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Author: Dave Riggert

No. 6 Kansas holds off 16th-ranked Iowa State, 92-81

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KULAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Andrew Wiggins has finally started to live up to the hype.

The superstar freshman scored a career-high 29 points, including six straight late in the game, to lead No. 6 Kansas to a 92-81 victory over Iowa State on Wednesday night and help push the Jayhawks’ winning streak to seven straight games.

Wiggins, the nation’s No. 1 recruit, has caught fire after a slow start to his college career. He had 27 points in Saturday’s win at TCU, and matched that with an emphatic dunk that gave Kansas an 81-72 lead with just under 3 minutes remaining in the game.

The Jayhawks (16-4, 7-0 Big 12) put away the Cyclones (15-4, 3-4) from there, something they failed to do after building a 16-point first-half lead and a 13-point second-half cushion.

Perry Ellis added 20 points for Kansas, which has won five straight over the Cyclones. Joel Embiid added 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Naadir Tharpe had 12 points and 12 assists.

Georges Niang led the Cyclones with 24 points. DeAndre Kane added 22 points and Melvin Ejim, battling foul trouble much of the game, finished with 18 points and eight rebounds.

Iowa State started the season with 14 straight wins, but has now dropped four of its last five. That includes a 77-70 loss to the Jayhawks earlier this month in Ames.

The Jayhawks held on despite a shortened bench. Forward Tarik Black missed his second game with an ankle injury while guard Conner Frankamp did not suit up because of a knee injury.

It didn’t seem to matter early in the game.

The Jayhawks roared to a 30-14 lead in the opening minutes, dominating on the offensive glass and taking advantage of rapidly retreating Cyclones on the defensive boards.

Just as quickly, though, Iowa State whittled into the lead.

The comeback began with a jam off an alley-oop pass by Ejim, and picked up momentum when the Cyclones hit 3-pointers on four straight trips down court. By the time Monte Morris finished off the run, done mostly while Wiggins sat on the bench, the lead had been trimmed to 37-34.

Ellis, who had 15 first-half points, finally got Kansas back on track with an easy dunk, and Embiid made two free throws to give the Jayhawks a 46-43 halftime lead.

The Cyclones pulled even for the first time when Kane buried a 3-pointer out of halftime, but the Jayhawks responded with 11 straight points to regain control. Wiggins did most of the work, hitting a long jumper and a scooping layup while also getting to the free throw line.

By that point, a packed crowd that included Kansas City Royals Billy Butler and Jeremy Guthrie and Grammy nominated musician Trey Songz was on its feet.

Iowa State made one more charge. Ejim scored to draw within 73-69 and force Kansas coach Bill Self to call a timeout, and Niang drained a 3-pointer moments later to make it a one-point game.

Embiid responded with a thunderous dunk, and after Kane turned it over at the other end, the Cyclones intentionally fouled Wiggins on a fast break. He made both free throws, and then added a putback off Embiid’s miss to make it a four-point trip.

Wiggins added a run-out dunk after another turnover to give the Jayhawks an 81-72 lead, and the defending Big 12 champions managed to hold on from there.

— Associated Press —

MWSU’s Jordan named D2Football.com honorable mention All-American

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MWSUMissouri Western tight end Reggie Jordan has been named an honorable mention All-America by D2Football.com, which was released Wednesday.

Reggie Jordan (TE, 6-3, 240, Sr., Hazelwood, Mo.) was named second team All-MIAA for the first time in his career. This marks his second season in a row that he was named honorable mention All-American by D2Football.com. This past season he had 23 catches for 366 yards and four touchdowns which included a two touchdown performance against Pittsburg State. He had two catches for 81 yards in that game. He also had three rushes for 22 yards on the season. Last sason he was an honorable mention All-MIAA selection as well as an honorable mention D2Football.com All-American.

Reggie Jordan has also been invited to the 2014 NFL Combine to be held February 19-24 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The Griffons finished the season with an 8-3 overall record and 7-3 MIAA record. It was the eighth time in the past nine seasons and 11th time in Head Coach Jerry Partridge’s tenure that the Griffons have won eight or more games.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Three Bearcats earn D2Football.com honors

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Northwest2013riggertNorthwest Missouri State junior Matt Longacre was named the D2Football.com Defensive Player of the Year and Adam Dorrel was named the Coach of the Year by D2Football.com in a release today. Longacre and cornerback Brandon Dixon both earned first-team All-America honors. Cornerback Brian Dixon wastabbed on the second team and linebacker DJ Gnader earned third team honors.

The D2Football.com All-America Team was selected by the staff of D2Football.com with input from coaches, scouts, media members, and sports information directors from around the country.

D2Football.com has named an All-America Team since its inception in 2000.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Royals acquire OF Carlos Peguero from Seattle

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Carlos PegueroThe Kansas City Royals announced Wednesday that they have acquired outfielder Carlos Peguero from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for a player to be named or cash considerations.  Peguero has been added to the 40-man roster.  In a corresponding roster move, left-handed pitcher Everett Teaford has been designated for assignment.

Peguero, 26, has spent parts of the last three seasons in the Major Leagues with Seattle.  Last season, he played in two games in April, going 2-for-6 with a homer and an RBI.  He ranked seventh in the Pacific Coast League with 19 homers in 2013, to go along with a .260 batting average (118-for-454), 28 doubles and 83 RBI at Triple-A Tacoma.  The left-handed hitting outfielder participated in the 2010 XM All-Star Futures Game at Angel Stadium, going 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored for the World team.  He is a career .195 hitter with nine homers and 27 RBI in just 219 plate appearances at the Major League level between 2011-13.

Teaford, 29, made one appearance for the Royals in 2013, pitching 0.2 inning at Cleveland on July 14.

— Royals Media Relations —

Benedictine men move up to No. 9 in latest NAIA Top 25

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riggertBenedictine3The Benedictine (Kan.) College men’s basketball team saw the second-highest jump this week when the NAIA released the weekly Div. I Top 25 Coaches’ Poll on Tuesday afternoon.

Benedictine improved to 15-4 last week with wins over then-No. 11 ranked Culver-Stockton College at home on Thursday and followed that up with a win over then-No. 5 ranked Evangel University in Springfield, Mo, on Saturday in the NAIA Men’s Basketball Game of the Week. For their efforts, the Ravens jumped from No. 15 to No. 9 in the latest poll.

Culver-Stockton fell to No. 15 while Evangel fell to No. 10 as the Ravens took over sole possession of first place in the HAAC. MNU was listed in the other’s receiving votes category giving the HAAC four teams on the national rating list.

The move to No. 9 marks the highest ranking for the Ravens since they made the jump to NAIA Div. I for the 2008-09 season.

As a team, the Ravens continue to lead the NAIA in 3-point field goal percentage at 43.8 percent. They also rank 12th in field goal percentage (49.1) and 3-pointers per game (8.3).

Individually, Shawn Fleming Jr. ranks No. 2 in NAIA Div. I in 3-point percentage at 52.3 percent as the majority of the conference begins the second half of HAAC play on Thursday.

Brett Fisher also ranks in the top 10 in the same category, ranked seventh (49.3) headed into this week.

Jallen Messersmith continues to hold steady in two major defensive categories. He is currently ranked fifth in both blocks per game (2.4) and total blocks (38).

Benedictine leads the HAAC in scoring defense, limiting their opponents to 69.2 ppg over 19 games. They are second in field goal defense at 41.5 percent while leading the HAAC in 3-point field goal percentage.

The Ravens open up the second half of HAAC play on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against Peru State College inside the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium. On Dec. 5, Benedictine defeated Peru State 80-70 in Peru, Neb.

— BC Sports Information —

Free throws lift Missouri to road win at Arkansas

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MUFAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Earnest Ross and Jabari Brown scored 24 points each as Missouri earned its first win in Bud Walton Arena with a 75-71 victory over Arkansas on Tuesday night.

The Tigers (16-4, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) were winless in six attempts in the building entering the game, but they hit 16 of 16 free throws in the second half to pull away late.

Brown scored 19 points in the second half, while Ross hit a late 3-pointner to give Missouri a 67-64 lead – leading to the game-clinching free throws. Jordan Clarkson added 11 points for the Tigers, who had a 42-26 rebounding advantage.

Ky Madden led the Razorbacks (13-7, 2-5), who have now lost twice at home in conference play, with 20 points. They were undefeated at home in the SEC last season.

Madden’s three-point play tied the game at 64-64 for Arkansas late, but Missouri answered on the other end.

After an offensive rebound kept the possession alive, Clarkson drove to the basket and kicked the ball out to Ross – who drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 59.4 seconds remaining to put the Tigers up 67-64.

Following a miss by Madden for the Razorbacks, Missouri then sealed the win at the free throw line. Both Brown and Ross were 8 of 8 on free throws, and the Tigers were 22 of 27 overall.

Johnathan Williams led Missouri’s rebounding advantage with 12 rebounds.

Michael Qualls and Bobby Portis each added 16 points for Arkansas, which also lost at home in overtime to Florida on Jan. 14. The Razorbacks had won 25 of their last 26 games in Bud Walton Arena.

After struggling to shoot the ball inside for much of the first half, Arkansas came alive early in the second.

It did so behind the resurgence of Qualls – the high-flying sophomore who was the team’s leading scorer until a shooting slump that began with the start of SEC play. Qualls entered Tuesday 11 of 56 (19.6 percent) in six conference games, but he was 3 of 3 on 3-pointers in the first half.

Qualls’ fourth 3-pointer of the game put the Razorbacks up 61-60, but Brown answered with back-to-back baskets to put Missouri up 64-61.

Brown, the SEC’s leading scorer at 19.5 points per game, started slowly – scoring just five points on 1-of-3 shooting in the first half.

However, the junior came alive in the second – hitting three early 3-pointers as Missouri used an 11-0 run to surge ahead 56-46. Brown, who has scored at least 22 points in each of his last five games, connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to cap the Tigers’ run.

Missouri led by as many as 10 points in the first half before settling for a 36-34 halftime advantage. The Tigers were 14-of-28 shooting (50 percent) in the half, compared with just 10 of 27 (37 percent) for the Razorbacks.

Ross gave Missouri a 33-23 lead late in the half with a dunk following one of Arkansas’ nine first-half turnovers, but the Razorbacks countered with an 11-3 run to close out the half.

Coty Clarke’s step-back 3-pointer late in the half pulled Arkansas within 36-34. It was one of eight 3-pointers in the half by the Razorbacks, who finished with only 10 field goals overall in the half.

— Associated Press —

Spradling helps Kansas State defeat Texas Tech to end two-game skid

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KSUMANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Will Spradling scored a season-high 17 points, including four free throws in the closing seconds, to help Kansas State hold off Texas Tech 66-58 on Tuesday night.

Nino Williams added 13 points and Wesley Iwundu had 11 for the Wildcats (15-6, 5-3 Big 12), who ended a two-game skid despite getting very little from their three leading scorers.

Marcus Foster had two points on 1-for-8 shooting, Shane Southwell missed his first seven shots and finished with four points, and Thomas Gipson scored seven before fouling out.

The Red Raiders (10-11, 2-6) closed within 48-47 midway through the second half, but the stingiest defense in the Big 12 kept answering the call, and Texas Tech never regained the lead.

Jaye Crockett had 15 points to lead Texas Tech. Dusty Hannahs finished with 14.

Kansas State methodically built a 32-20 halftime advantage on the strength of its defense, which made the Red Raiders look downright silly in the way it harassed them around the rim.

Crockett, who came in averaging 14 points and six rebounds, managed just three points and two boards in the first half. Robert Turner was the only Texas Tech player to make more than one field goal – he had two – while Toddrick Gotcher scored a team-high five points.

As awful as the Red Raiders were on offense, they actually jumped out to a 9-8 lead. But the Wildcats answered with a 16-2 run, taking advantage of 10-minute stretch in which the visitors were 1 of 10 from the floor and turned the ball over four times.

Hannahs spurred Texas Tech’s comeback in the second half.

The sophomore guard scored nine straight points shortly out of the break, and a 3-pointer by Crockett got the Red Raiders within 48-47 with 7 minutes left. Kansas State nearly regained control with six quick points, but Hannahs buried another 3 to answer the run.

The plucky Wildcats simply refused to let the Red Raiders finish off their comeback.

Spradling made a couple of foul shots, and then Iwundu scored a sloppy bucket at the rim after a scrum in the paint to give Kansas State a 58-52 lead with 2 1/2 minutes to go.

Crockett made a couple of free throws to cut into the lead with 45 seconds left, and Kansas State promptly threw away the inbounds pass. But before the Red Raiders ever got a chance to set up their offense, Spradling picked the pocket of Randy Onwuasor to get the ball back.

Spradling was fouled and made both free throws, and the parade to the foul line began in earnest. Southwell added two more moments later, Williams added the next two, and Spradling made two more with 6.2 seconds left to seal the victory.

— Associated Press —

Northwest’s Cooper named MIAA basketball Player of the Week

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NWMSUNorthwest Missouri State men’s basketball senior guard DeShaun Cooper was named the MIAA Athlete of the Week, in a release from the conference office on Monday. The award is the first for Cooper in his career for the Bearcats.

In a battle between two of the top teams in the MIAA, Cooper responded with a career-best 32-point performance, including the game-winning jump shot with 3.3 secondsleft to give Northwest a 79-78 victory over Missouri Southern on Jan. 22. Cooper played 38 minutes, hitting five three pointers and going 9-for-10 from the charity stripe.

On the year, Cooper is averaging 15.0 points per game and has a team-best 17.7 scoring average in MIAA games. He has made a team-high 40 three pointers and is averaging 4.5 assists per contest. For his career, Cooper has scored 1,409 points, ranking seventh all-time in Northwest history.

The Bearcats will head to Lindenwood on Thursday, Jan. 30, to take on the Lions at Hyland Arena starting at 7:30 p.m.

— Northwest Sports Information —

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