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Category: College

Mizzou’s Cunningham named to Naismith Trophy watch list

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) was named to the watch list for the Citizen Naismith Trophy, announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club Monday. The Tiger senior was one of 50 players on the watch list for the Women’s Player of the Year award.

The watch list will be narrowed down to 30 players for a midseason team on Feb. 11, 2019, and then to 10 national semifinalists on March 4, 2019. Finally, four finalists will be named on March 22, 2019, with the winner being announced on April 6, 2019.

Cunningham has now been named to the watch list for three national awards for the 2018-19 season, as she was also named to the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award (Oct. 24) and the Wooden Award (Nov. 7) watch lists. Cunningham was also tabbed Preseason All-SEC first team by the league’s coaches (Oct. 30) and media members (Oct. 16).

Cunningham scored 31 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists in Mizzou’s season-opening road victory over Western Illinois on Nov. 6. The performance was Cunningham’s eighth career 30+ point game, and her second straight after scoring 35 points in Mizzou’s NCAA Tournament game against Florida Gulf Coast last season. All-time, Mizzou is 6-2 in games where Cunningham scores 30 or more points.

Last season, Cunningham earned AP All-America Honorable Mention and All-SEC First Team honors for the second consecutive season after averaging 18.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. She was the only player in the nation to shoot better than 54 percent from the field (54.2 percent, 186-for-343), 45 percent from three (45.7 percent, 69-for-151) and 83 percent from the free throw line (83.6 percent, 133-for-159).

Mizzou will be in action twice at Mizzou Arena this week, first hosting Missouri State on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. CT, then Green Bay on Friday, Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. CT.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Missouri State’s Cook earns MVC Newcomer of the Week

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ST. LOUIS – Missouri State junior Keandre Cook (G, Baltimore, Md.) has been named Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week, the league office announced Monday.

Cook, who helped lead the Bears to a 3-0 start to the 2018-19 men’s basketball season, averaged 17.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in three starts during his first week as a Division I player. He posted a pair of 20-point games and also notched his first career double-double in becoming MSU’s first MVC Newcomer of the Week honoree since J.T. Miller on Jan. 1, 2018.

He also converted 18-of-33 (.545) shots from the field for the week to go with 52 points, 25 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals, while making 11-of-15 (.733) free throws. His point total is the most by a first-year MSU player over his first three games since Shelton Colwell (58) in 2002-03.

Cook notched 20 points and 10 rebounds in the Bears’ win over Robert Morris on Nov. 9, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range and a 6-for-10 shooting performance overall. He followed that with 20 points and 8 rebounds against Stetson on Nov. 11 behind a 7-of-14 shooting effort.

Coach Dana Ford’s Bears will have the week off before resuming play on Monday, Nov. 19 against Nebraska at the Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, powered by ShotTracker, at Kemper Arena in Kansas City.

— MSU Athletics —

Nebraska’s Ozigbo, Martinez earn Big Ten weekly football honors

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Nebraska running back Devine Ozigbo was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and quarterback Adrian Martinez was honored as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, the conference announced on Monday.

The weekly award is the first of Ozigbo’s career, while he became the first Husker to be named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week since Tommy Armstrong Jr. in 2016. Martinez was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the second straight week and for the third time this season. Martinez is the eighth player in Big Ten history to take home three freshman-of-the-week awards, and he is the first quarterback to be named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times since Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett in 2014.

Ozigbo was recognized after he averaged 14.7 yards per carry in the Huskers’ 54-35 win over Illinois on Saturday. Ozigbo had 162 yards rushing on only 11 carries – his fourth Big Ten game with more than 150 rushing yards – and he scored a career-high three touchdowns. Ozigbo had touchdown runs of 60 and 66 yards for the two longest rushes of his career. He is just 42 yards shy of rushing for 1,000 yards this season. The Sachse, Texas, native leads the Big Ten and ranks eighth nationally with 12 rushing touchdowns this season, and he also ranks fifth nationally in yards per carry (7.5) and is 21st in rushing yards (958).

Martinez directed a Husker offense that totaled more than 600 yards of offense against the Illini while scoring 54 points, the most points Nebraska has ever scored in a Big Ten Conference game. The Fresno, Calif., native accounted for 345 yards of total offense against Illinois, as he tied the school record with his sixth 300-yard total offense game this season. Martinez completed 24-of-34 passes for 290 yards and a career-high-tying three touchdowns. He also ran for 55 yards and one touchdown, tying his career high with four total touchdowns. Martinez, who moved into the top 10 on Nebraska’s season passing yards and total offense lists on Saturday, ranks second nationally among FBS freshmen in total offensive yards per game (305.2) and is third among all freshmen in passing yards per game (245.8). Among all FBS players, Martinez ranks 14th nationally in total offense, 17th in completion percentage (66.9) and 21st in points responsible for per game (15.1).

— NU Athletics —

Northwest Missouri State earns 23rd NCAA Division II playoff appearance

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The Northwest Missouri State Bearcat football team will be the No. 6 seed in the NCAA Super Region Three of the Division II playoffs. Northwest will take on No. 3 seed Grand Valley State on Sat., Nov. 17, in Allendale, Michigan.

Northwest earned its 15th straight bid and 23rd overall appearance in the Division II playoffs. Grand Valley State is making its 19th appearance in the Division II playoffs. Northwest and Grand Valley State have combined to make 16 national championship game appearances and the two programs have won 10 national titles. Northwest owns six national championships (1998, 1999, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016), while Grand Valley State has won four national titles (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006).

The Bearcats and Lakers are the two all-time winningest Division II playoff programs. The Bearcats are 47-16 all-time in the playoffs, while the Lakers are 35-14. North Alabama has also won 35 Division II playoff games.

Northwest and Grand Valley have met five times in the Division II playoffs with the Bearcats owning a 3-2 advantage. Grand Valley State defeated Northwest in the national title games in 2005 (21-17) and 2006 (17-14). Since then, Northwest has won the final three matchups. In 2007, Northwest scored a 34-16 win over Grand Valley in the semifinals in Maryville, Missouri. Northwest won the 2009 national title with a triumph over Grand Valley (30-23). The Bearcats scored a 27-13 victory over the Lakers in the 2013 national semifinals in Bearcat Stadium.

Northwest is 9-2 on the season and shared the MIAA regular season title with Fort Hays State. Grand Valley State is 10-1 overall and went 7-1 in the GLIAC to place second in the league.

— Northwest Athletics —

Cook, Dixon lead Missouri State past Stetson 83-70

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Keandre Cook scored 20 points, Jarred Dixon added 18 and Missouri State defeated Stetson 83-70 on Sunday.

Three other players scored in double figures for the Bears (3-0), who were 23 of 38 from the foul line while the Hatters (1-1) made 10 of 13.

Abayomi Iyiola had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Stetson and Ricardo Lynch had 16 points off the bench, though he was just 1 of 10 from 3-point range.

Missouri State never trailed and four different players scored in an early 10-3 run as the Bears broke away from the only tie at 9-9. Cook had 15 points that helped Missouri State take a 43-32 lead at halftime.

A 10-0 run in the middle of the second half produced a 69-50 lead with 8:56 to play and the lead stayed in double figures.

Missouri State shot 48 percent while Stetson, which was 8 of 31 from 3-point range, finished at 35 percent.

— Associated Press —

Nebraska blows out Southeastern Louisiana 87-35

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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska overwhelmed Southeastern Louisiana Sunday, taking control of the game with a 22-0 first-half run and never letting the Lions make any kind of a comeback.  Nebraska won the game 87-35.

That pleased coach Tim Miles, as did a similar effort Tuesday when the Huskers downed Mississippi Valley State by 69.

“What I like about the team is they were able to play with the mentality and show the versatility to defend the right way,” Miles said. “I think we’ve been okay defensively. We were really good until we got to 78 points on offense. Then we just stopped. But I think we’ve shown that mindset and that consistency. Certainly you want to see that.”

Nebraska (2-0) held Southeastern Louisiana (1-2) scoreless for 8:41 in the first half run. The Lions missed 10-straight shots and turned the ball over nine times during that stretch, which began when Nebraska switched its defenses — playing zone as well as man-to-man and putting on a full-court press.

“I think it really helped us,’ Miles said of the defensive switching. ” We had 16-straight stops in the first half. The press and the zone were part of that. … I thought it really helped tonight, to keep Southeast Louisiana off balance. After the first 3 1/2, 4 minutes, we stopped them in man or zone or press. It was all good for us.”

The Huskers went up 10 on Glynn Watson, Jr.’s layup with 12:20 left in the half and led 26-7 before the Lions scored to end the drought. The Nebraska lead went to 20 on Amir Harris’ layup that made the score 34-14. The Huskers took a 31-point lead on Brady Heiman’s dunk at the 2:02 mark and led by 36 at the half.

Nebraska led by as many as 53 in the second half.

The Huskers forced 25 turnovers, turning them into 33 points. Nebraska hit 17 of 22 free throws. The Lions were just 2 of 4 from the line. Nebraska dominated the paint as well outscoring the Southeastern Louisiana 42-22.

“Nebraska is a really tough team,” said Southeastern Louisiana coach Jay Ladner. “We could play them 100 times and we’re not going to beat them. Going back to last year, I thought it was a crime they didn’t get into the NCAA Tournament. They brought most of that team back this year, so we knew we had a tall order.”

James Palmer, Jr. led Nebraska with 17 points. Also scoring in double figures for Nebraska were Watson with 16 points, Isaac Copeland, Jr., 11 and Heiman, Isaiah Roby and Thomas Allen each scored 10.

Marlain Veal led Southeastern Louisiana with 10 points.

BIG PICTURE

Southeastern Louisiana struggled to score for the second time against a Power-5 conference opponent. The Lions shot just 29 percent in the first half against LSU Tuesday before finishing at 41 percent. They shot 25 percent in the first half against Nebraska and finished at 28 percent.

Nebraska has reached the 50-point mark in three halves it’s played this season. The Huskers scored 55 and 51 points against Mississippi Valley State Tuesday and 52 in the first half Sunday.

UP NEXT

Southeastern Louisiana travels to Lubbock, Texas Tuesday to face Texas Tech.

Nebraska hosts Seton Hall Wednesday in the Gavitt Tipoff Games between the ACC and Big Ten conferences.

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western men defeat Upper Iowa for third straight win

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ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western improved to 3-1 in its 75-67 win over Upper Iowa (0-2) on Saturday night. The win gives the Griffons the 2-0 weekend at the 27th Annual Hillyard Tip-Off Classic.

NOTABLES

  • After Saturday’s win, the Griffons now have their first 3-1 start since 2013-14.
  • The Griffons shot well right from the opening tip and shot 53 percent in the first half.
  • Missouri Western’s 12 made three-pointers are a new season-high.
  • The Griffons took the lead three minutes into the game after an Alex Martin three-pointer and maintained the lead for the rest of the game.
  • Getting to the free-throw line did not come so easy for the Griffons as they finished with just 15 free throw attempts compared to the Peacocks’ 27.
  • Upper Iowa was held to just a 36 percent field goal percentage.

LEADERS

  • Tyus Millhollin posted a season-high 22 points in the win.
  • Millhollin did most of his damage from deep, making six three’s on 55 percent shooting from distance.
  • Jonathan Mesmacque pulled down double-digit rebounds for the second night and finished with a team-high 11 boards.
  • Lavon Hightower was the team’s second-leading scorer with 16.

UP NEXT

  • Missouri Western will play outside of Civic Arena for the first time all season as they travel to Missouri S&T on Nov. 17.
  • The Miners are coming off of a 3-23 season in 2017-18.

— MWSU Athletics —

5th-ranked Northwest men shoot past Winona State 84-59

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ST. JOSEPH, Missouri – The No. 5-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcat men’s basketball team improved to 4-0 with an 84-59 win over Winona State in the HIllyard Tipoff Classic at Civic Arena.

Northwest began the game on an 18-3 spurt and led 46-23 at the break. The Bearcats buried 10-of-21 three-point shots in the opening 20 minutes. For the game, Northwest drained 16 triples.

Redshirt freshman Trevor Hudgins stuffed his stat sheet with 25 points and 11 assists in leading the Bearcats to their 25th straight win on a neutral floor.

Senior Joey Witthus scored a season-high 21 points. Witthus buried six three-pointers against Winona State.

Northwest will open its home season Friday at 7 p.m. against Truman State.

NOTES: It marked Northwest’s 19th straight win in the month of November … Hudgins is averaging a team-best 23.5 points per game and is shooting 55.7 percent from the field … Ryan Hawkins has made 17 three-pointers in the first four games and is shooting 51.5 percent from 3-point range while averaging 16.8 points per game.

— Northwest Athletics —

Griffons blow 23-6 fourth quarter lead and lose to Lindenwood

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ST. JOSEPH – Lindenwood (4-7) scored 21 unanswered points in the final five minutes and 20 seconds of its final game as football member of the MIAA conference to come back and spoil Griffon Football’s shot at a seven-win season.

The visiting Lions defeated Missouri Western 27-23 in the final game of the regular season. Missouri Western finished the regular season 6-5, the first winning season since going 6-5 in 2015.

NOTABLES

  • Missouri Western led 23-6 after a 21-yard Donnell Hawkins touchdown with 8:03 left in the game
  • Lindenwood made it 23-13 with a seven-play, 72-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass with 5:20 left
  • A failed attempt at an onside kick by Lindenwood gave the Griffons the ball at the Lindenwood 41 with 5:20 left, but Missouri Western took a little over a minute off the clock and gained just one yard before Dom Marino punted to the Lindenwood one-yard line
  • The Lions rattled off an 11-play, 99-yard drive to pull within three with 2:14 left in the game
  • Lindenwood the had a successful onside kick that gave them the ball at the 50
  • The Lions had to convert a 4th and five at the MWSU-45 to keep what ended up being the game-winning drive alive. They scored three plays later to take their first lead since early in the second quarter.
  • Missouri Western still had a chance with the ball, 36 seconds left and one timeout.
  • Three complete passes got the ball from the Missouri Western-25 to the Lindenwood-29
  • With one second remaining, Dom Marino completed a pass to Joe Horn Jr. who lateraled to Keylan Mack. Mack was tackled at the three with no time on the clock, leaving the Griffons three yards short of a seventh win on the season.
  • Missouri Western had 291 yards of total offense while allowing Lindenwood 424 yards.
  • The Griffons were +2 on turnovers with two fumble recoveries and an interception. Lindenwood picked off Marino once
  • It was the final home game and regular season game for 16 Griffon seniors who were honored before the game

LEADERS

  • Donnell Hawkins led a balanced Griffon rushing attack with 41 yards on four carries, averaging 10.2 per rush
  • Marino finished 12-of-34 for 144 yards and an interception
  • Kyle Berry had a team-high three catches
  • Keylan Mack led the Griffs with 39 receiving yards
  • Luke Theis averaged 44.2 yards on five punts
  • Tyler Basch was 3-for-4 on field goal attempts, scoring all the Griffons’ points until Hawkins touchdown run in the fourth quarter
  • James Huskey led the team with 12 total tackles. Anthony Williams had 11

— MWSU Athletics —

Bearcats earn share of MIAA title with win at Central Missouri

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WARRENSBURG, Missouri – The Northwest Missouri State Bearcat football team claimed a share of the program’s 29th MIAA title with a 48-21 whitewashing of the Central Missouri Mules at Walton Stadium.

Senior running back Josh Caldwell scored four touchdowns and surpassed 100 yards on the ground for the first time as a Bearcat in the victory. Caldwell rushed for three scores (1, 34, 22) and caught another (20). Caldwell rushed for 182 yards on 15 carries. Caldwell caught two passes for 24 yards. Caldwell tallied a team-best 206 all-purpose yards.

Northwest put up 517 yards of total offense. The Bearcats gained 281 on the ground and 236 through the air. The Bearcats piled up 42:13 of time of possession and ran 88 total plays.

Central Missouri came into the contest averaging 494.1 yards per game which was tops in the MIAA and No. 11 in the nation. The Bearcats held the Mules to 187 total yards. UCM was also averaging 36.1 points per game. UCM had 10 first downs and ran only 53 total plays.

The Bearcats built a 45-0 lead through three quarters before the Mules found the end zone for a trio of cosmetic touchdowns in the fourth.

Northwest moves to 9-2 on the season, while Central Missouri falls to 5-6 on the year. Northwest will share the MIAA regular season title with Fort Hays State.

The 2018 NCAA Division II playoff selection show will air on Sunday at 4 p.m. on www.NCAA.com. The Division II playoffs will begin Sat., Nov. 17, at campus sites.

NOTES: Josh Caldwell had 15 100-yard rushing games for Missouri Western before surpassing the 100-yard mark for the first time in a Bearcat uniform … Northwest has won five of the last six MIAA regular season titles … Northwest has defeated Central Missouri six straight times … Braden Wright passed for 236 yards on 21-of-32 passing with three touchdowns … Wright connected with 10 different Bearcat receivers … Parker Sampson made two field goals (44, 30) … Jack Richards collected six tackles and an interception … Brody Buck picked off a pass and returned it 31 yards to set up a first-quarter touchdown … Nick Hess recovered a fumble … Spencer Phillips and Zach Howard combined for Northwest’s only sack of the game.

— Northwest Athletics —

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