Early start at Southern

SALINEVILLE — The East Palestine at Southern boys basketball game today will be a varsity-only contest at 5:30 p.m.

Wellsville bowlers go to 12-0

EAST LIVERPOOL — Wellsville’s bowling team improved to 12-0 with a 2,084-1,786 win over Maplewood on Thursday at Walnut Lanes.

For the Tigers, Tyler Landess had a 254 high game and a 433 series, while Makayla Landess had a 198 high game and a 348 series.

Wellsville will play Youngstown East on Monday at Boardman Lanes.

Salem wrestlers pound Lions

SALEM — Salem’s wrestling team topped Minerva 47-17 on Wednesday.

Salem fell behind 14-6 early but then scored 38 straight points.

Caleb Burt (18-3), Ben Kuboff (13-7) and Joey Kana (20-2) scored key wins for Salem, while Shawn German (22-0) earned his 100th win.

In girls action, Salem’s Paige Menough (20-4) won with a pin in 12 seconds.

West Branch frosh fall

ALLIANCE — Alliance edged West Branch, 34-32, in freshman boys basketball action Thursday.

Austin Hawk and Jax Rockwell each had nine points for the Warriors. Landon Coffee and Mason Cosma each had six points.

West Branch (2-7) will play at Beaver Local at 5:30 p.m. Monday.

Garland scores 40 for Cavaliers

CLEVELAND (AP) — Darius Garland scored a season-high 40 points, Jarrett Allen had 18 points and 15 rebounds, and the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Toronto Raptors 132-126 on Thursday night to extend their win streak to 12.

Evan Mobley finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for the Cavaliers, who are tied for the fifth-best record in league history through 37 games at 33-4. Cleveland also has the top home mark in the NBA, going 20-1 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Scottie Barnes had 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for Toronto, which is a league-worst 1-17 on the road and has lost 15 of its last 16 overall. Chris Boucher added 23 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.

Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell was given the night off after playing a team-high 35 minutes Wednesday in a 129-122 win over the Thunder. West leader Oklahoma City had won a franchise-record 15 in a row.

Takeaways

Raptors: Boucher and rookie Jamal Shead combined to make 12 of their first 13 shots, including all eight 3-pointers, as Toronto built a 93-81 lead midway through the third quarter. Shead didn’t play in the fourth and finished with 15 points.

Cavaliers: Coach Kenny Atkinson said wrapping up a back-to-back set against the Raptors was “a perfect trap game.” Cleveland’s players didn’t take the message to heart until the final quarter, when they outscored Toronto 34-23.

Key moment

Allen dove into the courtside seats to rebound Barnes’ missed turnaround that could have tied the score with 1:02 remaining. Garland followed with a 3-pointer that extended the Cavaliers’ lead to 129-124.

Key stat

Center Allen and power forward Mobley made 15 of their 20 field goal attempts, continuing to bolster their case for being chosen to the Eastern Conference All-Star team.

Up next

The Raptors visit Detroit on Saturday. The Cavaliers host Indiana on Sunday.

Rams game moved

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The NFL has moved the Rams’ wild-card playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings to Arizona after days of devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area.

The game will be played Monday night at State Farm Stadium, the home of the Arizona Cardinals, in suburban Glendale, Arizona.

The league announced the decision Thursday, a few hours after yet another fire broke out in an area several miles from the Rams’ training complex in the Woodland Hills neighborhood. The Rams canceled the post-practice media availability for their players to allow everyone to get home quickly.

Crosby ninth on scoring list

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists to move into ninth on the NHL’s career scoring list as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers 5-3 on Thursday night.

The Penguins captain tied Hall of Famer Joe Sakic at 1,641 points with an assist on Bryan Rust’s first-period goal. Crosby then moved past Sakic with an assist on Drew O’Connor’s sixth goal of the season later in the period as the Penguins raced to a 4-1 advantage.

Rust also had a goal and two assists for Pittsburgh, which snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Oilers for the first time since Dec. 20, 2019. Alex Nedeljkovic made 40 stops for the Penguins and Rickard Rakell scored his team-high 21st goal as Pittsburgh won without injured center Evgeni Malkin.

McDavid finished with three assists. Leon Draisaitl scored twice to boost his season total to an NHL-best 31, but the Penguins beat Stuart Skinner four times in the first 14 minutes. Skinner settled down to finish with 21 saves but it wasn’t enough as the Penguins ended Edmonton’s four-game winning streak.