FRIDAY SPORTS, DECMEBER 12, 2025
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell Kernels gymnastics host O’Gorman for a dual at the high school gym on Friday at 6 pm.
— Mitchell Kernels boys and girls wrestling will compete at the Rapid City Invitational this weekend, starting on Friday at Noon CST and continuing on Saturday.
— Reserved season courtside seats for the upcoming Mitchell High School basketball season are now on sale. For $200 per seat, fans get admission to all home games, including postseason contests, except for Hoop City Classic games. Only 40 seats are available. To reserve, contact the MHS Activities Department or visit the Mitchell High School website.
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
— Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball will be at South Dakota State on Friday at 7 pm. The Tigers have lost four games in a row, coming off a 77-69 defeat at Dordt on Tuesday.
— No. 14 Dakota Wesleyan women’s basketball host the College of St. Mary on Saturday at 2 pm at the Corn Palace. DWU lost on Wednesday night to No. 1 Dordt 86-81 to fall to 6-4 on the season.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State women’s basketball, 9-2 on the season, will host Ball State on Sunday at 2 pm. The Jackrabbit pregame show starts at 1:30 pm on KORN News Radio. SDSU won its fourth game in a row on Wednesday night with a 59-57 victory at Northern Iowa.
— South Dakota State men’s basketball will host Dakota Wesleyan on Friday at 7 pm. The Jackrabbit pregame show starts at 6:30 pm. SDSU is coming off a 68-64 win on Tuesday at Ball State to improve to 6-5 on the season. It is the final home game of 2025 for the Jackrabbits as they will close out the month on the road in Sioux Falls on Monday vs. Wyoming, at Milwaukee next Friday and at No. 1 Arizona on December 29.
SOUTH DAKOTA
— USD football will be at No. 3 seed Montana on Saturday at 2:30 pm CST on ABC in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs. The Coyotes defeated No. 6 seed Mercer last Saturday 47-0. USD and Montana are set to meet for the 21st time in school history, with this being their first-ever meeting in the FCS Playoffs. Coyotes RB L.J. Phillips Jr. leads the FCS with 1,847 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. After the Mercer game, QB Aiden Bouman is now USD’s career passing yards leader (9,047 yards) and second all-time in career passing touchdowns (66).
— USD men’s basketball host Prairie View A&M on Saturday at 1 pm in Vermillion. The Coyotes lost at Wyoming 106-79 on Tuesday night.
— USD women’s basketball will be at Pepperdine on Wednesday at 8 pm CST. The Coyotes fell to 8-3 on the season after a 65-62 loss at Bradley on Wednesday.
HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL – THURSDAY
No. 2 Brandon Valley 63, No. 1 O’Gorman 54 – Brandon Valley ends O’Gorman’s 50 game winning streak. Alyvia Padgett led the Lynx with 40 points.
HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL – THURSDAY
James Valley Christian 63, Mitchell Christian 34 – Brady Asbenson scored 21 points for Mitchell Christian.
NFL
— The Atlanta Falcons rallied for a 29-28 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night. Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes to tight end Kyle Pitts and Zane Gonzalez kicked a 43-yard field goal as time expired. Facing a third-and-28 on the Falcons’ final drive, Cousins completed passes of 14 yards to Pitts and 20 yards on fourth-and-14 to David Sills to set up Gonzalez. Pitts finished with 11 catches for 166 yards and three touchdowns. The Falcons overcame a franchise-record 19 penalties and a 28-14 fourth-quarter deficit. Caker Mayfield threw a crucial interception in the fourth quarter as the Buccaneers lost for the fifth time in six games to fall a half-game behind Carolina in the NFC South.
— Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt is in the hospital after experiencing lung discomfort. Watt went for evaluation on Wednesday while receiving treatment and is set for further testing. The Steelers had a day off on Wednesday, but players often receive medical treatment during such breaks. Watt had been on the injury report last week with a toe issue but that didn’t stop him from playing in his 56th straight regular-season game.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
— Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza was named Associated Press player of the year after leading the unbeaten and top-ranked Hoosiers to its first Big Ten championship since 1967 and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. The redshirt junior quarterback was the overwhelming choice over fellow Heisman Trophy finalists Diego Pavia of Vanderbilt, Jeremiah Love of Notre Dame and Julian Sayin of Ohio State. Mendoza received 32 of 51 first-place votes from a nationwide panel of media members who cover college football.
— The SEC has released its first nine-game conference schedule for 2026, highlighted by Lane Kiffin’s return to Ole Miss when LSU visits Oxford on September 19. Other marquee matchups include Georgia at Alabama on October 10, Texas visiting LSU on November 14, and LSU at Tennessee on November 21. The season kicks off early with Alabama at Kentucky on September 12, plus big non-conference games like Oklahoma–Michigan and Ohio State–Texas. Each team keeps three annual rivals and faces every SEC opponent at least once every two years with the top two teams will meet in Atlanta for the SEC Championship on December 5.
— Some athletic directors are starting to believe that collective bargaining agreements might be coming to college sports. The NCAA and its member schools have long said such labor deals are financially unfeasible. But with Congress failing to act on a key piece of legislation on Dec. 4, there was a growing sense of frustration among college sports executives who met this week at Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, a group of state attorneys general are urging their schools not to sign an agreement sent out by the newly created College Sports Commission that would set the guidelines for new rules to pay players.
WORLD CUP
— Soccer fans have accused FIFA of a “monumental betrayal” after latest prices for World Cup tickets began to circulate. The governing body allocates 8% of tickets to national associations for games involving their team to sell to the most loyal fans. And a list published by the German soccer federation revealed prices ranged from $180-$700 for varying group stage games. The lowest price for the final was nearly $4,200 and the highest was $8,600. Also Thursday, FIFA launched its third phase of widespread ticket sales with fans now able to apply for specific matches for the first time through its “Random Selection Draw.”
NASCAR
— NASCAR has settled an antitrust lawsuit with two race teams, including one co-owned by Michael Jordan. The settlement was announced Thursday after a delay on the ninth day of the trial. The lawsuit was filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports last year after they refused to sign new charter agreements presented by NASCAR. As part of the settlement, all NASCAR race teams will receive the permanent charters they had been asking for. NASCAR chairman Jim France had testified that he never considered making charters permanent. A charter is the equivalent of the franchise model in other sports.
NBA
— A rare Kobe Bryant card has sold for $1.22 million at Goldin Auctions. The 2003–04 Upper Deck card is signed, numbered 8 of 15, and includes two game-used jersey patches. It’s now the third-highest public sale for a solo Kobe card. Three other cards in the same auction topped $500,000, including Tom Brady and Michael Jordan.
— Denver’s Nikola Jokic had 36 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists as the Nuggets breezed past the Sacramento Kings 136-105 for their franchise-record 11th straight road win. Jokic made 14 of 16 shots from the floor, including both his 3-pointers, and went 6 for 8 at the free-throw line. He did not play in the fourth quarter.
— Kyle Kuzma scored a season-high 31 points and Bobby Portis added 27 points and 10 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Boston Celtics 116-101. Milwaukee improved to 2-7 this season without Giannis Antetokounmpo, who missed his third consecutive game with a strained right calf.
— Amen Thompson’s three-point play with 17 seconds left helped the Houston Rockets to a 115-113 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Thompson finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists as Houston improved to 16-6 on the season.
— Jordan Poole scored 22 points in his return from a left quadriceps injury that sidelined him for 18 games as the New Orleans Pelicans snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 143-120 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
NBA CUP SEMIFINALS – SATURDAY
New York Knicks vs. Orlando Magic, 4:30 pm on Amazon Prime Video
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs, 8 pm on Amazon Prime Video
COLLEGE BASKETBALL – THURSDAY
No. 4 Iowa State 66, Iowa 62 – Iowa State improves to 10-0.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL – FRIDAY
No. 5 UConn vs. Texas, 7 pm on FOX
COLLEGE BASKETBALL – SATURDAY
Penn State vs. No. 9 Michigan State, 11 am on Big Ten Network
No. 16 Texas Tech vs. No. 17 Arkansas, 11 am on ESPN2
No. 6 Purdue vs. Marquette, 1 pm on Peacock
No. 11 Louisville vs. Memphis, 2:30 pm on ESPN
No. 13 Illinois vs. No. 23 Nebraska (10-0), 3 pm on Peacock
Maryland vs. No. 2 Michigan (9-0), 7 pm on FOX
No. 12 Alabama vs. No. 1 Arizona (8-0), 8:30 pm on ESPN
No. 8 Gonzaga vs. No. 25 UCLA, 10:30 pm on ESPN
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Navy vs. Army, 2 pm on CBS, Saturday
Washington vs. Boise State, 7 pm on ABC, Saturday, L.A. Bowl
Jacksonville State vs. Troy, 8 pm on ESPN, Tuesday, Salute to Veterans Bowl
South Florida vs. Old Dominion, 4 pm on ESPN, Wednesday, Cure Bowl
Delaware vs. Louisiana, 7:30 pm on ESPN, Wednesday, 68 Ventures Bowl
NFL – WEEK 15
Chicago Bears vs. Cleveland Browns, Noon on CBS
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers, Noon on CBS
Denver Broncos vs. Green Bay Packers, 3:25 pm on CBS
Los Angeles Rams vs. Detroit Lions, 3:25 pm on FOX
Dallas Cowboys vs. Minnesota Vikings, 7:20 pm on NBC
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Miami Dolphins, 7:15 pm on ESPN, Monday Night Football
HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL – FRIDAY
Tri-Valley vs. No. 5B Parkston
Winner vs. No. 6A Wagner
Hanson vs. No. 7B Ethan
Viborg-Hurley vs. No. 10B Freeman
Burke vs. Kimball/White Lake
Howard vs. Dell Rapids St. Mary’s
Avon vs. Gregory
Centerville vs. Canistota
No. 3 SF Washington vs. SF Lincoln
SF Roosevelt vs. No. 4 SF Jefferson
Pierre vs. No. 5 Rapid City Stevens
Tea Area vs. Huron
Yankton vs. Harrisburg
Brookings vs. Watertown
Aberdeen Central vs. Rapid City Central
HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL – FRIDAY
Bridgewater-Emery vs. Corsica-Stickney – Q107.3
No. 5B Viborg-Hurley vs. No. 6B Freeman
Hanson vs. Ethan – KORN Country 92.1
Tri-Valley vs. Parkston
Howard vs. Dell Rapids St. Mary
Winner vs. Wagner
Centerville vs. Canistota
SF Washington vs. No. 1 SF Lincoln
No. 2 Brandon Valley vs. No. 5 O’Gorman
Tea Area vs. No. 3 Huron
SF Roosevelt vs. SF Jefferson
Yankton vs. Harrisburg
Brookings vs. Watertown
Rapid City Stevens vs. Pierre
Rapid City Central vs. Aberdeen Central
