Sports
Georgetown blows lead, rallies to edge Providence
Mar 7, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Georgetown Hoyas guard Kayvaun Mulready (45) dribbles as Providence Friars guard Ryan Mela (11) defends during the first half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images Senior center Vince Iwuchukwu scored a career-high 25 points and pulled down 10 rebounds as host Georgetown rallied late to snap a seven-game losing streak with an 80-79 victory over Providence on Saturday in Washington.
In a seesaw game, Kayvaun Mulready contributed 12 points and seven assists for the Hoyas (14-17, 6-14 Big East), who surrendered a 12-point first-half lead and trailed by seven points with 11:29 left in the second half before staging a comeback.
Caleb Williams and Malik Mack added 11 points each to help former Providence coach Ed Cooley complete a regular-season sweep of the team that he guided from 2011-23.
Jeremiah Williams added 10 points for Georgetown, which finished tied for last place in the conference and will play sixth-seeded DePaul on Wednesday night in the opening round of the Big East tournament in New York City.
A late 10-point run by the Hoyas, which included two slam dunks by Iwuchukwu, was decisive as it turned a five-point deficit into a five-point lead, 80-75, with 2:32 left. Iwuchukwu’s dunk with 2:32 remaining was Georgetown’s final score.
The Friars had a chance to tie it with 2.4 seconds left, but Jamier Jones, who finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, made one of two 2 free throws.
Jaylin Sellers scored 21 points to pace Providence (14-17, 7-13), which dropped its final two games and will play eighth-seeded Butler in the opening round of the conference tournament on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.
Ryan Mela contributed 17 points for the Friars, who are playing amid reports that coach Kim English will be dismissed after the season. English has a 47-51 record in three seasons as successor to Cooley.
Stefan Vaaks scored 11 points and Oswin Erhunmwunse pulled down 11 rebounds to help the Friars to a 38-25 edge on the boards.
Providence led for most of the first 10 minutes before Georgetown went on a 20-4 run, highlighted by a driving, tomahawk slam by Mulready and an alley-oop jam by Iwuchukwu.
When Caleb Williams closed the run with a 3-pointer with 4:49 left in the half, it gave the Hoyas a 33-21 advantage to match their largest of the period.
Early in the second half, the Friars made six straight shots, including a pair of a 3-pointers by Vaaks and one each by Mela and Sellers as Providence took the lead.
Later, when Mela made drained triples on consecutive possessions, he gave the Friars their biggest lead of the night, 62-55, with 11:29 left.
–Field Level Media
Sports
White Sox acquire C Boston Smith, ship INF Curtis Mead to Nats
Feb 26, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Chicago White Sox third baseman Curtis Mead against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The White Sox and Nationals completed a trade Saturday, with Chicago acquiring former second-team All-American catcher Boston Smith and sending infielder Curtis Mead to Washington.
Smith, 23, was a sixth-round pick of the Nationals in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft, but has not yet played in the minor leagues. At Wright State, he was a consensus second-team All-American in 2025 after batting .330 with 26 home runs, 70 RBIs and 70 runs in 59 games. He tied for the Division I lead in homers and ranked seventh in slugging percentage (.770).
Mead, 25, was designated for assignment on Wednesday by Chicago. With the White Sox last season, he hit .240 with no home runs and 11 RBIs in 41 games. Chicago acquired the Australian last July 31 from the Tampa Bay Rays in a four-player deal that sent right-hander Adrian Houser to Tampa Bay.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Grizzlies snap 5-game skid, edge Bulls on late FTs
Mar 28, 2026; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Cedric Coward (23) drives to the basket as Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) defends during the first quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images Cedric Coward scored 24 points, including two free throws with 6.5 seconds remaining, to lead the host Memphis Grizzlies to a 125-124 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night to snap a five-game losing streak.
Coward’s game-winning free throws nearly were erased when his inbounds pass with 4.0 seconds left following two Josh Giddey free throws was stolen by Tre Jones, who fed Collin Sexton for a layup. The shot by Sexton came after the final buzzer.
Tyler Burton added 18 points for the Grizzlies (25-49) and Jahmai Mashack scored 17. Rayan Rupert and DeJon Jarreau finished with 14 points each.
Matas Buzelis led the Bulls (29-45) with 29 points and 10 rebounds followed by 26 points from Sexton. Giddey posted his 13th triple-double (18 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists) this season and Jones contributed 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Giddey’s performance followed a dismal showing Wednesday versus Oklahoma City where he was 1-of-11 shooting, including 0-for-8 from long range.
The Bulls lost their third straight game and have dropped five of their last six.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper, who scored a career-high 31 points for Memphis in Friday’s loss to the Rockets, was held to 12 points.
The Bulls won the first matchup, 132-106, two weeks ago in Chicago, but Saturday’s game was close throughout.
The game was tied seven times in the fourth quarter, the last coming at 120-all following a layup by Jones with 32.8 seconds to go.
Walter Clayton Jr. gave the Grizzlies a 123-120 advantage with 15.8 seconds left on a 3-pointer, then Giddey answered with a driving dunk with 7.9 seconds to go to trim the margin to one.
Memphis trailed by four early in the third quarter, but recovered behind Rupert. He scored 12 points in the quarter and his 3-pointer with 5:45 to go in the third put the Grizzlies ahead 81-71. Memphis led 98-88 entering the fourth as Coward connected on a floater in the lane at the buzzer.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Arizona erupts after halftime, knocks off Purdue to return to Final Four
Arizona Wildcats forward Koa Peat (10), Purdue Boilermakers center Oscar Cluff (45) and Arizona Wildcats center Motiejus Krivas (13) battle for control of the ball during a NCAA Tournament game Saturday, March 28, 2026 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. SAN JOSE, Calif. — Koa Peat scored 20 points and fellow freshman Ivan Kharchenkov added 18 as top-seeded Arizona beat No. 2 Purdue 79-64 in the West Region finals on Saturday night, earning their first trip to the Final Four since 2001.
The Wildcats (36-2) won their 13th straight game by erasing a seven-point halftime deficit and ending a five-game skid in Elite Eight games. They had lost in the regional finals in 2003, 2005, 2011, 2014 and 2015.
Peat was 9 of 18 from the field, breaking Mike Bibby’s school record for most points in the Elite Eight by an Arizona freshman. Kharchenkov was 7 of 11 from the field and added eight rebounds, while Jaden Bradley and Brayden Burries each scored 14.
Purdue (30-9) got 14 points and 10 rebounds from Oscar Cluff and 13 points and seven assists from Braden Smith, who scored 11 in the first half but was just 4 of 15 from the field for the game. The Boilermakers made 7 of 14 3-pointers in the first half but were just 1 of 8 after halftime.
The Boilermakers led 38-31 at halftime, outscoring Arizona 26-12 after being down seven early. The Wildcats scored seven straight to tie at 42, then took a 44-43 lead on two Jaden Bradley free throws with 14:34 remaining.
The Boilermakers went more than four and a half minutes without a field goal and Arizona extended to a 51-45 edge on an Anthony Dell’Orso 3-pointer with 12:09 to go. The Wildcats got the margin to 10 with 8:46 remaining, and Peat’s dunk made it 68-55 with 5:35 to go.
Purdue took a 10-9 lead with 15:44 left in the first half on a Smith 3, significant because it was the first time in the tournament that Arizona trailed. The Wildcats responded with a 10-2 run to build a 19-12 lead, and during that run, Trey Kaufman-Renn picked up his second foul.
A 3 by Gicarri Harris gave the Boilermakers back the lead, and later back-to-back 3s by Smith and CJ Cox put them up 33-27 with 2:33 left before halftime.
–Brian J. Pedersen, Field Level Media
White Sox acquire C Boston Smith, ship INF Curtis Mead to Nats
Grizzlies snap 5-game skid, edge Bulls on late FTs
