The Gophers football program continued to address its needs along the offensive line on Saturday, getting commitments from Washington left tackle Kahlee Tafai and Kentucky left guard Dylan Ray out of the NCAA transfer portal.

The U has four starters leaving after this season, including both tackles — Aireontae Ersery to the NFL Draft and Phillip Daniels in a transfer to Ohio State — and both senior guards Quinn Carroll and Tyler Cooper.

The Gophers have added 13 total players through the transfer portal, including right guard Marcellus Marshall (Central Florida) last week.

Tafai, who is listed at 6-foot-5 and 330 pounds, moved into the Huskies’ starting lineup during his freshman season in 2024. He has three years of eligibility remaining.

A native of Lawndale, Calif., Tafai played 267 offensive snaps in the Big Ten last season but had a low 38.5 overall grade from Pro Football Focus in his first extensive college experience. He also played a few snaps at right tackle a year ago.

Ray, who is listed at 6-6 and 310, has played more than 1,000 snaps over the last two seasons for Kentucky after beginning his career with two years at West Virginia. He started 10 games for the SEC program in 2023, but only two last year.

The Noblesville, Ind., native had a near-average grade of 57.5 from PFF in 2024. He has one year of eligibility remaining for the U next fall.

— Andy Greder

College basketball

St. Thomas men extend win streak to six games

Miles Barnstable had a season-high 23 points, and Drake Dobbs tied his career high with 18 as St. Thomas beat Bowling Green, 93-68, Saturday afternoon in Bowling Green, Ky.

Dobbs added five assists, and Ben Oosterbaan finished with a team-high eight rebounds as the Tommies (10-4) extended their winning streak to six games. St.

Thomas held the Falcons (4-7) to only three field goals over the last 10 minutes of the first half.

Kendall Blue added 16 points, and Carter Bjerke finished with 15 for the Tommies, who are off until play at UC Riverside on Dec. 29.

-Staff report

St. Thomas women fall short against Drake

Jade Hill led five players in double figures with a team-high 24 points, and the Tommies shot 52% from the field, but the defending Missouri Valley champion won in St. Paul.

All five Tommies starters scored in double-digits for the first time this season. Amber Scalia finished with 19 points. Sammy Opichka and Jo Langbehn each added 11, and Jordyn Lamker finished with 10.

Opichka also led the team with five rebounds and five assists.

-Staff report

golf

Tiger, Charlie Woods share lead at PNC

Tiger Woods and his 15-year-old son Charlie are tied for the lead in the PNC Championship.

They made five straight birdies on the back nine for a 59 in the scramble format. Also tied for the lead are the last two champions, Bernhard Langer and son Jason and Vijay Singh and son Qass. The tournament concludes Sunday.

Woods is playing for the first time since September surgery on his lower back. He says he was rusty and downplayed his game because of the scramble format. This is his fifth straight appearance.

Boxing

Usyk beats Tyson to defend heavyweight title

Oleksandr Usyk remained undefeated when he successfully defended his heavyweight titles with a unanimous decision over Tyson Fury on Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Judges Gerardo Martinez, Patrick Morley and Ignacio Robles had identical scorecards in favor of Usyk, 116-112.

Usyk landed 179-of-423 (42%) punches thrown, while Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) landed just 144 of the 509 punches he threw, a 28% clip.

NBA

Mazzulla fined for postgame comments

Joe Mazzulla’s Christmas greetings were costly.

The NBA fined the Boston Celtics coach $35,000 on “for aggressively pursuing and directing inappropriate language toward a game official” at the end of his team’s loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.

Mazzulla’s outburst followed Boston getting whistled for three technical fouls in the fourth quarter of that loss.

Jazz, Pistons players fined for altercation

Utah’s Jordan Clarkson was fined $35,000 by the NBA on Saturday, and Detroit’s Ron Holland II and Paul Reed were also penalized for their roles in an altercation between the Jazz and Pistons.

Clarkson received the largest penalty for escalating an on-court altercation and throwing his headband into the stands after being ejected.

Holland II was also cited for escalating the altercation and fined $25,000, while Reed was penalized $15,000 for initiating it.

Reed appeared to shove Clarkson on his way back down the court after a basket with 1:37 left in Utah’s 126-119 victory in Detroit on Thursday. Holland and Clarkson then exchanged words and had to be separated, and both players were ejected.

Nets’ Claxton fined for throwing ball in stands

The NBA fined Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton $25,000 for throwing the ball into the stands during a game in Toronto.

Claxton was assessed a technical foul and ejected after the incident. Claxton was on a fast break when fouled by Kelly Olynyk near the top of the key. He continued toward the basket and then flipped the ball into the stands. The NBA does not allow players to toss balls into the stands.

NHL

Capitals place Eller on injured reserve

The Washington Capitals placed Lars Eller on injured reserve due to illness and recalled fellow forward Henrik Rybinski from Hershey of the American Hockey League.

— From news services