News » since Stephen Curry did it for Davidson

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Adreian Payne sent Tom Izzo a text. He wants to leave a legacy. Consider it done. The 6-foot-10 senior played the game of his life Thursday, scoring a career-high 41 points to help fourth-seeded Michigan State look every bit like a March Madness favourite in a 93-78 victory over Delaware. "He was playing in another zone, not even in the ozone," Izzo said. "He was in Pluto and beyond." This marked the first 40-point performance in the NCAA tournament since Stephen Curry did it for Davidson in a win over Gonzaga in 2008. Payne set a school tournament scoring record, surpassing the 34 points Greg Kelser scored during Michigan States 1979 title run led by Magic Johnson. Paynes overall line: 10 for 15 from the field, 4 for 5 from 3-point range, and a tournament-record 17 for 17 from the free throw line. He chipped in eight rebounds, too. "Forty-one is 41, and he was a load tonight," Delaware coach Monte Ross said. "He was probably the best big man that I have faced in 21 years of college basketball." Payne thought long and hard about leaving for the NBA after last season. He decided to stick around to see if he could lead Michigan State to another Final Four. Asked what his best night -- at least so far -- in a Spartan uniform means to him, Payne said, "Leaving a legacy." "I talked to Coach about that," he said. "The other day, I sent him a text and were just trying to win games. We are here to win the weekend and thats the main goal." Michigan States next game is Saturday against 12th-seeded Harvard, which beat Cincinnati 61-57 in an earlier East region contest. Though his entire performance was sublime, it was never better than during a 105-second stretch midway through the first half. Payne scored 12 straight points to help the Spartans (27-8) open an 18-point lead over the 13th-seeded Blue Hens (25-10). Those points came three at a time -- a trio of spot-up 3s and one ridiculous, spinning left-hander from the paint while he was being mugged by Carl Baptiste. Payne stepped to the line to make the free throw with his right hand -- the hand he shoots most of his shots with -- and by then, he had pretty much proven his point. "He made the right decision to stay," Izzo said. "Hes a much more cerebral player, hes a much stronger player. He is starting to marry the inside-outside game. And if he does that on a consistent basis, I see him as one of the best 4 men in the whole country." With the game out of reach -- but Izzo less than satisfied with what he called an uneven effort -- Payne played almost to the end and the Spartans fed him. He dunked with 4:26 left to reach his career high and break Kelsers record. Points Nos. 40 and 41 came on free throws; the second one gave him the record for most makes in an NCAA tournament game without a miss. The previous holders are a couple of unforgettable names: Bill Bradley (1963, Princeton) and Fennis Dembo (1987, Wyoming). "When youre scoring like that and your games coming so easy to you, and you make a lot of shots, it feels like youre in a rhythm," Payne said. "It feels like you cant be stopped." For the brief moments Delaware did stop him, others stepped up. Travis Trice scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half to prevent the Colonial Athletic Association champs from turning this into a game. Branden Dawson, the Big Ten tournaments most valuable player, finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists -- modest on this day. It was that run through the Big Ten that turned Michigan State into a trendy pick in brackets across the country. President Barack Obama has the Spartans winning it all, and Las Vegas has them favoured along with Florida and Louisville. Devon Saddler had 21 points and Davon Usher added 20 for Delaware, which made its first NCAA appearance since 1999. Ross looked at it all with a sense of awe. He thought his team played pretty well. He still cant believe Michigan State is a No. 4 seed. "Im only reiterating what the whole country is saying," Ross said. "If the country is saying youre the odds-on favourite to win the national championship, youre not 16th best in the country." Lee Roy Selmon Jersey .com) - The Atlanta Hawks have stepped up to every challenge during their 14-game winning streak and will face another daunting task Friday with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder in town. John Lynch Jersey . Hernandez (3-0) struck out 11 and shut down Oakland for the second time in a week, becoming the first Mariners pitcher to win three times in the first nine games of a season. With the usual "Kings Court" for Hernandez home starts expanded to a "Supreme Court" encompassing the entire stadium with yellow shirts and "K" cards, Hernandez gave up four hits in the 28th double-digit strikeout game of his career. http://www.authenticbuccaneerspro.com/O-j-howard-buccaneers-jersey/ . The R&A announced Monday that golfs oldest championship will return to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland for the first time since Max Faulkner won in 1951. Custom Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys . -- The Washington Redskins coaching staff distanced itself from other coaches Thursday by siding with ownership -- and not the players -- in the NFLs labour dispute. Mike Evans Jersey .com) - The disappointing Ottawa Senators hope to record consecutive wins for the first time since early November, as they visit the Boston Bruins on Friday for the opener of a home-and-home series.MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- For the second consecutive night, the Memphis Grizzlies slowed down Houston and walked away with a win. Mike Conley scored 17 points, Zach Randolph had 15 points and 17 rebounds, and the Grizzlies nearly held the Rockets to their lowest output of the season in a 99-81 victory Saturday. "We tried to slow them down," Randolph said. "They like to get up and down the court. They like to run and gun. We just tried to get back and play and get stops." The formula was similar to Friday, when the Grizzlies won 88-87 in Houston, but this time Memphis took control early. The Grizzlies held the Rockets to 37 per cent shooting and built the lead to as many as 27 points before both teams sent in reserves to finish the game. Courtney Lee also had 15 points and Kosta Koufos scored 14, hitting seven of his eight shots from the field. James Johnson added 12 points for Memphis and Nick Calathes had a season-high 11. James Harden led the Rockets with 16 points, and Chandler Parsons scored 11. Dwight Howard had 10 points and 12 rebounds, but Houstons three-game road winning streak was snapped. "The last two games weve been terrible offensively," Parsons said. "Their pace works for them. They make you play a half-court offence. They are physical. They grab. They reach. They hold. When you do that so much, they are not going to call every single foul." Memphis bench outscored the Rockets reserves 44-27. The Grizzlies also had a 56-32 advantage in the paint and a 52-38 edge on the boards. The Grizzlies, as they did Friday, controlled the pace of the game, holding Houston to its second-lowest scoring output this season. Houstons season low was 80 points on Jan. 10 at Atlanta. Rockets coach Kevin McHale said beffore the game that Houston needed a score in the 100s to overcome Memphis deliberate, grind-it-out pace.dddddddddddd That game plan went awry when the Rockets, who entered averaging 105.5 points, managed only 14 in the first quarter. "They beat us. Bottom line," McHale said. "They beat us (Friday) night, and they beat us up again (Saturday). They got offensive rebounds. They moved the ball. They caught us being stagnant, and they were better than us by far." Memphis extended its 11-point halftime lead by outscoring the Rockets 25-19 in the third quarter. Lee had nine points in the period and Harden scored 10 for the Rockets, limited to five field goals out of 21 shots. Three of those baskets were by Harden. From there, Memphis stretched the lead to 27 midway through the fourth, and McHale began sending in his backups. Parsons, who connected on 10 shots from 3-point range Friday, finished 1 of 6 from long range, part of the Rockets going 9 of 32 from 3-point territory. Memphis has won 12 of its last 17 and is 5-1 since Marc Gasol returned from a knee injury. Several Grizzlies said the team appears on the verge of regaining the identity it had during recent playoff runs. "Were ready to win and we prepare like we want to win," Johnson said. "We travel like we want to win, and everybody is holding each other accountable. When you put those things together, we beat teams bad." NOTES: Since moving to Memphis, the only other time the Grizzlies played a home-and-home set on back-to-back nights was in 2006 against the Dallas Mavericks. ... Randolph played his 300th game for the Grizzlies and posted his 189th double-double, tying Pau Gasols total with the team. ... The Rockets were held under 90 points for the sixth time this season. Cheap Warriors Jerseys Authentic Cavaliers Jerseys Cheap Spurs Store Celtics Jerseys Online Cheap Bulls Jerseys Cheap Nets Jerseys Cheap Thunder Jerseys Cheap 76ers Jerseys Cheap Knicks Jerseys Wholesale Raptors Jerseys Cyber Monday Pistons Jerseys Wholesale Team USA Basketball Jerseys Cheap Celtics Jerseys Cheap Nets Jerseys Cheap Knicks Jerseys Cheap 76ers Jerseys Raptors Jerseys From China Cheap Bulls Jerseys Cavaliers Jerseys From China Wholesale Pistons Jerseys Bucks Jerseys From China Pacers Jerseys Outlet Authentic Hawks Jerseys Cheap Hornets Jerseys Cheap Heat Jerseys Cheap Magic Jerseys Authentic Wizards Jerseys Cheap Nuggets Jerseys Timberwolves Jerseys Outlet Wholesale Thunder Jerseys Cheap Blazers Jerseys Cheap Jazz Jerseys Discount Warriors Jerseys Wholesale Clippers Jerseys Wholesale Lakers Jerseys Cheap Suns Jerseys Cheap Kings Jerseys Discount Mavericks Jerseys Authentic Rockets Jerseys Discount Grizzlies Jerseys Cheap Pelicans Jerseys Spurs Jerseys From China ' ' '