First Posted: 3/1/2015
DEFIANCE — Four Defiance College players scored in double figures, led by senior forward Bernard Edwards’ 25 points, as Defiance’s men’s basketball team captured its third Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament championship with a 78-55 win against Bluffton Sunday at the Karl H. Weaner Center.
With the win, the Yellow Jackets will earn the HCAC automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division III National Tournament.
Edwards’ 25 points was a game-high and shot 10-of-20 from the field, including 3 of 8 on 3-pointers. Edwards also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
Defiance (21-6) took control of the game in the first half with an 8-0 scoring run, with six of the eight points coming from Edwards, that resulted in a 14-6 lead at the 16:17 minute mark.
The Yellow Jackets never trailed the rest of the way despite Bluffton (16-12) battling back to within two points, 16-14, with 13:35 left in the period. Late in the half, DC went on another run, this time a 14-2 run that ended the half and put the Jackets up by a commanding 45-27 margin at the intermission.
Bluffton shot 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the floor’
The Beavers had one player score in double figures in Thayne Recker with 22 points. Billy Taflinger (Lima Central Catholic) and Austin Rohde both scored nine.
Following the conclusion of the tournament, Edwards was named the tournament most valuable player, while Defiance senior guard Travis Schomaeker (Ottawa-Glandorf) was named to the all-tournament team.
Minnie Minoso dies at age 90
CHICAGO — Minnie Minoso, the seemingly ageless Cuban slugger who broke into the majors just two years after Jackie Robinson and turned into the game’s first black Latino star, has died, a medical examiner in Illinois said Sunday.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office did not immediately offer further details. There is some question about Minoso’s age but the Chicago White Sox say he was 90.
Minoso played 12 of his 17 seasons in Chicago, hitting .304 with 135 homers and 808 RBIs for the White Sox. The White Sox retired his No. 9 in 1983 and there is a statue of Minoso at U.S. Cellular Field.
“We have lost our dear friend and a great man,” White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf said in a release. “Many tears are falling.”
Minoso made his major league debut with Cleveland in 1949 and was dealt to the White Sox in a three-team trade two years later. He became major league baseball’s first black player in Chicago on May 1, 1951, and homered in his first plate appearance against Yankees right-hander Vic Raschi.
It was the start of a beautiful relationship between the slugger and the White Sox.
Minoso, regarded as baseball’s first black Latino star, was a Havana native who spent most of his career in left field.
He is one of only two players to appear in a major league game in five different decades.
He got his final hit in 1976 at age 53 and went 0 for 2 in two games in 1980 for the White Sox, who tried unsuccessfully over the years to get the “Cuban Comet” into baseball’s Hall of Fame.
Minoso finished that first season in Chicago with a .326 batting average, 10 homers and 76 RBIs in 146 games for the Indians and White Sox. He also had a major league-best 14 triples and an AL-best 31 steals.
It was Minoso’s first of eight seasons with at least a .300 batting average. He also had four seasons with at least 100 RBIs.
“I have baseball in my blood,” Minoso said. “Baseball is all I’ve ever wanted to do.”
Anthony Mason dies at age 48
NEW YORK — Anthony Mason’s game was grit over glitz, more force than flash.
That might not fit some stereotypes of New York, but it was the perfect style for the Knicks of the 1990s, and made the rugged forward a beloved bruiser by teammates and fans.
Mason died Saturday morning, the Knicks said. He was 48.
Former teammate Patrick Ewing said his “heart is heavy” after learning Mason died after recent heart problems.
Mason’s career averages — 10.9 points, 8.3 rebounds — don’t tell the full story of his game. A solid, muscular presence down low, Mason was there to play defense, and on coach Pat Riley’s bruising teams, he could shine.
Shawnee grad Scott finishes 9th
BOSTON — Shawnee High School graduate Thomas Scott finished ninth in the 1,000 meters at the USA Track and Field Indoor Championships Sunday at the Reggie Lewis Center.
Scott’s time was 2 minutes, 28.23 seconds. Robby Andrews won in a time of 2:21.91.
Scott won his heat on Saturday to qualify for the finals.
Ronda Rousey needs 14 seconds to stop Zingano
LOS ANGELES — Ronda Rousey has stopped every opponent she has faced in her meteoric mixed martial arts career, so a first-round victory is no shock for the UFC’s bantamweight champion.
Except nobody had finished a UFC title fight this quickly, and hardly anyone had ever done it with so much flair.
Rousey stopped Cat Zingano with an acrobatic armbar after just 14 seconds, dramatically defending her 135-pound title at UFC 184 on Saturday night.
Rousey (11-0) earned the most impressive victory of her career with jaw-dropping speed, taking out the previously unbeaten Zingano with her signature armlock from an unlikely position.
ONU opens season with split
FORT MEYERS, Fla. — Ohio Northern opened its baseball season with a doubleheader split against Widener (Pa.) in Fort Meyers Sunday afternoon.
Both games were seven innings with ONU taking the first game 1-0 and falling in the second game 3-2.
In the first game, ONU junior Nick Eltzroth threw a 3-hit shutout, striking out seven.
