North Dakota State’s 39-game streak stopped
Gymnasts stand as one to make a statement against social, racial injustice.
Javon Williams Jr. and Romeir Elliott each had two touchdown runs, and Southern Illinois beat top-ranked North Dakota State 38-14 on Saturday to end the Bison’s 39-game win streak.
North Dakota State (2-1, 1-1 Missouri Valley), which has won three straight Football Championship Subdivision titles, had last lost on Nov. 4, 2017 to then-No. 8 South Dakota State.
“We didn’t show up and play very well,” Bison coach Matt Entz said. “There was not any position group that played well.”
It was the Bison’s worst defeat since a 37-6 loss at Cal Poly during the 2005 season.
Williams ran for a threeyard score and Elliott broke loose for a 20-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Both scores followed a North Dakota State turnover. Elliott finished with 91 yards rushing and Williams had 41, and the pair also had touchdown runs in the second quarter.
The Salukis (2-1, 1-1) ended an eight-game losing streak to the Bison, who were 161⁄2-point favorites.
Avante Cox had seven receptions for 138 yards for Southern Illinois. His 65yard catch set up Williams’ one-yard touchdown run on fourth down to give the Salukis a 17-0 lead with about a minute left in the second quarter.
Salukis quarterback Nic Baker, making his first start and filling in for senior Kare Lyles, who left with a rib injury during last week’s game against North Dakota, was 17 for 23 for 254 yards. His sixyard touchdown pass to Landon Lenoir stretched the Salukis’ lead to 24-7 early in the fourth quarter.
Two-time Olympic medalist Laurie Hernandez returned to gymnastics at the Winter Cup in Indianapolis, finishing fifth on balance beam and 11th on floor exercise after she watered down her final tumbling pass in the name of safety. The meet was the first major non-invitational event in more than 15 months for most of the field after the COVID-19 pandemic forced almost the entire 2020 competition calendar to be canceled and the Tokyo Olympics postponed until this summer.
Collin Sexton scored 28 points, and Cleveland overcame Joel Embiid’s 42 points to beat East-leading Philadelphia 112-109 in overtime for the Cavaliers’ first road win since Jan. 7.
Buffalo goalie Linus Ullmark will miss at least the next month with a lowerbody injury, leaving the Sabres with one established netminder.
Myatt Snider won the Xfinity Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway after Noah Gragson slammed into a lapped car with two laps remaining.
Iga Swiatek beat Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-2 to win the Adelaide International at Memorial Drive . ... Former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, 48, tested positive for the coronavirus.
The first weekend of sailing in the America’s Cup was postponed after new COVID-19 cases were reported in Auckland.
Frank Wintrich, the UCLA football performance coordinator who was part of coach Chip Kelly’s staff since his first season, announced that he’s departing to work for the U.S. Army.
Only two opponents are unbeaten against the Clippers while handing them multiple losses since Kawhi Leonard and Paul George joined forces a season and a half ago.
Brooklyn is 3-0, and, short of meeting the Nets in the NBA Finals, there will be no opportunity the rest of this season for the Clippers to notch their first win in a matchup of the George and Leonard era.
The other team is Milwaukee, which swept both matchups against the Clippers last season when their meetings were billed as potential Finals previews. Each ultimately had little to show for their championship aspirations after secondround postseason exits. This season, both franchises have remained near the top of their conferences while staying under the radar after retooling in the offseason.
“It is always fun playing against Milwaukee,” said George, who played in one of the two matchups last season, after Friday’s 119-99 victory in Memphis. “They had our number last year. And so, you know, we remember that. We’re feeling we can match up with them.”
Giannis the Bucks’ two-time most valuable player, has averaged 28.9 points, 11.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists while making 8.0 field goals per game inside five feet from the basket, the second-highest average this season behind New Orleans’ Zion
Williamson. Antetokounmpo,
Antetokounmpo has shot 76% within that distance, third highest in the NBA among the 54 players who have averaged at least five shots per game that close to the hoop.
Like Antetokounmpo, Leonard has posted numbers close to or exceeding career bests but isn’t among bettors’ top four favorites for MVP, according to odds from Covers.
The Clippers’ All-Star
forward has averaged 26.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists while shooting 39.2% on three-point attempts, the second-highest mark of his career.
“I think it’s because I don’t know whether he’s not flashy to people,” George said. “But I mean, he’s effective when you talk about a guy who is 100% committed to winning and winning at all costs. You got to take that into account. The MVP is about the most valuable player. And this team wouldn’t be where we are at without Kawhi on that floor.
“It is almost calming having him on the floor knowing whenever things get rocky, teams make runs, he’s the guy that kind of just settles things and kind of just on his own slows the game down. He does a really good job of just controlling the game.”
Milwaukee (20-13) is third in the Eastern Conference after four consecutive victories, and with one more would tie its season-long winning streak. Antetokounmpo has led his team in scoring, rebounding and assists 14 times this season. The Bucks will have the Clippers’ full attention — eventually.
“I’ll be honest, we literally haven’t spoken one single word about the Bucks yet,” guard Lou Williams said Friday. “We’ve been taking a game-to-game approach, we haven’t really had an opportunity to lock into those guys, and so the only time I see the Bucks is when they’re on national television.”
No passing fancy
As pleased as Clippers (24-11) coach Tyronn Lue was to see forward Nicolas Batum make three of his five three-point attempts Friday — the first time he’d made multiple three-pointers in his last seven games — Lue felt Batum had passed up three or four other opportunities to shoot.
“We want him to take those shots because when he doesn’t shoot it, we end up getting a worse shot,” Lue said. “In the flow of the offense when the ball comes to him, he has to take those shots.”
Batum isn’t the only player to whom Lue has preached a shoot-first mentality that’s backed up by results: The Clippers lead the league in points (37.8) and accuracy (44.9%) on catch-and-shoot opportunities.
Guard Luke Kennard lost his place in the nine- and sometimes 10-man rotation because he hasn’t been aggressive enough, while another guard, Patrick Beverley, has f lourished under the same dictate, shooting a career-high 42% on four threepointers per game.
“I know everybody, they see me and they just think I’m this defensive guy, and that’s all I can provide is defense,” Beverley said this month. “This coaching staff sees a little bit more in me, man, and I just want to, you know, don’t let them down.”
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Update: Offensive success for the Bucks on Sunday won’t hinge on beating their defender to the rim off the dribble. They rank in the top 10 in points on catch-andshoot chances, pull-ups, post-ups and from the elbow. Their catch-and-shoot accuracy ranks third, behind Brooklyn and the firstplace Clippers.
One after another, UCLA gymnasts repeated the same silent message. When the music stopped after their floor routines, each Bruin raised a fist in the air, holding final poses intentionally modified to make the perfect punctuation to UCLA’s first Black Excellence Meet.
What started as an offhand suggestion from choreographer BJ Das turned into one of the most poignant details of UCLA’s first meet dedicated to racial justice as the 13th-ranked Bruins won 197.025-196.5 over Oregon State on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion. Not only did all four of UCLA’s Black gymnasts — Sekai Wright, Margzetta Frazier, Chae Campbell and Nia Dennis — compete in the floor rotation and flash the symbol of racial equality at the end of their routines, but so did two of their white teammates, Emma Andres and Pauline Tratz.
The extra effort from the entire team “shook me to my core in a way that was so emotionally beautiful,” Frazier said.
“Something as bold as a power fist, which is very historical to Black people, something that can be seen as evil by some ignorant people, for them to do that really meant the world to me,” said the junior who tied her allaround career high with a 39.55.
UCLA was planning the meet for months after the team had candid conversations about last summer’s protests about racial inequality and police brutality. In addition to special leotards that featured a picture of a raised fist on the right shoulder and the modified floor routines, the Bruins (5-1, 4-1 Pac-12) peppered the event with tributes to Black culture like a premeet rendition of the Black national anthem “Lift Every Voice and
Sing” and “Black Lives Matter” T-shirts that the team wore during warmups and during the awards ceremony.
As the meet drew nearer and UCLA released statements on social media about it, fans started praising the team for its message on social justice, but there were also others who directed “a lot of terrible, racists things” at the team, coach Chris Waller said. The team tried to ignore it, but Waller knew it wouldn’t just go away.
“That’s why I’m proud of everybody on the team because we started the meet today and you could feel that everybody had a shared sense of purpose,” Waller said. “But you could also sense that there was a lot going on.” The Bruins responded by scoring season highs on their first two rotations with a 49.2 on vault and 49.55 on bars. Dennis scored season highs on both events: a 9.925 on vault and a 9.95 on bars that also tied her career high.
The senior’s viral floor routine is a tribute to Black culture this year, but seeing the combined support from her teammates through the meet Saturday lifted the former U.S. national team member to greater heights.
“I honestly felt limitless,” Dennis said. “I felt empowered and I felt supported and loved.”
Dennis and Frazier had matching bars scores that, along with freshman Sara Ulias’ career-high 9.925, helped UCLA shatter its previous season-high score on the event. UCLA’s bars score Saturday was the team’s best score on any event this season.
Frazier, a two-time AllAmerican on bars, anchored the rotation and stuck her double-layout dismount. She calmly saluted the judges after the routine and then dropped one arm. Her right fist stayed in the air.
“I’m hoping [people] can see past our gymnastics and really see the message that we’re spreading,” Frazier said. “Because the reason why I’m really proud of this team is we’re more than just a gymnastics team.”