College – Page 610 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Nebraska women win at Texas A&M to move on to Sweet 16

Posted on March 25, 2013March 25, 2013

Jordan Hooper scored 21 points and Lindsey Moore had 20 points and 10 assists to lead Nebraska to a 74-63 win over Texas A&M on Monday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

The sixth-seeded Cornhuskers used two big runs in the first half to build the lead and never trailed in the second half to earn their first trip to the round of 16 since 2010. Nebraska will face the winner of Tuesday’s game between second-seeded Duke and No. 7 Oklahoma State in the regional semifinals Sunday.

Nebraska (25-8) led by 16 before a 13-4 run pulled the Aggies within 64-57 with less than 3 minutes remaining. But Hailie Sample made a pair of layups before the Cornhuskers added six free throws to hold on.

Third-seeded Texas A&M (25-10), which won the national title in 2011, was led by Adrienne Pratcher’s 17 points. The loss keeps the Aggies from making the round of 16 for the first time since 2010.

During A&M’s late run, Courtney Walker scored the first four points and freshman Jordan Jones took over after that, scoring nine straight points. She made consecutive 3-pointers before swiping the ball from Moore and hitting an off-balance layup. She was fouled on the play and knocked down the free throw.

But just as they had earlier in the quarter, Nebraska shut down A&M’s rally attempt.

Moore and Hooper proved to be a potent combination in this one, and they combined for five 3-pointers. Hooper also had eight rebounds, three steals and a block, and Moore had six rebounds and a steal.

Sample was the only other Cornhusker in double figures with 10 points, and she led the team with 11 rebounds.

The Cornhuskers were helped by almost perfect free throw shooting, where they made 14 of 15. A&M got to the line only twice and made one of those shots.

It looked as though the Aggies were finally gaining some momentum when they scored four quick points to cut the lead to 10 with about 15 minutes left. But two minutes later they were down 56-40 after 3-pointers by Hooper and Moore.

Hooper made a 3-pointer under heavy pressure before Moore missed a 3-point attempt. Sample grabbed the rebound and kicked it back out to Moore, who remained in the same spot of the miss, and this time she knocked it down.

Texas A&M’s 6-foot-4 star Kelsey Bone didn’t get into foul trouble like she did in the team’s opening round game, but she was still held below her 16.7 point average by finishing with 13 points and five rebounds. It could be the junior’s last game at A&M as she contemplates leaving school early for the WNBA draft.

Jones finished with 12 points for the Aggies and Williams added 11.

The Aggies led 14-6 early after a run which included consecutive 3-pointers by Bone and Williams. Nebraska then scored the next seven points as the beginning of a 19-2 spurt that put the Cornhuskers up 25-16 with eight minutes left in the first half. Hooper had eight points with two 3-pointers in that span for Nebraska.

She had 12 points at halftime after managing just three points in the first half of Nebraska’s first-round win over Chattanooga on Saturday.

Texas A&M soon answered that run by Nebraska with a 12-5 run powered by seven points from Pratcher to get within 32-30. Jones was also key in that run by knocking down a 3-pointer and grabbing a rebound.

Nebraska closed out the first half by outscoring A&M 11-2 to take a 43-32 lead into halftime. Rachel Theriot made a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left and hit a jump shot as time expired in the first half to extend the lead.

It was the first meeting between these former Big 12 foes since an 84-49 victory by A&M in 2011.

— Associated Press —

Kansas dominates North Carolina in the second half to advance to Sweet 16

Posted on March 24, 2013March 24, 2013

Top-seeded Kansas was on the ropes, turning the ball over about as often as it was putting up shots, and had allowed North Carolina to build a comfortable lead by halftime.

Bill Self followed his team into the locker room and, undoubtedly, delivered quite a message, even though his answer dripped with sarcasm when he was asked later to describe it.

”I told them, ‘Hey, just keep doing what we’re doing, we’ll be fine,”’ Self said with a grin.

The Jayhawks were fine indeed, but only because they flipped the script.

They played better on defense, protected the ball on offense – making shots didn’t hurt either – and behind the impassioned play of Travis Releford and Jeff Withey, pulled away from the eighth-seeded Tar Heels for a 70-58 victory Sunday in the third round of the NCAA tournament.

”We played miserably the first half and they took us out of everything,” said Self, whose team trailed the Tar Heels 30-21 at the break. ”The second half, we played really, really well.”

Much to the chagrin of former Kansas coach Roy Williams, whose Tar Heels were knocked out of the tournament by Kansas during its 2008 title run and again last year, when the Jayhawks advanced all the way to the Final Four.

”It was definitely a nightmare in the second half,” Williams said, ”no question about it.”
Withey and Releford led the way, the 7-footer scoring 16 points and grabbing 16 rebounds and Releford adding 22 points.
Together, the two senior starters helped the Jayhawks (31-5) outscore the Tar Heels 49-28 in the second half, pushing the Big 12 champs into a South Regional semifinal against fourth-seeded Michigan on Friday night in Arlington, Texas.

P.J. Hairston scored 15 points and James Michael McAdoo finished with 11 for the Tar Heels.

Of course, the subplot whenever two of college basketball’s bluest blue bloods meet these days centers on Williams, who coached the Jayhawks for 15 seasons and led them to four Final Fours.

Williams has always had a fond place in his heart for his former school, but the Southern charmer was booed heavily by the pro-Kansas crowd during pre-game introductions, and the din never died down in the second half, when things were spinning out of control for North Carolina.

”We lost to another basketball team,” Williams said afterward. ”The fact that I coached here for 15 years is extremely important to me, but it doesn’t add anything to today.

”I hurt for my kids in the locker room,” he added quietly. ”The NCAA tournament, the swiftness with which your season ends is dramatic, and it hurts everywhere.”

It was hard to blame him for the pain.

Withey made life miserable for the Tar Heels (25-11) in the paint, and the Tar Heels’ new-look, four-guard offense was stuck around the perimeter. And when those shots quit falling, and the veteran Jayhawks started to get into transition, North Carolina was powerless to stop them.

Of course, none of that was the case in the first half.

After the opening minute, the Jayhawks missed 11 straight shots, committed four of their 12 first-half turnovers and went 7-plus minutes without a field goal.

Then, it was North Carolina’s turn to suffer, the Tar Heels missing 12 shots in a row.

Everything switched again toward the end of the half, with the Jayhawks clanking just about every shot they put up off the Sprint Center’s cold rims, and the up-tempo Tar Heels going on a 14-2 charge that helped them carry that nine-point lead into the break.

Kansas shot just 25 percent in the first half – just a bit better than the Tar Heels, who went at a 26-percent clip – as the teams combined to miss a staggering 52 shots.

”We made some bonehead plays, especially me. I had six turnovers myself,” Withey said. ”But in the second half, we got a better feel for them, what they were going to do.”
It certainly made a difference.

Withey got the crowd inside the Sprint Center stirring with a putback, and then after the Jayhawks had missed 13 straight 3-pointers to begin the NCAA tournament, Releford hit one from the wing to bring more than 18,000 fans – the vast majority Kansas fans – to their collective feet.

Withey kept the charge going by driving the lane for a dunk, and then got isolated in the post for another dunk. Releford added a putback during their tag-team effort, and Williams – who rarely burns timeouts when teams are on a run – was forced to finally give in.

”The first half was probably the hardest we’ve played all year,” said the Tar Heels’ Marcus Paige. ”In the second half, they got out in transition, and from there it just kept going.”

The half may have been summed up with one spectacular play by Withey in the waning minutes: He batted a 3-point shot into the air, tracked the ball down himself, and then got it over to Elijah Johnson, who was fouled and made two free throws.
The potential five-point swing gave Kansas a 67-52 lead.

It wasn’t long before that haunting chant of ”Rock, chalk, Jayhawk, K-U!” – all too familiar to Williams, and now to his Tar Heels – began to echo through the cavernous building, ultimately replaced by a standing ovation from Kansas’ frenzied fans.

”We benefited from the game being played in Kansas City, no doubt about it,” Self said. ”The first half, we didn’t utilize the benefit at all. I thought in the second half, we did.”

— Asssociated Press —

Northwest Missouri State tennis teams each lose to Cameron

Posted on March 24, 2013March 24, 2013

The Northwest Missouri State men’s tennis team dropped a heartbreaker Sunday afternoon falling to No. 20 Cameron 5-4.

The Bearcats dropped their second straight match after winning six straight. The Aggies have been impressive this season moving to 12-1 on the year.

Sergio De Vilchez continued to play well with his No. 1 doubles partner Lluis Altimires picking up an 8-6 win. The duo that advanced to the USTA/ITA Championships during the fall improved to 7-3 this season, however the rest of the Bearcats were not as fortunate.

Altimires picked up a win at No. 3 singles winning a tough match, 7-5, 6-3 over Dennis Merdan.

Jason Harris also earned a win at No. 6 singles and Alvaro Riveros won at No. 4 singles. Cameron rebounded to take No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 singles earning the 5-4 victory.
The Northwest Missouri State women’s tennis team ran into one of the nation’s top teams Sunday falling 8-0 to Cameron University.

The Bearcats fell to 5-5 on the season and have lost two in a row after a brief two-game winning streak. The No. 12-ranked Aggies improved to 10-1 on the year.

Cameron won all three doubles matches to take a 3-0 lead heading into singles.

Camila Quesada battled at No. 1 singles but fell just short in the Bearcats closest match falling, 6-3, 6-4

The Northwest tennis teams have postponed their next two matches due to heavy snowfall in Missouri. The Bearcats will look for another date to make up both matches against MIAA foes, Lindenwood and Truman State.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Griffons bounce back with 11-9 win over UCO to take series

Posted on March 23, 2013

The Missouri Western baseball team got back on the right track scoring two runs in the bottom of the 8th inning coming away with an 11-9 victory against the Central Oklahoma Bronchos in the series finale. The Griffons improve to 19-4 overall and 14-1 in MIAA play.

The Griffons scored eight runs in the first two innings taking a commanding 8-2 lead after two. In the first the Griffons had four hits scoring four runs and in the second they also had four hits scoring four runs on one UCO error. The Griffons took a 9-4 lead after five innings but the Bronchos scored five unanswered to tie the score a nine after seven and a half innings of play.

In the bottom of the eighth the Griffons got three hits which included the go ahead RBI single by Jimmy Smelcer giving the Griffons the 10-9 lead. Michael Schulze walked with the bases loaded giving MWSU the 11-9 lead heading to the top of the ninth. Logan Hollingsworth shut down UCO in the ninth improving to 4-0 on the season. He went 2.1 innings giving up five hits while striking out four.

The Griffons had 17 hits with Grant Fink going 4-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored. Bubba Dotson, Nate Ramler and Smelcer all had three hits in the game.

The Bronchos fall to 16-8 overall and 13-8 in MIAA play. They had 16 hits with Matt Malloy going 3-for-5 with two RBI and a hit. Mikel Beltran falls to 1-1 going 2.2 innings giving up five hits and one earned run.

The Griffons return to action on Tuesday, March 26 with a doubleheader against Northwest Missouri State. Game time is set for 4:00 pm at the Griffon Baseball Field.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Bearcats complete three-game sweep of Truman State

Posted on March 23, 2013March 23, 2013

The Northwest Missouri State baseball team got an outstanding pitching performance in a 8-0 win, while the offense exploded for a 15-8 victory to finish a sweep of Truman State on Saturday.

Northwest improved to 9-16 on the season and 7-13 in the MIAA as the Bulldogs fell to6-18 overall and 6-17 in league play.

Game one saw Ryker Fox go the distance for a complete game five-hit shutout. Fox struck out three Bulldogs and only walked one on 88 pitches for his second win of the season in the seven inning affair.

The Bearcat offense took an early 1-0 lead when Brandon Huske belted a solo homerun over the fight field wall in the top of the first inning.

Although the one-run lead would be all Fox needed on the mound, the Bearcats got another solo homer from Eric McGlauflin in the top of the fifth inning to take a 2-0 lead.

The Bearcat bats then exploded for six runs in the top of the sixth inning.

Northwest would bat around in the inning as JJ Baccari led off and reached on an error. Baccari capped the scoring with a two-RBI single up the middle as the Bearcats six runs came on four hits and two Truman errors.

McGlauflin, Charlie Krueger and Ryan Abernathy finished with two hits apiece, as Abernathy added a pair of RBIs.
Northwest scored in every inning but the first and seventh and blasted 17 hits en route to a 15-8 win in game two.
Cam Bedard, Eric Swain and Eric McGlauflin all hit home runs for the Bearcats.

After scoring two runs in the second inning, Bedard led off the third with a double in the gap to right. Just three pitches later, Bedard would steal third and a throwing error on the catcher saw the senior cross the plate starting the inning.
Swain would follow with a single to score Baccari as he reached on a double after Bedard scored. One batter later, McGlauflin blasted his fourth home run of the season giving Northwest a 7-0 lead. McGlauflin finished 2-for-6 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Chase Anderson picked up his third win of the season to move to 3-3 on the year in 6.1 innings of work. The Bearcat bullpen saw Rob Henrichs, Tyler Barth and Nathanial Horton pitch the final 2.2 innings allowing only three hits and two runs.
Northwest continues MIAA action on Tuesday as they travel to Missouri Western for a double-header in St. Joseph. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western extends win streak to eight with sweep of Northern State

Posted on March 23, 2013March 23, 2013

The Missouri Western softball team exploded offensively smacking 25 hits and scoring 26 runs in a doubleheader sweep over the Northern State Wolves by scores of 11-6 and 15-1 (5 innings). Bre Fleschner went 8-for-8 with six RBI and five runs scored on the day. The Griffons have won eight in a row improving to 20-8 overall.

Game 1
MWSU 11, NSU 6

The Griffons struck first in game one in the bottom of the first inning when Michelle Stevenson doubled in Fleschner and Tiffany Gillaspy giving MWSU the 2-0 lead. Northern State capitalized on a Griffon error in the top of the second tying the score at two after one and a half.

The score stayed that way until the third when MWSU blew things open scoring five runs on four hits. Fleschner scored on a wild pitch while Stevenson platted two more with a single up the middle. The Griffons took a 7-2 lead after three. The score stayed that way until the bottom of the fifth and two in the sixth. In the sixth MWSU got homers by Kat Steponovich and Fleschner giving MWSU the 11-6 victory.

The Griffons had 13 hits with Fleschner getting four with three runs scored and two RBI. Gillaspy and Stevenson both went 2-for-3. Jackie Bishop picked up the victory going seven innings giving up eight hits while striking out three and giving up three earned runs. She is 10-3 with the victory. She is now the all time leader in strikeouts with 569 and is one victory away from tying the career record for wins. She had 59.

The Wolves had eight hist with Kelsey Gale going 3-for-4 with three RBI. Debbie Evans picked up the loss going three innings giving up eight hits and seven earned runs.

Game 2
MWSU 15, NSU 1 (5 innings)

In game two the Griffon bats continued to be on fire scoring 15 runs and getting 12 hits. Fleschner opened up the scoring with a homer over the right field fence giving MWSU the 2-0 lead. The Griffon scored six more runs in the inning after an NSU error giving MWSU the 8-1 lead after one.

Janie Smith pitched a solid game going all five giving up just three hits and one earned run. She improves to 10-3 with the victory.

The Griffon scored three runs in the third and four more in the fifth with three coming off the bat of Sydney McCune as she hit a three run homer. It was her first as a Griffon.

Fleschner had four of the Griffons 12 hits while Sarah Elliott had two hits with three runs scored and three RBI. Taylor Anding also had two hits with three runs scored.

The Wolves fall to 8-10 overall as Kami Smesmo falls to 5-4 giving up 11 hits and five earned runs.

The Griffons will be in action next on Monday, March 25 against NSIC opponents Augustana and Wayne State. Game times are scheduled for 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm respectively from the Griffon Softball Field.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Northwest track claims four titles at Mizzou Relays

Posted on March 23, 2013March 23, 2013

Several Bearcats earned personal best marks Friday and Saturday at the Missouri Relays while four Northwest Missouri State track and field athletes walked away with titles at Audrey J. Walton Stadium.

Will Haer improved his NCAA provisional mark and also claimed the pole vault title with a mark of 15-07.00. The height was the second best of the senior’s career.

The other Bearcat to earn a provisional mark was Jordan Warner in the high jump. The freshman tied for second with a height of 6-04.75, currently the fourth best mark in NCAA-II.

Eli Smith finished one of the best weekends of his young career winning both the 200-meter dash and the 400-meter dash. Smith raced to a time of 22.48 in the 200-meter dash and narrowly missed a provisional time. The sophomore also missed a provisional time and his personal best in the 400-meters by just over half a second, with a time of 48.63.

Travis Manning also came up just shy of a provisional time in the 110-meter hurdles. After a time of 15.08 in the preliminaries, Manning finished third in the finals with a time of 14.83 missing the provisional time at 14.69.
Senior Porter Groves also claimed the triple jump title with a distance of 40-1.25

For the Bearcat women, Anne Herbert raced to the second best time of her career in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Herbert earned a runner-up finish with a time of 11:22.55 giving her the second and third best times in the Northwest record books.
Senior Jordan Esry earned a personal best mark in the 5000-meter run racing to a seventh place finish. Esry crossed the finish line with a time of 17:54.97 – just missing the provisional time of 17:19 – and beating her personal best of 17:58.92 set last spring.

Ashton Nibert also won the 400-meter dash with a time of 57.24. Nibert missed a provisional mark, but the time was a personal best and the third best mark in Northwest history.

Adrienne Cornelius was another Bearcat to miss a provisional mark as she finished third in the 400-meter hurdles. Her time of 1:06.43 was two seconds shy of a personal best and four seconds shy of the NCAA provisional time.

The Bearcats will host the Herschel Neil Decathlon and Ashley Nally Heptathlon March 29-30 to close out spring break. The entire Bearcat team returns to action April 6 for the Northwest Open at Bearcat Stadium.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Griffons split doubleheader with Central Oklahoma; win streak ends at 17

Posted on March 22, 2013March 22, 2013

The Missouri Western baseball team split an MIAA doubleheader with the Central Oklahoma Bronchos on Friday afternoon. The Griffons won game one 5-4 before losing the night cap 7-5. The Griffons 17 game winning streak was ended but they are now 18-4 overall and 13-1 in MIAA play.

GAME 1
MWSU 5, UCO 4

The Griffons used a four run second inning and solid pitching from Brandon Simmons and Logan Hollingsworth picking up their 17th straight victory by a score of 5-4 over the Bronchos.

Simmons gave up a two-run homer to Ross Rose in the top of the second inning but from there he would leave two UCO runners on while striking out seven. He went six innings giving up five hits and three earned runs while striking out eight. He now has 200 strikeouts in his career which puts him in fifth place all-time in MWSU history. He is 5-0 on the season.

The Griffons responded in their half of the second using three doubles and four hits gaining a 4-2 lead. Spencer Shockley, Jimmy Smelcer and Shawn Egge all got doubles in the inning.

The Bronchos scratched across runs in the third and fifth tying the score at four. In the bottom of the sixth the Griffons opened up the inning with a triple by Nate Ramler. Pinch runner Jeremy Monty scored on a Grant Fink single down the right field line giving MWSU the 5-4 lead.

Hollingswoth got the save going one inning striking out two. He picked up his third save of the season.

The Griffons had seven hits with Smelcer leading the way with two.

The Bronchos had five hits with Matt Malloy and Cesar Wong each getting two. Landon Hallam got the loss going six innings giving up seven hits, five earned runs while striking out four. He falls to 1-3 with the loss.

GAME 2
UCO 7, MWSU 5

In game two the Griffons had five costly errors and stranded the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth falling 7-5 snapping their 17 game winning streak.

The Griffons opened up a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning but an error leading off the top of the 7th led to five UCO runs giving them a 7-3 lead after six and a half.

The Griffons battled back scoring two in the bottom of the eighth but left the bases loaded in the ninth falling by two.

The Central Oklahoma Bronchos sit at 16-7 overall and 13-7 in MIAA play.

The Griffons had 11 hits with Ramler going 3-for-4 with one run and an RBI. Fink and Kyle Simpson each had two hits.

Ethan Ward picked up the loss going 6.2 innings giving up six hits and one earned run while striking out five and walking six. He falls to 1-1 on the season.

The Bronchos had eight hits with Jared Wright going 2-for-4 with three RBI. Jake Tuck picked up the victory going two innings giving up two earned runs and two hits. Ethan Sharp goes 1.2 innings giving up two hits.

The teams will play the final game of the series on Saturday, March 23 with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 pm from the Griffons Baseball Field.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Bearcats win game one at Truman State Friday

Posted on March 22, 2013March 22, 2013

The Northwest Missouri State baseball team picked up its seventh win of the season Friday by beating Truman State 8-3 in a nine inning affair.

The Bearcats were able to have a big inning early in the game when they put five runs up in the top of the second inning. Paul Johnson was able to knock in Derek Meyer for the first run of the game. Johnson stole second and would eventually score on a throwing error. Ryan Abernathy also scored on an error to put Northwest up 3-0. Steven Garber picked up two RBIs with a single to center field to add to the total and put his team up 5-0.

Truman State got two runs back scoring one in the fourth and one in the fifth. The Bearcats added two more runs in the seventh inning as Brandon Huske scored on a throwing error and JJ Baccari knocked in Cam Bedard with a sacrifice fly.

Northwest added one more insurance one in the ninth inning when Baccari grabbed his second RBI of the game when he plated Bedard with a sac fly.

The Bulldogs added one in the ninth but that would be it as the Bearcats improved to 7-16, 5-13 with the 8-3 victory.

Marcus Garrett picked up win number two on the season as he went 7.0 strong innings giving up three hits and collecting two strikeouts.

The series will continue tomorrow with a double-header. Game one will be a seven inning contest with first pitch scheduled for noon followed immediately by the final game of the series which will be a nine inning game.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

No. 1 seed Kansas rallies to defeat Western Kentucky

Posted on March 22, 2013March 22, 2013

Jeff Withey scored 17 points and top-seeded Kansas struggled to put away scrappy Western Kentucky in a 64-57 victory Friday night that avoided what would have been the biggest upset on a day full of them in the NCAA tournament.

The Jayhawks (30-5), flummoxed by the Hilltoppers’ full-court pressure, trailed 31-30 at halftime. Kansas eventually built an 11-point lead in the second half, but couldn’t put Western Kentucky away until Ben McLemore’s two foul shots with 11 seconds left in the game.

McLemore and Travis Releford scored 11 each for the Jayhawks (30-5), who wearily advanced to play No. 8 seed North Carolina and former coach Roy Williams in the South Regional on Sunday.

Jamal Crook scored 13 points and T.J. Price had 12 for the Hilltoppers (20-16), who would have made history by becoming the first No. 16 seed to upend a No. 1 seed in the tournament.

Earlier in the day, No. 15 seed Florida Gulf Coast stunned second-seeded Georgetown, perhaps emboldening the Sun Belt champions. And on the same floor at the Sprint Center, 13th-seeded La Salle knocked off Kansas State and No. 12 seed Ole Miss beat fifth-seeded Wisconsin.

Alas, the undersized team in red couldn’t hang tough with the bigger blue bloods down the stretch, allowing Kansas to reach 30 wins for the fourth straight season — the first time that’s happened in Division I men’s basketball, after Memphis was forced to vacate the 2008 season.

The Jayhawks also improved to 7-0 at the Sprint Center this season.

Since the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, 16 seeds are winless against No. 1 seeds in 116 games, including Southern’s heartbreaking 64-58 loss to Gonzaga on Thursday.

Western Kentucky, though, spent the first half pinning Kansas against the ropes.

Price hit an opener 3-pointer in the opening minute, George Fant was able to use his superior quickness against the bigger Withey in the paint, and the Hilltoppers — who needed four wins to capture the Sun Belt tournament title and the league’s automatic bid — slowly built a 20-16 lead.

The heavily pro-Kansas crowd fell quiet, even as Jayhawks coach Bill Self turned up the volume on the sideline, laying into his team for its lethargic start.

Kansas finally pulled ahead for the first time since midway through the first half when Elijah Johnson finished off a three-point play that made it 28-27 with 90 seconds left, but a pair of baskets by Price down the stretch gave the scrappy Hilltoppers a 31-30 lead at the break.

The Jayhawks seized the lead again early in the second half when Kevin Young followed up his own miss by grabbing the rebound and throwing down a reverse jam, and then Releford scored off a nifty feed from McLemore, forcing Western Kentucky coach Ray Harper to burn a timeout.

Fant and Aleksejs Rostov both picked up their fourth fouls midway through the half, taking seats next to Harper on the Western Kentucky bench. But the longtime Division II and NAIA coach couldn’t keep his hottest hands there for long, and decided to gamble by putting them back in.

Farmer rolled snake eyes when Fant fouled out with 5:37 remaining.

Withey made one of two free throws, McLemore drove untouched down the lane for an easy basket, and Withey scored on a nifty move in the post to push the Jayhawks to a 52-42 lead — their biggest of the game — and force Farmer to call another timeout with 3:44 left on the clock.

Western Kentucky started whittling into the lead in the closing minutes, and a 3-pointer by Crook made it 59-55 with 25.4 seconds left on the clock.

But the Jayhawks got the ball in the hands of Naadir Tharpe, and he made two free throws to provide them a cushion. Price misfired from beyond the arc, and Brandon Harris was long on another 3-pointer from the corner, as McLemore added two more foul shots to seal the Jayhawks’ victory.

— Associated Press —