Sports
Donovan Dent goes end to end as UCLA tops No. 10 Illinois at OT buzzer
Feb 21, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Illinois center Tomislav Ivisic (13) dunks the ball over UCLA player Trent Perry (0), Skyy Clark (55) and Eric Dailey Jr. (3) during the first half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images Donovan Dent drove the length of court for the game-winning layup with no time remaining to give UCLA an electric 95-94 overtime victory over No. 10 Illinois in Big Ten play on Saturday night in Los Angeles.
Dent had 14 points and a career-high 15 assists in helping the Bruins (18-9, 10-6 Big Ten) halt a two-game slide. Eric Dailey Jr. scored 20 points before fouling out for UCLA.
Keaton Wagler’s putback with 4.9 seconds left gave Illinois a one-point lead. After timeouts by both teams, Dent received the ball in the backcourt and drove all the way to a basket with a dash that was reminiscent of Tyus Edney’s famous game-winning layup against Missouri in the second round of the 1995 NCAA Tournament. Edney’s heroics sparked the program’s last national championship run.
Tyler Bilodeau scored 18 points, Trent Perry had 17 and Xavier Booker tallied 16 on 7-of-8 shooting off the bench for UCLA. Skyy Clark had 10 points.
Wagler had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Tomislav Ivisic scored 16 points for the Illini (22-6, 13-4), who lost for the third in their past five games.
Ben Humrichous had 15 on five 3-point baskets off the bench for Illinois. Kylan Boswell added 13 points and backup Zvonimir Ivisic had 11.
Perry made two free throws to give the Bruins a 93-92 edge with 16.6 seconds left before the scintillating finish.
In regulation, Bilodeau made two free throws to give UCLA an 86-84 edge with 44.9 seconds left in the second half. Wagler then hit two to knot the score with 19.1 seconds remaining.
Illinois connected on 40.6% of their shots, including 13 of 42 from 3-point range.
The Bruins made 50.7% of their attempts and were 11 of 28 from behind the arc.
UCLA lost its previous two games by an average of 26.5 points and was down 23 just 10-plus minutes into this contest before turning things around.
An 8-0 run early in the second half that was capped by Dailey’s fast-break dunk and tied the score at 56 with 14:45 remaining.
Booker’s putback with 13:59 left gave UCLA its first lead of the contest at 60-58. A three-point play 15 seconds later by Andrej Stojakovic put Illinois back in the lead.
Humrichous scored 12 first-half points as the Illini led 50-43 at the break. Perry had 11 first-half points for UCLA.
Humrichous drilled four 3-pointers during an 18-0 surge as Illinois took a 33-10 lead with 9:27 left in the first half.
Illinois led by 12 entering the final minute of the half but UCLA received a jumper by Dent before getting three free throws from Perry with 0.9 seconds remaining to creep within seven.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Braves rally from 6-run hole, defeat Rockies on late HR
May 1, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (13) and infielder Ozzie Albies (1) celebrate after scoring during the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images Michael Harris II blasted a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the ninth inning, and the Atlanta Braves rallied late to beat the Colorado Rockies 8-6 in Denver on Friday night.
Matt Olson also went deep, while Austin Riley, Mauricio Dubon and Ronald Acuna had two hits each. Didier Fuentes (1-0) got the win in relief for Atlanta, which erased a six-run deficit and won for the fourth time in its last five.
Mickey Moniak homered among his two hits and Tyler Johnston also had two hits for Colorado, which has lost three of its last four.
The Braves, who trailed 6-1 after six innings, got a run in the seventh and then tied it in the eighth when Zach Agnos and Jaden Hill walked the bases loaded with one out.
Dubon tripled down the right field line to make it 6-5. Then came home with the tying run on Riley’s sacrifice fly.
Juan Mejia (0-3) walked Jonah Heim to lead off the ninth and Harris followed with his seventh homer of the season to give Atlanta the lead.
Robert Suarez pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
The first six Rockies batters reached in the first inning against Grant Holmes, and 10 went to the plate in the frame. Edouard Julien led off with a walk, Moniak singled and Hunter Goodman drove in the first run with a double.
TJ Rumfield followed with an RBI single and Tyler Freeman’s bunt single brought home Goodman to make it 3-0. Johnston’s single loaded the bases, and Willi Castro grounded out to first base to score Rumfield. Freeman came home on Olson’s errant throw to the plate.
Moniak led off the second with his ninth home run of the season to make it 6-0 but Holmes settled down after that. He allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits and struck out four in his five innings.
Colorado starter Jose Quintana was sharp. He allowed just one hit until Olson’s homer in the fourth and scattered five hits over six innings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
USL, players' union reach tentative CBA deal
May 4, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; General view of BMO Field before an MLS game between FC Dallas and Toronto FC at BMO Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images The United Soccer League is set for at least four years of labor peace after coming to a tentative agreement with the players’ union on a collective bargaining agreement.
The league and the USL Players Association wrote in a statement that the agreement represents “a significant step forward for the league and its players, reflecting a shared commitment to the continued growth of the game and the advancement of professional standards.”
The deal would run through 2030, with an option to make it go an extra year depending upon talks surrounding health insurance.
The minimum salary for players in the USL Championship, currently the league’s top tier, will rise to $42,000, an increase of $11,000. The USL will start a new higher level, USL Premier, to compete on par with Major League Soccer in 2028. The minimum wage in that league will be $67,500.
Entry-level deals will be worth $34,000 in the USL Championship (a hike of $8,000) and $50,000 in the USL Premier.
–Field Level Media
Sports
RJ Barrett's OT heroics push Raptors-Cavs to Game 7
May 1, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett (9) celebrates after scoring the winning basket against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the overtime period in game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images RJ Barrett made a dramatic 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left in overtime Friday night as the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 112-110 to force Game 7 of a first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
Barrett’s Kawhi Leonard-esque bucket from straight away hit the back of the rim, bounced high into the air and fell in between the mesh. The shot was from the same end of the court as Leonard’s four-bounce miracle during Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers that sent Toronto to the Eastern Conference finals in 2019.
Asked by a reporter how many times he dreamed about making a big shot like Game 6’s winning basket, Barrett said, “I still dream about it.”
The hoop set up a deciding game Sunday at Cleveland. The home team has won every game in the series.
Scottie Barnes had 25 points and 14 assists for the Raptors. Barrett finished with 24 points, as did Ja’Kobe Walter. Collin Murray-Boyles contributed 17 points.
Evan Mobley had 26 points and 14 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Donovan Mitchell added 24 points, and James Harden had 16 points, nine assists, nine rebounds and four turnovers. Jarrett Allen scored 14 points, while Dean Wade contributed 10.
“I thought we did a lot of good things,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We rebounded like we asked them to rebound (Cleveland had a 52-38 advantage). We had some really good looks, you know sometimes it’s make or miss but I like a lot of things we did. That’s why you fight so hard to get home-court advantage. We knew this wasn’t going to be easy. This is the playoffs. This is what it’s about.”
Toronto took an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter. After two Cleveland defensive stops, Mitchell nailed a corner 3-pointer and then made a driving layup to reduce the margin to three with 6:54 to go. Mobley’s rebound and dunk cut the gap to one with 5:48 left.
A Barnes free throw had the Raptors up by two with 1:17 to go. Toronto’s shot-clock violation gave Cleveland possession with 15.6 seconds remaining. Mobley’s layup tied the game at 104 with a layup with 11.6 seconds to play in regulation. The Raptors’ Jamal Shead missed a 17-footer to set up overtime.
“We tightened up defensively,” Mitchell said of the Cavs’ fourth-quarter comeback. “I think both sides got a little fatigued naturally in a game like this. We put ourselves in position. We had a bunch of good looks, they didn’t fall and now we’ve got to go home and protect home court.”
After a Toronto turnover, Harden hit a 12-footer to give Cleveland a two-point lead in overtime. Barnes tied it at 108 with a floater with 1:25 to go.
Mitchell’s layup put Cleveland up by two with 33.7 seconds left, and then Shead made one of two free throws to cut the lead to one. Mobley’s turnover gave Toronto the ball with 10.9 left to set up Barrett’s shot.
“Call me crazy, call me psychic, but I saw this one coming tonight … It’s surreal,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said, adding that he drew up the play for Barrett. “It was (in the air for) only half a second, but it felt like an eternity. … I was happy for him, for this team, for this city, that the shot went down.”
“To do it in the city where he grew up in, that’s truly amazing,” Barnes said of Barrett, who hails from Mississauga, Ont., about 20 miles southwest of Toronto. “The way that shot went in and when we needed it most, he showed up, that’s big time. It’s hard to wrap your head around.”
After Barrett put the Raptors on top, Mobley was off target on a 29-foot attempt at the OT buzzer.
The game was tied at 32 after one quarter.
The Raptors led by nine points after Barnes spun around Harden before dunking with 7:04 left in the second quarter. Cleveland cut the margin to two before Toronto took a 61-51 halftime lead following Shead’s 3-pointer with 51.3 seconds remaining.
A Cleveland turnover led to Barrett’s running layup and a 15-point lead with 5:02 to play in the third quarter. Toronto led 92-81 after three quarters.
Toronto was without Brandon Ingram (heel) and Immanuel Quickley (hamstring).
–Field Level Media
