Michigan St. tops Illinois, bolsters NCAA chances
EAST LANSING, MICH. » Aaron Henry scored 20 points and Joshua Langford had 15 points and a careerhigh 16 rebounds to lead Michigan State to an 81-72 win over No. 5 Illinois on Tuesday night.
The Spartans (12-9, 6-9 Big Ten) earned a desperately needed quality win to help their chances of playing in 23 straight NCAA Tournaments.
The Fighting Illini (16-6, 12-4) had won a Big Ten-best seven straight, putting them in contention for a No. 1 seed.
(10) WEST VIRGINIA 74, TCU
66 » Taz Sherman scored 23 points, Derek Culver had 18 points and 14 rebounds, and West Virginia (16-6, 9-4 Big
12) continued its solid play on the road with a victory over TCU (11-10, 4-8). GEORGIA TECH 69, (16)VIRGINIA TECH » Moses Wright scored 17 of his 26 points in the second half, helping Georgia Tech (12-8, 8-6 ACC) pull away from Virginia Tech (14-5, 8-4).
PENN STATE 86, NEBRASKA
83 » Myreon Jones scored
a career-high 29 points to lead five in double figures, and Penn State (8-12, 5-11 Big Ten) held off Nebraska (5-16, 1-13) to snap a fourgame losing streak.
Strath Haven All-Delco John Harrar had a doubledouble with 10 points and a career-high 14 rebounds
for the Lions.
Women
(8) MARYLAND 111, IOWA 93 » Senior Katie Benzan broke her school record with 10
3-pointers and scored a career-high 29 points to lead Maryland (17-2, 13-1 Big Ten) over Iowa (12-7, 8-7).
No one expects Phillies infielder Alec Bohm to play third base like Mike Schmidt or Scott Rolen, who had 18 Gold Gloves between them. But the more Phillies manager Joe Girardi sees of Bohm, who last season batted .338 with four home runs and 23 RBIs playing 44 of 60 games, the less he sees him as a defensive liability.
“It’s not easy to be a 6-6 infielder,” Girardi said on a video conference Tuesday. “It just really isn’t. I think he moves around well, and I think he’ll continue to improve. You want players that are good on both sides of the baseball. I think he’s going to be really good on both sides.”
Bohm did the job on offense last season, producing a .481 slugging percentage, an OPS of .881 and an exceptional .400 on base percentage. He did it in 160 atbats, basically against pitchers who faced him regularly due to limited scheduling and the coronavirus.
Bohm was tied with shortstop Jake Croneworth of the San Diego Padres for second in the NL rookie of the year voting, behind the winner, pitcher Devin Williams of Milwaukee. That wasn’t Bohm’s motivation for adding 10 pounds of mostly muscle, making him 6-6 and 225 pounds.
“I definitely wanted to get stronger,” Bohm said. “I knew there was room to fill out my frame and get stronger in the legs. That was kind of the main place I wanted to focus, just get my legs stronger, keep a lot of mobility there, just really build that base and get myself ready to play 162 games and stay healthy all year.”
Bohm suspects the added strength can help him in the field along with the Gold Glove chats he plans to strike up with Schmidt at some point. Referencing him and Rolen, Bohm said, “They’re two of the best that have ever done it. I’ve met Mike Schmidt. I haven’t been able to really pick his brain too much. With everything going on he hasn’t really been able to come around much. But for sure, I’m excited to be able to sit down with him more, get to know him and pick his brain a little bit.”
Girardi, admittedly biased, said his rookie of the year vote would have been cast for Bohm, who impacted the Phils as an everyday player after making the jump from Double-A Reading to the bigs.
“What impressed me about Alex was how he adjusted over the course of the season and had to do it in a high-pressure situation,” Girardi said. “Usually, you get a chance to do a lot of that in the minor leagues. He was kind of forced to do it at the big-league level a little bit and I was impressed in how he handled it.”
For the most part, Bohm held his own last year against pitchers who watched him frequently enough to adjust to his weaknesses. Did it by tweaking his at bats to take advantage of their faults.
“Just kind of take what they’re giving you and kind of learn from how one guy may attack you and how that could kind of lead to the rest of the team, the rest of the pitching staff you’re facing, and how they attack you,” Bohm said. “I think a big part of (the adjustments) is all the information we have now. Pretty much anything
you think of, there’s numbers on it. There’s information and there’s a scouting report on it. My mindset on that is kind of knowing my own report and knowing where my weaknesses are and how teams are going to attack me.”
Bohm was the third player selected in the 2018 MLB draft. Pitcher Casey Mize was first, and last season with the 2020 Detroit Tigers, he was 0-3 in seven appearances with a
6.99 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 28.1 innings. Catcher Joey Bart was second, and he batted .233 with seven RBIs in
103 at bats for the San Francisco Giants last year.
Bohm’s biggest problem right now is turning his size
into asset at third base. He’s not the only big guy to play on the hot corner. Atlanta Braves Hall of Famer Chipper Jones won eight Gold Gloves at 6-4.
“The game’s just really slowed down for me on that side of the ball,” Bohm said. “I’m starting to just feel how the play is going to go before the ball even really gets to me. Just little things like that. That comes from repetition. I definitely feel light years ahead of where I was. There’s no magic pill. I just had to go out and work.”
•••
Bryce Harper checked into spring training in Clearwater Tuesday to begin his mandatory five-day quarantine and physical.
“He feels really good,” Girardi said. “I just know (backs) can rear their ugly head because I am a back patient … and I’ve had to deal with it. We’re really pleased with where he’s at.”
•••
There is optimism that a limited number of fans may be able to watch the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park this season.
“I would love it and I think our players are going to love it and I think our players are longing for it,” Girardi said. “As much as we love to play, we also love to play in front of fans that are passionate like the Philadelphia Phillies fans are. That would be a great way to start a season.”
If you want to find out how Claude Giroux is feeling, it’s usually better to view his wife’s Twitter account than ask the quiet captain.
There, you’ll see a barefoot Giroux standing in his kitchen, lifting son Gavin toward the ceiling track lighting, while wife Ryanne tweets, “Happiness is: having your daddy back home safe and sound.”
Here, after a two-week quarantine not only from his Flyers teammates, but also his wife and 18-month-old son, an ebullient Giroux flies through practice at the Skate Zone ... then keeps his emotions close to the jersey come time for a media Zoom session.
“I got back yesterday,” Giroux said. “To be able to be back home, it’s great. You just want to make sure you do the right things out there.
“Watching the guys play was real tough. Obviously we had a lot of guys that were out of the lineup. I don’t remember the last time I watched the Flyers play at home (on TV) . ... It wasn’t that fun. You want to be out there and help the team.”
Making that so much worse, of course, was the fact that Giroux had been away since the Flyers spent a few days in Washington D.C. earlier this month. He last played in a 7-4 victory over the Capitals Feb.
7. The teams were scheduled to go back at it two nights later, but Giroux was placed on the COVID-19 list on Feb. 9.
A quarantine followed, separating him and eventually several more Flyers. Defenseman Travis Sanheim was first, then Giroux. In quick succession went Travis Konecny, Jake Voracek, Scott Laughton and — more concerning as he is still fresh off a cancer battle — Oskar Lindblom. So, too, went injured Morgan Frost and defenseman Justin Braun.
The Flyers would be depleted for the next 14 days, would have that second Caps game and another postponed, would eventually play the New York Rangers in the first game in 12 years in which neither Giroux nor Voracek was in the lineup. Then came the ridiculous trip to Lake Tahoe, a four-day misery tour for TV purposes only, capped by a beaut of a 7-3 loss to the Boston Bruins.
Along with it went Giroux’s 328game “Iron Man” streak. He had been tied with indestructible defenseman Ivan Provorov in that regard, playing every regular season and playoff game over the last four seasons.
Of course, making it that much worse was that Giroux not only couldn’t play, he couldn’t go home.
“Anytime you’re away from your family it’s tough,” Giroux said. “My wife did a great job. She’s a rock star. The first time I saw Gavin again he was really happy, and so was I.”
The feeling was mutual on this Tuesday at the Skate Zone, Giroux showing up early, looking spry for a 33-year-old virus victim.
“For a few days I had it pretty bad,” he said of his symptoms. “After three or four days I felt pretty good. I feel great now. Practice today was good, it was a good pace. To get back on the ice it was fun. It’s been a while since I’ve been with my teammates and today it felt like the first day of camp or something.
“At end of day if you have symptoms after an amount of time you go back home to your family. But at the same time you want to make sure you don’t spread it. So I had to quarantine for an amount of time and it wasn’t great to be apart from the family. I’m back home now. It’s good to be back home.”
Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said he was encouraged by the way Giroux looked Tuesday, though his status for Wednesday night against the Rangers at Wells Fargo Center would be a game-time decision.
“No doubt having our captain
back with our group is important for us and will be beneficial,” Vigneault said. “Today it was a first skate, he’ll skate tomorrow ... then we’ll talk after and see how he feels.
“He looked good even though this was his first time on the ice. He looked like he had a lot of pop and hopefully he can play tomorrow.”
•••
Vigneault practiced center Nolan Patrick on a wing, partially because there are still so many regulars out of the lineup, but also because he’s unhappy with Patrick’s play in the middle. Vigneault said
NOTES »
it’s possible he’d put Patrick on the wing “to try to get him going,” next to center Kevin Hayes. “We need Nolan to play better than he has so far,” Vigneault added. “It’s not an easy situation when you’ve missed the amount of time that he’s missed. But we need to find a way to help him find his game.” ... With Carter Hart coming off a harrowing experience at Lake Tahoe, Vigneault indicated he’d like to start veteran backup Brian Elliott against the Rangers, but first had to check if Elliott was good to go because, “he had a little tweak a little while back.”
SPRINGFIELD » A basketball player’s development is never a linear process. Mistakes are made and lessons are learned.
Springfield’s Lexi Aaron played huge minutes for the Cougars last year. As a freshman she was one of the first players off the bench for a team that won a District 1 Class 5A championship, and this season she is a part of coach Ky McNichol’s starting lineup.
Coming off a rough outing against Garnet Valley, Aaron bounced back Tuesday to help the Cougars defeat reigning Central League champion Ridley for the second time this year. With one regular season game to play, the Cougars stayed unbeaten with a 44-27 victory.
Aaron was one of three Cougars to reach double figures, scoring 11 points, but her offensive output doesn’t do her performance justice. She grabbed three rebounds, dished two assists, made three steals and blocked a shot.
Aaron quickly put her last game in the rearview mirror and focused on having the best night of her season Tuesday.
“I just think it’s a next game kind of thing, that you just move on,” Aaron said. “I just try to do what I can to help the team and move forward so that it’s not in the back of my head.”
Aaron and classmate Mia Valerio’s defensive prowess set the tone in the first half. Springfield’s on-the-ball defense stifled the Green Raiders, who converted only three field goal attempts and committed 14 turnovers in the opening two quarters.
“All of our sophomores are valuable pieces to our success,” McNichol said. “Lexi struggled in the Garnet Valley game and really bounced back strong tonight. She did a lot of little things that helped us win. And she played with a ton of confidence tonight. We always tell the girls it’s about next-play mentality, and she brought that to tonight’s game. She learned from her mistakes ... and really came to play a strong game offensively tonight and just did everything we needed her to do. She helped us tremendously with the win.”
The Cougars do not hesitate to use their young players, not while McNichol has run the show. Seniors Alexa Abbonizio and Rachel Conran have been starting since their first days as freshmen, and giving youngsters minutes is a big part of Springfield’s winning formula.
“I told Lexi and Mia early on that I don’t treat them as sophomores, and we expect a lot out of them,” McNichol said. “They’re going to make mistakes, but we treat them as seniors on the floor. And, you know, we put a lot of responsibilities in their hands and they step up to the challenge.”
Anabel Kreydt, another sophomore starter, added three points, three assists and two steals for the Cougars, who shot nearly 50 percent from the floor (16-of-34).
“Last year it didn’t feel like we were freshmen and this year it doesn’t feel like we’re sophomores because of these two seniors, Rachel and Alexa, who really gave us the confidence and support us even if we make a mistake,” Aaron said. “So it feels like we’re juniors out there playing with them.”
Springfield overcame a lowscoring first quarter (6-3 lead) by hitting four of their first six field goals in the second period. Abbonizio and Conran each hit a 3-pointer and 2-pointer in the second.
The Cougars went on a 10-0 run and held a 24-9 lead at halftime.
“We did really well in transition,” said Abbonizio, who finished with 14 points. The senior guard broke the team’s alltime scoring record last week. “We looked up the floor and got the open for the layup several times, and that’s what really gave us all of our momentum and energy and that’s what fired us up.”
Conran had 11 points and converted some layups cutting inside the paint.
“That’s something I’ve been working on, yeah,” said Conran, who added a team-high six rebounds. “I found out I can get some quick (baskets) and we’ve done a great job screening and moving, especially when the jump shots aren’t falling. It’s been very important for me this year.”
Ridley made too many mistakes and failed to find its collective stroke. Shannen Hinchey gave the Green Raiders a boost when the senior forward tallied seven of her team-high eight points in the second half. Senior guard Lindsay Boyd added seven points for the Green Raiders (82), who saw their winning streak end at eight games.
Ridley’s only two losses have been to Springfield. It’s very possible the teams will meet again in a rematch of last year’s Central League final. Springfield (120) and Ridley (8-2) are the top two teams in the Central League standings and bound for firstround byes in next week’s tournament.
In other Central League
RADNOR 52, HAVERFORD 51 » Katie Deshan and Sally Austen each made a pair of free throws in the third overtime to help Radnor to its biggest win of the season.
Cierra Hopson and Ellie Rinehart scored 12 points apiece for Radnor, which overcame a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
Caroline Dotsey led all players with 25 points for the Fords. Chiara MacGillivray drilled a
3-pointer as time expired in the fourth quarter to force the first overtime. She finished with 10 points.
CONESTOGA 40, PENNCREST 32 » Bridget Dawson made three
3-pointers and totaled 16 points, but the Lions fell short against the Pioneers. Kat Harding added nine points.
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