BOYS
CAMERON TOURNAMENT – Semifinal
Maryville 45
Bishop LeBlond 43 (9-9)
BOLIVAR TOURNAMENT – 1st Round
West Plains 67
Benton 60 (5-11)
GIRLS
LEBANON TOURNAMENT – 1st Round
Benton 54 (16-0)
Walnut Grove 42
Category: Sports
No. 11 Missouri women lose road game at No. 21 Georgia
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Caliya Robinson recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds and No. 21 Georgia celebrated its return to the Top 25 by beating No. 11 Missouri 62-50 on Thursday night.
Que Morrison had 17 points and Haley Clark had 14 in the Lady Bulldogs’ sixth straight win.
Georgia (18-2, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) broke a second-place tie in the league with Mizzou (17-3, 5-2). Sophie Cunningham led the Tigers with 20 points.
With 1:21 remaining, Robinson missed two free throws. Morrison rebounded the second miss and passed back to Robinson, who made a layup for a 56-48 lead.
Georgia entered the Top 25 this week for the first time since Feb. 9, 2015.
Georgia made only one of its last 11 shots from the field in the third quarter. Missouri’s Amber Smith sank a 3-pointer late in the period to cut the Lady Bulldogs’ lead to 40-39.
The Lady Bulldogs opened the final period with a 10-3 run that included back-to-back baskets by Mackenzie Engram.
— Associated Press —
Former Royal Lorenzo Cain signs with Milwaukee
Free-agent outfielder Lorenzo Cain has reached agreement on a five-year, $80 million deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, a baseball source told ESPN on Thursday.
Cain has passed his physical, the source said, and the Brewers likely will formally introduce him on Friday.
The deal comes on the heels of the Brewers acquiring outfielder Christian Yelich from the Miami Marlins in a trade for four prospects earlier Thursday.
Cain’s new contract is for the longest term and biggest payout of any MLB free-agent deal this offseason. It surpasses Carlos Santana’s three-year, guaranteed $60 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies in December.
The deal includes no-trade protection and award bonuses of $300,000 for each All-Star team Cain makes and $500,000 for an MVP Award, the source said.
Cain, 31, returns to the organization where he began his professional career. He was a 17th-round pick by the Brewers out of Madison County High School in Florida in 2004 and broke into the majors with Milwaukee in 2010.
The following year, the Brewers sent Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress to Kansas City in a trade for pitcher Zack Greinke. Cain made the 2015 All-Star team, finished third in American League MVP balloting and was a pivotal member of Kansas City’s ’15 World Championship team.
Cain is a career .290 hitter who is known as an exceptional defender. He was an AL Gold Glove finalist in center field last season along with Toronto’s Kevin Pillar and Minnesota’s Byron Buxton, who won the award.
The Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays were among the other clubs that had expressed interest in Cain before he reached agreement with Milwaukee.
— ESPN.com —
Mizzou gets blown out by No. 19 Auburn 91-73
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Jared Harper scored 21 points, Bryce Brown and Desean Murray each added 16, and No. 19 Auburn pulled away from Missouri in a 91-73 victory Wednesday night.
Five players scored in double figures for Auburn, including Mustapha Heron — who had 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
After the teams went back and forth for the first 25 minutes, Auburn (18-2, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) used a 20-2 run to put away Missouri. The stretch featured spot-up shooting and a fast-break offense that keys the SEC’s highest-scoring team.
Kassius Robertson led Missouri (13-7, 3-4) with 21 points, but his team hurt itself with 21 turnovers to 10 for Auburn. Jordan Barnett broke out of a scoring slump with 19 points.
Despite outrebounding Auburn 40-31, Missouri had nine shots blocked. Anfernee McLemore had six blocks for Auburn, adding to his conference-leading total of 61.
Missouri relied heavily on 3-pointers, which accounted for 11 of the team’s 21 field goals. Barnett went 5 of 8 and Robertson was 3 for 10 from long range.
BIG PICTURE
Auburn: The Tigers have rebounded nicely from their second loss of the season.
Missouri: Sloppy offense cost Missouri, and in the end, these Tigers simply couldn’t keep up with Auburn. Missouri continues to pride itself on defense, but it hasn’t always been able to make up for its offensive deficiencies.
UP NEXT
Auburn returns home to play LSU on Saturday.
Missouri visits Mississippi State on Saturday, the first stop on a two-game road trip.
— Associated Press —
Copeland scores 23 as Nebraska wins at Rutgers
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — For all the scoring that Isaac Copeland did against Rutgers, it was one of the little things that gave Nebraska a much-needed road win.
Copeland scored 23 points and came up with a clutch rebound in the final minute to lead Nebraska to 60-54 victory Wednesday night.
Copeland’s rebound of a missed 3-pointer by James Palmer Jr. with 54 seconds to play and the Cornhuskers ahead by two points allowed Nebraska to take time off the clock and led to a layup by Glynn Watson Jr. with 29 seconds that all but sealed the game.
“That was big for us,” said Copeland, who hit 9 of 15 shots from the field, including 3 of 5 from long range. “They had the momentum. Palmer got a good shot and he missed it and I got the rebound. Put a fresh 30 on the clock, so it was big for us.
In a game where Rutgers came up a possession or two short, coach Steve Pikiell felt the rebound was a difference maker.
“Huge,” Pikiell said. “Huge. We did a good job. We wanted him taking 3s and not driving it. A long rebound on the 3 and we can’t secure it. There were a couple of guys around the ball, too. Every possession is huge in a one-possession game.”
Palmer added 18 points and Watson Jr. made two clutch layups in the final 2:30 as the Cornhuskers (15-8, 6-4 Big Ten) won their second road game of the season.
Corey Sanders had 14 points to lead Rutgers (12-10, 2-7) but he also was called for an offensive foul on a drive with the Scarlet Knights down by four with 14 seconds to play. Geo Baker and Deshawn Freeman added 10 apiece. Freeland also had a game-high 10 rebounds.
The 23-point performance was Copeland’s second-best game since transferring from Georgetown.
“Isaac is building confidence in his entire game,” Nebraska coach Tom Miles said. “It’s a completely different system in what he is accustomed to. He likes certainty. There is some much uncertainty in the motions and reads and all that stuff. But I think he is doing better and better and better and is more comfortable fitting in and that grows confidence.”
Palmer hit a 3-pointer and Copeland made a three and slammed home a rebound in an 8-0 run early in the second half that gave the Cornhuskers a 41-32 lead with 13:23 to play. They would score three baskets the rest of the way but hung on because Rutgers struggled just as much, finishing the game 22 of 65 from the field, or roughly 34 percent.
Nebraska wasn’t much better, converting roughly 40 percent.
“Neither of us, the two teams, are juggernauts offensively. We’re not going to pretend we’re the Warriors,” Miles quipped.
Isaiah Roby added eight points for Nebraska, including five free throws in the final 8:01.
BIG PICTURE
Nebraska: The Cornhuskers were picked to finish 13th in the league. Their 15-8 record is tied for the best in the program since the 2010-11 squad had the same mark after 23 games. Keep it up and they might get back the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014.
Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights have struggled shooting all season and it hurt them again. Sanders, Baker and Freeman are the Big 3 and they were a combined 13 of 38 from the field. Starter Issa Thiam was 1 of 10, 0 for 7 from long range. That’s 14 of 48 shooting from four of the five starters. Mamadou Doucoure was 2 of 3 from the field.
UP NEXT
Nebraska: hosts Iowa Saturday.
Rutgers: at Penn State Saturday.
— Associated Press —
K-State women edged at home by No. 24 TCU
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Amy Okonkwo scored 22 points, including the clinching layup with eight seconds left, and No. 24 TCU celebrated its first appearance in the Top 25 in seven years with a 68-63 win over Kansas State on Wednesday night.
Kianna Ray had a chance to put the Horned Frogs (14-5, 5-3 Big 12) up by two possessions with 11 seconds left but only made the first of two free throws. She atoned for the miss with a steal and then Okonkwo secured their fifth straight win by getting inside on the inbounds play.
Okonkwo had eight points in the third quarter as TCU broke away from a 34-34 halftime tie to lead 58-47 entering the fourth quarter. The Horned Frogs led by 13 with just under nine minutes to play but Ray’s 3-pointer with four minutes to go was their only basket in a 14-3 K-State run. TCU went 1 for 5 with five turnovers before the clinching plays by Ray and Okonkwo.
Kayla Goth had 17 points and 11 assists for the Wildcats (11-9, 3-6).
— Associated Press —
Kansas women lose big at Oklahoma 97-64
NORMAN, Okla. – Kansas women’s basketball couldn’t stop Oklahoma’s hot-shooting night as the Jayhawks fell to the Sooners, 97-64, on Wednesday night inside Lloyd Noble Center.
Although Kansas (11-9, 2-7 Big 12) put together a strong offensive effort in the third period, Oklahoma’s (10-10, 5-4 Big 12) lead from the first half was too great for the Jayhawks to overcome in the final 20 minutes of the ballgame.
For the seventh time in the last nine games, junior guard Brianna Osorio notched a double-digit effort. The Las Vegas, Nevada led KU with 17 points and four rebounds. Junior forward Austin Richardson added 13 points to join Osorio in double figures.
All five of the Sooners’ starters notched double-digit scoring efforts on Wednesday night. Freshman guard Ana Llanusa led the way for OU with 18 points, while freshman guard Shaina Pellington and senior guard Gabbi Ortiz followed closely behind with 17 points apiece. Senior center Vionise Pierre-Louis added 13 points and five rebounds, while senior guard Maddie Manning rounded out the starting five with 11 points. Senior guard LaNesia Williams added 10 points off the bench for OU.
The Jayhawks matched the first two shots the Sooners put up to even the score at four early on in the first quarter. Oklahoma then went on a 12-0 sparked by five-straight points from Llanusa to give OU a 16-4 lead. Redshirt sophomore center Tyler Johnson split up OU’s two runs with a layup, but Manning knocked in five of Oklahoma’s next six points to keep the Sooners on top by 16.
Richardson and junior guard Kylee Kopatich each netted a 3-pointer in hopes of diminishing OU’s lead, but the Sooners finished the period on a 7-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from redshirt junior guard Gileysa Penzo at the buzzer, as OU took a 31-12 lead after the first quarter.
The Sooners opened the second quarter with seven-straight points, including back-to-back buckets from Penzo to extend their lead to 26 with just under eight minutes to go in the second period. Kansas continued to battle back, outscoring the Sooners 11-7 in a three-and-a-half-minute span, but the Jayhawks couldn’t dip out of the 20-point deficit and went into the locker room trailing, 52-26, at the half.
After a slow start to the second half, the Jayhawks settled into a groove midway through the third quarter, going on a 13-1 run completed by a Kopatich layup. KU’s run cut the Oklahoma lead by 10, however, the Sooners held on to a 74-48 lead going into the final period.
The Jayhawks couldn’t slow the Sooners’ offensive pace in the final 10 minutes and fell in the first meeting of the season against Oklahoma, 97-64.
UP NEXT
The Jayhawks return home to face in-state rival Kansas State in the Lawrence edition of the Sunflower Showdown on Sunday, Jan. 28 at 4 p.m., inside Allen Fieldhouse.
— KU Athletics —
Kansas State names Coleman Offensive Coordinator, Dickey and Klein Co-Coordinators
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head football coach Bill Snyder announced Wednesday that wide receivers coach Andre Coleman has been promoted to Offensive Coordinator, while offensive line coach Charlie Dickey and quarterbacks coach Collin Klein have been named co-coordinators. Dickey will coordinate the running game, while Klein will coordinate the passing game.
Coleman, a former K-State wide receiver, has tutored the Wildcat wideouts since 2013 and was elevated to Pass Game Coordinator prior to the 2016 season. Dickey was an original staff member of Snyder’s second tenure in 2009, coaching the offensive line, and he was promoted to Run Game Coordinator prior to the 2016 campaign. Klein will begin his second season tutoring the quarterbacks in 2018.
“We are fortunate to have three coaches who have had so much experience in our offense – a total of about 30 years – both past and present,” Snyder said. “We’ve been blessed to have so many loyal, caring and effective coaches over the years, and these three exemplify those values. I have been pleased with how well these three have worked together.”
A four-year letterwinner at wide receiver under Snyder from 1990-93, Coleman coached a position group that recorded the most receptions and yards ever by a Snyder-led team in 2013 before shattering both those marks in 2014 with 230 receptions for 3,097 yards. That group was headlined by Tyler Lockett, an All-American in 2014 who left K-State as the all-time leader in career receptions (249), yards (3,710) and touchdowns (29), just three of the 17 school records he set in his four-year career thanks in part to Coleman’s teachings.
More recently, Byron Pringle finished his two-year career in 2017 under Coleman after becoming the 30th Wildcat and the seventh former community-college player to top 1,000 career receiving yards. The Tampa, Florida, native set the school record for single-season yards per catch (24.13) in 2017 – a mark that ranked third nationally – while his career mark of 19.64 yards per catch ranks second in K-State history.
Dickey, a 30-year coaching veteran, is regarded as one of the best offensive line coaches in the country having tutored K-State offensive linemen to 22 All-Big 12 honors since his arrival. He has also coached a pair of All-Americans in B.J. Finney, who earned second-team honors in 2014, and Dalton Risner, a first-team honoree this past year.
Under the direction of Dickey, the 2016 line helped K-State set the school record for rushing yards per carry (5.27), rank third in K-State history in total rushing yards (3,013) and rushing yards per game (231.8), and seventh in rushing touchdowns (39). They followed that up in 2017 by tying for third in school history in rushing yards per carry (4.98) and finishing seventh with 2,584 total rushing yards.
A 2012 runner up for the Heisman Trophy after quarterbacking the Wildcats to a Big 12 Championship, Klein just completed his first season as an assistant coach at K-State. Klein joined the staff in 2014 as a quality control coach and assistant director of recruiting before becoming an offensive graduate assistant in 2015. He spent the 2016 season as the quarterbacks coach at Northern Iowa.
Upon his return to K-State in 2017, Klein helped the Wildcats earn their eighth-straight bowl berth despite being forced the start three different quarterbacks due to injury. K-State finished the year ranked 13th in the nation in passing yards per completion (14.48), while the Wildcats’ 141.7 passing efficiency mark ranked eighth in school history.
Under Klein’s tutelage, Jesse Ertz put together the fifth-best pass efficiency mark in a season (150.22) while his 129.5 mark ranked ninth in a career. He also set the school record for lowest interception percentage (1.92) and became the 21st passer in school history to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark in a career. Klein also helped develop redshirt freshman Skylar Thompson, who started the final four games of the season and passed for 689 yards, the fourth most by a freshman in school history. Thompson’s season was highlighted by a Wildcat victory at 10th-ranked Oklahoma State in which he threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns on 10-of-13 aim, good for a 274.89 pass efficiency rating to rank fifth in school history.
Additionally, Alex Delton helped lead the Wildcats to victories against Kansas and Texas Tech, while he came off the bench against UCLA in the Cactus Bowl to rush for 158 yards and three touchdowns to earn Offensive MVP honors.
K-State’s offensive staff, led by Coleman and co-coordinators Dickey and Klein, also includes recently-announced former Wildcats that joined the staff in Zach Hanson (tight ends) and Eric Hickson (running backs).
— K-State Athletics —
City High School Basketball Scores – Tuesday, January 23
BOYS
Central 59 (6-10, 1-1 Suburban)
Truman 54
Hogan Prep 74
Lafayette 57 (12-6)
CAMERON TOURNAMENT – 1st Round
Bishop LeBlond 55 (9-8)
Lafayette County 47
GIRLS
Truman 54
Central 49 (6-11, 1-2 Suburban)
No. 5 KU blows 10-point second half lead, falls at No. 12 Oklahoma 85-80
NORMAN, Okla. — Trae Young vowed to make changes after his spectacular, yet inefficient game against Oklahoma State.
He wasn’t kidding.
Oklahoma’s fabulous freshman point guard had 26 points on just nine field goal attempts, and the 12th-ranked Sooners rallied to beat the fifth-ranked Jayhawks 85-80 on Tuesday night.
Young scored 48 points against Oklahoma State, but he took 39 shots and missed potential game-winning 3-pointers at the end of regulation and overtime in a loss . Before that, he turned the ball over 12 times in a loss to Kansas State.
“The way I played at OSU — I was overly aggressive at OSU,” Young said. “I think tonight, I managed the game a lot better. I got back to the way I was playing before last week and even before K-State. I managed the game a lot better and teammates did a great job of making plays, too.”
Kansas coach Bill Self was impressed with the way Young adjusted.
“Kid played great,” Self said. “I mean he got 26 points on nine shots. That’s very impressive for a guard, and he was very under control and seemed to make the vast majority of the right plays for his team.”
Christian James scored 15 points and Brady Manek added 14 for the Sooners (15-4, 5-3 Big 12), who won their 13th straight at home.
Svi Mykhailiuk scored 24 points and Malik Newman added 20 for Kansas (16-4, 6-2), which had won five straight.
Devonte’ Graham, Kansas’ leading scorer, finished with 11 points on 4-of-19 shooting.
“I just missed shots,” Graham said. “I told the guys in the locker room that you could put this one on me because I felt like I let the team down today. I had good open shots, but I was just missing them.”
Kansas led for most of the second half before Young made two critical, unselfish plays. James’ 3-pointer with 1:09 remaining on an assist from Young put the Sooners up 82-80. Manek later drained a 3-pointer, also on an assist from Young, to make it 85-80 with 25 seconds to play.
“It’s in Trae’s hands to make a read and decision and create,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. “We did that all night, really. He made a good play to find Christian and Christian jumped in there and knocked it down. Brady did the same thing on the next possession. Two big shots.”
Oklahoma effectively limited Kansas center Udoka Azubuike. The 7-footer scored nine points, all in the second half. He played with foul trouble and made just 1 of 7 free throws.
Oklahoma drew the second foul on Azubuike with 10:14 left in the first half and Kansas leading 19-13. The Sooners went on a 13-4 run in the next three minutes to take the lead.
The Sooners led 43-41 at halftime. Young took just four shots and had six assists before the break, and he didn’t attempt a 3-pointer. Newman led Kansas with 15 points in the half and Mykhailiuk added 11. Graham was held to 7 points on 2 for 9 shooting before the break.
Azubuike made three consecutive buckets during a stretch early in the second half to give Kansas a 55-47 lead.
Oklahoma chipped away and got within striking range. The Sooners intentionally fouled Azubuike, a 41-percent free-throw shooter coming in, several times. He missed all five of his free throws in the final 3:37 to help the Sooners get back into the game.
“It was definitely frustrating because we didn’t really get a chance to run anything,” Graham said. “But I guess it was pretty smart on them doing that.”
BIG PICTURE
Kansas: The Jayhawks were two games ahead of the rest of the Big 12 in the loss column and missed a chance to take control of the conference race.
Oklahoma: The Sooners needed a win after the two road losses to unranked opponents. They also helped the rest of the league stay within range of the Jayhawks.
STAT LINES
Young’s nine field-goal attempts were his fewest of the season. He had attempted at least 20 shots in each of his previous five games. He had five turnovers against the Jayhawks, down from 12 against Kansas State and seven against Oklahoma State last week. He also attempted just three 3-pointers after taking 20 against Oklahoma State and at least 10 in each of his previous five games.
COACHES VS. CANCER
Oklahoma’s coaches and staff wore Nike Metcon 3 sneakers to support Suits and Sneakers Week, a Coaches vs. Cancer initiative that benefits the American Cancer Society. The National Association of Basketball Coaches is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Coaches vs. Cancer.
ROAD RUN SNAPPED
Kansas had won 10 straight true road games dating to last season.
UP NEXT
Kansas hosts Texas A&M on Saturday in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Oklahoma travels to Alabama on Saturday in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
— Associated Press —