CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Gio Lopez threw for two touchdowns and North Carolina produced nine sacks to beat Stanford 20-15 for their second straight victory in ACC play under coach Bill Belichick. Jordan Shipp’s 55-yard touchdown catch gave the Tar Heels (4-5) a 20-3 lead early in the fourth quarter, and the Tar Heels held on despite two late Stanford touchdowns.… Continue Reading
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Freshman Caleb Wilson had 24 points and No. 25 North Carolina dominated the second half to pull away from No. 19 Kansas 87-74 in a battle of college basketball bluebloods. Big man Henri Veesaar added 20 points for the Tar Heels. UNC also got a big showing from senior Seth Trimble with 13 of his 17 points after halftime. UNC made 24 of 36 shots after halftime. That erased a 37-29 lead at the break. Kansas star freshman Darryn Peterson had 22 points to lead the Jayhawks. Kansas had won five straight meetings in the series.… Continue Reading
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Nikolaj Ehlers scored 46 seconds into the second period and goalie Frederik Andersen overcame a poor start to stop the final 18 shots he faced as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Minnesota Wild 4-3. Jackson Blake, Andrei Svechnikov and Sean Walker also scored for the Hurricanes, who’ve won three of their last four games. They’ve won back-to-back outings for the first time since Oct. 16 and 18. Blake and Walker also each had an assist and Andersen finished with 20 saves. Matt Boldy, playing in his 300th NHL game, scored two goals and Brock Faber had one for the Wild. Filip Gustavsson made 23 saves.… Continue Reading
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Isaiah Evans scored 23 points, Cameron Boozer used a big second half to finish with 15 points and 13 rebounds and No. 6 Duke overcame a sluggish start to beat Texas 75-60 at the Dick Vitale Invitational on Tuesday night. The Blue Devils got 10 points from Patrick Ngongba and used a stifling defense to limit Texas to 32% shooting while forcing 16 turnovers. Dailyn Swain had 16 points, while Jordan Pope and Matas Vokietaitis each had 15 points to lead Texas in coach Sean Miller’s debut.… Continue Reading
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Caleb Wilson scored 22 points and Luka Bogavac added 10 points and five assists in their North Carolina debuts as the No. 25 Tar Heels beat Central Arkansas 94-54 in the teams’ season opener on Monday night. Kyan Evans hit four 3-pointers and scored 15 points, Henri Veesaar added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Seth Trimble scored 12 points as the Tar Heels won their opener for the 21st consecutive season. Cole McCormick led Central Arkansas with nine points, though he went to the bench with his fourth foul early in the second half and fouled out with 4:56 left.… Continue Reading
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers have emerged as potential playoff contenders after a surprising 16-13 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. The Panthers, led by running back Rico Dowdle and quarterback Bryce Young, controlled the game from the start. This win marked their fourth consecutive victory with Young under center and put the Panthers just one game behind the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions in the NFC wild-card race. Coach Dave Canales praised Dowdle’s performance, emphasizing the team’s aggressive style. The Panthers aim to maintain this momentum as they prepare to face the New Orleans Saints next Sunday.… Continue Reading
ESPN broadcasting icon Dick Vitale is back for another season opener after his long fight to return from cancer. Vitale will call Tuesday’s game between No. 6 Duke and Texas in an event named in his honor. ESPN Events had announced the creation of the Dick Vitale Invitational over the summer. A lengthy cancer fight kept Vitale off the airwaves for two years until he returned late last season. In an AP interview, Vitale says he feels “lucky” to be able to keep working at 86 years old after that lengthy fight.… Continue Reading
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Rico Dowdle rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns, and his big run in the final minute set up Ryan Fitzgerald’s last-second 49-yard field goal as the Carolina Panthers beat Green Bay 16-13. The Packers’ three-game winning streak ended, and they lost star tight end Tucker Kraft to a knee injury in the third quarter. Dowdle had been splitting time with Chuba Hubbard, but Panthers coach Dave Canales said Dowdle would get the bulk of the carries, and the move paid off. He made one big mistake, getting flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after a touchdown. But his 19-yard run got the Panthers in range for the winning kick.… Continue Reading
TORONTO (AP) — Will Smith homered in the 11th inning after Miguel Rojas connected for a tying drive in the ninth, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in Game 7 to become the first team in a quarter century to win consecutive World Series titles. Los Angeles overcame 3-0 and 4-2 deficits and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to become the first repeat champion since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees, and the first from the National League since the 1975 and ’76 Cincinnati Reds. Smith hit a 2-0 slider off Shane Bieber into the Blue Jays’ bullpen, giving the Dodgers their first lead of the night.… Continue Reading
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Duke Scott ran for a career-best 196 yards in place of injured Atlantic Coast Conference rushing leader Hollywood Smothers to help N.C. State stun No. 8 Georgia Tech 48-36 on Saturday night. That ended the Yellow Jackets’ unbeaten run after their first 8-0 start since 1966. Scott had a late 30-yard TD run that effectively sealed the win. CJ Bailey threw for 340 yards and accounted for three TDs for the Wolfpack. Haynes King threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more for Georgia Tech. This was N.C. State’s first win against a top-10 team since September 2021.… Continue Reading