Alabama now 10-0 in SEC

BATON ROUGE, La. — Noah Clowney and Rylan Griffen led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points each to carry No. 4 Alabama to a 79-69 victory at LSU in Southeastern Conference basketball Saturday. Nimari Burnett and Mark Sears

added 13 points apiece and Brandon Miller had 11 for the Crimson Tide (20-3, 10-0). Derek Fountain had a career-high 26 points to lead LSU (12-11, 1-9), but the Tigers lost for the 10th straight game. LSU’s KJ Williams — the team’s leading scorer this season — was held to eight points, nine below his average, but that didn’t lead to a runaway for the visitors. “It was definitely not one of our better wins,” Alabama coach Nate Oats

said. “Sometimes when you’re competing for a championship, you have to go on the road and win games that aren’t pretty.” Alabama did not take control until midway through the second half. Holding a two-point advantage at the 13-minute mark of the second half, the Tide went on a 19-9 run over the next six minutes. Their long-range shooting carried them during the run as Griffen and Sears made two 3-pointers each and Clowney hit one. Sears’ second 3 made it 75-63 lead with 7:19 remaining, but Alabama did not finish strong, going more than six minutes without a point. The lead was down to 75-69 entering the final minute, but Sears and Miller made two free throws in the last 45 seconds.

› BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 25 points and Jalen Hood-Schifino delivered the clinching basket on a dunk with two seconds left as No. 21 Indiana beat No. 1 Purdue 79-74 in a Big Ten and Hoosier State rivalry showdown Saturday. Zach Edey finished with 33 points and 18 rebounds for Purdue (22-2, 11-2). The Hoosiers (16-7, 7-5 ) have won both of their home games against their archrival under second-year coach Mike Woodson. A roaring, raucous crowd that stayed on its feet most of the game wasted no time storming the court after the final buzzer sounded.

BASEBALL

› Atlanta Braves pitcher Max Fried lost in salary arbitration Saturday, and the 29-year-old left-hander will make $13.5 million in the upcoming season instead of his $15 million request. Mark Burstein, Fredric Horowitz and Jeanne Vonhof issued their decision a day after hearing arguments. Despite the defeat, Fried matched the $13.5 million that pitcher Gerrit Cole won against the Houston Astros in 2019 as the highest salary for an MLB player decided by an arbitration panel. Fried won a $6.85 million salary last year in arbitration instead of the Braves’ $6.6 million proposal, and this winter he followed former Atlanta teammate Dansby Swanson in going to a hearing in consecutive years. Swanson, a shortstop, lost in 2021 and won last year, then signed a $177 million, seven-year contract with the Chicago Cubs in late December. The most recent player to win hearings in consecutive years was pitcher Trevor Bauer against Cleveland in 2018-19. Fried went 14-7 for the second straight season and lowered his ERA to 2.48 from 3.04 in 2021. Fried was a first-time All-Star last season, finished second to Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins in National League Cy Young Award voting and was third in the NL in ERA behind Alcantara and Julio Urías of the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2021, Fried pitched six shutout innings in Game 6 against the Astros as the Braves won their first World Series title since 1995. The offseason is down to its final weeks, with Braves pitchers and catchers scheduled to report to North Port, Florida, on Feb. 16 for spring training, with the full squad due in camp by Feb. 21.

HOCKEY

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SUNRISE, Fla. — Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk was right at home at the NHL All-Star Game. Again. Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings had a hat trick, Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs had three assists, and the Atlantic Division topped the Central Division 7-5 in the All-Star Game final Saturday night. Tkachuk — playing alongside his brother Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators — was named the event’s MVP after totaling seven points on the day, including a fivepoint outburst in a 10-6 semifinal win over the Metropolitan Division. Larkin had five goals in the Atlantic’s two games. The Central beat the Pacific Division 6-4 to reach the final. Matthew Tkachuk has now been on the winning team in both of his All-Star appearances, and both times he enjoyed the comforts of home. He helped the Pacific win the 2020 All-Star title in St. Louis, his hometown.