Carolina sweeps Duke, claims share of ACC title
Cedrick Hardman, member of 49ers’ famed ‘Gold Rush’ line, dies
Freshman guard Coby White ignited a second-half surge and finished with 21 points as the thirdranked North Carolina men’s basketball team defeated fourth-ranked Duke 79-70 to claim a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference title at home.
Virginia wrapped up the ACC Tournament’s top seed earlier in the day by defeating Louisville, but the Tar Heels (26-5, 16-2 ACC) grabbed a piece of the regular-season prize by completing a regular-season sweep of Duke (26-5, 14-4), which played without Zion Williamson again.
North Carolina will be the second seed, while Duke will be the No. 3 seed for the ACC Tournament in Charlotte. There could be a semifinals rematch Friday night.
LSU WINS SEC WITHOUT COACH >> Playing without suspended head coach Will Wade and two of its top four scorers, No. 10 LSU routed Vanderbilt 8059 at home.
Tremont Waters scored 14 points and had eight assists as LSU (26-5, 162) captured its first outright regularseason SEC title since 2009.
With the sellout crowd waving “Free Will Wade” signs, LSU easily dispatched Vanderbilt (9-22, 0-18).
LSU finished one game ahead of No. 5 Tennessee, which was upset by Auburn earlier in the day, and No. 6 Kentucky.
SAN JOSE STATE FALLS TO FRESNO STATE >> San Jose State (4-26, 1-17 MW) gave up a Mountain West record 23 3-point baskets and lost 121-81 at Fresno State (22-8, 13-5) in the final regular-season game for both teams.
Football
HARDMAN, FORMER 49ER, RAIDER, DIES >> 49ers and Raiders defensive end Cedrick Hardman died Friday. He was 70.
“We are truly saddened by the loss of one of the all-time great 49ers, Cedrick Hardman,” the 49ers said in a statement. “As a football player, Cedrick’s accomplishments were many. As a man, his impact on the lives of others was just as impressive. Our condolences and prayers go out to the Hardman family and all who are mourning the passing of Cedrick.”
Hardman spent 10 seasons with the 49ers (1970-79) and appeared in 139 games (121 starts), the fifth-most among 49ers defensive linemen, He was a two-time All Pro (1971 & 1975) and Pro Bowl (1972 & 1976) selection. He anchored a defensive front nicknamed the “Gold Rush” that included DE Cleveland Elam, DE Tommy Hart and DT Jimmy Webb.
Hardman appeared in 32 games over two seasons (1980-81) with the Raiders and was a member of the Super Bowl XV championship team. HYDE TO JOIN CHIEFS >> Running back Carlos Hyde signed a one-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs, the team announced. The deal is worth $2.8 million with $1.6 million guaranteed, according to published reports.
Hyde twice topped 900 yards rushing during four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers (2014-17). He had a career-best 988 yards in 2016.
LEE LIKELY TO STAY WITH COWBOYS >> The Dallas Cowboys will keep linebacker Sean Lee in 2019 after agreeing to a restructured deal on, NFL Network reported. Lee, 32, was entering the final year of his contract and set to count $10.1 million against the salary cap.
Women’s college basketball
OREGON REACHES PAC-12 TITLE GAME >> Top-seeded Oregon needed overtime to beat UCLA 88-83 in the Pac12 semifinals in Las Vegas. Ruthy Hebard led the sixth-ranked Ducks with 28 points. Oregon (29-3) faces the Stanford-Washington winner in today’s championship game.
Golf
FITZPATRICK, MCILROY SURGE IN THIRD ROUND >> Matthew Fitzpatrick played bogey-free golf as he eased past Rory McIlroy for a one-stroke lead after the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Florida.
Back-to-back birdies at the 15th and 16th holes enabled the Englishman to overtake McIlroy and the 24-year-old saved pars at his final two holes for a five-under-par 67 to head into today’s final round at 9-under 207.
Defending champion McIlroy shot a 66 to surge up the leader board at Bay Hill in Orlando, Florida.
Aaron Baddeley (69), Matt Wallace (69) and Kevin Kisner (70) shared third at 7 under.
Third-round co-leaders Tommy Fleetwood (76) and Keegan Bradley (75) stumbled out of contention after beginning the day with a four-stroke advantage.
NBA
INGRAM, BALL OUT REST OF SEASON >> The Lakers’ Brandon Ingram and guard Lonzo Ball will miss the remainder of the season. Ingram has a deep venous thrombosis in his right shoulder and Ball has a severely sprained left ankle, the team announced before they lost 120-107 to the Boston Celtics.
GEORGE RIPS REFS >> The NBA fined Oklahoma City star Paul George $25,000 for his criticism of the officiating following the Thunder’s 118-110 loss to the Clippers on Friday night.
“It’s just bad officiating,” George said. “I’m sorry, just bad officiating. We don’t get a fair whistle. We haven’t gotten a fair whistle all year.
“Somebody’s got to look into this. It’s getting out of hand, where we somehow just walk teams to the line. And there’s nobody that gets more contact. If I don’t speak for myself, I speak for Russ (Westbrook). There’s nobody that gets more contact than Russ going to the basket. And it’s just crazy. I don’t understand it. It’s a piece of (expletive) being on that floor.”
Winter sports
SHIFFRIN SETS WORLD CUP WINS RECORD >> Mikaela Shiffrin won her 15th World Cup race of the season, breaking a 30-year-old record for most wins. Vreni Schneider of Switzerland set the previous record of 14 in the 1988-89 season.
Shiffrin, 23, set the record with a win in the slalom, her sixth victory in that discipline this season. Even before the Saturday’s race in the Czech Republic, Shiffrin had locked up her third overall World Cup title.
Baseball
HARPER MAKES DEBUT >> Bryce Harper walked twice in two at-bats of his Philadelphia Phillies debut, but the Toronto Blue Jays walked away with an 8-7 victory at Clearwater, Florida.
Tennis
SERENA BEATS FELLOW MOM >> Under the lights on the stadium court at the BNP Paribas Open, Serena Williams smashed 39 winners to defeat Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-3 late Friday in a rematch of the 2016 Indian Wells final, which the Belarusian won.
Venus Williams staged a spirited comeback to down third seed Petra Kvitova 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 and reach the third round.