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Author: Dave Riggert

Griffons’ Rottinghaus named honorable mention All-American

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MWSUThe fifth postseason award for Missouri Western senior Erica Rottinghaus could be her biggest yet. The senior outside hitter for the Griffon volleyball team has been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American honorable mention team.

She is the first All-American for Griffon Volleyball since Missouri Western Hall of Famer, Shelly Lowery was named AVCA first team All-American in 1995.

Rottinghaus was a first-team AVCA All-District pick after leading the Griffons with 396 kills for a 3.6 average per set and ranked fifth in the MIAA in kills per set average. The Seneca, Kansas native was second on the team with 438.5 points and third with 59 total blocks. She was also second on the team with 279 digs.

The senior was a key part of a two-year turnaround for the program that won more MIAA matches in 2014 than any other MWSU volleyball team and won more overall matches than any team since 1998. Rottinghaus was also named first team All-MIAA, received an MIAA Scholar Athlete Award, first team CoSIDA Academic All-District and MIAA Academic Honor Roll.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Northwest women get clobbered by No. 1 Hornets 80-44

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Northwest2013riggertEMPORIA, Kan. – The best time to play the No. 1 ranked team in the regular season is the conference opener on the road. You might just shock the NCAA Division II world.

Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team surprised Emporia State in the first 10 minutes Wednesday evening at White Auditorium.

But after a competitive first half, Emporia State showed why it’s the No. 1 team in Division II.

The Hornets used their size, quickness and ability to make shots all over the court to beat Northwest 80-44.

Northwest dropped to 3-5 overall and Emporia State improved to 6-0. Senior Ariel Easton led Northwest with 13 points.

The reason why it was good for the Bearcats to face one of the best teams in the country so early in the season was because they can clearly see what they need to work on to beat the elite.

The final score was no indication on how well the Bearcats played through much of the first half.

However, the first 10 minutes of the second half was like a math student going into an advance calculus test with only pre-algebra knowledge.

Emporia State outscored the Bearcats 31-4 over those 10 minutes for a commanding 70-33 lead. The young Bearcats simply didn’t have an answer to slow Emporia State in any facet of the game.

Instead of dwelling on those minutes, Northwest should focus on what they did right in the first 10 minutes of the game.

In those 10 minutes, Northwest belonged on the same court with the No. 1 ranked team in the country.

The Bearcats fell behind 7-4 in the opening minutes and quickly fought back. A bucket by Tanya Meyer helped Northwest close to one and then Tember Schechinger put the Bearcats up 8-7 on a basket.

Northwest held a 15-12 lead on another field goal by Schechinger. It was at that point Emporia State started looking like a top-ranked team. The Hornets went on an 11-0 run and took a 23-15 lead.

The Bearcats showed enough fight in the closing minutes to keep the game somewhat close. When Emporia State built a 26-17 lead, Northwest pulled to 26-21.

Still, Emporia State had a bit too much firepower for Northwest to keep its deficit under double digits. Two free throws by Kelsey Barnwell near the end of the first half gave the Hornets a 39-28 lead at halftime.

Northwest basically had offense from two sources in the first half. Easton scored 12 points and Schechinger added eight.

— David Boyce, Northwest Sports Information —

AP source: Royals, Hochevar agree to 2-year deal

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riggertRoyalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Right-hander Luke Hochevar and the Kansas City Royals agreed to a $10 million, two-year deal that should give the defending American League champions even more firepower in their bullpen.

Hochevar will make $4.5 million this season and $5.5 million for the 2016 season, a person familiar with the terms told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Hochevar must pass a physical to complete the agreement.

Hochevar missed last season after Tommy John surgery.

Despite the need for a starting pitcher to replace James Shields and a designated hitter to replace Billy Butler, the Royals have chosen to first lock down their pricy but effective bullpen.

They have already exercised their option on setup man Wade Davis, which means he will earn $7 million next year — a big jump from the $4.8 million he made last season. That decision also triggers an $8 million option for 2016 with a $500,000 buyout. And if the Royals exercised that, they would have a $10 million option for 2017 with a $250,000 buyout.

All-Star closer Greg Holland remains under club control through 2016, but he’s eligible for arbitration and likely will earn more than $9 million next season.

Add to the mix right-hander Kelvin Herrera, who handled most of the seventh-inning duties last season and will likely see a bump to about $1.5 million through arbitration, and the Royals could have $22 million tied up in four relief pitchers for the 2015 season.

Of course, that’s assuming all of them are still on the roster by spring training.

The Royals have been open to the possibility of trading one of their prized relievers, and Holland would net them the most in return. With few impact bats available in free agency, a trade might be the best route for the Royals to address their gaping hole at designated hitter.

It also remains to be seen just how effective Hochevar will be after Tommy John surgery.

The former No. 1 overall draft pick struggled for years as a starting pitcher, going 11-11 with a 4.61 ERA in his best season. He drew the ire of Royals fans tired of losing, and became a not-so-pleasant face of a franchise that had been treading in baseball’s backwater.

But then Hochevar shifted to the bullpen fulltime in 2013, and he proved to be a dynamic relief pitcher. He went 5-1 with a 1.92 ERA, blowing away hitters with a upper-90s fastball.

The Royals toyed with moving him back into the starting rotation last spring training, but they ultimately decided to keep him in the bullpen. Not long after that decision was made, the right-hander felt a twinge in his elbow. An MRI exam take a couple of days later revealed a major tear of the ulnar collateral ligament, resulting in Tommy John surgery.

Hochevar spent the season rehabbing, but he also never strayed far from the clubhouse. And when the Royals went on a magical run to the World Series in its first playoff appearance in 29 years, Hochevar was right in the midst of it, rooting on his teammates every night.

Now, after a long wait, it appears he’ll have a chance to help them out on the field once more. Hochevar is expected to be ready to pitch when the Royals report to Surprise, Arizona, for spring training in mid-February.

— Associated Press —

Three Jayhawks named to Naismith Trophy men’s 50 watch list

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riggertKUKansas men’s basketball junior Perry Ellis, sophomore Wayne Selden, Jr., and freshman Cliff Alexander have been named to the Naismith Trophy Men’s 50 Watch List, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Wednesday.

Kansas is one of four schools with three student-athletes listed among the 50-member list, joined by Arizona, Duke and Kentucky. The KU trio makes up one-third of the Big 12’s nine players listed.

Named the MVP of the Orlando Classic, the Big 12 Player of the Week (12/1) and the CBSSports.com National Player of the Week (12/1), Ellis leads KU with 15.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. The Wichita, Kansas, forward has scored 17 or more points in each of his last four games and has two double-doubles on the season. Alexander scores 9.7 points per game and is tied for the team lead with nine blocked shots through six contests. The Chicago forward averages 6.0 rebounds per outing and is shooting 56.3 percent from the field. Selden is tied for the team high with 22 assists. The Roxbury, Massachusetts, guard is scoring 7.7 points and pulls down 3.8 rebounds per game.

The watch list will be cut down to a midseason 30 on Feb. 12, 2015, with the 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Award announced March 6. Four semifinalists will be named March 22 with the winner announced April 5.

No. 11/11 Kansas (5-1) will play host to No. rv/24 Florida (3-3) on Friday, Dec. 5, at 8 p.m. (Central) in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on ESPN. Florida junior G Michael Frazier II is also on the Naismith Trophy Men’s 50 Watch List.

— KU Sports Information —

Mizzou rallies to defeat Southeast Missouri State

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riggertMizzouCOLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Johnathan Williams III laughed when asked what coach Kim Anderson told him at halftime Tuesday.

“He got on me a little bit,” the Missouri forward said. “And I think I kind of needed that. . And I think I did do better in the second half. I want to say thanks to Coach Anderson for pushing me.”

“You’re welcome,” Anderson responded.

Williams III scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Missouri past Southeast Missouri State 65-61 after trailing 30-24 at the break. The sophomore played with a brace on his right knee but otherwise showed no ill effects from soreness that limited him to just 7 minutes of playing time against Chaminade in the Maui Invitational.

The Tigers (4-3) took their first lead of the game with just 3:55 remaining on a 3-pointer by forward D’Angelo Allen. Keith Shamburger then hit his own 3-pointer with 17.2 seconds remaining to give Missouri a 63-58 advantage.

After the Redhawks’ J.J. Thompson answered with a basket from long range, Tramaine Isabell converted two free throws with 7.7 seconds remaining to end the threat.

Jarekious Bradley scored 12 points and Thompson added 11 to lead Southeast Missouri State (3-4), which fell to 0-8 all-time against Missouri.

The Redhawks made their first four shots from the field and used a 9-0 run late in the opening half to take a 30-19 lead before Missouri scored the final five points heading into the break.

“We need that emotional leader, and right now we don’t have that established,” Anderson said. “We can’t just wait around and just think we’re going to turn it on. That’s not going to happen.”

Southeast Missouri State then held on for most of the second half before Allen’s 3-pointer provided the Tigers with a 57-55 lead. Freshman Montaque Gill-Caesar set up the lead change with two 3-pointers of his own on the Tigers’ previous two possessions.

Gill-Caesar, who entered the night leading Missouri with 13.7 points per game, scored 13 of his 15 points after the break. Shamburger finished with 11.

Missouri played without sophomore Wes Clark, who didn’t join the Tigers on the bench. Anderson said, without elaborating, that the guard was suspended indefinitely for violating team rules. Clark started the team’s first six games, averaging 9.2 points and a team-high 32 minutes per game.

Namon Wright started in Clark’s place after scoring 21 points on 7-of-7 shooting against Chaminade. A freshman from Los Angeles, Wright scored four points.

While both teams shot about 50 percent from the field, they struggled from the free throw line, as Southeast Missouri State converted 5 of 14 attempts while Missouri finished 13 of 23. Williams went only 8 of 14.

“Bottom line, it’s free throw shooting,” Redhawks coach Dickey Nutt said. “We had our chances — and I don’t take anything away from them — but it’s hard to swallow that. But we’ll move on.”

TIP-INS

Southeast Missouri State: The Redhawks fell to 1-19 against current members of the Southeastern Conference, with their only win coming at Arkansas during the 1924-25 season.

Missouri: In addition to Clark’s absence, freshman Jakeenan Gant continued to sit out while the school reviews his eligibility.

DEFENSIVE SETBACK

Southeast Missouri State limited Alabama A&M on Saturday to 31.3 percent shooting (15 of 48) — including 1 of 12 from 3-point range — the second-lowest field goal percentage by an opponent in coach Dickey Nutt’s six seasons with the Redhawks. Missouri shot 22 of 44 from the field, including 8 of 15 from long range.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT

“Sometimes we’re a little too cool for school,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. “I’ll be honest with you. That’s a habit we have to break.”

UP NEXT

Southeast Missouri State hosts Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday.

Missouri plays at Oklahoma on Friday.

— Associated Press —

Kansas State pulls away from Omaha in second half to win 84-66

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riggertKStateMANHATTAN, Kansas (AP) — Kansas State scored its fewest points in Bruce Weber’s three-year tenure to close the Maui Invitational, so he wasn’t particularly excited to see Nebraska-Omaha, who knocked off Marquette on the road, in the Wildcats’ first game since the tournament.

However, a near-career high performance from Nino Williams and a season-high 23 assists aided Kansas State (4-3) in its first home game in two weeks.

Williams had 19 points and Marcus Foster added 16 points as Kansas State beat Nebraska-Omaha 84-66 in the first-ever meeting between the two schools on Tuesday night.

It is already the fourth 80-point game for the Wildcats. They only surpassed the mark twice during the 2013-14 season.

C.J. Carter had 22 points to pace the Mavericks, who were held to their lowest score of the season.

Nebraska-Omaha (3-3) overcame two nine-point leads just after halftime, but 10 points from Foster in the first eight minutes of the second half never allowed the Mavericks to close within six points through the remainder of the game.

A 3-point play from Marcus Tyus closed Kansas State’s lead to 56-48 with 11:19 left, but Williams scored nine of Kansas State’s next 13 points to open a 69-50 lead.

“We were pretty good defensively,” Weber said of the stretch. “We turned them over, got some easy baskets off of it and were in the right spots. That first 10-12 minutes of the second half, we were pretty solid and we extended (the lead) to six to 10 and to 15 and kept it going.”

The Wildcats won the rebounding battle 43-25, which led to 38 points in the paint and substantial foul trouble for the Mavericks.

Forward Jake White was out for Nebraska-Omaha and his replacement Tre’Shawn Thurman and starter Mike Rostampour both picked up two early fouls.

“Like I told our team, `There are some things you can control and some things you can’t,” Nebraska-Omaha coach Derrin Hansen said. “One of those things we can’t control is that they can bring bigger bodies than anyone we’ve played. Whether that be Marquette, Nebraska or whoever, that hurt us tonight.”

It didn’t start well for the Wildcats, as they didn’t lead until a Jevon Thomas 3-pointer with 7:32 left in the first half.

Nebraska-Omaha opened up a 16-10 lead with 11:29 left in the first half, shooting nearly 50 percent during the stretch.

However, the Mavericks’ largest lead opened up the floodgates for Kansas State.

After struggling through his first six games, Justin Edwards followed a Foster basket with a spinning layup through traffic that aided a 12-3 first-half scoring run. He also knocked in his second 3-pointer of the season.

“We didn’t play to our potential like we should have,” Carter said of letting their foot off the gas pedal. “The first we did, but they’re a great team. For a six-minute stretch, like coach said, we just fell apart.”

The Mavericks trailed 37-31 at halftime, but Carter’s 14 first-half points kept them in range after making only four shots in the final six minutes.

Williams led the Wildcats with eight points in the first half, including the first five points of the game.

—

TIP-INS

Nebraska-Omaha, who was picked sixth in conference preseason polls, leads the Summit League in points per game, field goals made per game, 3-point percentage and total rebounds.

Kansas State is now 36-0 in December home games, dating back to a 76-66 loss to Rutgers Dec. 28, 2004.

STAT LINE

Jevon Thomas reached double figures for the first time in his Kansas State tenure, scoring a career-high 12 points. The performance surpassed a nine-point outing at Kansas on Jan. 11.

UP NEXT

Kansas State will go to Tennessee on Saturday.

Nebraska-Omaha will play at Air Force next Monday.

— Associated Press —

Cardinals sign free-agent pitcher Matt Belisle

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riggertCardinalsThe St. Louis Cardinals announced Tuesday that they have agreed on a one-year contract for the upcoming 2015 season with free-agent right-handed pitcher Matt Belisle.

Belisle, 34, brings added veteran experience to the Cardinals bullpen, having made 70 or more relief appearances in four of the last five seasons, including a National League-leading 80 in 2012.  Belisle ranks 2nd in the majors in games pitched (367) since 2010 and his 91 Holds in that five-year span rank 10th in all of baseball.

The 6-4, 225-pound Belisle was 4-7 with a 4.87 ERA in 66 games for the Colorado Rockies last season, allowing just 19 walks in his 64.2 innings pitched.  He has compiled a career mark of 48-54, 4.41 ERA in 524 games (724.1 IP) with Cincinnati (2003, 2005-08) and Colorado (2009-14) and his 92 career Holds with the Rockies rank 2nd in franchise history.

A native of Austin, Texas, Belisle has shown excellent command, allowing fewer than 20 walks in each of the past seven seasons and he’s posted a 2.2 walks/9 IP ratio over his career.  Belisle was used exclusively as a starter by Cincinnati in 2007 when he made 30 of his 44 career starts.  He won a career single-season high 10 games for the Rockies in 2011 to lead all Major League relievers.

Belisle joins recently-acquired right-handed reliever Jordan Walden (trade with Atlanta) in the Cardinals bullpen plans for 2015.

— Cardinals Media Relations —

Griffons blow out Hannibal-LaGrange to stop 3-game skid

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MWSUThe Missouri Western men’s basketball team snapped its three-game losing streak with a 72-43 win over Hannibal-LaGrange Monday night in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

Hannibal-LaGrange hung with the Griffons for the first five minutes of the game but Missouri Western used a 24-1 run to end the first half and begin the second half.

Western had a 32-16 halftime lead and led by as many as 32 points in the second half.

MWSU outscored the Trojans 40-27 in the second half on their way to their first win since defeating William Jewell in the fieldhouse on Nov. 22. The win moves the Griffons to 3-3 overall on the year and 3-0 at home.

The Griffons dominated despite shooting just 38 percent from the field and allowing Hannibal-LaGrange to shoot 42 percent. Missouri Western finished with a 38-33 advantage on the boards and scored 30 points off Trojan turnovers to just two for Hannibal-LaGrange.

Missouri Western was paced by Ryan Devers 20 points. Seth Bonifas had his first career double-double, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Cole Clearman scored 10 points.

The Griffons hit the road this weekend when they travel to Fort Hays State on Saturday for their first MIAA action of the season. The tip is at 4:00 p.m. and it’ll be broadcast on 680 KFEQ and here on StJosephPost.com.

— MWSU Sports Information —

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