PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- Winning ugly is nothing that Kansas coach Bill Self will complain about. In fact, theres times he finds it downright satisfying. Like Thursday, for instance, when Canadian Andrew Wiggins was slowed by the flu, when the second-ranked Jayhawks used reserves more than starters in the second half and when the hottest scorer on the court happened to be wearing a Wake Forest uniform. No problem -- Self was all smiles afterward, because above all else, a win always beats the alternative. Wiggins scored 12 of his 17 points in the final 5:53, and Kansas held off previously unbeaten Wake Forest 87-78 in the quarterfinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis. A pair of reserves, Frank Mason and Joel Embiid, combined for 23 more points for the Jayhawks (5-0), who will face Villanova in the semifinals on Friday night. "Ive always taken great pride in winning ugly," Self said. "I think its good to win ugly. Id rather win pretty, but theres nothing wrong with winning ugly. The thing about it thats frustrating to me, and I think these guys will probably agree, weve always been a team that won ugly by not allowing the other team to score." That wasnt the case Thursday, at least not in the final 20 minutes. Well, the last 20:01, really. Kansas was up by 16 when Codi Miller-McIntyre got a layup to fall for Wake Forest just before the first half ended. Before that shot, Miller-McIntyre had only four points. He finished with a career-best 26, and has scored at least 20 in five of Wake Forests six games this season. "Ive been coaching for a long time and hes one of the best Ive ever been around," Wake Forest coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "Great, great person. Youre seeing the fruits of his labour. ... Ive never seen a young man put the amount of time into his game as he has, both on the court, in the weight room and cerebral. He watches as much film as us as coaches." Miller-McIntyre was seated to Bzdeliks right as he raved about his effort. As his coach spoke, Miller-McIntyres facial expression barely changed. The Demon Deacons let a chance slip away, and Miller-McIntyre wasnt thrilled about that realization. "I hate the term moral victory," he said. The Demon Deacons (5-1) held Kansas to a season-low 47 per cent from the field, but lost forward Devin Thomas after he was ejected for two technical fouls with 7:28 remaining. Bzdelik said he was not given an explanation. And when told that Kansas was getting four free throws, even Self scoffed. "I hated what happened with Thomas," Self said. Tyler Cavanaugh scored 11 points, while Madison Jones and Coron Williams each had 10 for Wake Forest. When Thomas got ejected, Kansas Conner Frankamp made three of the four free throws to put the Jayhawks up 64-52. And when Wiggins, who was largely silent offensively for the first 35 minutes, made a 3-pointer for a 68-57 lead, the overwhelmingly pro-KU crowd might have sensed that Wakes upset bid had run dry. The Demon Deacons had other ideas. Miller-McIntyre kept attacking, and his 3-pointer with just under 2 minutes left got Wake Forest to 77-72. Desperately needing a stop, Wake Forest wound up losing Arnaud Adala Moto to his fifth foul when he got in Wiggins way on a drive with 38 seconds left. Wiggins made the first free throw and missed the second, but the ball bounced out of bounds to Kansas. Naadir Tharpe hit a pair of foul shots to make it a three-possession game, and Kansas escaped. "Were happy we won," Self said. "I thought Wake Forest really outplayed us in the second half." A three-games-in-three-days tournament is a chance for teams to show off their depth. Kansas wasted no time in doing just that. The Jayhawks had eight players score in the first 10 minutes, running out to a quick 24-13 lead. A 17-2 run put Kansas in early control, with the Demon Deacons getting only one field goal in a stretch that lasted nearly 8 minutes. Kansas had seven players score in that burst, no one getting more than four points and Wiggins not even registering a field goal. Wake Forest weathered that storm, and the score was 27-20 with 5:25 left until the break. Thats when the Jayhawks hit the gas again, scoring 13 of the next 17 points before winding up with a 40-26 edge at halftime. Miller-McIntyre got a layup to fall just before the halftime buzzer, and then the Demon Deacons opened the second half on a 16-6 run. But the Jayhawks never lost the lead in the second half, even with reserves in there for long stretches. "Our bench was really good," Self said. Cheap Vapormax 2 . According to Dave Stubbs of The Montreal Gazette, preliminary talks have begun between Markov - an unrestricted free agent this summer - and general manager Marc Bergevin. Cheap Vapormax 95 China . Jones, from Winnipeg, built a 3-0 advantage after three ends by scoring two in the second and one in the third. Chinas skip Bingyu Wang cut that lead to 3-1 in the fourth before Canada added another three in the fifth for a 6-1 lead. http://www.clearancevapormax.com/cheap-o...learance.html.S. international midfielder Michael Bradley is complete. Vapormax 2020 Clearance . The 27-year-old forward has informed the Leafs that he will be unable to play in Monday nights home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Vapormax Flyknit Clearance .The result meant Juventus will spend the winter break three points clear of Roma after the league leader beat Cagliari 3-1 on Thursday.Milan remained seventh ahead of the rest of the weekends fixtures, but was provisionally two points behind third-place Napoli in their duel for the final Champions League spot.The Toronto Maple Leafs "stumbled on" Connor Brown a few years ago and are pleased with their discovery. The Erie Otters captain was named the Ontario Hockey Leagues most outstanding player for 2013-14 on Tuesday. Brown led the league in scoring and set a franchise record with 45 goals and 83 assists in 68 games. Chosen near the bottom of both his OHL and NHL drafts, the 20-year-old Toronto forward has played himself into a strong pro prospect. He was the 251st pick out of 301 players four years ago in the OHL draft. The Leafs chose him in the sixth round, 156th overall, in 2012. His buddy Matt Finn, captain of the Guelph Storm and a fellow Leafs prospect, recently said "With Connor, its always been about proving people wrong." But Brown says his motivation is more about the pursuit of his dream than spite. "I definitely dont think much has come easy, being late picks in both drafts," he acknowledged during a conference call. "Its just more incentive to work hard. "I think I wanted to work hard not to prove people wrong, but I know I needed to work harder to have a shot at signing an NHL contract and having a shot at making the NHL one day." Brown has signed a three-year, entry level contract with the Leafs. He caught their eye in 2011 when scouts went to Erie, Pa., to evaluate Leafs prospect Sondre Olden. "Each time we went down to watch this Maple Leaf pick, wed stumble on Connor Brown," Leafs director of player Jim Hughes said. "Erie was having a difficult year and the scores, the deficits, never changed Connors desire, never changed his moods during the course of the game. "He was always focused and it didnt matter if he was winning 5-1 or losing 5-1, his personality never changed. He always played for the love of the game. He always played with passion. We obviously have big plans for Connor moving forward." Brown led Erie to the best season in its 18-year history with 52 wins and 106 points. The Otters lost this years Western Conference final to Guelph in five games. Brown had eight goals and 10 assists in 14 playoff games. The five-foot-11 170-pound right-winger is currently practising with Torontos American Hockey League team -- the Marlies -- at the MasterCard Centre.dddddddddddd He intends to spend most of the summer there building strength and working on his skating skills with former Canadian pairs figure skater Barb Underhill. Hughes says Brown needs time to develop "man-strength." "Come September, I think my game and my physical state, I think Ill be ready to play with better and stronger players," Brown said. Brown is the first Otter to win the OHL scoring title and the second to earn the Red Tilson Trophy as league MVP after Brad Boyes in both 2001 and 2002. The trophy is named in honour of Albert (Red) Tilson, who was a former Oshawa General killed in action during the Second World War. Brown led the league in power-play points with 54 and carried a plus-minus of plus-44 through the regular season. In a poll of Western Conference coaches, he was voted the best in a shootout, second in penalty killing and third in the smartest player category. "Whoever is preparing to play hockey anywhere, will not outwork Connor Brown and his will to prepare," Otters general manager Sherry Bassin said. "Whatever work ethic is necessary, whatever that measurement is, hell do more." Media members vote on the award and Brown was the clear winner with 321 points tabulated from 80 ballots. Oshawa Generals centre Scott Laughton was the runner-up with 120 points and top NHL draft prospect Sam Bennett of the Kingston Frontenacs was third with 68. Previous winners include New York Islanders forward John Tavares (Oshawa, 2007), Nashville Predators defenceman Ryan Ellis (Windsor, 2011) and Florida Panthers defenceman Brian Campbell (Ottawa, 1999). Vincent Trochek, the centre who won the award last year with the Plymouth Whalers, split this past season between the Panthers and their AHL team in San Antonio, Texas. Brown is the OHLs candidate for the Canadian Hockey Leagues player of the year. Hell be up against Sam Reinhart of the Western Hockey Leagues Kootenay Ice and Anthony Mantha of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey Leagues Val-dOr Foreurs. The winner will be announced May 24 during the MasterCard Memorial Cup in London, Ont. ' ' '