North Dakota State safety Dawson Weber celebrates his interception against Montana State with teammate Jasir Cox during the Bisons’ 38-10 win in the FCS Championship game on Saturday in Frisco, Texas. Michael Ainsworth/Associated Press
FRISCO, Texas — Hunter Luepke ran for three touchdowns in the first half and North Dakota State won its ninth FCS national championship in 11 seasons with a 38-10 win over Montana State on Saturday.
The Bison (14-1) have never lost when making the trip from Fargo to Frisco for the final Football Championship Subdivision game, going 9-0 since the 2011 season at the MLS soccer stadium north of downtown Dallas.
The Bobcats struggled after losing standout freshman quarterback Tommy Mellott to an ankle injury on the game’s opening drive.
Luepke, a 236-pound junior fullback who finished with 82 yards rushing, took a direct snap for a 6-yard TD just before halftime that put NDSU up 28-0.
He opened the scoring with a powerful 8-yard run, then had an 11-yard TD before Kobe Johnson broke free for a 76-yard sprint to the end zone.
Montana State (12-3) was in its first title game since 1984, when they won the championship then referred to as NCAA Division I-AA. The eighth-seeded Bobcats had won each of their first three playoff games by at least two touchdowns after Mellott took over as the starting quarterback.
The Bobcats trailed 35-0 before Blake Glessner’s 26-yard field goal midway through the third quarter.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
(1) BAYLOR 76, TCU 64: Adam Flagler rallied No. 1 Baylor with 18 of his 22 points in the second half, and the Bears (15-0, 3-0 Big 12) extended their national-best winning streak to 21 games with a victory over the Horned Frogs (10-2, 0-1) in Fort Worth Texas.
James Akinjo had 20 points and eight assists for the Bears, who went on a 14-0 run not long after falling behind by nine just seconds into the second half.
MIAMI 76, (2) DUKE 74: Kameron McGusty hit a hanging layup in traffic with 22.8 seconds left and the Hurricanes (13-3, 5-0 ACC) survived a final-play shot for the win to stun the Blue Devils (12-2, 2-1) in Durham, North Carolina.
Charlie Moore had 18 points and a career-high seven steals for the Hurricanes, who won their ninth straight game. This time, days after rallying from 18 down to beat Syracuse, Miami won at Duke’s famously rowdy Cameron Indoor Stadium with a fearless performance that had them repeatedly beating defenders off the dribble or on backcuts while answering every push by the homestanding Blue Devils.
(3) PURDUE 74, PENN STATE 67: Trevion Williams, coming off the bench for the first time in five games, scored 21 points including the final go-ahead basket, and the Boilermakers (13-3, 2-2 Big Ten) held off the Nittany Lions (7-6, 2-3) in University Park, Pennsylvania.
The 6-foot-11 Williams was 9-of-12 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds despite sitting out over eight minutes of the second half after picking up his third foul.
(5) UCLA 60, CALIFORNIA 52: Tyger Campbell scored 17 points, Johnny Juzang made a clutch 3-pointer late despite his worst shooting performance of the season, and the Bruins (10-1, 2-0 Pac-12) beat the Golden Bears (9-7, 2-3) in Berkeley, California.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 14 points as the Bruins made a victorious return to conference play after missing nearly a month due to COVID-19 issues.
Juzang, UCLA’s leading scorer and a preseason All-American, missed six of his first seven shots but drained a 3-pointer to put the Bruins ahead 55-43. Juzang had reached double figures in 17 consecutive games dating to last season, but finished Saturday with nine points.
(25) TEXAS TECH 75, (6) KANSAS 67: Bryson Williams scored 22 points, Clarence Nadolny had a career-high 17 and the short-handed Red Raiders (11-3, 1-1 Big 12) upended the sixth-ranked Jayhawks (12-2, 1-1) in Lubbock, Texas.
The Red Raiders never trailed in the second half. Ochai Agbaji’s 3-pointer with 1:12 left cut the Kansas deficit to four points, but Williams made two free thows and Kansas didn’t score again.
(9) AUBURN 85, FLORIDA 73: K.D. Johnson scored 23 points and the Tigers (14-1, 3-0 SEC) extended their winning streak to 11 with a victory over the Gators (9-5, 0-2) in Auburn, Alabama.
Auburn held off a big second-half surge by Florida, which was led by Colin Castleton’s 22 points and 10 rebounds. Anthony Duruji scored 14 for the Gators, while Myreon Jones added 13.
OKLAHOMA 79, (11) IOWA STATE 66: Umoja Gibson scored 20 points, and the Sooners (12-3, 2-1) rallied in the second half to defeat the Cyclones (13-2, 1-2) in Norman, Oklahom.
Tanner Groves scored 16 points and Elijah Harkless added 13 for the Sooners (12-3, 2-1 Big 12), who took control with a 14-0 run spanning five minutes late in the second half.
Oklahoma bounced back from a loss to No. 1 Baylor with a dynamic offensive performance. The Sooners shot 62% from the field overall and 82% in the second half. It was Oklahoma’s third win over a ranked team this season under first-year coach Porter Moser.
Izaiah Brockington and Tyrese Hunter each scored 20 points for Iowa State (13-2, 1-2).
(12) HOUSTON 76, WICHITA STATE 66: Josh Carlton had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Cougars (14-2, 3-0 American Athletic Conference) over the Shockers (9-5, 0-2) in Houston.
Carlton, who scored a career-high 30 points to go with 11 rebounds in a win Wednesday at South Florida, was eight of 12 from the field. He also blocked four shots.
OKLAHOMA STATE 64, (14) TEXAS 51: Keylan Boone came off the bench and scored 17 points, shooting 5 for 7 on 3-pointers and sending the Cowboys (8-5, 1-1 Big 12) past the Longhorns (12-3, 2-1) in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Bryce Williams contributed 11 points for the Cowboys, who had lost two in a row and four of five.
MISSOURI 92, (15) ALABAMA 86: Kobe Brown scored a career-high 30 points and added 13 rebounds as the Tigers (7-7, 1-1 SEC) beat the Crimson Tide (11-4, 2-2) in Columbia, Missouri, for their first win in three weeks.
The Tigers had been 0-2 with another game postponed because of COVID-19 issues since their last victory on Dec. 18. They hadn’t played since Dec. 29.
(16) PROVIDENCE 83, ST. JOHN’S 73: Nate Watson had 22 points and 11 rebounds to help the Friars (14-2, 4-1 Big East) rally in the second half and beat the Red Storm (9-4, 1-1) in Providence, Rhode Island.
It was the 300th career victory for Friars coach Ed Cooley. He is now 300-206 in 11 seasons at Providence and five seasons at Fairfield.
(16) KENTUCKY 92, GEORGIA 77: Oscar Tshiebwe had a careeer-high 29 points and 17 rebounds, TyTy Washington Jr. added a school-record 17 assists with 17 points, and the Wildcats (12-3, 2-1 SEC) shot 63% after halftime to pull away from the Bulldogs (5-10, 0-2) in Lexington, Kentucky.
Both teams looked to rebound from close losses, intensity reflected in a back-and-forth first half featuring 10 lead changes. Late baskets by Tshiebwe and Keion Brooks Jr. (14 points) helped the Wildcats lead 40-37 at halftime before mounting several spurts, including a 13-4 run over four minutes that made it 73-56. They made 22 of 35 in the second half and finished 40 of 70 (57%).
(21) LSU 79, (18) TENNESSEE 67: Tari Eason capped a 24-point, 12-rebound performance with a pivotal dunk in transition with 1:21 left, and the Tigers (14-1, 2-1 SEC) held on to beat the Volunteers (10-4, 1-2) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for the Tigers’ second-straight triumph over a ranked opponent.
Darius Days scored 15 before fouling out in the final minutes and Brandon Murray added 13 points for LSU, which has won two straight – including a victory over No. 16 Kentucky on Tuesday night – since its lone loss of the season at Auburn last week.
(19) VILLANOVA 79, DEPAUL 64: Collin Gillespie scored a season-high 28 points, and the Wildcats (11-4, 4-1 Big East) beat the Blue Demons (9-5, 0-4) in Chicago.
Gillespie shot 5 of 9 from the field and sank all five of his free throws in the second half as the Wildcats earned their fourth straight win. Gillespie also added a team-high four assists and four rebounds.
SAN DIEGO STATE 79, (20) COLORADO STATE 49: Matt Bradley scored 26 points and the Aztecs (10-3, 2-0 Mountain West) handed the Rams (11-1, 1-1) their first loss of the season in a game that wasn’t supposed to be played until March 1, in San Diego.
Chad Baker-Mazara added 14 points for SDSU, which outscored the Rams 43-17 in the second half for its largest victory margin ever against a ranked team. Colorado State had been one of three undefeated teams left in Division I coming into Saturday.
(24) SETON HALL 90, UCONN 87: Kadary Richmond scored 27 points, including 17 straight for the Pirates (11-3, 2-2 Big East) in the second half and then the go-ahead basket in overtime during a over the Huskies (10-4, 1-2) in Newark, New Jersey.
Jarden Rhoden had 15 points and six rebounds for Seton Hall (11-3, 2-2 Big East). He stole the ball from Tyrese Martin with 2.6 seconds left in OT and Bryce Aiken sealed the win with a pair of free throws, giving him 22 points.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
(18) BYU 94, PACIFIC 68: PROVO, Utah (AP) — Shaylee Gonzales scored 22 points to lead four in double figures and the Cougars (12-1, 2-0 West Coast Conference) rolled past the Tigers (3-9, 0-1) in Provo, Utah.
(12) IOWA STATE 78, TEXAS CHRISTIAN 47: Morgan Kane scored a career-high 17 points, Ashley Joens had her 40th career double-double and the Cyclones (14-1, 3-0 Big 12) rolled to a win over the Horned Frogs (4-6, 0-1) in Ames, Iowa.
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