Sports
Islanders again own overtime, edge Blue Jackets
Feb 28, 2026; Columbus, Ohio, USA; New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) sprays his face with water during a stop in play against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the second period at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images Simon Holmstrom scored with 3:12 left in overtime for the visiting New York Islanders, who remained perfect in the extra session and earned another comeback win by beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 on Saturday night.
Islanders defenseman Tony DeAngelo skated back deep into the New York zone before firing a pass to Holmstrom, who was wide open at the Blue Jackets’ blue line. Holmstrom bore in on Jet Greaves, went to his forehand and beat Greaves over his blocker.
Anders Lee, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Scott Mayfield also scored for the Islanders, who trailed 2-0 before earning their fourth straight win and improving to 8-0 in games decided in overtime. Three of New York’s last four victories have been of the comeback variety.
Goaltender Ilya Sorokin made 27 saves for the Islanders.
Isac Lundestrom, Mason Marchment and Adam Fantilli scored for the Blue Jackets, who have lost two straight (0-1-1) following a seven-game winning streak. Greaves recorded 22 saves.
Lundestrom won the faceoff with Casey Cizikas to start the sequence that ended with his deflection just 2:30 after the game’s opening faceoff. Miles Wood picked up the puck and dished to Dante Fabbro, whose shot glanced off Lundestrom as he and Cizikas glided across the crease before the puck trickled through Sorokin’s legs.
The teams combined for five goals, two ties and one lead change during a chaotic second period.
The Blue Jackets doubled their lead at 3:58, when Zach Werenski’s cross-ice pass glanced off the stick of Charlie Coyle and to Marchment, whose shot sailed over Sorokin’s stick shoulder.
The Islanders began their comeback bid with three unanswered goals in a span of fewer than six minutes in the back half of the period.
Greaves got a glove on Mayfield’s shot before Lee put back the rebound with 8:23 left. Pageau tied the score just 22 seconds later when his shot glanced off Greaves and off Fabbro’s stick before it ticked off Pageau’s stick and into the net.
Mayfield collected his first goal since Dec. 16 in similarly unusual fashion with 2:50 remaining, when his shot rattled in the crease and off Werenski, who was battling for position with Islanders center Bo Horvat.
Fantilli tied the score with 1:02 left when he redirected Werenski’s shot from above the left faceoff circle.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cincinnati cruises past Oklahoma State with 3-point barrage
Cincinnati Bearcats forward Baba Miller (18) makes a basket from the two point line in the first half of a NCAA men’s basketball game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and Oklahoma State Cowboys, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati. Day Day Thomas heated up from long range, draining seven 3-pointers en route to a 26-point performance, Moustapha Thiam added 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and host Cincinnati rolled to a 91-68 home victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon.
The Bearcats (16-13, 8-8 Big 12), which entered No. 54 in the NET rankings, have won five of their last six. Jizzle James and Baba Miller each finished with 11 points for Cincinnati.
Oklahoma State (17-12, 5-11), playing its first game since losing big man Parsa Fallah to a torn ACL, was overwhelmed throughout. Vyctorius Miller led the team with 15 points, while Jaylen Curry and Kanye Clary both added 11 points. The Cowboys have lost six of their last seven games.
The Bearcats seized control early, going on an 11-2 run highlighted by 3-pointers from Thomas and Thiam to lead 12-4 less than four minutes into the game.
Those early minutes foreshadowed the rest of the game.
Cincinnati dominated from the start, leading 51-33 at halftime. The Bearcats shot 53.1% from the floor, made seven three-pointers and won the rebounding battle 20-15 in the first half. They finished with a two-handed dunk by Thiam. Miller was credited with an assist on the play as he found Thiam open underneath.
In the second half, the Bearcats pulled away. They went on an 11-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Thomas to lead 65-37 with just under 15 minutes remaining. Cincinnati continued to extend the lead, reaching as many as 32 points, with an 81-49 advantage after another 3 from Thomas at the 8:22 mark.
Cincinnati finished with 14 made 3s, dished out 24 assists, and had a 24-7 edge in second-chance points. The Bearcats also led for 39:24 of the 40 minutes and improved to 14-3 at home.
Both teams return to action on Tuesday. Cincinnati hosts No. 19 BYU, while Oklahoma State travels to UCF.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bobby Durkin has career night as Minnesota tops UCLA
Feb 24, 2026; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Bobby Durkin (3) dribbles against Michigan Wolverines guard Elliot Cadeau (3) in the second half at Crisler Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images Bobby Durkin scored a season-high 23 points with seven made 3-pointers and Langston Reynolds added 21 points with six assists as Minnesota claimed another victim at home with a 78-73 victory over UCLA at Minneapolis.
Cade Tyson also scored 21 points for the Golden Gophers (14-15, 7-11 Big Ten), who shot 62.3% from the floor and 52.2% from 3-point range. Durkin, who reached 1,000 points for his college career in the first half, went 7 of 11 from long range.
Minnesota improved to 12-4 at home this season with victories in its own building over a trio of ranked teams in Indiana, Iowa and Michigan State.
Tyler Bilodeau scored 32 points with eight rebounds and Eric Dailey Jr. added 18 points for the Bruins (19-10, 11-7), who failed to build off huge victories over No. 10 Illinois and rival Southern California over the past week.
Skyy Clark scored 17 points, while Donovan Dent had 15 assists but just three points, as UCLA now prepares for a key home game upcoming against No. 12 Nebraska.
With the game tied 61-61 with 7:59 remaining, Cade scored four points in a 6-0 run for Minnesota to give the Gophers a 67-61 lead with 6:15 left. The Bruins got within 76-73 on a three-point play from Bilodeau with 1:50 remaining.
The Bruins then missed four consecutive 3-pointers over the final 1:08, including two by Bilodeau, as the Gophers held on for the victory.
In a first half of swings, Minnesota led by as many as nine points early before UCLA went on a 17-3 run to lead by as many as seven points before taking a 41-40 lead into the break. Bilodeau had 16 points in the first half, while Dent had nine assists for UCLA.
Durkin scored 15 points in the first half for Minnesota and reached 1,000 points on one of his five 3-pointers before halftime. UCLA’s Clark reached 1,000 career points on a basket in the second half.
–Field Level Media
Sports
On his bobblehead day, Nick Martinelli lifts Northwestern over Oregon
Feb 28, 2026; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Northwestern Wildcats guard Angelo Ciaravino (44) blocks the shot of Oregon Ducks forward Kwame Evans Jr. (10) during the first half at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images Nick Martinelli produced the game-winning runner with one second remaining as part of his game-high 22 points to lift Northwestern to a 63-62 Big Ten win over Oregon on Saturday afternoon in Evanston, Ill.
On a day Northwestern handed out bobbleheads bearing his likeness, Martinelli added 11 rebounds, a career-high seven assists and career-high-tying three steals to lead the Wildcats (13-16, 5-13) to their third win in a row. Jayden Reid added 11 points.
Nate Bittle paced Oregon (11-18, 4-14) with 19 points and nine rebounds. Kwame Evans Jr. piled up 15 points and 15 rebounds while Takai Simpkins posted 11 points.
The Ducks led 36-29 at halftime and by 12 two minutes into the second half before Northwestern scored 17 of the ensuing 19 points to leap to a 48-45 lead with 12 minutes left.
Over the final seven minutes, the teams swapped the lead six times in their battle to move into 14th place in the Big Ten.
Oregon regained the front on a 3-point play by Bittle at the 4:37 mark, but the Wildcats tied it at 59 on Martinelli’s second-chance layup with 4:10 to play.
After empty possessions by both teams, Northwestern went up on Jayden Reid’s turnaround jumper with 2:24 remaining. The Ducks regained the lead when Wei Lin hit a 3-pointer with 50 seconds to play.
Martinelli missed a go-ahead jumper with 18 seconds left, but Northwestern’s Tre Singleton grabbed the rebound and the Wildcats called a timeout to set up a play. Martinelli got hemmed in 12 feet from the hoop, but he spun free for a left-handed runner that hung on the back of the rim for a few beats before falling through.
Oregon launched a 40-footer at the buzzer that did not fall.
Neither team could create separation early on. Northwestern built a 24-18 advantage on two Martinelli free throws with 8:04 to play until halftime, but the Ducks owned the rest of the half. They used a 10-2 run, capped by Bittle’s 3-point play, to take a 28-26 edge.
Bittle’s 12 points led all scorers before halftime while Martinelli paced the Wildcats with eight.
–Field Level Media
Cincinnati cruises past Oklahoma State with 3-point barrage
Bobby Durkin has career night as Minnesota tops UCLA
