Jan 2, 2018 4 min read

In girls basketball

Junior guard Abby Cooper had a double-double to lead Fort Cherry High School to a 39-22 victory over visiting Mapletown in a nonsection game Tuesday night.

Cooper had 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Fort Cherry improved its record to 7-2. The Rangers broek the game open in the third quarter. After leading 17-8 at halftime, the Rangers outscored the Maples (2-7) 16-5 to start the second half.

Abby Antill was Mapletown’s leading scorer with seven points.

WVU’s Ahmad to return Jan. 13

West Virginia basketball forward Esa Ahmad will return from a two-month academic suspension next week.

The Mountaineers’ announced Tuesday that it received confirmation from the NCAA that Ahmad can play starting Jan. 13 against Texas Tech.

Ahmad had been ruled ineligible for the first half of the season after failing to meet NCAA academic requirements. He had been practicing with the team.

As a sophomore, Ahmad was second in scoring for the Mountaineers last season at 11.3 points per game. He was third in rebounds at 4.3 per contest.

West Virginia (13-1) has done fine without Ahmad. The Mountaineers have won 13 straight and are ranked No. 6 in the AP poll heading into a showdown Saturday night with No. 7 Oklahoma.

In the NBA

Isaiah Thomas showed flashes of what made him an All-Star in his long-awaited Cleveland debut as the Cavaliers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 127-110 win over the Portland Trail Blazers Tuesday night.

Thomas scored 17 points and played 19 minutes in his first game in seven months, an impressive return to action for the dynamic point guard. Thomas added three 3-pointers and three assists before leaving with 8:10 left and the Cavs up by 12.

LeBron James scored 24 points, Kevin Love had 19 and Jae Crowder added 15 for the Cavs, who were coming off losses at Golden State, Sacramento and Utah.

Damian Lillard scored 25 for the Blazers after missing five games with a hamstring injury. Jusuf Nurkic added 23 and CJ McCollum had 19 for Portland.

Lions interview 2

The Detroit Lions have interviewed both of their current coordinators for their vacant head coaching job.

The Lions announced the interviews with defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter on Tuesday, a day after coach Jim Caldwell was fired .

Austin was Detroit’s defensive coordinator for Caldwell’s entire four-year tenure. In 2014, the Lions became the ninth team in NFL history to finish the season allowing less than 70 yards rushing per game. Detroit lost Ndamukong Suh off that team and slipped defensively after that. The Lions have ranked 18th, 18th and 27th in total defense since then.

Cooter was Detroit’s quarterbacks coach in 2014 and was promoted to offensive coordinator during the 2015 season.

Austin was previously a secondary coach for the Baltimore Ravens and has also coached defensive backs for the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks. Cooter served in various roles for the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts.

Snyder returning at Kansas State

Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder will be back on the sideline next season.

The 78-year-old coach had been mulling his future since the Wildcats beat UCLA in the Cactus Bowl last week. Snyder ultimately announced in a brief statement Tuesday that he would return, ending growing speculation in some circles that he might retire for a second time.

“As I have stated many times, as long as I remain in good health, am wanted and have a positive impact on the young people in our program, I will continue to be the head coach at Kansas State,” he said. “Those factors have not changed, and I look forward to meeting with our players and beginning our out-of-season program when classes resume.”

Snyder informed his family of his intentions before telling his assistants in a brief meeting on Tuesday, a person familiar with the decision-making process told the Associated Press.