Sports
Top 25 roundup: K-State takes down No. 16 Cincinnati
Dec 30, 2024; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats guard Coleman Hawkins (33) and guard Dug McDaniel (0) celebrate during the first half against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Bramlage Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images Coleman Hawkins had 20 points and 10 rebounds as Kansas State knocked off No. 16 Cincinnati 70-67 on Monday night in Manhattan, Kan., in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
The Wildcats (7-5, 1-0 Big 12) also got 17 points from Dug McDaniel and 13 from David N’Guessan.
Dan Skillings Jr., who was 3-for-15 from 3-point range entering Monday, was 4-for-8 from deep to lead the Bearcats with 18 points. Dillon Mitchell had 15 points and 11 boards.
After Cincinnati (10-2, 0-1) tied the score at 31 early in the second half, McDaniel scored six straight points for the Wildcats. Kansas State soon extended the lead to nine points before the Bearcats tied it again at 56-56. N’Guessan then scored a three-point play to give Kansas State a 59-56 lead and the Wildcats never trailed again.
No. 2 Auburn 87, Monmouth 58
Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell each recorded double-doubles to lead the host Tigers past the stubborn Hawks in Auburn, Ala.
Broome led all Auburn scorers with 14 points and collected 11 rebounds, while Cardwell finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds as Auburn (12-1) picked up its fifth consecutive win. Monmouth (2-11) lost for the third time in its past four games.
The Hawks remained competitive with one of the nation’s best for more than 13 minutes of the first half before the Tigers, playing for the first time since Dec. 21, broke a 28-28 tie with an 18-0 run to close out the first half.
No. 3 Iowa State 79, Colorado 69
Curtis Jones scored 20 points, Keshon Gilbert added 14 points and the Cyclones held on for a win over the Buffaloes in Boulder, Colo., in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
Joshua Jefferson finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and eight steals for Iowa State (11-1, 1-0 Big 12), which won its eighth game in a row.
Julian Hammond III scored 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting to lead Colorado (9-3, 0-1). RJ Smith finished with 14 points and Javon Ruffin scored nine as the Buffaloes fell to 8-1 at home.
No. 14 Houston 60, Oklahoma State 47
J’Wan Roberts scored a season-high 20 points and recorded his first double-double of the campaign as the Cougars beat the Cowboys in Stillwater, Okla., to open conference play.
Roberts corralled 11 rebounds to lead the Cougars (9-3, 1-0 Big 12) to their fifth consecutive victory. Houston seized control with a 17-1 run that closed the first half and yielded a 28-18 lead at the intermission.
Brandon Newman scored 12 points for Oklahoma State (8-4, 0-1) and Robert Jennings had 10. Marchelus Avery, the Cowboys’ leading scorer on the season, scored just five points on 2-for-8 shooting.
No. 17 Mississippi State 87, Bethune-Cookman 73
Riley Kugel scored 22 points off the bench and the Bulldogs used improved defense in the second half to pull away from the Wildcats in Starkville, Miss.
Josh Hubbard scored 16 and RJ Melendez and Claudell Harris Jr. had 12 each as the Bulldogs (12-1) held the Wildcats (3-10) to 28 points in the second half after allowing 45 in the first half. Mississippi State forced a total of 17 turnovers, leading to 24 points.
Trey Thomas and Brayon Freeman scored 21 each to lead Bethune-Cookman, which received just 15 points from its bench compared to 34 for the Mississippi State reserves.
No. 18 Michigan State 80, Western Michigan 62
Jaden Akins had 18 points as the Spartans extended their winning streak to six games by defeating the Broncos in East Lansing, Mich.
Carson Cooper had 13 points and six rebounds for Michigan State (11-2) in the nonconference game. The Spartans wound up with a 20-7 edge in points scored at the foul line.
Chansey Willis Jr.’s 12 points topped Western Michigan (3-9), which has lost five straight. Max Burton added 10 points.
No. 19 Gonzaga 89, Pepperdine 82
Khalif Battle scored 21 points as the Bulldogs held off a furious second-half rally to win their 29th consecutive West Coast Conference opener, defeating the host Waves in Malibu, Calif.
Gonzaga defeated Pepperdine for the 48th time in a row, a streak dating to 2002. Gonzaga’s Braden Huff scored 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field for the Bulldogs (10-4, 1-0 WCC).
Jaxon Olvera led the Waves (6-9, 0-2) with a game-high 27 points and Moe Odum scored all 24 of his points in the second half. Pepperdine outscored Gonzaga 50-39 in the second half, getting as close as four with little more than two minutes remaining, but could not pull off the comeback.
No. 23 Arkansas 92, Oakland 62
Adou Thiero tallied 16 of his 20 points in the first half, Boogie Fland scored 21 of his 24 in the second half, and the Razorbacks routed the Golden Grizzlies in Fayetteville, Ark.
Thiero added six rebounds, six assists and three steals while Karter Knox had 17 points for Arkansas (11-2). The Razorbacks shot 60.3 percent from the field while holding Oakland to 40 percent.
Tuburu Naivalurua recorded 18 points and nine rebounds while Allen Mukeba had 17 points and six boards as Oakland (4-10) lost for the sixth time in seven games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Kylian Mbappe wins second World Cup Golden Boot, Spain claim other awards
July 18, 2026; Miami Gardens, Florida, U.S.; France’s Kylian Mbappe reacts after the match. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images French superstar Kylian Mbappe became the first player to win multiple FIFA World Cup Golden Boot awards after Spain shut out Argentina 1-0 in the final on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J.
Mbappe finished with 10 goals for the tournament after scoring twice in France’s 6-4 loss to England on Saturday in the third-place match.
His only competition still active was Lionel Messi, who was searching for his first Golden Boot along with trying to guide Argentina to a second consecutive World Cup. Messi and Argentina defeated Mbappe and France on penalty kicks in the 2022 final in Qatar.
But Argentina could not muster a shot on goal against Spain’s stalwart defense and had just two total shots, both coming late in the match. Messi went scoreless for the third match in a row. He had collected eight goals across the three group-stage matches, the round of 32 and the round of 16.
At 27, Mbappe already can call himself the greatest goal-scorer in World Cup history. His two second-half goals on Saturday pushed him past Messi for the all-time tournament record with 22 in just 22 matches. Messi — the first to break German Miroslav Klose’s career record early in the tournament before Mbappe caught up — stayed at 21 and may have played his final World Cup match Sunday at 39 years old.
Eight of Mbappe’s 10 goals this summer came in braces. He scored twice against Iraq, Senegal, Sweden and finally England. He was the first with 10 goals in a single World Cup since Gerd Muller of Germany in 1970.
Aside from Mbappe, it didn’t come as a surprise that the rest of the awards went to Spanish players after their remarkable run to the country’s second World Cup title.
Spain midfielder Rodri collected the Golden Ball award, given to the best overall player in the tournament. While he didn’t record a single goal or assist in Spain’s eight matches, he completed more passes, ran more distance and had more player involvements than any other player in this year’s tournament.
He also played a key role in heavily limiting Messi’s touches during Spain’s stifling 1-0 win.
Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simon and defender Pau Cubarsi were named winners of the Golden Gloves award and FIFA Best Young Player award, respectively. The pair each played critical roles in La Roja allowing just one goal — a record for a champion team — and 10 shots on goal in eight matches during this World Cup.
Simon finished with seven clean sheets, two more than the previous record for a single World Cup. The 29-year-old’s nine career World Cup clean sheets are one off the record of 10 shared by former France keeper Fabien Barthez and former England keeper Peter Shilton.
Those three awards are decided by FIFA’s Technical Study Group, made up of former professional players, coaches and analysts.
–Field Level Media
Sports
D-Backs rally from down 7 to beat Cardinals in 10 innings
Arizona Diamondbacks baserunner Max Kepler (22) celebrates scoring a run against the St. Louis Cardinals at Chase Field in Phoenix, on July 18, 2026. Max Kepler delivered the game-winning RBI in the 10th inning as the Arizona Diamondbacks scored eight unanswered runs in an 8-7 win against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday in Phoenix.
Kepler drove in automatic runner Jorge Barrosa with a one-out double to right field off Luis Gastelum (1-1).
Juan Morrillo (3-4) allowed one hit over 1 1/3 scoreless innings across the ninth and 10th innings to register the win.
Arizona’s rally began in the sixth. Adrian Del Castillo knocked a lead-off double, Ryan Waldschmidt singled and Ketel Marte’s single up the middle drove in Del Castillo to cut the deficit to 7-1.
Andre Pallante walked Geraldo Perdomo to load the bases, and Waldschmidt scored one out later when Pallante walked Gabriel Moreno, ending his outing.
Ryne Stanek came in and retired the first batter before issuing a walk to Tyler Locklear which brought Marte across the plate, narrowing it to 7-3.
Perdomo pulled Arizona within two in the seventh when he followed up Del Castillo’s leadoff walk with a two-out inside-the-park home run to left field on a liner that skipped past St. Louis left fielder Jose Fermin and rolled to the wall.
Nolan Arenado’s two-run home run just over the left field wall in the eighth tied the game at 7.
St. Louis opened a 5-0 lead in the third inning. Lars Nootbaar walked and scored on Blaze Jordan’s triple. JJ Wetherholt singled to bring in Jordan and double the advantage.
Wetherholt went to third on Ivan Herrera’s base hit, and Jordan Walker brought him around with a double to push the lead to 3-0. Alec Burleson’s single to center field allowed Herrera and Walker to come in, extending it to 5-0.
Fermin chased Diamondbacks ace Eduardo Rodriguez, who threw 40 pitches in the frame, with a single. Right-hander Drey Jameson came in and walked Nootbaar before getting Jordan to line out to retire the side, stranding the bases loaded.
The Cardinals made it 7-0 in the fifth. Burleson singled, and Fermin and Nootbaar each walked to load the bases. That ended Jameson’s appearance, replaced by Philip Abner. Jordan (3-for-5, three RBIs) greeted Abner with a single to right that brought in two runners.
Herrera and Burleson each added three hits for St. Louis. Del Castillo and Kepler led Arizona with two hits apiece.
Rodriguez surrendered five runs on seven hits in 2 2/3 innings. Pallante gave up three runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Valkyries seek 10th straight win in rematch with Mystics
Jul 18, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton (left) passes against Washington Mystics guard Sonia Citron (right) during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images The interior-powered Washington Mystics and perimeter-oriented Golden State Valkyries will seek to do a better job defusing the other’s strength when the clubs meet in a rematch Monday night in San Francisco.
The Valkyries (19-7) finished strongly both offensively and defensively to erase a late six-point deficit and earn a 74-69 win in the front half of the WNBA-style doubleheader Saturday night, which was played on Golden State’s home court.
The hosts saved five of their 12 successful 3-pointers for the final 5:55 to account for all their scoring in a 15-4 finish. It allowed them to secure a ninth straight win in a game in which the Mystics (12-12), led by Shakira Austin, had dominated the Valkyries to the tune of 40-16 in points in the paint.
Golden State coach Natalie Nakase noted after the hard-fought win that it’s not like her players will grow a few inches before the rematch with Austin and fellow interior powers Kiki Iriafen and Lauren Betts.
“We understand they’re very tall, big and physical in size. So it’s got to be a team effort,” she said at her postgame press conference. “I just thought attention to detail with KT (Kayla Thornton) and Kiah (Stokes) down the stretch, just defending without fouling, it was beautiful that last five minutes. For us to rely on our defense down the stretch was huge.”
After Betts’ layup gave the Mystics a 65-59 lead with 6:13 remaining, the Valkyries forced the visitors into 2-for-8 shooting the rest of the way, with three turnovers mixed in. Three of the misses were 3-point attempts, where Washington went just 6-for-23 for the game, as the visitors got away from what had been successful earlier.
Mystics coach Sydney Johnson believed his team played well enough to win the opener but needs to improve in close games. Five of Washington’s 12 losses this season have been by five points or fewer.
“Really challenging us to just physically, emotionally, mentally be locked in,” he expressed to the media afterward about his team’s shortcomings. “It’s a demanding league. There’s absolutely no nights off, no easy games. Those are our consistent themes, most importantly, bringing our toughness and togetherness every time we come to the floor.”
One of the challenges will be managing odd scheduling, with the Mystics flying across the country to face the Valkyries twice in three days. They begin a six-game homestand Wednesday night against Las Vegas.
–Field Level Media
