College – Page 727 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Kansas State gets upset at Oklahoma

Posted on January 14, 2012January 14, 2012

Under first-year coach Lon Kruger, the focus all season for Oklahoma has been getting better each day.

At home on Saturday, the Sooners took a giant step forward with an 82-73 victory over No. 18 Kansas State.

“It was a huge game for us,” Kruger said. “I’m really proud of the guys. I really thought they battled from start to finish. What made it more special is Kansas State is a legitimate top 20 team.”

Oklahoma (11-5, 1-3 in Big 12) led the entire game but had to fend off several Kansas State runs while being outrebounded 44-24.

Andrew Fitzgerald led Oklahoma with 21 points, while Romero Osby and Steven Pledger both had 18 and Cameron Clark added 10. It was Oklahoma’s first Big 12 Conference win after an 0-3 start.

“We just came out and shot the ball with confidence,” Fitzgerald said. “It all comes down to us working hard at practice.”

Rodney McGruder had 19 points to lead Kansas State (12-4, 1-3) while Nino Williams and Jeremy Jones each added 12 points.

A former All-Big Eight point guard for Kansas State in his playing days, Kruger took more pleasure in watching his team stand up to Kansas State’s comebacks than beating his alma mater.

Oklahoma shot 55 percent from the field overall and 70 percent in the second half. Kansas State made things a little easier, contributing 19 turnovers.

“Making shots is the remedy when you’re not doing other things well,” Kruger said. “A lot of guys stepped forward as you have to do to beat a good team.”

Trailing by nine points at halftime, Kansas State fell behind by as many as 18 in the second half.

The Wildcats cut the deficit to six with 57 seconds remaining but were forced to foul late and the Sooners made four of six free throws over the final 1:21.

Oklahoma opened with a 7-0 run, prompting Kansas State Coach Frank Martin to call a timeout just 1:42 into the game. The Sooners led by as many as 12 points in the first half as Kansas State struggled to find offensive consistency while shooting 33 percent.

Leading by 18 points with 8:27 remaining in the second half it looked like Oklahoma would run away but two 3-pointers from Will Spradling and a basket from Williams as he was falling down cut the deficit to eight.

“We didn’t come out with any energy. We came out flat,” said Spradling, who finished with 11 points. “If you’re playing in anybody else’s gym and come out flat you’re going to get punches. When we got punched we didn’t hit them back.”

The conference’s best rebounding team, Oklahoma was outrebounded for only the third time this season.

— Associated Press —

Northwest cheer team wins second national championship

Posted on January 14, 2012January 14, 2012

For the second time in three years Northwest Missouri State cheerleading was named the 2012 Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) National Champion at the Walt Disney World Resort on Saturday.

Head Coach Jason Sack and his squad earned their second UCA National Championship since he took over the program in 2006. Northwest claimed its first championship in 2010.

Northwest competed against other NCAA Division II schools to take home the title over defending National Champion West Georgia, which was followed by third place Columbus State.

The Bearcat Steppers also competed in the open hip hop division advancing to the finals and earning a sixth place finish. Additionally the Steppers have advance to the finals of the open jazz division and will perform Sunday at 10 a.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Northwest distance runners do well at Nebraska Invite

Posted on January 13, 2012

Northwest Missouri State enjoyed a successful start to the New Year highlighted by six top five finishes on the women’s side and a runner-up finish for Kemper Kellerstrass on the men’s side Friday at the Holiday Inn Invitational hosted by the University of Nebraska.

Brittany Poole, Jordan Esry, Madison Marshman, Tasha Sherman, Ashli Mosby and Megan Elder all earned top five finishes respectively to pace the Northwest women at the Devaney Sports Center.

Esry and Marshman earned fourth and fifth place finishes and were followed closely behind by Anne Herbert, who placed sixth, in the 3,000-meter run for the Bearcats. The only NCAA runner to finish ahead of the Northwest runners was Erin Curren of Black Hills State.

Freshman Tasha Sherman took home a fourth place finish in the 5,000-meter run to complete a successful first day for the Northwest distance runners. Megan Elder earned a third place in the pole vault behind Doane College and Nebraska-Kearney.

Poole earned a fourth place finish as well in the 1-mile run with a time of 5:13.40. She was the top non-Nebraska runner to finish, as the Huskers ran to a first, second and third place close with Ashley Miller capturing the title with a time of 4:47.30.

The men’s side was highlighted by Kellerstrass whose runner-up finish in the pole vault was his highest of the year at 4.45 meters. He was behind Nebraska Wesleyan’s Jay Wall with a vault of 4.75 meters.

A quartet of distance and middle distance runners for the men earned top 10 finishes to round out Friday competition.

Taylor Overmiller came in fifth in the 800-meter run as did Ryan Darling in the 1-mile run. Darling was the top Division II runner behind a trio of runners from Minnesota, led by Nick Hutton with a time of 4:11.61 while Darling finished in 4:16.23.

The 5,000-meter run had a pair of Bearcats in the top 10 with Jared Walker in seventh and David Nilges in eighth.

The second day of action will start at noon tomorrow with the women’s pole vault, shot put, triple jump, high jump and the finals of the 60-meter hurdles and 60-meter dash. The last running event of the day, the men’s 4×400-meter relay, is set to start at 3:55 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Kansas football names Dave Campo defensive coordinator

Posted on January 13, 2012

Dave Campo, a veteran coach who has experienced major success at every level of the game, was named defensive coordinator at the University of Kansas Friday. Campo will also coach the defensive backs as a member of first-year KU head coach Charlie Weis’ staff.

Campo, who spent the first 18 years of his coaching career in the collegiate ranks, was the secondary coach on Jimmy Johnson’s University of Miami staff for two seasons (1987-88). During his two seasons in Miami, the Hurricanes posted a 23-1 overall record and won the 1987 National Championship. Additionally, safety Bennie Blades was the 1987 Jim Thorpe Award winner before being selected with the third pick in the NFL draft by the Detroit Lions.

A standout defensive backs coach, Campo then began his NFL coaching career as he was hired by Dallas as an original member of Johnson’s first Cowboys staff in 1989. He has 23 years of coaching experience in the NFL with 18 of those coming with the Cowboys. He has also held assistant coaching positions with the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Campo played a key role in the development of Dallas teams that made eight playoff trips, won six division titles and claimed three Super Bowl titles. He began his career in Dallas coaching the secondary (1989-94) and then was promoted to defensive coordinator (1995-99) before working his way up to the head coaching position for the Cowboys, a post he held for three seasons from 2000 to 2002.

During his tenure in Dallas, he helped the team win consecutive Super Bowl championships in 1992 and 1993 and again in 1995.

In four of the five years that Campo directed the Dallas defense as coordinator, the Cowboys finished the year among the NFL’s top-10 units, including a pair of top-three finishes. As the coordinator of the Cowboys defense, Campo helped guide the careers of some of the 1990s most dynamic defensive players – including Pro Bowlers Charles Haley, Darren Woodson, Deion Sanders, Tony Tolbert, Leon Lett, Russell Maryland and Dexter Coakley.

Prior to becoming defensive coordinator in 1995, Campo directed a secondary that had grown into one of the team’s most productive units. His 1994 squad led the NFL in pass defense and coached strong safety Darren Woodson to All-Pro honors in 1995.

Most recently, Campo returned to the Cowboys where he spent the past four seasons (2008-11) working with the secondary. During that time he coached two players, Terence Newman and Mike Jenkins, to Pro Bowl appearances.

Prior to moving back to Dallas, Campo spent three seasons as the secondary coach and assistant head coach for Jack Del Rio’s defense in Jacksonville. In each of his three years in Jacksonville, Campo’s secondary either set – or exceeded – club records for interceptions.

In his final season with the Jags, Campo helped guide the club to an 11-5 record and a wildcard berth in the playoffs. Jacksonville defeated Pittsburgh in an opening round road win before bowing out to the eventual undefeated AFC Champion Patriots in Foxborough. Under Campo, Rashean Mathis became the first Jaguars cornerback to be voted to the Pro Bowl as he tied for third in the NFL with a team-record eight interceptions in 2006.

Prior to joining the Jaguars, Campo served as the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns for two seasons (2003-2004). Under his guidance the 2003 Browns defense finished with the club’s best overall performance in 10 seasons.

Campo began his coaching career at his alma mater, Central Connecticut State, where he spent the 1971-72 seasons. He then moved to the University of Albany (1973), Bridgeport (1974), the University of Pittsburgh (1975), Washington State (1976), Boise State (1977-79), Oregon State (1980), Weber State (1981-82), Iowa State (1983) and Syracuse (1984-86). In addition to starring at defensive back in college, Campo twice earned All-East honors at shortstop at Central Connecticut State.

— KU Sports Information —

Ravens win fourth straight with victory over Peru

Posted on January 13, 2012

The Benedictine (Kan.) men’s basketball team used a 60 percent shooting effort on Thursday night to take their fourth straight game beating Peru State College, 76-61.

Benedictine (9-7, 4-1 HAAC) knocked in 18 of 30 from the field in the second half to turn a three-point game at the half into a 15-point win over Peru State (1-17, 0-6 HAAC).

The Ravens forced the Bobcats into 23 turnovers off which they scored 26 points.

Benedictine finished with three players in double figures, led by the game-high 16-point effort of forward Charlie Wallrapp.

Peru State was paced by the 16-point effort of Derrick Williams.

Benedictine heads out on the road Saturday as they take on Central Methodist University at 2 p.m. in Fayette, Mo.

— BC Sports Information —

Benedictine women cruise past Peru State

Posted on January 13, 2012

The Benedictine (Kan.) College women’s basketball team scored a season-high 84 points on Thursday night to earn a convincing 84-56 win over conference opponent Peru State College.

Benedictine (8-8, 3-2 HAAC) converted on 51.8 from the floor while limiting Peru State (0-18, 0-6 HAAC) to just 36.4 percent.

Peru State entered the contest as the second-highest overall scoring team in the HAAC but suffered the 28-point loss despite scoring higher than their season average of 60.6 points per game.

Defensively, Benedictine forced 13 turnovers and scored 13 points off those turnovers.

The Raven bench also held a commanding advantage, outscoring the Bobcats 40-14.

Benedictine had five players finish in double figures, led by the game high 18 points of forward Liz Stinson.

Peru State was led by forward Courtney Ward with 14 points.

Benedictine heads out on the road Saturday for a 2 p.m. game in Fayette, Mo., against Central Methodist University.

— BC Sports Information —

Griffons lose fifth straight with OT loss to Truman State

Posted on January 11, 2012

Despite a hard fought game and the best efforts of TJ Johnson’s double-double, Missouri Western Griffons fell to the Truman State Bulldogs 87-86 in overtime at the MWSU Fieldhouse. It was a tight game with neither team leading by more than seven points throughout the contest.

The Griffons held a lead by the smallest of margins at half time, 38-37 over the visiting Truman State Bulldogs. Missouri Western opened with a quick layup by Lavonte Douglas to put the first points on the board and raced out to a quick 7-2 advantage. However, Tom Norton quickly pulled Truman State back into the game with a couple of long range shots as the Bulldogs pulled back to within one. The teams were even for much of the half with seven ties and four lead changes. The Griffons had 12 fouls in the frame, but Truman State was unable to capitalize as they only shot 57% (8-14) from the free throw line.

The second half opened with cold shooting as both teams combined to miss their first 7 attempts from the floor. A technical foul on the Griffons bench allowed Truman State to take a 55-51 lead which they eventually stretched to the largest lead of the game 62-55. The Griffons fought back to tie the score at 72 with 14 seconds left. On the next possession Truman State had a chance for a basket under the rim but excellent defense by Lavonte Douglas forced an errant shot by EJ Hicks and the teams went to overtime.

Missouri Western opened with two quick baskets in the extra frame to take a 76-72 lead, but Tom Norton hit a deep three point shot for Truman to pull back within one point. After trading baskets the Bulldogs emerged with an 83-81 lead on a layup by Mike Carlson with 1:16 left in the game. Truman State was able to milk the clock down and bury their free throws to ice the contest. With the loss the Griffons fall to 1-7 in MIAA play, and 6-8 overall, while Truman State improves to 3-5 in the MIAA and 5-10 overall.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Bearcats’ comeback falls short against Central

Posted on January 11, 2012

Kyle Haake’s last second three-point attempt rimed out as the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats’ comeback attempt fell just short Wednesday night in a 63-60 loss to Central Missouri in MIAA men’s basketball action.

Northwest fell to 12-2 on the year as the Bearcats dropped just their second conference game of the season to fall to 6-2. The Mules improved to 9-4 overall and 5-3 in league play.

After trailing by as many as 17 points the Bearcats fought back in the second half to tie the game with 2:14 left in the game. However, senior Boo Hunter would answer for the Mules with a three-pointer putting UCM up for good.

The Bearcats had their chances late in the game as UCM missed a pair of free throws and Jake Reinders pulled in the rebound with 12 seconds left. Haake would fire one last three-point attempt with three seconds left in the game, but it would fall off the mark just ahead of the buzzer.

The Mules scored the game’s first 14 points as Dillon Starzl hit two free throws at the 13 minute mark for the Bearcats first points of the game.

From there it would be an uphill battle for the Bearcats as UCM would go on to shoot a blistering 65 percent from the field in the first half.

The hot shooting would not last for the Mules who built a 15 point lead at the half. The Bearcat defense, however would lock in for the final 20 minutes.

Both teams finished a solid second half as the tides turned with Northwest shooting over 45 percent and holding the Mules under the 30 percent mark. During the comeback the Bearcats benefited from a poor free throw shooting performance by the Mules as the top ranked defense locked in.

The Bearcats were able to hold onto the top spot in the league despite the loss as second-place Washburn loss at Pittsburg State.

Northwest returns home for the battle of the Bearcats as they host Southwest Baptist at 3:30 p.m. inside Bearcat Arena. SBU enters Saturday’s contest winners of their last four games including wins over Washburn and Fort Hays State.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Mizzou bounces back for road win at Iowa State

Posted on January 11, 2012

No. 9 Missouri was down to five players with a minute left and the host Cyclones breathing down its neck.

The undermanned Tigers responded in the clutch yet again and put their only loss of the season behind them.

Matt Pressey led six players in double figures with 14 points and the Tigers got past Iowa State 76-69 on Wednesday night.

Phil Pressey and Ricardo Ratliffe each added 12 points for the Tigers (15-1, 2-1 Big 12), who bounced back from a 75-59 loss at Kansas State with a team effort — even though that team normally uses only seven players.

“We were mentally tough down the stretch, as far as getting stops and rebounding,” Matt Pressey said. “We’ve really grown from that standpoint.”

The only Missouri player to fall short of 10 points was leading scorer Marcus Denmon. But he had a game-high seven assists and four crucial free throws in the final 21 seconds after Kim English and Steve Moore had fouled out.

Missouri pushed a four-point lead to 72-66 on Ratliffe’s hook shot with 32 seconds left. Iowa State’s Chris Allen responded with a quick 3, but Denmon put the Cyclones away at the line.

“They’ve bought into playing together as a team,” Missouri coach Frank Haith said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can score. But we don’t have a lot of guys. It’s no secret. We’re not going to get any taller between now and the end of the year. We’re not going to add any dudes. This is what we got.”

Scott Christopherson had 19 points and Allen scored 17 for Iowa State (12-4, 2-1), which lost for the first time in eight games.

Royce White finished with 16 points and six rebounds, but he was just 2 of 8 from the free throw line. The Cyclones were outrebounded 38-27, hit only four 3s in the second half and went 13 of 25 from the line.

The Cyclones were also outscored 40-20 in the paint by Missouri, which has just two legitimate big men in Ratliffe and Moore.

“I just didn’t give the right effort,” White said. “It was just an effort thing.”

Missouri, the Big 12’s best 3-point shooting team so far, shot just 29 percent from long range in its loss to the Wildcats last weekend. The Tigers again struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just four of their first 19 tries. But they took a slight edge early in the second half by dominating the boards and converting their opportunities from inside.

Consecutive jumpers by English and Denmon put the Tigers up 53-48 midway through the second half. Phil Pressey then drilled a crucial 3 from the corner and Michael Dixon hit an easy layup off a turnover to make it 66-58 Missouri with 4:52 to go.

“They made the effort plays all night. We executed our game plan perfectly. They make five 3s in 21 attempts. We just weren’t tough enough,” Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said.

White was coming off the sixth triple-double in a Big 12 game, going for 10 points, 10 assists and 18 rebounds in Saturday’s 74-50 win at Texas A&M.

White was fired up from the tip, screaming in Ratliffe’s face after the opening basket. But White seemed a little too amped up because he picked up two fouls in the first 5 minutes.

The Cyclones withstood White’s foul trouble and poor rebounding in the first half thanks to eight 3s in 12 tries — capped by Christopherson’s half-court heave that rattled home at the buzzer to give Iowa State a 38-36 lead.

“It was a nice momentum boost. It would have felt a lot better if we would have taken care of the glass,” Christopherson said.

Missouri was one of the nation’s biggest surprises in nonconference play. The Tigers blew out Notre Dame and Cal and beat Villanova and Illinois. They opened Big 12 play with an 87-49 wipeout of Oklahoma to move to 14-0 for the fourth time in school history.

But Kansas State is no slouch itself, and the Wildcats showed it by running out to a 44-25 halftime lead and cruising to the win.

Though the Tigers finished below 30 percent from 3-point range for the second game in a row, they had just enough to get past the streaking Cyclones.

“We had a tough loss at Kansas State, and when we came back the next day in practice, the whole week we focused on being mentally tough,” Matt Pressey said. “Not so much physically, but being mentally tough on both ends, defense and offense.”

— Associated Press —

Western women rally past Truman for third straight win

Posted on January 11, 2012

Alex Noble gave the Missouri Western women their first lead of the game with 31 seconds remaining in a 65-64 comeback win over Truman State at the MWSU Fieldhouse. Western’s third straight MIAA win moved their record to 5-8 overall and 3-6 in the MIAA. Truman fell to 8-5 and 3-5.

Jessica Koch brought the Griffons within two after her three found the bottom of the net with 3:30 remaining. Brittany Griswold’s career-high 23rd point tied the teams at 59 with just under two minutes to play. After Nicole Gloor made one of two free-throw attempts to put Truman back ahead 60-59, Koch fired another three that missed, but Noble was there to clean up and give Western the lead for good.

Alicia Bell made four free-throws down the stretch to extend the lead. Beka McHenry brought Truman within one with nine seconds to go but two of Bell’s free-throws sealed the victory. Bell finished with eight points, six in the second half.

The Griffons escaped to the halftime locker room down just nine points. Griswold went into the break having tied her career high with 17 points. The Bulldogs led by as many as 16 in the first frame on the heels of hot shooting. Truman shot 55 percent from the field and 60 percent behind the arc. Breanna Daniels was 2-2 from three and Allie Norton made one of her three triple point attempts. The Griffons took 11 shots from behind the arc, with just two finding the bottom of the net.

Koch extended her double digit scoring streak to 23 games, chipping in 14 including two three’s in the second half. Koch led the Griffons with 8 rebounds, while Griswold and Bell each added seven. Bell was the only Griffon with more than one assist, finishing with five.

Western will return to action Jan. 14 when they travel to Warrensburg to take on the Jennies. The Griffons face off with Southwest Baptist in Bolivar on Jan. 17 before returning home on the 21st to host Pittsburg State.

— MWSU Sports Information —