tiple 200-strikeout seasons.Elite stuff, Rays manager Kevin Cash said of Archer. You put yourself into a category not a lot of pitchers get into. Coming in we knew Archers stuff was right there at the tops in baseball and that shows how elite it can be. If he continues to stay in the zone, hes going t

FULLERTON, Calif. -- UCLA senior guard Bryce Alford wants the ball in his hands during critical moments at the end of games. He had it, and he delivered, scoring 14 of his 18 points in the second half to pace the No. 14 Bruins to a 82-71 victory over Nebraska in the Wooden Legacy semifinals Friday at Cal State Fullerton.The Bruins (6-0) will play Texas A&M in Sundays championship game at the Honda Center in Anaheim.Alford made a 3-pointer with 1:02 left to give UCLA a 77-66 lead. He made all four of his free throws after that. Isaac Hamilton scored 15 points and Lonzo Ball added 13 for UCLA. Center Thomas Welsh had his fourth double double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds.As a basketball player, those are the kind of moments you live for, Bryce Alford said. Thats something Ive always prided myself on, being a closer ... Its about making smart plays down the stretch to help our team win games. I put (us) in a position to do that tonight.Nebraska (4-1) was led by Glynn Watson Jr., who scored a game-high 27 points.The Bruins led 38-25 at halftime and on the first play of the second half, star freshman guard Ball wowed as he converted an alleyoop dunk with a pass from T.J. Leaf. He had many more highlight-reel plays after that. Midway through the second half, he tried to convert an alleyoop pass that was just off the mark into a basket. It didnt fall, but he tipped in his own miss for the score.Nebraska made just 10 of 35 shots in the first half for a dismal 28.6 field-goal percentage. The Cornhuskers made just one 3-pointer and shot 12.5 percent from long range. Nebraska cut the lead to two points at 58-56 on a 3-pointer from Watson Jr., but it would never get closer.I felt like we were very tentative in the first half, Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. Thats not like us. I thought the second half was more of a snapshot of what were like. But every time got the game down to 2 or 3, they answered. Alford made some tough shots. (Aaron) Holiday made some tough shots. They hurt us. We didnt get enough outside shooting.Ball left the game with four fouls for a 3:03-span but came back with 4:58 left in the game and then fouled out.BIG PICTURENebraska: The Cornhuskers lost for just the first time this season in playing one of the countrys top teams. The third-place game wont be easy, but Nebraska has an extra day to prepare for Virginia Tech.UCLA: The Bruins played on national television but perhaps didnt make many inroads with the East Coast audience as the game started at 12 a.m., EST. The Wooden Legacy championship game is at a much more viewer-friendly hour at 8:30 p.m. EST on Sunday.UP NEXTNebraska plays Virginia Tech in the third-place game on Sunday. Theyll have work to do in preparing for a physical team that just suffered its first loss of the season as well.UCLA gets one day off before playing in the championship game against Texas A&M on Sunday. The Bruins are playing in the final of the tournament named after Wooden, who won 10 national championships in Westwood. No pressure.POLL IMPLICATIONSUCLA cemented its status as a top-15 team by surviving its first real test of the season against a Big Ten Conference team.STAT OF THE NIGHTUCLA is 4-0 in the all-time series against Texas A&M. The teams last played in the Wooden Classic in 2006 and 2008. Both of those games were decided by three points or less.HE SAIDNebraska lost its first game of the season but is scheduled to be at the happiest place on earth on Saturday -- Disneyland -- before playing Virginia Tech for third place on Sunday.... We have to bounce back. We cant hang our heads. (Saturday), we can mope around and hang out with Goofy and Minney and Mickey, thats fine, but on Sunday we need to be ready to go in and go to battle.-- Nebraska coach Tim MilesHE SAID WHAT?On Thursday night, Lonzo Balls father, LaVar Ball, guaranteed in a nationally-televised interview that UCLA would win the national championship. Asked how he felt about that, the freshman said: Im thankful for him. Thats how he is. Loud and to the point. Im his son, so why wouldnt he want the best for me? Raptors Jerseys 2020 .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Toronto Raptors Store . Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move. https://www.cheapraptors.com/ . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup. Toronto Raptors Gear .com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open. Raptors Jerseys 2019 .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. HOUSTON -- Wins have been hard to come by for Chris Archer this season. Strikeouts have not.Archer fanned 10 batters in seven innings, Corey Dickerson hit a three-run homer and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Houston Astros 10-4 on Sunday.I just felt really good overall today, Archer said. Last time I threw, obviously I felt pretty good. Theyre a good, young team, so its really fun to go out there and duke it out with them. Today we ended up on the right side of it.Matt Duffy and Nick Franklin also went deep for the last-place Rays, who have homered in 21 of their last 24 games.Houston, in the hunt for an AL wild card, had won three straight.Archer (8-17) gave up three runs on four hits and two walks. With his strikeout of A.J. Reed in the sixth, the right-hander joined David Price and James Shields as the only Tampa Bay pitchers with multiple 200-strikeout seasons.Elite stuff, Rays manager Kevin Cash said of Archer. You put yourself into a category not a lot of pitchers get into. Coming in we knew Archers stuff was right there at the tops in baseball and that shows how elite it can be. If he continues to stay in the zone, hes going to be in those categories quite a bit.Franklin had three hits in his first start since returning from a concussion. Evan Longoria also had three hits for the Rays, who jumped out early against Doug Fister (12-9).The right-hander allowed four runs, two earned, and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings, the fourth time in his past seven starts he has permitted four or more runs.I didnt have my best stuff today but made some pitches, Fister said. They hit some balls hard, they hit some balls soft and did what they needed to do. Something that you dont want to happen, but youre trying to keep the damage minimal.Steven Souza Jr. had an RBI groundout in the second. Doubles by Dickerson and Longoria made it 2-0 in the third.Luke Maile hit an RBI double in a two-run fourth. The rally was aided by a pair of errors on one play by Houston rookie third baseman Alex Bregman wiith two outs.dddddddddddd.With the Astros trailing 4-0 in the bottom half, Jose Altuve hammered the first pitch he saw from Archer for his 21st home run, a two-run shot. Houston has 18 homers in the last 10 games.Jason Castro cut it to 4-3 with an RBI single.Tampa Bay broke it open in the eighth, when Duffy and Dickerson combined to drive in five runs on a pair of homers.It did feel good, Dickerson said. To be able to see the ball well, consistently put on good swings instead of every now and then. Its good to get some in a row and I think that helped me a lot.Franklin joined the party in the ninth with a solo shot to right. He has four home runs in his last 28 at-bats.Houstons bullpen gave up six runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.TRAINERS ROOMRays: Before the game, OF Mikie Mahtook was optioned to Triple-A Durham and RHP Steve Geltz was called up. Afterward, Geltz was optioned back to Durham to make room for pitcher Alex Cobb (Tommy John surgery). The right-hander was set to meet the team in Boston on Sunday night. Cobb hasnt pitched in the majors since Sept. 28, 2014. . LHP Blake Snell (left lower leg bruise) feels good and is expected to make his next start after leaving Saturdays game.Astros: RHP Luke Gregerson (left ankle) remained unavailable, but manager A.J. Hinch said the team will try to get Gregerson into a game against Oakland this week. ... OF Colby Rasmus (cyst in right ear) is scheduled to work out Monday and then it will be determined whether he will be activated or needs a rehab assignment.UP NEXTRays: RHP Matt Andriese (6-5, 3.71 ERA) starts against Boston on Monday. He has gone 0-5 with a 4.60 ERA in his last 13 appearances, including six starts.Astros: RHP Joe Musgrove (1-2, 5.20) starts against Oakland on Monday. Musgrove has given up 13 runs in his past two starts after allowing just three in his first two major league starts. ' ' '