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Stafford leads Valparaiso against Virginia Tech after 23-point game

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:01 GMT

Valparaiso Beacons (4-5, 0-2 MVC) at Virginia Tech Hokies (6-3, 1-0 ACC)Blacksburg, Virginia; Saturday, 12 p.m. ESTBOTTOM LINE: Valparaiso visits the Virginia Tech Hokies after Isaiah Stafford scored 23 points in Valparaiso’s 71-67 loss to the Central Michigan Chippewas.The Hokies are 4-0 on their home court. Virginia Tech is 6-3 against opponents over .500.The Beacons are 0-3 on the road. Valparaiso has a 2-3 record in games decided by 10 or more points.Virginia Tech averages 7.2 made 3-pointers per game, 1.0 more made shot than the 6.2 per game Valparaiso allows. Valparaiso’s 39.6% shooting percentage from the field this season is 3.8 percentage points lower than Virginia Tech has given up to its opponents (43.4%).TOP PERFORMERS: Lynn Kidd is scoring 15.1 points per game with 7.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists for the Hokies. Hunter Cattoor is averaging 14.6 points and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 41.9% for Virginia Tech.Stafford is shooting 37.6% and averaging 18.8 points fo...

Ajayi, Pepperdine Waves to host Pope, UCSD Tritons

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:01 GMT

UCSD Tritons (5-4) at Pepperdine Waves (4-7)Malibu, California; Saturday, 9 p.m. ESTBOTTOM LINE: UCSD heads to Pepperdine for a Division 1 Division matchup Saturday.The Waves have gone 4-2 in home games. Pepperdine is eighth in the WCC in rebounding with 30.9 rebounds. Michael Ajayi leads the Waves with 10.0 boards.The Tritons are 0-2 on the road. UCSD ranks third in the Big West shooting 34.3% from 3-point range.Pepperdine scores 72.5 points per game, 2.8 more points than the 69.7 UCSD gives up. UCSD’s 46.1% shooting percentage from the field this season is 3.0 percentage points lower than Pepperdine has given up to its opponents (49.1%).TOP PERFORMERS: Ajayi is averaging 17.6 points and 10 rebounds for the Waves. Houston Mallette is averaging 16.8 points over the past 10 games for Pepperdine.Bryce Pope is shooting 42.4% and averaging 17.9 points for the Tritons. Francis Nwaokorie is averaging 14.2 points for UCSD.___The Associated Press created this story using technology pr...

Utah hosts No. 14 BYU following Keita’s 23-point game

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:01 GMT

BYU Cougars (8-0) at Utah Utes (6-2)Salt Lake City; Saturday, 7 p.m. ESTBOTTOM LINE: Utah takes on the No. 14 BYU Cougars after Keba Keita scored 23 points in Utah’s 88-86 victory against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds.The Utes have gone 4-0 at home. Utah is fifth in the Pac-12 with 17.0 assists per game led by Rollie Worster averaging 5.9.The Cougars play their first true road game after going 8-0 to begin the season. BYU ranks sixth in college basketball allowing 59.0 points while holding opponents to 38.9% shooting.Utah averages 8.0 made 3-pointers per game, 3.7 more made shots than the 4.3 per game BYU allows. BYU averages 12.9 made 3-pointers per game this season, 3.1 more made shots on average than the 9.8 per game Utah gives up.TOP PERFORMERS: Gabe Madsen averages 2.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Utes, scoring 14.3 points while shooting 42.9% from beyond the arc. Branden Carlson is shooting 47.1% and averaging 17.3 points for Utah.Jaxson Robinson is averaging 16.9 p...

Mercer Bears face the Georgia State Panthers on 3-game losing streak

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:01 GMT

Georgia State Panthers (4-4) at Mercer Bears (2-6)Macon, Georgia; Saturday, 2 p.m. ESTBOTTOM LINE: Mercer enters the matchup with Georgia State after losing three games in a row.The Bears have gone 0-2 in home games. Mercer is 0-3 in games decided by at least 10 points.The Panthers are 2-3 on the road. Georgia State ranks ninth in the Sun Belt allowing 75.8 points while holding opponents to 45.6% shooting.Mercer is shooting 42.2% from the field this season, 3.4 percentage points lower than the 45.6% Georgia State allows to opponents. Georgia State averages 79.0 points per game, 4.2 more than the 74.8 Mercer allows.TOP PERFORMERS: Jalyn McCreary is scoring 13.4 points per game with 5.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists for the Bears. Robby Carmody is averaging 10.5 points and 2.4 rebounds while shooting 51.9% for Mercer.Toneari Lane averages 2.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Panthers, scoring 13.3 points while shooting 35.4% from beyond the arc. Lucas Taylor is averaging 14 points for Geor...

Warmer Weekend Weather Ahead of the Next Front

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:01 GMT

A dramatic change is in the air this morning across South Florida as winds have veered back off the water out of the east, leading to temperatures nearly 20F warmer this morning compared to yesterday.Not only will lows be warmer the next few days but highs will be too — rising from the low 70s on Wednesday to the mid 80s this weekend.Throughout today, expect mostly cloudy skies along with typical temperatures in the upper 70s to around 80F — still with low humidity.Humidity will gradually rise back to the moderate category this weekend, however, as winds veer more out of the south ahead of our next front.Saturday will be the better half of the weekend featuring mostly sunny skies, a beach breeze and highs in the mid 80s.That’s because more available moisture in the atmosphere will start to stream in on Sunday, leading to the chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms, primarily from Sunday afternoon through early Monday morning. By daybreak Monday, our next fro...

4 injured in North Lauderdale following house fire; mother, 3-year-old daughter in critical condition

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:01 GMT

North Lauderdale Fire Rescue responded to a distress call reporting a house fire in a residential neighborhood, leading to four people being injured, including a toddler and her mother. At approximately 12:49 a.m. Friday, first responders arrived at the home, located in the area of Southwest 11th Street, where they immediately worked to extinguish the blaze. Division Chief of Operations at North Lauderdale Fire Rescue, Nelson Canizares, provided details on the challenging rescue mission when he arrived at the scene. “It looked like we had a fire. We have a State Fire Marshal investigating at this time. We had a call of a fire, and when they got there, it was 4 victims: a 30-year-old female, a 3-year-old female, a 30-year-old male, and a 21-year-old male,” stated Chief Canizares. The firefighters encountered heavy smoke conditions and flames emanating from the back corner of the structure. Police at the scene informed the rescue team of the victims located on the back sid...

Art With Me Festival promises complete experience of creativity, music, and family fun

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:01 GMT

Art With Me is celebrating its third year here in South Florida with festival highlights of food, drinks, music, and so much more. Here’s a preview of this year’s big event. Matt Caines: “Art With Me Festival is a celebration of the creative arts, it’s a three-day, day into-night festival.”The event is set to take place at Virginia Key Historic Park.David Graziano: “We’re an event that is designed to inspire people for positive change. Celebrating the creative arts means we will celebrate any highly creative process whether it be making a drink, a plate of food, music, or a performance.”So basically anything for a party. The festival started in Tulum, Mexico a few years ago and is hitting Miami for a third year.Matt Caines: “We like to think of it as art outside the box, it’s in nature and it’s family-friendly.”Art With Me brings people together to experience the six pillars.David Graziano: “The six pillar...

UK’s botched Rwanda deportation plan comes with £290M price tag

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:01 GMT

LONDON — How much does it cost Britain’s feuding Conservatives to talk about deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda? £290 million.The governing party has spent the week fighting over its flagship asylum policy, aimed at sending people seeking refuge in the U.K. to the east African nation for processing and possible resettlement there. But the policy, mired in legal challenge, has still not seen a single flight leave the ground.A new law unveiled by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak this week was meant to overcome a host of legal objections to the policy. But ministers were again forced onto the defensive Friday morning after an updated cost estimate showed just how much Britain is spending on the grounded plan.In a letter to two parliamentary committees, the top civil servant at the Home Office outlined an extra £100 million cost this year of the “Migration and Economic Development Partnership” signed with Rwanda to make the deal happen. That comes on top of the £140 million ...

Jailed Russian nationalist Igor Girkin fears being eliminated like Wagner’s Prigozhin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:01 GMT

The MH17 killer is now afraid of being killed himself. Igor Girkin, a pro-war Russian nationalist jailed for challenging President Vladimir Putin, is worried he will meet the same fate as Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in a plane crash earlier this year after rebelling against the Russian leader.“My arrest happened a month after Prigozhin’s rebellion,” Girkin told Russian media Baza in an interview released Thursday. “My greatest fear is that instead of the usual criminal punishment, I will be ‘amnestied’ in the same way as the Cook,” Girkin added, in a reference to Prigozhin, who was nicknamed “Putin’s chef” after his proximity to the Russian leader allowed him to secure lucrative government catering contracts.Girkin, a 52-year-old former colonel from the Russian spy service who goes by the nom de guerre Strelkov (“Shooter”), is notorious for leading Russian paramilitary troops into Ukraine̵...

Metrolinx to provide update on Eglinton Crosstown work at most delayed station

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:01 GMT

Metrolinx officials are set to provide a long-awaited tour of the most problematic part of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT construction project during an update Friday morning.Work on the 19-kilometre, 25-station light rail transit line between Weston and Kennedy roads began in 2011 and while construction across the Eglinton Crosstown is more than 97 per cent done, crews have been struggling to finish at and near the intersection of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue.During a late November Metrolinx board meeting, the provincial transportation agency’s chief capital officer confirmed that’s where Crosslinx Transit Solutions – the private-sector consortium responsible for building the LRT line – were concentrating their efforts.Andrew Hope said Eglinton Crosstown-related road restrictions along the route have been largely removed, but there are still around 400 metres affected above and near the Eglinton station. He said road decking needs to be removed on Eglinton A...