SPORTSBRIEFING
Buckeyes rip Morehead
COLUMBUS (AP) — E.J. Liddell scored 16 points and No. 23 Ohio State pulled away from Morehead State for a 77-44 win on Wednesday.
Justice Sueing, C.J. Walker and Duane Washington Jr. had 11 points apiece for Ohio State (3-0). Kyle Young collected 10 points and nine rebounds, and Justin Ahrens finished with nine points.
DeVon Cooper scored 13 points for Morehead State (1-3), which shot a dismal 25% from the floor. Skyelar Potter had 11.
Ohio State led 37-27 at the break. Young, a 6-foot-8 power forward, made it 54-37 with his fifth career 3-pointer midway through the second half, and the Buckeyes took off from there.
Young added a dunk in transition off a Washington pass, and Washington hit a 3 as Ohio State went up 65-42 with 5:04 left. The lead ballooned to as many as 32 points as Ahrens hit a trio of 3-pointers and Washington made one for a 77-42 lead with just over a minute left.
Rafer Johnson dies at 86
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rafer Johnson, who won the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Olympics and helped subdue Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin in 1968, died Wednesday. He was 86.
He died at his home in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles, according to family friend Michael Roth. No cause of death was announced.
Johnson was among the world’s greatest athletes from 1955 through his Olympic triumph in 1960, winning a national decathlon championship in 1956 and a silver medal at the Melbourne Olympics that same year.
His Olympic career included carrying the U.S. flag at the 1960 Games and lighting the torch at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to open the 1984 Games. Johnson set world records in the decathlon three different times amid a fierce rivalry with his UCLA teammate C.K. Yang of Taiwan and Vasily Kuznetsov of the former Soviet Union.
Potters make a splash
STEUBENVILLE — East Liverpool’s swim team opened the season against Steubenville, Indian Creek and Union Local on Wednesday.
The Potter girls tied Union Local 81-81, while losing to Steubenville 172-40 and Indian Creek 107-62.
The Potter boys lost to Steubenville 104-38, Indian Creek 120-38 while beating Union Local 41-39.
Lakers extend LeBron
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James has agreed to a contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers. James’ agency, Klutch Sports, confirmed the deal Wednesday during the first week of training camp for the NBA champions. The Lakers are still finalizing their new contract with Anthony Davis, who is also represented by Klutch CEO Rich Paul. The Los Angeles Times reported James’ extension is a two-year, $85 million deal through the 2022-23 season. The four-time NBA champion is getting the maximum deal to extend his tenure in Los Angeles, where he moved two seasons ago after his second stint with his hometown Cavaliers.