[naviga:h3]SRU’s Till named athlete of week[/naviga:h3]

SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock University sophomore forward Micah Till has been named PSAC West Men’s Basketball Co-Athlete of the Week.

Till had 19 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Gannon, 27 points and nine boards in a win over California (Pa.). He has 14 double-doubles on the year.

Till shares the Athlete of the Week honor with Indiana (Pa.) junior guard Dante Lombardi.

[naviga:h3]Cavs’ forward Love breaks left hand[/naviga:h3]

DETROIT — Kevin Love left Cleveland’s game at Detroit on Tuesday night with a broken left hand.

Love went down the tunnel toward the locker room during the first quarter. He had X-rays at the arena, which the Cavaliers say showed a non-displaced fracture in his fifth metacarpal. The team says his status will be updated after additional examination Wednesday in Cleveland.

Love played only 4:41 on Tuesday night and went scoreless.

The 29-year-old Love has missed only one game this season, and he’s the Cavs’ second-leading scorer behind LeBron James. With the trade deadline looming, Cleveland has been in a funk lately. The Cavs had lost 10 of 15 heading into Tuesday’s game, and they trail Boston and Toronto atop the Eastern Conference.

Love’s injury will likely affect the Cavs’ plans as the Feb. 8 trading deadline approaches. The Eastern Conference champions may have to make a significant move to replace Love, who could be out for more than a month.

[naviga:h3]Former Pirate Niese signs with Rangers[/naviga:h3]

ARLINGTON, Texas — Left-hander Jon Niese has signed a minor league contract and will go to spring training with the Texas Rangers after not pitching in the regular season last year.

The 31-year-old Niese had left knee surgery at the end of the 2016 season. He made six relief appearances in spring training for the New York Yankees last year but didn’t pitch during the regular season at any level.

The agreement with the Rangers announced Tuesday includes an invitation to major league spring training.

Niese has a 69-68 record with a 4.07 ERA in 211 games in nine major league seasons. He made at least 20 starts seven consecutive seasons, for the New York Mets from 2010-15 and the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016.