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Morant has 17-16-11 as Murray St. rolls

(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) The game was in hand for Murray State and sensational point guard Ja Morant, who dominated Marquette in every way. With a chance to make some NCAA Tournament history, Morant's coach told him to hit the boards and grab the rebound that would push him to an elusive triple-double.

Morant went up for the ball, snatched it away from an eager teammate, and that was it. Murray State fans began chanting "Tri-ple dou-ble!" to celebrate an upset in the first round of the West Region.

Morant, a future NBA lottery pick, sliced through Marquette with 16 assists, 17 points and 11 rebounds as Murray State trounced the fifth-seeded Golden Eagles 83-64 on Thursday.

Florida stops Nevada's frantic comeback
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Florida nearly squandered a double-digit lead before finally stopping a Nevada comeback and pulling off a 70-61 upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Kevarrius Hayes scored 16 points, Jalen Hudson added 15 and the 10th-seeded Gators won their tournament opener for the third straight year. (MORE)

Auburn survives New Mexico State rally
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) A.J. Harris had an easy layup for the tie. He wanted a win for New Mexico State. It didn't work out, but boy-oh-boy, what a way for the Aggies to go down swinging Thursday against fifth-seeded Auburn in the NCAA Tournament. (MORE)

Michigan State pulls away from Bradley
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) For about 35 minutes, it felt like Bradley might pull off the first bracket-busting stunner of this year's NCAA Tournament. Michigan State survived by leaning on the brilliance of Cassius Winston and a remarkably efficient performance at the free throw line. (MORE)

Smart fined $50,000 for shoving Embiid

NEW YORK (AP) Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been fined $50,000 by the NBA for forcefully shoving Philadelphia's Joel Embiid to the floor.

Kiki VanDeWeghe, the NBA's executive vice president of basketball operations, noted Smart's repeated acts of unsportsmanlike conduct during games this season in handing down the penalty Thursday. Smart has been fined for two prior incidents in 2018-19. (MORE)

Maryland outlasts Belmont to advance
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) Belmont proved it belonged. Maryland is moving on. The Terrapins survived a last-second upset at the NCAA Tournament when Eric Ayala deflected a pass, leading to a steal by Darryl Morsell that allowed Maryland to escape with a 79-77 victory in the East Region. (MORE)

Colts sign ex-Chiefs DE Houston
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard kept insisting he would be judicious in free agency. For two-plus years, he was. On Wednesday, a week after the first big wave of signings, Ballard opened his checkbook and made the biggest acquisition of his tenure by adding defensive end Justin Houston. (MORE)

M's Ichiro retires after series in Tokyo
TOKYO (AP) At times, it seemed as if he'd go on hitting forever. But on Thursday night, a player who defined baseball at its very best on two continents for a generation, took his final swing. (MORE)

Pitino, Minnesota knock off Louisville
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Minnesota found its elusive 3-point stroke just in time to give coach Richard Pitino the NCAA Tournament win he'd been seeking for years. The 10th-seeded Gophers won their first NCAA Tournament game in six seasons behind 24 points from freshman Gabe Kalscheur, who helped Minnesota roll past Louisville 86-76 in the opening round of the East Region on Thursday. (MORE)

Short-handed UK routs Abilene Christian