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Author: Dave Riggert

Chiefs get blown out at Cleveland, 30-7

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Defensive end Juqua Parker emerged from the trainer’s room and headed to his locker singing a tune – one that might sum up the current Browns.

”We’re not gonna take it,” Parker said, repeating the chorus to Twisted Sister’s 1980s hard rock anthem. ”We’re not gonna take it … anymore.”

The Browns are tired of losing.

Rookie Travis Benjamin’s electrifying 93-yard punt return touchdown early in the second quarter swung momentum in Cleveland’s favor and the Browns won their third straight, 30-7 over the emotionally drained Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

Benjamin’s game-changer helped the Browns (5-8) continue their resurgence under second-year coach Pat Shurmur, whose future in Cleveland remains uncertain. With three games left, the Browns, who opened this season 0-5, have surpassed their win total from last season and have their longest winning streak since 2009.

”It’s all kind of coming together,” said 14-year veteran kicker Phil Dawson, who booted three field goals. ”We’re just doing all the little things right now. Guys are hungry to come back to work every day. There’s some energy around here that I haven’t felt. This is all good.”

Rookie running back Trent Richardson had two 1-yard TD runs for the young-and-improved Browns, whose 23-point margin of victory was their largest since 2003 – a significant accomplishment for a franchise with 11 double-digit loss seasons since 1999.

”It’s been a long year,” linebacker D’Qwell Jackson said. ”At first, it was rocky. We were in a lot of close ballgames and we weren’t able to finish, and now we’re starting to create something. We had some young guys at the beginning of the season that were a little immature, and they’ve grown up a little bit.

”We have something going right now.”

Jamaal Charles ran for 165 yards, breaking off an 80-yard TD run on the game’s first play for Kansas City, playing its road game following linebacker Jovan Belcher’s suicide. The 25-year-old killed his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, at their home before driving to the team’s practice facility on Dec. 1 and shooting himself.

Richardson’s second TD early in the fourth quarter gave the Browns a 27-7 lead and finally put away the Chiefs (2-11), who a week ago were able to pull together and win at home over Carolina, less than one day after Belcher’s unspeakable act.

Coach Romeo Crennel rallied his team through the difficult ordeal, but it may have been too much to expect the Chiefs to repeat last week’s performance. Their practice schedule was adjusted during the week to attend a service for Belcher, and the days of reflection and grief may have taken a toll.

”It is going to be with some guys the rest of their lives,” quarterback Brady Quinn said. ”But it was not a distraction because we live to play football. We just didn’t play an all-around football game like we did last week.”

Charles returned after sustaining a rib injury knocked him out one series. Kansas City, though, lost leading receiver Dwayne Bowe, who injured his ribs in the first half and didn’t come back.

Without Bowe, Quinn was without his top target. Quinn, who had his finest game as a pro last week, finished 11 of 22 for 159 yards and one interception.

Dawson kicked field goals of 23, 24 and 34 yards for the Browns, 3-1 since the bye with the loss at Dallas in overtime. Dawson’s first kick made him the 25th player in NFL history to make 300 field goals.

Benjamin’s 93-yard punt return – the longest in team history – gave the Browns a 10-7 lead.

Just before the snap, Benjamin lined up to block Kansas City’s gunner before sprinting 50 yards and switching spots with Josh Cribbs, who rushed up the middle. Benjamin fielded the kick inside his 10, cut sharply left, picked up a few key blocks and outran the rest of Kansas City’s coverage unit.

The Browns worked on the play in practice and sprung it on the Chiefs.

”Biggest play of the game,” quarterback Brandon Weeden said. ”They were yelling something crazy on the sideline. I didn’t know what they were doing, and all of a sudden they pulled something out their hat and Travis breaks one. That got us the lead and we were able to keep it.”

The return by the speedy Benjamin, a fourth-round pick from Miami, was one yard longer than Eric Metcalf’s TD at Cincinnati on Sept. 4, 1994.

Now with Benjamin joining Richardson, Weeden and wide receiver Josh Gordon as playmakers, the Browns have a solid offensive foundation for the future. On defense, several rookies, including linemen Billy Winn and John Hughes have contributed all season.

Shurmur and his staff have the Browns headed in the right direction, but there’s no guarantee new owner Jimmy Haslam will allow them to stay next season.

”Guys are excited,” Weeden said. ”Guys are still hungry. We’ve got a close-knit group guys. We don’t have any knuckleheads.”

The Browns drove 60 yards after the second-half kickoff with Richardson plowing in for his eighth rushing TD. He later got his ninth score to tie the team rookie record set by Hall of Famer Jim Brown (1957).

— Associated Press —

Griffons lose to Fort Hays State in overtime

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Missouri Western trailed for most of Saturday night’s game against Fort Hays State before coming from behind to push the game into overtime, but the Tigers came out with the victory 84-74.

Cedric Clinkscales kept the Griffons in the game early. The starting forward went 4-for-6 from the field and had nine points at halftime. Besides Clinkscales, Alfreeman Flowers came off the bench and had a great half, going 4-for-4 for 10 points.

The teams were tied at 18 with 8:45 to play before the Tigers went on a big run to go ahead 35-25. The Tigers were 5-for-12 from the 3-point line and Missouri Western was just 3-for-15.

Missouri Western pulled within five at the half, 41-36, and the game stayed that way throughout the second half.

The Tigers took two different 9-point leads in the second stanza. With just more than 5 minutes to play, Hays led 68-59. Reed Mells grabbed a steal to lay in a fast-break basket. Adarius Fulton stole the ball on Hays’ next possession, and Flowers was eventually fouled and nailed two free throws to mark the game 68-63 with 4:46 to play.

Clinkscales added another steal for the Griffons before Kalvin Balque nailed two free throws. The momentum ended after Dwayne Brunson, who finished with 16 points, slammed a dunk home to give the Tigers a 70-66 lead with 2:14 to play.

After the game settled at 70-67, Fulton secured a fourth steal in as many minutes for the Griffons, and Mells nailed 3 assisted by Fulton to tie the game up at 70 apiece to send it into overtime. It was the first overtime game since the Griffons lost to Truman State on Jan.  11, 2012, 87-86.

Hays pulled ahead 77-74 with less than 1 minute to play in overtime. Tigers guard Craig Nicholson knocked a 3 down to give Hays a lead 80-74 and Missouri Western failed to pull closer on its next possession. The Tigers pulled out the overtime victory 84-74.

The Griffons were led by Clinkscales, who had 14 points and 12 rebounds. Flowers came off the bench to have a game-high 19 points. Fulton stole the ball five times to help the Griffons on defense.

Up next for the Griffons is a trip to Boca Raton, Fla. to play Barry University on Dec. 17 at 4:30 p.m. and then play against Lynn University at 6:30 p.m. the following night.

— MWSU Sports Information —

No. 12 Bearcats roll past Nebraska-Kearney, 90-60

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The 12th-ranked Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball stayed perfect on the season as they ran away from Nebraska-Kearney 90-60 Saturday afternoon in MIAA action from Bearcat Arena.

The Bearcats built a 10-0 lead and never looked back to improve to 8-0 overall and 2-0 in league play. Nebraska-Kearney fell to 2-5 on the season and 0-2 in its first season in the MIAA.

A complete team effort saw four Bearcats score in double figures and sophomore Matt Wallace record 12 assists – two shy of a single-game record. Wallace was the only Bearcat earning minutes to be held scoreless, but the Bellevue, Neb., native found other ways to help his team in Saturday’s win adding two rebounds and only turning the ball over once.

In all Northwest finished with 23 assists as a team and committed only six turnovers. The Bearcats forced 14 UNK turnovers and tallied seven steals.

Grant Cozad paced the Bearcats scoring a career-high 17 points off the bench to lead all scorers. Cozad added six rebounds.

DeAngelo Hailey recorded his sixth straight double figure game with 14 points and also added six rebounds in the win. Tyler Funk and Alex Sullivan were the other Bearcats to finish in double figures with 12 and 11 points respectively.

Northwest pulled in 10 more rebounds than the Lopers (37-27) and the Bearcats big men finished with one of their best performances. The Bearcats outscored UNK 42-18 in the paint and picked up 50 points off the bench to help aid the 30-point victory.

Dating back to the 2010-11 season, Northwest has now won 21 of its last 22 games inside Bearcat Arena and is 18-1 since the beginning of the 2011-12 campaign.

Drew Sankey led UNK with 14 points and four rebounds.

The Bearcats will return to action after finals week as they travel to Honolulu for the Hawaii Classic Dec. 15 and 16. Northwest will open tournament action against St. Edward’s before closing out action against Harding.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Mizzou uses big second half to defeat Tennessee State

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Stefan Jankovic hasn’t started this season and only played four minutes in the Tigers’ three games leading up to Tennessee State on Saturday.

And while he didn’t leave the bench in the first half, he showed what he could do with 16 minutes in the second half.

Jankovic, a freshman from Mississauga, Ontario, dunked off a missed jumper by Laurence Bowers with 14:18 remaining, the first two of his season-high 14 points in the game.

That highlighted a 14-3 Missouri run to start the second half, which propelled the 12th-ranked Tigers to a 68-38 win over Tennessee State.

”He was huge,” senior forward Alex Oriakhi said of Jankovic. ”When he came into the game, I said, ‘We need your energy.’ And that’s exactly what he gave us.”

Jankovic says practice allows him to be ready to enter a game off the bench, no matter how long he’s been sitting.

”That’s my game sometimes. I find myself in practice trying my hardest, so when the game comes – I’m going up against guys like Alex and Laurence (Bowers) in practice – I’m ready.”

Bowers scored 18 points and had 10 rebounds and Oriakhi added 15 points and 10 rebounds for Missouri (8-1), which defeated its second consecutive Ohio Valley Conference team following a 81-65 win Tuesday over Southeast Missouri State.

Both teams failed to make a basket for several-minute stretches in the first half, combining for 18 turnovers and 34.6 percent shooting from the field.

But Missouri regrouped during the break and went on a 14-3 run to start the second half.

Phil Pressey’s 3-pointer and Negus Webster-Chan’s fast-break layup within a 20-second stretch gave Missouri a 32-22 lead with 15:16 remaining.

Missouri led by at least nine the rest of the way, gradually extending its lead following an M.J. Rhett free throw that cut the deficit to 32-23 with 15:07 left.

Missouri coach Frank Haith said Saturday’s 23-point first half was the result of poor execution.

”We want to get off to good starts,” Haith said. ”We’ve had some games where we’ve gotten off to good starts and we didn’t finish well. So it’s just a matter of putting together 40 minutes.”

Robert Covington scored 12 points and Jordan Cyphers added 11 points for Tennessee State (4-6), which entered the matchup having won three consecutive games.

After making four of its first six shots from the field Saturday, Tennessee State made only 11 of its next 57 attempts.

It was a similar struggle from 3-point range, as Tennessee State started 3 of 5, but finished 6 of 24.

”We reverted back to our old ways, taking too many 3’s,” coach Travis Williams said. ”I felt we settled for too many 3’s. We normally would make certain shots and we didn’t make those shots tonight.”

Tennessee State, which was picked to finish second in the conference’s East Division, has played eight of its first 10 games on the road.

Bowers and Oriakhi combined for all of Missouri’s 23 points in the first half except for an Earnest Ross free throw with 4:01 remaining.

The Tigers endured stretches of 5:54 and 4:49 without scoring a basket in the first half and turned the ball over 11 times, yet managed to shoot 40 percent from the field to take a three-point lead at halftime.

Missouri also outrebounded Tennessee State 52-27 for the game and made 15 of 19 free throws. Tennessee State only attempted five, all in the second half, and made two.

Bowers is averaging 22.3 points in his past three games. Before scoring 26 in Tuesday, his career high was 23.

”He’s been real consistent,” Haith said. ”And he’s been our go-to guy thus far this season. But I do think we have a number of guys who can score. Guys who just have to continue to get comfortable.”

No one exemplifies being more comfortable than Oriakhi, who earned his third double-double of the season, one better than all of last season at Connecticut.

The 6-foot-9, 255-pound forward says Haith’s confidence in him has allowed his offensive game to grow.

Missouri extended its home winning streak against nonconference opponents to 71 games dating to the 2005-06 opener.

The team has nine days off before likely adding highly touted transfer Jabari Brown to its lineup. Brown, who played at Oregon, joined the Tigers after the first semester of last season.

”He will not start, I can tell you that,” Haith said. ”But he’ll get some court time.”

— Associated Press —

Shorthanded Western women fall to No. 17 Fort Hays State

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The Missouri Western women struggled offensively in the second half scoring just 17 points falling 57-42 against the 17th ranked Fort Hays State Tigers. The Griffons had three players in double figures with Heather Howard dumping in 15. Alicia Bell had 13 rebounds in the effort as the Griffons fall to 8-2 overall and 1-1 in MIAA play.

Despite being down three starters the Griffons we able to outscore the 17th ranked Lady Tigers 12-4 in the final 5:34 of the first half claiming the 25-21 halftime lead. The Griffons played nine players in the first half and used 11 offensive rebounds to outscore Fort Hays State 10-0 on second chance points.

The Griffons shot just 31.3-percent (10-32) from the field but Howard made 4-of-5 shots and 2-of-3 from long range dumping in 10 points and snaring four rebounds. Alicia Bell had six points and two assists while Tiffanie Abrams dumped in eight points.

The Tigers shot 38.5-percent (10-26) from the field with Kate Lehman leading the charge with eight points on 4-of-7 shooting.

The Tigers came out in the second half scoring the first five points claiming the 26-25 lead. The Griffons regained the lead with 15:19 to play on a Howard jumper making the score 31-29. Unfortunately, that would be the last bucket for the Griffons for over ten minutes as the Tigers built a 15 point lead after a good free throw shot by Katelyn Edwards with 4:09 to play.

The Griffons continued to play hard but it would be too late as the Tigers stay undefeated improving to 8-0 overall and 2-0 in MIAA play.

Abrams and Alex Saxen each pitched in 10 points for the Griffons as MWSU shot just 25-percent (13-52) in the game which included just three field goals in the second half. The Griffons did manage to outrebound the Lady Tigers 42-40 and 16-to-11 on the offensive end of the floor.

The Lady Tigers finished shooting 39.6-percent (21-53) from the floor with Lehman leading the way with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Edwards dumped in 12 points and had two assists.

The Griffons will be off for almost a month for the holiday break returning to action on January 3, 2013 against the University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos. Game time is set for 5:30 pm in Edmond, Okla.

— MWSU Sports Information —

McLemore leads Kansas past Colorado

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Ben McLemore is already accustomed to being on the finishing end of alley-oop dunks.

He was on the giving end on Saturday.

It happened midway through the second half, when the freshman guard looked toward the rim and then lofted a pass that Kevin Young snared in mid-air. The senior sparkplug for ninth-ranked Kansas proceeded to throw down a dunk over Colorado’s Xavier Johnson that brought another capacity crowd in Allen Fieldhouse to its feet.

In a game full of highlights, that one might have defined the game.

McLemore finished with 24 points, Young added 16 points and eight rebounds, and the Jayhawks rolled to a 90-54 victory over the Buffaloes, sending their former Big 12 foe limping back to the Pac-12.

”He was talking to me – he kept saying, ‘I’m running and running,”’ McLemore said. ”We got on a break, and I tossed it up to him and he finished it, and the crowd got into it and we kept rolling.”

Elijah Johnson hit three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points, and Travis Releford added 10 points and six assists for the Jayhawks (7-1), who used an 18-3 run fueled by feisty defense to bury the Buffaloes early.

Kansas pushed the advantage to more than 20 by halftime, surpassed the 30-point barrier with 17 minutes left and extended it to 40 with about 8 minutes to go before substituting liberally down the stretch.

”That was an old-fashioned (butt) whipping right there, is what that was,” Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. ”It’s not like our guys wanted to roll over and die. Kansas just came out and took our heart.”

Josh Scott finished with 19 points to lead the Buffaloes (7-2), who have lost two of three after rattling off six straight wins to start the year. Askia Booker added 15 points, and leading scorer Spencer Dinwiddie was held to four points on 1-for-4 shooting. Xavier Johnson missed all four of his field-goal attempts before fouling out.

”It all comes down to defense,” Dinwiddie said. ”It’s not like they were hitting contested 3s, they were dunking on us and absolutely humiliating us. There really is nothing else to say.”

Colorado has lost 19 straight to the Jayhawks, and 46 of 47, dating to the 1991 season. The longtime Big 12 member, which bolted for the Pac-12 last season, still hasn’t won at Allen Fieldhouse since the 1982-83 season, a span of 29 games.

Kansas coach Bill Self is 18-0 against the Buffaloes, and has won 11 straight against the Pac-12.

”That’s the first time we’ve played a game in our building where we didn’t let our opponent get comfortable in the game from the outset,” Self said. ”That’s what we’re supposed to do every game.”

The Jayhawks led 43-22 at halftime after turning Colorado over 12 times and coughing up a possession just twice in the first 20 minutes. The result was a lopsided 22-2 advantage in points-off-turnovers, and a big lead despite missing its final 10 3-point attempts of the half.

McLemore nearly outscored the Buffaloes by himself, pouring in 17 points.

The freshman guard, who sat out last season as a partial NCAA qualifier, did his best work slashing through the lane and getting to the foul line. But he also picked Colorado’s pocket on a couple of occasions, once tipping the ball over a defender’s head and tracking it down for an easy dunk and an 18-3 lead in the opening minutes.

”I give my teammates a lot of credit,” McLemore said. ”We just go out there and have fun.”

The only stretch in which Kansas wasn’t having fun came midway through the first half, when it missed seven straight field goals, and Colorado closed within 29-18. As if on cue, the Jayhawks scored the next nine points to force Boyle – who played for Kansas in the 1980s – to call a frantic timeout.

Dinwiddie, who had scored at least 20 in three straight games, played only 12 minutes in the first half. He picked up two fouls in the first 5 minutes, and at one point went to the locker room favoring his left ankle.

The Jayhawks put the game away with an 11-2 run to start the second half.

The spurt included a nifty feed from Young to Jeff Withey under the basket, and a block by Withey on Colorado’s Andre Roberson that led to a run-out and a dunk by Releford. Young had a hand in several buckets early in the second half, and finished 8 of 9 from the field as the Jayhawks shot 55 percent for the game.

”When you’re playing a team like Kansas in a building like this, your mistakes get magnified,” Boyle said, ”and they just put it to us.”

— Associated Press —

Northwest women stay unbeaten in the MIAA with win over UNK

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The Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team continued their winning ways Saturday as they defeated Nebraska-Kearney 67-56 to open up 2-0 in MIAA play.

The Bearcats kicked off the start of the game with an 11-0 run. The Northwest defense looked great in the first half scoring 11 points off turnovers.

UNK would come within 10 points of the Bearcats in the second half but that would be as close as they would get. Northwest shot 50 percent from the floor and out rebounded UNK 19-13.

Annie Mathews posted her third double-double of the season with 11 rebounds and 13 points. Mathews added two steals and an assist.

Ashleigh Nelson led all Bearcats in scoring with 17. Nelson was also very active on defense recording four steals and two rebounds.

The Bearcats improve their record to 7-2 overall and 2-0 in league play as the win gives Northwest more wins than they had during the 2011-12 season.

Northwest will return to action after finals week to host Midland Lutheran in nonconference action Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. The next MIAA game for the Bearcats will be Jan. 3 as the Bearcats travel to Missouri Southern before a nationally televised game on CBS College Sports Jan. 5 at Pittsburg State.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Chiefs release Hicks, move Bellamy to 53-man roster

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The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Saturday that the club has released offensive lineman Hayworth Hicks and elevated wide receiver Josh Bellamy from the practice squad to the 53-man roster.

Bellamy (6-0, 206) originally joined the Chiefs as a rookie free agent on April 30, 2012. He has been serving on the club’s practice squad all season. He played in 26 games (17 starts) in two seasons at Louisville, compiling 53 catches for 681 yards (12.8 avg.) with seven touchdowns. Bellamy spent two years at Butte Community College in Oroville, Calif., prior to his arrival at Louisville. Bellamy prepped at Boca Ciega High School in Gulfport, Fla.

Hicks (6-3, 336) was claimed off waivers by the Chiefs on Nov. 29 and was inactive for one contest. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Indianapolis Colts in April of 2012. He spent time on the Colts practice squad before being acquired by the New York Jets on Nov. 6. With the Jets, he spent three games on the club’s roster but was inactive. Born in Los Angeles, Calif., Hicks started 24 of 36 games at guard for Iowa State. Prior to joining the Cyclones, he played left tackle for Antelope Valley Community College. He prepped at Palmdale High School in Palmdale, Calif.

— Chiefs Media Relations —

Kansas State gets road win at George Washington

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Angel Rodriguez scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half as Kansas State defeated George Washington 65-62 Saturday.

Rodney McGruder finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Will Spradling scored 10 for the Wildcats (7-1), who played their first true road game this season.

Dwayne Smith scored 14 points and Isaiah Armwood had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Colonials (4-5), who hosted their first BCS program since the 2009-10 season.

Kansas State defeated George Washington 69-56 on its home court last season.

The Wildcats let a seven-point second-half lead slip away but jumped ahead for good on Nino Williams’ putback with 3:18 remaining. Rodriguez was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer with Kansas State ahead 58-57, and he sank all three free throws with 1:46 left.

After Armwood made 3 of 4 free throws for the Colonials, Rodriguez’s jumper with 1:03 left pushed the lead back to 63-60, but he missed a one-and-one free throw with 26 seconds left.

Joe McDonald’s layup cut the lead to one, but Spradling made two free throws, putting Kansas State up by three with 13 seconds left. Smith’s 3-point try with 2 seconds remaining went long.

The Wildcats grabbed 24 offensive rebounds and finished with a 46-36 edge on the glass.

Trailing 29-27 at halftime and by four early in the second half, the Wildcats surged ahead 44-37 with a 15-4 spurt, which included two Spradling 3-pointers. The Colonials countered with a 13-4 run, going ahead 50-48 on Smith’s 3-point play with 9:03 remaining.

Lasan Kromah scored 12 points and Patricio Garino 10 for the Colonials, losers of two straight.

George Washington turned a 9-2 spurt first half spurt into a 25-18 lead, the Colonials’ largest of the game. McGruder stopped the run with a 3-pointer and the D.C. native tallied 12 points in the first half. Kansas State grabbed 25 rebounds before halftime but shot only 31.6 percent and trailed George Washington 29-27 at the break.

— Associated Press —

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