Gator takes a bite out of Wyoming

SPRINGFIELD — Junior Gator Nichols hit the game-winning three-pointer off an offensive rebound as Zanesville Maysville beat Cincinnati Wyoming at the buzzer, 75-73, in double overtime on Friday night at Wittenberg University.

The Panthers advance to the state championship game for the second straight year, this time in Division IV.

Nichols scored 29 points for the Panthers, who led 56-49 in the fourth quarter before Wyoming tied the game at 61-61 at the end of regulation.

The Panthers, who were state runners-up last year, will play the winner of Saturday’s Cleveland Glenville-Gates Mills Hawken game for the state championship game at University of Dayton Arena on March 21.

Maysville won its ninth straight to improve to 26-3, including a 73-57 district victory over East Liverpool on Feb. 25.

The Wyoming Cowboys, playing in the state semifinals for the first time, finish the season at 25-3.

Mason breaks school record

PITTSFORD, New York — Mount Union senior Mary Mason broke her own school record Friday in qualifying to the finals at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Nazarth University.

Mason, a former Marlington High School standout, finished third in her heat in the 800 meters in 2:08.79, which was three seconds faster than she ran earlier this season.

She will race in the finals at 5:05 p.m. Saturday.

Also for Mount Union, graduate student distance Vincent Giumenti and junior shot-putter Ryan McVicker — both from Dover — will compete in the national finals Saturday.

Giumenti also broke his school record in the men’s mile at 4:13.25. He placed fourth in his heat to advance after a disqualification from an athlete in front of him.

Kupp goes back home

Cooper Kupp and the Seattle Seahawks have agreed on a three-year, $45 million contract, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Friday because the contract hasn’t been signed.

Kupp, the Super Bowl 56 MVP, was released by the Los Angeles Rams on Wednesday. He’ll help replace DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett for his home state team in Seattle, which traded quarterback Geno Smith and signed Sam Darnold in free agency.

Kupp, who starred in college at Eastern Washington and is from Yakima, Washington, was the AP Offensive Player of the Year in 2021 when he won the receiving triple crown by catching 145 passes for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns. Kupp added 33 catches for 478 yards and six TDs in the postseason, including the winning touchdown in a Super Bowl win over Cincinnati on the Rams’ home field.

Kupp was plagued by injuries the past three seasons and didn’t have 900 yards receiving during that span.

He had a rough finish last season, during which he missed four games early with an ankle injury. Kupp had just 12 catches for 162 yards in the final five games of the regular season during the least productive stretch of his career.

His role was also diminished with the Rams as Puka Nacua emerged as an elite NFL receiver the past two seasons.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles has added Davante Adams this offseason, signing the three-time All-Pro wide receiver to a two-year deal that could be worth up to $46 million.

Kupp was drafted in the third round in 2017 out of Eastern Washington in coach Sean McVay’s first draft class. He had been a centerpiece of the offense throughout his career, catching 634 passes for 7,776 yards and 57 touchdowns.

Akron makes MAC final

CLEVELAND (AP) — Nate Johnson’s career-high 31 points led Akron over Toledo 100-90 on Friday in the Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals.

Johnson also contributed five rebounds and six assists for the Zips (27-6). Isaiah Gray went 6 of 7 from the field to add 15 points. Tavari Johnson shot 5 of 13 from the field, including 1 for 3 from 3-point range, and went 4 for 4 from the line to finish with 15 points.

Seth Hubbard finished with 28 points for the Rockets (18-15). Sam Lewis added 23 points and Javan Simmons had 18 points and seven rebounds.

Akron took the lead with 19:41 left in the first half and did not give it up. Johnson scored 17 points in the first half to help put them ahead 52-41 at the break. Johnson led the way with a team-high 14 second-half points.

Kent State comes up short

CLEVELAND (AP) — Peter Suder had 23 points to lead second-seeded Miami (OH) past third-seeded Kent State, 72-64 on Friday in the Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals.

The RedHawks will face No. 1 seed Akron in Saturday’s tournament championship game. The Zips reached the finals by knocking off Toledo, 100-90.

Suder had 11 rebounds for the RedHawks (25-8). Kam Craft went 6 of 12 from the field (5 for 9 from 3-point range) to add 17 points. Eian Elmer shot 3 for 11, including 2 for 8 from beyond the arc to finish with 10 points.

Jalen Sullinger led the way for the Golden Flashes (22-11) with 29 points. Marquis Barnett added 11 points, six rebounds and two steals for Kent State. VonCameron Davis finished with 10 points.

Suder scored 13 points in the first half and Miami (OH) went into halftime trailing 33-32. Craft scored 17 points down the stretch in the second half to help lead Miami (OH) to an eight-point victory.

Cavs win franchise-record 16th straight

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Evan Mobley had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Darius Garland added 20 points and nine assists and the Cleveland Cavaliers recorded a franchise-record 16th straight victory with a 133-124 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night.

De’Andre Hunter scored 18 points, while Jarrett Allen had 16. The win eclipsed Cleveland’s previous standard for consecutive wins with 15 to open this season.

Ja Morant led Memphis with a season-high 44 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke finished with 13 points each.

Jackson returned to the lineup against Cleveland after missing the previous five games with a left ankle sprain. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers played their second game without Donovan Mitchell due to left groin soreness.

Takeaways

Cavaliers: Cleveland has a solid hold on the top spot in the Eastern Conference. It also was Cleveland’s 26th road win, tying for the second-best in Cavaliers single-season history with the 2009-10 team.

Grizzlies: Memphis struggled shooting most of the night, and only a rally with the reserves made the margin respectable.

Key moment

Cleveland opened the second quarter on a 23-9 rally capped by a Morant turnover that led to a breakaway by Javonte Green. Green missed the shot when he was fouled by Jackson — a foul ruled a Flagrant 1. The ensuing free throws took the Cleveland lead to 56-39.

Ogunjobi faces suspension

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills stand to open the season minus two new free-agent defensive line additions upon learning Larry Ogunjobi and Michael Hoecht both face six-game suspensions for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drugs policy, general manager Brandon Beane announced Friday.

“It’s not ideal to have two guys with that, but both guys have never had any issues off the field,” Beane said. “It’s a tough lesson of where do you get your supplements or whatever happened.”

Whatever happened is suddenly hampering the Bills retooled line, with Ogunjobi and Hoecht both expected to be unavailable to play until Week 7. Under NFL rules, the two players would not be barred from the team facility for the first four weeks, before being allowed to begin practicing.

Beane said the team was aware of Hoecht’s positive test before agreeing to sign the hybrid defensive lineman/linebacker to a three-year, $24 million contract Monday.

Hoecht took responsibility in revealing he tested positive for testosterone, which he said was supplied to him by his long-time trainer.

“I’m ultimately mad at nobody but myself. I got complacent. I trusted someone I shouldn’t have trusted,” said Hoecht, who spent his first four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. “It was a mistake. It was careless. And it’s ultimately my responsibility.”

As for Ogunjobi, who signed a one-year contract with $8 million guaranteed, Beane said the player revealed he had just received notice of testing positive upon arriving in Buffalo on Thursday to sign a contract the two sides agreed to on Tuesday. The 30-year-old has no history of testing positive and, last season, was the Pittsburgh Steelers nominee for Walter Payton Man of the Year award.

“It was a situation where I don’t really know what it was. But I think it was a tainted supplement that I took,” Ogunjobi said. “But I understand the league, we have an obligation to understand what we put in our body, and I take full responsibility for that.”

Beane credited Ogunjobi for being upfront even before the player’s B sample has been tested, while adding it’s not ideal to have two players facing season-opening suspensions.

Beane said the Bills would have passed on targeting the eighth-year player in free agency had they known of the positive test.

Beane said there was little choice but to honor the agreement in part because the market for defensive tackles is already drying up and Ogunjobi can still play a role on the team to close the season.

Upon formally signed his contract Friday, Ogunjobi said he was notified of the positive test at the same time his representatives had agreed to the deal with Buffalo.

“The organization handled it masterfully. They welcomed me with open arms. They understood the situation,” Ogunjobi said. “And I couldn’t be more excited to get on that field and support my team and this organization when my suspension is lifted.”

Ogunjobi spent his first four NFL seasons with Cleveland, another with Cincinnati and the past three in Pittsburgh.

The 27-year-old Hoecht said he learned about the positive test three weeks into the offseason, and called it “the lowest point of my entire life.”

“It was careless. It’s fully my responsibility,” Hoecht said. “And it’s something I’m gonna have to own, something I’m gonna come up on the better side of and use it as motivation and as fuel.”

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