Latest Mid-America sports

BLUES-AVALANCHE

Blues break tie in 3rd period, beat Avalanche 4-2

DENVER (AP) – Magnus Paajarvi and Jaden Schwartz scored in the third period to send the St. Louis Blues past the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 on Tuesday night.

Patrik Berglund had two goals, including an empty-netter to seal it for the Blues. They tied idle Nashville for third place in the Central Division with 83 points, and St. Louis holds the tiebreaker by virtue of more regulation and overtime wins.

The Blues have won eight of 11 overall and 14 of their last 20 road games.

Jake Allen finished with 26 saves for St. Louis, which played most of the game without center Paul Stastny after he was hit on the foot by a shot in the first period.

John Mitchell had a goal and an assist, Mark Barberio also scored and Calvin Pickard made 25 saves for Colorado, which has lost three straight.

NAIA CHAMPIONSHIP

Rogers leads Texas Wesleyan to NAIA title 86-76 over Life

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Dion Rogers scored 28 points, Ryan Harris added 21 and Texas Wesleyan defeated Life University 86-76 on Tuesday night to win its second NAIA championship.

Naiel Smith had 17 points and six assists and Najeal Young had 10 with 11 rebounds for the third-seeded Rams (29-7), who also won the championship in 2006. Rogers, who went 11 of 13 from the foul line and grabbed eight rebounds, received the Chuck Taylor Award as the tournament MVP.

Rogers opened the game with a 3-pointer, followed with a steal and Texas Wesleyan, from Fort Worth, Texas, and the Sooner Athletic Conference, grabbed two offensive rebounds before Young scored and the Rams never trailed. It was 35-23 at the half.

The Running Eagles (26-11) out of Marietta, Georgia, and the Mid-South Conference, closed within 49-44 on a 3-point by Jonathan Beausejour with 11:02 to play. The Rams responded with 10 straight points, the last four by Smith and the lead remained in double figures.

Life, shooting for its fourth title but first since 2000, was led by Dalarian Williams with 25 points and Zach Landis with 21 and 11 rebounds. The Running Eagles knocked off top-seeded and unbeaten LSU-Alexandria 65-63 in the semifinals to reach its fifth championship game.

CANUCKS-BLACKHAWKS

Daniel Sedin scores in OT to lift Canucks over Blackhawks

CHICAGO (AP) – Daniel Sedin scored a power-play goal 2:12 into overtime and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 on Tuesday night to end a six-game skid.

With his twin brother Henrik Sedin screening goalie Scott Darling, Daniel Sedin connected on a high, long shot. The score withstood a video review for goaltender interference and snapped the Blackhawks’ five-game winning streak.

Chicago rookie Ryan Hartman scored his second goal of the game with 1:03 left in the third period to tie it at 4. The Blackhawks rallied with three goals in the third period to send it to overtime.

Vancouver’s Brandon Sutter scored two goals to end a 13-game drought. Sutter, along with Henrik Sedin and Reid Boucher, connected on three of the Canucks’ first five shots as Vancouver pounced on Chicago mistakes to build a 4-1 advantage.

Ryan Miller made 40 saves as the Canucks were outshot 44-15.

BULLS-RAPTORS

Raptors snap 11-game losing against Bulls with 122-120 win

TORONTO (AP) – DeMar DeRozan had 42 points, and the Toronto Raptors snapped an 11-game losing streak against the Chicago Bulls by rallying for a wild 122-120 overtime win on Tuesday night.

DeRozan shot 17 of 38 from the floor and also collected eight assists. Cory Joseph had 19 points for the Raptors, and Serge Ibaka scored 16 before he was ejected for his role in a memorable fight with Robin Lopez during the third quarter.

Jimmy Butler had 37 points for the Bulls, and Rajon Rondo finished with 24. It was Chicago’s first loss to Toronto since Dec. 31, 2013.