liard and Hart combined to score Villanovas first 20 points, bef

MIAMI -- In their fitful, laborious search for a general manager, the Miami Dolphins finally found someone to say yes: Dennis Hickey. The longtime Tampa Bay Buccaneers executive accepted the job Sunday, ending a search that lasted nearly three weeks. Hickeys hiring came after the Dolphins were rejected by several candidates. New England Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio and Tennessee Titans vice-president of player personnel Lake Dawson turned down job offers only hours before Miami reached out to Hickey, while Cleveland Browns assistant general manager Ray Farmer withdrew from consideration Thursday. Several others declined invitations to interview as a replacement for Jeff Ireland, whose six-year stint as general manager ended Jan. 7 when he and owner Stephen Ross agreed to part ways. Hickey has been with the Buccaneers for 18 seasons, including the past three as director of player personnel. He was their director of college scouting for six years. He was not interviewed for Tampa Bays GM job when it became open after this season. The Bucs won four division titles and one Super Bowl championship during his time with them, but went 28-52 over the past five years and had spotty draft results during that span. Hickey was among eight candidates interviewed by Miami, with Ross aide Matt Higgins and executive vice-president of football administration Dawn Aponte helping the owner with the screening process. The other finalist was Dolphins assistant general manager Brian Gaine, who worked under Ireland. Some candidates and potential candidates expressed concern about the Dolphins power structure, including the role of Aponte, who clashed with Ireland. In a news release to announce the hiring, the Dolphins said Hickey will oversee all aspects of football operations and report directly to Ross. Coach Joe Philbin will continue to report directly to Ross as well, while Apontes place in the chain of command wasnt spelled out. Ross loyalty to Philbin, who is 15-17 in two seasons with Miami, may have been a stumbling block for some candidates. In a statement, Ross cited Hickeys willingness to work with Philbin as a factor in the hiring. "When we started the search, I outlined qualities that I was looking for in this position," Ross said. "These included a collaborative team-first person who can work with Joe, demonstrated player evaluation expertise, and someone who is open-minded and creative. Dennis fit all of these criteria." The Titans Dawson released a statement saying he had declined Miamis job offer. "I felt Stephen is a great owner, passionate and wants to win, but the details of the offer didnt align with my vision," Dawson said. "I turned it down because it wasnt an ideal fit for my family and me." So Ross turned to Hickey, who was interviewed for the first time 10 days into the search. The protracted process reinforced Ross reputation for having difficulty closing deals with the Dolphins. In the past, the New York real estate billionaire has unsuccessfully courted Peyton Manning, Jim Harbaugh and Jeff Fisher. Hickeys task will be to upgrade the roster after Miami collapsed late in the season to blow a playoff berth and finish 8-8. The Dolphins havent been above .500 since 2008, the longest such stretch in franchise history. The tumultuous 2013 season included a locker-room bullying scandal that drew national scrutiny, and a report on the NFL investigation into the case will be released after the Super Bowl. "The Dolphins certainly have talented players," Hickey said in a statement, "and I am eager to hit the ground running with our personnel and coaching staffs. We will all work together to construct a team that will make our organization and fans proud." Hickey will be introduced at a news conference Tuesday. AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tenn. contributed to this report. Andreas Christensen Chelsea Jersey . 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All of those areas need a lot of work, so Molitor is going to be busy. "Hes certainly got a history and knowledge and a high baseball IQ," general manager Terry Ryan said.PHILADELPHIA -- Darrun Hilliard watched intently Saturday night as the Philadelphia 76ers retired Allen Iversons number at the Wells Fargo Center. Less than 24 hours later, in the same arena, he tried to recreate the magic of his all-time favourite player. Hilliard scored a career-high 26 points and No. 8 Villanova set a school record for regular-season wins with a 73-56 victory over Marquette on Sunday. "AI was the man," Hilliard said. "That was my favourite player. Seeing him go out and be the smallest guy on the court and doing what he did with everything against him, it was something I looked up to. So its pretty cool to be in this building." Josh Hart added 13 points and JayVaughn Pinkston had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats (26-3, 14-2 Big East), who have won four straight and 10 of 11. The Wildcats had never won 26 regular-season games in the 95-year history of the program. Villanova won 25 games four previous times, most recently in 2008-09, a season it reached the Final Four. Deonte Burton scored 13 points for Marquette (17-12, 9-7) and Todd Mayo finished with 11 points and five rebounds. "I was proud of that effort," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "I know Marquettes a good, hungry team and they play hard. Its hard to match that level." Playing in the home of the 76ers Hilliard almost looked like an NBA guard with the kind of show he put on for the fans. The 6-foot-6 junior guard had 18 points in first half, shot 5 for 8 from 3-point range for the game and set his career high with a dazzling drive that put the Wildcats up 66-47 with 4:58 left. Hilliards previous career high of 25 points came in an upset win over Syracuse last season -- also at the Wells Fargo Center. "Darrun was on fire today," Hart said. "When you have someone whos 5 for 8 from 3s, the defence is really focusing in on him so that allowed me to get open shots." Villanova was 12 of 29 from 3-point range. Trying to make a late push to get into the NCAA tournament for the ninth straight year, Marquette came in having won five of six, including an important two-point victory over Georgetown on Thursday. But the Golden Eagles never threatened to upset the Wildcats, shooting just 4 for 15 from 3-point range and 16 for 25 from the free throw line. They committedd 15 turnovers.dddddddddddd "I would say the number one disappointment is we didnt play as hard as we have to play on the road to beat a team as good as Villanova," Marquette coach Buzz Williams said. After falling behind by 11 points at halftime, Marquette made just one field goal through the first 5 minutes of the second half to allow Villanova to open a 48-29 lead. Villanova led by double digits the rest of the way to move one full game ahead of No. 9 Creighton for first place in the Big East. The Wildcats only two conference losses have come to Creighton, which fell out of first place after losing to Xavier on Saturday. "I dont think theyre going to win our league or theyre eighth in the country based on one number," Williams said. "I think theyre really good in each phase of the game but I also think they play for one another. I think they play incredibly hard and I think they play with great spirit." Hilliard and Hart combined to score Villanovas first 20 points, before Pinkston and Tony Chennault scored the next nine for the Wildcats. Daniel Ochefu then forced a steal, ran ahead of the pack and had a transition dunk to cap a 17-4 run and send Villanova to a 31-18 lead with 3:18 left in the first half. The Golden Eagles cut the deficit to six points a couple of minutes later, but Hilliard scored five straight points to close the half, hitting two free throws after Williams was called for a technical foul and drilling a 3-pointer with 2 seconds remaining. "I thought that series was important for us," Wright said. "We were struggling a little and they were coming back." The Wildcats led 36-25 at halftime despite foul-plagued starting guards Ryan Arcidiacono and James Bell playing just 6 and 5 minutes, respectively. Neither scored in the first half and Bell, the teams leading scorer, didnt score at all and remains six points shy of 1,000 points for his career. "In the first half, when we were playing without James Bell and Ryan Arch, I thought our energy level actually went up," Wright said. "I thought we were actually a quicker team. And then those guys were really fresh in the second half. "Weve been trying to build our depth throughout the season and that was really important to have that first half like that." ' ' '