Pitt lands senior guard
Pitt lost a shooting guard last week when senior Durand Johnson was dismissed from the program, but it didn’t take long for coach Jamie Dixon to find his replacement.
Sterling Smith, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard at Coppin State, will transfer to Pitt. Because he has graduated, he can play next season. He has one year of eligibility left.
Smith, who chose the Panthers over Wake Forest, Rutgers and Louisville, averaged 13.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game this past season. He is a good 3-point shooter who made 42 percent of his attempts.
The addition of Smith means Dixon has one more scholarship to fill for next season; he hopes to find a center.
More college
California cut ties with assistant football coach Pierre Ingram after his recent arrest for solicitation in San Francisco. The school announced that Ingram’s contract will not be renewed when it expires at the end of the month and he will no longer represent or act on behalf of the university in any capacity. Ingram had been placed on administrative leave earlier this month after the arrest.
Auto racing
NASCAR says three pit road crew members were taken to a hospital after a fire broke out on pit road at Richmond International Raceway in Virginia. Two of the crew members were in Brendan Gaughan’s pit, where the fire erupted, and one was in Eric McClure’s pit.
Tennis
Defending champ Kei Nishikori made his way into the Barcelona Open semifinals by holding off Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, in Spain. Third-seeded David Ferrer also advanced by beating Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-3, 7-6 (5). … Simona Halep of Romania and Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark will meet in the semifinals of the Porsche Grand Prix after winning their respective quarterfinals in Stuttgart, Germany. Second-seeded Halep needed 81 minutes to defeat Sara Errani of Italy, 6-4, 6-4, while No. 4 seed Wozniacki had little trouble in defeating Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain, 6-0, 6-3.
Golf
Hudson Swafford shot 6-under 66 for a share of the Zurich Classic lead with Boo Weekley when the second-round was suspended because of weather in Avondale, La. … Julien Quesne shot a 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead on defending champ Alexander Levy and Peter Uihlein after the second round at the Volvo China Open in Shanghai.