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Category: College

Bearcats place five on All-Region football teams

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Northwest2013riggertThe Northwest Missouri State football team placed five individuals on the Daktronics Super Region #3 team. Junior defensive end Matt Longacre, who earned first-team honors, was also named the Defensive Player of the Year. Cornerback Brandon Dixon and offensive lineman Cody Carlson were named first-team performers and linebackers Eric Reimer and D.J. Gnader each earned second team honors. All five honorees were also first-team All-MIAA performers.

Longacre was the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year, recording 53 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. He also has 15 quarterback hurries and one fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown against Nebraska-Kearney on Sept. 28.

Carlson has started all 12 games for the Bearcats at left guard. Northwest has given up just 14 sacks on the season and is ranked fourth in NCAA Division II with a 45.8 point per game average.

Dixon has recorded 26 tackles, seven pass breakups, one field goal block and one interception on the season. Consistently charged with defending the opponent’s top receiver, Dixon and the Bearcats rank sixth nationally in total defense (283.4) and 16th in pass defense (181.9).

Reimer has started all 12 games this season for Northwest, recording 89 tackles, 12.0 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, five quarterback hurries, two pass breakups and has forced a fumble. He was named to the Capital One Academic All-America team this season.

D.J. Gnader leads the Bearcats with 90 tackles on the season. He has also recorded 5.0 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, six pass breakups, two interceptions, two quarterback hurries and has recovered one fumble. He has started all 12games for Northwest this year.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Northwest’s Adams, Reimer named Academic All-Americans

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Northwest2013riggertNorthwest Missouri State quarterback Trevor Adams and linebacker Eric Reimer were named to the Capital One Academic All-America® NCAA Division II football team. The team is selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Adams, who becomes a three-time Academic All-America® selection, was honored as the winner of the Academic All-America® of the Year award for Division II football. He becomes the second Bearcat to earn this honor, joining Josh Lamberson who was the Academic All-America® of the Year award winner in 2005.

This season, Adams currently leads all of Division II with a 192.1 pass efficiency rating and a 73.5 completion percentage. His 25 touchdown passes is a career-high and his 2,292 passing yards marks the third time he has surpassed 2,000 yards for a season. For his career, Adams ranks second in Northwest history in touchdown passes with 69, third with 514 completions and is fourth in completion percentage (65.6), passing yards (7,018) and total offense (7,480). He was named the MIAA Offensive Player of the Year and was named aScholar-Athlete by the National Football Foundation (NFF). The Odessa, Texas, native has a 3.94 GPA and will graduate from Northwest this December with adegree in Biology/Psychology.

Reimer, a native of Menomonee Falls, Wisc., was a first-team All-MIAA selection as a junior. For the season, he has recorded 89 tackles, 12.0 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and has one forced fumble. He has also recorded five quarterback hurries and two pass breakups. Against then-No. 7 Pittsburg State, Reimer recorded 12 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. He also forced a fumble, assisted in recording a safety, had a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. The Bearcats are eighth in the NCAA in scoring defense (16.4), 13th in rushing defense (101.5), 16th in passing defense (181.9) and sixth nationally in total defense (283.4). Reimer is a Business Management and Marketing major at Northwest and has a 3.89 GPA.

Northwest will host St. Cloud State this Saturday at noon at Bearcat Stadium in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Kansas to play in the 2014 Old Spice Classic

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KUThe 2014 Old Spice Classic field was announced Nov. 29 and will feature Kansas, Georgia Tech, Marquette, Michigan State, Rider, Santa Clara, Tennessee and Xavier. The ninth annual event will be held Thanksgiving weekend, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, Nov. 27, 28 and 30, at the HP Field House at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Fla.

The 2014 Old Spice Classic, a bracket-format tournament, will feature 12 games over the three days. Each team will compete in one game per day, advancing through a bracket-tournament format. The two teams that remain undefeated throughout will face off in a championship match Sunday, Nov. 30.

Gonzaga captured the 2012 Old Spice Classic title, its second tournament championship (also 2008). Previous winners were Dayton (2011), Notre Dame (2010), Florida State (2009), North Carolina State (2007) and Arkansas (2006). Kansas has yet to participate in the Old Spice Classic.

For more information, including travel packages, visit the Old Spice Classic web site at www.oldspiceclassic.com.

The Old Spice Classic is owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television, a subsidiary of ESPN.

— KU Sports Information —

Missouri’s Pinkel named finalist for Maxwell Coach of the Year Award

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MUMizzou Football head coach Gary Pinkel has been named a finalist for the Maxwell Football Club’s Collegiate Coach of the Year Award, the organization announced Tuesday (Dec. 3). In his 13th season leading the Tigers, Pinkel has firmly led Mizzou back into the national spotlight with its 11-1 overall record and Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title (7-1 SEC), in only the school’s second season of SEC competition.

The Tigers’ resurgence in 2013 is one of the best turnaround stories of the college football season as injuries derailed Mizzou’s inaugural SEC campaign in 2012. A refocused and healthy Mizzou squad has ascended to No. 5 in the Bowl Championship Series standings heading into Saturday’s SEC Championship Game vs. BCS No. 3 Auburn inside the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga.

Mizzou’s 28-21 victory over then-No. 19 Texas A&M (Nov. 30) not only clinched the SEC East for the Tigers, but also matched Pinkel with legendary Tiger head coach Don Faurot with an all-time program-best 101 wins. It was also Mizzou’s fourth over a ranked opponent this season.

Under Pinkel, the Tigers have consistently competed at the highest level. Mizzou has won a conference division title in four of the last seven seasons (2007, 2008 and 2010 Big 12 North; 2013 SEC East). This year’s group for Pinkel became the third team in school history to win 11 games or more in a season (1960, 11-0; 2007, 12-2).

Joining Pinkel as a finalist are Duke’s David Cutcliffe and Auburn’s Gus Malzahn. Voting is now open for the finalist selection for the MFC Collegiate Coach of the Year. Eligible voters include NCAA Bowl Subdivision Head Coaches and Football Sports Information Directors, Maxwell Football Club members and selected national media. The winner announcement will be made on Thursday, Dec. 19 and the award will be formally presented at the 77th Maxwell Awards Gala which will be held in March 2014 in Atlantic City, N.J.

The Maxwell Football Club was founded in 1935 and is the oldest football club of its kind in America. The organization is devoted to recognizing excellence at all levels of football from high school through the NFL ranks. Under the stewardship of MFC President Ron Jaworski the Club has grown rapidly and has members in 40 states. The MFC provides educational and training programs for players and coaches, and also provides scholarships to outstanding student-athletes who demonstrate excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community.

More information on the MFC can be found at www.maxwellfootballclub.org.

Kickoff for the nationally-televised SEC Championship Game will be on CBS and is set for 3 p.m. CT., Saturday.

— MU Sports Information —

Kansas’ Ellis named a NABC Good Works Team nominee

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KUKansas sophomore forward Perry Ellis was named a nominee to the Allstate NABC and WBCA Good Works Teams, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced Tuesday.

The award, presented by the NABC and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), recognizes 201 nominees at all levels of college basketball. It honors college basketball student-athletes who represent the sport’s finest in the areas of leadership and charitable achievements amongst their peers. The student-athletes nominated for this honor embody the true spirit of teamwork and giving back.

From the 117 NABC men’s nominees and 84 WBCA women’s nominees submitted by sports information directors across the nation on behalf of their schools, special voting panels will select two 10-member teams comprised of five student-athletes from the NCAA Division I level and five student-athletes from NCAA Divisions II, III and the NAIA. The final roster of 20-award recipients will be unveiled in February.

A preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, Ellis was named to the Battle 4 Atlantis All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the event Nov. 30. The Wichita, Kan., forward is KU’s leading scorer at 15.1 points per game and second-leading rebounder at 6.6 rpg through seven games this season. He also earned co-Big 12 Player of the Week honors earlier this season (Nov. 18).

Off the court, Ellis recently represented the University of Kansas by posing for a poster photo shoot for KU Libraries. He also participates with the Kansas men’s basketball team in shopping for needy families during the holiday season, the annual Wilt Chamberlain Special Olympics Clinic, Ladies Night Out (which supports breast cancer research through Jayhawks for a Cure), autographs more than 1,500 basketballs (which generate funds for a variety of charities) and speaks regularly to youth at camps and clinics throughout the year.

No. 6/7 Kansas (6-1) is in action next at former conference foe Colorado on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 2:15 p.m. (Central). The game will be shown on ESPN. CU was 7-1 on the season entering its Dec. 3 contest at Colorado State.

— KU Sports Information —

MU’s Gaines shares weekly SEC defensive honor

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MUMizzou Football senior cornerback E.J. Gaines (Independence, Mo.) has been named the Southeastern Conference’s Co-Defensive Player of the Week, the league office announced on Monday.

Gaines turned in an amazing lockdown coverage performance against Texas A&M standout wide receiver Mike Evans, as he held Evans to season-low totals of four receptions for just eight yards, which was a key part of Mizzou’s stellar defensive effort. Evans came into the game averaging 119.5 yards per outing, with 12 receiving touchdowns, and his long catch last Saturday in Mizzou’s win was just a 10-yarder.

Gaines finished Mizzou’s Senior Night with six total tackles, as the Tiger defense held the Aggies to 21 points and 379 yards of total offense, well below Texas A&M’s pre-game averages of 45.6 points and 552.6 yards. The senior Tiger ranks fourth in the SEC (31st in the NCAA) with his team-leading four interceptions to date, and he ranks third-best on the Tigers team with his 59 tackles on the season, despite missing two-and-a-half games due to injury.

The recognition is the 12th SEC honor for a Mizzou player in 2013, continuing to reset Mizzou’s best for conference honors in a season. Head coach Gary Pinkel’s 2007 squad brought home a total of eight individual honors. Gaines joins sophomore LB Kentrell Brothers (Guthrie, Okla.) and senior DE Michael Sam (Hitchcock, Texas) as Mizzou’s three players to earn Defensive Player of the Week recognition.

The honor is the second weekly award of Gaines’ career, with the first also coming from an extraordinary outing against the Aggies. Gaines recorded 10 tackles and a career-best four pass breakups in Mizzou’s 38-31 overtime win at Texas A&M on Oct. 29, 2011.

No. 5 Mizzou (11-1, 7-1) has reached the SEC Championship Game, with head coach Gary Pinkel leading the Tigers against No. 3 Auburn (11-1, 7-1) in Atlanta, Ga..  Kickoff for the nationally-televised CBS game is set for 3 p.m. CT., on Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Georgia Dome.

— MU Sports Information —

Kansas’ Embiid named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week

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KUIn blocking a Kansas freshman record seven shots in KU’s 67-63 win against UTEP, freshman C Joel Embiid was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week in a vote by a media panel which covers men’s basketball the conference announced Monday.

Embiid scored in double digits in two contests as the Jayhawks recorded a 2-1 record at the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas, over Thanksgiving weekend. The 7-0 Yaoundé, Cameroon, native also had 10 blocked shots while shooting 63.2 percent from the field and 71.4 percent from the free throw line. His seven rejections versus UTEP set the KU freshman record for blocked shots in a game, previously held by Nick Collison (six vs. Nebraska in 2000). Embiid averaged 9.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 blocks in the event.

Averaging 9.1 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds, Embiid leads Kansas in field goal percentage at 67.6 percent and is third in the Big 12 with 2.3 blocked shots per game. His 7.0 boards per game are ninth in the league.

Embiid joins sophomore F Perry Ellis and freshman G Andrew Wiggins who have also been named to weekly Big 12 honorees this season. Ellis was the co-Big 12 Player of the Week Nov. 18 and Wiggins the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, also on Nov. 18.

Kansas (6-1) is in action next at former conference foe Colorado on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 2:15 p.m. (Central). The game will be shown on ESPN. CU was 7-1 on the entering its Dec. 3 contest at Colorado State.

— KU Sports Information —

Mizzou volleyball selected as No. 4 overall seed, will host first two rounds

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MUFor the 11th time in 14 seasons under Wayne and Susan Kreklow, the Mizzou volleyball program is headed to the NCAA Tournament, as announced by the NCAA live on ESPNU Sunday (Dec. 1). Mizzou, ranked fourth in this week’s AVCA Top-25 at a perfect 34-0 and 18-0 in SEC play, earned the No. 4 overall seed, a program-best. The Tigers were also selected to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament at the Hearnes Center on Dec. 6-7, marking the first time that Mizzou will host those rounds since 2005, when the team advanced to the Elite Eight. Joining Mizzou in Columbia next weekend will be first-round opponent IUPUI, Central Arkansas and Purdue, who will meet in the first match of the sub-regional

“This is obviously a big day for our program and opportunities like what we have now are why you compete and why you put in so many hours of preparation all year,” head coach Wayne Kreklow said. “It really is an honor to play the first and second rounds here in the Columbia as well. Our fans have been phenomenal all year long and this is almost like a reward for them as they get to see our team a few more times this season. We drew a tough field here in the opening weekend, so we are going to have to prepare as we did all season long, but I am excited about the opportunity that is ahead of us.”

Of course, Mizzou earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament after clinching the school’s first-ever SEC Championship after defeating Mississippi State on Nov. 22 at the Hearnes Center. Mizzou finished the regular season at a perfect 34-0, including an 18-0 mark in SEC play as it is the first ever SEC team to run the table in the regular season. Times for each match will be released Monday (Dec. 2).

— MU Sports Information —

Missouri remains fifth in latest BCS standings

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riggertMizzouAuburn (fourth) and Missouri (fifth) are behind Ohio State and could make an interesting case for being in title game if they can win out and become SEC champions with just one loss. But the Buckeyes (.9200 BCS average) have a good-sized lead on both the Auburn Tigers (.8326) and Missouri Tigers (.8077).

Ohio State is third in each poll, followed by Clemson. Auburn is fifth and Missouri is sixth. The Buckeyes are also third in the computer ratings.

“They’re not going to pass Ohio State,” Palm said of Auburn and Missouri. “The coaches in particular are not going to allow an undefeated to not play for the title. They understand how hard it is to finish unbeaten. It hasn’t happened yet in the BCS and there is no reason to think it would this year.”

No. 1 Alabama (11-0) plays Auburn on Saturday, with the winner advancing to the Southeastern Conference championship game as the SEC West winner. Missouri or South Carolina will represent the East, depending on whether the Tigers beat Texas A&M at home.

No. 2 Florida State (11-0) plays struggling rival Florida at home Saturday and then moves on to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, where Duke, Virginia Tech, Miami or Georgia Tech will be the opponent.

Ohio State (11-0) finishes its regular season against rival Michigan at the Big House on Saturday, and then plays Michigan State in the Big Ten championship game. The Buckeyes have won a school-record 23 straight games. If they remain unbeaten the worst they can do is a trip to the Rose Bowl for the first time since the 2009 season.

— Associated Press —

Griffons use hot shooting to defeat Saint Mary, 96-77

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MWSUHot shooting led the Missouri Western men’s basketball team to a 96-77 victory over the St. Mary’s (Kan.) Spires in non-conference action. The Griffons made 56.9-percent (37-65) of its shots with 10 three’s. Five Griffons scored in double figures led by Dzenan Mrkaljevic with 16 on 6-of-11 shooting. He scored 11 of his points in the second half. MWSU improves to 5-3 on the season and will return to action on Saturday, December 7 with the MIAA opener against Fort Hays State in the fieldhouse. Game time is set for 3:30 pm.

Western closed the half on 12-6 run capped by a Ryan Devers three as time expired giving the Griffons a 49-43 lead heading into the locker room. Devers finished the half with five points and seven assists.

MWSU shot the lights out in the opening period making 60.6-percent (20-33) of their field goals and 5-of-6 free throws. Missouri Western had 28 points in the paint and 10 points off seven St. Mary’s turnovers. Dareon Jones led the Griffons with 10 points off the bench as eight different players scored in the frame for Missouri Western.

The Spires also shot the ball well making 54.5-percent (18-33) of their field goals with four three’s. Sterling Roaf led the way with 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting while Grant Greenberg finished with 10.

Missouri Western dominated the second half opening up an 18 point lead at 75-57 with 11:21 to play after a layup by Cedric Clinkscales. The Griffons continued the uptempo play taking their largest leaf of the game at 21 after a Wes Mitter three with 1:35 to play. Mitter had six points on two three’s late in the contest.

Western had 20 assists with Devers finishing with seven while Adarius Fulton and Cortrez Colbert had four. The Griffons also ahd 16 points on 12 Spire turnovers. Colbert and Jones finished with 14 points while Clinkscales and Devers had 11 points apiece. Mrkaljevic finished with a team high six reboiunds.

The Spires fall to 4-3 with the loss as they were led by Torren Dowdy with 18 points and eight rebounds. Greenberg finished with 15 points while Sterling Roaf and Jerry Sipple finished with 12 and 11 respectively.

— MWSU Sports Information —

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