MONDAY RESULTS – December 23
(N-F-L football)
Green Bay 23, Minnesota 10
MINNEAPOLIS — Aaron Jones rushed for two second-half touchdowns, Za’Darius Smith had five tackles for loss, and the Green Bay Packers became NFC North champions by beating the Minnesota Vikings 23-10 Monday night. The Packers are 12-3. They made Matt LaFleur the 10th rookie coach in NFL history to reach 12 victories, winning for the first time in four tries at Minnesota’s deafening U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings led 10-9 at halftime after three first-half turnovers by the Packers, but they fell to 10-5 and sealed themselves into the sixth seed in the NFC playoffs.
(college football)
GASPARILLO BOWL — U-C-F 48, Marshall 25
TAMPA, Fla. — Richie Grant and Tre’mon Morris-Brash had first-quarter defensive touchdowns, Dillon Gabriel led three third-quarter scoring drives and Central Florida beat Marshall 48-25 in the Gasparilla Bowl. Grant had a 39-yard interception return on Marshall’s third play from scrimmage 56 seconds into the game, and Morris-Brash recovered a fumble and ran it 55 yards for a score that helped UCF go up 21-0. Isaiah Green went 9 of 23 for 173 yards with one TD and had a rushing touchdown for Marshall. Conference USA MVP Brenden Knox had 103 yards on 26 carries for Marshall.
TUESDAY RESULTS – December 24
(college football)
HAWAII BOWL — Hawaii 38, Brigham Young 34
HONOLULU, Hawaii — Cole McDonald delivered early and late for Hawaii in a 38-34 victory over B-Y-U in the Hawaii Bowl. McDonald threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns in the first half to stake the Warriors to the lead. B-Y-U’s defense took over from there. The Cougars were on the verge of shutting out Hawaii in the second half. But with the final possession, McDonald delivered two big throws to Nick Mardner. One went for 38 yards to put Hawaii in field goal range. The next was a 24-yard strike for a touchdown. Hawaii beat B-Y-U for the first time since 2001.
WEDNESDAY RESULTS – December 25
AP-Sports Minute
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid outplayed Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Philadelphia 76ers improved to 16-2 at home with a 121-109 downing of the NBA-leading Milwaukee Bucks. Embiid shot 3-for-6 from 3-point range and finished with 31 points and 11 rebounds, while Tobias Harris added 5 3-pointers and 22 points. Antetokounmpo had 18 points, 14 boards and seven assists, but he shot just 8-for-27 as the Bucks fell to 27-5 with the second loss in their last 23 games.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Damion Lee had 22 points and 15 rebounds as the Golden State Warriors rallied to beat the Houston Rockets, 116-104. Draymond Green and D’Angelo Russell each chipped in 20 points for the Warriors, who trailed by four before holding the Rockets to 36 points in the second half. Russell Westbrook scored a team-high 30 points and James Harden added 24 for Houston.
TORONTO (AP) — The Boston Celtics are the NBA’s first Atlantic Division team to beat the Raptors in Toronto since Nov. 10, 2015, a span of 35 games. Jaylen Brown scored 30 points and Kemba Walker had 22 as the Celtics earned a 118-102 win over the Raptors to take over the division lead. Enes Kanter had 12 points and 11 rebounds for Boston, and Gordon Hayward added 14 points in 26 minutes after missing three straight games with a sore left foot.
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox have agreed to a $12 million, one-year contract with veteran slugger Edwin Encarnación, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. Encarnación hit 34 home runs in 109 games for Seattle and the Yankees last season. The three-time All-Star led the American League with 21 homers when the Mariners dealt him to New York in June. But the Yankees declined an option for next season after he was limited by oblique problems down the stretch.
UNDATED (AP) — The Tiger Woods’ Masters victory has been named The Associated Press sports story of the year in balloting by a mix of AP member sports editors and AP beat writers. The rousing victory at Augusta National by Woods topped the U.S. women’s soccer team’s World Cup championship. Of the top 12 stories in the balloting, only the titles won by the Toronto Raptors, Washington Nationals and University of Virginia basketball team stuck mainly to what happened between the lines.
THURSDAY RESULTS – December 26
(college football)
INDEPENDENCE BOWL — Louisiana Tech 14, Miami (Fla.) 0
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — J’Mar Smith threw a touchdown pass and had a late scoring run to help Louisiana Tech beat Miami 14-0 in the only shutout in the Independence Bowl’s 44-game history. Louisiana Tech (10-3) hit double-digit victories for the first time since 1984 and ran its postseason winning streak to six. Miami (6-7) completed its second losing season in 12 years. Smith connected with Israel Tucker on a 26-yard touchdown strike on a screen pass in the second quarter, capping a 13-play, 91-yard drive. Smith added an 8-yard scoring run with 1:15 left.
QUICK LANE BOWL — Pittsburgh 34, Eastern Michigan 30
DETROIT — Kenny Pickett threw 25-yard touchdown pass to Taysir Mack with 47 seconds left and Pittsburgh held on to beat Eastern Michigan 34-30 in the Quick Lane Bowl. The Panthers forced Eastern Michigan to turn it over on downs after taking their first lead of the game. That sealed Pitt’s first bowl victory under coach Pat Narduzzi. The Eagles came up just short just as they did in three previous bowls under coach Chris Creighton. Eastern Michigan quarterback Mike Glass was ejected with 10 seconds left after throwing punches at two players, the second Eagles player to be tossed.
FRIDAY RESULTS – December 27
(college football)
HOLIDAY BOWL — (19) Iowa (10-3) 49, (22) U-S-C 24
SAN DIEGO — Ihmir Smith-Marsette scored on a 6-yard run, a 98-yard kickoff return and a 12-yard reception to lead No. 19 Iowa to a 49-24 victory over No. 22 Southern California in the Holiday Bowl. Senior Nate Stanley threw two touchdown passes and the Hawkeyes (10-3) won their fourth straight game for their sixth 10-win season in coach Kirk Ferentz’s 21 years. USC freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis, who threw two touchdown passes, was knocked out of the game with an apparent arm injury early in the third quarter. The Trojans (8-5) had their three-game winning streak snapped.
MILITARY BOWL — North Carolina 55, Temple 13
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Freshman Sam Howell threw for three touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass to help North Carolina beat Temple 55-13 in the Military Bowl. Howell completed 25 of 34 passes and ran for 53 yards to help the Tar Heels secure their first bowl victory since 2013. North Carolina was 4-6 before winning its last two regular-season games to qualify for a bowl bid. Temple has gone to a bowl game five years in a row — and lost four of them. North Carolina led 20-6 at halftime and pulled away with a 21-point third quarter.
PINSTRIPE BOWL — Michigan State 27, Wake Forest 21
NEW YORK — Brian Lewerke threw for 320 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score in Michigan State’s 27-21 victory over Wake Forest in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. Lewerke threw a 10-yard pass to wide receiver Cody White in the third quarter to put the Spartans ahead 27-21 and they survived down the stretch to give embattled coach Mark Dantonio his sixth bowl victory. Wake Forest missed a chance to win nine games for just the third time in program history.
TEXAS BOWL — Texas A&M 24, (25) Oklahoma State 21
HOUSTON — Kellen Mond ran for a career-high 117 yards and threw a touchdown pass as Texas A&M scored 24 straight points to overcome an early deficit and beat Oklahoma State 24-21 in the Texas Bowl. Mond ran 67 yards to give the Aggies a 21-14 lead early in the fourth quarter. Mond cut to the right to avoid a couple of defenders and outran everyone else. Tre Sterling had a shot to tackle him around the 25, but Mond ran away from his diving attempt. Both teams finished 8-5.
CHEEZE-IT BOWL — (24) Air Force 31, Washington State 21
PHOENIX — Kadin Remsberg ran for 178 yards and stretched to the pylon for a 3-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter, lifting No. 24 Air Force to a 31-21 win over Washington State in the Cheez-It Bowl. The Falcons had their triple option working to near perfection, grinding out 371 yards rushing while setting a Cheez-It Bowl time of possession record of 43:24. Donald Hammond III scored two touchdowns and Remsberg had his fourth-down TD late in the fourth quarter confirmed by review to help the Falcons close the season on an eight-game winning streak.
SATURDAY RESULTS – December 28
(college football)
CAMPING WORLD BOWL — (14) Notre Dame 33, Iowa State 9
ORLANDO, Fla. — Ian Books threw for 247 yards and one touchdown to lead 14th-ranked Notre Dame to a 33-9 victory over Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl. Tony Jones Jr. scored on an 84-yard run and finished with 135 yards rushing. Game MVP Chase Claypool had seven receptions for 146 yards and one TD. Brock Purdy threw for 222 yards without an interception for Iowa State. The sophomore quarterback was unable to get the Cyclones in the end zone, though, after throwing for 27 touchdowns during the regular season.
COTTON BOWL — (13) Penn State 53, (15) Memphis 39
DALLAS — Journey Brown ran for 202 yards and two long touchdowns as No. 13 Penn State beat No. 15 Memphis 53-39 in the highest-scoring Cotton Bowl ever. Penn State’s defense allow its most points and yards all season. But there was a huge defensive play when Garrett Taylor returned an interception 15 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter. That came when All-America linebacker Micah Parsons was pulling down quarterback Brady White, who then flipped the ball into Taylor’s arms. White threw for 454 yards but no touchdowns. Memphis got six field goals from Riley Patterson.
C-F-P SEMIFINALS
PEACH BOWL — (1) L-S-U 63, (4) Oklahoma 28
FIESTA BOWL — (3) Clemson 29, (2) Ohio State 23
ATLANTA —Joe Burrow turned in the greatest performance yet in his Heisman Trophy season, throwing for seven touchdowns and 493 yards as No. 1 LSU romped to a breathtaking 63-28 victory over No. 4 Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl semifinal. The unbeaten Tigers now head to the national football championship game against either No. 2 Ohio State or No. 3 Clemson. They are certainly clicking on all cylinders, having dismantled the Sooners with a first half for the ages. Burrow tied the record for any college bowl game with his seven TDs — all before halftime. Justin Jefferson had four TD catches.
GLENDALE, AZ. — Trevor Lawrence connected with Travis Etienne on a 34-yard touchdown with 1:49 left in the fourth quarter and No. 3 Clemson beat No. 2 Ohio State 29-23 Saturday night at the Fiesta Bowl to advance to the College Football Playoff championship game. The Tigers went 94 yards on four plays in 1:18, with Lawrence completing all three of his passes and mixing in an 11-yard run. The sophomore quarterback who has never lost a college start passed for 259 yards and two scores and ran for a career-high 107 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown late in the first half. Clemson sealed it by intercepting Justin Fields’ pass into the end one with 37 seconds left.
(college basketball)
(M) Morningside 91, Southeastern University 82 — former Bulldogs, Tyler Borchers (20 pts./5 reb.) and Will Pottebaum (9 pts./5 reb.)
Top 10 results:
(19) Kentucky 78, (3) Louisville 70
(4) Duke 75, Brown 50
(9) Memphis 97, New Orleans 55
SUNDAY RESULTS – December 29
(college basketball)
(M) Morningside vs. Trinity International at the Hoops City Classic in Mitchell, S.D. – cancelled
(25) Iowa 93, Kennesaw State 51
IOWA CITY — Luka Garza scored 23 points and Ryan Kriener added a career-high 20 as No. 25 Iowa closed its non-conference schedule with a 93-51 win over Kennesaw State. Joe Wieskamp had 18 points for the Hawkeyes (10-3), who also had a season-high 14 steals.
Top 10 results:
(22) Virginia 67, (2) Ohio State 59
(5) Kansas 72, Stanford 56
(6) Oregon 98, Alabama State 59
(8) Auburn 86, Lipscomb 59
(N-F-L football)
N.Y. Jets 13, Buffalo 6
Cincinnati 33, Cleveland 23
Dallas 47, Washington 16
Green Bay 23, Detroit 20
Kansas City 31, L.A. Chargers 21
Chicago 21, Minnesota 19
Miami 27, New England 24
Philadelphia 34, N.Y. Giants 17
Atlanta 28, Tampa Bay 22, OT
New Orleans 42, Carolina 10
Jacksonville 38, Indianapolis 20
Baltimore 28, Pittsburgh 10
Tennessee 35, Houston 14
Denver 16, Oakland 15
L.A. Rams 31, Arizona 24
San Francisco 26, Seattle 21
(end of regular season)
