Miami Heat (38-32, eighth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Houston Rockets (42-27, fourth in the Western Conference)

Houston; Saturday, 8 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Rockets -2; over/under is 229.5

BOTTOM LINE: Miami heads into the matchup against Houston as losers of three straight games.

The Rockets have gone 24-10 in home games. Houston is fourth in the league giving up just 109.8 points per game while holding opponents to 46.0% shooting.

The Heat are 15-19 in road games. Miami is 18-25 against opponents with a winning record.

The Rockets score 113.9 points per game, 3.2 fewer points than the 117.1 the Heat give up. The Heat average 13.3 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.0 more made shot on average than the 12.3 per game the Rockets allow.

The teams play for the second time this season. The Heat won the last matchup 115-105 on Feb. 28, with Bam Adebayo scoring 24 points in the win.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kevin Durant is averaging 25.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists for the Rockets. Amen Thompson is averaging 21 points, 8.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists over the last 10 games.

Kel'el Ware is averaging 11.3 points and 9.4 rebounds for the Heat. Adebayo is averaging 26.8 points and 8.2 rebounds while shooting 43.4% over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Rockets: 5-5, averaging 110.0 points, 47.0 rebounds, 24.6 assists, 8.8 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 47.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 112.9 points per game.

Heat: 7-3, averaging 122.5 points, 44.8 rebounds, 28.0 assists, 8.6 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 47.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 116.8 points.

INJURIES: Rockets: Jae'Sean Tate: out (knee), Fred VanVleet: out for season (acl), Steven Adams: out for season (ankle).

Heat: Jaime Jaquez Jr.: out (hip), Pelle Larsson: day to day (foot), Simone Fontecchio: day to day (back), Andrew Wiggins: out (toe).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tarris Reed Jr. had 31 points and 27 rebounds in a dominant NCAA Tournament performance, leading second-seeded UConn to an 82-71 victory over Furman team on Friday night in the first round.

Alex Karaban added 22 points for UConn (30-5), which advanced to play UCLA in the second round of the East Region on Sunday.

For about 36 minutes in Philadelphia, it sure looked like coach Dan Hurley and the Huskies had a chance of heading back home instead.

But Reed wouldn't let them, the All-Big East center becoming the first player with 30-plus points and 25-plus rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game since Elvin Hayes did it twice in 1968.

The Huskies were 20 1/2-point favorites to thump a school most basketball fans couldn't even find on a map. The real line that mattered was the final stat line: The Huskies missed 20 of 25 3-pointers with each clang off the rim seemingly sounding the dinner bell for the No. 15-seeded Paladins to come on in and pull off the seismic shocker.

With UConn up 61-52, Furman cheerleaders hit the court to lead fans in their wildly popular school chant.

“FU one time, FU two times, FU three times, FU all the time!"

When Alex Wilkins hit a 3 to make it 69-64 and the Paladins (22-13) still stayed within five with 5:49 left, it seemed Furman was ready to kick up some dust on a tournament Friday filled with mostly chalk results.

But led by Reed, the Huskies had enough in a 12-4 run down the stretch to survive the first round.

UConn played without first team All-Big East selection Silas Demary Jr. after he suffered an ankle injury in the Big East Tournament; and Jaylin Stewart again sat out with a knee injury that’s sidelined him since late February.

They were missed against a Furman team that beat top-seeded East Tennessee State to secure the Southern Conference Tournament and a NCAA Tournament bid.

The Huskies displayed cracks throughout the season — including a loss to St. John's in the Big East Tournament title game — that threatened to prevent another long March Madness run for a program that expects it.

The injuries didn't help. Neither did a determined Furman team under coach Bob Richey.

Furman came poised to inject Friday's slate of tournament games with a needed dose of madness and had UConn on its heels early.

The basketball fans inside the home of the 76ers absolutely erupted — who doesn't love a March underdog story? — when Furman grabbed a 19-18 lead midway through the first half.

Furman, a Greenville, South Carolina university named after a Baptist pastor, needed more than a prayer to try and upset UConn.

It needed 3s.

The Paladins sank ‘em — six, alone in the first half, none more emotionally-charged than Charles Johnston’s first-half buzzer-beater that sliced UConn's lead to 40-36.

Johnston thew his arms up in celebration and ran to halfcourt for a violent chest-bump with a teammate as the Paladins scurried off the court into the locker room.

Hurley couldn't believe it while UConn fan Bill Murray — the actor's son is an assistant on the Huskies' staff — could only laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

Furman shot 48% overall from the floor in the half and had some big help in making this one a game from UConn's dreadful 1-of-14 shooting from 3-point range.

It was nearly a legendary Knight — that is, in fact a Paladin — in Johnston that kept the crowing roaring and an upset brewing.

The 6-foot-11 Australian threw down a monster dunk early in the second half that kept Furman within striking distance at 54-47. After he took one to the house, Tom House, who scored 21 points, buried a 3 that cut the lead to 56-50.

Furman knew how to pull off a March surprise. Furman has made just two NCAA Tournaments since 1980 but used a buzzer-beater to top No. 4 Virginia in 2023.

Furman just couldn't finish off another March win against basketball's big dogs.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Alex Killorn broke a tie off a scramble at 9:09 of the second period, Lukas Dostal stopped 29 shots and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Utah Mammoth 4-1 on Friday night to pad their Pacific Division lead.

After the puck was cleared off the goal line behind goalie Vitek Vanecek, the Ducks' Sennecke ended up with it on the left side and slipped a pass to Killorn for a shot before Vanecek was set. Killorn also had two assists.

Ryan Poehling, Cutter Gauthier and Mikael Granlund also scored to help the Ducks — playing without suspended defenseman Radko Gudas — rebound from a 3-2 overtime loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday night at home. They moved three points ahead of Edmonton in the division.

Gudas served the fourth game of a five-game suspension for kneeing Auston Matthews in a loss at Toronto on March 12. Matthews tore the medial collateral ligament in his left knee and will miss the rest of the season.

Poehling tied it with 6:23 left in the first, beating Vanecek with a nifty move on a short-handed break. Poehling took a pass from Killorn, sped down the left side, cut right and shot against the grain to the left.

The Ducks put it away with two empty-net goals, with Gauthier scoring his 36th goal on the first.

Dylan Guenther scored his 34th goal of the season for Utah — at 1:48 of the first of the Mammoth's second shot on goal.

Utah remained six points ahead of Los Angeles for the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

The Mammoth opened a four-game homestand. They had won two straight on the road, beating Dallas 6-3 on Monday night to snap a four-game losing streak and topping Vegas 4-0 Thursday night.

Up next

Ducks: Host Buffalo on Sunday.

Mammoth: Host Los Angeles on Sunday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Malik Reneau scored 24 points, Tre Donaldson hit a couple of big baskets down the stretch, and seventh-seeded Miami pulled away late for a 80-66 victory over No. 10 seed Missouri on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Donaldson finished with 17 points, and Shelton Henderson had 15 for the Hurricanes (26-8), who trailed midway through the second half before an 11-0 run that gave them control and pushed them into a matchup with Purdue for a spot in the Sweet 16.

The second-seeded Boilermakers routed No. 15 seed Queens earlier in the night.

Jayden Stone scored 21 points and Mark Mitchell had 19 for the Tigers (20-13), who have lost nine of their last 10 NCAA Tournament games. Anthony Robinson II also had 11 points and five assists before fouling out in the final minute.

The Tigers entered the tourney on a three-game skid, their last win coming way back on Feb. 28, and for most of the first half they looked like a team that had barely scraped off the bubble and into the 68-team field. Miami dominated them on the boards, and the Tigers resorted to launching contested 3-pointers as they struggled to find any offense.

The Hurricanes stretched their lead to 10 points in the first half.

Mitchell finally ended a five-minute scoring drought with a pair of free throws, and the rest of the Tigers heated up just before the break. Robinson hit a bucket in transition, Mitchell added two more free throws, and Robinson's 3-pointer capped nine straight points that closed Missouri within 27-26 as the teams headed to the locker rooms.

Miami held tight to its lead until midway through the second half, when the Tigers ran off eight straight points to pull ahead. But after Mitchell's 3-pointer gave Missouri a 54-52 advantage, the Hurricanes answered with their 11-0 burst to regain control.

Reneau and Henderson each had back-to-back baskets during the stretch, which pushed Miami ahead 63-54 with 4:23 to go.

Mitchell hit a couple of 3s down the stretch to keep Missouri alive, but Reneau answered the first by getting to the line for two free throws, and Donaldson answered the second with a 3-pointer of his own.

Up next

Purdue has won three of its four games against the Hurricanes, including a second-rounder in the 1999 NCAA Tournament, when Miami was the No. 10 seed. The Boilermakers lost to Temple as the No. 10 seed in the Sweet 16.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Raegan Beers had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 4 seed Oklahoma overwhelmed No. 13 seed Idaho 89-59 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

Beers, a senior center, also had four assists and four blocks. Sahara Williams had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Aaliyah Chavez scored 15 points and Payton Verhulst added 14 for the Sooners (25-7), who stopped Idaho's win streak at 18 games. The Vandals hadn’t lost since Jan. 10.

Oklahoma will play No. 5 seed Michigan State in the second round on Sunday. The Spartans outlasted No. 12 Colorado State 65-62 in the early game on Friday.

Kyra Gardner scored 19 points and Hope Hassmann added 12 for Idaho (29-6).

Oklahoma played one of its most efficient halves of the season to go up 57-35 at the break. The Sooners shot 59.5% from the field and committed just four turnovers. The Sooners held Idaho to 25.5% shooting. Williams had 13 points and Verhulst had 12 at the break.

The Sooners opened the second half on an 8-1 run, including six points from Beers, to go up 65-36.

Williams drained a shot from beyond halfcourt at the end of the third quarter, but she released it just a bit too late to count. The Sooners took a 76-38 lead into the fourth.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

CHICAGO (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon had three assists in Colorado's 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night, helping the Avalanche become the first NHL team to clinch a playoff spot this season.

Martin Necas had a goal and two assists for Colorado, which had lost four of five. Nazem Kadri, Brock Nelson and Valeri Nichushkin also scored.

The league-leading Avalanche (45-13-10) moved four points ahead of idle Dallas for the top spot in the Western Conference.

Wyatt Kaiser scored for Chicago (26-31-12), and Arvid Soderblom stopped 45 shots.

The last-place Blackhawks played without defenseman Louis Crevier and forward Andrew Mangiapane because of unspecified injuries. They were hurt Thursday night in a 2-1 victory at Minnesota.

Kadri made it 3-1 with a power-play goal 36 seconds into the third period. It was Kadri's second goal in seven games since he was reacquired by Colorado in a trade with Calgary.

Nichushkin helped close it out with his 15th goal at 8:34. MacKinnon picked up his team-high 69th assist on the play.

Colorado jumped in front with two goals during a dominant first period.

Slick passes by MacKinnon and Nichushkin set up Necas for his 32nd goal at 13:19, extending his career high. Necas has 10 goals and 12 assists in his last 13 games.

Nelson added a power-play goal at 15:22. It was Nelson's first goal since Feb. 25 and No. 31 on the year.

Chicago trimmed the deficit to 2-1 on Kaiser's sixth goal 6:48 into the second. Ryan Greene found a streaking Kaiser with a perfectly placed pass, and the defenseman beat Mackenzie Blackwood through the goaltender's legs.

Up next

The Avalanche are at the Washington Capitals on Sunday. The Blackhawks host the Nashville Predators on Sunday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jerami Grant made a 3-pointer with 22.2 seconds left and the Portland Trail Blazers escaped with a 108-104 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

After a timeout by the Trail Blazers, Grant took an inbound pass from Jrue Holiday and made his fourth 3 of the night from the right corner. Grant grabbed a defensive rebound at the other end and made two free throws to finish with 26 points in Portland’s third straight win.

Donovan Clingan scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his sixth straight double-double. Deni Avdija added 25 points and eight rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who moved into eighth place in the Western Conference. Holiday had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Rudy Gobert led short-handed Minnesota with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Ayo Dosunmu added 17 points and tied a career high with 10 rebounds.

Julius Randle added 19 points for the Timberwolves, but they lost for the first time in three games without All-Star guard Anthony Edwards, who remains out with right knee inflammation. Center Naz Reid, a top bench player, missed his second straight game with a right knee sprain.

Donte DiVincenzo missed a driving layup with 11.3 seconds to play that would have tied it. Gobert missed twice on tips before Grant grabbed his fifth rebound.

The Trail Blazers led by 18 with 2 minutes left in first half, but three 3-pointers by the Timberwolves, including two by Bones Hyland, were part of an 11-2 run before intermission to get within single digits.

A fast-break layup by DiVincenzo capped an 18-7 run by Minnesota to tie it at 79 midway through the third quarter.

Portland played its third straight game without forward Vit Krejci (left calf contusion).

Up next

Trail Blazers: Finish a five-game road trip Sunday at Denver.

Timberwolves: Play at Boston on Sunday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (AP) — Notre Dame senior Eszter Muhari won her third career individual national title in epee and the Fighting Irish fencing team won the inaugural women's three-weapon national championship on Friday after edging Columbia 102-99.

It was the 15th national championship for the Irish after winning 14 co-ed titles, including six of the last eight. Notre Dame won the national championship last year in the final year of the combined women’s and men’s team championship.

Muhari also won epee in 2023 and 2025 to finish her Notre Dame career as the sixth woman in NCAA history to win three or more individual titles.

Harvard junior Jessica Guo won the foil for her second NCAA championship, adding to the title she earned in 2024. Guo rallied to go ahead 7-5 after the second period and secured the title with a 15-6 victory over Columbia’s Carolina Stutchbury, who earned first-team honors for the second consecutive year.

Natalia Botello became the first Ohio State Buckeye to win the NCAA women’s saber crown and the fourth individual national champion in program history, joining Katarzyna Dabrowa (epee, 2012), Eleanor Harvey (foil, 2016) and Yelena Kalkina (epee, 1997).

The men’s championships begin on Saturday with three rounds in each weapon.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Bennett Stirtz scored 16 points and No. 9 seed Iowa weathered his erratic shooting to hold off eighth-seeded Clemson 67-61 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

The Hawkeyes (22-12), making their March Madness debut under coach Ben McCollum, move on to a second-round South Region meeting against either top-seeded and defending national champion Florida or No. 16 seed Prairie View A&M.

Stirtz made two free throws with 10.9 seconds remaining help put the game away after Clemson (24-11) rallied to within 61-57 in the closing minutes. But Iowa's leading scorer had an off night, going 3 for 10 on 3-point attempts and 1 for 7 inside the arc. Kael Combs kept the Hawkeyes stay afloat with 15 points and Alvaro Foigueiras came off the bench to score 14.

RJ Godfrey led Clemson with 15 points.

Iowa led 32-25 at halftime despite Stirtz not getting off to a strong start. The 6-foot-4 senior who accompanied McCollum from Drake to Iowa misfired on four of his five 3-point attempts and was 2 for 8 from the field for eight points. The Hawkeyes, however, were able to use the one 3-pointer he made — along with a pair of them from Kael Combs — to build a 12-point lead that Clemson began cutting into before the break.

Stirtz made a long 3 to begin the second half, but Iowa proceeded to go nearly six minutes without scoring while Clemson pulled within 35-33. Stirtz stopped the surge with his third 3, Iowa methodically expanded its lead to 51-37, and Clemson never fully recovered.

The Tigers, who reached the Elite Eight in 2024, lost to McNeese in the first round a year ago.

Stirtz, Combs, Tavion Banks and Cam Manyawu were all part of the Drake team that McCollum led to an upset of Missouri in the first round of last year's tournament. This is Iowa's first March Madness appearance since 2023.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Nyla Harris scored 17 points, Lanie Grant had 15 and North Carolina rolled past cold-shooting Western Illinois 82-51 on Friday night in the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament.

Nyla Brooks added 14 points and Indya Nivar had 11 as the Tar Heels, hosting games on the opening weekend for the second year in a row, won a first-round game for the fifth straight season.

Fourth-seeded North Carolina (27-7) will meet fifth-seeded Maryland, a 99-67 winner over Murray State in the site’s first game, on Sunday in the second round.

Mia Nicastro scored 21 points for No. 13 seed Western Illinois (26-6), which shot 30.4% from the field. The Leathernecks were 2 for 15 on 3-pointers. Nicastro shot 6 for 15 from the floor and 9 for 10 on free throws, coming up just short of her 24.2 points per game scoring average.

Grant made four of North Carolina’s 10 3-point baskets. Harris had 12 rebounds as part of the Tar Heels’ 47-32 edge on the boards.

North Carolina built a 23-11 lead while the Leathernecks made only three of their first 17 shots. The Tar Heels had a 38-24 halftime lead, holding Western Illinois to 25% shooting without a 3-point basket.

Western Illinois concluded its second winning season in the last eight years with its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017.

Up next

In a matchup of former Atlantic Coast Conference rivals, North Carolina will play Maryland with the right to advance to the Sweet 16.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and chose to field Friday in the third Twenty20 cricket international against South Africa at Eden Park.

The five-match series is level at 1-1 after South Africa won the first match by seven wickets and New Zealand the second by 68 runs.

Both teams made one lineup change. South Africa named right-arm pacer Lutho Sipamla in place of Ottneil Baartman while New Zealand recalled Bevon Jacobs in place of Josh Clarkson.

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Lineups:

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Tom Latham, Tim Robinson, Nick Kelly, Bevon Jacobs, Mitchell Santner (captain), James Neesham, Cole McConchie, Kyle Jamieson, Ben Sears, Lockie Ferguson.

Wiaan Mulder, Tony de Zorzi, Connor Esterhuizen, Rubin Hermann, Jason Smith, Dian Forrester, George Linde, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj (captain), Nqobani Mokoena, Lutho Sipamla.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Los Angeles Lakers (45-25, third in the Western Conference) vs. Orlando Magic (38-31, seventh in the Eastern Conference)

Orlando, Florida; Saturday, 7 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles visits the Orlando Magic after Luka Doncic scored 60 points in the Lakers' 134-126 victory against the Miami Heat.

The Magic have gone 22-13 in home games. Orlando is 17-21 against opponents over .500.

The Lakers have gone 22-13 away from home. Los Angeles is 7-2 in games decided by less than 4 points.

The Magic average 115.4 points per game, 0.3 more points than the 115.1 the Lakers give up. The Lakers average 116.6 points per game, 2.2 more than the 114.4 the Magic give up.

The teams square off for the second time this season. The Magic won the last matchup 110-109 on Feb. 25, with Paolo Banchero scoring 36 points in the win.

TOP PERFORMERS: Banchero is averaging 22.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and five assists for the Magic. Desmond Bane is averaging 22.3 points over the last 10 games.

LeBron James is averaging 21.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6.9 assists for the Lakers. Doncic is averaging 38.1 points and 9.2 rebounds while shooting 49.4% over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Magic: 7-3, averaging 120.6 points, 44.7 rebounds, 27.3 assists, 8.4 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 47.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.3 points per game.

Lakers: 9-1, averaging 120.8 points, 41.2 rebounds, 26.7 assists, 8.8 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 50.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 113.0 points.

INJURIES: Magic: Franz Wagner: out (ankle), Wendell Carter Jr.: day to day (rib), Anthony Black: out (abdomen), Jonathan Isaac: out (knee).

Lakers: Maxi Kleber: day to day (back).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

CHICAGO (AP) — James Harden scored 36, Evan Mobley added 26 points and 14 rebounds and Cleveland hung on to beat the Chicago Bulls 115-110 on Thursday night even though Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell missed the game because of a bruised left eye.

Harden nailed seven 3-pointers. Jaylon Tyson chipped in with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and the Cavaliers hung on after a 29-point lead in the third quarter dwindled to one in the game’s closing minutes.

Chicago’s Tre Jones cut it to 103-102 when he made two free throws with 3:33 remaining. Sam Merrill answered with a 3 for Cleveland.

The Cavaliers were up 110-107 when Jones missed a potential tying 3 and Leonard Miller missed a layup with about a minute left. Harden hit a pull-up jumper to make it a five-point game with 33 seconds left and Cleveland hung on for the win.

Mitchell was hurt in a collision in practice with Mobley. The seven-time All-Star played through the injury in Cleveland’s victory at Milwaukee on Tuesday night and finished with 19 points on 4-for-14 shooting. He said after the game that he was having trouble seeing.

Coach Kenny Atkinson said the injury is “nothing serious,” but the Cavaliers need to “let it clear up.”

Jones scored 20 for Chicago, which lost for the fourth time in five games. Rob Dillingham added a season-high 17 points. Nick Richards finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Up next

Cavaliers: Visit New Orleans on Saturday.

Bulls: Host Houston on Monday. ___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Trey Murphy III scored 27 points and the New Orleans Pelicans extended their home winning streak to seven games with a 105-99 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night.

Saddiq Bey had 20 points and Zion Williamson added 15 for the Pelicans, who swept the two-game set against the Clippers after 124-109 win, also at home, on Wednesday night.

Dejounte Murray was held out to rest as part of his comeback from a ruptured Achilles tendon. He had 17 points and a season-high 11 assists Wednesday night in his ninth game since making his season debut last month.

Derrick Jones Jr. scored 22 points, John Collins had 18 and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 16 for the Clippers, who lost their fourth in a row.

Kawhi Leonard sat out a night after scoring 25 points and grabbing eight rebounds in his return from a one-game absence because of a sprained left ankle.

The Pelicans trailed 94-91 with 5:53 after Collins' floater, but Williamson made a layup and Murphy hit a 3-pointer to put New Orleans up for good as it closed with a 14-5 run.

Up next

Clippers: Play at Dallas on Saturday night.

Pelicans: Host Cleveland on Saturday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Jaylia Reed scored 16 points, DeMya Porter had 15 points and 12 rebounds and Southern closed the game on a 14-2 run to beat fellow No. 16 seed Samford 65-53 on Thursday night in the NCAA Tournament.

Southern (20-13) won a game in the First Four for the second straight season, earning a chance to play top-seeded South Carolina on Saturday in the Round of 64. It's the Jaguars’ third appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last four years.

D’Shantae Edwards began the fourth quarter by converting a three-point play to give Southern a 47-44 lead. Samford tied it twice in the next three minutes, but could not get any closer.

Reed put Southern ahead for good with 6:47 remaining on a 3-pointer to begin the game-closing run. Six different Jaguars scored during the run.

Samford missed eight of its last nine field goals.

Jocelyn Tate added 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench for Southern, which had nine of its 13 steals in the first half. The Jaguars finished with 20 points off turnovers.

Briana Rivera led Samford (16-19) with 16 points and freshman Kaylee Yarbrough added 11 off the bench. The Bulldogs were making their third appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Both teams shot 31% from the floor in the first half, with 17 combined turnovers and Southern leading 27-24. No player had more than six points at the break.

Up next

Samford faces the high-octane Gamecock offense ranked fourth in the nation at 86.3 points per game. South Carolina enters its 22nd NCAA Tournament with its 14th-consecutive appearance at the event.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Venus Williams watched the forehand sail into the net, the final shot of her loss to Francesca Jones of Britain at the Miami Open on Thursday afternoon.

Nobody seemed to know what to do next.

Jones, who wasn't even alive when Williams won her first two Grand Slam titles, raised her arms into the air to celebrate, then put them down after a few seconds. And on the way to the net, Jones saw Williams coming her way and did something not often seen after a match.

She bowed.

Such is the level of adoration that Jones — and surely plenty of others — have for Williams, who has been one of the biggest names in tennis for about three decades now. Williams broke into a big smile when Jones bowed, then offered a handshake, then a hug and even a quick word of encouragement. And Jones, oddly, was almost apologetic when her 7-5, 7-5 win was over.

“I've had a really rough year so far,” Jones said in the on-court interview following the match. “A lot of injuries and I'm still sick. I was coughing all the time. I was worried I was going to make a legend sick as well.”

She truly does think of Venus — and her sister Serena Williams — as legends.

Jones still has posters in her childhood bedroom of the sisters, wishing them good night before she goes off to sleep when she's there. She still remembers being taken by her father to Centre Court at Wimbledon as a 5-year-old so she could watch her heroes play.

“If it weren't for those two women, I'm not sure I would have made the step to do it. ... They're the reason that I'm here today,” Jones said.

When the match ended, fans slowly rose to their feet, first applauding Jones, then breaking into a full-on ovation as Williams — who was playing the Miami tournament for the 23rd time, while Jones is in it for the first time — gathered her things and walked off the grandstand court with a wave.

And, as is probably the case on some level every time Williams gets eliminated from the singles draw of a tournament these days, the question will hover in the tennis world: “How many more times will we see her play?”

Time will tell. There will be at least one more match in Miami Gardens; Williams is playing doubles in this tournament with Leylah Fernandez. The duo made a run to the U.S. Open quarterfinals last summer.

Carlos Alcaraz, the world's top-ranked men's player, said he hopes the Venus show keeps going for at least a little while longer.

“To be honest for us, the tennis world, someone like such an iconic player, such an iconic athlete, a legend from all the sport still playing, I think it’s great,” Alcaraz said, speaking while the Williams-Jones match was getting underway. “Thanks to her, I think she brought a lot of people to watch tennis, which is great. And I have a huge admiration for her. She’s still playing, still delivering great tennis, performing well.”

Williams, who got a wild-card spot into this field, has been part of the tournament at two different sites and with it having at least a half-dozen different names. She’s reached the Miami final in three different decades, winning titles in 1998, 1999 and 2001 and being the runner-up in 2010.

It’s a home tournament for Williams, which is surely part of the appeal. Her hometown is Palm Beach Gardens, about a 90-minute drive north of Hard Rock Stadium. And she’s still among the partners within the ownership group of the Miami Dolphins, who call the facility home.

For perspective:

— As Williams took the court, Moïse Kouamé of France was finishing off a three-set win over Zachary Svajda of the U.S. in a men’s first-round match. Kouamé, who became the youngest winner of a Masters 1000 match since Rafael Nadal did so in 2003, turned 17 earlier this month — meaning he’s nearly 29 years younger than Williams, who turns 46 in June.

— Only nine other women in the Miami field were born before Williams played her first pro match; her debut was as a 14-year-old in 1994.

“I don’t know how (much) longer we are going to watch Venus. Hopefully a couple more years, but we don’t know,” Alcaraz said. “All we have to do is just enjoy her matches as much as we could and let’s see. But I think it’s great for the sport, for tennis to see.”

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis