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Author: Dave Riggert

MIAA announces additions to men’s soccer, wrestling

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riggertMIAAThe MIAA has announced that the University of Sioux Falls has accepted an invitation to become an Associate Member of the MIAA for the purpose of participating in Men’s soccer. The Sioux Falls Cougars will participate in the MIAA men’s soccer schedule beginning in the fall of 2013.

“Men’s soccer is on the rise in the MIAA” stated MIAA Commissioner Dr. Bob Boerigter. “The addition of the Sioux Falls will keep the number of men’s programs sponsoring that sport at eight. In addition our teams will find competing in the outstanding University of Sioux Falls facilities, a fine experience.”

“We are very pleased and happy to be joining with the soccer playing members of the MIAA and the other affiliates to make MIAA men’s soccer one of the best leagues in the country,” said Sioux Falls director of athletics Kevin Hesser. “It is a great honor to be invited to join a conference with a national reputation, strong regional presence and whose members reflect the same strong academic reputation and rich intercollegiate athletic traditions as USF.”

MIAA members that currently sponsor men’s soccer include Harding, Fort Hay State, Lindenwood,  Northeastern State, Southwest Baptist, Southern Nazarene and Upper Iow.

Lindenwood won both the 2012 regular season and conference tournament championships.

In 2013 MIAA men’s soccer teams will play a modified round robin schedule of 10 league games.  The top four regular season finishers qualify for the MIAA post-season tournament that will be held in Olathe, Kan., Nov. 7 and 9, 2013.

The MIAA has announced that Newman University has accepted an invitation to become an Associate Member of the MIAA for the purpose of participating in men’s wrestling. The Neman Jets will participate in the MIAA wrestling dual meet schedule and Championship Tournament beginning in the 2013-14 season.

“I am delighted that Newman University has accepted the invitation from our CEO Council to become an Associate Member in men’s wrestling” stated MIAA Commissioner Dr. Bob Boerigter. “Although wrestling is fairly new to the MIAA, our league is quickly becoming one of the most competitive and respected in all of Division II.”

“Newman University is honored and excited for our wrestling team to have this opportunity to become an associate member of the MIAA,” Newman Athletic Director Vic Trilli said. “We are looking forward to long working relationship with the MIAA. We appreciate the MIAA’s interest in Newman University becoming an associate member of the MIAA.”

MIAA members that currently sponsor wrestling include defending National Champion the Nebraska-Kearney, Central Missouri, Central Oklahoma, Fort Hays State, Lindenwood and Truman. Truman will continue to wrestle in the MIAA in 2013-14 as an Associate MIAA Member.

The 2013 MIAA Tournament championship will be held February 10 on the campus of the Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla.

— MIAA Press Release —

Griffons suffer 71-60 road loss at Emporia State

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riggertMissouriWesternThe Missouri Western men turned the ball over 19 times in the game and made just eight shots in the first half falling 71-60 against the Emporia State Hornets. The Griffons fall to 7-9 overall and 3-5 in MIAA play with the loss.

The Griffons raced out to an early 12-10 lead in the first five and a half minutes of the first half. From there MWSU went ice cold from the field scoring just 10 points the final 14:26 of the frame. The Hornets on the other had capitalized on Griffon mistakes to claim a 30-22 halftime lead.

Kalvin Balque led the Griffons with seven points while six other Griffons got in the scoring column. The Hornets shot 50-percent in the half with Kaleb Wright leading the way with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

The Griffons shot the ball better in the second half  (51.7-percent) making 15-of-29 field goals, but trailed by double digits most of the frame. The Hornets were on fire sinking 56-percent (16-26) of its second half field goals improving to 7-7 overall and 2-4 in MIAA play.

Emporia State shot .560 (28-50) from the field while Missouri Western shot .430 (23-53) on the day. Kalvin Balque scored a career high 20 points and pulled down five rebounds for the Griffons. Cedric Clinkscales had 16 points and pulled down six rebounds on the afternoon.

For the Hornets Gavin Brown had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Chris Sights scored 17 points and Kaleb Wright scored 16 points in the ESU effort.

The Griffons return to action on Wednesay, January 23 when they travel to Warrensburg, Mo. to take on the Central Missoui Mules. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 pm from the UCM Muli-Purpose Building. It will be a emotional night for coach Smith as he will coach his final regular season game at the school he started at (UCM 1975-80).

— MWSU Sports Information —

Poor shooting costs MWSU women as they fall at Emporia

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riggertMissouriWesternThe Missouri Western women’s basketball team struggled offensively in a 62-55 loss against the Emporia State Lady Hornets. The Griffons had just one player score in double figures falling to 12-4 on the season and 5-3 in MIAA play.

The Griffons struggled all day offensively and after starting the game 3-of-13 from the field MWSU found themselves down just three at 12-9 with 12:00 minutes to play in the first half. The Lady Hornets took a 34-26 lead after two Laura Patrick free throws with 48 seconds to play in the frame. The rest of the half belonged to senior Alicia Bell. She made a free throw and a three as time expired cutting the halftime lead to 34-30.

The Griffons were able to stay in the first half by getting 14 offensive rebounds which led to 11 second chance points and by the shooting of Sharniece Lewis. Lewis connected of 5-of-9 field goals for 14 points.

The Lady Hornets made 13-of-28 field goals with Marissa Quick leading the way with eight points. She also had six of ESU’s 17 rebounds.

The second half was a back and forth battle as the Griffons cut the Lady Hornet lead to one early in the half when JaQuitta Dever finished a three point play. Unfortunately the poor shooting continued as the ESU extended its lead to 10 with 13:17 to play after two Partrick free throws.

Once again the Griffons played hard and cut the ESU lead to three with 3:34 to play after Heather Howard connected on a free throw making the score 57-54. It was one of those days as the one scored on point down the stretch falling for just the fourth time this season.

The Griffons out rebounded the Lady Hornets 41-38 with 18 coming on the offensive end of the floor. Missouri Western was just 7-of-28 in the second half and 0-of-10 from long range. Lewis finished with 14 points while Bell had nine points, seven rebounds and four assists. Howard had just five points and picked up nine rebounds. It is just the second time all season Howard has been held under 10 points.

ESU had three players in double digits with Partrick finishing with a game high 17 points. Rachel Hanf and Quick pitched in 12 and 11 while Jocelyn Cummings had 12 rebounds. With the victory ESU improves to 8-6 overall and 3-3 in MIAA play.

The Griffons return to action on Wednesday, January 23 when they travel to Warrensburg, Mo. to take on the 11th ranked Central Missouri Jennies. Game time is set for 5:30 pm from the Multi-Purpose Building.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western’s Hill shines in All-Star Classic

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MWSUMissouri Western running back Michael Hill outplayed many of his big-school counterparts at the first Raycom College Football All-Star Classic on Saturday.

Hill rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries to lead the Stripes to a 31-3 victory over the Stars at Cramton Bowl, long home to the now-defunct Blue-Gray game traditionally played on Christmas Day. The Division II product had runs of 44 and 49 yards for two of the game’s biggest plays, both setting up his touchdowns.

Hill was chosen offensive MVP by NFL scouts. The defensive MVP was Charles James of Charleston Southern, who had two tackles and a pass breakup that resulted in a third-quarter interception.

Purdue’s Robert Marve also had a strong performance in the showcase game for pro football prospects. He completed 10 of 13 passes for 142 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Stripes.

The 5-foot-11, 205-pound Hill bounced outside on back-to-back carries for a 44-yarder and then a 2-yard touchdown in the second quarter. He added a 6-yard score midway through the fourth quarter after not logging a carry in the third.

Hill wasn’t added to the roster until six days before the game after rushing for 2,168 yards and 16 touchdowns. He finished second in the voting for the Harlon Hill Trophy given to Division II’s top player and fared well against defenders from bigger schools, too.

Marve connected on a pair of long passes to set up scores for the Stripes.

He fired a 54-yarder to Notre Dame’s Robby Toma in the third quarter but his third-down pass into the end zone was broken up by Air Force’s Alex Means to force a field goal.

Later in the quarter Marve found Roy Roundtree of Michigan with a 39-yard, over-the-shoulder pass down the right sideline. Marve then threw for a 13-yard touchdown to Tyron Laughinghouse of Division II Saint Augustine.

Marve, who ranked third in the Big Ten in passing efficiency last season, also had a ball poked out from behind for a fumble on another promising drive, and the pick came off a deflection. He started 11 games for the Miami Hurricanes in 2008 before transferring.

Virginia’s Perry Jones added 42 yards rushing on 12 carries.

Pittsburgh’s Tino Sunseri was the Stars’ most productive quarterback. He was 8-of-18 passing for 105 yards but was intercepted twice.

Derrick Washington of Division II Tuskegee – about a half-hour from the stadium – gained 57 yards on 10 rushes for the Stars. Jacksonville State’s Washaun Ealey, a Georgia transfer, had seven carries for 42 yards. Jaron Brown of Clemson was the game’s leading receiver with six catches for 63 yards for the Stars.

Defensively, Prentiss Waggner (Tennessee) and Brandon Hepburn (Florida A&M) had interceptions on back-to-back plays in the third quarter, both off deflections.

Mississippi State’s Cameron Lawrence had a game-high seven tackles for the Stripes.

— Associated Press —

Bearcats bounce back and cruise at Central Oklahoma

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riggertNorthwestAfter an inexplicable home loss to Lincoln University earlier in the week, Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team traveled to Central Oklahoma and came away with an impressive 71-57 victory Saturday evening at Hamilton Fieldhouse.

“We needed to build our confidence up and play with more energy,” said DeAngelo Hailey, who scored 23 points and made all 10 of his free throws. “We played with enthusiasm.

“We were very hungry. We lost two in a row. We had to play with more energy.”

The triumph lifted Northwest to 12-4 overall and 5-2 in the MIAA. Central Oklahoma dropped to 6-10 and 4-4.

“That is a good team. They are really good,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “They are a tough match-up for everybody in conference. They beat Washburn here.

“We got back to our basics of defending and offensively, against the zone, we started to figure it out a little bit.”

For the Bearcats, it was as solid a win as you are going to get on the road in the MIAA.

Northwest started the second half with an 11-point lead and was never really threatened in the final 20 minutes.

One brief challenge by the Bronchos was quickly answered when center Dillon Starzl scored in the paint, was fouled and he made his free throw to give Northwest a 38-28 lead.

An encouraging sign for the Bearcats was the way they handled Central Oklahoma’s zone. Northwest was patient. They worked the ball inside and Hailey and Alex Sullivan made a few three pointers.

“We are going to keep practicing on the zone because they are going to keep throwing it at us,” Hailey said. “We need to compete.”

One of those three-pointers came midway through the second half. The shot by Sullivan put the Bearcats up 44-31.

The only time when the Bearcats appeared to be a bit rattled occurred after they took a 52-36 lead. Central Oklahoma went to a full court, trapping defense that produced a few turnovers.

The Bronchos closed to 52-40 but failed to take full advantage of Northwest miscues. Central Oklahoma missed four straight free throws during that stretch.

“When we turned it over, we sprinted back and didn’t hang our heads,” McCollum said.

Northwest regrouped. Two free throws by Hailey stopped the Bronchos’ little run. The Bearcats stayed comfortably ahead the rest of the way.

“Everybody had a part in this victory tonight,” said freshman Lyle Harris. “It was our best team win. Everybody played to the best of their ability. It was a team effort game.”

Northwest put together the type of first half needed to break a two-game losing streak.

After giving up the first basket of the game, the Bearcats wasted no time taking the lead on a 2-point field goal Bryston Williams that put Northwest ahead 3-2.

Hailey followed with a 5-foot floater in the lane. The best part about it was the basket got Hailey out of the mini shooting slump he was in.

Later in the first half when Northwest held a 15-14 lead, Hailey drained consecutive treys that extended the Bearcats’ lead to 21-14.

“I’ve been very confident in my shot. They tell me to keep shooting it,” Hailey said. “I kept shooting it. My teammates have faith in my shot.”

Northwest continued to play solid defense in the first half and went into halftime with a comfortable 31-20 lead.

It was not a perfect first half for the Bearcats, but it was better than average. Northwest shot 46 percent from the field and held the Bronchos to 26 percent shooting.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

No. 17 Missouri gets thumped at No. 10 Florida, 83-52

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MUFlorida center Pat Young dumped a bucket of ice water on coach Billy Donovan in the locker room after the game, a celebratory shower for win No. 400.

Young could have doused him at halftime.

Scottie Wilbekin had 13 points and 10 assists, his first career double-double, and the 10th-ranked Gators dominated every aspect of Saturday’s 83-52 victory over No. 17 Missouri.

”A 30-point victory against one of the best teams in the SEC, it was just us a great game for us,” Young said. ”Nobody expected that. I’m sure a lot of people thought they were going to come in here and upset us. I know they thought they were going to upset us. We really wanted it.”

Donovan became the third coach in Southeastern Conference history to reach 400 wins at the same school, joining Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp and LSU’s Dale Brown.

No surprise, the dean of SEC coaches credited players past and present.

”It’s always special when you have friends and family and your players and your crowd,” Donovan said. ”But like I said before, all those individual things as it relates to coaching, it’s much, much more a reflection on the players I’ve had a chance to coach here. That’s really what it’s about. I don’t look at them as my wins. … I never, ever look at those things as being something I did. It’s always a ‘we’ thing. There’s a lot of people involved.”

Just about everyone on Florida’s bench chipped in for Donovan’s 400th.

Erik Murphy scored 15 points. Kenny Boynton added 14. Young finished with nine points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Will Yeguete had 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and six boards, and Mike Rosario had nine points.

The Gators (14-2, 4-0 SEC), which won their sixth consecutive game, clearly made another statement about being the class of the league.

And they’re not even fully healthy.

Yeguete (knee tendinitis), Rosario (sprained ankle), Wilbekin (broken finger) and Murphy (broken rib) all played through injuries. Backup forward Casey Prather missed his second straight game with a high-ankle sprain.

Nonetheless, Florida has won all four SEC games by at least 20 points.

”We’ve got 18 diamonds to pick up,” Young said, referring the league’s 18-game schedule. ”We’ve gotten four. We’re just moving on to the next one. We’re not making a statement. We’re just going to prepare for the next game. We’re going to get ready, whoever it is we’re going to match up, and we’re going to do our job.”

The Gators have looked good at home, on the road and even on a short turnaround.

They won at Texas A&M about 40 hours before taking the floor Saturday.

And they showed no signs of being flat or fatigued.

”We’ve got potential to be really good, but we’ve got to keep working,” said Boynton, who helped turn Missouri’s 21 turnovers into 34 points.

Maybe the most impressive aspect of Florida’s latest lopsided victory was Wilbekin’s defense. The junior guard shut down Missouri’s Phil Pressey. He pretty much did the same to Texas A&M’s Elston Turner on Thursday night.

”Scottie’s playing amazing right now,” Young said.

Pressey finished with two points on 1-of-7 shooting. He had 10 turnovers and six assists.

”I thought he tried to take the game on,” Missouri coach Frank Haith said. ”In an environment and a game like this, you’ve really got to trust your teammates. I’m sure Phil will want to just get to the next one.”

Jabari Brown led the Tigers (13-4, 2-2) with 16 points, and Keion Bell added 14 before leaving the game with a sprained ankle.

Missouri played without senior forward Laurence Bowers (knee) for the third consecutive game. Regardless, few could have seen such a beatdown coming in Gainesville.

The Gators jumped all over Missouri from the opening tip, scoring the first nine points and pulling out to a 15-2 lead.

”As a team, we underestimated the amount of pressure that their full-court press would put on us,” Bell said.

Florida made 13 of its first 18 shots. Things really started getting out of hand for the Tigers when Boynton got going midway through the first half. He hit a 3 and then made two layups – both off turnovers by Pressey – that put the Gators ahead 29-12.

”They beat us in every facet of the game: loose balls, rebounding, execution on both ends,” Haith said. ”They just played very, very well, and we didn’t play like we need to play to come in here and beat a team the caliber of Florida.”

Florida made it a 20-point game early in the second half and then turned it into a laugher with dunk after dunk. Murphy, Young and Yeguete all had slams, giving the sellout crowd at the O’Connell Center everything it wanted from the home team – including Donovan’s 400th win.

”It means a lot for us to make Coach happy,” Boynton said. ”We played the way he wanted us to play tonight. It definitely means a lot, and we definitely want to keep them coming.”

— Associated Press —

Jayhawks rally past Texas in Austin

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KUNo. 4 Kansas is still unbeaten the last two months. Beleaguered Texas is still winless in the Big 12.

But just barely.

Ben McLemore scored 16 points and the Jayhawks stormed back late in the second half from an 11-point deficit – nearly their biggest all season – to stun the Longhorns 64-59 on Saturday for their 15th straight victory.

Jeff Withey added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Jayhawks (16-1, 4-0 Big 12), who looked bound for their first loss since Nov. 13 against Michigan State before McLemore piloted a rally that thwarted the reeling Longhorns (8-9, 0-4) from seizing a badly needed victory in this troubled season.

”We just had to play through it,” McLemore said of the slow start. ”We talked in the huddle. Coach told us to be more aggressive, and that’s what we did.”

Sheldon McClellan led the Longhorns with 18 points. Texas has dropped four straight – its longest losing streak since coach Rick Barnes’ first season in 1998-99.

Like a handful of Longhorns losses this season, this was another that Texas let slip away after leading in the second half.

How old is this getting?

”Pretty old,” Barnes said. ”We do a lot of things well. But we don’t win because we don’t do it when the game is on the line.”

Texas’ Julien Lewis had a chance to force overtime but missed a corner 3-pointer with 13 seconds left. Lewis had made just three of his previous 12 from behind the arc before that shot, and McLemore said afterward that hoisting that one so early with plenty of time left on the shot clock even surprised him.

Travis Releford added 12 points and Kevin Young had 6 for Kansas. McLemore was 6 of 10 from the field and had six rebounds.

When Texas went up 42-31 with 15:22 remaining, it was the second-biggest deficit the Jayhawks faced all season. They had trailed by 12 against Chattanooga – two days after that loss to the Spartans -before roaring back to easily win that one and just about every game since.

”It looked to me that as experienced as we are, we looked like a bunch of inexperienced kids off the playground playing during that bad stretch,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. ”We were trying to catch up too fast, had no poise, their pressure bothered us. We turned the ball over just by kicking it to them.”

Lewis finished with 11 points while Jonathan Holmes had 10 for Texas.

”We were very close out there,” Lewis said. ”We keep losing these close games by possessions. It hurts us a lot. But we got to keep going.”

The Jayhawks played listless from the start before roaring back.

McLemore showed no hint of an injury after spraining his ankle in Monday night’s win over Baylor, but the Big 12’s second-leading scorer took just three shots in the first half while his teammates missed shot after shot.

Defense hasn’t been the problem for the Longhorns during this forgettable season – their offense takes the blame there. That showed while holding Kansas to a season-low 26 points in the first half on 28 percent shooting, which was easiest to notice as the Jayhawks went 1 for 7 from behind the arc.

That lone 3-pointer belonged to McLemore in the opening minutes to give Kansas the lead, something the Jayhawks wouldn’t get back until the second half when the star freshman made another 3. And even that didn’t last long: Texas answered with baskets on five straight possessions, stretching their lead to 11.

But then the Longhorns did what’s doomed them all season.

They gave away another late lead.

Up by eight against UCLA in December. A 13-point lead against West Virginia in the Big 12 home opener. Both went down as losses, and so did this one after Kansas shook off what Self called a ”miserable” start to the second half.

— Associated Press —

Northwest women get road win at Central Oklahoma

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riggertNorthwestEarly in the second half the game was starting to slip away from Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team.

Central Oklahoma wasn’t playing particularly well at the UCO Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon. Northwest was helping the Bronchos out with some careless turnovers and soft defense.

Northwest coach Mark Kellogg called a 30-second timeout and implored the Bearcats to compete and have strong fortitude on the road. The players got the message.

The Bearcats took care of the ball, played strong defense and attacked the boards. It was that tough mental approach the last 15 minutes that carried the Bearcats to a 65-55 win.

Keying the victory for Northwest was sophomore Maggie Marnin, who scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Sophomore Annie Mathews also had a double-double, scoring 10 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

Junior Meridee Scott came off the bench and scored 11 points and several of her points came at important spots in the game.

It was the second win in a row and first conference road triumph for the Bearcats, who improved to 10-5 overall and 4-3 in the MIAA.

“This was great,” Marnin said. “We are really excited about it. We just hope this trend keeps up.”

Even though the Bearcats faced a Central Oklahoma team that only has one conference win, they needed to play well in the second half.

The turnaround began when Northwest trailed 34-29.

“That was the point it could have gone one way or the other,” Kellogg said. “They were making a run. Are we going to squash it or get ready to fold?

“It was that teachable moment. We came right back from that run and that’s what you have to do.”

The Bearcats scored the next four points. Northwest went ahead 38-36 on a basket by Scott and never trailed again.

“We had some silly turnovers,” Marnin said. “We know we needed to put it together because we haven’t had many great road wins. We really wanted this one. We worked on really putting it together.”

Northwest, though, didn’t pull away until the final minute. The Bearcats led only 48-47 with about 7:16 left.

Marnin, who played well throughout, gave the Bearcats a bit of breathing room when she scored consecutive baskets, helping Northwest increase its lead to 52-47.

“It was very important to keep the lead,” Marnin said.

Northwest answered one final challenge when Central Oklahoma closed to 56-53. The Bearcats scored the next five points for a 61-53 lead with a minute left.

“That was probably the best second-half defense we have had all season,” Kellogg said. “We needed to buckle down on defense and we got out in transition. We are at our best when we can force them to one shot and we can get out and go. That was a big factor in the game.”

In a wild first half that saw Northwest score the first 10 points and eventually fall behind 17-14, the Bearcats managed to take a slim 27-26 lead into halftime.

“We always want to play the whole 40 minutes,” Marnin said. “We know if we get off to a good start, the whole 40 minutes will go a lot easier. We’ve been working on transition a lot and I think that helped.”

It was almost too easy the way Northwest scored in the opening minutes. The Bearcats pounded the ball inside to Marnin and Mathews and they laid-in baskets almost uncontested.

It was so easy that Central Oklahoma called two timeouts in the first 5 minutes. A blowout seemed inevitable.

But basketball is a game of runs and the Bronchos got on one, outscoring Northwest 17-4 over the 7 minutes.

Central Oklahoma shut down the inside game of Northwest and the three-point shots weren’t falling. The Bearcats missed their first seven three-point attempts.

Still, Northwest clawed back in front 20-19 on a basket by Scott. Over the next few possessions, the two teams traded leads.

Northwest put together one more spurt late in the first half and scored seven straight points for a 27-21 lead. Central Oklahoma answered by scoring the last five points in the first half.

The Bearcats, though, played great defense, holding Central Oklahoma to 21 percent shooting. Northwest committed 12 turnovers and that prevented a bigger lead.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

K-State defeats OU to stay unbeaten in the Big 12

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KSUKansas State finally got the better of its old coach.

Over the last decade, Lon Kruger has had the Wildcats’ number. While coaching at Illinois, UNLV and now Oklahoma, Kruger’s record against the Wildcats was 4-1.

Now it’s 4-2.

Rodney McGruder scored 20 points and Will Spradling added 15 as No. 16 Kansas State defeated Oklahoma 69-60 on Saturday in a matchup of unbeaten Big 12 teams.

Romero Osby and Amath M’Baye both scored 12 points for Oklahoma.

Shane Southwell and Angel Rodriguez both added 12 points for Kansas State. Southwell had seven rebounds, and Rodriguez had nine assists. With four Wildcats scoring in double figures, McGruder was quick to credit everyone for the win.

”We’re a team,” McGruder said. ”Not just one person can lead us to victory. We do this collectively. That’s great. I’m proud of everyone who stepped up.”

The Sooners (12-4, 3-1) kept pace with the Wildcats most of the way thanks to snagging 36 rebounds to Kansas State’s 24. That would not be enough to counteract the damage done by turnovers; Oklahoma gave the ball away 16 times.

”Our dives, loose balls, deflections, those little things make a difference,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. ”We made up for the lack of rebounding by getting those . 50-50 balls, or those energy kind of plays that you need.”

Even so, Kansas State (15-2, 4-0) only got a double-digit lead in the second half. Oklahoma quickly responded with a 9-4 run that cut the Wildcats’ lead to five points.

After turning the ball over just four times in the first half, Kansas State got whistled for a backcourt violation and a travel on consecutive possessions. Oklahoma took advantage of neither opportunity.

Instead, the Wildcats rallied from the series of mistakes with an 8-1 run that began with a contested 3 by Spradling and continued with a basket by Jordan Henriquez and McGruder’s fourth 3 of the game. Free throws by Spradling gave Kansas State a 51-37 lead with 8:50 remaining.

With the Wildcats up 52-39 a few minutes later, Oklahoma went on a 9-2 run that included two baskets by Osby and a 3 by Steven Pledger, bringing the Sooners within 52-48.

Spradling promptly hit a long jumper to widen the gap to 55-48.

Rodriguez helped seal the deal in the closing minutes with a slashing layup in the paint and a 3 that put Kansas State up 61-52 with 2:25 left.

Down 66-56 with just under a minute to play, the Sooners resorted to fouling, and the Wildcats prevailed.

The game stayed close in the first half thanks to Oklahoma’s rebounding and Kansas State’s scoring off turnovers. The Sooners’ 20-10 edge on the boards yielded 16 points in the paint in the first half, but the Wildcats offset that advantage by scoring 19 points off 11 Oklahoma turnovers.

”That’s entirely because of Kansas State,” Kruger said. ”I thought their defense was outstanding.”

The Sooners got as much separation as they ever would when Andrew Fitzgerald scored twice in the paint and was credited with two more points after a goaltending call. The sequence gave Oklahoma a 12-7 lead 6 minutes into the game.

Consecutive 3s by Spradling allowed Kansas State within 14-13 of Oklahoma midway through the first half.

”I really started to understand what they were trying to do to guard us, and it actually got real easy towards the end to read them on the screens,” Spradling said. ”With our bigs screening the way they did today, it was real easy to get open.”

The Wildcats briefly took the lead after Rodriguez stole the ball and converted on a fastbreak layup.

The teams traded baskets, and then an emphatic dunk by Osby on an inbounds play gave the Sooners a 21-17 lead. Two free throws each by McGruder and Adrian Diaz tied the game.

The free throws were the first points for McGruder, but apparently those were enough to get him going. He proceeded to drain 3s on three straight possessions.

The Wildcats would go on to make 10 3s in the game.

”It’s a difference-maker in the game when you study the stats because they had more field goals than us and overall they dominated the rebounds,” Weber said. ”If you run motion, you keep moving the ball, you keep spacing, it’s going to get to the shooters, and finally we’re starting to make some shots.”

Following McGruder’s trio of long-range shots, a dunk by Diaz and a 3 by Southwell gave Kansas State a 35-27 halftime lead.

Kansas State won’t get to celebrate long. On Tuesday the Wildcats host No. 4 Kansas, their archrival and a perennial championship contender.

”It doesn’t stop here,” McGruder said. ”We just better prepare for Kansas.”

— Associated Press —

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