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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had seven assists to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 114-111 victory over Sacramento on Friday night, sending the Kings to their 11th straight loss.

John Collins added 22 points and Brook Lopez and Kris Dunn each had 15 for the Clippers, who ended a two-game skid.

Darius Garland, acquired from Cleveland earlier in the week, remained out. He hasn't played since Jan. 14 because of a sprained big toe on his right foot.

Malik Monk had 18 points to lead Sacramento, which hasn't won since beating Washington at home on Jan. 16. Nique Clifford had 16 points and Dylan Cardwell and Devin Carter each had 14 for the Kings. De'Andre Hunter, also acquired from the Cavaliers this week, had six points in his second game for Sacramento.

The Clippers went into halftime trailing 49-48, but took the lead for good with 9:50 left in the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer from Lopez to make it 86-84.

Clippers: At Minnesota on Sunday.

Kings: Host Cleveland on Saturday night.

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

NEW YORK (AP) — With an impressive performance at a pulsating Madison Square Garden, No. 22 St. John's showed everyone that third-ranked UConn has a legitimate challenger in the Big East this season.

UConn St. John's Basketball

Zuby Ejiofor had 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Red Stormpowered past the Huskies 81-72 on Friday night,snapping their 18-game winning streak.

"We made a lot of big plays tonight, a lot of big plays, and I'm proud of our guys for just not panicking one bit at any point in the game," Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino said.

In the first showdown of the year between the Big East's top two teams, Dillon Mitchell added 15 points and Bryce Hopkins scored 14 for the Red Storm (18-5, 11-1), who have won nine straight and 14 of 16. They moved within a half-game of the first-place Huskies (22-2, 12-1) in the conference standings.

The victory also tied Pitino with Roy Williams for third place in Division I history with 903career wins on the court.

When it was over, a pumped-up Ejiofor went over to the St. John's student section to celebrate. The senior forward, the Big East preseason player of the year, also provided three blocks and two steals in a virtuoso performance.

"Just an all-around great atmosphere to play basketball. Friday night, MSG, great opponent, and, like Coach said, we had more of a home crowd than we thought, and the student crowd was engaged," Ejiofor said. "All the emotions really just flew out."

Silas Demary Jr. had 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists for UConn, but the junior point guard committed nine of his team's 15 turnovers in a matchup between the past two Big East champions.

"It was Great Adventure. It was a roller-coaster ride. I mean, it really was. He had some incredible plays," Huskies coach Dan Hurley said. "We were too loose with the ball."

Alex Karaban scored 17 for Connecticut before a sold-out crowd of 19,812 filled with roaring fans of both teams — but decidedly in favor of the Johnnies.

"I thought The Garden was as good as I've seen it," Pitino said. "I thought it was unbelievable how good The Garden was. ... Tremendous crowd."

Said Hurley: "I saw a lot of red. That felt like a real road game."

St. John's went 22 for 31 at the free-throw line, while the Huskies were 5 of 12.

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"They're grown men," Hurley said about the St. John's frontcourt, using a profanity for emphasis. "They're built for Big East games."

UConn's only other defeat this season came on Nov. 19 at home, 71-67 to undefeated Arizona, now the top-ranked team in the country.

The winning streak was the third-longest in school history.

"We've had an unbelievable run," Hurley said. "We haven't lost in months."

UConn shot 55% from the field, including 9 for 19 (47%) on 3-pointers, and held the Johnnies to 5 of 19 (26%) from beyond the arc. Hurley, however, said his team collapsed on defense in the second half and he thought his bench "was skittish a little bit."

St. John's reeled off a 10-0 spurt, capped by a 3 from Hopkins, to open a 55-45 lead with 13 minutes remaining. After trailing by 11, the Huskies responded quickly and cut it to 64-63 on a 3-pointer by Demary with 5:35 left.

But the Johnnies maintained their slim lead until a step-back 3 by Dylan Darling and a basket inside from Ejiofor made it 74-67 with 2:25 to play. UConn never got closer than four the rest of the way, and Mitchell's acrobatic tip-in helped the Red Storm hang on.

Pitino said he emphasized to his players over and over again to have no fear of failure.

"It was a really passionate game. It was a meaningful game. We knew exactly what we're playing for," Ejiofor said. "Our preparation leading up to this game was as great as it's been. ... We were able to lock in for a full 40 minutes and grind it out, do whatever it takes to win each and every possession."

It was the first time the schools squared off at The Garden with both ranked in the AP Top 25 since St. John's won the 2000 Big East Tournament championship game.

They meet again Feb. 25 in Hartford, Connecticut.

"I'm certainly going to celebrate tonight," Pitino said. "We've just got to keep it going and try and get better. ... What Bryce, Dillon and Zuby are doing in the frontcourt, it's pretty special."

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

NEW YORK — To no one's surprise, Round One betweenUConnandSt. John's men's basketballlived up to all the expectations on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.

But it was the No. 22-ranked Red Storm that emerged as the victor rather than the No. 3-ranked team in theBig East heavyweight matchup.

The Red Storm did so by doing something the Huskies excelled at heading into the game, something that makes them a national championship contender once again: by getting defensive stops down the stretch.

REQUIRED READING:UConn vs. St. John's basketball score, highlights of top 25 game

"I thought The Garden was as good as I've seen it," St. John's coach Rick Pitino said afterthe Red Storm's 81-72 win over the Huskies.

It was an entertaining contest that showed St. John's can go a full 40 minutes and grind out a win against a top-tier team like UConn. It also showed the Huskies are legit contenders once again, seeking a third national title in four years — even if their offense is still a work in progress.

"As hard a game as we've had to play all year," UConn coach Dan Hurley said.

For St. John's, it's the highest-ranked win since 2021 against Villanova, and the highest-ranked win at The Garden for the Red Storm since they took down No. 3 Duke on Jan. 30, 2011. It's also the first three-game winning streak against UConn since the 1999-2000 season, when St. John's swept the regular season series and won the Big East championship game.

3 straight wins over UConn for the Johnnies 👀@StJohnsBBallpic.twitter.com/J8Fso7KY1H

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB)February 7, 2026

The Red Storm's statement win, which puts them within a half-game of first place in the Big East standings, ended an 18-game win streak for the Huskies. It's the first loss for UConn since it fell 71-67 to then-No. 4 Arizona on Nov. 19, and it's just the second overall loss of the year for the Huskies.

"We work too hard to play like that and just lose," UConn forward Alex Karaban said. "We invested too much time to lose, and it's a hard feeling. It's not an easy feeling to sit with right now."

The Red Storm had to fight for their fourth Quad 1 win of the season after an even first half.

That fight began with a 16-6 run to begin the second half to claim a 10-point lead after Bryce Hopkins drilled a 3-pointer at the 13:03 mark. The Huskies allowed the Red Storm to stay in the game — and then grow a double-digit lead — with self-inflicted wounds (like four turnovers in more than six minutes) and by falling into foul trouble.

B HOP TRIPLE10-0 run for the Johnnies‼️pic.twitter.com/xYYiPiSwYP

— St. John's Men's Basketball (@StJohnsBBall)February 7, 2026

St. John's turned 15 UConn turnovers, nine of which came from Huskies point guard Silas Demary Jr., into 20 points. The nine turnovers were a season high for Demary, who has otherwise been a home run find out of the transfer portal for the Huskies this season.

"You've got to be in great shape to do what they do," Hurley said of the St. John's defense and the disruption it created for the Huskies' offense. "It disrupts your ability to get into what you want to do offensively.

"I don't think that we turned it over because of their pressure. We turned it over because we lost our (expletive) mind a little bit and they have great defense. That's a top 20 defense, easy. They're hard to beat."

That fight then continued with the St. John's response to UConn's 16-9 run midway through the second half, where it saw its 11-point lead sliced to a single point after Demary hit a 3-pointer from the corner of the Huskies' bench.

A second-chance, tipped-in jumper from Dillon Mitchell off a missed 3-pointer and a 3-pointer from Dylan Darling turned the energy in The Garden back the Johnnies' way, and they closed on a 12-7 run. St. John's physicality around the rim led to 16 second-chance points on nine offensive rebounds.

🔔🔔pic.twitter.com/Txz2eUQj7Y

— St. John's Men's Basketball (@StJohnsBBall)February 7, 2026

"We made a lot of big plays tonight, a lot of big plays," Pitino said. "I'm proud of our guys for not panicking one bit at any point in the game."

Zuby Ejiofer was also a difference maker for St. John's across his 34 minutes of action, as he stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 10 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steals.

"You know you're going to make me retire because I'm not living life without you," Pitino said of the preseason Big East Player of the Year.

It's the fourth game this season in which Ejiofor finished with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. His 21 points were a key driver of the 50 points the Red Storm received from their frontcourt, (Mitchell had 15 points and Hopkins 14).

"They're grown-ass men," Hurley said of the St. John's frontcourt. "... They are built for Big East games."

St. John's physicality also helped it earn its first top-25 win of the season. The Red Storm outscored the Huskies 42-22 inside the paint, and got to the line 31 times compared to UConn's 12 free-throw attempts.

Those reasons, and growing guard play, could make Pitino's squad a real tough out in the NCAA Tournament. The Red Storm entered the night on the 5-seed line in projections, but after Friday's win, they should see a bump to a 4-seed.

For UConn, the Huskies miss out on adding a second Quad 1 win in Big East play on the season. Hurley's squad shouldn't see a drop in their projections, as a combined 13-3 Quad 1 and Quad 2 record, which features a win over Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse, is a fine resume to keep them at the 1-seed line.

But for now, St. John's shifts its focus to Xavier at The Garden on Monday night with Round Two against the Huskies not that far in the distance on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Connecticut. It will likely be a fight for the No. 1 seed in next month's Big East tournament back at The Garden.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:St. John's basketball makes statement with upset of UConn

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Alberto Castañeda Mondragón's memory was jumbled after he says he was badly beaten last month while being taken into custody byimmigration officers. He did not remember much of his past, but the violence of the Jan. 8 arrest in Minnesota was seared into his battered brain.

The Mexican immigrant told The Associated Press this week that he remembers Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents pulling him from a friend's car outside aSt. Paulshopping center and throwing him to the ground, handcuffing him, and then punching him and striking his head with a steel baton.

He remembers being taken to a detention facility, where he said he was beaten again. Then came the emergency room and the intense pain from eight skull fractures and five life-threatening brain hemorrhages.

Castañeda Mondragón, 31, is one of an unknown number of immigration detainees who, despite avoiding deportation, have been left with lasting injuries following violent encounters with ICE. While the Trump administration insists ICE limits its enforcement operations to immigrants with violent rap sheets, he has no criminal record.

Here's what to know about the case, one of the excessive-force claims the federal government has thus far declined to investigate.

Immigrant says attack was unprovoked

ICE officers who arrested Castañeda Mondragón on Jan. 8 told nurses the man "purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall," an account Hennepin County Medical Center staffimmediately doubted. A CT scan showed fractures to the front, back and both sides of his skull — injuries a doctor told AP were inconsistent with a fall.

ICE's account evolved as Castañeda Mondragón lay stricken in the hospital. At least one officer told staff the man "got his (expletive) rocked," according to court documents filed by a lawyer seeking his release and nurses who treated him.

"There was never a wall," Castañeda Mondragón told AP, recalling ICE officers striking him with the same metal rod used to break the windows of the vehicle he was in. He later identified it as atelescoping batonroutinely carried by law enforcement.

Training materials and police use-of-force policies across the U.S. say such a baton can be used to hit the arms, legs and body. But striking the head, neck or spine is considered potentially deadly force.

Once he was taken to an ICE holding facility in suburban Minneapolis, Castañeda Mondragón said, officers resumed beating him. He said he pleaded with them to get a doctor, but they just "laughed at me and hit me again."

DHS will not discuss the case

The Trump administration this week announced abroad rolloutof body cameras for immigration officers in Minneapolis even as the government draws down ICE's presence there. But it's not clear whether Castañeda Mondragón's arrest was captured on body-camera footage or if there might be additional recordings from security cameras at the detention center.

TheDepartment of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, has not responded to repeated requests for comment on the case.

The government's only acknowledgment of the injuries came in a Jan. 20 court filing that said it was learned during his arrest that "had a head injury that required emergency medical treatment."

The same filing said Castañeda Mondragón entered the U.S. legally in March 2022 and that the agency determined only after his arrest that he had overstayed his visa. A federal judge ruled his arrest had been unlawful and ordered him released from ICE custody.

Elected officials call for accountability

The case has drawn the attention of several officeholders in Minnesota, including Gov. Tim Walz, who this week posted an AP story about the case on X. But it's not clear whether any state authorities are investigating how Castañeda Mondragón was injured.

The Ramsey County Attorney's Office, which oversees St. Paul, urged Castañeda Mondragón to file a police report to prompt an investigation. He said he plans to file a complaint. A St. Paul police spokesperson said the department would investigate "all alleged crimes that are reported to us."

"We are seeing a repeated pattern of Trump Administration officials attempting to lie and gaslight the American people when it comes to the cruelty of this ICE operation in Minnesota," Sen. Tina Smith, a Minnesota Democrat, said in a statement.

Rep. Kelly Morrison, another Democrat and a doctor, recently toured the Whipple Building, the ICE facility at Ft. Snelling. She said she saw severe overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and an almost complete lack of medical care. She and other Minnesota Democrats say injuries that occur in ICE custody should be investigated.

"If any one of our police officers did this, you know what just happened in Minnesota with George Floyd, we hold them accountable," said Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum, whose district includes St. Paul. "There's no reason why federal agents should not be held to the same high standard."

Biesecker reported from Washington. Mustian reported from New York, and Attanasio reported from Seattle.

Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative.Report for Americais a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — What's in a surname? For many people from Spain and Latin America, it's about who your father is and who your mother is.

The tradition of using two surnames helps clearly identify familial relationships in much of the Spanish-speaking world. But in the United States, having two surnames can be a bureaucratic headache, or worse.

More than68 millionpeople in the U.S. identify as ethnically Hispanic, according to the latest census estimates. Many of them use two surnames.

One famous example can be found in the birth name of Puerto Rican rap superstar Bad Bunny, who is set to perform in the halftime show at this weekend's Super Bowl. His given name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, after his father Tito Martínez and his mother Lysaurie Ocasio.

But there is more to the origin story of Hispanic surnames.

How are Hispanic surnames formed?

In Spain and most Latin American countries, surnames are composed of two names. The first name is from the father and the second from the mother, with some exceptions.

Here is how it works. If Victoria's father is named Daniel Flores Garcia, and her mother is named Ana Salinas Marquez, her surnames will be Flores Salinas.

Women often keep their birth names when they marry, but laws and traditions vary by country. Women sometimes append the husband's paternal surname. An older way to do this is using "de," which means "of" as part of the name.

So if Victoria Flores Salinas marries Carlos Sandoval Cruz, she will likely remain Victoria Flores Salinas. But in some countries she might become Victoria Flores Sandoval or Victoria Flores de Sandoval. Other variations are also possible, like appending Sandoval after Salinas.

Regardless, if Victoria and Carlos have a child named Francisco, his full name will be Francisco Sandoval Flores.

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How does this work in the United States?

People with typical Hispanic surnames who live in the U.S. often simply use the paternal surname to conform with the norm of a single last name. So in the United States, Francisco Sandoval Flores might just go by Francisco Sandoval.

However, people unfamiliar with these naming conventions sometimes assume the father's name is a middle name, not a surname.

To avoid that problem, some people continue to use both surnames. Still others hyphenate the two names. Occasionally, people even squish the two names together. Susana Pimiento has had to use all three of these strategies in the more than 20 years since she moved to the U.S.

Making sure official documents match, almost

Pimiento owns a translation and interpreter services agency in Austin, Texas, but is originally from Colombia. Her full name is Susana Pimiento Chamorro, but she uses that only for official government business. Even then, things can get tricky.

When she went to get a driver's license for the first time in Texas, the only way they would allow her to keep her two surnames was by hyphenating them.

"I could have dropped my mother's last name, but then it wouldn't have matched with my passport," she said.

Some airlines only allow one surname on a ticket, so she has to run both of her surnames together as if they were one word.

When she got a green card, things were even worse. The government issued it with her husband's name "not even in the American way, but in the old Latin American way," she said. "So I was Susana de Hammond. Like 'of Hammond.'"

She had to return the card, which did not match any of her other documentation. It was a year before the government finally issued a new one with her actual name. In the meantime, she had to seek special permission to leave the U.S. so she could travel for work.

"Before I got married, I told my husband, 'I'm not taking your name, you know? There is no way'," she said. "So then when my green card came with Susana de Hammond, we laughed. We thought that it was a joke. But, oh my gosh, it was so hard to straighten it out!"