NEW YORK (AP) — Providence forward Duncan Powell was suspended two additional games by the Big East on Sunday, meaning he will miss three games for his flagrant foul that sparked a fight in a game against St. John's.
Powell already faced an automatic one-game ban for fighting by NCAA rules, but the conference tacked on an additional penalty stemming from the 17th-ranked Red Storm's 79-69 victory Saturday that featured seven ejections.
It started when Powell flagrantly fouled Bryce Hopkins — who played three seasons in Providence — from behind as he went up for a fast-break layup. Powell was automatically ejected for the flagrant 2 foul.
“Providence College holds its student-athletes and coaches to the highest standards,” athletic director Steve Napolillo said. “We fully support the suspension that the Big East has issued to Duncan Powell. His actions were unacceptable and do not reflect the values, discipline, or sportsmanship expected of anyone representing Providence College.”
The Big East said in its ruling that officials determined that Powell “engaged in additional combative actions that constituted a fighting act subsequent to the flagrant foul.”
He will sit out next Saturday at DePaul, followed by a Feb. 24 home game against Xavier and a game at Creighton on Feb. 28.
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Providence forward Duncan Powell (31) is escorted off the court after getting ejected following a fight during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against St. John's, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
CAIRO (AP) — Gulf states reported new missile and drone attacks Sunday after Tehran threatened to widen its campaign as the war in the Middle East entered its third week.
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates warned people that they were working to intercept incoming projectiles, a day after Iran called for the evacuations of three major UAE ports, threatening for the first time a neighboring country’s non-U.S. assets.
Iran earlier accused the United States of using “ports, docks and hideouts” in the UAE to launch strikes on Kharg Island, home to the main terminal handling Iran’s oil exports, without providing evidence. The UAE and other Gulf countries that host U.S. bases have denied allowing their land or airspace to be used for military operations against Iran.
Iranian strikes have killed at least a dozen civilians in Gulf states, most of them migrant workers. In Iran, the International Committee for the Red Cross said more than 1,300 people have been killed so far, while in Israel, 12 people were reported dead by Iranian missile fire, according to the national rescue service Magen David Adom.
At least 13 members of the U.S. military have been killed since the war began, including seven in combat and six who died in a plane crash over Iraq last week.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he hoped allies would send warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s humanitarian crisis deepened, with over 820 people killed, according to the Ministry of Health, and 850,000 displaced as Israel launched waves of strikes and sent additional troops into southern Lebanon.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the U.S. attacked Kharg Island and Abu Musa Island from two locations in the UAE, Ras Al Khaimah and a place “very close to Dubai,” calling that dangerous and saying Iran “will try to be careful not to attack any populated area” there.
U.S. Central Command said it had no response to Iran’s claim. A diplomatic adviser to the UAE’s president, Anwar Gargash, rejected accusations that the U.S. used its land or air as a base for its attacks on Kharg Island.
Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Arab Gulf neighbors during the war, but it has said it was targeting U.S. assets, even as hits or attempts were reported on civilian ones such as airports and oil fields.
Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz was closed only to “those who are attacking us and their allies.”
As global anxiety soars over oil prices and supplies, Trump said Saturday that he hopes China, France, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and others send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz “open and safe.” Britain, in response, said it was discussing with allies a “range of options” to secure shipping.
Araghchi, in a social media post, urged neighbors to “expel foreign aggressors” and described Trump’s call as “begging.”
Iran’s joint military command has reiterated its threat to attack U.S.-linked “oil, economic and energy infrastructures” in the region if the Islamic Republic’s oil infrastructure is hit.
The U.S. Department of Defense on Saturday identified six service members who died when the military refueling aircraft they were aboard crashed Thursday while supporting operations against Iran.
The service members were Maj. John A. Klinner, 33; Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31; Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34; Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38; Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, according to U.S. officials.
The crash in western Iraq followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in “friendly airspace,” according to U.S. Central Command. The other plane landed safely.
A missile struck a helipad inside the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad late Saturday. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The embassy complex, one of the largest U.S. diplomatic facilities in the world, has been repeatedly targeted by rockets and drones fired by Iran-aligned militias.
The State Department again warned citizens in Iraq to leave “now,” and by land since commercial flights were not available. It noted that Iran and Iran-aligned militia groups “may continue to target” U.S. citizens, interests and infrastructure.
Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem; Sally Abou AlJoud, Kareem Chehayeb and Bassem Mroue in Beirut; and Tia Goldenberg in Washington contributed to this report.
Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, early Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Smoke rises from the U.S. embassy building in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Jabar)
Mourners react during the funeral ceremony for Gen. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Defense Council and a senior adviser to the Supreme Leader who was killed in a strike, at the courtyard of the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Two men ride their motorbike past a billboard of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Fire and plumes of smoke rise from an oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
A man chants slogan while the body of Gen. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Defense Council and a senior adviser to the Supreme Leader who was killed in a strike, is being buried at the courtyard of the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
