BOYS
Lafayette 52, Harrisonville 25
Lee’s Summit West 64, Central 57
Staley 54, Benton 48
CLASS 3 DISTRICT 16 QUARTERFINALS
Bishop LeBlond 48, Lathrop 36
CLASS 2 DISTRICT 16 QUARTERFINALS
St. Joseph Christian 48, East Buchanan 43
GIRLS
Benton 63, Staley 38
Savannah 36, Lafayette 34
Laurence Bowers missed Missouri’s ugliest loss of the season, a 31-point blowout at Florida last month. His certainly made his presence felt in the rematch.
Bowers played his best game of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds, plus the go-ahead shot with 1:15 to play, helping the Tigers erase a 13-point deficit midway through the second half and rally past No. 5 Florida 63-60 to stay unbeaten at home on Tuesday night.
”Well, it’s a huge win, especially coming off a loss,” Bowers said. ”This is very big for our team.”
Phil Pressey added 10 assists, seven points, six rebounds and three steals for Missouri (19-7, 8-5 SEC). Pressey, whose wild play has contributed to the Tigers 1-5 road record, was conscious about distributing the ball instead of doing it all himself and didn’t take a shot the first half.
”I feel like I can affect the game without shooting as much,” Pressey said. ”They haven’t been harping on me about not shooting.”
Pressey had 10 turnovers and two points with six assists the first meeting.
”The guy I was really impressed with was Pressey, because I thought he was, at our place, crazy,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said. ”I really thought he did a terrific job of running his team.”
Bowers missed five games with a strained right knee at the start of conference play. Before Tuesday, he hadn’t been quite the same player in six games back and missed nine of 10 shots in a two-point loss at Arkansas on Saturday.
He played most of the final five minutes with four fouls.
”I just needed to play with nothing on my mind, just worrying about defense and rebounding,” Bowers said. ”I shot a few shots, but I promise you my approach was on the defensive end. And it just paid off.”
Mike Rosario had 14 points for Florida (21-4, 11-2) but missed a 3-point try from the corner at the buzzer. Donovan thought it was a good look, unlike Boynton’s 3-point attempt with Florida down a point and about a minute to go.
”No, did not want that at all,” Donovan said. ”I would have liked to have had some action driven to the basket. When you’re down one, you at least want to create some penetration.”
The Gators had won 13 of 14 and led 49-36 with 10:51 left, then hurt themselves at the foul line.
Florida missed five straight free throws in the second half, three times on the front end of one-and-ones. The slump ended when Rosario hit the second of two with 5:10 to go for a 54-50 lead.
The Gators made six of 12 foul shots overall. Missouri was 12 of 15.
”I haven’t seen it in a while from my team, but you know, you have games like this,” Boynton said. ”Honestly, we had possessions where we could have overcome it.”
The Tigers improved to 15-0 at home this season. They are 30-1 the last two seasons under coach Frank Haith and beat their first ranked opponent while out of the Top 25 since knocking off No. 15 Texas in 2010.
”The thing we did, we took it one possession at a time,” Haith said. ”When you get down 13, there’s not a 13-point shot and I thought our guys did a great job of understanding that.”
Haith said after the game he had received a ”notice of allegation” from the NCAA and didn’t seem worried.
”Contrary to what was reported, there was no unethical conduct in my notice,” Haith said. ”And it is just an allegation, so we get a chance to defend ourselves.”
Keion Bell came up with the ball after it was tipped around following Boynton’s 3-point miss and made two free throws with 3.1 seconds left.
Bowers’ jumper from the key put Missouri up for good at 61-60 with 1:15 to go. Pressey’s three-point play with 2:51 to go gave Missouri its first lead at 59-57. Scottie Wilkekin’s 3 put Florida back up with about 1 1/2 minutes to go.
Pressey opened the second half with his first two points on free throws after getting fouled on a drive, and made his first shot from the wing with just over 14 minutes to go.
Pressey is just 1 for 23 on 3-pointers on the road in conference play, 10 for 26 at home.
Two dazzling assists by Pressey, the second wrapping around a defender to set up Bowers’ dunk, capped a 12-0 run that cut Florida’s lead to 49-48 with 8:02 to go.
Florida, averaging an SEC-leading 10 3-pointers in conference play, was 4 for 6 the first 7 1/2 minutes while grabbing an 18-6 lead. The Gators made just one of their last 11 3-point attempts of the half, going scoreless the final 4:39 while Missouri ended with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 29-26.
— Associated Press —
Missouri Western senior Kyle Simpson has been named the MIAA Hitter of the Week for his performance last weekend against Emporia State. Simpson helped the Griffons to a three game sweep of the Hornets helping MWSU improve to 4-3 overall and 3-0 in MIAA play.
Simpson had an outstanding weekend helping the Griffons to a three game sweep over the Emporia State Hornets. Simpson had seven hits in the three games which included four in the first game. He had a triple, home run and two singles along with three RBI and three runs scored.
In the Griffons 12-2 victory on on Sunday Simpson went 3-for-5 with two doubles one RBI and three runs scored. Simpson hit .583 with seven hits with four being for extra bases. The 6-2 senior infielder is a native of Camdenton, Mo. where he competed at Camdenton High School and Longview Community College prior to MWSU.
— MWSU Sports Information —
The Northwest Missouri State baseball team had to change locations for their double-header Tuesday but came up short as they fell to UNK 10-6 in game one and 5-4 in extra innings in game two.
Nebraska-Kearney added six runs in the first two innings of game one to go up on Northwest. The Bearcats came back to score one run in the bottom of the second and would not score again until the fifth inning.
Down 8-1 going into the fifth, Northwest put together a good inning to get back into the game. Ryan Abernathy, Tyler Durant and Brandon Huske had all the bases occupied when Cam Bedard singled to left field to drive in two runs.
Eric McGlauflin then stepped up and hit his first home run of the season. A three run home run to right center field to bring the score to 8-6.
UNK added two more runs in the top of the seventh to hand Chase Anderson his first loss of the season. Anderson gave up seven hits and five earned runs in just 1.1 innings pitched.
Game two needed extra innings to determine a winner as Austin Warren took the mound for the Bearcats and delivered a solid performance to give the Bearcats a chance to win. Warren went seven strong innings giving up eight hits and three earned runs while striking out five. Warren was given the no-decision in his start.
UNK and the Bearcats traded runs in the third and fifth innings and remained deadlocked at 2-2 going into the bottom of the sixth. Huske knocked in Paul Johnson with a single up the middle to give Northwest a one run lead at 3-2. Eric Swain scored on a UNK throwing error on a double play attempt in the seventh to make it 4-2.
In the top of the 10th Schroeder scored off a single by Jameson to go up for good on top of the Bearcats.
Nathanial Horton was tabbed with the loss.
The Bearcats are scheduled to host Lindenwood for the home opening series starting Saturday. The double-header will start at noon at Bearcat Field followed immediately by the second game. The series finale will get underway Sunday at noon.
— NWMSU Sports Information —
The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Tuesday that the club has released tight end Kevin Boss and wide receiver Steve Breaston.
Boss (6-6, 255) started two games with the Kansas City Chiefs (2012), recording three receptions for 65 yards (21.7 avg.) with one touchdown before being placed on injured reserve with a head injury. Prior to joining the Chiefs, Boss spent one season with Oakland (2011) and four years with the New York Giants (2007-10). He has appeared in 74 games (58 starts) in six NFL seasons. His career numbers include 150 receptions for 2,033 yards (13.6 avg.) with 22 touchdowns. He has started five postseason contests, tallying eight receptions for 142 yards (17.8 avg.). In 2007, Boss was part of the New York Giants squad that won Super Bowl XLII.
The Philomath, Ore., native, originally entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick (153rd overall) of the New York Giants out of Western Oregon in the 2007 NFL Draft.
Breaston (6-0, 189) appeared in 26 games (17 starts) with the Kansas City Chiefs (2011-12). In two seasons, Breaston tallied 68 receptions for 859 yards (12.6 avg.) with two touchdowns, one carry for 25 yards and one punt return for 21 yards. Prior to joining the Chiefs, Breaston spent four seasons with Arizona (2007-10). He has appeared in 86 games (43 starts) in his six-year NFL career. He has recorded 255 career receptions for 3,387 yards (13.3 avg.) and nine touchdowns. He has added 10 carries for 120 yards (12.0 avg.), 114 punt returns for 906 yards (7.9 avg.) with one touchdown, and 102 kick returns for 2,220 yards (21.8 avg.). He has appeared in six postseason games (four starts), recording 24 receptions for 325 yards (13.5 avg.) with one touchdown and two rushes for 20 yards (10.0 avg.). He has added eight punt returns for 65 yards (8.1 avg.) and three kick returns for 50 yards (16.7 avg.) in postseason action.
The North Braddock, Pa., native, originally entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick (142nd overall) of the Arizona Cardinals out of Michigan in the 2007 NFL Draft.
— Chiefs Media Relations —
GIRLS
Central 44, Lee’s Summit West 34
CLASS 3 DISTRICT 16 QUARTERFINALS
Bishop LeBlond 45, Lathrop 43
CLASS 2 DISTRICT 16 QUARTERFINALS
East Buchanan 46, St. Joseph Christian 37
Will Spradling scored 19 points and No. 14 Kansas State used a big first-half run to beat West Virginia 71-61 on Monday night, spoiling the return of Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins to the school he helped rebuild.
Nino Williams had 13 points off the bench, and Angel Rodriguez had 11 points and seven assists for the Wildcats (21-5, 10-3). They slipped into first place in the Big 12 by a half game over ninth-ranked Kansas and No. 14 Oklahoma State, who play each other Wednesday night.
Deniz Kilicli had 14 points for the Mountaineers (13-13, 6-7), but he didn’t get a whole lot of help. The rest of their starters combined for 13 points, with two of them getting shut out.
Huggins received a warm reception in his first trip back to Bramlage Coliseum, where he went 23-12 as coach of the Wildcats during the 2006-07 season. Huggins led the program to the NIT, its first postseason appearance in eight years, before skipping town for his alma mater.
The reception was probably the highlight for Huggins on this night.
He watched the Wildcats use an 18-2 run to seize control in the opening minutes, and then was whistled for a technical foul for arguing with officials in the second half. Moments later, his leading scorer – freshman guard Eron Harris – foul out after throwing an elbow on defense and picking up a technical foul of his own moments later.
There were plenty of whistles blown in this game.
The officials called 49 fouls, and both teams spent more than 18 minutes in the bonus. The Mountaineers also had center Aaric Murray foul out, the Wildcats lost Jordan Henriquez, and there were three others who had four fouls when the game finally ended.
The teams combined to shoot 53 free throws.
The Wildcats, who were coming off a second-half blitz that carried them to an 81-61 win over Baylor on Saturday, kept the momentum going during the first half Monday night.
They had a lot of help from the Mountaineers.
After conceding the first basket a minute into the game, the Wildcats went on their big run that covered the next 8 minutes. Gipson did most of the damage inside for the Wildcats, the burly sophomore forward at one point scoring seven consecutive points.
Murray finally hit a couple of baskets for West Virginia, but a layup by Spradling forced Huggins to call a timeout. Things continued to go so swimmingly for the Wildcats that 7-footer Henriquez, a 31-percent foul shooter, made both of his free throws late in the half.
West Virginia was just 1 of 8 from beyond the arc over the first 20 minutes, and committed eight turnovers – six of them during Kansas State’s big run early in the half.
The first half took close to an hour to finish because of a multitude of fouls – 19 in all. Both teams were in the bonus with 8:42 remaining, the Mountaineers getting there when the Wildcats were twice called for holding as West Virginia tried to inbound the ball under its own basket.
Kansas State extended its lead to 41-22 in the opening minutes of the second half when Kilicli tried to make a move on the low post. This time, no whistle blew and Huggins roared out onto the court in a rage, his face beet-red and an assistant coach holding him back.
Huggins was hit with the technical foul, drawing a roar from the crowd, and Spradling made both free throws to give the Wildcats their biggest lead of the night with 16:25 remaining.
The outburst seemed to rile up the Mountaineers, who scored the next seven points to get within 43-29 with just under 14 minutes left in the game. But the Wildcats started to match them basket-for-basket, and another technical foul – this one on Harris, who threw an elbow toward Spradling’s head while guarding him at the top of the key – finished off West Virginia.
Harris, the Mountaineers’ leading scorer, also picked up a personal and fouled out of the game. Meanwhile, Spradling hit all four of his foul shots to restore a 58-40 lead.
The Wildcats coasted the rest of the way to their sixth loss in their last seven games, the only defeat coming against rival Kansas on the road. Kansas State hasn’t lost at home since also falling to the Jayhawks in Bramlage Coliseum on Jan. 22.
— Associated Press —
The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Monday that the club has signed safety Husain Abdullah.
Abdullah (6-0, 204) originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Minnesota Vikings in 2008. In four seasons with the Vikings (2008-11), he appeared in 54 games (24 starts), including appearing in three postseason contests. With Minnesota, he recorded 167 tackles (111 solo), 2.0 sacks (-22.0 yards), four interceptions returned for 37 yards, 11 passes defensed, 6.0 tackles for loss, two QB pressures and 49 special teams tackles.
Abdullah was named Honorable Mention All-Pac 10 as a senior at Washington State, recording team highs with 93 tackles and four interceptions, also earning team defensive MVP after his senior season. The Pomona, Calif., native, prepped at Pomona High School where he was named second team All-CIF as a senior and was CIF Division 9 Defensive Player of the Year.
— Chiefs Media Relations —
Kansas senior Jeff Withey became the conference’s all-time blocked shots leader Saturday and has been named Phillip 66 co-Big 12 Player of the Week, earning the honor for games Feb. 11-17, in a vote of a media panel which covers the league, the conference office announced Monday.
Withey, who shares this week’s honor with Kansas State’s Angel Rodriguez, posted 16.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game as the Jayhawks recorded wins over then-No. 10 K-State and Texas. The San Diego, Calif., center shot 47.6 percent from the field and made 80 percent of his free throws while blocking seven shots and grabbing three steals. He had double-doubles in both games, finishing with 17 points and 10 boards versus the Wildcats and following that performance up with 15 points and 10 rebounds against UT. Withey’s two double-doubles were his eighth and nine of the year.
In the Texas game, Withey became the Big 12 career leader in blocked shots with his 265th rejection, passing Chris Mihm of Texas who had 264 blocks from 1998-2000. In the Kansas State contest, Withey became Kansas’ all-time blocked shots leader, passing Greg Ostertag who had 258 from 1992-95.
Withey is the first Jayhawk to be named Big 12 Player of the Week for the second time this season and has received the honor three times in his career. Other KU players who have received the accolade in 2012-13 are Travis Releford and Ben McLemore.
Kansas (21-4, 9-3) will play at Oklahoma State (19-5, 9-3) in a battle for first place in the Big 12 race on Wednesday, Feb. 20, at 8 p.m. (Central) on ESPN2. KU and OSU are tied with Kansas State (20-5, 9-3) atop the league standings.
— KU Sports Information —
The Griffons had 14 hits with six doubles and two home runs in a 12-2 victory over the Emporia State Hornets completing the three game sweep. The Griffons improve to 4-3 on the season and 3-0 in MIAA play.
The two teams played scoreless baseball for the first three innings. In the top of the fourth Kyle Simpson doubled down the left field line and later scored on a double by Grant Fink giving MWSU the 1-0 lead.
In the fifth the Griffons capitalized on three walks and fielding error by the Hornet left fielder scoring five runs on two hits. Bubba Dotson singled in Jake Schrader while Nate Ramler blasted his first homer of the season scoring Simpson. After five MWSU led 6-0.
The Griffons played solid defense the next couple of innings stranding a couple of ESU base runners. In the seventh the Griffons got five two out hits scoring five more runs. Simpson, Ramler and fink all had doubles while David Chew blasted an two run homer giving MWSU the 11-0 lead.
The Griffon pitchers allowed just two runs for ESU as MWSU came away with the 10 run victory.
Simpson, Ramler and Fink all had three hits while Ramler had three runs scored and three RBI. Simpson scored three runs while Dotson scored twice.
Brandon Simmons improves to 2-0 on the season going five inning giving up just three hits and striking out five.
Shawn Talkington picked up the loss for ESU going 4.2 innings giving up four hits and two earned runs. The Hornets had seven hits in the contest with Skylar Angood going 2-for-3. Todd Schultz hit a two run homer for Emporia State.
The Griffons will play their first home games of the season on Saturday, February 23 with a double header against Southwest Baptist. Game times are set for 1:00 pm and 3:00 from the MWSU Baseball Field at the Spring Sports Complex.
— MWSU Sports Information —
