etired Upton and Doumit with the bases loaded to prevent a big

DURHAM, N.C. -- Jabari Parker had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 6 Duke beat UNC Asheville 91-55 on Monday night in the opening round of the NIT Season Tip-Off. Rodney Hood had 15 of his 18 points in the first half for the Blue Devils (3-1), who never trailed and shot 57 per cent. Duke held a 42-28 rebounding advantage, built a 20-point first-half lead and coasted to its 104th straight nonconference win at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Sam Hughes scored 16 points for the Bulldogs (1-3). They shot 33 per cent and never got closer than 18 points in the second half. UNC Asheville was beaten soundly by its second top-10 opponent in 11 days after being routed 89-57 by then-No. 1 Kentucky. Andre Dawkins had 13 points and Quinn Cook and freshman Semi Ojeleye added 10 apiece to help Duke improve to 23-2 in the preseason NIT. The Blue Devils have won the tournament four times and two of those titles came during their most recent national championship seasons in 2000-01 and 2009-10. And once again, Hood and Parker did most of the heavy lifting for Dukes offence. In all four games, the Blue Devils have been led in scoring by either Hood or Parker. Hood was coming off a career-high 28-point performance last time out against Florida Atlantic. Also in that game, Parker became the first Duke freshman under coach Mike Krzyzewski with at least 20 points in each of the first three games of his career. Parker wasted little time making it four in a row, scoring 14 in the first half while finishing 8 of 13 from the field. And Hood turned in several highlight-reel plays during his 6-for-8 night: His personal 7-0 run gave Duke its first 20-point lead. Hoods jumper after a pretty behind-the-back dribble came two possessions before a posterizing dunk, and a 3-pointer from the corner made it 44-24 with just under 4 minutes before halftime. Perhaps lost in the shuffle, high-energy forward Amile Jefferson did the dirty work that led to the run by Hood that put this one out of reach. On three consecutive defensive series, Jefferson got a hand in the face of 7-footer Jaleel Roberts during a jumper, grabbed a key rebound and forced the steal from Hughes that set up Hoods 3. Just as in the Blue Devils previous two home games, they built such a big early lead that the drama-free second half afforded plenty of chances to show off. And no sequence was prettier than Parkers reverse dunk of Cooks open-court alley-oop feed with 12 1/2 minutes left. David Robertson added 12 points for UNC Asheville, which made just its second visit to Cameron and first since 2008. The Bulldogs once again were without forward Will Weeks, who averages 13 points but missed his second straight game with a knee injury. Cheap Pirates Jerseys . LOUIS -- David Ross never expected to be on a World Series podium. Custom Pittsburgh Pirates Jerseys . The 31-year-old, a two-time CFL lineman of the year, was among the most coveted free agents on the market. The Windsor, Ont., native will be especially important to a team that has lost veteran quarterback Anthony Calvillo to retirement and is expected to go with the less experienced Troy Smith and Tanner Marsh this season. https://www.cheappiratesjerseys.us/ . Appearing on TSN 690 Monday afternoon, Mike Babcock said he had conversations with both P.K. Subban and Carey Price about those on-ice traits during Hockey Canadas summer orientation camp. Mike Babcock: McGill experience, P. Pirates Jerseys 2019 .Hoffenheim forward Anthony Modeste opened the scoring on a counterattack in the 15th minute, shooting though Jaroslav Drobnys legs after Lewis Holtby lost the ball in midfield. Pittsburgh Pirates Store . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins (3) - Surrendered a tough first goal against on a deflection through the body short side. ARLINGTON, Texas -- Robinson Chirinos hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the eighth inning, sending the Texas Rangers to a 2-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night. Adrian Beltre and Ryan Rua had two hits apiece as Texas won for only the second time in 13 games. The Rangers improved to 2-5 under interim manager Tim Bogar. The Braves have lost four of five to drop three games behind Pittsburgh for the National Leagues second wild card. Texas winning rally started with two out in the eighth. Beltre and Rua hit consecutive singles against David Carpenter (6-4) before Chirinos lined a single to centre to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. Chirinos was playing for the first time after missing 10 games because of a stiff neck. Rookie Phil Klein (1-2) recorded two outs for his first major league win and Neftali Feliz pitched a perfect ninth inning for his ninth save in 10 opportunities. Atlanta had a runner on third with one out in the eighth when Klein struck out Justin Upton. After issuing an intentional walk to Ryan Doumit, Klein struck out Chris Johnson to end the inning. The game ended when Atlantas Andrelton Simmons flied out to right fielder Michael Choice on the warning track. Starting pitchers Alex Wood for Atlanta and the Rangers Derek Holland each allowed one run in seven innings. The Braves took a 1--0 lead in the third, when they had four of their eight hits against Holland.dddddddddddd Singles by B.J. Upton and Simmons and Jason Heywards ground ball produced the run. Holland retired Upton and Doumit with the bases loaded to prevent a bigger inning. Texas tied it in the sixth on J.P. Arencibias double, Beltres single and Ruas groundout. Holland tied his season high with six strikeouts. He has pitched seven innings in each of his last three starts, allowing no walks. The only other Rangers pitcher with no walks in three consecutive starts of seven innings or more was Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins in 1979. TRAINERS ROOM Braves: C Evan Gattis (strep throat) missed his fourth straight game. Rangers: RHP Scott Baker (triceps tendinitis) was scratched from Saturdays scheduled start. ... RF Alex Rios (infected right thumb) missed his seventh game. ... OF Jake Smolinski (fractured left foot) could come off the disabled list to join Texas on Tuesday at Oakland. ... OF Jim Adduci (concussion) is undergoing tests to determine if he could return from the DL. UP NEXT Braves RHP Julio Teheran (13-11, 3.00 ERA) faces RHP Lisalverto Bonilla (0-0, 7.36 ERA) on Saturday afternoon. Teheran will be trying to end a personal two-game losing streak. Bonilla is making his first major league start in Bakers place. ' ' '