Mangas N - Z » t was his second blown save this s

NEW YORK -- Jabari Parker is already in the Duke record book. The heralded freshman matched his season-high with 27 points, setting the school record for consecutive 20-point games to start a career and the sixth-ranked Blue Devils beat Alabama 74-64 on Wednesday night in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off. "I think Ive got a long ways to go," the 6-foot-8 forward said after his seventh 20-point effort. "I need to be sharper in the beginning of the game. Nothing is ever too easy. I get open looks when they look at Rodney (Hood) or Q (Quinn Cook). I get those opportunities as much as possible." He takes advantage at an alarming rate. He entered the game shooting 58 per cent from the field and he improved that number by going 9 of 12 from the field. He had eight rebounds and was 9 of 10 from the free throw line in matching his point total in the Blue Devils only loss, 83-54 to No. 2 Kansas. "He gets his points in the flow of the offence and we should go through him a lot," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We had foul trouble with Rodney. Usually its through them. We went to Jabari even more." The Blue Devils (6-1), who committed a season-high 19 turnovers, will face No. 4 Arizona, which beat Drexel 66-62, in the championship game on Friday at Madison Square Garden. Its a matchup of the program with the most NIT Season Tip-Off titles -- Duke with four -- against one of three programs tied for second with three. "Arizona is older and they are really big for us," Krzyzewski said. "Over the years, we have always played really difficult schedules and this year is no different. Im just glad we have an opportunity to play for a championship. "Arizona is probably ahead of some other teams. Arizona, Michigan State, because they have guys who have played prominent roles, back. And then they have added a great guard and a great wing to their lineup, and so they are big. It will be completely different, from playing this game. They can post three guys from their starting lineup. They post their front line. Thats where we are not real big. That will be interesting how we try to get that going." Nick Jacobs led Alabama (3-2) with 18 points and seven rebounds while Trevor Releford and Algie Key added 11 points each. Duke is 25-2 in the NIT Season Tip-Off and has won 14 straight games in the tournament. The Blue Devils were coming off a 91-90 home victory over Vermont, a game that ended with the Catamounts having the ball but not getting off a final shot. It didnt get that close at the end Wednesday, but the Crimson Tide took advantage of the turnovers to be within 56-51 with 5:19 left. Alabama was within six points three times in the final 3:18 but the Blue Devils were able to go up by as many as 10 points. "Teams play well against us. Its a great opportunity for the sun to shine on a program, and so we have to expect that," Krzyzewski said. The only other Duke player to start his career with six straight 20-point games was Art Heyman in 1961-62. "Hes probably, in my eight years as a head coach, the most talented freshman Ive seen just from his size, his physicality and his skill level," Alabama coach Anthony Grant said of Parker. "Hes able to make tough shots and free himself for the open shot and hes able to get himself to the free throw line. Hes just a really, really talented player. They have got a lot of really good players around them, as well." Duke closed the firsts half on an 11-2 run to take a 33-22 lead and the Blue Devils opened the second half on a 13-6 run for their biggest lead of the game, 46-28 with 15:23 to play. The Crimson Tide, taking advantage of Dukes turnovers, used a 12-0 run to get within 46-40 with 12:07 left. "They had a pretty sizable cushion," Grant said. "We werent able to be effective enough to win the game. Whatever the turnovers were, they scored 74 points in the game, shot a pretty good clip from the field, got to the free throw line quite a bit. I would say their attack against what we were doing was pretty effective." The Blue Devils are 23-7 at Madison Square Garden under Krzyzewski and they have won 15 of their last 17 games there. Duke has won 27 straight regular-season tournament games. The loss dropped Alabama to 32-99 against Top Ten teams. The Crimson Tides last win over a Top Ten team was Feb. 18, 2006 against then-No. 8 Tennessee. Jed Lowrie Mets Jersey . Asdrubal Cabrera had four hits and three RBIs, Michael Brantley also homered and the Indians beat the injury-riddled Minnesota Twins 9-4 Thursday for their first three-game winning streak this season. Mookie Wilson Jersey . -- John Fox will coach the Denver Broncos from the sideline and not the booth upon his return Sunday five weeks after heart surgery. http://www.metsbaseballauthentic.com/jason-vargas-mets-jersey/ . The club was unable to retain hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, who is bound for Atlanta. Seitzer replaces Greg Walker, who was assisted by Scott Fletcher this season as the Braves finished 79-83. Gary Carter Mets Jersey . In this weeks Leaf Report podcast, James Mirtle and Jonas Siegel debate whether Toronto can continue their shootout dominance and discuss what Dave Nonis game plan should be heading into the trade deadline. David Wright Jersey . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.NEW YORK -- Ernesto Frieri has lost his job as Los Angeles Angels closer -- at least for a while. Angels manager Mike Scioscia says setup man Joe Smith will step into the stopper role until Frieri works out his problems beginning Friday night when the Angels play the New York Yankees. "We want to get Ernie off of that treadmill and let him get an inning or two where he can try to make some adjustments," Scioscia said. "Historically, Ernie has responded well to this. We need him, and I think this is the best route to take to get to the final solution we want." The move comes two days after Frieri allowed four runs and three hits while failing to protect a lead for the Angels in a loss at Washington. It was his second blown save this season in four chances. Frieri is 0-2 with a 9.35 ERA in 10 appearances this year. Hes allowed five home runs, a problem that plagued him last season when he was tagged for 11 homers and brieffly lost the closer job.dddddddddddd Scioscia said Frieri will be used at less stressful times, not in setup situations. The eighth-inning role will be filled by matchups. "To put him in setup role right now would defeat the purpose, because youre going to put him in a high-leverage situation," Scioscia said. "If youre ready for the eighth inning, youre ready for the ninth." "Mechanically hes fine," Scioscia said. "At times hes overthrowing, and when he does, hes missing some spots. Hes not a fine control guy, but he definitely knows what area he wants to throw the ball, and hes usually pretty good at getting it there." Smith signed a $15.75 million, three-year contract with the Angels this winter. In his eighth season, the 30-year-old right-hander is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA, but 10 of his 11 appearances have been scoreless. He has three career saves in 450 games with the Mets, Indians and Angels. ' ' '