Sports Briefs

MIAMI --

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Xavier's slide continues

Joston Thomas and the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors handed Xavier yet another post-brawl loss, relegating the reeling Musketeers to the seventh-place game in the Diamond Head Classic.

Thomas made a layup from the baseline with 0.8 seconds left in overtime to give Hawaii an 84-82 comeback victory over No.?14 Xavier late Friday night, the Musketeers' third consecutive loss since a bench-clearing brawl Dec. 10 against Cincinnati.

Down by 15 early in the second half of the consolation semifinal, Hawaii tied it at 77 on Hauns Brereton's 3-pointer from the top of the key with 2.0 seconds left in regulation.

Thomas finished with a career-high 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting and had nine rebounds. Vander Joaquim added 20 points for Hawaii (6-5), Zane Johnson had 14, and Brereton 13.

The victory was Hawaii's first over a ranked team since it beat No.?4 Michigan State in November 2005.

A desperation heave by Xavier from about 75 feet as time expired was well short.

Tu Holloway led Xavier (8-3) with 26 points, Mark Lyons had 18 and Kenny Frease 13.

NBA

Heat waive House

The Heat waived veteran guard Eddie House, meaning rookies Mickell Gladness and Terrel Harris are on the 15-man roster to open the season.

House, 33, had left knee surgery last month and was deemed not yet ready to play.

House was drafted by the Heat in 2000 and has also played for the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix, New Jersey, Boston, Charlotte, Milwaukee, Sacramento and New York. House scored 35 points for Miami in the regular-season finale last season, a win at Toronto.

• The Grizzlies have signed forward Dante Cunningham after the Charlotte Bobcats declined to match Memphis' offer to the restricted free agent. The team did not release terms of the deal. The Grizzlies also traded guard Greivis Vasquez (Maryland) to the New Orleans Hornets for guard/forward Quincy Pondexter in a move designed to boost their depth with Darrell Arthur out for the season.

• The Oklahoma City Thunder waived guard Nate Robinson, who was a midseason acquisition from the Boston Celtics last season and appeared in four games for the Thunder. He averaged 3.3 points and 1.5 assists.

ELSEWHERE

• Purdue has extended football coach Danny Hope's contract for two additional years, through Dec. 31, 2016. Details are being finalized. Purdue went 5-7 under Hope in 2009, then 4-8 in an injury-filled 2010. The Boilermakers (6-6) will play Western Michigan in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl on Dec. 27 at Ford Field in Detroit.

• Orange Bowl officials said they've scrapped a planned sponsorship deal with Camacho Cigars. Larry Wahl, an Orange Bowl spokesman, said in an email that after mutual review, it was determined it would not be appropriate to go forward with the sponsorship.

• Former Atalanta captain Cristiano Doni has reportedly acknowledged fixing Serie B soccer games in Italy involving his team and said his club knew nothing about it. Doni was among 16 people arrested across Italy on Monday in an investigation into match-fixing and illegal betting on games.

From wire reports

Source: http://www2.timesdispatch.com/sports/2011/dec/25/tdsport09-sports-briefs-ar-1566885/

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