College Baseball

Texas 6, Virginia Commonwealth 2: AUSTIN -- Preston Clark went 2 for 3 and drove in four runs for Texas, which beat Virginia Commonwealth 6-2 on Friday in the season-opener for both clubs.

Michael Torres also had an RBI for the Longhorns, who hammered out eight hits.

Van Meter was 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Rams.

Austin Wood (1-0) gave up two runs, both of them earned, on six hits to secure the win for Texas. He struck out six and issued no walks over six innings.

Will Hirsch (0-1) took the loss for Virginia Commonwealth, surrendering four runs, two of them earned, in 3.2 innings. He walked two and struck out none.

A crowd of nearly 6,000 turned out to watch the game in Austin.

Oklahoma State 6, Gonzaga 1: STILLWATER, Okla. -- Matt Hague and Jordy Mercer each had two RBIs as Oklahoma State won its opener for the fourth straight season, beating Gonzaga 6-1 on Friday.

Hague, a transfer from Washington, went 2-for-4 and had the game's only extra-base hit, a two-run double that keyed a three-run fifth inning by the Cowboys.

Oklahoma State sophomore starter Andrew Oliver picked up the win, allowing two hits and striking out six in 5 2-3 innings. Robbie Weinhardt struck out five Gonzaga batters in two innings of relief and Mercer pitched a perfect ninth inning, recording two strikeouts.

Mercer's sacrifice fly off Gonzaga starter Brandon Harmon gave Oklahoma State a 1-0 first-inning lead. The Bulldogs tied the game in the third on a sacrifice fly by Jason Chatwood, but the Cowboys took the lead for good in the fourth on Donnie Webb's RBI single.

Harmon took the pitching loss.

NBA

Rockets 100, Hornets 80: NEW ORLEANS -- Yao Ming had 28 points and 14 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets won their 11th straight game, 100-80 over the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night.

Tracy McGrady scored 34 points, helping Houston build an early double-digit lead it maintained throughout the second half in snapping New Orleans' five-game winning streak.

Houston improved to 2-0 since trading Bonzi Wells and Mike James to the New Orleans Hornets shortly before Thursday afternoon's trading deadline. And reserve guard Bobby Jackson, the primary player the Rockets received in the deal, hasn't even suited up yet.

This was the Hornets' first game since the trade. Wells and James were unable to play for New Orleans and sat on the bench in street clothes. The trade would not be official until the players pass a physical.

David West led New Orleans with 20 points, but struggled to find his touch on mid-range jumpers and finished 7-of-17 from the field. Chris Paul had 14 points and 11 assists.

Mavericks 98, Grizzlies 83: MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 points and Jason Kidd had 15 assists in his second game for Dallas following a blockbuster trade to lead the Mavericks.

Jason Terry finished with 22 points for Dallas, going 9-of-15 from the field, while Josh Howard added 20 points.

Rudy Gay led Memphis with 18 points, while Hakim Warrick had 15 points and nine rebounds. Kyle Lowry finished with 12 points, Mike Conley added 11 and Javaris Crittenton had 10 points.

Cavaliers 90, Wizards 89: CLEVELAND -- LeBron James made two free throws with 7.8 seconds left as the shorthanded Cavaliers, playing with just eight, had enough to beat Washington.

James scored 33 points with 15 rebounds and eight assists in 45 minutes for the Cavs, who added four players in an 11-player blockbuster deal on Thursday but couldn't dress Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Joe Smith or Delonte West.

Damon Jones scored a season-high 27 points for the Cavs.

Darius Songalia scored 19 points and Stevenson 18 to lead the Wizards, who have lost 10 of 11.

Pistons 127, Bucks 100: AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Chauncey Billups had 21 points and 12 assists to lead Detroit to a rout of Milwaukee.

Detroit went into the All-Star break with a 10-game winning streak but had lost two straight since returning, including a 103-98 defeat at Milwaukee on Wednesday.

Rasheed Wallace scored 17 points and Richard Hamilton added 16 for the Pistons, who put six players in double figures while reaching a season high for points.

Charlie Villanueva and Michael Redd led Milwaukee with 18 points apiece.

Magic 115, 76ers 99: ORLANDO, Fla. -- Hedo Turkoglu scored a season-high 31 points and Dwight Howard had 24 points and 18 rebounds.

Andre Miller and Andre Iguodala each scored 25 for Philadelphia and Willie Green had 21 points.

Philadelphia had won six of its last seven, and was coming off a 40-point win over New York Knicks on Wednesday. The Southeast Division-leading Magic have struggled at home, where they are 15-11.

Pacers 113, Nets 103: INDIANAPOLIS -- Mike Dunleavy scored 34 points, and Indiana snapped a three-game losing streak.

Travis Diener tied a career high with 19 points, and Jeff Foster added 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Pacers.

Richard Jefferson scored 34 points and Bostjan Nachbar added 22 for the Nets.

Devin Harris, the point guard the Nets acquired in the trade that sent Jason Kidd to Dallas, sat on the bench because of a sprained left ankle. His absence was felt; New Jersey finished with 23 turnovers and 22 assists.

Bulls 135, Nuggets 121: CHICAGO -- Ben Gordon scored 37 points, and the revamped Bulls delivered one of their best offensive efforts in years, overcoming a late surge by Denver.

The Bulls scored at least 30 points in all four quarters for the first time since Feb. 18, 1997, against Denver, and the 135 points were a season high.

Andres Nocioni scored 21 points, and Tyrus Thomas had 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Joakim Noah delivered 14 points and 10 boards.

Allen Iverson scored 29 and Carmelo Anthony added 22 for Denver, which was coming off a 124-118 win over Eastern Conference leader Boston on Tuesday.

Knicks 103, Raptors 99: NEW YORK -- Jamal Crawford scored a season-high 43 points, leading New York over Toronto in the opener of a home-and-home series.

Zach Randolph added 26 points and 15 rebounds, and made a layup with the Knicks clinging to a two-point lead with 40 seconds remaining. Nate Robinson made four free throws to help New York hold on.

Chris Bosh scored 23 points for the Raptors, who had won two in a row. Carlos Delfino added 11 of his 18 in the fourth, nearly helping Toronto overcome a 10-point deficit. Parker also had 18 and Jamario Moon 16.

Kings 116, Bobcats 115, OT: CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Brad Miller had 22 points and 14 rebounds and Sacramento overcame his late turnover to hold off Charlotte in a game marred by a scary head injury to Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace.

Francisco Garcia scored 23 points and Ron Artest scored 20 as the Kings won their third straight game since trading Mike Bibby last week.

Wallace was knocked unconscious after he was hit in the nose by an inadvertent elbow from Kings forward Mikki Moore early in the third quarter. Wallace was on the floor for nearly 10 minutes before he was wheeled off on a stretcher and taken to local hospital.

Jason Richardson scored 29 points and Felton added 17 points and 10 assists in Charlotte's ninth loss in 10 games.

Golf

Match Play Championship: MARANA, Ariz. -- Tiger Woods made 12 birdies in 20 holes and needed every one of them Friday in a brilliant duel with Aaron Baddeley that sent the world's No. 1 player into the quarterfinals of the Accenture Match Play Championship.

Rarely has Woods played at such a high level, only to have another player match him step for step, birdie for birdie.

Baddeley, who shot 80 in the final round of the U.S. Open the last he played alone with Woods, was 1 up with three holes to play and twice had putts to end the match.

A tough, 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole broke sharply below the hole, and Baddeley's 12-foot eagle putt on the 19th hole burned the left edge of the cup, giving Woods new life. Woods' final birdie was from 13 feet, and it was good all the way. He removed his cap when the ball was still a foot away from dropping, and he looked relieved after winning his longest match in his nine years at this tense tournament.

Baddeley made 10 birdies, including five in a row to start the back nine.

Woods advanced to the quarterfinals for the fifth time in nine years. He will face K.J. Choi, a 1-up winner over Paul Casey.

The Americans, who started the tournament with a record-low 20 players, now have one player still remaining in each of the four brackets.

Woody Austin easily handled Boo Weekley, 3 and 2, to advance to play defending champion Henrik Stenson, who hung on to beat Jonathan Byrd.

Stewart Cink took advantage of sloppy play by Colin Montgomerie to deny the Scot valuable world ranking points, winning 4 and 2. Cink will play U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera, who made six birdies on the front nine and beat Steve Stricker, 4 and 3.

Justin Leonard reached the quarterfinals for the first time. Leonard dispatched of Stuart Appleby, 3 and 2, after running off five straight birdies at the turn.

Leonard will face Vijay Singh, who rallied from 2-down with two holes to play, then beat Rod Pampling on the 25th hole.

LPGA Fields Open: KAPOLEI, Hawaii -- Michelle Wie made the cut with two strokes to spare in the Fields Open, following her opening 3-under 69 with a 73 that left her 10 strokes behind leader Jeong Jang with one round left.

The 18-year-old Wie scrambled for three birdies and four bogeys, but wasn't as sharp as her opening round Thursday when she broke 70 for the first time since the Evian Ladies Masters in July 2006. Wie qualified for the weekend for the first time since last year's Evian, where she closed with rounds of 84 and 76 to tie for 69th.

She injured both wrists last year but kept playing, and struggling. She made only two cuts in 2007 and finished 19th in a 20-player field at the Samsung World Championship in October, her final event of the year. In eight starts against women, she withdrew twice and only broke par twice in 19 rounds.

Jang, who opened with a course record-tying 64, had seven birdies and four bogeys in a 68 to reach 12-under 132. The 2005 Women's British Open champion was a stroke ahead of fellow South Korean Song-Hee Kim (64).

Paula Creamer (68) was third at 10 under, followed by Lindsey Wright (66).

Annika Sorenstam, trying to complete a Hawaiian sweep after winning at the season-opening SBS Open at Turtle Bay for her 70th LPGA Tour title, birdied four of the final six holes for a bogey-free 66 to put her in the hunt at 8 under with Angela Stanford (69) and Minea Blomqvist (65).

PGA Mayakoba Golf Classic: PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico -- John Merrick shot a 2-under 68 in windy conditions to take a one-stroke lead over Brian Bay in the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

Merrick had an 8-under 132 total on the Greg Norman-designed El Cameleon course. Gay shot a 66. David Lutterus (69) was 6 under, Steve Marino (69) followed at 4 under, and Kenneth Ferrie (72), Shigeki Maruyama (68) and Matt Kuchar (69) were 3 under.

Norman missed the cut with rounds of 70 and 70.

Nationwide Moonah Classic: FINGAL, Australia -- Australia's Wayne Perske shot a 5-under 67 for a share of the second-round lead with countryman Ewan Porter in the windy Moonah Classic.

Porter shot a 71 to match Perske at 6-under 138 on the Peter Thomson-designed Moonah Links course. Australia's Rick Kulacz (69) was a stroke back in the event sanctioned by the Nationwide and Australasian tours.

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