College – Page 385 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Missouri State announces 2015-2016 men’s basketball MVC schedule

Posted on September 8, 2015September 8, 2015

ST. LOUIS — The Missouri State Bears will open Missouri Valley Conference play on December 30 at Illinois State and play host to five league opponents during the month of January as part of MSU’s 18-game MVC slate released by the league on Tuesday (Sept. 8).

Coach Paul Lusk begins his fifth season at the helm of Missouri State with five starters and seven lettermen returning to lead a squad that also includes a redshirt freshman and six newcomers.

Lusk’s squad opens Valley play on the road for the second year in a row and then begins the home portion of its league ledger at JQH Arena on Jan. 2 against Evansville. MSU then hosts 2015 NCAA Tournament club Northern Iowa on Jan. 6. The Bears will also host Wichita State (Jan. 13), Southern Illinois (Jan. 24) and Illinois State (Jan. 30) during the month of January.

The Bears will play eight conference games in February, including four at home. Bradley visits Springfield on Feb. 2 in the team’s only Tuesday game in Valley action. Indiana State comes to town on Feb. 13 as part of Hall of Fame weekend for Missouri State, while other home contests include Loyola on Feb. 21 and Drake on Feb. 24.

The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament returns to Scottrade Center in St. Louis, March 3-6.

In all, the Bears will play three Saturday home conference games this season, two on Sunday, one on Tuesday and three on Wednesday — all during January and February. Home start times will be finalized in the coming weeks and posted to the schedule page at MissouriStateBears.com/mensbasketball.

MSU previously released its 12-game non-conference schedule that includes up to seven opponents that finished in the top 60 of the NCAA’s RPI last season with six NCAA Tournament foes and nine postseason qualifiers in all.

MSU season tickets are on sale now by calling (417) 836-8899 or logging on to www.MissouriStateBears.com/tickets for more information. Single-game tickets will go on sale at a later date.

— MSU Athletics —

Bearcats’ Zimmer named MIAA Cross Country Athlete of the Week

Posted on September 8, 2015September 8, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State junior runner Nolan Zimmer has been named the MIAA Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week in a release from the league office on Tuesday. The Kearney, Neb. native won season opening Bearcat Open last Friday, Sept. 4 in Maryville.

Zimmer won the 8K race after crossing the finish line in 26:04.9, nearly 12 seconds faster than the second place finisher. Zimmer’s efforts helped Northwest finish second in the event.

The Bearcats will return to the course in two weeks when they compete in the Woody Greeno Invitational in Lincoln, Neb. on Sept. 19.

— Northwest Athletics —

Griffon soccer stays unbeaten with 2-1 win over Harding

Posted on September 6, 2015

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Missouri Western women’s soccer team moved to 2-0 on the season, beating Harding University 2-1 Sunday afternoon inside Spratt Stadium.

Offensively, the Griffons produced 23 total shots with 13 being on goal. Bridget Blessie led the offensive attack, scoring both goals for the Griffons. She had two goals in all of 2014 and equals her total in two games for the 2015 season. Blessie’s goals were assisted by Cassidy Chappell and Layne Shepherd. Nine other Griffons had at least one shot on goal including two shots by Sarah Dervin. This was the second straight time the Griffons produced 20 or more shots offensively.

The Griffon defense held strong again allowing only one goal and five shots on goal. Sarah Lyle recorded four saves and helped keep the Griffons undefeated in the early part of the season.

Missouri Western will head north to Minnesota as they take on Bemidji State on Friday at 3:00 p.m. and University of Minnesota-Crookston at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday.

— MWSU Athletics —

Northwest soccer defeats Sioux Falls in OT for first win

Posted on September 6, 2015September 6, 2015

The Northwest Missouri State soccer team earned its first victory of the season Sunday afternoon, knocking off Sioux Falls 1-0 in overtime at the USF Sports Complex in Sioux Falls, S.D.

The Bearcats move to 1-0-1 on the year.

Elizabeth Finn scored the game-winning goal in the 92nd minute, early in the first overtime period. It’s her first collegiate goal in just her second game at this level. The sophomore spent her freshman season as a part of the Bearcat basketball team.

This is the fifth time in program history that the team has advanced through the opening two games without a defeat.

Goalkeeper Ashley Malloy kept her first clean sheet of the season, making four saves.

The Bearcats controlled possession for much of the contest, taking 18 shots compared to just seven for Sioux Falls. Northwest also took 10 corner kicks while conceding zero to the Cougars.

Northwest will head back out on the road when they play a pair of contests in the state of Minnesota. Northwest will first take the field against Minnesota-Crookston on Friday, Sept. 11 with the opening kick scheduled for 3 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

MWSU men’s golf team finishes fifth at J.R. Watkins Invitational

Posted on September 6, 2015September 6, 2015

LAKE CITY, Minn. – The Missouri Western men’s golf team competed in their first event of the season, finishing tied for fifth out of 14 teams at the J.R. Watkins Invitational. It was held at the Jewel Golf Course and was a par 71, equaling 6814 yards.

The Griffons’ Ryan Hand was the low score of the weekend, firing a 146 over the two rounds of golf which landed him tied for 11th on the leaderboard. Senior Corey Knight finished tied for 17th at during the weekend with a score of 149, scoring a 71 on the second day. Jakob Rudosky was third highest for the Griffons, recording a score of 151 and placing tied for 27th.

Missouri Western finished tied with Bemidji State with a team score of 601. The Griffons finished with a 310 on day one and 291 on the second day. Iowa Western CC scored a 569 to win the team title and Winona State earned second with a score of 580.

The Griffons will be back in action on Monday, September 14 as they travel to Monkey Island, Oklahoma for the MSSU Men’s Fall Invitational.

— MWSU Athletics —

Mizzou rolls past Southeast Missouri State in opener

Posted on September 5, 2015September 5, 2015

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Kentrell Brothers was all over the field, racking up 10 tackles on No. 24 Missouri’s first 26 defensive plays. In the third quarter, the linebacker made the play that really put the Tigers in the clear.

Brothers finished with a career-best 16 tackles and blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown in the Tigers’ season-opening 34-3 victory over Southeast Missouri State on Saturday.

“There were times where I hit the guy, and they’d called Kentrell’s name,” fellow linebacker Michael Scherer said. “I’d look down, and he was at the bottom of the pile. I looked at him at one point and said, `They’re calling your name every play.”

Brothers credited the defensive line for clearing the way and added, “I studied a lot of film. We knew what to expect.”

“I think he has the potential to be really, really good,” coach Gary Pinkel said.

Southeast Missouri coach Tom Matukewicz said simply: “We couldn’t handle him.”

Aarion Penton caught the blocked punt by quarterback Tay Bender in the air for a 41-yard return late in the third quarter that made it 27-3. Missouri had been prepared for Southeast Missouri going for it on fourth down.

“Our No. 1 defense was in and we just sent the house,” Penton said. “They kept faking when they brought their offense out (on fourth down).”

Maty Mauk threw two touchdown passes in the first quarter and freshman backup Drew Lock threw a 78-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Hunt in the fourth for Missouri.

The Tigers are two-time defending champions in the SEC East but are breaking in a number of freshmen, which led to some mistakes. They had a lot easier time putting away Southeast Missouri State in the last meeting, winning 52-3 in 2008.

Mauk was 12 of 22 for 181 yards with an interception and Lock was 6 of 8 for 138 yards.

“I think we played really well early and then got a little sluggish there in the middle of the game, but we came out and we finished,” Mauk said.

Lock said it was a thrill to be playing instead of sitting in the stands.

“It was probably one of the better experiences of my life without a doubt and I’m excited for next week,” Lock said. “I could have scored a touchdown on my first drive but I’ll take the one touchdown for my first game.”

Missouri is breaking in a new crop of wide receivers. J’Mon Moore had three catches for 74 yards and a touchdown and Nate Brown had three catches for 69 yards and a score.

“They all made some tough catches and took some hits, but the biggest thing is they got up and moved to the next play,” Mauk said. “They all just kept going.”

Bender was more effective running than passing for Southeast Missouri State. He gained 69 yards on 14 carries and was 12 of 22 for 56 yards.

Missouri lost running back Russell Hansbrough and center Evan Boehm in the first half with sprained ankles. Hansbrough had his right leg in a cast after the break.

Hansbrough had 23 yards on two carries before getting hurt.

“Russell, that’s a huge loss for us,” Pinkel said. “We’ll be excited about getting him back but we’ve got to get players ready to play.”

Southeast Missouri State was limited to 209 yards and had one good drive, going 76 yards on 16 plays to set up a 35-yard field goal by Ryan McCrum in the second quarter.

Southeast Missouri linebacker Kendall Donnerson was ejected in the first quarter for a head-to-head hit on Mauk.

“It was embarrassing,” Matukewicz said. “It was targeting, and it cost us.”

— Associated Press —

Griffon volleyball bounces back to get two sweeps Saturday

Posted on September 5, 2015September 5, 2015

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The Missouri Western volleyball team bounced back with two convincing victories Saturday at the Ferris State Invitational. After dropping two tough matches Friday, the team completed sweeps of Mercyhurst and Wisconsin Parkside to return home from the event with a 2-2 record.

MATCH 1: Missouri Western 3, Mercyhurst 0

Missouri Western started day two of the event with a sweep of Mercyhurst. The Griffons took the first two sets 25-23 and the third 25-17 to pick up their first win of the season. In a back and forth first set, MWSU scored four of the final five points to take the set. Mercyhurst threatened late in the second set, scoring four-straight while facing set-point for MWSU but the Griffons were able to hold on and take the set on a Lindsey Patridge kill. Down 9-7 in the third set, the Griffons rattled off nine-straight points to take a 16-9 lead and control of the set.

Blair Russell led MWSU with 10 kills, her first double-digit kill performance as a Griffon. Jessie Thorup finished with nine kills and Partridge and Shellby Taylor each had six. Jordan Chohon had 33 assists and 10 digs, while Kayla Ruff led MWSU with 14 digs.

MATCH 2: Missouri Western 3, Wisconsin-Parkside 0

Missouri Western won its fourth-straight first set on the way to a three-set sweep that evened the team’s record to 2-2. The Griffons won set one 25-22, dominated set two 25-8 and took the final set 25-18. After jumping out to a 12-6 lead in the second, then outscored Wisconsin-Parkside 13-2 to take the set.

Thorup led the attack with 11 kills for the Griffons and Russell picked up 10, while hitting .588 in the match. The Griffons hit .311 as a team against Wisconsin-Parkside, their best match percenatge of the season. Ruff and Thorup each had eight digs with Amanda Dalbey and Audrey Keim adding seven apiece.

Thorup and Chohon were both named to the all-tournament team. Thorup had 45 kills and 37 digs while Chohon racked up 131 assists and 34 digs. The Griffons continue to stay far from St. Joseph next weekend when they head to Colorado Springs for four matches.

— MWSU Athletics —

Nebraska gets stunned by BYU on last-second hail mary

Posted on September 5, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — No matter how many games Tanner Mangum plays for BYU, it will be hard for him to top what he did in his first one.

Playing in the college football cathedral that is Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium, and having replaced injured star Taysom Hill early in the fourth quarter, Mangum heaved a 42-yard touchdown pass to Mitch Mathews with no time left for a 33-28 victory Saturday.

“It was a good welcome to college football,” Mangum said.

The Huskers lost their season opener for the first time since 1985, ending the nation’s longest season-opening win streak at 29.

The stunning last play spoiled the debut of new Nebraska coach Mike Riley. While a celebration erupted on the BYU sideline, Riley raised clenched fists over his head and looked down as his headset slipped backward.

Mathews jumped around at midfield as teammates mobbed him after the play stood up to a video review. A half-hour after the game, hundreds of joyous BYU fans still congregated in the south end zone near where Mathews came down with the ball.

“I had to come down with it,” Mathews said. “I had to come down with it for my guys. Sometime you have to do what you have to do, and that’s catch the rock and win the game. I didn’t know I scored right away because I was under a pile of people. Nick Kurtz was laying on me and was screaming.”

The victory came with a heavy price. Hill sustained a season-ending injury for the second straight year. Coach Bronco Mendenhall said Hill fractured a foot on a 21-yard touchdown run in the first half. He went to the locker room and missed two plays before returning, then left again after getting hit hard on an 8-yard run in the fourth quarter.

“The training staff said they’ve never seen anyone go back and play in the same game once that’s happened,” Mendenhall said. “He allowed us to stay within striking distance.”

Making Mangum’s dramatic play even more remarkable was that he returned from his two-year LDS mission in June. Mangum hadn’t played in an organized football game since 2012. He finished 7-of-11 for 111 yards and is the presumed starter when the Cougars host Boise State next week.

“I’m amazed that Tanner Mangum, just two months off his mission, coming in and being able to help our team win,” Mendenhall said. “I was just proud of the way he was able to lead our team on the big stage, in an historic stadium, finding a way to pull it out.”

Trevor Samson’s 35-yard field goal pulled BYU within 28-27 with 7:57 left, and after Drew Brown missed a 41-yard field goal for Nebraska, the Cougars started their final drive from their own 35. There were 48 seconds to play.

Mangum faced four-and-3 from the Nebraska 42 when he launched his winning pass against a three-man rush.

“I rolled out and threw it. It wasn’t my best ball,” Mangum said. “Came out a little wobbly. But I was just glad it got there. Mitch made a heck of a catch and was able to fall in for the score.”

Riley, in his 41st year in coaching, said he couldn’t remember ever losing a game the way he did his first one at Nebraska.

“I initially thought he was not in the end zone, but I had a really bad view,” Riley said. “I saw the official raise his hands right away, so I knew.”

Tommy Armstrong Jr. passed for 319 yards and three touchdowns, his last one going 9 yards to Trey Foster for a 28-24 lead, and Jordan Westerkamp caught seven balls for 107 yards and a score.

This opener was long anticipated by both teams. Riley, who spent the last 12 years at Oregon State, was athletic director Shawn Eichorst’s surprise hire last December after Bo Pelini was fired.

BYU, meanwhile, came in looking to continue raising its profile as an independent and was coming off three wins last year against opponents from Power 5 conferences. The Cougars play Boise State at home next week, then play back-to-back road games against UCLA and Michigan.

Each team was without players who were suspended for disciplinary reasons. Among the five missing Huskers were linebacker Michael Rose-Ivey, cornerback Jonathan Rose and tight end Cethan Carter. Among the suspended BYU players were defensive lineman Tomasi Laulile, free safety Kai Nacua, linebacker Sione Takitaki and wide receiver Trey Dye.

— Associated Press —

KU’s rally comes up short in Beaty’s debut against South Dakota State

Posted on September 5, 2015

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — All quarterback Montell Cozart had to do was grasp the snap and spike the ball, and give Kansas an opportunity for a tying field goal in coach David Beaty’s debut.

Instead, the ball squirted onto the turf. Cozart quickly jumped on it. Time slowly ran out.

South Dakota State streamed onto the field to celebrate.

After blowing a big first-half lead, the Jackrabbits survived a frantic rally by the Jayhawks — and a tense few seconds at the very end — for a 41-38 victory Saturday.

“I felt like I got too lax,” said Cozart, who threw for 291 yards and a touchdown in leading the comeback. “We work on clock situations all the time. When the ball hit me, I fumbled it.”

Simple as that.

It was a dubious debut for Beaty, who became the Jayhawks’ fourth head coach in the past seven years when he was hired to replace Charlie Weis. The former Kansas and Texas A&M assistant inherited a mess — 56 players return from last year, none of whom scored a touchdown.

Twenty-three players on the Kansas depth chart were signed by Beaty after his arrival. Among them was junior college transfer Ke’aun Kinner, who ran for 157 yards and two scores.

“Obviously, unbelievably disappointing right now,” Beaty said. “That was a very tough locker room to look into for my first day as head football coach in division I football.”

The youthful exuberance combined with Beaty’s new “air raid” offense was flashy at times, a disaster at others. And a defense that figured to be the Jayhawks’ biggest concern was gashed by a South Dakota State offense breaking in a new quarterback and running back.

Not that the Jackrabbits didn’t deserve the win. Zach Lujan threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns, Isaac Wallace ran for 118 yards and another score, and Jake Wieneke pulled down eight catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns as South Dakota State roared to a 31-7 lead.

Then held on when their Big 12 opponent mounted a charge.

“We preach when you’re on the field, you have a chance to win the game,” Jackrabbits coach John Stiegelmeier said. “We had some guys rise up with some big plays.”

The Jackrabbits hot start began by marching for an opening field goal, then picking off Cozart and nearly running it back for a touchdown — which they got two plays later anyway.

Ryan Schadler returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown to get Kansas within 10-7, but the Jackrabbits answered with two more scoring drives. Both finished with TD passes to Wieneke as the sophomore wide receiver piled up five catches for 125 yards in the first half.

Cozart committed his second turnover of the half when he was stripped while scrambling, and Brady Mengarelli scored on a 29-yard scamper to make it 31-7 early in the second quarter.

“It’s exactly how we wanted to start the game,” Lujan said.

After tweaking a few things during halftime, the Jayhawks put together two long drives to open the second half. Kinner capped both with touchdown runs, the second a meandering, hip-shaking 29-yard scamper down the sideline in front of the Kansas bench.

The teams swapped field goals before South Dakota State appeared to put the game away.

The Jackrabbits took over at their 25 and marched downfield in 10 plays, the biggest a pass from Lujan to tight end Dallas Goedert to convert fourth-and-5. Wallace plowed into the end zone two plays later to give the Missouri Valley school a 41-31 lead with 6:18 remaining.

The Jayhawks got within a field goal again with 2:18 left when Cozart hit tight end Kent Taylor with a fade from 10 yards out, then forced a punt and took over with 39 seconds remaining.

With no timeouts, they got within range of long field goal — one they never got to try.

“You never think about stuff like that until it happens to you,” Cozart said of his game-ending fumble. “It feels like an uppercut to the gut.”

— Associated Press —

Western volleyball drops two matches on first day of Ferris State Invite

Posted on September 5, 2015September 5, 2015

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The Missouri Western volleyball team began the 2015 season with a pair of losses at the Ferris State Invitational, losing 3-2 to Saginaw Valley State Friday morning and 3-1 to Ferris State in the evening match.

MATCH 2: Ferris State 3, Missouri Western 1
Missouri Western had a rough day on the attack, hitting just .067 for the match with two players registering negative hitting percentages. Jessie Thorup led the attack with 11 kills, giving her 23 for the day. Those 11 kame on 43 attempts with five errors. In total, the Griffons had 26 attack errors.

Jordan Chohon had 21 assists and Kayla Ruff finished the match with 21 digs, while Amanda Dalbey had 11.

MATCH 1: Saginaw Valley State 3, Missouri Western 2
The team began the day with a loss in five sets to Saginaw Valley State, Friday morning.

The two teams traded sets after Missouri Western took the first with Saginaw Valley forcing the fifth set with a 26-24 win in set four. The Griffons rallied after trailing by six several times in the fourth set, including being down 24-22. Saginaw Valley controlled the fifth set, winning 15-10 to drop MWSU to 0-1 on the year.

MWSU hit .203 as a team with just three total team blocks while allowing Sagniaw Valley to hit .244 and rack up 11 total team blocks. Shellby Taylor and Jessie Thorup each finished with 14 kills but Taylor’s came with zero attack errors for a .467 hitting percentage. Rachel Friedrichs had 12 kills for the Griffons. Jordan Chohon picked up where she left off in 2014 with 47 assists for the Griffons.

— MWSU Athletics —