THE INDIANA SRN “SPORTSPAGE” MONDAY DECEMBER 12. 2022

INDIANA BOYS BASKETBALL MONDAY


ALL TIMES EASTERN
ADAMS CENTRAL	AT	NORWELL	7:45 PM
BERRIEN SPRINGS (MICH.)	AT	SOUTH BEND CAREER	7:00 PM
HILLTOP (OHIO)	AT	HAMILTON	7:30 PM
ILLIANA CHRISTIAN	AT	HIGHLAND	8:00 PM
PORTAGE CHRISTIAN	AT	HAMMOND SCIENCE & TECH	7:30 PM
ROOTED SCHOOL	AT	VICTORY COLLEGE PREP	6:00 PM

INDIANA GIRLS BASKETBALL MONDAY



ATTICA	AT	SOUTH NEWTON	6:30 PM
CALUMET CHRISTIAN	AT	ILLIANA CHRISTIAN	8:00 PM
CLINTON CENTRAL	VS.	LEBANON	5:30 PM
EDON (OHIO)	AT	EASTSIDE	7:30 PM
EVANSVILLE CHRISTIAN	AT	CANNELTON	7:00 PM
FISHERS	AT	PENDLETON HEIGHTS	7:30 PM
INDIANAPOLIS WASHINGTON	AT	INDIANA MATH & SCIENCE	6:00 PM
KNIGHTSTOWN	AT	SOUTH DECATUR	7:30 PM
MACONAQUAH	AT	CARROLL (FLORA)	7:30 PM
MARQUETTE CATHOLIC	AT	SOUTH BEND CAREER	6:30 PM
MORRISTOWN	AT	OLDENBURG ACADEMY	6:00 PM
NORTH POSEY	AT	EVANSVILLE REITZ	8:00 PM
NORTHMONT (OHIO)	AT	RICHMOND	7:30 PM
OAKTON (VA.)	VS.	NOBLESVILLE	7:00 PM
PORTAGE CHRISTIAN	AT	HAMMOND SCIENCE & TECH	6:00 PM
RISING SUN	AT	MEDORA	6:30 PM
SOUTH ADAMS	AT	MONROE CENTRAL	7:30 PM
SOUTH PUTNAM	AT	OWEN VALLEY	7:30 PM
SPRINGS VALLEY	AT	PERRY CENTRAL	8:00 PM
TRI-COUNTY	AT	DEMOTTE CHRISTIAN	7:30 PM
VINCENNES RIVET	AT	EVANSVILLE NORTH	8:00 PM
WES-DEL	AT	ALEXANDRIA	7:30 PM
WOOD MEMORIAL	AT	EVANSVILLE BOSSE	8:00 PM

IBCA GIRLS COACHES BASKETBALL POLL

1. SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON (12-0)

2. ZIONSVILLE (10-0)

3. HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN (11-0)

4. BEDFORD NORTH LAWRENCE (10-1)

5. FISHERS (9-2)

6. FORT WAYNE NORTHROP (9-1)

7. LAKE CENTRAL (7-1)

8. NOBLESVILLE (7-3)

9. HOMESTEAD (9-2)

10. INDIAN CREEK (10-0)

11. NORTHRIDGE (10-2)

12. TWIN LAKES (12-0)

13. COLUMBIA CITY (9-1)

14. WARSAW (9-2)

15. MISHAWAKA MARIAN (10-2)

16. CORYDON CENTRAL (11-1)

17. BEN DAVIS (9-3)

18. NORWELL (9-2)

19. WARREN CENTRAL (8-3)

20. VALPARAISO (10-0)

INDIANA SRN GIRLS BASKETBALL POLLS

ZIONSVILLE
SB WASHINGTON
FISHERS
BEDFORD NORTH LAWRENCE
HOMESTEAD

TWIN LAKES
INDIANS CREEK
NORWELL
JAY COUNTY
EVANSVILLE MEMORIAL

NORTH KNOX
WINCHESTER
CENTRAL NOBLE
BLACKFORD
EASTERN PEKIN

LANESVILLE
TRI
BLUE RIVER
TRITON
MORGAN TOWNSHIP

INDIANA SRN BOYS BASKETBALL POLLS

CATHEDRAL
BEN DAVIS
PENN
WARREN CENTRAL
ANDERSON

MISHAWAKA MARIAN
NORTH DAVIESS
GREENSBURG
NORTHWOOD
BEECH GROVE

LINTON STOCKTON
CARROLL FLORA
EASTSIDE
CENTRAL NOBLE
SOUTH SPENDER

BLOOMFIELD
EVANSVILLE CHRISTIAN
ORLEANS
LOOGOOTEE
TRI

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

#7 TENNESSEE 56 #13 MARYLAND 53

#20 IOWA STATE 77 MCNEESE STATE 40

#23 MISSISSIPPI STATE 69 MINNESOTA 51

MARQUETTE 79 NOTRE DAME 64

SOUTHERN INDIANA 88 INDIANA STATE 85 OT

SETON HALL 45 RUTGERS 43

WISCONSIN 78 IOWA 75 OT

COMPLETE SCOREBOARD: HTTP://HOSTED.STATS.COM/CBK/SCOREBOARD.ASP?CONF=-1&DAY=20221211

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

#1 SOUTH CAROLINA 88 LIBERTY 39

#3 OHIO STATE 74 MICHIGAN STATE 68

#20 MARYLAND 85 #6 UCONN 78

#7 VIRGINIA TECH 86 UNC ASHEVILLE 48

#8 NORTH CAROLINA 99 WOFFORD 67

#8 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 65 S. FLORIDA 57

#10 IOWA STATE 84 JACKSONVILLE 50

NEW ORLEANS AT #11 LSU CANCELLED

#17 OREGON 75 ORGAN STATE 67

#21 ARKANSAS 77 ARKANSAS STATE 63

#22 GONZAGA 73 UC DAVIS 55

#23 OKLAHOMA 94 ROBERT MORRIS 65

PURDUE 64 ILLINOIS STATE 51

ILLINOIS 65 BUTLER 63

BALL STATE 68 PITTSBURGH 66 OT

WISCONSIN 72 ST. THOMAS 64

PENN STATE 69 WEST VIRGINIA 57

LOUISVILLE 86 KENTUCKY 72

TENNESSEE 96 WRIGHT STATE 57

TOLEDO 57 DAYTON 45

NORTHERN KENTUCKY 75 MIAMI OHIO 66

COMPLETE SCOREBOARD: HTTP://HOSTED.STATS.COM/WCBK/SCOREBOARD.ASP?CONF=-1&DAY=20221211

NFL

BUFFALO 20 NY JETS 12

CINCINNATI 23 CLEVELAND 10

DALLAS 27 HOUSTON 23

DETROIT 34 MINNESOTA 23

PHILADELPHIA 48 NY GIANTS 22

BALTIMORE 16 PITTSBURGH 14

JACKSONVILLE 36 TENNESSEE 22

KANSAS CITY 34 DENVER 28

SAN FRANCISCO 35 TAMPA BAY 7

CAROLINA 30 SEATTLE 24

LA CHARGERS 23 MIAMI 17

BOX SCORES: HTTP://HOSTED.STATS.COM/FB/SCOREBOARD.ASP

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BOWL SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, DEC. 16

UAB VS. MIAMI (OHIO) — BAHAMAS BOWL (NASSAU, BAHAMAS) | 11:30 A.M. | ESPN

NO. 24 TROY VS. NO. 25 UTSA — CURE BOWL (ORLANDO, FLORIDA) | 3 P.M. | ESPN

MOUNT UNION VS. NORTH CENTRAL (IL) — DIII NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP (ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND) | 7 P.M. | ESPNU

SATURDAY, DEC. 17

CINCINNATI VS. LOUISVILLE — FENWAY BOWL (BOSTON) | 11 A.M. | ESPN

JACKSON STATE VS. N.C. CENTRAL — CELEBRATION BOWL (ATLANTA) | 12 P.M. | ABC

FERRIS STATE VS. COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES — DII NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP (MCKINNEY, TEXAS) | 1 P.M. | ESPNU

NO. 14 OREGON STATE VS. FLORIDA — LAS VEGAS BOWL (LAS VEGAS) | 2:30 P.M. | ESPN

WASHINGTON STATE VS. FRESNO STATE — LA BOWL (INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA) | 3:30 P.M. | ABC

RICE VS. SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI — LENDINGTREE BOWL (MOBILE, ALABAMA) | 5:45 P.M. | ESPN

SMU VS. BYU — NEW MEXICO BOWL (ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO) | 7:30 P.M. | ABC

BOISE STATE VS. NORTH TEXAS — FRISCO BOWL (FRISCO, TEXAS) | 9:15 P.M. | ESPN

MONDAY, DEC. 19

MARSHALL VS. UCONN — MYRTLE BEACH BOWL (CONWAY, SOUTH CAROLINA) | 2:30 P.M. | ESPN

TUESDAY, DEC. 20

EASTERN MICHIGAN VS. SAN JOSE STATE — FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL (BOISE, IDAHO) | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN

LIBERTY VS. TOLEDO — BOCA RATON BOWL (BOCA RATON, FLORIDA) | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 21

SOUTH ALABAMA VS. WESTERN KENTUCKY — NEW ORLEANS BOWL (NEW ORLEANS) | 9 P.M. | ESPN

THURSDAY, DEC. 22

BAYLOR VS. AIR FORCE — ARMED FORCES BOWL (FORT WORTH, TEXAS) | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN

FRIDAY, DEC. 23

HOUSTON VS. LOUISIANA — INDEPENDENCE BOWL (SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA) | 3 P.M. | ESPN

WAKE FOREST VS. MISSOURI — GASPARILLA BOWL (TAMPA, FLORIDA) | 6:30 P.M. | ESPN

SATURDAY, DEC. 24

MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE VS. SAN DIEGO STATE — HAWAI’I BOWL (HONOLULU, HAWAI’I) | 8 P.M. | ESPN

MONDAY, DEC. 26

BOWLING GREEN VS. NEW MEXICO STATE — QUICK LANE BOWL (DETROIT) | 2:30 P.M. | ESPN

TUESDAY, DEC. 27

BUFFALO VS. GEORGIA SOUTHERN — CAMELLIA BOWL (MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA) | 12 P.M. | ESPN

OKLAHOMA STATE VS. WISCONSIN — GUARANTEED RATE BOWL (PHOENIX) | 10:15 P.M. | ESPN

MEMPHIS VS. UTAH STATE — FIRST RESPONDER BOWL (DALLAS) | ESPN

COASTAL CAROLINA VS. EAST CAROLINA — BIRMINGHAM BOWL (BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA) | ESPN

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 28

DUKE VS. UCF — MILITARY BOWL (ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND) | 2 P.M. | ESPN

ARKANSAS VS. KANSAS — LIBERTY BOWL (MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE) | 5:30 P.M. | ESPN

NO. 15 OREGON VS. NORTH CAROLINA — HOLIDAY BOWL (SAN DIEGO) | 8 P.M.

TEXAS TECH VS. OLE MISS — TEXAS BOWL (HOUSTON) | 9 P.M. | ESPN

THURSDAY, DEC. 29

MINNESOTA VS. SYRACUSE — PINSTRIPE BOWL (BRONX, NEW YORK) | 2 P.M. | ESPN

NO. 13 FLORIDA STATE VS. OKLAHOMA — CHEEZ-IT BOWL (ORLANDO, FLORIDA) | 5:30 P.M. | ESPN

NO. 12 WASHINGTON VS. NO. 20 TEXAS — ALAMO BOWL (SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS) | 9 P.M. | ESPN

FRIDAY, DEC. 30

NO. 23 NC STATE VS. MARYLAND — DUKE’S MAYO BOWL (CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA) | 12 P.M. | ESPN

NO. 18 UCLA VS. PITT — SUN BOWL (EL PASO, TEXAS) | 2 P.M. | CBS

NO. 19 SOUTH CAROLINA VS. NO. 21 NOTRE DAME — GATOR BOWL (JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA) | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN

OHIO VS. WYOMING — ARIZONA BOWL (TUCSON, ARIZONA) | 4:30 P.M.| BARSTOOL

NO. 6 TENNESSEE VS. NO. 7 CLEMSON — ORANGE BOWL (MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA) | 8 P.M. | ESPN

SATURDAY, DEC. 31

IOWA VS. KENTUCKY — MUSIC CITY BOWL (NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE) | 12 P.M. | ABC

NO. 5 ALABAMA VS. NO. 9 KANSAS STATE — SUGAR BOWL (NEW ORLEANS) | 12 P.M. | ESPN

NO. 2 MICHIGAN VS. NO. 3 TCU (CFP SEMIFINAL) — FIESTA BOWL (GLENDALE, ARIZONA) | 4 P.M. | ESPN

NO. 1 GEORGIA VS. NO. 4 OHIO STATE (CFP SEMIFINAL) — PEACH BOWL (ATLANTA) | 8 P.M. | ESPN

MONDAY, JAN. 2

NO. 22 MISSISSIPPI STATE VS. ILLINOIS — RELIAQUEST BOWL (TAMPA, FLORIDA) | 12 P.M. | ESPN2

NO. 17 LSU VS. PURDUE — CITRUS BOWL (ORLANDO, FLORIDA) | 1 P.M. | ABC

NO. 10 USC VS. NO. 16 TULANE — COTTON BOWL (ARLINGTON, TEXAS) | 1 P.M. | ESPN

NO. 8 UTAH VS. NO. 11 PENN STATE — ROSE BOWL (PASADENA, CALIFORNIA) | 5 P.M. | ESPN

SUNDAY, JAN. 8

FCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP (FRISCO, TEXAS) | 2 P.M. | ABC

MONDAY, JAN. 9

CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA) | ESPN

NBA

NEW ORLEANS 129 PHOENIX 124 OT

LA LAKERS 124 DETROIT 117

NEW YORK 112 SACRAMENTO 99

ORLANDO 111 TORONTO 99

PHILADELPHIA 131 CHARLOTTE 113

ATLANTA 123 CHICAGO 122 OT

HOUSTON 97 MILWAUKEE 92

BOX SCORES: HTTP://HOSTED.STATS.COM/NBA/SCOREBOARD.ASP

NHL

COLORADO 3 ST. LOUIS 2

SEATTLE 5 FLORIDA 2

COLUMBUS 6 LOS ANGELES 5

WASHINGTON 5 WINNIPEG 2

ARIZONA 5 PHILADELPHIA 4

BOSTON 3 VEGAS 1

BOX SCORES: HTTP://HOSTED.STATS.COM/NHL/SCOREBOARD.ASP

TOP NATIONAL NEWS HEADLINES

Seven From Sunday – Week 14

A look at seven statistical highlights from games played during the 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. ET windows on Sunday, December 11, the 14th week of the 2022 season.

The PHILADELPHIA EAGLES defeated the New York Giants, 48-22, improving to 12-1 and becoming the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season.

Philadelphia quarterback JALEN HURTS recorded 294 yards (217 passing, 77 rushing) and three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) with a 109.2 rating while linebacker HAASON REDDICK registered his 10th sack of the season in the team’s Week 14 victory.

Hurts, who has 10 rushing touchdowns this season after recording 10 rushing touchdowns in 2021, joined CAM NEWTON (2011, 2015 and 2020) as the only quarterbacks ever with at least 10 rushing touchdowns in multiple seasons and is the first quarterback ever to record at least 10 rushing touchdowns in consecutive seasons.

Hurts, who has 3,157 passing yards with 22 touchdown passes and 10 rushing touchdowns this season, is the fourth quarterback ever with at least 3,000 passing yards, 20 touchdown passes & 10 rushing touchdowns in a single season, joining KYLER MURRAY (2020), CAM NEWTON (2011 and 2015) and KORDELL STEWART (1997).

Reddick, who registered 11 sacks with Carolina in 2021 and 12.5 sacks with Arizona in 2020, is the first player to record at least 10 sacks in three consecutive seasons with three different teams since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic.
CLOSE GAMES: With two games yet to be completed in Week 14, there have been 91 games decided by a touchdown (six points) or less, the most such games through the first 14 weeks all-time.

Seven of 11 games (63.6 percent) that have been completed in Week 14 have been within one score (eight points) in the fourth quarter and there have been 156 games within one score (eight points) in the fourth quarter this season, the most such games through the first 14 weeks in NFL history.

COMEBACKS: The DALLAS COWBOYS registered a 98-yard game-winning touchdown drive that culminated with an EZEKIEL ELLIOTT rushing touchdown with 41 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of their 27-23 win over Houston, while the LOS ANGELES RAMS drove 98 yards on Thursday Night Football for the game-winning touchdown pass from BAKER MAYFIELD to VAN JEFFERSON with 10 seconds remaining in regulation of their 17-16 win over Las Vegas.

Week 14 of the 2022 season is the first week in the last 45 seasons in which there were multiple game-winning touchdown drives of at least 95 yards where the touchdown was scored inside the final two minutes of regulation.

There have been 49 games this season decided by a game-winning score in the final two minutes of regulation or in overtime, trailing only 2015 (50) for the most such games through the first 14 weeks of a season all-time.

The Rams overcame a 10-point deficit to win on Thursday and there have been 41 games in which a team has overcome a deficit of at least 10 points to win or tie this season, the most such games through the first 14 weeks of a season all-time.

There have been 65 games in which a team has come back to win or tie after trailing in the fourth quarter, tied with the 1989 season (65) for the second-most such games through the first 14 weeks of a season all-time. Only 2012 (66) has more.
Kansas City quarterback PATRICK MAHOMES passed for 352 yards and three touchdowns while tight end TRAVIS KELCE registered 71 receiving yards in the Chiefs’ 34-28 win at Denver.

If Miami defeats the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football, the Chiefs can secure their seventh-consecutive AFC West division title, tying the 1973-79 LOS ANGELES RAMS for the second-longest streak of division titles in NFL history. Only the 2009-19 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (11 consecutive seasons) had a longer streak.

The Chiefs improved to 10-3 on the season and head coach ANDY REID became the third head coach in NFL history to record at least 10 regular-season wins in eight consecutive seasons, joining BILL BELICHICK (17 consecutive seasons from 2003-19) and GEORGE SEIFERT (eight consecutive seasons from 1989-96).

Reid has 17 career seasons with at least 10 wins and surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer TOM LANDRY (16 seasons) for the third-most 10-win seasons by a head coach in NFL history. Only BILL BELICHICK (20 seasons) and Pro Football Hall of Famer DON SHULA (20) have more.

Mahomes recorded his 24th career game with at least 300 passing yards and three touchdown passes, surpassing Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (23 games) for the most such games by a player in his first six seasons in NFL history.

Mahomes, who has 4,160 passing yards this season, joined Pro Football Hall of Famer PEYTON MANNING as the only players in NFL history with at least 4,000 passing yards in five of their first six seasons.

Kelce has 10,045 career receiving yards and is the fifth tight end ever with at least 10,000 career receiving yards, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer TONY GONZALEZ (15,127), JASON WITTEN (13,046), ANTONIO GATES (11,841) and Pro Football Hall of Famer SHANNON SHARPE (10,060).

Kelce, who has recorded at least 1,000 receiving yards in each of the past seven seasons (2016-22), is the first tight end in NFL history with seven career seasons of at least 1,000 receiving yards.
Jacksonville quarterback TREVOR LAWRENCE passed for 368 yards and totaled four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) while tight end EVAN ENGRAM had 11 receptions for 162 yards and two touchdowns in the Jaguars’ 36-22 win at Tennessee.

Lawrence, who is 23 years and 66 days old, is the youngest player in NFL history with at least 350 passing yards, three touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown in a game, surpassing KYLER MURRAY (23 years and 79 days old on October 25, 2020).

Engram is the sixth tight end in NFL history with at least 10 receptions for 150 yards and two touchdowns in a game, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers SHANNON SHARPE (October 6, 1996 and October 20, 2002) and KELLEN WINSLOW SR. (December 11, 1983) as well as TODD CHRISTENSEN (October 16, 1983), TRAVIS KELCE (December 2, 2018 and December 16, 2021) and DARREN WALLER (December 6, 2020).
Buffalo quarterback JOSH ALLEN had one touchdown pass and one rushing touchdown in the Bills’ 20-12 win over the New York Jets.

Allen recorded his 24th career game with at least one touchdown pass and one rushing touchdown, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer FRAN TARKENTON (24 games) for the fourth-most such games in NFL history. Only CAM NEWTON (45 games), Pro Football Hall of Famer STEVE YOUNG (31) and AARON RODGERS (30) have more.

Allen has six rushing touchdowns in 2022 and is the first quarterback with at least six rushing touchdowns in five consecutive seasons in NFL history.
Cincinnati wide receiver JA’MARR CHASE had 10 receptions for 119 yards and one touchdown in the Bengals’ 23-10 win over Cleveland.

Chase registered his eighth career game with at least 100 receiving yards and a touchdown reception, tied with A.J. BROWN and JOHN JEFFERSON for the third-most such games by a player in his first two career seasons in the Super Bowl era. Only ODELL BECKHAM JR. (12 games) and Pro Football Hall of Famer RANDY MOSS (nine) have more.

Chase recorded his 20th touchdown reception in his 26th career game, tied with ROB GRONKOWSKI and DARYL TURNER for the fourth fewest games to reach 20 career touchdown receptions since 1970. Only Pro Football Hall of Famer RANDY MOSS (20 games), ODELL BECKHAM JR. (22) and JOHN JEFFERSON (24) reached the mark in fewer games.

Chase, who is 22 years and 285 days old and has 2,276 receiving yards and 20 touchdown receptions since entering the NFL in 2021, joined Pro Football Hall of Famer RANDY MOSS as the only players under the age of 23 with at least 2,000 receiving yards and 20 touchdown receptions in NFL history.
Detroit quarterback JARED GOFF passed for 330 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions for a 120.7 rating and rookie linebacker JAMES HOUSTON had his fourth career sack in the Lions’ 34-23 win over Minnesota.

Goff, who is currently in his seventh NFL season, recorded his 30th career game with at least 300 passing yards, tied with four players for the fourth-most such games by a player in his first seven seasons in NFL history. Only PATRICK MAHOMES (39 games), Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (37) and ANDREW LUCK (33) have more.

Houston is the sixth rookie since 2000 to record at least one sack in each of his first three career games, joining MYLES GARRETT (2017), TOMMY KELLY (2004), BARKEVIOUS MINGO (2013), AZEEZ OJULARI (2021) and TERRELL SUGGS (2003).
Additional notes from Sunday include:
- San Francisco quarterback BROCK PURDY completed 16 of 21 pass attempts (76.2 percent) for two touchdowns with no interceptions for a 134.0 rating and added a rushing touchdown in the 49ers’ 35-7 win over Tampa Bay.
  
  Purdy is the first rookie in the Super Bowl era with at least two touchdown passes, one rushing touchdown and a passer rating of 125-or-higher in his first career start.
- Minnesota wide receiver JUSTIN JEFFERSON had 11 receptions for a career-high 223 receiving yards on Sunday.
  
  Jefferson has five career games with at least 175 receiving yards, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer LANCE ALWORTH (five games) for the most such games by a player in his first three seasons in NFL history.
  
  Jefferson, who has 1,500 receiving yards this season, is the first player in NFL history with at least 1,400 receiving yards in each of his first three career seasons. He recorded 1,400 receiving yards as a rookie in 2020 and 1,616 receiving yards in 2021.

AFC-leading Bills overcome elements, beat White, Jets 20-12

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) Greg Rousseau and the Buffalo Bills didn’t want to let down Von Miller.

On Sunday, they collectively filled the absence of their star pass rusher by not letting up on Mike White and the New York Jets.

With Josh Allen and the Bills offense having difficulty finding its footing on a slick field, the defense combined for four sacks, forced two turnovers and clinched a 20-12 win by having White turn the ball over on downs by throwing four straight incompletions – the last batted down by A.J. Epenesa.

“We knew we’ve got to step up,” said Rousseau, who had two sacks and forced a fumble in the same week the Bills learned Miller would miss the remainder of the season after having surgery to repair a torn right knee ligament.

“But Von is still with us. He’s still paying attention,” Rousseau added. “So I mean, we’re doing it for him. We’re doing it for us.”

The Bills were so relentless in getting after White, the Jets quarterback was sidelined twice. He missed one snap after being hit by Ed Oliver. White then missed a series while being evaluated for rib injures after being struck by Matt Milano.

White returned each time and finished the game before boarding an ambulance for a trip to the hospital for what coach Robert Saleh said was for precautionary reasons.

The Bills never trailed in a game during which Allen threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Dawson Knox in the closing minute of the second quarter and then scored on a 5-yard run on Buffalo’s first possession of the third quarter.

The AFC-leading Bills (10-3) won their fourth straight since a two-game skid, which included a 20-17 loss at the Jets. Buffalo has won at least 10 of its first 13 games for the seventh time in franchise history.

“We made a statement that Von is one of our brothers and with or without him we’re going to try to get the job done,” said safety Damar Hamlin, who forced Michael Carter to fumble by punching the ball loose to end a Jets scoring drive at Buffalo’s 28 with 5:34 left in regulation.

“It’s the next-man-up mentality,” Hamlin added. “Our lineup is deep, down to the practice squad. It’s a standard that we all uphold.”

The Jets (7-6) have lost four of six in a slump that has made their playoff chances shaky. New York, which hasn’t qualified for the postseason since 2010, entered the week as the AFC’s seventh seed, a win ahead of New England and the Los Angeles Chargers. But the Jets fell out of playoff position with the Chargers’ 23-17 victory over Miami.

Saleh refused to count his team out by suggesting the division rivals will meet for a third time this season, in reference to the playoffs.

“Nothing is guaranteed, obviously. I just have so much faith in that locker room. So much faith in the coaching staff. So much faith in everybody that is involved day to day,” Saleh said. “I don’t think there is a guy in that locker room who doesn’t think we are capable of so much more.”

And though unhappy with the lack of protection White had, Saleh praised his quarterback’s grit, while noting the player was expected to travel home with the team.

“I thought he showed resolve and toughness, everything that we’ve been seeing,” he said of White, who made his sixth career start and third this year since Zach Wilson was benched. “I think it showed everybody else more than what we already know with regards to how tough he is.”

The game was decided in the second half, and after the elements and both defenses contributed to the teams opening the game with 10 consecutive punts, the most to start an NFL game since 2016. The Bills punted five straight times before Allen capped a seven-play, 70-yard drive with the touchdown pass to Knox.

The Jets were trailing 14-7 when White was sidelined the first time. On the very next play, backup Joe Flacco lost a fumble while being sacked Rousseau. The turnover led to Bass hitting a 38-yard field goal attempt.

Carter’s lost fumble came on the drive after the Jets cut Buffalo’s lead to 20-9 when Jermaine Johnson blocked Sam Martin’s punt for a safety.

BY THE NUMBERS

White finished 27 of 44 for 268 yards and no turnovers, a year after he threw four interceptions in a 45-17 loss to the Bills.

Zonovan Knight scored on a 13-yard run. With 78 yards receiving, Garrett Wilson upped his total to 878, breaking the Jets’ single-season rookie record set by Keyshawn Johnson in 1996.

Allen finished 16 of 27 for a season-low 147 yards. More important, he didn’t turn the ball over as he did twice in Buffalo’s loss to the Jets last month.

TRICKERY

With Buffalo facing fourth-and-1 at its own 39 and 1:17 left in the first half, Allen lined up in a shotgun formation when Knox darted under center and drew the Jets offside. Linebacker C.J. Mosley was fooled by what happened and dived over center to tackle Knox, who had yet to take the snap. Knox scored five plays later by vaulting Sauce Gardner and going end over end before landing on the goal line.

UP NEXT

Jets: Host the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

Bills: Host the Miami Dolphins on Saturday night.

Burrow, Bengals top Browns 23-10 for 5th straight win

CINCINNATI (AP) Joe Burrow did enough offensively, and the Bengals’ defense stepped up to end the Browns’ recent domination of the Battle of Ohio.

Burrow shook off a sloppy start to throw two touchdown passes and Cincinnati beat Cleveland 23-10 on Sunday, ending a five-game skid in the rivalry.

“A team win, team ugly win, but we got it done,” Burrow said.

Cincinnati bottled up Browns running back Nick Chubb, picked off Deshaun Watson and stopped the Browns on three fourth-down plays.

“The defense played unbelievable and that really ended up being the deciding factor in the game,” Burrow said. “And so that’s kind of showing the kind of team we’re becoming – we’re able to win in a lot of different ways. You’ve seen it over the last couple of weeks on the defensive end and the offensive end and the kicking game. We’re just a complete team right now.”

The Bengals (9-4) have won five straight and nine of 11. They remained tied for the AFC North lead with Baltimore, which beat Pittsburgh 16-14. Burrow picked up his first win in five starts against the Browns (5-8), whose playoff hopes are now all but nonexistent.

Watson was sharper than in his debut with the team last week and threw his first touchdown pass in 707 days, a 13-yarder to David Njoku in the third quarter.

But Watson also threw a fourth-quarter interception and couldn’t hook up with Donovan Peoples-Jones on a late fourth-and-goal from the 6 that would have made it a one-score game. He turned the ball over downs again on the Browns’ last drive when he threw incomplete to Amari Cooper.

Watson finished 26 of 42 for 276 yards, and his touchdown pass was the only time the Browns found the end zone.

“The game is going to continue to speed up,” Watson said. “Each week is going to get better. Today was another learning lesson. Just need to continue to improve. The progress is always taking one step forward. The biggest ultimate goal is to get the W.”

Burrow was 9 for 21 for 110 yards in the first half, including a 15-yard TD to Ja’Marr Chase. In the third quarter, Burrow found Trenton Irwin for an easy 45-yard scoring pass when the Browns bit on a flea-flicker.

Burrow was largely reliant on Chase after his other top receivers, Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins, left the game with injuries. Chase had 10 receptions for 119 yards in his second game back since missing a month with a hip fracture.

The Bengals quarterback finished 18 for 33 for 239 yards and threw a fourth-quarter interception. Joe Mixon, who missed the last two games with a concussion, rushed for 96 yards, including a 40-yard breakaway on a drive that led to a Cincinnati field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter.

“In that first quarter, I wasn’t playing very well, I was missing throws,” Burrow said. “I settled in there in the second half of the second quarter, and from there we really moved the ball really well. The run game was good to us. Ja’Marr was incredible like he always is.”

Watson was terrible last week in a win at Houston, his first game since serving an 11-game suspension for allegations of sexual misconduct by two dozen women. His performance was promising at the outset on Sunday. He completed passes of 18, 13 and 3 yards on the Browns’ first drive, but it stalled. Then, on fourth-and-1 from the Bengals 25, backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett entered the game and overthrew Peoples-Jones in the end zone.

The Bengals’ first touchdown was aided by Browns mistakes. First, Cleveland was called for roughing the punter to extend the drive. Two more Cleveland penalties helped move the Bengals to the Browns 15, and Chase turned around in double coverage and grabbed a pass for a touchdown.

Another Browns drive stalled when DJ Reader tipped Watson’s third-down pass, and Cade York came on for a 26-yard field goal.

The Bengals made it 13-3 in the closing seconds of the half when Samaje Perine bounced off the pile and around right end for a 6-yard score to cap a drive extended by off-setting holding calls. A sack on third-and-10 was negated by the penalties, and Burrow found Trent Taylor for 34 yards on the next play to move the chains.

YOU CAN’T DO THAT

The Browns were penalized nine times for 98 yards, among their many problems.

“You’ve got to score more than 10 points, too many penalties and ones that were very, very costly,” coach Kevin Stefanski said, “And then just in the run game, couldn’t get it going.”

INJURIES

Browns: LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah said he suffered a leg injury that will require an MRI.

Bengals: Boyd suffered a dislocated finger on his right hand early in the game and was later ruled out. … Higgins left in the second quarter with a right hamstring injury. … LB Clay Johnston left in the second half to be evaluated for a head injury.

UP NEXT

Browns: Host Baltimore on Saturday.

Bengals: At Tampa Bay next Sunday.

Cowboys score late to avoid major upset, beat Texans 27-23

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Dak Prescott stood on his own goal line with a second chance, moments after throwing an interception that had given the hapless Houston Texans a great chance to finish off a shocker.

The star Cowboys quarterback delivered, turning what had been quite the clunker against the team with the NFL’s worst record into his 18th career late-game comeback.

Prescott directed a 98-yard drive to Ezekiel Elliott’s short touchdown run with 41 seconds remaining, and Dallas avoided a major upset with a 27-23 victory Sunday.

Houston (1-11-1) appeared in position to end a seven-game losing streak after Tremon Smith’s second interception of the game put the Texans at the Dallas 4-yard line, up by three points with 5:47 to go.

The Cowboys (10-3) stiffened against a makeshift Texans offense, stuffing backup quarterback Jeff Driskel on a fourth-down run after running back Rex Burkhead was upended for a loss on the previous play from the 1.

“I think everyone knew the game wasn’t over,” linebacker Micah Parsons said. “We have to fight, just get through it. I was just happy we were able to get that stop.”

Starting at his 2, Prescott immediately completed a 21-yard pass to Dalton Schultz. The pair hooked up twice more, the latter an 18-yarder to put Dallas at the Houston 4.

After Michael Gallup’s attempted TD catch was barely broken up, Elliott scored on third down from the 2 to cap the 11-play drive.

“We got to love these moments,” Prescott said. “Who cares what’s happened these last 58 minutes of this game? We’ve got two minutes to go get a win.”

Tony Pollard scored twice for Dallas, which was a 16 1/2-point favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The fourth consecutive victory kept the Cowboys two games behind NFL-leading Philadelphia in the NFC East.

Prescott was 6 of 6 for 79 yards on the go-ahead drive after completing just 20 of 33 with two interceptions before that.

The two picks left the 2016 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year with nine in his first eight games for the first time in his seven seasons.

“We can sit here and talk about all the things that didn’t go right,” Dallas coach Mike McCarthy said. “And I get it. But at the end of the day, you have to go win the game in the fourth quarter.”

After going back to Davis Mills as the starter following a two-game benching, the Texans threw in a wrinkle by having him share snaps with Driskel, who offered a hybrid wildcat/throwing role that included his first TD pass since 2020.

Kyle Allen, the replacement for Mills the previous two games, was inactive, and Mills did his part to help a Houston offense that was more efficient than normal.

Houston’s Chris Moore had career highs with 10 catches for 124 yards but was stopped a yard short of the goal line on a second-down grab on the possession that started at the Dallas 4.

Mills, who was 16 of 21 for 175 yards, was on the field after the Texans gave up the lead, with 41 seconds and no timeouts. His Hail Mary from near midfield was intercepted in the end zone by Israel Mukuamu with 3 seconds left.

“I liked what happened today,” Houston coach Lovie Smith said. “We used the best options we had. We have to figure out how to finish.”

Both Houston touchdowns came on short fields after Dallas turnovers, the first when KaVontae Turpin muffed a punt after the Cowboys opened the game by breezing down the field to a 7-0 lead on Pollard’s first touchdown before forcing a three-and-out.

Taking over at the Dallas 24-yard line, the Texans brought out Driskel. He ran once and threw once to start a sequence that ended with rookie Dameon Pierce’s 1-yard scoring run.

Driskel’s TD pass – a 28-yarder on the run for Amari Rodgers’ first career score – came after Prescott’s first interception and put the Texans up 17-14 on their way to a rare halftime lead, 20-17.

SETTING UP THE FOURTH

Houston stuffed Elliott on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with Dallas in position to retake the lead after Pierce fumbled in the third quarter.

Pierce’s 24-yard run helped set up Ka’imi Fairbairn’s third field goal, a 54-yarder for a 23-17 lead. Brett Maher’s 53-yard kick early in the fourth got Dallas back within three.

POLLARD PRODUCTION

Pollard’s 12 touchdowns this season are one more than the combined total of his first three seasons. He had rushing and receiving TDs in the same game for the first time.

INJURIES

Texans: CB Steven Nelson injured an ankle in the first half and didn’t return. … Pierce couldn’t play late because of an ankle injury. … WR Jalen Camp had an oblique injury.

Cowboys: RT Terence Steele (left knee), DT Johnathan Hankins (right shoulder) and rookie TE Jake Ferguson (neck) each left the game and didn’t return. … S Jayron Kearse played despite having to go to the locker room to treat a knee injury from pregame warmups.

UP NEXT

Texans: Patrick Mahomes is set to play in his home state when Kansas City visits Houston next Sunday.

Cowboys: Three of the final four regular-season games are on the road, starting next Sunday at Jacksonville, the only of the remaining opponents currently without a winning record.

Goff helps surging Lions beat division-leading Vikings 34-23

DETROIT (AP) Jared Goff dropped back behind an offensive line that gave him plenty of time and threw deep twice, taking advantage of big-play receivers the Detroit Lions added for him this season.

Goff had a 41-yard pass to rookie Jameson Williams and a 48-yard pass to DJ Chark for two of his three touchdown throws in the first half, leading the surging Lions to a 34-23 win over the NFC North-leading Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

The Vikings (10-3) needed a win or tie to clinch the division title. Kirk Cousins threw for 425 yards, including a franchise-record 223 to Justin Jefferson on 11 catches. But Dalvin Cook ran for just 23 yards on 15 carries, and Minnesota couldn’t stop Goff.

The Lions (6-7) have won five of six, their best stretch since their last postseason appearance in 2016. They have scored 25-plus points in five straight games for the first time since 1954.

Detroit traded up to draft Williams 12th overall and signed Chark to a $10 million, one-year deal in free agency, believing they would bounce back from injuries.

“It changes our offense entirely when you have guys that are legit, vertical, home-run threats,” said Goff, who was 27 of 39 for 330 yards. “We were able to show them both off to make those splash plays.”

Chark finished with a season-high six catches and 94 yards, showing what he can do after he was limited to playing four games in Jacksonville last year because of a broken ankle.

Williams had his first NFL reception a week after making his Detroit debut, 11 months after injuring his left knee playing for Alabama in the NCAA national championship game.

“You can make up for things if you’re able to get the explosive passes, which we got,” coach Dan Campbell said.

Minnesota’s passing game did its part, but Cook struggled behind a banged-up line.

“We got to be better if we want to punch our ticket into the playoffs,” coach Kevin O’Connell said.

Cousins was 30-of-40 passing with touchdowns to K.J. Osborn and Adam Thielen, and Jefferson broke the team’s receiving yards mark set by Sammy White in 1976 against Detroit.

“He’s one of these dudes you don’t see very often,” Campbell said. “He’s making plays in double coverage.”

Cook’s 1.5-yard average was his lowest in a game with at least 10 carries in his six-year career. On the opening possession, Cook was stopped on a fourth-and-1 near midfield in a preview of what was to come. He also fumbled at the Detroit 6 late in the first half.

“There was some positive performances from some individual players and some things that gave us a chance to be in the football game,” O’Connell said. “But just across the board, not enough in the run game offensively and a pretty critical turnover.”

IT’S TRICKY

Goff gave Detroit a two-touchdown lead in the third quarter with a 5-yard pass to Josh Reynolds after Campbell called a fake punt from his 26.

On another play that fooled Minnesota, Goff converted third-and-7 from the Minnesota 41 with a 9-yard pass to offensive tackle Penei Sewell. He was an eligible receiver sent in motion and his catch set up Michael Badgley’s field goal with 17 seconds left.

INJURY REPORT

Vikings: Starting FS Harrison Smith (neck), C Garrett Bradbury (back), OT Christian Darrisaw (concussion) were inactive. … The banged-up offensive line took another hit in the fourth quarter when Blake Brandel left with a knee injury. … LB Jordan Hicks (left foot) and CB Kris Boyd (knee contusion) were also injured during the game. … CB Cameron Dantzler (ankle) returned from a four-game absence on IR and seemed to get beat deep on Detroit’s touchdown passes in the first half.

Lions: Key backups OLB Derrick Barnes (knee) and OG Evan Brown (ankle) were inactive.

UP NEXT

Vikings: Host Indianapolis on Saturday.

Lions: Play at the New York Jets on Sunday.

Hurts, Eagles clinch playoffs with 48-22 win over Giants

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) Nailing down a playoff berth was first thing on the Philadelphia Eagles’ wish list for the season. They want more and, with the league’s best record and way they continue to blow out opponents, who’s going to stop them?

Jalen Hurts threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Eagles clinched their second straight playoff berth and fifth in six years with a 48-22 win over the fading New York Giants on Sunday.

“We got way bigger goals than this one,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said without referring to the NFC East title, the top playoff seed or the Super Bowl. “On to the next one. It’s nice to get this win here because this is a good football team. It’s nice to come out here and play well on the road.”

Hurts improved his MVP credentials by throwing for 217 yards and hitting DaVonta Smith on a 41-yard fourth-down TD strike and A.J. Brown on a 33-yarder as the Eagles (12-1) scored on their first three possessions. The third-year quarterback also ran for 77 yards, highlighted by a 10-yard TD scamper late in the third quarter.

Hurts became the first QB in NFL history to rush for at least 10 touchdowns in consecutive seasons. Like most of the Eagles’ players, he said he is just hoping to improve from week to week.

“The most simple thing we’ve done is to try and grow and execute,” said Hurts, who was 21 of 31 passing. “It’s good that we prepared in a way that we’ve been able to execute at a high level. We just want to continue to do that. That’s the name of the game.”

Miles Sanders ran for 144 yards, scored on runs of 3 and 40 yards and hit the 1,000-yard mark for the season (1,068) as the Eagles handed the Giants their worst loss under first-year coach Brian Daboll. Jake Elliott kicked two field goals and the defense finished with seven sacks, including three by Brandon Graham.

“We’re not done yet,” Graham said. “I feel great, just us reaching our goals: making the playoffs, postseason. We’ve got so much more game and ball to go. We’ve got to make sure we finish like we want to. A great first step.”

Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor threw touchdown passes for the Giants (7-5-1). They have one win in their last six games (1-4-1) and their hopes of their first playoff berth since 2016 are slipping with four games remaining.

Daboll said his team has to learn from this game and move on quickly.

“I think that’s something that we’ve stressed since day one: There’s no room for excuses. There are a bunch of explanations. We got beat. They outcoached us. They outplayed us,” Daboll said. “And we got to get ready to go soon; the season’s winding down here, and we got an important one on Sunday.”

The Eagles, who have the league’s second-ranked defense and third-ranked offense, dominated from the start. They sacked Jones twice on the opening series and Hurts then took over, driving them 84 and 91 yards for touchdowns.

The Giants’ third possession had a comical conclusion. Jamie Gillan lost the ball as he went to punt. The ball bounced and he kicked it 15 yards to the Eagles 42. It was an illegal kick and the Giants were penalized 10 yards with a loss of down. Hurts hit a wide-open Brown for a 21-0 lead on the next play.

Hurts, Sanders and Brown each have scored 10 touchdowns for the Eagles, who have scored at least 30 points in each of the last three weeks.

NO BACKUP

An ankle injury to punter Arryn Siposs forced the Eagles to get creative on special teams. Punt returner Britain Covey took over as the holder on extra points and field goals, and placekicker Elliott punted once for 35 yards.

INJURIES

Eagles: The win was costly. Siposs left the locker room using crutches and a walking boot. S Reed Blankenship (knee) and backup LB Kyron Johnson (shoulder) also left the game. T Lane Johnson left late with an abdominal injury. After the game, he said he tweaked a muscle.

Giants: Top DL Leonard Williams missed the game with a neck injury. He was doubtful coming in. TE Daniel Bellinger (ribs) and LB Micah McFadden (ankle/neck) left the game.

UP NEXT

Eagles: At Chicago next Sunday.

Giants: At Washington next Sunday night. The teams, which played to a 20-20 tie last week, are now tied in the standings with the Commanders on a bye this week.

Without Jackson, Ravens rush by sloppy Steelers 16-14

PITTSBURGH (AP) Baltimore’s veterans kept telling their younger teammates they couldn’t really consider themselves Ravens until they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The kids were listening. Particularly the third-year running back who has spent most of the last two seasons dealing with a balky left knee and the third-string quarterback who signed as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Oregon and figured he’d be a fixture on the bench or inactive most weeks as long as Lamar Jackson is around.

Now J.K. Dobbins and Anthony Brown are part of the lore in a rivalry with plenty of juice, even as the Steelers rebuild.

Dobbins ran for 120 yards and a touchdown in his first game since undergoing a second knee surgery in two years and Brown calmly kept Baltimore’s offense humming along in the second half of a 16-14 victory Sunday. Brown filled in for most of the second half with Jackson out with a knee injury and backup Tyler Huntley placed in the concussion protocol.

“I’ve been hearing it most of my life from my father, `Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready,'” said Brown, who completed a modest 3 of 5 passes for 16 yards but guided Baltimore on a clock-chewing late field goal drive that helped the Ravens end a four-game losing streak to the Steelers. “This was just a testament to that.”

A testament, too, to a Ravens offensive line that had its way even with the offense effectively one-dimensional without Jackson. It hardly mattered. Baltimore ran for 215 yards, including a clinching 6-yard burst by Gus Edwards for a first down at the 2-minute warning that let the Ravens (9-4) run out the clock to maintain their grip on first place in the AFC North.

“The offensive line was blocking so good and I can only go as far as they go,” said Dobbins, who was activated off injured reserve Saturday.

Against the Steelers, Dobbins and the rest of the Ravens went far enough to effectively end any outside shot the Steelers (5-8) had of being a factor down the stretch. Justin Tucker kicked three field goals, the defense picked off three passes and Calais Campbell blocked the eighth kick of his career as Baltimore won in Pittsburgh for the first time since 2019.

“Without our best player, and then losing (Huntley), for Anthony to come in and play the way he did, demand the huddle the way he did, (it was) very impressive,” Ravens tight end Mark Andrews said. “It was a huge team win. It was awesome to see.”

Pittsburgh played most of the game without rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett, who entered the concussion protocol in the first quarter at the end of an odd sequence in which he took a hit from Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith, was evaluated for a concussion, cleared to return only to be pulled after playing one additional series.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Pickett became “symptomatic” but could not provide clarity on why Pickett was initially allowed to return.

This is the second time Pickett has gone into the concussion protocol. He exited a win over Tampa Bay on Oct. 16, a game in which Mitch Trubisky came on in and threw two touchdowns in relief.

Trubisky, benched in favor of Pickett back in early October, was not nearly as sharp this time around when things got tight. Though Trubisky completed 22 of 30 for 276 yards including a 10-yard touchdown to Pat Freiermuth with 2:30 remaining, he also threw three interceptions, all in Baltimore territory.

“A lot of stuff I could do better, but coming off the bench I just wanted to go in there, try to provide a spark,” Trubisky said. “I thought we did a good job moving the ball, but I have to protect the football and that’s obvious.”

The Ravens insisted they would be fine even without Jackson, who is week to week after suffering a knee injury last week against Denver. They believe the same will hold true even if Huntley is unavailable next Saturday against Cleveland, though Harbaugh seemed to indicate he believes Huntley could be cleared by then.

If Baltimore can keep imposing its will with a running game featuring a finally healthy Dobbins to pair with Edwards, it might not matter who is behind center, at least in the short term.

Pittsburgh faces a final month in which it could be playing out the string – a rarity for a team that hasn’t had a losing season since 2003 – and potentially doing it without their young franchise quarterback.

TUCKER TIME

Tucker finished with 10 points to push his career total to 1,473, breaking the franchise scoring record held by former kicker Matt Stover.

INJURIES

Pittsburgh defensive end Chris Wormley left in the third quarter with a left leg injury.

UP NEXT

Ravens: Travel to Cleveland next Saturday to face the Browns. Baltimore won the first meeting between the teams 23-20 on Oct. 23.

Steelers: Visit Carolina next Sunday. Pittsburgh has won each of its last six meetings with the Panthers.

Lawrence throws 3 TDs, Jags end skid in beating Titans 36-22

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Visiting Music City has been nothing but misery and agony for the Jacksonville Jaguars for too many years.

On Sunday, the Jaguars made sure the Tennessee Titans felt that pain while keeping their AFC South hopes alive with four games remaining.

Trevor Lawrence threw for a career-high 368 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for a score and the Jaguars routed the division-leading Titans 36-22 Sunday for their first victory in Nashville since 2013.

The Jaguars (5-8) snapped a five-game skid against their oldest division rival with just their second victory in this series in 11 games. Doug Pederson also became the first Jacksonville coach to win in Nashville since Gus Bradley on Nov. 10, 2013, something the first-year Jags coach made sure his team knew about.

“Obviously on the road, against a great football team here in Nashville where we obviously haven’t done well means a lot,” Pederson said. “Means a lot to myself, to the organization, to the Khans to be able to do that and then for the players to really play well.”

Jacksonville had four sacks and turned four turnovers into 20 points – three for 17 points in the first half. The Jaguars scored 29 straight points in winning two of their past three.

Pederson called those early turnovers a tone-setter.

“The offense was able to capitalize off of that and put points on the board, and you know, it’s just huge,” Pederson said.

Lawrence had a big game despite practicing only in a limited fashion Friday with an injured big left toe. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft waved bye at Titans fans before high-fiving Jaguars fans as he left the field.

“It’s been a while since we won here, and that ended today so it’s exciting,” Lawrence said. “Just the start of what we hope to do to finish this season out and what we’re going to have to give ourselves a shot to make a run in the playoffs.”

Jaguars tight end Evan Engram had a career day with 15 targets and 162 yards receiving on 11 catches with two TD receptions.

The Titans (7-6) lost their third straight to match their longest skid since coach Mike Vrabel’s opening season in 2018.

Their rally was too little and too late. Ryan Tannehill threw a TD pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and converting a 2-point conversion pass to Chig Okonkwo that he pinned with one hand against his face mask with 7:15 to pull within 36-22.

The Titans turned it over on downs with 1:59 left, allowing the Jaguars to run out the clock.

“Nothing was good enough today,” Vrabel said.

This loss follows Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk firing general manager Jon Robinson over roster issues and injuries that had Tennessee playing 77 players after setting an NFL record with 91 different players last season. The Titans were without three defensive starters for this game.

Tennessee lost despite Derrick Henry shaking off some frustration by running for more yards in the first quarter than he had in any of the Titans’ past four games. Henry had 96 yards, including a 50-yarder, in the first quarter. He had 119 yards by halftime only to finish with 121.

The Titans led 7-0 when Jaguars linebacker Travon Walker, the No. 1 pick overall, sacked Tannehill and stripped him of the ball on Tennessee’s second possession. Dawuane Smoot recovered, and Lawrence found Engram for a 12-yard TD pass tying it at 7.

Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard, who hurt a shoulder on the opening drive, picked off Tannehill’s pass intended for Westbrook-Ikhine with the Titans receiver blocking and not looking for the ball. That set up the first of Riley Patterson’s three field goals.

Jacksonville linebacker Shaquille Quarterman hit Henry at the end of a 16-yard catch-and-run, popping the ball right into teammate Josh Allen’s hands at the Jacksonville 22.

Lawrence capped a 78-yard drive by hitting Zay Jones on a 20-yard TD pass, and the receiver got his toes in at the right edge of the end zone that went through Titans rookie cornerback Roger McCreary’s hands with 11 seconds left in the first half giving Jacksonville its first lead of the game.

“The whole first half, just shot ourselves in the foot with turnovers,” Tannehill said.

The Jaguars put the game away with a dominating third quarter. They held the ball for more than 10 minutes and outgained Tennessee 146 to minus-8. Lawrence ran for a 1-yard TD and later hit Engram with a 21-yard TD pass.

BOO TIME

The Titans went three-and-out on both of their possessions in the third quarter, and fans booed heavily. It got worse as the Titans tried a wildcat snap in the opening minute of the fourth. The snap to Henry was low with Tannehill faking on the play, and Arden Key recovered for the Jaguars for Patterson’s third field goal.

INJURIES

Titans running back and special teams player Dontrell Hilliard was carted off with a neck injury in the second quarter and did not return. Titans safety Amani Hooker went into the medical tent at the end of the third but returned.

UP NEXT

The Jaguars return home to host Dallas.

Tennessee visits the Los Angeles Chargers.

Mahomes, Chiefs outlast Broncos 34-28; Wilson concussed

DENVER (AP) The Kansas City Chiefs own the Denver Broncos – even when Patrick Mahomes throws three interceptions and a 27-0 lead turns into a nail-biter.

Mahomes counterbalanced his mistakes with a trio of touchdown passes and the Chiefs (10-3) outlasted the Broncos 34-28 on Sunday. Russell Wilson left with a concussion early in the fourth quarter as Denver (3-10) lost to Kansas City for the 14th consecutive time.

“Just three bad decisions,” Mahomes said. “Luckily for me, the rest of the team stepped up. Defense made a lot of stops in some critical moments when we were putting them in some bad situations. Even my special teams. (Punter) Tommy (Townsend) flipped the field a couple of times for us.”

Mahomes improved to 10-0 against Denver, becoming the fourth QB to ever beat one team 10 times without a loss. The Chiefs reached double digits in wins for the eighth straight season and they inched closer to their seventh consecutive AFC West crown.

The Broncos, well, they came up short again and lost a one-score game for the seventh time this season under rookie coach Nathaniel Hackett.

“We never finish the way we want to,” Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy said after a career-best three-touchdown day, “but the one thing I can say for sure is that we never quit.”

The Broncos, who have lost five straight overall and eight consecutive AFC West games for the first time since divisional play began with the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, turned their 27-0 deficit into a ballgame by scoring three touchdowns over a 3 1/2-minute stretch spanning halftime.

Jeudy’s third TD came from backup Brett Rypien, making it 34-28 shortly after the Broncos lost Wilson to a concussion on a 14-yard scramble to the Chiefs 2.

Rypien had a chance to put the Broncos ahead following linebacker Josey Jewell’s second interception of the game with just under six minutes left. But Rypien was hit by Chris Jones just as he released a deep throw toward Jeudy, and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed picked off the high pass with 4:21 remaining.

A personal foul on Frank Clark after that interception pushed the Chiefs back to their 15-yard line, but Mahomes & Co. chewed up the rest of the clock, never letting the Broncos get another crack at the upset.

Mahomes threw for 352 yards and one of his three touchdowns was a no-look hook pass to Jerick McKinnon, who had two TD catches.

Mahomes was scrambling for a first down when he shook defensive lineman D.J. Jones and flung a pass across his body to a wide-open McKinnon, who raced down Denver’s dejected sideline for a 56-yard touchdown and a 13-0 lead.

“I was committed to running,” Mahomes said, “and I saw I was about to get hit like I did last week in Cincinnati, so I just kind of flicked it. I was just trying to get it to him whatever way possible.”

Mahomes and McKinnon connected on a more traditional 10-yard TD on Kansas City’s next possession. At that point, Mahomes had 224 passing yards to Wilson’s 33, but things would get even worse for Denver’s scuffling quarterback before they got better.

On fourth-and-2 at his own 45-yard line, Wilson tried to throw a screen pass to Brandon Johnson but didn’t get it high enough. Linebacker Willie Gay reached up and deflected the throw, corralled the ball in his left hand and stiff-armed Wilson with his right, sending him tumbling as he raced 47 yards for the touchdown.

“I was an athlete all through high school,” Gay said, “so I knew I was going to be able to get that.”

His pick-6 put the Chiefs in charge at 27-0 with 4:32 left in the half.

Jeudy caught his first two touchdown passes, from 18 and 5 yards out, after Mahomes uncharacteristically threw interceptions – to Josey Jewell and Patrick Surtain II – on consecutive possessions, making it 27-14 at the half.

On the opening drive after halftime, running back Marlon Mack caught a short pass from Wilson and raced 66 yards for the end zone to pull Denver within 27-21.

Mahomes countered with a 4-yard TD strike to JuJu Smith-Schuster.

“Luckily we got the win,” Mahomes said. “But you don’t win a lot of games when you’ve got three interceptions.”

SELECT COMPANY

By improving to 10-0 against the Broncos, Mahomes joined Andrew Luck, who started 11-0 against the Titans; Tom Brady, who went 10-0 against the Falcons; and John Elway, who won his first 10 against the Patriots.

KELCE 10K

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Mahomes had a difficult day connecting, but coach Andy Reid said, “you’ve got to give a couple of shout-outs to Kelce” after he caught four passes (out of nine targets) for 71 yards.

That made Kelce the first tight end in NFL history to record seven straight 1,000-yard seasons, and he became the fifth tight end to top 10,000 yards, joining Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten, Antonio Gates and Shannon Sharpe.

“Honestly,” Kelce said, “right now the winning means more than any of those stats.”

INJURIES

Broncos LG Dalton Risner (back) missed his first game of the year. RB Mike Boone (ankle) and WR Kendall Hinton (hamstring) couldn’t finish.

UP NEXT

Chiefs: At Houston next Sunday.

Broncos: Host Arizona next Sunday.

Purdy outshines Brady in 1st start as 49ers beat Bucs 35-7

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) Brock Purdy’s day started with a botched audible that led to a crushing hit and ended with an emotional hug with his family and congratulations from Tom Brady.

In between came a stretch of nearly flawless play that made Purdy’s first career start a very successful one.

Purdy threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, and San Francisco’s vaunted defense spoiled Brady’s Bay Area homecoming with a 35-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Purdy – the final pick in this year’s draft – became the first quarterback ever to best Brady in his first start, earning the postgame congratulations from the NFL’s most accomplished quarterback.

“It was surreal just standing there like, man, that’s Tom Brady talking to guys and dapping guys up. For him to have respect for what I did, it was pretty cool. I’m not going to lie,” Purdy said. “Being a little kid, watching that guy kill it throughout all these years in Super Bowls, to be able to give him a high five at the end was pretty cool.”

Purdy’s day got off to a painful start when he was flattened on a blitz by Keanu Neal on the first play. Neal was flagged for roughing the passer.

Purdy said the hit woke him up and he responded by leading the Niners (9-4) to one of their five touchdowns on their first seven possessions when Samuel scored on a 13-yard run.

“We’ve got a quarterback,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “I always had a lot of confidence in him, but obviously it’s the NFL and you’ve got to go perform and he did that pretty darn good.”

About the only thing that didn’t go right for the 49ers was an ankle injury to Samuel in the second quarter. Samuel was taken away on a cart in tears. Coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game that Samuel didn’t break any bones but likely sustained a high ankle sprain.

San Francisco already led 21-0 at that point thanks to Purdy’s 2-yard touchdown run and his 27-yard TD pass to Christian McCaffrey.

He capped a near-perfect first half with a 32-yard TD pass to Brandon Aiyuk, joining Don Strock (1975) as the only players to throw at least two TD passes and run for another in the first half of their first career start, according to Sportradar.

“I’m really not shocked,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “I know everybody else kind of was wondering how Brock Purdy was going to play. … When you see that ball flying in the air, scoring touchdowns, 28 points at the half, that’s big-time football.”

McCaffrey, who ran for 119 yards, added a TD on the ground with a 38-yard run after Brady was intercepted by Tashaun Gipson on the first drive of the third quarter.

Brady, playing just his second road game against the team he rooted for while growing up in nearby San Mateo, was intercepted again on the next possession by Dre Greenlaw and didn’t lead the Bucs to a score until a deflected TD pass to Russell Gage late in the third quarter.

Brady finished 34 for 55 for 253 yards with one TD and the two interceptions.

“It’s easy to say everyone’s got to play better, but we’re just not playing,” Brady said. “We have just not played consistently well very often. We haven’t played it for four quarters. Maybe we played it a little bit at times but not today at all.”

Despite the lackluster performance, the Bucs still have a one-game lead over Atlanta and Carolina in the NFC South and are in line for a home playoff game if they close it out.

SOUVENIR HUNTING

After the game, Greenlaw and Gipson went up to Brady with the balls they had intercepted and asked to get them signed.

“The worst thing he could tell me was no,” Greenlaw said. “I was always told, you don’t ask, you never know. He’s a good guy to sign that ball after he threw those picks was big time. I appreciate it. He’s the greatest. He’s the GOAT. I appreciate that.”

REPLAY CONFUSION

Purdy’s long touchdown pass to McCaffrey was originally ruled a catch, then announced as an incompletion before the officials announced they were going to review the play because McCaffrey bobbled the ball.

With no clear evidence of whether McCaffrey’s second foot hit out of bounds before he controlled the ball, referee Brad Allen announced that the initial call of a TD would stand.

INJURIES

Bucs: NT Vita Vea (calf), CB Zyon McCollum (concussion), CB Jamel Dean (toe) and LB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (hip) all left with injuries.

49ers: Purdy hurt his oblique but was able to play through it. … San Francisco lost Samuel, DT Kevin Givens (knee), CB Samuel Womack (head), CB Dontae Johnson (knee) and DL Kerry Hyder Jr. (ankle).

UP NEXT

Bucs: Host Cincinnati on Sunday.

49ers: Visit Seattle on Thursday night with a chance to clinch the NFC West.

Panthers run over and through Seahawks for 30-24 victory

SEATTLE (AP) For all the drama that has surrounded the Carolina Panthers this season, a resiliency among the group has developed and left them unexpectedly in the middle of a playoff race with four games to go.

The race to the NFC South title might end up going through Charlotte.

Sam Darnold threw one touchdown pass, Chuba Hubbard and Raheem Blackshear both had rushing TDs, and the Panthers stayed in the thick of the muddled division race with a 30-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

“With everything that we’ve gone through with coaching changes, getting rid of players … all those different things and to see how those guys respond and came out and played today, it is pretty thrilling and emotional,” interim Panthers coach Steve Wilks said.

Darnold and Carolina built leads of 17-0 and 20-7 to take advantage of a sloppy, unenthusiastic first-half performance by the Seahawks. In the second half, the Panthers simply ran through Seattle’s defense and delivered a blow to the Seahawks’ (7-6) hopes of winning the NFC West.

Carolina (5-8) won for the third time in four games and won away from Charlotte for the first time since Week 10 of last season. Carolina pulled even with Atlanta and is within one game of division-leading Tampa Bay in the NFC South standings after the Buccaneers loss in San Francisco.

“I told them boys last night, talked to the team and said these are the games, if you want to be a playoff team, these are the games you’ve got to win in these environments,” Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson said. “And these guys showed up.”

Hubbard, Blackshear and D’Onta Foreman were a three-headed trio that Seattle couldn’t stop on the ground. Carolina rushed for 223 yards, with 180 coming from those three backs. Foreman and Hubbard both had 74 yards rushing.

Hubbard’s 2-yard TD run early in the second quarter gave Carolina a 17-0 lead and Blackshear’s 8-yard TD run with 6:57 remaining pushed the lead to 27-17. Blackshear’s TD capped a drive where Carolina ran on eight of the 10 plays and gained 68 of its 74 yards on the ground.

Darnold was 14 of 24 for 120 yards passing, but didn’t need to do anything special through the air with the success on the ground.

“I just felt like we had momentum,” Hubbard said. “(Offensive) line was dominating. They were tired. I mean, you could see it. The line was just wearing on them. Everybody was just wearing on them. We were pounding them. That’s what we pride ourselves on.”

Seattle has allowed two of its last three opponents to top 200 yards rushing and five straight opponents have rushed for at least 122 yards.

“We gotta fix this … because you’ve seen what happened. And it’s been the same thing the past two weeks, and teams see it and they’re gonna attack it,” Seattle safety Ryan Neal said.

Carolina also took advantage of a shaky performance from Seahawks QB Geno Smith. Seattle struggled with the pressures brought by the Panthers defense, and Smith made mistakes he has avoided most of the season.

Smith’s first pass on Seattle’s first offensive play was intercepted by Jaycee Horn. In the second quarter, Smith appeared to think he had a free play with the Panthers jumping offsides, but no flag was thrown and his risky pass was picked by C.J. Henderson.

Henderson’s interception was turned into Eddy Pineiro’s second field goal of the half and a 20-7 Panthers lead.

Smith finished 21 of 36 for 264 yards and was sacked three times.

Tyler Lockett caught a TD pass for a sixth straight game and DK Metcalf also had a 12-yard TD catch, both in the second quarter. Marquise Goodwin caught a 24-yard touchdown with 16 seconds left, but Carolina recovered the ensuing onside kick.

While Carolina’s run game couldn’t be stopped, Seattle had no semblance of a running attack with starter Kenneth Walker III and backup DeeJay Dallas out due to ankle injuries suffered last week. The Seahawks had 46 yards rushing, their fourth straight game under 100 yards.

“They were tougher than us. They played harder, they played to win and they got it done,” Smith said.

IN CONTROL

Carolina now controls its destiny in the division. The Panthers beat the Bucs earlier this season and have one game remaining against Tampa Bay. If Carolina wins its last four games, it wins the division.

SHUT OUT

Seattle went a surprising 0-4 against the NFC South this season. Seattle lost at home to Atlanta and Carolina, lost at New Orleans and fell to Tampa Bay when the teams met in Germany.

INJURIES

Seattle lost DT Al Woods late in the first half to a heel injury. That loss was magnified with DE Shelby Harris missing the game due to illness, leaving the Seahawks without two of their better run stoppers. Carolina played without S Xavier Woods due to a knee injury.

UP NEXT

Panthers: Carolina hosts Pittsburgh next Sunday.

Seahawks: Host San Francisco on Thursday night.

Herbert, short-handed defense lead Chargers past Fins 23-17

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) Justin Herbert threw for 367 yards and a touchdown and a short-handed Chargers defense got the best of the Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa as Los Angeles beat Miami 23-17 on Sunday night.

The Chargers (7-6) moved into position for the final AFC playoff berth, ahead of the New York Jets. Their hold though would be short lived if New England beats Arizona on Monday night.

“It was an incredible team win,” coach Brandon Staley said. “Defensively we answered all the challenges in the game that we had to face.

“Justin was fantastic and definitely led the way for our team. He made a lot of winning plays and really made good decisions throughout the game.”

Herbert – the sixth overall pick in 2020, one behind Tagovailoa – completed a career-high 39 passes on 51 attempts for his 21st 300-yard game. He became the first NFL quarterback to throw for 13,000 yards in his first three seasons.

“There were a lot of good things from all three phases. The defense did an incredible job,” Herbert said.

Tyreek Hill scored two touchdowns for the Dolphins, one of them on an improbable recovery of Jeff Wilson Jr.’s fumble that Hill took 57 yards to the end zone. But Tagovailoa had his worst game as an NFL starter, completing 10 of 28 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown as the Dolphins (8-5) lost their second straight.

“They played to what they’re good at, and we just didn’t execute,” Tagovailoa said. “It was very disappointing for us to go out there as an offense and show what we showed. That’s not to our standard.”

The Chargers held Miami to 219 yards despite not having safety Derwin James, cornerback Bryce Callahan and defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day because of injuries. The Dolphins came in with the league’s top-ranked pass offense.

LA’s offense was buoyed by the return of Mike Williams, who had missed four of the last five games with a high ankle sprain. Williams had six catches for 116 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown while getting both feet in bounds near the back of the end zone to extend the Chargers’ lead to 10-0 early in the second quarter.

Austin Ekeler, who finished with 104 scrimmage yards, had a 1-yard run off left tackle with 18 seconds left in the quarter to extend the lead to 17-7.

Keenan Allen added 12 receptions for 92 yards.

Cameron Dicker kicked three field goals, including one from 29-yards that gave the Chargers a 23-14 advantage with 2:40 remaining. Dicker’s kick capped a 17-play, 79-yard drive that took 8:39 off the clock.

Hill finished with four catches for 81 yards, including a 60-yard TD in the third quarter on Tagovailoa’s best throw of the night, and became the Dolphins’ single-season leader in receiving yards. Chargers cornerback Michael Davis slipped in coverage at the LA 40, allowing Hill to make an easy catch and saunter untouched to the end zone to get Miami within 17-14.

Miami’s Jason Sanders booted a 55-yard field goal with 1:10 remaining, but Los Angeles recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.

“That’s hard to take. There’s a lot of investment, and it’s not good enough,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “I thought the defense played well enough for us to win. There’s stuff we can clean up, for sure. There’s a multitude of things.”

SCOOP AND SCORE

The Dolphins had 5 net yards and one first down on their first three possessions before finally getting on the scoreboard, thanks to Hill.

On second-and-4 from the Miami 41, Wilson fumbled while tackled by Chargers safety Alohi Gilman during a 6-yard gain. There was a scramble for the loose ball until Hill picked it up, changed direction and quickly sprinted to his right and up the sideline.

Hill became the only player in the Super Bowl era to score TDs via receiving, rushing, kick return, punt return and fumble return.

RECORD BOOK

Ekeler finished with eight receptions for 59 yards. His third catch moved him past Kansas City’s Kimble Anders (369) for the most by an undrafted running back in the common draft era. Ekeler now has 375 receptions in his six-year career.

INJURIES

Dolphins: Wilson suffered an ankle injury during the second quarter. Safety Eric Rowe had a hamstring injury in the third quarter.

UP NEXT

Dolphins: At Buffalo next Saturday night.

Chargers: Host Tennessee next Sunday.

Herbert, short-handed defense lead Chargers past Fins 23-17

The Chargers (7-6) moved into position for the final AFC playoff berth, ahead of the New York Jets. Their hold though would be short lived if New England beats Arizona on Monday night.

“It was an incredible team win,” coach Brandon Staley said. “Defensively we answered all the challenges in the game that we had to face.

“Justin was fantastic and definitely led the way for our team. He made a lot of winning plays and really made good decisions throughout the game.”

“There were a lot of good things from all three phases. The defense did an incredible job,” Herbert said.

Austin Ekeler, who finished with 104 scrimmage yards, had a 1-yard run off left tackle with 18 seconds left in the quarter to extend the lead to 17-7.

Keenan Allen added 12 receptions for 92 yards.

Miami’s Jason Sanders booted a 55-yard field goal with 1:10 remaining, but Los Angeles recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.

SCOOP AND SCORE

The Dolphins had 5 net yards and one first down on their first three possessions before finally getting on the scoreboard, thanks to Hill.

Hill became the only player in the Super Bowl era to score TDs via receiving, rushing, kick return, punt return and fumble return.

RECORD BOOK

INJURIES

Dolphins: Wilson suffered an ankle injury during the second quarter. Safety Eric Rowe had a hamstring injury in the third quarter.

UP NEXT

Dolphins: At Buffalo next Saturday night.

Chargers: Host Tennessee next Sunday.

Mississippi State coach Mike Leach hospitalized in Jackson

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) Mississippi State coach Mike Leach was hospitalized Sunday after what the university called “a personal health issue” that happened at his home in Starkville.

The 61-year-old Leach was initially treated at a local hospital before being airlifted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, which is about 125 miles (200 kilometers) away from Mississippi State, the university said.

UMMC spokesman Marc Rolph said Leach was listed as a patient at the hospital, but had no information regarding the coach’s condition.

The school said in a statement it would have no further comment on Leach’s condition, adding “that the thoughts and prayers of the university are with Mike and (wife) Sharon and their family.”

“Prayers for Coach Leach and family. We’re all on the same team tonight,” Mississippi athletic director Keith Carter posted on Twitter.

Defensive coordinator Zach Arnett has been placed in charge of the football team by Mississippi State President Mark Keenum and interim athletic director Bracky Brett as it prepares for an appearance in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Illinois on Jan. 2 in Tampa, Florida.

Leach is in his third season at Mississippi State, with a 19-17 record. He acknowledged a bout with pneumonia late in the season that was causing a persistent cough.

Leach, known for his prolific Air Raid offenses, is 158-107 in 21 seasons as a head coach at Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State.

Oregon State gives Smith new 6-year, $30.6 million contract

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) Oregon State and football coach Jonathan Smith have agreed on a six-year, $30.6 million contract, the university announced Sunday.

It comes after the Beavers went 9-3 this season, with a chance for the third 10-win season in school history coming Saturday in the Las Vegas Bowl against Florida.

“Coach Smith has taken the Oregon State football program to new heights, and we knew it was important to reward him and his staff to keep the momentum moving forward,” athletic director Scott Barnes said. “The success they’ve achieved on the football field has been evident, and Coach’s Smith leadership and the work of his staff also has changed the culture of the program in the classroom, the weight room and the community.”

Smith’s guaranteed salary will start at $4.85 million next season and grow to $5.45 million by 2028, the school said. Oregon State also is adding $100,000 to its salary pool for assistant coaches (rising to $4.85 million) and support staff (rising to $2.5 million).

“I want to thank Scott Barnes and the Oregon State administration for continuing to support this football program and everyone who works tirelessly for our student-athletes and all of Beaver Nation,” Smith said. “We are proud of what has been accomplished, but the work is not done and we’ll continue to put in the effort and do it the right way.”

Smith is 25-31 in his five seasons at Oregon State. The Beavers are posting back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2012-13.

Paul Silas, 3-time NBA champion, longtime coach, dies at 79

(AP) — Basketball taught Paul Silas how to be patient.

As a player, he waited 10 years before winning his first championship. As a coach, he waited 15 years for a second chance at running a team. As a father, he waited 20 years before seeing his son get a chance to lead a franchise.

“I always tried to remain positive,” Silas said in 2013, “and I think it usually worked out.”

Silas – who touched the game as a player, coach and president of the National Basketball Players Association – has died, his family announced Sunday. Silas, whose son, Stephen Silas, is coach of the Houston Rockets, was 79.

“He combined the knowledge developed over nearly 40 years as an NBA player and coach with an innate understanding of how to mix discipline with his never-ending positivity,” Charlotte Hornets chairman Michael Jordan said. “On or off the court, Paul’s enthusiastic and engaging personality was accompanied by an anecdote for every occasion. He was one of the all-time great people in our game, and he will be missed.”

Silas’ daughter, Paula Silas-Guy, told The New York Times that her father died Saturday night of cardiac arrest. The Boston Globe first reported Silas’ death.

“We mourn the passing of former NBA All-Star and head coach Paul Silas,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “Paul’s lasting contributions to the game are seen through the many players and coaches he inspired, including his son, Rockets head coach Stephen Silas. We send our deepest condolences to Paul’s family.”

Silas began his career as a head coach with a three-year stint leading the then-San Diego Clippers starting in 1980. After spending more than a decade as an assistant, he returned to being a head coach and spent time with the Charlotte Hornets, the New Orleans Hornets, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Charlotte Bobcats.

He took four of those teams to the playoffs, winning exactly 400 games – 387 in the regular season, 13 more in the postseason.

“Paul made a huge contribution to the game of basketball and will be sorely missed!” Hall of Fame guard and Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson wrote on Twitter.

The Rockets were playing host to Milwaukee on Sunday night. It was not immediately clear how long Stephen Silas would be away from the team; the Rockets were planning to have John Lucas lead the team on an interim basis while the Silas family grieves.

“His engaging presence and huge personality inspired legions of NBA players and coaches,” the Cavaliers said of Paul Silas in a team-released statement. “We send our deepest condolences to the Silas family and everyone that loved him. Rest in power Coach!”

Stephen Silas got into the NBA world when his father was coaching in Charlotte, starting as an advance scout and eventually serving as an assistant on his father’s staff with the Hornets in 2000. It took Stephen Silas two decades to get a chance to be a head coach, that coming when Houston hired him in 2020.

“My dad, obviously, he was my No. 1 mentor, someone who I could lean on, ask questions and he asked questions of me,” Stephen Silas said in a 2021 documentary produced by the Rockets about his coaching journey. “He really valued my opinion, which was kind of weird to me, me being so young and not having much experience.”

Stephen Silas persevered for a long time before getting his big chance. He saw his father wait a long time for the job he wanted as well. Paul Silas was fired by the San Diego Clippers in 1983 and wouldn’t have a head coaching opportunity again until 1999 – coming when Dave Cowens, for whom Paul Silas was an assistant, stepped down in Charlotte after a 4-11 start to the shortened 1998-99 season.

“I was known as not a hard, hard, hard worker and it really hurt me when I was an assistant coach, for about 10 years, when I couldn’t get a head job,” Paul Silas told the Rotary Club of Charlotte while giving a speech there in 2013. “I really talked to teams about being a head coach, but I didn’t get one. What happened is I stayed positive. I had a positive attitude. Even though I couldn’t get the job, I said, `No, I’m not going to be negative. I’m going to be positive.'”

Eventually, Silas would take over in Cleveland. He got there in 2003, the same year the Cavaliers drafted James.

“I coached LeBron for two years, his first two years, and LeBron was unbelievable,” Paul Silas said. “At 18 years old, he knew about Bill Russell, he knew about a lot of players who came through that most players his age don’t even know. And he understood the game.”

In time, James would become a champion. It took Paul Silas a few years to get to that level as a player as well.

He was a five-time All-Defensive team selection who averaged 9.4 points and 9.9 rebounds in 16 seasons with the St. Louis and Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix, Boston, Denver and Seattle. Silas won two titles with the Celtics – the first coming in his 10th season as a player – and claimed a third with the SuperSonics. At 36, he was then the NBA’s oldest player when he retired.

“Respected by all those who encountered him throughout the NBA, we are grateful for his contributions to the game across a lifetime in basketball,” the Suns said Sunday.

Paul Silas played his college basketball at Creighton, averaging 20.5 points and 21.6 rebounds in three seasons. He was voted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.

“I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Creighton legend Paul Silas,” Bluejays coach Greg McDermott said. “His illustrious career as a player and coach will be matched by few.”

Williamson scores 35 again, Pelicans top Suns 129-124 in OT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Zion Williamson watched his second 3-pointer go down, turned toward the Pelicans’ defensive end and threw a triumphant punch into the air.

Adding perimeter scoring to his already formidable play in the paint, Williamson scored 35-points for a second straight game, and New Orleans beat the short-handed Phoenix Suns 129-124 in overtime Sunday for their seventh straight victory.

“Zion is – he’s a matchup problem,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “He just attacks. And when he attacks like he does, he’s just tough to cover. … It’s incredible what he can do.”

CJ McCollum added 29 for the Pelicans, who beat the Suns – playing without star guard Devin Booker because of left hamstring tightness – for the second time in three days and won for the 12th time in their last 14 games as they’ve surged to the Western Conference lead.

“The Suns, they’ve earned their resume; they’re a great team,” Williamson said. “So for us to get two back-to-back wins against them, that’s big for our confidence.”

Deandre Ayton had 28 points and 12 rebounds for Phoenix, but fouled out on Williamson’s drive with New Orleans clinging to a two-point lead in the final minute of regulation.

Williamson and Naji Marshall each made only one of two free throws in the final 36 seconds of the fourth quarter, allowing Chris Paul to tie it with a pull-up jumper with 2.8 seconds to go.

The game went to overtime after Williamson’s mid-range jumper rimmed out at the horn, but Paul joined Ayton on the bench after fouling out with 2:52 to go in the extra period. Paul initially appeared to have drawn a foul on a missed 3-pointer, but the Pelicans challenged the call. On video review, officials ruled that Paul kicked out his right leg into Williamson.

The Pelicans then scored six straight on McCollum’s step-back jumper, Marshall’s late-shot-clock finger roll and McCollum’s floater off the glass to take the lead for good and send the Suns to a fifth loss in six games.

“Let it slide off. Realize it’s a long season,” Paul said about the Suns’ recent swoon. “We know we definitely have to get better and right some things here. But it’s not do or die yet.”

Marshall finished with 16 points and fellow reserve Larry Nance Jr. had 15 points, four steals and two late blocks for New Orleans.

“That’s a team that, we’re trying to get to their level,” Nance said about the Suns. “They’ve been to the Finals … We’re trying to pass them so they’re a really good gauge for us to measure ourselves.”

Williamson, whose highlights included an alley-oop dunk in transition and driving, off-balance layups while being fouled, tied his season high in points after also scoring 35 on Friday night in the first of two consecutive home games against Phoenix.

Mikal Bridges scored 27 points for Phoenix. Cameron Payne had 17 and Paul assisted on 11 baskets.

New Orleans used a 27-9 run – during which Williamson and McCollum each scored seven – to open a 90-75 lead in the third quarter.

But the Suns cut it to 98-93 by the end of the period, with Payne hitting a 3, a layup and two free throws during an 18-8 spurt.

New Orleans maintained a narrow lead for most of the fourth quarter until Torrey Craig, who scored 14, hit a 3 to tie it at 111 with 2:48 to go.

“We were undermanned and we saw different guys giving everything they can,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “They were spent at the end of game, so that’s a very good sign. I’m just proud of the effort we made when we got down.”

TIP-INS

Suns: Booker played 36 minutes Friday night. Suns coach Monty Williams said Booker wanted to play but the team thought it would be better for his longer-term health for him to rest. Booker has averaged 27.4 points per game this season. … Damion Lee scored 12 points. … Phoenix had 19 offensive rebounds, converting those into 21 second-chance points. … Went 13 of 17 from the free-throw line.

Pelicans: Rookie Dyson Daniels had 11 points and six assists. He briefly left the game in the fourth quarter after banging knees with the Suns’ Jock Landale, but returned in overtime. … Brandon Ingram (left foot) missed his seventh straight game and fellow wing player Herb Jones (left ankle) missed his fifth straight. … Outscored Phoenix 70-64 in the paint. … Went 21 of 28 on free throws.

UP NEXT

Suns: At Houston on Tuesday night.

Pelicans: At Utah on Tuesday night.

James, Davis carry Lakers past Pistons, 124-117

DETROIT (AP) LeBron James scored 35 points, Anthony Davis had 34 points and 15 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons 124-117 on Sunday night.

“This was a must-win for us, because we wanted to have a successful road trip – at least .500,” Davis said. “The last game is always the toughest to win.”

Davis also had seven assists as the Lakers overcame 38 points from Bojan Bogdanovic to end a three-game losing streak. Lonnie Walker IV added 18 points for Los Angeles and Russell Westbrook had 11 points and nine assists.

“LeBron really came in with a focus to finish the right way,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “He was leading the charge and would not allow this game to get away from us.”

Rookie Jaden Ivey had 16 points for Detroit. The Pistons have lost three in a row.

“There are a lot of things you can’t control in a game – they came in shooting 28% on threes and they shot 42% tonight – but we have to get better at the other things,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “We can control boxing out and understanding rotations – we get caught up in the game and lose our focus.”

The Lakers led 61-49 at halftime, but Bogdanovic scored a career-high 25 points in the third quarter to pull the Pistons back into the game. With Davis scoring 17 points in the quarter, the Lakers took a 91-90 lead into the fourth.

“We fought all night long, but I think we had too many mistakes in the first half,” Bogdanovic said. “We must have given them 10 easy back-door layups and dunks, and that breaks your defense.”

Alec Burks scored to pull Detroit to 119-115 with a minute left, and Bogdanovic’s layup made it 119-117 with 35 seconds to play.

James, who had 13 points in the fourth, ran down the clock, drove down the lane and flipped to an open Austin Reaves for a baseline 3-pointer with 12.4 seconds to play.

“When you are playing with him, you know he’s always going to make the right basketball play,” Reaves said. “Knowing he has the confidence in me to take that shot builds my confidence.”

Casey was left shaking his head at another key mistake by his young team.

“I’m not even sure who it was, but our defender in the strong corner helped into the lane on LeBron,” he said. “You can’t do that. You have to understand the situation. If we give up a basket at the rim, we live with it, but you can’t give up a three at that point.”

TIP INS

Lakers: James and Davis had two of their most famous performances at Detroit’s previous arena, the Palace of Auburn Hills. James scored 48 points, including Cleveland’s final 25, in an overtime win in Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. Nine years later, Davis had 59 points and 20 rebounds to help New Orleans beat the Pistons 111-106 on Feb. 21, 2016.

Pistons: Rookie Jalen Duran made his only field-goal attempt in his second start, finishing with three points and 13 rebounds in 23:42.

LAKERS VS. CELTICS

With the Lakers heading home to host Boston – the NBA’s most historic rivalry – Ham was left shaking his head about his memories of the two franchises facing off.

“I hated both those teams,” said Ham, who grew up about 90 minutes north of Detroit and won the 2004 NBA title with the Pistons against the Lakers. “We hated the Lakers, the Celtics and the Bulls.”

UP NEXT

Lakers: Host Boston on Tuesday night.

Pistons: At Charlotte on Wednesday night.

Knicks beat Kings 112-99 for 4th straight victory

NEW YORK (AP) Julius Randle and RJ Barrett each scored 27 points and the New York Knicks ran their winning streak to a season-high four games, beating the Sacramento Kings 112-99 on Sunday night.

Randle had all 27 points by halftime, then was ejected with 3:35 left in the third quarter after arguing a non-call and receiving two technical fouls.

“It’s an emotional game,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. “When he got the first one we have to do a better job and get him to walk away. I get the frustration. It was a physical game and he got hammered on the play. But he had a great game going and we can’t let him get distracted.”

Jalen Brunson added 18 points, and Immanuel Quickley and Mitchell Robinson each had 12.

Domantas Sabonis led Sacramento with 20 points. Keegan Murray had 18 and Kevin Huerter 17 as the Kings were held under 100 points for the first time this season.

The Knicks have held three of their last four opponents under 100 points.

“The defense is gelling all together,” Barrett said. “We’re playing hard and we’re giving effort. Getting rebounds. It’s not one particular thing, just a lot of different things gelling together.”

It was decided early.

The Knicks trailed 9-8 before going on a 28-10 run and holding a double-digit lead the rest of the way. New York was ahead 36-22 after the first quarter and expanded its lead to 19 in the second before settling for a 66-50 halftime lead.

The Kings pulled within 11 on Murray’s basket with 9:21 left in the third, but the Knicks scored the next six points to stall the rally. Sacramento was able to pull within 13, but Isiah Hartenstein’s tip-in gave the Kicks a game-high 21-point lead with 1:25 left in the third quarter.

With 1:41 left, Sabonis’ free throw again brought the Kings within 11, 110-99.

“We have to give the Knicks a lot of credit,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “They kicked our behind tonight. We didn’t have an answer for Julius. He kind of had his way with us. We didn’t execute anything. Brunson had a good game. RJ had a good game. Mitchell Robinson was a monster on the boards.”

TIP-INS

Kings: Scoring leader De’Aaron Fox missed his second straight game with soreness in his right foot. … Harrison Barnes (15) and Malik Monk (12) also scored in double-digits for the Kings.

Knicks: New York hadn’t won four straight games since March 23-28, 2022. Thet evened their home at 7-7. . Obi Toppin missed his second consecutive game with a non-displaced fractured right fibula.

UP NEXT

Kings: At Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

Knicks: At Chicago on Wednesday night.

Wagner, Banchero lead Magic past Raptors for 3rd win in row

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Franz Wagner scored 23 points, Paolo Banchero added 20 points and 12 rebounds and the Orlando Magic beat the Toronto Raptors 111-99 Sunday night for their third straight win.

The Magic didn’t win three in a row at any point last season. Orlando’s last three-game winning streak was in February 2021.

“You put three games in a row – I think we’re headed in the right direction,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “We’re asking our guys to defend at a high level, which they did. We’re asking them to move the basketball, which they did, and to stay poised down the stretch which they’ve done.”

Wagner was encouraged by what he saw.

“I think we’re figuring stuff out, especially these last couple games,” Wagner said. “People are beginning to adjust to how we play and throw different stuff at us, so we’ve got to keep working.”

Gary Trent Jr. led the Raptors with 24 points. Fred Van Vleet added 20 and Pascal Siakam 19.

It was Toronto’s second loss in three nights to the Magic, a team they had defeated in 10 of the preceding 11 meetings.

“It was a little bit of a gut punch,” Van Vleet said. “It just wasn’t our night tonight, which is why you have to take care of business on Friday night. We had some critical breakdowns to give them threes at the wrong parts of the game, especially late in the fourth quarter.”

Mo Bamba and Cole Anthony came off the bench and made major contributions for the Magic. Bamba had 18 points, nine rebounds and two blocks while Anthony, playing 29 minutes while starting point guard Markelle Fultz sat in foul trouble, finished with 14 points and six assists.

The Magic went more than 4 1/2 minutes without scoring in the first quarter and didn’t make a 3-point shot until Terrence Ross hit at 6:19 of the second quarter. Bamba followed quickly with two more on a 10-0 run that gave Orlando a 41-29 lead.

“Shots were not falling early, but I loved our ability to stay the course and stay in the fight,” Mosley said. “I think that’s a great sign of growth for a young team in a situation like this.”

The Magic led by 14 midway through the third quarter when a flagrant foul on Fultz — his fifth personal foul — helped the Raptors score four quick points. Trent scored eight straight Toronto points and the Raptors cut their deficit to four before the end of the period.

But they got no closer, and when Wagner made three straight 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter, Orlando led 95-79.

“One time was in a late-clock situation; somebody gambled for a steal and I got a three. Two other times I was just open and I was feeling like I was in a rhythm,” Wagner said. “The coaches are telling me to shoot when I’m open and I’ve worked a lot on it.”

TIP-INS

Raptors: F O.G. Anunoby missed his first game of the season after straining his left hip early in Friday night’s game. … The Raptors lost two replay challenges in a span of 13 seconds in the second quarter, but another replay give them three points after an initial call that Van Vleet had launched a shot after the 24-second clock had expired.

Magic: After missing their first seven 3-points attempts, the Magic shot 14 for 24. . . . Ross was the only player still on the active roster who participated in the Magic’s last three-game winning streak 22 months (and 151 games) ago. … After being outrebounded 43-29 in a loss at Toronto on Dec. 3, the Magic had an 85-60 edge in the two games here, led by Bamba’s 22.

UP NEXT

Raptors: Play at home against Sacramento on Wednesday night.

Magic: Play at home against Atlanta on Wednesday night.

Embiid scores 53, leads 76ers to 131-113 win over Hornets

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Joel Embiid had 53 points and 11 rebounds, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a 131-113 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night.

With the home crowd serenading him with MVP! chants, Embiid became the first player in the NBA this season to post two 50-plus point performances, adding Sunday’s performance to a league-best 59-point effort on Nov. 13 against Utah.

“The ball just found me,” Embiid said. “I thought we moved the ball well all night and the ball just found me.”

Embiid became the third player in Sixers history to have multiple 50-point games in the same season, joining Allen Iverson (2000-01 and 2004-05) and Wilt Chamberlain (1965-66 and 1967-68). It is also the 30th game in Embiid’s career with 40 points and 10 rebounds. The only other player in franchise history to accomplish that feat was Chamberlain.

“We won,” Embiid said. “It’s good to do that when you win. … I’m just happy that I’m contributing when we are winning.”

James Harden had 19 points, 16 assists, and nine rebounds to help Embiid’s effort.

“He was in attack mode for the entire game,” Harden said. “He made scoring look easy tonight. He was aggressive getting to the basket and his jumper was falling.”

Tobias Harris scored 17 points and De’Anthony Melton added 12 for Philadelphia, which shot 55.4%.

“We didn’t run, but we played with pace and got open shots,” Sixers coach Doc Rivers said.

Charlotte was led by Kelly Oubre Jr. and Terry Rozier, who each scored 29 points. The Hornets have lost five straight games.

“We had good intent tonight,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “The first six or seven minutes of the game, we had good defense. Our transition defense was a problem tonight and we have to fix that. Besides Joel, that was the story of the first half. But we did a lot of good things.”

Embiid took the game over in the final three minutes of the second quarter, scoring 15 of his 28 first-half points in that stretch by exploiting a mismatch against Hornets forward Mason Plumlee. On one play, Embiid drove down the left side of the lane from the foul line, extended high over Plumlee and threw down a thunderous dunk that charged up the Wells Fargo Center crowd. It was part of a three straight possessions stretch that ended with Embiid scoring and going to the line for the old-fashioned 3-point play.

“We have a saying that you have to feed the hot hand,” Embiid said. “… You got to keep feeding them until the defense stops it once or twice or three times in that situation. I just kept scoring and they just kept giving me the ball.”

The Hornets (7-20) stayed within striking distance through the early part of the fourth quarter, thanks to Oubre and Rozier, who were able to drive the lane and get easy looks while being helped by 15 offensive rebounds.

But Embiid put the game out of reach by scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter before being pulled with two minutes left. He finished 20 for 32 from the field and hit all 11 of his free throws.

TIP-INS

Hornets: LaMelo Ball missed his 11th straight game with a left ankle sprain. … Dennis Smith Jr. was inactive for the ninth time in his last 14 games with a left ankle sprain. … There was a moment of silence before Sunday’s game for Paul Silas, the former Charlotte coach for six seasons who died at the age of 79.

76ers: Foward Georges Niang returned Sunday after missing the last two games due to a right foot bruised. Danuel House Jr. was not available with a left foot laceration.

UP NEXT Hornets: Host Detroit on Wednesday.

76ers: Continue their seven-game home stand against Sacramento on Tuesday.

Griffin wins game at OT buzzer, Hawks hold off Bulls 123-122

ATLANTA (AP) A.J. Griffin hit a 6-footer on an alley-oop pass at the overtime buzzer and the Atlanta Hawks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 123-122 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday night.

DeMar DeRozan sank three free throws with 0.5 seconds remaining in overtime to finish with 33 points as it appeared the Bulls had the game wrapped up. But Griffin took sideline alley-oop pass from Jalen Johnson and scored on a turnaround jumper with Derrick Jones Jr. defending for the win.

It was Griffin’s second overtime buzzer-beater in his rookie season, the first coming in a 124-122 win over Toronto on Nov. 19.

“The same thing was going through my head,” Griffin said after scoring 17 points. “Just how fast it happens. I think coach drew up a great play and J.J. made a great pass.

“Getting that confidence from the coach to be able to go out there and execute. Even on a day when shots aren’t falling, just to continue to keep playing. Just the encouragement to keep going. On to the next one.”

Trae Young hit a 20-footer with 1 second left to give the Hawks a 121-119 lead in the extra period, and Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 17 of his 28 points in the first half for Atlanta.

DeRozan calmly swished the free throws after taking the inbound pass and firing up a 3 in which he was fouled by Bogdanovic. He knew the game wasn’t over, however.

“I mean I’ve been in the league so much that I’ve seen crazier stuff happen,” DeRozan said. “It’s not over ’til it’s over. … They made a hell of a play. … Shake their hand and move on.”

DeRozan had 12 points in the fourth quarter but he missed a layup that would’ve given Chicago a one-point lead with 16.5 seconds remaining.

Jones hit one of two free throws that could’ve given the Bulls a one-point victory, but instead sent the game to overtime.

Young had 19 points and 14 assists for the Hawks. The team’s leading scorer, Young was 5 for 18 from the field, including 2 for 8 on 3s, but his runner with 1:45 remaining gave the Hawks the lead at 107-105. He followed with a 3 to make it 110-107 with 50.6 seconds left in regulation.

Young has struggled lately, beginning the night 7 of his last 41 on 3s over his last six games and fourth in the league in turnovers.

One night after scoring a season-high 144 points and shooting 63.5% in a lopsided win over Dallas, the Bulls shot 48%, including 28.9% on 3s.

Clint Capela got his eighth straight double-double and 16th of the season, finishing with 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Hawks.

TIP-INS

Bulls: G Javonte Green was cleared to play despite being listed as questionable with right knee soreness. He had two points in 11 minutes despite missing the last three games. … G Alex Caruso (lower back contusion) stayed in Chicago to get treatment. … G Ayo Dosunmu had an abdominal contusion late in the second quarter and didn’t return.

Hawks: G Dejounte Murray, the team’s second-leading scorer, missed his second straight game with a left ankle sprain. He is expected to be sidelined for another week and a half. … De’Andre Hunter, who missed four straight games with a right hip flexor strain, was a game-time decision and scored 16. … C Onyeka Okongwu, listed as questionable before the game with left foot soreness, finished with 14 points. … F John Collins missed his fifth consecutive game with a left ankle sprain. He is expected to be out another week.

CONDOLENCES

Atlanta coach Nate McMillan paid his respects to NBA legend Paul Silas, who passed away Saturday night at 79. The Hawks held a moment of silence for Silas, a former NBA coach who played for St. Louis and Atlanta for the first five years of his career beginning in 1964-65, before the game.

UP NEXT

Bulls: Host New York on Wednesday and Friday.

Hawks: At Memphis on Monday and Orlando on Wednesday.

Jalen Green scores 30 points, Rockets beat Bucks 97-92

HOUSTON (AP) Jalen Green had 30 points and seven rebounds, Kevin Porter Jr. added 18 points and seven assists and the Houston Rockets beat the Milwaukee Bucks 97-92 on Sunday night to extend their home-winning streak to four games.

Houston was coached by assistant coach John Lucas with head coach Stephen Silas away from the team following the death of father and long-time NBA player and coach Paul Silas.

“That’s for Coach,” Lucas said. “That one’s for him.”

Green was 12 of 21 shooting, including 3 of 6 on 3-pointers.

“I work with him every day,” Lucas said. “I know how good he is. The problem is being patient and for him to be patient, but he’s growing.”

Kenyon Martin Jr. had 10 points and five rebounds for the Rockets. Houston shot 44% and was 6 of 27 on 3-pointers.

“That’s a good win for us,” Lucas said. “We had a good day of practice the other day. We talked about accountability, talked about being professional and starting to grow up. . We’re better than young. We’re not great, but we are better than young. We’re going to make some mistakes, but I think we did a great job.”

The Rockets made 11 of 12 free throws, going 5 of 6 in the final minute to put the game away.

“From the beginning we’ve been preaching about being a defensive team and making that our identity,” Porter said. “Each game we’ve been getting better in moments and aspects of the game, but tonight it was our defensive end, rotating that low man and just helping the helper. You saw a lot of that tonight, and we were just consistent tonight.”

Jrue Holiday had 25 points and eight assists for Milwaukee, Bobby Portis added 17 points and 15 rebounds and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 16 points and 18 rebounds. The Bucks had won four in a row.

Antetokounmpo scored his 15,000th point in the second quarter.

The Bucks shot 37% and were 12 of 43 on 3-pointers. Milwaukee committed 16 turnovers. Houston outscored Milwaukee, 56-36, in points in the paint.

“We didn’t shoot it well enough tonight,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We got a lot 3s up. We like that. We think that’s good. Overall, we think that’s going to be good for us in the long run, but tonight, we weren’t able to make enough 3s to take away their willingness to put multiple bodies and people in the paint.”

Green made two free throws with 34 seconds remaining to give Houston a two-point lead. Following a Milwaukee timeout, Grayson Allen turned it over on a lob pass to Antetokounmpo, and Antetokounmpo fouled Green, who made one of two free throws with 27 seconds left.

Antetokounmpo missed a layup and fouled Jabari Smith Jr. on the rebound. Smith made two free throws with 19 seconds remaining to give Houston a 97-92 lead. Portis missed a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left, and Martin got the rebound to ice it.

“I don’t think that’s not uncommon or unusual, everybody’s focused on Giannis,” Budenholzer said of the Rockets’ late game defense. “We had a couple opportunities and didn’t deliver, didn’t take care of the ball, didn’t make shots. We didn’t play good enough to win.”

TIP-INS

Bucks: F Khris Middleton left early in the second quarter with a left ankle sprain and did not return. He was scoreless in six minutes. . Allen scored 11 points.

Rockets: Houston recalled G Josh Christopher, Trevor Hudgins and Darius Day from their NBA G League affiliate Rio Grande Valley. . Smith took Houston’s first free throws with 7:59 remaining in the third.

REMEMBERING PAUL SILAS

The Rockets held a moment of silence before the game in honor of Paul Silas.

“From the team, the coaching staff, all the basketball personnel, all our prayers and thoughts are with Coach and his family right now,” Lucas said to begin his pregame availability. “Paul Silas did a lot for basketball.”

UP NEXT

Bucks: Host Golden State on Tuesday night.

Rockets: Host Phoenix on Tuesday night.

Rantanen scores 3rd in OT, Avalanche rally past Blues 3-2

ST. LOUIS (AP) Mikko Rantanen scored in the final seconds of regulation and the first minute of overtime to complete his fifth career hat trick and give the Colorado Avalanche a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.

“We’re missing a lot of guys, a lot of veteran guys, especially up front,” Rantanen said. “I try to do my best, and even little bit more, in this situation. We need a lot to win games, and tonight was one of those.”

Rantanen’s second goal of the game came with nine seconds left in regulation, forcing the extra period. He sealed the comeback win 29 seconds into overtime. Pavel Francouz made 30 saves and the Avalanche snapped a five-game winless streak.

“I liked our competitiveness all night,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “It wasn’t the perfect game from us by any stretch, but I did like the way we competed, the way we stuck with it. I think everyone was emotionally invested in the game.”

Vladimir Tarasenko and Brandon Saad scored for the Blues, losers of eight of their last 10 games. Jordan Binnington stopped 28 of 31 shots for the Blues, who had allowed four goals in nine straight games.

“That’s the way it goes sometimes when things aren’t going well,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “It’s a good point. I thought we did a lot of good things.”

Rantanen scored his 19th of the season early in OT when he pushed the rebound of a shot by Cale Makar past Binnington, completing his second hat trick of the season.

“The message going into overtime was to kind of just remind them of some of the things we’ve been talking about,” Bednar said. “The way we played the other night and created a few chances to win the game, we couldn’t score. Tonight we came out and kind of did the same thing and just got an opportunity early and ended it.”

Rantanen swatted a loose puck in the crease past Binnington in the final seconds of regulation to tie the game.

Brayden Schenn was serving a penalty for interference when Saad beat J.T. Compher to a puck in the Colorado zone and scored his sixth of the season to give St. Louis a 2-1 lead with 1:36 remaining in the third.

Tarasenko tied the game 1-all with his eighth the season on a power play nine seconds after Cale Makar was sent off for a double-minor penalty for high sticking 7:59 into the third period.

Rantanen opened the scoring 10:58 into the second period.

BENCH BOSS

Berube coached his 300th regular season game with the Blues. He was first named as interim head coach on Nov. 19, 2018.

BLACK AND BLUE:

Blues LW Pavel Buchnevich missed his third straight game with a lower body injury, but Berube said before the game that he expects Buchnevich to return Monday. . Avalanche C Nathan MacKinnon missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury.

UP NEXT:

Avalanche: Open a five-game homestand on Tuesday against Philadelphia.

Blues: Close a three-game homestand Monday against Nashville.

Gaudreau OT goal lifts Blue Jackets over Kings 6-5

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Johnny Gaudreau scored 40 seconds into overtime and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-5 Sunday night for their second straight win.

Jack Roslovic had two goals and two assists, Patrik Laine had a goal and two assists, and Boone Jenner and rookie Kirill Marchenko also scored for the Blue Jackets. Gaudreau and Vladislav Gavrikov each had two assists and Elvis Merzlikins stopped 33 shots.

Anze Kopitar scored twice, and Blake Lizotte, Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Adrian Kemp also had goals for the Kings, who earned a point after rallying from two two-goal deficits. Jonathan Quick finished with 20 saves.

In the extra period, Gaudreau rushed in and tipped the rebound of Laine’s shot. The goal stood after a lengthy video review that revealed the Kings’ Kevin Fiala directed the puck into his own net.

“We can take them in overtime, as long as we get our points,” Roslovic said. “It’s great to see results for the work that we put in this year.”

The Blue Jackets carried a two-goal lead out of the first period after Marchenko’s first NHL goal at 6:44 and Jenner’s team-leading fourth power-play score, 17 seconds into a Kings’ penalty.

The Kings appeared to take charge in the second period, as Kopitar cut the lead in half at 4:42 and Lizotte pulled Los Angeles even at 8:25.

Laine used a give-and-go from Roslovic to put Columbus back in front just after the midpoint of the second, before Anderson-Dolan pulled the Kings even again 5 minutes later.

“That’s great that we’re scoring all these goals, but obviously we’re not getting enough points,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “It’s great that we come back. Great that we score goals. Great that we stick with it. But the carelessness is killing us.”

Roslovic then scored twice 1:31 apart – one short-handed and one on the power play – to put Columbus ahead 5-3 with 29 seconds left in the period. He became the fourth player in Columbus history with a four-point game – the first since Rick Nash in 2009.

The Kings looked to control the third period, as they outshot Columbus 16-7. Kopitar cut the lead to one at 4:52 and Kempe tied the score 39 seconds later.

“I really liked our first,” Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. “I thought we were really plugged in. The second period, we give up two odd-man rushes in the first 1:10, and both differently. It can’t happen. Then they get the break away and so we lost some momentum there.

“We were on our heels in third, so it’s great to score again. You hope you win the game with six goals.”

INJURY UPDATE

Joonas Korpisalo, pulled from Columbus’ Friday win over Calgary with a lower body injury, was placed on injured reserve and is expected to miss at least a week. The Blue Jackets moved up Jet Greeves from AHL Cleveland to back up Merzlikins. … Kings D Drew Doughty did not play due to a lower-body injury. He is listed as day-to-day.

SUPER SAVER

Quick became the 27th goaltender in league history to reach 18,000 saves and fourth active netminder to do so, joining Marc-Andre Fleury (24,856), Craig Anderson (19,422) and Carey Price (19,304).

SPREADING THE WEALTH

Marchenko became the 22nd Blue Jackets player to score a goal this season, tying Columbus with Detroit for the most scorers in the NHL.

UP NEXT

Kings: At Buffalo on Tuesday night.

Blue Jackets: At Florida on Tuesday night.

TOP INDIANA RELEASES

Game Preview: Pacers vs Heat

On to the next one.

Coming off perhaps their most disappointing loss of the season, the Indiana Pacers (14-13) aim to bounce back against the Miami Heat (12-15) on Monday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Blue & Gold fell to the Brooklyn Nets – which sat eight players, including their top seven scorers – 136-133 Saturday.

Outside of the most recent Nets game, the Blue & Gold otherwise have put together some of their best performances of the season in Indianapolis.

Indiana has played well at home while the Heat have struggled on the road. The Pacers are 8-5 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and the Heat are 3-9 in away games.

The Pacers beat the Heat 101-99 on Nov. 4 in Indianapolis, but the visitors were missing six-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler.

Butler, who averages 35 minutes, is putting up 21.3 points on 51.4 percent shooting, seven rebounds, six assists and just under two steals per game this season

After Butler, Heat center Bam Adebayo has averaged 20.8 points and 9.2 rebounds while forward Tyler Herro, the reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year, is averaging 20.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

Miami will also have another player available that didn’t play in the first game against the Pacers: Victor Oladipo. Due to injuries, Oladpio has not played against his former team since being traded during the 2020-21 season.

Against the Nets, the Pacers failed to get the job done on the glass.

Brooklyn dominated the paint against Indiana, outscoring the Pacers 72-42 inside while winning the rebounding margin 59-30 – including pulling down 29 offensive rebounds, which is the most in an NBA game in seven years.

In the loss, Tyrese Haliburton scored 35 points on 12 of 15 shooting, including 7-for-8 from 3-point range. Seven Pacers finished in double-digit scoring, the second time that’s happened this season.

The Heat enter the game against the Pacers coming off a 115-111 Saturday loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

Miami had six players score in double figures against the Spurs, led by 30 points from Butler and 23 by Herro.

The Spurs overcame 18 turnovers by shooting 53.8 percent against the Heat while also winning the rebounding margin 46-32.

After taking on the Heat, the Pacers will conclude their four-game homestand against the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. The Pacers beat the Warriors 112-104 on Dec. 5 in San Francisco.

Projected Starters

Pacers: G – Tyrese Haliburton, G – Andrew Nembhard, F – Buddy Hield, F – Jalen Smith, C – Myles Turner

Heat: G – Kyle Lowry, G – Tyler Herro, F – Jimmy Butler, F – Caleb Martin, C – Bam Adebayo

Injury Report

Pacers: Chris Duarte – out (left ankle sprain), Daniel Theis – out (right knee surgery)

Heat: Jimmy Butler – probable (right knee injury management), Tyler Herro – probable (left ankle sprain), Victor Oladipo – probable (left knee tendinosis), Duncan Robinson – probable (left ankle sprain), Max Strus – probable (right shoulder impingement), Dewayne Dedmon – questionable (left foot plantar fasciitis), Nikola Jovic – out (G League assignment), Gabe Vincent – out (left knee effusion), Omer Yurtseven – out (left ankle surgery)

Last Meeting

Nov. 4, 2022: Indiana held off a late Miami comeback in a 101-99 victory over the Heat at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Hield scored 22 points in the first half to give the Pacers a 12-point cushion at intermission, but the Heat stormed back in the second half to tie the game at 94 with 5:35 left in the game.

Up 100-97 with 10 seconds left, Turner came up with a massive block to give the ball back to the Blue & Gold. After rookie Bennedict Mathurin split free throws, the Heat went down the floor and a 3-point try by Herro missed at the buzzer.

Hield topped the Pacers with 25 points while pulling down nine rebounds, Mathurin scored 23 points, and Halibuton totaled 22 points, nine assists and nine rebounds.

Herro led all scorers with 29 points and Adebayo finished with 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds.

Indiana’s bench came up big, outsourcing the Heat’s reserves 38-19

Miami shot 38.3 percent (11-for-39 3-point) to the Pacers’ 46.3 percent (12-for-39 3-point). The Heat were perfect from the free throw line, making all 26 tries, while the Pacers made 15 of 23 attempts.

Noteworthy

Pacers second-year guard Chris Duarte suffered a sprained ankle in the Nov. 4 game against the Heat. The injury has sidelined him since.

The last time Oladipo played against the Pacers was in February 2017 as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was on the Blue & Gold from later in 2017 until being traded in early 2021.

Haliburton leads the NBA with 274 total assists in 25 games played. Last year, Haliburton had 628 assists in 58 games played.

Broadcast Information (TV and Radio Listings >>)

TV: Bally Sports Indiana – Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan – Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Pat Boylan (studio host)

Tickets

The Pacers continue their homestand on Monday, Dec. 12 at 7:00 PM ET against Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat.

Indiana Meets Syracuse in National Championship Match

CARY, N.C. — The ninth star is within reach.

The No. 13-seeded Indiana men’s soccer team (14-4-6, 3-1-4 B1G) will play in the NCAA national championship match on Monday (Dec. 12) against No. 3 Syracuse (18-2-4, 5-1-2 ACC) at WakeMed Soccer Park. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. ET.

Fans can watch the match on ESPNU with streaming available on the Watch ESPN digital platform. Indiana Athletics will also host a watch party at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET Monday night.

SETTING THE SCENE

• The Hoosiers have advanced to the title match for the 17th time in a program history – another NCAA Tournament record for the Hoosiers – and the second time in three seasons. Meanwhile, Syracuse will play in the program’s first-ever final amidst its second College Cup appearance.

• With a win, Indiana would become the only program to win a national title in each of the last five decades.

• The eight-time champion Hoosiers last won the title in 2012, the third year of the Todd Yeagley era.

• Indiana has not conceded a goal through its four NCAA Tournament matches, a total of 360 minutes. IU is the first team since Maryland (2018) to make a championship game without

conceding a goal throughout the NCAA Tournament and the seventh team all-time to achieve that feat.

• Redshirt senior forward Ryan Wittenbrink has tallied a goal contribution in eight of his last nine matches played, with four goals and four assists in that span.

ABOUT THE ORANGE

• Syracuse enters Monday’s match with a 18-2-4 record and a 5-1-2 mark in ACC play. The Orange defeated Penn, No. 14 seed Cornell, Vermont and Creighton to advance to the championship match.

• SU has not lost a match since October 4, a 2-1 defeat to No. 22 Cornell.

• The Orange are led by 13th-year head coach Ian McIntyre, who has compiled a 122-87-40 during his time at Syracuse and a 229-150-72 career record in 24 seasons as a head coach.

• Syracuse’s senior forward Levonte Johnson (first team) and sophomore forward Nathan Opoku (third team) each earned United Soccer Coaches All-America honors. Johnson leads the Orange in goals (11) and points (28), with Opuku right behind him (10 goals, 27 points).

SERIES HISTORY

• Monday’s match will mark the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

Purdue Pulls Away Late from Illinois State

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A big fourth quarter propelled the Purdue women’s basketball team to a 64-51 win over Illinois State on Sunday afternoon at Mackey Arena. All eight Boilermakers who saw minutes on the floor scored five or more points, as Purdue improved to 9-2 on the year.

For the second straight game and the seventh time this season, Purdue shot above 50% from the field with a 51.1% clip on the afternoon. The Boilermakers posted a blistering 65.2% shooting percentage over the final 20 minutes.

Lasha Petree paced Purdue with her 11th straight game in double figures. The fifth-year senior tallied 14 points, including a perfect 5-of-5 mark at the line. Purdue was efficient with a 12-of-13 mark at the line. Petree went 5-of-5, while Abbey Ellis and Ava Learn both were a perfect 3-of-3.

Terry finished the afternoon with another 5-5-5 game with nine points, seven rebounds and six assists. Ellis, in her first start of the season, went for nine points, seven boards and three dimes.

Purdue flipped 14 Illinois State (6-3) turnovers into matching 14 points, while holding the Redbirds to just 10 points off 18 Boilermaker miscues.

The Redbirds were paced by Paige Robinson’s game-high 21 points. Guard Mary Crompton came into the game ranked 13th in the nation at 20.8 points per game. On Sunday, the Boilermaker defense held her to just eight points. Illinois State shot just 29.3% (17-58) from the field, the lowest by an opponent since 2020 against Michigan State.

Both clubs struggled shooting to start the game, both opening 4-for-10. Jeanae Terry provided an early spark with nine points in the first half. Purdue’s lead only grew to as many as four early in the second, before the Redbirds rolled off a seven-point run which put the visitors ahead by four.

From there, Ava Learn connected on a mid-range jumper, before Terry and Rickie Woltman tallied baskets on Purdue’s final two trips down the floor in the half. The 6-0 run put the Boilermakers ahead 25-23 at the break.

The Boilermakers started to find their rhythm in the third, shooting 6-of-9 in the frame. Petree and Jayla Smith both tallied five points. The pair sank 3-pointers on back-to-back trips down the floor to give Purdue a six-point lead midway through the period. Smith sank a stepback jumper as time expired to put the Boilermakers ahead 41-37 going into the fourth.

Purdue put the game away in the fourth quarter outscoring the Redbirds 23-14. Cassidy Hardin and Smith both knocked down a 3-pointer early in the period to open a six-point gap. Learn, Petree and Ellis all converted on traditional 3-point plays to spark a 13-4 run that saw Purdue open a 62-47 lead with two minutes to play.

SPREADING THE SCORING

With Petree as the lone Boilermaker in double figures, Purdue was held to its lowest scoring output this season. Despite the limited points, all eight players scored five or more points. In addition to Petree’s 14, Abbey Ellis and Jeanae Terry went for nine points, Jayla Smith chipped in eight off the bench, Ava Learn added seven, Caitlyn Harper and Rickie Woltman notched six points each on a combined 6-of-7 shooting, and Cassidy Hardin tallied five.

NOTES

• With the win, Purdue evened up the all-time series at 5-5.

• At 9-2, the Boilermakers are off to their best start since the 2015-16 season.

• Sunday’s attendance was 3,429, the fourth largest at Mackey Arena under Katie Gearlds.

• The Boilermakers notched 32 points in the paint, their eighth game with more than 30.

• Purdue finished the afternoon just 4-of-14 from behind the arc. Smith knocked down a pair of triples.

• Terry and Ellis both finished with a plus-minus in double figures with 15 and 12, respectively.

• Ellis’ 36 minutes of action were a season high.

UP NEXT

The Boilermakers will play just twice between now and the end of the calendar year. After withdrawing from the Las Vegas Invitational, Purdue will travel to Texas A&M on Dec. 21 for a 2 p.m. tip.

Illinois Escapes Hinkle Fieldhouse with 65-63 Victory over @ButlerUWBB

INDIANAPOLIS – Sydney Jaynes posted the first double-double of her collegiate career on Sunday afternoon setting new career-high totals with 26 points and 10 rebounds, but the Bulldogs would come up just short against Illinois to take a 65-63 setback. Butler moves to 5-5 on the year while the Illini improve to 9-2.

Stat of the Game

Only four Bulldogs scored against Illinois. Sydney Jaynes (26), Jessica Carrothers (18), Tenley Dowell (11) and Rachel McLimore (8) accounted for all 63 points.

How it Happened

Jessica Carrothers gave Butler a 10-9 lead at the first media timeout by burying back-to-back 3-pointers. The ‘Dawgs shot 43 percent from behind the arc (3-7) in the first quarter to earn a 13-11 lead over Illinois. The Illini used the opposite strategy, scoring eight of their 11 points in the paint.

Illinois quickly tied the game at 15-15 and a 9-0 scoring run would give the visitors a 20-15 lead with 7:51 to play in the second quarter. Butler called a timeout in an attempt to cool off the Illini, but Genesis Bryant added another 3-pointer after the stoppage.

Sydney Janes scored on the left block for Butler and would add a 3-pointer from the left wing a few trips later to cut the Illinois lead to seven at 29-22. The Illini outscored Butler 18-11 in the second quarter, but McLimore added a field goal at the buzzer to get BU within five at the break.

Illinois opened the second half on a 6-2 scoring run to push their lead to nine points. Butler called timeout, but the Illini would hit the ‘Dawgs with a 7-0 run to make the game 42-29.

Carrothers came alive for BU in the final stages of the third quarter and helped BU get back within eight points at 45-37. She supplied BU with four points and two steals in just over one minute of action. The standout freshman also ended the third frame with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the top of the key to get Butler within six for the final 10 minutes.

Tenley Dowell opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it a one possession game at 48-45. Jaynes followed with a step-back post move to make it a one-point game on Butler’s next possession.

Jaynes stepped out and hit a 3-pointer to give Butler a 51-50 lead with 7:40 to play in the fourth. Peebles countered with a triple of her own and a steal and a score from the Illini got the advantage back to four points at 55-51.

Butler called a timeout trailing by six with six minutes to play. The BU offense went cold over the next two minutes, but Rachel McLimore broke up an Illini run with a 3-pointer from the corner and Jaynes followed with a 3 from the top of the key.

The shots from distance got Butler back within four at 61-57 with two and a half to play. Jaynes went back to work in post to score a bucket with two minutes to play and the Bulldogs would reach the bonus at the 1:20 mark. Jaynes stepped to the line to hit a pair of free throws and the game would once again tighten up to just four points with one minute to play at Hinkle.

Carrothers hit a pull-up jumper to push her scoring total to a career-high 18 points and Butler would trail Illinois by just two with 28 seconds left. Illinois used a 30-second timeout to draw up a play. They had 23 seconds left on the shot clock, but didn’t use it and the ‘Dawgs would get the ball back with 19.7 seconds left.

Austin Parkinson used his final timeout for the final possession. Carrothers got the ball and looked for a ball screen from Jaynes. The ball would move from the middle of the floor to the right wing with a pass to Tenley Dowell. Dowell took a 3-pointer, but the shot was blocked and Illinois would collect the loose ball. BU fouled in an attempt to extend the game, but the Illini would hang on for the 65-63 victory.

Inside the Box Score

– Jaynes added two blocked shots and two assists to her double-double performance

– All four BU players that scored hit at least one 3-pointer

– Jordan Meulemans led Butler with a career-high five assists

– Jessica Carrothers ended the day with a career-high 18 points and a team-high three steals

– Illinois shot 44 percent from the field overall and 50 percent in the fourth quarter

– Makira Cook led Illinois with 22 points

– Kendall Bostic impacted the action with 11 rebounds and five blocked shots

– Butler shot 42 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3-point range

– The ‘Dawgs ended the game with nine made 3-pointers

– BU did not attempt a free throw in the first half, but would go 6-for-11 from the line in the second

– The Bulldogs only had six turnovers in each half

– Illinois outrebounded Butler 42-28

– BU didn’t have any bench points

– Illinois had eight assists on their first 11 field goals

– Illinois used a 14-0 run to take the lead in the second quarter

– Carrothers and Jaynes combined for 44 points

– Illinois played at Hinkle Fieldhouse for the first time today

– Anna Mortag and Kendall Wingler were not active for Sunday’s game

Up Next

Butler’s first BIG EAST road test will take the team to Milwaukee to face the Marquette Golden Eagles. Tip on Dec. 18 is set for 3 PM.

Women’s Basketball Defeats ACC Foe Pitt in OT; Extends Win Streak to Six

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Ball State (8-2) prevailed in overtime as the Cardinals moved past ACC foe Pitt (6-4) by a score of 68-66 Sunday afternoon in the Petersen Events Center.

The Cardinals are off to one of their best starts in program history. Today’s win marks the first time the Ball State women’s basketball team has defeated Pitt.

Ball State head coach Brady Sallee has now defeated five Power 5 conference teams during his tenure with the Cardinals— Minnesota (54-51, 2012-13), Iowa (77-72, 2015-16), Vanderbilt (88-79, 2017-18), Purdue (66-60, 2017-18) and Pitt (68-66, 2022-23).

“Proud of my teams toughness and resolve today,” Sallee said. “Amazing to see our effort level after four games in nine days!”

Ball State was in the drivers seat most of the contest, holding a lead over Pitt for 27:08 of the game’s 40 minutes. But the contest was a competitive one which caused the game to go into an extra period today.

In overtime, sophomore Madelyn Bischoff nailed a 3-pointer to put the Cardinals up by three (67-64) with 1:32 left. Pitt would answer on the ensuing possession. A few plays later Pitt had the ball but a rebound from redshirt senior Anna Clephane and the ensuing foul on the play sent her to the line. Clephane made only one of her free throws, but that was enough to seal the victory for Ball State.

The Cardinals struggled in the first six minutes of play as Ball State fell behind the Panthers 12-2 at the 6:01 mark. Sophomore Alex Richard drew a foul from the 3-point line and made all three from the charity stripe, which sparked a 14-0 scoring spree for the Cardinals to end the first quarter of play. A made layup by senior Annie Rauch allowed Ball State to take a 16-12 advantage heading into the second quarter.

Pitt quickly knotted the game 16-16 with seconds shaved off the clock in the second stanza. After that, it was a battle between the two squads on both sides of the court. The back-and-forth affair was tied four times before graduate senior Thelma Dis Agustsdottir drained one from behind the arc with 19 seconds on the clock to give Ball State the 29-26 edge over Pitt at intermission.

Sophomore Ally Becki and Bischoff hit back-to-back jumpers to start the Cardinals off hot after halftime to put Ball State up by nine (35-26). Just a few minutes later, Pitt cut the margin back to five (35-30). But Ball State punched back with an 8-4 run to take its largest lead of the ball game (43-30) at the 5:45 mark.

Pitt wouldn’t go away quietly and would come on strong the remainder of the third quarter to make it a close contest. Senior Sydney Shafer was the spark Ball State needed as she came off the bench to hit back-to-back 3-point baskets to put Ball State back up by 10 (53-43). The Cardinals outscored the Panthers in the third stanza, 24-17.

Pitt continued to chop at the heels of the Cardinals in the fourth quarter and managed to tie the game 53-53 with 6:15 remaining in the contest. The final period remained close and would end up going into overtime.

For the game, Richard led Ball State with a career-high 18 points. Agustsdottir chipped in 14 points, while teammates Bischoff and Becki finished the day with 10 apiece. Becki also led the Cardinals with 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.

The Ball State women’s basketball team will take a week off for finals before returning to the road against Tarleton State (Dec. 19) and Richmond (Dec. 20) at the Puerto Rico Classic.

Irish Fall 79-64 To Marquette

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s basketball team (7-3) linked up with an old rival in Marquette (8-3) on Sunday, in what was the 119th meeting between the two. On this afternoon in Purcell Pavilion, it was the Golden Eagles who emerged victorious, 79-64.

It was a five-point game at the half and a seven-point game with 10:41 remaining, but Marquette fired off a pivotal 19-7 spurt in crunch time to open up a big lead. MU did the dirty work in the paint where they scored 50 of their points.

Notre Dame’s Nate Laszewski recorded his third 20-point performance of the season with 20 points to go with his team-high seven rebounds. JJ Starling was the lone other Irish in double figures with 12 points.

Irish shot 23-of-55 (42 percent) compared to Marquette’s 32-of-67 (48 percent). Rebound differential went to the Golden Eagles, 41-32.

How It Happened

Down 11-5 after a slow start, the Irish made five consecutive field goals, with a three from Starling and two treys from Wertz to garner an 18-15 lead at 12:25. Later, Laszewski drilled a shot-clock buzzer-beating three in the corner to maintain the back-and-forth chess match, tying the game at 24-all at 7:58.

At 5:43, a Ryan jumper made it 28-25 Irish, but unfortunately, that marked Notre Dame’s final field goal of the half, as Marquette surged to take a 34-29 halftime lead.

Notre Dame shot 10-of-28 from the field in the first half compared to Marquette’s 14-of-30. Laszweski was the lone Irish player in double figures, with 10 points and six boards at the midway point. Marquette scored 24 of its 34 halftime points in the paint.

The Golden Eagles came out in the second and connected on three straight makes for a quick 7-0 run to push the lead to double digits at 41-29, forcing a ND timeout at 18:47.

Laszweski ended the field goal drought at 17:59 with a much-needed three. Then that was followed up with a big three from Ryan, cutting the gap to 41-35. Yet, the Golden Eagles stymied the Irish rally with an immediate 8-0 run which included back-to-back three-point plays.

Working down 54-39, the Irish mustered a 6-0 run thanks to Lubin and Goodwin before the 10:41 media. Out of the timeout, Irish converted two free throws to push the run to 8-0.

The problem Notre Dame ran into in the second half was that Marquette answered after every big Irish basket. ND recorded a stretch in which they made five of seven, but on three separate occasions, MU responded with a three-point play. That subsequently led to a Marquette 11-0 run from 7:31 to 4:16 which put the game out of reach.

Up Next

The Irish have the next five days to concentrate on finals before jetting off to Atlanta for a Sunday contest against Georgia in State Farm Arena. The game on the 18th will tip off at 5:30 pm ET.

Kent posts career-high as Sycamores fall in OT at Southern Indiana

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Sycamores saw their win streak come to a close Sunday evening with their first true road loss of the season at Southern Indiana, falling 88-85 in overtime to the Screaming Eagles.

There were nine ties and 12 lead changes in the game, and after trailing by as much as six in the first half, Indiana State (9-2, 2-0 MVC) led by a game-high 11 points at 6:19 in the second half. Southern Indiana (5-5, 0-0 OVC) nailed a triple with 35 seconds left in the second half to tie things up at 77-all and send the game into overtime, and it would come down to the final minute of the overtime period where the Eagles knocked down six free throws to help themselves remain undefeated at home this season.

Indiana State got into a 5-0 hole in the first minute of the game but responded with a 9-0 run for a 9-5 lead at 16:00. USI was 0-for-3 with three turnovers in that span. After being down six with 3:53 to go in the first half, the Sycamores went on an 8-0 run featuring a pair of triples from Courvoisier McCauley to go up 36-34 at 1:57. The Eagles, however, nailed back-to-back treys in the last 1:26 to go into the halftime break with a 40-36 lead over ISU.

McCauley picked up where he left off with a triple to open the second half, and back-to-back Cade McKnight layups put the Sycamores up 50-44 at 13:35. McKnight would lay in another basket with 11:49 to go to get into double figures on the scoresheet and push ISU’s lead to double digits at 57-47.

USI cut its deficit back down to four, but then Julian Larry slammed a dunk and Cameron Henry knocked down a 3-pointer to extend ISU’s lead to 64-56 with 8:18 to go. The Sycamores led 74-66 with under four minutes to go, but a USI layup and four straight free throws pulled the Eagles within two points at 74-72 with 1:31 left in the second half. Henry made it 77-74 in favor of ISU with 48 seconds to go, but the Eagles connected from deep to even things up with 35 seconds remaining.

In the closing seconds of regulation, USI pulled down a defensive rebound but went out of bounds to turn the ball back over to the Sycamores with 2.9 seconds on the clock. ISU committed a five-second violation trying to in-bounds the ball to give possession back to USI, but the Eagles missed their buzzer-beater attempt which sent the game to overtime.

The Sycamores took an 84-82 lead with 1:30 to go in overtime after a pair of McCauley free throws and a Jayson Kent layup, but USI would spend a lot of time at the charity stripe across the next minute, hitting five free throws to go up 87-84 with 33 seconds to go. Larry knocked down a free throw of his own with 27 seconds on the clock, and the Eagles grabbed the rebound on his second attempt’s miss but turned it over and ISU called a timeout with 22 seconds left. ISU didn’t get anything to fall coming out of the timeout, and the Eagles added one last free throw in the final eight seconds.

Inside the Numbers

ISU outshot USI 50.8 percent (33-of-65) to 40.0 percent (28-of-70), but USI made 14 3-pointers shooting 45.2 percent from deep compared to ISU’s eight on 27.6 percent shooting beyond the arc.

Trips to the free throw line were lopsided in the game as USI was 18-of-31 from the line while ISU was 11-of-19.

Both teams pulled down 43 rebounds while ISU won the battle on the defensive boards and USI won the battle on the offensive boards.

The Sycamores committed 17 turnovers compared to USI’s 12, and both teams scored 15 points off the other’s miscues.

News & Notes

Sunday’s loss caps ISU’s winning streak at five games, stopping just shy of a six-game win streak in which the Sycamores have accomplished just 15 times since joining the Valley in 1976.

With a four-point deficit going into the halftime break, Sunday is the first time the Sycamores have trailed at halftime this season.

The Sycamores have yet to trail by double digits this season after trailing by a game-high six points tonight late in the first half. ISU is the only Valley team that has not trailed by double digits this season.

Jayson Kent dropped a career-high 20 points tonight on 10-of-17 shooting. He also had a pair of steals, rebounds, and assists.

Cade McKnight posted a Sycamore career-high 11 points in a season-high 26:47 minutes played.

Courvoisier McCauley led the Sycamores with 23 points on the night, which is his fourth 20+ point game of the season and his ninth double digit scoring game this year.

Cameron Henry’s 15 points in the game mark his fifth double-digit scoring game in a row and sixth this season.

Sunday marks the first time ISU has taken a game to overtime since Dec. 7, 2019 at Wright State. The Sycamores won that game 84-77, and Sunday was the first time ISU has lost in overtime since Dec. 31, 2017 against Southern Illinois when they fell 76-72.

Up Next

Indiana State wraps up its four-game road stint next weekend as it makes the trek to the Northeast to face Duquesne Saturday, Dec. 17. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. from Pittsburgh.

Eagles rally to defeat Indiana State in OT

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball rallied late in the second half and overtime to defeat Indiana State University in overtime, 88-85, Sunday afternoon at Screaming Eagles Arena. The Screaming Eagles, who are 2-0 against Missouri Valley Conference opponents this season, are 5-5 after today’s action, while the Sycamores are 9-2.

The first five minutes of the saw the Eagles and the Sycamores trade runs, looking for control. USI started the game with a 5-0 sprint before Indiana State used a 9-0 run to take its first lead of the game, 9-5. The teams would continue to trade buckets until 8:55 with the contest tied, 21-21.

The Eagles surged with a13-7 to post their largest lead of the game, 34-28, on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana). USI was five-of-nine during the run, including three-of-four from beyond the arc.

The Sycamores would climb back into the contest with an 8-0 run to regain the lead, 36-34, with 1:57 left before the Eagles scored the final six points of the half. Swope, who had 12 first half points, sent the Eagles into the locker room with a 40-36 advantage on back-to-back three-point field goals in the final 90 seconds before halftime. The first half featured eight lead changes and five ties.

The second half did not start in favor of the Eagles as the Sycamores scored nine of the first 11 points to regain the advantage, 44-42. Indiana State’s second half surge would extend the lead to 10 points, 57-47, with 11:32 remaining.

Indiana State would hold onto the double-digit lead until the final six minutes of regulation when USI, trailing by 11 points (69-58) mounted a19-8 comeback to tie the game at 77-77 when Swope drained a three-point bomb with 35 seconds left. Swope and graduate forward Trevor Lakes (Lebanon, Indiana) led the USI comeback with seven points each as the Eagles were six-of-seven from the field and three-of-four from beyond the arc as a team during the rally.

In overtime, USI scored the first four points to take a quick, 81-77 advantage before the Sycamores railed to regain the lead, 84-82, with 1:30 left. The Eagles would take advantage of trips to the free throw line to jump back into the lead. Senior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) tied the game at 84-84 with 1:09 left, while junior guard Tyler Henry (Brooklyn, New York) gave USI the lead for good with a pair of charity shots with 54 ticks left on the clock.

Swope would seal the victory in two more trips to the line. He would make one of two at 33 seconds and eight seconds for the 88-85 victory.

In the scoring column, Swope led five players in double-digits with a career-high 28 points. He was a blistering eight-of-12 from the field, eight-of-nine from downtown, and four-of-eight from the line. The sophomore also had a team-high four assists.

Lakes and junior guard Gary Solomon (Detroit, Michigan) followed Swope in the scoring column with 15 points each. Lakes also completed his first double-double of the year with 12 rebounds.

Polakovich dropped in 14 points and completed his second double-double of the season with 11 rebounds, while Henry rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.

Next Up 2022-23:

USI concludes the three-game homestand at Screaming Eagles Arena Thursday when it hosts St. Mary’s of the Woods College for the first time in program history. The tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

The SMWC Pomeroys are 4-7 after an 89-84 win over Oakland City University Saturday afternoon. SMWC was led by guard/forward Keith Germain, who had 27 points in the win.

For the season, SMWC is led by junior guard Tarik Dixon, who is posting 15.4 points per game, and Germain, who is averaging 13.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per contest.

Hounds Topple Saints For Third Straight Road Win

ST. LOUIS – The UIndy men’s basketball team (8-2, 3-2 GLVC) earned another road win on Sunday evening, snagging a 75-58 decision at Maryville (9-3, 3-2 GLVC).

The Greyhounds led for more than 39 minutes in the victory, with Kendrick Tchoua posting his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Jesse Bingham led the Hounds with 18 points, finishing with that total in three of the past four contests.

HOW IT HAPPENED

A 3-pointer from Josiah Tynes just 22 seconds into the league bout gave the Greyhounds for good in the wire-to-wire win. UIndy grew a 17-point halftime advantage on the heels of an eight-for-17 mark from deep in the first 20 minutes, including a pair from each of Jakobie Robinson and Jarvis Walker. Tynes led the squad with three triples in the opening half.

Tchoua grabbed seven of his 12 boards in the first half, including two on the offensive glass.

Despite leading the team in the scoring column, Bingham tallied 12 of his 18 after the break to help the Hounds pull away. The redshirt-sophomore drove to the rim following a defensive board from Robinson to stretch the UIndy advantage to a game-high 21 with 9:33 remaining.

Bingham went six-of-eight from the floor in the second half, with all points coming in the paint.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– UIndy dominated the glass, outrebounding Maryville, 45-26. Tchoua led all players with 12 boards.

– Tynes was steady at point, finishing with 15 points, five assists, and two steals.

– Speaking of helpers, Robinson and Bruno Williams also dished out five assists.

– The 11th double-double of his career, Tchoua posted a season-best 12 rebounds in the win.

HOUND BYTES

Head coach Paul Corsaro on the team’s road win…

“Being 5-1 on the road with the quality of competition we’ve played, I’m really proud of our guys. We still have one challenging road game coming up that we need to keep this mentality.”

Corsaro on the team’s rebounding…

“We put a huge emphasize on rebounding this week. It’s great to see us get back to who we are.”

UP NEXT

UIndy returns home for a quick turnaround, hosting NAIA Judson on Tuesday in Nicoson Hall at 7 p.m.

Greyhounds Lose at Maryville Despite Second Half Comeback

ST. LOUIS – The UIndy women’s basketball team (5-5, 3-2 GLVC) trailed by 15 at the half and had its huge second half comeback fall short as the Hounds dropped a game 88-83 to Maryville (7-3, 4-1 GLVC) on Sunday afternoon at the Moloney Arena.

It was another big game for Sadie Hill who matched both her career-highs in scoring with 25 points and rebounding with 13. This is the third double-double of the season for her. Idalis Ortiz also scored in double figured with 13 while Lauren With and Ilani Williams-Harris each corralled 11 points each.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Hounds trailed by 10 after one quarter which was mostly due to Maryville going 11-of-13 from the field while UIndy was at just 7-of-20 in return. The Greyhounds were able to trim their deficit down to eight before Maryville rattled off a big rest of the half to go up by 15 heading into the halftime locker room.

A big burst out of the intermission that saw the Hounds execute a 15-4 scoring run helped the team get within arm’s reach of the Saints. Notably, a successful three-point play by Hill with one tenth of a second remaining in the third cut the Maryville lead down to just two.

Despite the huge second half comeback, UIndy was never able to get over the hurdle and failed to lead at all in the contest despite tying things up with under two minutes remaining.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

-The Hounds finished shooting 42.7 percent (32-of-75) while Marvyille was at 48.2 percent (27-of-56)

-UIndy pulled in 17 offensive rebounds while the Saints had just six. Each team had 26 defensive boards.

-A total of 12 turnovers were committed by the Greyhounds while the Saints had 14.

UP NEXT

UIndy will return to Nicoson Hall on Thursday for a game against Bethel (IN). Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. ET.

NFL STANDINGS

American Football Conference

Pct

Home

Road

vs. Conf

vs. Div

Streak

Buffalo Bills

.769

0.0

353

221

5 – 1 – 0

5 – 2 – 0

7 – 2 – 0

2 – 2 – 0

4 W

Kansas City Chiefs

.769

0.0

384

298

5 – 1 – 0

5 – 2 – 0

6 – 3 – 0

4 – 0 – 0

1 W

Baltimore Ravens

.692

0.0

301

250

4 – 2 – 0

5 – 2 – 0

6 – 3 – 0

3 – 0 – 0

2 W

Tennessee Titans

.538

0.0

241

276

3 – 3 – 0

4 – 3 – 0

5 – 4 – 0

3 – 1 – 0

3 L

Cincinnati Bengals

.692

0.0

335

265

5 – 1 – 0

4 – 3 – 0

6 – 3 – 0

2 – 3 – 0

5 W

Miami Dolphins

.615

0.0

316

312

5 – 1 – 0

3 – 4 – 0

6 – 3 – 0

2 – 1 – 0

2 L

Los Angeles Chargers

.538

0.0

295

326

3 – 3 – 0

4 – 3 – 0

5 – 4 – 0

2 – 3 – 0

1 W

New York Jets

.538

1.0

264

243

3 – 3 – 0

4 – 3 – 0

5 – 5 – 0

2 – 3 – 0

2 L

New England Patriots

.500

1.5

249

226

3 – 3 – 0

5 – 3 – 0

2 – 2 – 0

2 L

Jacksonville Jaguars

.385

3.0

294

3 – 3 – 0

2 – 5 – 0

5 – 4 – 0

2 – 2 – 0

1 W

Las Vegas Raiders

.385

3.0

308

313

3 – 2 – 0

2 – 6 – 0

4 – 5 – 0

3 – 2 – 0

1 L

Cleveland Browns

.385

3.0

300

323

3 – 3 – 0

2 – 5 – 0

3 – 7 – 0

2 – 2 – 0

1 L

Pittsburgh Steelers

.385

3.0

227

293

2 – 4 – 0

3 – 4 – 0

2 – 7 – 0

1 – 3 – 0

1 L

Indianapolis Colts

.346

3.5

209

298

2 – 4 – 0

2 – 4 – 1

4 – 5 – 1

1 – 3 – 1

3 L

Denver Broncos

.231

5.0

194

238

2 – 4 – 0

1 – 6 – 0

2 – 8 – 0

0 – 4 – 0

5 L

Houston Texans

.115

6.5

211

314

0 – 5 – 1

1 – 6 – 0

1 – 6 – 1

1 – 1 – 1

8 L

National Football Conference

Pct

Home

Road

vs. Conf

vs. Div

Streak

x-Philadelphia Eagles

.923

0.0

386

248

6 – 1 – 0

6 – 0 – 0

7 – 1 – 0

3 – 1 – 0

4 W

Minnesota Vikings

.769

0.0

312

313

6 – 1 – 0

4 – 2 – 0

6 – 3 – 0

3 – 1 – 0

1 L

San Francisco 49ers

.692

0.0

317

197

6 – 1 – 0

3 – 3 – 0

7 – 2 – 0

4 – 0 – 0

6 W

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

.462

0.0

224

254

4 – 3 – 0

2 – 4 – 0

6 – 3 – 0

3 – 1 – 0

1 L

Dallas Cowboys

.769

0.0

360

229

7 – 1 – 0

3 – 2 – 0

7 – 3 – 0

3 – 1 – 0

4 W

Washington Commanders

.577

0.0

253

256

3 – 3 – 0

4 – 2 – 1

4 – 4 – 1

1 – 2 – 1

1 T

New York Giants

.577

0.0

267

300

4 – 3 – 1

3 – 2 – 0

3 – 5 – 1

0 – 3 – 1

1 L

Seattle Seahawks

.538

0.5

342

334

3 – 3 – 0

4 – 3 – 0

5 – 5 – 0

3 – 1 – 0

1 L

Detroit Lions

.462

1.5

349

347

4 – 4 – 0

2 – 3 – 0

5 – 4 – 0

3 – 1 – 0

2 W

Green Bay Packers

.385

2.5

263

302

3 – 3 – 0

2 – 5 – 0

4 – 5 – 0

2 – 2 – 0

1 W

Carolina Panthers

.385

2.5

260

290

4 – 3 – 0

1 – 5 – 0

4 – 5 – 0

3 – 1 – 0

2 W

Atlanta Falcons

.385

2.5

288

312

4 – 3 – 0

1 – 5 – 0

4 – 5 – 0

1 – 3 – 0

2 L

Arizona Cardinals

.333

3.0

264

321

1 – 6 – 0

3 – 2 – 0

3 – 6 – 0

1 – 4 – 0

2 L

New Orleans Saints

.308

3.5

265

297

3 – 4 – 0

1 – 5 – 0

3 – 6 – 0

1 – 3 – 0

2 L

Los Angeles Rams

.308

3.5

218

296

3 – 5 – 0

1 – 4 – 0

3 – 7 – 0

1 – 4 – 0

1 W

Chicago Bears

.231

4.5

270

333

2 – 4 – 0

1 – 6 – 0

1 – 8 – 0

0 – 4 – 0

6 L

NBA STANDINGS

Eastern Conference

Pct

Conf GB

Home

Road

Div

Conf

Last 10

Streak

1 Boston

.778

—

11-2

10-4

4-0

14-5

8-2

1 L

2 Milwaukee

.731

1.5

12-3

7-4

4-1

11-4

7-3

1 L

3 Cleveland

.630

4.0

12-2

5-8

3-2

13-5

6-4

1 W

4 Brooklyn

.571

5.5

10-5

6-7

4-2

12-6

8-2

3 W

5 Philadelphia

.538

6.5

9-5

5-7

2-3

11-8

6-4

2 W

6 Atlanta

.519

7.0

9-5

5-8

2-2

10-10

4-6

1 W

7 Indiana

.519

7.0

8-5

6-8

1-1

10-5

4-6

1 L

8 New York

.519

7.0

7-7

7-6

1-2

9-6

6-4

4 W

9 Toronto

.481

8.0

10-3

3-11

1-5

9-11

4-6

2 L

10 Miami

.444

9.0

9-6

3-9

5-1

7-9

5-5

1 L

11 Chicago

.423

9.5

7-5

4-10

2-1

9-7

5-5

1 L

12 Washington

.407

10.0

8-6

3-10

3-3

7-12

1-9

6 L

13 Orlando

.286

13.5

7-9

1-11

1-3

4-15

3-7

3 W

14 Charlotte

.259

14.0

4-9

3-11

3-5

4-15

3-7

5 L

15 Detroit

.241

15.0

4-9

3-13

0-5

2-14

3-7

3 L

Western Conference

Pct

Conf GB

Home

Road

Div

Conf

Last 10

Streak

1 New Orleans

.692

—

12-3

6-5

5-1

12-5

9-1

7 W

2 Memphis

.654

1.0

11-2

6-7

3-2

8-6

7-3

5 W

3 Denver

.615

2.0

7-3

9-7

6-2

14-6

6-4

2 W

4 Phoenix

.593

2.5

12-3

4-8

5-0

13-7

5-5

4 L

5 Sacramento

.560

3.5

8-4

6-7

3-4

5-6

5-5

1 L

6 Portland

.538

4.0

6-6

8-6

3-2

10-7

4-6

1 W

7 LA Clippers

.536

4.0

7-6

8-7

3-3

10-10

4-6

1 W

8 Golden State

.519

4.5

12-2

2-11

4-3

9-8

6-4

1 W

9 Utah

.517

4.5

9-5

6-9

3-4

13-9

3-7

2 L

10 Dallas

.500

5.0

10-4

3-9

1-2

8-5

4-6

2 L

11 Minnesota

.500

5.0

7-7

6-6

3-3

7-9

5-5

1 L

12 LA Lakers

.423

7.0

6-6

5-9

0-5

6-10

6-4

1 W

13 Oklahoma City

.423

7.0

6-5

5-10

1-5

5-9

4-6

2 L

14 San Antonio

.308

10.0

4-10

4-8

1-3

3-16

2-8

2 W

15 Houston

.308

10.0

5-5

3-13

1-3

4-14

5-5

1 W

NHL STANDINGS

Eastern Conference
	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	ROW	GF	GA	Home	Road	L10
1 Boston Bruins	27	22	4	1	45	21	106	58	14-0-1	8-4-0	7-2-1
2 New Jersey Devils	27	21	5	1	43	21	100	63	10-4-1	11-1-0	7-2-1
3 Toronto Maple Leafs	29	18	5	6	42	18	93	70	10-2-3	8-3-3	8-0-2
4 Carolina Hurricanes	27	15	6	6	36	13	80	73	5-3-1	10-3-5	5-1-4
5 Pittsburgh Penguins	28	16	8	4	36	15	100	83	8-3-2	8-5-2	8-1-1
6 Tampa Bay Lightning	27	17	9	1	35	17	95	82	10-4-1	7-5-0	7-3-0
7 New York Islanders	29	17	12	0	34	17	92	80	9-6-0	8-6-0	6-4-0
8 New York Rangers	29	14	10	5	33	13	89	82	5-6-4	9-4-1	5-4-1

9 Detroit Red Wings	27	13	8	6	32	12	84	86	7-4-3	6-4-3	5-3-2
10 Washington Capitals	30	14	12	4	32	14	87	89	8-4-1	6-8-3	7-2-1
11 Florida Panthers	29	13	12	4	30	12	98	98	7-3-3	6-9-1	4-4-2
12 Montreal Canadiens	27	13	12	2	28	10	82	96	6-7-0	7-5-2	5-4-1
13 Buffalo Sabres	28	12	14	2	26	11	109	103	6-8-2	6-6-0	5-3-2
14 Philadelphia Flyers	29	9	13	7	25	9	70	96	6-8-1	3-5-6	2-5-3
15 Ottawa Senators	27	11	14	2	24	11	83	89	6-8-0	5-6-2	5-4-1
16 Columbus Blue Jackets	27	10	15	2	22	10	80	111	8-10-1	2-5-1	4-5-1

Western Conference
	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	ROW	GF	GA	Home	Road	L10
1 Vegas Golden Knights	30	20	9	1	41	18	98	80	8-7-0	12-2-1	5-5-0
2 Winnipeg Jets	27	18	8	1	37	18	89	69	10-4-0	8-4-1	7-3-0
3 Dallas Stars	28	16	7	5	37	16	105	81	9-3-3	7-4-2	5-2-3
4 Seattle Kraken	27	16	8	3	35	16	96	85	7-6-2	9-2-1	7-3-0
5 Los Angeles Kings	31	15	11	5	35	14	106	112	7-5-2	8-6-3	4-3-3
6 Colorado Avalanche	26	14	10	2	30	12	82	74	5-4-2	9-6-0	4-5-1
7 Edmonton Oilers	28	16	12	0	32	16	102	97	9-7-0	7-5-0	6-4-0
8 Minnesota Wild	27	14	11	2	30	11	86	84	7-6-1	7-5-1	7-3-0

9 Calgary Flames	28	13	11	4	30	12	86	87	10-5-1	3-6-3	4-4-2
10 Vancouver Canucks	28	12	13	3	27	12	97	109	5-7-1	7-6-2	6-4-0
11 Nashville Predators	25	12	11	2	26	10	67	78	7-4-2	5-7-0	6-3-1
12 St. Louis Blues	28	12	15	1	25	11	84	108	5-7-1	7-8-0	2-7-1
13 San Jose Sharks	30	9	16	5	23	8	93	110	2-8-5	7-8-0	3-5-2
14 Arizona Coyotes	26	9	13	4	22	9	72	96	3-2-1	6-11-3	3-4-3
15 Chicago Blackhawks	26	7	15	4	18	7	62	94	4-8-2	3-7-2	1-8-1
16 Anaheim Ducks	28	7	18	3	17	5	70	120	5-7-0	2-11-3	2-6-2

NFL HISTORY

Formation of the SEC’s predecessor

December 12, 1920 – Gainesville, Florida- At a meeting of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association the larger schools reorganized into the Southern Conference. According to the post on secsports.com the member schools at that time were Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, Maryland, North Carolina State, Washington and Lee, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

December 12, 1926 – Kansas City, Missouri – The Kansas City Cowboys played the franchises fnal game as travel to and from KC was too much for the young NFL teams. The final game was a 12-7 win over the Duluth Eskimos at Muehlebach Field per the Sportsecylopedia.com.

December 12, 1936 – 1937 NFL Draft had Sam Francis from University of Nebraska going as the number one first pick by Philadelphia Eagles. Pro Football Hall of Fame players that came out of this Draft class according to the Pro Football Reference were quarterback Sammy Baugh from TCU as the sixth overall pick by Washington and fellow QB Ace Parker of Duke chosen by the Brooklyn Dodgers in the second round.

December 12, 1937 -Wrigley Field, Chicago – National Football League Championship was played on a sloppy muddy field surface with temperatures at kick near 24 degrees F. Quarterback Sammy Baugh was quoted as saying that it was the worst field conditions that he had ever seen per a story on the Grueling Truth.com website. The field had frozen chards of mud sticking up across its surface and many players were reported to be cut up by them when they landed on the turf. The game got heated in the final stanza though by fine play. Trailing 21-14 in the fourth quarter, Baugh went to work. In the near arctic conditions Slingin Sammy Baugh hit Wayne Milner on a 78-yard bomb and completed the comeback on a 35-yard strike to Ed Justice late in the game for the go-ahead touchdown. The Washington Redskins became the Champs as they beat the Chicago Bears, 28-21.

December 12, 1937 – In the 1938 NFL Draft the Cleveland Rams chose Corbett Davis from University of Indiana with the first pick .

December 12, 1950 – Vic Janowicz the fine halfback from the Ohio State Buckeyes won the 16th Heisman Trophy.

December 12, 1964 – Cleveland Browns’ Frank Ryan set a franchise record of 5 TD passes as he went 12 of 13 for 202 yards per the Browns Nation website. Ryan even ran in for another score as Cleveland upended the Giants that day 52-20.

December 12, 1965 – Wrigley Field, Chicago – Chicago Bears Rookie halfback Gale Sayers ties the NFL record for most touchdowns in a game with a half dozen in Chicago’s 61–20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers at a muddy Wrigley Field per a Chicago Tribune.com story. Sayers had 4 rushing touchdowns on only 9 carries. He took another one across the goal line stripe via a reception and then added a coast to coast punt return for good measure. He could have probably had a seventh score on the day but Coach George Halas pulled him from the game in the fourth quarter right before the Bears scored again!

December 12, 1976 – Quarterback Joe Namath played his last game as a New York Jets player. Yes Broadway Joe played his last season in the NFL with the LA Rams

December 12, 1992 – The season’s Heisman Trophy Award was earned by Gino Torretta, University of Miami quarterback. The Hurricanes went undefeated in ‘92 and Gino T. was a big part of it. His 3070 yards passing and 19 touchdowns helped pave the way to keep the Miami team on a 29 game winning streak, with 23 of them having Torretta at the helm. The Davey O’Brien, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm and the Maxwell Awards all were on the Torretta mantle after that season. Gino’s great year helped him to edge out running back Marshall Faulk for the Trophy.

December 12, 2011 – Robert Griffin III the quarterback from Baylor took home the Heisman Trophy for the 2011 season per Heisman.com. The Junior signal caller was the first Baylor Bear to have the Heisman in his trophy case. Robert’s pass efficiency mark of 192.31 was the highest ever in Heisman history and his passing of just shy of 4000 yards with 36 TDs was nothing to sneeze at. Griffin also added 9 more scores and 644 yards with his ground game.RGIII also took home the Manning Award and the O’Brien Award for his top notch throwing.

December 12, 2021 – The 108th Grey Cup Game was played in the CFL and after waiting 750 days the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defended their title. Missing the entire 2020 season due to the pandemic the Bombers played a very good Hamilton Tiger-Cats team and won in Overtime 33-25 after Winnipeg’s Zach Collaros, the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player in 2021, hit a wide-open Darvin Adams in the end zone. The Winnipeg team then made good on the 2-point conversion to give the Blue Bombers the lead. Winnipeg then intercepted Jeremiah Masoli on Hamilton’s overtime possession to seal the victory and keep the Cup.

December 12, 2021 – Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers reached yet another brilliant milestone as he threw his 700th career touchdown pass in a game that the Bucs won in Overtime over the visiting Buffalo Bills.

HALL OF FAME BIRTHDAYS FOR DECEMBER 12

December 12, 1881 – Muncie, Indiana – Zora G. Clevenger the halfback from the University of Indiana was born. According to IUHoosiers.com, Z.G. Clevenger played football for the Hoosiers program from 1900 through the 1903 season, and he captained the team in that final year. After graduation Clevenger stayed on at Indiana for a few more years coaching both the football and basketball teams that he once starred on. He left the Hosiers for a period of time and served as a coach and an Athletic Director at Tennessee, Kansas State, and Missouri. Zora later became Indiana’s Athletic Director 1923-46. Zora Clevenger joined the ranks of the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968.

December 12, 1904 – The guard of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, John “Clipper” Smith arrived into the world. Clipper was coached by Knute Rockne on the teams just after the famed “Four Horsemen” backfield had graduated. The National Football Foundation voted John Smith into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975.

December 12, 1914 – The center from the University of California Bob Herwig celebrated his day of birth. Footballfoundation.org relays that the North American Newspaper Alliance’s Board said this of Herwig; “An expert snapper and a first-rate tackler…he gets the edge over others of his caliber because of the 60-minute ball games he has played from start to finish.” That sounds like a pretty solid guy in the middle. The NFF voters selected Bob Herwig to enter into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1964.

December 12, 1930 – Bethlehem, Pennsylvania – The University of Kentucky’s multi position playmaker Steve Meilinger was born. In fact Steve was so versatile that he was aptly called ‘Mr. Anywhere.” The NFF’s bio on Meilinger states that he was a two-time First-Team All-America selection in 1952 and 1953 and under Hall of Fame head coach Bear Bryant, Meilinger led Kentucky to victory in the 1952 Cotton Bowl over TCU. In 2013 the College Football Hall of Fame inducted Steve Meilinger into their fold. Steve entered the NFL and played for the Washington Redskins after being picked by them in the 1954 NFL Draft. He also played with the Packers and Steelers in his 6 year NFL career.

December 12, 1962 – – Brad Calip the quarterback from East Central University came into this life. The National Football Foundation says that Calip and his Orange Rush offense led the nation in rushing and finished among the leaders in scoring and total offense. Brad himself rushed for 1002 yards and 14 TDs on the ground. In his senior season of 1984 he made his offense almost unstoppable as he refined his passing skills. In that campaign Calip used his legs for 19 touchdowns and 1135 yards while the aerial assault he launched garnered another 1185 yards and 13 additional scores. The NFF found a palace for the name and stats of one Brad Calip in their College Football Hall of Fame in 2003.

December 12, 1967 – – The defensive tackle from Texas A&M Kingsville, John Randle was delivered. John was voted as a first team All-American player in 1988 according to the footballfoundation.org’s bio on him. John’s 105 tackles and 34 career sacks helped him and his Javelina teammates to enjoy two trips into the NCAA Division II playoffs. The NFF voters selected John Randall to enter into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008. Randle played 14 years in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings and the Seattle Seahawks. Named an All-Pro seven times, there were 8 seasons where John recorded double-digit sacks, including when he led the NFL with a career-high 15.5 sacks in 1997. At the time he retired Randle’s 137.5 sacks were the top career total by a defensive tackle in NFL history. John Randle was ennshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as well in 2010.

BASEBALL HISTORY

1903 The Cardinals trade Mordecai Brown and catcher Jack O’Neill to the Cubs in exchange for backstop Larry McLean and Jack Taylor, a righty who will set the record for consecutive complete games in one season next year with 39 when he compiles a 20-19 record for the Redbirds. The future Hall of Fame right-hander, nicknamed Three Finger due to a farm-machinery accident when he was 11 years old, will post a 188-86 (.686) record, including six consecutive seasons of 20+ wins, during his ten-year tenure with Chicago.

1913 The Reds trade outfielder Bob Bescher to the Giants for shortstop Buck Herzog, who will become the team’s player-manager, replacing Joe Tinker in the Cincinnati dugout. In his 2+ plus seasons, the club’s new skipper will compile a 165-226 (.422) record, never finishing higher than seventh place in the eight-team circuit.

1920 Major League Baseball approaches U.S. District Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who will be elected and assume the post in January, to be its first commissioner. The selection of the tough-minded jurist is seen as a move by the owners to restore the faith in the game after the 1919 World Series scandal that involved eight White Sox players paid off by professional gamblers to throw the Fall Classic against Cincinnati. Judge and Jury: The Life and Times of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis Judge and Jury: The Life and Times of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis

1930 The rules committee decides a ball that bounces into the stands will no longer be a home run but will become a ground-rule double. Babe Ruth’s career total of round-trippers may have been slightly higher due to the existing ground rules in various ballparks at the time; however, research has never uncovered any of his 60 home runs in 1927 hopped into the seats.

1933 The A’s swap their ace Lefty Grove, along with Rube Wallberg and Max Bishop to the Red Sox for Bob Kline, Rabbit Warstler, and $125,000. The 33-year-old future Hall of Fame southpaw continues to pitch well for his new team, compiling a 105-62 (.629) record and will lead the league with the best ERA four of the eight seasons he hurls for Boston.

1941 The Dodgers obtain Arky Vaughn from the Pirates for right-hander Luke Hamlin, 1B/OF Jimmy Wasdell, and catcher Babe Phelps. The future Hall of Fame infielder, who will have his stint in Brooklyn interrupted by WWII, plays four seasons for the club, compiling a .291 batting average.

1950 The owners drop the bonus and high school rule, designed to prevent the wealthier clubs from monopolizing the available talent. The previous edict mandated that all ‘bonus’ players stay on the major league roster one season in the minors.

1952 Peter J. McGovern becomes the Little League’s president, replacing Charles Durban, who resigned due to ill health. The organization started with two leagues in 1939 has grown to 1,800 in 48 states and international sites.

1966 The U.S. Supreme Court, with Justices W. Douglas, H.Black, and W.Brennan in favor, but opposed by Chief Justice E.Warren, and Associate Justices P. Stewart, J. Marshall Harlan II, B. White, and T.Clark, refuse to review Wisconsin’s suit to block the Braves’ move to Atlanta by a 4-3 vote. The team initially announced its intention to move to the Peach State for the 1965 season, but the injunction filed by the state in Wisconsin forced the club to stay put in Milwaukee for one final year.

1979 Re-entry free agents second baseman Rennie Stennett, catcher Milt May, and outfielder Jim Wohlford sign with the Giants. The combined total of the contracts is nearly $5 million.

1998 After being given his last rites, Hall of Fame outfielder Joe DiMaggio appears to make a miraculous recovery, defying his doctors’ dire predictions. In mid-January, the ‘Yankee Clipper’ is allowed to go home after a 99-day hospital stay but will die at his home in Florida on March 8 after a long battle with lung cancer.

1998 Kevin Brown signs a seven-year deal with the Dodgers, becoming baseball’s first 100+ million dollar man. The right-handed free agent, who posted an 18-7 record last season with the Padres, is the first major leaguer to earn an average salary of $15 million per season, much to the chagrin of the other owners.

2007 In a six-player deal, the Orioles trade former American League MVP Miguel Tejada to the Astros for three pitchers (Matt Albers, Troy Patton, Dennis Sarfate), outfielder Luke Scott, and third baseman Michael Costanzo. The acquisition of the four-time All-Star shortstop is the latest move in a busy offseason for Houston, which includes signing free-agent second baseman Kaz Matsui and trading reliever Brad Lidge to the Phillies for Michael Bourn.

2007 Free-agent Aaron Rowand (.309, 27, 89) and the Giants agree to a $60-million, five-year deal. The 30-year-old Gold Glove center fielder is expected to bat fifth and will help fill the void in the outfield created by the departure of Barry Bonds.

2007 Paul Lo Duca and the Nationals agree to a $5 million, one-year deal that puts the former Mets catcher behind Washington’s home plate. The free-agent backstop became expendable and much-needed in the same instance when New York dealt Lastings Milledge to get the Nats starting catcher, Brian Schneider.

2008 The Yankees sign their second ace this week as the club reaches an agreement with free-agent A.J. Burnett. The Bronx Bombers ink the former Blue Jays right-hander to an $82.5 million, five-year deal after giving CC Sabathia $161 million over seven years two days ago.

2008 The Pirates sign Ramon Vazquez, the only player with major league experience added to the club during the winter meetings, to a two-year deal worth $4 million. The versatile infielder played all four infield positions last season while compiling a career-high .290 batting average with the Rangers.

2008 The Mets, reeling from their second consecutive season-ending collapse, continue to overhaul their much-maligned bullpen, which blew 29 saves in 72 chances (40%). Scott Schoeneweis joins Joe Smith and Aaron Heilman in becoming the latest New York reliever to be traded when the southpaw goes to the Diamondbacks for Connor Robertson, a right-hander acquired by Arizona in the Dan Haren deal.

2009 Brandon Lyon (6-5, 2.86) and the Astros finalize their $15 million, three-year deal. The Tigers’ former right-handed reliever, who saved 26 games for Arizona in 2008, hopes to be the club’s closer but may be used in Houston as the set-up man to get to Matt Lindstrom.

2013 The Mariners land the most sought-after free agent when the team signs Robinson Cano to a 10-year, $240-million contract, a value that equals Albert Pujols’ deal with the Angels for the third-largest in baseball history. The Yankees, the 32-year-old’s former team who did not want to commit those kinds of dollars or years for their All-Star second baseman, recently inked outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury for $153 million (7 years) and catcher Brian McCann for $85 million (5 years).

SPORTS IN NUMBERS

38 – 32 – 31 – 10 – 13 – 40 – 12 – 13 – 9 – 6 – 1 – 7

December 12, 1936 – 1937 NFL Draft: Sam Francis, Number 38 from the University of Nebraska was the first pick by Philadelphia Eagles. The Huskers retired Sam’s Number 38 jersey in his honor.

December 12, 1937 – 1938 NFL Draft: Corbett Davis, Number 32 from the University of Indiana first pick by the Cleveland Rams organization.

December 12, 1950 – 16th Heisman Trophy Award won by Ohio State halfback, Number 31, Vic Janowicz

December 12, 1961 – Ballon d’Or: Juventus’ Argentine forward Omar Sívori (Number unknown) won the award for best football player in Europe ahead of Spanish midfielder Luis Suárez (Number 10) and English forward Johnny Haynes (Number 10)

December 12, 1964 – Cleveland Browns’ Number 13, Frank Ryan set a franchise record of 5 TD passes in a 52-20 playoff clinching win over the New York Giants

December 12, 1965 – Chicago halfback Number 40, Gale Sayers tied an NFL record for most touchdowns in a game with 6 in 61–20 victory over San Francisco 49ers at Wrigley Field

December 12, 1976 – NFL QB, Number 12, Joe Namath played his last game as a New York Jet

December 12, 1987 – Oklahoma Sooners, Mookie Blaylock, Number 10 of sets NCAA record of 12 steals in a game against Centenary

December 12, 1992 – 58th Heisman Trophy Award won by Miami Hurricanes Quarterback, Number 13, Gino Torretta

December 12, 2002 – Ballon d’Or: Inter/Real Madrid forward Ronaldo, Number 9 was named best football player in Europe for a second time ahead of Real Madrid left back Number 6, Roberto Carlos and Bayern Munich goalkeeper, Number 1, Oliver Kahn

December 12, 2011 – 77th Heisman Trophy Award was won by Baylor Quarterback, Number 10, Robert Griffin IIIDecember 12, 2016 – Ballon d’Or: Real Madrid forward Number 7, Cristiano Ronaldo claimed the award for the 4th time; record winning margin of 429 from Lionel Messi (Number 10)