University of Missouri senior TB/KR/PR Marcus Murphy (DeSoto, Texas) has been named one of five finalists for the fifth annual Paul Hornung Award, presented by Texas Roadhouse, as announced today by the Louisville Sports Commission.  The award is given annually to the most versatile player in major college football, as chosen by a 16-member selection committee.

Murphy has shown that he’s one of the most dynamic scoring threats in all of college football, as he’s the only player in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) to score a touchdown this season in the four all-purpose categories.  He’s got two kickoff return scores, one punt return score and one score each rushing and receiving.  Murphy is one of only four FBS players to have a score this season via kickoff and punt return.

The NCAA’s active career leader in all-purpose yardage (4,577 entering Saturday’s game at Tennessee), Murphy holds Mizzou career records for most combined kick return touchdowns, kickoff return touchdowns, punt return touchdowns and punt return yardage.  He is averaging 13.0 yards per punt return in 2014 (ranking him 11th in the NCAA currently), 32.9 yards per kickoff return (which would rank him 3rd nationally, but he doesn’t have quite enough attempts to qualify for the standings), while he’s got 607 yards rushing and 143 yards receiving.

The senior has already earned his undergraduate degree from MU’s Parks, Recreation and Tourism program.

The Hornung Award winner will be announced in December, with the recipient being honored on January 27, 2015 at the annual Paul Hornung award banquet in downtown Louisville.  Created in 2010, the Hornung Award is designed to honor the most versatile player in college football, while preserving the legacy of one of Kentucky’s best-known and accomplished athletes in Paul Hornung – the 1956 Heisman Trophy winner and later NFL MVP for the Green Bay Packers.

The 16-member selection committee will vote for the winner, but fans also will comprise the 17th vote in a fan vote which opened today by visiting www.paulhornungaward.com.

— MU Sports Information —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Montaque Gill-Caesar scored 19 points and Wes Clark added 14 points and nine assists to lead Missouri past Oral Roberts 78-64 on Wednesday night.

Despite trailing for most of the first 27 minutes, the Tigers (2-1) scored six consecutive points to take a 58-52 advantage with 10:51 remaining. Missouri then used an 8-0 run capped by a 3-pointer by Deuce Bello with 3 minutes left for a 73-62 lead.

Oral Roberts (1-1) would get no closer than 10 the rest of the way.

The Golden Eagles’ Obi Emegano scored a career-high 30 points while Korey Billbury added eight points and 10 rebounds.

Gill-Caesar now leads Missouri with 16.3 points per game as one of four freshmen to play for first-year coach Kim Anderson. The 6-foot-6, 215-pound guard from Vaughan, Ontario, attended high school at Huntington Prep in West Virginia for new Missouri assistant Rob Fulford.

He finished with 5-of-11 shooting from the field, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

The teams combined for 49 fouls and 64 free throws, but despite the game’s slow pace, both schools shot over 40 percent for the game. Oral Roberts converted 13 of its 20 shots from the field in the first half, including its first eight attempts, but made only 5 of 24 in the closing 20 minutes.

Foul trouble sidelined Emegano’s torrid start as he scored 18 points in the opening 7 minutes before collecting two fouls in the following 30 seconds. He sat out the remainder of the half and scored 12 after the break, but never could match his early pace.

Emegano led the team with 26 points in its season opener and averaged 19 points in four games last season before tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament.

Missouri shot 25 of 49 from the field, including 12 of 21 from behind the arc. Despite being the larger team, though, the Tigers only outrebounded Oral Roberts 32-31 and converted eight fewer free throws.

TIP-INS

Oral Roberts: Under 16th-year coach Scott Sutton, the Golden Eagles were picked to finish third in the Summit League preseason poll by coaches, staff and media. The team returned to the conference after playing its last two seasons in the Southland Conference.

Missouri: Freshman Jakeenan Gant missed his third consecutive game while the school reviews his eligibility.

UP NEXT

Oral Roberts plays at Oregon State on Friday.

Missouri plays Arizona on Monday in the EA Sports Maui Invitational in Hawaii.

— Associated Press —

University of Missouri junior running back Russell Hansbrough (Arlington, Texas) has been named the Southeastern Conference’s football Offensive Player of the Week for his performance Saturday at Texas A&M, as announced tonight by the league office.

Hansbrough, playing in his home state of Texas, led Mizzou to a huge 34-27 road win at #24 Texas A&M Saturday evening, thanks to his career-high 199 rushing yards.  He averaged 9.9 yards per carry (20 attempts), which included touchdown runs of 49 and 45 yards on consecutive 3rd-quarter possessions as the Tigers rallied from a 13-6 halftime deficit.

Hansbrough’s 199-yard outing marked the most rushing yards by a Tiger running back in a conference game since Oct. 10, 1998, when All-American Devin West ran for 252 yards (on 40 carries, 6.3 avg.) at Iowa State.  Hansbrough’s total is the 6th-highest output by a tailback in Mizzou history in a conference game, and it is the 10th-highest single-game rushing total among tailbacks (any opponent).  The 199 yards ranks 13th on Mizzou’s all-time single-game rushing chart (all positions included).

Thanks to Hansbrough’s career night (surpassing his previous best of 126 yards vs. South Dakota State on Aug. 30, 2014), Mizzou ran for a season-high 335 yards, surpassing the previous season mark of 244 yards (Vanderbilt), while amassing a season-best 587 yards of total offense in the A&M win.

Hansbrough leads Mizzou with 790 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on the year, while he’s averaging 5.6 yards per attempt.  He now ranks 10th in the SEC in rushing with his 79.0 yards per game.

This marks the seventh time a Tiger has won a weekly SEC award in 2014.  The list of winners includes: Offensive Player of the Week – Maty Mauk (Sept. 6), Russell Hansbrough (Nov. 15); Defensive Player of the Week – Shane Ray (Sept. 13); Defensive Lineman of the Week – Shane Ray (Sept. 27, Oct. 18, Nov. 1); Special Teams Player of the Week – Marcus Murphy (Oct. 18).

— MU Sports Information —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Kim Anderson says his team is a work in progress. But after a disappointing season opener, he can now rest a little easier after a 56-41 win against Valparaiso on Sunday.

“Friday night was an embarrassment, not to take anything away from” Missouri-Kansas City, the first-year Missouri coach said about his team’s 69-61 loss. “To lose at home in your first game, I think our guys were somewhat tentative.”

That tentativeness showed up again in the team’s first half against Valparaiso, as the Tigers led 24-23 at the break despite no player converting more than one field goal. The team finally gained some separation with a 14-2 run to take a 41-29 lead with 9:47 remaining.

Valparaiso never could get closer than seven the rest of the way.

Wes Clark scored 16 points to lead Missouri (1-1) while Johnathan Williams III added 10.

Anderson thought his team started to play more aggressively in the second half by attacking the middle of the court, rather than simply passing around the perimeter. The Tigers made 10 of their first 18 shots after the break and finished 20 of 50 for the game.

“I think we’re coming together more as a team,” Williams said. “Just trying to learn about each other more and bond together as a team.”

E. Victor Nickerson led Valparaiso (1-1) with 12 points while Alec Peters added seven. Peters earned All-Freshman honors in the Horizon League last year with 12.7 points per game, but only played 27 minutes against Missouri because of foul trouble.

Peters collected two fouls in the first 2:55 and then another with 6:06 left in the opening half. He added a fourth 4 1/2 minutes after the break.

“There’s no question it took us out of what we wanted,” Drew said.

Both teams started 3 of 13 from the field, preventing either from leading by more than five in the first half. But the Crusaders couldn’t keep up in the closing half, as coach Bryce Drew said his team was “worn down” by Missouri’s size.

“When you get tired, I think a lot of our shots became short at the end just from fatigue,” he said. “I thought that definitely played a role in those last 10 minutes of the game.”

TIP-INS

Valparaiso: The Crusaders haven’t defeated a major-conference team since Washington in 2008 and won’t face another this regular season. They were picked to finish fourth in the Horizon League after finishing in the same position last year.

Missouri: Attendance was announced at 5,369, slightly more than a third of Mizzou Arena’s capacity, after about a half-inch of snow fell earlier in the day. . Freshman Jakeenan Gant missed his second consecutive game while the school reviews his eligibility.

FREE THROWS

Although Anderson said his team played more aggressively, the Tigers only shot 14 free throws, two fewer than against UMKC. The team converted 12 of them, though, compared with Valparaiso’s seven-of-12 performance from the charity stripe.

MISSING OFFENSE

Valparaiso won its opener Friday 90-76 against East Tennessee State thanks to 50 percent (26 of 52) shooting, including 10 of 18 from 3-point range. But the offense never could find its rhythm at Missouri without Peters consistently on the floor, finishing 33 percent (15 of 46) from the field.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT

“We definitely needed a win,” Clark said. “We didn’t know exactly where we stood before that game on Friday. It just woke us up some, made us a little bit more aware of where we needed to go and how to get there.”

UP NEXT

Valparaiso hosts Indiana-South Bend on Wednesday.

Missouri hosts Oral Roberts on Wednesday.

— Associated Press —

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Russell Hansbrough ran for a career-high 199 yards and two touchdowns to help Missouri to a 34-27 win over Texas A&M on Saturday night.

Missouri (8-2, 5-1 SEC) scored 28 points in the third quarter to erase a seven-point halftime deficit and take a 34-20 lead.

The Aggies got within a touchdown early in the fourth quarter and had a chance to tie it with less than three minutes remaining, but lost a yard on fourth down from the Missouri 1.

The Tigers then ran out the clock to secure their fourth straight win and remain in first place in the SEC East.

Hansbrough ran for touchdowns of 49 and 45 yards in his fifth career 100-yard game in front of a crowd of more than 100,000 which included former President George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara.

Kyle Allen threw for 237 yards with three touchdowns and an interception for Texas A&M (7-4, 3-4).

He tossed a 4-yard pass over the head of safety Duron Singleton to Malcome Kennedy for a touchdown to cut Missouri’s lead to 34-27 early in the fourth quarter.

Andrew Baggett’s 49-yard field-goal attempt bounced off the right upright, giving the Aggies the ball back with 5 1/2 minutes remaining, but they came away empty after the fourth-down stop.

Missouri’s Shane Ray had a sack to give him 13 this season, extending his school record. Maty Mauk threw for 252 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

The Tigers tied it at 13-13 when Mauk found Darius White in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown reception early in the third quarter.

A&M responded quickly with Allen finding Josh Reynolds for a 56-yard touchdown catch three plays later to put the Aggies back up 20-13. The score gave Reynolds 12 touchdown receptions this season to tie a school record. He finished with five receptions for 125 yards.

Hansbrough knotted the score once again when he burst up the middle 49 yards for a touchdown less than two minutes later.

Missouri forced a punt and Hansbrough did it again on the next drive, this time evading three tacklers on his way to a 45-yard touchdown run to make it 27-20. A 16-yard touchdown run by freshman Ish Witter pushed the lead to 34-20 with about a minute left in the quarter.

Texas A&M’s defense gave up 587 yards playing without linemen Myles Garrett and Ivan Robinson who missed the game with injuries.

Josh Reynolds grabbed a short pass from Allen, slipped from one defender and flipped over another and into the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown to give A&M a 10-3 lead about 10 minutes before halftime.

That score came after the Aggies got a fresh set of downs when Missouri was penalized for roughing the punter.

Bud Sasser had a 2-yard touchdown catch wiped out when he was called for pass interference and the Tigers settled for a 35-yard field goal to cut the lead to 10-6. Sasser finished with 83 yards receiving.

The Tigers were driving late in the second quarter when Armani Watts intercepted a pass and returned it 36 yards. Reynolds had a 32-yard reception to set up a 31-yard field goal to leave A&M up 13-6 at halftime.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Martez Harrison scored 26 points and Shayok Shayok added 10 to help Missouri-Kansas City stun Missouri 69-61 in the season opener Friday for both teams.

UMKC used two 10-2 runs in the opening half to help build a 33-24 halftime lead and then nursed its advantage throughout the final 20 minutes. The Kangaroos last beat a power conference team in December 2003 (Kansas State) and haven’t finished above .500 in a season since 2004-05.

Freshman Montaque Gill-Caesar led Missouri with 21 points while Wes Clark added 13.

The Tigers returned just 22 percent of their scoring from a 2013-2014 season that ended in March with a second-round loss in the NIT. Four freshmen received significant playing time Friday for first-year coach Kim Anderson, who guided Central Missouri to a Division II title earlier this year.

Harrison, the reigning WAC Freshman of the Year, averaged 17.2 points per game last season and single-handedly kept UMKC in the lead at times against the Tigers, scoring seven consecutive points midway through the second half.

After an authoritative, two-handed dunk by Gill-Caesar with 4:54 left narrowed Missouri’s deficit to 57-53, Harrison answered with a layup on the other end to start a 4-0 UMKC run.

The Tigers would get no closer.

Missouri led for just 34 seconds, grabbing a 3-2 advantage on a free throw by Ryan Rosburg 3:37 into the game. The team trailed by 11 in the first half against Missouri-St. Louis in its second exhibition game on Nov. 8, and Anderson said afterward the deficit would be beneficial to the Tigers.

But there would be no comeback this time.

—

TIP-INS

Missouri-Kansas City: The upset provided the signature win for second-year coach Kareem Richardson, who helped Louisville win the national championship in 2013 as an assistant for Rick Pitino. UMKC also received a big boost of confidence after being picked to finish fifth in the preseason WAC media poll.

Missouri: A scattering of boos rained down at the final buzzer from an announced attendance of 7,014. . Jakeenan Gant sat out after the school issued a release shortly before tip-off saying the freshman would be “withheld from competition as a result of a review regarding his eligibility.”

UP NEXT

Missouri-Kansas City plays at Kansas State on Monday.

Missouri hosts Valparaiso on Sunday.

— Associated Press —

Missouri men’s basketball coach Kim Anderson has announced two signings for the program’s 2015 recruiting class, with talented student-athletes Kevin Puryear (Blue Springs, Mo.) and Cullen VanLeer (Pacific, Mo.) inking with the Tigers. A 6-7 forward, Puryear has starred for Blue Springs South High School, averaging 19.2 points and 8.6 rebounds as a junior this past season. Standing 6-4 from the guard position, VanLeer posted a solid 21.9-point average for Pacific High School as a junior.

“We are excited about the addition of Kevin and Cullen to our program,” Anderson said. “Both come from outstanding high school and non-scholastic programs. Kevin has had the chance to play for Coach Jimmy Cain at Blue Springs South High School and L.J. Goolsby at KC Run GMC, while Cullen played for his father John at Pacific High School and Scott Schroepfer’s St. Louis Gateway program.

“They are two of the top players in the state of Missouri, and we are elated that they have decided to stay home and be members of the Tiger basketball family. Additionally, they are both high character young men who are winners.”

Puryear was a First Team All-State honoree from the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association as a junior in 2014, complimenting a standout season for South head coach Jimmy Cain. Blue Springs South was powered by Puryear to a strong 21-4 record and second round appearance in the Class 5 District Tournament. Puryear and his teammates recorded an impressive 22-2 mark and advanced to the Class 5 State Tournament during his sophomore season.

“Kevin is a versatile, combo forward who brings a great blue collar, tough mentality that fits the culture we are trying to create here at Mizzou,” Anderson said. “He can shoot it from the perimeter or go inside and mix it up. He takes great pride in being a Missouri Tiger.”

With additional junior season averages of 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.7 steals, VanLeer has proven to have a versatile game while playing for father and Pacific head coach John VanLeer. The younger VanLeer was honored for his well-rounded game by the MBCA, earning First Team All-State recognition as both a sophomore and junior in Class 3 and Class 4, respectively.

VanLeer’s Pacific squad posted a stout 20-5 record this past season, advancing to the second round of the Class 4 District Tournament. Pacific also made an appearance in the district tournament round during his sophomore campaign.

“Cullen meets an important need for us next year,” Anderson said. “He is an outstanding shooter with deep range and is a solid ball handler. Like Kevin, he is also an in-state kid who takes great pride in wearing the Black & Gold. With both young men, Coach Loos did an outstanding job of developing a good relationship early on, along with the rest of our staff.”

The two Show-Me State standouts have been strong players on the travel ball circuit, with Puryear proving the strength of his interior game with KC Run GMC and VanLeer earning a sharpshooter’s reputation with St. Louis Gateway. VanLeer shot 35 percent from three-point range for the club over the summer.

Puryear is excited to get started at Mizzou in the Fall of 2015, relishing the opportunity to bring his intensity and tenacity to the Mizzou Arena court.

“I’m extremely excited about the opportunity to be a part of my dream school,” Puryear said. “I’m just very happy to be in the Mizzou family.”

VanLeer, focused on contributing to the Tigers’ squad immediately, echoed his signing class partner’s feelings about putting on the Black & Gold uniform.

“I’m really excited to be joining the Mizzou Basketball family,” VanLeer said. “Being a Missouri kid, I take great pride in being able to play for and attend the University of Missouri.”

— MU Sports Information —

Mizzou Football junior DE Shane Ray (Kansas City, Mo.) has been named one of 20 semifinalists for the 20th Chuck Bednarik Award, the Maxwell Football Club announced Monday. The award is presented annually by the organization to the outstanding defensive player of the year.

With his record-breaking effort against Kentucky (Nov. 1), Ray leads the SEC in sacks with 12.0. During the final minutes of the game, Ray sacked Kentucky QB Patrick Towles to break the single-season sack record of 11.5, previously set by Aldon Smith in 2009 and matched by Michael Sam in 2013. His sack total currently ranks tied for second nationally.

The first-year starter also leads the SEC in tackles-for-loss with 16.0 among his 50 total tackles. Ray has earned SEC weekly honors twice and been the heart of the Mizzou defense that leads the league in sacks (31.0) and ranks tied for first in tackles-for-loss (69.0).

Ray was added to the Bednarik Award watch list on Oct. 15, based on his excellent performance at that point in the season. The original watch list was compiled based on top performers in 2013.

The Maxwell Football Club will announce the three finalists for the award on Nov. 24. The winner of the 20th Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show which will be broadcast on ESPN on Dec. 11. The formal presentation of the Chuck Bednarik Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club’s 78th Awards Gala on Friday, March 13, 2015, at the Tropicana Resort & Casino in Atlantic City, N.J.

— MU Sports Information —