rnament appearance sinc

RALEIGH, N. Jack Lambert Jersey .C. -- After turning Tobacco Road into "Raleigh Top," Tennessee is headed to the round of 16. Tennessee denied Mercer a second straight upset in decidedly one-sided fashion, routing the Bears 83-63 in the third round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday night behind 17 points and a career-high-tying 18 rebounds for Jarnell Stokes. Josh Richardson had a career-high 26 points and Antonio Barton had 18 for the 11th-seeded Vols (24-12), who are making the most of their first tournament appearance since 2011. "NIT two straight years, I guess thats what youd call starting from the bottom," Stokes said. "A lot of people doubted us, and that just makes the ride much better." The Tennessee band had plenty of chances to blare their beloved "Rocky Top" during this rout, which followed the same script as their 19-point thumping of Massachusetts two days earlier: The Voles outrebounded Mercer 41-19 to keep the Southeastern Conference perfect in the tournament. They joined Florida and Kentucky in the regional semifinals -- the first time three SEC teams made it that far since 2007. "Ive been hearing that the SEC has been a football conference for a long time but I dont know how you can still say that when youve got three SEC schools in the Sweet 16," Tennessee guard Jordan McRae said. Tennessee will face second-seeded Michigan (27-8) in a Midwest Regional semifinal Friday night in Indianapolis. Stokes broke his 2-day-old school tournament record for rebounds. Langston Hall had 15 points to lead the 14th-seeded Bears (27-9). They knocked off Duke in the signature upset of the tournament but couldnt answer Tennessees size. "I think hopefully by the time (reality) sets in, well all be able to put a smile on and realize that what weve been able to do at our school, and for the city, has been phenomenal," forward Jakob Gollon said. "Its kind of hard to see right now." Mercer trailed by double figures for the entire second half before the Bears threatened another fantastic finish. They had the ball down 12 with about 2 1/2 minutes left when Gollon -- one of the heroes of the Duke upset two days earlier -- threw the ball away in the lane, then fouled out a few seconds later. McRae hit two free throws, and Richardson added a fast-break layup to push the Tennessee lead to 77-61 with 1 1/2 minutes left. McRae finished with 13 points for the Volunteers, who have won eight of nine with the only loss coming to the top-ranked Gators in the SEC tournament. They are in the round of 16 for the fourth time in eight years, and the third team to go from the First Four to the Sweet 16 since the introduction of the extra round in 2011. They also got a bit of payback: Mercer ended Tennessees season last year with a 75-67 win in the first round of the NIT. Ike Nwamu scored 12 points, Anthony White Jr. had 11 and big man Daniel Coursey added 10 for Mercer, the plucky Atlantic Sun Conference school trying to match Florida Gulf Coasts run last year to the regional semifinals. The Bears drew a perfect matchup for their first game -- and couldnt have had a worse one for their second. "Any time we have Jeronne (Maymon) and Jarnell wearing Tennessee orange," McRae said, "we always feel like we have the advantage." They were bigger, more experienced and more precise than a Duke team loaded with high school All-Americans and a leaky defence, carving them up down the stretch in a 78-71 victory that ranks among the top upsets in the history of the tournament. Mercer starts five seniors and has seven on the roster -- but the Bears were down one with 6-foot-11 Monty Brown out with a possible concussion. Even with him, a Tennessee team with Stokes -- who set the schools short-lived tournament record with 14 rebounds in that 86-67 rout of UMass -- was going to be a challenge. Without him, it was nearly impossible. "Its hard to match up with them, but at the end of the day, mainly it was probably my fault towards the end," Coursey said. "They had a lot of rebounds, and I should have boxed them out." Tennessee never trailed and held a 24-4 rebounding advantage in the first half. Richardson scored 10 straight points midway for the Volunteers to turn a tight game into a double-figure lead. His 3 from the right wing made it 29-18 with 6 1/2 minutes left. Meanwhile, Stokes and Maymon effectively turned Mercer into a jump-shooting team: The Bears managed just one offensive rebound in the first half and didnt attempt their first free throw until there was just 8:40 left. Lawrence Timmons Steelers Jersey . The 22-year-old from Notre Dame started 29 games and had five goals and six assists this season. The league announced Monday that Powers received 93 per cent of team, media and player votes. Mel Blount Jersey . China defeated Myanmar 3-0 while South Korea blanked Thailand 4-0 at the AFC Womens Asian Cup to secure top-two finishes in the Group B standings. Three more Asian countries will book their World Cup tickets by Wednesday. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS@ LOS ANGELES -- Patrick Kane learned of his grandfathers death shortly before game time, and he handled the pain in the only way he could imagine. By playing his heavy heart out. Kane had two goals and an assist, Nick Leddy had a goal and an assist, and the Chicago Blackhawks snapped their recent slump with a 5-3 victory over the struggling Los Angeles Kings on Monday night. After scoring goals early and late in his first three-point game since Dec. 28, Kane choked up in the dressing room while thinking about his grandfather, Donald, who lived next door during his childhood in Buffalo. "Just a tough day overall," Kane said. "He was one of my great friends growing up. Just a really sad day. It was important to get the win, but any time you get someone taken away from you thats so close to you, means so much, its tough to hear that right before the game, for sure." Kane pointed skyward after his first goal 1:02 into the game, coming out of the corner and beating U.S. Olympic teammate Jonathan Quick during a power play. "You think about it a couple of times on the bench, but I was just trying to focus on the game tonight," Kane said. "Just play well for him, I guess." Chicago coach Joel Quenneville didnt learn about Kanes extra burden until early in the game. Kanes teammates praised him for his poise while mourning his loss. "Hes a proud guy, and I think his grandfather meant a lot to him," Quenneville said. "It was probably an emotional night for him, but he played an unbelievable game." Kane had plenty of help. Marcus Kruger scored the tiebreaking goal on a double deflection in the second period for the defending Stanley Cup champions. Bryan Bickell also scored and Corey Crawford made 31 saves as Chicago swept the three-game season series between last seasons Western Conference finalists. Kane warmed up for Sochi with his first multigoal game since Dec. 14, while Canadian Olympic counterparts Patrick Sharp and captain Jonathan Toews picked up two assists apiece for the Blackhawks, who had lost five of six. Leddy contributed his first goal and first multipoint game since Dec. 23. With Chicagos victory and Anaheims loss to Columbus, the Blackhawks pulled wiithin three points of the Ducks for the overall NHL lead. Cam Thomas Steelers Jersey. Anze Kopitar had a goal and two assists in Los Angeles highest-scoring performance since Jan. 21. Drew Doughty and Tyler Toffoli also scored, and Jonathan Quick stopped 25 shots in the Kings ninth loss in 10 games. "Tonight, energy-wise I think, was our best night in a while," Kings captain Dustin Brown said. "Weve got to just keep plugging along. I know its a broken record, but were not going to get out of it by doing anything different. ... Theres definitely frustration. If youre not frustrated in this room, theres something wrong with you." Although the Kings scored more than one goal for the first time in seven games, it wasnt enough to beat the NHLs highest-scoring team, which had lost two of three on its six-game road trip heading into the Olympic break. Los Angeles had scored just three total goals in the last six games heading into this meeting of the NHLs last two champs. "I think that we have a couple of guys that are frustrated with their own games," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "Theyre having a hard time right now, whether its the schedule or just where theyre at with their own games. Thats something they need to deal with themselves, for sure." The Kings got off to a horrific start yet again: Kane scored after Doughty took a charging penalty 24 seconds after the opening faceoff. Bickell then scored on a slick pass from Kane, but Doughty kept it close with his eighth goal on a one-timer moments later. His goal was the first by any Kings player except Kopitar in nearly two weeks. Kopitar evened it with a flip of a bouncing puck on a 3-on-1 rush, for his 17th goal, but Chicago went back ahead when Leddys shot from the point deflected off Krugers blade and smacked Kings defenceman Matt Greenes stick, popping over Quicks shoulder. After Leddy scored with 12:59 to play, Sharp set up Kanes second goal moments later. NOTES: Quick has started 15 of the Kings 16 games since he returned from a seven-week injury absence. ... Toffolis late goal was his 10th of the season -- and first since Dec. 19. ... The Kings scratched F Jordan Nolan, and Matt Frattin returned to the lineup after sitting out the past four games. ' ' '