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Author: Dave Riggert

Northwest women get non-conference win over Saint Mary

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Northwest2013riggertThe Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team earned their third victory of the season Wednesday as they defeated the University of Saint Mary 64-46.

The Bearcats scored the first points of the contest and went up 2-0, but did not regain the lead until the second half.

Saint Mary held a 12 point lead at one point in the first half before Northwest closed the gap and trailed the Spires 25-22 going into halftime.

Ashleigh Nelson led all scorers at the half with 10 points while Ariel Easton added eight points of her own to make up 18 of the team’s 22 first half points.

The Bearcats came out of the locker room and went on a 13 to 5 run to start the second half as they took a 35-30 lead.

Northwest never took their foot off the pedal as they climbed to a double-digit lead and finished the final five minutes of the game on a 16-4 run which helped seal the victory over Saint Mary, 64-46.

Easton finished with a double-double scoring 16 points and adding 14 rebounds with two assists.

Northwest moves their season record to 3-6, 0-2. The Bearcats return to MIAA action as they travel to Hays, Kan. to take on Fort Hays State with tip-off scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Royals trade Lough to Baltimore for OF Danny Valencia

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RoyalsThe Kansas City Royals announced today that the club has acquired infielder Danny Valencia from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for outfielder David Lough.

Valencia, 29, split 117 games between Baltimore and Triple-A Norfolk last season, being recalled to the Major Leagues on May 19.  He hit .304 in 52 games for the Orioles with 14 doubles, eight homers and 23 RBI.  Valencia’s .553 slugging percentage was the fifth-highest in the American League among players with at least 150 at bats.  The right-handed hitting infielder batted .371 (36-for-97) with 14 doubles and four homers against left-handed pitching.  He also hit .350 (35-for-100) with a .580 slugging percentage after the All-Star break.

Valencia has spent parts of four seasons in the Major Leagues with Minnesota (2010-12), Boston (2012) and Baltimore (2013).  He’s a career .263 hitter with 66 doubles, five triples, 33 homers and 156 RBI in 335 games.  The fifth-year infielder has hit .295 (18-for-61) in his career at Kauffman Stadium with five doubles, a homer and 12 RBI.

Lough, 27, hit .286 with 17 doubles, five homers and 33 RBI in 96 games for the Royals last season.

— Royals Media Relations —

Missouri’s Sam earns unanimous All-America honors

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NCAA Football: Florida at MissouriMizzou Football senior defensive end Michael Sam (Hitchcock, Texas) has been honored by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) as a First Team All-American, completing a run of five First Team All-America honors to become just the second unanimous All-America selection in school history. According to NCAA record books, Sam joins Mizzou all-time great Danny LaRose, who starred for the Tigers from 1958-60 and earned unanimous All-America recognition in 1960.

Fellow senior cornerback E.J. Gaines (Independence, Mo.) earned Second Team All-America from the FWAA after a standout final season in the Black & Gold. Gaines leads the Tigers with his four interceptions and ranks third on the team with 68 tackles. A First Team All-SEC selection, Gaines’ four pickoffs ranks tied for fourth in the league.

Along with the FWAA honor, Sam picked up major All-America selections from the Walter Camp Football Foundation on Thursday, Dec. 12, Sporting News on Friday, Dec. 13, Associated Press on Dec. 17, and America Football Coaches Association (AFCA) on Wednesday, Dec. 18. This comes after Sam earned the AP’s Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year award and was a finalist for both the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Rotary Lombardi Award.

The 33rd First Team All-American in Mizzou Football history and seventh under head coach Gary Pinkel, Sam heads into the Tigers’ final game of the 2013 season, the 78th Annual AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, leading the SEC in both quarterback sacks (10.5) and tackles-for-loss (18.0). He ranks in the Top 10 nationally in both of those categories.

No. 8 Mizzou kicks off the Cotton Bowl against No. 13 Oklahoma State on Friday, Jan. 3, at 7 p.m., televised nationally by FOX.

— MU Sports Information —

KU football adds three junior college players to 2014 signing class

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riggertKUKansas bolstered one of its most improved units from last season while adding needed depth and competition at another as the Jayhawks signed three junior college student-athletes to National Letters of Intent on the first day of the midyear signing period Wednesday.

The Jayhawks added a pair of defensive backs in Ronnie Davis (Northeastern Oklahoma A&M) and Anthony Smithson (Hartnell College) to a secondary that held opposing offenses to nearly 40 less yards per game and intercepted 14 opponent passes, the most since 2008. Kansas also signed talented offensive line prospect Keyon Haughton (Georgia Military College).

Kansas finished the 2013 season with a 3-9 overall record, including the team’s first win over a Big 12 Conference opponent since 2010, and looks to add to the positive momentum further as it builds the 2014 signing class. The midyear signing period comes to a close Jan. 15, with football’s annual National Signing Day on Feb. 5.

— KU Sports Information —

Chiefs makes several roster moves Wednesday

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riggertChiefsThe Kansas City Chiefs announced several roster moves on Wednesday. The team has signed tight end Richard Gordon to the active roster and placed tight end Dominique Jones on the reserve/non-football illness list. Additionally, the club has signed wide receiver Fred Williams and tight end Jake Byrne to the team’s practice squad roster. Kansas City has released wide receiver Jheranie Boyd from the practice squad and placed tight end Demetrius Harris on the practice squad injured reserve list.

Active Roster

Gordon (6-4, 265) has played in 27 games (two starts) in two NFL seasons with the Oakland Raiders (2011-12). He owns three receptions for 11 yards with one touchdown. Gordon was released by Oakland prior to the start of the 2013 season and then signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 15. He was released by the Steelers on Dec. 7. Gordon originally entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick (181st overall) of the Raiders in the 2011 NFL Draft. The Miami, Fla., native played collegiately at the University of Miami (Fla.), where he finished his collegiate career with 10 receptions for 60 yards and served on the school’s special teams units. He prepped at Norland High School and Milford Prep in his hometown.

Jones (6-3, 270) has played in 12 games (three starts) in two NFL seasons with the Indianapolis Colts (2012-13) and Kansas City Chiefs (2013). He owns three receptions for 42 yards (14.0 avg.). Jones joined the Chiefs practice squad on Oct. 30, 2013 and was called up to the active roster on Dec. 7. He originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Colts on April 30, 2012. Jones spent the majority of his time with Indianapolis on the club’s practice squad roster and served a brief stint on Miami’s practice squad in 2012 as well. He played collegiately at Shepherd University where he totaled 34 receptions for 403 yards and nine touchdowns his senior season. The San Diego, Calif., native prepped at Horizon Christian Academy.

Practice Squad

Williams (6-0, 190) joins the Chiefs after a two-year stint in arena football with the San Jose Sabercats (2012-13). In the AFL, he totaled 137 receptions for 1,698 yards (12.4 avg.) and 32 touchdowns. He also served as one of the club’s kick returners, adding 63 returns for 1,193 yards and three touchdowns. Williams was a first-team All-America selection at St. Cloud State University. He finished his career with the Huskies as the program’s career-record holder in receptions (264) and receiving yards (3,804). Williams prepped at Milwaukee South Division High School in Milwaukee, Wis.

Byrne (6-4, 255) has seen action in seven contests this season with the Houston Texans. He originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent of the New Orleans Saints on April 30, 2012. He was released by the Saints prior to the 2012 season. He signed with the Houston Texans on Jan. 14, 2013, was released and then served on San Diego’s practice squad briefly this season before returning to Houston on Oct. 9. Byrne played collegiately at the University of Wisconsin and prepped at Rogers High School in Rogers, Ark.

Boyd (6-2, 190) joined the Chiefs practice squad on Dec. 11. He originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on May 6, 2013. He was released by the club prior to training camp and then signed with the Cincinnati Bengals on Aug. 1. Boyd was released by the Bengals on Aug. 25. He played collegiately at the University of North Carolina where he caught 44 passes for 860 yards (19.5 avg.) with 13 touchdown receptions. He added 39 rushes for 287 yards (6.1 avg.) and one rushing touchdown. Born in Charlotte, N.C., he prepped at Ashbrook High School in Gastonia, N.C.

Harris (6-5, 230) originally joined the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent on May 1, 2013. He has served on the club’s practice squad since the beginning of the season. Harris played basketball for UW-Milwaukee, serving as the team’s power forward. He originally signed on to play football at Arkansas State after high school but then decided to pursue his basketball career. The Jacksonville, Ark., native was an all-state football player at Jacksonville High School.

— Chiefs Media Relations —

Northwest’s Longacre named to AFCA All-America team

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NWMSUNorthwest Missouri State defensive end Matt Longacre was named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-America team in a release from the organization on Tuesday. Longacre becomes the 13th Bearcat all-time to earn All-America honors from the AFCA.

Longacre, a junior from Omaha, Neb., was the 2013 MIAA and Daktronics Super Region 3 Defensive Player of the Year. This season, he leads the team with 11.5 sacks, and 19.5 tackles for loss. He has also forced a Northwest single-season record five fumbles and has been credited with 19 quarterback hurries. He is tied for fourth on the team with 54 tackles.

For his career, Longacre now has 23 sacks, third all-time, and has 25.5 tackles for loss, tied for fifth all-time. He has also scored two career touchdowns, one coming back in 2001 and the other came earlier this season against Nebraska-Kearney on Sept. 28.

Northwest AFCA All-Americans: Matt Uhde (1996), Chris Greisen (1997 & 98), Tony Miles (1999 & 2000), Seth Wand (2001 & 02), Jamaica Rector (2003 & 04), Dave Tollefson (2005), Mike Peterson (2006), Xavier Omon (2007), Jeremy Davis (2008), Myles Burnside (2009), Ryan Jones (2010), Chad Kilgore (2011) & Matt Longacre (2013).

— Northwest Sports Information —

KSU’s Zimmerman, Mueller & Lockett earn AP All-America honors

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riggertKStateThree Kansas State players – defensive back Ty Zimmerman, defensive end Ryan Mueller and wide receiver Tyler Lockett – each picked up All-America designations as the Associated Press, CBSSports.com and Sports Illustrated announced their All-America teams Tuesday.

Zimmerman was named to the third team by the Associated Press and was an honorable mention selection by Sports Illustrated. Mueller earned second-team honors from CBSSports.com and was an honorable mention pick by Sports Illustrated, while Lockett was an honorable mention all-purpose player by Sports Illustrated.

It was Zimmerman’s second and third All-America designations this season as he earned second-team honors from USA Today. The senior captain came away with 69 tackles in 10 games, including three for loss, and picked off three passes. He returned two of his interceptions for touchdowns to lead the Big 12 in that department. Last year, the Junction City, Kan., product was also honored by all three organizations.

A first-time All-America honoree, Mueller led the Big 12 during the regular season with 18.5 tackles for loss and tied the Kansas State single-season record with 11.5 sacks. A product of Leawood, Kan., the 2013 Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year has logged at least a half tackle for loss in every game, while he sits a half sack away from entering the Big 12’s single-season top 10 and 1.5 away from appearing on the school’s career top-10 list.

Lockett has now earned All-America consideration each year of his career. The junior was named the 2013 Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year as he led the conference in all-purpose yards at 151.4 yard per game, over 22 yards per game better than the player in second place. He enters the bowl season ranked 14th nationally in all-purpose yards and 11th in the nation with 104.2 receiving yards per game.

Kansas State travels to Tempe, Ariz., to take on Michigan in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, December 28, at Sun Devil Stadium. The game, which will be televised nationally on ESPN, is set for a 9:15 p.m. (CT) kickoff.

— KSU Sports Information —

Northwest men cruise to non-conference win over Waldorf, 105-59

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Northwest2013riggertThe Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team picked up a 105-59 victory over Waldorf College on Monday evening inside Bearcat Arena in the team’s final non-conference game of the season. Northwest moves to 7-4 on the season. The game was an exhibition contest for the 4-3 Warriors from Waldorf.

Northwest had no shortage of offense on the evening, connecting on 39-of-66 shooting (59.1%) from the field. Northwest also hit 14 of its 29 three pointers including three from an unlikely source. Dillon Starzl, who had a game-high 23, hit 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, marking the first time he has recorded an outside shot in his Bearcat career. Starzl also had five rebounds and was 8-for-10 from the field overall.

DeShaun Cooper put together one of his most complete performances, scoring 14 points to go along with nine assists and a career-best eight rebounds. Cooper was 6-of-9 from the field and had one steal.

Conner Crooker hit four three pointers and finished with 16 points. Bryston Williams had 11 points and Grant Cozad had 10 points off the bench.

Northwest forced 17 turnovers with nine steals on the evening. The game moved along quickly as the teams combined were only whistled for 27 fouls and shot just 31 free throws overall. Waldorf was held to just 38.9 percent (21-54) from the field and were outrebounded, 38-27. Northwest never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 48 late in the second half before finishing with the 46 margin of victory.

Northwest will resume MIAA play on Saturday when the Bearcats travel to Hays, Kan., to take on Fort Hays State at 4 p.m.

— Northwest Sports Information —

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