College – Page 330 – St. Joseph Post Archive

No. 6 Kansas beats No. 10 West Virginia, moves into three-way tie atop Big 12

Posted on February 9, 2016February 9, 2016

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Landen Lucas rarely gets much credit for the work he does for Kansas, mainly because the blue-collar forward earns his minutes with rebounding and defense rather than offense.

So when Perry Ellis had the ball with a clear path to the rim Tuesday night, he decided to reward his teammate. With a deft flip of his wrist, Ellis lobbed up a pass that Lucas dutifully flushed.

“He was open,” Ellis said with a shrug, “so I had to get him some.”

Lucas had certainly earned it. He pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds, scored nine points and even had four blocks in the sixth-ranked Jayhawks’ 75-65 victory over No. 10 West Virginia.

“I see him out there working hard,” Ellis said. “You got to reward your teammate.”

Besides, Ellis still scored a game-high 21 points. Frank Mason III added 14 for the Jayhawks (20-4, 8-3), who handled the Mountaineers’ pressure well most of the night in avenging their lopsided loss lost month in Morgantown, West Virginia, that had them playing catch-up in the league race.

Now, they are tied with the Mountaineers (19-5, 8-3) and No. 3 Oklahoma (20-3, 8-3) as they pursue their 12th consecutive Big 12 championship. All three teams have seven games remaining, with the Jayhawks and Sooners to meet on Saturday in Norman, Oklahoma.

“We knew we weren’t too far out of it,” Lucas said. “We handled business, but now we have a big one Saturday. We’re just going to get mentally prepared to go down there and win.”

Devin Williams had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Jaysean Paige also scored 14 points for the Mountaineers — though their leading scorer was just 5-of-16 from the field.

“You just can’t miss that many shots,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “You can’t miss that many transition opportunities. We had all kinds of transition opportunities and we didn’t convert one.”

Unlike their meeting in Morgantown, the Jayhawks were the ones who dominated the first half Tuesday night. They committed six turnovers — they had 22 total in the first game — and shut down West Virginia at the other end, which prevented the Mountaineers from getting into their pressure defense.

“It wasn’t all them,” Huggins said. “You have to give us credit, too, for screwing the game up.”

Quickly outletting the ball after every defensive rebound, the Jayhawks rushed up court before the Mountaineers could retreat, often with Mason and Devonte’ Graham taking it all the way to the rim.

Kansas built a 36-24 lead late in the first half, but Tarik Phillip threw in a prayer off his own miss and Paige curled in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to slice into the Mountaineers’ deficit.

The Jayhawks used a 13-2 run early in the second half to take a 53-40 lead, their biggest of the game. But the Mountaineers finally got some traction with their press, forcing turnovers on four straight possessions, and slowly trimmed the lead to 54-50 with about 8 minutes left in the game.

The decisive point may have come moments later, when Phillip was fouled while driving to the basket. He whipped an elbow that clipped Mason in the chin and was assessed a flagrant foul. So after Phillip air-balled his free throw, Mason made one at the other end to start another Kansas run.

Ellis finished it off with a 3-pointer that made it 70-58 with 3:21 to go.

Despite a few sloppy moments down the stretch, the Jayhawks were able to coax the final minutes off the clock to remain perfect against West Virginia in four games at Allen Fieldhouse.

“I thought we got punked in Morgantown,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “What I take away from this is we played more like men than we did when we went to Morgantown.”

HOLTON STILL OUT

Mountaineers forward Jonathan Holton remained out after violating team rules. Huggins has not said when he’ll return from his suspension, which has now cost him four games.

TIP-INS

West Virginia: Daxter Miles Jr. was held to two points on 1-for-8 shooting. … Huggins coached his 300th game at his alma mater. … The Mountaineers committed only 10 turnovers.

Kansas: Wayne Selden had 11 points. Graham and Brannen Greene scored 10 apiece. … Self improved to 203-9 in Allen Fieldhouse. … The Jayhawks shot 56 percent from the field.

UP NEXT

West Virginia plays TCU on Saturday.

Kansas visits No. 3 Oklahoma on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

Kansas State women upset No. 21 Oklahoma

Posted on February 9, 2016February 9, 2016

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kindred Wesemann made 6 of 8 from 3-point range, 8 of 10 free throws and finished with 26 points and five assists to help the Kansas State women beat No. 21 Oklahoma 87-71 Tuesday night.

Breanna Lewis had 15 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots, while Bri Craig scored a season-high 12 for Kansas State.

Gabbi Ortiz hit a 3-pointer to give Oklahoma (16-7, 7-5 Big 12) an 18-9 lead with 2:56 left in the first quarter.

Wesemann hit back-to-back 3s — and added two more — to start a 27-7 run that was capped by four-straight points from Kayla Goth with 3:44 left in the half that gave Kansas State (15-8, 5-7) a 38-27 lead.

Derica Wyatt’s layup with 2:14 left in the third pulled the Sooners within three, 56-53, but Wesemann answered with a 3-pointer and Oklahoma went eight minutes, 55 seconds without a field goal while Kansas State pushed its lead to 23 with 3:31 to play.

Gioya Carter led Oklahoma with 19 points.

— Associated Press —

Griffon baseball drops series finale at Arkansas Tech

Posted on February 7, 2016

RUSSELVILLE, Ark. – The Missouri Western baseball team didn’t have much trouble getting on base Sunday at Arkansas Tech but bringing runners home proved challenging in a 7-6 game three loss to the Wonder Boys.

The Griffons piled up 11 hits but left 16 runners on base, going 5-23 with runners on and 3-14 with runners in scoring position. Missouri Western stayed off the board until the top of the fourth, scoring three, but Arkansas Tech added five it its half of the fourth. The Griffons would mount one more run in the fifth and two in the sixth but the late rally came up short.

David Glaude opened the fifth with a solo homer to right and Brandon Downs brought two home with a ground out to first that put MWSU up 3-2 headed to the bottom of the fifth. A big inning from the Wonder Boys in their half of the inning culminated and a three-run double that put Arkansas Tech back up 7-3.

Nick Gawley hit a two out, RBI single to center in the sixth that got Missouri Western closer. Downs was the first to score in the seventh, coming home on a bases loaded wild pitch with one out. Orencio Fisher picked up a sacrifice fly to pull the Griffons within one on the pitch after Downs scored. Glaude would follow with a walk, bringing Cosimo Cannella to the plate with the tying run on third, bases loaded, two out. Cannella grounded out to the pitcher to end the inning.

Conner Schwienbart took the loss. He pitched into the fifth, giving up five runs on nine hits. The transfer walked two and struck out one. Glaude was as triple short of hitting for the cycle, going 3-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Downs was 2-4 with two driven in and Gawley went 2-5.

The loss dropped MWSU to 1-2 on the season. The Griffons return to Arkansas next weekend, playing four games in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.

— MWSU Athletics —

No. 21 Mizzou women lose at No. 11 Mississippi State 52-42

Posted on February 7, 2016

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Morgan William scored 17 points and Victoria Vivians 13, and the two guards made big plays late in No. 11 Mississippi State’s 52-42 victory over No. 21 Missouri on Sunday.

Mississippi State (21-4, 8-3 SEC) led 45-42 when William scored and Vivians followed with a steal and 3-point play for an eight-point lead with a minute left. William added two free throws with the duo combining for the Bulldogs’ final 11 points.

Sophie Cunningham scored 13 points and Jordan Frericks had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers (18-6, 5-6).

Both teams shot under 33 percent, combining to make only 3 of 22 3-pointers. But the Bulldogs made eight steals and turned 27 Missouri turnovers into 29 points in picking up their fourth straight win and splitting the season series.

Mississippi State led from midway through the first quarter but Missouri stayed within single digits most of the way.

— Associated Press —

No. 16 MWSU softball finishes 2-2 at Ronnie Hawkins Invitational

Posted on February 7, 2016

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Missouri Western softball team finished the Ronnie Hawkins Invitational 2-2 after another split on day two Sunday. The No. 16 Griffons lost game one 9-6 to Arkansas-Monticello and defeated Harding for the second time in two days, 4-1, in game two.

Game 1: Arkansas-Monticello 9, #16 MWSU 6

Two, four-run innings by Arkansas-Monticello doomed Janie Smith and the Griffons in a 9-6 loss to open day two at the Ronnie Hawkins Invitational.

UAM chipped away at Smith for four in the top of the third and used a grand slam to add four more in the fifth, scoring all but one of its runs in those two innings. Smith would surrender another run, her ninth earned, in the seventh on an RBI single. The senior fell to 1-1 on the season, allowing 11 hits, striking out four and walking two in seven innings of work.

Freshman Taylor Hamilton drove in two of the Griffon runs, including her first home run as a Griffon in the third. She put MWSU up 1-0 in the first with a sacrifice fly to center. Shelbie Atwell made it 3-0 Missouri Western in the first with a 2-RBI double to left. Kailey Green’s RBI-double and Paige Shifflett’s RBI-single in the sixth pulled the Griffons within two, but that would be the end of the scoring for Missouri Western in the game.

Shifflett and Atwell both finished the game 2-4 at the plate. Atwell drove in two and Shifflett added an RBI and a run scored.

Game 2: #16 MWSU 4, Harding 1

The Griffons used a little small ball to scratch out four runs and Shyanne Saladino held off a rally attempt by Harding for Missouri Western’s second win over Harding in two days.

Neither team scored through the first three innings, then the Griffons went up 2-0 in the fourth on a sacrifice bunt, RBI by Shifflett and an RBI-single from Hamilton. Green added an RBI-single in the top of the seventh and Megan Korgie followed Green’s RBI with one of her own on a bunt single.

With two down in the bottom of the seventh, Harding had the tying run at the plate with runners on second and third but Saladino got the batter to strike out looking to end the game. Saladino finished with five strikeouts, allowing just one unearned run on six hits and a walk to move to 1-1 on the year.

No Griffon finished with more than one hit and Katie Klosterman’s double in the seventh was the team’s only extra-base hit.

Missouri Western will see Harding again next weekend when it plays at the Arkansas-Monticello 8-State Classic in Bentonville, Arkansas. The Griffons will play six games in three days beginning on Friday.

— MWSU Athletics —

No. 9 Missouri Western cruises to 31-point win over Blue Tigers

Posted on February 6, 2016

ST. JOSEPH – The No. 9-ranked Missouri Western Women’s Basketball team rebounded from a cold first quarter to dominate Lincoln for the next three on the way to an 82-51 win over the Blue Tigers Saturday in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

The Griffons shot little better than 20 percent from the field in the first quarter and went into the second tied at 14 with Griffon Hall of Famer Nicole Collier’s team. From there, Missouri Western turned on the after burners, outscoring Lincoln 26-11 in the second; 20-15 in the third; and 22-11 in the fourth. The Griffons finished with a 50.8 field goal shooting percentage on the night, including 62.5 percent from behind the arc. Missouri Western held Lincoln to a 29.4 field goal shooting percentage and forced 19 Lincoln turnovers.

Miliakere Koyamainavure led Missouri Western, scoring a career-high 22 points and pulling down a career-high 11 rebounds. Julia Torres also finished with a double-double, scoring 11 and adding 10 rebounds. LaQuinta Jefferson finished with 19 points and five rebounds. Chelsea Dewey finished with seven points, six assists and five rebounds.

The win moved Missouri Western to 21-1 on the season and 15-2 in the MIAA. It’s the most wins in a season for the program since going 21-9 in 2003-04. Next week Missouri Western heads to Oklahoma for rematches with Northeastern State on Feb. 11 and Central Oklahoma on Feb. 13. The Griffon defeated both teams in St. Joseph earlier this season.

— MWSU Athletics —

Griffon men overcome early deficit to defeat Lincoln 76-68

Posted on February 6, 2016

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western men’s basketball team held off a late charge to pick up its second straight win, 76-68 over Lincoln Saturday in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

Missouri Western led by 16 with 4:04 to go, but Lincoln cut the lead to five with 32 seconds left on a 13-2 run. The Griffons scored the final three points, all on free throws to ice the game and give Missouri Western a season split with the Blue Tigers.

Lincoln started the game on a roll, jumping out to an 18-6 lead with 14:55 to go in the first half. Missouri Western closed the half on a 38-15 run that included nine made threes to take a 41-33 lead to halftime. The Griffons went 1-11 from behind the arc in the second half, but the 10th three moved the team to 6-0 this season when it makes 10 or more three pointers. Missouri Western shot 40.7 percent from the field and out-rebounded Lincoln 41-34.

Trey Sampson led the Griffons with 22 points on 5-12 shooting from three point range. Currie Byrd added 14 on 4-5 shooting from the field. Mataika Koyamainavure had a team-high seven rebounds and Cole Clearman finished with four assists.

The win improved Missouri Western to 8-15 overall and 6-11 in the MIAA and lifted the team into 10th place in the MIAA standings, the final spot that will qualify for the MIAA Tournament. Lincoln fell to 12-11 and 8-9. The Griffons go to Oklahoma next week to face Northeastern State and Central Oklahoma.

— MWSU Athletics —

Bearcats hang on to defeat Lindewood, lead MIAA by three games

Posted on February 6, 2016February 6, 2016

By David Boyce, Northwest Athletics

MARYVILLE, Mo. – All game long, nearly every shot Cory Arentsen put up for Lindenwood seemed to go in. So when he took a desperation three-pointer with .9 seconds left and his team trailing by two, a sick feeling probably hit a few Bearcat fans.

But this year belongs to the Bearcats. His shot banged off the rim and fell harmlessly to floor.

“I wanted to make it tough for him,” said Northwest sophomore Chris-Ebou Ndow, who guarded Arentsen on the final play. “I wanted to make the three hard for him. I felt like I did. He missed it luckily.

“It was pretty nerve wracking. It felt like it was in the air for five seconds. When he missed it, it was a huge relief.”

Northwest Missouri State pulled out the spine-tingling 75-73 victory over Lindenwood Saturday evening in front of 1,717 fans at Bearcat Arena. They witnessed a remarkable shooting performance from Arentsen, who finished with 46 points on the strength of eight three-pointers in 12 attempts.

“He got it going and it was hard to stop,” said Northwest sophomore Justin Pitts. “He was hitting insane shots, hands in his face and step backs. Today, he was just feeling it.

“On the offensive end, my teammates did a good job sitting screens for me and getting me open.”

Indeed. Pitts went 10 for 15 from the field and finished with 27 points. The difference for Northwest was it had four players finish in double figures compared to two for Lindenwood.

“I felt they played a pretty good game, obviously,” said Zach Schneider, who finished with 12 points. “They executed well offensively. They got the ball in his hands.”

It was an amazing win for the Bearcats, who improved to 17-5 overall and 14-3 in the MIAA. Northwest now has a three-game lead over second-place Lindenwood, which dropped to 15-8 and 11-6.

“I will have an adrenaline rush for a long time,” Schneider said. “That was one of the better, tough games I’ve played here.

“That was one of those games when the final buzzer sounds it is a load off your shoulders.”

The final 4 minutes was worth the price of admission. Northwest took a 66-60 lead on a basket by junior D’Vante Mosby. Arentsen answered with a basket. The Bearcats came right back with a score to put their lead back to six.

Arentsen drilled a three-pointer and the momentum was back with the Lions. Schneider turned momentum in the Bearcats’ favor with a three-pointer that made it 71-65.

Lindenwood came right back with a basket, and then Anthony Woods answered for Northwest with a field goal. But with just over 1 minute left, Arentsen drilled his seventh three-pointer of the game, making 73-70.

“Cory Arentsen is such a great competitor,” said Lindenwood coach Lance Randall. “He stepped up. He didn’t have one of his best games on Thursday. I knew he was going to be locked in and have a great game today. This was far above and beyond any coach’s expectation. He was virtually unstoppable.”

Mosby pushed Northwest’s lead back to five with a basket. Arentsen had more bullet left, hitting his eighth three-pointer, making it 75-73 with 30 seconds left.

Lindenwood stopped the Bearcats and then Northwest stopped the Lions with .9 seconds left and had the ball under Lindenwood’s basket. The in-bound pass down court didn’t make it down the court. It hit the scoreboard, giving Lindenwood the ball under its basket.

Northwest wanted to prevent Lindenwood from getting anything inside and that allowed Arentsen to curl off a screen. He received the ball near the corner and his high-arching shot hit the front of the rim and bounced off.

“It was fun until the last shot,” Pitts said. “My stomach really dropped. I thought for sure he was going to make it. Thankfully, he missed it. It was a great game by both teams.”

It was heart-stopping stuff and Division II basketball at its best. Both teams gave their best effort and that’s why the game wasn’t decided until the final buzzer.

In the first half, Northwest overcame 28 points from Arentsen and took a 43-40 lead into halftime. Normally, when a team goes 11 for 16 from three-point range in a half like Northwest did, its lead is bigger than three points.

But Arentsen was special in the first half. He made nine of 14 shots and helped the Lions shoot 64 percent from the field. Northwest was nearly as hot, shooting 58 percent. The biggest difference between the two teams was the more balanced approach by the Bearcats.

Pitts scored 14 and Schneider and Ndow each had nine and Conner Crooker chipped in seven.

Northwest never trailed in the first half. Pitts got the Bearcats off to a good start, opening the game with a three-pointer. A few minutes later, the Bearcats’ lead bloomed to 15-7 on a three-pointer by Schneider.

But every time Northwest got a little separation, Arentsen came back with a three-pointer or a two-point field goal. Arentsen even tied the game 34-34 late in the first half on a three-pointer.

Pitts answered with consecutive three-pointers to push Northwest’s lead to 40-34. Lindenwood called timeout and then Arentsen scored a two-point field goal.

Schneider hit a three-pointer to make it 43-36, but Arentsen had the final say in the first half, making the final two field goals of the half.

— Northwest Athletics —

Missouri falls at Alabama as losing streak reaches eight

Posted on February 6, 2016February 6, 2016

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Riley Norris made three 3-pointers and scored 18 points to help Alabama beat Missouri 80-71 on Saturday.

Arthur Edwards and Justin Coleman made back-to-back 3-pointers to give Alabama its largest lead of the game at 67-43 with 9:28 remaining.

“Sometimes we play like a real basketball team, and as I told them yesterday in practice, sometime they wanna be the Washington Generals, but the only problem with that was not many of them knew who the Washington Generals were,” Alabama coach Avery Johnson said.

Retin Obasohan had 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Alabama (13-9, 4-6 SEC).

“(Obasohan) gets in the lane, he’s got that floater. Thing’s hard to guard,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. “Give him credit. He’s a good player. I remembered him from a year ago. … He’s definitely improved.”

Obasohan put up 25 points in Alabama’s overtime win against Mississippi State last Tuesday.

Alabama shot 45 percent from the field in the first half and hit 5 3-pointers to build a 40-28 lead. Missouri was limited to 38 percent shooting in the half.

Coleman added 14 points for Alabama and Jimmie Taylor and Edwards each had 11. Taylor also blocked four shots.

“Other people focus on 11 points,” Johnson said of his point total. “I’m focusing on blocked shots.”

Freshman Kevin Puryear scored a season-best 22 points to lead Missouri (8-15, 1-9). Senior Ryan Rosburg also set a career-high with 17 points and the duo combined for 13 boards but the Tigers were outrebounded 38-30.

After 20 minutes of play, Missouri had six turnovers but finished with nine. Alabama had three turnovers in the first half before adding 10 more in the final frame.

Down 24, Missouri pulled within seven with less than 30 seconds left thanks to a 28-11 spurt over nine minutes. Coleman sealed the win for Alabama after he was sent to the line with 24 seconds left and sank both free throws.

“Obviously, when it came down to it, the rebounding was a major factor and the second-chance points,” Anderson said.

—

TIP-INS

Missouri: The Tigers have lost eight straight games. Their last win came on Jan. 9 against Auburn.

Alabama: Obasohan’s five-game streak of at least 20 points was snapped. He has scored 20-plus points in eight of his last 10 games.

UP NEXT:

Missouri heads to Vanderbilt on Wednesday.

Alabama hosts No. 8 Texas A&M on Wednesday.

— Associated Press —

Kansas State upsets No. 1 Oklahoma

Posted on February 6, 2016February 6, 2016

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State coach Bruce Weber was so confident his team would beat top-ranked Oklahoma that he had his team practice what to do when fans stormed the court.

Weber should have let the fans in on the plan.

Led by Wesley Iwundu and Dean Wade, the Wildcats overcame a slow start to each half and beat the Sooners 80-69 on Saturday night. But when the final seconds ticked away and Weber’s bunch jogged to the safety of center court, they were startled to see all those fans celebrating in the stands.

“I’m not sure what happened!” Weber said with a smile.

Maybe they expected it, too.

They certainly acted as if they had been there, even though it was the fifth time in school history that Kansas State had knocked off the nation’s No. 1 team.

“That’s the best team in the country and we just beat them,” said Iwundu, who had 22 points. “We have every reason to hold our heads up high right now.”

Wade finished with 17 points, D.J. Johnson had 12 and Justin Edwards scored 11 for Kansas State (14-9, 3-7 Big 12), which snapped the Sooners’ four-game win streak in part by holding Buddy Hield in check.

The player of the year front-runner had 23 points, but a big chunk came in the final minutes, when the Sooners (19-3, 7-3) were desperately trying to rally against a team that wouldn’t budge.

“We got beat by a club that out-fought us,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. “They were more energetic to loose balls and more active and I thought all night long they were a little quicker.”

Ryan Spangler had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Sooners, and Isaiah Cousins scored 16 points before fouling out. Cousins picked up a personal in the closing minutes — his fourth — and then kicked the ball into the stands in frustration for a technical foul and a seat on the bench.

It was that kind of game for Oklahoma. Coupled with No. 2 North Carolina’s loss at Notre Dame, there have been 26 losses by top-5 teams this season, which is five more than all of last season.

Hield was just 7 of 16 from the floor, and didn’t attempt a free throw until there was about seven minutes left. Fellow guard Jordan Woodard went 0 for 5 and failed to score, and forwards Dante Buford and Khadeem Lattin were plagued by foul trouble.

“If you don’t play well, get out-fought, you’re not going to win in the Big 12,” Kruger said.

The start of the game hardly provided any indication of the result.

Kansas State started in about the worst shape possible, turning the ball over four times without getting up a shot. And when it finally did, it was an air ball from 18 feet.

Oklahoma took advantage by scoring the game’s first nine points, but was unable to deliver a knockout blow, and eventually Kansas State started fighting back.

Wade was the instigator, hitting a couple of 3-pointers and scoring 10 first-half points. But everybody else got into the act, too: Edwards converted a three-point play just before halftime, and a thunderous dunk by Iwundu a moment later gave Kansas State a 38-32 advantage.

By that point, Hield was so frustrated that he was barking at officials for fouls. The senior guard, averaging 25.8 points, was held to just six on 2-for-7 shooting in the first half.

Kansas State got off to a similarly poor start in the second half, turning it over twice and missing four of its first five shots, only to find its rhythm again. The hustling Wildcats tracked down every loose ball, and slowly turned a 45-41 deficit into a 58-50 lead.

Hield and the Wildcats then began matching each other blow for blow, with the plucky underdogs maintaining their cushion even when the talented guard began getting to the rim for easy layups.

Iwundu and Wade were there for big buckets down the stretch, and a team missing point guard Kamau Stokes because of an injury held its poise until the final buzzer.

“I was waiting for them to storm and they didn’t,” Weber said, “but that’s fine.”

SMALL WORLD

The last time Kansas State played No. 1 Oklahoma at home was on Feb. 1, 1989, when Kruger was the coach of the Wildcats. He came out on the losing then, too. The Sooners won, 90-82.

TIP-INS

Oklahoma: Lattin finished with six points and two rebounds. … Hield finished 0-4 in his career at Kansas State. … The Sooners have not won at Bramlage Coliseum since 2012.

Kansas State: Freshman G Barry Brown started for the first time in place of Edwards, and Johnson started in place of Wade. … The Wildcats shot 53 percent despite not scoring on a fast break.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma plays Texas on Monday night.

Kansas State plays No. 15 Baylor on Wednesday night.

— Associated Press —