News staff and wire sevices
Houston – Kingston Flemings had 19 points and nine assists, Emanuel Sharp scored 19 points and top-ranked Houston routed Oakland 78-45 on Wednesday night.
Flemings was 8 of 12 from the floor, and Sharp shot 7 of 13, including 5 of 9 on 3-pointers, for Houston (3-0). The Cougars shot 45% and were 9 of 31 on 3-pointers.
Flemings and Sharp each had 11 points in the first half and shot a combined 8 of 16 from the field as the Cougars led 39-17 at the half.
Houston’s Chris Cenac Jr. finished with 11 points. The Cougars outrebounded the Grizzlies 46-32 and held a 40-20 advantage in points in the paint.
Isaac Garrett had 20 points and seven rebounds, and Nassim Mashhour added nine points for Oakland (0-3). The Grizzlies shot 31%.
Oakland started the season with losses to then-No. 7 Michigan ( 121-78 ) on Nov. 3 and then-No. 1 Purdue ( 87-77 ) on Friday before facing the Cougars.
Houston jumped to an 8-0 lead on a 3-pointer by Sharp just over a minute into the game, and the Cougars extended the lead to 21-8 on another 3-pointer by Sharp with 12 minutes left in the first half.
No. 24 MSU women score 96 points
East Lansing, Mich. – Grace VanSlooten scored 17 points, Emma Shumate added 14 points and four 3-pointers off the bench, and No. 24 Michigan State beat Youngstown State 96-52 on Wednesday night in the first meeting between the programs.
Michigan State, which entered ranked second in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten in assists per game at 28.0, had 26 assists on 37 field goals. Rashunda Jones had a team-high seven assists to go with four points.
Theryn Hallock and Jalyn Brown each added 11 points for Michigan State (3-0). Hallock went 3 of 7 from 3-point range, Abbey Kimball made both of her attempts and Michigan State shot 48% from distance, making 12 of 25.
Sarah Baker and Faith Burch scored 10 points apiece for Youngstown State (2-1).
Michigan State closed the first half on a 12-2 run to take a 45-23 lead. Hallock’s 3-pointer capped the Spartans’ 7-0 run to begin the third quarter for a 28-point lead.
The Spartans scored 32 points off 27 Youngstown State turnovers.
Christie: Change coming to struggling Kings
Sacramento, Calif. – Sacramento Kings coach Doug Christie indicated change is coming, saying the struggling team is facing a “bumpy” path and that the organization is “aligned in what we’re doing.”
“Change is hard,” he said. “It’s hard. But understand – and we understand – that we’re not there yet. But we’re about to work at it like crazy. We will totally get there. And it will be bumpy. It will because change is like that. But buckle up. For the real ones, buckle up.”
Christie might have been responding to a report that the Kings were ready to begin a full rebuild and unload stars such as Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan. He spoke for about 2 1/2 minutes prior to Tuesday’s game against the Denver Nuggets.
Christie began by introducing himself as “Douglas Dale Christie” and then delivered his statement and ended it by smacking a table with both hands twice before walking away. He did not take any questions.
“When I see the hate, the haters, the fakers – all you guys, you keep that energy,” Christie said. “That’s good. You keep that. And you know who you are because while you’re doing that, we’re gonna be working. And while you’re doing that, we’re gonna be growing. And while you do that, eventually, we’re gonna be coming – the Kings Show. Sac proud, know that.”
The Kings were 3-7 entering Tuesday’s game. Christie, who played for Sacramento in the early 2000s, is in his first full season as coach. He took over on an interim basis after serving as an assistant when Mike Brown was fired in December and was retained last spring.
“We’re gonna get it right,” Christie said.
Local schedulesMen
Wednesday
▶ Pistons 124, Bulls 113
▶ Western Michigan 83, Purdue Fort Wayne 71
▶ Houston, 78, Oakland 45
Thursday
▶ San Jose St. at Michigan State, 6:30
▶ Central Michigan at South Alabama, 11 a.m.
Friday
▶ 76ers at Pistons, 7:30
▶ Michigan at TCU, 9
▶ Central Michigan at Coppin State, 11 a.m.
▶ IU Indy at Eastern Michigan, 6:30
Saturday
▶ Detroit Mercy at Toledo, 1
▶ Defiance College at Oakland, 3
Sunday
▶ Western Michigan at South Dakota, 2
Monday, Nov. 17
▶ Pacers at Pistons, 7
▶ Oakland at UCF, 7
Tuesday, Nov. 18
▶ Pistons at Hawks, 7:30
▶ Michigan State at Kentucky, 6:30
▶ Eastern Michigan at Detroit Mercy, 7
Wednesday, Nov. 19
▶ Middle TN at Michigan, 6:30
Thursday, Nov. 20
▶ Northern Kentucky at Central Michigan, 7
▶ Western Michigan at Ohio State, 8
Friday, Nov. 21
▶ Detroit Mercy at Michigan State, 6:30
▶ Oakland at Eastern Michigan, 6:30
Saturday, Nov. 22
▶ Pistons at Bucks, 8
▶ Central Michigan at Marquette, 2
Sunday, Nov. 23
▶ Pistons at Pacers, 7
▶ Michigan at San Diego St., 10:30
▶ Mount St. Mary’s at Western Michigan, 3
▶ Detroit Mercy at DePaul, 6
Monday, Nov. 24
▶ Michigan at Auburn, 8:30
▶ East Carolina at Michigan State, 1
▶ Eastern Michigan at Louisville, 7
▶ Lamar at Oakland, 4
Tuesday, Nov. 25
▶ Adrian at Central Michigan, 7
▶ Oakland at Montana, 9
Wednesday, Nov. 26
▶ Pistons at Boston, 5 p.m.
▶ Eastern Michigan at Cincinnati, 7
Thursday, Nov. 27
▶ UNC at Michigan State, 4:30
Friday, Nov. 28
▶ Magic at Pistons, 7:30
▶ NJIT at Eastern Michigan, 4
Saturday, Nov. 29
▶ Pistons at Heat, 8
▶ Western Michigan at Valparaiso, 3
▶ Detroit Mercy at Niagara, 1
Women
Wednesday
▶ Michigan State 96, Youngstown State 52
▶ Central Michigan 68, Butler 59
Thursday
▶ Western Michigan at Milwaukee, 7
Friday
▶ Eastern Michigan at St. Thomas, 8
Saturday
▶ Michigan at Notre Dame, 4
▶ Oakland at University of California, TBA
Sunday
▶ Western Michigan at Michigan State, 2
▶ Detroit Mercy at Toledo, 2
Tuesday, Nov. 18
▶ Binghamton at Michigan, 7
Wednesday, Nov. 19
▶ Central Michigan at Detroit Mercy, 7
▶ Eastern Michigan at Purdue Fort Wayne, 7
Thursday, Nov. 20
▶ Eastern Illinois at Michigan State, 9:30
Friday Nov. 21
▶ Michigan at UConn, 8
Saturday, Nov. 22
▶ Eastern Illinois at Central Michigan, 1
Sunday, Nov. 23
▶ Syracuse at Michigan, noon
▶ Detroit Mercy at Wisconsin, 3
▶ Oakland at Michigan State, 7
Monday, Nov. 24
▶ Central Michigan at Notre Dame, TBA
Tuesday, Nov. 25
▶ Roosevelt University at Western Michigan, 6:30
Wednesday, Nov. 26
▶ Michigan at Detroit Mercy, 5
▶ Robert Morris at Eastern Michigan, 1
▶ Oakland at St. Thomas, 2
Friday, Nov. 28
▶ Temple at Michigan State, 6:30
Sunday, Nov. 30
▶ Purdue at Central Michigan, 1
▶ Eastern Michigan at Detroit Mercy, 1
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