Ron Howard had 29 points and eight assists, but the Mad Ants fell 109-93 at Texas on Friday – their seventh straight defeat.
Darnell Lazare had 15 points and eight rebounds for Fort Wayne (10-23). Sadiel Rojas and Cameron Jones also reached double figures in scoring with 12 and 11 points. Rojas also had seven rebounds.
Seven players reached double figures in scoring for Texas (16-18). Anthony Vereen scored 18 points to lead the way. Texas shot 52.5 percent from the floor.
Antonio Daniels had 14 points and 13 rebounds. The Mad Ants were outrebounded 45-36.
BASKETBALL
Coaches chosen for Border Wars
The coaching staffs for the Indiana all-star team in the 20th annual Nancy Rehm/Border Wars Classic are set. For the boys, Columbia City’s Chris Benedict will be the head coach and assisted by Canterbury’s Dan Kline. The girls will be guided by Bishop Luers’ Denny Renier and assisted by Leo’s Carrie Shappell. The annual all-star game pitting players from northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio will be April 28 at Saint Francis.
Valparaiso falls to Loyola
Anthony Ireland had game highs of 19 points and eight rebounds and Loyola Marymount (18-10) used a 10-0 second-half run to defeat Valparaiso 61-53 in Los Angeles. Richie Edwards paced the Crusaders (19-10) with 17 points.
Around the NBA
Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said he’s unsure whether Derrick Rose will return today against New Jersey. … New York Knicks signed J.R. Smith, who signed to play in China during the lockout and was ineligible to return to the NBA until his team’s season was finished there.
FOOTBALL
Leach loses appeal against Texas Tech
The Texas Supreme Court denied Mike Leach’s appeal in his wrongful termination lawsuit against Texas Tech. The court rejected Leach’s appeal without comment more than two years after he was fired by the university amid allegations that he mistreated a player with a concussion.
HOCKEY
Around the NHL
Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby skated with his teammates for the first time in more than two months but remains bothered by concussion-like symptoms. … Blake Geoffrion, the grandson of Canadiens legend Bernie (Boom Boom) Geoffrion, is on his way to Montreal from Nashville along with a second-round draft pick for defenseman Hal Gill and a conditional fifth-round pick.
TENNIS
Federer reaches Rotterdam semis
Roger Federer beat Jarkko Nieminen 7-5, 7-6 (2) to reach the semifinals of the ABN Amro World Tennis in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Third-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro also reached the semifinals with a 6-0, 6-1 win over seventh-ranked Viktor Troicki. Del Potro will play second-seeded Tomas Berdych, who ousted Italy’s Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-4.
