MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Joe Jackson rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns as Kansas State defeated Colorado 24-14 and earned bowl eligibility for the fifth straight season on a cold and blustery day. The game-time temperature was 32 degrees with a wind chill of 24.

Quarterback Avery Johnson was 10-of-17 for 115 yards in difficult conditions for Kansas State (6-6, 5-4 Big 12).

Kaidon Salter was 14-of-25 for 172 yards for Colorado (3-9, 1-8), who got two rushing touchdowns from Micah Welch.

Jackson scored his second touchdown of the day from 1-yard out with 4:32 left in the third quarter. The score capped a 56-yard drive.

The Wildcats then made it a two-score game with a 35-yard field goal by Luis Rodriguez. The Wildcats stalled at the Colorado 19-yard line, but they burned 6:43 off the clock.

Welch's second rushing touchdown of the game capped a nine-play, 75-yard drive and brought the Buffaloes to within 17-14.

But Jackson's third touchdown, a 17-yard scamper with 2:34 left, extended the lead to 10 points.

K-State used nearly half the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead on a 4-yard touchdown run by Jackson. The Wildcats used 7:13 for a 13-play drive.

Neither team did much offensively for most of the rest of the half until Colorado marched 84 yards in 11 plays for the tying touchdown.

Welch hurdled over the line from the 1 for the score. Colorado finished the half with 162 yards of total offense. K-State finished with 114 yards, with 74 of those coming on its opening drive.

THE TAKEAWAY:

Colorado: The Buffaloes didn't look like a team with nothing to play for. They outgained the Wildcats 323-321.

Kansas State: The Wildcats struggled to find its rhythm on offense. A week after gaining 574 yards, they gained just 321.

UP NEXT:

Colorado's season is done. Kansas State will await a bowl invitation.

Brock Nelson has 4 points as surging Avs beat Canadiens 7-2

DENVER (AP) — Brock Nelson had two goals and two assists to reach 600 points for his career, Gabriel Landeskog also scored twice, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Montreal Canadiens 7-2 on Saturday.

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists for Colorado to extend his NHL points lead to 44. He is also tied for the league lead in goals with Boston's Morgan Geekie, both with 20.

Colorado, which had its 10-game winning streak snapped with a shootout loss at Minnesota on Friday, has a 16-game point streak (13-0-3). The Avalanche have won eight in a row at home and have just one regulation loss in 25 games (18-1-6).

Brent Burns and Devon Toews also had goals for Colorado.

Ivan Demidov and Lane Hutson scored for Montreal, which had a three-game winning streak snapped.

Nelson got his milestone point when he beat Jakub Dobes with a wrister 7:32 into the game. He assisted on Landeskog’s first goal and Burns’ goal 50 seconds into the second before making it 4-0 at 3:55 of the second period.

Mackenzie Blackwood made 21 saves but fell short of his bid for a third consecutive shutout when Demidov scored at 8:27 of the second period. That ended a shutout streak of 174 minutes, 31 seconds.

Blackwood made several great saves early, including one with his left pad to deny Josh Anderson midway through the first period.

Dobes stopped 29 shots.

Nelson was initially awarded Colorado’s second goal but it was later given to Landeskog, who was upended by Anderson as they battled in the crease.

The Canadiens challenged for goaltender interference but it was ruled that Anderson’s actions caused the interference.

Colorado donned blue Quebec jerseys to commemorate the Nordiques’ Adams Division rivalry with Montreal. The Avalanche are celebrating their 30th season since relocating from Quebec to Denver.

Up next

Canadiens: Host Ottawa on Tuesday night.

Avalanche: Host Vancouver on Tuesday night.

Jokic scores 26 and Murray adds 24 to lead the hot-shooting Nuggets past the Suns 130-112

PHOENIX (AP) — Nikola Jokic scored 26 points, Jamal Murray added 24 and the Denver Nuggets pulled away late to beat the Phoenix Suns 130-112 on Saturday night.

The hot-shooting Nuggets made 22 of 38 3-pointers (57.9%) — hitting 10 in the first half and 12 in the second for a steady stream of offense. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 23 points off the bench and was 7 of 11 from behind the arc.

Jokic — who barely played in the fourth quarter — was 7 of 7 from the field and added 10 assists and nine rebounds to finish just shy of his 11th triple-double this season.

Denver pushed its lead to 96-85 entering the fourth quarter after hitting eight 3-pointers in the third. The Suns cut the deficit to nine early in the fourth but the Nuggets responded with the next 12 points to build a comfortable 110-89 advantage.

The Nuggets bounced back from Friday night's loss to the San Antonio Spurs. The Suns have lost three of four.

Dillon Brooks led the Suns with 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting. Devin Booker scored 24, making 14 of 15 free throws.

The Nuggets had a 63-60 lead at halftime after shooting 10 of 16 (62.5%) from 3-point range. Jokic had 18 points and Hardaway added 17. Brooks led the Suns with 19.

Suns guard Grayson Allen returned after missing more than two weeks with a bruised quadriceps. He finished with 10 points.

Up next

Nuggets: Host the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.

Suns: At the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.

South Dakota wins 80-63 against Air Force

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — Isaac Bruns had 22 points in South Dakota's 80-63 win against Air Force on Saturday.

Bruns had six rebounds for the Coyotes (5-3). Uzziah Buntyn scored 12 points and added six rebounds. Cameron Fens finished 5 of 6 from the floor to finish with 11 points, while adding eight rebounds.

Caleb Walker finished with 21 points for the Falcons (3-6). Kam Sanders added 15 points and three steals for Air Force. Lucas Hobin also put up 12 points.

South Dakota took the lead for good less than two minutes into the game and it was 37-21 at halftime, with Bruns racking up seven points. South Dakota extended its lead to 62-51 during the second half, fueled by an 8-0 scoring run. Bruns scored a team-high 15 points in the second half.

The game was played at The Monument, formerly known as the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.