HOUSTON (AP) — Aaron Judge doubled and Pete Crow-Armstrong and Brice Turang each had two hits as the United States beat Canada 5-3 on Friday night to reach the World Baseball Classic semifinals.

The U.S. squad rebounded after an 8-6 loss to Italy in pool play left them needing help to advance to this round.

The Americans move on to face the Dominican Republic in a semifinal on Sunday in Miami. It will be the team’s third straight appearance in the semifinals and the fourth overall.

It’s another big win for the U.S. over its neighbors to the north, coming after the U.S. hockey team beat Canada 2-1 in overtime to win the gold medal at the Milan Olympics last month.

Bo Naylor hit a two-run homer in Canada’s three-run sixth that cut the deficit to two runs. But the U.S. bullpen closed it out, capped by Mason Miller striking out the side in the ninth for the save.

Canada, which was in the quarterfinals for the first time, fell to 1-5 against the U.S. in the WBC.

Canada trailed by five runs when Owen Caissie walked with one out in the sixth and moved to second on a groundout by Abraham Toro. Tyler Black’s RBI single off Brad Keller cut the lead to 5-1.

Naylor’s shot to the second deck in right field came on Gabe Speier’s fifth pitch and got Canada within 5-3. It was the 10th home run the U.S. has allowed in five games in the tournament.

Canada had a shot to close the gap in the seventh when it had runners on second and third with no outs. But David Bednar retired the next three batters, with two strikeouts, to escape the jam.

U.S. starter Logan Webb allowed four hits and walked one with five strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.

Bobby Witt Jr. was on with one out in the first when Judge doubled before Witt scored on a groundout by Kyle Schwarber to give the U.S. an early lead. The double by Judge was the only extra-base hit of the night for the U.S.

Canada had a runner on first with two outs in the second when Witt made a leaping catch on a ball hit by Edouard Julien to end the inning.

The bases were loaded with two outs in the third when Alex Bregman singled on a ground ball to Toro. His throw to first sailed over Josh Naylor’s head and into the dugout and two runs scored to make it 3-0.

Roman Anthony singled with one out in the sixth before a walk by Cal Raleigh. Brice Turang singled on a grounder to center field to score Anthony and push the lead to 4-0. Crow-Armstrong sent the next pitch into center field for an RBI single before Witt grounded into a double play to end the inning.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Braylon Mullins scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half, Jayden Ross hit a couple of momentum-stunting 3-pointers in the second, and sixth-ranked UConn defeated Georgetown 67-51 on Friday night to set up a showdown of the top two seeds in the Big East Tournament final.

The second-seeded Huskies (29-4) will face regular-season conference champion and 13th-ranked St. John’s in the title game Saturday night after the Red Storm beat Seton Hall 78-68 in the other semifinal.

Like St. John’s, UConn has yet to trail in either of its first two games this week at Madison Square Garden. Mullins scored five of the team’s first seven points to go up 7-0, and the closest 11th-seeded Georgetown (16-18) got after that was down three at the 7 1/2-minute mark.

UConn led by 11 at halftime, despite not attempting a free throw to that point, and finished with assists on 21 of its 28 field goals. Without leading scorer KJ Lewis, who was ruled out for the season with a left ankle injury, the Hoyas were ultimately overmatched by a stacked opponent they played tight in January and again in February.

Although not as dominant as in a quarterfinal rout of Xavier, coach Dan Hurley’s team has responded as he had hoped from what he called a “choke job” loss last weekend at Marquette that dropped UConn two spots in the AP Top 25.

That defeat and the “brutal film session” that Hurley said followed might turn out to be an important learning moment for the Huskies — if they keep this level of play going and make another lengthy NCAA Tournament run two years since the program won the second of back-to-back national championships.

Up next

A rubber match for the conference’s top two teams after they split the two-game season series. UConn won the second meeting on Feb. 25 by 32 points.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Second-ranked Arizona and seventh-ranked Iowa State traded shot-for-shot down the stretch in their Big 12 Tournament semifinal Friday night, and it seemed almost inevitable that whichever team had the ball last would win.

It wound up in the hands of Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley with a few seconds left in a tie game.

He made the inevitable happen.

Bradley drove to his right as Cyclones guard Killyan Toure guarded him tightly, created just enough space to get off a jumper from the wing, and watched it splash through as his teammates engulfed him to give Arizona a heart-stopping 82-80 victory.

“It was a great game. An epic battle. And I respect Iowa State so much,” said Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, whose team is headed to its second consecutive Big 12 title game. “I thought they played really well today. Their shot-making was different than when we played them 10 days ago. They’re a good team and were a good version of themselves and they really made us dig deep.”

The Wildcats (31-2) certainly showed off their depth with Anthony Dell’Orso matching a career-best with six 3-pointers and scoring 26 points off the bench. Bradley finished with 15, Ivan Kharchenkov had 17 points and Tobe Awaka added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Together, they made up for an off-night by All-Big 12 guard Brayden Burries, who was 0 for 7 from the field and had just three points, and likely first-round draft pick Koa Peat, who finished with four points while turning the ball over four times.

“We’ve got so many guys that can get it going any night,” Bradley said.

He’s one of them.

The game seemed to be headed to overtime after Iowa State guard Tamin Lipsey, who had been 1 of 10 from the field and battling a sore groin, hit a 3-pointer from the wing with 15.2 seconds to go. Lloyd chose not to call a timeout and Bradley calmly walked up the floor with the ball, moving his teammates where he wanted them as if he was one of the coaches.

Then he drove to his right. Toure went with him. And with just enough air on his shot, it swished for the win.

“A lot of times we would call a timeout late from a defensive standpoint,” Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “Look, at the end of the day, Killyan guarded Bradley as perfect as you can guard him. Bradley is a winning player, a fierce competitor.”

It was a fitting finish to a dramatic showdown between two teams capable of winning the national championship.

Milan Momcilovic matched a career high with eight 3-pointers and led the Cyclones (27-7) with 28 points. All-Big 12 forward Joshua Jefferson had 21 points, Toure finished with 12 and Lipsey had eight points along with seven assists.

It was a really intense game, and all credit to them,” Jefferson said. “They just hit a tough shot to end the game.”

The Wildcats were able to weather a 14-5 run by Iowa State to start the game, and even pulled ahead 37-34 with a 9-0 run of their own late in the first half. But the Cyclones took the momentum into halftime when Momcilovic hit a trio of 3-pointers over the final 1:23, including a buzzer-beater after an Arizona turnover with a couple seconds on the clock.

The two teams continued to trade blows during the second half, and at one point, Dell’Orso and Momcilovic answered each other’s 3s on four consecutive trips down the floor. In all, the teams hit 11 of their final 13 shots — seven of them 3-pointers.

“It was just a real fun game,” Momcilovic said. “Down the stretch it was bucket after bucket.”

The crowd of 19,450 packed inside T-Mobile Center, a single-session record for the Big 12 Tournament, roared with every hoop, giving the game the feeling of a Final Four matchup before the NCAA Tournament even begins next week.

Arizona wound up winning. But it was hard to call Iowa State a loser.

“We have tremendous belief in the guys in our locker room, the work they do every day,” Otzelberger said. “We really respect Arizona and their program, but just like they’re a Final Four contender, so are we. We have big things ahead of us starting next week.”

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Arizona’s Jaden Bradley answered a tying 3-pointer by Iowa State guard Tamin Lipsey with a fall-away jumper at the buzzer, sending the second-ranked Wildcats to an 82-80 victory over No. 7 Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals Friday night.

Bradley finished with 15 points, and Anthony Dell’Orso matched a career-best with six 3-pointers and scored 26 points for the tournament’s top seed. The Wildcats (31-2) advanced to play No. 14 Kansas or fifth-ranked Houston in Saturday night’s championship game.

Ivan Kharchenkov had 17 points for Arizona. Tobe Awake added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

It looked as if the game was headed to overtime after Lipsey, who had been 1 for 10 from the field, drilled a 3-pointer from the wing with 15.2 seconds to go. Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd chose not to call a timeout and Bradley calmly walked the ball up the floor, then drove to his right and hit the winner before his teammates jumped from the bench on top of him.

Milan Momcilovic matched a career-high eight 3-pointers and scored 28 points for the No. 5 seed Cyclones (27-7). All-Big 12 forward Joshua Jefferson had 21 points, Killyan Toure added 12 and Lipsey finished with eight points and seven assists.

The Wildcats were able to weather a 14-5 run by Iowa State to start the game, and even pulled ahead 37-34 with a 9-0 run of their own late in the first half. But the Cyclones took the momentum into halftime when Momcilovic hit a trio of 3-pointers over the final 1:23, including a buzzer-beater after an Arizona turnover with a couple seconds on the clock.

That was just the start of the fireworks between two teams capable of winning the national championship.

They traded blows throughout the second half, and at one point, Dell’Orso and Momcilovic traded 3-pointers on four consecutive trips down the floor, sending a Big 12 Tournament single-session record crowd of 19,450 into a frenzy.

That was nothing compared to the eruption when Bradley hit the bucket that sent Arizona to its second straight title game.

Up next

Arizona lost at third-seeded Kansas before winning the rematch on its senior night a couple of weeks ago. The Wildcats beat the second-seeded Cougars in their only regular-season meeting on Feb. 21 in Houston.

Iowa State is hoping for a No. 2 seed and first- and second-round games in St. Louis for the NCAA Tournament.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Zuby Ejiofor scored 20 points and No. 13 St. John’s beat Seton Hall 78-68 on Friday to reach the Big East Tournament title game for the second consecutive season.

Joson Sanon added 15 points off the bench for the defending champion Red Storm (27-6), who will face No. 11 seed Georgetown or sixth-ranked and second-seeded UConn on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

St. John’s, outright regular-season champions each of the past two years, has never won back-to-back Big East Tournament crowns. The program has advanced to the semifinals in all three seasons under Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino after failing to do so at all from 2001-23.

Bryce Hopkins had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Johnnies, who improved to 10-1 as the top seed in this event. Dillon Mitchell provided 13 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Budd Clark paced the fourth-seeded Pirates (21-12) with 17 points. Seton Hall was trying to reach the final for the first time since a 74-72 loss to Villanova in 2019.

St. John’s has won six straight matchups in the Hudson River rivalry, its longest streak since winning 15 in a row from 1982-88.

St. John’s opened the second half with an 11-0 run to build a 19-point cushion, leaving Big East Coach of the Year Shaheen Holloway beside himself a time or two on the Seton Hall sideline.

But the gritty Pirates began causing problems with a full-court press and reeled off a 20-7 spurt. They trimmed it to 62-56 on a corner 3-pointer by AJ Staton-McCray with 4:39 left before the Red Storm stemmed the tide and sealed it from the free-throw line.

After scoring the first nine points Thursday in an 85-72 quarterfinal victory over No. 9 seed Providence, the Johnnies ran off the initial eight Friday and opened a 13-point lead late in the opening half with the help of Sanon’s four-point play.

Sanon had a trio of 3-pointers and 10 points in 8 1/2 minutes by halftime, as St. John’s carried a 38-30 advantage into the break. Ejiofor scored 12 first-half points and Mitchell had 10 points and five rebounds.

Up next

St. John’s split two regular-season games with UConn and swept Georgetown.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Ludvig Aberg had a dream start that carried him to a 9-under 63 and a two-shot lead Friday in The Players Championship. Scottie Scheffler had a clutch finish, but only to avoid missing the cut.

Aberg was 5 under through his opening four holes and motored his way around the TPC Sawgrass with one amazing shot after another. He chipped in twice, for birdie on No. 4 and for eagle on the par-5 ninth for a 29 to tie the front-nine record on the Stadium Course.

Even on the one chip he muffed, he limited the damage by holing an 8-foot putt for bogey.

A final birdie — the Swede made it look so easy — gave him a two-shot margin over Xander Schauffele, who hit all 14 fairways in his round of 65.

“I think my mind is very good when it’s simple, and when things are very easy, and that’s what I’ve felt like I’ve been able to do over the last couple of weeks,” Aberg said.

He was at 12-under 132 on the TPC Sawgrass he occasionally calls home, though Aberg had not played the Stadium Course this year until a practice round Tuesday. He chose Ponte Vedra Beach as home after finishing at Texas Tech.

The stress came late in the day with Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player who has the longest current cut streak on the PGA Tour at 69. He missed two birdie chances and then had into trouble in the rough on the 14th hole for a bogey. Then, he missed a 30-inch par putt on the par-5 16th.

That put him at 2 over, still having to face the island green and the hardest hole at Sawgrass.

Scheffler found land on the 17th for par. Standing on the 18th tee, he was 14 shots out of the lead and anything but par or better would have sent him home from a tournament on the weekend for the first time since August 2022.

He drilled 3-wood down the middle, hit his approach to 8 feet and made birdie for a 73.

Also making the cut with a few nervous moments was Rory McIlroy, whose back is getting better by the day but whose putter is ailing. McIlroy birdied the par-5 ninth at the end of his 71 to make sure he’d be playing the weekend. He and Scheffler, Nos. 1 and 2 in the world, were at 1-over 145.

Schauffele’s lone bogey came on a careless three-putt bogey on the par-3 13th, his fourth hole of the day, when he missed a putt just over 2 feet. The rest of his round was rock solid, and the two-time major champion is starting to build some momentum.

He wasn’t aware he hit every fairway until it was mentioned to him.

“Definitely nice to hit all of them, especially on this property,” Schauffele said. “For the most part I felt like I was in control and felt like I was attacking the golf course versus playing defensive.”

Sawgrass allowed for that on a gorgeous day of sunshine, a light wind and greens that were receptive, ideal for scoring on a course that provides low rounds for those who avoided big trouble.

Cameron Young, who contended at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week, had a 67 and was three shots behind. Young is a big talent who finally broke through for his first PGA Tour title last summer, and then was America’s best in a losing Ryder Cup cause in his home state of New York.

The Players has been a mystery to him, though. He has yet to finish in the top 50 the three times in four years that he made the cut. But he was dialed in on a course he described as “tricky.”

“I feel if you’re not decisive, if you’re unsure of what you want to do, it can really kind of rear its head at you,” Young said. “The holes where we’re strictly just trying to get it in the fairway … I didn’t hit all of them, but I made a bunch of really good golf swings. And I feel like that kind of wins out over here.”

Justin Thomas followed his 79-79 return from back surgery at Bay Hill with a 68-68 start at The Players. He was at 8-under 136, along with Corey Conners (67).

The highlight for Thomas was following a bad miss left of the green on the par-5 11th — the pin was to the left — and hitting a perfect pitch-and-run into the cup for eagle.

“Pretty sick chip,” Thomas said. “Not one I necessarily expect to get up-and-down all the time. But I have pretty good belief in my short game, and when you’re in the fairway, you have a lot more control of the ball. Just trying to visualize it and see it and hit my spot, and luckily the hole got in the way. It was nice to steal one there.”

He played alongside Scheffler and saw him endure the final two holes with the cut at stake. Thomas has been on the cut line, and he knows Sawgrass plenty well.

“If you’re on the cut line and you’re standing on 17, if you hit it in the water, you’re all but done,” Thomas said. “Then the same kind of goes for 18 on the tee shot. It’s every bit as hard as trying to win a golf tournament.”

What he saw from Scheffler was some timing issues, but nothing he found alarming.

“He’s still hitting shots that not many people on planet earth can hit in the same rounds,” Thomas said. “It’s just golf. He’s been hitting it pretty much where he wants within like a blanket size for what seems like two or three years. He’s still had a pretty damned good year.”

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