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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Nate Ebner couldnt really have set up more of a dramatic finish for the U.S. team at the Olympics.The New England Patriots safety and special teams player, given special permission to play rugby sevens for the United States in Rio de Janeiro, ran almost half the length of the field with world champion Fijian players in pursuit and scored with a minute to go in the most crucial game of the pool stage.The U.S. team needed to stay within four points of Fiji in the last group-stage game on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals at the expense of 12-time world series champion New Zealand.At the moment Ebner scored, the difference was five points with a conversion to come -- two crucial points that would have cut the difference to three.U.S. captain Maddison Hughes took the conversion attempt, wide on the right sideline, but couldnt angle it between the uprights.Seconds later, the Americans were out of contention with a 24-19 loss, and New Zealand got a backdoor pass into the quarterfinals at the expense of the United States.Honestly, Fiji closed me off so much the way they chase so hard, there were three of them, I had no-one to pass to, so I just put the ball down, said Ebner, explaining why he scored in the corner and wasnt able to touch down closer to the posts and make the kick easier for Hughes. We had a minute left and I was confident for Maddy to kick it from anywhere on the field. Hes done it multiple times.Ebner said the Americans did everything they could against back-to-back world sevens series champions Fiji, and it was more disappointing that a last-minute loss to Argentina on the opening day had cost the team a spot in the playoffs.To just lose to the best team in the world, and a great team in Argentina like that, and to not be able to make the quarters -- its heartbreaking, he said. But were going to finish this out strong. Thats all we can do.Ebner grew up playing rugby but switched to play football in college. The lure of the Olympics drew him back to rugby sevens, and hes not disappointed with the experience.Its been awesome. I wouldnt have done anything differently, he said. I just wish wed had a better day yesterday to put ourselves in a better position.Ultimately we gave everything we had to this -- no regrets at all.Ebner was one of the standouts for the U.S. team which surprised many people with its speed and physical approach to the game.Perry Baker scored in the second half against Fiji, a burst of speed that caught the defense off guard, and Carlin Isles scored three tries in the later classification match against Brazil, a 24-12 win.The Fijians went on to edge New Zealand 12-7 in the quarterfinals and remain on course to win the countrys first ever Olympic medal. Theyll face Japan, the most surprising team at the tournament, in the semifinals.The Japanese players say this Olympics will help them prepare for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. For Ebner, thats too far away to think about.After two more classification matches for ninth-12th matches on Thursday, hell switch gears again from being an Olympian to thinking about his day job.Ill go back to camp and get into the NFL football season, he said. Hopefully Ill be in better shape.He said hed probably have to explain some of the finer points of rugby to his Patriots teammates who were following the Olympics closely, but thought the tournament was a good advertisement for rugby. The U.S. women placed fifth, holding the gold medal-winning Australians to a 12-12 tie in the group stage and having chances to beat silver medalist New Zealand before losing 5-0 in the quarterfinals.Its been exciting to play, he said of the extra exposure the Olympics brought to the game. I can only imagine people who havent seen it, its got to be exciting to watch. Kaleb Cowart Angels Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Los Angeles Angels Shirts . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. https://www.cheapangels.com/ . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. Jared Walsh Jersey . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Chuck Finley Angels Jersey . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- Baylor dominated Michigan State inside with its size advantage, got out in transition and kept knocking down shots.The result was a second lopsided win against a ranked team in 10 days, along with the No. 20 Bears earning a trip to the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game.Johnathan Motley scored 20 of his 26 points in the first half and the Bears shot 55 percent after halftime to beat the 24th-ranked Spartans 73-58 on Thursday.Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. added 14 points and eight rebounds -- nearly all in the second half -- for the Bears (5-0), who sprinted out of the break with a 12-2 run on the way to shooting 55 percent in the second half. That quickly turned a 33-30 halftime deficit into a double-digit lead against the cold-shooting Spartans (3-3).We were able to get stops and we were able to get some transition buckets, Baylor coach Scott Drew said. And when were able get in transition with some easy ones, that loosens things up.The Bears did a lot of things well. They controlled the boards. They had 24 assists on 30 baskets. They scored 19 points off turnovers.The Spartans just werent able to mount much of a pushback. They went 7 minutes between baskets spanning halftime as Baylor made its push, while the Spartans thin front line was no match for the 7-foot Lual-Acuil and 6-10 Motley.We were bigger than them in the paint and we think were tougher, Motley said, so we just used that to our advantage.Freshman Miles Bridges scored 15 points for the Spartans, who shot 39 percent after halftime -- including 1 for 10 on 3-pointers -- in a demanding opening month of the schedule that has them crisscrossing the country.We were moving the ball and really playing well I thought through the first half, and we quit doing that, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. I just think we looked awfully tired. I can accept that thats my fault, not theirs.BIG PICTUREBaylor: In their first two games in the Bahamas, the Bears have notched a tough win against VCU and now a rout against the Spartans in the span of 24 hours -- about as good of a startt as Drew couldve hoped to see.dddddddddddd.Michigan State: The concerns about the Spartans injury-depleted front line showed up in a big way in this one. Motley went just about anywhere he wanted in the first half, while Lual-Acuil led Baylors effort on the boards. Izzo said Wednesday there would be some growing pains while this group sorted things out -- and this performance illustrated it perfectly.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Bears vaulted into this weeks AP Top 25 after beating then-No. 4 Oregon last week and could be ready to climb after beating VCU and Michigan State, depending on their finish Friday. As for the Spartans, theyve slid from their No. 12 preseason perch and could be set to fall all the way out despite -- or maybe because of -- that schedule.IZZOS APOLOGYMichigan State has already lost to Arizona in Hawaii and Kentucky in New York. The Spartans travel to Duke next week in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.Izzo said he did a terrible job putting together a schedule that has left little time to practice and try to develop his team.I actually apologized to my team, he said. And yet, Ive always played a tough schedule. ... You know what? You can take it as an excuse, you can take it as the truth, I dont give a damn. Im telling you what I did. This aint on them. Its on me.UPFRONT SIZEWith Michigan State down two big men because of injuries, Lual-Acuil, Ishmail Wainright (eight rebounds) and Motley helped the Bears control the inside. Baylor outrebounded Michigan State 36-29 and held it to three offensive boards while scoring 44 points in the paint.UP NEXTBaylor: The Bears will play No. 10 Louisville, which beat Wichita State later Thursday, in Fridays championship game.Michigan State: The Spartans will play Wichita State in Fridays third-place game.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap---More AP college basketball at http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '