Dave Riggert – Page 948 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Kansas State earns 27th NCAA Tourney bid; gets 4th seed in the West

Posted on March 17, 2013March 17, 2013

Big 12 regular season champion Kansas State was rewarded for its successful 2012-13 season on Sunday night, as the Wildcats earned their 27th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their fifth in the last six seasons by receiving an at-large bid to the tournament.

No. 11/12 Kansas State (27-7, 14-4 Big 12) was selected as a No. 4 seed in the West Regional and will travel to Kansas City, Mo., to play the winner of the 13-seed play-in game between Boise State (21-10) and La Salle (21-9) on Friday, March 22 at the Sprint Center. The winner will advance to play either No. 5 seed Wisconsin (23-11) and No. 12 seed Ole Miss (26-8) on Sunday, March 24. The Wildcats will be joined at the venue by No. 1 seed Kansas, No. 8 seed North Carolina, No. 9 Villanova and No. 16 seed Western Kentucky of the South Regional. The top seeds in the West Regional are No. 1 seed Gonzaga, No. 2 seed Ohio State and No. 3 New Mexico.

Times and television information will be released at a later time.

The school will be playing an NCAA Tournament game in Kansas City for the ninth time in its history, which includes Final Four appearances in 1948, 1951 and 1964. It will be the first since playing in the Final Four against UCLA and Michigan at Municipal Auditorium on March 20-21, 1964.

K-State’s ticket allotment has been sold out through pre-orders by season ticket holders and Ahearn Fund members. There may be a priority point cut-off for order fulfillment. Fans who pre-ordered tickets will be contacted as soon as possible regarding the status of their order and pick-up times and locations.

Kansas State is making its 34th postseason appearance, which includes 27 in the NCAA Tournament and seven in the Postseason NIT. It extends its school-record streak of consecutive postseason appearances to seven, while it ties the school mark for consecutive NCAA Tournament bid to four. The five trips to the NCAA Tournaments in the last six years is the best stretch in school history. Seniors Jordan Henriquez, Martavious Irving and Rodney McGruder are just the second senior class to reach four consecutive NCAA Tournaments, tying the mark set by the 1989-90 class. The trio is already the winningest senior class in school history with 101 wins.

Last season, the Wildcats went 1-1 in the NCAA East Regional at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pa., knocking off No. 9 seed Southern Miss, 70-64, in the second round before losing to top-seed Syracuse, 75-59, in the third round. K-State has a 6-4 NCAA Tournament mark in its last four appearances.

The program has posted a 33-30 all-time record in NCAA Tournament play, including a 6-3 mark in second round games. The school will be making its sixth appearance in the West Regional with its other trips coming in 1948, 1951, 1981, 1987 and 2010 and is 11-7 all-time in the region. K-State will be making its second appearance as a No. 4 seed and the first since making a run to the Elite Eight in 1987-88. Overall, the school is 3-1 as a No. 4 seed.

In K-State’s 26 previous NCAA Tournament appearances, the Wildcats have advanced to the Sweet 16 a total of 16 times. The program has also reached the Elite Eight 11 times, made four Final Four appearances and played in one National Championship game (1951).

Head coach Bruce Weber becomes the ninth different coach to lead Kansas State to an NCAA Tournament appearance, including third first-year coach (Lon Kruger and Frank Martin). Overall, Weber advances to his ninth NCAA Tournament as a head coach, which includes six at Illinois and two at Southern Illinois. He is 41st head coach in NCAA history to take three different schools to the tournament, including the 21st active coach. He has an 11-8 overall record in the NCAA Tournament with three trips to the Sweet 16 and the 2005 Final Four.

Boise State enters Wednesday’s play-in game with a 21-10 overall record, which includes a tie for fourth-place in the Mountain West with a 9-7 mark. The team is led by longtime Gonzaga assistant and third-year head coach Leon Rice, who is the first head coach in school history to win 20 games in two of his first three seasons. The Broncos will be making their sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, including the first time since 2008. The squad is led by the sophomore duo of Anthony Drmic (17.3 ppg.) and Derrick Marks (16.3 ppg.), who were both named second team All-Mountain West. Drmic led the league in scoring (18.8 ppg.) in conference-only games.

La Salle has a 21-9 overall record heading into Wednesday’s play-in game and finished in a three-way tie for third in the Atlantic 10 with an 11-5 mark. The team is led by one of the few head coaches with a Ph.D. in Division I basketball in Dr. John Giannini, who has a 140-137 record in his ninth season. The Explorers will be making their 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, including the first since 1992 and the first under Giannini. The team has four players averaging in double figures led by senior Ramon Galloway (17.0 ppg.), who became just the third player to be named first team All-Atlantic 10 and the first since 2006. Junior Tyreek Duren also earned second team honors from the Atlantic 10 after averaging 15.0 points per game.

K-State has never faced Boise State on the hardwood, while it has played La Salle three times, including a match-up in the 1988 Midwest Regional First Round in South Bend, Ind. The Wildcats are 3-0 against the Explorers, including a 66-53 win on March 17, 1988 in the NCAA Tournament. The school is 28-18 against Mountain West schools, including a 4-3 mark in neutral site games, while it is 21-18 vs. the Atlantic 10, including 4-6 on neutral courts.

K-State was one of five Big 12 teams to earn berths in NCAA Tournament, joining No. 1 seed Kansas (South), No. 5 seed Oklahoma State (Midwest), No. 10 seed Iowa State (West) and No. 10 seed Oklahoma (South) in the field. The Wildcats also faced three other squads that advanced to the NCAA Tournament, including No. 1 seed Gonzaga (West), No. 3 seed Florida (South) and No. 4 seed Michigan (South).

— KSU Sports Information —

Griffons complete series sweep of NSU with 10-3 win Saturday

Posted on March 16, 2013March 16, 2013

The Missouri Western baseball team swept a three game series with the Northeastern State RiverHawks winning the third and final game Saturday, 10-3. The Griffons have won 14 games in a row and improve to 15-3 on the season and 10-0 in MIAA play.

In the first inning Bubba Dotson got the Griffons on the board with his fourth home run of the season giving MWSU the 1-0 lead. In the third the RiverHawks tied it up scoring a run on three hits. From there it was all Griffon pitcher Banks Born has he shut down 15 of 16 RiverHawks batters which included 11 in a row at one point. Born went seven innings giving up five hits, one earned run while striking out four.

The Griffon offense got it going in the fourth getting two runs on two hits. Spencer Shockley and Grant Fink led off the inning with singles and Shockley scored on a Jake Schrader walk. Fink would score on a Shawn Egge fielders choice giving MWSU the 3-1 lead after four.

In the fifth the Griffons got it going with two outs as Shockley reached on an error, Fink singled to third and then Shockley scored on a Jimmy Smelcer single. The Griffons scored two more runs on back-to-back fielder’s choices giving MWSU the 6-1 lead after five.

The Griffons tacked two in the seventh and two in the eighth taking a commanding 10-1 lead heading to the top of the ninth. The RiverHawks put two on the board in the ninth but fell to 11-10 overall and 11-10 in MIAA play with the loss.

The Griffons had 13 hits with Fink and Smelcer each getting three hits apiece. Fink had three runs scored while Egge led the way with three RBI. Chris Allen pitched two innings giving up one hit and two earned runs.

The RiverHawks Trevor Walch falls to 0-1 on the season going 4.2 innings giving up eight hits and three earned runs. Ryan Staggs had two of NSU’s six hits while three different RiverHawks had an RBI.

The Griffons will be in action next on Wednesday, March 20 when they travel to Maryville, Mo. to take on the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats in a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 pm.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Bearcats baseball gets two wins over NAIA opponents

Posted on March 16, 2013March 16, 2013

A pair of outstanding pitching performances helped Northwest Missouri State prevail to a 3-0 shutout of Midland University and a 5-1 win over Waldorf College Saturday afternoon.

The Bearcats improved to 6-14 on the season as Midland fell to 12-6 overall and Waldorf dropped to 4-12. The games were part of a late-scheduled double-header against the NAIA foes for the Bearcats.

Ryker Fox was impressive in game one striking out 11 en route to a 3-0 victory for Northwest over Midland.

Fox picked up his first win of the season, as the junior right-hander went 6.2 innings allowing only two hits and two walks. He was perfect through 6.1 innings when he allowed a one out hit by Zach Kinsella providing Midland’s first hit.

Fox recovered to strikeout the next batter as a diving catch from Eric Swain stranded the Warriors’ first base runner.

Northwest jumped out to an early lead when Cam Bedard hit a sacrifice fly to right field scoring Ryan Abernathy. Abernathy reached on an error to start the game and moved to second on a balk before moving to third on a Brandon Huske fly out.

Both teams remained scoreless until the bottom of the sixth when Bedard and Tyler Durant placed back-to-back singles through the infield with one out. JJ Baccari doubled in Bedard and Durant giving Northwest insurance runs and a 3-0 lead.

The Bearcat bullpen would bend but not break against the Warriors, as Blane Reutter and Nathanial Horton entered for the final 2.1 innings. Horton picked up his third save with a bases loaded strikeout to seal the victory.

The second game saw two Northwest pitchers combine to allow only one run on seven hits for the 5-1 win over Waldorf.

Chase Anderson started things off for the Bearcats with 4.2 strong innings adding four strikeouts.

However, Anderson allowed three walks and the lone Warrior run before giving way to Brian Schmiedt to finish the game for his first save of the season. Schmiedt pitched the final 4.1 innings allowing only two hits and striking out two while walking none.

Northwest added two runs early in the bottom of the third inning when Tyler Durant belted a 2-RBI single into the gap scoring Ryan Abernathy and Derek Meyer. Meyer singled to lead off the inning as Abernathy reached on an error and moved into scoring position when Brandon Huske walked.

Waldorf earned its only run in the top of the fifth inning when Brandon Pizzo picked up a RBI bases loaded walk, cutting the Bearcat lead to 2-1. Northwest would go to the bullpen with the bases loaded, as Schmiedt induced an inning ending groundball to hold the Warriors at bay.

The Bearcats added two more insurance runs in the sixth and seventh innings pushing the final score to 5-1. Steven Garber placed an RBI single through the infield that scored Eric McGlauflin in the sixth, while Durant picked up his third RBI of the game with a single to right field.

Durant finished the day 5-for-8 in the double-header sweep with three RBIs.

Northwest returns to conference action Wednesday when they host Missouri Western for a double-header at Bearcat Field. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western softball wins two games against Southwest Baptist

Posted on March 16, 2013March 16, 2013

Missouri Western evened its conference up record at the hands of Southwest Baptist as the Griffons defeated the Bearcats 5-0 in the first game and won the second 8-0 in five innings.

Jackie Bishop picked up the win in the first game and Janie Smith recorded her first shutout of her career in game two. The Griffons are 14-8 and 2-2 in the conference.

In the first game the Griffons jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Maegan Roemmich hit a single to center field bringing in two runs shortly after a wild pitch helped score Bre Fleschner.

The Griffons continued to score runs as they put in two in the second inning to stretch their lead to 5-0. No runs were scored the rest of the way and Missouri Western won 5-0.

Fleschner finished 2-for-2 with two RBI. Roemmich also had two hits with two RBI.

Missouri Western 8, Southwest Baptist 0

The Griffons used another shutout performance from their pitcher to win the second game of the doubleheader 8-0.

Michelle Stevenson added two triples to help the Griffons. Keri Lorbert blasted a homer to score two runs after Stevenson went home off of a bunt from Roemmich.

In the third inning, Taylor Anding belted a solo home run to cap a 5-run inning and stretched Missouri Western’s lead to 8-0. The Griffons controlled the game the rest of the way to pick up the sweep.

Stevenson went 2-for-3 in the game with an RBI. As a team, the Griffons had eight hits and seven RBI in the victory.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Jayhawks use defense to dominate K-State for Big 12 tourney title

Posted on March 16, 2013March 16, 2013

One by one, Kansas players headed to the top step of the ladder to cut down the nets, with Jeff Withey carefully nipping at a piece of nylon and then waving it to the roar of the fans.

There was no way the Jayhawks were going to share this celebration.

No way they were going to share this title.

Withey had 17 points and nine rebounds Saturday night, and the seventh-ranked Jayhawks used their trademark suffocating defense to beat No. 11 Kansas State 70-54 and win the their ninth Big 12 tournament championship – not to mention the tiebreaker over their regular-season co-champs.

”I felt like this game had to be played,” said the Jayhawks’ Elijah Johnson, smiling. ”I think we fed into it, and I think they did, too, and at the end of the day, it was a championship game, and I felt it had to be played for this to be decided.”

There should be no argument any longer over the best in the Big 12.

The Jayhawks (29-5), who may have locked up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament with the victory, beat Kansas State for the third time this season. They’ve also won their last 11 meetings in conference tournaments, and 39 of the 42 games played since the inception of the Big 12.

”I think how this season played out this year, I think it means a lot,” Kansas guard Travis Releford said. ”And our fans, they have a lot of bragging rights now that this game is over.”

Rodney McGruder scored 18 points despite a poor first half, and Angel Rodriguez had 10 for the Wildcats (27-7), who still have not won a conference tournament in more than 30 years.

”I just wanted this victory very badly,” McGruder said quietly. ”We worked so hard, worked so hard to get here, just to let it slip.”

The interest in Round 3 between the two teams resulted in a record crowd of 19,256.

The ticket was so hot that Eric and Faith DeVault, who were married Saturday morning in a suburban of Kansas City, were given a pair as a gift and turned out for the game still dressed in their tuxedo and wedding dress – though Faith ditched her heels for a pair of flats.

They were treated to a first half that would’ve made Bill Snyder and Charlie Weis proud.

Two of the best defensive teams in the country, Kansas and Kansas State made more blocks and tackles than layups and jump shots over the first 20 minutes. Both teams committed nine turnovers, and the Wildcats had just three assists while going 6 of 27 from the field.

”It was a low-scoring game,” Rodriguez said, ”because both teams were playing good defense.”

Kansas State actually struck first, pulling ahead 11-8 on a 3-pointer by Martavious Irving with 11:44 remaining in the half. But the Jayhawks buckled down on defense and the Wildcats didn’t make another field goal until Rodriguez rattled in a deep 3 with 1:25 left on the clock.

Meanwhile, Johnson and Naadir Tharpe each hit 3-pointers during a 14-2 run by the Jayhawks, and a bucket by Kevin Young in the closing seconds made it 24-16 at the break.

It was Kansas State’s lowest-scoring half this season, and the second-lowest by Kansas.

”Today was probably the poorest we played all week offensively in the first half,” Kansas coach Bill Self said, ”but we look up and we’re still up eight because we defended so well.”

McGruder, who scored 24 points in a quarterfinal win over Texas and 24 in the semifinals against Oklahoma State, had four points on 2-of-9 shooting in the first half, while Ben McLemore – the Jayhawks’ star freshman – was scoreless after missing three 3-pointers.

The Wildcats finally got into a rhythm early in the second half, and a put-back off McGruder’s miss by big Thomas Gipson got them to 28-25. But that’s when Kansas once against clamped down on defense, and the result was another 12-3 to seize control.

Young started it with a bucket around the rim, Tharpe hit an open 3-pointer and then made a nice feed to Travis Releford for a dunk. A few minutes later, Tharpe hit another 3-pointer to give the Jayhawks a 43-31 and force an incensed Kansas State coach Bruce Weber to call timeout.

”In games like this, everybody’s going to go on a run,” Withey said. ”They went on a run, and we just countered with another run. We knew we had to get stops.”

They kept getting stops, too.

Kansas stretched its lead to 60-46 on a 3-pointer by Perry Ellis, who followed his career-high 23 points in a semifinal win over Iowa State with 12 more against the Wildcats, and 65-48 on a three-point play by Withey that essentially wrapped up the game.

The Wildcats never could get the lead under 10 the rest of the way as Kansas improved to 9-1 in Big 12 tournament title games. The Jayhawks also improved to 6-0 this season at Sprint Center, which just so happens to be a host site for the NCAA tournament next weekend.

Might the Jayhawks carry a No. 1 seed right back to Kansas City?

”I think we’re deserving to be in the discussion,” Self said. ”I think we’ll be for sure one of the five or six most highly ranked teams on the seed line.”

— Associated Press —

Northwest softball splits doubleheader with Central Missouri

Posted on March 16, 2013March 16, 2013

The Northwest Missouri State softball team put up 19 runs in the double-header against Central Missouri Saturday but ended up splitting the series losing game one 9-6 in 10 innings and winning game two 13-4 in five innings.

Game one was a back a fourth slugfest. Northwest scored two in the first inning when Maddie Jones hit a bases loaded double to center field. UCM then answered with one run in the second and two runs in the third inning to go up 3-2.

The Jennies added two more runs with a home run in the top of the fifth inning before Northwest put up two runs of their own in the bottom half to trail 5-4. Stephanie Price hit a deep home run to left center with Hailee Hendricks on first to bring them within one. It was Price’s fourth home run of the season.

Jordan Ereth hit a sacrifice fly that scored Kailee Sherer from third base to tie the game up at 5-5.

Northwest and UCM went scoreless until the top of the 10th inning when the international tie breaker was implemented. In the international tie breaker the last recorded out begins the inning at second base.

Central Missouri put up four runs in the top half of the 10th. The Bearcats could only answer with one run to fall 9-6.

Jenna Creger went all 10 innings collecting 10 strikeouts giving up 13 hits and 8 earned runs to move her record to 6-2 on the season.

Northwest was able to get the bats going early in the second game putting up 11 runs in the first two innings.

Maddie Jones knocked in Candace Miller and Ereth with a single to left field. Sherer walked with the bases loaded to plate Hendricks to put the Bearcats up 3-0 after the first inning.

Northwest hitters walked six times leading to three runs in the second inning. Ereth doubled down the left field line to score Sherer and Cantrell followed by Miller who knocked in Rachel Schmitz and Ereth. Jones scored on a passed ball to total eight runs in the inning.

The Jennies were able to plate three runs in the fourth inning and one run in the fifth to bring the game to 11-4.

Miller led off the inning with her third hit of the game and was on first when Price sent her team leading, fifth home run of the season flying over the right field fence to go up 13-4.

The walk-off home run instituted the run rule giving Abbie Vitosh the complete game victory. Vitosh earned her fifth victory of the season giving up six hits, four earned runs and one strike out.

Head Coach Ryan Anderson’s team improves to 13-5 on the season and 3-1 in conference play. The Bearcats will take on rival Missouri Western Tuesday for a double-header at Bearcat Field with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Griffons sweep Northeastern for 13th straight wins; Simmons breaks record

Posted on March 15, 2013March 15, 2013

Brandon Simmons made history in game one winning his career record 28th game while in game two the Missouri Western baseball team scored four late runs completing the comback giving them the doubleheader sweep over Northeastern State (15-2 and 6-5). The Griffons improve to 14-3 overall and 9-0 in MIAA play. Simmons broke Nick Finn’s record of 27 career wins which was set during the 1972-75 seasons.

Game 1

MWSU 15
NSU 2

In game one senior pitcher Brandon Simmons set the record for most wins in a career (28) pitching a complete game victory against the RiverHawks. Simmons improves to 4-0 on the season scatterting 10 hits while striking out five.

The Griffons jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first when Kyle Simpson hit his third homer of the season. The RiverHawks cut the Griffon lead to 3-2 scoring a run in the second and third but the rest would be all Griffons.

MWSU scored 12 combinded runs in the next three innings. In the third the Griffons had six hits while scoring six runs. Jake Schrader hit a big two RBI double in the inning helping Missouri Western to the 9-2 lead after three.

In the fourth the Griffons got four more hits and four more runs. Three of the runs came on Grant Fink’s 7th homer of the season. In the fifth Nate Ramler tripled in Simpson and then Simpson scored on a sac fly by Fink giving MWSU the 15-2 lead.

The Griffons finished with 18 hits in the contest. Kyle Simpson went 4-for-5 with four RBI and four runs scored. Schulze went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.

The RiverHawks had 10 hits with Chad Davidson and Kyle Singleton both getting two. Craig George falls to 3-2 going three innings giving up 10 hits and nine earned runs.

Game 2

MWSU 6
NSU 5

In game two the Griffons played from behind the entire game until Simpson knocked in Schulze in the bottom of the eighth inning giving MWSU the 6-5 lead. The Griffons had to score three in the bottom of the seventh to tie the score at five.

Nate Ramler had the game tying single which also scored Schulze.

The RiverHawks got on the board in the second inning when Tyler Wilkins doubled and scored. The Griffons tied it a two in their half of the second when Jimmy Smelcer reached on a throwing error and scored on a Jake Schrader single to right center.

NSU went up 3-1 in the fourth on four hits and later took a 5-2 lead after six and a half.

In the seventh the Griffons got three runs on three hits. Shawn Egge doubled to left center and scored on a Schulze single. Schrader walked to lead off the inning and Dylan Koch pinch ran and scored on a passed ball. Ramler then would single in Schulze tying the score.

Logan Hollingsworth came in for the Griffons going three innings giving zero hits with one strikeout. He got the winning improving to 3-0 on the season. Ethan Ward pitched six innings scattering 10 hits while giving up five earned runs and striking out five.

Offensively the Griffns had eight hits with Schulze and Egge both getting two.

The RiverHawks had 10 hits with Kegan Knight, Cody Robinson and Ryan Staggs all getting two hits. Frank Sprick falls to 2-1 on the season pitching 1.1 innings giving up three hits and one earned run. Northeastern State falls to 11-9 overall and 11-9 in MIAA play.

The two teams play the final game of the three game series on Saturday, March 16 with game time set for 1:00 pm in St. Joseph, Mo.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Benedictine’s season ends with loss to Cumberland in NAIA Sweet 16

Posted on March 15, 2013March 15, 2013

Cumberland (Tenn.) continued the trend of No. 1 and No. 2 seed victories Friday, as the Bulldogs (32-2) defeated Benedictine (Kan.), 65-54, to advance to the 2013 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championships quarterfinals at the Frankfort Convention Center.

The Bulldogs advance will meet Lubbock Christian (Texas) in their first NAIA quarterfinal since 2007, the year Cumberland finished runner-up to Vanguard (Calif.).

Jessica Pace and Josette Campbell each scored 12 points, while Briannica Tye had 11 to lead the Bulldogs past No. 11 Benedictine, which was making its first appearance in the NAIA DI championships.

Cumberland held a small lead through the first nine minutes of the game, before Liz Stinson gave the Ravens a brief lead, 11-10. It was the first of four lead changes over a one minute span, but Cumberland posted an 11-2 run to go up by eight, its largest lead of the opening half.

Benedictine, which could hardly miss in its first NAIA DI Championships win Thursday, shot only 28.6 percent from the floor in the first half and finished slightly above 30 percent for the game.

Cumberland sank 47.6 of its shots in the second half to break the game open. A narrow, 31-27, halftime lead was cut to two, 33-31, about four and a half minutes into the second half. Cumberland used an 8-0 run to reach a double-digit lead, 43-33. The score was all in jeopardy once, as the Ravens cut it to a five-point game, 49-44, with 8:12 to play, but the Bulldogs remained steady down the stretch.

The Bulldogs received 21 points from its bench.

Benedictine was led by Liz Stinson’s 17 points.

The Ravens finish the season with a 28-6 record after recording their first win in the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball Championships on Thursday over Bethel (Tenn.).

Cumberland, which won the Mid-South Conference regular season and tournament championships, is the only remaining MSC team of six that qualified for the tournament.

— NAIA Press Release —

Missouri falters late again and loses to Ole Miss in SEC Quarterfinals

Posted on March 15, 2013March 16, 2013

Derrick Millinghaus made a driving basket with 1.1 seconds left Friday as No. 3 seed Mississippi rallied from a 14-point, second-half deficit to beat No. 6 seed Missouri 64-62 in the Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinals.

Mississippi (24-8) advanced to a Saturday semifinal against No. 10 seed Vanderbilt (16-16), which upset No. 2 seed Kentucky 64-48. The Rebels also boosted their chances of earning their first NCAA tournament bid since 2002.

After Mississippi’s Marshall Henderson stole a Laurence Bowers inbounds pass at midcourt, the Rebels called timeout with 27 seconds remaining. Millinghaus drove into the lane and gave Mississippi its first lead since pulling ahead 11-10 with 12:34 left in the first half.

Mississippi’s Marshall Henderson scored 27 points, including 20 in the second half. Millinghaus scored all 11 of his points in the second half. Alex Oriakhi had 16 points, Phil Pressey scored 13 and Earnest Ross added 12 for Missouri (22-10).

Henderson’s fearless shooting and fiery attitude has thrilled Mississippi fans and irritated the Rebels’ opponents all season, and he was as polarizing as ever Friday. He taunted Missouri fans during the Tigers’ second-half meltdown and celebrated on the scorer’s table after the game.

Missouri led 42-28 early in the second half and still had a 13-point advantage with 13:24 remaining before Henderson led the Rebels on a furious comeback. Reginald Buckner’s dunk with 2:44 left capped a 10-1 run and tied the score at 57-57.

It went back and forth from there.

Missouri regained the lead on an Oriakhi putback with 2:21 left, but Henderson tied it again by hitting both ends of a one-and-one with 1:08 remaining. Pressey made a 3-pointer to put Missouri ahead 62-59 with 46.2 seconds left, but Millinghaus answered 17 seconds later with his own 3-pointer.

Bowers then threw an inbounds pass that appeared to be intended for Keion Bell, but Henderson intercepted it. That turnover allowed Millinghaus to complete Mississippi’s comeback, touching off a wild postgame celebration as the Rebels dove on the floor near midcourt.

Mississippi’s dramatic victory gave the Rebels’ NCAA tournament hopes a major lift on a day when other SEC bubble teams such as Tennessee and Kentucky lost.

Mississippi coach Andy Kennedy is the first Rebels coach ever to win 20 games in four straight seasons and the fifth coach in SEC history to reach the 20-win mark in six of his first seven seasons in the league. But the Rebels haven’t earned an NCAA bid during his tenure.

The Rebels seemed poised to break through this year when they raced to a 17-2 start that included a 6-0 mark in conference play, but they split their final 12 regular-season games. That late-season slide included losses to South Carolina (14-18) and Mississippi State (10-22).

— Associated Press —

Western softball loses two games to Central Missouri

Posted on March 15, 2013March 16, 2013

The Missouri Western softball tam dropped a double header to Central Missouri Friday night, losing game one 3-1 before losing game two 2-0. The loss drops the Griffons to 12-8 overall and 0-2 in the MIAA.

Game 1

Central Missouri 3, Missouri Western 1

The day started off nicely for the Griffons as center fielder Maegan Roemmich hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth. The round tripper ended a 0-0 game and put Missouri Western ahead 1-0. Two innings later, however, the Jennies notched things a one apiece.

In the seventh inning, Central jumped ahead, scoring two runs and took a 3-1 lead. The Griffons couldn’t come from behind and lost the game 3-1.

Junior Jackie Bishop took the loss and fell to 6-3 on the year.

Game 2

Central Missouri 2, Missouri Western 0

The Griffons could collect a split on the day, as they fell in game two 2-0.

Neither team scored in the first four innings, but the Jennies broke a tie in the fifth and took a 1-0 lead. Central Missouri added another run in the sixth inning, and Missouri Western couldn’t find enough bats to come back, as it fell 2-0. Janie Smith picked up the loss and fell to 6-3 on the season.

On the day, Roemmich went 3-for-6 with one RBI. Tiffany Gillaspy also has multiple hits, going 2-for-6. The Griffons return to action tomorrow afternoon, as they host Southwest Baptist.

— MWSU Sports Information —