NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — T.J. Oshie and Alexander Steen scored in the shootout, and the St. Louis Blues edged the Nashville Predators 4-3 Monday night. The Blues won the Central Division last season, but the Predators won the season series 4-1-1 with three of those games going to a shootout.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — George Hill scored 13 points, including a clinching free throw with 1.4 seconds remaining to give the Indiana Pacers an 82-81 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in the annual Martin Luther King Day game on Monday afternoon. On the ensuing inbounds, Rudy Gay's 24-footer over Paul George banked in, but it came after the buzzer, giving the Pacers their second straight.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky senior guard A'dia Mathies has earned Southeastern Conference player of the week honors for the first time this season. The reigning SEC player of the year averaged 22.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in two victories by the No. 5 Wildcats. She also shot 73 percent from 3-point range.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Now that John Calipari's young Kentucky squad has shown its capable of playing with the kind of intensity and teamwork it takes to dominate a conference opponent, the Wildcats coach would like his team to do it consistently. Kentucky is looking for its third consecutive win in Tuesday night's Southeastern Conference game at Alabama.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
The Associated Press' Top 10 teams in each of Tennessee's three Division I non-financial aid classifications and in the combined Division II financial aid classification as selected by Tennessee AP-member sportswriters and broadcasters. With first-place votes in parentheses, records through January 21, total points based on 10 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 10th-place vote:
Class AAA
Record Pts Prv
1. Blackman (15) 18-0 166 2
2. Science Hill 25-2 127 3
3. Southwind (1) 16-5 124 1
4. Siegel 19-1 115 5
5. Ridgeway (1) 15-3 86 NR
6. White Station 15-4 81 4
7. Brentwood 19-2 64 8
8. Melrose 16-6 46 7
9. Hamilton 15-6 30 NR
10. Dyer County 18-2 25 6
Others receiving 12 or more points: Powell 24. Whitehaven 20.
Class AA
Record Pts Prv
1. CPA (14) 18-2 165 1
2. Jackson South Side (2) 14-1 140 2
3. Giles County 15-2 123 4
4. Covington 18-3 117 5
5. Fayette Ware 17-4 78 7
6. Sheffield 13-5 64 8
7. Waverly 16-3 62 3
8. Knoxville Fulton 12-6 32 10
9. Cheatham County 17-3 30 NR
(tie) Sullivan East (1) 19-6 30 NR
Others receiving 12 or more points: McMinn Central 27. DeKalb County 16.
Class A
Record Pts Prv
1. Columbia Academy (11) 16-2 159 1
2. Wartburg Central (2) 16-3 139 2
3. Trinity Christian Academy (2) 16-1 135 3
4. Booker T. Washington (1) 13-3 112 5
5. Watertown 16-2 88 6
6. Mt. Pleasant 13-2 67 4
7. Middle Tennessee Christian 14-4 65 8
8. Union City 13-6 45 10
9. Clay County 15-4 31 7
10. Hampton (1) 14-6 23 NR
Others receiving 12 or more points: Richland 20. Cloudland 18.
Division II
Record Pts Prv
1. Briarcrest (4) 19-4 121 1
2. Ensworth (7) 13-6 114 3
3. CBHS 17-4 96 2
4. Franklin Road Academy (2) 17-3 87 7
5. Father Ryan (1) 14-4 81 4
6. MUS 15-5 77 8
7. Knoxville Webb 16-6 67 5
8. Pope John Paul II 16-5 41 6
9. St. Benedict 13-8 35 NR
10. St. George's 16-3 25 9
Others receiving 12 or more points: DCA 20.
———
All Associated Press members in Tennessee are eligible to participate in the high school basketball poll. Those who voted for this week's poll are: The Leaf-Chronicle (Clarksville); Cleveland Daily Banner; The Daily Herald (Columbia); Cookeville Herald-Citizen; State Gazette (Dyersburg); Elizabethton Star; The Jackson Sun; Johnson City Press; The Knoxville News Sentinel; Marshall County Tribune; The Commercial Appeal (Memphis); The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro; The Mountain Press (Sevierville); Union City Daily Messenger; WCMT, Martin; WNWS 101.5 FM (Jackson).
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
The Associated Press' Top 10 teams in each of Tennessee's three Division I non-financial aid classifications and in the combined Division II financial aid classification as selected by Tennessee AP-member sportswriters and broadcasters. With first-place votes in parentheses, records through January 21, total points based on 10 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 10th-place vote:
Class AAA
Record Pts Prv
1. Riverdale (17) 20-0 170 1
2. Science Hill 19-2 142 3
3. Blackman 18-1 135 2
4. Bradley Central 18-2 102 4
5. Oakland 16-2 94 5
6. Columbia 18-3 90 6
7. Memphis Central 13-4 75 7
8. Farragut 19-2 50 9
9. Bearden 15-4 26 10
10. Ridgeway 15-2 21 NR
Others receiving 12 or more points: Memphis Overton 17.
Class AA
Record Pts Prv
1. Grainger (17) 21-0 170 1
2. Westview 19-2 133 3
3. Livingston Academy 19-4 130 2
4. McMinn Central 18-3 103 5
5. Covington 21-2 88 7
6. Cannon County 19-3 73 4
7. Elizabethton 16-3 67 8
(tie) Knoxville Fulton 15-3 67 6
9. CPA 14-4 37 10
10. Creek Wood 17-3 24 9
Others receiving 12 or more points: None.
Class A
Record Pts Prv
1. Union City (10) 17-3 160 1
2. Summertown (1) 16-2 134 4
(tie) Cosby (3) 16-2 134 2
4. Jackson County (1) 18-3 116 5
5. Clarkrange (1) 17-5 111 3
6. Oliver Springs 14-4 74 8
7. North Greene 16-7 49 9
8. Hampton (1) 16-5 48 6
9. Collinwood 13-3 27 7
10. Cascade 14-6 16 NR
Others receiving 12 or more points: Cloudland 13. Houston County 13. Moore County 12.
Division II
Record Pts Prv
1. Ensworth (14) 16-1 149 1
2. Briarcrest (1) 19-1 135 2
3. Franklin Road Academy 16-2 117 4
4. Knoxville Webb 16-5 106 3
5. University-Jackson 16-3 91 5
6. Harpeth Hall 12-4 61 7
7. Harding Academy 14-5 59 6
8. SBEC 13-4 46 8
9. St. George's 13-4 32 10
10. Girls Prep 10-8 9 9
Others receiving 12 or more points: None.
———
All Associated Press members in Tennessee are eligible to participate in the high school basketball poll. Those who voted for this week's poll are: The Leaf-Chronicle (Clarksville); Cleveland Daily Banner; The Daily Herald (Columbia); Cookeville Herald-Citizen; State Gazette (Dyersburg); Elizabethton Star; The Jackson Sun; Johnson City Press; The Knoxville News Sentinel; Marshall County Tribune; The Commercial Appeal (Memphis); The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro; The Tennessean (Nashville); The Mountain Press (Sevierville); Union City Daily Messenger; WCMT, Martin; WNWS 101.5 FM (Jackson).
.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Having committed eight turnovers, Indiana guard George Hill was looking to do something positive for his team when he stepped to the free throw line with 1.4 seconds left.
Then Hill missed the first of two free throws.
"I missed the first one, and got a little nervous," Hill said of standing there between free throws with the game tied at 81.
Hill made the second, and the Pacers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 82-81 on Monday when Rudy Gay's bank shot was ruled to have come after the final buzzer.
"I think (the turnovers were) what rattled me a little bit," Hill said of the missed first shot. "I was thinking too much about the turnovers and me possibly redeeming myself to make it all look a little better."
Even after Hill made the second free throw for the lead, the Pacers had to endure a last-gasp effort by the Grizzlies.
Memphis guard Mike Conley inbounded the ball to Gay, who, with Paul George guarding him, took dribbled inside the 3-point line and fired a shot that banked in.
But officials ruled the shot came after the horn, a call confirmed on replay, and the Pacers left the floor with the victory.
"I think I kind of played him into that," George said of Gay running off too much clock with a dribble to create space before the shot. "I jammed his right hand, and that kind of took the whole time off. I didn't want him to catch and go to his strong hand and give him time to get his shot off."
Hill's clinching free throw gave him 13 points, and George finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Central Division-leading Pacers. David West led Indiana scorers with 14 points. Roy Hibbert scored 10 points.
Wayne Ellington led the Grizzlies with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including connecting on all three shots from outside the arc. Gay had 14 points, and Conley and Zach Randolph scored 13 apiece. Gay had eight rebounds and Randolph grabbed seven boards.
The game featured 19 lead changes and 10 ties, the final deadlock as Hill stepped to the line after Conley fouled him on a drive.
"I should have stopped him from getting into the paint," Conley said of the foul that had the Memphis faithful howling because of the last-second call. "It shouldn't have gotten to that point. They did their job, and I have to do mine."
The Pacers blocked 11 shots — five by West and four by Hibbert — a testament to their interior defense.
But Indiana had trouble taking care of the ball, committing 20 turnovers, compared to 15 for the Grizzlies.
Other statistical categories from rebounds (35-34 Grizzlies) to 14 second-chance points apiece were further indications of a close game.
"We knew it was going to be a defensive battle, and that it was going to be a tough game," Memphis guard Tony Allen said. "They made plays down the stretch. We have to pay attention to details. We have to communicate on the defensive end and execute offensively."
The teams scrapped through a tightly-played first half that featured 15 lead changes and six ties.
The Pacers were able to pull away in the final 9 minutes of the half, thanks to a 15-4 run that erased Memphis' largest lead of the half.
The rally helped Indiana carry a 43-39 lead at halftime as both teams had key players struggling with their shooting. West was 4 of 10 for Indiana, but Memphis struggled through much more inaccuracy.
The Grizzlies front line of Gay, Marc Gasol and Randolph was a combined 4 of 20, helping Memphis shoot 39 percent in the half.
The Memphis bench did provide a bit of a lift with 18 points, eight of them from Ellington, who connected on a pair of 3-pointers.
Memphis used defense to get its offense untracked in the second half. Through the first 8 minutes, Indiana had taken only six shots and had six turnovers.
That allowed Memphis to score 14 straight points to retake the lead.
For the quarter, Indiana was 8 of 12 from the field, and the Pacers used a 3-pointer from Orlando Johnson late in the third to hold a 65-63 lead entering the fourth.
The game remained tight through the early stages of the fourth until consecutive baskets by Tyler Hansbrough and a rebound basket by Hibbert broke a 70-all tie, giving the Pacers a bit of a buffer near the 7-minute mark.
Indiana maintained the lead until a 3-pointer from Conley with 2:10 left gave Memphis a 79-78 lead.
George immediately answered with a 3-pointer for the Indiana lead at 81-79.
"That was a huge answer-back three," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. ".That is competitive spirit rising up. That was a huge play."
Tony Allen's hustle was what pulled Memphis back even. He grabbed an offensive re bound with about 30 second left, then stole the ball from Hibbert after an Indiana rebound with 11.7 seconds remaining.
That set up his pass to Randolph to tie the game at 81 with 10.5 seconds left.
The Pacers, who are now 10-13 on the road and have struggled against top teams, relished the idea of starting a four-game road trip with a win over one of the top four teams in the Western Conference.
"Coming in here, knowing it was going to be a tough environment, it was important," Hill said of the win. "(The Grizzlies) play well at home, and we knew it was going to be a scrappy, playoff mentality-type game.
"We knew we had to turn things around," Hill said. "Coach challenged us to be above a .500 road team, and it started with (Monday)."
NOTES: The game was the 11th Annual Martin Luther King Day game hosted by the Grizzlies. Memphis is now 5-6 on the holiday. ... The Grizzlies honored former NBA players Elgin Baylor and Patrick Ewing, along with former NFL great Jim Brown with the Eighth Annual National Civil Rights Legacy Award, as part of the day's ceremonies.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Bashaara Graves had 19 points and eight rebounds Sunday to help Tennessee trounce Alabama 96-69 for its 39th consecutive victory over the Crimson Tide. Meighan Simmons had 16 points as the Lady Vols earned their eighth straight win overall.
Copyright © 2012 JacksonsNewsTalk.com. All Rights Reserved.