VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — Freshman D.J. Wilkins had a season-high 20 points — his 10th consecutive game scoring in double figures — to help Drake beat Valparaiso 70-59 on Saturday night and extend its win streak to four games. Wilkins hit 4 of 8 from 3-point range, grabbed six rebounds and had four assists. Nick McGlynn and Tremell Murphy added 11 points apiece and Brady Ellingson scored 10 for Drake (16-5, 5-3 Missouri Valley Conference).

Murphy’s dunk midway through the second half capped a 9-2 spurt that gave the Bulldogs a 50-41 lead and it was at least a two-possession game the rest of the way. Wilkins converted a 3-point play and then hit a jumper to spark a 7-0 run that made it 67-55 with 1:36 to play.

Sackey and Jaume Sorolla led the short-handed Crusaders (12-9, 5-3) with 13 points apiece. Ryan Fazekas, Valpo’s leading scorer, missed his fifth consecutive game due to an ankle injury and it was announced before the game that starting center, and second-leading scorer, Derrik Smits wouldn’t play due to an undisclosed injury. Marcus Golder, who came in third on the team at 10.9 points per game, left the game with an apparent injury to his left leg less than five minutes in.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Spencer Haldeman scored 24 points off the bench and Northern Iowa beat Evansville 81-74 on Saturday night, snapping a two-game skid. Trae Berhow added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Panthers (9-12, 4-4 Missouri Valley Conference). Isaiah Brown had 12 points and Luke McDonnell had 10 points and led the team with a career-best 14 rebounds.

Northern Iowa trailed 36-31 at the break and was down 48-40 early in the second half when Haldeman sank a layup and 3-pointer to spark a 16-4 run capped by a Brown 3 to go ahead 56-52 with 8:26 to go. Haldeman hit two more 3-pointers back-to-back to push it to 66-60 with 5:33 left and Evansville never threatened after that.

John Hall scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Purple Aces (9-12, 3-5), who are on a three-game skid. K.J. Riley added 19 points.

(Update 10-a.m. 1/27) — The 2019 edition of RAGBRAI will start in Council Bluffs on July 21st and come to Atlantic on July 22nd. The ride continues through the 27th with overnight stops in Winterset, Indianola, Centerville, Fairfield and Burlington.

The 2019 route is 427 miles with 14,735 feet of climb, the eighth easiest route in the rides 47 year history. The 2019 ride is also the sixth shortest and eighth flattest. The full route, including pass-through towns and vehicle directions, is expected to be released in March.

Bailey Smith, Executive Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce says “We are excited to see RAGBRAI has named Atlantic as a host community. RAGBRAI has always expressed how much they love coming to Atlantic and we’re excited to show not just the state of Iowa, but cyclists from the country and around the world what kind of people and community we are.”

Kipp Harris, who has chaired the last two RAGBRAI visits, and Nick Harris will co-chair RAGBRAI 2019. Smith says “Hosting RAGBRAI is a community wide effort and we’re pleased to have Kipp & Nick stepping up to lead the charge. RAGBRAI gives Atlantic a lot of positive exposure while supporting local organizations and non-profits. We look forward to partnering with community leading entities as well as community minded individuals to have a successful RAGBRAI 2019.”

More details about committee and volunteer needs will be available in the coming weeks. For more information regarding RAGBRAI 2019, please visit www.ragbrai.com.

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Iowa State whipped the basketball around and through Mississippi’s zone with precision and purpose, finding open players on nearly every possession during the second half.
By the time the Rebels figured out where the ball was, one of the Cyclones was usually slamming it through the hoop or making another open jumper.

The result was No. 24 Iowa State’s impressive 87-73 victory over No. 20 Ole Miss in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday. Freshman Talen Horton-Tucker scored 23 points and sophomore Lindell Wigginton added 18. The 6-foot-4 Horton-Tucker, who leads all Big 12 freshmen in scoring, made 11 of 18 shots from the field and added eight rebounds and five assists. Marial Shayok added 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range.

Ole Miss was led by Breein Tyree with 22 points and Davis with 16. Iowa State’s streak of 13 straight made shots was a clinic on offensive efficiency. The Cyclones made a few tough shots during the run, but several came at point-blank range, including six layups and a dunk. The Cyclones bounced back from a close loss to Kansas earlier in the week and looked very much like a quality NCAA Tournament team. Iowa State was a little sloppy with turnovers, but it didn’t matter because of the great shooting.
UP NEXT: Iowa State hosts West Virginia on Wednesday.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Ric Hanson.

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BOYS BASKETBALL

A-H-S-T-W, Avoca 66, Missouri Valley 37

ADM, Adel 58, Perry 31

Ar-We-Va, Westside 70, Woodbine 54

Atlantic 57, Red Oak 47

Audubon 66, Tri-Center, Neola 61

Boyer Valley, Dunlap 55, West Harrison, Mondamin 49

CAM, Anita 59, AC/GC 56

Central Decatur, Leon 74, Southwest Valley 39

Clarinda Academy 84, Heartland Christian 36

Coon Rapids-Bayard 63, Glidden-Ralston 23

Creston 78, Shenandoah 34

Denison-Schleswig 66, St. Albert, Council Bluffs 54

East Mills 65, Griswold 20

Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton 68, Paton-Churdan 24

Logan-Magnolia 76, Riverside, Oakland 37

Mount Ayr 86, East Union, Afton 47

Nodaway Valley 71, Southeast Warren, Liberty Center 28

Omaha Skutt Catholic, Neb. 75, Glenwood 50

Panorama, Panora 72, Earlham 61

Sioux City, West 67, Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 65, OT

Stanton 68, Fremont Mills, Tabor 36

Treynor 56, IKM-Manning 46

Van Meter 51, Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 42

Winterset 55, Carroll 46

Bluegrass Conference Tournament Quarterfinal=

Mormon Trail, Garden Grove 71, Orient-Macksburg 44

GIRLS BASKETBALL

A-H-S-T-W, Avoca 74, Missouri Valley 37

ADM, Adel 68, Perry 39

Ar-We-Va, Westside 62, Woodbine 32

Boyer Valley, Dunlap 59, West Harrison, Mondamin 33

CAM, Anita 80, AC/GC 26

Central Decatur, Leon 64, Southwest Valley 44

Denison-Schleswig 57, St. Albert, Council Bluffs 32

Des Moines Christian 73, West Central Valley, Stuart 30

Glenwood 59, Lewis Central 54

Glidden-Ralston 63, Coon Rapids-Bayard 35

Griswold 35, East Mills 24

Logan-Magnolia 70, Riverside, Oakland 32

Mount Ayr 71, East Union, Afton 15

Nodaway Valley 60, Southeast Warren, Liberty Center 25

Panorama, Panora 52, Earlham 34

Paton-Churdan 59, Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton 47

Red Oak 56, Atlantic 47

Shenandoah 60, Creston 41

Sioux City, West 52, Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 38

Stanton 51, Fremont Mills, Tabor 37

Treynor 62, IKM-Manning 42

Tri-Center, Neola 68, Audubon 49

Twin Cedars, Bussey 23, Orient-Macksburg 16

Western Valley Conference Tournament First Round

Kingsley-Pierson 66, OA-BCIG 39

Ridge View 66, West Monona 52

Westwood, Sloan 69, Lawton-Bronson 49

Woodbury Central, Moville 62, Siouxland Christian 42

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs are hiring Steve Spagnuolo as their defensive coordinator, moving swiftly to replace Bob Sutton after his unit’s dismal performance against the Patriots in the AFC title game. Spagnuolo went 10-38 over three seasons with the St. Louis Rams and 1-3 as the Giants’ interim coach during the 2017 season.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — An Englishwoman has seen the best and worst that Twitter would have to offer the American football player who shares her name, if he had an account. Dee Ford told the Kansas City Star she was deluged with angry tweets from Kansas City Chiefs fans who thought they were venting at linebacker Dee Ford after his late penalty during Sunday’s AFC Championship loss. Oddly enough, she became a fan of the player and sport after being inadvertently tagged in a positive tweet to the player five years ago.

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The Big 12 is still good while all jumbled up in its standings. The league is the top conference in some key metrics going into the annual SEC/Big 12 Challenge. It is no surprise that No. 9 Kansas is atop the standings, but the 14-time defending champion Jayhawks are tied with streaking Sunflower State rival Kansas State. Baylor also has only two conference losses, and five other teams are within two games in the loss column with six weeks of conference play remaining.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Sometimes uneventful is a good thing. Two years ago at the Kansas City Royals’ FanFest, team members and staff had just returned from pitcher Yordano Ventura’s funeral in the Dominican Republic. Last year, the question was whether Ned Yost would be ready to manage after a near-fatal fall from a deer stand on his ranch outside Atlanta.

(Radio Iowa) — A key member of the Iowa House says there’s a “very good shot” sports betting will be legalized in Iowa this year – and he predicts the law will let gamblers use their smart phones to place wagers on sporting events. Representative Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton, is chairman of the House committee that will first consider a bill on sports betting. “I think the gambling is already going on across the state of Iowa. I think this will pull people out of the shadows and legitimize things,” he says, “as well they’ll be paying a tax.”

Wes Ehrecke, president and C-E-O of the Iowa Gaming Association, represents the 19 state-licensed casinos. The casinos are lobbying not only to set up a “sports book” area within their facilities, but they want a “mobile” aspect as well. “So if you’re age 21 and over, you’d come into the casino, prove you’re 21, establish an account through a password-protected, secure portal of the casino then to be able to place bets on a smart phone or a laptop anywhere within the state,” Ehrecke says. “Intrastate only.”

That means wagers could be placed by people who are in a stadium or an arena watching an Iowa college game, as it appears the bill to be considered would legalize wagering on “all” professional AND college sports. Last May, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled congress cannot prevent states from legalizing sports betting. Kaufmann says that created momentum for the bill.  “I think the consensus has been building for years,” Kaufmann says, “and I think one of the things that was preventing a bill from becoming law in year’s past was the fact that we knew that this Supreme Court ruling was coming down and we didn’t want to preempt them and do something that would then be nullified by a potential ruling.”

Kaufmann and Ehrecke made their comments during taping of the “Iowa Press” program that airs tonight (Friday) on Iowa Public Television.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs hired Steve Spagnuolo as their defensive coordinator Thursday, moving swiftly to replace Bob Sutton after his unit’s dismal performance against the Patriots in the AFC title game.

Spagnuolo began his coaching career as Chiefs coach Andy Reid’s assistant in Philadelphia, where he worked with several position groups over the course of eight seasons. He left to become the Giants’ defensive coordinator, and has held similar roles with the Saints and Ravens.

He’s best known for his two stints as head coach, though. Spagnuolo went 10-38 over three seasons with the St. Louis Rams and 1-3 as the Giants’ interim coach during the 2017 season.

“Steve is a bright defensive mind with a lot of coaching experience and success in our league,” Reid said in a statement. “I know him well from our time together in Philadelphia and I feel that his leadership skills and teaching abilities, combined with his scheme, will be a great fit for our team.”

Spagnuolo, who spent last season out of coaching, has primarily run a 4-3 defense, which would be a change from the 3-4 scheme that Sutton had run. But the Chiefs drafted last season as if they planned to move forward with two defensive tackles and two defensive ends, so the adjustment should not be a big one for a defense that returns many of its key pieces.

One big change will be the mentality of the defense.

Sutton orchestrated a bend-but-don’t-break approach to defense, while Spagnuolo — who learned under defensive mastermind Jim Johnson — prefers an aggressive, blitz-oriented approach. But he’s also been willing to adapt, running variations of his defensive scheme with the Giants.

Sutton was fired Tuesday, two days after his defense collapsed in the fourth quarter and overtime in a 37-31 loss to New England. The Chiefs failed to stop the Patriots in OT, meaning star quarterback Patrick Mahomes never got an opportunity to step on the field.

That was likely the final straw for Sutton, whose defenses regularly ranked among the worst in the NFL the past few seasons. The Chiefs were particularly bad against the run this season, and they allowed at least 29 points in each of their five losses this season.

Spagnuolo doesn’t come without some concerns, either.

While his Giants defenses finished in the top 10 three times, two of his last three units were last and second-to-last in yards allowed. And while the Eagles were regularly stout with Johnson as the coordinator and Spagnuolo in various roles, his Saints defense in 2012 allowed more yards than any other in history and Spagnuolo was ultimately fired after the season.

Now, the attention in Kansas City turns to Spagnuolo’s personnel.

Pass rusher Dee Ford is ready to hit free agency, though it’s becoming increasingly likely that he will be franchised. Defensive end Allen Bailey is also a free agent, while defensive tackle Chris Jones and cornerback Kendall Fuller are likely candidates for contract extensions.

Longtime safety Eric Berry has been beset by injuries the past few years, and he is set to take up $16.5 million of the salary cap next season, while linebacker Justin Houston carries a cap hit of $21.1 million next season. The Chiefs could cut both over the summer and free up substantial space, or they could attempt to restructure their deals for a more manageable number.

The Chiefs will be looking to plug holes just about everywhere on defense, but particularly at cornerback and middle linebacker. They are projected to have about $32 million in salary cap space and will have one first-round pick and two second-rounders in the upcoming draft.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Chris Parks.

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