ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Brice Sensabaugh scored 27 points, Collin Sexton added 20 and Walker Kessler grabbed 17 rebounds for the Utah Jazz in a 105-92 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday night.
Sensabaugh shot 11 for 19 from the field including 5 of 6 on 3-pointers in 28 minutes off the bench.
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Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) battles for a rebound between Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony, left, and center Goga Bitadze (35) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton, left, goes up to shoot as Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony, top right, defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley, right, talks with guard Cory Joseph, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Orlando Magic guard Jett Howard (13) goes up to dunk as Utah Jazz forward Kyle Filipowski (22) defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (28) shoots in front of Orlando Magic guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Johnny Juzang, Kyle Filipowski and Svi Mykhhailiuk scored 12 points each for Utah, who have won two in a row.
Jett Howard led Orlando with a career-high 21 points. Wendell Carter Jr. had 15 points and Cole Anthony added 12 points in his first start since the final game of the 2022-23 season.
The Magic shot 36% overall and made 14 of 47 3-point shots (30%).
Jazz: After winning seven games in the first 10 weeks of the NBA season, the Jazz picked up two victories in 24 hours in Florida, and they did it without most of their starting lineup. Lauri Markkanen, John Collins and Keyonte George, each of whom played 26 minutes or more on Saturday, did not play Sunday.
Magic: With Jalen Suggs joining Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Mo Wagner on the injured list, the Magic played without their top four scorers. Suggs, who strained his back on Friday night, missed his third game of he season. Banchero, who has missed 32 games with a torn oblique, is expected to play soon.
Sensabaugh, coming off a career-high 34 points in Miami on Saturday, hit two 3-pointers and scored eight straight Utah points early in he fourth quarter, stretching an 11-point lead to 17.
The Jazz are 6-4 against Eastern Conference competition, and 3-21 against the West. Seven of their nine wins have come on the road.
Jazz: Play at home against Atlanta on Tuesday night.
Magic: Play at New York on Monday night.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) battles for a rebound between Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony, left, and center Goga Bitadze (35) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton, left, goes up to shoot as Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony, top right, defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley, right, talks with guard Cory Joseph, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Orlando Magic guard Jett Howard (13) goes up to dunk as Utah Jazz forward Kyle Filipowski (22) defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (28) shoots in front of Orlando Magic guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Cam Miller ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more in his 54th consecutive start as North Dakota State's quarterback, and the Bison won their record 10th Football Championship Subdivision title, beating top-seeded and previously undefeated Montana State 35-32 on Monday night.
North Dakota State (14-2) made the trip from Fargo to Frisco for the 11th time in 14 seasons. Its previous title there was three years ago, in a game that also had Miller and Montana State’s Tommy Mellott as the starting quarterbacks.
Miller completed 19 of 22 passes for 199 yards and ran 18 times for 121 yards to win his 45th game (out of 56 starts) and his second national title.
“Cam Miller was the best quarterback on the football field today. There was no doubt about it,” said first-year NDSU coach Tim Polasek, who was an assistant for the Bison's first two titles in Frisco at the end of the 2011 and 2012 seasons. “Tommy’s a good football player, there’s no question about that either. But all year long, these guys have answered the bell with complimentary football.”
Montana native Mellott had a 44-yard touchdown run that got the Bobcats (15-1) within 28-25 early in the fourth quarter. He won the Walter Payton Award this season as the FCS’ top offensive player in a close vote over Miller.
Mellott ran for 135 yards on 14 carries and was 13 of 24 passing for 195 yards and two touchdowns. He threw a 19-yarder to Taco Dowler with 1:09 left before an unsuccessful onside kick attempt.
“Our offense was a little bit stagnant there in the first half unfortunately and we came up short because of it,” Mellott said. “Guys kept fighting, it's very easy 21-3 to quit ... and we came back out there and we had a group of guys that fought for this team, fought for the seniors.”
The Bison never trailed after Miller capped the game's opening drive that took more than seven minutes with a 2-yard plunge. Miller had an empty backfield behind him on their second possession when he got the snap and sprinted 64 yards untouched up the middle for another touchdown.
“It was a draw play with an option to pass as well ... they played the perfect front and the perfect coverage for it for us. It just parted,” Miller said. “It didn’t feel real honestly. Usually when we run draws, you’ve got to make a few guys miss. And there was nobody there.”
Miller threw a 1-yard TD to Bryce Lance right before halftime for a 21-3 lead. Lance's FCS-best 17th TD came one play after a catch near the front pylon when he was ruled out of bounds inside the 1 after a replay review. He is the younger brother of former NDSU quarterback Trey Lance, who made on Sunday made his first start for the Dallas Cowboys before attending the FCS title game.
Bryce Lance, who finished with nine catches for 107 yards, had a diving 38-yard reception on the final play of the third quarter to set up Miller's 1-yard TD pass to Joe Stoffel to restore a 10-point lead.
“The way the game played out, they played better than us and, you know, ultimately put ourselves in a big hole,” said Montana State coach Brent Vigen, a former NDSU player and assistant coach. “Obviously this is a low point ... having 15 victories and you can’t finish it off."
North Dakota State is still the only team in modern college football to have a 16-0 season, five years ago when it also won the national title. ... The Bison's only title game loss in Frisco was two years ago to South Dakota State.
Montana State has gone 40 years since winning its last national title. The Bobcats have a 21-18 series lead over North Dakota State, but have lost the last six meetings — all in the FCS playoffs since 2010. They lost 35-34 in the second round last season after a blocked extra point in overtime.
North Dakota State opens the 2025 season at The Citadel on Aug. 30, which will be the first time since midway through the 2021 season that someone other than Miller will start at quarterback for the Bison.
Montana State plays its 2025 opener at Oregon of the Big Ten on Aug. 30. The only previous meeting in that series was in 1947.
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North Dakota State wide receiver Bryce Lance, right, is hugged by his brother, Dallas Cowboys NFL football quarterback Trey Lance, following the FCS Championship NCAA college football game against Montana State, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in Frisco, Texas. North Dakota State won 35-32. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
North Dakota State wide receiver Bryce Lance catches a pass near the Montana State goal line during the first half of the FCS Championship NCAA college football game, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in Frisco, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
