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Author: Dave Riggert

No. 11 Jayhawks blow big first-half lead, holds off No. 19 Oklahoma

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riggertKULAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kelly Oubre Jr. began the season on the bench. Cliff Alexander is still there at the start games. Both highly touted Kansas freshmen have gone through their share of growing pains.

They seemed to grow up quite a bit Monday night.

Oubre poured in 19 points, converting two driving layups down the stretch, and Alexander had 13 points and 13 rebounds to help the No. 11 Jayhawks hold off No. 19 Oklahoma, 85-78.

“They played a big part in tonight’s win,” said Perry Ellis, who added 16 points for Kansas.

The Jayhawks (15-3, 4-1 Big 12) led by 20 during a hot start, then watched their entire lead evaporate early in the second half. Oklahoma (12-6, 3-3) went on a 21-3 run out of the locker room to make it a game, only to come up short for the 14th straight time at Allen Fieldhouse.

“We played maybe as well as we can play in the first half,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “In the second half, we weren’t as good — we missed some shots — but they were great.”

Buddy Hield had 26 points to lead the Sooners, who still haven’t won in Lawrence since Billy Tubbs was their coach. Isaiah Cousins added 18 points, Ryan Spangler had 13 points and 10 boards, and Jordan Woodward finished with 10 points.

“I’m proud of the guys for fighting back,” Hield said. “We should have done a better job of executing in the first half, but Kansas did a great job of making shots.”

Indeed, a rather tense finish was surprising given the lopsided start.

Kansas hit its first eight 3-pointers, one shy of the school record, and a couple almost defied logic. Brannen Greene missed a long jumper but got the ball back a foot beyond the arc and promptly knocked down the 3. Moments later, Frank Mason’s 3-point try hit off the back iron, shot about six feet straight into the air and dropped right through the net.

By the time Devonte’ Graham missed with 7:05 left to the break, the Jayhawks led 39-19, and still had a comfortable 51-32 lead when the teams headed to their locker rooms.

“We knew we wouldn’t shoot like that in the second half,” Greene said.

Oklahoma stormed back to the floor and went on a 21-3 run to open the half, taking advantage of a 1-for-12 start by the Jayhawks to close to 54-50 with 13:01 to go. Hield was the trigger for the run, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers along with dishing a couple assists.

“In the second half we turned it around a little bit, had a little bit more fight,” Sooners coach Lon Kruger said. “We had a little bit of a chance there.”

The Sooners kept clawing back, just as Utah did in rallying from a 21-point hole against Kansas earlier this season. And when Hield made the first of two foul shots with 10 minute to go, the visitors had a 59-58 lead — their first of the game.

Back and forth they went from there, two of the teams picked to battle for the Big 12 title, the intensity ratcheting up so high that Self slammed the electronic marquee at the scorer’s table so hard that he knocked out an entire bank of lights.

The Sooners were still leading 71-69 with 3:45 left when Greene knocked down his third 3 of the game. TaShawn Thomas turned the ball over at the other end, his fifth of the game, and Mason hit a 15-footer to give Kansas a bit of a cushion with 2 1/2 minutes left.

Cousins hit a 3 to keep the Sooners alive, but Alexander punctuated his breakout performance with a dunk and Oubre glided in for a layup to make it 79-74 with a minute to go.

This time, the Jayhawks managed to hold their lead to the finish.

“It was a great, great basketball game,” Self said, “and an unbelievable win.”

TRAINER’S TABLE

Kansas F Jamari Traylor is dealing with a hip flexor, Self said. The starter was held without a point or rebound in 10 minutes, though he did commit two fouls.

STAT WATCH

Oklahoma had the Big 12’s best 3-point field-goal percentage, but the Jayhawks were 10 of 19 from the arc. The Sooners also led the league in defensive rebounds but were out-boarded, 39-36.

TIP-INS

Oklahoma was facing its eighth Top 25 opponent, including five of its first six in Big 12 play. … Hield has scored at least 20 points in five of his first six league games.

Kansas improved to 64-8 under Self in games following a loss. … Mason finished with 10 points, his 15th straight game in double figures scoring.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma visits No. 21 Baylor on Saturday.

Kansas heads to No. 17 Texas on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

Griffons rally from 18-point deficit to win at Southwest Baptist

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MWSUBOLIVAR, Mo. – Aaron Emmanuel’s layup with six seconds remaining was the exclamation point on an impressive second half comeback that gave the Missouri Western men’s basketball team a 65-64 win at Southwest Baptist. The bucket gave the Griffons their first lead of the game and wiped out a Southwest Baptist lead that had grown to as many as 18 points.

Emmanuel’s layup came on the heels of an unconventional Southwest Baptist turnover with 14 seconds remaining. Coming out of a timeout, Southwest Baptist was set to inbound the ball near the Griffon bench but the ball went off of Griffon head coach Brett Weiberg while he was in his coaching box, giving Missouri Western possession of the ball with 11 seconds left.

With 19:02 left in the game, SBU had built an 18-point lead. Over the next 10 minutes, the Griffons used a 25-9 run to pull within two. After some back and forth between the two that never saw the SBU lead stretch farther than seven over the final nine minutes, a Cole Clearman three with 1:11 left pulled the Griffons within one and setup Emmanuel’s layup.

Cortrez Colbert and Kevin Thomas each scored 11 for the Griffons with Dareon Jones adding 10. Defensively, the Griffons held SBU to just eight field goals in the second half on 20 attempts. The win improved Missouri Western to 8-8 overall and 4-5 in the MIAA. The win also gave the Griffons their first win in Bolivar since 2003, snapping a nine-game losing streak. They’ll have a week off before hosting Missouri Southern on Jan. 24.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Bearcats lose second straight as they fall at Central Missouri

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NWMSUWARRENSBURG, Mo. ­- In a game that rapidly turned into a defensive battle in the second half, Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team lost one key component to combat that style of play.

Freshman point guard Justin Pitts hurt his right ankle with about 17 minutes left in the game. The Bearcats lost a player who could break down a defense with his quickness and dribble and keep the defense honest with a three-pointer.

Northwest continued to battle and even took several leads throughout the remainder of the game, but couldn’t sustain it, falling 66-61 to Central Missouri Saturday afternoon at the Multipurpose Building.

“I still think we had a chance to win the game regardless,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “If we just didn’t make so many mental errors, letting kids out of our ball screen coverage. We had a turnover that led to a layup.

“Just so many mistakes you can’t have on the road, especially without Justin. We didn’t have him, but that is no excuse to lose.”

The loss dropped the Bearcats to 13-4 overall and 6-3 in the MIAA. Central Missouri improved to 15-3 and 6-3.

The outcome makes it clear that it will be a dogfight for first place in MIAA. At the start of action Saturday, eight teams in the MIAA had two or three losses in conference.

A dogfight is the best way to describe Saturday’s game between Northwest and Central Missouri.

When Pitts left the game, Northwest trailed 41-38. Pitts, who finished with 16 points, re-entered the game, but the ankle injury was too painful for him to stay in.

“He was rolling,” McCollum said of Pitts. “They had no answer for him.”

Still, the Bearcats fought back and took a 44-43 lead on two free throws by Conner Crooker with 11:52 left.

The Bearcats clung to a slim lead for the next several minutes until Central Missouri went back in front 50-48. Northwest went right back in front 51-50 on a three-pointer by Zach Schneider.

Northwest’s last lead was 55-54 on two free throws by Grant Cozad. Central Missouri senior Rakeem Dickerson took over. A driving basket gave the Mules a 56-55 lead. TJ White followed with a basket and then Dickerson put the game away with a steal and a layup that gave Central Missouri a 60-55 lead.

The first half was close throughout. Central’s biggest lead came early at 9-4. Northwest’s biggest advantage came late at 33-28 and that allowed the Bearcats to take a slim 36-35 lead into halftime.

The play of Pitts and Crooker was important for the Bearcats. They combined to score 24 points.

Coming up big for Central Missouri was forward Brennen Hughes, who scored11 points in the first half on 5 of 6 shooting from the field.

— David Boyce, Northwest Athletics —

Missouri Western women continue road woes with loss at SBU

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MWSUBOLIVAR, Mo. – A Kyrsten Crawford three-point attempt bounced off the back of the rim, up and off the front of the rim as time expired in a 65-62 loss at Southwest Baptist for the Missouri Western women’s basketball team. It was the team’s fifth loss of seven points or less and dropped the team to 7-8 overall and 2-7 in the MIAA.  MWSU has now lost 15 consecutive games.

Once again the Griffons had their chances, tying the game twice in the final 2:30 after trailing for the entire game. Two free throws from Alex Saxen with 16 seconds left brought MWSU with in one at 63-62 but two free throws on the other end from Megan Rosenbohm pushed the SBU lead to three with five seconds to go. Crawford’s open three looked too strong but hit the back of the rim as the buzzer sounded then bounced up and almost fell through with zeros on the clock.

Southwest Baptist took advantage of 84 percent free throw shooting to stay ahead of the Griffons. SBU was a perfect 10-10 in the first half, including six straight to open the game with a 6-0 lead. The Griffons were led by LaQuinta Jefferson’s 17 points, followed by 16 from Miliakere Koyamainavure, whose eight rebounds also led the team.

Missouri Western shot 43 percent to 37.5 for Southwest Baptist and won the rebound battle 35-27. Sixteen total turnovers, including 12 in the first half hurt the Griffons, along with going just 2-12 (16.7%) from three-point range.

The team is off until Saturday when the Griffons host Missouri Southern at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri comes up short against Tennessee

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riggertMizzouCOLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — After hanging on against No. 19 Arkansas earlier in the week, Tennessee coach Donnie Tyndall said his team played the final five minutes “not to lose.”

He was prouder of the Vols’ effort Saturday after defeating Missouri 59-51, watching his team use a 14-3 run in the closing minutes to gradually pull away from the Tigers. The result gave Tennessee (11-5, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) wins in its first two SEC road games for the first time since 2009.

“The biggest thing is our team is learning how to win,” Tyndall said. “They’re getting tougher every single night. They’re gaining confidence every night.

“This young, inexperienced team could have folded, and they didn’t.”

Armani Moore scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Kevin Punter added 12 points and Derek Reese 10 points.

Namon Wright led Missouri (7-10, 1-3) with 13 points to finish as the only player in double figures. The Tigers led 46-43 following a layup from Jakeenan Gant with five minutes to go but wouldn’t score again for 3 1/2 minutes.

“Disappointing loss, to be honest with you,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. “Really disappointing loss.”

The Tigers lost 86-37 to No. 1 Kentucky on Tuesday and Tennessee dropped a 56-38 decision to Alabama on Jan. 10, and both teams revisited those offensive struggles, combining to make one of their first nine shots from the field.

After trading baskets for most of the opening half, Missouri used a 6-0 run to grab a 21-17 lead with 4:14 left before the break. The Volunteers then answered with the following seven points en route to leading 26-24 at halftime.

Devon Baulkman made two free throws with 13:52 remaining to increase Tennessee’s lead to 37-29, but Missouri fought back, scoring nine of the next 11 points. Neither team was able to build a two-possession lead again until Reese drained a short jumper to make it 50-46 Volunteers with 2:07 remaining.

The Tigers couldn’t answer.

“This team needs something good to happen,” said Anderson, whose team has lost three consecutive games. “We beat LSU and now we’re in a rut again.”

Johnathan Williams III leads Missouri this season with 13 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, but scored all eight of his points Saturday in the first half. He finished 4 of 9 shooting after scoring three points in the loss to the Wildcats.

Tramaine Isabell and Keith Shamburger also added eight points apiece for the Tigers, who shot 20 of 55 (36.4 percent) from the field and just 3 of 6 from the free throw line. Isabell sat out the first half while suspended for poor effort shown in practices, Anderson said.

TIP-INS

Tennessee: The Vols finished 18 of 20 at the free throw line after finishing 14 of 26 against Arkansas. Tennessee shot 19 of 49 (38.8 percent) from the field.

Missouri: Officials announced attendance at 10,359, the first time in nine home games this season the number of fans topped 8,000 in the 15,061-capacity Mizzou Arena.

FULL ROSTER

Anderson reinstated Deuce Bello after suspending the guard for five games for academic reasons, but said Bello didn’t play Saturday because of a sprained ankle. Montaque Gill-Caesar returned after missing three games with a back injury, going scoreless in nine minutes.

CARDINALS IN TOWN

One of the loudest cheers of the game occurred when several current and former St. Louis Cardinals players, including closer Trevor Rosenthal, were introduced with 2:38 remaining in the first half.

The team visited Columbia — about 100 miles west of St. Louis — to sign autographs and raise awareness for its upcoming season.

UP NEXT

Tennessee plays at South Carolina on Tuesday.

Missouri plays at Texas A&M on Wednesday

— Associated Press —

Northwest women knock off Central for second straight win

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NWMSUWARRENSBURG, Mo. ­- Junior Taylor Shull stepped to the line for Northwest Missouri State with 7.4 seconds remaining and the Bearcats trailing by one at Central Missouri.

The way Shull stared at the basket before taking a shot left no doubt the moment was right for her. But Shull admitted she was nervous.

“A couple of the girls came up to me and they were like, ‘Taylor, we believe in you. We know you can hit these.'” Shull said.

Shull drilled the first free throw. Central Missouri called timeout to ice Shull.

It didn’t bother her. Shull made the second one. Northwest then played great defense, getting two blocks and then watched a desperation three-pointer go wide left.

Northwest came away with a thrilling 61-60 victory over the Jennies Saturday afternoon at the Multipurpose Building. It was the second straight nail-biting win for the Bearcats.

“From the start, our kids executed our game plan to a tee,” Northwest coach Michael Smith said. “They were a driving team and we knew it so we tried to limit their opportunities to get drives.

“Our kids are starting to believe. You can see that in their eyes. This is a big win for us on the road. Anytime you can get a win on the road in the MIAA it says a lot. I am really proud of our kids right now.”

On Wednesday, Northwest beat Southwest Baptist on a buzzer beater by sophomore Shelby Mustain.

The win Saturday afternoon was more significant. It was on against a team that has five MIAA wins and was picked to finish fifth in conference.

“This is huge,” Shull said of the back-to-back wins. “We started the season a little slow. These two wins are confidence boosters. We got to keep going and keep building off of it.”

The Jennies showed their will to win when they fell behind 35-30 at the start of the second half and responded by taking a 40-37 lead a few minutes later.

Northwest didn’t back down. The Bearcats went back in front 41-40 on a basket by Ariel Easton, who finished with a game-high 17 points.

Central Missouri had a small spurt and took a 44-43 lead. Northwest bounced right back with its best run of the second half. Fueled by consecutive three-pointers by freshman Bailey Smith, Northwest built a 51-44 lead with 9:26 left.

“Those were really big, but I could not have done that without my teammates because they gave me the confidence to hit those threes,” Bailey Smith said. “I lost confidence here lately. Just getting it back feels great.”

The Bearcats struggled to score the rest of the way, but they continued to battle and fight for each point even when they trailed 57-53 with 4:56 remaining. Northwest scored the next four, which included a basket by junior Tember Schechinger that tied the game 57-57 with 4:06 left.

But once again Northwest faced a deficit. The Bearcats trailed 60-57 with 1:54 left. Northwest didn’t give up another point the rest of the way.

With a 1:09 left, Northwest closed to one on a layup by Mustain. And that set the stage for Shull’s clutch free throws.

It was another team effort by the Bearcats. Schechinger finished with 12. Freshman Tanya Meyer came off the bench and scored 11 and Smith added 10 off the bench.

“We had some early foul trouble and we had some kids step in and play,” Michael Smith said. “Tanya Meyer came in and gave us some big minutes. Another freshman, Bailey Smith hit three big threes. I am very proud of her. She has been struggling a little bit, but the kid has been in the gym everyday shooting.”

In the first half, Northwest continued to show growth. The Bearcats fell behind 19-10 midway through the half, but went into halftime with a 33-30 lead.

The Bearcats played solid zone defense in the last 10 minutes and the offense got on track. They made a quick spurt to close to 19-16.

“After our first MIAA win, we know we don’t have to give up when we are down,” Shull said. “We can keep fighting back. We realized that. There is never a time to give up. We can keep coming back.”

Northwest stayed within three and four points over the next 5 minutes and then took a 25-24 lead on a three-pointer by Meyer with 5:05 left.

Central Missouri regained the lead. Northwest came right back with a three-pointer by Smith, giving the Bearcats a 28-26 lead.

The Bearcats nearly shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, going 13 for 28. They also held Central Missouri to 33 percent.

— David Boyce, Northwest Athletics —

K-State upsets No. 22 Baylor

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riggertKStateMANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Nino Williams possess an old man’s game. He loves to shoot baseline jumpers, prefers layups to dunks. The next time he takes a 3-pointer might just be the first.

In short, he has the perfect game for taking down Baylor’s zone defense.

Kansas State’s senior forward had 18 points to fuel a big second-half rally Saturday, and then helped the Wildcats force hot-handed guard Kenny Chery into missing a layup at the buzzer that preserved a 63-61 victory over the No. 22 Bears.

“I thought I was in the groove,” Williams said. “I got a couple of easy ones, the crowd got into it. Once the crowd got into it, everyone had energy.”

Marcus Foster added 11 points and Thomas Gipson finished with nine for the Wildcats (10-7, 4-1 Big 12), who have bounced back from an ugly non-conference run to win their fourth straight.

“They’ve come back and fought and listened and been coachable, and that’s what we talk about a lot: We try to stay positive,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said.

The Wildcats trailed by as many as 12 in the second half before taking their first lead with about 6 minutes to go. The Bears (13-4, 2-3) were still within 61-58 with 45 seconds left, but Chery and Lester Medford each missed open 3-pointers that would have tied it.

Nigel Johnson made one of two foul shots for Kansas State, and Chery quickly raced the other way for layup with 5.4 seconds to go. And after Thomas Gipson was fouled and made his second of two free throws, Chery’s runner to the left of the lane bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.

Chery, who hit the winner with 4 seconds left against No. 11 Iowa State this week, finished with 21 points for Baylor. Taurean Prince added 20 points off the bench.

“First, you have to give them credit on the defense, and second, we made some mistakes, too,” Baylor coach Scott Drew. “There’s some layups we missed that you have to make in Big 12 play.”

The Bears made life miserable for the Wildcats at the start, turning them over six times in the first 5 minutes and building a 13-2 lead by the time many fans had found their seats.

Kansas State, no defensive slouch itself, finally settled into a rhythm midway through the half. Starting with a dunk by pint-sized point guard Jevon Thomas, the Wildcats rattled off a 12-0 run over more than 7 minutes, whittling a 14-point lead to 24-22 with 2:04 left.

Prince and Chery answered with consecutive 3-pointers, and then Chery knocked down one more in Thomas’s face as the buzzer sounded to give Baylor a 33-24 halftime lead.

The Bears kept the defensive pressure up in the second half, double-teaming at the top of the key and forcing Kansas State’s inconsistent post players to beat them.

The plan was working for a while as Baylor held tight to a 51-42 lead with 9:26 to go. But about the same time Foster went to the bench with his fourth foul, the Wildcats took off, driving the lane for fouls and going on a 17-2 charge that allowed them to take their first lead.

Despite a nip-and-tuck final few minutes, the Wildcats held on for their 11th win in their last 14 games against ranked teams at Bramlage Coliseum.

“Everybody in the Big 12 is a good team. Nobody can really get comfortable at home,” Williams said. “We were fortunate to make a couple of easy baskets.”

BIG COMEBACK

The 14-point comeback was the 12th-largest in Kansas State history, and the largest since 2011. It culminated with the Wildcats’ sixth straight win against a Top 25 team at home.

CHECK THE CLOCK

Baylor led for 31 minutes, 44 seconds, and the game was tied for 2:31. That means Kansas State led for less than 6 minutes total, including when it mattered the most.

TIP-INS

Baylor lost for the second time this season (13-2) when scoring at least 60 points. … The Bears, ranked third nationally in offensive rebounds, had 17 of them.

Kansas State shot 59 percent from the field in the second half. … The Wildcats have held 11 straight opponents below 65 points, their best stretch since 18 in a row in 1982-83.

UP NEXT

Baylor dips out of league play Wednesday night to face Huston-Tillotson, an NAIA school.

Kansas State plays its second game in a stretch of five straight against Top 25 opponents on Tuesday night at No. 11 Iowa State.

— Associated Press —

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