Sports: Pistons; Tigers win

NBA/Pistons

The Pistons beat the Mavericks in Dallas 102-96.   Andre Drummond recorded 25 points and 17 rebounds.  Marcus Morris netted 20 points and Tobias Harris had 19 for Detroit.

The Pistons have won two in-a-row and six of eight.  The Pistons visit the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night and then head to Philadelphia and Washington.

Tigers

The Tigers used the long ball to beat the Washington Nationals 11-5 Wednesday afternoon at Joker Marchant Stadium.  Jarrod Saltalamacchia  hit a three-run homer, while Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler, Nate Schierholtz and Tyler Collins all hit solo home runs for Detroit.

Starter Justin Verlander picked up the win, giving up one hit while striking out one and walking two in three scoreless innings. Jordan Zimmermann gets his second start in Grapefruit League play this afternoon as the Tigers visit the Phillies in Clearwater.

High School Boys Basketball District Semi-finals

Class A

Battle Creek Central beat Lakeview 73-42 at Sturgis. Cyntell Williams had 23 points. Juan Warren added 18. The Bearcats advance to Friday's District Final. That game will also take place in Sturgis against the Loy Norrix Knights at 7pm.

Class B

Marshall 55, Parchment 53

Comstock 68, Harper Creek 54

Marshall at Comstock - Friday 7pm

Class C

Delton 56, Springport 30

Dansville 65, Maple Valley 49

Delton vs. Dansville - Friday 7pm at Maple Valley

Union City 49, Quincy 32
Homer 68, Bronson 55 - OT
Homer at Union City - Friday 6pm

Class D

St. Philip 55, Tekonsha 45 @ Bellevue.  Ben Swagler had 22. Zach Nelson scored 21.

Bellevue 64, Marshall Academy 53.

St. Philip at Bellevue - Friday 6pm.

Mendon 69, Athens 32.

Girls Basketball

Class B

The 22-1 Marshall Redhawks will take on Otsego tonight at 7pm at Harper Creek.
Class D

Climax-Scotts is home against Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian tonight at 6:30.

Red Wings

The Red host the Winnipeg Jets at Joe Louis Arena tonight.  Their 75 points puts them in the eighth playoff spot in the eastern Conference, two points ahead of Philadelphia.

The long-rumored outdoor game next season between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs was made official Wednesday.  The long-time rivals will meet Jan. 1st.

Big Ten Basketball

Michigan will play Northwestern today at noon in the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.  The winner of today's game will meet number one seed Indiana in the quarterfinals tomorrow.  Second ranked MSU doesn’t play in the Big Ten tournament until Friday as they meet the winner of tonight's Ohio State and Penn State game.

Mac Tourney

Eastern Michigan which will face top-seeded Akron in the MAC quarterfinals today at noon.

Number-four seed Central Michigan will take on 12th-seed Bowling Green at 2:30pm.

Lions Sign Free Agents

The Lions made some moves on the first day to sign free agents, landing former Bengals wide receiver Marvin Jones and former Patriots safety Tavon Wilson. A day after Detroit receiver Calvin Johnson retired, Jones reportedly agreed to a five-year, 40-million-dollar deal.  The Lions also announced they have re-signed defensive tackle Haloti Ngata to a two-year contract. Ngata was acquired from Baltimore in 2015 and started 14 games last season.

NFL

Quarterback Brock Osweiler left Super Bowl champion Denver scrambling, agreeing to a reported four-year, 72-million-dollar contract with Houston.