds while playing tough against Tim Duncan.

Tony Parker scored 21 points for the Spurs and made their only basket in OT.

In other NBA:

— Reggie Jackson had 23 points and a career-high 20 assists as the Detroit Pistons ended a 10-game skid with a 105-95 comeback victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Pistons rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit.

__ Donatas Motiejunas scored 23 points and the Houston Rockets used a big run late in the fourth quarter to break open a close game and get a 107-94 win over the Orlando Magic.

__ The L.A. Clippers held off the Charlotte Hornets 99-92. J.J. Redick led the Clippers with 23. Blake Griffin added 19 points and 11 rebounds.

— Anthony Davis had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans held off the Milwaukee Bucks, 85-84.

NBA-INJURIES

Ibaka has surgery, Thompson sidelined

UNDATED (AP) — Thunder forward Serge Ibaka could miss the rest of the season after having an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee. Thunder general manager Sam Presti says the procedure shaved off damaged cartilage from under Ibaka's kneecap that had caused discomfort and swelling. Ibaka will be out four to six weeks. The playoffs begin April 18.

He had averaged 17.1 points and 9.4 rebounds since the All-Star break and was shooting 55 percent.

In other NBA news:

— Golden State guard Klay Thompson will sit out Wednesday night's game against East-leading Atlanta with a sprained right ankle. The West-leading Warriors say Thompson will be re-evaluated in seven to 10 days. Thompson turned his ankle awkwardly in Monday's win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

— Atlanta Hawks sharpshooter Kyle Korver is out at least another two games after breaking his nose in a win against the Lakers on Sunday.

NBA-WOLVES

Coach taking leave of absence

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota coach Flip Saunders is taking a leave from the team to be with his ailing father in Cleveland. He will miss Wednesday's game against the Raptors in Toronto. His status for the game on Thursday in New York against the Knicks is uncertain. Assistant coach Sam Mitchell will fill in for Saunders while he is away.

MLB-SPRING TRAINING

Green light for Wainwright

UNDATED (AP) — St. Louis ace Adam Wainwright is going to make his first spring training start on Saturday against Atlanta. Wainwright sustained a mild abdominal strain early in spring training and has thrown a pair of bullpen sessions since then.

Manager Mike Matheny says if all goes well, Wainwright would start every five days for the remainder of spring training.

Elsewhere;

— Texas starter Yu Darvish has had his season-ending elbow surgery. The team says it went as expected without complications. Darvish had the torn ligament from his right arm replaced with a tendon from his forearm. The pitcher likely will be sidelined until early 2016. His right arm will be in a sling for about 7-10 days and then he will have a brace on his elbow.

— Francisco Liriano is set to be the Pirates opening day starter when they visit Cincinnati on April 6. Liriano will be the first Pirates pitcher to start on opening day in consecutive seasons since Oliver Perez in 2005 and 2006.

MLB-ROSE-CLARK

Clark backs Rose reinstatement

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — The head of the Major League Baseball Players Association says he'd "love" to see Pete Rose reinstated. Former All-Star first baseman Tony Clark made the remarks to reporters at spring training, a day after new commissioner Rob Manfred said he had received an application from Rose.

Baseball's career hits leader agreed to a lifetime ban in 1989 following an investigation that concluded he bet on the Cincinnati Reds to win while managing the team.

NFL-TRANSACTIONS

Oakland and Chargers work out deals

UNDATED (AP) — The Oakland Raiders have signed free agent running back Trent Richardson. He was released by the Colts last week. Cleveland made Richardson the third overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft. He's averaging 3.3 yards per carry in his career.

In other moves;

— The San Diego Chargers have agreed to terms of a three-year contract with free agent wide receiver Stevie Johnson. He caught 35 passes for 435 yards and three scores with San Francisco last season. Before that, Johnson became the first player in Buffalo Bills history to have three straight 1,000-yard seasons, from 2010-12.

— The 49ers have signed free agent offensive lineman Erik Pears who spent the last five seasons with Buffalo.

NHL-SCHEDULE

Devils keep faint playoff hopes alive

UNDATED (AP) — On NHL ice, Cory Schneider made 35 saves in earning his fifth shutout of the season, and the New Jersey Devils blanked Pittsburgh 2-0. That's the Penguins' third straight loss.

Jacob Josefson scored in the second period for the Devils, who are 9-3-2 in their last 14 games to keep their faint playoff hopes alive. Adam Henrique iced the game with an empty-net goal with 49 seconds to go.

In other hockey:

— Jonathan Toews scored twice and assisted on both of Marian Hossa's goals to lead the Chicago Blackhawks past the slumping New York Islanders 4-1. The Islanders have lost four straight, scoring one goal in each of the losses. They fell five points back of the New York Rangers in the Metropolitan Division.

__ Montreal nipped Florida 3-2 in a game in which all the goals were scored in the second half. P.K. Subban got the game-winner. Backup goalie Dustin Tokarski made 41 saves for the Canadiens, who moved into a tie with the New York Rangers for best record in the East.

— Matt Dumba scored 22 seconds into overtime to give the Minnesota Wild a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators. The Predators have lost three of four overall and five straight home games.

— Blake Wheeler scored two goals and added an assist to help the Winnipeg Jets top the San Jose Sharks 5-2.

__Alex Burrows scored two goals 17 seconds apart in the third period to help the Vancouver Canucks beat Philadelphia 4-1.

__St. Louis blanked Calgary 4-0. Brian Elliott recorded the shutout with 25 saves. Alex Steen scored twice. David Backes got his 24th goal, an empty-netter.

—Andrew Hammond became the second goalie in NHL history to allow two goals or fewer in each of his first 12 starts as the Ottawa Senators beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1. Mark Stone scored the winning goal with 14 seconds left in overtime.

__ Buffalo nipped Boston 2-1 in a shootout. Anders Lindback made seven of his 44 saves in overtime, then shut out Boston for three rounds of the shootout.

NHL-RANGERS-LUNDQVIST

Lundqvist cleared to workout

NEW YORK (AP) — Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist has been cleared to practice after being sidelined for more than a month with a vascular injury to his neck. Lundqvist was injured Jan. 31 when he was struck by a shot by Carolina's Brad Malone.

The Rangers' career wins and shutouts leader was 16-4 with a 1.82 goals against average and one shutout in 20 games before the injury. New York has thrived behind backup Cam Talbot, going 15-2-3.

NHL-GM MEETINGS

GMs recommend rules changes

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — NHL general managers have agreed to recommend three-on-three overtime starting next season, although a format decision and final approval are still needed.

The recommendations will go to the joint NHL/NHLPA competition committee, which meets in June and must approve any rule changes.

That committee also will consider the other recommendation from general managers of instituting a coach's challenge system for goaltender interference.

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