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Author: Dave Riggert

Mizzou hangs on to win at No. 24 Texas A&M 34-27

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riggertMizzouCOLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Russell Hansbrough ran for a career-high 199 yards and two touchdowns to help Missouri to a 34-27 win over Texas A&M on Saturday night.

Missouri (8-2, 5-1 SEC) scored 28 points in the third quarter to erase a seven-point halftime deficit and take a 34-20 lead.

The Aggies got within a touchdown early in the fourth quarter and had a chance to tie it with less than three minutes remaining, but lost a yard on fourth down from the Missouri 1.

The Tigers then ran out the clock to secure their fourth straight win and remain in first place in the SEC East.

Hansbrough ran for touchdowns of 49 and 45 yards in his fifth career 100-yard game in front of a crowd of more than 100,000 which included former President George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara.

Kyle Allen threw for 237 yards with three touchdowns and an interception for Texas A&M (7-4, 3-4).

He tossed a 4-yard pass over the head of safety Duron Singleton to Malcome Kennedy for a touchdown to cut Missouri’s lead to 34-27 early in the fourth quarter.

Andrew Baggett’s 49-yard field-goal attempt bounced off the right upright, giving the Aggies the ball back with 5 1/2 minutes remaining, but they came away empty after the fourth-down stop.

Missouri’s Shane Ray had a sack to give him 13 this season, extending his school record. Maty Mauk threw for 252 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

The Tigers tied it at 13-13 when Mauk found Darius White in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown reception early in the third quarter.

A&M responded quickly with Allen finding Josh Reynolds for a 56-yard touchdown catch three plays later to put the Aggies back up 20-13. The score gave Reynolds 12 touchdown receptions this season to tie a school record. He finished with five receptions for 125 yards.

Hansbrough knotted the score once again when he burst up the middle 49 yards for a touchdown less than two minutes later.

Missouri forced a punt and Hansbrough did it again on the next drive, this time evading three tacklers on his way to a 45-yard touchdown run to make it 27-20. A 16-yard touchdown run by freshman Ish Witter pushed the lead to 34-20 with about a minute left in the quarter.

Texas A&M’s defense gave up 587 yards playing without linemen Myles Garrett and Ivan Robinson who missed the game with injuries.

Josh Reynolds grabbed a short pass from Allen, slipped from one defender and flipped over another and into the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown to give A&M a 10-3 lead about 10 minutes before halftime.

That score came after the Aggies got a fresh set of downs when Missouri was penalized for roughing the punter.

Bud Sasser had a 2-yard touchdown catch wiped out when he was called for pass interference and the Tigers settled for a 35-yard field goal to cut the lead to 10-6. Sasser finished with 83 yards receiving.

The Tigers were driving late in the second quarter when Armani Watts intercepted a pass and returned it 36 yards. Reynolds had a 32-yard reception to set up a 31-yard field goal to leave A&M up 13-6 at halftime.

— Associated Press —

MWSU women let eight-point lead slip away in loss at Quincy

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riggertMissouriWesternLaQuinta Jefferson and the rest of the Missouri Western women’s basketball team made the last two minutes interesting Saturday night at Quincy, but the Griffons came up short against the Hawks, 77-70, in the QU Subway Tip-Off Classic.

With 2:39 left in the game, Quincy led by 11, but a 7-0 run by the Griffons brought them within four. Jefferson scored eight straight points, including two straight three pointers to keep the Quincy lead at four with :43 seconds left.

Jefferson’s fifth foul sent the Lady Hawks to the line as they made both free throws, stretched the lead back to six and never looked back. The Griffons held their largest lead of the game — eight points — with 14:37 left in the game but Quincy used a 13-3 run to go back on top with 9:26 left and never trailed again.

Jefferson finished with 24 points and was 7-11 from the field. Missouri Western shot 40 percent from the field, 39 percent from behind the arch and 71 percent from the charity stripe. They pulled down 41 rebounds to Quincy’s 43. The Lady Hawks scored 18 second chance points to the Griffons eight. Sarafina Handy was the only other Griffon in double figures, scoring 15 points.

The Griffons bring their 1-1 record back to St. Joseph next week when the open at home against Rockhurst on Thursday.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Northwest men defeat Upper Iowa for first win of season

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NWMSUNorthwest Missouri State kept its composure and relied on teamwork to withstand the barrage of three-pointers unleashed by Upper Iowa midway through the second half.

The Peacocks, who were ice cold in the first half on three-pointers, started knocking down one trey after another. They closed to six points.

Undaunted, Northwest stayed with its offense. The Bearcats made a few three-pointers, scored a few more field goals inside the arc and stayed aggressive and that led to free throws.

The lead grew back to double digits and ended with Northwest capturing its first victory of the season, beating the Peacocks 91-83 Saturday evening at Bearcat Arena.

“It is definitely a relief to get the first win,” said sophomore forward Zach Schneider. “We had a shot at it last night. We didn’t pull it out.

“Our guards did a really good job of getting everyone open looks. Tonight we knocked them done a lot better and that was good.”

Northwest, 1-1, returns to action at 5 p.m. on Friday against William Jewell at Missouri Western.

Northwest appeared in complete control when Grant Cozad made a field goal, giving the Bearcats a 65-50 lead with 8:47 left.

“I thought defensively we executed, especially early in the game,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “Offensively, the first half we were a little rough, missing layups and missing wide-open threes. I think that is more of an inexperienced thing than anything else. We are starting to gain some experience and confidence. We are a work in progress.”

Northwest showed they can handle a run late in the second half.

Back-to-back treys by Upper Iowa sliced Northwest’s lead to 65-56. After a basket by Cozad, the Peacocks made another three-pointer. Upper Iowa closed to 70-64 on another three-pointer.

“I feel like they hit seven or eight in a row there,” Schneider said. “We made a few mistakes. We didn’t get out their shooters. But we built enough of a lead that we could afford to make a few mistakes.”

Northwest junior Conner Crooker hit a three-pointer, putting the Bearcats up nine at 73-64, and Upper Iowa quickly answered with a three-pointer.

The Bearcats finally regained control when Matt Wallace drilled a three-pointer and followed that several seconds later with two free throws that gave Northwest a 78-67 lead.

The Peacocks never threatened again.

“I thought we responded well, especially for a young team,” McCollum said. “Throughout the game we didn’t respond as well as I would like. If we missed a layup, we were frustrated all the way down to the other end rather than turn around and figure it out and get the stop.”

Offensively, it was a team effort for Northwest. Led by 20 from Crooker, all five starters scored in double figures. Schneider tied his career-high with 19, freshman point guard Justin Pitts scored 16, Wallace had 12 and Cozad finished with 11.

Northwest went into halftime with a 40-33 lead because of one statistic. The Bearcats went 6-for-12 from behind the three-point arc while Upper Iowa hit just one of its 12 three-point attempts.

It was near the end of the first half that Northwest found its form on the long-range shots. A three-pointer by Crooker gave the Bearcats a 29-28 lead.

Schneider, who was 4-for-7 on three-points in the opening 20 minutes, solidified Northwest’s lead with a three-pointer that made it 32-28.

“I think our jitters carried over a little from last night,” Schneider said. “Once we got settled in, we are pretty tough to stop, especially with Pitts. He is pretty quick. He finds everyone who is open.”

Northwest concluded the first half with Schneider and Crooker each making a three-pointer.

Freshman forward Brett Dougherty came off the bench and provided a spark inside the paint during the midway point in the first when Northwest was struggling on offense.

Dougherty made three buckets in the paint and added a free throw for seven points in only 8 minutes of action.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Kansas comes up short in upset bid against No. 4 TCU

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riggertKULAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — TCU coach Gary Patterson spent most of Saturday watching every bounce, blooper and bizarre play go against his team on a frigid afternoon at Kansas.

In the end, the Horned Frogs (No. 4 CFP, No. 5 AP) did just enough to turn back a spirited upset bid by the Jayhawks and remain in contention for the inaugural College Football Playoff.

“A lot of people would have lost that ballgame,” Patterson said after the 34-30 win. “There wasn’t any style points here other than the fact that we fought back and won the game.”

Aaron Green ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns, and Cameron Echols-Luper returned a punt 69 yards for another score to pace the comeback from a 27-17 third-quarter deficit. Trevone Boykin added 330 yards passing and a touchdown as TCU (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) avoided what would have been a catastrophic blow to its national title hopes.

The Horned Frogs won their fifth straight, even without top running back B.J. Catalon. And with a trip to Texas followed by a home game against lowly Iowa State, they may have the easiest road standing between them and the four-team playoff for the national title.

Still, even after Chris Hackett’s interception with 3:26 left sealed the victory, the underwhelming performance could cost TCU its spot in the playoff committee’s top four.

“We’re not too worried about it,” Boykin said. “It’s not up to us. It’s up to the committee.”

Michael Cummings had 332 yards and two touchdowns passing for the Jayhawks (3-7, 1-6), who were trying for their first regular-season win over a top-5 team since beating Colorado in 1995. Jimmay Mundine had 137 yards receiving and a touchdown, and Nigel King had 128 yards and a score as the Jayhawks nearly gave a sparse crowd of about 10,000 fans a reason to celebrate.

Still, Kansas made another strong statement in support of interim coach Clint Bowen, who has steadied the program after Charlie Weis was fired and become a strong pick for the full-time job.

“We were a play or two away from probably a better day,” Bowen said.

TCU did what most expected on the game’s opening drive, going 67 yards in just over 2 minutes for a touchdown. But after that, nothing went as expected for quite some time.

After holding Kansas, TCU was flagged for roughing the punter. Later in the drive, the Jayhawks attempted a field goal and holder T.J. Millweard dropped the snap, scrambled to his left and threw a pass for a first down instead. Then, a TCU player batted a third-down pass and it was caught by the Jayhawks’ Nick Harwell for another first down.

Finally, Corey Avery capped the bizarre 17-play drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.

“We didn’t get a lot of breaks,” Hackett said with a smile.

Kansas held on fourth-and-1 at its 11 to get the ball back, and the Jayhawks promptly headed 89 yards the other way, with Mundine hauling in a 13-yard touchdown pass to give Kansas the lead.

By that point, the few thousand fans in Memorial Stadium were awaking from stunned silence.

Not everything went perfectly for Kansas. A 22-yard interception return for a TD was wiped away by an illegal substitution penalty, and a 16-yard pass into the red zone for a first down was taken away by a review that showed the ball had skipped off the turf. The Jayhawks wound up punting.

Still, they headed into the locker room with a 13-10 lead.

Kansas pushed the lead to 20-10 with an 82-yard drive to start the second half, and the Horned Frogs answered with a 72-yard drive that Green capped with a short touchdown run.

That set up one of the game’s highlights: Cummings threw a pass to King down the sideline, and the big wide receiver caught the ball after three bobbles and ran 78 yards for the score.

There was still plenty of time, and the Horned Frogs showed plenty of poise.

After a quick drive downfield, Green’s 24-yard touchdown run pulled TCU to 27-24. And after the Horned Frogs’ defense forced a punt, Echols-Luper sliced through the coverage for his big return that gave them their first lead since the game’s opening minutes.

TCU held on through a tense fourth quarter to avoid the upset bid.

“We knew it was going to be tough,” Boykin said. “Everybody is going to be out for us because we’re one of the teams at the top right now.”

— Associated Press —

No. 16 Nebraska gets run over by Gordon, Wisconsin

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NebraskaMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Melvin Gordon had one magnificent day.

Wisconsin’s star running back rushed for a major college-record 408 yards and four touchdowns, and the Badgers (No. 20 CFP, No. 22 AP) overcame three early turnovers to take control of the Big Ten West division with a 59-24 win Saturday over Nebraska (No. 16 CFP, No 11 AP).

Gordon eclipsed the single-game mark held since 1999 by TCU’s LaDainian Tomlinson by 2 yards, setting the new standard on a 26-yard touchdown run on the final play of the third quarter and his last carry of the game.

“Yeah, I didn’t even know I was close to the record,” Gordon said. “I was kind of just running away.”

Outdueling Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah in a matchup of star running backs, Gordon had two fumbles before helping the Badgers (8-2, 5-1) roar past the Cornhuskers (8-2, 4-2) with 49 straight points.

The star junior torched what had been a staunch Nebraska defense on 25 carries and delivered an emphatic statement in the Heisman Trophy race.

Abdullah finished with 69 yards on 18 attempts.

The game had been billed in part as a footrace between Gordon and Abdullah for Heisman votes.

It ended up being Gordon by a landslide.

Gordon’s most entertaining carry might have been the 62-yarder down the sideline, completed after hurdling over lunging safety Corey Cooper around the 35 to get into the clear.

Gordon never played a down in the fourth quarter with his team leading by five scores. About the most action he got was when he danced on the field in the snow with his teammates while the song “Jump Around” echoed through the stadium, a Wisconsin tradition before the fourth quarter.

“Melvin Gordon! Melvin Gordon,” the crowd roared in the second half.

The single-game rushing record had stood since Nov. 20, 1999, when Tomlinson had 406 for TCU against UTEP.

As a comparison, Wake Forest has played 10 games this season and has rushed 317 times for 341 yards.

The all-time NCAA Division I record is 437 yards, which was set by North Carolina A&T’s Maurice Hicks in 2001 against Morgan State.

The NCAA all-division record is 441 yards by Marietta’s Dante Brown against Baldwin Wallace in 1996.

Gordon thanked his coaches for sticking with him after his two fumbles.

“It’s a luxury that I’ve never had before as a coach,” Wisconsin’s Gary Andersen said. “To see a performance like that was amazing.”

It was hard to believe that Nebraska actually led 17-3 with 14:12 left in the second quarter on quarterback Tommy Armstrong’s 5-yard touchdown run. The Cornhuskers’ early scores came on short fields because of Wisconsin turnovers.

Nebraska fell apart from there. Gordon powered the offense, while the Wisconsin defense applied nonstop pressure.

The win, coupled with Minnesota’s 31-24 loss earlier Saturday to Ohio State, gave the Badgers’ sole possession of first place in the West.

Wisconsin finally surged ahead 24-17 on Saturday night on Joel Stave’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Sam Arneson with 3:31 left the second quarter.

The rushing attack then left the Cornhuskers in the dust. Gordon scored three times in the third quarter, while dual-threat quarterback Tanner McEvoy, who alternated with Stave, added an 11-yard touchdown run.

It was 52-17 by the start of the fourth, with backups littering both lineups the rest of the way.

Armstrong finished with 17 yards on 20 carries, but was just 6-of-18 passing for 62 yards with an interception. He connected with Kenny Bell for a 12-yard touchdown pass early in the first quarter.

But what had been a promising start for Nebraska turned into an embarrassing loss in the snow.

Gordon stole the show.

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western women defeat Robert Morris by 61 in season opener

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MWSUThe 2014-15 version of the Missouri Western women’s basketball team showed something Friday night, rarely shown a season ago – scoring. Missouri Western downed Robert Morris-Springfield, 110-49, in their season opener at the Quincy University Subway Tip-off Classic.

The Griffons led 24-23 with 10 minutes remaining in the first half, then went on to outscore the Eagles 37-13 through the rest of the half.

Missouri Western came out of the halftime locker room hot as well, opening the second frame on a 13-0 run. They went on to outscore the Eagles 49-13 in the second half and fall five points short of tying the school scoring record.

It’s the Griffons first time scoring 104 against Avila last year. It’s the team’s first 50-point win since that same game against Avila.

Missouri Western shot 53.5 percent from the field and 30 percent from behind the arch. They were 66.7 percent from the free throw line and dominated the boards, 57-25. The Griffons pressure defense also gave Robert Morris trouble. Missouri Western claimed 11 steals and 23 Eagle turnovers.

Five Griffons scored in double figures, led by LaQuinta Jefferson’s 17 points. Freshman Oliva Hanson added 14 points and seven rebounds. Tiara Hall and Mili Koyamainavure each scored 13 and Alex Saxen had 10.

Missouri Western continue sthe QU Subway Tip-Off Classic Saturday at 4 p.m. when they take on host, Quincy University.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Kim Anderson era at Missouri begins with loss to UMKC

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riggertMizzouCOLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Martez Harrison scored 26 points and Shayok Shayok added 10 to help Missouri-Kansas City stun Missouri 69-61 in the season opener Friday for both teams.

UMKC used two 10-2 runs in the opening half to help build a 33-24 halftime lead and then nursed its advantage throughout the final 20 minutes. The Kangaroos last beat a power conference team in December 2003 (Kansas State) and haven’t finished above .500 in a season since 2004-05.

Freshman Montaque Gill-Caesar led Missouri with 21 points while Wes Clark added 13.

The Tigers returned just 22 percent of their scoring from a 2013-2014 season that ended in March with a second-round loss in the NIT. Four freshmen received significant playing time Friday for first-year coach Kim Anderson, who guided Central Missouri to a Division II title earlier this year.

Harrison, the reigning WAC Freshman of the Year, averaged 17.2 points per game last season and single-handedly kept UMKC in the lead at times against the Tigers, scoring seven consecutive points midway through the second half.

After an authoritative, two-handed dunk by Gill-Caesar with 4:54 left narrowed Missouri’s deficit to 57-53, Harrison answered with a layup on the other end to start a 4-0 UMKC run.

The Tigers would get no closer.

Missouri led for just 34 seconds, grabbing a 3-2 advantage on a free throw by Ryan Rosburg 3:37 into the game. The team trailed by 11 in the first half against Missouri-St. Louis in its second exhibition game on Nov. 8, and Anderson said afterward the deficit would be beneficial to the Tigers.

But there would be no comeback this time.

—

TIP-INS

Missouri-Kansas City: The upset provided the signature win for second-year coach Kareem Richardson, who helped Louisville win the national championship in 2013 as an assistant for Rick Pitino. UMKC also received a big boost of confidence after being picked to finish fifth in the preseason WAC media poll.

Missouri: A scattering of boos rained down at the final buzzer from an announced attendance of 7,014. . Jakeenan Gant sat out after the school issued a release shortly before tip-off saying the freshman would be “withheld from competition as a result of a review regarding his eligibility.”

UP NEXT

Missouri-Kansas City plays at Kansas State on Monday.

Missouri hosts Valparaiso on Sunday.

— Associated Press —

Griffon volleyball ends season with loss at No. 17 Central Missouri

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riggertMissouriWesternThe Missouri Western volleyball team wrapped up a memorable season on Friday night in a 3-0 loss to #17 Central Missouri. The Griffons battled throughout the match with scores of 25-19, 25-21, and 25-21 but couldn’t pull off the upset to keep their slim postseason hopes alive.

Missouri Western was led again by senior Erica Rottinghaus as she tallied 18 kills on the night while hitting a .275. Jessie Thorup and Amanda Boender added seven and eight kills respectively for the Griffons. The offense was set up by Jordan Chohon who posted 33 assist on the night and contributed nine digs.

Defensively, Sarah Faubel had 18 digs to add to her all-time career digs record which she broke earlier this season.

The Griffons finished the season with the most wins since 1997 and finished with a program best 16 MIAA victories. Missouri Western season record was 22-8 overall and 16-6 in league play.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Graham helps No. 5 Kansas hold off UC-Santa Barbara

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riggertKULAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Devonte’ Graham came off the bench Friday night to provide fifth-ranked Kansas with a much-needed spark, providing the scuffling Jayhawks with some scoring and toughness.

Maybe a bit too much toughness.

On one play in the first half of their 69-59 victory over UC-Santa Barbara, the freshman guard was whistled for a technical foul after he walloped a defender with an elbow. Graham walked sheepishly back to the bench, where Kansas coach Bill Self proceeded to — ah, instruct him.

“He wasn’t happy,” Graham said with a grin. “He was mad.”

Truth of the matter? There wasn’t much for Self to be happy about Friday night.

Graham finished with 14 points, Perry Ellis had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Frank Mason III finished with 12 points. But the Jayhawks also committed 16 turnovers, struggled with their shooting and didn’t put away the pesky Gauchos until a big second-half run.

The defending Big 12 champions had better solve their ills in a hurry. They have a date with top-ranked Kentucky on Tuesday night in Indianapolis.

“We need to develop an identity,” Self said. “We’re going to need to win games muddy.”

Alan Williams led Santa Barbara with 22 points and 13 rebounds, frustrating the Jayhawks with some veteran guile. The Big West’s top returning scorer also had four blocked shots.

“We just didn’t make enough shots,” he said. “We’re a better shooting team than that.”

The Jayhawks won their 42nd straight season opener at Allen Fieldhouse, but it certainly wasn’t easy. A team that lost freshmen sensations Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid to the NBA draft had to rely on a bevy of freshmen, and it showed throughout the first half.

Kansas went 6 minutes without a field goal at one point, turning the ball over four times in a span of six possessions. The Gauchos only had one field goal in a span of nearly 10 minutes, though, and they struggled on the boards on both ends of the floor.

Still, Santa Barbara had forged a 15-14 lead with about 7 1/2 minutes left in the half before Graham went on his scoring binge. The diminutive freshman scored eight of the next 11 points for Kansas, and then added a put back of his own miss before the buzzer for a 31-23 lead.

“Man, he came in and stepped up,” Ellis said. “That’s what we needed from our freshmen.”

The Gauchos, picked to contend for the Big West title, stubbornly refused to go away. They made one more push early in the second half, closing within 44-41 on Zalmico Harmon’s bucket.

Cliff Alexander answered with two foul shots at the other end, and that kicked off a 14-4 surge that helped to put the game away. Alexander had the highlight of the run, a thunderous dunk off a feed from fellow freshman Svi Mykhailiuk that gave the Jayhawks a 54-43 lead.

Santa Barbara never seriously threatened again.

“We played a very good team,” Santa Barbara coach Bob Williams said. “I thought our guys found a way to score and stay in the game, and that’s the best you can say when you don’t shoot the ball very well.”

FOUL TROUBLE

Both teams heard plenty of whistles. Graham and Mason picked up two early on for Kansas, though the Jayhawks managed their foul trouble well in the second half. Meanwhile, Santa Barbara put them in the bonus with 11:32 left in the game. The Gauchos’ John Green fouled out.

TIP-INS

Kansas: Sophomore forward Brannen Greene got his first career start. He was 1 for 3 from the field and finished with three points, two rebounds and one assist.

Santa Barbara: Mitch Brewe spent the night hearing “Airball!” from the Kansas students. The junior forward fired up two of them in the game.

UP NEXT

Kansas takes a big step up in competition for the second straight year when it takes on the Wildcats. Last year, the Jayhawks knocked off Duke in Chicago in their second game.

Santa Barbara visits Florida-Gulf Coast on Monday night. The two will play again in January.

— Associated Press —

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