MONDAY SPORTS, FEBRUARY 9, 2026
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell Kernels basketball takes on Aberdeen Central on Tuesday at 7 pm. The girls travel to Aberdeen, while the Kernels boys will be at home. Coverage starts at 6:45 pm on Tuesday on KORN News Radio with tip-off for the boys game at 7 pm.
— Mitchell Kernels gymnastics wrapped up its final tune-up before state by tying for second at the Class AA last-chance qualifier on Saturday in Watertown. Harrisburg won the meet with 150.85 team points, while Sioux Falls Lincoln and the Kernels finished tied for second at 142.9 points. Olivia Prunty led Mitchell in the all-around with a fourth-place finish, while Ava Hart placed eighth. Abby Hohn posted the team’s top vault score, and Kyanna Gropper took second on the uneven bars. The Class AA state gymnastics meet is set for Friday, February 13th at Mitchell High School.
— Parkston/Ethan/Hanson/Mount Vernon gymnastics claimed the Region 2A team title Friday night in Vermillion. The Royals posted a winning score of 137.30, ahead of Chamberlain and Vermillion. The Royals, along with Chamberlain and Vermillion, advance to the Class A state meet set for 10 a.m. Friday, February 13th at Mitchell High School.
— Mitchell’s Rocky Clark finished in second place on Saturday at heavyweight at the Yankton Invitational. Clark lost to Carlos Rodriguez Jr. in the final 6-3. Clark is now 33-4 on the season. Micah Bennett finished fourth on the day at 113 pounds. Mitchell boys wrestling will compete next at the Region 3A qualifying tournament on Saturday, February 21 at Mitchell high school.
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
— Dakota Wesleyan softball is off to a perfect 4-0 start to the season with wins in Sioux Center, Iowa. On Friday, the Tigers defeated York (Neb.) 10-9 and Culver-Stockton (Mo.) 7-0. On Saturday, DWU shutout Mt. Mercy 7-0 and defeated Mayville State 6-5. Up next, Dakota Wesleyan travels to Aberdeen to face Northern State for a doubleheader on Thursday at 1 pm.
— Dakota Wesleyan baseball started its season at home on Saturday with a pair of wins over Valley City State, 1-0 in 12 innings and 3-2. In game one, Alexander Mizsak threw seven shutout innings, allowing only two runs. Brayden Cherrey threw five innings of shutout relief to pick up the win, along with nine strikeouts. On Sunday, Valley City State swept the doubleheader, winning 1-0 and 6-3. The Tigers, 2-2 on the season, travel to Joplin, Missouri, this weekend as they take on Clark (Iowa) on Saturday at Noon.
— No. 9 Dakota Wesleyan women’s basketball won at Doane on Sunday 69-47. DWU improved to 20-4 on the season, 16-2 in the GPAC and have won 14 games in a row. Avery Broughton led four Tigers in double figures with 17 points and eight rebounds. Rylee Rosenquist had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Dakota Wesleyan will be at Waldorf on Wednesday at 5 pm.
— Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball picked up an 84-81 win at Doane on Sunday. Tyson Stevenson had a game-high 25 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three, while Easton Neuendorf finished with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists. The Tigers improved to 13-11 on the season and 8-8 in the GPAC. DWU is at Waldorf on Wednesday at 6:45 pm.
— Dakota Wesleyan men’s wrestling lost a pair of duals over the weekend in Crete, Nebraska, losing to Hasting on Saturday 40-12 at to No. 16 Concordia 32-16. The Tigers get ready for the GPAC Championships on Friday, Feb. 20 and Saturday, Feb. 21 in Orange City, Iowa.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State women’s basketball host North Dakota on Thursday at 7 pm.
— South Dakota State softball finished 4-1 in Commerce, Texas to open the season. The Jackrabbits picked up wins vs. Texas Southern (4-1), Bucknell (7-3) and East Texas A&M (9-2), while losing to Stephen F. Austin on Friday (7-6). SDSU then defeated Stephen F. Austin on Sunday 4-3. The Jackrabbits will be at Baylor on Tuesday for a single game at 5 pm.
— No. 15 South Dakota State wrestling lost to No. 14 Northern Iowa on Sunday 19-13. The Jacks are now 12-4 in duals this season. SDSU hosts the Jackrabbit Open in Brookings on Sunday at 11 am.
SOUTH DAKOTA
— USD men’s basketball snapped a 10-game losing streak to South Dakota State beating the Jackrabbits 68-67 on Saturday. It’s just the third win in Brookings for USD since 2000. Jordan Crawford had 19 points for the Coyotes, playing all 40 minutes, while Cameron Fens had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Joe Saylor finished with a game-high 21 points for SDSU, while Damon Wilkinson had 18 points and nine rebounds. USD hosts North Dakota on Wednesday at 7 pm, while SDSU is at Denver on Thursday at 8 pm CST.
— USD softball finished 2-3 to start the season at the Bearkat Classic in Huntsville, Texas. The Coyotes picked up a 2-1 win on Saturday vs. Sam Houston, followed by a 5-2 victory vs. Creighton on Sunday. USD travels to Phoenix this weekend for five games starting on Friday against Northern Colorado and Sacramento State.
COLLEGE
— North Dakota State has finalized an agreement to join the Mountain West Conference in football only starting in 2026. The school is expected to pay nearly $12 million to join the conference, which is in addition to the $5 million it will pay the NCAA to move to the FBS. The move, which is expected to be announced Monday, will leave FCS football without its most dominate team as the Bison have won 10 of the past 15 national championships. It will give the Mountain West 10 football teams for 2026. North Dakota State will join Northern Illinois, UTEP, Air Force, Hawai’i, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV and Wyoming.
NFL
— Atlanta Falcons rookie LB James Pearce Jr. was arrested near Miami on Saturday night after fleeing officers and then crashing his car following what police said was a domestic dispute with WNBA player Rickea Jackson. Pearce, a first-round pick who led the Falcons in sacks and was third in NFL defensive rookie of the year voting, was booked after police were summoned to investigate a reported domestic dispute. Pearce is facing charges of two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon as well as aggravated stalking and fleeing or eluding police with lights or siren.
— Hall of Fame quarterback Sonny Jurgensen has died. He was 91. Jurgensen was one of the most beloved figures in Washington football history. That went from his time with the team in 1964 through a lengthy broadcasting career that ended in 2019. Jurgensen threw for more than 3,000 yards in a season five times with Washington and the Philadelphia Eagles during his nearly two-decade NFL career from 1957-1974.
NBA
— Kawhi Leonard had 41 points and eight rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-96. The Clippers took command with a 17-3 run closing out the third quarter. Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 23 points, and Julius Randle had 17. The Timberwolves have lost three of their last four, all to sub-.500 opponents. Minnesota made just 8 of 33 3-point attempts and committed 20 turnovers while being held under 100 points for just the second time this season.
— Jalen Brunson scored 31 points to help the New York Knicks beat the Boston Celtics 111-89. Jaylen Brown scored 26 points for the Celtics, who saw their five-game winning streak snapped, Former South Dakota State guard Baylor Scheierman finished with 10 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
— Scottie Barnes had 25 points and 14 rebounds to help the Toronto Raptors beat the Indiana Pacers 122-104. Last in the Eastern Conference, the Pacers have lost four straight to fall to 13-40.
— Kasparas Jakucionis was 6 for 6 from 3-point range and scored 22 points, while Bam Adebayo also had 22 as the Miami Heat routed the Washington Wizards 132-101.
WNBA
— The WNBA’s newest proposal to the players’ union that was delivered Friday made small increases to its revenue sharing offer and concessions on housing. The major sticking point continues to be revenue sharing. The Players Union said before the league’s proposal was submitted, that the two sides weren’t close on that topic in their effort to strike a new collective bargaining agreement.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL – SATURDAY
No. 1 Arizona 84, Oklahoma State 47 – Arizona improves to 23-0
No. 14 North Carolina 71, No. 4 Duke 68
No. 10 Michigan State 85, No. 5 Illinois 82 (OT)
No. 7 Iowa State 72, Baylor 69
No. 8 Houston 77, No. 16 BYU 66
No. 9 Nebraska 80, Rutgers 68
No. 11 Kansas 71, Utah 59
No. 12 Purdue 68, Oregon 64
No. 23 Miami (Ohio) 90, Marshall 74 – Miami improves to 24-0
BOYS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – SATURDAY
Bridgewater-Emery 68, Howard 38
Ethan 72, Canton 60
Sanborn Central/Woonsocket 55, Wolsey-Wessington 49 (OT)
Miller 69, Platte-Geddes 57
North Central 58, Andes Central/Dakota Christian 38
No. 5 Huron 71, Sturgis 51
O’Gorman 74, Rapid City Central 66
Brandon Valley 65, Rapid City Stevens 44
SF Jefferson 78, Aberdeen Central 58
GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – SATURDAY
No. 2 Hamlin 45, No. 3 Lennox 42
No. 4 Ethan 66, Irene-Wakonda 42
No. 4 Colman-Egan 48, Freeman 47
No. 7 Sanborn Central/Woonsocket 43, Wolsey-Wessington 41
Bridgewater-Emery 60, Howard 38
West Central 56, No. 8 Aberdeen Roncalli 53 (3 OT)
Miller 42, Platte-Geddes 32
White River 68, Andes Central/Dakota Christian 54
No. 1 Brandon Valley 66, No. 4 Rapid City Stevens 46 – Brandon Valley improves to 14-0.
No. 2 O’Gorman 73, Rapid City Central 51
Huron 56, Sturgis 39
Tea Area 71, Pierre 55