Sports: Pistons and Red Wings win in Overtime

The Red Wings beat Vancouver 3-2 in overtime, in the first of a five-game road trip.  Frans Nielsen scored twice in the first period for Detroit and Zetterberg had two assists.  Justin Abdelkader scored 2:31 into the extra period for the win. Abdelkader got the winner by dropping to his knees just outside the crease to one-touch a precise pass from Henrik Zetterberg.  Petr Mrazek made 25 saves.  Detroit skates at Calgary on Friday night.

Hockey’s trade deadline is today.

During the game, Detroit announced it had traded forward Steve Ott to Montreal for a sixth-round pick in the 2018 draft.  Earlier, the Wings traded defenseman Brendan Smith to the Rangers for second and third round picks.    Red Wings general manager Ken Holland may also deal veteran forward Thomas Vanek and his expiring deal because the franchise will likely miss the playoffs for the first time since 1990.

Pistons

The Pistons came from behind to beat the Portland Trailblazers 120-113 last night in overtime at the Palace of Auburn Hills.  Marcus Morris scored a career-high 37 points.  The Pistons were down 13 in the third-quarter.  Ish Smith had 12 points, seven assists and seven steals for the Pistons.  Damian Lillard had 34 points and 11 rebounds for Portland.  The Pistons head to New Orleans tonight.  DeMarcus Cousins won’t play for the Pelicans. The 6-foot-11 center has drawn his 18th technical foul of the season, which means an automatic one-game sit-down.

Men’s College Basketball

In the MAC….

Tucker Haymond scored 15 points and Western Michigan won its seventh consecutive game with a 70-56 victory over Northern Illinois on Tuesday night.

The win keeps the Broncos in a first place tie atop the Mid-American Conference West Division with Ball State.  Western’s final regular season game is Friday as they host CMU.

EMU beat CMU 109-81.  Ray Lee hit a school record 10 3-pointers and recorded the third 50-point game in Division I this season.

Big Ten

There are two games left in the regular season for the Spartans and Wolverine men’s basketball teams.  Both are hoping to win their final two games on the road and then get an invite into the NCAA tournament.   Michigan plays at Northwestern tonight.  Both teams are 9-7.   The Wolverines will finish this weekend at Nebraska.

MSU travels to Illinois tonight.  Broadcast time is 8pm on 95.3 WBCK.   The Spartans are in a third-place tie in the Big Ten with Maryland.  Minnesota is also 10-6, followed by Northwestern and Michigan at 9-7.    Minnesota hosts Nebraska tomorrow and finishes at Wisconsin on Sunday.

State will finish on the road at Maryland on Saturday.   The game was originally scheduled for Sunday.

Tigers

The Tigers lost to the Yankees 9-5 in Tampa.  Pitchers Daniel Norris and Drew VerHagen had trouble with the Yankees.  Norris threw a lot of pitches and struggled with his command.  Verhagen gave up 4 runs on 5 hits.   Detroit hosts the Washington Nationals today in Lakeland.

Boys Basketball

Battle Creek Central 54, Lakeview 51 (BCC 17-3, Lakeview 6-14) Demetrius Craig led a balanced attack with 11.

Harper Creek 63, Sturgis 55 (Harper Creek 12-8) Jeremiah Davis with 22.

Three Rivers 78, Pennfield 74 (Pennfield 12-7).

Battle Creek Academy 39, Lakeside Academy 38.   The Tigers came from behind as Shadrach Grentz scored 21 and hit two huge free throws with 4.5 seconds remaining in the game.

Bellevue 79, Litchfield 28.  Dawson Morgan with 18.

Concord 58, Athens 33

Bronson 65, Colon 40. Wyatt Heal had 14.

Delton 66, Bloomingdale 45.  Cogan McCoy with 23.

Hartford 61, Galesburg-Augusta 44

Gull Lake 50, Mattawan 37

Homer 43, Springport 29

Olivet 57, Portland 54.  Delbert Redfield with 18.

Jonesville 53, Union City 44

 Boys Games on Thursday

Pennfield at Eaton Rapids

St. Philip plays at Pittsford.

Bellevue at Tekonsha

Marshall at Charlotte

Climax-Scotts at Litchfield

Hackett at Galesburg-Augusta

Watervliet at Delton

Quincy at Homer

Athens at Union City.

Girls Basketball District Semi-Finals Wednesday

Sturgis vs. Coldwater, 6 p.m.

Gull Lake vs. Lakeview 7:30 p.m.

Eaton Rapids vs. Leslie, 6 p.m.

Jackson Northwest vs. Olivet 7:30 p.m

Harper Creek vs. Pennfield, 6 p.m.

Marshall vs. Comstock, 7:30 p.m.

Galesburg-Augusta  vs. Springport, 6 p.m.

Maple Valley vs. Potterville, 7:30 p.m.

Union City vs. Bronson, 5:30 p.m.

Homer vs. Jonesville, 7 p.m.

Tekonsha vs. Climax-Scotts, 5:30 p.m.

Coldwater Pansophia vs. Athens, 7 p.m.

Bellevue vs. Martin, 6 p.m.

St. Philip vs. Calhoun Christian, 7:30 p.m.

Colon vs. Marcellus Howardsville, 6 p.m.

Marcellus vs. Mendon, 7:30 p.m.

Litchfield plays at North Adams Jerome on Wednesday.

Cousins is Redskins’ Franchise Player

(Associated Press)  The NFL free agent marketplace gained two big names at running back but lost the prime quarterback potentially when Kirk Cousins was given the franchise tag by Washington, preventing him from testing the free agent market. Nine days before the free agency begins, Adrian Peterson was told his $18 million option would not be picked up by the Vikings, and Jamaal Charles was released by the Chiefs on Tuesday. Together, they have rushed for more than 19,000 yards and scored 165 touchdowns.

Dantonio Statement About Team Standards

(Associated Press)  Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio has released a statement saying he has "high standards" for his football program and expects players and staff to "conduct themselves in a manner that reflects the values and principles of Michigan State University."   Dantonio has kept a low profile after allegations of sexual assault were made against three football players. The school announced the players' suspensions from team activities last month. They also were removed from on-campus housing. Their names have not been released. A staff member associated with the football program also was suspended.  Prosecutors have not announced any decision on charges.  Dantonio, whose team started spring practice last weekend, says he'll be able to answer questions about the program "when the time is appropriate."