NEW YORK (AP) — Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving, the MVP of the Basketball World Cup, was honored Sunday as the USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year.
Irving started in all nine games for the Americans in Spain and averaged 12.1 points and 3.6 assists. He scored 26 points in the gold-medal game, going 6 of 6 from 3-point range to spark a rout of Serbia.
Irving was selected by USA Basketball’s board of directors.
DENTON, Texas (AP) — Colin Voss had 16 points and eight rebounds to help North Texas hold on and beat Creighton 62-58 on Sunday.
Creighton overcame a 17-point deficit, using a 31-6 run capped by back-to-back 3’s by Toby Hegner and Isaiah Zierden, to pull within 57-55 with 1:19 left.
T.J. Taylor split a pair of free throws for North Texas to stretch its lead to 58-55 with 35 seconds to go. The Bluejays couldn’t answer, missing four 3-point attempts. Taylor then made four more from the line to seal it for North Texas
Austin Chatman hit a trey at the buzzer to cap the scoring for Creighton.
Jordan Williams added 13 points, and Taylor dished out five assists and was 7 of 8 from the line for North Texas (6-4).
Hegner scored 13 points and Zierden finished with 12 to lead Creighton (9-4).
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ben Roethlisberger passed for 220 yards and a touchdown, Le’Veon Bell added a score and the Pittsburgh Steelers locked up a postseason berth with a methodical 20-12 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
Pittsburgh (10-5) faces Cincinnati next week for the AFC North title. Either way, the Steelers will be playing January football for the first time since Tim Tebow and Denver stunned the defending AFC champions in the wild-card round three years ago.
Antonio Brown caught seven passes and a touchdown for Pittsburgh, which has won seven of nine and can clinch a division title for the first time since 2010 by beating the Bengals next week.
Kansas City’s Alex Smith passed for a season-high 311 yards but was sacked six times. The Chiefs (8-7) have lost four of five and need to beat San Diego next Sunday and receive plenty of help to make it back to the playoffs for a second straight year under coach Andy Reid.
DENVER (AP) — Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari has a torn meniscus in his right knee and is expected to soon undergo surgery.
The team has yet to announce a timetable for his return.
Gallinari turned in one of his best games of the season Saturday in a win over Indiana as he scored 19 points, including a 3-pointer to spark a critical fourth-quarter run.
Gallinari is averaging 7.8 points in 18.8 minutes this season.
He was back on the court this year after missing nearly 18 months with a torn ACL in his left knee that required three surgeries.
The banged-up Nuggets will be without guard Randy Foye (right quadriceps) and center JaVale McGee (lower left leg strain) on Monday at Charlotte. Forward Darrell Arthur is questionable with a leg injury.
DENVER (AP) — Danilo Gallinari scored 19 points, including a 3-pointer to spark a key fourth-quarter run, and the Denver Nuggets hung on to beat the Indiana Pacers 76-73 on Saturday night.
Ty Lawson added 15 points and 10 assists for the Nuggets, who won games on successive nights after losing six of seven coming into the back-to-back set.
David West had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Pacers, who lost for the 10th time in 11 games. Indiana also dropped its sixth straight game in Denver.
Both teams were held to season lows in scoring with Indiana hitting just 30.7 percent of its shots from the field and Denver making 36.6 percent.
With 27.5 seconds remaining in the third quarter, C.J. Miles, who finished with 16 points, made a 3-pointer to even the score at 55-55 heading into the fourth quarter.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Alex Tanguay scored twice, Calvin Pickard made 28 saves and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-1 on Saturday night.
Colorado also got goals from Cody McLeod, John Mitchell and Erik Johnson in ending a two-game skid.
Last-minute call-up Johan Larsson scored his first NHL goal for the Sabres, who had won six straight home games.
Colorado has won its last eight against Buffalo dating to 2005.
It took the Avalanche just 2:23 to score. Johnson skated through a check from Larsson to put a pass from Nathan MacKinnon past goalie Jhonas Enroth.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Megan Courtney and Aiyana Whitney each had 11 kills, and Penn State defeated Brigham Young 25-21, 26-24, 25-14 Saturday to win their second consecutive NCAA women’s volleyball championship.
Micha Hancock had 36 assists and five digs for the Nittany Lions. The senior from nearby Edmond won in front of family and friends in her final college match. Her expert setting helped the Nittany Lions neutralize the nation’s No. 1 blocking team.
Penn State (36-3) won its sixth title in eight years and No. 7 overall to break a tie with Stanford for the most overall titles.
Jennifer Hamson had 14 kills and Alexa Gray added nine for BYU, which had won 12 straight matches. The Cougars (30-5) were trying to become the first unseeded team to win a national championship.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Rachel Theriot scored a season-high 31 points, and Tear’a Laudermill chipped in 22 to help No. 12 Nebraska roll to an 83-57 victory over High Point on Saturday.
Theriot dished out five assists and made 13 of her career-high 24 attempts from the floor to pick up her second career game scoring more than 30 points. Theriot scored a career-best 33 points against Minnesota last season, which the Cornhuskers face December 29 to open conference play.
Emily Cady had 12 points, six rebounds and three steals before leaving with a bruised tailbone with about 15 minutes remaining.
Hailie Sample had six assists and nine rebounds to go with her six points.
Nebraska (10-1) led by as many as 28 points and played with only three bench players with the rest out with various injuries.
Kaylah Keys had 14 points and four assists, but eight turnovers for High Point (6-5).
KEARNEY, Neb. – A late goal from Chris Wilkie forced overtime, but the Tri-City Storm (13-7-4) fell to the Omaha Lancers (11-8-4) 4-3 when Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson netted his second goal of the game in the extra session at the Ralson Arena on Friday night.
Prior to Wilkie’s late equalizer, Storm goals were scored by defenseman Jalen Schulz and Jake Wahlin.
Storm netminder Alec Dillon made 25 saves in the loss, while his counterpart Kris Oldham earned the win with 20 saves of his own.
Omaha took a 1-0 lead early on when Forsbacka-Karlsson scored his first of the evening off a pass from Steven Spinner at 12:05 of the first period.
Tri-City evened the game at 1-1 just over three minutes later on Schulz’s first goal of the year from defenseman Tory Dello and forward Matthew Freytag.
The Storm then took the lead in the middle period when Wahlin found a loose rebound in front and scored his second goal in as many games to make it 2-1. Forward Conner Valesano picked up an assist on the tally, his third consecutive game with a helper.
In the final period, the Lancers tied the game at 7:54 on a goal by Nick Rivera and then took the lead when Louie Rowe found a loose puck in front and slipped it under Dillon.
Forced to pull Dillon for an extra attacker, Wilkie scored his 14th of the season with one minute to go in regulation to even the score at 4-4. Defensemen Mattias Goransson and Kevin Kerr recorded assists on the goal.
But early on in overtime, Forsbacka-Karlsson found an opportunity and beat Dillon with the winning goal.
Tri-City now enters the league’s winter break with 30 points, and is in second place in the USHL’s Western Conference.
The Storm return to the Viaero Event Center on Dec. 27 to face Sioux City at 3:05 p.m.
Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Garrett Gamez and Kyle Eastman along with defenseman Bobby Nardella. Forward Joel Herbert was also scratched, serving a league suspension…
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Period
Omaha – Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson (Steven Spinner) 12:05
Tri-City – Jalen Schulz (Tory Dello, Matthew Freytag) 15:35
2nd Period
Tri-City – Jake Wahlin (Conner Valesano) 8:59
3rd Period
Omaha – Nick Rivera (Jimmy Schuldt, Matt Joyaux) 7:54
Omaha – Louie Rowe (Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, Matt Joyaux) 14:10
Tri-City – Chris Wilkie (extra attacker) (Mattias Goransson, Kevin Kerr) 19:00
Overtime
Omaha – Jakob Korsbacka-Karlsson (Niklas Folin) 1:23
PENALTIES
1st Period
Omaha – Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson – (Interference), 2 min, 4:39
Omaha – Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson – (Holding), 2 min, 18:30
2nd Period
Tri-City – Conner Valesano – (Hooking), 2 min, 6:38
Tri-City – Cody Milan – (Slashing), 2 min, 10:53
Tri-City – Conner Valesano – (Boarding), 2 min, 14:08
Omaha – Michael Wilson – (Fighting) (Instigator), 2 min, 14:08
Omaha – Michael Wilson – (Fighting), 5 min, 14:08
Omaha – Michael Wilson – (Fighting) (Game Misconduct) 10 min, 14:08
Omaha – Bench Minor – (Illegal Substitution), 2 min, 19:18
3rd Period
Tri-City – Bench Minor – (Too Many Men), 2 min, 0:52
Omaha – Jake Henderson – (Fighting), 5 min, 3:31
Omaha – Jake Henderson – (Fighting) (Misconduct), 10 min, 3:31
Tri-City – Mason Appleton – (Fighting), 5 min, 3:31
Tri-City – Mason Appleton – (Fighting) (Misconduct), 10 min, 3:31
Tri-City – Austen Long – (Checking From Behind), 4 min, 3:56
Tri-City – Austen Long – (Checking From Behind) (Game Ejection), 10 min, 3:56
Omaha – Brian Williams – (Boarding), 2 min, 7:36
Tri-City – Chase Berger – (High Sticking), 2 min, 8:33
Tri-City – Jake Wahlin – (Roughing), 2 min, 17:52
Omaha – Michael Bigelbach – (Tripping), 2 min, 17:52
Overtime
(no penalties)
Power Play
Tri-City – 0/5
Omaha – 0/6
Shots
Tri-City: 8, 10, 5, 0 = Total: 23
Omaha: 11, 6, 11, 1 = Total: 29
Saves
Tri-City – Alec Dillon – 25/29
Omaha – Kris Oldham – 20/23
DENVER (AP) — Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari hit successive 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter and Denver fought back after blowing a 16-point halftime lead to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 109-106 on Friday night.
Nate Robinson scored 20 points off the bench to lead the Nuggets, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
Blake Griffin had his second 30-point performance in a row, finishing with 32 for the Clippers, who have dropped their last three games on the road.
Jamal Crawford added 20 points and Chris Paul had 17 points and 15 assists.
Trailing by 16 points at halftime, the Clippers began the third quarter with a 16-0 run to pull into a 59-all tie on a driving layup by Matt Barnes. Denver missed its first 10 shots of the second half before Gallinari connected on a tiebreaking 3.
