COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Canes, K-State Among Winners Wednesday
No. 14 West Virginia’s offense stalled against Miami, and 22nd-ranked Pittsburgh fell to a team that had won just one bowl game since Harry Truman was re-elected.Miami ended a 10-year bowl drought with a 31-14 romp over the Mountaineers in the Russell Athletic Bowl. Brad Kaaya tied a career high with four touchdown passes while completing 24 of 34 passes for 282 yards. West Virginia entered the game averaging more than 500 yards a game before the Hurricanes held the Mountaineers to 229.
Justin Jackson ran for 226 yards and three touchdowns to lead Northwestern’s 31-24 win over the Panthers in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. Jackson had TD runs of 8 and 16 yards in the second quarter, then went deep on a 40-yard burst in the third. It’s just the third-ever bowl win for the Wildcats following the 1948 Rose Bowl and 2012 Gator Bowl.
Jesse Ertz ran for two touchdowns and threw for another as Kansas State held off Texas A&M, 33-28 to win the Texas Bowl. Ertz had a 79-yard touchdown pass and scoring runs of 1 and 5 yards to help give the Wildcats their first bowl victory since 2013. Trevor Knight completed 30 of 48 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns for the Aggies.
Joe Williams ran for 222 yards and a touchdown and Andy Phillips kicked a 27-yard field goal with 1:24 to play to lead Utah to a 26-24 win against Indiana in the Foster Farms Bowl at Santa Clara. Tyler Huntley ran for another score and the 9-4 Utes forced three turnovers in the 14th victory in their last 15 bowl games.
NBA
Warriors Win Possible Finals Preview, Spurs Notch 26th Victory, Butler Drops 40 for Bulls
Golden State won a battle of division leaders as Stephen Curry came up with 28 points, seven boards and seven assists in a 121-111 victory against Toronto. Kevin Durant had 22 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists for the Warriors, who shot 57 percent from the field and 14-for-23 from 3-point range. Klay Thompson was 5-for-7 from beyond the arc in scoring 21 points.
The San Antonio Spurs gave Kawhi Leonard the night off due to a stomach virus. His absence only caused LaMarcus Aldridge, Tony Parker and Pau Gasol to step up their game as the Spurs earned their sixth straight home win. Aldridge poured in 27 points and Parker added 20 as the Spurs dumped the Phoenix Suns, 119-98. Gasol finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds for San Antonio, which dominated the last 12 minutes after trailing by as many as 10 points. The Spurs forced seven turnovers while outscoring Phoenix 30-16 in the final quarter. Aldridge fueled the second-half surge as the Spurs improved to 26-6.
Jimmy Butler matched his season high with 40 points and hit an 18-footer at the buzzer to lead Chicago’s 101-99 comeback over Brooklyn. Butler delivered nine points in the final 2 1/2 minutes after the Nets went ahead 97-90.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Ducks Squash Bruins on late 3-pointer, hand UCLA its first loss
Dillon Brooks nailed a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left to send No. 21 Oregon to an 89-87 win over #2 UCLA. Brooks grabbed a missed free throw with 8.9 seconds left and dribbled to the right wing before scoring the last of his 23 points. Brooks also had nine rebounds for the 12-2 Ducks, while teammate Payton Pritchard finished with 15 points and nine assists in their 10th straight win. UCLA fell to 13-1 despite Thomas Welch’s 20 points and 10 boards.
Devon Hall scored 10 points and Kyle Guy nailed a big jumper with 2:02 to play as 12th-ranked Virginia knocked off No. 6 Louisville, 61-53. The Cavaliers squandered most of a 21-point, second-half deficit before improving to 11-1 in the ACC opener for both schools.
No. 15 Purdue won its Big Ten opener as freshman Carsen Edwards scored 19 points and Dakota Mathias had 17 in an 89-67 drubbing of Iowa. Isaac Haas contributed 15 points to the Boilermakers’ seventh straight win.
NFL
Denver May Lose Top Defender to Injury Permanently, Hall-of-Fame Game Moved
DeMarcus Ware needs season-ending back surgery that could spell the end of his NFL career. The Broncos have placed Ware on injured reserve along with cornerback Kayvon Webster, who sustained a concussion last weekend at Kansas City. Ware took a big pay cut to return to the Broncos after winning his first Super Bowl ring, but he missed almost all of the offseason with back troubles. The 12-year veteran is sixth on the all-time sacks list with 138 ½ after recording four in 10 games this year.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame has announced that next year’s Hall of Fame game will be played on a Thursday night, two days before the inductions into the pro football shrine. In recent years the game was played on a Sunday night, one night after the inductions.
(Stories Courtesy / Associated Press)