Dave Riggert – Page 44 – St. Joseph Post Archive

K-State to meet UC Irvine in NCAA South Regional Friday

Posted on March 17, 2019

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State was rewarded for a successful season on Sunday, as the Wildcats earned their 31st overall bid to the NCAA Tournament, including the fifth in seven seasons under head coach Bruce Weber.

The Big 12 co-champion, K-State (25-8, 14-4 Big 12) was selected as a No. 4 seed in the South Regional and will travel to San Jose, Calif., to play No. 13 seed and Big West Conference regular-season and tournament champion UC Irvine (30-5, 15-1 Big West) in the first round on Friday, March 22 at SAP Center. The winner will advance to play the winner of the No. 5 seed Wisconsin (23-10, 14-6 Big Ten) and No. 12 seed Oregon (23-12, 10-8 Pac-12) on Sunday, March 24.

K-State was the No. 15 overall seed in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, including third among the four No. 4 seeds (trailing Kansas and Florida State).

The Wildcats will be joined at the venue by No. 4 seed Virginia Tech (24-8), No. 5 Mississippi State (23-10), No. 12 Liberty (28-6) and No. 13 Saint Louis (22-12) of the East Regional. The top seeds in the South Regional are No. 1 seed Virginia (29-3), No. 2 seed Tennessee (29-4), No. 3 seed Purdue (23-9), No. 4 seed K-State (25-8), No. 5 seed Wisconsin (23-10), No. 6 seed Villanova (25-9) and No. 7 seed Cincinnati (28-6).

K-State and UC Irvine will tip off at 1 p.m., CT (11 a.m., PT) with the matchup between No. 5 seed Wisconsin and No. 12 seed Oregon to follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. The game will be broadcast nationally on TBS with Spero Dedes, Len Elmore, Steve Smith and Ros Gold-Onwude.

Public requests for NCAA Tournament tickets are available until 5 p.m., CT on Monday. Please click here to request tickets exclusively within the K-State allotment. Tickets are priced at $66 (upper level) and $100 (lower level).

K-State is making its 38th postseason appearance, which includes 31 in the NCAA Tournament and seven in the Postseason NIT. The Wildcats advance to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in the last 13 seasons, including in three consecutive seasons for the first time since making five straight appearances from 2010 to 2014. The program has now advanced to the postseason 11 times in the last 13 seasons (nine trips to NCAA Tournament and two to the NIT). The 31 overall bids rank 20th nationally, including fourth among Big 12 schools (Kansas [49], Texas [34] and Oklahoma [32]).

In its last NCAA appearance, No. 9 seed K-State advanced to its 12th Elite Eight by knocking off No. 8 seed Creighton (69-59), No. 16 seed UMBC (50-43) and No. 5 seed Kentucky (61-58) before losing to No. 11 seed Loyola Chicago (78-62) in the South Regional Final in Atlanta. Ten current players saw action in one or more of those NCAA Tournament games, including starts in all 3 games by seniors Barry Brown, Jr. and Kamau Stokes and juniors Makol Mawien and Xavier Sneed. K-State has a 10-8 NCAA Tournament mark in its last eight appearances.

The program has posted a 37-34 all-time record in NCAA Tournament play, including 11-5 in the first round. The school will be making its third consecutive appearance (2017-19) in the South Regional and the fourth overall with the other trip coming in 1993 and is 4-3 all-time in the region. K-State will be making its third appearance as a No. 4 seed and the first since the 2013 NCAA Tournament, in which, the Wildcats lost to No. 13 seed La Salle, 63-61, in the West Regional in Kansas City. The other appearance as a No. 4 seed came in the 1988 NCAA Tournament when the school advanced to the Elite Eight by defeating No. 13 La Salle (66-53), No. 5 DePaul (66-58) and No. 1 Purdue (73-70) before falling to No. 6 Kansas (71-58) in Pontiac, Mich. Overall, the school is 3-2 as a No. 4 seed.

In K-State’s 30 previous NCAA Tournament appearances, the Wildcats have advanced to the Sweet 16 a total of 17 times. The program has also reached the Elite Eight 12 times, made four Final Four appearances and played in one National Championship game (1951).

Head coach Bruce Weber becomes fourth different coach to lead K-State to at least five NCAA Tournament appearances, joining Jack Hartman (1970-86), Tex Winter (1954-68) and Frank Martin (2007-12). Overall, Weber advances to his 13th NCAA Tournament, which includes six at Illinois and two at Southern Illinois. He is 41st head coach in NCAA history to take three schools to the tournament, including the 21st active coach. He has a 15-12 record in the NCAA Tournament with four trips to the Sweet 16, two in the Elite Eight and the 2005 Final Four.

K-State earned its fifth 20-win season under Weber and finished as co-champion of the Big 12 with Texas Tech with identical 14-4 marks. The Wildcats have posted 25 wins in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history, while the 14 in Big 12 play tie the 1958-59 and 2012-13 squads for the most in school history. The team is led by All-Big 12 First Team selections Barry Brown, Jr. (14.9 ppg., 4.1 rpg.) and Dean Wade (12.9 ppg., 6.2 rpg.) as well as All-Big 12 Honorable Mention picks Kamau Stokes (10.8 ppg., 3.3 apg.) and Xavier Sneed (10.6 ppg., 5.5 rpg.).

The Big West Conference regular-season and tournament champion, UC Irvine enters Friday’s game with a 30-5 overall record, which has won 16 consecutive games dating back to January 19. The Anteaters boast one of the best defenses in the country, allowing just 63.3 points per game on 38 percent shooting, including 33.2 percent from 3-point range, while grabbing 40.3 rebounds per contest. They are a balanced squad with nine or more players averaging 5 or more points led by Big West Defensive Player of the Year and All-Big West First Team selection Jonathan Galloway (7.0 ppg., 8.0 rpg.), All-Big West Second Team selection Max Hazzard (12.5 ppg., 1.9 rpg.) and All-Big West honorable mention pick Evan Leonard (11.1 ppg., 2.5 rpg.).

UC Irvine is led by head coach Russell Turner, who has a 187-127 (.595) record in 10 seasons at the helm of the Anteaters, which includes six postseason appearances in the last seven seasons.

This will be second meeting between K-State and UC Irvine on the hardwood and in consecutive seasons after the Wildcats earned a 71-49 victory at home on Nov. 17, 2017. Kamau Stokes was one of three Wildcats in double figures with a game-high 14 points, as neither team shot 40 percent from the field.

The winner of Friday’s first-round matchup will face either No. 5 seed Wisconsin (23-10, 14-6 Big Ten) or No. 12 seed Oregon (23-12, 10-8 Pac-12) on Sunday. The Badgers, who placed fourth in the Big Ten, are led three-time First Team All-Big Ten selection Ethan Happ, who leads the squad in scoring (17.5 ppg.), rebounding (10.1 rpg.) and assists (4.6 apg.). All-Big Ten honorable mention pick D’Mitrik Trice averages 11.7 points per game.

Led by former K-State head coach Dana Altman, the Pac-12 Tournament champion Ducks are one of the hottest teams in the country with eight consecutive wins since Feb. 23. Three players are averaging in double figures led by Pac-12 honorable mention selection Louis King (13.1 ppg.), Pac-12 Tournament MVP Payton Prichard (12.7 ppg.) and Paul White (10.6 ppg.). Pac-12 All-Defensive Team member Kenny Wooten has a team-high 62 blocks.

K-State is 2-4 all-time against Wisconsin, including 0-2 in the NCAA Tournament (2008, 2011), and 2-2 all-time against Oregon, including losing a home-and-home series in 2007 and 2008.

The four teams are among the best defensive teams in the country, allowing 59.2 points (K-State), Wisconsin (61.4 ppg.), Oregon (62.9 ppg.) and UC Irvine (63.3 ppg.) to all rank in the Top 20 nationally in scoring defense.

K-State was one of eight Big 12 teams to earn berths to the NCAA Tournament and NIT, including six in the Big Dance, joining No. 3 seed Texas Tech (West), No. 4 seed Kansas (Midwest), No. 6 seed Iowa State (Midwest) and No. 9 seeds Baylor (West) and Oklahoma (South). In addition, TCU is a No. 1 seed and Texas a No. 2 seed in the NIT.
The Big 12 has eight or more combined teams in the two tournaments for the second straight season.

In addition, all three Division I programs in the state of Kansas (Kansas, Kansas State and Wichita State) all advanced to the NCAA Tournament or NIT for sixth time in eight seasons.

— K-State Athletics —

Nebraska selected for the NIT; will host Butler Wednesday

Posted on March 17, 2019March 17, 2019

Lincoln – The Nebraska men’s basketball program will make its second straight postseason appearance, as the Huskers were selected for the 2019 National Invitational Tournament (NIT) Sunday evening.

Nebraska, which enters the postseason with an 18-16 record, is the No. 4 seed and will take on No. 5 seed Butler (16-16), on Wednesday, March 20 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. (central) and the game will be televised on ESPN2 and carried on the Husker Sports Network.

“We are excited to have our season continue, especially for our seniors who wanted to return to postseason play,” Nebraska Coach Tim Miles said. “We had our share of struggles at times, but I think the way we have played over the final two weeks of the season is a testament to our players and the character they have. I believe that our performance at the Big Ten Tournament is a good momentum boost heading into the postseason, and showed a team that wanted to keep playing.

“We have been tested against a schedule that is in the top five nationally in Kenpom, including 25 games against the top two quadrants in the NET, and we are looking forward to the postseason challenge.”

Butler tied for eighth in the Big East with a 7-11 mark and features guard Kamar Baldwin, who was a second-team All-Big East selection this season. Baldwin averaged 17.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.2 rebounds per game.

The 2019 NIT is the 26th postseason appearance in school history and 19th time NU has been selected for the NIT. The Huskers are 23-17 all-time in the NIT, including a championship in the 1996 NIT and semifinal appearances in 1983 and 1987.

— KU Athletics —

Bearcats open NCAA Tournament with dominate win over Minnesota State

Posted on March 16, 2019

MARYVILLE, Missouri – The Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team cruised past Minnesota State 91-62, as they avenged last year’s first round upset and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II basketball tournament.

The Bearcats fell victim to NCAA Division II March Madness last year against the Mavericks when MSU upset the No. 1 seeded Bearcats, 60-50.

This story played differently as Northwest got on a roll early with a 12-point lead in the first five minutes of the game. That stretch set the tone early as the Bearcats continued their hot shooting tendencies up until halftime when they carried a 54-35 advantage

Joey Witthus lead the Bearcats in scoring as he finished with a career-high 39 points. It’s the sixth time this season that Witthus scored 30 or more points in a game.

Northwest was granted their largest lead of the night with two minutes left to go in the game as they went up by 31 points. This surge of offensive power was helped by a sold-out crowd at Bearcat Arena.

Other key players from the game were Trevor Hudgins who neared a double-double with 16 points nine assists. Diego Bernard also scored double digits as he tallied 20 points in the victory.

The Bearcats will face-off against Southern Nazarene in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday at 7:30 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

Griffon baseball lets 8th inning lead slip away in 8-4 loss to Washburn

Posted on March 16, 2019

ST. JOSEPH – A six-run eighth inning by Washburn (9-10, 4-6) spoiled a Griffon Baseball (9-8, 7-3) comeback effort in Missouri Western’s home opener Saturday afternoon as the Ichabods beat MWSU 8-4.

Missouri Western took a 4-2 lead with a three-run seventh, but Washburn’s big eighth inning handed the Griffons just their third MIAA loss of the season.

NOTABLES

Andrew Curry led off the fifth with a solo home run to center for Missouri Western’s first hit off of Washburn starter Josh Ramirez
With one out in the seventh, Curry tripled to start a string of seven-straight Griffons reaching base that gave the Griffons a 4-2 lead on a three-run inning
Wyatt Meyer gave MWSU the lead with a pinch-hit single in the seventh that drove in Josh Robinson
The Ichabods rallied with a six-run, six-hit eighth inning that put them on top 8-4
Missouri Western had six hits in the game and left seven runners on base

LEADERS

Curry went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI
Zach Pych returned to the lineup and went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI
Meyer drove in the other run
Jacob Purl pitched the first 4 2/3. He allowed two runs on three hits with six strikeouts and five walks
Levi Abrahamson took the loss, he pitched one inning-plus, allowing four runs on four hits

UP NEXT

The two teams play game two of the three-game series on Sunday at 1 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

Kansas falls to Iowa State in Big 12 championship game 78-66

Posted on March 16, 2019

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lindell Wigginton found his way to Iowa State from Canada, Marial Shayok took a detour through the University of Virginia, and Michael Jacobson started his career at the University of Nebraska.

Three players from three very different backgrounds now have something in common: a title.

The trio helped the fifth-seeded Cyclones race to a big early lead against No. 17 Kansas on Saturday night, then contributed to enough crucial stops down the stretch, preserving a 78-66 victory over the Jayhawks in the Big 12 tournament finale at Sprint Center.

“When you do something special, you win a championship, you got a connection for the rest of your life,” said Cyclones coach Steve Prohm, who brought together his team from far and wide.

“Hopefully this is just step one. We’ll enjoy this for a while, figure out where we’re going for the NCAA tournament and then we’ll focus on that.”

Wigginton finished with 17 points, Shayok had 15 on his way to winning tournament MVP, and Jacobson finished with 14 for the Cyclones (23-11), who became the lowest-seeded team to win the conference tournament. They also improved to 2-0 against Kansas (25-9) in the finals.

“I think it was our best team win of the year because it was gritty,” said Shayok, who like Jacobson sat out last season after transferring. “Everybody stepped up.”

Dedric Lawson had 18 points and Devon Dotson had 17 for the third-seeded Jayhawks, whose last chance to win some hardware will be the NCAA tournament. Their run of 14 consecutive regular-season crowns ended last weekend, and they failed to defend their Big 12 tournament title.

“The way we competed, we showed some signs where we really wanted to win this game,” Dotson said. “But they hit some tough shots. We were missing some of our easy shots we usually make.”

Meanwhile, the Cyclones made a tremendous about-face during their stay in Kansas City.

They arrived having lost five of their past six regular-season games, and looked rudderless in losses to Texas and lowly West Virginia. But beginning with a blowout of Baylor and continuing with a quarterfinal win over regular-season champ Kansas State, the Cyclones found their stride.

The Jayhawks, still looking for their own, were fortunate to trail only 32-22 at halftime.

Lawson, who had 24 points in the semifinals, was 2 of 11 from the field. Marcus Garrett was 0 for 6 shooting and 1 of 4 from the foul line. Quentin Grimes was 0 or 4 from beyond the arc after hitting five 3-pointers in their win over the Mountaineers on Friday night.

All told, the Jayhawks shot 27.8 percent from the field and missed all nine of their 3-point attempts in the first half. They also were just 2 of 8 from the free throw line.

“Just one of those nights,” Grimes said. “Every one of the shots we put up was a good shot.”

Iowa State had its own trouble on the offensive end of the floor, getting five shots swatted into the seats. But the Cyclones were effective at getting to the rim, and easy layups by Wigginton and Tyrese Haliburton allowed them to take control.

Their lead swelled to 41-24 early in the second half. And even when the Jayhawks managed to cut into it, they would inevitably miss an open layup or throw the ball away.

Or, Jacobson would knock down an unlikely 3-pointer.

That was the case when the Jayhawks trimmed the deficit to 45-35 with 14 minutes to go. Iowa State’s big man calmly drained one from the top of the arc — all Kansas coach Bill Self could do was smile in disbelief — and Steve Prohm’s squad promptly ripped off seven straight points.

“We just didn’t make those plays that you need in order to put some real game pressure on them,” Self said. “They were better than us, make no mistake.”

Frustration eventually set in for the Jayhawks down the stretch.

After cutting their deficit to single-digits on several occasions, including 72-63 with 1:21 to go, the Cyclones kept answering. And after Grimes was called for a foul on Wigginton, Lawson spiked the ball under the basket and was whistled for a technical foul.

Shayok made the two technical foul shots, Wigginton made two more, and the chants of “Let’s Go Cyclones!” began to reverberate throughout Sprint Center in celebration of another title.

“This is a special night. Kansas is a tremendous program,” Prohm said, “and you can talk about Coach Self forever. But our guys answered the bell. We came down here and won each game in different ways. We showed our toughness. We showed our togetherness.

BIG PICTURE

Iowa State has leaned on Shayok and Talen Horton-Tucker much of the season, but Wigginton and Haliburton shined in Kansas City. Wigginton is averaging more than 15 points over his past five games while Haliburton continues to lead the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Kansas started freshman center David McCormack, but the Cyclones’ guard-oriented lineup forced the Jayhawks to match their personnel. Charlie Moore and the rest of their guards struggled shooting the ball, and they were unable to get crucial defensive stops down the stretch.

UP NEXT

Both teams will learn their NCAA tournament destinations Sunday.

— Associated Press —

Northwest baseball loses in 10 innings at Pittsburg State

Posted on March 16, 2019

PITTSBURG, Kansas – The Pittsburg State University Gorillas scored a 3-2 extra-inning win over the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcat baseball team in game two of a three-game set.

After a quiet three innings to open the ball game, the Bearcats (9-12, 5-6 MIAA) struck first by scoring two runs in the top of the fourth.

Junior first baseman Conner Quick led off the fourth by doubling to centerfield. Senior catcher Alixon Herrera recorded his first RBI of the game, knocking a double to center to score Quick. A third double of the inning was laced by senior outfielder Derek Hussey, scoring Herrera. Senior infielder Logan Rycraft grounded out to end the inning, stranding Hussey at second.

Junior pitcher Quintin Van Ackeren got the start on the bump for the Bearcats, throwing six and 2/3 scoreless innings while allowing three hits and striking out six.

The Gorilla offense notched their first runs of the game in the bottom of the eighth, scoring two and tying up the game heading into the ninth inning. Junior infielder Ty Herrenbruck smacked a two-run home run for Pittsburg State to knot it up.

Both the Bearcats and the Gorillas went three-up, three-down in the ninth, forcing the game into extra innings.

After holding Northwest scoreless in the top of the 10th, Pittsburg State added the game winner in the bottom half of the 10th.

Freshman Gibson Brown and senior Trevor Dudar also made appearances on the mound for the Bearcats. Dudar received the loss, bringing his record to 1-1 on the season.

The Bearcats will be back in action for game-three of the series on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Pittsburg, Kansas.

— Northwest Athletics —

Missouri Western tennis loses at Arkansas Tech Saturday

Posted on March 16, 2019

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Missouri Western women’s tennis team (8-6) fell in a road matchup with Arkansas Tech (5-3) Saturday as the Golden Suns topped the Griffons 6-1.

The match began with Arkansas Tech sweeping the doubles, as the Griffons’ closest match being Karolina Ström’s and Joanna Abreu Roman’s 6-3 loss on the number one courts.

The Golden Suns won five of the six matches in singles play. Both Federica Salmaso and Bojana Vuksan lost close second sets, each falling by two points of less in the last set. Saturday’s defeat snaps a six-match winning streak for Vuksan.

Abreu Roman earned the lone victory for the Griffons in the singles. The senior earned the win on the number four court with a three-set victory to give Missouri Western the point.

Missouri Western will return home for a pair of MIAA matchups, beginning with a match against Emporia State on March 22.

MWSU VS. ATU
SINGLES
Katharina Drebka (ATU) def. Karolina Ström (MWSU) 6-2, 6-2
Alejandra Sanchez (ATU) def. Mireia Birosta (MWSU) 6-0, 6-1
Kami Ward (ATU) def. Ciarra Gilmore (MWSU) 6-3, 6-2
Joanna Abreu Roman (MWSU) def. Annabel Rowlands (ATU) 2-6, 7-5, 2-1
Katie Harris (ATU) def. Federica Salmaso (MWSU) 6-0, 7-5
Daniela Baez (ATU) def. Bojana Vuksan (MWSU) 6-1, 7-6

DOUBLES
Ström/Abreu Roman (MWSU) def. Rowlands/Ward (ATU) 6-3
Drebka/Bell (ATU) def. Salmaso/Vuksan (MWSU) 6-0
Baez/Sanchez (ATU) def. Dunn/Gilmore (MWSU) 6-1

— MWSU Athletics —

Kansas beats West Virginia 88-74 to reach Big 12 championship

Posted on March 15, 2019

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Dedric Lawson transferred to Kansas in part to win championships.

He’ll have that chance Saturday night.

The former Memphis standout scored 24 points and the No. 17 Jayhawks, who failed to win a share of the Big 12 regular-season title for the first time in 15 years, roared into the conference tournament title game with an 88-74 victory over West Virginia on Friday night.

“It wasn’t our best game,” Lawson said, “but looking forward to going out there and playing for a championship. Looking forward to going out there and winning something meaningful.”

Quentin Grimes added 18 points before leaving late with cramps, Devon Dotson had 13 and Marcus Garrett 11 for the third-seeded and reigning champion Jayhawks (25-8). They advanced to the final for the third time in four years and will face fifth-seeded Iowa State.

“We need to learn how to close something out, and we get that opportunity tomorrow,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. “They have the same opportunity. It’s going to make for a great game.”

The 10th-seeded Mountaineers (14-20) led much of the first half and hung tough early in the second, but three games in three days finally caught up to them. Tough wins over Oklahoma and No. 8 Texas Tech left them with tired legs — probably minds, too — and the Jayhawks eventually went on a 13-2 run midway through the second half to seize control.

The lead reached 20 with 7 1/2 minutes to go, and the Jayhawks cruised the rest of the way.

Lamont West led West Virginia with 16 points. Derek Culver had 14.

“I don’t want to blame fatigue,” Culver said. “Just lack of paying attention to what is going on around you. I’ll be the first one to blame. We just got to go back to the drawing board.”

Kansas has won the tournament 11 times, and Iowa State is unbeaten in four championship trips, but the two teams have met in the finals just once: The Cyclones won 70-66 in 2015.

Grimes has struggled with his shot most of the season, to say nothing of living up to his five-star status out of high school. But the freshman guard found his stroke from the opening minute, when he buried the first of five first-half 3-pointers to get the Jayhawks off and running.

West Virginia pulled ahead midway through the half, but Grimes added three more 3s to regain the lead, then hit a buzzer-beater from 30 feet to give the Jayhawks a 48-40 advantage.

“He was the reason for the run,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “He was very good.”

Lawson fueled their clinching run, getting it started with an easy basket and added another bucket and a 3-pointer during the 13-2 charge. By the time Garrett finished it off, a crowd heavily in favor of Kansas was buzzing about the opportunity to face the Cyclones.

“I bet Iowa State has 70 percent of the building tomorrow,” Self said. “You play that first game and you win, you can hustle the tickets off the team that doesn’t win. And they’re pros at hustling tickets in Kansas City. It’ll be the first time in a long time we haven’t had a comparable home court, I’d predict. It should be a fun game.”

OOPS MOMENT

The Jayhawks were ahead 75-58 with 6:33 left when West hit a pair of free throws. Freshman big man David McCormack gathered the ball while standing out of bounds and tossed it to Garrett for the inbounds. But when Garrett stepped over the out-of-bounds line, it wound up being a turnover, and Self immediately called timeout to lay into his team on the bench.

BIG PICTURE

West Virginia lost four players to injuries, transfers and dismissals, and it left them with very little depth. That appeared to play a factor in the second half, when the Jayhawks began to get up and down the floor and the Mountaineers were unable to keep up.

Kansas has played this week with a chip on its shoulder after failing to win a share of the regular-season title. Now, the Jayhawks have a chance to match the 1999 team by winning the tournament as a No. 3 seed, and perhaps help their NCAA Tournament seeding on Selection Sunday.

UP NEXT

Kansas plays the Cyclones for the championship Saturday night.

— Associated Press —

Northwest baseball gets shutout in series opener at Pitt State

Posted on March 15, 2019

PITTSBURG, Kansas – The Pittsburg State University Gorillas shut out the Northwest Missouri State University baseball team in game one of a three-game set Friday, 10-0.

The Gorillas put up a three-spot in the first off Bearcat starter Max Spitzmiller. The Gorillas tallied four hits, including a pair of run scoring doubles, in the three-run first.

The Gorillas added three more in the fourth in four more hits to increase the lead to 6-0. Northwest had a scoring opportunity in the fifth when Michael Gastner doubled and Calvin Rudolph followed with a walk. However, Derek Hussey grounded into a fielder’s choice, third to second, and Logan Rycraft grounded out to the pitcher to end the scoring threat.

Pitt State put two runners on with two outs in the fifth to chase Spitzmiller and Jarret Cronin induced a liner to left for the third out to escape any more damage.

Peter Carlson singled to lead off the sixth and Alixon Herrera singled with two out. But a Connor Quick ground out to second ended the inning with the Bearcats trailing, 6-0.

Pitt State added two runs in the second and two more in the eighth to close out 10-0 contest.

Pittsburg State improves to 11-9 overall and 6-4 in the MIAA, while Northwest drops to 9-11 overall and 5-5 in league action.

NOTES: Peter Carlson and Matt Gastner each tallied two hits in the game … Max Spitzmiller went 4 2/3 innings and gave up 10 hits and six runs while striking out three.

— Northwest Athletics —

Kansas State falls to Iowa State 63-59 in Big 12 semifinals

Posted on March 15, 2019

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Marial Shayok had watched shot after shot hit everything but net Friday night, and Iowa State’s leading scorer and veteran leader could very well have grown hesitant and frustrated.

Instead, he hit the two biggest shots of the game.

Shayok rattled in a tying 3-pointer down the stretch, swished another from right in front of his own bench, then added a couple of free throws in the closing seconds to help the fifth-seeded Cyclones beat No. 15 Kansas State 63-59 in the Big 12 semifinals.

“I had all the confidence in the world,” Shayok said, “despite missing a bunch of shots in the second half. I just kept my confidence. This team has my back and the coaches have my back.”

Shayok finished with 21 points, Nick Weiler-Babb added 12 and Iowa State (22-11) advanced to play No. 17 Kansas on Saturday night. The Cyclones are 4-0 when playing for the title.

“We had lots of chances,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “Shayok with the big 3 when we were all struggling making shots — he stepped up and made that big 3 that turned the game.”

Cartier Diarra had 15 points to lead five players in double figures for the Wildcats (25-8), who shared the regular-season title with Texas Tech. The Red Raiders were bounced from the tournament by 10th-seeded West Virginia in the quarterfinals Friday night.

The Wildcats once again played without All-Big 12 forward Dean Wade, who sat on the bench with a walking boot on his right foot. It remains unclear whether he’ll be ready for the NCAA Tournament.

“We know that it’s win-or-go home. You have to play together at all times,” Diarra said. “I think that’s the biggest thing moving forward, just keeping that mindset, and focusing on who we’re going to be playing against and not looking ahead.”

Kansas State got off to a hot start, unlike its quarterfinal win over TCU, but the Cyclones and their massive contingent of fans slowly turned the tide late in the first half.

It began when Sneed missed a layup for the Wildcats and Tyrese Haliburton scored a third-chance basket at the other end for Iowa State. Kansas State went on to miss 12 straight field-goal attempts while the high-flying Cyclones went on a 21-4 charge to end the half.

Momentum promptly switched in the locker room.

The Wildcats, who had the Big 12’s best defense this season, buckled down to start the second half, and they put together an 11-0 run that made it 38-all with 15 minutes to go.

“Their teams are so tough. They’re resilient. They have championship DNA,” Cyclones coach Steve Prohm said. “We talked at halftime how those guys were going to respond.”

They kept the run going, too, when Diarra was whacked on the way to the basket and needed to get treatment on the sideline after his free throws. Sneed finally knocked down a 3-pointer, Makol Mawien added a bucket in the paint, and Barry Brown’s fast-break layup forced Iowa State to call timeout.

The Cyclones still trailed 55-52 when Shayok’s first 3 bounced off the rim, then off the glass and dropped through. Then, after Diarra missed a 3 at the other end, Shayok hit his go-ahead 3.

Brown’s driving layup got Kansas State to 59-57 with 20.3 seconds left, but Weiler-Babb answered with a pair of free throws. Shayok answered two by Kansas State’s Xavier Sneed with two more of his own, and a team that struggled late in the season began celebrating a trip to the finals.

“We got back to competing in practice, just working hard and going at each other,” said the Cyclones’ Michael Jacobson. “I mean, to be honest, sometimes you have to hit rock-bottom and start building back up, and I think that’s what has happened to us.”

BIG PICTURE

Iowa State won despite committing 17 turnovers and struggling from the field for most of the second half. The Cyclones also won without much help from sharpshooter Talen Horton-Tucker, who had six points on 3-for-10 shooting.

Kansas State could use Wade if it expects to do damage in the NCAA Tournament. He’s the go-to guy when times get tough, and the 6-foot-10 forward probably couldn’t have helped stop the Cyclones’ big run at the end of the first half.

UP NEXT

Iowa State will play the third-seeded Jayhawks for the title.

— Assoacited Press —