An die SV » to his second Champions Tour win in Calgary. H

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- In a span of three days, Shabazz Napier and Connecticut knocked out both Philadelphia schools in the NCAA tournament. Now, the seventh-seeded Huskies are off to the East Regional semifinals in New York City to see how much more bracket busting they can do a year after being barred from the post-season because of academic sanctions. Second-seeded Villanova became the highest seed to fall so far after Napier scored 25 points in leading UConn to a 77-65 victory Saturday night. The win came on the heels of another upset in Buffalo, where Dayton, the 11th seed in the South, beat third-seeded Syracuse 55-53. "I guess it means something to you guys but at the end of the day, just because theyre No. 2 and were No. 7, they dont get extra points to start the game off," Napier said. "Everybodys the same." UConn was better thanks to Napier, who scored 24 points two days earlier in an 89-81 overtime win against Philadelphias other tournament entry, Saint Josephs. Napier had 21 points in the second half and helped put the game away by hitting three consecutive 3-pointers to give the Huskies a 54-45 lead with 6:08 remaining. The star guard was limited to 8 minutes in the first half by foul trouble, and he avoided a major scare when he briefly left the game after hurting his right shin with 4:01 left. "The pain was excruciating. I couldnt put any pressure on it," Napier said. "Our trainer told me to mentally stay strong. ... He put that Bio-freeze on it, and I was ready to go." The freeze didnt cool him down once Napier returned after missing only about 40 seconds of action. Holding the ball atop the 3-point arc, he blew past a defender while driving into the paint and flipped in an underhanded reverse high off the backboard to put UConn ahead 60-51 with 2:19 remaining. Lasan Kromah scored 12 points for the Huskies, while DeAndre Daniels, Ryan Boatright and Terrence Samuel each had 11. Connecticut (28-8) advanced to face the winner of Sundays game between third-seeded Iowa State and No. 6 seed North Carolina. "Its unbelievable," UConn athletic director Warde Manuel said. "Its extra special, given what this team went through last year. Extra special." Manuel was referring to the academic sanctions that essentially rendered the Huskies 20-10 finish meaningless last year in Kevin Ollies first season as coach. Ollie has improved to 2-0 in his tournament debut, two years since taking over after Jim Calhoun stepped down because of health issues. Ryan Arcidiacono scored 18 points for Villanova (29-5) in a matchup of former Big East rivals. James Bell had 14 and Darrun Hilliard added 13. "Certainly a tough way to end the season," Wildcats coach Jay Wright said. "I didnt want to let this put a damper on what this group has done all year." Villanova fell one win short of matching the school record set in 2009, when the Wildcats lost to North Carolina in the national semifinals. Napiers performance played a significant role. "He was just awesome," Wright said. "There was a period where he hit three 3s, and it just created a separation." Wright was referring to a surge during which UConn took control in a span of 1:32 as Napier made three consecutive 3-pointers to build a 51-40 advantage. Kromah started it and Napier struck a pose for the cameras after hitting the second 3 with 8:59 left. "He led us to victory," Ollie said. "He was just unbelievable in that second half: 21 points, crucial 3s, dagger 3s. He was 30 feet out and he was making them." The Huskies are marching on to Madison Square Garden in their first season as members of the American Athletic Conference after the Big East was realigned following a series of defections. Villanova remained a Big East holdover, but wound up being bounced by a familiar foe. The teams traded leads four times in the opening 5:25 of the second half, with Daniels putting UConn ahead for good, 37-36, with a layup. Poor shooting continued to haunt the Wildcats, who were coming off a 75-53 win over Milwaukee on Thursday. After hitting five of their first eight attempts through the first 6:11, the Wildcats closed the half going 2 of 15. Their offence went stone cold after Hilliard hit a 3 to put them up 19-9 with 11:30 left. Villanova went 11:24 without a field goal, missing 10 straight shots before Arcidiacono hit a 3-pointer with 5.9 seconds left in the first half that cut the Huskies lead to 25-24. Villanova was down 42-36 with 11:48 left when Hilliard drove into an opening on the right wing and, as he went up to shoot, the ball slipped out of his hands and bounced out of bounds. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Discount Soccer Jerseys . -- Adam Tambellini scored three times and set up one more as the Calgary Hitmen won their sixth in a row by crushing the host Lethbridge Hurricanes 8-1 on Saturday in Western Hockey League play. http://www.cheapsoccerjerseys.co/ . On paper, it looks a little like Andre the Giant taking on a midget wrestler. It has all the makings of a rout with the Americans adding an eighth win in nine outings of this biennial event. The Yanks have eight players in the top 15 in the world while the Internationals have just one. Soccer Jerseys Outlet . -- Another baseball tradition is about to largely disappear: a manager, with a crazed look in his eyes, charging the field and getting into a face-to-face shouting match with an umpire. Soccer Jerseys For Sale . For the Athletics, hes extremely important at the top of the order, especially with Coco Crisp hurting. Jaso drove in three runs Sunday night, helping Scott Kazmir and Oakland beat the Texas Rangers 9-3. SAINTE-JULIE, Que. -- Esteban Toledo delivered a knockout punch to Kenny Perry for his second Champions Tour victory of the season. Toledo won the Montreal Championship on Sunday, beating Charles Schwab Cup standings leader Perry with a birdie on the third extra hole. The 50-year-old Toledo swung his fist after he chipped in for birdie on the par-3 10th hole of the Vallee du Richelieus challenging Rouville course. "I always celebrate with a left hook," said Toledo, who was a boxer in his native Mexico before switching careers. That left Perry with a long putt for birdie that went wide to the left. "When Kenny missed the putt on the third playoff hole I was shocked, really," Toledo said. "I know it was a 20-footer but it was makeable to tie me and I told my caddie whatever happens, happens here." Toledo and Perry each shot par twice in a row on the first two playoff holes, both of which were played on the par-4 18th. "I really like Esteban," Perry said. "Hes a talented kid. He works hard and I was very proud of him. That was a great shot. I said, One of us needs to make a birdie. Bad for me, but good for Esteban. Great job." Toledo, who shot a 3-under 69 to finish 5-under 211, won the Insperity Championship in May in Texas to become the first Mexican winner in Champions Tour history. He also won that event on the third hole of a playoff, topping Mike Goodes with a par. "Its been pretty awesome winning twice as a rookie," Toledo said. "I think Im going to have a pretty good shot to be the rookie of the year with Rocco Mediate. I wish him the best. Hes a really good player." It was the highest winning 54-hole score on the tour since 2008, when Jerry Pate shot 5-under to win the Turtle Bay Championship in Hawaii. Perry, who shot a 70, added to his commanding lead over Bernhard Langer in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. He rode a cart throughout the final round because of pain in his back and his right heeel.dddddddddddd "I was just fighting through it," Perry said. "I was just trying to finish. I came all the way up here to finish and my goal was to play 54 holes. I actually played very nicely. I drove the ball beautifully. I drove it better today than Ive driven it all week. There is something to be said about the wounded guy. I guess I was more in control, more in reserve, not trying to swing so hard at it." Duffy Waldorf shot his second straight 70 to finish one stroke back in third. Langer, who shot a 75, began the day with a three-stroke lead at 6 under. The two-time Masters champion double-bogeyed the par-3 fourth hole and finished in a four-way tie for fourth with Anders Forsbrand, Michael Allen and David Frost. Mediate shot a 74 to finish 1-over 217 one week after cruising to his second Champions Tour win in Calgary. He shot a 22 under to win the inaugural Shaw Charity Classic by seven strokes. All three previous Montreal Championship winners finished 3-over 219. Mark Calcavecchia, who won last year on the Vercheres course, shot a 73, as did Larry Mize, who won the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2010 at Fontainebleau in Blainville, Que. John Cook, who won in 2011 at Fontainebleau, shot a 71. Rod Spittle of Niagara Falls, Ont., was the top Canadian out of three in the field. Spittle birdied the 17th to finish with a 71 in an eight-way tie for ninth at 1-under 215. "We get to play some great places throughout the year but to play in Canada for the past two weeks, obviously Calgary and here in Montreal, Ive looked forward to it all summer," Spittle said. "I played well last week, I played well again this week, so its always fun to come home and its even more special when you play well, so Im very, very happy." Victorias Jim Rutledge shot 7-over 79, including four bogeys and a triple-bogey on the par-4 16th hole, to finish 13-over 229. Marc Girouard of Saint-Sauveur, Que., shot a 74 to finish 17-over 233. ' ' '