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Author: Dave Riggert

25th-ranked Mizzou women lose at No. 19 South Carolina 79-65

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Tyasha Harris and Mikiah Herbert Harrigan scored 16 points apiece on Monday night and No. 19 South Carolina defeated No. 25 Missouri 79-65 in a game that started with both teams gathering at midcourt to defuse any lingering tension from a testy game last season.

A minor scuffle broke out during the game last February and afterward a Missouri player said South Carolina fans spit on the Tigers. Missouri’s athletic director Jim Sterk said racial epithets were directed at the Tigers and said South Carolina coach Dawn Staley promoted the atmosphere.

Sterk was fined by the Southeastern Conference and Staley sued for defamation. Sterk apologized and Staley received an out-of-court settlement.

Leading up to the game, Staley and Missouri coach Robin Pingeton downplayed the past and said the focus should be on the battle for second place in the SEC. The players and coaches circled midcourt and held hands during the national anthem, though the teams didn’t intermingle.

There was one minor incident in this game Missouri never led and was down by double-figures from late in the second quarter.

A personal foul was called on Missouri’s Sophie Cunningham with 2:39 left in the third quarter. She was defending South Carolina’s Lele Grissett on the low block and Missouri’s Akira Levy doubled down on Grissett, grabbing for the ball as the whistle blew and both were given questionable technical fouls. At that point, the Gamecocks were up 57-44. The lead reached 24 in the fourth quarter.

Bianca Cuevas-Moore and Alexis Jennings added 14 points for South Carolina (13-5, 5-1).

Cunningham had 21 for the Tigers (15-5, 4-2), Amber Smith added 16 and Levy 12.

— Associated Press —

Nebraska comes up short at Rutgers 76-69

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PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Montez Mathis registered career highs with 20 points and nine rebounds while Myles Johnson added a double-double with 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds and Rutgers rallied to beat Nebraska 76-69 on Monday night.

The freshman Mathis appears to have found his way as he now has scored in double figures in five of the last six games. Johnson’s 13 points tied his career high.

Rutgers (9-9, 2-6 Big Ten) went on a 15-0 run and took a 33-31 lead after a Mathis layup on a fast break started by Ron Harper Jr. Nebraska (14-6, 3-5) called timeout with 1:54 left in the first half before going on a run of its own capped off by James Palmer Jr.’s a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to give Nebraska a 38-33 lead at the half.

Palmer lead Nebraska with 22 points, while Isaac Copeland Jr. added 16 points and with eight rebounds.

Geo Baker had 16 points for Rutgers, while Johnson was 6-of-8 shooting and had a key block in the waning moments of the game.

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: After splitting games versus Top 25 opponents in a win at Indiana and loss to Michigan State, Nebraska received 66 votes in the latest AP Poll ranking them 29th. The Cornhuskers will need to protect home court versus Ohio State this weekend to recover from the loss.

Rutgers: A much-needed win for the Scarlet Knights got them back to .500 and ended a three-game skid.

RUGGED RETURN

Just 12 days removed from dislocating his left knee cap Ohio State, Eugene Omoruyi checked in with 14:59 left in the first half. Omoruyi leads the team in points (14.6) and rebounds (7.5). Wearing a big bulky brace, Omoruyi finished with eight points and six rebounds.

YOUTH VS. EXPERIENCE

Rutgers has one of the youngest teams in the nation with just a little more than a year of experience, ranking 318th in the country. The Scarlet Knights have just one senior. With three senior starters, Nebraska averages a little more than two years of player experience — 34th in the nation.

UP NEXT

Nebraska: Hosts Ohio State Saturday.

Rutgers: Travels to Penn State Saturday.

— Associated Press —

Chiefs lose AFC Championship in OT to Patriots, 37-31

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The New England Patriots are headed to their third straight Super Bowl, once more thanks to Tom Brady’s brilliance.

The five-time NFL champion guided the Patriots 75 yards after winning the overtime coin toss, and backup Rex Burkhead’s 2-yard TD lifted New England past Kansas City 37-31 for the AFC championship Sunday night.

The drive, during which New England (13-5) had three third-down conversions, against an exhausted defense was reminiscent of when the Patriots beat Atlanta in the only Super Bowl to go to OT two years ago.

“Overtime, on the road against a great team,” Brady said. “They had no quit. Neither did we. We played our best football at the end. I don’t know, man, I’m tired. That was a hell of a game.”

Awaiting them in Atlanta are the Los Angeles Rams, who won 26-23 in overtime in New Orleans for the NFC championship. The Rams (15-3) last made the Super Bowl in 2002 while based in St. Louis, losing to the Patriots.

New England benefited from two critical replay reviews and made its ninth Super Bowl with Brady at quarterback and Bill Belichick as coach.

“This is crazy,” Brady said. “What a game.”

It’s the first time both conference title games went to OT. The last time both visitors won conference championship matches was 2012.

Several times, the Patriots appeared to have it won, only to see Kansas City (13-5) come back in spectacular fashion.

Brady, at 41 already the oldest quarterback to have played in a Super Bowl, drove New England 65 yards in 1:24 to Burkhead’s go-ahead 4-yard touchdown with 39 seconds left in regulation. That was enough, though, for his far younger counterpart, the 23-year-old Patrick Mahomes, to take the Chiefs 48 yards to Harrison Butker’s 39-yard field goal with 8 seconds left to force overtime.

It was a sizzling offensive showing in the fourth quarter after defense had been in charge most of the way. Indeed, the Chiefs were blanked in the opening half for the first time all season.

And they never saw the ball in overtime, which along with the two replay decisions might call into play NFL rules and officiating.

No matter to New England, which became the third franchise to reach three Super Bowls in a row. And Belichick now has 30 postseason victories, more than Bill Walsh and Don Shula combined. That Hall of Fame coaching duo also won five Super Bowls; Belichick shoots for No. 6 in two weeks.

An apparent muff by the usually reliable Julian Edelman on a fourth-quarter punt return was overturned by a lengthy video review, prompting raucous booing and some demonstrative arguing from the usually laid-back Andy Reid. Edelman definitely touched his next try when Brady’s pass deflected off his hands directly to safety Daniel Sorensen. His 22-yard return set up Kansas City at the Patriots 23, and Damien Williams, who scored three times, had no defender near him down the left sideline for the score that made it 21-17, KC’s first lead.

Back came Brady, engineering a 75-yard march on which Chris Hogan’s diving one-handed catch on third down appeared to touch the ground. Reid challenged — and lost.

Minutes later, rookie Sony Michel scored from the 10, his second TD of the night.

With 3 1/2 minutes remaining, there was plenty of time for more points. Williams’ 2-yard run gave the Chiefs a 28-24 edge that New England took up most of the remaining time overcoming before Butker’s field goal sent it to overtime.

The Chiefs hadn’t been blanked in any half this season, but they barely were a presence in the first 30 minutes, when they had the ball for 8:53. Mahomes was sacked three times for 43 yards; Kansas City’s record-setting attack ran only 16 plays and gained a mere 32 yards.

The zero disappeared quickly in the third quarter. Finally given solid protection, Mahomes unleashed a 54-yard completion to Sammy Watkins over All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore. He then hit another All-Pro, tight end Travis Kelce, on a slant to make it 14-7 — and awaken the slumbering crowd.

But one of several bad decisions further damaged Kansas City when Tyreek Hill, the All-Pro flex player, retreated deep in Chiefs territory returning a punt. Eventually, KC had to punt and the Patriots had excellent field position, setting up a 47-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski.

Not one to be shy about innovation, Mahomes completely sidearmed a throw to Watkins for 10 yards on a third down, then a dump-off to Williams covered 33. Kelce drew a pass interference call on J.C. Jackson in the end zone, and Mahomes threw a strike to Williams for the score.

Although the Chiefs were on their heels much of the night, they were down only 17-14.

LOPSIDED FIRST HALF

Just as they did last week in manhandling the Chargers early and cruising, the Patriots delivered a message — and a touchdown — on their first series. It was a classic, covering 80 yards in 15 plays and using up more than eight minutes. Michel rushed for 32 yards and scored from the 1.

A familiar look continued on the next drive. Oh, it was shorter in length and distance, but took up the rest of the opening quarter, in which New England had the ball for 12:35. This 56-yard march as Mahomes watched helplessly from the sideline didn’t culminate in the expected, though. Brady’s third-down pass from the 1 for Gronkowski was short and Reggie Ragland picked it off.

Brady had never thrown an interception from the 1.

When the Chiefs finally got a trademark big play on Mahomes’ 42-yard completion to Hill, it went for naught. Mahomes overthrew a wide-open Williams near the end zone, then took a 14-yard sack to send KC out of field goal range.

Big mistake.

The Patriots kept dominating the line of scrimmage, Brady took them 90 yards and connected with Phillip Dorsett over sloppy coverage by Steven Nelson to make it 14-0 with 27 seconds left in the half.

COIN TOSS

Reid’s decision to defer after winning the opening coin toss proved unwise as New England had 22 plays in the opening period, and Kansas City had seven. Then, the Chiefs lost the more important toss before overtime. Less than five minutes later, they were headed to the offseason.

UP NEXT

The Patriots head to Atlanta to play the Rams in the Super Bowl.

— Associated Press —

Griffons struggle at home against No. 2 Bearcats, lose 87-64

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ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western men’s basketball lost at home to No. 2 Northwest Missouri State Saturday 87-64.  The Griffons have dropped three in-a-row as they fall to 8-10 and 2-5 in the MIAA.  The Bearcats, who are one of just two undefeated teams in the nation, improve to 17-0 and 7-0 in league play.

NOTABLES

  • Northwest Missouri vaulted out to a 19-4 lead in the first seven minutes, making seven of its first 10 shots.
  • After falling behind by 15, the Griffons made three-straight three pointers in the midst of a 13-2 run to trail by just four points.
  • The Bearcats extended their lead to 17 points to close out the first half.
  • The Griffons managed to keep up with the Bearcats’ pace for most of the second half, as Northwest Missouri had the 47-41 edge in second-half scoring.
  • Missouri Western shot 48 percent in the second half.
  • The Griffons held Northwest Missouri to just six-made three’s, which ties for the Bearcat’s second-fewest total this season.

LEADERS

  • Tyrell Carroll led the Griffons in scoring with 20 points on 70 percent shooting.
  • Bryan Hudson was second on the team with 12 points.
  • Lavon Hightower added 10 points and four assists.
  • JJ Jones led the team with six rebounds in a season-high 21 minutes.

UP NEXT

  • Missouri Western Men’s Basketball will travel to Fort Hays State (12-5, 6-2 MIAA) for its next game.
  • The Tigers had won four-straight games before losing to Washburn in their last game.

— MWSU Athletics —

Missouri Western women pull away to blow out Northwest Missouri State 66-43

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ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western women’s basketball team fell behind 4-0 to Northwest Missouri State Saturday, but the Griffons used a 14-2 run and never trailed again in a 66-43 win over the Bearcats.  MWSU improves to 9-7 and 4-3 in the MIAA, while Northwest drops to 6-10 and they’re 2-5 in league play.

NOTABLES

  • Katrina Roenfeldt’s free throw extended the Griffon lead to 10 with five minutes remaining in the first half. The Bearcats never managed to cut the deficit to single digits for the remainder of the game.
  • The Griffons held Northwest Missouri to just 13 points in the first half.
  • MWSU put up 21 points in the third quarter, nearly matching their first half total.
  • Missouri Western’s offense found its rhythm in the second half, as the team shot 64 percent after halftime.
  • Much of the Griffons’ success on defense came as a result of slowing down the Bearcats’ leading scorer, Jaelyn Haggard, who finished with two points – both at the free throw line.
  • The 43 points allowed by the Griffons is a new season-best mark.
  • The Griffons held the Bearcats to 1-of-14 shooting from three in the game.
  • Jill Rumpf played for the first time since Nov. 24 and Cera Ledbetter returned to her first action since Dec. 19.

LEADERS

  • Roenfeldt finished with a game-high 21 points, scoring 14 in the second half.
  • Melia Richardson dished out five assists to go along with her eight points.
  • Brittany Atkins added 13 points on 60 percent shooting.

UP NEXT

  • Missouri Western will travel to No. 3 Fort Hays State (16-1, 7-1 MIAA)
  • The Tigers defeated Washburn 59-51 in their last game.

— MWSU Athletics —

Geist scores 17, Missouri rolls at Texas A&M 66-43

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Missouri hadn’t yet hit the panic button in Southeastern Conference play, but the Tigers’ fingers were getting awfully itchy.

“We needed this one bad,” Missouri forward Jeremiah Tilmon said following the Tigers’ 66-43 thumping of Texas A&M on Saturday. “We started off in the SEC real slow so this was a big confidence builder.”

Jordan Geist scored 17 points and Tilmon added 14 as Missouri dominated A&M over the game, quieting an already subdued crowd in a half-full arena. Missouri (10-6, 1-4) won its first league game while A&M (7-9, 1-4) lost its fourth consecutive home game.

“Our guys did a great job from start to finish of being locked in,” Tigers coach Cuonzo Martin said. “We just had to muster up the energy to get back to the basics, and here we are.”

Geist made 6 of 7 shots from the field, including 4-of-5 3-pointers, in the Tigers’ largest margin of victory on the road in SEC play since 2013. Nearly halfway through the second half, the Aggies had made only six field goals, as the Tigers poured it on with the outcome no longer in doubt.

“I want to apologize to our fans and the 12th Man for our effort,” said coach Billy Kennedy, who’s in his eighth season at A&M. “It was obviously poor. And obviously I’ve done a poor job getting our guys to play at the level I think we’re capable of playing.”

Josh Nebo led A&M with 12 points and Jay Jay Chandler added 11. Kevin Puryear had 10 rebounds to help Missouri earn a 39-33 advantage.

“My mission today was just to give this team a spark,” Puryear said. “And we’re a lot better at the posts than a lot of people give us credit for.”

The Tigers overwhelmed the Aggies in points in the paint (28-10), and Missouri shot 48 percent from the field (25 of 52) while the Aggies shot a season-low 26 percent (13 of 50).

“You can’t sit here and dwell on this, you just keep moving forward and figure it out,” Nebo said.

BIG PICTURE

Missouri: The Tigers needed this one in the worst way, following three consecutive losses to start SEC play (that followed six straight wins entering conference action). The Tigers also avoided losing four straight games for the first time under Martin, who’s in his second season.

A&M: The Aggies have largely been mediocre to middling in Kennedy’s eight seasons, but their two NCAA Tournament appearances in two of the last three seasons have been successes with Sweet 16 appearances.

Saturday might be rock bottom for the Aggies under Kennedy — at least they’re hoping so — considering he’s this deep into his A&M tenure.

HIGHLIGHT REEL

The Missouri players were the only ones in the arena who jumped out of their seats in excitement, especially when Reed Nikko skied over Aggie rebounders for a follow-up dunk to lift the Tigers to a 21-14 lead with 7:46 remaining in the first half.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

The Aggies’ 43 points were their lowest this season by 21 points, and their lowest total since losing 66-41 to Vanderbilt in the opening round of the 2017 SEC Tournament.

HE SAID IT

“I’m not doing a good enough job of getting them ready, and secondly, you have to have guys who want to be coached, and that starts in practice,” Kennedy said.

UP NEXT

Missouri: The Tigers are at Arkansas on Wednesday.

Texas A&M: The Aggies are at Florida on Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

No. 7 Kansas gets upset at West Virginia

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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Kansas coach Bill Self left his postgame news conference, saw West Virginia’s Bob Huggins down a hallway and stopped for a handshake.

“Go win the rest of them,” Self said.

Wishful thinking, perhaps. But Huggins will gladly take this one over his friend in what has become a forgettable season.

Jermaine Haley hurried up the court and hit a layup with 8.5 seconds left, completing a late rally that lifted the Mountaineers over the No. 7 Jayhawks 65-64 on Saturday.

The Mountaineers (9-9, 1-5 Big 12) scored the final seven points to break a five-game losing streak.

West Virginia has fallen on hard times since being ranked No. 13 in the AP preseason poll. But three defensive stops down the stretch made a difference against the Jayhawks and gave the Mountaineers a reason to think there’s time this season to turn things around.

“It’s just a matter of being mentally tough enough to do the right things,” Huggins said. “I’m just happy to win. This isn’t where we thought we’d be.”

Haley, a junior college transfer, hit all five of his field goal tries and tied a season high with 13 points despite playing with a bandage on his injured left wrist. Huggins said he has implored Haley to drive to the basket.

“I know everybody has been waiting on me to attack and get a little bit more aggressive,” Haley said. “The more minutes I play, the more comfortable I get. I’m very aware of my game and what I can do, so I think this is just another stepping stone as far as the season is going.”

Dedric Lawson and Marcus Garrett made layups 29 seconds apart to give the Jayhawks (15-3, 4-2) their largest lead at 64-58 with 2:34 left. But Kansas didn’t score again.

Wesley Harris responded with a 3-pointer for West Virginia, and Derek Culver’s layup cut the deficit to 64-63 with 1:26 remaining. Culver then grabbed a rebound but threw the ball straight to Garrett with 54 seconds left.

West Virginia got another chance after Lagerald Vick’s airball. Haley rushed, drove past Quentin Grimes and made the go-ahead layup.

Self said he should have called timeout after Haley’s basket. His intention, with Kansas in a double bonus and down one point, was to drive to the basket and either score or force a foul.

Instead, Vick missed a 3-point try from the corner as time ran out, and West Virginia fans stormed the court after the Mountaineers’ fifth win over the Jayhawks in their past six meetings in Morgantown.

“You can’t get this one back,” Self said. “We’ll be OK.”

James “Beetle” Bolden added 12 points despite playing with an illness and Culver scored 12 for West Virginia.

Lawson and Garrett had 15 points apiece for Kansas, which had won three in a row. Vick scored 13.

BIG PICTURE

Kansas: The Jayhawks committed 18 turnovers, including 13 in the first half, and missed several chances to put West Virginia away down the stretch. The Jayhawks got just four points from their bench.

West Virginia: It marked a good start to West Virginia’s toughest stretch of the season with four ranked opponents over six games. The Mountaineers also play at No. 3 Tennessee in the SEC/Big 12 challenge on Jan. 26, host No. 20 Oklahoma on Feb. 2 and play at No. 8 Texas Tech on Feb. 4.

HUGGINS BONUS

Huggins earned an extra $25,000 for beating Kansas — a contract bonus that he donates to cancer research in the name of his late mother.

BIG ATMOSPHERE

A little over a year ago, West Virginia was ranked No. 2. Saturday marked the first taste of a raucous home atmosphere for several new players, including Culver.

“That right there, I enjoy that,” he said “Me, being a freshman and a deer in headlights when it comes to things like that, that was fun. I’m not going to lie — that was fun.”

UP NEXT

Kansas hosts Iowa State on Monday night before traveling to Kentucky next Saturday for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

West Virginia hosts Baylor on Monday night.

— Associated Press —

Sneed, Wade lead Wildcats past Horned Frogs 65-55

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MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Bruce Weber was very confident about his team before the season started, but after a few injuries the season looked shaky.

After a 65-55 win for Kansas State over TCU on Saturday and everyone healthy again, the Wildcats look to be rolling at the right time once again.

“Right now we are hitting our stride and we are playing for each other,” Wade said. “We are playing at an all-time high and have lots of confidence.”

The win marked the Wildcats fourth straight after starting 0-2 in Big 12 play as TCU has now lost three of four.

K-State (14-4, 4-2) led from wire-to-wire for the second straight game as Barry Brown provided 10 points and Kamau Stokes ended with eight in the winning effort.

“It was a good team effort and we did a lot of good things,” Weber said. “We knew they were going to go zone, but I thought we had some good looks and the second half we got the ball where we needed to.”

The Horned Frogs (13-4, 2-3) couldn’t generate much offense with their second leading scorer, Kouat Noi, out with the flu. They were led in scoring by Alex Robinson who had 17 points, Desmond Bane who finished with 16 and JD Miller had 11.

“That hurt not having Kouat in there, but we can’t make excuses,” Jamie Dixon said. “They are experienced and stuck to their game plan tonight.”

K-State took advantage of 18 TCU turnovers and scored 21 points off turnovers.

“Obviously we didn’t have the right game plan in place,” Dixon said. “That’s what they do and they played well. I take the blame on this one for not having our guys ready, but we must take care of the ball to win.”

Sneed took over the first two minutes of the second half with two alley-oop dunks as K-State led 43-32, their biggest lead of the game up to that point.

“I was just picking and choosing my spot,” Sneed said. “I was just taking what the defense was giving me.”

The Horned Frogs got back within four at 47-43, but that was as close as TCU would get. The Wildcats led the entire first half led by Sneed who had eight points with four rebounds.

“We knew they were a good defensive team, but we have to play better,” Bane said.

K-State closed the half on a 9-3 run sparked by Wade’s 3-point play to give them a 37-30 lead at intermission.

BIG PICTURE

TCU: The Horned Frogs are ready for two straight home games next week after playing three of their last four on the road. The Horned Frogs haven’t won a true road game since Dec. 5.

Kansas State: The win marks the fourth straight for the Wildcats and that’s mainly because Wade and Stokes are back. If they beat Texas Tech on Tuesday, they will be in a tie for first in the Big 12.

UP NEXT

TCU is back at home when they host Texas on Wednesday night.

Kansas State will host Texas Tech Tuesday at 6 p.m.

— Associated Press —

MWSU track & field gets three event wins at Northwest Open

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MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Missouri Western Track & Field teams turned in three individual event wins and totaled 13 top-10 finishes on Saturday at the Northwest Open.

Jordan Garr bested his own school shot put record and turned in the 13th best throw in DII this year with a 56-1.25. Garr’s throw was also good for another NCAA DII provisional as was Julia Odir’s school record and event winning 39-1.75 in the women’s triple jump. Hanna Williams took a break from her dominance in the 400m but won the 600m and broke the school record with the third best MIAA time of the season, 1:25.34.

TOP FINISHERS

  • Jordan Garr, 1st, Men’s Shot Put, 17.10m (56′ 1.25″)
  • Julia Odir, 1st, Women’s Triple Jump, 11.93m (39′ 1.75″)
  • Hanna Williams, 1st, Women’s 600m, 1:25.34
  • Hunter Scaggs, 2nd, Men’s High Jump, 2m (6′ 6.75″)
  • Savannah Simmons, 3rd, Women’s 200m, 25.72
  • Megan Gillen, 3rd, Women’s 3,000m, 10:29.36
  • Savannah Simmons, 4th, Women’s 60m, 7.73
  • Men’s 4x400m, Dre’Shaun Sanders, Graham Buresh, Jalen Pauley, Chris Stanley, 3:22.36
  • Grace Bryant, 6th, Women’s Long Jump, 5.46m (17′ 11″)
  • DeShon Outley, 6th, Men’s 60m, 7.01
  • Women’s 4x400m, Savannah Simmons, Symonne Holland, Alison Nutt, Abbie Hale, 4:05.79
  • Derek Dixon, 9th, Men’s 600m, 1:16.20
  • DeShon Outley, 10th, Men’s 200m, 22.50

SCHOOL RECORDS

  • Jordan Garr, Men’s Shot Put, 17.10m (56′ 1.25″)
  • Julia Odir, Women’s Triple Jump, 11.93m (39′ 1.75″)
  • Hanna Williams, Women’s 600m, 1:25.34
  • Chris Stanley, Men’s 800m, 1:58.12
  • Riley Gorham, Men’s Mile, 4:28.03
  • Tara Bergman, Women’s Shot Put, 12.23m (40′ 1.5″)

UP NEXT

  • The Griffons head to Pittsburg, Kansas, for the Pittsburg State Invitational on Jan. 26

— MWSU Athletics —

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