WEDNESDAY SPORTS, JANUARY 28, 2026
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell Kernels girls basketball won its seventh game in a row on Tuesday night defeating Huron 56-37 at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls. The Kernels were 11-of-27 from three, led by four three-pointers from Mia Larson, who finished with 12 points and was the Culver’s Player of the Game. Addie Siemsen led Mitchell with 15 points, while CeCe Morgan finished with 14 points. Hylton Heinz had a game-high 23 points and six rebounds for Huron. The Kernels improve to 8-3 on the season and 6-0 in the ESD. They are back at home on Friday night vs. SF Lincoln at 6 pm.
— Mitchell Kernels boys basketball fell to .500 on the season with a 51-36 loss to Huron at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls. The Kernels were held to just 11 first half points and 26% shooting for the game. Blake Ellwein led Huron with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Owen Schelske and Colton Smith each had 12 points for Mitchell, as the Kernels shot 0-of-17 from three for the game. Mitchell, 5-5 on the season, hosts No. 1 Sioux Falls Lincoln on Friday night at 7:30 pm.
— Mitchell Kernels boys wrestling lost a pair of duals in Brandon on Tuesday night, falling 69-11 to Watertown and 68-12 to Brandon Valley. The Mitchell girls would lose to the Arrows 42-21 and to the Lynx 42-21. Noah Bennett improved to 20-6 on the season with a 57-second win at 132 pounds against Watertown, while Taylor DeJong led the girls with a 59-second fall over Brandon Valley at 155 pounds. The Mitchell boys face Brookings and SF Jefferson in a triangular in Sioux Falls on Thursday, while the girls take on Brookings in a dual, also at SF Jefferson on Thursday night.
— 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
— Dakota Wesleyan wrestling defeated No. 25 Morningside 28-15 on Tuesday night in Mitchell. The Tigers picked up a pair of pinfall victories, Kipp Cordes at 133 pounds and Gavin Braun at 157 pounds. DWU takes on Waldorf on Thursday at 6:30 pm.
— Dakota Wesleyan’s Landon Ruesink has been named a CSC First Team Academic All-America, one of the top academic honors in college athletics. Ruesink had a perfect 4.0 GPA, making him one of just three NAIA athletes nationwide to do so. On the field, the football standout recorded 42 tackles, 14 pass breakups, an interception, a fumble recovery, and earned multiple All-Conference honors. He was the only South Dakota athlete selected at the NAIA level.
— No. 9 Dakota Wesleyan women’s basketball hosts Briar Cliff at the Corn Palace on Wednesday at 6 pm. The Tigers sit alone in second place in the GPAC with a 13-2 conference record, just a half game behind Dordt.
— Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball hosts Briar Cliff on Wednesday at 7:45 pm at the Corn Palace. The Tigers are tied for sixth in the GPAC with a 6-7 conference record.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State’s Brooklyn Meyer claimed her fifth Summit League Player of the Week award on Tuesday, the 11th of her career. Meyer had 31 points last week in a 52-point win vs. North Dakota State. She then added 25 points on Saturday in a 13-point win at Kansas City. Meyer is averaging 21 points per game in conference play on 62% shooting.
— South Dakota State women’s basketball host Omaha on Wednesday at 7 pm. SDSU picked up a 76-63 road win at Kansas City on Saturday to improve to 6-1 in Summit League play.
— South Dakota State men’s basketball will be at Omaha on Wednesday at 7 pm. The Jackrabbits are coming off a 74-69 road loss at St. Thomas on Thursday to fall to 3-3 in the Summit League.
— No. 15 South Dakota State wrestling returns home on Friday to take on Air Force at 7 pm.
SOUTH DAKOTA
— USD women’s basketball hosts St. Thomas on Wednesday at 7 pm. The Coyotes are coming off a 79-56 loss at North Dakota State on Saturday.
— USD men’s basketball host Oral Roberts on Thursday at 7 pm. The Coyotes lost to St. Thomas 90-78 on Saturday.
GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – TUESDAY
No. 2 Parkston 58, Elk Point-Jefferson 31 – Berkley Ziebart had 22 points and five steals for the Trojans, while Keeara Oakley added 21 points and nine rebounds.
No. 4A Wagner 59, No. 8B Corsica-Stickney 29 – Ashlyn Koupal had 25 points, 24 rebounds, four assists and four blocks.
No. 7 Sanborn Central/Woonsocket 38, Hanson 19
Wessington Springs 49, Andes Central/Dakota Christian 37
Dell Rapids 62, Mount Vernon/Plankinton 25
Freeman 62, Howard 31
McCook Central/Montrose 44, Baltic 34
Avon 59, Burke 35 – Rilyn Thury with 21 points for Avon.
Marty 57, Kimball/White Lake 39
Centerville 64, Tripp-Delmont/Armour 46
Gayville-Volin 51, Scotland/Menno 19
BOYS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – TUESDAY
No. 4 Freeman 61, Howard 43 – David Walter had 17 points and five rebounds.
No. 8 Parkston 55, Elk Point-Jefferson 48 – Mason Jervik had 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Sanborn Central/Woonsocket 62, Hanson 35
Wagner 41, Corsica-Stickney 34
Wessington Springs 78, Andes Central/Dakota Christian 55
Dell Rapids 83, Mount Vernon/Plankinton 62
Baltic 62, McCook Central/Montrose 37
Centerville 64, Tripp-Delmont/Armour 51
Gayville-Volin 47, Scotland/Menno 34
Chester 67, Canistota 35
GIRLS CLASS AA BASKETBALL – TUESDAY
No. 2 O’Gorman 76, Yankton 38
No. 3 SF Washington 71, SF Lincoln 11
No. 4 Aberdeen Central 57, Pierre 36
Harrisburg 51, Brookings 37
BOYS CLASS AA BASKETBALL – TUESDAY
No. 1 SF Lincoln 70, SF Washington 55
St. Thomas More 61, No. 3 Spearfish 38
No. 4 Harrisburg 61, Brookings 39
Pierre 53, Aberdeen Central 31
O’Gorman 44, Yankton 42
COLLEGE BASKETBALL – TUESDAY
No. 3 Michigan 75, No. 5 Nebraska 72 – First loss for Nebraska on the season, 20-1. Nebraska did not score over the last 3:20, missing its last five shots after leading most of the game.
No. 2 UConn 87, Providence 81
No. 7 Michigan State 88, Rutgers 79 (OT)
Indiana 72, No. 12 Purdue 67
No. 17 Virginia 100, Notre Dame 97 (OT)
No. 18 Vanderbilt 80, Kentucky 55
No. 24 Miami (Ohio) 86, Massachusetts 84 – Miami improves to 21-0 on the season and joins Arizona as the only two undefeated teams left.
NBA
— Caitlin Clark is joining NBC’s pregame coverage for “Sunday Night Basketball.” NBC announced Tuesday that the Indiana Fever star will be part of its team when the Lakers play the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. She’ll return on March 29 for another pregame role.
— Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans 104-95 to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season. Chet Holmgren had 20 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks for Oklahoma City.
— Tobias Harris scored 22 points, including two free throws with two seconds left as the Detroit Pistons held off a late Denver rally to beat the Nuggets 109-107. Cade Cunningham had 22 points and 11 assists for Detroit, which has won nine of 11 and leads the Eastern Conference by 5 ½ games over Boston. Jamal Murray had 24 points and 10 assists for Denver but missed two free throws in the final seconds.
— Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points, while James Harden had 16 points and 10 assists as the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Utah Jazz 115-103 for their ninth win in 10 games.
— Jalen Brunson scored 28 points as the New York Knicks beat the Sacramento Kings 103-87. The Knicks outscored the Kings 31-15 in the fourth period after the game was tied at 72 after three.
— Paul George scored 32 points, while Joel Embiid had 18 of his 29 points in the first quarter as the Philadelphia 76ers rolled to a 139-122 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
— Mark Williams scored 27 points and Dillon Brooks had 26 as the Phoenix Suns beat the Brooklyn Nets 106-102.
NFL
— ESPN has reported that six-time Super Bowl champion head coach Bill Belichick didn’t get voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Citing four unidentified sources, ESPN said Belichick didn’t receive the necessary 40 votes from the 50-person panel of media members and other Hall of Famers. Belichick received a call from the Hall of Fame last Friday with the news. The Hall of Fame class of 2026 will be announced at NFL Honors in San Francisco on Feb. 5.
— The Buffalo Bills stayed in-house by promoting offensive coordinator Joe Brady as their new head coach. The team announced the five-year deal. The 36-year-old Brady just completed his fourth season in Buffalo and his second full season as coordinator. Brady’s promotion comes a little more than a week after Sean McDermott was fired following a nine-year tenure.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
— Darian Mensah has enrolled at Miami, boosting the Hurricanes with another standout transfer quarterback. Mensah transferred from Duke after resolving a legal battle over his eligibility to sign elsewhere. Mensah is joining his third team in three years, having led Duke to a conference title last season.
TENNIS
— Novak Djokovic is back in the Australian Open semifinals after Lorenzo Musetti retired with an injury in the third set of their quarterfinal. The 10-time Australian Open winner next faces two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner. The No. 2-ranked Sinner fended off No. 8 Ben Shelton in straight sets. The fifth-seeded Musetti won the first two sets, but took a medical timeout for treatment on his upper right leg after being broken in the third game of the third. Djokovic continues his bid for an 11th Australian title and a record 25th major but says he was “lucky this time.”
NHL
— Patrick Kane of the Detroit Red Wings has tied Dallas’ Mike Modano as the highest-scoring U.S.-born players in NHL history. Kane matched Mike Modano by recording his 1,374th point on an assist on a goal late in Detroit’s 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.