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Author: Dave Riggert

Bearcats ranked fifth in preseason NABC Division II men’s basketball top 25

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball is ranked No. 5 in the NABC/Division II preseason coaches top 25 poll.

The Bearcats picked up a first-place vote and will open the 2018-19 season this Saturday and Sunday in St. Joseph, Missouri, at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. Northwest will match up against Northern State on Saturday at 7:45 p.m., followed by a Sunday tilt against No. 13 Ferris State on Sunday at 5:45 p.m. Both games will played at the Civic Arena.

Bellarmine, who has made three Elite Eight appearances since winning the NCAA Division II title in 2011, picked up the bulk of the first place votes and heads the pre-season rankings. The Knights are followed by West Liberty, who reached five Elite Eights in a six-year span beginning in 2011 and Lincoln Memorial, who played in the 2016 national championship game in the first of back-to-back appearances.

The next two teams in the poll are West Texas A&M, who was a national semifinalist a year ago and Northwest Missouri State, won the 2017 national title.

After Northwest is Saint Anselm, followed by Queens (N.C.), who also reached last year’s national semifinal round and Indiana (Pa.), who played in the national title game in 2015. Cal Poly Pomona, who was the first national champion of the 2010s, is ranked ninth in the pre-season.

Southern Nazarene rounds out the top 10 following its best season as a member of NCAA Division II and the same can be said for West Florida, a 28-win team a year ago that was ranked one spot in back of fellow Gulf South Conference foe Valdosta State.

Defending national champion Ferris State appears in the poll at No. 13, while Western Washington is ranked 14th and another 2018 Elite Eight entry, East Stroudsburg, was picked 15th.

The pre-season top 20 is completed by Virginia State, Morehouse, St. Cloud State, Regis and Southwest Minnesota State; three of those teams either won a regular season or conference tournament title last year.

The final five teams in the poll are Dallas Baptist, Florida Southern, Findlay, UC San Diego and Missouri Southern.

Two pre-season events kick off the 2017-18 season this weekend, beginning with the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic in Anaheim, Calif., which starts Friday. The field includes No. 4 West Texas A&M and two others that received votes, Azusa Pacific and Drury.

The other event takes place in St. Joseph, Mo., with the Hall of Fame Classic, which includes the two teams that faced off in the national title game, Ferris State and Northern State, in a field that also has Queens (N.C) and Northwest Missouri State.

NABC/Division II Rankings
(Oct. 30, 2018 – Pre-Season Poll)
Record Points Last
Bellarmine, Ky. (14) 29-3 398 4
West Liberty, W.Va. (1) 26-4 364 12
Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. 32-2 347 1
West Texas A&M 32-4 332 11
Northwest Missouri State (1) 27-4 277 5
Saint Anselm. N.H. 22-9 272 NR
Queens, N.C. 32-4 259 7
Indiana, Pa. 22-8 231 NR
Cal Poly Pomona 23-7 225 25
Southern Nazarene, Okla. 27-3 207 8
Valdosta State, Ga. 26-5 196 15
West Florida 28-4 195 9
Ferris State, Mich. 38-1 183 2
Western Washington 21-8 182 NR
East Stroudsburg, Pa. 27-6 162 NR
Virginia State 25-5 148 17
Morehouse, Ga. 25-3 138 10
St. Cloud State. Minn. 24-9 113 NR
Regis, Colo. 27-6 110 22
Southwest Minnesota State 25-9 93 NR
Dallas Baptist, Texas 26-6 92 16
Florida Southern 21-11 81 NR
Findlay, Ohio 28-5 75 13
UC San Diego 21-11 63 NR
Missouri Southern 20-10 58 NR
Others receiving votes: Clayton State (Ga.) 40, Fairmont State (W.Va.) 38, UNC Pembroke 35, Point Loma (Calif.) 34, Saint Martin’s (Wash.) 32, Northern State (S.D.) 27, Nova Southeastern (Fla.) 19, Barry (Fla.) 18, Minnesota State 18, Texas A&M-Commerce 17, Drury (Mo.) 13, Shaw (N.C.) 13, Azusa Pacific (Calif.) 12, Dominican (N.Y.) 12, Ashland (Ohio) 11, Lees-McRae (N.C.) 13, Tarleton State (Texas) 10, Claflin (S.C.) 9, Daemen (N.Y.) 8, Fort Lewis (Colo.) 4, Merrimack (Mass.) 4, Chico State (Calif.)  3, King (Tenn.) 3, Clark Atlanta (Ga.) 2, Stanislaus State (Calif.) 2, Colorado School of Mines 1, Dixie State (Utah) 1.

— Northwest Athletics —

Missouri women picked to finished 5th in the preseason SEC coaches poll

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball was picked to finish fifth in the Southeastern Conference on Tuesday by the league’s coaches, as the league office announced its 2018-19 SEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Senior Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) and junior Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) each garnered All-SEC Preseason honors, as Cunningham was named to the Preseason First Team All-SEC and Smith to the Preseason Second Team All-SEC.

Mizzou was picked to finish fifth behind Mississippi State, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. Each team picked ahead of the Tigers advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season, with South Carolina making the Elite Eight and Mississippi State ending the season as the national runner-up. Mizzou was also tabbed to finish fifth in the SEC in the preseason media poll on Oct. 16.

Just like in the preseason media poll, Cunningham was one of three players to receive votes for the Preseason SEC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year award, which ended up going to Mississippi State’s Teaira McCowan.

Cunningham was named Preseason All-SEC First Team for the third consecutive season. In 2017-18, Cunningham averaged 18.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game as she earned AP All-America Honorable Mention honors for the second consecutive season. She was the only player in the nation to shoot better than 54 percent from the field (54.2 percent, 186-for-343), 45 percent from three (45.7 percent, 69-for-151) and 83 percent from the free throw line (83.6 percent, 133-for-159). Cunningham continue to climb up the Mizzou record book in her senior season, as she currently ranks No. 8 in all-time scoring (1,563 points), No. 4 in career 3-pointers made (153), No. 4 in PPG (16.6), No. 5 in free throws made (386), No. 3 in three-point percentage (.404), No. 3 in free throw percentage (.839) and No. 8 in field goal percentage (.508).

Smith, the 2016-17 SEC Co-Freshman of the Year, started all 32 games for Mizzou as a sophomore in 2017-18, averaging 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Smith scored a career-high 27 points vs. LSU (Jan. 4) on 11-for-18 shooting from the field while grabbing seven rebounds. She grabbed five rebounds in 15 contests and corralled 10 rebounds in four games.

As a team last season, Mizzou earned a third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 1984-86. Head Coach Robin Pingeton’s squad spent the entire season in the Top 25, ranking as high as No. 11 in the AP Poll and No. 9 in the Coaches’ Poll, their highest ranking in that poll in program history.

Preseason Coaches’ Predictions
1. Mississippi State
2. South Carolina
3. Georgia
4. Tennessee
5. Mizzou
6. Texas A&M
7. Kentucky
8. Auburn
9. LSU
10. Alabama
11. Arkansas
12. Florida
13. Vanderbilt
14. Ole Miss

Player of the Year
Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State

First Team All-SEC
Caliya Robinson, Georgia
Maci Morris, Kentucky
Anriel Howard, Mississippi State
Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State
Sophie Cunningham, Mizzou
Tyasha Harris, South Carolina
Rennia Davis, Tennessee
Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M.

Second Team All-SEC
Malica Monk, Arkansas
Janiah McKay, Auburn
Unique Thompson, Auburn
Taylor Murray, Kentucky
Ayana Mitchel, LSU
Shandricka Sessom, Ole Miss
Amber Smith, Mizzou
Alexis Jennings, South Carolina
Evina Westbrook, Tennessee

— Mizzou Athletics —

Royals cut ties with Jason Hammel

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jason Hammel’s $12 million mutual option has been declined by the Kansas City Royals, who will pay the 36-year-old right-hander a $2 million buyout.

Hammel set a career-high for losses, going 4-14 with a 6.02 ERA in 18 starts and 21 relief appearances. He was dropped from the rotation in early July after losing six straight starts.

He agreed to a $16 million, two-year contract before the 2017 season and went 12-27.

— Associated Press —

Griffon women drop exhibition game at Mizzou

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Missouri Western women’s basketball team lost their exhibition game at Missouri Monday night 70-48 inside Mizzou Arena.

Katrina Roenfeldt played 37 minutes and led all scorers with 16 points and tied for a team-high seven rebounds after missing the final 23 games of last season. Simone Walker played 19 minutes and scored five points with two rebounds after missing all of last season with an injury. Most of the Griffons’ newcomers saw time Monday night. St. Joseph native Kylee Williams started and played 21 minutes.

Down 42-16 at halftime, Missouri Western outscored the Tigers by four in the second half, nearly doubling their field goal percentage from half to the next. Melia Richardson and Cera Ledbetter each added nine points for the Griffons. Walker’s five were the most by any bench player.

The regular season begins in two weeks for the Griffons at the MIAA/NSIC Crossover in Hays, Kansas. Missouri Western plays Upper Iowa in Hays on Nov. 9 then Southwest Minnesota State on Nov. 10.

— MWSU Athletics —

Bearcats’ Sampson earns weekly MIAA football honor

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Northwest Missouri State sophomore placekicker Parker Sampson has been honored as the MIAA Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in Northwest Missouri State’s 62-17 win at Northeastern State.

Sampson (Kansas City, Mo.) booted a career-long 50-yard field goal and accounted for 14 points with two field goals and eight extra points in the win over the RiverHawks. Sampson’s 50-yard field goal gave Northwest a 31-3 lead in the second quarter. His 32-yard field goal capped the scoring for the Bearcats in the third quarter. Sampson kicked off 11 times and had four touchbacks.

Sampson ranks second in the MIAA in scoring with 71 points on the season.

— Northwest Athletics —

MWSU soccer falls at Central Missouri; earns No. 5 seed in MIAA Tournament

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WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The Missouri Western soccer team (12-6, 7-4 MIAA) lost at Central Missouri (14-3-1, 8-2-1 MIAA) Sunday 4-0 in its final game of the regular season.

NOTABLES

  • The Jennies scored their first goal in the 10th minute and held the lead for the rest of the game.
  • The Griffons allowed the game’s next goal in the 22ndminute and went into halftime down 2-0.
  • Central Missouri scored two goals late to take the 4-0 win.
  • The Jennie won the rematch in the team’s second matchup of the season. Missouri Western ended the Jennies’ 32-game win streak with a 1-0 victory on September 21.

STATS AND LEADERS

  • Cassidy Menke finished with a game-high six shots.
  • The Griffons recorded 11 shots with four shots on goal.
  • The Jennies had just two more shots on goal than the Griffons.
  • Taylor Schwartzkopf ended the game with two shots and one shot on goal.

UP NEXT

Griffon Soccer will make its fifth-straight appearance in the MIAA Women’s Soccer Championships on Wednesday, Oct. 31. Missouri Western will be the No. 5 seed and opens the postseason at No. 4-seeded Fort Hays State.

The first round game will begin at 6 p.m. in Hays, Kansas. It will be the third time in five years the Griffons travel to Hays for the first round of the MIAA Championships. Missouri Western ended the regular season with a 7-4 conference record, earning 21 conference points. Emporia State and Fort Hays State tied for third with 8-3 records and 24 points. Emporia State earned the No. 3-seed by way of head-to-head tiebreaker over Fort Hays State.

Regular season champion Central Oklahoma is the No. 1 seed with defending national champion Central Missouri seeded second.

Missouri Western went 12-6 overall in the regular season, the second most wins in program history. Now the Griffons return to the site of two heartbreaking MIAA Championships first round losses. The Griffons lost 1-0 in two overtimes at Fort Hays State in their first-ever appearance in the postseason (2014). Two years ago in the first round, Fort Hays State won on penalty kicks after 110 minutes of scoreless soccer. Fort Hays State defeated MWSU 2-1 on Oct. 5 this season.

Winners of Wednesday’s first round games will advance to the semifinals on Nov. 2 to be hosted by highest remaining seed in the tournament. The MIAA Championships final will be played on Nov. 4.

— MWSU Athletics —

Chiefs defeat Denver 30-23 to sweep season series

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes had another 300-yard passing day with four touchdowns. Kareem Hunt had another hurdling, tackle-breaking touchdown that gave the Chiefs a lead they’d never surrender.

Travis Kelce and Sammy Watkins produced huge games, too, as the high-powered Kansas City offense once again made the incredible look downright casual in a 30-23 victory over Denver on Sunday that finished off a season sweep of the Broncos.

“When we’re clicking and spreading the all around,” Mahomes said, “we’re really tough to stop.”

You could make a case for nearly impossible. The only team to beat the Chiefs (7-1) so far has been New England, and it took the Patriots scoring 43 points at home to win by a field goal.

The Broncos (3-5) never came that close Sunday.

Mahomes finished with 303 yards passing for his franchise-record seventh consecutive 300-yard performance. Watkins had 107 yards and two of the TD catches, and Kelce and Hunt had the other two, as the Chiefs won for the 19th time in their past 21 games against the AFC West rivals.

“There were some good individual efforts there,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, rattling off most of those same names before adding, almost as an afterthought: “Obviously our young quarterback was involved, too.”

Obviously.

Case Keenum had 262 yards passing and two scores for the Broncos (3-5), while Phillip Lindsay had a big day in his first career start. The undrafted rookie had 95 yards rushing and a TD while catching three passes and providing a spark out of the backfield.

Still, that production couldn’t help the Broncos overcome their own sloppiness. They were flagged 10 times for 83 yards, several of the penalties wiping out big gains — and that doesn’t include a few that were declined or offsetting, including a personal foul on defensive tackle Derek Wolfe.

“We can’t beat ourselves against this team. We know that,” said Broncos cornerback Chris Harris, whose team has lost seven straight to the Chiefs. “We got to be smart and we didn’t play smart enough here. We got to figure it out, why we keep having these same things happen every week.”

Kansas City failed to score on its initial drive for the first time all season, and instead it was the Broncos jumping in front when Lindsay scored from a yard out midway through the first quarter.

The Chiefs quickly found their stride, though.

Harrison Butker hit a chip-shot field goal, Kelce made a tough touchdown catch in traffic and Watkins found the soft spot in the middle of the Denver defense to haul in his first TD grab. Denver had no answer until the closing seconds, when Tim Patrick had his first career touchdown catch.

Still, the Chiefs took a 16-14 lead into the locker room. And they weren’t done.

Watkins, signed in the offseason to take some pressure off Tyreek Hill, showed his own game-breaking ability early in the third quarter. He had a 24-yard reception to move Kansas City downfield, and his 10-yard strike from Mahomes added to the Chiefs’ cushion .

The Broncos, meanwhile, kept stumbling through costly miscues. Two more penalties on their first possession of the half resulted in a shanked punt that gave Kansas City prime field position, and it took just four plays for Hunt to reach the end zone for the 10th time this season.

The reigning NFL rushing champion took an inside pitch from Mahomes — a pass, technically — and ran through two tackles, hurdled Will Parks and dragged fellow safety Justin Simmons into the end zone.

The highlight-reel catch-and-run came after another hurdling run by Hunt a week ago.

Denver tried to come back in the fourth quarter, when Jeff Heuerman caught a fourth-down touchdown catch. But the Broncos failed to convert the 2-point conversion, then Keenum threw a pick after they’d managed to get the ball back, foiling their best chance to make it a game.

“It is disappointing, but you got to go back to work on Sundays,” Lindsay said. “It’s time to get us a win. What better way than to go back home and get a win against the Texans?”

STATS AND STREAKS

Denver has lost four of five. … Reid won his 201st game, tying Dan Reeves for eighth-most in NFL history. … Butker had a streak of 61 consecutive PATs snapped in the first half.

INJURIES

Broncos: The Broncos were missing RB Royce Freeman (ankle), RT Jared Veldheer (knee) and strong safety Darian Stewart (neck). LBs Brandon Marshall (knee) and Von Miller (ankle) were active.

Chiefs: WR Tyreek Hill appeared to tweak his groin on a long catch early in the game. He left late in the fourth quarter. … LBs Anthony Hitchens (ribs) and Frank Zombo (hamstring) also left late.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Hill showed up at Arrowhead Stadium wearing an inflatable sumo wrestler suit. That came after Mahomes posted video of himself on social media this week wearing a Tyrannosaurus Rex outfit while playing a pingpong game with practice squad wide receiver Gehrig Dieter, who also wore a sumo suit.

UP NEXT

Broncos: Return home to face Houston next Sunday.

Chiefs: Head to Cleveland next Sunday.

— Associated Press —

Northwest soccer ends season with double OT loss at Lindenwood

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The Northwest Missouri State soccer team played its final game of the season at Lindenwood Sunday and lost 1-0 in double overtime.

After 109 minutes of scoreless soccer Emily Jower scored with 9 seconds left in the game to give Lindenwood their 7th win of the season.

With this win, Lindenwood qualifies for the MIAA tournament. Northwest ends its season 2-15 overall and 1-10 in the MIAA.

— Northwest Athletics —

Griffons commit five turnovers in 34-14 loss to Pitt State

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ST. JOSEPH – Five costly turnovers spoiled an otherwise impressive performance by the Griffon Football team against Pittsburg State (7-2), Saturday. Missouri Western (5-4) out-gained the Gorillas by 126 yards, but fell 34-14 in the Rogers Pharmacy Hall of Fame Game.

NOTABLES

  • The Griffon defense limited what was the MIAA’s second best rushing team coming into Saturday to 125 yards on 46 carries, a 2.7-yard per carry average
  • Missouri Western averaged nearly seven yards per carry, rushing 39 times for 265 on the MIAA’s third-ranked rush defense
  • A four-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a 9-yard Shamar Griffith touchdown on the Griffons first drive of the second half cut the Gorilla lead to 24-14. Pittsburg State answered with a 95-yard return touchdown on the ensuing kickoff
  • The kickoff return touchdown was the only TD for the Gorillas in the second half
  • Missouri Western entered having thrown four interceptions and six lost fumbles, but threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles to Pittsburg State
  • The Griffons were penalized nine times for 122 yards with Pittsburg State losing 96 yards on 11 penalties

LEADERS

  • Shamar Griffith led the Griffon running game with 78 yards on five carries for a 15.6-yard average per carry
  • Dom Marino rushed for 69 yards and threw for 87 yards
  • Wyatt Steigerwald completed 6-of-15 passes for 53 yards and had a touchdown pass taken away due to a penalty
  • Anthony Williams led the defense with 12 total tackles

UP NEXT

  • The Griffons travel to Nebraska Kearney (4-5) Nov. 3 for an 11 a.m. kickoff
  • The Lopers scored 28 second half points in a 42-35 loss at Central Missouri, Saturday

— MWSU Athletics —

No. 11 Bearcats roll past Northeastern State 62-17

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TAHLEQUAH, Oklahoma – The No. 11-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcat football team breezed to a 62-17 road victory over the Northeastern State University RiverHawks.

Northwest (8-1 overall) accumulated 568 total yards and 25 first downs. Northeastern State (0-9 overall) was limited to 193 total yards (29 rushing yards) and 10 first downs.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Braden Wright accounted for five touchdowns and 227 yards of total offense. Wright rushed for three scores (6, 6, 48) and tossed two more touchdowns (9, 16) – all in the first half.

The Bearcats scored touchdowns on their first four drives and built a 28-3 lead less than a minute into the second quarter.

Northwest’s scoring onslaught continued in the last 2:45 of the half as the Bearcats scored 17 points on a field goal and two touchdowns to boost the halftime lead to 45-3.

Alec Tatum returned a punt 53 yards with 13:53 left in the third quarter and Northwest held a 52-3 advantage over Northeastern State.

The RiverHawks found the end zone for the first time with 9:17 left in the third quarter when Jay Baker threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Mark Wheeland. The RiverHawks used a short field after an interception to go 32 yards in three plays for the touchdown.

Northwest extended the lead back to 62-10 following a 41-yard touchdown pass from Jadyn Kowalski to LaTroy Harper and a 32-yard field goal from Parker Sampson.

Sampson booted two field goals (50, 32) on the day and kicked off 11 times. Sampson had four touchbacks on kickoffs. The 50-yard field goal was a career-best for Sampson.

The Bearcats had another miscue midway through the fourth when Harper misplayed a punt and the RiverHawks recovered at the 6-yard line. NSU converted the chance into a touchdown on a 6-yard pass from Brice Waggle to Cory Jones with 6:56 left to cap the scoring.

Northwest will return home and take on Fort Hays State next Saturday at 1:35 p.m. at Bearcat Stadium.

NOTES: Anthony Lane and Matt Connelly tied for team-high tackles honors with five each … Austen Eskew registered sacks for the Bearcats … Jacob Giese and Lane each were credited with a fumble recovery … Josh Caldwell rushed for a team-high 96 yards and a touchdown … Caldwell has rushed for 30 career touchdowns as a collegian … Wright passed for 151 yards, while Kowalski threw for 64 yards … Raymond Thomas led the Bearcat receivers with three catches for 61 yards … Shawn Bane Jr. caught his 29th career touchdown reception … Bane nabbed two receptions to move into a tie for No. 7 on Northwest’s all-time receptions list with 196 … Steve Hansely also caught 196 passes for the Bearcats from 1983-1985) … Harper posted 156 all-purpose yards with 71 on kick returns, 54 receiving and 31 on punt returns.

— Northwest Athletics —

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