FRIDAY SPORTS, JANUARY 23, 2026
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell Kernels girls basketball won its sixth straight game with a big fourth quarter to defeat Tea Area 59-50 on Thursday. Mitchell outscored the Titans 27-16 in the fourth quarter after Tea had an eight point lead with just over seven minutes remaining. Sophomore Londyn Hajek led the Kernels with 19 points. Mitchell improves to 7-3 on the season as they will face Huron on Tuesday at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls at 6 pm.
— Mitchell Kernels boys basketball lost to Tea Area 57-48 in overtime on Thursday. Colton Smith tied the game in the final second with a layup to force overtime with the game tied at 46-46. Smith finished with 16 points, 21 rebounds, seven assists and four steals. He moves into fourth all-time on the Mitchell career scoring list surpassing Bart Fredrick and Scott Morgan. Tea outscored the Kernels 11-2 in overtime. Mitchell outrebounded the Titans 40-23, but turned the ball over 22 times. The Kernels face Huron on Tuesday at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls at 7:30 pm.
— Mitchell Kernels gymnastics competes at the Lolly Forseth Invitational on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Sioux Falls Lincoln.
— Mitchell Kernels wrestling travels to Brandon on Friday for a triangular against Watertown and Brandon Valley starting at 5 pm.
DAKOTA WESLEYA
— Dakota Wesleyan women’s basketball ran its winning streak to 10 straight games with a 75-63 win at Morningside on Thursday night. Avery Broughton led five Tigers in double figures with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Emma Yost added 15 points, five rebounds and six assists. DWU improved to 16-4 on the season and 12-2 in the GPAC. The Tigers will be at the College of St. Mary on Saturday at 3 pm.
— Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball lost on Morningside 84-64 on Thursday night. Anthony Riggans had a team-high 17 points, while Tyson Stevenson added 14 points. Randy Rosenquist Jr. added nine points, 13 rebounds and six assists. The Tigers fall to 11-10 on the season and 6-7 in the GPAC. DWU hosts Briar Cliff on Wednesday at 7:45 pm at the Corn Palace.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State men’s basketball lost at St. Thomas 74-69 on Thursday night. Joe Sayler finished with a game-high 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting. SDSU falls to 10-11 on the season and 3-3 in the Summit League. The Jacks will be at Omaha on Wednesday at 7 pm.
— South Dakota State women’s basketball will be at Kansas City on Saturday at 2 pm.
— South Dakota State wrestling host Cal Baptist for a dual on Friday at 6 pm. The Jackrabbits are coming off a 24-18 loss at Wyoming on Sunday to fall to 9-2 on the season.
SOUTH DAKOTA
— USD women’s basketball picked up at 67-39 road win at Omaha on Thursday night to win its fourth straight game. The Coyotes held Omaha to just seven points in each of the first two quarters for a 31-14 halftime lead. Molly Joyce and Angelina Robles finished with game-highs of 16 points. USD, 15-5 on the season and 5-1 in the Summit League, will be at North Dakota State on Saturday at 1 pm.
— USD men’s basketball host St. Thomas on Saturday afternoon at 1 pm.
🏀 44th Annual Boys Hanson Classic – Saturday
11 am: Hanson vs. White River
12:30 pm: Sioux Valley vs. Dakota Valley
2 pm: No. 10B Parkston vs. Lyman
3:30 pm: No. 5B Wessington Springs vs. No. 7B Freeman – Q107.3 and Q107Radio.com
5 pm: No. 1B Viborg-Hurley vs. No. 6A Hamlin
6:30 pm: No. 4A St. Thomas More vs. No. 9A Lennox
8 pm: No. 1A West Central vs. No. 3A Clark/Willow Lake
NFL
— Christian McCaffrey joins quarterbacks Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford as a finalist for The Associated Press 2025 NFL Most Valuable Player award. McCaffrey and Maye are also finalists for Offensive Player of the Year. McCaffrey and Lawrence are among the finalists for Comeback Player of the Year. The winners will be announced at “NFL Honors” on Feb. 5.
— Jesse Minter is the new head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. The team has hired the Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator to replace John Harbaugh, who was fired earlier this month after 18 years when the Ravens missed the playoffs. Minter spent two seasons with the Chargers and previously worked at the University of Michigan.
— Last weekend’s NFL divisional round playoff games averaged 39 million viewers, the second-most watched since audience average numbers started being tracked in 1988. It was just off the record of 40 million, which happened two years ago. The four games were up 5% from last year. Some of the increase can be attributed to a change in the way viewers are counted. Nielsen began using its Big Data + Panel methodology for all events last September with the start of the current television season. Sunday night’s overtime game between the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears led the way, averaging 45 million viewers on NBC. The audience peaked at 52 million in the game’s closing minutes.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
— Indiana’s victory over Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship game on Monday night was the most watched college football game in 11 years. The Hoosiers victory averaged 30 million viewers. It’s the second-most watched CFP title game and cable telecast on record. It was also the most-viewed, non-NFL sports telecast since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland. It is the fourth-most watched college football game in the last 30 years.
— A lawyer for fired University of Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore says a criminal case against him should be dismissed based on false information given to police. Ellen Michaels claims the allegations against Moore are part of an effort to get a big windfall from the school for a woman who was in a relationship with Moore. He was fired in December for a relationship with a staff member. Moore was then charged with home invasion and other crimes after authorities said she appeared at the woman’s apartment and blamed her for his firing.
MLB
— All-Star left-hander MacKenzie Gore is headed to the Texas Rangers in a trade that sends five prospects back to the Washington Nationals. Gore gives Texas a starter who should be able to help the front end of their rotation alongside Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi. Gore is under team control for the next two seasons and can’t become a free agent until after the 2027 season. He is scheduled to make $5.6 million in 2026.
NBA
— Coby White scored 22 points and Josh Giddey added 21 off the bench leading the Chicago Bulls to a 120-115 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Chicago overcame a 14-point, first-half deficit and also withstood a 13-0 run from Minnesota in the fourth quarter. Julius Randle had a team-high 30 points for Minnesota, while Anthony Edwards and Naz Reid each added 20 points.
— Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points as the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Los Angeles Lakers 112-104. The Clippers have won seven of eight and 14 of 17. Luka Doncic had 32 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, while LeBron James added 23 points. The Lakers fell to 5-6 in their last 11.
— Naji Marshall tied his season highs with 30 points and nine assists as the Dallas Mavericks beat Golden State 123-115. Steph Curry scored 38 points and was 8 of 15 from 3-point range on the night as he became the first player in NBA history to attempt 10,000 three-pointers in a career.
— Peyton Watson scored a career-high 35 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 107-97 victory over the Washington Wizards. Jamal Murray added 24 points for the Nuggets, who avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season. Nikola Jokic missed his 13th consecutive game for Denver with a hyperextended left knee.
— De’Aaron Fox scored 31 points, while Victor Wembanyama had 26 points and 13 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Utah Jazz 126-109. Fox shot 10 of 13 from the field with six 3-pointers. Utah’s Jusuf Nurkic had 17 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds for his second straight triple-double.
— Tyrese Maxey scored six of his 36 points in overtime, while Joel Embiid had 32 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Houston Rockets 128-122. Kelly Oubre Jr. added 26 points for the 76ers, while Kevin Durant scored 36 points for the Rockets.
— Shaedon Sharpe scored 27 points and had seven rebounds and four steals as the Portland Trail Blazers extended their winning streak to four games with a 127-110 win over the Miami Heat.
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – GIRLS
No. 2 Parkston 55, Bon Homme 25
No. 7 Sanborn Central-Woonsocket 52, Highmore-Harrold 43 – Liz Boschee with 17 points and 12 rebounds in the 281 Championship
Wolsey-Wessington 51, Wessington Springs 43
Mt. Vernon/Plankinton 47, Platte-Geddes 39
Hanson 47, Canistota 25
Freeman 56, Scotland/Menno 31
Tripp-Delmont-Armour 64, Gregory 52
Avon 60, Andes Central/Dakota Christian 30
No. 2 Lennox 55, No. 6 West Central 28
No. 1 Mahpíya Lúta 43, Spearfish 18
No. 1 Brandon Valley 84, Pierre 33
SF Jefferson 46, Harrisburg 30
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – BOYS
Sanborn Central/Woonsocket 51, No. 5 Wessington Springs 47 – 281 Championship
No. 7 Freeman 70, Scotland/Menno 42- David Walter with 26 points and seven rebounds
No. 10 Parkston 55, Bon Homme 29
Mt. Vernon/Plankinton 70, Platte-Geddes 35
Ethan 49, Corsica/Stickney 34
Hanson 61, Canistota 44
No. 1 West Central 45, No. 9 Lennox 33
No. 1 Viborg-Hurley 52, Baltic 51
Brandon Valley 56, Pierre 38