#game-recap

#game-recap

It was a struggle all the way, but USC men's basketball continued its hot start with a 68-61 nonconference victory over Washington State on Sunday at Galen Center. The Trojans (10-1) led by three with five minutes remaining, but outscored the visitors 13-9 down the stretch to notch their second straight win. Jacob Cofie led the way with 21 points and 10 rebounds and Chad Baker-Mazara added 19 points, six rebounds and five assists.

The first period saw Tampa Bay generally carry the play, as they were more organized and efficient in their breakouts/puck play, while the Leafs frequently flipped the puck away and struggled to get it back. More excellence from Dennis Hildeby - and a last-ditch goal-line save by Troy Stecher - kept the Lightning at bay despite a 25-13 Tampa advantage in shot attempts and a 7-3 Tampa advantage in high-danger chances.

In his second NFL season, the immensely talented Maye has played with the poise and precision of a quarterback who has far more than his 25 games of NFL experience. He is a legitimate Most Valuable Player candidate, and should remain so even after an occasionally spotty performance in the Patriots' tense 26-20 victory Sunday over the Bengals - one in which he looked like the relatively inexperienced quarterback that he is, at least in the early going.

"One thing I can tell you is, there's no difference," Pitino said. "I told the team this the other day, when I coached, there were one or two guys on the team that could be knuckleheads on every team. This is like 15 sweethearts and really great guys. But, I told them, 'You're the most unfocused generation I've ever seen,'"

"We've got to clean up some of the penalties. We've got to clean up the execution and that is an ongoing thing that probably never ends," coach Sean Payton said.

"Just get ready to go on the road," Vrabel said of his message to the team after Sunday's victory. "Understand that that's how it goes in this league sometimes. It's tough. But embrace - don't let anybody take the joy of what we do. Joy is authentic. Joy comes from these guys caring about each other, being happy for the guy next to them that made a play.

PITTSBURGH -- For the first time in his career, Aaron Rodgers silenced chants of "Go Pack Go" as he rocketed a 24-yard completion to wide receiver DK Metcalf on Sunday night. For his first 18 years in the NFL, big plays like that would've ignited such a chorus. But with Rodgers playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the chants once used to celebrate and encourage him were instead meant to antagonize.

Raptors rookie Collin Murray-Boyles returned to the lineup after missing the first two games for the Raptors. He finished with 0 points, 2 rebounds and 0/4 from the field in 13 minutes. Scottie Barnes put up 33 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal in 33 minutes but it wasn't enough. Sandro Mamukelashvili added 16 points on 6 of 8 shooting in 21 minutes off the bench.

The Glendale Desert Dogs have snapped their seven-game losing streak. On Sunday evening, the Desert Dogs and Toronto Blue Jays prospects defeated the Salt River Rafters 10-4, moving their season record to 4-11. All three of the position players the Blue Jays sent to the Arizona Fall League played in this game, while none of the four pitchers made an appearance. Josh Kasevich batted cleanup, Cutter Coffey batted sixth, and Edward Duran batted eighth.

Max Domi and Matthew Knies each scored twice for the Toronto Maple Leafs, leading the team to a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames. Domi responded to the challenge issued by head coach Craig Berube, while Knies continued to operate as a constant offensive threat for the Maple Leafs. "Up and down. Missed a lot of camp. That always hurts a guy a little bit. Just kind of not fully healthy, in my opinion," Berube said of Domi following Tuesday's optional morning skate.