Wellsville bowlers 7-1

EAST LIVERPOOL — The Wellsville bowling team upped its mark to 7-1 by downing Youngstown Ursuline, 2125-1801, Monday at Walnut Lanes.

Makayla Landess had a 211 game and 403 series for the Tigers. William Lockhart had 205 game and 366 series and Madelyn Landess a 204 game and 354 series.

Wellsville will be off until a Jan. 4 home match against JFK.

Central downs West Branch

CANTON — Canton Central Catholic’s freshman boys basketball team was a 28-25 winner over West Branch on Monday. Dane Martucci had 11 points for the Warriors, 2-5. Judah Kutz added eight points.

Cougars take Potato Bowl

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Zevi Eckhaus threw for a season-high 334 yards with three touchdowns and Washington State piled up 628 yards of offense, beating Utah State 34-21 to win the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Monday at Albertsons Stadium.

Eckhaus completed 26 of 44 passes but also threw three interceptions for the Cougars (7-6), who will return to a rebuilt Pac-12 Conference next season.

— along with the Aggies (6-7), and host school Boise State.

Maxwell Woods carried nine times for 117 yards, becoming the first Cougar to top 100 this season.

Defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit filled in as interim head coach after the Cougars lost their third head man in three seasons when Jimmy Rogers left for Iowa State after one season. The Cougars lost head coach Jake Dickert to Wake Forest prior to Rogers’ arrival. WSU hired Missouri offensive coordinator Kirby Moore to take the reins next season. Moore was in attendance.

Eckhaus fired a 41-yard touchdown pass to freshman Mackenzie Alleyne for a 7-0 lead after one quarter. Alleyne had one catch for 9 yards entering play.

Eckhaus threw interceptions on WSU’s next two drives but the Aggies failed to score.

Eckhaus had a 1-yard touchdown toss to junior tight end Hudson Cedarland in the second quarter for a 14-0 lead at halftime. Cedarland entered with one career catch for 4 yards.

Stevens kicked short field goals in the third quarter before Bryson Barnes scored on a 2-yard keeper to cut it to 20-7 heading to the fourth.

Eckhaus had a 39-yard touchdown pass to Landon Wright in the fourth quarter as 12 different receivers finished with at least one catch. Backup quarterback Julian Dugger scored on a 34-yard run with four minutes remaining.

Barnes had 116 yards on 9-for-21 passing for Utah State before a hard hit sent him to the sidelines in the second half. Backup Jacob Conover completed 5 of 7 for 78 yards with fourth-quarter touchdown throws to Brady Boyd covering 21 yards and a 26-yarder to Javen Jacobs with 1:48 remaining.

It was the Cougars’ first postseason victory since beating Iowa State 28-26 in the 2018 Alamo Bowl.

Cavaliers end losing streak

CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points and De’Andre Hunter had 15 of his 27 in the second half, powering the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 139-132 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.

Darius Garland added 27 points and 10 assists for Cleveland, which pulled away in the second half to snap a three-game losing streak. The Cavaliers also had lost three straight at home and are 2-5 at Rocket Arena since Nov. 30.

LaMelo Ball led Charlotte with 23 points and nine assists, making six 3-pointers. Rookie Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller each had 20 points, while Moussa Diabate grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds.

Hunter gave the Cavaliers a big boost early in the third quarter, remaining on the court after being bloodied by a flagrant foul to his face by Diabate. He made both free throws, then a 3-pointer on the subsequent possession to push their lead to 98-85.

Dean Wade chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds for Cleveland, which took its largest advantage at 131-112. Lonzo Ball had six points and seven assists in the middle contest of a three-game homestand that precedes the Cavaliers’ Christmas Day game at New York.

Mitchell ended the first half by banking in a 28-footer at the horn, giving him 18 points and the Cavaliers a 70-63 advantage. Garland scored 17 points, while Knueppel and Ball each had 15 for Charlotte.

There were 12 lead changes and 10 ties before intermission, but neither team went up by double digits.

Hornets center Mason Plumlee exited with right groin soreness in the third and did not return. He started in place of rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner, who was a game-day scratch because of a sprained left elbow.

The Cavaliers host New Orleans tonight.

Purdy throws 5 TD passes to lead 49ers

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Brock Purdy threw a career-high five touchdown passes and Dee Winters returned an interception of Philip Rivers’ final pass 74 yards for a score to lead the San Francisco 49ers to a 48-27 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night.

Purdy was 25 of 34 for 295 yards with one interception. Christian McCaffrey rushed 21 times for 117 yards and caught six passes for 29 yards and two scores. George Kittle had seven receptions for 115 yards and one TD.

The 49ers (11-4) won their fifth straight to stay in the chase for the NFC’s top seed, one day after clinching a playoff spot by virtue of Detroit’s loss to Pittsburgh. San Francisco also snapped a five-game losing streak in the series, beating Indy for the first time since Jim Mora’s infamous “playoffs” rant in November 2001.

But 44-year-old Rivers sure didn’t make it easy on San Francisco in his second game back after a five-year layoff. He was 23 of 35 for 277 yards, two TDs and the one interception. The Colts (8-7) have lost five straight overall and six of their last seven as their playoff hopes continue to fade.

Their loss clinched playoff spots for Buffalo, Jacksonville and the Chargers.

Rivers opened the scoring with a 20-yard TD pass to Alec Pierce, who had four receptions for 86 yards and two scores. Purdy countered with a 22-yard scoring pass to Demarcus Robinson.

After the Colts fumbled away the ensuing kickoff, Purdy hooked up with McCaffrey for a 2-yard TD pass to make it 14-7 late in the first quarter. Rivers tied the score early in the second by neatly fitting a 16-yard throw to Pierce in a tight window. Purdy broke the tie with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Kittle.

Indy and San Francisco then traded late field goals and Eddie Pineiro’s 64-yard attempt hit the crossbar as time expired.

The track meet continued in the second half as Purdy capped the first possession with a 15-yard TD pass to Jauan Jennings, making it 31-17.

Jonathan Taylor’s 1-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter cut Indy’s deficit to 34-27, but the 49ers sealed it with a 9-yard touchdown pass to McCaffrey with 7:37 to play and Winters’ interception return with 3:26 to play.

Injury report

49ers: Kittle injured his ankle while making a cut during the third quarter, and linebacker Tatum Bethune injured his right ankle late in the third quarter.

Colts: Indy opened the game without either of its starting offensive tackles — Braden Smith (concussion) and Bernhard Raimann (elbow) — then lost center Tanor Bortolini with a concussion on the third offensive play of the game. Then they lost starting RG Dalton Tucker with shoulder injury in the second half. The Colts also lost DE JT Tuimoloau with an oblique injury in the first half.

Stat sheet

49ers: Purdy has seven TD passes in the last two games, the most over a two-game stretch by a 49ers quarterback since 2001. … San Francisco has scored in 22 consecutive quarters, its longest streak since 1995.. … For the second straight week, Thomas Morstead did not punt.

Colts: Taylor’s TD early in the fourth gave him 17 rushing scores this season, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Lenny Moore for the second-highest single season total in franchise history. … Indy lost its first game of the season while topping the 20-point mark.

Up next

49ers: Host Chicago on Saturday night in a possible playoff preview.

Colts: Close out the home schedule Sunday against AFC South leading Jacksonville.