MADISON, Wis.  – For the second consecutive game, Minnesota was unable to close out after leading at halftime.

The short-handed Gophers, playing without injured leading scorer Cade Tyson, let a 35-17 halftime lead slip away as Wisconsin rallied for a 67-63 victory in a Big Ten matchup Wednesday night as Minnesota’s losing streak reached six games.

Grayson Grove #2 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers scores past Hayden Jones #13 of the Wisconsin Badgers during the first half of the game at Kohl Center on January 28, 2026 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)

“Obviously, we came out ready to play tonight. Guys had great spirit, great fight about them. Had the lead at halftime,” said Minnesota coach Nikeo Medved. “Wisconsin’s a terrific team and program. We knew they were going to make a run.”

Tyson, averaging a team-best 20.1 points per game, was out after suffering an ankle injury Sunday in a 76-57 home loss to No. 5 Nebraska, a game the Gophers led 36-30 at the half.

“Every game’s different, but this game was kind of the same story,” said Bobby Durkin, who led the Gophers with 20 points, but had just three in the second half. “Just didn’t find a way to pull it out at the end.

Isaac Asuma added 16 points and Langston Reynolds 12 for Minnesota (10-11, 3-7 Big Ten), which had just seven scholarship players available. Reserve forward Nehemiah Turner also was out.

“This group has been kicked,” Medved said. “I’ve never been through a season with this many injuries with guys. We had two more guys out today. These guys just never quit. They just battle and keep coming back for more.”

John Blackwell had 23 points, including 8 of Wisconsin’s final 11, and Nick Boyd scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half as the Badgers overcame a dismal shooting first half.

Wisconsin, which trailed 35-17 at the half, rallied to take its first lead of the second half at 51-50 on Boyd’s baseline jumper with 6:22 remaining.

The Badgers came back with a 15-2 run after the break, pulling within 37-32 on Blackwell’s 3-pointer.

Blackwell hit another 3-pointer from the left top to cut the lead to 39-37 with 10 ½ minutes remaining.

Asuma hit a jumper and a 3-pointer to put the Gophers up 47-39, but Wisconsin rallied within 47-44 on Boyd’s driving lay-in.

Braeden Carrington, who spent his first two seasons with the Gophers, was fouled on a 3-pointer from the right corner and added the free throw to make it 50-49.

Langston Reynolds #6 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers goes up for a shot past Nolan Winter #31 of the Wisconsin Badgers during the first half of the game at Kohl Center on January 28, 2026 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)

“I think they came out with some high-level intensity on defense,” Durkin said. “But I don’t think we executed the way that we needed to. There’s definitely some things we’ll look at on film and try to clean up.”

Wisconsin shot 17.9 percent in the first half and 70.0 percent in the second, making 14 of 20, including 9 of 15 from deep. The Badgers also were 13 of 18 from the free-throw line in the second half, after going 3 of 4 in the first half.

Durkin matched the Badgers first-half scoring total with 17 points, but had one more field goal.

Durkin hit 6 of 7 shots, including 4 of 5 from deep, while Wisconsin shot just 17.9 percent in the first half, hitting 5 of 28 shots – 4 of 16 from three-point range and 1 of 12 inside the arc.

In the early going, the Gophers bore little resemblance to the team outscored by 25 points in the second half in the loss to Nebraska.

Reynolds put the Gophers on top 20-6 early as Wisconsin hit just 2 of its first 15 shots.

The lead ballooned to 27-9 when the Gophers turned a Wisconsin turnover into a jumper by Kai Shinholster from the top of the key.

Asuma banked in a 3-pointer from straight on and Durkin added another 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to push the lead to 35-15.

Boyd scored on drive ahead of the buzzer for Wisconsin’s first field goal after eight consecutive misses over a span of more than 5 ½ minutes.

Wisconsin, which has won 11 straight against Minnesota, won the first matchup two weeks ago at Minnesota, 78-75, on Blackwell’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

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Ecuador’s minister of foreign affairs has filed a protest with the U.S. Embassy after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents tried to enter the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis without permission Tuesday.

A video of the attempt on social media shows a consulate staffer running to the door to turn the ICE agents away, telling them, “This is the Ecuadorian consulate. You’re not allowed to enter.” One ICE officer can be heard responding by threatening to “grab” the staffer if he touched the agent before agreeing to leave.

International law generally prohibits law enforcement authorities from entering  foreign consulates or embassies without permission, though sometimes permission may be assumed granted for life-threatening emergencies, like fires.

“Consulate officials immediately prevented the ICE officer from entering the consular building, thus ensuring the protection of the Ecuadorians who were present at the time and activating the emergency protocols issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility,” the ministry wrote on X.

A “note of protest” was filed with the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador so that similar attempts aren’t made at other consulates, the ministry said. The State Department, Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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DALLAS (AP) — Julius Randle scored 31 points, Naz Reid added 23 and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the short-handed Dallas Mavericks 118-105 on Wednesday night.

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) works to the basket for a shot as Dallas Mavericks’ Naji Marshall, left, defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

The Mavericks were without rookie No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg, who sat for left ankle injury management on the first night of a back-to-back. Flagg played the previous three games after an ankle sprain sidelined him for two games.

Klay Thompson sat with left knee soreness for Dallas, which is without 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis due to a hand injury. Star guard Kyrie Irving hasn’t played all season after tearing an ACL last March.

Anthony Edwards scored 20 points for the Timberwolves, who have won consecutive games since a five-game losing streak that is their longest of the season.

P.J. Washington Jr. scored all 21 of his points in the second half for the Mavericks. Naji Marshall had 18 points and Brandon Williams 17.

Randle was 12 of 21 from the field and made all seven of his free throws. He has scored at least 21 points in 11 of his past 12 games against his hometown team.

Dallas’ Max Christie had a four-game streak of 20-point games stopped on a 1-of-8 shooting night, finishing with nine points. He was 7 of 8 free throws, but his teammates were just 19 of 31 from the line as Dallas shot 67% (26 of 39).

The Mavericks, who trailed for all but 26 seconds, had trimmed a 16-point deficit to eight late in the fourth quarter when Reid made a 3-pointer to start a 12-3 run to finish the quarter.

The Dallas deficit was 10 in the fourth quarter when Reid hit a short jumper and another 3 for a 106-91 lead. Reid had eight rebounds and three steals.

Minnesota improved to 29-19 overall and 13-11 away from home with the win. The Timberwolves return home for an 8:30 p.m. tip-off on Thursday against Oklahoma City. The game will be televised on Prime Video.

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By MICHAEL BIESECKER and JESSE BEDAYN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Pretti was forcefully taken to the ground by federal immigration agents after kicking out the tail light of their vehicle during a Minneapolis protest 11 days before he was shot and killed by Border Patrol officers, videos that emerged Wednesday showed.

The Jan. 13 scuffle was captured in a pair of videos that showed Pretti shouting an expletive at the federal officers and struggling with them. His winter coat comes off when he’s on the ground and he either breaks free or the officers let him go and he scurries away.

When he turns his back to the camera, what appears to be a handgun is visible in his waistband. At no point do the videos show Pretti reaching for the gun and it is unclear whether the federal agents saw it.

A person with knowledge of the incident confirmed to The Associated Press that the man in the videos is Pretti and that he had told his family of the confrontation, according to a person who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters sensitive to the family.

The new videos immediately rekindled the national debate about the death of Pretti, 37, an intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, posted one of the videos on X and commented, “Just a peaceful legal observer.”

Steve Schleicher, a Minneapolis-based attorney representing Pretti’s parents, said the earlier altercation in no way justified the officers fatally shooting Pretti on Saturday.

“A week before Alex was gunned down in the street — despite posing no threat to anyone — he was violently assaulted by a group of (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents,” Schleicher said. “Nothing that happened a full week before could possibly have justified Alex’s killing at the hands of ICE on Jan 24.”

Homeland Security Investigations “is reviewing” the new videos and incident, a spokesperson with the department said. It’s not known if any of the officers involved were also there when Pretti was killed.

Last weekend’s fatal shooting occurred on a sidewalk next to the street where Pretti had been videoing immigration officers. In video taken by bystanders, one officer pushes him, then Pretti is taken to the ground and a half-dozen officers try to subdue him. One spots Pretti’s weapon, which he was licensed to carry, and shouts, “He’s got a gun.” Two officers then open fire and Pretti is killed.

Trump administration officials quickly reacted, saying Pretti had approached officers with a gun and attacked them.

The altercation and shooting was captured in multiple videos and showed Pretti never brandished his gun and didn’t assault any officer. He was holding his phone when he was shot in the back while on the ground.

The new videos from the week prior to the shooting came from two sources. One, published by the Minnesota Star Tribune and later obtained by the AP, was taken by Max Shapiro, a witness who filmed the interaction. The second was by a crew for The News Movement, an online media outlet.

The videos show Pretti wearing glasses, a dark baseball cap and a winter coat yelling at federal vehicles, at one point appearing to spit and yell “trash” toward the driver’s side of a dark Ford Expedition with flashing red and blue lights.

As the vehicle pulls slowly away, Pretti kicks at the taillight and then delivers a second kick that shatters the red plastic and leaves the taillight dangling. The rear door of the SUV then swings open and an immigration officer wearing a gas mask and helmet gets out and starts walking toward Pretti.

The officer grabs Pretti’s shirt at his chest, pulling him back toward the vehicle as Pretti’s arms flail. The officer pulls Pretti back onto the street and down onto his knees, falling over Pretti in the scuffle.

Other masked and helmeted officers surround them and try to subdue Pretti. Others stand guard between them and a screaming crowd, before the officers set off tear gas canisters and withdraw.

After Pretti stumbles away, a man filming approaches and asks if he is OK.

Pretti affirms that he is, before turning to others involved in the melee and asking: “Are we all OK? Are we all safe?”

___

Bedayn reported from Denver.