BOYS
WILLIAM JEWELL TOURNAMENT
Central 58
Park Hill South 52
NEOSHO TOURNAMENT
Lafayette 43
Neosho 34
U.S. BANK HOLIDAY INVITE @ ROLLA
Benton 61
Salem 69
BISHOP LEBLOND TOURNAMENT
St. Joseph Christian 45
Falls City (NE) 58
Bishop LeBlond 42
East Buchanan 40
GIRLS
PENN VALLEY TOURNAMENT
Lafayette 31
Notre Dame de Sion 53
BISHOP LEBLOND TOURNAMENT
Bishop LeBlond 23
Maryville 43
STATE FARM HOLIDAY HOOPS INVITE @ JEFFERSON CITY
Benton 47
Mount Mercy (NE) 31
Tyshawn Taylor grabbed the opening tip, took a couple dribbles across midcourt and heaved a pass ahead to Jeff Withey, who was fouled while slamming home a rim-rattling dunk.
Kansas needed all of 5 seconds to set the tone against overmatched, undersized Howard.
Taylor finished with 13 points and five assists, Connor Teahan also had 13 points and the Jayhawks (No. 18 ESPN/USA Today, No. 17 AP) coasted to an 89-34 victory Thursday night.
The Bison’s point total was the fewest yielded by Kansas in more than two years, and the second-fewest in the Bill Self era.
“I won’t put a lot of stock in it,” Self said. “From an energy standpoint, we played faster, more energy, seemed a little more athletic. Other than that, I wouldn’t spend a lot of time on it.”
Withey finished with 10 points, and Thomas Robinson had nine points and seven rebounds while playing a team-high 22 minutes for the Jayhawks (9-3), who play North Dakota on Saturday in their final tune-up before facing rival Kansas State in their Big 12 opener next week.
“We’ve just been kind of focused on what we need to do on each possession, no matter what the score was,” Teahan said. “When you play against stiffer competition, you have to be sharp.”
Prince Okoroh led Howard (4-10) with seven points, while Glenn Andrews managed just three on 1-for-10 shooting after going for a career-high 28 points in an overtime win over Delaware last week.
“We got our butts kicked,” Howard coach Kevin Nickelberry said simply.
The Jayhawks used a 10-0 run early in the first half to stretch the lead to double figures, with Robinson slamming down a missed 3-point attempt by Elijah Johnson with one hand to a roar from a crowd that included “Saturday Night Live” star Jason Sudeikis and actress Olivia Wilde.
Kansas stretched the lead to 20 on a 3-pointer by Taylor later in the half, and after a free throw by the Bison’s Simuel Frazier, the Jayhawks rattled off 11 more unanswered points.
By the time little-used Kevin Young scored inside with 3:48 left, Kansas led 38-7, and the only real question was whether Howard would reach double figures by halftime.
Dadrian Collins’ 3-pointer with 1:48 left got them over the mark, and a foul shot by Okoroh made it 42-13 at the break. The 13 points scored by the Bison matched what Southern California scored in the first half of a 63-47 loss to the Jayhawks a week ago.
“I feel like the bench showed a lot more than we have been showing,” Young said. “We came out aggressive and we just stayed after it and we had a lot of energy.”
Self substituted liberally throughout the second half, trying to get some experience for his bench players before the start of a longer, more taxing conference schedule.
The 34 points scored by the Bison (4-10) were the fewest allowed by Kansas since a 98-31 win over Alcorn State on Dec. 2, 2009, and the second-fewest since Self took over before the 2003 season.
“I’ve been on the short end of a lot of those,” Self said, recalling his first season as coach of Oral Roberts. “Tubby (Smith) beat us 99-52, I think it was. We didn’t give up 100, though. I think we had like, five assists to 22 turnovers. That ratio isn’t going to bode well for you.”
The Bison have lost 28 consecutive road games, including a 107-50 defeat at Indiana earlier this season. They wrap up a two-game swing through the state when they face Kansas State on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Kansas has won 12 straight at Allen Fieldhouse, which was packed to the rafters despite students being on winter break. It was the 54th consecutive nonconference victory at home — the school doesn’t count the Jayhawks’ loss to Davidson on Dec. 19, which was played at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., even though they were the designated home team.
“I mean, it was a lot of fun, actually,” Teahan said. “The crowd came out with a lot more energy than we were expecting, especially over Christmas break, and once we got out to a big lead, we had to stay focused, and we did a pretty good job of that.”
— Associated Press —
BOYS
NEOSHO HOLIDAY CLASSIC
Lafayette 56
Bentonville (AR) 49
U.S. BANK HOLIDAY INVITE @ ROLLA
Benton 50
Festus 74
GIRLS
BISHOP LEBLOND HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT
Bishop LeBlond 44
Tarkio 26
PENN VALLEY TOURNAMENT
Lafayette 51
Hogan Prep 31
The University of Missouri will begin athletic competition in the Southeastern Conference in 2012, and today the Mizzou Football program, fresh off its 41-24 win over North Carolina in the 2011 AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl, learned its schedule for the upcoming historic first year in its new conference home. The SEC league office released the conference schedule today, and it shows in 2012 the Tigers will play host to Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Vanderbilt, while they’ll venture on the road to take on Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas A&M.
Mizzou’s historic first game as a member of the celebrated league will come early in the season, as defending SEC East Division champion Georgia will make its first-ever appearance at Faurot Field on Sept. 8th. The schools will meet for only the second time in history, as Georgia claimed a 14-0 win in the 1960 Orange Bowl in the only previous meeting. After a Sept. 15th non-conference home game against Arizona State, the Tigers will play their first-ever SEC road game Sept. 22nd at South Carolina. The Tigers are 2-0 alltime against the Gamecocks, with both previous meetings coming in bowl games (1979 Hall of Fame, 2005 Independence).
The month of October will feature three SEC home games for the Columbia, Mo. community, as Vanderbilt (Oct. 6th), Alabama (Oct. 13th) and Kentucky (Oct. 27th) will all play at Faurot Field. Vanderbilt has played in Columbia three times before, but not since 1958, when the Commodores claimed a 12-8 win over MU Coach Dan Devine in his first game ever on the Tiger sideline. Mizzou leads the series with Alabama by a 2-1 margin, and the Crimson Tide last visited Columbia in 1978, when they came away with a 38-20 win in a season which ended with their national championship under legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. Kentucky, who has won two of three games alltime with Mizzou, will be making its first trip to Columbia since 1965, when the Wildcats won via a 7-0 shutout.
The month of November provides a stark contrast to October, as the Tigers will play solely on the road in SEC action. The tough slate of road games begins with a Nov. 3rd test at Florida. Mizzou has won the only previous meeting between the schools, as it claimed a 20-18 win in the 1966 Sugar Bowl over then-quarterback and current South Carolina Head Coach Steve Spurrier. The next week will see the Tigers venture into 102,455-seat Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., where they will face the Tennessee Volunteers for the first time in program history.
November closes with a game at Texas A&M on Nov. 24th. Mizzou and the Aggies are joining the SEC together in 2012, and in a scheduling oddity, they will square off for the third-straight season in College Station. The Tigers have managed wins at venerable Kyle Field each of the last two years, winning 30-9 in 2010 and 38-31 in overtime in 2011. Mizzou has won five of its last six games overall with A&M, dating back to 2002, while the Aggies hold a 7-5 overall edge in the series.
Here’s a look at the 2012 Mizzou Football schedule, with three non-conference dates yet to be determined (to be slotted into four currently-open dates of Sept. 1st, Sept. 29th, Oct. 20th and Nov. 17th):
Sept. 1 OPEN
Sept. 8 vs. Georgia
Sept. 15 vs. Arizona State
Sept. 22 at South Carolina
Sept. 29 OPEN
Oct. 6 vs. Vanderbilt
Oct. 13 vs. Alabama
Oct. 20 OPEN
Oct. 27 vs. Kentucky
Nov. 3 at Florida
Nov. 10 at Tennessee
Nov. 17 OPEN
Nov. 24 at Texas A&M
The face of Creighton (No. 19 ESPN/USA Today, No. 21 AP) disappeared when the Bluejays needed him most.
National scoring leader Doug McDermott scored just one of his 19 points in the last 10 minutes and was outplayed by Kyle Weems in Missouri State’s 77-65 upset Wednesday night.
Weems scored 25 of his career-high 31 points in the second half and Anthony Downing had a career-high 26 points in his first start for the defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Bears (8-5, 1-0).
“They came into our house and punched us in the mouth,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said, “and we didn’t do anything about it.”
The game was billed as a matchup between McDermott, considered the nation’s top mid-major player, against Weems, the reigning MVC player of the year.
The two battled back and forth the first 10 minutes of the second half, then Weems took over.
He scored 17 points in the last 10 minutes while McDermott, guarded by Weems and freshman Christian Kirk, struggled to even get shots. Some of the ones he took were ill-advised.
“Whenever I put it on the floor and tried driving to the hoop, they collapsed,” he said. “I feel I let us down. I got in there and threw up some tough shots I shouldn’t have taken.”
McDermott, averaging 25.4 points for Creighton (10-2, 0-1), had his streak of 20-point games end at 10. He was 8 of 18 from the field.
His 3-pointer with 10:39 left gave the Bluejays a short-lived 51-50 lead. He took only three shots the rest of the way, missing them all.
Weems, by comparison, has had a quiet start to the season. He came in averaging 14.3 points, shooting just 39 percent from the field and with three 20-point games.
Weems made 5 of his last 7 shots from the field as the Bears pulled away late.
McDermott had said before the game that he feared Weems was due to have a breakout game after the Bears had lost five of their last eight.
“I know what I’m capable of doing,” Weems said. “I give credit to my coaches to put me in position to be successful and to my teammates for giving me the ball. It’s not a one-man thing. It’s five guys playing, and we need all 13 or 14 on the roster to be successful.”
Downing, a transfer from Independence (Kan.) Community College, had scored in double figures in six of his 12 previous games. He made 11 of 14 shots from the field, including 4 of 6 3-pointers.
“I was really hyped to play in front of all those people,” Downing said. “I just stayed aggressive. I don’t want to get too high. I wanted to stay calm and play my game.”
Ethan Wragge’s two free throws tied it at 57 with 6:55 left and got the crowd on its feet. Grant Gibbs could have given the Bluejays the lead after he made a steal and got fouled. But he missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and Michael Bizoukas went the length of the court for a left-handed layup to give the Bears the lead for good.
Downing’s 23-footer as the shot clock ran out with 1:11 left gave the Bears a six-point lead.
Jarmar Gulley had 12 points for the Bears.
Antoine Young added 13 points and Josh Jones had 11 for Creighton.
Missouri State won for the first time in six road games against ranked teams. Preseason MVC favorite Creighton lost at home as a ranked team for the first time in 19 games since 1975.
“Anybody who watched it, it’s clear the tougher team won,” Greg McDermott said. “They were first to the floor, they were more aggressive on both ends of the floor. They knew where they wanted to get the ball, and they got it there, and we didn’t do much to fight it.”
— Associated Press —
BOYS
WILLIAM JEWELL HOLIDAY BASKETBALL CLASSIC
Central 58
St. Pius X 39
NEOSHO HOLIDAY CLASSIC
Lafayette 45
Morrilton (AR) 56
U.S. BANK HOLIDAY INVITE @ ROLLA
Benton 60
Rolla 70
GIRLS
PENN VALLEY TOURNAMENT
Lafayette 34
Smithville 40
The National Football League announced on Tuesday that LBs Tamba Hali and Derrick Johnson will represent the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2012 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl. The Pro Bowl will be played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. Both Hali and Johnson are first-time selections.
Hali (6-3, 275) has started all 15 games in 2011 and currently ranks second in the AFC with 12.0 sacks (-80.0 yards) and is tied for third in the AFC with four forced fumbles. Hali has 79 tackles (64 solo) and a team-best 12 tackles for loss with 31 QB pressures.
The Ghanga, Liberia native has started all 94 games during his six-year career with Kansas City, recording 375 tackles (281 solo), 53.5 sacks (-338.0 yards), 23 forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, 89 QB pressures and one interception. He recently moved into fourth place in franchise annals in career sacks and now has 12 multi-sack performances, including three during the 2011 campaign. Hali tied a career-high with 3.0 QB takedowns vs. Green Bay (12/18).
Johnson (6-3, 242) set a single-season franchise record with 172 tackles (126 solo) heading into Week 17. He has registered double-digit tackle totals in 10 contests this season, including three 16-tackle performances. Johnson has also recorded 11 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks (-10.0 yards), two INTs, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, 11 QB pressures and five passes defensed. Johnson was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week following his Week 8 performance on Monday Night Football vs. San Diego (10/31).
The Waco, Texas native has played in 105 games (92 starts) during his seven-year career with Kansas City. He ranks sixth in team history with 743 tackles (567 solo). Johnson has notched 16.0 sacks (-111.0 yards), nine interceptions, including three returned for TDs, 16 forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, 49 passes defensed and 35 QB pressures.
— Chiefs Public Relations —
Missouri made sure its final football game as a member of the Big 12 was decided early.
James Franklin ran for two touchdowns and threw for another, and the Tigers easily beat North Carolina 41-24 in the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl on Monday night.
Missouri (8-5) ends the season on a four-game winning streak for the first time since 1965. The Tigers will join the Southeastern Conference next fall and showed one reason they should be a factor immediately: The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Franklin, a sophomore who generally did as he pleased in both the running and passing games.
Franklin, named the game’s offensive Most Valuable Player, rushed for 142 yards and threw for 132 despite less than ideal conditions in the cold and rain at Independence Stadium. He led the Tigers to 31 first-half points — an Independence Bowl record.
For North Carolina (7-6), a season that started with a promising 5-1 record ends with a lopsided loss. The Tar Heels lost five of their final seven under interim coach Everett Withers, who leaves to become defensive coordinator at Ohio State under Urban Meyer.
North Carolina had the Atlantic Coast Conference’s second-best rushing defense, giving up just 106.2 yards per game. But the Tigers found plenty of running room with Franklin and Kendial Lawrence, repeatedly gashing the Tar Heels for big gains.
Lawrence rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown as the Tigers racked up 337 yards on the ground.
North Carolina’s poor defense wasted a productive game by quarterback Bryn Renner, who threw for 317 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
Missouri’s mascot — Truman the Tiger — shattered most of the original Independence Bowl trophy before the game started in a pre-game accident. The Tigers were more than happy to claim the replacement.
North Carolina scored first, with Renner hitting Dwight Jones for a 22-yard touchdown pass with 12:12 left in the first quarter. That would be the high point for the Tar Heels.
Missouri responded with a 40-yard touchdown pass from receiver T.J. Moe to Wes Kemp after a lateral from Franklin. Moe hadn’t thrown a touchdown pass since his days as a high school quarterback in suburban St. Louis, and it was just his second complete pass of the season.
The Tigers scored again on Franklin’s 2-yard run to take a 14-7 lead late in the first quarter. The touchdown was set up by Franklin’s 16-yard pass to L’Damian Washington that put the Tigers at the 2-yard line. Washington grew up in Shreveport, just a few miles from Independence Stadium.
And Missouri just kept piling on.
The Tigers scored two touchdowns and a field goal during the second quarter to take a 31-10 halftime lead.
North Carolina had a glimmer of hope late in the third when Jheranie Boyd caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from Renner to pull the Tar Heels to 34-17. But Missouri responded minutes later with Franklin’s second touchdown run of the night and the rout continued.
Rodney McGruder scored a career-best 28 points and Kansas State used a big first-half run to beat Long Beach State 77-60 on Sunday and win the Diamond Head Classic.
McGruder finished 10 of 11 from the field, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range. He also went 6 of 7 from the line.
Will Spradling added 17 points for the Wildcats (10-1).
Larry Anderson and Casper Ware each scored 17 points for the 49ers (7-6).
The Wildcats went on a 29-13 run for a 38-22 lead with 2:27 left in the first half. McGruder had eight points, including two 3-pointers, during the surge.
In the first half, the Wildcats shot 17 of 33, forced 10 turnovers and outscored the 49ers 22-10 in the paint.
Spradling’s 3-pointer gave Kansas State its biggest lead at 49-31 with 15:43 remaining. Long Beach State got as close as 62-52 with 6:41 to play.
— Associated Press —
Carson Palmer knew that Darrius Heyward-Bey, perhaps the Oakland Raiders’ fastest wide receiver, could beat the Kansas City Chiefs defense if he went deep down the field.
The Raiders just had to wait for the right moment.
It came on the first play of overtime.
Heyward-Bey beat safety Kendrick Lewis down the left side and Palmer hit him for a 53-yard gain, setting up Sebastian Janikowski’s 36-yard field goal 2:13 into overtime Saturday for a 16-13 win that kept the Raiders’ playoff hopes alive and eliminated Kansas City from contention.
“It was the right time to call it,” Palmer said. “I wanted it earlier, but we saved it for the right time. The protection was flawless and the route was great.”
It was just about the only thing that was flawless.
The Raiders committed 15 penalties for 92 yards, one of them — a delay of game — wiping out an audacious fake field goal that would have gone for a 36-yard touchdown pass. Palmer also threw a pair of interceptions and the Raiders converted only 3 of 11 third-down opportunities.
“An ugly win is better than a pretty loss,” Palmer said.
Especially given the stakes.
Oakland (8-7) can win the AFC West by beating San Diego next week and getting some help from — of all teams — the Chiefs, who travel to Denver for a game that’s become meaningless to them.
“The man told me, ‘Hue, we’ll win it in the end.’ I believe that,” said Raiders coach Hue Jackson, reflecting on a conversation he had with Al Davis before the Raiders owner died in October. “I don’t know how it’s going to happen. I don’t care how it’s going to happen.”
Oakland led 13-6 late in the fourth quarter when Kyle Orton connected with Dexter McCluster for a 49-yard gain, setting up a short TD toss to Dwayne Bowe with 1:02 remaining in regulation.
The Raiders went three-and-out in short order, giving Kansas City the ball back with only enough time to get into field-goal range. Orton hit Bowe for 25 yards and Terrance Copper for 11 more to set up Ryan Succop, whose 49-yard try was blocked as time ran out.
It was the second field goal that Succop had blocked.
“We had an opportunity to win the game. Those guys came up big,” Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali said. “I mean, blocking two field goals — what’s the odds of blocking two field goals in a big game like this? More credit to those guys.”
The Raiders, who blew a 13-point lead in the final five minutes to Detroit last week, have won five straight games at Kansas City. Perhaps none was as important as this one, with all four teams in the division beginning the day with a chance of squeaking into the playoffs.
The Chiefs (6-9) struggled to take advantage of drives one week after piling up a season-best 438 yards of offense in a 19-14 victory over previously unbeaten Green Bay. That was their first game with Orton under center and interim coach Romeo Crennel calling the shots from the sideline.
Orton threw a pair of interceptions against Oakland, one of them in the end zone in the second quarter and the other as the Chiefs were driving in the fourth quarter.
“I commend everybody for fighting hard and giving us a chance at the end,” Orton said.
The first half amounted to a cacophony of errors that ended in a 3-3 tie.
The Raiders, the most penalized team in the NFL and on pace to set a single-season record, were flagged 10 times for 57 yards, while the Chiefs were flagged eight times for 53 yards.
It wasn’t just the quantity of penalties, either. It was the quality.
Javier Arenas had an interception of Palmer wiped out by defensive holding in the first quarter, a turnover that would have given Kansas City prime field position.
The Raiders returned the favor on their next possession. Facing fourth-and-2 at the Chiefs 36, they pulled off a fake field goal in which punter Shane Lechler, the holder on the play, threw a shovel pass to tight end Brandon Myers, and he ran untouched around end for the touchdown.
It was called back by a delay of game penalty, and Janikowski’s 58-yard try hit the crossbar.
Bowe dropped an easy touchdown catch on the Chiefs’ ensuing possession, and Orton was picked off by Matt Giordano in the end zone. Palmer gave it right back when Arenas intercepted him.
The Chiefs promptly wasted another scoring opportunity with a staggering string of penalties: intentional grounding, a delay of game and a false start, all in succession. Succop ultimately had his long field attempt blocked by Richard Seymour, his first miss since Sept. 25 at Buffalo.
It wound up being all the more important by the end of regulation.
“Our guys fought and they hung in there, went into overtime, and it took some guts to do that,” Crennel said. “We had a couple of field goals blocked, we got a couple balls thrown over our head, we turned the ball over a couple times. In the NFL, it’s hard to win when you do those kinds of things.”
— Associated Press —
