We have a brand new updated website! Click here to check it out!

Author: Dave Riggert

Bearcats stay in first place with dominate win at Southwest Baptist

Posted on

Northwest2013riggertBy David Boyce

BOLIVAR, Mo. – In order for Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team to play in the biggest MIAA game of the conference season, the Bearcats had to go on the road and take care of business. And they did in impressive fashion.

Northwest led wire-to-wire, beating Southwest Baptist 72-54 Thursday evening at Meyer Sports Center for its eighth straight victory.

The MIAA showdown is now set. Bearcat Arena should be rocking 3:30 p.m. Saturday when Northwest, 21-5 and 14-4 in the MIAA, takes on Central Missouri, 23-4 and 14-4, in the battle for the MIAA regular-season crown.

The Mules are the second hottest team in the conference. They have won seven straight games.

“This is why we play the game,” said Conner Crooker, who finished with a game-high 21 points. “We have been building up to this game all season long. It just happens to be our rival team. It is going to be a big one.”

On Saturday, Northwest will definitely need to bring the same intensity and quality of basketball that it used to lead from start to finish against Baptist.

Coming into this game, the Bearcats knew they had to be ready to play. On Jan. 14, Northwest needed overtime to beat Baptist 77-73 in Bearcat Arena.

“It was definitely a big deal to be focused the whole game because the last time we played them was overtime,” Crooker said. “We weren’t going to come in here and lose it and let Central get away with the championship.”

The Bearcats were in such control in the second half that it gave up an 11-0 run to Baptist and still led 50-40. But it was a critical juncture for Northwest. Baptist had the ball and fired up a three-pointer that could have trimmed Northwest’s lead to seven.

The ball didn’t go in. Northwest then snatched away momentum from Baptist even with center Grant Cozad and point guard Justin Pitts saddled with four fouls.

“Anytime someone is in foul trouble and I have to come in, I try to play hard and play my role and help the team,” said sophomore Anthony Woods.

Teamwork is what has made the Bearcats so good all season. A three-point play by Woods ended Baptist’s run and gave Northwest a 13-point cushion.

“It was real big,” Woods said. “We needed that. It is always big to get a three. Anytime we get a three or anything to change momentum, we like it. We get back on defense and play hard.”

On the next possession, Zach Schneider drilled a three-pointer, and in less than a minute, Northwest held a comfortable 56-40 lead. Baptist never got closer than 14 points the rest of the way.

“We played really good defense,” Woods said. “Our focus was there. We played mentally tough and boxed out well. I feel we prepared well in practice, too.”

Offensively, Northwest was draining three-pointers. Crooker knocked down five three-pointers, Schneider had four and Pitts finished with three.

“It is always nice to know we can click whenever on offense and we can get a big run,” Crooker said.

Northwest opened the game with a three-pointer by Schneider and went into halftime ahead 35-23.

In the first 4 minutes, three different players scored for Northwest and that diverse scoring allowed the Bearcats to build a 10-2 lead.

Baptist made a brief spurt and closed to 12-9. Northwest answered with a 12-0 run that pushed the lead to 24-9.

By playing well on both ends of the court, Northwest maintained a double-digit lead the last 10 minutes of the first half. Northwest shot 48 percent from the field in the first half and held Baptist to 32 percent.

— Northwest Sports Information —

LeBlond boys’ defeat Plattsburg, advance to district title against East Buchanan

Posted on

BishopLeBlond2The Bishop LeBlond boys’ basketball team advance to its second consecutive district title game as they defeated Plattsburg Thursday 57-49 in their semifinal of the Class 3 District 16 tournament at East Buchanan High School.

The Eagles improve to 16-11 and they’ll play East Buchanan in the championship game Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

LeBlond led by as many as six points in the first half and took a 26-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Plattsburg took their first lead of the game in the third quarter before the Eagles’ Connor Haynes hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 33.

Bishop LeBlond never trailed again.

The Eagles made 11 consecutive free throws at one point in the fourth quarter as they held off the Tigers for the eight-point victory.

Haynes led LeBlond with 18 points and Quinton Obermier added 16.

East Buchanan 35, Maryville 33

The No. 1 seed East Buchanan gave up a 15-point third quarter lead to Maryville Thursday night and fell behind by four, but the Bulldogs’ Nate Griffin made a shot in the lane with one second remaining to break a 33-33 tie and that capped off an 8-2 run to end the game.

Griffin led East Buchanan with 14 points and Zac Johnson added 10.

The Bulldogs improve to 21-6 and they won their earlier meeting with Bishop LeBlond 55-51 in the semifinals of the LeBlond Holiday Tournament.

Northwest women drop fourth straight game with loss at SBU

Posted on

Northwest2013riggertBy David Boyce

BOLIVAR, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team dug itself a big hole and never climbed out of it Thursday evening at Southwest Baptist.

Because of a 67-47 loss, Northwest, 8-19 overall and 4-14 in the MIAA, needs to win at home on Saturday against Central Missouri to advance to the conference tournament.

“I want to see a little dignity, a little pride,” Northwest coach Michael Smith said of the final regular season game. “We kind of lost that a little bit. I don’t know what has happened the past few games.”

Both teams entered Thursday’s game needing a victory to extend its season beyond the regular season. Baptist played with that type of desperation, hustling up and down the court.

Northwest struggled to get into an offensive flow the entire game. The green Bearcats scored 24 points in the first half and then gave up the first five points in the second half for a 45-24 deficit.

Northwest didn’t score its 45th point until 1:46 left in the game and by that time, Baptist held a 65-45 lead.

“You are going to have games where you are not going to make a lot of shots, but there is no excuse for putting on a Northwest uniform and not playing with pride and passion,” Smith said.

“The paw always means pride to me. I feel like we haven’t done a good job of representing that of late. We had opportunity tonight and we let one get away.”

The good news is Northwest still has an opportunity to make the conference tournament. But the green Bearcats will have to turn in one of their best performances of the season against Central.

“We got a chance,” Smith said. “We have to win the last game of the season at home against one of the hottest teams in the league. I hope our kids understand that we are not only playing for ourselves, our community, but for our three seniors. We are going to honor them before the game.”

Northwest, though, should have some confidence. Northwest beat Central 61-60 in Warrensburg on Jan. 17.

In a must-win situation, Northwest came out cold and it didn’t help that the purple Bearcats were doing a great impression of the Showtime Lakers in the first half. Baptist scored numerous fast break baskets on the way to a 40-24 halftime lead.

Northwest held a 4-1 lead a couple of minutes into the game and then it went bad for the green Bearcats. They gave up the next eight points for a 9-4 deficit. Northwest never got on track after the Baptist’s run.

By the midway point, Northwest was down 22-10 and then it grew to 33-17. The only player to have success offensively was freshman Tanya Meyer, who went 4-for-7 from the field and scored 10 points. Nobody else scored consistently for the green Bearcats, who were 9-for-29 from the field for 31 percent.

Northwest struggled just as much on defense, allowing Baptist to go 15-for-28 from the field for 54 percent.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Huskers’ losing streak reaches six as they fall at Ohio State

Posted on

NebraskariggertCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Playing just their second game in their own arena in the last 28 days, the Ohio State Buckeyes felt right at home.

Jae’Sean Tate scored a career-high 22 points, Sam Thompson added 15 and Shannon Scott 13 to lead the Buckeyes past Nebraska 81-57 on Thursday night, the Cornhuskers’ sixth loss in a row.

“It definitely feels good to be home,” said Tate, who was 8 for 9 from the field, 1 of 2 on 3-pointers and 5 of 6 at the line. “It feels like we haven’t been home in forever.”

Not quite that long. But playing only their second game at Value City Arena this month, unlike many of their recent road games they jumped out to a quick lead and never allowed the opponent to get back in the game.

“Ohio State’s start was really the key to the game,” said Nebraska coach Tim Miles. “Their defensive pressure did a good job of standing the ball up, and then that got us standing around. We had three turnovers that led out to easy run-out layups and dunks. If you’re going to contend here, you can’t get down early.”

The Buckeyes (20-8, 9-6 Big Ten) rolled to a 42-24 halftime lead, taking the lead for good with a 12-0 run built on five points by Scott, four by Thompson and D’Angelo Russell’s 3-pointer. When the Cornhuskers (13-15, 5-11) came out with two quick 3-pointers by Tarin Smith in the second half, the Buckeyes pulled away again, with Thompson hitting a 3 to push the lead to 55-38 and out of reach. Thompson was 3 for 3 behind the arc.

Russell had 11 points and six assists before leaving with leg cramps for the Buckeyes, who had lost their last two.

Tarin Smith had 13 points, Terran Petteway 12 and David Rivers 10 points and 11 rebounds for Nebraska, which fell to 0-8 in conference road games.

When Ohio State played at Rutgers on Feb. 8, several NBA scouts were on hand to take notes on Russell, who didn’t disappoint with a triple-double of 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

Buckeyes coach Thad Matta, who now has led his teams to 20 wins or more in all 15 of his seasons as a head coach, had his picture taken with Jackson before the game.

“I thought about calling for the triangle (offense) and then (winking at Jackson),” he said with a laugh.

—

TIP-INS

Nebraska: The Cornhuskers were coming off what their own game notes called their “poorest effort of the season” in a 28-point home loss to Iowa on Sunday afternoon.

After that game, Nebraska coach Tim Miles was so angry that he barred his players from its plush home locker room. He also forbade any players from speaking to reporters, saying he would be the lone person representing the program.

The Cornhuskers’ $19-million practice facility, which opened in 2011, includes heated towel racks and iPod plug-ins in the showers.

Miles said the players could find their own place to shower after practices: “Good luck. They’re creative people.”

Ohio State: The Buckeyes appeared to be a lock for the NCAA tournament just three weeks ago. Then they lost three of five, and looked bad doing it.

Most mock brackets have them as an 8 or 9 seed.

UP NEXT

Nebraska: The Cornhuskers are off until March 4 when they travel to play Illinois, then close out the regular season with No. 14 Maryland at home on March 8.

Ohio State: The Buckeyes host Purdue on Sunday, are at Penn State on Wednesday and entertain No. 5 Wisconsin in the last game before the Big Ten tournament on March 8.

THE ZEN MASTER

Eleven-time NBA champion Phil Jackson, team president of the New York Knicks, sat in the first row at midcourt while scouting D’Angelo Russell. Most mock drafts have Russell, a freshman, going in the top handful of picks should he elect to jump into the draft early.

QUOTE OF THE GAME

Miles rushed out on the court just before the starting lineups were announced. He said it was a miscommunication stemming from the National Anthem being played early. He wasn’t even fully dressed when he realized how close it was to the opening tip.

“Actually, man, I really cleaned up good, in a hurry,” he said. “That’s the only damn thing I did right all night.”

— Associated Press —

Big second half run dooms Griffons in loss at No. 12 Central Missouri

Posted on

MWSUWARRENSBURG, Mo. – The Missouri Western men’s basketball team was held to a season-low scoring total in a 64-42 loss at No. 12 Central Missouri Wednesday night.

After MWSU scored the first points of the second half to tie the game at 29, Central Missouri scored 22 unanswered points to take a 51-29 lead with 11:02 left in the game. From that point on the Griffons were never closer than 18 points to the defending national champs. The 42 points were a season-low for the team, 12 fewer than they scored in a 54-50 win over Emporia State.

Missouri Western was held to just 38 percent shooting from the field, 27 percent from three-point range and 50 percent at the free throw line. The Griffons turned the ball over 17 times and were outscored by 10 in the paint.

Seth Bonifas led the Griffons with 10 points while Currie Byrd added eight. Cortrez Colbert’s 18-game streak of scoring double-digits was snapped as he went 1-11 from the field and scored just two points.

The loss dropped the Griffons to 11-14 overall and 7-11 in the MIAA. They host Southwest Baptist in the final regular game of the season on Saturday.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western women rally but come up short against Jennies

Posted on

MWSUWARRENSBURG, Mo. – The Missouri Western women’s basketball team overcame two separate double-digit deficits only to come up short in an 82-78 loss at Central Missouri Wednesday night.

Down by 10 with 5:40 to play, MWSU tied the game at 78 with 52 seconds remaining. With 32 seconds left, Breonna Embray hit a three-pointer to put the Jennies up for good.

In what proved to be a back and forth affair, UCM jumped out to a 13-2 lead that quickly evaporated as the Griffons climbed within one with 9:47 left in the first half. The Griffons took the lead with 5:55 to go before halftime and stretched their lead to five points before UCM took control again, taking a three-point lead to halftime. MWSU jumped back ahead early in the second half only to see UCM climb back and regain the lead.

Missouri Western finished 41 percent from the field and missed just one of their 22 free throw attempts while going 3-14 from three point range. They turned the ball over just seven times but were outrebounded 40-30. LaQuinta Jefferson finished with 16 points and Sarafina Handy had 15. Miliakere Koyamainavure added 10 points.

The Griffons take a 13-11 overall record and 8-10 mark into their final regular season game against Southwest Baptist on Saturday in the fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri State outlasts Bradley in three overtimes

Posted on

riggertMissouriStateSPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Christian Kirk had 16 points and nine rebounds to lead Missouri State past Bradley 80-77 in triple-overtime Wednesday night.

Chris Kendrix and Loomis Gerring each hit a pair at the line in the final :23 to push the Missouri State lead to five and the Bears held on.

Austin Ruder had 20 points, including five 3s and Kendrix added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Bears (11-18, 5-12 Missouri Valley).

Bradley scored the first seven points of double overtime, but Missouri State scored seven of the next eight points capped by a tying 3-pointer from Gavin Thurman with 1:16 left.

After three free throws from Sutherland put Bradley up three, Ruder hit a tying 3-pointer with 6 seconds left to force a third overtime.

Josh Cunningham had 15 points and a career-high 21 rebounds, 11 on the offensive end, and Tramique Sutherland added 20 points for the Braves (8-22, 3-14).

— Associated Press —

Missouri rallies past Florida 64-52; snaps 13-game skid

Posted on

riggertMizzouCOLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri coach Kim Anderson has said repeatedly this season his team needs something good to happen.

Finally, something good happened.

It came in the form of Namon Wright, who scored a career-high 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting to lead the Tigers past Florida 64-52 on Tuesday. The win snapped the school’s record 13-game streak with a flourish.

“I was questioning whether he was going to miss tonight,” teammate Montaque Gill-Caesar said.

The freshman from Los Angeles carried the team nearly single-handedly in the opening minutes of each half, and his 6-of-8 performance from behind the 3-point line helped spark the loudest cheers in Mizzou Arena since the Tigers (8-20, 2-13 Southeastern Conference) last won on Jan. 8.

“We didn’t really have anybody who could stop him,” Gators coach Billy Donovan said.

Devin Robinson scored 14 points and Jon Horford added 10 for Florida (13-15, 6-9), which lost for the sixth time in seven games and prevented Donovan from earning his 500th career win. He would have joined Bob Knight as the only coaches in Division I history to reach the milestone before reaching their 50th birthday.

Missouri senior Keith Shamburger criticized the team’s effort after losing 76-53 at Vanderbilt on Saturday, saying slow starts are getting into the Tigers’ heads. Missouri missed six of its first seven shots in that game, but started 4 of 6 Tuesday thanks mostly to Wright.

Wright scored seven points in the first 4:27, providing a boost of energy that lasted through most of the opening half. The Tigers led for more than 13 of the game’s first 20 minutes, only to watch Florida take a 31-27 halftime lead after the Gators scored six of the final eight points.

Wright reignited after the break, pulling fans to their feet by scoring Missouri’s first 10 points in the first 3:43 to gain a 37-35 advantage. The Gators answered with nine unanswered points before Missouri countered with 11 of the next 12 for a 48-45 lead.

Florida narrowed its deficit to a single point on an ensuing jump shot from Chris Walker, but could get no closer during the final six minutes.

“I thought we really made a lot of poor choices, things that to be quite honest, left me scratching my head,” Donovan said.

The Tigers gradually stretched their lead to as many as 14 points to the delight of the 7,631 in attendance, most of whom remained standing during the last few minutes. As the final seconds ticked off, the student section started performing Florida’s “Gator Chomp” before joining other fans in sustained applause as the clock struck zero.

“I hope it gives us some confidence,” Anderson said. “I mean this has been miserable. This has been hard for me; it’s been hard for them. Let’s see if we can win another game.”

TIP-INS

Florida: The Gators only made 9 of 23 attempts from the free throw line, and finished 19 of 48 (39.6 percent) overall.

Missouri: After being outrebounded 46-26 at Vanderbilt on Saturday, the Tigers grabbed a 34-31 advantage on the boards on Tuesday. . The team finished 19 of 44 (43.2 percent) from the field. . Gill-Caesar and Johnathan Williams III both added nine points.

SHORT-HANDED GATORS

Florida played without its two leading scorers for a third consecutive game, with junior Michael Frazier II still nursing a high ankle sprain and junior Dorian Finney-Smith remaining suspended for an undisclosed violation of team rules. The duo combine for 26.1 points and 10.4 rebounds per game and did not make the trip.

UP NEXT

Florida returns home to face Tennessee on Saturday.

Missouri plays at Georgia on Saturday.

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File