Dave Riggert – Page 955 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Kansas City places franchise tag on Branden Albert

Posted on March 4, 2013

The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Monday that the club has placed the franchise tag on tackle Branden Albert.

“Today was the league’s deadline to designate a franchise player and we felt it was in the best interest of the Kansas City Chiefs to place the tag on Branden,” General Manager John Dorsey said. “We will continue to negotiate with Branden and his agent to reach a deal that is mutually beneficial. We are looking forward to working with Branden in the near future.”

Albert (6-5, 316) has played in 73 games (71 starts) in five seasons with the Chiefs. He’s helped pave the way for Chiefs running backs, including Jamaal Charles, who has recorded three 1,000-yard rushing seasons behind Albert and company. In 2012, the Chiefs racked up 2,395 yards on the ground, the fifth-highest rushing output in club annals. Since Albert’s arrival in 2008, the club has averaged 133.2 rushing yards per contest.

The Glen Burnie, Md., native originally entered the NFL as Kansas City’s second of two first-round picks (15th overall) in the 2008 NFL Draft. He was an All-ACC selection at Virginia where he started as a true freshman. He was a two-way standout player at Glen Burnie High School in Glen Burnie, Md.

— Chiefs Media Relations —

Four Northwest Missouri State basketball players earn All-MIAA honors

Posted on March 4, 2013

A quartet of Northwest Missouri State basketball players were honored Monday as the MIAA announced honors voted on by league coaches.

Northwest Missouri State junior Dillon Starzl was named Third-Team All-MIAA while seniors DeAngelo Hailey and Alex Sullivan earned Honorable Mention accolades. Sophomore Matt Wallace was also named to the MIAA All-Defensive Team giving Northwest four honorees.

Starzl leads the MIAA in field goal percentage and is 11th in NCAA Division II at 62.7 percent. The junior post recorded three games scoring at least 20 points and finished with his first double-double effort in the regular season finale against Truman State.

Seniors Hailey and Sullivan both have been two of the top scorers for the Bearcats this season. Sullivan tied a Northwest record with eight three-pointers in a win over Missouri Western and ranks in the top 30 in NCAA II in three-point percentage.

Hailey has been a clutch performer coming off the bench most of the season, shooting over 80 percent in the final five minutes of games. The Detroit native leads Northwest in scoring and rebounding and ranks 16th in the MIAA at 14.0 points per game.

Wallace gives the Bearcats back-to-back individuals on the MIAA All-Defensive Team after Jake Reinders earned honors last season. Wallace ranks in the top 15 in the league in steals and is third in the MIAA assists/turnover ratio.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Kansas sweeps weekly Big 12 basketball honors

Posted on March 4, 2013

After two big wins kept Kansas in a tie for first place entering the final week of the season, KU senior Elijah Johnson and redshirt freshman Ben McLemore have been chosen as the latest winners of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player and Rookie of the Week, in a vote by a media panel which covers the league, the conference office announced Monday. Johnson is named for the first time in his career, while McLemore earned top rookie for the third time.

Johnson averaged 25.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 8.5 assists in the Kansas wins over Iowa State (108-96 in overtime) and West Virginia (91-65). The Las Vegas, Nev., guard began the week with a stellar performance in Ames, finishing with a career-high 39 points – the most for a KU player since January 5, 1991. He scored eight points in the final 35.7 seconds to help tie the game and then contributed a school OT record 12 points in the extra session. Johnson followed that with his second career double-double by posting 12 points and a career-high tying 10 assists versus WVU. He shot 56.7 percent in the two games, including 64.3 percent from 3-point range, while making 8-of-8 from the free throw line.

McLemore averaged 21.5 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 66.7 percent from the field in the two victories. The St. Louis, Mo., guard’s top performance came versus the Mountaineers, as he finished with 36 points on 12-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range. The point total set a Kansas freshman record and he became just the fifth Big 12 freshman in league history to score 36 points or better in a game. McLemore has three outings with 30 points or more this year – all against Big 12 opponents. He has scored 20 points or more eight times in 2012-13.

Historically, this is the second time, with both by Kansas, a school from the Big 12 Conference has had four different players named its Player of the Week during the same season. Besides Johnson, McLemore has earned player of the week once, senior center Jeff Withey three times and senior Travis Releford once in 2012-13. In 2011-12, Withey, Releford, Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor were named Big 12 Player of the Week during the season.

— KU Sports Information —

Chiefs agree to contract with punter Dustin Colquitt

Posted on March 4, 2013March 4, 2013

The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Monday that the club has signed punter Dustin Colquitt.

“We are excited that we were able to come to a long-term agreement with Dustin and keep him in Kansas City,” General Manager John Dorsey said. “Dustin is an elite punter in this league, he’s done a great job for this franchise the past eight seasons, and we are looking forward to working with him.”

“John and I knew right away that we’d like to keep Dustin in a Chiefs uniform,” Head Coach Andy Reid said. “He’s worked hard at his craft and has become one of the best punters in the NFL. He’s got a strong leg and the ability to pin opponents deep in their own territory. We are happy we were able to come to an agreement.”

Colquitt (6-3, 210) has played in 126 games in eight seasons with the Chiefs. His career numbers include 657 punts for 29,381 yards (44.7 avg.) with 55 touchbacks and 250 inside the 20. He holds a career net average of 39.1 yards and a long of 81 yards.

In 2012, Colquitt earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl after his best statistical season in the NFL. He punted 83 times for 3,887 yards (46.8 avg.) with seven touchbacks and a long of 71 yards. He pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line 45 times, the second-best mark in NFL history. Colquitt holds many Chiefs records for punting including highest career average (44.7), highest net average (39.1) and most career punts inside the 20 (250).

The Knoxville, Tenn., native originally entered the NFL as Kansas City’s third-round draft pick (99th overall) in the 2005 NFL Draft. He was an All-SEC selection at Tennessee and prepped at Bearden High School in Knoxville, Tenn.

— Chiefs Media Relations —

Northwest baseball drops both games of doubleheader at UCO

Posted on March 3, 2013

A series that was supposed to be played in Maryville did not go as planned for the Northwest Missouri State baseball team as they dropped both games of a double header against Central Oklahoma 18-8 in game one and 10-8 in extra innings in game two.

The Bearcats were down 6-4 when the Bronchos put together an 11 run seventh inning that was too much for Head Coach Darin Loe’s team to overcome.

Northwest collected 11 hits over seven innings and managed eight runs of their own. JJ Baccari was 3 for 4 including a solo home run in the fourth inning that gave Northwest its first run.

Brandon Huske hit his first home run of the season in the sixth inning and scored twice.

Trailing 18-4, Northwest put together a four run bottom of the seventh. However, it was not enough to complete the comeback for the Bearcats as Ryker Fox moves to 0-4 on the season as he was tagged with the loss.

The second game of the double-header needed extra innings to determine a winner.

Blane Reutter went 6.1 innings giving up nine hits, four earned runs and tallied four strike outs as the starter for Northwest.

The Bearcats went up 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning when Huske singled to drive in Ryan Abernathy and Cam Bedard who had just stolen second to get into scoring position.

In the fourth Steven Garber hit a solo home run to put increase the Bearcat lead to 4-2. However, UCO would retake the lead at 6-5 as the teams headed into the bottom of the ninth.

Huske came up with two outs and Alex Singleton on second as the junior laced an RBI single up the middle to tie up the game sending it to extra innings.

The Bronchos came back to put up four runs in the top of the 11th inning to go up 10-6. Northwest would not go down without a fight as Eric McGlauflin and Luke Lawyer both knocked in RBIs but it wasn’t enough to keep the game going as the Bearcats fell 10-8.

Chase Anderson was hit with the loss in extra innings as he pitched 2.0 innings giving up five hits and four earned runs. Anderson is now 0-2 on the season.

Northwest will be heading to Topeka, Kan. to take on Washburn Wednesday for a MIAA conference double-header with first pitch scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Central, Lafayette win district championships Saturday

Posted on March 2, 2013

The Central and Lafayette boys’ basketball teams each won a district championship Saturday night as they’ll continue their seasons Wednesday in the sectional round.

Central needed two overtimes to outlast No. 1 seed Park Hill South, 62-57, on the Panthers home court, but they earned their second consecutive Class 5 District 16 championship.

The Indians had four in double figures as Jalil Davis led the way with 17 points. Shun Williams added 15, Tyree Mayfield scored 14 points and Derek Gray had 10.

Central improves to 12-13 and they’ll play Fort Osage at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Class 5 Sectionals at the Independence Events Center. The game will air on ESPN 1550.

At Benton High School, Lafayette improved to 24-3 as they won the Class 4 District 16 title with a 67-53 victory over Smithville.

The Fighting Irish used a 25-7 run to end the first half as they led the Warriors at the break, 32-15.

Billy Cook and Xavier Kurth scored 20 points each for Lafayette as they will play Liberty North at Staley High School Wednesday in the Class 4 Sectionals. The tip off is set for 6:00 p.m. and it’ll air on 680 KFEQ.

Griffons win Smith’s home finale against Southwest Baptist

Posted on March 2, 2013

The coaching career of Tom Smith has not quite ended just yet.

The veteran who owns more than 600 wins in his career coached his final game at MWSU Fieldhouse, claiming a victory against Southwest Baptist 72-58. The win puts the Griffons at 15-11 and 8-10 in the MIAA, good enough to send Missouri Western to the first round of the MIAA Tournament.

The Missouri Western men’s basketball team closed the first half on a 9-0 run claiming a 33-19 halftime lead. The Griffons held the Bearcats to just eight field goals and forced 11 turnovers.

The Griffons trailed only three times in the first half which was in the first four minutes of the game. The Griffons took control midway through the first frame going on a 8-0 run claiming a 22-11 lead with 5:29 to play after a dunk by Kalvin Balque.

The Bearcats cut the Griffon lead to five after two Preston Guiot three’s but the Griffons dominated the final three minutes claiming the 14 point lead going to the locker room.

Cedric Clinkscales led the charge making 7-of-8 field goals for 14 poitns. MWSU made 14-of-33 field goals with nine assists. Dzenan Mrkaljevic had four assists for MWSU. The Bearcats were led by Jaywuan Hill with 11 points and seven rebounds in the frame.

In the second half, the Bearcats clawed their way back into the game. After the Griffons took a 36-19 lead, their biggest of the night, Baptist closed the gap. Baptist was solid from the field throughout the course of the next 10 minutes, and cut the lead down to 47-42 with 8:05 to go.

Dylan Frantz knocked down a 3-pointer to up the Griffons lead back to eight on the next possession. Highlighted by another alley-oop to Balque, the Griffons stitched their lead to double-digits yet again, eventually winning 72-58.

Clinkscales finished the night with his fifth double-double, scoring 21 points with 10 rebounds. Balque finished with 17. Seniors Alex Tuluka-Mfumupembe, Perry Jackson and Frantz also wrapped up their careers at the Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Bearcats let 14-point halftime lead slip away in loss to Truman

Posted on March 2, 2013March 2, 2013

A late second half surge propelled Truman State past Northwest Missouri State 63-56 Saturday afternoon in the MIAA men’s basketball regular season finale at Bearcat Arena.

Northwest fell to 18-9 on the season and 11-7 in the MIAA and now must wait to see when and where they play in next week’s MIAA Postseason Tournament. The Bulldogs improved to 10-16 overall and 7-11 in league play to clinch the No. 10 seed in the tournament.

The Bearcats could either be a No. 4 or No. 5 seed depending on Saturday night’s Washburn/Central Missouri contest. A Washburn win would give Northwest the No. 5 seed and a first round home game Monday night, while a Washburn loss gives Northwest a first round bye and a No. 4 seed.

After taking a 30-16 lead into the locker room at halftime and leading by as many as 16 early in the second half, the Bearcats could not find the answer offensively down the stretch. Northwest was held to just 35 percent from the field in the second period as the Bulldogs exploded from behind the three-point line hitting nine three-pointers.

Junior Mike Carlson knocked down seven three-pointers including three in the final four minutes of the game to help lift the Bulldogs past Northwest. Carlson finished 7-of-8 from behind the arc with a game-high 29 points.

A Carlson three-pointer at 15:25 left in the game cut the Northwest lead to nine points as TSU continued to slowly chip away.

With 3:42 left in the game the Bulldogs tied the game as Carlson drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key. Just over a minute later TSU would pick up their first lead of the game on a pair of free-throws to lead 52-51 at the 2:31 mark.

The Bearcats continued attack the basket as Bryston Williams was fouled and his two free-throws gave Northwest the lead back with 2:19 to play. However, TSU would finish the game on an 11-3 run to seal the win.

As solid as Northwest was in the first half the tables turned in the second half, as TSU shot 47 percent from the field and 56 percent from the three-point line.

The Bearcats were led by DeAngelo Hailey who finished with 14 points while Dillon Starzl recorded his first double-double of his career. Starzl finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Missouri uses balanced attack to take care of LSU

Posted on March 2, 2013March 2, 2013

Laurence Bowers had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Alex Oriakhi had 18 points, 10 boards and four blocks, helping Missouri bounce back from an awful start and stay perfect at home with an 87-76 victory over LSU on Saturday.

Phil Pressey added 15 points, eight assists and five rebounds for the Tigers (21-8, 10-6 SEC), who rallied from an early 13-point deficit and are 16-0 at Mizzou Arena. They’re just 2-7 on the road, including a three-point loss at LSU on Jan 31.

Anthony Hickey posted career bests with 22 points and six 3-pointers for LSU (17-10, 8-8), which matched its season best with 12 3-pointers but shot 42 percent overall compared with a season-best 55.6 percent in the first meeting. Charles Carmouche had 21 points, the fourth 20-plus outing in five games for the senior guard who averages 10.1 points.

— Associated Press —

Western women close regular season with win over SBU

Posted on March 2, 2013

The Missouri Western women defeated Southwest Baptist 71-64 in its final home game of the season. Griffon seniors who played their final game at MWSU Fieldhouse include Heather Howard, who collected her 13th double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Kallie Schoonover, Brittany Griswold, Alicia Bell and KC Clouser finished with 6, 6, 8, and 3 points respectively.

The Griffons and the Bearcats were neck-and-neck throughout, as the Griffons shot 22-for-57 while the Bearcats went 23-for-55. The difference throughout remained the free throw shooting by the Griffons, who knocked down 22 free throws, including Lanicia Lawrence, who went 9-for-11 from the charity stripe.

Missouri Western stormed out to a 17-7 lead after a 12-0 run taking control of the game early. SBU fought back, however, pulling within two with 3:38 to play after a jumper by Brittney Dukes made it 23-21. The Griffons maintained the lead in the closing minutes of the first half on their way to a 32-26 lead at the break.

The Griffons score five straight points to open up the second half taking another double-digit lead, 37-26, topped off by Sharniece Lawrence’s 3-point shot, one of four the junior made on the night. Her four three’s tied a career high. Midway through the second half SBU took its first lead of the game since it was 7-5 early in the first half after Dukes nailed a trey with 11:23 left. The 3-pointer gave the Bearcats a 47-45 advantage, but the Griffons answered back with a 10-0 run claiming a 55-47 lead.

Free throws and solid defense helped the Griffons carry the team the rest of the way on to a 71-64 victory. Dukes finished with a game-high 23 points leading Southwest Baptist. Howard’s 13 rebounds tied a career high.

The Griffons close out the regular season with a 15-11 record including 8-10 in the MIAA. The Bearcats fall to 11-15 (6-12). Up next for the Griffons is a first-round matchup in the MIAA Tournament against Pittsburg State in Pittsburg, Kan. on Tuesday, March 5th.

— MWSU Sports Information —