Trailing 60-53, the Mountaineers | Forum
miaowang123
Dec 24 '17
ST. Jakub Voracek Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. -- From last place to the middle of a pennant race. Its been a fast-moving week for David DeJesus. The playoff-contending Tampa Bay Rays acquired the veteran outfielder from Washington on Friday, just four days after the Nationals picked him up from the struggling Chicago Cubs. Washington will receive a player or cash considerations. Tampa Bay got a versatile player they have coveted for years while continuing to strengthen a roster chasing a post-season berth. The second-place Rays entered Friday nights game against the New York Yankees trailing first-place Boston by one game in the AL East. The DeJesus deal came on the heels of the Rays reuniting with former No. 1 draft pick Delmon Young, who signed a minor league deal on Wednesday. "Our biggest focus was on augmenting our depth," executive vice-president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. "Essentially, weve got a 37-game season, and were doing everything we can to put together the most talented team we can going down the stretch." DeJesus flew from Kansas City, where the Nationals were opening a weekend series, to St. Petersburg on Friday. Rays manager Joe Maddon immediately inserted him into the lineup, playing left field and batting seventh. "Thats what Im here to do -- play baseball," DeJesus said. The 33-year-old DeJesus was acquired by the Nationals on Monday, and he played in three road games with Washington. In 87 games overall with the Nationals and Cubs, he batted .247 with six homers and 27 RBIs. DeJesus has also played with Kansas City and Oakland during a career in which he has batted .279 with 86 homers and 513 RBIs in 11 seasons. He has never played on a team that has reached the post-season, so he is thrilled to be joining a contender. "I went to bed (Thursday night) thinking Im a Nat. I woke up and Im not a Nat anymore. Its been crazy," DeJesus said. "Its an opportunity to come here and help out and be in a pennant race. Ive been on a lot of losing teams, and this is exciting for me." Friedman said the left-handed hitting DeJesus likely will play a lot against right-handed pitchers. The Rays believe he is also capable of playing all three outfield positions and is a good baserunner. "Weve had our eyes on him for some time. We tried to acquire him when he was with Kansas City," Friedman said. "He just does a lot of things that we really appreciate and value. "The fact that we play 37 games in 38 days also factored in. Having as much depth as we possibly could was important, In our minds, this arguably is the deepest roster weve ever had." DeJesus is appreciative of a chance to "start over, start fresh." "I started with one of the worst teams, now Im with one of the best teams in baseball," the outfielder said. "I just want to be here to help out the guys in any way possible, be a veteran leader and just go out there and play hard. "Thats what the Rays expect, and thats what I expect of myself." Bobby Clarke Jersey . The Tournament of Champions, which starts Friday, is his first event since a freak accident in Shanghai two months ago. Snedeker was on a Segway scooter during a corporate outing at Sheshan International when he took a tumble and injured his left knee. Taylor Leier Jersey . scored 18 of his career- high 28 points in the first half, as fifth-ranked Ohio State dominated No.DAYTON, Ohio -- D.J. Evans is charitably listed at 5-foot-9. His coach and teammates tease him that he looks a foot shorter. Yet he stood awfully tall for Albany on Tuesday night. Evans scored 22 points, including two clinching free throws with 12.6 seconds left, to lead the Great Danes to their first NCAA tournament victory, 71-64 over Mount St. Marys in the First Four. Evans, an often overlooked component in Albanys lineup, belied his height with nine rebounds to go with three assists. "Hes about 4-foot-8, so hes really impressive," laughed his running mate at guard, Peter Hooley, who had 20 points. "I dont think theres another 4-8 guard who could go in there and get that many boards. He did what he needed to do to get this win." It was a signature victory for the America East Conference tournament champs, who had come up empty in three previous trips to the big dance. "It means a lot," said an emotional coach Will Brown. "Theres no better feeling. Like I told our kids, were going to be in the history books at the University of Albany forever." The Great Danes (19-14) advance to meet overall No. 1 seed and top-ranked Florida on Thursday in Orlando. But that was a concern for another day. It was a wild game of incredible turnarounds, with the Great Danes bolting to leads of 13-0 and 21-2, only to have The Mount (16-17) bounce back with a 21-2 run of its own to pull even. Hooley, one of three Australians on the Albany roster, hit two free throws with 2:43 remaining to stretch the lead to 65-62. After Julian Norfleet countered with a bucket, Hooley again pounded his way to the basket and lofted a shot over a defender for a 67-64 lead at the 2-minute mark. It stayed that way with the teams missing big shots. Rashad Whack and Norfleet each missed potential tying 3s -- Whacks rolled almost inside the rim and then bounded away. "When it hit the rim, I thought it was going to go in," Whack said softly. Evans was fouled with 12.6 seconds left and hit both shots to increase the lead to five points -- and out of reach of another long-range shot. Evans was most proud of his rebounding. "They shot a lot of 3s and there were a lot of long rebounds," he said with a grin. "I was just at the right place at the right time. Scott Laughton Jersey. " After playing two years of junior-college ball and sitting behind a senior starter a year ago, Brown told Evans his day would eventually come. "Hes the happiest kid in the world right now," Brown said. Norfleet then missed another 3 and Albany finally could call itself an NCAA winner. Will Miller, a freshman who came off the bench, led The Mount with 21 points, all on 3s. But he didnt get off a shot in the last 3:32 after making back-to-back 3s to draw the Mountaineers within a point. Whack added 16 points and Sam Prescott 14 for The Mount, which electrified the crowd at the University of Dayton with 3-point fireworks. The Mountaineers hit 12 of 37 shots behind the arc to time and again come back from deficits. The glut of 3-pointers was nothing new for the Mountaineers. They came in with an offence heavily dependent on shots behind the arc. They averaged 9 of 25 on 3-pointers coming in. Albany had made some racket in the NCAAs before, but had never come out on top. In 2006, the Great Danes led by double figures in the second half but lost to Connecticut, 72-59. A year later, they held their own before falling Virginia, 84-57. A year ago, as a 15 seed, they battled Duke throughout before coming up short, 73-61. Mount St. Marys was also making its fourth NCAA appearance, although it had won once before -- a victory over Coppin State in 2008 in the old format of an opening-round leading into the big tournament. Albany led 35-31 at the break, but that didnt tell the story of one bizarre half. The Mount couldnt do much right for the first 8-plus minutes. The Great Danes raced to a 13-0 lead. The Mountaineers missed misfired on their first 11 shots from the field, including six behind the arc. "A lot of teams would have folded," said Mount coach Jamion Christian. "Our guys didnt do that. They took the punch and they bounced back." Things quickly turned around, with Mount going on an 18-0 run. Like a couple of sparring partners, the teams kept trading flurries in the second half. Down 45-41, Albany went on a 10-1 run. Trailing 60-53, the Mountaineers scored nine of the next 12 capped by Millers two 3s to cut the deficit to a point. That set the stage for Evans to play like a giant. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
Share:
