saac Haas scored 14 points, Caleb Swanigan had 13 points and 10 rebo

The first stage of the 100th Tour de France ended in chaotic scenes with riders crashing and a bus parked on the finish line until moments from the end on Saturday. German rider Marcel Kittel escaped the mayhem to win the first ever stage on Corsica, beating Norwegian sprinter Alexander Kristoff in a sprint finish. "This is by far the greatest day in my whole life," Kittel said. "I hope I can sleep, Im going to be pretty excited about tomorrow." What happened behind them was far more incidental. The decision was initially taken late on to shorten the flat stage by three kilometres because a bus from the Orica Greenedge team was stuck on the finish line. But organizers managed to move the colossal vehicle just in time. "This was a really unfortunate situation," Greenedge sporting director Matt White said. "The bus was led under the finish gantry, and we took it for granted that there was enough clearance." Kittel was lucky to avoid the crash to win the flat 213-kilometre trek from Porto Vecchio to Bastia in just under 5 hours. Kristoff and third-place Danny van Poppel clocked the same time. "It feels like I have gold on my shoulders," Kittel said about wearing the yellow jersey. "I didnt know about the bus. Im glad they were able to move it." Because of the unforeseen circumstances, all 198 riders got the same time. "We wouldve preferred a nice finish like the one wed planned. But in exceptional situations, you have to take exceptional decisions," race events director Jean-Francois Pescheux said by telephone. "Were not going to stop the riders, and ask (them) what decision we should take." Kittel would have faced stiffer competition if more than a dozen riders hadnt fallen close to the end, among them two-time former champion Alberto Contador and sprinter Peter Sagan. They got back up, with Contadors left shoulder cut and bruised. "I knew that Mark and Andre (Greipel) were no longer in contention and it was a good chance for us," said Kittel, who also finished the day with the best sprinters green jersey. British sprinter Mark Cavendish was stuck behind those who fell and could not challenge for his 24th stage win on a day he was hoping to wear the prestigious yellow jersey for the first time. "Im lucky I didnt come down," Cavendish said. "What caused the problems was changing the finish. Like, we heard on the radio with literally 5K to go that the sprint was in 2k and then a K (kilometre) later, they were like No, its at the finish. Its just carnage." Francaise Des Jeux team manager Marc Madiot was furious. "The president of the (race jury) didnt do his job," he said. "When we (managers, riders) make a mistake we get a fine. Well, he should get a huge fine." Cavendishs Omega Pharma-Quick Step teammate Tony Martin fell and was taken to hospital after losing consciousness, while Contador had a bad day, too. Returning from a doping ban which also cost him his 2010 Tour victory, the Spaniard grimaced in pain as he crossed the line. "I am fine," Contador said through a translator. "Someone didnt brake in front of me." Johnny Hoogerland, who sustained cuts to his legs on the 2011 Tour after being hit by a Tour car, was sent tumbling after hitting a crash barrier near the end. He was helped back onto his bike and able to continue. Last years Giro dItalia winner, Victorias Ryder Hesjedal, was caught in another crash moments later but continued. David Veilleux of Cap-Rouge, Que., finshed in 84th with Hesjedal seven back in 91st. Svein Tuft from Langley, B.C., finished the first stage 167th. With the finish line in sight and as the nerves jangled, some 20 riders hit the tarmac. "It was just a complete disaster," Greipel said. It proved to be an incident-packed day from the outset. Before the stage, French Sports Minister Valerie Fourneyron met with a delegation of riders unhappy about pre-race media reports that they thought focused too heavily on doping stories. The day before, Lance Armstrong hogged headlines when he told Le Monde he couldnt have won his seven Tours without doping. Once the race began, tour favourite Chris Froome stopped to get a new rear wheel early on and stopped for a second time to get a new bike. "Its a reminder that this tour is about so much more than just having the form," Froome said. "Its about staying out of trouble." Sundays second stage is shorter but features four climbs along the 156-kilometre (97-mile) ride from Bastia to Ajaccio.China Jerseys Stitched . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. Fake China Jerseys . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. https://www.chinajerseyscheap.us/ . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. China Jerseys Wholesale .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. China Jerseys Cheap . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged.NEWARK, N.J. -- Josh Hart scored a career-high 37 points and No. 1 Villanova rallied from an 11-point deficit to beat No. 23 Notre Dame 74-66 on Saturday at the Prudential Center.Hart was the only Villanova (10-0) player to score in double figures. He was 10 of 14 from the field, including 3 of 4 from behind the arc, and he made all 14 of his free throw attempts.Matt Farrell and Steve Vasturia had 18 points each for Notre Dame (9-1), which entered the game as one of eight remaining unbeaten Division I teams.Villanova took its first lead of the game at 57-56 after Eric Paschall blocked Vasturias 3-pointer with 9:15 left. Hart assisted on a layup by Jalen Brunson at 9:09 to give the Wildcats the lead.The teams exchanged the lead from there until Villanova pulled away in the final minute.Farrell made his first six shots including a driving layup at the halftime buzzer that gave Notre Dame a 41-36 lead.---No. 2 UCLA 102, MICHIGAN 84LOS ANGELES -- T.J. Leaf scored 21 points, fellow freshman Lonzo Ball added 19 and UCLA shot 67 percent in beating Michigan to improve to 10-0.Bryce Alford added 18 points and Aaron Holiday had 17 for the Bruins, who made 15 3-pointers, just off the school-record 18 they had in winning their season opener against Pacific. Holiday hit all five of his 3-point attempts. The Bruins topped 100 points for the fourth time this season.Zak Irvin scored 18 points to lead the Wolverines (7-3).---No. 3 KANSAS 89, NEBRASKA 72LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Frank Mason III had 18 points and seven assists without a turnover, and Josh Jackson and Svi Mykhailiuk added 15 points apiece for Kansas.The Jayhawks (9-1) had no trouble with their old conference foe despite playing without forward Carlton Bragg Jr., who is suspended indefinitely. Bragg was charged Friday with misdemeanor battery.Bragg sat on the bench in street clothes, watching as Devonte Graham scored 14 points and Landen Lucas added 12, as the Jayhawks rolled to their 18th consecutive win over the Huskers and their 46th in a row at Allen Fieldhouse.Tai Webster led Nebraska (5-5) with 22 points. Ed Morrow Jr. finished with 16.---No. 5 DUKE 94, UNLV 45LAS VEGAS -- Grayson Allen shot 75 percent from the field -- including a perfect 7 of 7 in the second half -- en route to a career-high 34 points to lead Duke in the first college basketball game ever played at T Mobile Arena.Luke Kennard had 16 points and five rebounds for the Blue Devils (10-1), while Jayson Tatum had 13 points and five rebounds, and Amile Jefferson contributed with 10 points and 12 rebounds.Duke, which is 4-1 on a neutral court, jumped out to a 20-3 lead in the first 7 minutes and never looked back, as it outscored the Runnin Rebels 52-19 in the second half.The Rebels (5-4) tried to make a couple of runs to challenge Duke, getting as close as 38-26 late in the first half after an 8-0 spurt.Jalen Poyser had 16 points for UNLV.---No. 8 GONZAGA 61, AKRON 43SPOKANE, Wash. -- Przemek Karnowski scored 14 points and Gonzaga beat Akron in a defensive battle, lifting the Zags to the best start in program history.Nigel Williams-Goss added 11 points for Gonzaga (10-0), which has won 10 straight to open the season for the first time since joining Division I in 1958.Isaiah Johnson scored 11 points, and Jimond Ivey had 10 for Akron (7-3).---No. 9 INDIANA 103, HOUSTON BAPTIST 61BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- James Blackmon Jr. scored 18 points and Robert Johnson added 16 for Indiana.Thomas Bryant finished with nine points and 13 rebounds for the Hoosiers, who outrebounded Houston Baptist 45-31.The Hoosiers (8-1) ran their offense with a heavy emphasis on ball movement, tallying a total of 19 assists on 33 field goals.The Huskies (3-5) trailed Indiana by as many as 42 points. The Hoosiers made 12 3-pointers, while Houston Baptist finished with only two. Indiana had five players score in double figures and relied heavily on its bench. The Hoosiers bench outscored Houston Baptists bench 37-9.Colter Lasher finished with 18 points for the Huskies.---No. 11 LOUISVILLE 102, TEXAS SOUTHERN 71LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Quentin Snider scored 15 points, V.J. King added 13 and No. 11 Louisville overcame a cold shooting start to give Hall of Famer Rick Pitino his 400th victory as the Cardinals coach.Pitino, who last month earned his 750th career victory, improved to 400-163 in his 16th season with Louisville. His Cardinals (9-1) first had to shake off early sluggishness and a 4-for-21 start from the field to pull away from the scrappy, athletic Tigers and win their ffourth in a row.ddddddddddddLouisville made 30 of 57 shots the rest of the way (53 percent) to finish at 44 percent from the field overall while holding TSU (4-5) to 35 percent.Donovan Mitchell had 12 points, Jaylen Johnson and Deng Adel 11 each and Mangok Mathiang 10 for Louisville.Freshman point guard Demontrae Jefferson debuted with 27 points for Texas Southern, which lost its fourth straight.---No. 13 XAVIER 77, UTAH 69CINCINNATI -- J.P. Macura emerged from his shooting slump by scoring 18 points, and RaShid Gaston helped Xavier get the edge up front against the nations top rebounding team.The Musketeers (8-2) were coming off back-to-back road losses that featured long scoring droughts. Xaviers balanced offense built a 15-point lead in the first half, and the Musketeers stayed ahead the rest of the way.Gaston had 11 points and 14 rebounds, helping Xavier to a 33-28 edge on the boards. The Utes (6-2) came in averaging 47.7 rebounds per game. Gaston had nine points and 10 rebounds -- one less than Utahs total -- in the first half.Macura was 5 of 7 from beyond the arc after going only 2 of 16 in his last three games.Freshman Devon Daniels had a career-high 19 points for the Utes.---No. 15 WEST VIRGINIA 90, VMI 55MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Daxter Miles Jr. scored a season-high 20 points and West Virginia overcame an early lull to give coach Bob Huggins his 799th career win.West Virginia (8-1) followed up a 53-point win over Western Carolina on Wednesday night with a lackluster first half to finish its final exams week.Miles went 6 of 9 from the field, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range. He missed the first three games with an unspecified illness and was ejected for throwing an elbow in the first half of a close win over Virginia last Saturday.QJ Peterson scored 17 points for VMI (1-7), which was limited to three field goals over the final 12 minutes of the game.---No. 16 BUTLER 75, No. 22 CINCINNATI 65INDIANAPOLIS -- Kelan Martin scored 20 points and was the catalyst in two key second-half runs for Butler.The Bulldogs (9-1) rebounded from their first loss of the season by extending their home winning streak against non-conference opponents to 34 games.Troy Caupain scored a season-high 22 points to lead the Bearcats (7-2) and Gary Clark added 16, also a season high.Martins three-point play spurred a 14-4 run that gave Butler a 51-43 lead with 11:51 left. Martin followed that with six points in a 12-5 spurt, sealing the win.---No. 17 WISCONSIN 93, MARQUETTE 84MILWAUKEE -- Bronson Koenig scored 18 points, and Ethan Happ scored all 11 of his in the second half for Wisconsin.Happ dominated the paint after halftime after being bogged down with foul trouble in the first half. The 6-foot-10 Happ added five rebounds and negated the inside presence of Marquettes 6-11 center Luke Fischer.Wisconsin (9-2) went on a 16-0 run in the second half to help build an 18-point lead with 6:44 left. Marquette (7-3) got within eight with 2:22 left but never seriously threatened the rest of the way.Markus Howard led Marquette with 22 points.---No. 18 PURDUE 77, CLEVELAND ST. 53WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Isaac Haas scored 14 points, Caleb Swanigan had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Dakota Mathias added 12 points on four 3-pointers for Purdue.The Boilermakers (8-2) finished the first half on a 12-0 run to lead 41-20 and never were threatened thereafter, leading by as many as 27 points in the second half.Bobby Word had 14 points to lead Cleveland State (3-6), which shot only 26.7 percent (8 of 30) during the pivotal first half.Vince Edwards added 11 points for the Boilermakers, who have won each of their past three games by at least 24 points.---No. 20 ARIZONA 79, MISSOURI 60COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Rawle Alkins had 19 points and nine rebounds for Arizona, while Kobi Simmons had 19 points and Kadeem Allen added 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists.The Wildcats (8-2) jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first 3:12, eventually taking a 25-8 lead with 10:29 remaining in the first half. From that point, Missouri outscored Arizona 28-16 in the half, including a 7-0 run to end the half.The Tigers (5-4) continued to chip away at Arizonas lead, eventually cutting the deficit to 45-41 early in the second half. However, the Wildcats responded with a 26-4 run that included a Missouri scoring drought of 6:59.Kevin Puryear had 11 points and seven rebounds for Missouri. ' ' '