GREEN MAG

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Milan Momcilovic scored 20 points and Iowa State sank 11 3-pointers to propel No. 10 Iowa State to a dominant 81-58 win overNo. 1Purdue on Saturday.

Momcilovic, Killyan Toure and Joshua Jefferson all hit three 3-pointers. Toure scored 13, Blake Buchanan 12, and Jefferson 11 for the Cyclones (9-0). Iowa State shot 59% in the second half.

"We played our absolute best," Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger said. "When you play an elite competitor and tremendous program and have the respect we have for the program, you know it's going to take your best and we were fortunate enough to do that. We made enough shots and made enough plays."

Leading 35-31 at halftime, the Cyclones used an 11-0 run to take a 48-33 lead with 17:17 left. Tamin Lipsey, Momcilovic and Toure sank three consecutive 3-pointers to finish the spurt.

NO. 3 MICHIGAN 101, RUTGERS 60

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Morez Johnson Jr. scored 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting, and Michigan won its fifth consecutive game by 25 or more points, beating Rutgers.

The Wolverines scored more than 100 points for the third consecutive game, a feat last accomplished during their 1989 national championship season.

Yaxel Lendenborg had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Wolverines (8-0, 1-0) in their Big Ten opener. Trey McKenney added 13 points, and Elliot Cadeau had 11 points and nine assists.

Michigan shot 60% from the field while making its case for the No. 1 spot in the AP poll afterNo. 1 Purduelost earlier in the day. The Maize Rage student section did its lobbying with several "No. 1" chants late in the game.

Freshmen Harun Zrno and Kaden Powers led Rutgers (5-5, 0-2) with 13 points apiece. Zrno, a 21-year-old from Bosnia and Herzegovina, made his first career start.

NO. 4 DUKE 66, MICHIGAN ST. 60

East Lansing, Mich. (AP) — Cameron Boozer scored 18 points, including 16 in the second half, and Caleb Foster added 12 points Saturday to help No. 4 Duke hold on for a victory over No. 7 Michigan State in a game that had the intensity of an NCAA Regional Final.

Boozer, who entered averaging nearly 27 points a game, also had 15 rebounds for the Blue Devils (10-0). Duke's start is its best open to a season since winning the first 11 games in 2017-18.

A combination of missed open shots and tight defense kept the game close. The teams traded the lead nine times and were tied four times in the second half.

NO. 6 LOUISVILLE 87, NO. 22 INDIANA 78

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Ryan Conwell had 21 points and Louisville turned a fast start into a victory over Indiana.

Conwell made a triumphant return to his hometown, where he starred at Pike High School. The senior point guard made three 3-pointers and went 10 for 11 at the free-throw line. The Xavier transfer is averaging a team-high 19.5 points per game.

Louisville (8-1) made three 3-pointers while scoring the first 16 points. Indiana (7-2) missed eight shots and committed four turnovers before scoring its first basket on a Sam Alexis dunk with 13:28 left in the first half.

IU's Lamar Wilkerson hit a 3 to close the gap to 52-44 with 13:42 remaining in the game, but Conwell responded with a 3-pointer and sank three consecutive free throws.

Tucker DeVries led the Hoosiers with 26 points and four 3s. He hit 12 of 13 free throws. Nick Dorn added 15 points and Wilkerson had 12.

J'Vonne Hadley and Isaac McNeely each scored 15 for Louisville. Sananda Fru and Kobe Rodgers had 12 apiece.

WASHINGTON 84, NO. 24 SOUTHERN CAL 76

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hannes Steinbach had 24 points and tied his career high with 16 rebounds, and Washington rallied from an 18-point, first-half deficit to beat Southern California, snapping an 11-game skid to the Trojans with its first win in Los Angeles since 2017.

Desmond Claude added 22 points and Wesley Yates III had 16 for the Huskies (6-3, 1-1 Big Ten).

Chad Baker-Mazara scored 21 points for the Trojans (8-1, 1-1). Jordan Marsh added 17 points.

The Trojans were without Rodney Rice, their second-leading scorer at 20.3 points per game who has a shoulder injury. Guard Amarion Dickerson is out for three to four months with a right hip injury.

NO. 25 ARKANSAS 82, FRESNO STATE 58

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, ARK. (AP) — Darius Acuff Jr. scored 18 points to lead Arkansas to a win over Fresno State at Simmons Bank Arena.

Arkansas (7-2) followed up its victory over No. 6 Louisville with a second straight win.

The Razorbacks blew open the game with a 22-6 run to open the second half and led by as many as 32 points. They outscored Fresno State 26-11 in transition and went 11 for 30 (36.7%) from 3-point range compared to the Bulldogs' 4 for 26 (15.4%).

Meleek Thomas and DJ Wagner each scored 12 points while Karter Knox contributed 11.

Jac Mani and Wilson Hacques each scored 12 points for Fresno State (6-4).

DETROIT (AP) —Jalen Buckley had touchdown runs of 67 and 64 yardsand Western Michigan won the MAC Championship, defeating Miami of Ohio 23-13 on Saturday.

Buckley's 67-yard touchdown burst on the third play of the game gave the Broncos the early lead. Palmer Domschke added three field goals in the first half, the last from 50 yards, and the Broncos led 16-6 at halftime. Buckley's 64-yard TD run made it 23-6 early in the third quarter.

In the regular-season matchup between the two, Miami scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, rallying to a 26-17 victory. This time, Western Michigan did not falter.

A couple of possessions after Miami closed to within 23-13 with 6 1/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Western Michigan drove to the 1-yard line before turning the ball over on downs. Facing a 10-point deficit and 99 yards to go in less than two minutes, the RedHawks only reached their own 16-yard line.

Buckley finished with 193 yards on 19 carries for the Broncos (9-4). His career high was 196 as a freshman against Toledo in 2023.

Broc Lowry had 111 yards passing and 65 yards rushing for the Broncos, who had 286 yards on the ground, 397 total.

Kam Perry had 101 receiving yards for Miami (7-6) and the RedHawks managed 272 yards of total offense.

Both teams will play in a bowl, Miami for the ninth time in the past 10 seasons.

Among its five bowl alliances, the Mid-American Conference does not have a specific tie-in for its conference champion.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football:https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-pollandhttps://apnews.com/hub/college-football

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Sepp Straka made three birdies and two eagles on the par 5s for an 8-under 64 and seized on some late misses by Scottie Scheffler to take a one-shot lead Saturday going into the final round of the Hero World Challenge.

Straka chipped in for eagle on the par-5 sixth and played great golf just to keep pace with Scheffler, who had five straight 3s on his scorecard to start the third round and was 9 under for his round through 15 holes.

Scheffler, going for a third straight win at Albany Golf Club, has stumbled over the final three holes every day this week — a double bogey on the 16th on Thursday, a bogey on the 16th on Friday, and then a bogey-par-bogey finish.

He still had a 65 and will be in the final group with Straka on Sunday.

Straka seized on the par 5s. Along with his chip-in on the sixth hole, he holed an 18-foot eagle putt on the downwind, par-5 15th. He also hit a 3-wood that landed perfectly in front of the green at the par-5 ninth that rolled out to 15 feet for a two-putt birdie.

He trailed Scheffler by three shots through five holes, and by two shots with four holes left. But Straka was bogey-free on the day and finished at 18-under 198.

"He definitely got it going quick," Straka said of the world's No. 1 player. "It didn't look like he was going to miss a putt there for a little bit. But it's golf, it usually evens out a lot and I just tried to focus on my own game."

The only par 4 that Straka birdied was No. 7, where the tee was moved back. That kept players from trying to drive the green and instead tested them with a wedge to a dangerous back-left pin. Straka took it on and hit it to 7 feet.

Scheffler, who went left of the 16th fairway the opening two rounds — one of those leading to a penalty drop from a bush — this time found the short grass and it wasn't much better. He had an awkward stance, tugged it left into a bunker and the ball buried in the sand, leading to bogey.

He also dropped a shot on the 18th by missing the green to the right — water is left — leaving a tricky pitch up the slope.

"A few unfortunate breaks, but overall did some really good stuff," Scheffler said.

Alex Noren (67) and Hideki Matsuyama (68) were three shots behind Straka, while J.J. Spaun and Wyndham Clark each shot 69 and were four behind.

AP golf:https://apnews.com/hub/golf

CARACAS (AP) — Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leaderMaría Corina Machadodemonstrated Saturday in several cities worldwide to commemorate her Nobel Peace Prize win ahead of the prestigious award ceremony next week.

Thousands of people marched through Madrid, Utrecht, Buenos Aires, Lima and other cities in support of Machado, whose organization wants to use the attention gained by the award to highlightVenezuela's democratic aspirations. The organization expected demonstrations in more than 80 cities around the world on Saturday.

The crowd in Lima carried portraits of Machado and demanded a "Free Venezuela." With the country's yellow, blue and red flag draped over their backs or emblazoned on their caps, demonstrators clutched posters that read, "The Nobel Prize is from Venezuela."

Verónica Durán, a 41-year-old Venezuelan who has lived in Lima for eight years, said Machado's Nobel Peace Prize is celebrated because "it represents all Venezuelans, the fallen and the political prisoners in their fight to recover democracy."

In neighboring Colombia, a group of Venezuelans gathered in Bogotá, the capital. They donned white T-shirts and carried balloons as part of a religious ceremony in which supporters asked that the Nobel Peace Prize "be a symbol of hope" for the Venezuelan people.

Meanwhile, in Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires, some 500 people gathered on the steps of the law school at the country's largest university, improvising a torchlit march with their cell phones.

"We Venezuelans in the world have a smile today, because we celebrate the Nobel Prize of María Corina and of the entire Venezuelan diaspora and of all the brave people within Venezuela, who have sacrificed themselves...we have so many martyrs, heroes of the resistance," said Nancy Hoyer, a 60-year-old supporter.

The woman considered U.S. intervention in Venezuela "necessary."

The gatherings come at a critical point in the country's protracted crisis as the administration ofU.S. President Donald Trumpbuilds up amassive military deploymentin the Caribbean, threatening repeatedly to strike Venezuelan soil. Venezuela's PresidentNicolás Madurois among those who see the operation as an effort to end his hold on power, and the opposition has only added to this perception by reigniting its promise to soon govern the country.

"We are living through times where our composure, our conviction, and our organization are being tested," Machado said in a video message shared Tuesday on social media. "Times when our country needs even more dedication because now all these years of struggle, the dignity of the Venezuelan people, have been recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize."

Machadowon the award Oct. 10for her struggle to achieve a democratic transition in the South American nation, winning recognition as a woman "who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness."

Machado, 58, won the opposition's primary election and intended torun against Maduroin last year's presidential election, but the government barred her from running for office. Retired diplomat Edmundo González, who had never run for office before, took her place.

The lead-up to the July 28, 2024, election saw widespread repression, including disqualifications, arrests and human rights violations. It all increased after the country's National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, declared him the winner despite credible evidence to the contrary.

González sought asylum in Spain last year after a Venezuelan court issued a warrant for his arrest.

Meanwhile, Machado went into hiding and has not been seen in public since Jan. 9, when she was briefly detained after joining supporters in what ended up being an underwhelming protest in Caracas, Venezuela's capital. The following day, Maduro was sworn in for a third six-year term.

Associated Press reporters César Barreto in Lima, Perú; Ramiro Barreiro in Montevideo, Uruguay; and Cristián Kovadloff in Buenos Aire, Argentina, contributed.

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — For the past two Christmases, John Juka's family restaurant looked about the same as any business inBethlehem: shuttered and eerily empty.

But on Saturday evening, it bustled with families and was lit by strings of red lights, a hopeful change in the Palestinian city that's been reeling since war broke out inGaza.

Christmas celebrations are slowly returning to the traditional birthplace of Jesus in the Israeli-occupiedWest Bank.

While a shaky ceasefire holds in Gaza, Palestinians hope the festivities are a step toward a more peaceful future in a region shaken by tragedy.

"It's not like it was before the war," 30-year-old Juka said. "But it's like life is coming back again."

Muslim-majority city thrives on Christmas

Tourism and religious pilgrims have long been a prime economic engine for Bethlehem. Around 80% of the Muslim-majority city's residents live off it, according to the local government.

Those earnings ripple out to communities across the West Bank, a territory long marked by economic precarity.

"When we have 10,000 visitors and pilgrims sleeping in Bethlehem, that means the butcher is working, the supermarket is working and everybody is working," said Bethlehem Mayor Maher Nicola Canawati. "There's a ripple effect."

That economic lifeline vanished when war broke out in Gaza following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. Bethlehem's authorities canceled major Christmas celebrations during Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza, whose health ministry has reported over 70,000 Palestinians killed.

At the same time, Israel's military scaled up operations in the West Bank, including communities near Bethlehem.

The unemployment rate in the city jumped from 14% to 65%, the mayor said. Poverty soared, and about 4,000 people left in search of work.

A United Nations report last month said the West Bank is going through its most severe economic downturn on record, citing the ongoing Israeli military operations.

Now Bethlehem residents seek a comeback.

"The decision we took was to reignite the spirit of Christmas and to reignite hope," the mayor said. "I think this sends a great message to the whole world that we Palestinians love life and we are eagerly looking forward to a peaceful solution."

Some tourists return

On Saturday, crowds lined with heavily armed police cheered following a prayer calling for peace, and fathers hoisted children onto their shoulders as a towering Christmas tree lit up Manger Square, near the site where Christians believe Jesus was born.

For families like Juka's that struggled to keep businesses afloat during the war, the sight of the crowds felt like a deep exhale after years of uncertainty.

The family opened the restaurant serving traditional Palestinian food in 1979. As many businesses in Bethlehem buckled during the latest war, the family wondered how long they could hang on.

In August, as ceasefire negotiations picked up momentum, Juka said he began to see visitors walking the streets, and his family decided to reopen. "Tourists finally feel safe to come back," he said. "We're hopeful that we might see peace in our future."

In November, tourist visits to the city reached the highest since the war began, Canawati said, and reservations suggest that hotels will be at around 70% occupancy during Christmas.

Still, few in the hundreds of people gathered in Bethlehem's square were foreign tourists, and residents said celebrations were nowhere near the size they used to be.

West Bank tensions

Another West Bank resident, 29-year-old Issa Montas, said tensions in the territory have cast a pall over the holiday celebration.

While Bethlehem has long been a religious haven of relative calm, violence and military raids have been occurring regularly nearby. Israel's military has said it is cracking down on militants in the West Bank and responding to aggression.

On Saturday, Israel's military said its forces shot dead two Palestinian men who it said tried to ram soldiers with their vehicle at a security checkpoint in Hebron, south of Bethlehem. Palestinian health authorities confirmed at least one of their deaths.

Military checkpoints have turned commutes into sometimes day-long endeavors. Montas, who paints homes in Jerusalem for a living, said he traveled six hours from his home in Ramallah, less than 20 miles (32 kilometers) away, just to reach Bethlehem.

At the same time,Israeli settler attackson Palestinians in the West Bank have reached the highest levels since the U.N. humanitarian office started collecting data in 2006, peaking in recent months.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government is dominated by far-right proponents of the settler movement, has said the perpetrators are "a handful of extremists."

Montas spoke with frustration. "I see a lot of violence, but no one can stop them, not even the Israeli army or police can control them. They allow them to do this," he said of settlers. "It just feels like whatever I say, it will be useless because no one cares."

Still, even he expressed cautious hope on Saturday as children ran through packs of street vendors and a mix of Christmas and Arabic music floated over the crowds.

"This (celebration) is not just for us. It's for everyone. Christian, Jewish, Muslims," Montas said. "This Christmas is for everyone."