rd Creek Country Club to move to 16-under 128 overall.Grace, who won all four

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Xavier Thames dropped in 3s from deep, finessed floaters in the lane and carried San Diego State the way he did all season as the Mountain West player of the year. Thames would not let North Dakota State become this years version of Florida Gulf Coast by sending the Aztecs home in the third round of the NCAA tournament. Thames scored 30 points, and fourth-seeded San Diego State reached the round of 16 for the second time in school history, ending the run of No. 12 seed North Dakota State 63-44 on Saturday. The Aztecs (31-4) now get to make the short drive up the interstate to Anaheim, Calif., where they will face either No. 1 seed Arizona or eighth-seeded Gonzaga in the West Regional semifinals on Thursday. Thames, who was 9 of 19 from the field, had five assists and ended the comeback hopes of the Bison with a six-point spurt late in the second half that pushed the Aztecs lead to 12. He finished one shy of his career-high in points. Dwayne Polee II was the only other San Diego State player in double figures with 15, but the Aztecs didnt need a ton of scoring with Thames carrying the load and another defensive performance that suffocated the best shooting team in the country. Kory Brown led the Bison (26-7) with 13 points, but it was the struggles of leading scorer Taylor Braun that had North Dakota State trying to play catch up. Braun missed nine straight shots during one stretch. Sometimes he was guarded by Thames. Other times it was J.J. OBrien taking a turn on the Summit League player of the year. Braun finished 2-of-14 shooting and just seven points. North Dakota State shot 50.9 per cent for the season to lead the country, but could only make 31.9 per cent against the Aztecs. The 44 points were a season-low for the Bison, the previous low being 56 in a win over Western Illinois. North Dakota State was one of three No. 12 seeds to help create another manic March by upsetting No. 5 seed Oklahoma 80-75 in overtime in the second round on Thursday. They had the players and the personality to become this years version of FGCU -- just minus all those dunks. Thames wasnt going to allow that to happen. The memories were still fresh of the flight home last year after San Diego State become one of those teams FGCU dunked all over on its way to an unforgettable March run. Thames did it all for the Aztecs in the first half. He was responsible for 23 of San Diego States 30 points, scoring 16 and assisting on another three baskets. He started the second half with a floater in the lane, a shot he repeated minutes later. He then found Polee on the wing for a 3 and the Aztecs lead was back to 40-30 after a quick North Dakota State spurt had trimmed the deficit to five. Braun finally got a shot to fall when he spun in a reverse layup with 12:11 left, his first field goal in nearly 27 minutes of game time. By that point, the Bison were down eight and could never get much closer. Braun finished the first half 1-of-10 shooting and equally quiet was Lawrence Alexander. The guard who hit all the big shots against Oklahoma finished with three points after scoring 28 against the Sooners. Claude Giroux Jersey ." Argos general manager Jim Barker uttered those words during an interview with TSN 1050 radio just prior to the CFLs annual free agent frenzy. Ron Hextall Jersey . "This is my city," the Toronto native said upon his arrival Wednesday night. And the 35-year-old former league MVP says he is hoping to making 2014 a memorable year. http://www.hockeyflyersauthentic.com/jaromir-jagr-jersey/ . The R&A announced Monday that golfs oldest championship will return to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland for the first time since Max Faulkner won in 1951. Nolan Patrick Jersey . The NFL says Wednesday that the game between the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions at Wembley on Oct. 26 will start at 1:30 p. Brian Propp Jersey . Spencer Abbott and Trevor Smith scored third-period goals erasing a 2-1 deficit giving Toronto a late 3-2 lead.Erik Guay will miss at least the first two World Cup downhill races of the season following a pair of off-season knee surgeries.That means Canadas most decorated downhiller wont race the season-opening downhill or super-G on Nov. 29-30 in Lake Louise, Alta., nor will he compete the following week in Beaver Creek, Colo.Lake Louise is definitely a scratch this year, Guay said Tuesday from Toronto.Right now, our optimistic calculations should put me back on snow around the seventh of December. If everything goes well from there, Id like to start racing the last weekend of December.The 33-year-old from Mont-Tremblant, Que., had surgery to replace cartilage and bone in his left knee in June. Guay underwent arthroscopic surgery on the same knee in March.So far its been healing well, Guay said. It took a little bit longer than originally anticipated, but things are on schedule now. Im working on gaining some mass and strength back into my leg.Guay won the mens world downhill championship in 2011 after claiming the World Cup overall title in super-G in 2010. Last season, he passed Steve Podborski for the most career World Cup medals won by a Canadian and now sits at 22.After finishing off the podium at the 2006 and 2010 Winter Games in fourth and fifth respectively, Guay really wanted to win some Olympic hardware last February in Sochi, Russia.But he twisted his left knee in January while training in Wengen, Switzerland, and arrived in Sochi hobbling. Hed also had surgery on that knee in 2013.Guay was 10th in the downhill in Sochi and was disqualified in the super-G for missing a gate. His Canadian teammate Jan Hudec tied for bronze in the super-G to claim Canadas first alpine Olympic medal since 1994.Its not easy, certainly, Guay said. You work for this for four years and knowing I was competitive early on in the season makes it that much more frustrating. I knew going in my knee was a problem and it wasnt 100 perr cent.dddddddddddd. It weighs on you. When you go into a race, and confidence is such a huge thing, and you know your knee isnt performing the way youd like it to, its not an easy thing.I personally struggle with that. Im not the kind of guy who can put things aside. Jan Hudecs extremely good at that. If hes racing through pain, hes able to do that extremely well, whereas I struggle with that a little bit more.The pursuit of that elusive Olympic medal will keep Guay racing to a fourth Winter Olympics in 2018. At 36, hed likely be one of the oldest downhillers, but others have raced at that age and reached the podium. Didier Cuche of Switzerland was still winning World Cup races at 37 before he retired. Bode Miller, who tied for third with Hudec in Sochi, was 36.But if Guay is going to race at breakneck speeds for another four years, his knee has to be able to sustain it.Two weeks after his arthroscopic procedure in March, he was still experiencing pain and swelling in his knee. Guay then made the decision to have the more invasive surgery.I needed to get (my) knee in a good place, he said. Even if I start a little late, even if I miss the season entirely, I think I have to keep my eyes on the prize which is four years down the road.That being said, Id like to start as soon as possible because I know how competitive my sport is. I know the more time you spend off snow, its that much time you have to make up on the other competitors. Im a little bit anxious to get back on snow and start racing again, but I need to give myself enough time to heal.Guay won his first career World Cup medal in Lake Louise in 2003 when he was second in downhill. Hes been a consistent top-10 finisher at the Canadian stop on the circuit.Hell be in Lake Louise working with his sponsors, but wont race there for the first time in over a decade.Itll definitely be a strange feeling not to be in the start hut, Guay said. ' ' '