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Author: Dave Riggert

Kansas State’s Kivett named preseason All-American

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Ross KivettKansas State senior second baseman Ross Kivett was named to Baseball America’s Preseason All-America Third Team, earning his fourth preseason All-American nod this year. Kivett is the first K-State baseball player to garner four preseason All-American honors in a single season.

The 2013 Big 12 Player of the Year has also been named to the preseason All-American first teams for Collegiate Baseball newspaper, NCBWA and Perfect Game. Kivett was named an All-American by three different organizations following last season, including Baseball America’s third team.

Kivett is the third Wildcat since 2011 to earn preseason All-American accolades from Baseball America. Nick Martini (2011) and Jared King (2013) were both named to the publication’s third team.

The Baseball America preseason All-America teams are voted on by Major League Baseball scouting directors.

Kivett and the Wildcats, who are ranked as high as No. 21 in preseason polls, start the 2014 season on Friday, Feb. 14 at Cal Poly to kick off an eight-game road trip.

— KSU Sports Information —

Griffons come up short at home against Lindenwood, 66-64

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MWSUThe Missouri Western men’s basketball team shot just 37.7-percent (23-61) from the field falling 66-64 against the Lindenwood Lions. The Griffons got out rebounded 40-28 in the game falling to 9-11 overall and 4-8 in MIAA play.

A late 9-2 run by the Lions put them up 32-25 after one half of play. The Griffons played well for the first 16 minutes of the game leading by as many as six at 17-11 after a Dzenan Mrkaljevic jumper with 8:11 to play in the frame. The Lions dominated the rest of the frame shooting 50-percent (10-20) from the field with Darris Smith and Michael Boos leading the charge with eight points apiece.

The Griffons shot 40.7-percent (11-27) with Ryan Devers leading the charge with nine points making all of his shot attempts. The Griffons got outrebounded 15-11 in the frame and the Lions had five blocked shots. Cortrez Colbert led the Griffons with 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

The Griffon faught from behind the whole game and could never get over the hump. They cut the score to under five numerous times but everytime the Lions had an answer.

Missouri Western opened the half on a 7-4 run cutting the deficit to four at 36-32 after a Charlie Marquardt three point play. The Lions responded pushing its lead back to nine at the 11:48 mark after two free throws by Smith. Just minutes later the Griffons two Adarius Fulton three pointers got the Griffons to within three but again the Lions pushed its lead to 11 after a Smith Jumper with 6:05 to play.

The Griffons remained calm and with 25 second to play trailed by just three at 64-61 after a Dareon Jones long range jumper. Missouri Western stole the ball the next Lion possession but a three by Fulton to tie the game came up shot. Fulton hit his third three of the game as time expired giving Lindenwood the two point win. The Lions improve to 9-13 overall and 4-8 in MIAA play.

Devers led the Griffons with 17 points and nine rebounds while Marquardt and Jones finished with 15 and 10 respectively. Colbert dished out six assists and had five rebounds.

The Lions shot 42.2-percent (19-45) from the field but made 79.3-percent (23-29) free throws. Smith finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds while Garrett Reeg had 15 points and nine boards.

The Griffons return to action on Wednesday, February 5 with a road contest against Northwest Missouri State University. Game time is set for 7:30 pm in Bearcat Arena.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Bearcats use big second half to blow out Lincoln

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NWMSUThe Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team extended its winning streak to eight games with a 92-59 victory over Lincoln University on Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Arena. Northwest had five players reach double figures to improve to 16-5 overall and 11-1 in MIAA play. Lincoln drops to 2-18 overall and 0-12 in conference action.

Grant Cozad came off the bench to score a team-high 16 points with six rebounds. Conner Crooker scored 15 points and Dillon Starzl added 13 points with seven rebounds. Zach Schneider hit three three-pointers to finish with 12 points and seven rebounds. Bryston Williams had four steals to go along with 10 points.

As a team, Northwest shot 60.7 percent from the field, going 34-for-56, including 10 makes from beyond the arc. The Bearcats also outrebounded the Blue Lions, 43-17, and had 17-second chance points.

Lincoln held an early 9-8 advantage on the Bearcats with 17:07 left in the first half. But Northwest would never trail for the rest of the contest, building an 11 point halftime lead, 41-30. In the second half, Lincoln would pull to within eight points at 48-40 with 15:31 left in the game. But the Bearcats would go on an 18-5 run to secure the win. Northwest’s largest lead of 33 points came on the final basket of play on a layup from Jordan Ashton.

Up next, Northwest will host Missouri Western on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 7:30 p.m. at Bearcat Arena.

Mizzou’s rally falls short against No. 11 Kentucky

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MUCOLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Kentucky’s back to having fun.

One game after calling a players-only meeting to discuss the team’s issues away from home, the Wildcats kept their poise at Missouri on Saturday, escaping with an 84-79 win.

”It was fun, actually,” Aaron Harrison said. ”When we play together, we have a lot more fun.”

Harrison scored 21 points and James Young added 20 to help Kentucky (16-5, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) improve to 2-3 on the road after losing 87-82 at LSU on Tuesday. Harrison’s 3-pointer just 1:42 into the game gave the team a lead it wouldn’t relinquish, but it wasn’t easy.

Jabari Brown finished with a career-high 33 points and Jordan Clarkson scored 28 to keep Missouri (16-5, 4-4) in the game. Clarkson’s layup with 51.9 seconds remaining narrowed the Tigers’ deficit to 80-77, but Harrison answered with a layup 30 seconds later to end the threat.

”We’re a talented team,” Clarkson said. ”We weren’t going to let them just blow us out.”

Despite the teams combining for 41 fouls and the lack of lead changes, the game carried a frenzied pace as Kentucky tried to pull away early in the second half but couldn’t bury Missouri. The Wildcats led 61-49 with 11:44 remaining before Missouri used a 10-2 run to get back into it.

The Tigers pulled within three points on three occasions but couldn’t get closer.

”You can’t emphasize everything with these guys,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. ”All we talked about was passion and intensity. . I loved the fight. I loved the emotion we played with, the enthusiasm we played with.”

Kentucky couldn’t contain LSU’s Johnny O’Bryant III on Tuesday, allowing 29 points to the forward. Missouri’s guards caused the trouble Saturday, as Brown and Clarkson combined for 21 of 34 shooting, mostly in the form of layups.

The duo helped obscure Missouri’s frontcourt production, which only mustered three points. The team fell to 43-3 at home under third-year coach Frank Haith but has lost two of its last four.

”We have to get something,” Haith said about his forwards. ”But I don’t think that’s our problem. I think our problem with losing this game today was on the other end of the court and not being able to stop them.”

Brown extended his streak of 20-plus performances to six after entering the day as the SEC’s leading scorer with 22.3 points per game. Brown and Clarkson’s combined 61 points were the most in regulation since Derrick Chievous had 42 and Byron Irvin had 21 against Virginia Tech in December 1987, according to the school.

”They’re great players,” Haith said. ”I don’t think Jabari gets credit for how good of a player he is. I think both those guys are terrific players. They left it out there on the court. They gave it everything they had.”

Kentucky’s Julius Randle scored 18 points on 7 of 13 shooting to help Kentucky finish 30 of 56 from the field. The Wildcats converted eight 3-pointers one game after a making a season-high nine, but Missouri hung around on 27 of 51 overall shooting.

Missouri won the opening tip and Brown scored the game’s first basket before Harrison’s 3-pointer. The teams traded baskets until the Wildcats’ Jarrod Polson found Marcus Lee for a reverse alley-oop to start a 12-2 run that gave Kentucky a 40-28 lead with 1:40 remaining before the break.

Haith drew a technical eight minutes into the first half after taking off his jacket and arguing about the lack of a whistle against Randle when the forward got tangled with Brown underneath the basket. Andrew Harrison converted one of two free throws before officials called three fouls on the Wildcats in the next minute.

”Any win is a big win,” Randle said. ”We can’t take anybody for granted. We knew after the LSU game we had to come back strong and we had to come back more prepared.”

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western women hold off Lindenwood for 65-62 victory

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MWSUThe Missouri Western women’s basketball team played a solid first half and held off a strong Lindenwood comeback in the second to pick up the win 65-62 Saturday afternoon at MWSU Fieldhouse.

The Griffons jumped out to a 38-20 lead after the first half behind Quenisha Lockett’s 11-point half. Along with Lockett, Tiffanie Abrams scored nine points to help the Griffons take control. Abrams scored the first six points of the game, and both players went 5-for-5 from the free-throw line in the first half. The second half saw the Griffons, who were 10 of 14 from the charity stripe as a team in the opening half, struggle with freebies.

Lindenwood stormed out of the break and went on a 20-6 run in the first nine minutes of the second frame. Abrams’ layup around the 11-minute mark ended a Lions’ 14-0 run that put them back in the ballgame.

Both teams swapped baskets in the second portion of the final half, and the game eventually settled even at 51 after Kassidy Gengenbacher laid the ball in and received a free throw for the old-fashioned three-point play.

Tiara Hall and Lanicia Lawrence added two points apiece to give the Griffons another four-point lead, but after another Gengenbacher layup, the Lions were back within two.

Free throws from Jallisa Lewis, JaQuitta Dever and Abrams held off the Lions’ comeback, and Lindenwood guard Dru Haetling’s 3-pointer came with just one second left on the clock as the Griffons completed the win 65-62.

The Griffons (9-10, 4-8 MIAA) are now just one game back of the Lions (10-9, 5-7) in the standings. The win gives the Griffons their second-straight win as they head to Maryville, Mo. Wednesday night to play Northwest Missouri State.

Abrams played solid all night with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists. The senior also went 8-for-9 on free throws. The Griffons were just 5 of 20 from the 3-pointer line, but were helped by Lindenwood’s 22 turnovers, which included 17 in the first half, which resulted in 20 points off turnovers and 24 overall. Missouri Western’s bench added 42 of its 65 points on the night.

— MWSU Sports Information —

No. 6 KU suffers first Big 12 loss as they fall at No. 25 Texas

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KUAUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Don’t crown sixth-ranked Kansas as Big 12 champions just yet. There’s another team with serious designs on winning the title.

And surprise, surprise: It’s the surging Texas Longhorns.

Isaiah Taylor scored 23 points, Jonathan Holmes had 22 and No. 25 Texas beat the Jayhawks 81-69 on Saturday for its sixth consecutive victory.

Texas, which lost its top four scorers from last year’s 16-18 squad, has been the surprise of the Big 12. The Longhorns have four consecutive wins over Top 25 opponents and now sit in second place after dominating a team that had been playing as well as anyone in the country in recent weeks.

”We’ve got pretty good momentum,” Holmes said. ”We’ve got to keep it going.”

The Longhorns (17-4, 6-2) thumped the Jayhawks with suffocating defense that held the Big 12’s best shooting team to 39 percent from the floor. Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins, who averaged 24 points over the previous three games, scored seven before fouling out late.

Texas put together one of its most impressive wins in years. The Longhorns outshot and outrebounded the Jayhawks, had 12 blocks, and once they built a double-digit lead, never left Kansas an opening to rally.

”I thought our big guys played pretty soft. We didn’t do a good job attacking the rim like we should,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. ”Their speed offset our length.”

Wayne Selden Jr., scored 21 for the Jayhawks (16-5, 7-1).

Taylor, a freshman guard who scored 27 a week earlier against Baylor, continued to slash his way through the lane for layups and floating jumpers. Holmes hit from inside and outside and also went 9 for 10 from the free-throw line.

Cameron Ridley added nine points, 10 rebounds and four blocks for Texas, winning his battle under the basket with Joel Embiid, Kansas’ 7-foot center. Prince Ibeh also had four blocks for Texas.

The first half was pure frustration for the Jayhawks, who came in shooting 51 percent as a team. Nothing, not even the open shots, seemed to find their way in the basket.

Texas’ zone defense held the Jayhawks to 8-of-31 shooting in the half. Taylor and Holmes each scored 11 points and Ridley used his powerful body to push around the slender Embiid.

When Holmes blocked a shot, grabbed the loose ball and raced up the court for a layup, the Jayhawks’ Frank Mason met him at the basket with a hard foul and the two players had to be separated. Kansas’ Brannen Greene was then whistled for a technical foul. Holmes made three of four free throws and Texas led 38-23 at halftime.

Taylor said Longhorns coach Rick Barnes’ halftime speech urged them to keep up the pressure.

”He told us to keep our foot on their throat and don’t let up,” Taylor said.

Texas blew it open early in the second half with an emphatic basket by Ridley: a one-step, two-handed dunk over Embiid. Ridley converted the three-point play and Texas led 47-27.

Kansas finally answered with consecutive 3-pointers but the Jayhawks couldn’t piece together a run that could pull them close. Texas wouldn’t let them. Holmes had a key 3-pointer and followed it with another tough layup.

Demarcus Holland had the task of guarding Wiggins most of the game and despite giving up six inches, did a masterful job of frustrating the freshman into a rough shooting night. Wiggins fouled out with just over two minutes left, ending a 2-for-12 performance from the field.

”I tried to box him out every opportunity,” Holland said. ”Cam and Prince were scaring him and he was settling for jump shots.”

After four straight games against ranked opponents, Texas next plays TCU, which is winless in the Big 12, before starting the second part of the conference schedule.

”We’re a good team,” Barnes said. ”But it’s such a fine line between winning and losing. If you start drinking the poison, it will all get away from you.”

— Associated Press —

Northwest women defeat Lincoln for second straight win

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NWMSUThe Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team made it back to back MIAA victories on Saturday as they defeated Lincoln University 55-47.

The first half saw four lead changes, but the difference came from the Northwest bench. The Bearcats outscored the Blue Tigers 7 to 1 off the bench as they went into halftime with a 31-27 lead.

Ariel Easton had a solid first half going 4 for 4 from three point land and pulling down five rebounds.

Northwest came out in the second half ready to go on defense as they held Lincoln to shooting only 24 percent from the floor.

Shelby Mustain made her presence felt as she tallied six blocks in the game. It was the most blocked shots since Gentry Dietz had six in 2009.

Easton finished the contest with a game high 22 points as she helped guide her team to a 55-47 victory.

Tember Schechinger also finished in double-digits as she added 10 points with three rebounds to go along with three steals.
The Bearcats (7-12, 4-8) will put their two game winning streak up against Missouri Western (9-10, 4-8) at Bearcat Arena Wednesday with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 pm. It will be the annual Pink Out game for Northwest, supporting breast cancer awareness and research.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Kansas State drops road game at West Virginia, 81-71

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KSUMORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Juwan Staten had a career day with 35 points as West Virginia knocked off Kansas State 81-71 on Saturday.

It was the second straight league win for the Mountaineers (13-9, 5-4 Big 12) and third in the last four games. Kansas State (15-7, 5-4) lost for the third time in four contests.

Staten had four rebounds and five assists, and connected on 8 of 13 field goals and 18 of 21 from the line – both free throw marks career bests. Terry Henderson had 13 points, Eron Harris scored 11 and Remi Dibo had 10.

The Wildcats got 20 points from Marcus Foster and 19 from Thomas Gipson.

Those two KSU players connected on 18 of 27 shots, but Staten provided much of what the Mountaineers needed to avenge a 78-56 defeat in Manhattan on Jan. 18, which has proved to be West Virginia’s worst loss of the season.

Staten’s previous career-high in points (28) and free throws made/attempted (14 of 19) was against Duquesne on Nov. 17, 2003.

His 18 made free throws broke a school record held by Rod Thorn, set against against George Washington in 1963.

Free throws were important to WVU, which connected on 29 of 37 of the foul shots, even after Staten missed his first two of the game.

WVU’s 78.4 percentage from the line far surpassed the 8 of 19 (42.1) percent effort by Kansas State, as the Wildcats missed key free throws and close-in shots throughout the game.

WVU built an 8-point first half lead, but the second half saw two major runs. K-State rattled off eight straight points to knot the score at 53 with 12:17 to go. But Staten scored six of the next seven points to put West Virginia ahead 60-53 with 9:30 showing.

Kansas State whittled it down to one at 68-67 with 3:09 left on a 6-0 run concluded by a jumper from Foster, who posted his second league 20-plus point game of his first season.

However, Gipson flicked the ball out-of-bounds on KSU’s next possession and Dibo followed with a 3-pointer. Henderson added two free throws to push the lead back to six at 73-67.

After Foster canned one-of-two free throws, teammate Shane Southwell let another ball get out-of-bounds. The Mountaineers connected on six straight free throws, then a dunk by Staten, to close out the game.

— Associated Press —

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