KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Alex Smith threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns, Spencer Ware ran for 114 yards and a score, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills 30-22 on Sunday in a matchup of teams in the AFC wildcard race.

Jeremy Maclin had nine receptions for 160 yards and a touchdown, and Cairo Santos hit three field goals for the Chiefs (6-5), who have won five straight after a five-game skid. Tyrod Taylor had 291 yards passing and three touchdowns for Buffalo (5-6), but he was mostly held in check in the second half. So was Sammie Watkins, who had all six catches for 158 yards and his two touchdowns over the first 30 minutes.

The Bills had a chance for a tying touchdown when they took over at their own 10 with 3:25 left, but the Chiefs stopped them on fourth-and-9 with 2:16 to go to seal it.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Jarrod Uthoff scored 22 points, Adam Woodbury had 15 and Iowa beat No. 20 Wichita State 84-62 in the seventh place game at the AdvoCare Invitational on Sunday. Mike Gesell added 14 points for Iowa (4-2)

Wichita State (2-4) got 14 from Eric Hamilton. Ron Baker, who entered averaging 20.2 points, was held to eight. Both teams lost their first two game at the invitational.

Short-handed Wichita State played without forward Anton Grady, who is at an area hospital recovering from what doctors believe is a spinal cord concussion that happened during a collision with an Alabama player in Friday’s game. Doctors found no signs of spinal cord trauma.

Wichita State senior guard Fred VanVleet sat out all three games of the invitational with a hamstring injury.

The first of Iowa’s two shotgun deer hunting seasons starts next Saturday (Dec. 5th), and hunters may need to brush up on their safety skills in preparation. Megan Wisecup, the hunter education administrator with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, offers a few tips. “One of the main ones is just going back to the basic firearms safety rules,” Wisecup says. “You want to treat every firearm as if it’s loaded, always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, be sure of your target and what’s beyond it and keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot.”

Depending on the weather next weekend, foul conditions could raise even more dangers for hunters. They need to be vigilant in their awareness of the rules, she says, like when climbing over a fence. Wisecup says “Take some extra precautions when you have different weather factors coming into play, especially when you’re crossing an obstacle. If it’s snowy, icy, definitely take the extra time to unload that firearm while you’re crossing the obstacle or use another member of your hunting party to hold your firearm while you cross that obstacle.”

Last year, there were 14 deer hunting-related incidents in Iowa during the two shotgun seasons. There were two personal injuries and 12 property damage incidents. If the weather is especially cold, hunters need to be particularly cautious if they’ve layered their clothes.  Wiscup says “When you’re bundled up, with the extra bulk of coats and fingers, make sure you’re careful when you’re handling your firearm. You could easily get caught, one of the fingers in the gloves in the trigger guard area and cause it to accidentally discharge.”

Iowa’s first shotgun season runs December 5th through the 9th, with the second running from December 12th through the 20th. Learn more at: http://www.iowadnr.gov/Hunting/Deer-Hunting.

(Radio Iowa)

NICEVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Georges Niang scored 23 points and helped lead a decisive run during the second half of fourth-ranked Iowa State’s 84-73 victory over Illinois Saturday in the championship game of the Emerald Coast Classic.

Jaylon Tate’s layup gave the Illini a 58-57 lead before Iowa State (5-0) went on an 18-4 run to take control. Niang scored six points, while Monte Norris (20 points, nine rebounds) and Abdel Nader (18 points) had four apiece.

Matt Thomas was also in double figures for the Cyclones with 10 points in Florida. Malcolm Hill led Illinois (3-4) with 20 points while Kendrick Nunn added 19 and Mike Thorne Junior 10.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Aaron Bailey threw for three touchdowns and Tyvis Smith rushed for 147 yards and a score to lead Northern Iowa to a 53-17 win over Eastern Illinois in the FCS playoffs Saturday night. Bailey only threw 11 passes, completing 7 for 162 yards. Northern Iowa (8-4) plays at sixth-seeded Portland State in the second round.

Northern Iowa broke the game open in the second quarter as Michael Schmadeke kicked three of his four field goals, Bailey hit Daurice Fountain for a 32-yard score and Smith scored on a 1-yard run for a 23-7 lead.

Bailey connected with Charles Brown on a 52-yard score and Fountain for 41 yards when Northern Iowa built the lead to 43-17 after three quarters. Ray Buchanan Jr. added a 70-yard interception return to close it out. Jalen Whitlow completed 27 of 49 passes with one touchdown but had two interceptions for Eastern Illinois (7-5), which had four turnovers.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Kale Abrahamson and Reed Timmer scored 23 points apiece as Drake beat Illinois-Chicago 83-62 on Saturday. Abrahamson hit 7 of 12 from the field including six from distance for the Bulldogs (3-3). Timmer hit 9 of 14 from the field including three 3-pointers. Graham Woodward added eight points and eight assists. The team averaged 52.5 percent shooting from the field and 61.1 percent from the line.

An Abrahamson 3-pointer capped a 13-8 start for the Bulldogs on their way to a 36-30 lead at the break. Abrahamson hit two more 3s early in the second half to extend Drake’s lead to 10, 42-32, and Timmer hit another to make it 56-41 with 11:27 to play. From there, the Bulldogs cruised to the win. Dikembe Dixson led the Flames (1-2) with 13 points and six rebounds.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — Paul Jesperson scored 18 points and Northern Iowa trounced North Dakota 97-51 on Saturday. Jesperson was 5 of 7 from the floor with four 3-pointers and grabbed six rebounds. Klint Carlson added 15 points.

The first half was a tale of two extremes: Northern Iowa (4-1) came out fast and shot 70 percent (21 of 30) before intermission, including 9 of 13 from beyond the arc, to score 54 points heading into the break. Jesperson led the way with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3. The Panthers finished with 12 3-pointers on 19 attempts (63 percent).

On the other hand, North Dakota (2-4) was ice cold, accounting for just 20 points in the first half. The Fighting Hawks were 7 of 29 from the floor (24 percent) and just 2 of 10 on 3-point attempts — and only three players made the scoresheet. Quinton Hooker led North Dakota with 14 points.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Skyler Howard threw one touchdown pass and ran for another score to lead West Virginia to a 30-6 win over Iowa State on Saturday. Josh Lambert kicked three field goals for the Mountaineers (7-4, 4-4 Big 12), who won their fourth straight.

Bowl-eligible West Virginia finishes at Kansas State next Saturday and can reach eight wins in the regular season for the first time since coach Dana Holgorsen’s first season in 2011. Iowa State, with two field goals, was held out of the end zone for the first time this season. The Cyclones (3-9, 2-7) went winless on the road for the first time since 2008.

The game was the finale for Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads, who was fired last Sunday and bows out with a career record of 32-55.

CEDAR PARK, Texas (AP) — Ally Disterhoft led a balanced attack with 15 points and No. 25 Iowa defeated Houston 64-50 on Saturday at the Lone Star Showcase. Alexa Kastanek added 13 points, Carly Mohns 11 and Megan Gustafson 10 with eight rebounds for the Hawkeyes (6-1), who took control when they outscored the Cougars 22-11 in the second quarter.

Iowa closed the first quarter with a 7-0 run, the last five by Disterhoft and then closed the half with 11 straight, including three straight 3-pointers, before a Serithia Hawkins layup for the Cougars. Iowa, which rebounded from a double overtime loss to No. 23 George Washington on Friday, stretched its 38-23 halftime lead to 23 points in the middle of the third quarter.

Houston (1-5) was led by Hawkins with 12 points and eight rebounds. The Hawkeyes went 17 of 23 from the foul line while Houston was just 3 of 7.

w/ Chris Parks

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