Sports
No. 14 Ole Miss makes statement with Gator Bowl rout of Duke
Mississippi Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) rushes for yards during the second quarter of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] Jaxson Dart threw four touchdown passes and Ulysses Bentley IV ran for a pair of scores as No. 14 Ole Miss overwhelmed Duke in a 52-20 Gator Bowl romp Thursday night in Jacksonville, Fla.
Coach Lane Kiffin, who expressed his displeasure regarding the College Football Playoff selections, had his team out to prove a point. The Rebels were clicking for much of the game, and they held Duke’s revamped offense in check.
“This is the expectation of how we expect to play,” Kiffin said. “That’s 21 wins in the last two years. We’re just getting started.”
Dart, playing his last game before entering the NFL draft, made a good final impression as a college player by completing 27 of 35 passes for 404 yards, including a 69-yarder to Jordan Watkins for a touchdown with 1:27 left.
“I just wanted to end it the right way with my brothers, guys who started it off from Day 1,” Dart said.
Watkins caught two touchdown passes and Dae’Quan Wright and Antwane Wells Jr. each had one for Ole Miss (10-3), which won five of its last six games. Jordan Watkins was the team’s top receiver with seven receptions for 180 yards.
Duke (9-4), playing under first-year coach Manny Diaz and appearing in the Gator Bowl for the first time, turned to quarterback Henry Belin IV as the starter. Maalik Murphy had departed via the transfer portal and Grayson Loftis, who was the quarterback for Duke’s 2023 bowl victory, also transferred out.
Belin was 25 of 44 for 236 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Sahmir Hagans posted the game’s last points on a 99-yard kickoff return.
“We learned a great lesson tonight, and that’s what we needed … to be in a game like this in a setting like that, against an opponent like this,” Diaz said.
The Blue Devils were also without running back Star Thomas, who rushed for 871 yards during the regular season before entering the transfer portal.
Duke’s Terry Moore snatched his fourth interception of the season, making a 59-yard return after picking off kicker Caden Davis’ pass on a failed fake to end the game’s opening possession.
However, Ole Miss stopped Duke on fourth down on the other side of the field. The Rebels needed just four plays to go 68 yards for the game’s first points on Dart’s 32-yard pass play to Wells.
“They have a special quarterback who played special,” Diaz said of Dart. “It has been well-documented that a lot of guys that have had careers like he has had don’t play in bowl games. A lot of throws he made were elite.”
Duke had a total of 36 yards on 11 first-quarter plays. But trailing 17-0, the Blue Devils marched 75 yards on eight plays to score on Belin’s 16-yard pass to Javon Harvey.
The Rebels scored with 1:52 left in the half on Dart’s 21-yard pass to Wright for a 24-7 halftime lead.
The second-half scoring began on Isaiah Hamilton’s 50-yard interception return for a touchdown as Ole Miss led 31-7.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Elly De La Cruz (2 HRs, 5 RBIs) leads Reds' demolition of Rays
Apr 21, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Cincinnati Reds infielder Elly De La Cruz (44) celebrates after a home run against Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Pablo Robles-Imagn Images Elly De La Cruz recorded his sixth career multi-homer game and drove in five runs, fueling the Cincinnati Reds to a 12-6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
De La Cruz launched a two-run blast in the first inning and a solo shot in the ninth to boost his homer total to eight on the season and sixth while batting right-handed. He had five homers in 199 at-bats while hitting right-handed in 2025.
De La Cruz also had a fielder’s choice as part of a four-run sixth inning and an RBI single in the seventh.
Cincinnati’s Ke’Bryan Hayes and Dane Myers launched back-to-back homers in the second inning and Spencer Steer added a solo shot in the fifth.
Rookie Sal Stewart had a two-run single and a sacrifice fly for the Reds, who improved to 10-2 away from home after winning five in a row to start a six-game road trip.
Chase Burns (2-1) allowed two runs on four hits and struck out eight batters in 5 2/3 innings. His lone blemish was Jonathan Aranda’s two-run homer in the sixth inning.
Aranda and Ben Williamson each added a bases-loaded walk and Jonny DeLuca had a two-run double in the ninth inning for Tampa Bay, which has been outscored 24-10 during its three-game losing streak.
Myers worked a leadoff walk in the first inning and De La Cruz deposited a 2-0 sinker from Steven Matz (3-1) over the wall in right-center field to give the Reds a quick 2-0 lead.
Cincinnati doubled its advantage as Hayes and Myers each went deep with two outs in the second inning.
Steer continued the power display in the fifth inning by sending a 1-1 fastball from Griffin Jax over the wall in left-center field.
Matz struggled to find the zone, tossing just 44 of his 77 pitches for strikes before exiting after three innings. He permitted four runs on as many hits with four walks.
The Reds put the game out of reach in the sixth inning.
Matt McLain ripped an RBI double and Myers scored after he used a swim move to deftly elude the tag of catcher Hunter Feduccia on De La Cruz’s fielder’s choice. McLain and De La Cruz promptly stole a base before coming home on Stewart’s two-run single to extend Cincinnati’s lead to 9-0.
–Field Level Media
Sports
VJ Edgecombe, Tyrese Maxey propel Sixers past Celtics to even series
Apr 21, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Vj Edgecombe (77) attempts a three-point basket against the Boston Celtics in the first half of a game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey combined to make 11 3-pointers and score 59 total points as the Philadelphia 76ers bounced back to even their Eastern Conference playoff series with the host Boston Celtics in a 111-97 decision on Tuesday.
Seventh-seeded Philadelphia (1-1) shook off a dismal Game 1 performance, which included making just four 3-pointers in Sunday’s 123-91 loss, with a complete reversal on the offensive end.
The Sixers shot a torrid 19-of-39 from beyond the arc in Game 2, with Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Paul George each adding a pair of made triples to supplement Edgecombe and Maxey.
Edgecombe and Maxey were the catalysts, however. The rookie Edgecombe finished 12-of-20 from the floor, including his 6-of-10 from beyond the arc, and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
“This is who we are. Game 1 isn’t who we are,” Edgecombe said in his postgame interview with Peacock. “We let our offense dictate our defense (on Sunday), and we didn’t do that tonight.”
Philadelphia’s flipping of the script on the offensive end on Tuesday did indeed carry over defensively. The Sixers limited the Celtics (1-1) to 35-of-89 shooting from the floor, locking down each scoring option beyond the primary two of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
Brown went for a game-high 36 points, and Tatum finished with 19 points to go with his game-high 14 rebounds. No other Celtic reached double-figures scoring, however, a stark contrast from Game 1 when the entire Boston starting five notched at least 10 points.
And while Brown shot 5-of-12 from long distance, Boston’s other shooters combined to go just 8-for-38.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, got 19 points from George and 12 from Oubre. After foul trouble limited him in Game 1, Andre Drummond came off the bench to provide the Sixers quality minutes on the interior with 10 points and eight rebounds.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Luis Garcia Jr.'s 4-hit effort powers Nationals past Braves
Apr 21, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder James Wood (29) hits a solo home run against the Atlanta Braves during the second inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Luis Garcia Jr. had four hits and drove in three runs, Curtis Mead socked a three-run homer and the host Washington Nationals ended the Atlanta Braves’ six-game winning streak with an 11-4 win on Tuesday.
James Wood hit his eighth homer of the season, walked four times and scored three runs for Washington, which leveled the four-game series at one victory apiece.
Nationals starter Foster Griffin (3-0) allowed three runs on five hits over six solid innings. He walked one and struck out three.
Drake Baldwin and Eli White homered for the Braves, and Mauricio Dubon had two hits.
Atlanta starter Reynaldo Lopez (1-1) allowed four runs in one-plus inning and gave up five hits and three walks while fanning one. Braves pitchers issued 12 walks.
Ronald Acuna Jr. was in the Atlanta lineup and went 1-for-5 one day after being hit by pitch twice, including once on the left hand.
The first six Nationals reached base in a three-run first. Wood walked and Garcia singled him to third, then stole second. Jacob Young lined a single to center, scoring Wood. CJ Abrams and Daylen Lile walked, with Lile getting an RBI. Nasim Nunez singled to score Young with the third run.
Back-to-back two-out doubles by Dubon and Michael Harris II got the Braves within 3-1 in the second.
Wood homered leading off the bottom half, and Lopez was done for the night after Garcia singled.
Baldwin’s solo homer in the third pulled the Braves within 4-2.
White homered in the fifth to make it 4-3, but the Nationals answered in the bottom half when Brady House singled, stole second and scored on a two-out single by Garcia to make it 5-3.
In the seventh, the Nationals loaded the bases with two walks and a single. Garcia followed with a two-run double, and another runner came home on a groundout by Young.
Austin Riley’s RBI groundout pulled the Braves within 8-4 in the eighth, but a pair of walks and Mead’s three-run homer put things out of reach in the bottom half.
The Braves placed closer Raisel Iglesias on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, and they promoted Dylan Dodd from Triple-A Gwinnett to fill the roster spot.
–Field Level Media
Elly De La Cruz (2 HRs, 5 RBIs) leads Reds' demolition of Rays
VJ Edgecombe, Tyrese Maxey propel Sixers past Celtics to even series
