When he arrived on campus at the University of Minnesota in the fall of 2024, Brodie Ziemer became the first Gopher in more than 100 years of hockey to wear number 74.

Serving as captain of Team USA in the World Juniors, which started on Friday in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Ziemer is wearing 74 in red, white and blue as well.

The source of those unique digits is a point of some debate at the Ziemer home in Carver. Brodie’s father Eric was born in 1974 and is convinced that it’s a paternal tribute. His mother Nicole thinks it comes from watching another Minnesotan – TJ Oshie – wear that number for Team USA in his famous one-man shootout show at the Winter Olympics in 2014.

The newest American 74 was on the ice of Grand Casino on Friday night, setting up a first-period goal and coming oh so close to a breakaway goal of his own in the second period. Team USA prevailed 6-3 over Germany in the opener — Ziemer’s first since being named the team’s captain following their pre-Christmas training camp in Duluth.

Looking a bit relieved and winded after Game 1, Ziemer confirmed — sorry dad — that Oshie was the inspiration for his unique digits, and talked about the honor and pressure that comes from wearing the C on his sweater.

“I’m so honored. Like, I’m feeling super blessed,” he said. “Such a good group of dudes to be able to be captain for, getting to do it on such a big stage in my home state. Just super blessed, super lucky.”

If there was grumbling among the Gopher haters out there when one of the top players in maroon and gold was named captain on an American team led by U head man Bob Motzko, the coach made it clear that the players, not the staff, always pick the captains on his teams.

“Obviously these guys are tight. We had nine returning players … and we spoke with all of those guys individually,” Motzko said following the Germany game. “You’ve got to know, this wasn’t a Bob Motzko thing with one of his players.”

Ziemer, 19, was named the Gophers’ top rookie last season, which would be the highlight of any player’s winter. But the gold medal he won with Team USA in Ottawa at the 2025 World Juniors was clearly the high point in a career, so far.

Motzko noted that in talking with those returnees from the 2025 gold medal team, almost to a man they chose number 74 to be the 2026 team captain.

“The leadership group is great, but if there’s one guy they leaned on, it’s Brodie,” Motzko said.

As his parents took a breather after the first period on Friday, they reflected on the youngest of their three children and how Brodie was the classic little brother, determined to outwork his siblings in everything.

“He was always trying to keep up, absolutely. His older brother never gave him an inch of leeway, and his sister was just as tough,” Eric Ziemer said. Their oldest, Brady, played college hockey at St. Cloud State and Augustana. Their daughter Brier was a college volleyball player.

“His sister took care of him really well, but it was competitive,” Eric said.

One of the earliest indicators that a young Brodie was into hockey would become obvious whenever it snowed.

“I gave him a hard time, because we had a rink in our backyard, and it would snow,” Nicole Ziemer said. “He would shovel the rink, but he wouldn’t shovel the driveway. The rink is clear, but I can’t get out of my driveway.”

The Ziemers made the tough decision to have Brodie move away when he was 14, first to Faribault where he won a 14U national title at Shattuck-St. Mary’s, then to Michigan where he skated for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program for two years.

It was there that the Ziemer parents made friends with the families of other players who today are college rivals, but teammates on Team USA once again.

“We have a group of the Hagens, the Eisermans, the Stigas and the Plantes, and it’s a great group,” Nicole said.

That friendship and growing team chemistry was on display early on Friday, as Ziemer’s set-up pass to Will Horcoff produced a 3-0 U.S. lead.

“He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met, just seeing his habits on and off the ice,” Horcoff said, praising the decision to bestow the C on Ziemer. “It makes you want to do the same.”

As the old friends from the parent group gather in Minnesota this year to pursue another gold medal, the local families are playing host and hoping to treat their friends from Illinois, Massachusetts and New York to a taste of winter fun around these parts.

Eric has an ice fishing outing planned, but the weather is causing problems.

“It’s getting warm, but hopefully at the end of the week we’ll go back out,” he said. “But they aren’t dressed for that when they come to watch hockey, and I don’t have enough gear for everyone. We’ll see.”

At least, if the forecast is correct, there will be no need to shovel the Ziemer family driveway.

Former Boles Lady Hornet Bailey Miller, who just finished her college career with 28-4 Arizona State, is joining an Austin team in an indoor professional volleyball league.

The Austin team in the League One Volleyball league announced the addition of the 6-3 Miller.

As an outside hitter this past season at Arizona State, Miller earned first-team All-Big 12 honors, All-Pacific All-Region honors, academic all-district honors and was named to the honorable mention list on the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s all-America team.

Miller finished second on the team in kills for the season with 392 to go with 37 assists, 39 aces, 52 blocks and 293 digs.

She played two seasons at Arizona State and two at West Virginia after leading the Boles Lady Hornets in kills and blocks during her high school career.

There are other LOVB pro teams in Houston, Madison, Wisc., Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Ga., and Omaha, Neb.

League play starts on Jan. 7.

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Dr. Marcus Sedberry, a former Greenville Lion athlete, served as the General Manager for the University of Wisconsin’s football program this season.

His duties included overseeing roster management, player personnel and operations for the Badgers. He’s also served as a Deputy Athletic Director for Wisconsin.

Sedberry, who ran track at Nebraska after running on a state finalist 4x400 relay for the Greenville Lions, has also been an administrator at Baylor, Central Florida, Arkansas and in the National Football League with the Philadelphia Eagles.

His father Marvin Sedberry Sr. coached three stints as the head football coach of the Greenville Lions and his brother Marvin Sedberry Jr. is the head football coach of the Terrell Tigers.

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Nevaeh Zavala’s double-double helped High Point to an 85-83 double-overtime women’s basketball victory over Yale.

Zavala, a 6-0 senior from Royse City, scored 21 points and pulled down a team-high 14 rebounds.

Zavala is averaging 9.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game for the 11-2 Panthers, who’ll next play at North Carolina-Asheville on Dec. 31.

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Maggie Hutka, a 6-0 junior from Royse City,scored two points and pulled down a rebound during Montana’s 90-85 women’s basketball victory over Tarleton State.

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Brett Nix, a former Wolfe City basketball player, has scored 14 points and pulled down three rebounds in two basketball games this season for Oklahoma Science and Arts.

Nix, a 6-0 freshman who transferred from Wayland Baptist, is shooting 57.1% from 3-point range for the 5-8 Drovers.

Three Greenville Lady Lions earned All-District 9-5A honors in volleyball, led by senior Jaxey Walker.

Walker repeated as a first-team selection. Walker, who was a setter and a right-side hitter, led the Lady Lions for the season in kills with 296 to go with 46 service aces, 18 blocks, 253 digs and a team-high 357 assists.

Greenville senior Caitlyn Teague and junior McKenzie Scarbrough made the second team.

Teague ranked second on the team in kills with 138 to go with 10 aces, a team-high 70 blocks, 33 digs and nine assists.

Scarbrough recorded 63 digs, seven aces, 28 blocks, 54 digs and eight assists.

Greenville sophomore setter Gail Lazoda also made the honorable mention list. Lazoda ranked second on the team in assists with 291 to go with 20 kills, 27 aces and 127 digs.

McKinney North, which won the district title with a 14-0 record, claimed four of the top honors with libero Gabi Rodriguez as the Most Valuable Player, Chloe Lewis as the Blocker of the Year, defensive specialist Brynli Burgess as the Newcomer of the Year and the McKinney North staff as the Coaching Staff of the Year.

Walnut Grove of Prosper finished second in the district standings at 12-2, followed by 10-4 Lucas Lovejoy, 8-6 Melissa, 5-9 Anna, 4-10 Sherman, 2-12 Greenville and 1-13 Denison.

All-District 9-5A Girls Volleyball Team

Most Valuable Player — Gabi Rodriguez, L, McKinney North, Sr.

Offensive MVP — Danielle Whitmere, DS, Prosper Walnut Grove, Fr.

Co-Defensive MVPs — Skylar Jackson, OH, Lucas Lovejoy, Sr.; Cadence Castleberry, L, Melissa, Fr.

Blocker of the Year — Chloe Lewis, MB, McKinney North, Sr.

Setter of the Year — Mia Evans, Prosper Walnut Grove, Sr.

Newcomer of the year — Brynli Burgess, DS, McKinney North, Fr.

Coaching Staff of the Year — McKinney North

FIRST-TEAM ALL-DISTRICT

OH — Anna Sayman McKinney North So.

RS — Nicole Jacobson McKinney North Jr.

MB — Kaitlyn Jefferson McKinney North Sr.

RS

— Kate Clegg Walnut Grove So.

MB — Kyndall Smith Walnut Grove So.

MB — Mary Esler

Walnut Grove Sr.

OH

— Bella Lopez

Lovejoy Sr.

MB

— Addie Lloyd Lovejoy Sr.

MB

— Duura Kpea

Melissa

Sr.

S — Presley Willford Melissa

Sr.

MB

— Mya Shirley

Anna Fr.

S/RS — Jaxey Walker

Greenville

Sr.

OH

— Jada Washington Sherman Sr.

MB

— Tacorian Babers Denison Jr.

SECOND-TEAM ALL-DISTRICT

S — Jordan Kowallis

McKinney North Sr.

S — Malia McNeal McKinney North Jr.

OH/DS — Vivian Crumley Walnut Grove

Sr.

OH/DS — Haylee Claypoole

Walnut Grove

Jr.

MB — Ceclia Fuente Lovejoy Sr.

RS/S — Emerson Boyd Lovejoy

Sr.

OH/RS — Kennedy Scott

Melissa

Sr.

RS/MB — Lynli Dittfurth Melissa Sr.

S — Kylee Jones Anna

Jr.

DS

— Avery Jones Anna Jr.

MB — Caitlyn Teague

Greenville

Sr.

RS

— McKenzie Scarbrough Greenville

Jr.

MB —

Shepherd Martin

Sherman

Sr.

S/RS — Madelyn Whitmire Sherman Sr.

MB — Judilee Bess Denison Sr.

OH/DS — Alexis Farley Denison

Sr.

HONORABLE MENTION

Lovejoy: Avery Gray, DS/L, Sr.; Coco Natarajan, Sr.; Emory Hoover, RS, Sr.

Greenville: Gali Lazoda, S, So.

Walnut Grove: Hailey Graham, DS, Jr.; Lauren Aguilar, DS, Jr.

Sherman: Mary Clare Foley, OH, Sr.; Kyra Reeves, MB, So.; Piper Morgan, DS, Sr.

Denison: Katie-Lynn Douglas, L, Sr.; Jamison Milner, S, Jr.

Anna: Mya Sims, OH, So.; Hayden Norton, DS, So.; Mia Freitag, S, Sr.; Serenity Samules, OH, So.

Melissa: Brooklynn Johnson-Love, MB/RS, Fr.; Rachel Lewis, OH/DS, Sr.; Lily Murphy, MB/RS, Sr.; Regan Lipsett, DS, Jr.

The Eau Claire North boys hockey team is coming off a six-win campaign last year and is hoping to find its footing.

Huskies coach Ryan Parker has seen his roster shift from year-in to year-out, with this year showing a true test of its depth.

“We went through a phase where we graduated 24 guys in two years,” Parker said. “We had to start playing a lot of young guys early. Maybe they weren’t ready to play, but we had to start them early and the last couple of years have been very trying (with) a lot of growth.”

A 4-3 start to the season has seen highs like the Huskies winning their first two games and lows like losing to conference foes Hudson and New Richmond.

North’s biggest high, in its most lopsided game of the season so far, was its 13-1 win over Wisconsin Rapids on Dec. 16 at Hobbs Municipal Ice Arena.

“I feel like (we did) a lot of the little things right,” forward captain Garrett Stange said. “We were working hard down low. Bearic (Wolle) was finding the back of the net a lot that game so that helped a lot.”

A senior forward, Wolle notched a hat trick against the Red Raiders. His five goals this season is tied with defenseman Cam Moseler for the team lead.

“We had a pretty bad first period (with) only one goal,” Wolle said. “Our second period, we had nine goals (by) pretty much just pounding home around the net.”

The younger Huskies also helped pick up the slack, as freshman defenseman Bennet Pecor tallied two goals and two assists, sophomore forward Ty Haats had two goals and junior defenseman Easton Parker had a team-high five points (one goal, four assists).

North junior goaltender Carter Duss also had 21 saves and boasts a 2.73 goals against average in five games this season.

“Everyone was just stepping up and playing their role in what they needed to do,” forward Westley Thillman said.

“We got a lot of young guys stepping up, taking on some pretty big roles and doing what they have to do,” Stange said.

The Huskies still have 11 seniors, including Stange, Thillman and Wolle, who have all felt the need to improve their recent standing in the Big Rivers Conference. North has won a combined four BRC games over the last two years, finishing last in the 2023-24 season and only above Menomonie last year.

“We got a lot of guys with experience from past years,” Wolle said. “We’re really using that to get above where we’ve been in past years. I feel like this year we got a pretty good chance to do that.”

Parker said his team still needs to work on its in-zone offensive presence and its ability to play calmer and more together as a unit.

“We work fairly hard in our d-zone and I think we need to get a little more of a rhythm, a little more flow as we enter the offensive zone,” Parker said. “Then, our in-zone offensive play, we have to get that clicking a little smoother and fluid. Once we get that down, we should create a lot more opportunities.”

More opportunities will come for North heading into the new year as it competes in the Rocket Red Nose Classic holiday tournament from Dec. 28-30 in Appleton.

“(It’ll come with more) playing, listening, executing and trying to keep understanding where we’re at and what we need to keep growing,” Parker said.

With teams like NHM, New Richmond, Bay Area, Middleton, University School of Milwaukee, Tomahawk and Stevens Point Area Senior High, the tournament is a true measuring stick for the Huskies.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Stange said. “I think we got a pretty good chance of doing pretty good this year.”

“I’m excited to play some of the top teams in the state,” Thillman said. “They’re going to push us and we’re hopefully going to push them.”

“New guys to hit, new guys to score on,” Wolle said.

The New Year’s ball still hasn’t dropped, yet the UW-River Falls football team is already celebrating.

Last weekend, the Falcons clinched their first appearance in the NCAA Division III championship game. They will head to Canton, Ohio, and face defending champion North Central (Ill.) on January 4.

One of those excited to participate in the game is Falcons defensive back Bradley Arndorfer.

The former Eau Claire Memorial defensive back has mainly manned a special teams role in his sophomore campaign. He said he always knew the Falcons could go on a deep run in the playoffs.

“This year, I think that the group of guys we had, we’re all really tight,” Arndorfer said. “We had a bunch of older guys on the team in the past two seasons. I think collectively as a group, we have stepped up.”

UW-River Falls lost its opening WIAC game at UW-Oshkosh. Unlike the last two seasons, where the Falcons finished 7-3, they responded.

“The group just rallied together,” Arndorfer said. “Nobody flinched at all. We all just doubled down on what we were doing, and we won next week at home versus Platteville. And if you ask (Falcons) coach (Matt Walker), that’s the big turning point in the season.”

The Falcons didn’t lose again in the regular season, and clinched an automatic appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs, their first since 1996. Their 9-1 record was also good enough for the program’s first conference title since 1998.

Quarterback Kaleb Blaha was selected as the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year after leading the NCAA Division III’s top-ranked offense. Gage Timm was named the Defensive Player of the Year and Walker was honored as the Coach of the Year.

“The whole culture here has been great since I’ve got here, and I think this place has always had a really strong culture,” Arndorfer said.

UW-River Falls’ first playoff win, a 58-7 thrashing of Chapman, established a new school record for wins.

Their third round matchup against Saint John’s represented a different challenge, as the Falcons hadn’t beaten the Johnnies since 1937.

“One thing for us going into the playoffs is we know we play in one of the toughest regular season conferences in the country, and so when we play playoff teams, it’s like we’ve been playing playoff teams for five, six weeks,” Arndorfer said. “When a good team like Saint John’s comes into town, we don’t flinch.”

A 42-14 win over the Johnnies proved just that.

In the quarterfinals, Wheaton College came to town and were greeted with a 46-21 River Falls win. That advanced the Falcons to their first NCAA semifinal.

The pinnacle of the Falcons’ postseason run came in its semifinal against Johns Hopkins.

“It was a great game to be around,” Arndorfer recalled. “For those who love the game of football, these are the kind of games that, when you’re kid, you dream about.”

Blaha found wide receiver Blake Rohrer for a 79-yard touchdown in the final minute to give the Falcons a dramatic 48-41 win.

“It was just the most electric, energetic celebration on the sideline I’d ever been a part of,” Arndorfer said. “It was the biggest game in River Falls history and it felt like that.”

UW-River Falls extended its home-winning streak to 14 games.

“It was awesome to do it at home,” Arndorfer said. “The town has always been rallying around the football team, but I think we’ve just united the town even more. You go anywhere in River Falls right now wearing anything Falcon football, and there’s somebody saying, ‘Congrats.’

“For me personally, I love being a Falcon football player, and this team has given me so much.”

Arndorfer said he has at least 10 members of his close circle planning to attend the national championship game.

“My family has been huge in supporting me. My dad’s probably my number one supporter, and guy that I go to when I’m struggling with things,” Arndorfer said. “I got a bunch of people from Eau Claire, whether it be former coaches or trainers, that I’ve seen a bunch of things on Facebook and gotten messages online (saying), ‘Congrats on making it to the championship. Go win this whole thing.’”

Arndorfer said he and River Falls are excited for the opportunity and look forward to saving their best game for the start of 2026.

“It’s really just about playing and living up to our best standard that’s been carrying us through this whole season,” Arndorfer said. “That’s what we’re going to need to do to end up bringing the trophy home to River Falls.”

Before the Magic took to the Kia Center court against the Hornets on Friday night, coach Jamahl Mosley said Charlotte‘s 10-20 record wasn’t indicative of what the team was capable of accomplishing.

Mosley made it clear Orlando needed to focus on taking care of the little things in order to secure the desired outcome during their second meeting of the season against the Southeast Division foe.

And he wasn’t wrong on either viewpoint.

The Magic trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half and later by as many as 24 in the third quarter when Charlotte exited a sold-out Kia Center on top 120-105, outrebounding Orlando 53-42 with 25 second-chance points.as

Charlotte (11-20) had seven different scorers finish in double figures, including 22 from star LaMelo Ball, as the team shot 19 for 39 (48.7%) from 3-point range.

In comparison, Orlando ended 11 for 35 (31.4%) from distance when nothing came easy on offense and the team couldn’t come up with the necessary defensive stops to mount a comeback.

The Magic (17-14) return to Kia Center on Saturday for the second game of a back-to-back when three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets (who beat Orlando by 11 points Dec. 18) make their lone trip of the season to Central Florida.

Starting 5

Playing without Franz Wagner (left high ankle sprain) and Jalen Suggs (left hip bruise) again, Tyus Jones and Anthony Black remained in the starting lineup alongside Banchero, Desmond Bane and Wendell Carter Jr. (16 points) against the Hornets.

Black, who had scored 19-plus points in the past four games, posted 15 in the first half after he hit his first three triples. He added his fourth 3-pointer in the fourth when he notched 24 in 36 minutes.

While Black had some success from distance, Bane and Banchero did not. The pair combined to shoot 0 for 4 from 3 before the break and ended 0 for 8 distance with missing all six of his attempts.

Bane drove to the basket early to reach 10 points by the half but was responsible for all three of Orlando’s first-quarter turnovers. He ended with just 15 points when he found himself in foul trouble after he picked up his fourth foul with 10 minutes left in the game and his fifth about two minutes later.

Banchero was passive at times when he missed first three shots from the floor and opened 1 for 5 and couldn’t find his footing the rest of the night. The Magic forward ended 4 for 13 shooting with just 13 points in 31 minutes.

Second unit

The Magic upgraded Tristan da Silva from probable to available earlier in the day after he had missed the past four contests due to a right shoulder bruise.

The second-year pro made his presence felt early when he hit his first 3-pointer and was the lone member of Orlando’s bench to score in the first half when he had 8 points with 2 assists. He didn’t score again.

Charlotte’s bench outscored Orlando’s 41-29.

Reserve center Goga Bitadze (left knee strain) missed his second straight game.

Rookie watch

Both Jase Richardson and Noah Penda entered in the first quarter but failed to make an offensive impact early.

Penda missed first three shots from the floor, including a pair of 3s, and only played 8 minutes through the first three frames. Richardson got on the board late in the third quarter with a triple and ended with 14 points in 22 minutes.

Hornets No. 4 pick Kon Knueppel posted 16 points when he shot 4 for 4 from 3, but did not return in the second half due to a right ankle injury.

Magic give back

At halftime of Friday’s game, the Magic surprised a local family with a variety of gifts as part of NBA Cares Season of Giving.

With help from president of business operations Charlie Freeman and Magic community ambassador Bo Outlaw, the team presented a family of four a new 2026 Kia Sorento EX, $5,000 for home furnishings courtesy of AdventHealth, family meals for a year from Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, a three-day, two-night stay at Caribe Royale, four Chick-fil-A for-a-year packs, one phone and three tablets with service from Total Wireless, a free ice cream party at Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream, four gift bundles from hair ties company Teleties, a 65-inch TV, an air fryer, a kitchen aid mixer, pots and pans, arts and crafts and other household essentials to assist them through difficult times.

It marked the 17th consecutive season the Magic have hosted one family around the holidays for “The Big Give.”

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com

ATLANTA — What do you get when a pair of teams enter at 2-8 in their previous 10? The desperation of Friday night at State Farm Arena.

Miami Heat vs. Atlanta Hawks wasn’t about making a statement.

It was about coming up for air.

To that end, the Heat can breathe a bit easier, after stealing into the Georgia night with a 126-111 victory.

With his team playing in the ailment absences of Bam Adebayo (back) and Tyler Herro (toe), Heat coach Erik Spoelstra reshuffled his rotation and found enough to stop the bleeding.

Overcoming 30 points from Hawks guard Trae Young and 24 from forward Jalen Johnson, the Heat got 25 points from Norman Powell, 21 from replacement starter Pelle Larsson, 18 from Andrew Wiggins, 16 from Jaime Jaquez Jr., as well as a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double from Kel’el Ware.

The Heat are right back at it on Saturday night, against the Indiana Pacers at Kaseya Center.

Five Degrees of Heat from Friday night’s game:

— 1. Game flow: It was tied 32-32 after the opening period. Then, boosted by a 12-0 run late in the second period, the Heat moved to a 63-51 halftime lead, with 14 fast-break points in that second period.

From there, the Heat took a 90-84 lead into the fourth, pushing their lead back to double digits early in the period, with Wiggins stepping up his scoring.

Eventually the lead got to 15, forcing Hawks coach Quin Snyder to call timeouts 49 seconds apart. But as has been the case all season amid the inability to build leads into bigger leads, it soon was an eight-point game.

A banked-in Larsson 3-pointer eventually provided needed relief, the Heat holding on from there.

— 2. No Bam: Not only was Adebayo out Friday, but Spoelstra did not cast an optimistic tone about Saturday night against the Pacers.

“We’ll see,” Spoelstra said before Friday night’s game. “We’ll treat him day-to-day. I know him, I know his personality, I know how much he wants to be out there. But since it is back soreness and he wasn’t moving well two days ago, it didn’t really get better yesterday. Today was just full treatment and some light activities. So we’ll see where he is tomorrow.”

Spoelstra declined to address whether the back had impacted Adebayo’s recent uneven play.

“I’m not going to comment on that,” he said. “He wouldn’t want me to comment on that. But we’ll just do as much treatment as we possibly can. I do know that he needs this right now.”

— 3. The Larsson factor: With Adebayo out, Spoelstra immediately injected Larsson into the starting lineup in the first game back for the second-year swingman after missing the previous five with an ankle sprain.

It was Larsson’s 17th start of the season. The first five was rounded out by Powell, Ware, Wiggins and Davion Mitchell. The Heat entered 4-2 with that lineup.

Larsson was injured in the Dec. 9 NBA Cup road loss to the Orlando Magic.

Larsson was 3 for 3 for eight points in his initial six-minute stint, and he kept going from there.

Larsson finished 9 of 13 from the field, with six rebounds and five assists.

— 4. Jovic, too: In addition to Larsson, also back was Nikola Jovic, who missed the previous four games with an elbow contusion.

Jovic was fourth off Spoelstra’s bench, behind Jaquez, Kasparas Jakucionis and Dru Smith.

That had Simone Fontecchio out of the rotation for just the second time this season.

After an 0-for-4 start, Jovic completed a four-point play early in the second period, before then falling to 1 of 8, as his season-long struggles continued, later falling to 1 of 11.

Jovic closed 3 of 14, although he did add seven rebounds and four assists.

— 5. Powell play: The uneven recent run for Powell continued early, at just six points midway through the first quarter.

Previously on pace for his first All-Star berth, Powell in the three previous games had shot 7 of 21, 7 of 17 and 6 of 17.

This time it was a 2-of-6 start. With Herro and Adebayo out, more was needed. So Powell immediately responded with back-to-back 3-pointers.

Powell came around to close 9 of 16 from the field, with seven rebounds and five assists.

Through it all, Powell extended his streak of games scoring in double figures to 29, six off the longest such run of his career.

After a year like 2025, trying to narrow the year’s top-10 stories proved to be an extremely difficult task.

For evidence of this, simply glance at the extensive honorable mention list that follows this year’s iteration of the Herald Bulletin’s Top 10 local sports stories.

1) End of an Era

In early March, an announcement that the tradition of Madison County’s tournaments would, for the most part, be coming to an end shook the local sports community.

While those considered ‘individual’ sports – tennis, golf, wrestling, track and field, and cross country – would continue, basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball tournaments would no longer be held. Although Anderson stated the Nick Muller Tournament – long considered the county baseball championship – would continue, the development sent many schools scrambling to schedule new events.

The three schools that drove the decision – Alexandria, Elwood, and Frankton – announced they would jointly hold 18-team boys and 12-team girls showcases in late December and early January.

2) Three of a Kind

For nearly 20 years, 2005 Miss Basketball Jodi Howell stood as the lone girls player in Madison County history to have scored over 2,000 points.

That all changed in 2025 when Indiana All-Stars Jacklynn Hosier of Alexandria and Kaycie Warfel from Pendleton Heights reached that milestone last January and Lapel’s Laniah Wills did as well in December.

Hosier finished with 2,108 points and Warfel at 2,107 and they graduated as the top two overall scorers in county history. They also helped their teams end long sectional championship droughts in February.

Provided she remains healthy, Wills should pass both in January and also will break the all-time state rebounding record.

3) Stellar Debut

While the inaugural IHSAA sanctioned season for girls wrestling began in 2024, the postseason was held entirely in 2025 and featured a number of area successes.

On the team front, Frankton won the sectional championship at Alexandria while five individuals – Maddie Marsh of Pendleton Heights, Kynlie Keffer of Daleville, Paige Stires from Lapel, Karsyn Merritt of Shenandoah and Frankton’s Jaden Hughes – advanced to the state finals.

Both Keffer and Stires earned podium finishes at the state finals while Marsh captured her second straight state championship at 140 pounds. All five state finalists are back this year.

4) Gridiron Greatness

While Howell stood alone on the court, the 1987 Elwood Panthers were the solitary regional football champion in Madison County history.

That changed in 2025 when the Lapel Bulldogs built on an unbeaten regular season and a second straight sectional championship with a 38-7 win at Indianapolis Lutheran for the regional title.

Quarterback Devin Craig graduated fifth on Indiana’s all-time passing yardage list while linebacker Isaiah Young led a dominant defense to a 13-1 season that only ended against fellow unbeaten Brownstown Central at semi-state. The pair also repeated as THB Sports Football-Offense and Football-Defense Athletes of the Year.

5) Haralson Loving It

While playing at La Lumiere Prep School in Northern Indiana, Anderson native Jalen Haralson was named to the McDonald’s All-American game, which was played in April.

From there, Haralson went on to begin his collegiate career at Notre Dame. Through the first 12 games – including 10 starts – of the season, he is averaging 14.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game for the Fighting Irish.

6) Pitch Perfect

Mirroring their school’s football counterparts, the Lapel girls soccer team also carried an unbeaten record all the way to semi-state this fall.

Led by area player of the year Leila Wilson, Lapel finished with a 19-1 season that included a second straight sectional title and a win over defending 1A state champion Faith Christian in the regional championship.

7) Roaring Tigers

Making history became habit for the 2025 Alexandria softball team, which won its first ever Madison County title, but also achieved the No. 1 ranking and won a regional title for the first time.

Led by the area’s player (Kinley Webb) an pitcher (Brynlee Humphries) of the year, Alexandria finished their season at 20-2, won the Central Indiana Conference championship, and routed Lapel 18-3 for their first regional crown.

8) Conference Call

In early October, Lapel and Shenandoah announced they would be among the founding members of the new Eastern Crossroads Conference.

Eastern Hancock and New Castle were also part of the original announcement as Lapel joined a conference for the first time since 2014 and Shenandoah left the Mid-Eastern Conference, where they had been a member since 2017. Conference play is expected to begin in the 2026-27 season.

9) Running Mates

After their historic tandem top-five finishes at the fall 2024 cross country state meet, Pendleton Heights senior Ava Jarrell and freshman Anya Zoeller made headlines again in the spring.

Both won regional championships, Zoeller in the 1,600 meters and Jarrell in the 3,200 meters, and went on to earn podium finishes at the state finals. Zoeller was runner-up and Jarrell was ninth in their state races.

10) Rolling Raiders

After a recent string of postseason disappointments, the Shenandoah baseball team came through big-time in the spring.

Led by University of Louisville commit Collin Osenbaugh, the Raiders defeated Hagerstown for their first sectional title since 2006 and defeated Triton Central to win their first regional crown since 1987. The season ended for the Raiders at 22-5 after falling to Evansville Mater Dei at semi-state.

Honorable Mention: Alexandria repeats Madison County wrestling championship; Alexandria girls tennis wins sixth straight sectional and seventh straight Madison County titles; Anderson Prep wins first girls team sectional (basketball) and boys team sectional (baseball) championships in school history; Lapel girls golf team advances to state finals; Simon Nickelson (Lapel) and Anya Zoeller (Pendleton Heights) earn All-State at cross country state finals; Eli Pancol signed to Colts practice squad; Anderson (boys) and Pendleton Heights (girls) wins basketball county titles; Liberty Christian repeats boys hoops regional title; Daleville wins boys basketball sectional; girls basketball sectional titles for Alexandria and PHHS; Alex’s Ezra Fye and Madison-Grant’s Tripp Haisley advance to boys wrestling state finals; PHHS wins third straight boys golf county title and advance to regional; Lapel wins third straight softball sectional; Lapel wins Muller and baseball sectional titles; Lapel wins 11th boys tennis county title in 12 years; Lapel girls and PH boys win inaugural Madison County swim championship.

Dec. 26—GRAND FORKS — Matt Smaby was asked what he likes about this year's UND hockey team.

"How much time do you have?" he responded.

Then, UND's first-year associate head coach got into it.

"A lot," he said. "If you take the results out of it, take the hockey out of it, we have really good kids. That is the starting point for success for any good team. You need character, you need leadership, you need full buy-in from the guys. And you need a group of guys that really gets along well together. That's what we have in this room. We feel we have a tremendous group of kids in that room that really want to do it the right way."

The Fighting Hawks have returned from Christmas break to begin preparations for the second half.

The first half went about as well as they could have imagined under first-year head coach Dane Jackson, considering the massive roster turnover — 15 new players, which ties 1973 and 1951 for the most in a single season since Year 2 of the program.

UND is 14-4 and ranked No. 4 nationally. It is also No. 4 in the NPI, which is used to select and seed the NCAA tournament.

"I think we put ourselves in a really good spot," Smaby said. "The key for us is not the start, it's the finish. So, to build moving forward is the most important focus point for the group. We've still got better, we know that."

UND finished the first half of the season going 10-1 in its last 11 games. It swept St. Cloud State and Omaha in the last two weekends, but Smaby didn't think the Fighting Hawks were at their best in those games.

"If you look at the last four games heading into the break, probably not our best in regards to team play, but we still found a way," Smaby said. "I think the second half, it's really cranking it up, tightening things up, really continuing to grow our game a little bit day in and day out, and really looking to keep building. Really good first half. Happy with where we're at. But we're turning the focus point moving forward and trying to get better."

The Fighting Hawks host Mercyhurst on Jan. 2-3 in their final nonconference series of the season.

UND will be shorthanded for that series.

Forward Cole Reschny, forward Will Zellers, defenseman E.J. Emery and defenseman Keaton Verhoeff are at the World Junior Championship in the Twin Cities. They will all miss the series.

Junior defensemen Jake Livanavage and Abram Wiebe are at the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland. They are expected to arrive in Grand Forks on Jan. 2, but that arrival could be expedited if the U.S. Collegiate Selects are eliminated early.

If Livanavage and Wiebe are unable to play, UND will have five defensemen for the Mercyhurst series — captain Bennett Zmolek, Andrew Strathmann, Sam Laurila, Jayden Jubenvill and Ian Engel.

"We talk about our goals at the beginning of the season," Smaby said. "What are our big aspirations? We know that taking care of nonconference is extremely important for us. We've got two more coming out of break that are going to be extremely important as well. We have to be super dialed, super focused."

There were several factors behind UND's big start.

In net, freshman Jan Špunar has been sensational, going 9-0 with a .934 save percentage.

On the back end, UND's defensive corps has been as good as advertised.

Up front, Ben Strinden is having a breakout senior season. Strinden leads UND in goals (11) and points (19) at the break.

But UND's depth has worn out opponents, too.

"I really like a lot of the things our team is doing," Smaby said. "I know the rest of the coaching staff does as well. Regardless of the outcomes, the team is playing really hard. That's a great baseline to have. If you make mistakes giving 100% effort, it's much easier to correct those. That's what our team has shown in spades. They're not perfect, but the guys are working really hard.

"If we can carry that over, having that baseline work as we evolve, as we work on things, as we fix things, it becomes much easier for the group."

Dec. 26—MITCHELL — Unfortunately for the Mitchell High School girls basketball program, playing at full strength isn't an option this season.

Juniors Charleigh Collins, Matteah Graves and Londyn Schroeder were expected to factor into the MHS rotation, but all three were injured before the Kernels took the court for their first contest.

A knee injury Collins suffered late in the volleyball season was already going to cost her the entire basketball season. Then, during the 'Meet the Kernels' scrimmage on Dec. 6, Graves suffered a season-ending knee injury, and Schroeder suffered an ankle injury that has her sidelined for several weeks, at least.

"When they went down, we were all really upset because of how close we are," said senior guard Addie Siemsen following the season opener at Watertown. "But now all of us who are healthy are really trying to play the best that we can for the people who are hurt, because we know that no one wants to be in those shoes."

There was also an ankle injury scare for eighth-grader Nia Talley just prior to the season opener. Though Talley didn't miss the first contest, she wasn't in the starting lineup either. She was named to the starting five for Mitchell's second and third games later in the week.

However, if there's a silver lining to the situation, the rash of injuries has had a galvanizing effect on the Kernels. Though seeing teammates go down to injury can take a psychological toll on the healthy teammates, as well, spirits are as high as can be expected under the circumstances.

"I think the morale is pretty good, and a lot of that is because those kids who are hurt are involved. They're not hanging their heads because woe is me. They're pretty excited, and they want the team to do well," said MHS head coach Dave Brooks. "If those kids were really down in the dumps, I think it would have an impact on those who are healthy, but they're ready to go, which is what we need."

Brooks said that the injured Kernels rarely miss a practice, and if they do, it's because of a doctor's appointment or therapy. Even on those days, they'll make an effort to be at practice, either before or after.

Whether it's at practice or on gamedays, the injured Kernels aren't just passive observers, either. They're regularly giving feedback to the teammates who are on the court.

"At practice, they're always telling us things we can do better, and in games, they're telling us what they see and helping that way," Siemsen explained. "It's just really helpful to have them be engaged even if they can't play."

"They're fully engaged," Brooks added. "We just can't put them on the floor."

Without three juniors in the mix, the already youthful Kernels are even younger on the court. Other than Siemsen, there are only two other healthy upperclassmen listed on the roster: starting junior guard Mia Larson and reserve junior forward Rylee Jennings. Notably, sophomore guard Londyn Hajek is one of two returning starters, with Siemsen as the other.

Elsewhere in the starting lineup, Mitchell looks to two eighth-graders in Talley and forward CeCe Morgan. Though they're the youngest members of the group, both have proven to be up to speed early on. Morgan emerged as a trusted member of the basketball rotation last season, and Talley was a key player for the MHS volleyball team this fall.

"As eighth-graders, some might not expect them to be as well-skilled as they are, but they come in with no fear at all," Siemsen said. "They're playing with full confidence, and that's really cool to see."

Mitchell (1-2) picks up its schedule on the other side of the holiday break at the Hoop City Classic, where matchups with Lyman and Sisseton await.

Egor Demin entered the season looking like a rookie still learning the rhythms of the NBA game. The timing, the pace, the physicality and nonstop reads that come at you faster than the film ever suggests.

Months later, the Nets see a point guard who’s begun to stitch those pieces together. The confidence is louder. The decisions are quicker. And the moments where he tilts the floor in his team’s favor are happening more often and with more intention.

Head coach Jordi Fernández has seen that shift from the very beginning.

“I think he’s more comfortable,” Fernández said. “I think he always played like he belongs, and that’s been great. I remember since that preseason game in Toronto. He played and showed right away why we were so high on him and how he handled himself. It’s not just about the shot making but also seeing the floor and his ability to get deflections and rebounds and all those things. We’ve seen how much better he’s gotten from Day 1… We still want to see more and better. And that goes not just for him, but everybody else on the roster.”

That preseason game in Toronto on Oct. 17 mattered because it offered the first real look at a teenager who didn’t appear rattled by NBA physicality or the moment. His handle stayed tight under pressure, though he did have two turnovers. His decision-making looked poised. He consistently put the ball where it needed to be. And he finished with 14 points on 2-for-3 shooting from deep, added five rebounds and left no doubt that the stage wasn’t too big for him.

The foundation was there. What’s followed since has been steady, visible growth.

Demin’s assist-to-turnover ratio hovering around 2-to-1 is the clearest indicator. For a rookie guard, it’s often the line between simply staying afloat and actually running an offense. Fernández believes Demin’s not only meeting that bar but capable of clearing a higher one.

“I think he’s doing a great job,” Fernández said. “You said it, 2-to-1 is very good. The next step is can he get to 3-to-1. And I think he can because he’s one of the best at finding the 3-point line in the NBA. The numbers say so, but now he has to mix it in with when he touches the paint, when teams are in drop, when he creates a 2-on-1, how he throws the lob.”

Right now, Demin’s reads lean toward the perimeter, where his height and vision let him deliver passes over the top of defenders. Brooklyn loves that part of his game, but the staff wants him to broaden what he sees. That means locating cutters, dropping in lobs, manipulating defenders with his eyes and recognizing when to keep his dribble alive instead of settling for the first available kick-out.

They’ve seen progress. Early in the third quarter of Brooklyn’s 113-103 win over the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 3, Demin found Noah Clowney for two left-corner 3s on consecutive trips, both arriving perfectly in rhythm.

“Those were simple passes, but those passes were right in the pocket, and for guys like Noah, those are layups,” Fernández said

For the Nets, this is exactly the growth curve they hoped to see. And Fernández plans to keep pushing him. In his mind, Demin’s already shown he can handle whatever comes next.

The road to Santa Clara, Calif., starts in … well, Santa Clara.

If the Chicago Bears (11-4) can dare to dream of making it as far as Super Bowl LX, their most viable path begins with their first trip to host venue Levi’s Stadium, where they will face the San Francisco 49ers (11-4) on “Sunday Night Football” (7:20 p.m., NBC-5).

It’s two playoff-bound teams jockeying for position within not only the NFC, but also their own divisions.

With two games left in the regular season, the Bears need a win or a Green Bay Packers loss — or a tie by both — to lock down their first NFC North title since 2018. The longer shot would be securing the No. 1 seed, which earns a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

With either outcome, the objective is the same: host as many playoff games as possible at Soldier Field.

Common sense says you always want to play on your turf, backed by your crowd, and the numbers underscore why it’s so important. Since the 2000 season, home teams have gone 169-91 in the playoffs (excluding Super Bowls), a .650 winning percentage, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

“Punching playoffs is cool and all, but we’ve still got work to do,” wide receiver Luther Burden III said. “We’ve got bigger goals, and we’re going to keep our head down and keep working.”

Defensive tackle Andrew Billings said the stakes have “been high since Week 1.”

“Every game was like that game,” he said. “When it comes to the playoffs, what we’re trying to do is prepare ourselves, approaching each week like a divisional game — like you win this and you get the No. 1 seed. And when you do get that … statistically it’s great.”

Here are five things to watch in the Bears-49ers matchup — plus our Week 17 predictions.

1. Pressing question: Can the Bears defense stop the 49ers on third down?

Or in the red zone, for that matter. The 49ers are tough outs in both situations.

San Francisco’s offense ranks second in third-down efficiency at 50%, slightly behind the Packers’ 50.27%. Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen explained why the 49ers excel on third down.

“No. 1 is they do a really good job executing on first and second down,” he said. “They do a great job kind of staying ahead of the chains.

“And then they do a great job of getting to spots. The quarterback does a really good job of reading out the defense, throwing it to the open guy. Yeah, it’s tough to deal with.”

The Bears defense has been pretty good at stalling teams in the red zone — ranking ninth at 54.17% — and there was no better illustration of keeping opponents out of the end zone than Saturday, when the Packers went 0 for 5 in trips to the red zone.

But the 49ers convert 63.33% of their red-zone opportunities into touchdowns, which ranks eighth.

“Their ability to run the football down there in the red area helps them out a lot,” Allen said.

Both third-down and red-zone success draws from the same well.

“They’re extremely well-coached,” Allen said of ninth-year 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan. “How do you know when a team is really well-coached? You just watch the speed at which they operate … up front in the running game and how they get to their landmarks and how they get to their spots and how all the offensive linemen are working in unison in terms of how they run their routes.

“Each player will run a certain route, and no matter who the player is, it looks the same. And so that, to me, is the detail in the coaching, and that’s what makes it really tough to defend.”

Bears coach Ben Johnson said Shanahan runs a precise, detailed offense.

“They know how to attack coverages and it continues to morph and evolve,” he said. “Each year this Shanahan offense looks a little bit different. It’s got some different wrinkles.

“As defenses change, he’s been changing as well, and that’s enabled him to stay on the forefront of some of these concepts.”

2. Player in the spotlight: 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey

McCaffrey leads the NFL with 372 touches, according to NFL Pro’s Next Gen Stats. He has 26.9% of the team’s targets, which is ninth in the league regardless of position. Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell is the only non-wide receiver who receives a higher percentage of targets (29.3%).

That’s the 49ers’ M.O.: Shanahan keeps you guessing — and not just with McCaffrey.

The combination of McCaffrey and tight end George Kittle — both 2025 Pro Bowl selections — is enough to keep a defensive coordinator up at night.

“The backs and tight ends are really tough matchups on a defense,” Allen said. “There’s usually some things, if you have an outstanding receiver … you can do to try to take those guys away. It becomes more challenging inside at the tight end (or) running back position. It’s unique that they’re getting so much production from those two spots.

“Those two guys are as good as it comes in terms of playing the tight end position: Kittle as a blocker, Kittle as a receiver, the run-after-catch that he provides. It’s certainly a challenge.”

Kittle is fourth in the league in expected points added per target (plus-0.74), according to NFL Pro. His availability for Sunday is in question (more on that later).

Allen, the former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator and head coach, saw a lot of McCaffrey when the latter was the star of the Carolina Panthers and led the NFL with 2,392 scrimmage yards in 2019.

“So I know exactly what type of challenge he presents,” Allen said.

A particularly good matchup will be McCaffrey versus the Bears linebackers in the passing game. According to NFL Pro, McCaffrey has run a route against a linebacker 260 times, 69 more than any other running back.

Bears weak-side linebacker Tremaine Edmunds is one of the best coverage linebackers in the league. He has four interceptions, third at his position, and has held opposing quarterbacks to a 62.2 passer rating, which ranks ninth among qualified linebackers — just behind San Francisco’s Fred Warner.

3. In the fourth quarter, ‘the spark becomes a fire.’

The Bears have scored 83 points in the fourth quarter and overtime over the last eight weeks, the most by any NFL team in that span. They have a league-best six fourth-quarter comebacks this season.

When trailing with four minutes or less to go, the Bears have six touchdowns (tied for first) and average 7.64 yards per play (second), according to Sports Reference’s Stathead.

Caleb Williams has thrown the most touchdown passes (four) and has the third-highest passer rating (115.5) when trailing with four minutes or less to go (minimum 30 plays).

“It’s really just us,” Williams said. “Realizing that it isn’t necessarily the other team that’s actually stopping us.

“We’ve played versus some of the best players in this league. I think that’s where it’s come from. The mindset just changes. A play happens and the spark becomes a fire, and we’re ignited at that point.”

Johnson said the Bears’ fourth-quarter success doesn’t necessarily come from the play-calling but the people.

“We have put a premium on guys that we feel like will be able to handle pressure,” he said. “The guys we look to bring in this building, we want to make sure that they can handle that type of stuff.

“And Caleb’s certainly built that way. I know for certain Colston Loveland’s built that way. We have a number of guys on this roster that are built that way.”

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Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle felt like the Bears did a better job against the Packers of getting off to a fast start, not just a strong finish. They moved 70 yards on their first possession before a botched snap caused them to turn the ball over on downs.

“When you look at it big picture, we didn’t score in the first half,” Doyle said. “The fourth-quarter piece has more to do with the players and them not flinching, them being comfortable in those situations, them feeling like all of their preparation is going to lead to a successful outcome and them just kind of staying with the process.”

Part of it is Williams’ processing seems to speed up and his improvisational skills come alive during gotta-have-it moments in the fourth quarter and overtime.

“His arm talent is elite,” 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said. “It feels like when he starts scrambling, he gets more accurate.”

Shanahan added: “Caleb is one of the best throwers, one of the most athletic quarterbacks I’ve ever seen in terms of his height, weight and speed. He makes some big-time throws, extremely scary on the perimeter, can hold on to the ball for a while — not in a bad way — but by creating stuff which makes coverages have to hold up forever.

“And when you have a talented guy like that who’s got the speed and the size, usually they get a run game, get some bootlegs and play actions off of it, you limit how many times you’ve got to drop back. It makes sense why he is playing at such a high level.”

4. By the numbers

One thing to watch is the turnover battle. San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy threw seven interceptions over his first four starts, including a three-pick game in a 20-9 victory against the Panthers on Nov. 24.

Purdy has been stingier with interceptions in three starts since then (one pick), but he has put the ball on the ground in each of the last two games, losing one of those fumbles.

The Bears lead the NFL with 31 takeaways and a plus-21 turnover differential. They have a takeaway in eight straight games, the longest active streak in the league.

5. Injury updates

Like last week, the Bears will be monitoring the health of their wide receivers. Burden (ankle) returned to practice on a limited basis Wednesday, but Rome Odunze (foot) sat out again.

Down both Odunze — who missed a third straight game — and Burden against the Packers, the Bears leaned on DJ Moore, who has endured his own injury issues this season. Moore had a game-high 97 yards on five receptions, including the walk-off touchdown catch in overtime. He also had a 12-yard run.

“With each player you start to understand reliability and durability, obviously with DJ having to fight through stuff,” Doyle said. “DJ has done a great job of being dependable and just being consistent down-in and down-out.”

Rookie Jahdae Walker was stunned when he learned of Moore’s attendance record from coaches. Moore has missed only two games in his eight-year career — none since 2020 — and one was because he was on the league’s reserve/COVID-19 list.

“I’m like: ‘This dude, is he even mortal? Like, dang,’” Walker said. “He’s never injured. I’ve seen him battle through so many injuries and just keep working.

“Y’all don’t see a lot of stuff that he goes through, pain-wise. I see it from behind the scenes and it’s crazy. I don’t know how he gets up and walks every day. He’s been hurting for real.”

Four members of the secondary popped up on Wednesday’s injury report: Pro Bowl safety Kevin Byard III (ankle) and cornerbacks Nahshon Wright (hamstring), Nick McCloud (illness) and C.J. Gardner-Johnson (knee).

“I can’t speak for anybody else, but I practiced today,” Byard told the Tribune on Wednesday. “So if you ask if I’m going to play, I’m going to play.”

Meanwhile, the 49ers could face a significant setback if Kittle can’t go. He was a non-participant Wednesday because of an ankle injury.

“He’s got a chance, so we’re not ruling him out,” Shanahan said.

Predictions

Brad Biggs (11-4)

The winner will remain alive for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. While the Panthers (8-7) are the only team with a winning record that the 49ers have faced during their five-game winning streak, the closest of those games was 11 points and the average margin was 16.4. The Bears have won only two games by more than that all year: 31-14 over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3 and 31-3 over the Cleveland Browns two weeks ago. Quarterback Brock Purdy is playing really well, and if the Bears sit in zone coverage, he’s capable of a big game. The status of tight end George Kittle (ankle) is a significant question. He’s pivotal to the passing and running games, and if he’s unable to go, I might flip my pick.

49ers 30, Bears 24

Sean Hammond (12-3)

It’s hard to pick against the Bears when so much has gone their way this season, but the 49ers are surging at the right time now that Purdy is healthy again. This looks like a scary team at the moment. It won’t be easy for the Bears to pull this one off on the road. If the 49ers can take care of the ball, I think they’ll take care of business.

49ers 30, Bears 27

Phil Thompson (10-5)

The bend-but-don’t break defensive strategy worked out surprisingly well against the Packers, who mostly settled for field goals. But Kyle Shanahan’s offense is too surgical for that. Yes, the 49ers have the league’s worst pass rush and an inconsistent run defense, but I can’t see the Bears winning a shootout at San Francisco.

49ers 31, Bears 27

Deion Barnes, who had been on the Penn State football coaching staff since 2020, resigned earlier this week to become the defensive line coach at South Carolina.

A Philadelphia native, Barnes is a former Penn State defensive end who played from 2012-14 and was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2012.

He joined James Franklin’s staff as a graduate assistant in 2020 and was promoted to defensive line coach in 2023 after John Scott Jr. left the Nittany Lions to join the Detroit Lions staff.

Barnes was instrumental in developing such players as Abdul Carter, Chop Robinson, Adisa Isaac and Dani Dennis-Sutton.

Barnes’ departure leaves offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, special teams coordinator Justin Lustig, co-defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter, linebackers coach Dan Connor and wide receivers coach Marques Hagans as Franklin’s only former assistants whose futures are uncertain.

Interim head coach Terry Smith will remain on the Penn State staff with new head coach Matt Campbell, who was hired earlier this month after spending 10 years at Iowa State.

Barnes will join Stan Drayton on the South Carolina staff. Drayton has spent this season at Penn State and has remained there through Saturday’s Pinstripe Bowl.

Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who spent one season at Penn State, has resigned to take the same job at Tennessee.

Offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, who’s headed for Florida, also has stayed with the Lions and will coach in Saturday’s game against Clemson before leaving for the Gators.

Tight ends coach Ty Howle and quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien have left Penn State to join Franklin’s staff at Virginia Tech.

As far as the Penn State roster goes, cornerback A.J. Harris and defensive end Zuriah Fisher are no longer with the team. Harris has one year of eligibility left, but Fisher would have to request a waiver from the NCAA to play another year in college.

Harris reportedly will enter the transfer portal, joining cornerback Elliot Washington II, defensive end Chaz Coleman, wide receiver Aaron Enterline, linebacker Kari Jackson and tight end Joey Schlaffer, the former Exeter standout.

In addition, three more high school seniors who had been committed to Iowa State and had received their release from the Cyclones committed this week to Penn State. All three have been rated three-star prospects.

They are offensive tackle Mason Bandhauer, Fort Collins, Colo.,; linebacker Keian Kaiser, Sidney, Neb.; and offensive tackle Pete Eglitis, Columbus, Ohio.

More additions and departures are expected next week leading up to the start of the NCAA transfer portal on Jan. 2.

EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern assistant head coach Harlon Barnett has a long list of nicknames ready to use whenever he addresses or talks about safety Robert Fitzgerald.

The Terminator. The World’s Greatest Tackler. The Face of the Big Ten. The Eraser. The General. The Example. Mr. Consistent.

“He’s going to start forgetting his own name,” Barnett said.

Fitzgerald has given Barnett a lot of reason to talk about him in a breakout season that continues at noon Friday in Northwestern’s game against Central Michigan in the GameAbove Sports Bowl on ESPN.

The redshirt junior goes into the game at Detroit’s Ford Field as the Big Ten leader with 68 solo tackles for a Wildcats defense that fueled their 6-6 regular season. He ranked fourth in the conference with 109 tackles and also had 6 1/2 tackles for a loss, three passes defended, an interception and a fumble recovery.

“He’s maximizing his gifts, talents and abilities that the Lord has given him,” Barnett said. “And he takes no days off.”

Fitzgerald’s season, for which he was named second-team All-Big Ten by coaches, comes after three years of working his way into bigger roles with Northwestern. He began with the Wildcats scout team and then played primarily on special teams in his first two seasons before earning more time on defense last year.

Throughout the climb, he focused on the process, determined that when the Wildcats needed him, he would be prepared.

“You’ve got to put the work in, day in, day out, no matter how long it takes,” Fitzgerald said. “But eventually your opportunity is going to come. And when that opportunity came, I knew that I was going to be ready based on all the work that I’ve been putting in for the past three years, on and off the field, in the weight room, in the training room, getting my body right, learning the playbook, studying film.”

Fitzgerald’s approach — and his understanding of the value of each day — was developed in part before his time at Northwestern. During his senior year of high school in Dallas, he watched his father, Matthew, fight ALS, and his memories of his dad have shaped how he lives now.

In the stands

The Fitzgerald family would have Italian beef and Lou Malnati’s shipped to Dallas for Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers games. Fitzgerald and his sister, Olivia, were Packers fans because of their mom, Amy, who is from Wisconsin. Matt, who grew up in the Wildwood/Edgebrook area of Chicago, cheered for the Bears.

“He always said that my mom brainwashed me and my sister to be Packers fans,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald said his father was passionate about the work he did as a marketing executive. Midway through his career, he met Mark Cuban at the gym, became friends with him and became the Mavericks senior vice president for marketing and communications, a job that allowed Fitzgerald to be a Mavs ball boy and meet Dirk Nowitzki as a kid.

Matt could light up a room and was passionate about his family and friends, a trait Fitzgerald carries with him to his relationships.

And the former Loyola Academy safety loved football, a passion he passed on to his son. Fitzgerald remembers spending countless hours on the couch watching NFL Sunday Ticket with his dad. They would play in the backyard, reenacting Super Bowl-winning drives, making sideline grabs or playing goal-line tackle, the latter game one his mother didn’t love.

Fitzgerald said his dad was the biggest influence on his football career, giving him everything he needed to be successful. And he kept cheering on his son even after he was diagnosed with ALS the summer before Fitzgerald’s senior year at Jesuit College Prep. Fitzgerald, an All-State safety and running back that season, would look up into the stands to see his dad.

“I’d be like, ‘Whatever I’m going through — I’m tired out here; I’m exhausted — whatever I’m going through is minuscule compared to what he’s going through,’” Fitzgerald said. “So that kind of drove me in high school my senior year, and I’ve kind of been able to use that as fuel going forward.”

Fitzgerald, who is no relation to former Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald, chose Northwestern in part because of his father’s connection to the Chicago area. His grandmother still lived at the time in the same home Matt grew up in. Fitzgerald’s aunt lives in Naperville. His dad’s friends are around and come to games.

But Matt didn’t get to see him play for the Wildcats. Matt died on July 22, 2022, just as Fitzgerald was beginning fall camp with Northwestern.

“The whole thing changed my perspective on life for sure,” Fitzgerald said. “I don’t take a single day for granted anymore. Just watching the way he handled it and the way he attacked it just really was amazing to see. And it was amazing to see how strong my mom was throughout the entire disease. And it was also amazing how many people showed up for my family. The community really showed up for us.”

When Fitzgerald thinks about how he got through that time in his life — getting acclimated at a new school in the midst of losing his father — he said his family helped, especially his mom, who was “the rock throughout the whole thing.”

And his Northwestern teammates and coaches helped too. It wasn’t just letting him know they were sorry or there for him. Sometimes it was just acting normally, because he needed that too.

“My teammates just really rallied around me, and they kind of became like 110 brothers that I never had,” he said.

‘Baddest dude out there’

Fitzgerald’s freshman season wasn’t easy on the field either as he realized he would be playing behind guys with several years of experience.

He played scout team for a 1-11 squad before getting a few reps on special teams at the end of the year, which became a redshirt season. But he believed that if he kept working, he could increase his opportunities.

In his second season, he started on three special teams units and played in a third-down subpackage. By his third year, he made the defensive rotation and started some at nickel for the Wildcats.

Barnett, who joined Braun’s staff before the 2024 season, saw a player who was intentional and diligent with his work. He told Fitzgerald at the end of that season that he probably should have played more at safety, and he saw that message take hold to build Fitzgerald’s confidence in the offseason.

“I saw toughness,” Barnett said. “I saw a willingness to get better. I saw a guy that takes coaching. He’s one of those guys who’s going to do exactly what you tell him. He’s going to take it to heart, he’s going to listen to you and he’s going to apply it. And that’s what you like to see as a coach.”

Barnett, who played defensive back at Michigan State and in the NFL, always tells his players that they need to believe that they are the best player on the field.

Fitzgerald said he knew he was meant to be in the starting-safety role after the opener against Tulane, when he had 13 tackles. But his confidence was really in place by the fourth game of the season against UCLA, a 17-14 Northwestern win in which Fitzgerald had nine tackles, including a tackle for a loss. He wouldn’t freak out if he missed a tackle. He told himself he was the best player on the field.

“Then he started playing like that — ‘I’m the baddest dude out here. I’m the baddest guy on the field,’” Barnett said.

Fitzgerald had numerous big plays in Northwestern’s near-upset of Michigan at Wrigley Field on Nov. 15. He had a career-high 15 tackles, including a tackle for a loss, and picked off quarterback Bryce Underwood in the fourth quarter, but Barnett got excited about a hit on a Wolverines running back late in the fourth.

“He came in and smacked one of the running backs,” Barnett said. “I am vicariously playing through the players. And so, oh, man, I was so fired up. … And I don’t like Michigan, so that also adds to it.”

Fitzgerald will have one more chance this season to show up Friday against Central Michigan. He said the Wildcats want to finish with a winning record, send their seniors out on a high note and build some momentum heading into next season.

Barnett said in the offseason Fitzgerald will continue to work on his speed and change of direction, on honing his already solid ball skills and tackling and improving his “vision and break” to where the quarterback is sending the ball.

He expects him to continue to develop his leadership too. Fitzgerald delivered a speech to the team before the Tulane game to rally his teammates and said he is working on being a more vocal leader, which comes naturally after he feels like he has earned it.

That merit has come this season. Earlier this year, Northwestern coach David Braun said Fitzgerald should be proud of the demeanor and the consistency with which he has played, adding “there’s no one in this program that reflects our values more than that young man.”

Fitzgerald has thought about how his dad would view this breakout season, and he knows he would revel in it.

“He would eat this season up,” Fitzgerald said. “He would love to see me. I know he’s watching, but he would love to be in those stands and see me out there, just like I was playing in high school.”

Sequoyah boys basketball head coach Zac Briscoe has been preaching that winning is a skill.

So far, the Indians are starting to learn how to win, piecing together three in a row before a two-week break for Christmas vacation. Prior to the break, the Indians picked up wins over Lincoln Christian, Keys and Kingston.

“We’ve been telling the guys for a year and a half that winning is a skill,” Briscoe said. “So any win is a good win. Winning is a skill, and they’re developing that skill more and more. You know, a couple of early losses of the season were real close, and then we’ve had some competitive games lately and found a way to come up with wins. So I’m just proud of the way they’re battling and growing up a little bit.”

The Indians took down Kingston to go into the break with a statement win over a potential State Tournament qualifier. A big key to the win was jumping out to a 21-7 lead after the first quarter.

“It was huge because we got in foul trouble after that and guys running out of the game, and we were kind of having to piece it together,” Briscoe said.”So getting that cushion kind of helped it from getting too scary.”

The early lead was needed, with Kingston focusing on SHS’ top scorer, Aidan Hopper. In addition, the Indians started fouling on the defensive side of the ball.

With the Indians having to make different rotations, nine different players ended up scoring vs. Kingston. Developing more scoring is a goal for the Indians as the season goes on.

“We believe we got a bunch of guys that can do good things on the offensive end, and you know, Aiden gets a lot of attention, so it can open up some things for those guys, and they’re taking advantage of it,” Briscoe said. “That’s the way it should be. We want to see three or four guys getting into double figures and eight or nine guys got in the scorebook tonight – have some guys step up at key moments with some big shots, knock down some free throws, all that kind of thing.”

Through the first month of the season, the Indians played a tough schedule against teams ranked higher than they are.

After playing eight games, the Indians sit at 4-4 and the No. 15 ranking in 3A.

“It was a brutal schedule, so before the season even started, I had told our staff, we’re 500 at break, we might feel like it’s a win, and at this point, we do,” Briscoe said. “A couple of really close losses to highly ranked teams or 6A teams.”

The Indians will have about 10 practices over break and will return to the court Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, at the Kingston Tournament.

“I want to try to build a little depth over break, try to improve the things we’re currently working on and add a few wrinkles to some things,” Briscoe said. “Coming out of break, we go to a big tournament down at Kingston for three days. So we’re looking forward to that; we have about nine or 10 practices before we get back to playing a game. It’s almost like a little preseason right here where we can try to get a little better.”

RELATED PHOTO GALLERY Before a capacity crowd and with a full-hearted effort, the Hawaii football team willed a 35-31 victory over California in Wednesday night’s Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

It was an improbable finish, with a backup quarterback firing the winning pass to a Canada native who picked up American football as a freshman in 2022.

“Unbelievable, ” UH coach Timmy Chang said of the conclusion to the Warriors’ 9-4 season. “I’m grateful for all the guys. They did it. I’m just speechless.”

The Golden Bears regained the lead at 31-28 on Campbell High graduate Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele’s 1-yard quarterback sneak with 1 :57 to play.

UH quarterback Micah Alejado then drove the Warriors to the Cal 22 with a 13-yard pass to running back Cam Barfield. But Alejado fell in a heap after aggravating an injured right ankle, forcing the Warriors to call a timeout with 15 seconds to play.

Luke Weaver, who was a junior college All-American last season, was summoned as Alejado’s replacement. Weaver, who was 2-0 as a UH starter, was held to four regular-season games to qualify for a redshirt. But the limits were lifted for the postseason, freeing Weaver to be activated for the bowl.

Chang called for a switch route. Nick Cenacle, aligned as the right slotback, cut toward the near sideline and then went into a sprint.

“I saw the corner low, and Nick Cenacle open, ” Weaver said. “I had to give it a shot. The protection held up and he made the play.”

In full stride, Cenacle extended his arms to make the catch in the end zone for a 34-31 lead with 10 seconds to play. Kansei Matsuzawa, who has not missed a point-after kick this season, was true again to make it 35-31.

“That was our go-to, ” Cenacle said. “We run it all season. I just did a little front-foot set, a little move (on the cornerback ), and went. It seemed like time stopped. All the confidence in the world in Luke. All our quarterbacks are amazing.”

Chang said : “I called it, but I didn’t execute it. They executed it. What an amazing throw and catch by Luke and Nick.”

Weaver said : “That was all God. That’s as simple as I can put it. … It’s been that way the whole season. Just be ready if I’m needed. That’s my role.”

It was a fond adieu for senior Cenacle, who grew up in Montreal and had to adjust to American football as a freshman. Last year, Cenacle entered the transfer portal, but then withdrew to remain at UH for his senior season. Cenacle was hindered by ailments this year, but he used the 25-day break from the regular-season finale to be healthy for the bowl.

“I’m happy I stayed, ” Cenacle said.

It was an emotional game, from the pairing of former UH quarterbacks—Chang and Cal’s interim head coach Nick Rolovich were teammates in 2000 and 2001—to the duel of left-handed signal callers. Alejado, who moved to Las Vegas in the eighth grade, and Sagapolutele grew up in Ewa Beach.

Sagapolutele directed the Golden Bears to touchdowns on their first three drives. Set up by elusive running back Kendrick Raphael (who entered averaging 3.02 post-contact yards while amassing 46 missed tackles ) and pre-snap motions, Sagapolutele picked apart the Warriors with a horizontal game featuring screens and throws to the flats.

“I know some people might have turned their TVs off, ” Barfield said of the three-touchdown deficit, “but we fight hard for everything we have.”

Alejado sparked the comeback despite several ailments. He has played on an injured right ankle suffered in the season opener against Stanford. He also has an injury to his left foot. And the left-hander’s throwing arm has experienced soreness.

“It’s a constant grind, ” Alejado said of the ailments. “It’s part of football. … We started off slow. But we’ve been resilient all year. It started off with that Stanford game when the first play was a strip-sack. Now we’re here.”

The Warriors scored 21 points in a row to tie it. The Warriors got on the board on Pofele Ashlock’s 13-yard scoring catch.

Matsuzawa added a 29-yard field goal with 27 seconds remaining in the first half, and a 39-yarder on the Warriors’ first drive of the second half.

Later, Ashlock caught a pass at the threshold of the end zone, then curled the ball around the right pylon for the touchdown to cut the deficit to 21-19.

Chang decided to go for the two-point conversion. Barfield faked receiving a handoff and went through the heart of the defense. Alejado then underhanded a shovel pass to Barfield to tie it at 21.

“That’s something we worked on since January, ” Barfield said. “It was a shovel pass, but (Alejado ) can sprint out and throw it. It’s built for situations like that.”

Alejado said : “It was fun to watch the hard work come to fruition.”

Ashlock, a junior from Euless, Texas, also was prominent in the night of comebacks. After Ashlock dropped a pass in the flats, he rebounded to make an acrobatic one-handed grab for a 30-yard gain. Ashlock finished with 14 catches (on 17 targets ) for 123 yards and two touchdowns.

“It’s a constant thing I have to remember, the confidence I have to have in myself, ” Ashlock said.

In the aftermath—when mid-field scuffles calmed between the teams—Alejado was able to raise the trophy.

“It means a lot to me, but more for the state, ” Alejado said. “I’m happy for the state. I’m trying to bring back the pride to the state. It was a great season. But we’re focusing on what we can do better.”

GAME STATS FIRST QUARTER CALIFORNIA—Jacob De Jesus 41 pass from Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele.

Chase Meyer kick.—Drive : 8 plays, 72 yards, 4 :11 elapsed time.—Time : 7 :01. Score : California 7, Hawaii 0 SECOND QUARTER CALIFORNIA—Kendrick Raphael 19 run.

Meyer kick.—Drive : 8 plays, 68 yards, 3 :02 elapsed time.—Time : 14 :55. Score : California 14, Hawaii 0 CALIFORNIA—Anthony League 8 run. Meyer kick.—Drive : 8 plays, 49 yards, 3 :13 elapsed time.—Time : 9 :38. Score : California 21, Hawaii 0 HAWAII—Pofele Ashlock 13 pass from Micah Alejado. Kansei Matsuzawa kick.—Drive : 12 plays, 75 yards, 5 :41 elapsed time.—Time : 3 :57. Score : California 21, Hawaii 7 HAWAII—FG Matsuzawa 29—Drive : 7 plays, 21 yards, 1 :18 elapsed time.—Time : 0 :27. Score : California 21, Hawaii 10 THIRD QUARTER HAWAII—FG Matsuzawa 39—Drive : 13 plays, 61 yards, 6 :20 elapsed time.—Time : 5 :58 Score : California 21, Hawaii 13 FOURTH QUARTER HAWAII—Ashlock 3 pass from Alejado.

Cam Barfield pass from Alejado.—Drive : 8 plays, 53 yards, 3 :41 elapsed time.—Time : 13 :50 Score : California 21, Hawaii 21 CALIFORNIA—FG Meyer 22—Drive : 10 plays, 71 yards, 4 :54 elapsed time.—Time : 8 :56 Score : California 24, Hawaii 21 HAWAII—Brandon White 17 pass from Alejado. Matsuzawa kick.—Drive : 4 plays, 59 yards, 1 :27 elapsed time.—Time : 7 :19. Score : Hawaii 28, California 24 CALIFORNIA—Sagapolutele 1 run.

Meyer kick.—Drive : 9 plays, 75 yards, 5 :22 elapsed time.—Time : 1 :57. Score : California 31, Hawaii 28 HAWAII—Nick Cenacle 22 pass from Luke Weaver. Matsuzawa kick.—Drive : 10 plays, 68 yards, 1 :42 elapsed time.—Time : 0 :10. Score : Hawaii 35, California 31 TEAM STATISTICS CAL UH First downs 29 24 Rushing 10 6 Passing 18 16 Penalty 1 2 Net Yards Rush. 145 93 Attempts 29 23 Avg. Per Rush 5.0 4.0 Rushing TDs 3 0 Yards Gained 151 98 Yards Lost 6 5 Net Yards Pass. 343 302 Comp-Att-Int 28-39-0 34-49-0 Avg./Attempt 8.8 6.2 Avg./Completion 12.3 8.9 TDs 1 4 Total Offen. Yards 488 395 Plays 68 72 Avg./Play 7.2 5.5 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0 Penalties-Yards 8-85 8-55 Punts-Yards 2-47 2-91 Avg./Punt 23.5 45.5 Net /Punt 23.5 28.5 Inside 20 1 1 50 + Yards 0 0 Touchbacks 0 0 Fair Catch 1 0 Kickoffs-Yards 6-347 7-418 Avg. Yards /KO 57.8 59.7 Net Yards /KO 41.7 46.4 Touchbacks 2 3 Punt Ret.-Yards 2-34 0-0 Punt Ret.-Avg. 17.0 NA Time of Poss. 29 :40 30 :20 3rd Down Conv. 6-10 8-17 4th Down Conv. 0-1 3-3 Red Zone Conv. 4-4 5-5 RZ Touchdowns 3 3 RZ Field Goals 1 2 Sacks Total-Yards 0-0 1-6 PATs 4-4 3-3 Field Goals 1-2 2-3

MIAMI — Heat coach Erik Spoelstra long has stressed a focus on where the focus should not be on evaluating a player’s performance, namely not the last line in the box score, namely not the points column.

Exhibit A often has been team captain Bam Adebayo, with the ball movement, rebounding, defense of the Heat center transcending solely scoring.

But there are times when points matter, because when it comes to the final score, they’re the only thing that matters.

So too hard not to ignore are these scoring lines from Adebayo over the past three weeks:

Dec. 6: 4 of 9 FG, 0 for 3 3FG, 9 points. As in the home loss to the Kings.

Dec. 18: 4 of 13 FG, 0 for 2 3FG, 8 points. As in the road win over the Nets.

Dec. 23: 4 of 11 FG, 0 for 3 3FG, 9 points. As in Tuesday night’s home loss to the Raptors.

Only four times this season has Adebayo been limited to single-digit scoring, with the only time before the aforementioned three in December being when he scored two points in the Nov. 5 loss in Denver, when he left eight minutes into the game with the toe sprain that would have him out for six games.

So, yes, the lack of offensive input has been hard to overlook.

“It sucks,” Adebayo said of being unable to contribute more on the offensive end amid a slide that has seen the Heat drop eight of their past nine. “But it’s part of the NBA. It’s a long season. So fighting through whatever I got to fight through, figure out how I can impact winning and do that. Instead of focusing on shots not falling, just play basketball. The shots will eventually start falling.”

While not an excuse, the base offense installed this season, the one stressing ball movement and eliminating screens and handoffs, eliminated many of the levers that had boosted Adebayo’s offense.

To that end, a compromise might be at hand, with the Heat resuming their post-Christmas schedule Friday night at State Farm Arena against the Atlanta Hawks, before a Saturday home game against the Indiana Pacers.

“We’re working on so many things and I have to be better for him,” Spoelstra said. “But his heart’s in the right place. He wants to help the team however he can. He’s a great competitor.

“This kind of stretch of the season weighs on him like it would weigh on a coach. He carries it. Right now, we can figure all that stuff out. I just have to figure out how to collectively come together and get a win and then do it again, and then rinse and repeat.”

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Adebayo’s current .466 field-goal percentage would be the worst of his nine-year career,  his .525 effective-field-goal percentage his worst since his 2017-18 rookie season and his .560 true shooting percentage also the lowest of his career.

“Shots not falling,” said Adebayo, his 18.0 scoring average his lowest in six seasons. “I mean that’s the way it is. I’m getting to my spots and figuring out how I can get a couple more touches throughout the flow of the offense.”

For now, the encouragement is ongoing, with teammates appreciative of how dribble handoffs and other previous Heat staples could get their captain going again.

“I’ve been in his ear,” guard Norman Powell said. “I’ve been very vocal in talking to him and trying to find his spots, pick his spots, get him in that little 17- and 15-foot range, where he can get to his middie or into his iso rip-and-goes, out of the DHO’s and the mid pick-and-rolls, have him play in that pocket.

“Kind of hopefully as the more and more we do that, the more he’ll be able to make those reads and get back to his game. But I definitely think we need that for him, just to get some touches, and feel his way into the offense.”

There are reasons for optimism for New York sports in 2026.

The Knicks are contenders in the wide-open Eastern Conference. The Yankees are set to get one of their biggest stars back. The World Cup is headed to MetLife Stadium.

As 2025 comes to an end, here’s what New York has to look forward to in 2026.

KNICKS IN THE MIX

This past year was kind to the Knicks, who advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000.

There’s reason to believe they can go even further in 2016.

The Knicks’ bench is deeper. The Eastern Conference is weaker. Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo could be traded before the February deadline, and his affinity for New York has been well-documented.

Whether they acquire Antetokounmpo or not, the Knicks have a chance to advance to their first NBA Finals since 1999 — and to win their first championship since 1973.

COLE COMEBACK

Gerrit Cole is not expected to be ready for Opening Day, but the Yankees’ ace is on track to return from Tommy John surgery during the season’s first half.

That will be a welcome sight for the Yankees, who envision an eventual rotation of Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Cam Schlittler and Luis Gil as a major strength.

Cole missed the entire 2025 season due to the elbow operation, but he is still just two years removed from a Cy Young campaign in 2023.

And while Cole is entering his age-35 season, he can take comfort in knowing Justin Verlander and Jacob deGrom returned to elite form after having Tommy John surgery at similar ages.

DART PART TWO

Jaxson Dart looked the part of a franchise building block during his rookie season, even if it didn’t result in many wins for the Giants.

The Giants now hope there’s a sophomore leap for the dual-threat quarterback, who should benefit from the returns of top receiver Malik Nabers and running back Cam Skattebo after this year’s season-ending injuries.

The ideal trajectory is that of the New England Patriots, who made a huge jump this year in Drake Maye’s second season.

Also sparking the Pats’ turnaround was the hiring of head coach Mike Vrabel. The Giants, of course, are now in the market for a new head coach following Brian Daboll’s midseason firing.

JET FUEL

The Jets find themselves in a similar position as last winter’s Giants, seeking a franchise quarterback without a clear-cut target at this point.

With five first-round picks over the next two drafts, the Jets have ample ammunition to trade up in the first round or to swing a deal for a veteran.

Heisman-winning Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and Oregon’s Dante Moore appear to be the top QB prospects in 2025, though the 2026 class is expected to be stronger if the Jets decide to wait.

And Jets fans will fantasize about Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow demanding a trade, though someone like Arizona’s Kyler Murray is more likely to become available.

WORLD CUP

For the second time ever, the U.S. is hosting the men’s World Cup, this time sharing those duties with Canada and Mexico.

And for the first time ever, the World Cup final will take place in New York/New Jersey.

Indeed, MetLife Stadium will host the final on July 19 — one of eight matches that will be played at the stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC

And the World Cup won’t be the only major international sports tournament in 2026.

While New York isn’t hosting any WBC games, the event should still be of interest to local fans, as the Yankees’ Aaron Judge is the captain of Team USA and the Mets’ Francisco Lindor is the captain of Team Puerto Rico.

The WBC is scheduled for March 5-17, with the final set to take place at Miami’s LoanDepot Park.

ST. JOHN’S ENCORE

After winning the Big East’s regular-season and conference tournament championships in 2025, St. John’s entered this season with sky-high expectations.

And while the Red Storm got off to a slow start, head coach Rick Pitino remains optimistic that his new-look roster can round into form in time to defend its conference crown.

What St. John’s does as an encore is a major storyline in 2026, and meetings with UConn on Feb. 6 and Feb. 25 should be particularly telling.

CHICAGO — Winning is a contradictory thing for the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls allowed opponents to score at least 120 points in four of their last six games. They also won all four of those games. This dichotomy is powering a four-game winning streak for the Bulls, who at 14-15 after winning five of six — including two straight over the Hawks in Atlanta — have nearly pulled themselves back to .500.

This might seem antithetical, but it has been the reality since the start of the season — when the Bulls are at their best, their defense seems to fall by the wayside.

“Listen, we’re not a great defensive team,” coach Billy Donovan said. “But we can be better and we can improve. We can take a little bit more control over the things that we can.”

The Bulls were never going to be a defensive juggernaut. Donovan entered the season warning about this roster’s defensive deficiencies. Even during the opening 6-1 stretch that fostered so much hope, the Bulls gave up at least 120 points in two of those wins. In fact, they have won only five games in which their opponent scored fewer than 120 points.

This Bulls team was always destined to win in spite of its defense, not because of it. But that’s not an excuse — or a fact that should let the Bulls off the hook.

“We’re going to have to figure it out,” guard Coby White said. “We don’t want to be one of these teams that’s just trying to outscore teams. We know what reality is. We’ve got to do the little things more in terms of taking away a couple baskets here and there.”

The Bulls play fast. As the rest of the league picks up its pace, the Bulls are still the second-fastest team in the NBA. That speed is almost entirely concentrated on the offense. Playing that fast invites the game to open up, which requires both defenses to communicate effectively, switch rapidly and react sharply if they want to keep up.

This is a boon for the Bulls offense, which picks apart opposing defenses in sped-up situations to force points in transition and sling 3-pointers while the defense is still getting set. But it only makes life harder for the defense, which is forced to compete at the pace the Bulls already set — and often falls apart as a result.

It’s easy to blame this on effort. The Bulls often look disjointed and discombobulated on defense, which means they don’t contest consistently enough at the rim (where they allow 21.6 baskets per game) and allow open shots at the perimeter.

In particular, the defense struggles with switches. The Bulls lineup includes several visible weaknesses — notably, both center Nikola Vučević and guard Josh Giddey offer poor options to switch on screens due to their lack of maneuverability from the perimeter to the rim. The Bulls often choose simply to force both players to switch regardless — relying on help defense from the weak side to bolster both players — but poor communication is a primary disruptor in these situations.

When Donovan talks about defense with the Bulls, he still is focusing on fundamentals: boxing out, communicating, staying aware of gaps and lanes.

“I’m not saying we’ve got to be perfect, but the total intention to focus has got to be on those things,” Donovan said.

A simple fact of basketball is that poor defensive teams simply have to work harder on that end of the court. Donovan has been tempted at times to use more gimmicky defensive tactics — like shifting into a matchup-specific zone — to combat his team’s lack of natural defensive discipline. Those fixes can help in the short term, particularly when the Bulls are facing a particular sharpshooter or need to accommodate a lack of length at the rim.

But in the long term, the Bulls are focused on the margins. This team isn’t going to hold opponents under 105 points per game, but it can reduce scoring through improved intention in those same fundamental areas.

“We’re going to have to help a little bit more,” Donovan said. “We’re just going to have to be a team that’s going to have to help each other more. It’s going to be hard to win giving up that many points and expecting to score as many as we did.”

Dec. 24—Lyle grad Trey Anderson grew up with current Lyle-Pacelli head coach Carl Tuckenmiller coaching him at every level, and now Trey has joined forces with Truckenmiller, and also his older brother Tyson in an effort to lead the Athletics on the hardwood.

Trey, a 2023 graduate, was attending Riverland Community College when Truckenmiller reached out to him to coach the L-P junior high boys team three years ago, and this year Trey has moved up to an assistant role with the L-P varsity/JV, along with Tyson, who has been coaching for five years.

The boys are following in the footsteps of their dad, Paul Anderson, who had coaching stints at NIACC, Riverland and L-P.

"Right away, Tyson was coming to practice with plays and he would talk to his dad to see if it would work," Truckenmiller said. "Tyson was great, and now that we've got Trey, it's even better, because they sit together and talk things out. It's really worked out well having them here."

Tyson said that it paid off to be raised by a coach and he's learning to embrace the grind of the long high school seasons, while still leaning on his dad for the occasional piece of advice.

"(Our dad) left Riverland to come coach us here and he was a mentor to us," Tyson said. "It's nice to put our foot in the door with these young guys. It's a lot of fun and we're very grateful."

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Trey inherited his love of basketball from his dad and his older brothers. Now that he's not playing for the Athletics, he's enjoyed working as a leader for the next generation of players.

"Seeing progress in kids, building them up is always super cool," Trey said. "It's fun to work with the boys, and we try to give them the best experience."

It's getting harder and harder to find coaches to step up and Truckenmiller is extremely appreciative of the Anderson's, who have stepped up and helped him run practices, while offering gameday advice.

Tyson said that it's rewarding to bring the lessons of sports to the young players on L-P's team.

"We get the team for a couple of weeks in the summer, and it's a long season. There's a lot of rewards to that," Trey said. "(Sports) build a lot of structure. Life is a lot of hard work, and sports instill a good foundation."

Trey said that he enjoyed his time with the Athletics, and he's glad that he can foster that passion in younger players who are in the same spot he was a few years ago.

"Life's not easy and when you come here and work hard instead of just sitting home, you get to build a bond and have a basketball family," Trey said. "It goes beyond school."

Dec. 24—PULLMAN — Kirby Moore's first Washington State coaching staff is starting to come together.

The Cougars' new offensive coordinator is former Boise State co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Matt Miller, according to a Wednesday report from 247 Sports, filling both coordinator spots on Moore's staff.

WSU's new defensive coordinator is expected to be former Oregon State coach Trent Bray, as was reported over the weekend.

The Cougs also made a couple other hires, according to reports: Missouri assistant offensive line coach Jack Abercrombie will be the Cougars' new offensive line coach, former Missouri tight ends coach Durham Cato is joining the Cougars' staff and so is former Missouri, Boise State and Auburn staffer Brad Larrondo, who is expected to join in a lead front office role.

Hired on Dec. 12, Moore will have an assistant coach salary pool of $4.5M, WSU interim athletics director Jon Haarlow said earlier this month.

In the early 2010s, Moore and Miller were teammates at Boise State, where Miller returned to coach in 2020. At the time, he was hired as wide receivers coach, which he held for four seasons. Ahead of this season, he was also promoted to co-offensive coordinator, helping the Broncos finish No. 46 nationally in scoring with 29.9 points per game.

This season, Boise State went 9-5 with a Mountain West championship, the Broncos' third straight season winning the conference. In 2024, BSU reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history.

A native of Helena, Montana, Miller coached at Montana State from 2016-19. He coached the Bobcats' receivers, then added the role of recruiting coordinator in 2017. In the middle of the next season, he was promoted to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, a role he held for 2019 as well.

In 2019, Montana State led the Big Sky and was eighth nationally in rushing offense with 258.1 yards per game. The Bobcats were also No. 25 in total offense with 426.5 yards per game.

This part is unclear: Will Miller coach a position group along with his OC gig? Most offensive coordinators are also quarterbacks coaches, but most of Miller's experience is with wide receivers, both at Montana State and Boise State. If Miller sticks with wideouts at WSU, perhaps it's possible that Moore retains Danny Freund, who was the Cougs' offensive coordinator this season.

In other staff news, Abercrombie comes to WSU from Missouri, where he was the team's assistant offensive line coach in recent years. This fall, the Tigers finished No. 9 nationally in Pro Football Focus' pass-blocking grades and No. 17 in run-blocking, highlighting the way the Tigers' front five paved the way for their rushing offense, which finished No. 8 in the country.

The Tigers have had three offensive linemen selected in the NFL Draft in the last two years, including 2025 first-round pick Armand Membou and 2024 fourth-round pick Javon Foster.

Abercrombie has also spent time at Mississippi State and VMI Keydet, an FCS team based in Virginia, where Abercrombie was offensive line coach and run game coordinator. Abercombie also held a stint at Division II Gannon from 2016-17.

For his part, Cato comes to WSU after three years with Moore at Missouri, where he coached the Tigers' tight ends for the previous two. A Dartmouth graduate, Cato coached Missouri TE Brett Norfleet, who ranked second on the team in catches this season, going for 254 yards and five touchdowns through the air.

Before working a brief stint at Maine, Cato spent nearly six years at Washington, where he was an offensive analyst from 2016-19 and coached tight ends in 2020 and 2021. In 2020, he coached first-team All-Pac-12 tight end Cade Otton, the Huskies' leader in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns.

Finally, a new presence in WSU's front office will be Larrondo, who was previously the CEO of Missouri's NIL collective, Every True Tiger Brands. A graduate of Idaho State and Boise State, Larrondo was the assistant athletics director/director of football external relations and recruiting at Mizzou. Before that, he a worked a similar role at Auburn, which followed a long stay at Boise State, where he served in a variety of roles, including sports information director, broadcaster, primary sport liaison to the AD for football and chief of staff.

Dec. 24—What do we know about West Coast Conference women's basketball teams after nonconference games?

Truth is not much more than most knew in late October when teams were preparing for their season openers.

Ready or not, though, WCC play begins a 10-week season Sunday.

The coaches put out their preseason poll, but no team has stepped up and declared it is the team to beat.

There are a handful of contenders. Oregon State got the preseason nod. The Beavers received nine of 12 first-place votes (coaches couldn't vote for their teams). Gonzaga, which shared the regular-season championship with Portland last year, was tabbed second, receiving the other three first-place votes.

To be fair, coaches had little substance in which to base their preseason rankings. Most teams had significant turnover.

Nonconference results would suggest that some of the predictions are off. Here are the records through nonconference play: Oregon State (8-5), Gonzaga (8-5), WSU (1-12), Portland (6-6), Santa Clara (10-3), San Francisco (7-4), Saint Mary's (9-4), Pacific (5-6), LMU (5-6), Pepperdine (9-3), San Diego (6-7) and Seattle (4-7).

The champion is likely to come from this group — Gonzaga, OSU, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Saint Mary's or Portland.

Noteworthy

At first glance, coaches picking WSU third was largely a guess. WSU lost six players to the transfer portal, including two starters.

In the Cougars' defense, they've played a challenging schedule and haven't been at full strength yet.

—Pepperdine, in its second season under former Lake City High and Montana standout Katie (Baker) Faulkner, is off to its best start in 45 years. The Wave had to replace all 11 players from a year ago.

—Santa Clara has gotten the attention of followers nationally. The Broncos have been projected to win the WCC's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Their 10 wins have all been by double digits.

—Portland, which went into WCC play a year ago undefeated, has replaced five starters off a team that finished with a school-best 31-5.

—The nine nonconference wins by Saint Mary's is the most since 2013.

—OSU was picked to win before it lost a returning starter for the season to a knee injury. The Beavers were tabbed based on winning the WCC Tournament last winter.

"It puts a large target on our back, for sure," OSU coach Scott Ruek said. "You're going to get everybody's best shot. ... That's a great challenge and I welcome that."

—The addition of Seattle to the league forced the WCC to go to an unbalanced schedule. Each team plays seven teams twice and four teams once (two at home, two on the road) for 18.

Gonzaga and OSU have the same four single games against LMU, Pepperdine, Saint Mary's and Seattle. The addition of Seattle to the league forced the WCC to go to an unbalanced schedule. Each team plays seven teams twice and four teams once (two at home, two on the road) for 18.

Gonzaga and OSU have the same four single games against LMU, Pepperdine, Saint Mary's and Seattle.

—Gonzaga, OSU and WSU move on to the rebuilt Pac-12 next year.

—Gonzaga has won 18 of the last 21 league titles and nine of 11 under 12th-year coach Lisa Fortier. The Zags are seeking a fourth straight title this season.

So history says Gonzaga will finish near or at the top of the WCC heap.

—Six teams the Zags have played — North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Stanford, Indiana, Colorado State and Arizona State — are projected to make the NCAA Tournament by ESPN's Charlie Creme. Gonzaga went 1-5 against those teams, beating North Dakota State and losing by an average of 6.4 points including a two-point setback to Arizona State.

For the Zags. a difficult nonconference schedule has to count for something, right? They begin league having won five of their last six.

"It's kind of a funky year with an unbalanced schedule," Fortier said. "Really, every game is more important than ever before."

Had Gonzaga taken better care of the ball, it might have a couple more wins. The Zags have been in all their games well into the fourth quarter.

Gonzaga's starting lineup is an interesting mix, not all of it home grown. The Zags returned one starter in sophomore guard Allie Turner, the WCC's Freshman of the Year last season. Redshirt freshman forward Lauren Whittaker has played older than her age, and lone senior Ines Bettencourt, who shares point duties with Turner, started half the season a year ago. Manning the other two spots are junior transfers Zeryhia Aokuso (guard), the 2023-24 WCC Freshman of the Year at Saint Mary's, and Taylor Smith (forward), both of whom were two-year starters previously.

Turner and Aokuso were preseason All-WCC picks.

Fortier has said often the past two months that her team has all the pieces it needs to reach its potential.

So after a trying nonconference schedule Gonzaga must believe things will lighten up in WCC play. Not exactly.

"The emphasis going into WCC is it just keeps getting harder because now these teams know you pretty well," Fortier said. "These (nonconference) teams know that we're Gonzaga, but the teams in the conference don't like us. So there's always that piece. A different level of something at stake."

Fortier is looking forward to WCC play.

"Our emphasis will be consistency, competitive stamina which plays into consistency, continuing to improve as a team in all areas," Fortier said. "I don't think there's one area where we're saying 'oh, we're good' — hopefully they get some rest and they're ready to dial it in in the next phase of our season."

—Don't send any sympathy cards to WSU coach Kamie Ethridge. She sees improvement even if her team has just one victory.

"Preseason polls are just a joke right now in this day and age," Ethridge said during WCC Media Day in late October. "And people made the all-league team that didn't even play in the league last year. Half of them (weren't in the league) last year. How do you judge that."

Ethridge said OSU and Gonzaga always win and that shouldn't change in league.

"(But) I think it's going to be a wild league," Ethridge said.

WSU junior guard Eleonora Villa is the WCC's second-ranked scorer (17.2).

—Gonzaga opens at home against LMU on Sunday at 2 p.m. followed two days later against Pepperdine.

WSU is at home Sunday against Pepperdine in a noon tipoff and entertains LMU on Tuesday.

Contenders for top honor

Gonzaga has taken the last three Players of the Year honors.

There's only been one freshman win the honor and that occurred in the WCC's first season. It could happen a second time this winter.

That candidate is Gonzaga's 6-foot-3 Whittaker, who is making a case for National Freshman of the Year honors. She ranks second among freshmen in the nation at 19.5 points per game and seventh in rebounding (9.3).

Whittaker, who broke Gonzaga's freshman record for double-doubles at five in the Zags' final nonconference game, ranks first in scoring, first in field goal percentage (58.1) and second in rebounding in the WCC. Santa Clara graduate forward Sophie Glancey is fourth in scoring (15.6) and third in rebounding (8.0).

Whittaker was named both the WCC Player of the Week and the Freshman Player of the Week on Monday. It's the fourth time she's been tabbed Freshman of the Week.

—Whittaker averaged 19.7 points and 12.7 rebounds in three games last week, including a pair of double-doubles. She now has the Gonzaga freshman record for double-doubles (five). The five double-doubles is tied for first among freshmen in the nation this season.

In a win at Missouri State, Whittaker had a career-high 16 rebounds. That vaulted her into second among freshmen for rebounds in a game. She was a rebound shy of a third double-double last week when she had 24 points and nine rebounds in a 68-66 loss to undefeated Arizona State.

—The double-double WCC honors for Whittaker was topped Tuesday when she was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week.

The honor was based on the aforementioned accomplishments of last week. No previous Gonzaga freshman has ever won the award.

The honor is named after Catchings, a former Tennessee All-American.

Around the area

Idaho and Eastern Washington are off until opening Big Sky Conference play next week.

Idaho (9-4) visits Eastern Washington (6-6) on Jan. 3 in a league opener.

The Vandals were picked third in both the coaches' and media polls and EWU was tabbed sixth in both.

CHICAGO — Chicago Bears defensive end Austin Booker said he has been fined $5,000 apiece for two roughing-the-passer penalties he was issued during Saturday’s 22-16 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers.

“I did get a fine, but we’ll see what they say on the appeal,” Booker told the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday.

He said he believes it’ll take about a week to receive a ruling on his appeal.

Booker was flagged for roughing the passer on the Packers’ third offensive play of the game, when quarterback Jordan Love threw incomplete to Romeo Doubs on third-and-1 from the Bears 44-yard line.

Then, in the second quarter, on first-and-10 from the Packers 17, Booker was penalized a second roughing the passer for making head-on, helmet-to-helmet contact with Love.

Love left the game and didn’t return. He was placed in concussion protocol and appeared on Tuesday’s estimated report with a left shoulder injury and concussion.

On replays of the second sack attempt, it appeared that Love lowered his head just as Booker was striking, which Booker suggested should’ve been a mitigating factor.

“One hundred percent,” he said. “The first one I’ll take full responsibility for. Like, I landed on him, I should have braced myself more.

“But I think the second one could definitely go both ways.”

Bears coach Ben Johnson said Monday: “That’s 100 percent a flag where he ends up getting concussed, and that’s not what anybody wants. But at the same time that one is a more difficult one to coach just from a technique perspective just because we’re trying to go after the quarterback and it’s a bang-bang play like that.”

Booker agreed Wednesday.

“I’m just a physical player, too, and I was just trying to play fast,” he said. “And things happen quick and sometimes stuff happens. But the first one I can definitely make (it) not happen, because it’s a lot of (lost) field position, for sure. … But the second one, I feel like I was playing hard, playing fast and things happened how they did.”

Booker added later: “At the same time, I know the significance of (a 15-yard penalty), and I’m going to try to clean (it) up for next game.”

NEW YORK — Eighty-two. Seventy-three. Seventy-two. Eighty-two. Eighty-three. Eighty-two. Eighty-two — and now 29.

Mikal Bridges’ track record of perfect attendance reads like an NBA head coach’s fantasy.

Mike Brown is living that fantasy in real time during his first season at Madison Square Garden, guiding a Knicks team with championship aspirations. Bridges isn’t just a premier two-way wing capable of locking down the league’s best scorers one night and detonating offensively the next.

He’s also the league’s reigning, uncontested iron man. If there’s any certainty to the Knicks’ season this year, it’s Bridges suiting up for tipoff every night.

And in a league increasingly shaped by load management and star absences, Bridges’ availability has become its own competitive advantage — one you can’t quite put a price on (though the Knicks might argue otherwise after surrendering five first-round picks to acquire him from Brooklyn, then signing him to a four-year, $150 million extension this summer).

“The best ability is availability, and to have that is a big thing,” Brown said after practice in Tarrytown earlier this month, just before the team boarded its flight to Las Vegas for the NBA Cup semifinal. “And anybody — everybody — would love to have that.”

Bridges is the only current player to appear in 500 consecutive games, with 600 looming. He and Golden State’s Buddy Hield are the only active players who haven’t missed a game over the past five seasons. And in 2023, after a midseason trade from Phoenix to Brooklyn created an extra contest on his schedule, Bridges became the first player since Josh Smith in 2014-15 to appear in 83 regular-season games.

On Christmas Day against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Bridges will move into 11th place all time in consecutive games played, surpassing James Donaldson’s mark of 586 set in 1981. He can pass Jack Twyman and John Stockton (tied for ninth at 609) as soon as January, and overtake Andre Miller’s 632-game streak to stand alone in eighth place by season’s end.

“He takes care of his body. He does a great job taking care of his body,” Brown said. “I don’t know what his sleep patterns are like, but I know that he works extremely hard with his preparation. And when you work as hard as he does with your preparation, usually good things happen. And then probably got good genes. So thanks mama.”

Bridges hasn’t missed a game since high school. He played 116 straight at Villanova, where Jalen Brunson first saw the lengths his teammate would go to just to be available.

Now reunited in New York, Brunson says nothing has changed.

“He takes care of his body. He works tremendously hard,” Brunson said. “He’s a psychopath when it comes to his craft. So he’s really locked in with everything he needs to do to make sure he’s ready. And that’s just who he’s been since I’ve met him.”

A psychopath?

“That’s not my story to tell,” Brunson said with a grin. “But he’s a lunatic for sure.”

Bridges owned the label moments later.

“Maybe a little bit of a psychopath, but nothing crazy,” he said. “Just trying to take care of it every single day. Try to stay up on it.”

What might read as lunacy from the outside has become ritual for the NBA’s longest-standing iron man.

“I take advantage of the cold tubs, always get a massage before the game, the stretcher routine and everything,” Bridges said. “I think it’s just being consistent with it. It’s a long season with a lot of emotions going on. People tend to stop doing all the things. I just try to be consistent all the time and continue to do all the things that are going to get me prepared for the game.”

Bridges isn’t chasing records. But if he finishes this season with perfect attendance once again, he’ll reach 638 consecutive games played. To catch A.C. Green’s NBA record of 1,192 straight appearances, Bridges would need 555 more — roughly seven additional seasons.

That would take him to age 37. A lot of basketball to play. A lot of mileage to accrue. But maybe not quite an impossible feat for the basketball psychopath on the loose at the Garden this season.

OXFORD – Ole Miss’ lone blemish in the 2025 season still doesn’t sit quite right. But as fate would have it, the Rebels will get their chance at redemption.

The No. 6 Rebels (12-1) will face No. 3 Georgia (12-1) in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 at 7 p.m. It is a rematch of their Oct. 18 contest in Athens, Georgia, a game the Bulldogs won 43-35. Ole Miss led the game by nine heading into the fourth quarter but was outscored 17-0 over the final 15 minutes. After racking up 338 yards over the first three quarters, Ole Miss managed just 13 total yards on 11 plays in the fourth. The Bulldogs totaled 143 yards in the game’s final quarter and held the ball for more than 13 minutes.

The Rebels scored touchdowns on each of their first five drives in the game but punted twice and turned the ball over on downs in their three fourth-quarter drives. Georgia did not punt once in the game and scored on every drive minus the game’s final one. The Bulldogs finished with 510 yards of offense – including 221 yards on the ground – and quarterback Gunner Stockton threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns and scored a rushing touchdown.

Moments after defeating Tulane 41-10 in their College Football Playoff debut, Rebels defenders already had their eyes on the challenge awaiting New Year’s Day in New Orleans.

“Me and TJ Dottery, I swear we were just literally just talking about that, like, 30 minutes ago,” sophomore defensive tackle Will Echoles said postgame. “So, man, it's a personal thing now. … We know we have to go play our best, like I said, and go be dominant like we know we can.”

In six games since their lone loss of the season, the Rebels have held opponents to an average of 313.7 yards and 15.5 points per game. Georgia, the SEC champion that had a first-round bye in the CFP, is averaging just under 29.8 points per game and 381.8 yards per game in six games since last facing the Rebels.

Dottery, who leads Ole Miss with 83 tackles, is looking forward to another chance at Georgia.

“It means a lot to get another shot at that game,” Dottery said. “Honestly, right after the game when we lost, I kind of figured we were going to have another shot at them, not knowing when. But what better opportunity than now?”

Dec. 24—ST. PAUL — All three of UND's Team USA hopefuls are headed to the World Junior Championship.

UND defenseman E.J. Emery, forward Will Zellers and 2026 goalie recruit Caleb Heil made the American under-20 team and will compete at the World Junior Championship beginning Friday in St. Paul.

Team USA opens against Germany at 5 p.m. Friday in Grand Casino Arena.

The Americans made their final two cuts after Tuesday night's exhibition against Finland. They were forward Jacob Kvasnicka and defenseman Blake Fiddler.

"It's always difficult to settle on our final roster and that's a credit to the great players we have in our country and all those that have supported them along the way," U.S. general manager John Vanbiesbrouck said. "We're excited about playing at home this year in the World Juniors and we look forward to getting the tournament started on Friday."

This is the fourth time UND has had three Americans at a single World Juniors, tying the school record. UND also had three American World Junior members in 2003, 2004 and 2006.

Matt Greene, Matt Jones and Zach Parise were on the 2003 team. Parise, Brady Murray and Drew Stafford led the U.S. to its first-ever gold medal in the event in 2004. T.J. Oshie, Brian Lee and Taylor Chorney were on the 2006 team.

UND also has three representatives on the Canadian team — the most in school history. UND had two members on the Canadian team twice — 1982 and 1983.

Forward Cole Reschny, defenseman Keaton Verhoeff and 2026 defenseman recruit Ethan MacKenzie will play for Team Canada, which opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Czechia in 3M Arena at Mariucci.

This also sets a school record for the highest number of UND/UND-bound players at a single World Juniors.

The previous record was four (2003, 2004, 2006).

Emery was among the final cuts last year, but made the U.S. squad after a strong first half with the Fighting Hawks. Emery, a defensive defenseman, has played a shutdown role for the No. 4-ranked Fighting Hawks. He's also scored two goals and tallied four points.

Zellers was a late addition to the American team.

He was not on the initial camp invite list, but got the call a week later after a hot start to his freshman season. Zellers has 10 goals and 15 points in 18 games for the Fighting Hawks. He scored twice in an exhibition with Team USA this week.

Heil, who plays for Madison in the United States Hockey League, is one of three goalies on the final U.S. roster.

Heil started Tuesday's exhibition and

stopped nine of 10 shots

for the Americans.

Christmas is a time to enjoy family.

In the Clark household, as it has for decades, the large gatherings include sharing stories and reflections on memories. Many were created on the hardwood floors of the iconic former Catholic Youth Center, now known as the Lackawanna College Student Union.

Competing in basketball, a sport they all love.

Dunmore senior Jimmy Clark is part of the next generation. He, along with his sister, Maggie, a sophomore forward at Scranton Prep, will write their own chapters when they compete in the Lynett Memorial Basketball Tournament that starts on Dec. 27.

In the first game of the 74th boys tournament, Scranton Prep faces Scranton at 6 p.m., and Dunmore challenges defending champion Holy Cross at 7:30 p.m.

“Everyone always talks about the Lynett tournament,” Jimmy said. “It is the best Christmas tournament. This is going to be really nice. All of my uncles are looking forward to the game. My whole family is going to be there.”

Playing in the Lynett Tournament is as much a tradition as opening presents for the Clark family.

Jimmy’s father, Pat, played on the 1997 tournament championship team for Dunmore. Pat introduced the game and how it should be played to his oldest of six children.

“My dad coached me from when I was younger, but he stopped after my freshman year,” Jimmy said. “He shaped who I am. He never asked me how many points I scored, only if the team won. He always stressed to me to be the hardest-working player on the court. He says to me that he wasn’t the most skilled guy on the court, but that he was always the hardest working.

“He was the biggest influence in my life, and I look up to him.”

Pat’s success at Dunmore only scratches the surface of the impact the family has had on the holiday event that has spanned decades.

The Clarks are a basketball family.

Brian Clark, who scored 14 points to lead Scranton Prep to the tournament title in 1972, and his wife, Margi, have eight children. Pat is the oldest; Maggie, Chael, Jordan, Kevin, Courtney, Allie, and Matthew all competed in the sport.

Pat’s wife, Kristen, also has ties to the Lynett Tournament. Her brother Peter Mackrell won a championship at Scranton Prep in 1983, 1984, and 1985, and her brother, Paul, won a title at Dunmore in 1995.

“It’s a big deal for our family and always has been,” said Pat, who led the Bucks to the championship with 11 points and 10 rebounds, 25 years to the day after his father’s tournament win.

“We probably do more talking than we should. My dad won it back in the 1970s, and when we talk about it, we almost just use codes. We ask whether you are early or late. Meaning, are you playing the first game or the second game on the first day? We tell Jimmy, you’d better be in a prime time game on the second day.”

Jimmy listens to all the stories.

They include Chael’s tournament most valuable player award effort in 2002, Jordan’s all-tournament selection in 2004, Kevin’s two all-tournament teams, Courtney’s debut in the fourth girls tournament, and Matthew’s all-tournament effort.

Those are his inspirations as he leads the Bucks into this year’s tournament.

“You get razzed a lot,” Jimmy chuckled. “Everyone asks if this is the year I am going to win the Lynett. I tell them, I hope so. But I do think we could get it done. They have all played, and I see the banners and 1,000-point scorers, and their names are up there. It’s a legacy thing. I just try to pick things up where they left off and build upon that.

“My family is always asking how I am doing. They are engaged with it. They are all phenomenal basketball players. It is a lot to live up to, but I do my best.”

A sharpshooter, Jimmy is a multi-sport athlete at Dunmore, also excelling in baseball. He has developed into a weapon on offense for the Bucks. He also provides an intense focus on the defensive end.

In his freshman season, Jimmy saw some minutes of action. He scored 12 points and knocked down four 3-pointers. The following year, he scored 47 points with 10 3-pointers.

“Growing up, I wasn’t overly into basketball,” Jimmy said. “In eighth grade, I didn’t start, and that really motivated me. I started to work hard at my game at Riverfront with my uncle, Kevin. They have a shooting machine, and that was when I focused on basketball. Uncle Kevin helped me develop my jump shot, which wasn’t very good. I played JV as a freshman, and that was where I learned how to play against older and bigger players.”

As a junior, Jimmy made huge strides and elevated his game. He scored 240 points with 40 3-pointers. He finished as the third-leading scorer for the Bucks. Brayden Canavan had 325 points, Carter Sload added 257, and Nate Aviles was fourth with 221 points.

All four players returned to the lineup this year, which heightened expectations.

So far, so good.

Dunmore entered the holiday break 7-0. The Bucks average 70.6 points per game, and Jimmy is averaging 11.6 points per game with 13 3-pointers.

“We have done a good job,” Jimmy said. “Nate started as a freshman, and Brayden played. We had a good group in our grade. We have worked our way up. We have almost the same starting group as last year’s team, and we have built toward this year. It is the culmination of our work, and we are ready to make a big jump.”

Jimmy’s goal is to earn some family bragging rights and lead the program to its first Lynett title since 2009.

“We like to play fast,” Jimmy said. “But we have to stay calm and under control. Our goal is to play unselfish basketball. We don’t care who scores as long as we win. We have to focus on defense.”

While Jimmy is a senior, playing in his final Lynett Tournament, it won’t be the last one where a Clark will add to the family legacy.

Maggie has already been part of a Lynett title winner at Scranton Prep. The siblings also have a younger brother, Brian, and three younger sisters, Annie, Cecelia, and Noelle, all coming up through the basketball ranks.

Jimmy is looking forward to taking the court with his family filling a huge section of the bleachers, as they have for decades.

That is what will make his experience the most special.

“You are probably going to be able to hear my family in the stands,” Jimmy said. “I am really excited. I want to win it for my school and for them. I want to be able to look back 20 years and say, “That was my team that won a Lynett tournament.”

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74th LYNETT MEMORIAL BOYS TOURNAMENT

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME RESULTS

1951: St. Rose 65, Old Forge 62

1952: Old Forge 54, Swoyersville 53

1953: Old Forge 71, Scranton Central 62

1954: Scranton Prep 39, Swoyersville 30

1955: Scranton Prep 43, Swoyersville 42

1956: Scranton Central 67, Luzerne 48

1957: Scranton Central 53, Scr. Prep 50

1958: Old Forge 51, Scranton Central 39

1959: Nanticoke 74, Dunmore 47

1960: Scr. Prep 64, South Catholic 45

1961: Cathedral 49, Scranton Central 46

1962: Scranton Central 76, Dunmore 62

1963: Swoyersville 54, Scranton Prep 52

1964: Scranton Central 80, Old Forge 56

1965: Cathedral 74, Scranton Tech 50

1966: Nanticoke 74, Montrose 68

1967: Cathedral 88, Pittston Area 74

1968: Nanticoke 63, Williamsport 42

1969: West Scranton 65, Dunmore 57

1970: Nanticoke 68, Scranton Prep 67

1971: Riverside 80, Scranton Prep 68

1972: Scranton Prep 73, Scranton Central 49

1973: Nanticoke 58, Riverside 56

1974: Nanticoke 80, Scranton Prep 48

1975: Nanticoke 73, Scranton Central 54

1976: Scranton Central 66, Nanticoke 63

1977: Scranton Central 72, Pittston Area 59

1978: Scranton Prep 77, Riverside 59

1979: Nanticoke 47, Scranton Central 30

1980: Dunmore 58, Scranton Central 47

1981: Bishop O’Reilly 70, Scranton Prep 60

1982: Bishop Hannan 80, Scranton Tech 66

1983: Scranton Prep 81, Old Forge 57

1984: Scranton Prep 73, Scranton Central 59

1985: Scranton Prep 66, Scranton Central 61

1986: Scranton Prep 77, Valley View 59

1987: Scranton Central 44, Scranton Prep 42

1988: Scranton Prep 57, Scranton Central 46

1989: Dunmore 47, Scranton Prep 43

1990: Scranton Prep 74, Dunmore 54

1991: Scranton Prep 59, Dunmore 58 (OT)

1992: Dunmore 54, Scranton Prep 48

1993: Dunmore 39, Bishop O’Hara 32

1994: Dunmore 55, Bishop O’Hara 44

1995: Dunmore 45, Scranton Prep 35

1996: Scranton Prep 63, Scranton 58

1997: Dunmore 66, Bishop O’Hara 38

1998: Bishop O’Hara 59, Scr. Prep 38

1999: Dunmore 62, Bishop O’Hara 50

2000: Scranton Prep 61, Dunmore 54

2001: Dunmore 54, Scranton Prep 53

2002: Dunmore 54, Bishop O’Hara 47

2003: Scranton 58, Scranton Prep 47

2004: Scranton 42, Dunmore 40

2005: Scranton 49, Scranton Prep 45

2006: Scranton Prep 58, Bishop O’Hara 33

2007: Scranton Prep 53, Holy Cross 50

2008: Holy Cross 68, Dunmore 47

2009: Dunmore 71, Holy Cross 57

2010: Scranton 77, Dunmore 47

2011: Scranton 68, Dunmore 49

2012: Scranton 52, Scranton Prep 45

2013: Scranton Prep 69, Holy Cross 59

2014: Scranton Prep 71, Holy Cross 39

2015: Scranton Prep 72, Scranton 46

2016: Scranton Prep 67, Scranton 49

2017: Scranton Prep 70, Dunmore 46

2018: Scranton Prep 63, Holy Cross 36

2019: Holy Cross 55, Scranton Prep 54

2020: Canceled COVID-19

2021: Scranton 50, Scranton Prep 46

2022: Scranton Prep 39, Scranton 35

2023: Scranton 48, Holy Cross 46

2024: Holy Cross 51, Scranton 35

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20th LYNETT MEMORIAL GIRLS TOURNAMENT

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME RESULTS

2003: North Pocono 52, Bishop Hannan 39

2004: North Pocono 35, Scranton Prep 33

2005: Scranton Prep 42, Abington Heights 37

2006: Abington Heights 44, Dunmore 43

2007: Abington Heights 41, Dunmore 34

2008: Dunmore 51, Abington Heights 45

2009: Abington Heights 68, Scranton 64

2010: Scranton Prep 48, Abington Heights 41

2011: Abington Heights 39, Dunmore 29

2012: Scranton Prep 29, Abington Heights 24

2013: Dunmore 30, Scranton Prep 28

2014: Scranton Prep 40, Dunmore 30

2015: Dunmore 53, Scranton 36

2016: Dunmore 44, Scranton Prep 39

2017: Dunmore 45, Abington Heights 29

2018: Dunmore 57, Holy Cross 25

2019: Scranton Prep 44, Dunmore 28

2020: Canceled COVID-19

2021: Dunmore 46, Scranton Prep 17

2022: Scranton Prep 52, Dunmore 33

2023: Scranton 65, Scranton Prep 54

2024: Scranton Prep 56, Scranton 41

The Pennsylvania Football Writers released their Class AA All-State selections on Wednesday, which included six Schuylkill League talents.

A pair of local quarterbacks were among the selections. Minersville star quarterback Dante Carr, a University of Central Florida signee earned his second-straight selection, joining him is Williams Valley’s Brady Shomper, also earning his second-straight All-State selection.

Carr, this season for Minersville, threw for 1,822 yards and 29 touchdowns, a Minersville school record, while also rushing for 1,396 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground. The Battlin’ Miners behind Carr’s play were 9-3 this season, their only losses during the season coming to Schuylkill Haven and twice to Williams Valley. For his high school career, Carr threw for 5,891 yards and 79 touchdowns while also totaling 3,535 yards and 56 touchdowns on the ground.

Shomper, a dual-threat quarterback in his own right, threw for 2,080 yards and 30 touchdowns while also rushing for 954 yards and 16 touchdowns, leading Williams Valley to a third straight District XI Class AA championship, defeating an undefeated Schuylkill Haven team in the District XI Class AA championship game. The Williams Valley standout finished his high school career with 5,057 passing yards and 74 passing touchdowns while also rushing for 2,322 yards and 39 touchdowns.

At running back, Colton Reber was one of six running backs selected. The Hurricanes’ star started the season as the team’s second-string running back behind Niko Carestia, but after an early-season injury ended Carestia’s season prematurely, Reber broke out as one of the state’s top running backs.

Reber ran for 2,875 yards and 38 touchdowns across Schuylkill Haven’s 13 games. He also had 14 receptions for 364 yards and seven additional touchdowns. The junior tailback had an all-time performance against Marian in early October, rushing for 326 yards and seven touchdowns while also tacking on a pick-six on the defensive side of the ball.

At wide receiver, Minersville’s Paiten LaPoint was one of three wide receivers named across the state. The senior receiver totaled 47 receptions for 733 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Battlin’ Miners while totaling 1,167 all-purpose yards and 16 total touchdowns on the season.

On the offensive line, Schuylkill Haven’s Chase Williams was one of five selections. The senior linemen were an integral part of Schuylkill Haven’s stellar rushing attack this season, acting as a road grader, opening up lanes for Carestia, Reber, and Niko Castillo. Thanks in part to Williams’ blocking, the Hurricanes ran for over 5,000 yards and 70 rushing touchdowns this season while averaging 11.4 yards per carry and 386.3 yards per game as a team.

The final selection is Schuylkill Haven standout and University of Minnesota commitment Niko Castillo. While Castillo will be a running back for the Golden Gophers starting next fall, he was named an All-State linebacker. Castillo totaled 67 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, and 11 sacks this season for the Hurricanes on defense, while also totaling 865 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns plus 17 receptions for 423 yards and nine touchdowns offensively.

The first month of the 2025-26 high school basketball season is already complete. Schuylkill League teams have been strong and competitive, setting the stage for an exciting rest of the season.

Class 1A

In Class 1A, Bethlehem Christian leads with a 7-1 record. The Panthers have a comfortable lead over No. 2 Weatherly, who has started the season 5-2.

Lincoln Leadership Academy in Allentown sits at No. 3 with a 5-3 record. Nativity BVM is currently slotted into the No. 4 spot despite a 2-7 start to the season, while Lehigh Christian Academy, Notre Dame, Salem Christian and sub-regional District II program MMI Preparatory School round out Class 1A.

Class 2A

The small Class 2A only consists of four teams, including a trio of Schuylkill League programs in Marian Catholic, Schuylkill Haven and Tri-Valley, with Lehigh Valley-based Moravian Academy also included.

The Tri-Valley Bulldogs lead the way in the Class at 7-1, holding a narrow edge over Schuylkill Haven, which is off to a strong start themselves with an 8-1 record. Marian Catholic sits in third with three wins in their first seven games while Moravian Academy, off to a slow 0-8 start, is in fourth place.

Class 3A

11 teams are currently in the Class 3A classification, including four Schuylkill League programs: Mahanoy Area, Minersville, Shenandoah Valley and Williams Valley.

The currently highest-ranked Schuylkill League team is the Minersville Battlin’ Miners, in the No. 2 spot behind Notre Dame of Green Pond, thanks to an 8-1 start this season, their lone loss coming to Pottsville.

Williams Valley is currently ranked sixth in the class with Catasauqua, Executive Education Academy and Lehigh Valley Academy all ranked ahead of the Vikings between No. 3 and No. 5. The Vikings are 4-4 this season through eight games.

At No.7 is Northern Lehigh, while Mahanoy Area is ranked eighth as they look to find their footing after a 3-5 start to the season. Rounding out Class 3A are Pen Argyl, Shenandoah Valley and Palisades.

Class 4A

The 4A classification consists of 12 teams, including Schuylkill League representatives North Schuylkill, Pine Grove Area, Tamaqua and Panther Valley.

The North Schuylkill Spartans are currently the highest-ranked Schuylkill League program, ranked sixth thanks to a 5-3 record this season.

Pine Grove at 3-7 is ranked ninth, Tamaqua 10th with a 1-7 record and Panther Valley is the 12th-ranked team after a 2-7 start to the season.

Leading Class 4A is Northwestern Lehigh, Salisbury Township, Allentown Central Catholic, Wilson Area and Bethlehem Catholic.

Also ranked are Lehighton (No. 7), Saucon Valley (No. 8), and Palmerton (No. 10).

Class 5A

Two Schuylkill League teams are among the nine teams in the Class 5A classification in Blue Mountain and Pottsville.

The Crimson Tide, arguably the top team in the Schuylkill League so far this season, leads the way in the class with a 7-2 start, their losses this season coming to Hazelton and Wilson, while defeating Class AAAA leader Northwestern Lehigh on Tuesday evening.

Southern Lehigh (No. 2), Selinsgrove (No. 3), East Stroudsburg – North (No. 4), round out the top four, while Blue Mountain at 4-4 is currently ranked No. 5 in the class.

Bangor Area, Jim Thorpe, Shikellamy and Athens Area are all ranked respectively sixth through ninth.

Class 6A

No Schuylkill League programs compete in the Class 6A classification.

Currently, the top five teams in Class 6A are William Allen, Pocono Mountain East, Northampton, Parkland and Nazareth.

Liberty, Stroudsburg, Dieruff, Pocono Mountain West and Whitehall close out the top 10 while Emmaus, Easton, Pleasant Valley, East Stroudsburg – South and Freedom are currently ranked 11th through 15th.

Postseason awards and honors continue to be handed out across the state of Pennsylvania and on Wednesday, the Maxwell Football Club announced its Mini-Max Award recipients which included a trio of local talents.

The award is given out to athletes from across the commonwealth that excel on the field, in the classroom, and within the community. This year, 55 athletes earned the award.

All 55 athletes will be invited to attend the Mini-Maxwell Awards ceremony in February. During the ceremony, one player will be announced as the state’s Player of the Year

Earning the award from the area was Minersville quarterback Dante Carr, Tri-Valley linebacker Cole Gemberling, and Panther Valley quarterback Brody Breiner.

Carr, a University of Central Florida signee, was recently named a Class AA All-State honoree at quarterback. The Minersville quarterback threw for over 1,800 yards this fall and 29 total touchdowns, setting a school record in the process. He also ran for nearly an additional 1,400 yards and picked up 19 rushing touchdowns. He finished his high school career with 5,891 passing yards, 3,535 rushing yards and 136 total touchdowns.

Gemberling, a Class A All-State selection, totaled a Schuylkill League leading 178 total tackles this season, bringing his career total to 408 total tackles. He also totaled 668 yards of total yards of offense and nine touchdowns this season for the Bulldogs.

Breiner for Panther Valley this fall, completed 145-of-239 passing attempts for 10 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,003 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Defensively, he recorded 50 tackles including two tackles for loss.

The Chicago Bears got a boost to their banged-up wide receiver corps Wednesday with rookie Luther Burden III returning to practice. He was listed as limited with an ankle injury.

Fellow receiver Rome Odunze (foot), however, was a non-participant.

When asked if he expects to play Sunday night against the San Francisco 49ers, Burden said: “Yeah, I think so.”

The Bears didn’t issue an injury report Tuesday, but neither Burden or Odunze was spotted on the field during the portion that was open to the media. Burden is fourth on the team in receiving yards with 479 on 36 receptions, but he has the highest catch rate at 76.6%, per NFL Pro.

Chicago Bears Q&A: Would Ben Johnson rest players for the playoffs? Will Nahshon Wright be re-signed?

With Burden and Odunze inactive for Saturday night’s 22-16 overtime win against the Green Bay Packers, the Bears relied more heavily on DJ Moore, Olamide Zaccheaus and Jahdae Walker.

“It was really tough, man,” Burden said. “It was my first game missing ever, like college, little league.”

Burden was forced to miss the Nov. 2 game in Cincinnati because he was in concussion protocol.

“It was kind of different, just watching my team from the sideline,” he said.

Walker, an undrafted rookie, had his first two career receptions, one of which went for a game-tying touchdown with 24 seconds left in the fourth quarter to force overtime.

“I told him before the play, ‘You’re going to have to come down and make a play,'” Burden said. “Before he even caught the touchdown, I knew where it was going, who’s going to make the play.”

Meanwhile, several new injuries popped up for the Bears on Wednesday.

Linebacker T.J. Edwards (glute) was a non-participant, as were receiver/return specialist Devin Duvernay, linebacker D’Marco Jackson and defensive back Nick McCloud, all listed with illnesses.

With the exception of running back/special teamer Travis Homer (ankle), several limited participants were new additions who didn’t appear on last week’s report. They included safety Kevin Byard III (ankle), cornerbacks Nahshon Wright (hamstring) and C.J. Gardner-Johnson (knee), center Drew Dalman (ankle/hand) and linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga (hamstring).

The Bears opened the 21-day practice window for offensive lineman Luke Newman, who’s designated to return from injured reserve. He was listed as limited with a foot injury. Guard Joe Thuney took a rest day.

Here are three other things we learned Wednesday.

1. Cairo Santos honored.

The Bears kicker was named the NFC Special Teams Players of the Week for Week 16.

During Saturday’s win over the Packers, Santos cut through gusty winds at Soldier Field to boot 46-, 51- and 43-yard field goals, executed the onside kick that set up Walker’s touchdown and drilled the tying extra point — all of which the Bears needed to send the game to overtime.

Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower credited the whole field-goal operation, from Scott Daly’s snaps to Tory Taylor’s holds, but held special praise for Santos navigating the wind.

“You guys saw the paper cups and all of the things flying and floating all over the field,” Hightower said. “For him to just have the mental fortitude to stay focused and play the conditions is what we talk about doing.

“Not trying to beat the conditions, not being upset about the conditions, but play the conditions.”

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Added special teamer Josh Blackwell: “He makes incredible kicks in the wind and elements, so it’s no surprise to us, to me, that he’s winning an award like that. He deserves all that and all the credit in the world.”

Santos expressed his appreciation for the recognition given some of the bumps he has experienced this season. He missed two games with a right thigh injury, and his accuracy has dipped to 82.8% (ranked 35th among qualifiers) from 93.8% five years ago in his first season in Chicago.

“It definitely helps me kind of stay on path that what I’m doing it’s going turn into great things,” Santos said of the award. “I just want to make kicks to help the team.”

Five Bears have been named Player of the Week this season, the first time they have had at least that many receive the honor since 2006 (six).

2. Another side of the pivotal onside kick.

Onside kicks rarely work, but one did during the rally against the Packers. Hightower said his unit spends “hours and hours and hours” practicing the kicks.

“Some people tend to think that you can just go out there and you just kick the ball and ‘Oh, they got it,’ you know what I mean? Like, that’s crazy,” he said. “(Cairo Santos has) done so much work on the premises here. … I’ve tried to stop him at times from kicking onside kicks so much, like, ‘Hey, it’s time to go in, time to go in.’ …

“It’s not an accident, like he put work in for it, and he hit a really good ball.”

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The ball took a hop before Packers receiver Romeo Doubs dropped it, and Blackwell pounced and recovered it.

“The kick that (Santos) hit was perfect,” Blackwell said. “Right spot. Executed it right.”

Hightower said Daniel Hardy and Noah Sewell were the keys to that play, breaking through the Packers receiving line and flashing navy jerseys in front of Doubs’ eyes.

“Hardy got a phenomenal jump on that ball,” Hightower said. “If you go back and look at that play and look at how he timed that up — and he’s worked on that. We’ve had to stop him; he’s been too early, he’s been too late, he’s been right on time. He did a phenomenal job.”

Blackwell could see it from Doubs’ perspective.

“You’ve got a defensive end (Hardy) and a linebacker (Sewell) coming at you at full speed,” he said. “That’d make anybody flinch up.”

Blackwell said they were crucial to the play and allowed him to just keep his eye on the ball the whole time.

“I’m just the back-line player waiting for anything to kick back at me, and sure enough it did,” he said.

3. Wright has his coach’s appreciation.

If not the NFL’s.

The Bears cornerback was snubbed for the Pro Bowl on Tuesday despite leading the league with eight takeaways and two forced fumbles.

One of the latter came in the third quarter Saturday when he stripped Packers running back Josh Jacobs at the Bears 3-yard line. Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds recovered the fumble.

Last week, Wright told the Tribune that his favorite takeaway was ripping the ball from Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts during his signature “Tush Push” on Black Friday last month.

“It’s just what he does,” defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. “He’s extremely ball-conscious and he’s looking for the opportunities that present themselves to take the ball away. …

“It’s not the first time he’s done it, but it was a heck of a play by him. He’s had a great year. He’s made a lot of big plays for us and (I’m) looking forward to him continuing that.”

MIAMI GARDENS — The Miami Dolphins are in a desperate situation as they move toward their home finale against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Their coach, Mike McDaniel, is fighting to keep his job and their rookie quarterback, Quinn Ewers, is fighting to earn a job. All the while their fans are getting turned off by the entire situation and being constantly reminded the franchise hasn’t won a playoff game since 2000 and the Dolphins (6-9) are concluding their second consecutive losing season.

A strong performance by the Dolphins in their home finale against the Buccaneers (7-8) could go a long way toward soothing the seething anger that’s beginning to bubble to the surface from fans.

Here are five things to look for in Sunday’s game:

Quinn Ewers

The rookie quarterback has drawn positive reviews from coaches and players for his debut performance last Sunday. Ewers seems more confident this week. One thing to watch is how Tampa Bay defends him now that it has a game’s worth of video to review. The Buccaneers have a better idea of Ewers’ strengths and weaknesses and you can be assured they’ll attack his weaknesses.

But Ewers (20 of 30, 260 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions vs. Cincinnati) has a strong arm, good composure, and he makes good decisions so this should be an interesting matchup. Ewers’ success will likely have more to do with things that don’t show up on his stat line such as pre-snap reads, mobility, and ability to deal with in-game setbacks. 

Mike McDaniel

McDaniel, whose job status is in question, is taking lots of criticism both locally and nationally, from media and fans. He appeared to be in better spirits Wednesday than he’s been in a while. He spoke clearly and assertively when addressing the media with very little stammering.

McDaniel seems a bit more confident with Ewers on the field. Players say McDaniel remains the same now as he was a few months ago before the losses began compiling, which seems to indicate he’s not buckling under pressure. We’ll see if that translates to a victory.

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De’Von Achane

Pro Bowl running back De’Von Achane, who is No. 3 in the NFL in rushing at 1,267 yards, is one of the biggest keys to victory. Achane is a dual threat as his 64 receptions, tied for the team lead with wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, for 459 yards attests.

The Buccaneers will do their best to corral Achane but few have been successful so far. Surprisingly, Achane only has four 100-yard rushing games. The Dolphins are 3-1 in those games. However, Achane has eight games with more than 100 yards from scrimmage and the Dolphins are 5-3 in those games. If Achane thrives, the Dolphins usually win.

Run defense

The Dolphins must stop the run. Period. Tampa Bay is tied for 16th in the league in rushing at 116.9 yards per game. That’s so-so. The problem is that Miami’s run defense is 27th in the league at 130.3 yards allowed per game.

The Dolphins have allowed four of their past seven opponents to rush for 105 or more yards and they’ve gone 1-3 in those games. In the bigger picture, the Dolphins are 2-9 when their opponent rushes for 100 or more yards. If the Dolphins allow the Buccaneers 100 or more rushing yards they’ll almost certainly lose.

Turnover margin, penalties

Turnover margin is the category McDaniel values over all others. Unfortunately, the Dolphins are tied for 25th in the league in turnover margin at minus-5. In last Sunday’s 45-21 loss to the Bengals they were minus-3. In that stretch in which the Dolphins won five out of six games they were plus-7 in turnover margin.

Regarding penalties, the Dolphins are good overall. Their 95 penalties are 13th fewest in the league and their 744 penalty yards are tied for ninth fewest. The Dolphins were good vs Cincinnati with three penalties for 20 yards. Unfortunately, one of the penalties was an offensive pass interference that negated a 33-yard reception. If the Dolphins are good in these two categories their chances to win increase greatly.

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MIAMI GARDENS — Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers looks to build off a debut as a starter in which he exhibited composure, was poised in the pocket, orchestrated the team’s complex offense and made his share of throws while having some that didn’t go his way.

He gets his second shot at starting in the NFL back at home Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8).

“I want to see growth, and that comes in a numerous amount of ways,” said Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel before the team’s Wednesday practice after a Tuesday walkthrough as players get Christmas Day off Thursday. “I saw some (Tuesday) with how he was quarterbacking the group. He took a step forward in terms of his confidence, his disposition.”

Ewers was 20 of 30 for 260 yards and two interceptions, with one not necessarily his fault, in a 45-21 defeat that got away from the team as a whole.

“There’s a lot of promising things from this start and we’re really encouraged by a lot of his performance,” offensive coordinator Frank Smith said Tuesday.

For the young quarterback, it all starts with how he operates McDaniel’s complicated offense, which involves an array of formations and pre-snap motions. The coach said he was “pleasantly surprised” by how the rookie out of Texas handled those aspects in his first start.

“There’s people moving everywhere before the ball is snapped, and a lot of that was on (previous starter) Tua (Tagovailoa),” senior passing game coordinator Bobby Slowik said Tuesday. “And (Ewers) almost never had an error in that regard, and I think that’s a lot to handle. I think Quinn is working to get there and is pretty dang close, but that’s probably where there’s a few minute adjustments, a little bit of the pre-snap stuff but not a lot. We’re still going to do everything that we do.”

Ewers noted there was only one pre-snap issue the team had in last Sunday’s game.

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Slowik gives Tagovailoa high marks in that aspect of his game that Ewers tries to replicate. Another area is Tagovailoa’s anticipation on his throws.

“Tua’s really exceptional about anticipatory throws, letting the ball go early, particularly before receivers are even out of their break,” Slowik said. “Quinn doesn’t necessarily do that as naturally as Tua did, but he can make up for it.

“He’s got a really whippy release. He might throw later, but it might get there at the same time because of how the ball just fires off his wrist.”

“It’s definitely true,” Ewers said, when the notion was mentioned to him. “Throughout the week, we’ve even changed up some of the footwork that Tua would do to how it would time up with my footwork, with my anticipation.”

There were a few instances last Sunday of timing appearing a bit off with a receiver, as Ewers hasn’t had as many reps with Dolphins pass-catchers as Tagovailoa has.

Ewers said he’ll have to rely on the “QB math” he’s equipped with in order to fine-tune his timing with different receivers, calculating how different targets break on their routes and run to a spot.

“We may not have been good at math in school, but we’re pretty good at math on the field,” Ewers said.

Against the Buccaneers, Ewers will face coach Todd Bowles’ aggressive defense, which ranks fifth in blitz percentage (29.6 percent). The rookie will have to take part in the mind games of how much Tampa will pressure or if the Bucs will counter off the threat of the blitz.

“I feel like it’s notorious that people are going to pressure rookie quarterbacks more,” said Ewers, when asked about the mind games. “Sometimes, it can work in your favor. Sometimes, they get ahead of you.”

Ewers is locked in during this final stretch of the season in which he has taken over as the starter. When asked Wednesday if anyone famous had reached out to him after his debut as a starter, he replied he didn’t know because he has barely checked his phone but that he might have a better idea in two weeks.

Dolphins Deep Dive: What did we see from Ewers in first start? | VIDEO

BISMARCK — The Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin girls basketball team got ready for the Blue Devil Classic on Monday with a 53-34 win over Schlarman Academy.

Gentry Elson had 14 points to lead the Blue Devils, while Gianna Brown had eight points, Alivia Reifsteck had seven and Kaylen Janiszrewski, Reece Larsen and Sophia Stines each had six points.

Addison Forsyth had 23 points for the Hilltoppers, while Emberlyn Schull had five and Izzy Bogen added four.

The Blue Devils will start Classic play on Friday against Hoopeston Area, while the Hilltoppers will play Armstrong-Potomac on Jan. 5

Dec. 24—TROTWOOD — An uncharacteristic start for Trotwood allowed Urbana to build a 10-point lead in the first quarter.

Turnovers caused its offense to start in a rut. Once the Rams got out of it, they looked like themselves.

Trotwood defeated Urbana 61-50 at home Tuesday. The Rams are now 4-1 overall this season.

"After the first quarter we were able to take care of the ball, I think we had two turnovers to finish the game, so that was a bright spot," Trotwood head coach Carl Blanton said. "I think that we were able to get a rhythm in the second half. We came out flat and they jumped on us and really showed us they came to play."

That was expected from a previously unbeaten Urbana squad which suffered its first loss of the season. The Hilltoppers led 20-10 after the first thanks in large part to connecting on four shots from three, including a pair from sophomore Drew Dixon, who came into the night leading the Central Buckeye Conference in three-pointers with 22 makes and a 61.6 shooting percentage.

Urbana (6-1) tacked onto its lead when junior Giorgio Rube scored in the first minute, but the Hilltoppers didn't score again for the next 5 minutes, 33 seconds of action. Trotwood went on a 16-0 run to grab a 26-22 lead. The Rams hit a three from the corner and junior Darius Dennis got a steal and acrobatic layup on the other end before Urbana called timeout to try and stop the run.

Trotwood continued applying the pressure as the pace quickened, playing to Trotwood's style.

Another three by senior Je'Carious Reaves and a layup by Dennis capped a strong quarter for the Rams.

"We want to push the pace for sure. One of our sophomores got in, Jameer Whyce, and he gave us some good minutes," Blanton said. "We were proud to see what he was able to do and helping us out for the future of the program. I like what I saw."

Urbana trailed by seven at the half and fought back midway through the third quarter. Junior Kaden Underwood hit a corner three to tie the game at 36 with 3:19 left in the period. Trotwood called a timeout and responded with an 8-2 run as Dennis hit a three as the third quarter ended.

Trotwood kept its lead between four and six points for most of the fourth Dennis took control of the action in the final minutes. He successfully drove into the lane for several baskets and found senior Daveon Arnold twice for three-pointers. In all, Trotwood closed the win out with a 12-4 run.

"This was a major test. I think that they're well coached and they run their stuff well. [Dixon] is a great shooter and we had to keep a hand on him and try to find where he was at on the floor the whole time. It wasn't easy, they played us tough and they were just physical. And we like that," Blanton said.

Dennis led the way with 26 points and Arnold had 19 with five makes from three. Trotwood's leading scorer coming into the night, senior Je'Carious Reaves, was held to six points but Blanton felt he was one of the defensive stars of the game.

"He normally can give up some baskets, but he stayed in front of his guy and stopped him from getting to the basket. And I think Darius did a good job playing defense, walling up and being in the right place at the right time," he said.

Urbana had three reach double figures, with Underwood scoring 12, and Dixon and junior Grady Lantz getting 11, respectively.

Trotwood heads to Summit Country Day for a matchup on Saturday. Urbana has a week off before closing out 2025 with a home game against Shawnee on Dec. 30.

Four different schools have won girls wrestling state championships since the FHSAA made it an officially sanctioned sport in 2022.

Freedom was the initial winner and the Patriots have stamped themselves as the early favorite to become the first to win twice when the individual bracket state tournaments for girls and boys unfold in March in Kissimmee.

The Patriots used their depth to steal the show at two loaded tournaments, winning their own Let Freedom Ring tournament, which drew 450 girls on Dec. 6, and last weekend’s prestigious Knockout Christmas Challenge.

Kabra Wrestling ranks Freedom No. 1 ahead of South Dade, St. John Neumann, Viera, and Flagler Palm Coast.

“This team is about where that (championship) 2022 team was,” Freedom coach David Bush said. “They understand the process it takes to succeed in wrestling.”

Part of that process, Bush said, is learning from losses in a lengthy season. That played out at the Knockout where several Freedom girls lost matches against out-of-state wrestlers but rebounded to score wrestleback wins.

“We want that level of competition. We had a really good showing. But there’s still a lot of room for improvement before February and March,” Bush said.

Freedom had one weight class winner in junior Mekialla Mauvais and six more top four placers in Kissimmee.

Aimar Donastorg, a sophomore, finished second in the 190 weight class. Seniors Gabriela Kerber and Paola Ramirez finished third and Hananeel Gregorre, Eduarda Franklin and Ceajan Brown placed fourth..

Two Georgia teams, Camden County and Jefferson, went 1-2 in the stacked boys Knockout tournament. Hagerty, ranked No. 4 in the Kabra 3A rankings, placed 15th as the top Orlando-area team. Huskies senior Nikolas Blake was runner-up to a Tennessee standout in the 157 weight class final.

Also Saturday, Timber Creek placed second behind Mexico High School of Missouri in the Bill Scott Memorial tournament at Lyman. Individual weight class champions included Central Florida wrestlers Kaiden Olavarria (DeLand), Joey Davis (Lake Brantley), Nolan Joyce (Timber Creek), Ilijah Carasas (Lake Mary), Angel Prieto (Bishop Moore) and Evans defensive tackle Jakari Upshaw, who scored a 41-second pin in the heavyweight final.

Boys basketball

Lake Highland Prep (9-1), ranked No. 1 in the Orlando area and No. 2 in Class 3A by MaxPreps, spanked a previously undefeated Mount Vernon team 73-44 on Monday in the Florida/Georgia Challenge, hosted by The First Academy. The Mustangs came in 10-0 and ranked sixth for all classifications in Georgia. Next for LHP is a trip to Fort Myers for a Holiday Hoopfest event.

Olympia (9-2), ranked No. 2 behind Miami Columbus in the MaxPreps 7A rankings, split two games at the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers. The Titans lost 75-61 to Connecticut state title contender Notre Dame (6-0) but bounced back to win 71-56 in a Sunday game against 1A No. 4 Victory Christian of Lakeland. Junior guard James Nowells, whose stock is soaring, scored 32 points with a 6-for-9 shooting show from 3-point range in the win. Olympia treks to Tennessee to play in The Classic, an 18-team tourney that tips off Friday.

Kadir Rackley had 10 assists, fueling a balanced performance by Evans (11-2) in a 72-67 overtime win against Sickles (11-3) in the title game of the Flagler Palm Coast Bulldog Classic. The Trojans are ranked No. 2 in 6A heading into Monday-Tuesday games at the  Vince Carter Hall of Fame Classic at Mainland High in Daytona Beach.

Montverde Academy (4-4) lost its first three games with new head coach Steve Turner under the microscope. But the Eagles, perennial national contenders under former coach Kevin Boyle, are on an upward trajectory after posting two meaningful City of Palms wins. Montverde won 68-61 against upstart Gillion Academy (10-3) of Virginia and then prevailed 78-72 against a Prolific Prep (17-2) team that began the season with a No. 1 national ranking.

Top-ranked North Broward Prep (10-0) won 75-60 against sixth-ranked Windermere Prep (10-2) in a matchup of 3A teams in the final of the BSN Holiday Classic. Brandon Brass Jr. scored 37 points for the host Lakers, who go to Arkansas for the King of Cotton Classic next week.

Edgewater (8-5), 6A No. 5, went 2-1 in the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas.

Lake Howell (10-2), 6A No. 6, joins Evans at the Vince Carter event.

Dr. Phillips (6-5) is in the Kingdom of the Sun tournament in Ocala, starting Friday.

Windermere (6-4), No. 10 in 7A, goes to Georgia for two games.

Palm Bay (11-1), 4A No. 5, won 64-61 vs. St. Cloud (9-2).

DeLand (7-2) went 3-0 to win its own Gus Gibbs Classic.

Wekiva is 9-3 with four wins in a row.

Winter Park (7-5) took 7A No. 5 Oak Ridge to overtime in a 58-57 loss. The Wildcats join DeLand and Lake Brantley (10-3) in a Monday-Wednesday event hosted by New Smyrna Beach (9-1).

Geneva School (8-3) won its own Christmas tournament with a 72-70 overtime win against International Community (9-6). Mateo Medina had 28 points and 8 assists for the Knights and surpassed 1,000 points for his career. Duke Carpenter added 24 points and 12 rebounds. Paxton Boaz had 29 points, 15 assists, 8 rebounds and 5 steals in the losing cause.

Girls basketball

Sophomore Ashlynn Day scored 19 of her game-high 27 points in the second half as Kissimmee Gateway ran its record to 13-0 with a 72-53 home win vs. previously-unbeaten Lake Howell. The Panthers, No. 1 in 5A, play in Orlando’s Florida Prospects Christmas tournament, Monday through Wednesday.

Bishop Moore (10-2) has moved to No. 1 in 4A. The Hornets are scheduled to host Gateway, Jan. 8.

Lake Highland (8-4), which owns a win against Bishop Moore, is No. 2 in 3A behind Tampa Catholic (11-0).

Boone’s Naima Durandisse collected 31 rebounds to go with 13 points in the Braves (6-8) lopsided win against River Ridge.

Nationally-ranked Montverde (9-2) lost 63-62 to North Carolina’s top-rated team, Grace Christian (14-0), in the championship game of the Cherokee National Invitational.

Boys soccer

Innovation (12-0-1), MaxPrep’s top-ranked Orlando area team, has wins against No. 2 West Orange (9-2) and a tie with No. 6 Windermere High (10-1-5).

The 29th Mike Stone Invitational, hosted by Bishop Moore, provides holiday play for a dozen strong Central Florida teams.

The field includes the host Hornets (9-2-4), New Smyrna Beach (7-1-1), Ocoee (9-0-2), Olympia (10-0-1), Spruce Creek (6-5-2), Winter Park (9-2) and Winter Springs (7-2-4). The 12th team is the Orlando based XL Soccer Academy.

Teams are divided into two groups of six for two days of pool play, leading to up to next Wednesday’s championship day.

Here’s the schedule::

Monday

Bishop Moore vs. XL, 8 a.m.

Winter Park vs. Spruce Creek, 10

Olympia vs. Winter Springs, 12

NSB vs. Ocoee, 2

XL vs. Winter Park, 5

SC vs. Bishop Moore, 7

Tuesday

Ocoee vs. WS, 8

NSB vs. Olympia, 10

SC vs XL, 12

WP vs. Bishop Moore, 2

WS vs. NSB, 5

Olympia vs. Ocoee,7

Wednesday

Group A & B 3rd placers, 9 a.m.

Group A & B 2nd placers, 11

Championship game:

Group A & B 1st placers, 1 p.m.

Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be reached by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.

In the late 1990s, UConn embarked on the world of top-level college football, a decision that has brought highs and lows. One of the rewards was the chance to play in a bowl game, which, before the playoff system was adopted and began expanding, was the ultimate destination.

After a transitional period of two seasons as an independent, coach Randy Edsall led the Huskies into the Big East, meant to be a formidable conference of traditional football schools like Syracuse, Pitt, Boston College, West Virginia, Miami, among others. The Huskies began to compete for a bowl bid and earned their first in 2004.

In the two decades since, UConn has played in eight bowl games, with No.9 to come against Army at the Fenway Bowl in Boston on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. Here is a look at the Huskies’ bowl history:

Dec. 27, 2004: Motor City Bowl

Ironically, UConn’s first bowl opponent was Toledo, the school from which their new head coach, Jason Candle, was lured. The Big Ten could not provide a qualifying team for its tie in, so the Huskies (7-4) were invited to Detroit’s Ford Field and knocked off the MAC champs, 39-10, before 52,552 fans.

UConn rolled up 398 yards in offense, with 239 though the air as MVP Dan Orlovsky kept the chains moving and threw a TD pass. Larry Taylor returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown and Matt Nuzie kicked four field goals.

Dom Amore’s Sunday Read: UConn hasn’t lost appetite for bowls, Sun’s possible parting gift and more

Dec. 29, 2007: Meineke Car Care Bowl

Three years later, Edsall and the Huskies (9-3) were back in the bowl business, invited to play Wake Forest in the bowl game in Charlotte, N.C., providing a bit of a home field advantage for the Deacons, their campus 80 miles from the NFL home of the Panthers. Wake Forest won, 24-10, before 53,126. Taylor again returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown as the Huskies took a 10-0 lead, but it was all Deacons after that. They gained 412 yards to UConn’s 213.

Jan. 3, 2009: International Bowl

UConn (7-5) crossed north of the border to play in the Rogers Centre, retractable-roofed home of the Blue Jays. Buffalo, another opponent that didn’t have to travel far, was the victim when UConn got its first-ever FBS win. The Huskies beat the Bulls again, 38-20, before 40,184.

This was Donald Brown’s day, he ran for 261 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown, to win the game’s MVP, and declared afterward he would skip  his senior year and enter the NFL Draft, the first Husky ever taken in the first round. QB Tyler Lorenzen ran for two scores.

Jan 2, 2010: Papajohns.com Bowl

One of the most satisfying days in program history, UConn (7-5) was capping a season that included five losses by a total of 15 points, the dramatic OT win at Notre Dame and the death of teammate Jasper Howard. Now they faced the SEC’s South Carolina Gamecocks and famed coach Steve Spurrier at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.

Kashif Moore’s one-handed touchdown catch helped the Huskies take a 13-0 lead in the first half, and Andre Dixon’s 10-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter sealed the 20-7 victory before 45,254. Dixon was player of the game with 126 yards rushing.

Jan. 1, 2011: Fiesta Bowl

Still the high-water mark in UConn football history, Dave Teggart’s clutch 50-yard kick at South Florida lifted the Huskies (8-4) to the Big East championship and into a New Year’s Day game at Glendale, Ariz., site of Super Bowls. They Huskies hung in for a while with one of the sport’s blue bloods, but lost to Oklahoma, 48-20, before 67,232.

Dwayne Gratz’s interception return got UConn on the board, but the Huskies were trailing by 24 before Robbie Frey’s 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Teggart kicked two field goals, but UConn was overmatched. After the game, Edsall accepted the job at Maryland, abruptly ending his first tenure at UConn.

Dec. 26, 2015: St. Petersburg Bowl

After several losing seasons, coach Bob Diaco’s Huskies managed a 6-6 record and represented the American Athletic Conference at Tropicana Field, the stadium in which UConn won its first men’s basketball championship 16 years earlier. Marshall won a forgettable game, 16-10, before 14,652. Ron Johnson scored on an 8-yard run and Bobby Puyol kicked a 52-yard field goal for UConn.

Dom Amore: Joe Fagnano has taken his last snap for UConn football, now he’s aiming for the NFL

Dec. 19, 2022: Myrtle Beach Bowl

UConn was 10-41 between the St. Pete Bowl and Jim Mora’s arrival as coach in 2022, as neither Diaco nor Edsall, who returned in 2017, could turn things around. The Huskies, now an independent again, staged a series of upsets behind freshman quarterback Zion Turner, over Fresno State, Boston College and Liberty, to edge into bowl territory. At Myrtle Beach, S.C., they faced Marshall again and, after falling behind 28-0, lost 28-14 before 12,023. at Brooks Stadium. Turner threw three interceptions, but Bristol’s Victor Rose capped his freshman season with touchdown runs  of 14 and 24 yards.

Dec. 28, 2024: Fenway Bowl

Seeking an attendance surge, the Fenway Sports Group found another bowl for their AAC tie-in and invited the independent Huskies to face North Carolina. It worked, as a record 27,900 filled the ancient home of the Red Sox and UConn won, 27-14, in the shadow of The Green Monster — and Bill Belichick, who was soon to take over the Tar Heels.

Joe Fagnano, the game’s MVP, completed 16 of 23 for 151 yards and two touchdowns. Mel Brown rushed for 96 and Skyler Bell caught three for 77 and a touchdown. The Huskies (9-4) completed their first winning season since 2010.

Santa Claus made an appearance at the United Center on Tuesday night. He sounded the horn before the puck drop of the Chicago Blackhawks game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Hawks wanted a win for Christmas. They got more coal instead, with a sixth-straight loss in regulation, this time a 3-1 contest to the Flyers.

Scoring was hard to come by once again for the home team without Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar. The Hawks have scored just eight goals in the absence of Bedard this season, a 1.6 goals-per-game average across five games.

At 13-17-6, they’re at the bottom of the NHL standings going into the Christmas break. It’s a far cry from the playoff talk that surrounded the team heading into Thanksgiving.

“We’re doing our best, I don’t think we’re focusing on what’s been in the past,” a dejected André Burakovsky said. “We look forward to the next game and try to find success.”

Photos: Philadelphia Flyers 3, Chicago Blackhawks 1

Without Bedard and Nazar, the Hawks don’t have a forward who is decisive in shooting the puck. The home team had four shots on goal in the first period.

The Hawks prevented the Flyers from utilizing the center of the ice for a good portion of the first period. Philadelphia right winger Travis Konecny was able to find a crack in the Hawks’ defense at 10:17 in the first to go up 1-0.

The power play, despite not seeing a goal with a man advantage, produced some looks for the Hawks in the second. They took 10 of their 21 shots on goal in the second period.

“In the end, we had more chances than they did (but) we didn’t score,” Hawks coach Jeff Blashill said. “On the power play there at the end, we generated chances (and) that was probably our best power play.

“(We got to) keep grinding and find a way to score.”

Ryan Donato scored a goal for the first time since Nov. 28 at 18:30 in the second period. It was a sigh of relief, even with the chances he’s generated.

“I think it’d be different if I wasn’t getting the chances, that would be a little scary,” Donato said. “Definitely a little bit of weight off the shoulders.”

It can be tough to deal with a skid like the Hawks are on, especially with a young team. But the skaters seem to be keeping their heads up.

“The young guys are actually always positive, in great moods and happy-go-lucky guys,” Donato said. “It’s a matter of finding a way to win.

“There’s no negative attitude, there’s no feeling sorry for ourselves. I think everybody’s hungry to push in the right direction.”

Spencer Knight (17 saves) skated off the ice near the end of the third period, down 2-1. It was poorly timed, as the Flyers went on a breakaway with right winger Carl Grundstrom scoring the empty-netter to put Philadelphia up by two.

“I made the decision to pull him,” Blashill said. “I thought we were getting possession (and) we didn’t get possession, so that’s on me.”

Nick Lardis seems to be the Hawks’ best chance at putting shots in the back of the net without Bedard and Nazar. His ice time increased to 10:32 against the Flyers compared to 8:17 on Saturday in Ottawa.

He didn’t have any shots on goal, but he was active on the power play. The young player also got into a scuffle with right winger Matvei Michkov early in the third, sending them both to the penalty box.

“When you get into those type of combative situations, that brings the emotional level of the whole building up,” Blashill said. “At least it puts (the team) in a position to have that emotion rise, which I think is a good thing.”

If Lardis’ ice time is going to increase, Blashill is looking for a few things from the young winger.

“I would say finding space at this level, he’s not really fast and he’s not really big,” Blashill said. “He’s a good skater (but) he’s not going to separate himself with his speed, so I think he’s got to find the right spacing.”

For now, the Hawks need to enjoy the holiday break. With the Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders on the horizon, things aren’t getting easier.

“I think with where we’re at, (the break is) probably a good thing,” Blashill said. “I love Christmas, I love seeing my family and I’m sure a number of guys are the same way.

“Flying to Dallas that first day coming out is a hard thing, but we’re going to have to find a way to grind.”

JAMM AQUINO / APRIL 26 Hawaii men’s volleyball coach Charlie Wade guided the Rainbow Warriors to 27 wins and a Big West Conference championship last season.

JAMM AQUINO / APRIL 26 Hawaii men’s volleyball coach Charlie Wade guided the Rainbow Warriors to 27 wins and a Big West Conference championship last season.

The Hawaii men’s volleyball team will open its 2026 season in 10 days ranked No. 2 in the country according to the AVCA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Preseason Poll released today.

The Rainbow Warriors, who finished 27-6 last season and won a Big West championship before losing in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship, received seven of 25 first-place votes and was eight points behind No. 1 UCLA, which ended Hawaii’s season in a three-set sweep in Columbus, Ohio in May.

Defending national champion Long Beach State received five first-place votes and is ranked No. 3 going into the season, ahead of Pepperdine and No. 5 Southern California, which earned the final first-place vote.

The other Big West teams in the top 20 include No. 6 UC Irvine, No. 10 UC San Diego, No. 11 Cal State Northridge and No. 17 UC Santa Barbara.

UH’s nonconferene schedule includes home matches on Jan. 6 and 8 against No. 7 Loyola Chicago and road trips at No. 9 Stanford and No. 13 Penn State.

Hawaii also hosts the fourth-ranked Waves and will play No. 12 Lewis and the top-ranked Bruins in the Outrigger Invitational.

A four-team NIL Tournament in currently scheduled for Feb. 19 and 20 in the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., and will feature four of the top five teams in the poll.

Hawaii lost starters Kurt Nusterer and ‘Eleu Choy to graduation last season but return its top four leaders in kills as well as junior setter Tread Rosenthal.

Rosenthal was named to the All-Big West first team along with returning sophomores Adrien Roure and Kristian Titriyski.

UH opens the season against NJIT on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, at 7 p.m. at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

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To Karl-Anthony Towns’ credit, he did everything he could to keep the short-handed Knicks in the fight Tuesday at Target Center.

In his second game played in Minneapolis since being traded ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, Towns tallied 35 points and 11 rebounds.

The Knicks — who were without Jalen Brunson, O.G. Anunoby, Deuce McBride, Guerschon Yabusele and Landry Shamet — led midway through the third quarter.

But the Timberwolves eventually managed to overwhelm New York for the team’s third-straight win and 10th in its last 12 games via a 115-104 victory.

Anthony Edwards scored 38 points, Julius Randle had 25, 17 of which came in the final frame. Rudy Gobert continued his recent interior dominance, logging 11 points and 16 rebounds.

“Pick shoutout to Big Ju. He picked it up in the fourth quarter and led us to the win,” Edwards said in his postgame, on-court interview. “We call him ‘The Bully,’ and he played like a bully in the fourth quarter. ”

Towns fouled out with 35 seconds to play and exited the court to a nice ovation from the Minnesota faithful.

“Big shoutout to KAT,” Edwards said after the game. “Show love to KAT.”

Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart struggled mightily for New York (20-9), going 11 for 27 from the floor. Towns’ only assistance came in the form of second-year point guard Tyler Kolek, who logged 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

Bridges and Hart struggled on a night when the Wolves’ perimeter defensive intensity was stout, with Edwards playing a large role in those efforts.

Minnesota was out-rebounded 55-42, but made up that gap and then some by forcing 19 turnovers that resulted in 22 points.

Naz Reid had eight points and 11 rebounds, while Minnesota won Bones Hyland’s 25 minutes by a gaudy 24 points.

Minnesota next plays on Christmas night in Denver in a nationally-televised affair between two of the best teams in the West.

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MIAMI – On the night before the night before Christmas, another lump of coal for the Miami Heat.

So make it eight losses in the last nine games and a .500 record at the holiday break with Tuesday night’s 112-91 loss to the Toronto Raptors at Kaseya Center, this time their lowest-scoring game of the season.

Looking nothing like the team that dominated on offense at the start of the season, Erik Spoelstra’s team instead this time fell to Sandro Mamukelashvili & Co.

Unlike the efforts in road losses to the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks over the weekend, when the Heat competed until the decisive stages, this had the look of a team beaten down by the recent losses, in desperate need of a break.

At 15-15, the Heat now get Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off, before returning for a back-to-back set on Friday night in Atlanta and then Saturday night at home against the Indiana Pacers.

By then, it will become a matter of whether they can avoid having a losing record for the first time since they stood 1-3 after a Nov. 2 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The numbers were limited across the board for the Heat, save for a 21-point performance from Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Otherwise, 17 points from Norman Powell on 6-of-17 shooting, nine from Bam Adebayo and this time only five points and nine rebounds from Kel’el Ware.

Scottie Barnes led the Raptors with 27 points, on a night Mamukelashvili also outscored much of the Heat roster.

Five degrees of Heat from Tuesday night’s game:

—Game flow: The Raptors led 21-16 after the first quarter and 51-44 at halftime.

The Heat then went down 16 in the third quarter,

Then, as was the previous two games, in the road losses in Boston and New York, the Heat swooned at the end of the third period, this time down 82-67 going into the fourth.

The Raptors extended their lead to 21 early in the fourth quarter, effectively ending it.

It ended with the Heat at .402 from the field and 8 of 30 on 3-pointers, with 18 turnovers.

—Nothing early: The Heat’s lowest-scoring first half of the season was a study in struggle.

The Heat were 4 of 18 on 3-pointers over the first two periods, with 10 turnovers at halftime.

No Heat player had more than three field goals in the first half, with Andrew Wiggins the lone starter with even that many.

For that matter, even the start was telling, with Toronto moving to an initial 16-3 lead.

Both of the Heat’s two lowest-scoring games of the season have come at Kaseya Center against the Raptors, the Heat’s only two games below 100 points this season.

—Adebayo off: The offensive struggles continued for Adebayo, this time with just three points in the first half on 1-of-5 shooting.

Adebayo also was just 1 of 3 from the foul line in the first half, compensating somewhat with his game-high eight first-half rebounds.

Adebayo closed 4 of 11 from the field, albeit with a game-high12 rebounds.

— Three down: The Heat continued in the injury absences of Tyler Herro (toe), Pelle Larsson (ankle) and Nikola Jovic (elbow).

“I am very encouraged by the progress,” Spoelstra said pregame. “They’re not ready to go tonight, but we don’t have a timeline.

“I came in yesterday and I was encouraged.”

And then the Heat took the court, showing how much the scoring of Herro, the energy of Larsson and perhaps even the creativity of Jovic are needed.

— Comeback tour: On the one-year anniversary of his Achilles tear, Dru Smith sparked the Heat off the bench with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting in his initial eight-minute stint.

Smith ruptured his left Achilles in a Dec. 23, 2024, victory over the Brooklyn Nets. He was on the verge of being converted to a standard contract at the time of his injury.

He finally got that contact this past offseason, re-emerging as a rotation mainstay.

Smith closed with 10 points, two rebounds and two assists.

____

Dec. 23—The Austin boys hockey team lost to Pine City 3-2 in overtime on the road Tuesday.

Austin (2-7 overall) tied the game at 2-2 when Trent Rubin scored with 1:27 left in the third period, but it fell short in the extra session.

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Eli Krueger scored the first goal of the night for the Packers.

Pine City (5-4-1 overall) took a 2-0 lead in the first period, but the Packers were able to get back in the game.

Dec. 23—GRAND FORKS — UND has its new volleyball coach.

The Fighting Hawks have hired David Nguyen from Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.

He replaces Jesse Tupac, whose contract was not renewed at the end of the season.

Nguyen brought Fairleigh Dickinson to the NCAA tournament in 2022 and won the Northeast Conference (NEC) regular-season championship in 2023.

Nguyen was named NEC coach of the year twice in four seasons at Fairleigh Dickinson.

His teams went 9-5, 11-3, 11-3 and 12-4 in the NEC. Before his arrival, Fairleigh Dickinson went 3-11, 2-6, 3-13, 0-14, 1-13 and 1-13 in the NEC.

"What he has been able to do at FDU was nothing short of remarkable in such a short amount of time," UND athletic director Bill Chaves said. "To be a two-time NEC Coach of the Year and leading the Knights into the NCAA tournament for the first time in their history is something that he and we believe can be replicated at UND."

Nguyen will have a similar rebuilding project at UND.

The Fighting Hawks have posted eight consecutive losing seasons as the program spiraled from a strong mid-major under Ashley Hardee (2009-13) and Mark Pryor (2014-18) to a floundering team in the Summit League.

UND went 7-20 and 4-12 in the Summit last season. It has not yet won a match at the Summit League tournament since joining the conference in 2018.

"My mission is to provide our student-athletes a first-class experience by being competitive on and off the court," Nguyen said. "We are going to work together to build a legacy our student-athletes, alumni, fans and donors can be proud of. I am excited to take this next step in my career, and I look forward to building a volleyball family at North Dakota."

This will be Nguyen's first coaching venture out West.

He attended Virginia Commonwealth University from 2013-18, serving as team manager. He was the director of operations at Virginia from 2018-19.

Nguyen was hired as an assistant coach at William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., from 2019-21. He served as an assistant at Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C., from 2021-22, before heading to Fairleigh Dickinson in Madison, N.J.

When he was hired at Fairleigh Dickinson, he had support from people at his previous stops.

"Coaching is in David's DNA," William and Mary coach Tim Doyle said in 2022. "He's built to lead volleyball teams. I'm excited to see his purpose come to life at Fairleigh Dickinson. They say a team takes on the personality of its head coach. If that's the case, FDU will be known for working tirelessly, and like David, they'll never quit."

UND has a tie with Fairleigh Dickinson. Chaves' son, Derek, is a graduate assistant with the Knights this year.

Tupac spent four seasons at UND, going 35-77 (.313). His contract expires Dec. 31. UND announced last month that the school and Tupac mutually agreed to part ways at the end of his contract.

Dec. 23—GRAND FORKS — College hockey is sending an all-star team to the Spengler Cup for the first time.

The U.S. College Selects will compete in Davos, Switzerland, from Dec. 26-31, in a six-team tournament that has been held since 1923.

But they don't want it to be the last.

"We understand the responsibility to college hockey players in the future to have this opportunity and platform," U.S. College Selects coach Guy Gadowsky said. "We want to represent college hockey extremely well so we continue to get to do this."

The U.S. College Selects began building the team by offering spots to last year's All-Americans — a reward for staying in college another year.

UND's Jake Livanavage was one of those players. The other returning All-Americans who accepted invites were defenseman Mac Gadowsky (Army, Penn State), UConn forward Joey Muldowney, Penn State forward Aiden Fink and Minnesota State goaltender Alex Tracy.

All-American goalies Trey Augustine of Michigan State and Albin Boija of Maine were unable to join the Selects.

General managers Steve Metcalf and Sean Hogan continued building the team with players who had strong starts to the 2025-26 NCAA season like Fighting Hawks defenseman Abram Wiebe, Minnesota Duluth forward Zam Plante and Denver defenseman Eric Pohlkamp of Brainerd, Minn.

College hockey officials acknowledged to the Herald that they're hoping to build a rapport with the Spengler Cup to bring future NCAA all-star teams.

It might not be an annual thing, but it could be biennially.

"We're the pioneers in this tournament," Gadowsky said. "We're going to learn a ton about how to improve it for future years."

Tri-Valley senior Braeden Doyle is ringing in the new year, leading a veteran bunch that seeks a district championship after just falling short last season.

The Bulldogs (7-1; 6-0) are currently the only undefeated team in Division II Schuylkill League play and have outscored their opponents so far, 73 to 58 points per game.

“Braeden (Doyle) takes the team on his shoulders, and he’s a senior leader night in and night out. He does what he has to do to help the team win,” said Masser. “He shoots the ball well, finishes well, rebounds well, and carries the team on his shoulders.”

Doyle’s excellence was shown on full display this past week when he dropped 26 points at Marian Catholic before leading the way with a 17-point game against Pine Grove.

“Our goal is just to be competitive every game, and we’re trying to win out,” said Doyle. “We’re really close, and we’ll hang out with each other on off days, and everyone enjoys playing together.”

Doyle was part of Tri-Valley’s district playoff run team last season, which fell to Marian Catholic 59-55 in the District 11 2A Championship game on March 1. They also fell to Pottsville 63-55 in the Schuylkill League quarterfinal playoffs at Martz Hall on February 8.

He’s continued the dominant play this season with an undefeated league record with wins over Mahanoy Area, Williams Valley, Lourdes, Shenandoah Valley, Nativity, Marian, and Pine Grove.

“We have guys that can put the ball in the rim, and Braeden’s (Doyle) been in the program four years and it’s his third year starting,” said Masser. “It’s a great feeling to have a kid like that on the team.”

The offensive pour down in a 74-40 win at Marian Catholic included Porter’s 17 points, Johnson and Klock’s 11 points, and Cooper Carl’s seven points.

The Bulldogs’ offense, which is outscoring opponents by 15 points per game, is led by the team’s five seniors: Camryn Olmas, Owen Miller, Klock, Doyle and Carl. Juniors Trey Porter and Jack Wehry have also been leaders offensively.

“This team is close, and we love playing basketball together, and we play fast,” said Doyle. “If we’re playing fast, we’ll be good because everyone gets the ball and takes good quality shots.”

For now, Tri-Valley looks to build on the success from the last four years, when they accumulated 72 wins and 30 losses.

The biggest goal for Doyle this season remains to win a District 11 Championship. Mahanoy Area has won two District 11 2A Championship titles in the last five years, while Marian Catholic, Shenandoah Valley, and Williams Valley have also won district titles.

“Our school is a very tight-knit community, and it’s amazing when you get recognition, even being a smaller school,” said Doyle. “I don’t care who wins and gets the praise, I just want to win.”

Doyle’s first goal for the remainder of the season is to win the Division II league standings, then make a good run at the league and win the District 11 2A Championship.

“My role on this team is one of the scorers, and I don’t need to score that many points because I know my teammates have me if I don’t score because they’re all solid basketball players,” said Doyle.

Tri-Valley is undefeated in Division II league play, while Schuylkill Haven sits in second place at 5-1, with Weatherly in third place.

The benefits of the Brian C. Stone Memorial Christmas Hockey Tournament show themselves at the most important time of the year.

Hosted at JFK Coliseum in Manchester and sponsored by Brady Sullivan Properties, the annual high school boys hockey tournament gives less experienced players — and their coaches — confidence when they are needed late in the season.

“Getting that ice time here, it helps build that confidence in them for when their number is called later in the season, because it will be with injuries happening and just overall growth,” said fifth-year Bedford coach Jon Garrity, who helps organize the tournament. “It also builds trust for the coaches knowing, ‘OK, this is the player I have and I’ve seen him do what I want him to do.’ And that’s massive, too — the trust that you start to gain with these kids in this tournament.”

NHIAA Division I teams Bedford, the Manchester Kings co-op program, Trinity, Concord, Bow, Hanover, Exeter and Division II Goffstown will participate in this year’s tournament, which begins on Friday and runs through Sunday.

The championship game is scheduled for Sunday at 8 p.m.

Concord is both the defending Division I and Stone tournament champion.

Trinity coach Mike Connell sees the tournament as a great opportunity to get young guys like freshman forward Hunter Therrien more experience. Therrien has been skating on a line with junior twin brothers Tristan and Cal Lucier, who both joined the team this season.

Connell will dress each of his 27 players.

“To me, it’s good to get the kids in and see something that maybe I didn’t see during tryouts or practice,” he said.

Manchester coach Jeremy Baker will also use the tournament as a development opportunity.

To compete against the top Division I teams like Concord, Trinity and Hanover, Manchester needs its young players to contribute, Baker said. Right now, Manchester’s top 10 skaters see most of the ice time, he said.

“When it comes to those games (against top teams), you really have to run three lines and you have to have at least five (defensemen) in the mix," said Baker, adding that, otherwise, players run out of gas by the third period.

The tournament is a season highlight for both players and coaches.

Trinity players enjoy wearing the team’s annual Christmas-themed jerseys during the tournament. This year’s sweaters look like Santa’s famous red suit.

The field of teams has become a Christmas tradition.

Named after the late Brian Stone, who coached and played at Manchester Central, the tournament for many years consisted of Central, Manchester Memorial, Bedford, Trinity, Concord, Hanover, Bow and Goffstown.

When Central, Memorial and Manchester West together formed the Kings co-op program in 2021, Exeter filled the tournament’s open spot. The Blue Hawks have participated ever since.

Coaches enjoy the camaraderie and the atmosphere at JFK, a beloved rink within the state’s hockey community, Garrity said.

“... People love playing there because of its history and just its feeling and the tightness of it — of how small it feels but it’s kind of intimate, in that way,” he said. “We have a good group of coaches. Most, if not all, of us really have a good relationship with each other and that makes it really easy to keep it going and communicate and make sure we’re doing it the right way.”

ahall@unionleader.com

Danny Bryson plans to use the Queen City Invitational Basketball Tournament (QCIBT) as an evaluation.

For the first time in a while, the Manchester Memorial boys basketball coach has a young team.

With a short preseason and only three NHIAA Division I games before the holiday break, Bryson is looking forward to his young group gaining more experience.

The 62nd QCIBT runs Saturday through Monday at Memorial. The defending QCIBT champion Crusaders (1-2 in NHIAA play) open against Division II Manchester West on Saturday at 4 p.m.

The championship game is scheduled for Monday at 5 p.m.

Memorial has two returners who have significant varsity experience: junior forward Joel Gomez and senior forward Jake Ornelas. They also have 10 juniors, two seniors and three underclassmen.

“We’re young but I feel like we’re a lot deeper than we have been in years and we have a little bit more size than we have over a number of years,” Bryson said. “We usually tend to do well in this tournament so I’m hoping to string together a couple wins and just get some momentum going into the 2026 calendar season.”

Alongside Memorial and West, the tournament field also includes Division I Bedford, Alvirne, Exeter, Goffstown and Manchester Central and Division II Sanborn.

Memorial and Bedford have met in the past two QCIBT finals, with Memorial winning last year’s game, 69-61. Bedford (3-0 in NHIAA play) beat Memorial in the 2023 title game.

Like the Crusaders, the defending Division I champion Bulldogs have some young pups.

Bedford, which has five sophomores and four juniors on its roster, already has two quality wins, defeating Trinity 80-73 on Dec. 12 and earning a 57-51 road win at Bishop Guertin last Friday.

Behind the efforts of sophomores Ryan O’Rourke (11 points, 18 rebounds) and Luke O’Connell (team-high 15 points), Bedford survived a late BG comeback attempt in front of a raucous road crowd.

“We’re thrilled about where we’re at,” Bulldogs coach Frank Moreno said. “I think the boys have learned how to win in a couple different ways.”

Moreno said he makes it a point in the QCIBT to spread the minutes around amongst his players and polish areas he noticed over the first three games that need attention.

The Bulldogs will try different substitutions and give more opportunities to their less experienced players.

“We can see who can fill in roles, who can fit in with the starters, who from the second unit can really step in,” Moreno said. “Those are big things that I look for.”

This year will mark the first QCIBT appearance for Sanborn, which was the D-II runner-up to Pembroke Academy last year.

The Indians (1-2) are replacing Trinity, which will play in the Malden (Mass.) Catholic Christmas tournament this season.

Third-year Sanborn coach Wayne Souther said the chance to join the QCIBT came from West coach Rich Otis.

Otis and Souther are friends and Sanborn played in West’s fall league that also included Memorial, Central and Goffstown.

Sanborn usually plays in The Bash at Farmington but Souther wanted to try a different holiday tournament this year.

“I just reached out to Rich and I was like, ‘Hey, coach, any Christmas tournaments that you know of?’” Souther said, “and they happened to have one spot that they were looking to fill so I jumped on the opportunity.”

The Indians are young and will be at a height disadvantage in the tournament, their coach said.

But they want the challenge of facing the tournament’s Division I teams.

“I believe you become who you play,” Souther said. “To me, that’s just going to help us in the long run of playing the Division I teams who really get after it. That’s the style of basketball we want to play.”

For Exeter, the QCIBT is about tradition.

The Blue Hawks (2-1) have been a tournament mainstay over 28th-year coach Jeff Holmes’s tenure.

Exeter’s has won the QCIBT four times, tied with Merrimack for the fourth-most titles. The Blue Hawks won their last two QCIBT titles in consecutive fashion, in 2018 and 2019.

Central (25) has won the most QCIBT championships.

“You play and that’s how you get better,” Holmes said. “Christmas time is a good time to play and get better and figure out about your team a little bit, maybe try some things that you might not try in a regular season game as far as combinations and all that stuff.”

ahall@unionleader.com

Player of the Year: Semaj Beals, Roman Catholic

Coach of the Year: Rick Prete, Roman Catholic

OFFENSE

Quarterback

Semaj Beals, Roman Catholic – 6-1, 180 senior

Nolan DiLucia, Peters Township – 6-2, 220 senior

Aaron Strader, Pine-Richland – 6-0, 170 junior

Trey Wingard, DuBois – 6-2, 220 senior

Running Back

Leo Brown, Exeter – 5-10, 180 senior

Carter Muth, Hollidaysburg – 5-8, 164 junior

Nazir Jones-Davis, Bishop McDevitt – 6-0, 195 senior

Cameron Small, Muhlenberg – 5-11, 185 senior

Johnny Garcia, Solanco – 5-9, 205 senior

Wide Receiver

Ashdan Roberts, Roman Catholic – 5-10, 180 senior

Khalil Taylor, Pine-Richland – 6-0, 180 senior

Eyan Stead, Roman Catholic – 5-10, 175 senior

Jaxson Hanzely, DuBois – 6-1, 185 senior

Gavin Anders, Abington Heights – 6-1, 185 senior

Tight End

Lucas Shanafelt, Peters Township – 6-4, 235 senior

Offensive Line

John Curran, Pine-Richland – 6-4, 295 senior

Ja’kye Logan, Bishop McDevitt – 6-3, 290 senior

Joel Ummarino, Exeter – 6-3, 260 senior

Roberson Louis-Jeune, Gateway – 6-0, 280 senior

Jimmy DeWire, Mechanicsburg – 6-2, 270 senior

Athlete

Scoop Smith, Woodland Hills – 5-6, 150 senior

Cole DeLattre, Hollidaysburg – 6-3, 185 senior

Quinlin Shearer, Red Land – 6-4, 213 senior

------------

DEFENSE

Defensive Line

Reston Lehman, Peters Township – 6-4, 230 senior

David Czapp, Spring Grove – 6-2, 260 senior

Vinny Bagonis, Warwick – 6-2, 215 senior

Collin Stare, Mechanicsburg – 6-2, 245 senior

Chris Thompson, Bishop McDevitt – 5-10, 250 senior

Linebacker

RJ Duffy, Bishop McDevitt – 6-3, 205 senior

James Spratt, Peters Township – 6-1, 205 senior

Josh Banks, Hollidaysburg – 6-1, 201 senior

Coron Russell, Roman Catholic – 6-3, 205 freshman

Hunter Strohm, Lower Dauphin – 6-2, 210 senior

Defensive Back

Jay Timmons, Pine-Richland – 5-10, 185 senior

Tyler Reinhart, Bishop McDevitt – 6-1, 190 senior

Gabe Forren, Solanco – 5-8, 150 senior

Jayden Ware, Exeter – 6-2, 165 senior

Justus Gaskin, Roman Catholic – 5-9, 175 senior

Specialist

Harran Zureikat, Fox Chapel – 6-2, 185 senior

Athlete

Lucas LoPresto, Pittston Area – 5-10, 175 senior

Brody Holmes, New Oxford – 6-2, 175 senior

Dec. 23—AMES, Iowa. — Nate Heise has made a successful transition from the University of Northern Iowa to Iowa State University, the Lake City graduate a basketball standout at both schools.

Heise was at UNI for four years, one of them during COVID and one of them when he was injured and took a medical redshirt season. That allowed him two more seasons after using the transfer portal to move up in the basketball world and attend Iowa State, a Big 12 school that is currently unbeaten (12-0) and ranked fourth in the country.

Heise, a defensive specialist, gets things done at both ends of the court. He is averaging 5.8 points per game (shooting 47% from the field), 3.5 rebounds and 2 steals per game.

"He's doing a lot of what we'd hoped he'd do," said Iowa State assistant Erik Crawford, who also was an assistant at UNI when Heise played there. "It's his competitive nature that allows him to be very good. He's very confident on defense for sure. He doesn't back down from any challenge and he is an extremely smart basketball player."

Here is a Q&A with Heise, who next year hopes to be playing professional basketball overseas.

Post Bulletin: How good a fit has Iowa State been for you?

Heise: I would say that had I come here as a freshman it wouldn't have been the best fit for me. But four years later, it's the perfect fit. The growth of my game and where it is at now makes it perfect. I learned a lot at Northern Iowa.

What are your thoughts as you look back at your years at Northern Iowa?

I look back at it the best way possible. I met great people there and had great coaches. The amount of stuff I learned there is through the roof. I look back at it very fondly. Ben Jacobson was a great coach and I got along with him really well, and he had great assistants, too. I wouldn't be where I am now without them.

What made you want to use the transfer portal and go to Iowa State?

I got my degree at Northern Iowa, and I spent four years there. I'd fulfilled my commitment to them and I knew I had two years left, one because of COVID and one because of an injury. I knew that I wanted to play at the highest level possible and this opportunity presented itself. It fit the bill to move to the next level. I knew they were a top-five kind of team and at UNI, we'd never made it to the NCAA Tournament. So, being on a top-five team meant a lot to me.

Your Iowa State team is currently 12-0 and ranked fourth in the country. What makes the Cyclones so good?

I think it's the way that (head coach) T.J. (Otzelberger) has put together the roster and how all the pieces fit together. And it's the guys' personalities. He recruits high-character guys who want to work hard and who want to practice and play together. There are no ego guys on our team and that is scarce in today's college game. We have guys who are kind and want to play and work hard.

Besides recruiting the right guys, what are Otzelberger's strengths as a coach?

With basketball, it is the mental side that is more important than the physical side at this level. What (Otzelberger) has done is shape our mindset every day. He is very process oriented. If we do the same things every day, our confidence is going to grow daily.

What kind of pressure comes with being ranked No. 4 in the country, including having had a blowout win over powerhouse Purdue and beaten an excellent and rival Iowa team by four points?

It depends on how you handle pressure. We have amazing fans at Iowa State. For some of them, their day revolves around whether we win or lose. I don't want winning and losing to dictate how I feel day to day, so I don't let it.

What do you see as your primary responsibilities on this team?

I would say two things. One is to be our best defensive guy and one who leads our defense, communicating, taking on that role, getting guys organized and always guarding one of the other team's best players. And with my experience from having played as long as I have (six years in college), it is important that I impart some of that wisdom on our young guys. It is fun and these guys are open to learning. It's just me being able to share my experiences and share what's coming at them.

You have good size, at 6-feet-5, 212 pounds. What makes you such a good defender?

It's my ability to be able to move my feet and be physical. I can guard any position, which is helpful for any team. I can guard the point guard and I can guard the (power forward). When you play basketball as long as I have you learn tendencies (of offensive players) and use your intellect.

You were a double-figure scorer at Northern Iowa. At Iowa State, you're averaging just under 6 points per game. Does that bother you at all?

No, I don't concern myself with my scoring in the slightest. What I want to do at the end of the day is win, so scoring doesn't cross my mind much at all. You mature as you get older and realize that at the end of the day, winning is what you want. I am completely content with my role.

What has been your most meaningful win so far this year?

It was beating Iowa. It is such a rivalry. It was more a sense of relief when we did it as much as anything, especially because we were playing at home and were favored to win. There is just so much riding on that game. It means a lot to so many people. But it was fun. Iowa has good players and a good coach.

Dec. 23—BEMIDJI — The Bemidji High School boys hockey team was just over five minutes away from getting out of the Bemidji Community Arena with a win over Roseau.

Then Jude Wittrock scored the tying goal on the power play.

Wittrock's tally knotted the game at 3-3. Abram Waage delivered the overtime winner 5:57 into the extra session.

Cal Mattfield, Camden Bentfield and Landon Knott discord for BHS (5-3). Quinn Niemi, Griffin Dewar, Dawson Schoonover, Eli Kringen and Mattfield all recorded at least one assist.

Roseau (3-6) picked up its first two goals from Anton Klint and Tanner Paulson.

Christian Hill made 25 saves in the loss for the Jacks. Roseau's Brendon Simmons stopped 29 shots for the Rams.

Roseau 4, Bemidji 3 (F/OT)

ROS 1 1 1 1 — 4

BHS 1 2 0 0 — 3

First period — BHS GOAL: Mattfield (Niemi, Dewar) 0:43; ROS GOAL: Klint (Paulson) 10:08.

Second period — BHS GOAL: Bentfield (Schoonover, Kringen) 1:24; BHS GOAL: Bentfield (Schoonover, Kringen) 1:24; BHS GOAL: L. Knott (Mattfield, Dewar) PPG, 11:20; ROS GOAL: Paulson (Klint, Hammer) 12:20.

Third period — ROS GOAL: Wittrock (Klint, Waage) 13:48.

Overtime — ROS GOAL: Waage (Hammer, Paulson) 5:57.

Saves — Hill (BHS) 25; Simmons (ROS) 29.

MIAMI — Losing can be painful enough, with the Miami Heat dealing with plenty over the past three weeks. Death by 3s can be excruciating.

As it was in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s loss to the Boston Celtics and then throughout the night on Sunday against the New York Knicks.

Lately, much of the pain for the Heat has been over the top.

Despite entering the week sixth in the NBA in 3-point defensive field-goal percentage, the Heat also entered the week allowing the seventh-most 3-pointers per game.

So, yes, there is acknowledgement that something has to change.

“That’s us,” guard Norman Powell said of opponents recently breaking open games three points at a time. “I mean, the Boston game, you break down and watch the film, everybody is like, ‘Oh, they just got hot.’ But they took advantage of our glitches, our miscommunications on switches.”

The Celtics were 10 of 15 on 3-pointers in that fourth quarter, on a night Boston guard Derrick White closed 9 of 14 from beyond the arc.

“The first half we did a really great job getting them in the mud, taking them off the three-point line, making their three-point shots tough,” Powell said of the loss at TD Garden. “And then I’ll say the last 15 minutes of that game, our miscues and miscommunications and switches on defense and that Boston game opened up the threes for them. And then they got hot. They burned us on every one of those miscommunications on defense.”

Fast forward then to Sunday night at Madison Square Garden, when the Knicks closed 20 of 38 from beyond the arc, with guard Mikal Bridges 6 of 7 on 3-pointers.

“Not getting back in transition or locating Bridges in transition, he got a lot of wide open shots there,” Powell said, with the Heat turning their attention to Tuesday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors at Kaseya Center, before a two-day Christmas break. “So, I mean, it’s honestly us and being more mentally locked in and knowing guys’ tendencies and what they like to do.”

The Heat’s approach has long been prioritizing protecting the paint, while also appreciating the need for energetic and timely closeouts at the 3-point arc.

But in what increasingly has evolved into a 3-point league, such daggers become defeating.

Guard Davion Mitchell said it was clear the Heat allowed the Knicks on Sunday to grow their confidence throughout the game from the arc.

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“I think when you get comfortable and you kind of let them get open threes or threes that we should contest, and they hit one, you kind of get confidence,” he said. “Just like the beginning game, you get confidence. It’s kind of hard to stop any of those guys because they’re really good players. So I think we got to start at the beginning of the game and not making them comfortable.

“Make their first shot like a hard one or a tough one, a contested three or even just run them off the three-point line, and kind of just live with the results from there and trust our teammates to help us on the backside. So I think we just got to stop letting them get comfortable in the beginning.”

In addition to Bridges’ 3-pointers, the Heat also were victimized by Jalen Brunson’s 6 of 13 from beyond the arc in his 47-point performance, the highest-scoring game against the Heat this season.

“It’s got to be more,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of his team’s 3-point defense. “It could be something different. (Sunday), they hit shots while we were there. Other than Bridges in the first half, I thought he shook free for some transition threes. Brunson’s threes, we’re there. If they’re making them, what it requires is more.

“You don’t know what it requires until you get the stop, and we’re going to get there.”

Dec. 22—JAMESTOWN — A nasty turnover cost Bottineau/Rugby the game on Monday evening — much to Jamestown's delight.

With four seconds left in the second period of the Braves' tilt against the Blue Jays, Jamestown senior Bennett Goehner beat goalie Rowan Cheshire on the stick side and landed the puck to give his team a 3-2 advantage.

"Benny was where he needed to be," JHS head coach Jake Stilwell said in an interview with Jamestown's 107.1 FM. "He scored there because he was in the right spot. He's high, in the middle of the ice preventing cross-ice passes. Their guy tried to go to the far side and tried to put it right on his tape and that's not their guy necessarily making a terrible play, that was our group doing a great job of adjusting, playing in our structure and ... having a third guy high and in the middle."

Jamestown held on to defeat the Braves 3-2 to improve to 4-1. The Blue Jays will be back at Wilson Arena on Jan. 3 hosting Williston at 5:30 p.m.

While it was a win, Stilwell thought the Jays could have done better at certain times.

The Braves had the icebreaking goal in the first period — an unassisted score by Casey Freeman at the 4:08 mark. Jamestown tied it up at 5:22 with a goal by Max Whitman but Gavin Barsch put the visitors up again with a goal at 12:24.

"(Bottineau) had the puck in dangerous areas a lot in the first period," Stilwell said. "That goes back to us being a step slower. They were able to spread the ice out really well and that's not how we want other teams to play against us — we want to be able to cut the ice in half."

John Belzer made it 2-2 with a goal scored nine seconds before the first intermission.

"We realized their wingers were really flying hard," Stilwell said. "We had our two seniors recognize that their wingers were flying through and they ran a walk-play. Bennett does a great job of walking the center then Johnny got to the back post and had a tap-in open net. It was really nice for those older guys to recognize a play there and recognize where the pressure was and where it wasn't."

In the final frame, the Blue Jays limited the Braves' to eight shots on goal while they were recorded as having 15 shots on goal. Cheshire was credited with 34 saves. Jamestown's Leif Hanson made 19 saves.

"In the second and third, if you look at grade-A chances, (Bottineau) had a few but when they had the puck in zone, it was on the outside of the ice a lot," Stilwell said. "They had a couple of chances here and there but when we had the occasional breakdown happen we had (Hanson) back there to stop the play. He played great when we needed him and we did just enough to get it done."

Jamestown 3, Bottineau/Rugby 2

BR 2 0 0 — 2

JHS 2 1 0 — 3

Scoring

First period

1. B/R, Casey Freeman (unassisted), 4:08; 2. JHS, Max Whitman (Gavin Schafter, Brady Nenow), 5:22; 3. B/R, Gavin Barsch (unassisted), 12:24; 4. JHS, John Belzer (Bennett Goehner, Parker Roelfsema), 16:51.

Second period

5. JHS, Goehner (Belzer, Roelfsema), 16:56.

Third period

No scoring.

Third period

Shots on goal: Bottineau/Rugby 7-6-8—21; Jamestown 13-9-15—24

Goalie saves: Bottineau/Rugby, Rowan Cheshire 34; Jamestown, Leif Hanson 19.

Dec. 22—MANDAN — The Jamestown High School girls basketball team shot the ball 42 times in Mandan.

About 36% of the shots landed.

Jamestown's 15-for-42 shooting performance landed them three points short of a win Monday night. The Blue Jays dropped 52-50 to Mandan. The loss puts Jamestown's record at 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the WDA standings.

Head coach Andy Skunberg and company will be back in action after the New Year. Jamestown is slated to travel to Bismarck St. Mary's on Jan. 2. Game time is set for 6 p.m.

Senior Mea Ulland and freshman Macey Neumiller were the Jays' leading scorers against the Braves, each notching 13 points. Ulland was 4-for-8 from 3-point range while Neumiller hit three shots from deep.

Lucy Falk was perfect at the foul line, going 4-for-4 en route to eight points for the night. Haley Attleson and Adisyn Yunck both put six points on the books. Attleson's younger sister, Hannah, controlled the boards with 16 total rebounds.

Mandan 52, Jamestown 50

JHS — Mea Ulland 13, Macey Neumiller 13, Lucy Falk 8, Haley Attleson 6, Adisyn Yunck 6, Claire Marker 2, Hannah Attleson 1, Mari Anderson 1. Totals: 15-42 FG, 12-18 FT, 18 fouls. 3-pointers: Ulland 4, Neumiller 3, Yunck 1.

MAN — Stats not provided.

Tim Ranum was left slightly frustrated on Monday night.

"We played really well for the last six minutes of the first half to take the lead into half," said Ranum, the head coach for the Jamestown High School boy's basketball team. "We just got punched in the mouth the start of the second half and fell behind.

"We had another stretch where we cut the lead, but we just couldn't get to the next level," he said. "It is a frustrating loss against a good team, but we also have some things to build on going forward."

Ranum and the Jays dropped 83-67 to Mandan to fall to 0-2 in the WDA standings. Jamestown's next test is slated to come in 2026 on Jan. 2 at Bismarck St. Mary's.

Edison Walters led the Jays in total scoring with 29 points while Eric Van Berkom proved able to string together 14 points. Gradin Thorlakson was responsible for eight points scored while Abel Dolokelen put seven on the books.

Mandan was led by Carson Shimek and Brylee Bearstail who combined for 39 points.

Mandan 83, Jamestown 67

JHS 36 31 — 67

MAN 35 48 — 83

JHS — Edison Walters 29, Eric Van Berkom 14, Gradin Thorlakson 8, Abel Dolokelen 7, Jamison Kleinjan 5, Hudson Rode 4. Totals: 21 FG, 16-22 FT, 11 fouls. 3-pointers: Dolokelen 1, Van Berkom 1, Kleinjan 1.

MAN — Carson Shimek 20, Brylee Bearstail 19, KP Eaglestaff 11, Daniel Wentz 9, Nunpa Kirkie 8, Eli Eaglestaff 6, Rylee Bearstail 6, Dayce Keplin 2, Kayeon Lanier 2. Totals: 28 FG, 10-13 FT, 20 fouls. 3-pointers: B. Bearstail 3, K. Eaglestaff 1, Shimek 1.

MANCHESTER – East Catholic boys basketball coach Luke Reilly got his 500th win, joining his father Joe and his uncle Gene, who both won over 500 high school basketball games, with a 92-42 victory over Manchester Monday night.

“He’d be so fired up,” said Luke of his late father, who coached at South Catholic for 27 years and won five state titles before the school in Hartford closed in 1991. “I remember, during one of his milestones, he said, ‘It’s about the faces you see, the people who come back, it’s about the community.’”

Many alumni returned to celebrate with Reilly, in his 26th season at East Catholic, and a video with several alumni and individuals who influenced Reilly’s life, was played following the game. His brother Joe, who has coached at Wesleyan for 17 years, was also there, along with several other family members.

Joe Reilly Sr., who died in 2004 at age 66, won 518 games at South Catholic, Bloomfield and Newington. Gene Reilly, who coached at Portland High School, won 547 games. He died in 2014 at age 70.

“They were the icon coaches of that era, especially to me,” said Luke, who has won five state championships with the Eagles, the last in 2023. “It’s really cool to be a part of it. I feel like I’m a small part of it because I’m just doing what they taught me.”

Dec. 22—PORTLAND — Gonzaga can bank on at least two more chances to play in the state of Oregon this season. The Zags are scheduled to return in February for road West Coast Conference games against Portland (Feb. 4) and Oregon State (Feb. 7).

Whether the seventh-ranked Zags return in March for a few bonus games at the Moda Center will hinge on how they hold up over the next two months during WCC play.

The NCAA Tournament is returning to the Rose City, with first- and second-round games taking place at the Portland Trail Blazers' home arena, where Gonzaga polished off an impressive nonconference run with a 91-82 victory over Oregon on Sunday afternoon.

Early bracket projections have Gonzaga slotted in as a No. 2 seed, which would all but guarantee Mark Few's team is back in Portland to open March Madness.

We'll spend the next two to three months revisiting that possibility, but for now we'll stick with the rewind of Sunday's game, and how Gonzaga completed an impressive 12-1 run through nonconference play.

Back and forth with Bittle

Gonzaga made a push to land Nate Bittle five years ago, recruiting the five-star center out of California's Prolific Prep. The logjam in Mark Few's frontcourt may have been one of the things that steered Bittle away from Spokane after initially listing GU as one of his four finalists. All-American Drew Timme was only a sophomore at the time and the Zags were heavily involved with Chet Holmgren, who'd give his commitment to Few's staff the following spring.

Gonzaga can't complain with how things turned out, but Sunday's game also would've gone smoother had the 7-foot Bittle been wearing a GU jersey as opposed to a UO one.

Through the first 20 minutes, Oregon's center was equally effective preventing Gonzaga's frontcourt from getting quality looks at the basket as he was scoring from a variety of places on the court.

Bittle, who led Oregon in four statistical categories, turned away Braden Huff's shot inside the first three minutes and blocked Graham Ike a few minutes after that. Bittle then rattled off seven straight Oregon points, converting on a 3-pointer, knocking down a jumper and adding a layup to keep the Ducks locked in a one-possession game.

"He's a really skilled player, can shoot it really well, good post game," Huff said. "Then defensively he's really big in there. So I think just the same approach every game, regardless of the matchup just attacking down low and being physical and not changing the approach is the biggest thing. But he's a really, really skilled player and he had a good one tonight."

Bittle scored 16 of his game-high 28 points in the first half and also squeezed each of his four blocks into the opening frame. The 7-footer finished 10 of 19 from the field, 3 of 8 from the 3-point line and 5 of 5 from the free throw line. In addition to points and blocks, Bittle also led the Ducks in rebounds (9) and assists (5).

"We recruited Nate and he comes from a great family and had a great high school career," Few said. "It's great to see him healthy, I think when you see him healthy you can see how skilled he is and I think when you play him, you forget how big he is. And listen there's a lot of guys in college basketball that are doing that, he's not the only one. They've taken advantage of it and good for them. Until we can get some organization and some rules around this thing, I think we'll continue to see that."

Now in his fifth college basketball season, Bittle has dealt with a handful of physical setbacks, including an ankle injury suffered during the Players Era Festival. His 37 minutes on Sunday were a season high and 12 more than he'd played in any game since hurting his ankle against San Diego State.

"He looked a lot bouncier than he has for weeks," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "That first half was by far his best half all around defensively, offensively. He hasn't blocked a shot for a month, so getting him back. That first half, their points in the paint had eight and I thought Nate was big in the second half, but I thought he was just gassed.

"We kept him out there, but 27 minutes coming off of a month where he hasn't practiced and played more than 20 minutes in a game."

Razor sharp

Gonzaga's assist numbers have hovered in the high teens and low- to mid-20's most of the season. The Zags are also averaging 10.3 turnovers and probably addressed that statistical category coming out of Wednesday's game against Campbell, when they committed a season-high 15 turnovers.

The assist numbers looked good against Oregon, but the turnover numbers were even better.

Gonzaga had 20 assists compared to a season-low five turnovers, including nine assists with zero turnovers in the second half.

Backup point guard Braeden Smith dictated a lot of what Gonzaga did offensively, totaling seven assists without committing a single turnover.

"I thought it was a pretty good performance, was able to take care of the ball, play make a little bit and score when needed," Smith told The Sideline's Andy Katz after the game. "I think it was a great team win tonight, we rallied through some adversity and it was a great way to win nonconference."

Gonzaga turned the ball over on just 7.4% of its offensive possessions — the lowest rate of the Few era versus a power conference opponent. The Zags' five turnovers were the fewest in a game they've also had at least 20 assists since Jan. 14, 2023, against Portland. Before Sunday, Gonzaga has never registered at least 20 assists and five or fewer turnovers against a high-major opponent during Few's tenure.

Modest Moda turnout

Oregon fans slightly outnumbered Gonzaga fans at the Moda Center, but the turnout in general was smaller than anticipated in a game featuring neighboring Pacific Northwest programs that hadn't played in the continental U.S. since 1983.

The Zags and Ducks drew 10,055 for Sunday's game, filling slightly more than half of the available seats at the downtown Portland venue, which lists a capacity of 19,393 for basketball games.

"Listen, we have a great following and I really, really appreciate everybody that showed up today. That was the plan when Dana and I set this thing up. I've got to be honest with you, I thought we'd have more of Zag nation than we had. We usually draw like crazy wherever we go and especially in the Northwest. A little disappointed in that, but I was so happy for everybody that did show."

Gonzaga entered the game with a top-10 ranking and sparkling nonleague record, but its opponent, which came into the receiving Top 25 votes, was just 6-5 before losing Sunday — perhaps one reason more Eugene- or Portland-based Duck fans didn't attend. Many Oregon fans also attended a College Football Playoff game against James Madison at Autzen Stadium the night before.

Gonzaga fans didn't necessarily show up in droves, possibly because many located in the Northwest elected to attend the team's showdown with another Big Ten school, UCLA, eight days prior at Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena. As mentioned earlier, Portland-based GU fans could have two to four more chances to see the Zags within a 90-mile radius of the city over the next two months.

Dec. 22—If anybody questioned what would provide the motivation for Washington State's players going into the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, it was the same that got them playing the game in the first place.

It was a chance to go out and play ball with their buddies.

The simplest and purest reason there is.

More importantly, the Cougars' enthusiasm for the game, and the joy of competing, was so obvious that this 34-21 win over Utah State had to equate to a three-hour infomercial for WSU football.

You can't buy advertisements like that.

For recruits considering becoming a Cougar, or for alums thinking about prying open their wallets, or just football lovers who wanted to watch a fun football game, WSU put on a convincing show.

It was a chance to show off an exciting offense and mad-dog defense rather than having to debate staff defections, financial shortcomings and a conference torn asunder.

At a time when the college football playoffs are diminishing the appeal of the lesser bowls, and players are entering the giant portal vortex that will transport them other venues with strangers becoming teammates, these Cougars hung together.

Those that remained went to Boise and smacked the heck out of Utah State — one of the teams they'll be seeing in future years in the new Pac-12.

The televised crowd shots at Boise State's Albertson's Stadium showed a scant crowd, but those in attendance (announced at 17,013) witnessed a spirited Cougar performance akin to last season's fiery performance in a Holiday Bowl loss to Syracuse. This was even better, though, because of the outcome.

Adding even more viewer appeal than the dancing tater tot mascot on the sideline, the Cougars used a balanced offense (373 passing yards, 255 rushing) and a hyper-aggressive defense that held USU to just 13 first down.

Utah State's Aggies wore their "Battle Cattle" helmets (white with irregular black spots, presumably to resemble Holstein cows) as a nod to their heritage as an agriculture school.

At first glance, they looked like a pack of 300-pound Dalmatians. But cows, okay.

Sometimes bowl games for teams on the fringe of getting a berth (both WSU and USU matched 6-6 records) are won by the team that has the most interest in actually being there.

With defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit (soon to join former head coach Jimmy Rogers at Iowa State), guiding the team, the Cougars certainly came out fired up. Bobbit reportedly pitched the concept of finishing strong and playing the game for each other.

The Cougars obviously bought in. They looked like teams are supposed to in a bowl, revived from the grind of 12 regular-season games, practicing together with less pressure, and having some fun in the host city.

Senior quarterback Zevi Eckhaus, who had become an even more prominent voice of leadership through a time of transition in the program, had mixed results against the Aggies, with three touchdowns and three interceptions.

But even with the Cougar turnovers, the starchy WSU defense kept the Aggies from capitalizing, and USU trailed 20-0 before scoring its first touchdown late in the third period.

In a quick sideline broadcast interview at halftime, Bobbit was asked what he liked about the team's defensive performance. "The swarm, the effort, the mentality, the response."

Good answer. The well-prepared defense swarmed with high effort, and few if any missed assignments. This was the group that had stepped up in big games, keeping the Cougars close in three games against ranked opponents this season — including holding No. 4-ranked Mississippi to 24 points (matching a season-low).

A couple of those six losses this season could have been reversed by a more consistent and efficient offense. Which brings us to a second-quarter broadcast-booth interview with newly hired head coach Kirby Moore, formerly offensive coordinator of Missouri.

Moore stressed the importance of sustaining continuity and expanding the offense through the passing game. Accomplishing both could produce noticeable results.

As Moore was talking, Eckhaus and the Cougs were continuing their success with converting passes on third-and-long, and driving for a second touchdown on the short pass to tight end Hudson Cederland that put the Cougs up 14-0.

When Moore first met the public in a recent press conference, he referenced the Pac-12 Conference's realignment by pointing out the new configuration could boost the Cougars' chances for an ascension to the top of the pack.

With Utah State being among the new Pac-12 lodge brothers, maybe they'll become a rival of the future.

But on Monday in Boise, WSU was the superior team. For most of the game, the guys in the spotty helmets got physically manhandled by the Cougars.

It was clear that while the Aggies may have had the cows, WSU had the horses.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — In the wake of the Kansas City Chiefs announcing plans to leave Arrowhead Stadium for a new domed stadium in Kansas in 2031, the home of Chiefs training camp in St. Joseph has provided a statement.

We are beyond proud to have served as the Summer Training Camp home of the Kansas City Chiefs since 2010. Training camp has been a point of pride for our campus, our students, and the greater St. Joseph community. We will continue planning to make future training camps a great experience for the team and the fans," a statement provided by Missouri Western on Monday reads.

The Chiefs reportedly signed a multi-year extension in 2025 with Missouri Western to continue hosting training camp in St. Joseph. Back in July, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt expressed his appreciation of continuing the partnership with Missouri Western.

"It's great for the organization to be able to extend our relationship going forward," Hunt said. "We do believe it's been a key part of helping us win a few championships.

It's unclear exactly how the Chiefs announcement will impact those plans, but the latest statement from Missouri Western indicates planning will continue for training camp in St. Joseph.

For the past 15 years, Missouri Western State University has hosted the annual Chiefs training camp, bringing in thousands of tourists each year from across the country.

CHICAGO — Now would be a good time for all Chicago White Sox fans to declare their true feelings about the state of the organization as the team ends 2025 on an upbeat note.

Is the hard part of the rebuild finally over, or is “Mune Time” a mirage?

The signing of Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami, whom Sox general manager Chris Getz described as a “superstar,” capped off a year in which their most valuable asset was Pope Leo XIV, who was not on the payroll and whose contributions were relegated solely to the marketing of the team.

The pope couldn’t prevent the Sox from their third straight season of 100-plus losses. He could not rush the ownership switch and put Justin Ishbia in Jerry Reinsdorf’s chair. And he couldn’t move the chains on the Sox’s pursuit of a new ballpark in the South Loop.

All he really did was make Sox fans proud that the pope was one of theirs. That and $14 will buy you a beer at Sox Park.

But now the Sox have someone to replace Pope Leo as the centerpiece of the 2026 marketing plan, and the selling of Mune will be something to watch. He made a good first impression Monday at his introductory news conference in the auditorium that was virtually abandoned during the Pedro Grifol era.

Murakami said all the right things through his interpreter about wanting to be a White Sox, and Getz hyped the signing by saying “to be able to have him now wear a White Sox uniform, it cannot be overstated how significant that is.”

So how significant is it?

Financially, not so much. His two-year, $34 million deal pales in comparison to the five-year, $75 million deal for Andrew Benintendi in 2022, the biggest in White Sox history. It’s also not anywhere near the four-year, $73 million deal for Yasmani Grandal in 2019, which signaled the Sox were ending their rebuild and trying to win.

“The signing of Grandal was a mind-blowing one to be honest, especially with (catcher James) McCann having such a great year,” Dallas Keuchel said at the 2020 SoxFest. “It fortifies us (having) two of the best backstops in the league, and that’s really where you build from.”

It didn’t end well on the South Side for Keuchel or Grandal, and the Benintendi deal hasn’t exactly worked out as planned either. But the Murakami signing was mind-blowing in its own way because who thought the Sox could convince a power-hitting free agent to come to the South Side on a two-year deal?

“My main priority was to find the best fit,” Murakami said. “Whether the contract was long or not wasn’t really a factor for myself. I just really believe in the city and the organization, really, really happy to be here.”

It’s here that it must be noted Murakami is going to strike out quite a bit and might be a liability in the field at third or first base. No reason to worry about that now. If he can hit 35-40 home runs and not be a butcher, he’ll be worth the investment.

What he brings to the Sox is hope, which has been missing since the downfall began under Tony La Russa in the summer of 2022. His replacement, Grifol, proved to be the wrong messenger, and executives Ken Williams and Rick Hahn were subsequently fired. Hahn was replaced by Getz after Reinsdorf declined to search for a general manager outside the organization, citing the need to win quickly. Getz was given total control.

“Except when it comes to spending money,” Reinsdorf said that day. “But every owner reserves that right. But now I lost my train of thought. I feel like Mitch McConnell.”

Getz’s first two seasons have been less than inspiring, but an improved core and a manager with a calming presence in Will Venable made the second half of ’25 tolerable. And now he convinced Reinsdorf to go all in on Murakami, who fit the financial profile of a Sox free agent.

Getz said “when we identify a player that we feel like has a chance to really come into the organization and fit with what we’re trying to accomplish, you know I have a conversation with Jerry about it. And in this case, the more we talked about it, obviously talking about Mune and what he’s capable of doing on the field, the international connection, he got more and more excited.”

Well, the two-year commitment at Aldi prices probably got Reinsdorf excited as well. He’s not a Whole Foods kind of guy, as we’ve seen.

We don’t know if Mune, as he was referred to Monday, can take the Sox to the next step of the rebuild, as Grandal and Keuchel did in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. At the very least he’ll get some of the Japanese reporters covering the Los Angeles Dodgers at Camelback Ranch this spring to take the short hike over to the Sox clubhouse and check in on the newest Japanese sensation.

Murakami said he got great reviews of Chicago from Cubs players Seiya Suzuki and Shota Imanaga, and hopefully he can match their popularity in his two-year stint. Sox fans could use a superstar, especially one who can hit home runs and help them win some games.

“Obviously I’ve heard that this club has lost a lot of games in the past, but that is in the past,” he said. “I only look forward.”

That’s always the best direction to look.

Maybe he’ll blow our minds in 2026, leading the Sox out of the rebuild desert and getting the pope off the hook.

It’s worth a shot.

____

Rushville and visiting Lawrenceburg played to an even 24-24 first half Friday in EIAC boys basketball action. The Lions put the game away in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 30-18 to secure the 54-42 victory.

Rushville improves to 3-2 on the season and 3-0 in the EIAC. Lawrenceburg drops to 2-2 overall and 1-2 in the EIAC.

Lawrenceburg held a slim 15-14 lead after the first eight minutes. Kaleb Cole and Evan Lewis both had five points for the Tigers. Malaki Knight led the Lions with five points and Zy Adams added four points.

Rushville fought back to tie the game at 24-24 at the break at the half. Knights scored four points in the quarter for the Lions. Adams, Clayton Chase and Liam Gurley all added a bucket.

Rushville took a 4-point lead after the third quarter and held Lawrenceburg to just six points on a pair of 3-pointers by Cole. Adams had five points in the quarter for Rushville and Chase hit his first 3-pointer of the game.

In the fourth, the Lions pulled away to the win by doubling up the Tigers 20-10. Knight poured in 10 points and Chase connected on a pair of 3-pointers. Rushville hit 8-of-9 free throws in the quarter to lock down the win.

For the Lions, Knight tallied 21 points and four rebounds. Chase and Adams both finished with 11 points, three rebounds and two assists. Ryan Flannery added five points, three rebounds and two assists. Gurley had four points and four rebounds. Owen Zachery had two points, two rebounds and a team-high eight assists. Gavin Owen grabbed two rebounds, and Emmett Knecht had one rebound.

Rushville faces Waldron (3-2) Friday in the Shenandoah Tournament.

Saturday, the Lions knocked off Seton Catholic 44-39 to win their fourth straight game and improve to 4-2 on the season.

South Ripley 80 South Decatur 70

The host Raiders led at every quarter break in knocking off South Decatur 80-70.

South Decatur is now 3-2 on the season. South Ripley moves to 5-1.

The Raiders led 22-18 after the first eight minutes. Cayden Drake led the Cougars with eight points in the first quarter. Drake Scaggs added four points. Tayedin Traylor and Aidan Bryant both hit a 3-pointer for South.

In the second quarter, the Raiders extended the lead to 40-34. Drake scored six points for the Cougars and Brayden Gerrian added five points.

In the third quarter, the Raiders outscored the Cougars 23-20 and led 63-54. Drake added 10 points to his total in the quarter. Traylor scored five points for the Cougars.

In the fourth, Bryant hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored eight points. Drake Scaggs added six points, but the Cougars fell by 10 to the Raiders.

For the Cougars, Drake had a team-high 24 points. Scaggs was next with 16 points. Bryant scored 13 points. Traylor added eight points. Gerrian scored five points. Josh Winkler and Karson Templeton both had two points.

Drake grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Templeton was next with eight rebounds. Scaggs had four rebounds. Drake and Bryant both dished out three assists.

South faces Western Boone (3-2) Dec. 27 in the Morristown Classic.

Franklin County 42 Greensburg 39

On the road at Franklin County, the Pirates entered EIAC action for the first time in the 2025-26 campaign. The Pirates led 26-19 at the half, but the Wildcats outscored the Pirates by 10 points in the second half, including a 3-pointer with :02 left by Jerod Rauch to rally for 42-39 victory.

Franklin County improves to 1-4 on the season and 1-3 in the EIAC. The Pirates drop to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in conference action.

Greensburg held a 6-point 13-7 lead at the end of the first eight minutes. In the second quarter, the Pirates extended the lead to 26-19.

Franklin County outscored the Pirates 13-9 in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 35-32, leading to Rauch’s last second, game winning 3-pointer for the Wildcats.

Rauch led all scorers with 13 points for the Wildcats.

For the Pirates, Jacoby Miller finished with 12 points, three rebounds and one assist. Andrew Bowman tallied 11 points, four rebounds and one assist. Logan Simpson had five points and one rebound. Ethan Smith added five points, two rebounds and two assists. Max Buening had two points and three rebounds. Hayden Ramsey had two points and one assist. Jonah Hellmich added two points and a team-high 13 rebounds. Zayden Miller grabbed six boards and dished out one assist.

Greensburg faces Phalen Academy at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 29 in the Bob Wettig Tournament in Richmond.

Batesville 68 East Central 51

The Batesville Bulldogs varsity basketball team defeated East Central 68-51 Saturday in a non-conference matchup. Batesville remains unbeaten on the season at 5-0 and is 1-0 in the EIAC. East Central drops to 2-3.

The Bulldogs outscored the Trojans 15-5 in the first quarter and went on the lead 33-17 at halftime.

James Hughes led the way offensively with 23 points, while Brayden Maple and Kamryn Holcomb each scored 14 points. Hughes completed his double-double by pulling down 12 rebounds. Trenten Luers added four assists

The Bulldogs junior varsity team posted a 57-38 win at East Central. Batesville scoring included Sam Dice 14 points, Hank Bohman 12 points, Jackson Peetz nine points, Camden Kaiser eight points, Liam Wagner five points, Levi Hunt four points, Winston Garrett three points and Preston Blessing two points.

Batesville travels to South Ripley (5-1) Tuesday.

Triton Central 63 North Decatur 32

Triton Central made it five wins in a row with a 63-32 victory against North Decatur 63-32. The Tigers improve to 6-1 on the season. The Chargers drop to 2-4.

Triton Central jumped out to a 13-6 lead after the first quarter and extended the lead to 28-13 at the half. The Tigers led 43-23 heading to the fourth quarter.

North had two players score in double figures. Owen Rennekamp hit 11-of-14 free throws en route to 15 points. Logan O’Dell added 13 points. Charlie Parmer and Wyatt Reisman both had a bucket for two points.

Matthew Fields grabbed a team-high four rebounds and dished out one assist. Henry Kinker and O’Dell both had three rebounds. Garrett Schwering and Sam Crowell both had two rebounds. Rennekamp dished out two assists.

North faces Indianapolis Washington (2-2) at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 29 at the Bob Wettig Tournament in Richmond.

The Stone Memorial Panthers split their first two games this past weekend in the 5-Star Preps Holiday Basketball Classic in Knoxville.

SMHS, still trying to find the right combination of players and rotations after the first half of the season, opened the prestigious tournament with an 80-69 victory over Clinton. The Panthers then dropped their second round game, 64-44, to McMinn Central.

In the opener against Clinton, Stone Memorial used a solid second half to blow the game open and secure the win.

Jack Cordell and Evin Moseley helped the Panthers come out of the gate quickly to open the game. Stone Memorial led 19-15 at the end of play in the first period.

Bryson Maddox set the pace for Clinton, helping CHS keep pace.

Tanner Bowman and Briggs Lowe scored in the paint, and Kadyn Page nailed a jumper from outside to give the Panthers a 36-31 advantage at halftime.

Hunter Haney and Moseley came out on fire in the third quarter as Stone pushed its advantage to 59-43 as the teams prepared to head into the fourth quarter.

Cordell and Lowe kept the pressure on for the Panthers in the final eight minutes. Haney and Page contributed buckets, and Stone Memorial cruised to the 80-69 victory.

The Panthers were led in scoring by Cordell and Lowe with 26 points each. Moseley chipped in 11, and Page had seven. Charlie Vanwinkle scored five, while Haney had four. Bowman scored one.

Maddox led Clinton in scoring with 28 points. Ben Tockett chipped in with 15, and Tristan Lundy had 10.

Stone boys drop 64-44 decision to McMinn Central

The Stone Memorial boys struggled offensively in their second round contest with McMinn Central.

Stone had one player in double figures and the cold shooting proved costly as SMHS fell behind and eventually lost by a score of 64-44.

McMinn Central rushed out to a 19-11 lead after the first eight minutes of play. Maddox Frazier caught the hot hand for MCHS, along with Abe Reinhold scoring from inside.

McMinn pulled away in the second period to lead 37-25 at halftime and eventually 53-37 after three full quarters.

Page led Stone in scoring with 10 points. Lowe scored eight and Vanwinkle had seven. Moseley and Haney tallied five points each. Bowman scored three, while Jake Hennessee and Cordell scored two points apiece.

Frazier led McMinn with 20 points, while Reinhold scored 18.

Stone, 5-5 on the year, will hit the court again Dec. 29 when the Panthers take part in the Music City Hoopfest in Nashville. SMHS will open with Ravenwood.

At the mid-point of the girls’ basketball season, the Lady Chargers finally entered Mid-Hoosier Conference action by hosting Waldron Friday. North Decatur stopped a four-game losing streak and picked up its first conference win with a 40-23 victory against the Lady Mohawks.

North improves to 4-8 on the season and 1-0 in the MHC. Waldron drops to 4-6 overall and 0-3 in the MHC.

The Lady Chargers jumped out to a 14-5 lead after the first eight minutes of action. In the second quarter, North outscored Waldron 13-8 to lead 27-13 at the break.

The Lady Chargers held Waldron to four points in the third quarter to take a 34-17 lead to the final quarter.

For the Lady Chargers, Carmen Thackery tallied 17 points, three rebounds and a team-high five assists. Jewel Verseman added eight points, five rebounds and one assist. Leonie Clemente had six points and seven rebounds. Brynlee Green finished with five points and three rebounds. Brooklyn White added four points and six rebounds. Jo Whitaker grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds and dished out three assists. Libby Crawford grabbed four rebounds.

Batesville 44 Richmond 32

The Lady Bulldogs traveled to Richmond and picked up win No. 7 on the season 44-32 against the Lady Red Devils.

Batesville improved to 7-4. Richmond fell to 0-8.

After falling behind 7-6 after the first eight minutes and 18-15 at the half, the Lady Bulldogs went on a 21-5 run in the third quarter to grab a 36-23 lead heading to the fourth quarter.

Batesville shot 44 percent from the field, including 4-of-12 from beyond the 3-point arc. The Lady Bulldogs outrebounded Richmond 34-20 in the game. Batesville dished out 14 assists in the game.

For Batesville, Molly Gesell tallied 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. Jersey Trenkamp finished with 10 points and two rebounds. Maggie Jelinek added eight points, nine rebounds and two assists. Nora Wiedeman had six points and three rebounds. Kaylin Kathmann finished with six points, six rebounds and eight assists. Leah Meyer had two points, five rebounds and one assist. Addysin Hughes grabbed one rebound.

Batesville won the junior varsity contest 18-7. Bella Watson and Meyer both scored four points. Trenkamp added three points. Caitlin Raver, Addysin Hughes and Kenzi Lacey all scored two points. Aubrey Kathmann hit a free throw for one point.

Batesville fell to East Central 55-28 Saturday. Batesville is 7-5 on the season and 2-3 in the EIAC.

Lawrenceburg 46 Rushville 33

Visiting Lawrenceburg evened its EIAC record at 2-2 with a 46-33 victory against Rushville.

The Lady Tigers improve to 6-6 overall. Rushville falls to 1-10 overall and 1-1 in the EIAC.

Lawrenceburg led 10-4 after the first quarter and extended the lead to 21-10 at the half. After three quarters, the Lady Tigers led 36-18.

Lia Bohn led the Lady Lions in scoring with nine points. Charli Marcum was next for Rushville with eight points. Kelsey Morgan finished with six points. Charlotte Caviness and Mikayla Herbert both scored four points. Makenna Ripberger added two points.

Rushville takes on Franklin Central Dec. 29 in the Northridge Tournament.

The Stone Memorial Lady Panthers, the No. 1- ranked team in the state according to Maxpreps.com, kept their winning streak alive this past weekend with victories in the first two rounds of the 5-Star Preps Holiday Basketball Classic in Knoxville.

Stone moved its overall record to 12-0 with a 78-57 victory over Fulton in the first round and a 60-33 victory over Powell in the semifinals. The Lady Panthers played the Christian Academy of Knoxville Monday, Dec. 22, in the title game. Results were available after deadline.

The Panthers got off to a slow start in the game with Fulton. Lauren Clark, Ella Jane May and Ashley Whittenburg set the early pace for Stone. Fulton led 19-15 after the first period.

Stone’s defense picked up in the second period and proved to cause trouble for Fulton’s offense. Brooklyn Lane and Emma Smith helped spark the surge for Stone. Baskets by Whittenburg and Bella Wyatt pushed the Lady Panthers to a 44-26 lead at the intermission.

Nazzy Taylor tried to bring Fulton back in the second half. She scored in the lane, and Shiloh Taylor hit back to back 3-pointers. But Stone came back fighting with buckets from Vadyn Bosanko, Taylor Amos and Lexi Clark.

Stone led 57-43 after three periods and eventually rolled to the 78-57 victory.

Whittenburg led Stone in scoring with 27 points, while Lexi Clark tallied 22. Wyatt chipped in with nine points, and Lane had eight. May scored four points, Lauren Clark had three and Bosanko scored two. Amos tallied two points, and Caitlyn Smith added one.

Shiloh Taylor led Fulton with 19 points in the loss. Nazzy Taylor added 12.

Stone girls rout

Powell, 60-33

There was never a doubt as to the outcome of Stone Memorial’s 60-33 victory over Powell in the second round of the tournament. Stone led 24-8 after the first period and never looked back.

Whittenburg, Lexi Clark and Lauren Clark lit up the scoreboard first for SMHS. The Lady Panthers led by 16 after the first eight minutes of play and kept the surge going in the second quarter to lead 36-19 at the intermission.

Lane helped spark the onslaught for Stone with a basket. Wyatt made a jumper in the paint, while Caitlyn Smith and Emma Smith also contributed in the Lady Panthers’ run.

SMHS was able to widen its lead in the third quarter. Whittenburg came up with a 3-pointer and Wyatt scored on another layup. Lane and Lauren Clark scored against a tough Powell zone, and the Stone girls led 48-28 going into the fourth quarter.

Whittenburg led Stone in scoring again, this time with 17 points. Lexi Clark scored 14, and Wyatt had 10. Lauren Clark scored eight, Caitlyn Smith and Lane scored four points each. Abby Hazelton chipped in with two points and Emma Smith tallied one.

Claire Campbell and Gentry scored nine points each for Powell. Hannah Hayes scored three points, and Anna White had two.

PETERSBURG, W.Va. — No. 5 Petersburg won its holiday tournament, routing Pendleton County, 80-34, on Saturday.

The Vikings (4-2) received a bye to the final after Union didn’t make the trip Friday due to inclement weather.

Pendleton beat Moorefield, 45-41, in the other semifinal Friday, and the Yellow Jackets thrashed Union, 71-11, in the third-place game Saturday.

Quenlynn Cole and Karlie DiBenedetto paced Petersburg with 17 and 16 points, respectively, and Ryleigh Hall joined the duo in double figures with 11 points. Ayden Mayfield added nine.

The Vikings sunk eight triples, led by DiBenedetto’s four.

Pendleton’s Susan Vincell led all scorers with 19 points.

Petersburg is at Frankfort (2-2) on Jan. 6.

Moorefield 3rd at Petersburg

PETERSBURG, W.Va. — Moorefield held Union to just two field goals and pitched a fourth-quarter shutout to take third at Petersburg’s holiday tournament on Saturday.

The Yellow Jackets (1-4) were led by Kerigan Bergdall’s 18 points. CiCi Kump (11 points) and Kiersten Rinker (10) also scored in double figures.

Bailey Casteel scored both buckets for Union (0-5) for a team-high six points.

Union hosts Highland on Monday at 5:30 p.m.

Moorefield fell to Pendleton County, 45-41, on Friday in the semifinals.

The game was tied at 28 going into the fourth where the Wildcats prevailed behind five points from Vincell in the decider. Vincell finished with a game-high 15.

Brenna See led Moorefield with 10 points.

Moorefield hosts East Hardy (0-3) on Tuesday at 5:45 p.m.

Northern beats Buffalo, falls to Tucker

HAMBLETON, W.Va. — Abby Nelson garnered a game-high 26 points to lead Northern to a 50-43 victory over Buffalo on Friday at a tournament at Tucker County.

The Huskies (3-2) fell to host Tucker County, 62-37, in the championship Saturday.

Northern trailed Buffalo 15-13 and 28-26 following the first two periods before winning the third, 14-6, to take a 40-34 lead into the decider.

Nelson made 10 field goals, two from beyond the arc, and was 2 for 2 at the line. Marisa Perez added nine points.

Brooke Woods paced Buffalo with 22 points, Anna Boggess added 11 and Alyssa Grandbouche scored eight.

Against Tucker, the Mountain Lions held leads of 15-9 after the first quarter, 30-16 at the half and 46-22 after three periods.

Tucker made 12 3-pointers, led by Abbi Moats’ five and Isabella Kitzmiller’s four. Kitzmiller topped all scorers with 20 points, and Moats added 17.

Nelson again led Northern with 17 points.

Northern is at Allegany (4-0) on Jan. 3.

Fort Hill 52 MSD 14

FREDERICK — Fort Hill held the Maryland School for the Deaf to just two points in the first half en route to a rout Thursday.

The Sentinels (2-2) led 16-2 after the first quarter and pitched a shutout in the second, taking a 26-2 margin into halftime. Fort Hill was up 42-9 after three periods.

Aubry Spangler led the Sentinels with 18 points, adding six steals and five assists. Caniyah Plummer tallied 16 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Addison Furstenberg added eight points.

Fort Hill finished with 15 steals as a team.

Avery Penny topped the Maryland School for the Deaf with nine points.

Fort Hill hosts Mountain Ridge (1-2, 0-1 Western Maryland Athletic Conference) on Monday at 7 p.m.

WEST UNION, W.Va. — Frankfort held off South Harrison, 69-67, Saturday after falling to Sissonville, 61-60, Friday in the Dan McConnell Hoops Classic at Doddridge County.

Frankfort (1-3) led South Harrison 23-16 after the first quarter, 42-30 at the half and 62-50 after three quarters.

South Harrison rallied with Graham Saas scoring 10 of his team-high 30 points in the fourth quarter, but Frankfort held on.

Jeremy Phillips led all scorers with 31 points, drilling six of Frankfort’s nine triples. Braden Laffey (16 points) and Kycin Waites also finished in double figures.

Frankfort also led against Sissonville going into the fourth but was outscored 16-13 to lose its narrow 47-45 lead. The Falcons trailed 19-13 after one but took the lead at the half, 33-24.

Phillips paced Frankfort with 22 points. He made three 3-pointers, and Frankfort finished with seven as a team.

Waites scored 12 points for Frankfort, and Ken’Yen Smith added eight.

Sissonville’s Noah Evans tallied a team-high 21 points.

Frankfort hosts Turkeyfoot on Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Northern 56 Shanksville 52

ACCIDENT — Jayden McNally and Ansel Miller each scored 19 points to guide Northern to a win over Shanksville on Friday night.

McNally scored 13 of his points during a 21-point Northern first quarter, which allowed the Huskies (3-2) to jump out to a 21-12 lead. McNally hit a trio of 3-pointers during the period.

Northern took a 33-26 edge into the half and was up 44-34 after three quarters.

Three for Shanksville finished in double figures in Chase Belsterling (16 points), Parker Belsterling (11) and Mike Kipp (10).

Shanksville won the fourth quarter 18-12, but an eight-point third quarter proved to be too much to overcome.

Northern hosts Meyersdale on Monday at 7:15 p.m.

No. 1 Fort Hill 74 MSD 26

FREDERICK — No. 1 Fort Hill cruised to a rout of the Maryland School for the Deaf on Thursday.

The Sentinels (2-1) led 29-10, 50-14 and 66-22 after three quarters.

Jameson Powell-Morris finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks.

Neek Taylor scored 11 points with four steals and three rebounds.

Liam Hamilton recorded a double-double of 17 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and four steals.

Mark Gwynn III led the Orioles with eight points.

Fort Hill won the junior varsity game 59-23 led by Nyzair Briggs with 22 points and Marquise Trimble’s 17.

The Sentinels head to Allegany for the Bill Bowers Christmas Classic on Friday against South Hagerstown at 5 p.m. before playing Armstrong on Saturday at 2 p.m.

No. 3 East Hardy 56 Moorefield 44

MOOREFIELD, W.Va. — Evan Hamilton, Gideon Good and Aubrey McCullough recorded double figures to power East Hardy past Hardy County rival Moorefield on Thursday night.

East Hardy (2-0) jumped out to a 20-9 lead after a quarter with Hamilton scoring 10 in the period, and Roof and McCullough adding five each.

The Cougars went into the half ahead 35-19 and into the fourth with a 47-34 cushion.

Hamilton garnered a game-high 18 points, Good added 16 and McCullough scored 13. Hamilton was 10 for 12 at the free-throw line.

Moorefield had two double-figure scorers in Shawn Reed (12 points) and Edison Metheny (11).

The Yellow Jackets had four players foul out: Reed, Brock Linville, Jackson Helmick and Cyrus Kump.

East Hardy hosts Clay-Battelle on Monday at 7:30 p.m.

Moorefield faces Pendleton County in the Petersburg Holiday Tournament next Friday at 5 p.m.

Hampshire drop two

Hampshire dropped a pair of games over the weekend, falling to Robert C. Byrd, 57-31, on Saturday and Nicholas County, 54-45, on Friday.

The Trojans (0-5) were led in both games by Matt Medina, who tallied 18 points against Nicholas and 10 versus RCB.

Medina has been a model of consistency, scoring in double figures in all five of the Trojans’ games.

Robert C. Byrd had no double-digit scorers but had 12 players score. Rylee Dickenson and Logan Boyce led the way with nine points each.

Tanner Evans paced Nicholas County with 20 points, and Isaac Miner added 11.

Hampshire is at Keyser (1-2) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Grace 53 Bishop Walsh 29

CUMBERLAND — Grace Academy held Bishop Walsh to nine points in the first and third quarters combined to romp the Spartans on Friday.

Bishop Walsh (1-4) trailed 12-5, 26-16 and 36-20 after the first three periods.

Hunter Heffner and Kolby Michalak led Grace with 13 and 10 points, respectively.

Dayton Wilson buried three 3-pointers to pace Bishop Walsh with nine points. Michael Caporale added seven.

Legacy 77 Paw Paw 46

STEPHENS CITY, Va. — Taylor Carder scored 27 points, but Paw Paw fell to Legacy Christian on Friday.

Carder’s 27 was only outdone by Aiden Garber, who hit five of Legacy’s 13 3-pointers and poured in 35 points.

Conner Kendall was second on the Pirates with eight points. Paw Paw trailed 17-7, 31-20 and 52-30 after the first three quarters.

Trinity 62 Union 46

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Maddox Mousadis and Austin Porta combined for 45 points in Trinity Christian’s victory over Union on Thursday night.

Mousadis tallied a Trinity-best 23 points, Porta garnered 22 and Collin Lemley finished with 12.

Union (0-3) kept tabs for a half, trailing 16-13 after a quarter and 26-22 at the intermission. Trinity pushed its edge to 44-35 entering the fourth and scored 18 in the decider to pull away.

The Tigers’ Braylon Ward led all scorers with 24 points, adding four assists. Ward has 982 career points after Thursday.

Eric Linkswiler tallied 15 points and seven rebounds, and Corbin Streets finished with four points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.

Union hosts Highland on Monday at 7:45 p.m.

CLEVELAND — Fort Hill graduate Ty Johnson scored the 15th touchdown of his career to give the Buffalo Bills the lead Sunday in Cleveland.

Johnson took a handoff and made a defender miss in the hole to find the goal line from two yards out, giving Buffalo a 13-7 lead with 12:54 left in the second quarter.

Buffalo went on to win the game over the Browns, 23-20.

The seventh-year NFL veteran gained the final 16 yards of the Buffalo scoring drive himself on three straight carries, the longest a nine-yard scamper.

Johnson has two rushing touchdowns this season and seven in his career. He has eight receiving scores.

Entering Sunday, Johnson had 29 carries for 133 yards and 19 receptions for 210 yards and another touchdown on the season.

Johnson’s receiving score on Nov. 16 against Tampa Bay was the longest of his career — a 52-yard catch-and-run from Josh Allen.

Johnson led Fort Hill to back-to-back state championships in 2013-14, winning Area Player of the Year both seasons before signing with the University of Maryland. He was a sixth-round pick by the Detroit Lions in 2019.

CUMBERLAND — Zach Steckman knew he had something in Liam Hamilton when he coached the then 7-year-old’s JCP team.

Fast forward to 2025, and Hamilton capped a brilliant four-year career by leading Steckman’s Fort Hill Sentinels in goals and assists and to a 12-3 record — the program’s first double-digit victory campaign since 2019.

His opposing head coaches took notice too, awarding Hamilton the Ebbie Finzel Player of the Year.

“Liam is just an incredible kid,” Steckman said. “He’s an incredible player. It’s been an honor for four years to coach him and actually, a lot longer than that.

“It kind of came full circle, when I got the job in ‘21 and he came along in 2022. This is an incredible honor for him. He’s one of the best players in Fort Hill history. His stats prove that, his production proves that, but most importantly, he’s just a great person.”

Hamilton bested Calvary’s Sammy Scritchfield, Allegany’s Chris Manherz and Frankfort’s Liam Orndorff for the honor.

The boys soccer awards were chosen at a meeting of the area’s coaches following the season.

Hamilton rounds out the award recipients, which include Calvary’s Scritchfield (Dr. Raul Felipa Offensive Player of the Year), Allegany’s Jack Hensel (Joe Rowan Memorial Defensive Player of the Year), the Campers’ Eoin Mowbray (Dave Searles Memorial Goalkeeper of the Year) and Steckman (Coach of the Year).

The award winners, with the exception of Coach of the Year, will receive their awards at the 77th Dick Sterne Memorial Dapper Dan Sports Banquet at a date/time to be announced.

The All-Area boys soccer team will be revealed in Wednesday’s edition of the Times-News.

Hamilton is the eighth Fort Hill player to win boys soccer Player of the Year, joining Daniel Hott (2016), Austin Parker (‘13), Michael Moyer (‘10), Daniel Johnson (‘09), Eric Dudley (‘99), Adam Fletcher (‘98) and Brian Jennings (‘94).

The senior was tied for fifth in the area in goals (17) and first in assists (19) for 53 points. His 3.53 points per game ranked third locally behind Scritchfield (4.92) and Orndorff (3.73).

Hamilton’s production came a year after tallying 18 goals and 13 assists. He was co-Offensive Player of the Year locally as a sophomore.

“A player of his caliber, to have the 19 assists, that’s just incredible,” Steckman said. “Seeing him at practice every day and his leadership, especially this year, it’s just no surprise.”

Hamilton was a set-piece specialist, both on free kicks and long throw-ins.

Jacob Bone, a defensive midfielder, was a beneficiary of the latter, illustrated by his eight goals.

Bone wasn’t the only Sentinel to benefit from Hamilton’s wizardry with the ball. Three other players had at least seven goals in Sam Spencer (10), John Reinhardt (nine) and Anthony Palumbo (seven).

Hamilton had nearly four-times as many assists as his next closest teammates — Korbin McKenzie and Reinhardt had five each.

“We certainly were not a possession-based team,” Steckman said. “Our strengths were defend, counter and set pieces. I think teams knew that when we got a throw-in or corner kick or a free kick, our chances of scoring went through the roof.

“Liam was either chucking it in there because he could, he could really launch it, or he was using his 6-foot-2 height to just get up over top of people and put it in the back of the net.

“A lot of times he was able to read the ball a lot better than people in the air. He would know if it was coming down to the feet or if it was getting over somebody. He just was always a step ahead on set pieces.”

Hamilton and his senior Fort Hill teammates left quite a legacy in South Cumberland.

Fort Hill was 1-12 during their freshman year, which included an 18-0 loss to Allegany in Homecoming.

They capped their city soccer careers with a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory over the Campers on Oct. 2 in Homecoming on their way to a 12-2 regular-season finish and top seed in the region playoffs.

FROSTBURG — After reaching the quarterfinals of the Division II football playoffs, Frostburg State ended the season ranked in both national polls Monday.

The Bobcats finished 14th in the coaches poll and 20th in the D2football poll.

Frostburg went 11-3 and won a share of the Mountain East Conference (MEC) championship.

The Bobcats won the first two Division II playoff games in program history and set a program record with 5,478 total yards of offense.

FSU's 2,318 rushing yards were the most in the program's Division II era while the 3,160 passing yards set a program record.

Head coach Eric Wagoner was named the Coach of the Year while Doug Pruim II, Wylan Harich and Owen Doyle all received All-American honors.