FRIDAY SPORTS, JANUARY 30, 2026
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell Kernels basketball hosts Sioux Falls Lincoln for a doubleheader on Friday night at the High School Gym. Girls game starts at 6 pm, followed by the boys at 7:30 pm. The Kernels girls improved to 8-3 on the season with their seventh win in a row on Tuesday night, 56-37 over Huron at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls. Meanwhile, the Kernels boys dropped to 5-5 on the season after a 51-36 loss to Huron. The KORN Pregame Show starts on 5:45 pm.
— Mitchell Kernels boys wrestling split a pair of duals on Thursday night, defeating SF Jefferson 60-22 and losing to Brookings 62-18. The Mitchell girls lost their lone dual on Thursday, 30-29 vs. Brookings. Taylor DeJong picked up a win at 155 pounds to improve to 20-6 on the season. Both Kernels wrestling teams will compete on Saturday at an Invitational in Brookings starting at 9 am.
— Mitchell Marlins boys hockey, 5-7-1 on the season, host Sioux Falls West on Saturday and Watertown on Sunday.
— Mitchell Marlins girls hockey, 5-10 on the season, hosts Oahe on Friday and Aberdeen on Saturday.
— Mitchell Kernels gymnastics are back in action on Saturday at the ESD Conference meet in Aberdeen.
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
— No. 9 Dakota Wesleyan women’s basketball, 18-4 on the season and 14-2 in the GPAC, hosts Hastings on Saturday at 2 pm. The Tigers won their 12th game in a row this past Wednesday with a 70-61 win vs. No. 19 Briar Cliff.
— Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball, 11-11 on the season and 6-8 in the GPAC, hosts Hastings on Saturday at 3:45 pm. The Tigers are coming off a 92-75 loss won Wednesday to Briar Cliff.
— Dakota Wesleyan men’s wrestling won its third straight dual with a 32-21 victory over Waldorf. DWU will be back in action at the GPAC Duals on Saturday, February 7th in Crete, Nebraska.
— Dakota Wesleyan women’s wrestling lost to Waldorf 43-6 on Thursday night. DWU will be back in action at the Warrior Open on Saturday in Fremont, Nebraska.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State women’s basketball will be at USD on Saturday afternoon at 1 pm. The Jackrabbit pregame starts at 12:30 pm on KORN News Radio. The Jacks defeated Omaha on Wednesday 85-41, led by Brooklyn Meyer’s 18 points and seven rebounds on 7-of-7 shooting.
— South Dakota State men’s basketball hosts Oral Roberts on Saturday at 2 pm in Brookings. The Jackbs lost at Omaha on Wednesday 80-71, despite 24 points from Damon Wilkinson and 22 points from Kalen Garry.
— No. 15 South Dakota State wrestling returns home on Friday to take on Air Force at 7 pm.
SOUTH DAKOTA
— USD men’s basketball picked up a 76-69 home win vs. Oral Roberts on Thursday night, behind a career-high 26 points from Uzziah Buntyn. The Coyotes also had a double-double from Cameron Fens with 25 points and 13 rebounds. USD, 12-11 on the season and 4-4 in the Summit League, hosts North Dakota State on Saturday at 5 pm.
— USD women’s basketball, 16-6 on the season and 6-2 in the Summit League, hosts South Dakota State on Saturday afternoon at 1 pm. The Coyotes are coming off a 67-55 win on Wednesday night vs. St. Thomas.
GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – THURSDAY
No. 4 Wagner 66, Scotland/Menno 16
No. 7 Sanborn Central/Woonsocket 58, Wessington Springs 38 – Liz Boschee with 22 points.
Platte-Geddes 50, Hanson 38
Freeman 56, Canistota 23
Chester 55, Bridgewater-Emery 29
Canton 51, McCook Central/Montrose 37
Kadoka Area 57, Kimball/White Lake 15
Andes Central/Dakota Christian 26, Bon Homme 23
BOYS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – THURSDAY
Centerville 39, No. 1 Viborg-Hurley 36
No.4 Hamlin 63, Sisseton 21
Platte-Geddes 59, Hanson 48 – Issac Leader with 25 points and nine rebounds.
Wagner 57, Scotland/Menno 56 – Ky Arpan with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Cruise Koupal adds 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Gregory 60, Avon 56 (OT)
Bon Homme 74, Andes Central/Dakota Christian 53
GIRLS CLASS AA BASKETBALL – THURSDAY
No. 3 SF Washington 55, No. 4 Aberdeen Central 42
Yankton 54, Huron 50
Tea Area 59, Sf Roosevelt 33
BOYS CLASS AA BASKETBALL – THURSDAY
Sioux Falls Washington 77, Aberdeen Central 59
NBA
— Anthony Edwards scored 26 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves matched a season high with 22 3-pointers in a 123-111 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Jaden McDaniels scored 21 points including 5 of 5 from 3-point range for the Timberwolves. Naz Reid added 18 points off the bench for Minnesota and connected four times from behind the arc.
— Kon Knueppel made two free throws with 4 seconds left for a career-high 34 points as the Charlotte Hornets beat the Dallas Mavericks 123-121, spoiling Cooper Flagg’s 49-point game. Flagg, who turned 19 in December, broke the NBA record for points in a game by a teenager. Flagg set career highs with 20 field goals on 29 shots, and also had 10 rebounds.
— Jamal Murray scored nine of his 27 points in the final 2:26 as the Nuggets spoiled Michael Porter Jr.’s return to Denver with a 107-103 win over the Brooklyn Nets. Porter had a season-high 38 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Brooklyn, which has lost seven straight.
— Dillon Brooks scored a career-high 40 points as the Phoenix Suns beat the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons 114-96. Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 26 points, and Jalen Duran had 23 points and 13 rebounds.
— Tyrese Maxey scored 40 points, including the winning layup with 1.3 seconds remaining, while Joel Embiid had 37 points as the Philadelphia 76ers rallied to beat the Sacramento Kings 113-111. Philadelphia overcame an 11 points fourth quarter deficit.
— Kyshawn George scored 23 points, while Alex Sarr added 16 points and 17 rebounds as the Washington Wizards beat the Milwaukee Bucks 109-99.
— Norman Powell scored 21 points, while Bam Adebayo had 20 points and 12 rebounds as the Miami Heat held on for a 116-113 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
— Kevin Durant scored 31 points as the Houston Rockets beat Atlanta 104-86.
NFL
— The Chargers have hired Western Michigan’s Chris O’Leary as their new defensive coordinator. O’Leary replaces Jesse Minter, who left last week to become the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. The hiring comes two days after the Chargers named former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel their new offensive coordinator. O’Leary returns to the Chargers after coaching safeties in the 2024 season. In his lone season at Western Michigan, his defense ranked ninth in country in scoring defense allowing 17 points and 305 yards per game.
TENNIS
— Carlos Alcaraz overcame possible cramps and injury to defeat Alexander Zverev in a five-set semifinal at the Australian Open. The victory makes him the youngest man to reach the finals of all four Grand Slam events in the Open era. At 22, he looks to be the youngest to complete a career Grand Slam. Alcaraz won 6-4, 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 7-5 in 5 hours and 27 minutes. Alcaraz will face either Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic next.
OLYMPICS
— Lindsey Vonn crashed in her final downhill before next month’s Winter Olympics on Friday and was left limping and applying attention to her left knee. Vonn lost control when landing a jump in a World Cup race and ended up tangled in the safety nets. She eventually got up after receiving medical attention and walked away gingerly, taking weight off her left knee and using her poles to steady herself.
NHL
— Patrick Kane is now the highest-scoring U.S.-born player in NHL history. Kane passed Mike Modano by recording his 1,375th point on Thursday night in the Detroit Red Wings’ game against the Washington Capitals. Kane reached the milestone a couple of months after turning 37. Modano was 40 when he scored a goal to register point No. 1,374.
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – FRIDAY
Howard vs. Ethan (boys) – 7:30 pm on Q107.3
Howard vs. No. 4 Ethan (girls)
Miller vs. Parkston (DH)
Mt. Vernon/Plankinton vs. Winner (DH)
Canistota vs. McCook Central/Montrose (DH)
Tripp-Delmont/Armour vs. Burke (DH)
Avon vs. No. 4 Freeman (boys)
Takini vs. Mitchell Christian (boys)
Sunshine Bible vs. Kimball/White Lake (boys)
GIRLS CLASS AA BASKETBALL – FRIDAY
Yankton vs. No. 1 Brandon Valley
Pierre vs. No. 2 O’Gorman
Watertown vs. No. 5 Rapid City Stevens
Brookings vs. Rapid City Central
SF Jefferson vs. Millard North, (Neb.)
BOYS CLASS AA BASKETBALL – FRIDAY
No. 4 Harrisburg vs. Pierre
No. 5 Watertown vs. Rapid City Stevens
Yankton vs. Brandon Valley
Brookings vs. Rapid City Central
TOP 25 MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL – SATURDAY
Virginia Tech vs. No. 4 Duke – 11 am on ESPN
No. 10 Houston vs. Cincinnati – 11 am on FOX
Arizona State vs. No. 1 Arizona – 1 pm on TNT – Arizona is 21-0 on the season.
Georgia Tech vs. No. 16 North Carolina – 1 pm on ACC Network
No. 14 Kansas vs. No. 13 BYU – 3:30 pm on ESPN
No. 15 Arkansas vs. Kentucky – 5:30 pm on ESPN
Creighton vs. No. 2 UConn – 7 pm on FOX
No. 6 Gonzaga vs. St. Mary’s – 9:30 pm on ESPN
TOP 25 MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL – SUNDAY
Maryland vs. No. 12 Purdue – Noon on CBS
No. 19 Florida vs. No. 23 Alabama – Noon on ABC
Kansas State vs. No. 8 Iowa State – 1 pm on FOX
No. 5 Nebraska vs. No. 9 Illinois – 3 pm on FS1