PANTHERS-SAINTS
Panthers pound Saints 41-10
NEW ORLEANS (AP) β Cam Newton passed for three touchdowns, appeared to incite a scuffle with frustrated New Orleans after he went over the pile for another score, and the Panthers ended a six-game skid with a 41-10 rout of the Saints on Sunday.
Jonathan Stewart added a 69-yard touchdown as the Panthers (4-8-1) pulled within a game of NFC South leader Atlanta (5-7), which plays at Green Bay on Monday night.
Newton’s jawing and “Superman” celebration of his 2-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter drew a shove from linebacker Curtis Lofton, igniting a scrum that went from a closed gate behind the goal post and into a tunnel.
Panthers tight end Brandon Williams was ejected for punching Cam Jordan, but Carolina kept rolling.
Newton’s scoring passes went to Kelvin Benjamin, Greg Olsen and Fozzy Whitaker.
New Orleans (5-8) lost its fourth straight home game to drop a half-game behind Atlanta.
RED WINGS-HURRICANES
Tatar leads Red Wings past Hurricanes 3-1
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) β Tomas Tatar scored two goals and Pavel Datsyuk added a goal and two assists, leading the Detroit Red Wings to a 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.
Petr Mrazek made 34 saves for the Red Wings, who have won three in a row and seven of eight.
Jay McClement scored for Carolina, which has lost three of four. Cam Ward stopped 19 shots.
It was Hurricanes coach Bill Peters’ first game against his former boss and mentor Mike Babcock. Peters was an assistant to Babcock for three seasons in Detroit.
T25-SOUTH CAROLINA-DUKE
No. 1 South Carolina women top No. 9 Duke 51-50
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) β A’Ja Wilson’s putback with 1.8 seconds left lifted No. 1 South Carolina past No. 9 Duke 51-50 on Sunday.
Asia Dozier scored 11 points and Wilson finished with 10 for the Gamecocks (8-0), who trailed by four with less than 20 seconds left.
Rebecca Greenwell had 12 points and foul-plagued All-American Elizabeth Williams had all five of hers in the final 4Β½ minutes. Duke (5-3) had 22 turnovers and is on its first three-game losing streak since 2007-08.
South Carolina trailed 50-46 in the final minute before Tiffany Mitchell hit a 3 with 17.9 seconds left. Khadijah Sessions then stole the ball from Greenwell and the Gamecocks called timeout with 10.9 seconds left.
They worked it to Mitchell, who missed in the lane with about 4 seconds left. The rebound went to Wilson, who scored in traffic.
Ka’lia Johnson’s desperation heave at the buzzer didn’t come close.
T25-ARKANSAS-CLEMSON
Hall rallies Clemson past No. 18 Arkansas 68-65
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) β Rod Hall scored 11 of his 19 points in the final minute of regulation and overtime to rally Clemson to a 68-65 victory over No. 18 Arkansas on Sunday night.
The Tigers (5-3) trailed 57-51 on Bobby Portis’ layup with 1:17 to go. That’s when Hall led the Clemson comeback. He made a layup before converting a Razorbacks’ turnover into another basket. Rashad Madden coughed up the ball again for Arkansas, and Jaron Blossomgame made a layup to tie the game at 57-57.
Hall started the extra period with a 3-pointer to put Clemson out front for good.
Michael Qualls hit a 3-pointer to bring Arkansas within 68-65 with 1:01 to play. But that was as close as the Razorbacks (6-2) would get.
Qualls had 21 points and Portis 18 for Arkansas.
Blossomgame added 17 points for Clemson, which defeated its second Southeastern Conference opponent this season.
T25-CLEMSON-WATSON
Clemson’s Swinney says QB may have surgery sooner
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) β Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said injured quarterback Deshaun Watson may have surgery to repair a torn knee ligament sooner than expected.
Swinney said the Tigers star freshman played with a torn ACL in a 35-17 victory over rival South Carolina on Nov. 29. The coach said then that Watson would be available for the bowl game. However, Swinney said he’d decide in the next day or two if Watson would undergo the operation before No. 18 Clemson (9-3) faces Oklahoma (8-4) in the Russell Athletic Bowl on Dec. 29. Swinney said it would give Watson a jump start on rehab if that’s the decision.
Watson missed four games with injuries this fall. He threw for 269 yards and accounted for four TDs in the win over South Carolina.
LIMESTONE-UNC ASHEVILLE
UNC Ashville rolls past D-II Limestone 91-66
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) β Andrew Rowsey had 22 points, David Robertson 15 and three players had 12 as UNC Asheville defeated Limestone 91-66 on Sunday.
The Bulldogs (3-4) broke a three-game losing streak by hitting 10 of 22 3-pointers and shooting 49 percent from the field.
The Division II Saints (2-5) were led by Walter Cole with 19 points and Shaq Dance with 17. Limestone shot just 30 percent from the field but kept it respectable by hitting 23 of 26 free throws.
Kem Ubaru, and reserves Alec Wnuk and Kevin Vannatta had 12 each for Asheville.
Limestone was down 14-12 when Asheville went on a 15-2 run with Rowsey scoring nine points and Robertson converting a three-point play and hitting a 3-pointer to make it 29-14 4:48 before the half. Another surge pushed it to 20 and Rowsey’s three-point play gave the Bulldogs a 47-24 lead at the half.
RUSSELL ATHLETIC BOWL
No. 18 Clemson, Oklahoma in Russell Athletic Bowl
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) β Clemson and Oklahoma will meet in the Russell Athletic Bowl on Dec. 29 in the matchup of Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12 foes.
The game will be played in the renovated Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium. It is the silver anniversary of game.
No. 18 Clemson (9-4) is making its sixth appearance in Orlando, its last coming in the 2005 Champs Sports Bowl when it earned a victory over Colorado. The Tigers finished second in the ACC’s Atlantic Division behind unbeaten Florida State.
Oklahoma (8-4) is making its second trip to Citrus Bowl Stadium, having lost to the Tigers in coach Barry Switzer’s last college game in the 1989 bowl. A win this year would give the Sooners double-digit wins for the 13th time in 15 seasons.
INDEPENDENCE BOWL
South Carolina, Miami meet in Independence Bowl
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) β South Carolina will face Miami in the Duck Commander Independence Bowl on Dec. 27.
The Gamecocks started the season as one of the favorites to win the Southeastern Conference, but struggled on the way to a 6-6 record, including a 3-5 mark in conference play. Quarterback Dylan Thompson has thrown for 3,280 yards and 24 touchdowns.
Miami also has a 6-6 record and finished 3-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Hurricanes lost three straight games to end the regular season. Duke Johnson has run for 1,520 yards and 10 touchdowns this season.
It’s the first time Miami has ever played in the Independence Bowl. South Carolina is back for the first time since 2005. It’s the first meeting between the two teams since 1987.
