8A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018
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Gary Henley | Sports Reporter
ghenley@dailyastorian.com
BOYS GOLF
Valiants
defeat
Seaside on
the golf
course
The Daily Astorian
BEAVERTON — The Sea-
side boys golf team was in action
Wednesday, as Valley Catholic
hosted the Gulls for a Cowapa
League dual at Meriwether Golf
Course.
The Valiants scored a 20-stroke
team victory, carding a 324 to Sea-
side’s 344.
Valley Catholic’s top two golf-
ers vied for medalist honors, with
Cole Heinsen (38-36—74) top-
ping teammate Andrew Plambeck
(37-38—75) for the top spot.
Jackson Kunde led the Gulls
with an 82 (42-40), followed by
Connor Merrell (39-44—83),
Samson Sibony (47-42—89) and
Chris Kunde (47-43—90) for the
top four scores. Mason Sham-
ion (43-48—91) rounded out the
scoring.
“We played a lot of good holes
of golf today,” said Seaside coach
Jim Poetsch. “Every one of our
players had a birdie and we had
plenty of pars, but we took our-
selves out of this match with too
many blowup holes.”
The Seaside junior varsity
team defeated Valley Catholic.
John Whittle was medalist for
the Gulls with a 101, followed
by Mason Crawford (110), Chris
Bodner (111), Nick Mace (126)
and Leif DeWinter (150).
Seaside will take part in the
annual Fish Invitational on April
3 at Astoria Golf & Country Club.
Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kansas State guard Kamau Stokes and teammates celebrate after defeating Kentucky 61-58 in an NCAA men’s college basketball
tournament regional semifinal in Atlanta.
Underdogs again rule
in first half of Sweet 16
Associated Press
Mariners’
bullpen reeling
after Phelps
tears UCL
By JOSE M. ROMERO
Associated Press
PEORIA, Ariz. — David
Phelps was ready to be a
primary setup man for the Seat-
tle Mariners ahead of closer
Edwin Diaz this season. Manager
Scott Servais is going to have to
look elsewhere for that role
now.
Phelps will have season-end-
ing Tommy John surgery on
Monday to repair a torn ulnar
collateral ligament in his right
elbow. He was injured on the
final pitch of his most recent out-
ing on March 17 against the Los
Angeles Angels.
Phelps was acquired from
Miami last July and then did two
stints on the disabled list for right
elbow impingements. He had
surgery in September to remove
a bone spur from the elbow.
“I’d been feeling pretty
good all spring, I finally felt
locked in that last outing. I was
throwing my fastball where I
wanted to,” Phelps said. “Sec-
ond to last pitch is when I felt
something. Threw another one.
... I thought I felt a crack in the
back of my elbow. I was hope-
ful maybe it was just scar tissue
from my (September) surgery.
Turns out what I thought was a
crack was a pop.”
SCOREBOARD
PREP SPORTS SCHEDULE
TODAY
Baseball — Estacada at Astoria, 4:30
p.m.; Elmira vs. Knappa, 2 p.m., Volcano
Stadium
Softball — Knappa at Seaside, 4:30
p.m.
Boys golf — Seaside at The Dalles
Invitational, 10 a.m.
SATURDAY
Baseball — Warrenton at Monroe (2),
Noon; Catlin Gabel vs. Knappa, 11:30
a.m., Volcano Stadium
Softball — Warrenton at Monroe (2),
Noon
SUNDAY
Baseball — Western Mennonite vs.
Knappa, 11:30 a.m., Volcano Stadium
T
his Sweet 16 is picking up right where
its zany lead-in left off. Two No. 9
seeds and an 11 are in the Elite Eight,
and at least one of those underdogs will reach
the Final Four.
Fitting for this NCAA Tournament that’s
cranked up the unpredictability of March
Madness to never-before-seen levels.
Barry Brown’s tiebreaking layup with 19
seconds remaining helped No. 9 seed Kansas
State beat No. 5 seed Kentucky 61-58 in the
South Region semifinal in Atlanta on Thurs-
day night. No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago top-
pled comeback artists Nevada with yet another
player stepping up to snatch a win in the final
moments.
And Terance Mann scored 18 points to
help No. 9 seed Florida State upset fourth-
seeded Gonzaga, 75-60, guaranteeing that the
Final Four will have a completely different
look from last year.
In the only game won by a favorite, third-
seeded Michigan rolled past No. 7 seed Texas
A&M 99-72.
NCAA officials say only two 9s had ever
advanced to the regional finals before this
tournament. And Kansas State goes in as a
bracket favorite against Loyola in the top-
sy-turvy South, which again bounced its two
highest remaining seeds.
In Las Vegas sports books, however, Kan-
sas State and Loyola opened as a straight pick
— no favorite, and neither being labeled the
underdog anymore in a game for a Final Four
berth.
at Staples Center, Florida State ended Gonza-
ga’s 16-game winning streak and halted the
pursuit of a second straight Final Four berth
for last year’s tournament finalists.
Coach Leonard Hamilton’s best post-
season run in his 16 years at Florida State is
extended to Saturday, when the Seminoles
will face third-seeded Michigan for a trip to
the Final Four in San Antonio. The Wolverines
advanced with a 99-72 rout of Texas A&M.
Kansas State 61, Kentucky 58
Florida State 75, Gonzaga 60
Kansas State’s dream of its first Final Four
since 1964 is alive.
Barry Brown’s tiebreaking layup with 19
seconds remaining was the difference as Kan-
sas State beat Kentucky 61-58 on Thursday
night in the South Region semifinal.
Kansas State, a No. 9 seed, will play No.
11 seed Loyola-Chicago on Saturday in a
regional final pairing no one could have
predicted.
Kentucky’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
missed a potential tying 3-pointer at the final
buzzer for Kentucky (26-11).
Kansas State (25-11) overcame the loss of
top scorer Xavier Sneed, who had 22 points
before fouling out with 1:14 remaining.
Sneed, who had nine points in the first half,
was unstoppable in the second half. He scored
13 points in the first 11:30 of the second half
before he was called for his fourth foul with
8:24 remaining.
When Sneed took a seat on the bench, Kan-
sas State lost its momentum. It led 52-44 when
Sneed collected his fourth foul and led only
56-55 when he returned with 2:13 remaining,
with Kentucky fans chanting “Go Big Blue”
to encourage the comeback.
Florida State’s upset run in the NCAA
Tournament has stretched all the way to the
brink of the Final Four.
Terance Mann scored 18 points and the
ninth-seeded Seminoles advanced to the Elite
Eight for just the third time in school history
with a 75-60 victory over fourth-seeded Gon-
zaga on Thursday night in the West Region
semifinal.
C.J. Walker and Braian Angola added 9
points for the Seminoles (23-11), who knocked
their third straight higher-seeded opponent in
a stunning run out West for a team that went
9-9 in ACC play and lost its conference tour-
nament opener.
Coolly maintaining a lead down the stretch
Michigan is back in the Elite Eight for the
third time in six years.
The third-seeded Wolverines thoroughly
dominated No. 7 seed Texas A&M in a 99-72
victory at the West Region on Thursday night,
extending their winning streak to 12 games.
Michigan led the entire game and hit 14
3-pointers, including 10 in the first half. The
Wolverines average nine in a game.
The rout was on by halftime with Michi-
gan leading 52-28.
The Aggies never made a run against the
hot-shooting Wolverines, who shot 62 percent
from the field.
Michigan 99, Texas A&M 72
Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman led
Michigan with 24 points.
Texas A&M was led by Tyler Davis with
24 points.
Loyola-Chicago 69, Nevada 68
In its first NCAA Tournament appearance
since 1985, Loyola is one win away from an
improbable trip to the Final Four.
The 11th-seeded Ramblers kept up their
amazing run with a 69-68 victory over sev-
enth-seeded Nevada on Thursday night in the
South Region in Atlanta.
With the shot clock running down and
Loyola clinging to a 1-point lead, Marques
Townes knocked down a 3-pointer with 6.3
seconds remaining. He finished with 18 points.
The Ramblers fell behind by 12 points in
the early going, but got back in the game when
Nevada’s run-and-gun offense suddenly went
cold. The Wolf Pack’s final points of the first
half came on Cody Martin’s dunk with 7:57
remaining. Loyola closed the half on a 12-0
run and pushed out to a 12-point lead of its
own early in the second half.
Nevada rallied and it came to the final sec-
onds. Townes hit the big shot to clinch it.
Loyola improves to 31-5 and will face
either No. 5 seed Kentucky or No. 9 seed
Kansas State in the regional final Saturday at
Philips Arena.
The Wolf Pack finishes the season at 29-8.
Loyola is being cheered on in the regional
semifinals by four members of its 1963
national championship team.
Jerry Harkness, Les Hunter, John Egan and
Rich Rochelle are sitting together in front-row
seats at Philips Arena. They’re all smiles with
the 11th-seeded Ramblers holding a 9-point
lead over Nevada with just under 12 minutes
remaining.
Harkness says his alma mater is “playing
well, hope they win.”
While Loyola is making its first NCAA
Tournament appearances since 1985, the
school has a storied hoops history. Not only
does it have a championship on its resume, it
played in one of the most socially significant
games in college basketball history during its
run to the title.
At the height of the Civil Rights Move-
ment, the team had four black starters when
they beat an all-white Mississippi State squad
in what became known as the “Game of
Change.”
Seahawks re-sign RB Davis after strong end to 2017
Associated Press
RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle
Seahawks are bringing back running
back Mike Davis after a strong con-
clusion to the 2017 season.
Davis signed his deal with the
Seahawks on Thursday, reportedly
a one-year contract. Davis was orig-
inally a restricted free agent but
Seattle did not tender him, making
Davis an unrestricted free agent. The
25-year-old chose a return to Seattle
over looking for options elsewhere.
Davis made an impression late
in the 2017 season. Promoted off
Seattle’s practice squad in Novem-
ber, Davis rushed for 240 yards and
averaged 3.5 yards per carry. Despite
playing in just six games, Davis was
Seattle’s most productive running
back, although he lagged far behind
quarterback Russell Wilson, who
was the Seahawks’ leading rusher.
Davis started his career in San
Francisco, where he appeared in 14
games over two seasons. He was
acquired off waivers in May 2017.