MONDAY SPORTS, JANUARY 26, 2025
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell Kernels gymnastics turned in its best performance of the season on Saturday, winning the Lolly Forseth Invitational at Sioux Falls Lincoln. The Kernels posted a season-high team score of 147.8, finishing more than three points ahead of Watertown. Kyanna Gropper led the way, sweeping titles in all four events and winning the all-around with a score of 38.25. Olivia Prunty added a second-place all-around finish at 36.525. The Kernels are back in action on Saturday, January 31 at the ESD Conference meet in Aberdeen.
— Mitchell Kernels girls wrestling finished third as a team at the River City Rumble in Chamberlain on Saturday. Frankie Kranz finished first at 115 pounds to improve to 19-6 on the season, while Danny Borja placed second at 120 pounds. On the boys side, Mitchell finished fourth as a team behind O’Gorman, Sisseton and Chamberlain. Noah Bennett placed first at 132 pounds, while Rocky Clark was also first at heavyweight to improve to 23-2 on the season. The Kernels travel to Brandon on Tuesday for a triangular vs. Watertown and Brandon Valley starting at 5 pm.
— Mitchell Kernels basketball will face Huron on Tuesday at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls. The girls game is at 6 pm followed by the boys at 7:30 pm.
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
— No. 9 Dakota Wesleyan women’s basketball won its 11th game in a row on Saturday at the College of St. Mary 90-42. Rylee Rosenquist had a game-high 19 points as the Tigers held St. Mary to just 27% shooting for the game. DWU improved to 17-4 on the season and 13-2 in the GPAC. They host Briar Cliff at the Corn Palace on Wednesday at 6 pm.
— Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball hosts Briar Cliff on Wednesday at 7:45 pm at the Corn Palace.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State women’s basketball picked up a 76-63 road win on Saturday at Kansas City. Brooklyn Meyer finished with a game-high 25 points and eight rebounds, while Madison Mathiowetz added 18 points. SDSU improved to 16-5 on the season and 6-1 in the Summit League. The Jacks host Omaha on Wednesday at 7 pm.
— South Dakota State men’s basketball will be at Omaha on Wednesday at 7 pm.
— No. 15 South Dakota State wrestling split a pair of duals over the weekend defeating Cal Baptist on Friday night 36-3, before losing to No. 3 Iowa State on Sunday 29-7. The Jackrabbits return home on Friday to take on Air Force at 7 pm.
SOUTH DAKOTA
— USD women’s basketball lost at North Dakota State on Saturday 79-56. The Bison improved to 18-2 on the season and 7-0 in the Summit League. Jenna Hopp and Angelina Robles led the Coyotes with 12 points apiece. USD hosts St. Thomas on Wednesday at 7 pm.
— USD men’s basketball lost to St. Thomas on Saturday 90-78. After leading by two at halftime, the Coyotes were outscored in the second half 53-39. Jordan Crawford led USD with 22 points for his third straight game with 20+ points. The Coyotes host Oral Roberts on Thursday at 7 pm.
44th ANNUAL BOYS HANSON CLASSIC
No. 7B Freeman 51, No. 5B Wessington Springs 48 – David Walter with game-high 16 points for Freeman, including the game-winning three pointer with just over 4.5 seconds remaining.
No. 10B Parkston 56, Lyman 49 – Mason Jervik leads Parkston with a game-high 18 points, while Grady Bowar added 17 points. Trojans outscored Lyman 23-11 in the third quarter.
No. 1A West Central 55, No. 3A Clark/Willow Lake 52 – West Central improved to 13-0, while CWL drops to 11-1.
No. 6A Hamlin 57, No. 1B Viborg-Hurley 39
No. 9A Lennox 51, No. 4A St. Thomas More 49
Dakota Valley 58, Sioux Valley 54
White River 50, Hanson 47
NFL
— Sam Darnold threw for three touchdowns and the Seahawks’ defense came up with a fourth-down stop late in the fourth quarter as Seattle advanced to the Super Bowl, beating the Los Angeles Rams 31-27 in the NFC championship game. Led by second-year coach Mike Macdonald and Darnold, the Seahawks reached the fourth Super Bowl in franchise history and first in 11 years. Matthew Stafford threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns for the Rams, but the Seahawks broke up his pass to the end zone on fourth-and-4 late in the fourth quarter.
— QB Drake Maye scored New England’s only touchdown on a 6-yard run, giving the Patriots their 12th Super Bowl appearance with a 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos in the AFC championship game. Christian Gonzalez intercepted Jarrett Stidham at the New England 36 with 2:11 remaining as the Patriots picked up their first ever playoff win in Denver. New England became the third team in the Super Bowl era to win a conference championship with 10 points or less and Maye become the first QB ever to throw for fewer than 100 yards and win a conference championship game.
— The Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike McCarthy have reached a verbal agreement for McCarthy to become the team’s next head coach. McCarthy, a Pittsburgh native, would replace Mike Tomlin, whose departure created just the third job opening in Pittsburgh since 1969. Tomlin stepped down earlier this month after his 19th season ended with a seventh straight playoff loss. McCarthy had a 185–123–2 record across 18 seasons, 13 with Green Bay and five with Dallas. His resume includes a victory over the Steelers in the Super Bowl following the 2010 season.
— Philip Rivers has interviewed with the Buffalo Bills for their head coaching job. The 44-year-old Rivers has no previous NFL coaching experience, having worked since his initial retirement from the league as a high school coach in his native Alabama. Last month, he ended his five-year retirement and finished the season with the Indianapolis Colts. Rivers was the fourth candidate to interview since the Bills launched their search on Wednesday. Sean McDermott was fired Monday after going 98-50 and reaching the playoffs eight times in nine seasons.
— One-time NFL MVP and longtime San Francisco 49ers quarterback John Brodie has died at the age of 90. The 49ers said Brodie’s family said he died Friday. Brodie had a stroke in 2000. Brodie played for the 49ers from 1957-73 after breaking every major passing record at Stanford. He later played on the Senior PGA Tour and won the 1991 Security Pacific Senior Classic. Brodie’s 17 seasons still represent a 49ers franchise record and his 31,548 yards passing rank second to Joe Montana on San Francisco’s career passing list. When Brodie retired after the 1973 season, he trailed only Johnny Unitas and Fran Tarkenton in yards passing.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
— The College Football Playoff will remain at 12 teams after the commissioners of the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten couldn’t come up with a compromise for expansion. The CFP Management Committee announced Friday the 12-team format would stay the same for the 2026 season. The decision provides additional time for evaluation and discussion on the current format and potential changes in the future. The CFP went from four teams to 12 teams for the 2024 season, and the two most powerful conferences favored further expansion but could not agree on a number.
BOYS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – SATURDAY
No. 2 SF Roosevelt 58, O’Gorman 44
No. 5 Watertown 71, Brookings 38
Huron 66, SF Jefferson 54
Brandon Valley 76, Aberdeen Central 53
GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – SATURDAY
No. 1 Brandon Valley 77, No. 4 Aberdeen Central 44
No. 2 O’Gorman 63, SF Roosevelt 20
SF Jefferson 65, Huron 54
Watertown 45, Brookings 40
No. 1B Lyman 60, Freeman 29
Andes Central/Dakota Christian 44, Sioux Falls Lutheran 23
Kimball/White Lake 38, Sunshine Bible 17
NBA
— Steph Curry scored 26 points to lead the Golden State Warriors past Minnesota 111-85, the fifth straight loss for the Timberwolves and their longest losing streak in more than three years. Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 32 points and 11 rebounds after the game was postponed on Saturday following the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis man by federal immigration officers.
— Immanuel Quickley had 23 points and 11 rebounds to help the Toronto Raptors defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 103-101. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting. He scored at least 20 points for the 117th consecutive game, the second-longest streak in NBA history.
— Cade Cunningham had 29 points and 11 assists as the Detroit Pistons routed the Sacramento Kings 139-116.
— Kawhi Leonard scored 21 of his 28 points in the first half as the Los Angeles Clippers built a 38-point lead in the second quarter and beat the Brooklyn Nets 126-89. The Clippers have won eight of their past night games.
— Saddiq Bey and Zion Williamson each had 24 points and 10 rebounds as the New Orleans Pelicans squandered a 20-point lead before rebounding to beat the San Antonio Spurs 104-95. San Antonio went on a 24-5 run to open the fourth quarter, but New Orleans closed the game on a 17-3 run.
— Bam Adebayo scored 22 points as the Miami Heat beat the Phoenix Suns 111-102.
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Denver Nuggets, PPD
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Dallas Mavericks, PPD
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL – SATURDAY
No. 5 Duke 90, Wake Forest 69
No. 7 Nebraska 76, Minnesota 57 – The Cornhuskers improve to 20-0
No. 9 Iowa State 84, Oklahoma State 71
No. 10 Michigan State 91, Maryland 48
No. 22 North Carolina 85, No. 14 Virginia 80
No. 2 UConn 75, Villanova 67 (OT)
No. 1 Arizona 88, West Virginia 53 – Arizona improves to 20-0
No. 12 Texas Tech 90, No. 6 Houston 86
No. 11 Illinois 88, No. 4 Purdue 82
GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – MONDAY
No. 3 Hamlin vs. No. 2 Lennon
No. 4 Ethan vs. Canistota
No. 9 Corsica-Stickney vs. Bridgewater-Emery
Platte-Geddes vs. Andes Central/Dakota Christian
BOYS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – MONDAY
SF Jefferson vs. No. 3 Harrisburg
No. 6 Hamlin vs. No. 9 Lennox
Ethan vs. Canistota
Platte-Geddes vs. Andes Central/Dakota Christian