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Darrien Williams carries NC State past SMU in barnburner

Syndication: The Greenville NewsNC State Wolfpack head coach Will Wade yells down court Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, during the NCAA men’s basketball game against the Clemson Tigers at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina.

Darrien Williams scored 25 points and Quadir Copeland had a career-high 16 assists and 10 rebounds as North Carolina State held on for an 84-83 win over host SMU on Tuesday in a wild Atlantic Coast Conference dustup in Dallas.

The Mustangs led by eight points at halftime but NC State (17-6, 8-2 ACC) rallied and swept to the front on Matt Able’s 3-pointer with 10:57 to play. The Wolfpack reeled off a 20-4 run while scoring in 10 straight possessions and taking a 76-64 lead after a steal and three-point play by Terrance Arceneaux with 6:50 remaining.

SMU (16-6, 4-5 ACC) swung back, trimming its deficit to three points when Samet Yigitoglu converted a pair of free throws with 4:08 left. NC State was up 84-81 before Jaron Pierre Jr. hit a layup with 22 seconds left. Copeland then was fouled and missed both free throws with 15 seconds to play, giving the Mustangs a last chance to win.

But NC State’s Tre Holloman blocked Boopie Miller’s jumper in the lane with one second left, allowing the Wolfpack to escape with the victory, their fourth straight.

Able added 13 points for NC State, and Holloman and Ven-Allen Lubin scored 11 each in the victory.

Pierre led SMU with 23 points while Miller added 14 and B.J. Edwards and Corey Washington scored 11 apiece. The Mustangs have dropped two straight games.

The Wolfpack led by five points early on before SMU rallied to tie the game at 12-12 on a pair of free throws by Miller at the 13:29 mark of the first half. Those points were the first of a 7-0 run that, after a driving layup by Pierre, granted the Mustangs a 17-12 lead with 12:30 to play in the half.

NC State drew to within 24-22 on Copeland’s 3-pointer with 8:03 to play until halftime. SMU parried, building the margin back to five points on Miller’s layup a minute and a half later before Williams hit a free throw with 4:53 left in the half.

The Mustangs then created some separation with an 11-2 run over the next three minutes with Pierre punctuating the surge with a 3-pointer at the 2:03 mark. NC State swung back with five straight points by Williams to claw back to 42-34 at the break.

Williams led all scorers with 11 points before halftime while Pierre and Edwards scored 10 points each to lead the Mustangs.

–Field Level Media

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Jamie Drysdale fires clincher as Flyers defeat Capitals

NHL: Washington Capitals at Philadelphia FlyersFeb 3, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Washington Capitals right wing Ryan Leonard (9) and Philadelphia Flyers left wing Noah Cates (27) battle for the puck during the second period at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Jamie Drysdale scored a power-play goal with 5:23 remaining as the Philadelphia Flyers topped the visiting Washington Capitals 4-2 on Tuesday.

Dan Vladar (26 saves) authored a terrific performance to help Philadelphia snap a four-game losing streak. Owen Tippett, Carl Grundstrom and Rasmus Ristolainen also scored for the Flyers, while Travis Konecny picked up two assists.

Anthony Beauvillier notched a goal and an assist for Washington, which came in on a three-game winning streak. Aliaksei Protas also scored for the Capitals, while Clay Stevenson turned aside 18 shots.

With the game tied at 2-2 with under six minutes left, Trevor Zegras won a puck battle in the corner and sent a pass back to Drysdale near the blue line. Stevenson got a piece of Drysdale’s blast, but the puck still found the back of the net.

Vladar made a key save on Alex Ovechkin with about 1:30 remaining to preserve the lead. Washington pressured a bit thereafter before Ristolainen clinched it with a long-distance empty-netter with 16.8 seconds to go.

The Flyers opened the scoring about six minutes into the game, following a nice passing sequence. Matvei Michkov made a cross-ice pass to the left point to Travis Sanheim, who promptly sent a diagonal feed to Tippett. The Philadelphia winger deked to his backhand and slipped one past Stevenson.

Both teams scored in the first half of the second period. Grundstrom made it 2-0 when his centering pass caromed off two Capitals players and into the net.

However, Washington responded with a short-handed goal less than four minutes later. Protas, playing in his 300th NHL game, rammed home his 19th of the season on a 2-on-1 feed from Beauvillier.

Beauvillier tied it early in the third period when he deposited a rebound past Vladar.

With just under seven minutes left, Washington nearly went ahead when Ovechkin’s shot trickled off the glove of Vladar and just past the right post.

–Field Level Media

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LeBron James scores 25 as Lakers cruise past Nets

NBA: Los Angeles Lakers at Brooklyn NetsFeb 3, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) greets forward LeBron James (23) during a timeout in the first quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

LeBron James collected 25 points and seven assists as the Los Angeles Lakers seized control early in the finale of an eight-game road trip and cruised to a 125-109 victory over the Brooklyn Nets Tuesday night in New York.

James made 10 of 16 shots, including a pair of thunderous dunks in the first half. He also added three rebounds and had three of the Lakers’ 14 steals.

During his final minutes on the floor, some fans were chanting “We Want Bronny” in hopes of seeing his son, Bronny James, enter the game. The younger James played the final 4:36 and earned loud cheers from the mostly pro-Lakers crowd for a pair of baskets.

Luka Doncic added 24 points on 8 of 18 shooting and sat for the fourth quarter after playing 29 minutes. Doncic also handed out five assists and grabbed six rebounds.

Jake LaRavia contributed 18 points and Austin Reaves chipped in 15 in his return after missing 19 straight games with a sprained left ankle.

The Lakers went 5-3 on the tripA, which was necessitated by the Grammy awards taking over their home arena, and earned their second lopsided victory of the trek.

Los Angeles made its first seven from the field and shot 54.1%. The Lakers also scored 66 points in the paint to offset a 7 of 31 showing from 3-point range.

Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Porter missed all nine 3-point tries and was 7 of 18 overall.

Day’Ron Sharpe finished with 19 points and 14 boards for Brooklyn, which lost for the 17th time in 20 games and only led in the opening two minutes. Ziaire Williams contributed 17 for the Nets, who scored 69 points in the second half to make the final score more respectable.

The Nets shot 47.9% but missed 31 of 41 3-point attempts and allowed 23 points off 20 turnovers

Doncic scored 14 in the first quarter when the Lakers shot 83.3% (15 of 18) and opened a 45-23 lead. Los Angeles took its first 30-point lead when James hit a nine-footer for a 59-29 cushion with 7:53 left, a 36-point lead on Marcus Smart’s short jumper with 5:20 left and held a 69-40 edge by halftime.

Doncic’s stepback 3 extended the lead to 83-44 with 8:08 remaining in the third quarter and the Lakers held an 89-55 lead when James went to the bench with 4:25 left. Los Angeles held a 100-74 advantage through the third and led 111-83 when James checked out for the night with just over eight minutes left.

–Field Level Media

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Otega Oweh, Kentucky on a roll ahead of date with skidding Oklahoma

NCAA Basketball: Kentucky at ArkansasJan 31, 2026; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Otega Oweh (00) drives against Arkansas Razorbacks forward Nick Pringle (23) during the first half at Bud Walton Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Kentucky aims to carry momentum from perhaps its biggest win of the season when it hosts Oklahoma on Wednesday night in Lexington, Ky.

Since starting 0-2 in Southeastern Conference play, the Wildcats (15-7, 6-3 SEC) have won six of their last seven games to vault into the top quarter of the standings. Kentucky, which won at then-No. 15 Arkansas 85-77 last Saturday, has captured 10 of its last 13 contests since stumbling out to a 5-4 start in nonconference play.

“We’re on a journey,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said. “And it might not be the journey that anybody anticipated. But I love it. I tell you, I’ve never coached a team like this. To be dead and buried like we were, and then just keep saying, ‘You know what? Doesn’t matter. We’re coming back, man. We’re coming back.'”

Otega Oweh has been playing with a high motor in league play, scoring 20 or more points in seven of the Wildcats’ nine conference games. Those performances have raised his season scoring average by more than two points to a team-leading 16.6 points per game. Oweh has scored in double figures in every game this season.

Oklahoma (11-11, 1-8) has lost eight in a row since winning its SEC opener. Six of those eight losses are by 10 points or fewer, and one was by a single point on an overtime buzzer-beater.

The Sooners fell 79-69 at home against Texas on Saturday, a game they led by 14 points in the first half.

“We have to do everything we can to prepare for each game right now,” Sooners coach Porter Moser said. “But, man, none of us, I’m not accepting. I want to be in a different spot in the standings.”

Nijel Pack (16.3 points per game) and Xzayvier Brown (16.2) are Oklahoma’s leading scorers, with Pack topping the team in shooting 42.8% from 3-point range.

Kentucky and Oklahoma played twice last season, with the Wildcats winning both games by one point. Oweh, who played for the Sooners from 2022-24, hit dramatic game-winners in both victories for the Wildcats, including on March 14 in the SEC tournament.

–Field Level Media

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