College Basketball

Utah forward Britton Johnsen will leave the Utes for two years to serve a religious mission for the Mormon church, he announced at Salt Lake City on Friday.

Johnsen was accused by North Carolina forward Makhtar Ndiaye of making a racial slur in the NCAA tournament semifinals on March 28. Johnsen, a freshman, vehemently denied the allegation, and Ndiaye later admitted he fabricated the accusation.

“I’d love to stay because our fans are so great and this is such a great program,” Johnsen said. “[But] I’ve wanted to do this for a long time.”

Jermaine Watts, who led DePaul with a 15.9-point scoring average last season, has been dismissed from the team and will not return to the Chicago-based campus for his senior season because of repeated violations of athletic department policy and because he did not meet academic standards.

The USC men’s basketball team will pass out T-shirts and other Easter gifts in the children’s ward at Martin Luther King Hospital in Los Angeles today. On April 17, the Trojans will visit Childrens Hospital in Hollywood.

Auto Racing

Robert Pressley, beset by poor finishes this year in the Busch Grand National series, won the first pole of his career in qualifying for the Galaxy Foods 300 at Hickory, N.C. Pressley went 88.453 mph in a Chevrolet.

Mary Fendrich Hulman, whose frail voice delivered the most famous phrase in auto racing: “Gentlemen, start your engines” for almost two decades at the Indianapolis 500, died at 93.

Hulman was the widow of Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman.

Pro Football

Dallas Cowboy cornerback Deion Sanders donated $1 million to a Dallas youth project, sponsored by the church he credits with his salvation. Nearly half comes from the advance Sanders received to write an autobiography in which he reveals how wealth and fame left him suicidal.

The Jacksonville Jaguars re-signed Pro Bowl wide receiver Jimmy Smith to a five-year contract extension that reportedly will pay him $19 million over six seasons.

Oklahoma State tight end Alonzo Mayes, an Associated Press All-American, tested positive for marijuana use at the NFL scouting combine, ESPN reported Friday.

Tennis

Top-seeded Lindsay Davenport avenged a recent loss to eighth-seeded Anna Kournikova of Russia by defeating the 16-year-old, 7-5, 6-3, in the quarterfinals of the $450,000 Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Fla. Davenport lost to Kournikova in the quarterfinals of the Lipton Championships two weeks ago.

Top-seeded Spaniard Felix Mantilla was upset, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1, by Moroccan Karim Alami in the quarterfinals of the $625,000 Estoril Open at Oeiras, Portugal. . . . U.S. Open champion and top-seeded Patrick Rafter of Australia and defending champion Mikael Tillstrom of Sweden advanced to the semifinals of the Gold Flake Open at Madras, India. Rafter defeated Lars Bugsmuller, 7-6 (7-3), 0-6, 7-5, after Tillstrom beat Mark Woodforde, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3). . . . Byron Black of Zimbabwe upset seventh-seeded Gianluca Pozzi, 6-4, 6-0, to advance to the semifinals of the Salem Open at Hong Kong.

Miscellany

Police seeking evidence on drug use in former East Germany’s sports program seized 20 cartons of documents at the office of the German Olympic Committee, the magazine Der Spiegel reported.

The UCLA men’s track team will host a triangular meet and the women will hold a quadrangular meet at Drake Stadium today beginning at 9:15 a.m.

Houston and Cal State Northridge’s men’s and women’s teams will compete and Minnesota will round out the field for the women.