HOUSTON (AP) — Jamal Shead had 26 points, including 20 in the second half, and No. 2 Houston took sole possession of first place in the Big 12 with a 73-65 win over No. 6 Iowa State. Emanuel Sharp added 20 points for the Cougars, who won their 20th consecutive home game — the longest active streak in the country. They hold a one-game lead over the Cyclones with five games remaining in the regular season for both teams. Shead shot 5 of 7 from the field and 8 for 9 at the free-throw line in the second half. He finished 6 of 10 from the floor and added six assists. Houston, which never trailed, turned 16 Iowa State turnovers into 20 points. Keshon Gilbert had 17 points for the Cyclones.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Max Abmas became the 12th player in men’s Division I history to reach 3,000 career points and Texas held off Kansas State 62-56. Abmas, a graduate transfer who played his first four seasons for Oral Roberts University, entered play needing six points to reach the milestone. He finished with eight and has scored 450 points for the Longhorns (17-9, 6-7 Big 12 Conference) this season. Dylan Disu scored 20 to lead Texas. Arthur Kaluma paced the Wildcats (15-11, 5-8) with 15 points and seven rebounds.
UNDATED (AP) — UConn became the first unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll this season, earning all 62 votes from a national media panel. The Huskies picked up the 16 that went to Purdue last week after the Boilermakers lost to Ohio State. Houston was second, with Purdue, Arizona and Tennessee rounding out the top five. San Diego State returned to the poll at No. 19 and Washington State entered at No. 21 to end a 302-week poll drought. Colorado State, Texas Tech and Florida also entered the poll at the expense of Virginia, Wisconsin, Florida Atlantic, Indiana State and Oklahoma.
NEW YORK (AP) — Southern California has climbed three spots to No. 7 in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll while South Carolina remains a unanimous No. 1. USC swept Oregon and then-No. 11 Oregon State over the weekend. The Trojans moved into a tie for second place in the Pac-12. The six teams in front of USC didn’t change, with South Carolina leading the way as it has since the regular season began. The Gamecocks received all 35 votes from a national media panel. Ohio State was right behind South Carolina, marking the first time in seven weeks that a No. 2 team held its place for two consecutive polls. Stanford, Iowa, Texas and North Carolina State followed the Buckeyes.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — William Byron launched Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary season by snapping the team’s nine-year Daytona 500 losing streak with his Monday win in the rain-postponed “Great American Race.” The last Hendrick driver to win the Daytona 500 was Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2014. The 26 year old from Charlotte, North Carolina is the sixth different driver to win the 500 for Rick Hendrick, the winningest team owner in NASCAR history who made his way to victory lane on the actual 40th anniversary of his first Cup win. Byron beat Hendrick teammate Alex Bowman as the race ended under one lap of caution.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Alex Bowman never saw how the big wreck started that marred the end of the Daytona 500. He was surprised to learn he triggered the big one. Bowman sparked the crash that involved nearly two dozen cars and knocked six former NASCAR champions out of contention in the Daytona 500. Bowman bump-drafted Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron on the backstretch with nine laps to go when Byron lost control, turned into Brad Keselowski and pretty much wrecked the field. Byron and Bowman were the biggest beneficiaries of the melee. They escaped with little damage to their cars and went on to give Hendrick Motorsports a 1-2 finish in “The Great American Race.”
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Defense wasn’t really played in the All-Star Game, which explains why the Eastern Conference scored a record 211 points and the game saw nearly 400 points combined on Sunday night. Points couldn’t have been easier to come by. But in the regular season — although some might dispute this — defense does get played. And points just keep piling up anyway with the NBA on pace to see its highest-scoring season in more than 50 years with teams averaging more than 115 points per game, up about 1% from last year and up a staggering 15.5% from where it was a decade ago.
UNDATED (AP) — The Brooklyn Nets have fired Jacque Vaughn after ending a disappointing first half of the season with a 50-point loss in Boston in their final game before the All-Star break. About a year after giving Vaughn a contract extension, the Nets changed course on Monday and said an interim coach would be named soon. The Nets are 21-33 and in 11th place in the Eastern Conference. They dropped five of their last six games. Nets general manager Sean Marks says “this was an incredibly difficult decision, but one we feel is in the best interest of the team going forward.”
UNDATED (AP) — It was a bruising opening weekend in college baseball for Sacramento State’s Matt Masciangelo. The Hornets’ junior left fielder was hit by pitch on eight of his first nine plate appearances against Loyola Marymount. The teams played a doubleheader Friday, with Masciangelo plunked three times in the first game and four times in the second. The teams didn’t play Saturday. He got on base his first time up Sunday when a pitch grazed his jersey. Masciangelo says he and his teammates got a good laugh and he was happy to get on base so often.
MONDAY SCORES
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (2)Houston 73 (6)Iowa St. 65
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Anaheim 4 Buffalo 3
Final Toronto 4 St. Louis 2
Final SO Boston 4 Dallas 3
Final Minnesota 10 Vancouver 7
Final OT Detroit 4 Seattle 3
Final Calgary 6 Winnipeg 3
Final Vegas 4 San Jose 0
Final Edmonton 6 Arizona 3
Final Carolina 6 Chicago 3
Final Ottawa 4 Tampa Bay 2