Tottenham downs Ajax, reaches Champions League final

SOCCER

Moura’s hat trick leads Tottenham

Facing a three-goal deficit at halftime, Tottenham pulled off another Champions League comeback for the ages.

Lucas Moura completed a hat trick in the sixth minute of injury time as Tottenham rallied to beat Ajax, 3-2, on Wednesday and reach its first Champions League final, ending a remarkable run by the young Dutch team that had knocked off some of Europe’s biggest teams along the way.

A day after Liverpool stunningly erased a 3-0 deficit from the first leg by beating Barcelona 4-0 at Anfield, Moura nearly single-handedly helped Tottenham pull off a similar feat in Amsterdam.

Ajax seemed to have the two-legged semifinal wrapped up by halftime after teenage captain Matthijs de Ligt and Hakim Ziyech netted to put it 2-0 up at the break — and 3-0 on aggregate.

But Lucas Moura scored twice in a four-minute span to level the score on the evening and put the visitors one goal from going through 3-3 on aggregate thanks to the away goals rule.

After Jan Vertonghen’s header hit the crossbar in the 87th minute, that goal finally arrived when Moura struck again deep into injury time. Dele Alli laid the ball off to the Brazilian as he streaked into the area and his low shot crept inside the right post to complete another improbable victory.

“We saw Liverpool last night, it goes to show it’s not over until it is over,” Tottenham fullback Danny Rose said.

Tottenham will face Liverpool in Madrid on June 1 in the first all-English final since Manchester United beat Chelsea in 2008.

COURTS

Two convicted of bribery conspiracy

An aspiring sports business manager and an amateur basketball coach were convicted of bribery conspiracy at a trial that showed top college coaches were paid off to steer NBA-bound athletes to favored handlers.

The verdict capped the two-week trial of Christian Dawkins and youth basketball coach Merl Code in a case that forced the NCAA to confront corruption affecting basketball players at some of its elite programs.

Dawkins, 26, and Code, 45, were convicted on a conspiracy count, but acquitted of some other charges.

Leaving court, Dawkins said he could have chosen to cooperate with prosecutors and identified coaches he knew were willing to funnel money to top athletes.

Code and Dawkins already were convicted in October on similar charges related to payments made to players’ families rather than coaches. They were each sentenced to six months in prison.

COLLEGES

Ponds selected for Combine

St. John’s junior guard Shamorie Ponds has been selected as one of the 66 invitees to next week’s NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. Ponds is one of just two Big East players to earn an invitation alongside Villanova’s Eric Paschall.

Ponds finished fourth in the league in scoring at 19.7 points per game after recording 18 20-point performances and four games of 32 points or more. Ponds also finished second in the league in assists with 5.1 per game.

HIGH SCHOOLS

Michigan reducing football practice

The organization that governs Michigan high school athletes has voted to trim the amount of full-contact football practice from a maximum of 90 to 30 minutes per week and to drastically reduce the amount of full contact allowed in preseason workouts.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association voted this week on the reductions for full-contact practices, joining New Jersey as the second state to implement rules favored by Practice Like Pros, a nonprofit devoted to reducing injuries in youth football.

The group cites studies that say 58 percent of concussions in high school football happen on the practice field, compared with 4 percent in the NFL.