AUTO RACING Va. Motor Speedway lists slate
Virginia Motor Speedway, a half-mile dirt track in Middlesex County, announced its 2021 schedule. It includes 11 nights of weekly racing, including the opening night April 3. It also includes such special events as the April 15 Thursday Night Thunder featuring Tony Stewart.
Xavier 77, No. 13 Creighton 69
CINCINNATI — Paul Scruggs scored 23 points Saturday and Zach Freemantle added 17, helping Xavier bolster its NCAA tournament hopes.
Freemantle also had 10 rebounds for Xavier (13-5, 6-5) for his fifth straight double-double. The Musketeers led by as many as 13 points and staved off a late comeback by Creighton.
Damien Jefferson led Creighton (17-6, 13-5 Big East) with 19 points, and Marcus Zegarowski had 15. Mitch Ballock and Denzel Mahoney each had 11 points for the Bluejays, whose four-game winning streak was snapped.
The Musketeers got off to a strong start as Freemantle’s 3-pointer capped a 12-0 run to put Xavier ahead 25-16.
No. 10 West Virginia 65, Kansas State 43
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Once recruited by Kansas State, Sean McNeil showcased why the Wildcats wanted him by coming up strong again for West Virginia.
McNeil scored 16 points and No. 10 West Virginia used two big runs in the second half to beat Kansas State Saturday.
“I think it was a tough shooting night for all of us all down the board,” McNeil said. “At halftime, we talked, made some adjustments and figured out who we were really going to be. We came out in the second half and kind of showed that.
“I think we picked our defensive intensity up and that kind of led to some easy buckets.”
McNeil is shooting 29 of 54 (54%) from the floor over his last five games, including 18 of 35 (51%) from 3-point range. McNeil has improved his scoring average from 5.5 last year to 11.7 this season.
Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said, “His improvement from last year to this year, but even during this year is astronomical.”
The Mountaineers (17-6, 10-4 Big 12) have won six of their last seven, including wins over No. 18 Texas Tech, No. 14 Texas and No. 17 Kansas.
No. 22 San Diego State 62, Boise State 58
SAN DIEGO — Matt Mitchell hit two free throws with 3.3 seconds left and fellow senior Jordan Schakel made four free throws in the final 8.7 seconds for San Diego State, which gained its 10th straight victory.
Schakel finished with 17 points, and Mitchell had eight points, eight rebounds and four steals.
Sweeping the two-game series against the Broncos means the Aztecs (19-4, 13-3 Mountain West) can repeat as regular-season conference champions if they win at UNLV on Wednesday night.
BSU (18-6, 14-5) came into the series with a half-game lead. On Tuesday, the Mountain West awarded San Diego State a pair of forfeit victories over New Mexico. Those games do not count in SDSU’s overall or formal conference record, but will count for seeding and conference championship implications.
Broncos star Derrick Alston
Jr. had a miserable game, scoring just seven points — 11 under his average — on 2-of-12 shooting. He went 1 for 9 from 3-point range.
LATE FRIDAY
Men
No. 21 Loyola of Chicago 60, Southern Illinois 52
CHICAGO — Marquise Kennedy scored 16 points for the Ramblers (20-4, 15-2 Missouri Valley), who steadied themselves in the closing minutes after letting a 16-point lead shrink to four and came out on top for the 13th time in 14 games. The teams met again Saturday night.
Despite the graduation of 23 seniors who led the way to an unbeaten regular season and Bay Rivers District title, York High coach Doug Pereira insisted his team was reloading rather than rebuilding.
The Falcons’ firepower was evident from the get-go in their 41-6 win over Grafton at Bailey Field in the opener for both.
Jordin Lennon ran 76 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. That marked the first of five consecutive touchdown drives of 48 yards or more for the Falcons to start the game.
“He’s a power-type runner who ran very well,” Pereira said. “To start the season with a touchdown is a sweet surprise, obviously.”
Kase Butler’s 26-yard reception and quarterback Landon Buffin’s 33-yard keeper set up Lennon’s second TD run, from 11 yards.
Butler’s second long reception of the first quarter from Buffin was good for 46 yards and a score as York’s lead ballooned to 21-0.
Buffin (147 total yards, 97 passing on five completions) is part of a talented sophomore class that showed its promise at multiple positions. Tight end Milyan Smith-Walker caught a 19-yard pass from Buffin. Sophomore Nate Wagner nabbed an interception in the defensive backfield and classmates Immanuel Allen and Anthony Artis also had strong defensive performances.
“I have to give Buffin credit in his first start,” Pereira said. “We couldn’t complete a pass in practice two weeks ago, so I’m happy with the pass game.”
The other sophomore to stand out was Zacchaeus Maxfield. He ran for 100 yards, including a 52-yard jaunt down the right sideline that made it 28-0. Senior Rashad Stepney scored the Falcons’ other two touchdowns on runs of 2 and 13 yards.
“Maxfield is explosive,” Pereira said. “The more comfortable he gets, the more explosive he is.”
The only downer for the Falcons was the ankle sprain Lennon, a 5-foot11, 190-pound junior, sustained in the third quarter. Pereira said Lennon, who finished with 162 yards on nine carries, might be out a couple of weeks with the injury.
Quarterback Bryson Fell’s second-half performance was Grafton’s bright spot. He passed for 85 of his 97 yards after intermission, including a 43-yard touchdown pass to Rocco Hahn, accounting for the Clippers’ lone score.