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Author: Dave Riggert

KU holds off Texas A&M to win in College Station

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Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor couldn’t get anything going early for Kansas against Texas A&M.

The Jayhawks were OK though thanks to Elijah Johnson’s 18 points in the first half that carried the team until their stars warmed up after halftime.

Johnson scored 21 points and Taylor made key plays down the stretch to help No. 4 Kansas fight off a late run by Texas A&M for a 66-58 victory Wednesday night.

“I needed to score for us tonight,” Johnson said. “I was just aggressive and I ended up playing into a role. My points just kept us on top.”

Johnson finished two points shy of his career-high and his first half performance helped offset Robinson and Taylor combining for three points in the first 20 minutes.

“He got us off to a good start,” Taylor said. “He shot the ball well. We’ve been waiting for Elijah to come on. It was good for him to get a little bit of confidence going into a big game on Saturday.”

That big game is a showdown for the Big 12 lead with No. 3 Missouri, a team that beat the Jayhawks 74-71 in the first meeting Feb. 4.

Kansas (23-5, 13-2) led by as many as 21 points in the second half before a big run by the Aggies got them within striking distance.

“To put them in a position to be able to win the game is beyond belief because we were just making basketball plays experienced guys should never make,” Kansas coach Bill Self said.

A 3-pointer by Dash Harris cut the Kansas lead to four points, but Taylor made the first of two free throws to leave Kansas up 61-56 with about a minute remaining.

Johnson added a free throw before Robinson fouled out on a technical he received during a scuffle between players when they were trying to secure a loose ball.

Elston Turner made both free throws to make it 62-58 with 40 seconds left, but Jeff Withey scored four points after that to guarantee the win.

Khris Middleton led Texas A&M (13-14, 4-11) with 23 points.

“We just didn’t take smart shots, we rushed up, took quick shots that weren’t good team looks, and it put us in a hole,” Harris said. “We can’t play against top-10 teams or any team playing behind like that.”

Kansas led 60-53 after Taylor scored the first basket for Kansas in almost 7 minutes on a three-point play with just under 2 minutes remaining.

Self didn’t like the way his team responded when the Aggies went on their run saying: “Bad shots shouldn’t lead to bad attitudes.”

He just couldn’t understand why his team played so terribly in that stretch.

“When things aren’t going well you’ve got to find a way to change it and we didn’t change it,” he said.

Texas A&M shook off a bad start to the second half by going on a 24-8 run starting at the 11-minute mark to cut the Jayhawks’ lead to 57-53 with about 2 minutes remaining. Kansas made six free throws in that span, but the team’s only basket came on a layup by Johnson.

Middleton scored 13 points in that time.

The Jayhawks were frustrated that they allowed A&M to get back in it after they built such a huge lead.

“That should never happen,” Taylor said. “You’ve got to be able to put teams away when you’re up that much. We made the game a little interesting. It was good that we pulled it out, but we shouldn’t have let it get that close.”

The Jayhawks were leading by seven points early in the second half before they scored 14 straight points to stretch the lead to 47-26 with just more than 13 minutes remaining. Robinson had five points in that span and capped the run with a three-point play.

Robinson finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds to extend his streak of scoring in double figures to 16 straight games.

This is the seventh straight season the Jayhawks have had 13 conference wins and their 23rd consecutive season with 23 wins. They have won eight straight over A&M and are 19-1 all-time against the Aggies in what could be the last meeting for a while. A&M is heading to the Southeastern Conference next season.

The paltry crowd of 6,868 was peppered with Kansas fans, including former Jayhawks coach Larry Brown, who watched the game from a front-row seat directly behind the visitors’ bench.

Harris, a point guard, missed the last seven games with an injured foot. He didn’t start, but entered the game early in the first half in his first game since Jan. 23 at Kansas.

He had eight points and David Loubeau and Turner added 10 points each for the Aggies, who trailed 31-21 at halftime.

— Associated Press —

Western women can’t overcome poor first half against Jennies

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The Missouri Western women’s basketball team couldn’t overcome a poor first half against the University of Central Missouri on Wednesday night at the MWSU Fieldhouse at the Looney Complex as they fell 75-55. Jessica Koch led the all scorers with 16 points and moved to 24 points away from breaking the MWSU record for career points.

After a rough start, the Griffons managed to close the gap to 44-30 early in the second half after Koch hit her first field goal of the game. The Jennies then went on a 15-6 run putting the game out of reach for the Griffons.

The Jennies had four players score in double figures and shot 42.6% for the game. The Griffons shot 32.2% for the game making half of their attempts in the second frame.

The Griffons fall to 6-19, (4-15) while the Jennies move to 19-6, (13-6). Missouri Western finishes their regular season on Saturday, February 25 against Southwest Baptist at 1:30 pm in the MWSU Fieldhouse. Before the game MWSU will recognize the five Griffon seniors who include: Brittany Casady, Alex Noble, Jessica Koch, Abby Stone, and Ashleigh Curry.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri State loses at home to Indiana State

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Dwayne Lathan scored 12 points and Indiana State defeated Missouri State 59-46 Wednesday night.

Jordan Printy had 11 points, Carl Richard scored 10 and Jake Odum grabbed 10 rebounds for the Sycamores (17-12, 8-9 Missouri Valley), who never trailed.

Missouri State (16-14, 9-8), playing its home finale, trailed by 14 in the first half but got within three points early in the second half. However, Indiana State pushed the lead out to double figures with 9 minutes left and stayed there most of the way after that.

Anthony Downing scored 14 points and Jarmar Gulley had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Bears, who have lost three in a row and missed a chance to clinch the No. 3 seed in next week’s Missouri Valley Conference tournament.

— Associated Press —

Northwest slips to No. 7 in regional rankings

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With back-to-back losses for the first time this season the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats fell to No. 7 in the South Central Regional rankings released Wednesday afternoon by the NCAA.

After a double-overtime win last week, Midwestern State vaulted over Tarleton State to take the top spot. Tarleton State slid to No. 2 after last week’s loss to the Mustangs as Arkansas Tech held steady at No. 3.

Missouri Southern jumped to No. 4. Washburn sits at No. 5 and Central Missouri moved up one spot to No. 6. After the Bearcats, Texas A&M-International holds the eighth and final spot while West Texas A&M sits at No. 9 and Incarnate Word checks in at No. 10.

The South Central Region is made up of teams from the MIAA, Lone Star Conference, Heartland Conference and Great American Conference. The winners of the MIAA, LSC and Heartland receive automatic bids to the eight-team NCAA South Central Region tournament and the remaining five seeds are filled by at-large bids based on the NCAA ranking. The newly-formed GAC does not have an automatic bid.

The NCAA Division II basketball selection shows will air Sunday, March 4, on NCAA.com. The women’s show will air at 9 p.m. and the men’s show will follow at 9:30 p.m.

Griffon baseball games with UNK moved to Saturday and Sunday

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The Missouri Western baseball series with the University of Nebraska-Kearney has been moved back to Saturday and Sunday. The Griffons and the Lopers were scheduled to play single nine inning games on Friday and Sunday with a doubleheader on Saturday. The teams have decided to play two doubleheaders one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Both are set to start at 12:00 pm at the Griffon Baseball Field.

Western is 1-2 on the season after their series opener in Florence, Ala. with North Alabama last weekend. The Griffons and the Lopers split a doubleheader last season with the Lopers winning game one 4-2 while the Griffons winning 17-16 in game two. The games were played in Chanute, Kan. on February 26, 2011.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri adds Florida prep standout to 2012 recruiting class

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The University of Missouri football program has added a talented athlete to its 2012 recruiting class, as Brandon Holifield of Tallahassee, Fla., has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Mizzou, as announced today by Head Coach Gary Pinkel.

Holifield is a 6-foot-5 inch, 215-pound tight end from Godby High School, where he has been a standout in both track and basketball.  He’s a relative newcomer to the football scene, as he played only during his senior year at Godby, and he was limited in his amount of playing time as a senior due to a groin injury.

A versatile athlete, Holifield also spent time handling kickoffs and punts for Godby, and he had a long punt of 60 yards, while he consistently put kickoffs in the endzone.  He is currently a starting power forward on Godby’s basketball team, which has been ranked #1 in the state for much of the season, and he previously has placed 3rd in the state in the high jump, where he has a personal best mark of 6-foot-11 inches.

Holifield chose Mizzou over Miami, Fla. and Rutgers, and also had interest from Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt, among others.  He was coached at Godby by Ronnie Cottrell, and he is the son of Brianna Holifield.

— MU Sports Information —

Missouri Western softball moves up to No. 19 in latest poll

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The Missouri Western softball team shot up four spots to 19th in this weeks NFCA poll which was released Wednesday morning. The Griffons are currently on a five game winning streak where they have outscored their opponents 39-6. Western sits at 9-2 overall and will take part in the Arkansas-Monticello 5-State Classic this weekend in Bentonville, Ark.

Western will open up the weekend on Friday, February 24 against Missouri St. Louis and Southwestern Oklahoma State. Game times are set for 10:00 am and 3:00 pm. On Saturday they will take on Missouri S&T and North Alabama at 10:00 am and 3:00 pm. They wrap up the weekend on Sunday taking Illinois-Springfield and Arkansas-Monticello at 9:00 am and 2:00 pm.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Bearcats lose second straight as they fall at Southwest Baptist

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Northwest Missouri State needed a win to clinch at least a share of a MIAA regular season title, however the Bearcats were dealt a 91-77 setback Tuesday from Southwest Baptist in MIAA action.

Northwest falls to 20-5 on the year and 14-5 in the conference as they now share first-place with Missouri Southern. SBU improved to 17-10 overall and 10-8 as they handed Northwest back-to-back losses for the first time all season.

After leading most of the first half SBU overtook Northwest at the 2:57 mark and took a 32-28 lead into intermission.

With 18 second half points from DeAngelo Hailey the Bearcats were not able to overcome a hot shooting SBU squad.

The purple Bearcats went 9-of-13 from behind the three-point line and were also outstanding from the free throw line. SBU made 30-of-36 from the free throw line including a 9-of-10 effort from Jake Dougherty who shared game high honors with Hailey adding 24 points of his own.

DeShaun Cooper also scored 20 points for Northwest while Jake Reinders added 14 in his 100th game as a Bearcat.

Northwest can still win the MIAA regular season championship on Saturday, but will have to do so as they host defending champion Missouri Southern. Game time from Bearcat Arena is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

No. 3 Mizzou gets upset again by Kansas State

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Forget any talk of Kansas State as a team teetering on the NCAA tournament bubble. After yet another convincing win over a top-20 team, the Wildcats’ bubble has burst — and coach Frank Martin couldn’t be happier.

Rodney McGruder scored 24 points as Kansas State upset No. 3 Missouri 78-68 on Tuesday night, the Wildcats’ second win this season over the Tigers and their first at Mizzou Arena since 2007. It’s also the second straight win over a Big 12 bruiser and national power, following a one-point weekend win over Baylor (No. 14 ESPN/USA Today, No. 13 AP) in Waco, Texas.

“A week ago, I was trying to find a building that’s more than six stories height-wise so I could jump,” Martin joked after the game, although he wasn’t smiling. “And these guys, they gave me energy to come in and coach them in practice because they were so positive even though we had just lost two tough games at Texas and [against] Kansas. They’ve been awesome, and I couldn’t be happier that they’ve been rewarded these last two games.”

Kansas State (19-8, 8-7 Big 12) led 40-30 at halftime and by 16 points with 12:32 left in the second half after a twisting McGruder layup before a late run by Missouri (25-3, 12-3) got the Tigers within 63-60 with six minutes remaining.

Missouri trailed by four after two free throws by Michael Dixon with 2:21 left, but Jordan Henriquez answered with an alley-oop dunk following a Tigers timeout. The Wildcats extended the lead on two free throws by Henriquez.

Thomas Gipson added 13 points for Kansas State, which connected on 53.8 percent of its field goals.

The Wildcats were even better in the second half, converting 14 of 24 shots for 58.3 percent.

Dixon scored 21, and Marcus Denmon added 19 for Missouri. The Tigers made just 38.3 percent of their field goal attempts after entering the game hitting more than 50 percent, tops in the Big 12 and third best nationally. Missouri was 8-of-26 from 3-point range, while Kansas State made six treys but took 17 fewer attempts than its opponents.

The K-State loss was Missouri’s first home defeat of the season and just the fourth career loss at Mizzou Arena for the Tigers’ five-man senior class. It also kept Missouri from standing alone with the best start in school history. Missouri started 25-2 in 1990 and 1994.

“We had a lot of confidence,” McGruder said. “And we felt like, ‘Why not come in here and get a victory?'”

Kansas State had already throttled Missouri 75-59 in Manhattan in early January, one of the few blemishes on an otherwise-charmed season for Missouri and first-year coach Frank Haith. And while Tuesday night’s game remained in doubt until late, the Wildcats and Martin again relied on physical defense and a deeper roster to prevail.

Missouri led by six points early in the first half but soon struggled to both make shots and defend Kansas State. The 10-point halftime deficit was its second largest of the season. Their biggest? Falling behind 44-25 in the first meeting in Manhattan. Missouri made 10 of 29 shots in the first half Tuesday.

In one uncharacteristically out-of-sync sequence, Henriquez swatted Phil Pressey’s driving layup attempt out of bounds. Ricardo Ratliffe then missed an open 10-foot jumper off the in-bounds play, and after a K-State miss, Denmon bobbled the ball out of bounds on a fast break. Minutes later, the ball again glanced off his hands on a similar pass by Pressey for another Tigers turnover. In between, English missed two consecutive free throws.

English also was hit with a technical foul late in the first half for slamming the ball to the court in frustration, which sent him to the bench with his third personal foul. He later fouled out and was held to nine points. He averages 14.2 points, second on the team in scoring.

“We didn’t punch back early,” English said of the Tiger’s first-half struggles. “When you do that and play good teams, it’s an uphill battle all the way.”

“We didn’t defend the way we usually defend, the way we need to defend,” he added. “That will be fixed. That won’t happen again.”

Jamar Samuels added nine points and 11 rebounds for Kansas State. With his four blocks, all in the first half, Henriquez set a school record for career rejections with 125.

Ratliffe scored nine points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Missouri but made just three of seven field goals after entering the game making 72.6 percent of his shots, which leads the nation.

The Tigers travel to Kansas (No. 5 ESPN/USA Today, No. 4 AP) on Saturday in what could be the final regular-season matchup in the historic rivalry. With the K-State loss, Missouri trails the Jayhawks by a half-game in the conference. A win over Kansas, which plays at Texas A&M on Wednesday, could elevate Missouri back in contention for the Big 12 regular-season title and a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

— Associated Press —

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