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Category: College

Mizzou uses big second half to defeat Tennessee State

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Stefan Jankovic hasn’t started this season and only played four minutes in the Tigers’ three games leading up to Tennessee State on Saturday.

And while he didn’t leave the bench in the first half, he showed what he could do with 16 minutes in the second half.

Jankovic, a freshman from Mississauga, Ontario, dunked off a missed jumper by Laurence Bowers with 14:18 remaining, the first two of his season-high 14 points in the game.

That highlighted a 14-3 Missouri run to start the second half, which propelled the 12th-ranked Tigers to a 68-38 win over Tennessee State.

”He was huge,” senior forward Alex Oriakhi said of Jankovic. ”When he came into the game, I said, ‘We need your energy.’ And that’s exactly what he gave us.”

Jankovic says practice allows him to be ready to enter a game off the bench, no matter how long he’s been sitting.

”That’s my game sometimes. I find myself in practice trying my hardest, so when the game comes – I’m going up against guys like Alex and Laurence (Bowers) in practice – I’m ready.”

Bowers scored 18 points and had 10 rebounds and Oriakhi added 15 points and 10 rebounds for Missouri (8-1), which defeated its second consecutive Ohio Valley Conference team following a 81-65 win Tuesday over Southeast Missouri State.

Both teams failed to make a basket for several-minute stretches in the first half, combining for 18 turnovers and 34.6 percent shooting from the field.

But Missouri regrouped during the break and went on a 14-3 run to start the second half.

Phil Pressey’s 3-pointer and Negus Webster-Chan’s fast-break layup within a 20-second stretch gave Missouri a 32-22 lead with 15:16 remaining.

Missouri led by at least nine the rest of the way, gradually extending its lead following an M.J. Rhett free throw that cut the deficit to 32-23 with 15:07 left.

Missouri coach Frank Haith said Saturday’s 23-point first half was the result of poor execution.

”We want to get off to good starts,” Haith said. ”We’ve had some games where we’ve gotten off to good starts and we didn’t finish well. So it’s just a matter of putting together 40 minutes.”

Robert Covington scored 12 points and Jordan Cyphers added 11 points for Tennessee State (4-6), which entered the matchup having won three consecutive games.

After making four of its first six shots from the field Saturday, Tennessee State made only 11 of its next 57 attempts.

It was a similar struggle from 3-point range, as Tennessee State started 3 of 5, but finished 6 of 24.

”We reverted back to our old ways, taking too many 3’s,” coach Travis Williams said. ”I felt we settled for too many 3’s. We normally would make certain shots and we didn’t make those shots tonight.”

Tennessee State, which was picked to finish second in the conference’s East Division, has played eight of its first 10 games on the road.

Bowers and Oriakhi combined for all of Missouri’s 23 points in the first half except for an Earnest Ross free throw with 4:01 remaining.

The Tigers endured stretches of 5:54 and 4:49 without scoring a basket in the first half and turned the ball over 11 times, yet managed to shoot 40 percent from the field to take a three-point lead at halftime.

Missouri also outrebounded Tennessee State 52-27 for the game and made 15 of 19 free throws. Tennessee State only attempted five, all in the second half, and made two.

Bowers is averaging 22.3 points in his past three games. Before scoring 26 in Tuesday, his career high was 23.

”He’s been real consistent,” Haith said. ”And he’s been our go-to guy thus far this season. But I do think we have a number of guys who can score. Guys who just have to continue to get comfortable.”

No one exemplifies being more comfortable than Oriakhi, who earned his third double-double of the season, one better than all of last season at Connecticut.

The 6-foot-9, 255-pound forward says Haith’s confidence in him has allowed his offensive game to grow.

Missouri extended its home winning streak against nonconference opponents to 71 games dating to the 2005-06 opener.

The team has nine days off before likely adding highly touted transfer Jabari Brown to its lineup. Brown, who played at Oregon, joined the Tigers after the first semester of last season.

”He will not start, I can tell you that,” Haith said. ”But he’ll get some court time.”

— Associated Press —

Shorthanded Western women fall to No. 17 Fort Hays State

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The Missouri Western women struggled offensively in the second half scoring just 17 points falling 57-42 against the 17th ranked Fort Hays State Tigers. The Griffons had three players in double figures with Heather Howard dumping in 15. Alicia Bell had 13 rebounds in the effort as the Griffons fall to 8-2 overall and 1-1 in MIAA play.

Despite being down three starters the Griffons we able to outscore the 17th ranked Lady Tigers 12-4 in the final 5:34 of the first half claiming the 25-21 halftime lead. The Griffons played nine players in the first half and used 11 offensive rebounds to outscore Fort Hays State 10-0 on second chance points.

The Griffons shot just 31.3-percent (10-32) from the field but Howard made 4-of-5 shots and 2-of-3 from long range dumping in 10 points and snaring four rebounds. Alicia Bell had six points and two assists while Tiffanie Abrams dumped in eight points.

The Tigers shot 38.5-percent (10-26) from the field with Kate Lehman leading the charge with eight points on 4-of-7 shooting.

The Tigers came out in the second half scoring the first five points claiming the 26-25 lead. The Griffons regained the lead with 15:19 to play on a Howard jumper making the score 31-29. Unfortunately, that would be the last bucket for the Griffons for over ten minutes as the Tigers built a 15 point lead after a good free throw shot by Katelyn Edwards with 4:09 to play.

The Griffons continued to play hard but it would be too late as the Tigers stay undefeated improving to 8-0 overall and 2-0 in MIAA play.

Abrams and Alex Saxen each pitched in 10 points for the Griffons as MWSU shot just 25-percent (13-52) in the game which included just three field goals in the second half. The Griffons did manage to outrebound the Lady Tigers 42-40 and 16-to-11 on the offensive end of the floor.

The Lady Tigers finished shooting 39.6-percent (21-53) from the floor with Lehman leading the way with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Edwards dumped in 12 points and had two assists.

The Griffons will be off for almost a month for the holiday break returning to action on January 3, 2013 against the University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos. Game time is set for 5:30 pm in Edmond, Okla.

— MWSU Sports Information —

McLemore leads Kansas past Colorado

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Ben McLemore is already accustomed to being on the finishing end of alley-oop dunks.

He was on the giving end on Saturday.

It happened midway through the second half, when the freshman guard looked toward the rim and then lofted a pass that Kevin Young snared in mid-air. The senior sparkplug for ninth-ranked Kansas proceeded to throw down a dunk over Colorado’s Xavier Johnson that brought another capacity crowd in Allen Fieldhouse to its feet.

In a game full of highlights, that one might have defined the game.

McLemore finished with 24 points, Young added 16 points and eight rebounds, and the Jayhawks rolled to a 90-54 victory over the Buffaloes, sending their former Big 12 foe limping back to the Pac-12.

”He was talking to me – he kept saying, ‘I’m running and running,”’ McLemore said. ”We got on a break, and I tossed it up to him and he finished it, and the crowd got into it and we kept rolling.”

Elijah Johnson hit three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points, and Travis Releford added 10 points and six assists for the Jayhawks (7-1), who used an 18-3 run fueled by feisty defense to bury the Buffaloes early.

Kansas pushed the advantage to more than 20 by halftime, surpassed the 30-point barrier with 17 minutes left and extended it to 40 with about 8 minutes to go before substituting liberally down the stretch.

”That was an old-fashioned (butt) whipping right there, is what that was,” Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. ”It’s not like our guys wanted to roll over and die. Kansas just came out and took our heart.”

Josh Scott finished with 19 points to lead the Buffaloes (7-2), who have lost two of three after rattling off six straight wins to start the year. Askia Booker added 15 points, and leading scorer Spencer Dinwiddie was held to four points on 1-for-4 shooting. Xavier Johnson missed all four of his field-goal attempts before fouling out.

”It all comes down to defense,” Dinwiddie said. ”It’s not like they were hitting contested 3s, they were dunking on us and absolutely humiliating us. There really is nothing else to say.”

Colorado has lost 19 straight to the Jayhawks, and 46 of 47, dating to the 1991 season. The longtime Big 12 member, which bolted for the Pac-12 last season, still hasn’t won at Allen Fieldhouse since the 1982-83 season, a span of 29 games.

Kansas coach Bill Self is 18-0 against the Buffaloes, and has won 11 straight against the Pac-12.

”That’s the first time we’ve played a game in our building where we didn’t let our opponent get comfortable in the game from the outset,” Self said. ”That’s what we’re supposed to do every game.”

The Jayhawks led 43-22 at halftime after turning Colorado over 12 times and coughing up a possession just twice in the first 20 minutes. The result was a lopsided 22-2 advantage in points-off-turnovers, and a big lead despite missing its final 10 3-point attempts of the half.

McLemore nearly outscored the Buffaloes by himself, pouring in 17 points.

The freshman guard, who sat out last season as a partial NCAA qualifier, did his best work slashing through the lane and getting to the foul line. But he also picked Colorado’s pocket on a couple of occasions, once tipping the ball over a defender’s head and tracking it down for an easy dunk and an 18-3 lead in the opening minutes.

”I give my teammates a lot of credit,” McLemore said. ”We just go out there and have fun.”

The only stretch in which Kansas wasn’t having fun came midway through the first half, when it missed seven straight field goals, and Colorado closed within 29-18. As if on cue, the Jayhawks scored the next nine points to force Boyle – who played for Kansas in the 1980s – to call a frantic timeout.

Dinwiddie, who had scored at least 20 in three straight games, played only 12 minutes in the first half. He picked up two fouls in the first 5 minutes, and at one point went to the locker room favoring his left ankle.

The Jayhawks put the game away with an 11-2 run to start the second half.

The spurt included a nifty feed from Young to Jeff Withey under the basket, and a block by Withey on Colorado’s Andre Roberson that led to a run-out and a dunk by Releford. Young had a hand in several buckets early in the second half, and finished 8 of 9 from the field as the Jayhawks shot 55 percent for the game.

”When you’re playing a team like Kansas in a building like this, your mistakes get magnified,” Boyle said, ”and they just put it to us.”

— Associated Press —

Northwest women stay unbeaten in the MIAA with win over UNK

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The Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team continued their winning ways Saturday as they defeated Nebraska-Kearney 67-56 to open up 2-0 in MIAA play.

The Bearcats kicked off the start of the game with an 11-0 run. The Northwest defense looked great in the first half scoring 11 points off turnovers.

UNK would come within 10 points of the Bearcats in the second half but that would be as close as they would get. Northwest shot 50 percent from the floor and out rebounded UNK 19-13.

Annie Mathews posted her third double-double of the season with 11 rebounds and 13 points. Mathews added two steals and an assist.

Ashleigh Nelson led all Bearcats in scoring with 17. Nelson was also very active on defense recording four steals and two rebounds.

The Bearcats improve their record to 7-2 overall and 2-0 in league play as the win gives Northwest more wins than they had during the 2011-12 season.

Northwest will return to action after finals week to host Midland Lutheran in nonconference action Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. The next MIAA game for the Bearcats will be Jan. 3 as the Bearcats travel to Missouri Southern before a nationally televised game on CBS College Sports Jan. 5 at Pittsburg State.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Kansas State gets road win at George Washington

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Angel Rodriguez scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half as Kansas State defeated George Washington 65-62 Saturday.

Rodney McGruder finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Will Spradling scored 10 for the Wildcats (7-1), who played their first true road game this season.

Dwayne Smith scored 14 points and Isaiah Armwood had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Colonials (4-5), who hosted their first BCS program since the 2009-10 season.

Kansas State defeated George Washington 69-56 on its home court last season.

The Wildcats let a seven-point second-half lead slip away but jumped ahead for good on Nino Williams’ putback with 3:18 remaining. Rodriguez was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer with Kansas State ahead 58-57, and he sank all three free throws with 1:46 left.

After Armwood made 3 of 4 free throws for the Colonials, Rodriguez’s jumper with 1:03 left pushed the lead back to 63-60, but he missed a one-and-one free throw with 26 seconds left.

Joe McDonald’s layup cut the lead to one, but Spradling made two free throws, putting Kansas State up by three with 13 seconds left. Smith’s 3-point try with 2 seconds remaining went long.

The Wildcats grabbed 24 offensive rebounds and finished with a 46-36 edge on the glass.

Trailing 29-27 at halftime and by four early in the second half, the Wildcats surged ahead 44-37 with a 15-4 spurt, which included two Spradling 3-pointers. The Colonials countered with a 13-4 run, going ahead 50-48 on Smith’s 3-point play with 9:03 remaining.

Lasan Kromah scored 12 points and Patricio Garino 10 for the Colonials, losers of two straight.

George Washington turned a 9-2 spurt first half spurt into a 25-18 lead, the Colonials’ largest of the game. McGruder stopped the run with a 3-pointer and the D.C. native tallied 12 points in the first half. Kansas State grabbed 25 rebounds before halftime but shot only 31.6 percent and trailed George Washington 29-27 at the break.

— Associated Press —

Northwest track and field impressive in indoor debut

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Senior Megan Elder finished first in the pole vault while sophomore Eli Smith captured a runner-up finish in the 400-meter dash and helped lead the 4×300-meter relay team to a school record for the Northwest Missouri State track and field teams Friday at the Cyclone Holiday Preview.

Elder broke her own personal best mark with a jump of 11-05.75 (3.50m) to finish first in the pole vault. Her mark also now gives her the third and fourth best indoor pole vault marks in the Northwest record books.

Smith picked up where he left off after a stellar freshman season racing to a runner-up finish in the 400-meter dash. Smith’s time of 48.86 was just behind first place Michael Ashley of Lincoln who clocked a time of 48.44. Smith’s mark was also the best of his career and now stands as the fourth best mark on the all-time list at Northwest.

Smith also teamed with Porter Groves, Zach Dixon and Kellen Schroeder to record a top 10 finish in the 4×300-meter relay. The relay team tied the school record in the 4×300-meter relay that Smith was a member of and set last December with an identical mark of 2:23.94. Their time was five second off the pace of first place Iowa State.

On the men’s side a pair of pole vaulters also recorded high marks as Will Haer finished fourth and Kemper Kellerstrass checked in at eighth. Haer’s mark of 15-11.00 was the second best of his career and moves into the No. 6 spot on the Northwest indoor records. Kellerstrass narrowly missed his personal best, which is also the 10th best mark on the all-time list at Northwest.

For the Bearcat women, Ashton Nibert claimed a personal best in the 400-meter dash with a third place finish. Nibert raced to a time of 57.10, which ranks as the third best time in the Northwest record book.

Also with top 10 finishes for the Northwest women were Audrey Bolinger and Emilee Messer. Both finished sixth in their respective races.

Bolinger’s time of 1:29.57 placed her just seven seconds behind first place Donnise Powell of Iowa State in the 600-yard run. Messer’s sixth place finish came in the 1-mile run as she finished with a time of 5:28.69.

Northwest continues action this weekend at the Nebraska-Kearney Pre-Holiday Invitational where several Bearcats raced in preliminary events on Friday. The finals at UNK will conclude on Saturday from Kearney, Neb.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Kansas State’s Klein, Brown named Walter Camp All-Americans

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Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein and linebacker Arthur Brown added to their postseason honors Thursday as both were named Walter Camp All-Americans, the Walter Camp Football Foundation announced at The Home Depot College Football Awards Show.

Klein and Brown, who were named to the second team, picked up All-American honors from the foundation for the first time in their careers. They became the ninth and 10th Wildcat players to pick up Walter Camp accolades overall, while K-State has had four in the last two years as Tyler Lockett was a first-team kick returner and Nigel Malone was a second-team defensive back last season.

A product of Loveland, Colo., Klein has also been named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year by both the Associated Press and league’s coaches in addition to being named the 2012 Johnny Unitas Award winner. While leading K-State to the third conference championship in school history, Klein rushed for 22 touchdowns to rank second nationally and first among quarterbacks, while he accounted for 37 touchdowns this season. The senior, who has rushed for 890 yards, has completed 180-of-272 passes for 2,490 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Brown, a native of Wichita, Kan., has led the Wildcats in tackles this season with 91 – a year after 101 stops – with six tackles for loss, one sack and two interceptions. The Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year by the league’s coaches, Brown’s picks came in consecutive weeks as he ended West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith’s then-NCAA record for consecutive passes without an interception before returning a pick for a score to seal a victory over Texas Tech. With nine tackles against Oregon in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, Brown would become the first Wildcat defender since Josh Buhl (2002 and 2003) to tally 100 or more stops in consecutive seasons.

Fifth-ranked Kansas State will take on No. 4 Oregon in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on Thursday, January 3, 2013, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The game, which will be televised by ESPN, kicks off at 7:30 p.m. (CT).

— KSU Sports Information —

MWSU baseball hitting camps set for December & January

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14th Annual Missouri Western Baseball Hitting Camps are being offered during the months of December and January.  The 3 day camps are for ages 9-13.  To maintain a high quality of instruction, there will be only 4 campers per session.  There are many hitting sessions offered.

You may download a Hitting Camp registration form at GoGriffons.com and Click Baseball under men’s sports or simply print the attached PDF Western Baseball Camps registration form and mail in.

Sessions are arranged by age, so call for details, session times, age availability, and general information.  Cost is $69.00 per camper, per session.  Camps are held at the Griffon Indoor Sports Complex Batting Cages.

For information and reservations, call Coach Verduzco at   816-271-4484.  Please leave your name and best return phone number.

Hitting Camp #1
December  23, 26, 27  2012
Available sessions offered from 5 pm-8 pm

Hitting Camp #2
January  2, 3, 4  2013
Available sessions offered from 1 pm-4 pm

Hitting Camp #3
January  7, 8, 9, 2013
Available sessions offered from 5 pm-8 pm

— MWSU Sports Information —

Griffons lose MIAA opener to Truman State, 71-69

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The game remained close throughout the first half with neither team taking a big lead. The Griffons jumped ahead midway through the first half as James Harris hit Alfreeman Flowers in mid-air, and Flowers slammed the alley-oop home to give Missouri Western a 25-21 lead. The dunk came just seconds after the Griffons took the lead for the first ime in the game as Reed Mells nailed a mid-range jumper with 8:38 to play in the first half.

Truman took a 36-34 halftime lead behind Isaac Garnder’s performance off the bench. Gardner scored nine points, three from downtown, and grabbed three rebounds to put the Bulldogs ahead.

The Griffons were led by Alex Tuluka-Mfumupembe, who scored eight points — including back-to-back 3-pointers. The big difference in the first half was the 3s, as Truman went 8-from-19 from the 3-point line, and the Griffons were 3-of-12.

Truman cooled off in the second half, and the Griffons were able to use that to take a 54-48 lead with just more than 10 minutes to play. But after a 12-3 run, the Bulldogs pulled ahead to take a 60-57 lead with 7:56 to play.

The score remained tight from there as the Griffons trailed 61-60 and then 65-64. Truman’s Cole Myers knocked down a rare 3 in the second half, as Truman was just 4-for-18 in the frame, but the 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs a 68-64 lead with 26 seconds to play.

TSU finished the win off 71-69 to win the conference opener. Cedric Clinkscales finished the game with 14 points and 10 rebounds, his third double-double this season. Dzenan Mrkaljevic ended the night with nine points and eight rebounds.

Next up for the Griffons play Fort Hays State Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Bearcats outlast Lindenwood in OT to remain unbeaten

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Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team never trailed in its MIAA opener against Lindenwood Wednesday evening at Bearcat Arena.

That must have meant the Bearcats breezed past the conference newcomer. That is a wrong assumption.

Despite an 18-point lead in the second half, Northwest needed overtime to pull out a 73-66 victory.

Defense in overtime keyed the Bearcats seventh win in seven games. Northwest held Lindenwood scoreless in the first four minutes of overtime.

Meanwhile, the Bearcats opened overtime with a three-pointer by senior Alex Sullivan.

Sullivan, who finished with 18 points, said the defense and focus were the reasons Northwest succeeded in overtime.

“Going into OT after 40 minutes of play, everybody is worn down and tired and that’s when everybody needs to lock down and focus, which we did,” Sullivan said.

Offense from two different areas also helped.

Junior Dillon Starzl followed Sullivan’s trey with a turnaround shot in the paint to give Northwest a 65-60 lead.

“I was proud of myself a little bit,” said Starzl, who finished with 13 points. “I got a lucky bounce.”

Although the Bearcats let a huge lead at home slip away, they showed grit by pulling out the win when one of their top players, DeAngelo Hailey, fouled out just before overtime.

Northwest built a 69-63 lead in overtime when Lindenwood made one last push on a three-pointer by Alex Bazzell.

Junior Bryston Williams put the game away with four free throws in the final 30 seconds.

“I knew we would step up and hit free throws late and Bryston stepped up,” Starzl said.

In the first six minutes of the second half, the points were coming a little too easy for the Bearcats. Hailey, who finished with 18, was knocking down three-pointers. Sullivan hit one that gave Northwest a commanding 51-33 lead.

The outcome appeared obvious.

Doubt entered the picture when the Bearcats scored just a point over the next 7 minutes, allowing Lindenwood to creep back in. Northwest lead slipped to 52-42.

The three-pointers stopped falling and evening a couple of layups failed to drop.

“We definitely had a couple of rough rounds when we were missing some shots,” Sullivan. “We need to move on to the next play and not dwell on the misses or turnovers.”

The drought finally stopped for the Bearcats when Kyle Schlake grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed layup and scored. The bucket gave Northwest a 54-42 lead with 7:30 left. Schlake finished with a game-high 10 rebounds.

The 12-point cushion wasn’t enough to prevent Northwest from coasting home.

Lindenwood closed to seven at 54-47 on a three-point by Darris Smith. It was the closest the Lions were to Northwest since the first minute of the second half.

The Bearcats showed they know how to respond to a bit of pressure. Sullivan quickly answered Smith’s trey with a trey.

But Lindenwood would not go away. They wasted little time cutting into a 10-point deficit. A three-pointer by Bazzell helped the Lions close to 59-54 with 2:45 left. Thirty seconds later, Bazzell scored on a layup, shrinking Northwest’s lead to 59-56.

With 12.7 seconds left, Lindenwood forged the first tie of the game at 60-60 on two free throws by Bazzell.

Northwest failed to get a good shot off in the final seconds which forced overtime.

“We need to maintain and not get content when we do have the lead and get comfortable,” Sullivan said. “Once we get them down, we got to keep them down and work on that.”

— NWMSU Sports Information —

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