NW Sports from the AP

AP-NW–1st SportsMinute,421
Here is the latest Washington, Oregon and Alaska sports news from
The Associated Press

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) – Mathias Ward scored 18 points, Kareem
Jamar added 18 points and 13 rebounds and Montana used a late 11-0
run to get by Eastern Washington 74-66 last night in a Big Sky
tournament semifinal game. Will Cherry had 16 points and Derek
Selvig added 12 for the top-seeded Grizzlies, who play No. 2 seed
Weber (WEE’-bur) State for the championship today. Cliff Colimon
scored 27 points and Cliff Ederaine 16 for the Eagles. Laron
Griffin contributed 15 points and 14 rebounds.

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) – Damian Lillard had 22 points and Weber
(WEE’-bur) State outscored Portland State 11-1 in the last 4:59 for
a 69-63 victory last night in a Big Sky tournament semifinal.
Gelaun Wheelwright scored 15 points and Kyle Tresnak 10 for the No.
2-seeded Wildcats, who will play top-seeded Montana in the
championship game today. Charles Odum had 24 points and Chehales
Tapscott 19 points and 11 boards for the third-seeded Vikings, who
led or were tied most of the second half.

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) – Felix Hernandez struck out four in three
hitless innings and the Seattle Mariners beat the Cincinnati Reds
8-6 yesterday. Hernandez hit the first batter he faced this spring,
then retired nine in a row. The right-hander threw 26 of his 35
pitches for strikes. Seattle’s Ichiro (EE’-cheer-oh) Suzuki went 3
for 3 with two RBIs. Mat Latos (LAY’-tohs) allowed two hits in two
scoreless innings in his spring debut. The Reds acquired the righty
when they traded four players to San Diego in December.

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) – Infielder Carlos Guillen, a three-time
All-Star and veteran of 14 major league seasons, announced his
retirement yesterday morning. He was in the Seattle Mariners’
spring training camp in Arizona as a non-roster invitee. The
36-year-old Guillen hit .285 during his career with Seattle
(1998-2003) and the Detroit Tigers (2004-11). Guillen hit .353 (6
for 17) in the 2006 World Series with the Tigers. Last season,
Guillen hit .232 in 28 games with the Tigers. He was on the
disabled list twice.

McGRATH, Alaska (AP) – Musher Aliy Zirkle holds a slight lead in
the Iditarod as mushers closed in on the McGrath checkpoint last
night. McGrath is 329 miles from the race’s Anchorage starting
point. The Two Rivers, Alaska, musher finished 11th last year. A
large pack of mushers on the trail between Nikolai and McGrath
include defending champion John Baker, four-time Iditarod champ
Jeff King and 2004 champion Mitch Seavey. Sixty-six teams are
competing in the nearly 1,000-mile race.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

AP-NY-03-07-12 0530EST