Thursday's sports briefs

Smith to stay at Tennessee Tyler Smith is returning to Tennessee for his junior season, hoping to improve his NBA draft prospects for next year.

The 6-7 forward scored 13.5 points a game and led the 31-victory Volunteers in rebounds and assists last season. Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said Smith would have faced tough competition in the draft against 38 other underclassmen.

"I have come to the conclusion that I want to be a Volunteer next year," Smith said. "Coming back wasn't really a big problem because, I mean, I am here. I am home. I am with my family and I am really enjoying college life."

• Missouri starters DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons declared for the NBA draft, though neither will hire an agent and could return to school. Lyons, a junior last season, led the Big 12 in field-goal percentage at 58.3 and had a team-high 13.1-point average. Carroll, who started 30 of 32 games as a junior, was the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year after averaging 13 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds.

• Alabama State basketball player Deshean Porchea collapsed and died after playing in a pickup game on campus. The 19-year-old sophomore passed out after walking off the court and never regained consciousness, the university said. He averaged 2.1 points on the team that won the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular-season title.

• UAB men's basketball coach Mike Davis received a two-year contract extension and a $25,000 raise in his base salary to $625,000. The Blazers went 23-11 last season and played in the NIT.

• Virginia Commonwealth and men's basketball coach Anthony Grant have agreed in principle to a contract extension and raise to keep him at the school through the 2013-14 season. Grant has guided VCU to a 52-15 overall record and two Colonial Athletic Association regular-season titles in his two years.

The Swiss defender launched its sailing program by announcing plans to build a boat that won't be ready before next year.

Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth said the two-time defending champion was gearing up to race challenger BMW Oracle Racing, but not in October as the American team is demanding.

The Golden Gate Yacht Club -- home to BMW Oracle Racing -- is awaiting a judge's ruling on when the two syndicates will meet in a best-of-three match race to decide the 33rd edition of sport's oldest competition. The Americans were made the official challenger to the Societe Nautique de Geneve when the Swiss team was ruled to have accepted an invalid challenge in a bid to gain an unfair advantage.

AHL: Former Gopher Ryan Potulny scored at 2:58 of the fifth overtime to give the Philadelphia Phantoms a 3-2 victory over the host Albany River Rats early Friday in the longest game in the American Hockey League's 72-year history.

Tennis: Roger Federer beat Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo (Monaco) Masters. The 12-time Grand Slam champion overcame an early break against Monfils and looked to have recovered a day after he had to come back from 5-1 down in the third set to beat 137th-ranked Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo. Three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal beat Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-4, 6-1.