Gregory earns Horizon League honor

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State sophomore forward Sophia Gregory, a West Branch High School graduate, was named the Horizon League Player of the Week for her performances against a pair of Mid-American Conference opponents in the final week of November, the league announced Monday.

It is the first Player of the Week honor for Gregory, who was a three-time Horizon League Freshman of the Week last season before earning the conference’s Freshman of the Year award. She follows teammate Casey Santoro, who won the award last week, giving the Penguins two honorees in the first four weeks of the season.

Gregory led the Horizon League in field-goal percentage last week, shooting 81.8% while ranking among the conference’s top four players in scoring, rebounding and blocks. She averaged 20 points, nine rebounds and two blocks as YSU split its two games and recorded its largest margin of victory at Akron in 46 years.

In Tuesday’s four-point loss to Toledo, which was picked second in the MAC preseason poll, Gregory went 8-for-9 from the field and finished with team highs of 16 points and eight rebounds. She added two assists, two steals and two blocks. In Sunday’s 90-63 win at Akron, she posted game highs of 24 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 10-for-13 and going 4-for-4 at the line.

Through the first month of the season, Gregory ranks second in the Horizon League with 8.4 rebounds per game and third with 1.0 blocks per game. She is shooting 63.8% from the field while averaging 9.7 points.

Youngstown State opens a three-game Horizon League stretch at 7 p.m. Friday at Milwaukee.

Mitchell scores 43 points in Cavaliers victory

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 43 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 135-119 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.

Mitchell, who made 16 of 27 shots from the field, also had nine rebounds and six assists. Jaylon Tyson added 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting and a team-high 11 rebounds. Evan Mobley and DeAndre Hunter each scored 13 for the Cavs.

Pascal Siakam had 26 points for Indiana, and Andrew Nembhard scored 21.

Garrison Mathews, who signed a second 10-day contract Monday with the Pacers, added 15 points — hitting all three of his attempts from 3-point range. Jay Huff also scored 15.

The Cavaliers shot 51% from the field while the Pacers shot 49%. Cleveland had a 48-36 rebounding edge. Indiana had 14 turnovers, six more than Cleveland.

Cleveland led by 21 twice, the last time at 53-32 before settling for a 66-54 halftime lead. The Pacers’ only lead was 2-0. Hunter put the Cavaliers ahead for good at 5-2 with a 3-pointer.

The teams shot nearly the same in the opening half as the Pacers were at 50% and the Cavaliers at 49%. The difference was Cleveland had a 27-15 rebounding advantage and committed just three turnovers while the Pacers had eight.

The Pacers trailed 99-90 after three quarters. The Cavaliers scored the first five points of the fourth quarter and retained a comfortable margin the rest of the game.

Seth Curry rejoins Warriors

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Just as planned, Seth Curry is back with the Golden State Warriors to reunite with older brother Stephen.

They began the season together at training camp before Seth was waived by the franchise Oct. 18 in a financial move, always with intentions of bringing back the veteran guard. His signing was announced Monday and the younger Curry got right to work at practice.

It’s unclear when the brothers will be on the court together again, given Stephen is sidelined with a left quadriceps contusion and muscle strain after being injured in a loss to the Rockets on Wednesday night. He is set to be reevaluated Thursday.

The 35-year-old Seth Curry did appear in six preseason games for Golden State in 2013 then played for the team’s G League Santa Cruz Warriors that year — with the brothers playing all of 100 seconds together during the fourth quarter of two games during that ’13 preseason.

This marks his 10th team in 12 seasons. Curry has averaged 10 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists playing 22.5 minutes per game for Brooklyn, Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, Memphis, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland and Sacramento.

“I’m comfortable in that situation. I’ve always been able to adapt throughout my career. I kind of took pride on adapting to different situations and playing well pretty much wherever I’ve been no matter the circumstances,” Seth Curry said when he originally joined the Warriors. “When I get on that floor you ask the coaches I’ve played for, the fans who watch me night in night out, my teammates, I’m pretty much able to produce everywhere I go.”

He averaged 6.5 points and 1.7 rebounds playing 15.6 minutes for the Hornets last season.

Now Seth Curry joins a deep Warriors team struggling to consistently take care of the ball — a focal point nightly for coach Steve Kerr. He said he will be looking at different combinations to improve both offensively and defensively without Stephen Curry.

“I have to look in the mirror and ask myself, ‘Why are we turning it over more?'” Kerr said Saturday. “When I watch tape, I get back to two things, on the players’ side it’s the decision-making, on my side it’s the rhythm and the flow of the stuff that we’re running. There needs to be improvement on both counts. And that’s how this always works, it’s a collaboration. We win and I’ve got to find ways to get these guys a better picture so the decision-making is easier for them.”