LOCAL

• Keys win, Tigers lose in Keystone Invitational

MANNFORD – The Keys Cougars opened with a 10-3 victory over Roland on the first day of the Keystone Invitational in Mannford on Wednesday.

The Cougars (2-5) scored a run in the first, and three in the third before breaking a 4-4 tie with six runs in the fifth.

Lane Trammel picked up a victory for the Cougars.

Tahlequah, however, lost on the first day of pool play in a 5-4 decision against Claremore Sequoyah.

The Tigers scored two runs to cut Cl. Sequoyah’s edge to 5-4, but Tahlequah failed to plate any runs in the seventh to tie or win the game.

On the mound, the Tigers’ Sam Hoag fell to 0-3 on the season.

The Tigers failed to take advantage with runners on base by leaving 10 stranded in the contest.

Tahlequah’s Zack Thornton went 3-for-4 with two singles, a triple and a run scored.

 

STATE

• K-State routs N. Texas at Ford Center

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Denis Clemente had 17 points and six assists, helping No. 2 seed Kansas State open the NCAA tournament with an 82-62 rout of North Texas on Thursday.

Kansas State (27-7) gathered itself after a shaky start, riding its defense into the second round for the second time in three years. The Wildcats held the Mean Green (24-9) to 31 percent shooting and stymied Josh White’s forays into the lane, holding North Texas’ leading scorer to three points.

Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly added 15 points each, and Kansas State had a 46-21 advantage inside to avoid joining the list of opening-day upset victims.

Next up is No. 7 seed BYU and sharpshooter Jimmer Fredette in the second round of the West Regional. The Wildcats should have an advantage, too; while they cruised in the first round, BYU needed two overtimes to beat Florida.



NATION

• Jordan: Owning Bobcats ‘dream come true’

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Michael Jordan vows to help Charlotte experience what winning is about, telling reporters and season ticket holders it’s a “dream come true” to own the Bobcats.

Thursday’s whirlwind of media interviews comes a day after the rest of the NBA’s owners approved his $275 million purchase from Bob Johnson. Jordan is the first former player to own an NBA team, and the second black majority owner. Johnson was the first.

Jordan had been a part owner of the Bobcats with the final say on all basketball decisions since 2006. But he hired a general manager and was rarely heard from or seen in Charlotte.

That’s changed since he agreed just before midnight on Feb. 26 to buy the team outright. Jordan, who has attended all but one home game since striking the all-cash deal, says he’ll spend more time in Charlotte to build the franchise, but will also maintain a home in Chicago.

“I am with this team, thick and thin,” Jordan said. “My No. 1 priority is the Charlotte Bobcats, without a doubt.”

Dressed in a brown suit and gold tie, the six-time NBA champion and Hall of Famer said he hears the criticism of his past personnel decisions in stints with the Bobcats and the Washington Wizards, but he’ll be relentless in “finding ways to win.”

It’s a return home for Jordan, who grew up in Wilmington, N.C., before leading North Carolina to the 1982 national championship.