Weekend Sports In Brief

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Andrew Harrison scored 20 points, twin Aaron had 19 and Kentucky ended Wichita State’s pursuit of perfection Sunday when Fred VanVleet’s potential game-winning 3-pointer missed in a 78-76 victory in the NCAA tournament.

Julius Randle had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and James Young also had 13 points for the No. 8 seed Wildcats (26-10), who made a series of clutch free throws in the final minutes to hold off the top-seeded Shockers (35-1) in arguably the most captivating game of a thrilling first weekend.

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AUTO RACING

FONTANA, Calif. (AP) - Kyle Busch won at Fontana for the second straight year Sunday, holding off Kyle Larson, Tony Stewart and his older brother Kurt on a frantic two-lap sprint to the finish.

Kyle Busch capably blocked Larson and outlasted Stewart and Kurt Busch to win a wacky race featuring a track-record 35 lead changes and numerous tire problems. With his 29th career Sprint Cup victory in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Kyle Busch is NASCAR’s fifth winner in five races already this season.

FONTANA, Calif. (AP) - Denny Hamlin missed Sunday’s race at Auto Club Speedway with a sinus infection that led to vision problems.

Hamlin was ruled out of his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota about 30 minutes before the green flag at the track where he crashed on the final lap of last year’s race.

Hamlin was released from a hospital after the race ended. He will be evaluated again in the next week back home in Charlotte.

FONTANA, Calif. (AP) - Kyle Larson won his first Nationwide Series race Saturday, holding off Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch in a thrilling finish at Fontana.

The 21-year-old Larson became the first California native to win a Nationwide race at the 2-mile oval, surviving a three-man derby in the final laps that had the fans on their feet.

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BASEBALL

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) - Big Papi is staying put.

David Ortiz and the Red Sox agreed to a 2015 contract Sunday with options for the following two years, a move that means the popular slugger will probably finish his career in Boston.

Ortiz, the World Series MVP last season, has led the Red Sox to three championships in the past 10 years. He batted .309 with 30 home runs and 103 RBIs in 137 games last season after missing all of spring training while rehabbing a strained Achilles tendon.

Multiple media outlets reported earlier that the sides had reached an agreement that guarantees Ortiz $16 million in 2015. He is set to earn $15 million this season as part of a two-year contract he signed in November 2012.

DETROIT (AP) - Max Scherzer is inching closer to free agency.

Both the Detroit Tigers and the star right-hander’s agent say negotiations on a new contract have stalled. Scherzer, the American League Cy Young Award winner, can test the open market after this season, and as opening day approaches that looks more and more probable.

Both sides have indicated an unwillingness to negotiate once the season starts.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) - Aroldis Chapman, with two black eyes - and a big smile - returned to the Cincinnati Reds’ clubhouse Sunday, four days after being hit in the face by a line drive.

“I feel a lot better than I thought I would,” Chapman said, wearing a hat with the brim pulled down cover the surgical staples.

The 26-year old left-hander had surgery Thursday to repair a broken bone above his left eye at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix. A night earlier, he was hit by a ball off the bat of Kansas City’s Salvador Perez.

SYDNEY (AP) - The Diamondbacks lost 7-5 to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday in the second game of their Major League Baseball season-opening series.

After losing 3-1 to the Dodgers on Saturday, the Diamondbacks trailed 7-0 through seven innings in the finale at Sydney Cricket Ground before making it interesting, scoring a run in the eighth and four in the ninth.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) - The Indians released outfielder Jeff Francoeur.

The Indians signed the 30-year-old to a minor league free-agent contract on Jan. 6 and invited him to major league training camp.

Francoeur had 35 at-bats with the Indians this spring, hitting .286 with one home run and 10 RBIs.

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PRO FOOTBALL

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - The Tampa Bay Times reported that Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Williams was stabbed in the thigh at his home and an arrest warrant has been issued for his brother.

The newspaper reported Williams was treated for a relatively minor laceration at St. Joseph’s Hospital and released.

According to the Times, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office issued an arrest warrant Sunday night for 23-year-old Eric Baylor on a charge of aggravated battery/domestic violence after deputies were called to Williams’ home in the Avila community north of Tampa.

The Buccaneers released a statement saying team officials were aware of the situation and were working with Williams and the authorities to get additional information.

Williams signed a $40 million, six-year deal with the team last year. He caught 22 passes for 216 yards last season.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Geno Smith is eager to work alongside Michael Vick with the New York Jets, even if it means a tough competition for the starting quarterback job.

Smith spoke Saturday during a fan signing event in West Virginia that it’s “awesome” that Vick is a member of the Jets after signing a one-year deal on Friday, the same day New York released Mark Sanchez.

Smith, who threw for 12 touchdowns and 21 interceptions in his rookie season, expects to have “an open competition” with Vick for the starting job, just like it will be for every position on the team.

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GOLF

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Matt Every held on for a 2-under 70 to overcome a four-shot deficit and win his first PGA Tour event Sunday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Every beat Masters champion Adam Scott to earn his first spot in the Masters next month.

But he needed help from Scott, who had a seven-shot lead going into the weekend and wound up two shots behind. Scott didn’t make a birdie over the last 14 holes and closed with a 76.

Keegan Bradley had a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to force a playoff. It missed left of the hole, giving Bradley a 72.

PHOENIX (AP) - Karrie Webb flew up the leaderboard with a course-record 9-under 63, then waited about 90 minutes to see if anyone could catch her in the JTBC Founders Cup.

No one could, giving the 39-year-old Australian her second victory of the season and second in four years at Desert Ridge.

Third-round leader Lydia Ko parred the final three holes to finish a stroke back along with 2013 winner Stacy Lewis, Azahara Munoz, Amy Yang and Mirim Lee.

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PRO BASKETBALL

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook is fine after leaving Friday’s game against Toronto in the third quarter with what appeared to be an injury to his surgically repaired right knee.

A Thunder spokesman said the three-time All-Star had an MRI and a clinical exam Saturday, and team doctors said there were no issues.

Westbrook has been playing restricted minutes since returning in February from his most recent surgery.

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COLLEGE BASKETBALL

SALEM, Va. (AP) - Quardell Young drove the length of the court for a go-ahead layup with 0.9 seconds left Saturday and Wisconsin-Whitewater held off Williams to win the NCAA Division III men’s championship game, 75-73.

The Warhawks (29-4), whose football team won the national championship in December in Salem, won the basketball championship for the second time in three years and fourth time in as many trips to the final.

Williams (28-5), which won the title in 2003, has lost in the final three times since.

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TENNIS

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) - With former coach Ivan Lendl among the stadium spectators, Andy Murray advanced to the fourth round at the Sony Open by beating Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-1. The tournament is the first for the two-time Key Biscayne champion since he parted with Lendl, who coached Murray for two years and helped him become a Grand Slam champion.

Roger Federer also advanced easily in the upset-free tournament, beating qualifier Thiemo de Bakker 6-3, 6-3. Venus Williams committed 44 unforced errors but had 11 aces and edged wild-card Casey Dellacqua 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - The family of Navy running back Will McKamey says the freshman remained hospitalized Sunday after collapsing one day earlier during spring practice.

In a statement released by the Naval Academy, the McKamey family said, “There is no new news. We still have only small responses from Will.”

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COLLEGE SWIMMING

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Georgia defended its NCAA title at the women’s swimming and diving championships on Saturday, finishing with 528 points to win its sixth title since 1999.

Stanford recorded its best finish since 2010, claiming second with 402.5 points. California, which has three titles since 2009, was third with 386 points.

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COLLEGE HOCKEY

HAMDEN, Conn. (AP) - Shannon MacAulay scored on a breakaway with 4:16 left in the third and it proved to be the difference as Clarkson beat Minnesota 5-4 in Sunday’s NCAA women’s hockey championship.

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Minnesota is the top overall seed in the men’s NCAA hockey tournament.

Boston College, Union and Wisconsin also received No. 1 seeds when the 16-team field was announced Sunday.

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SKIING

SQUAW VALLEY, Calif. (AP) - Olympic gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin failed to finish the first leg of the slalom at the U.S. Alpine Championships, and Marie-Michele Gagnon of Canada won the title by a hundredth of a second on Saturday.