Sports – Page 370 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Emmanuel’s career-high leads Griffons past Haskell for third straight win

Posted on December 19, 2016

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western men’s basketball team won its third consecutive game Monday night, beating Haskell Indian Nations 88-69. The Griffons shot a season best 55.2 percent from the field and had five players scoring in double figures for the first time this season.

HEADLINES
– Aaron Emmanuel set a career high, scoring 25 points for MWSU.
– The Griffons forced 16 turnovers, the second most of the season.
– 88 points is the most points for Missouri Western since last season’s win over Lindenwood and the second straight game the team has achieved a season-high point total.
– Haskell made just three free throws, finishing with a 33.3 percent from the free-throw line.

TOP PERFORMERS
– Aaron Emmanuel — along with his game high 25 points — grabbed seven rebounds, dished out five assists and went 5-6 at the free-throw line and 10-13 from the field.
– Cole Clearman was a perfect 4-4 at the free-throw line and has made 12 of his last 12 at the charity stripe over the last two games; he was also 3-6 from the three-point arc, ending with 17 points.
– Joe Hamilton and TJ Evans combined for 24 points, including six three-pointers.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western (4-8, 0-3) returns to MIAA play on the road with a New Year’s Eve trip to Central Oklahoma (7-3, 2-1).

— MWSU Athletics —

Missouri Western women dominate Haskell 99-40

Posted on December 19, 2016

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western women’s basketball team did what they were supposed to Monday night, shooting better than 53 percent from the field and dominating Haskell 99-40 for the team’s 10th win of the season.

HEADLINES
– All 12 Griffons scored in the game
– Missouri Western didn’t allow double-digit points in any of the first three quarters
– The Griffons scored 40 points off 30 Haskell turnovers
– Missouri Western out-rebounded Haskell 40-18

TOP PERFORMERS
– Erin Anderson led the Griffons with 14 points on 5-9 shooting from the field
– Lakota Goe had a team-high and career-high seven rebounds
– Sefulu Faavae had a team-high six assists
– Savannah Lentz and Julia Torres each scored 13; Trudy Peterson had 12 and Dwanisha Tate added 10 points

UP NEXT
Missouri Western (10-2, 2-1) returns to MIAA play on the road with a New Year’s Eve trip to Central Oklahoma (10-0, 3-0).

— MWSU Athletics —

Missouri women hang on to defeat UC Riverside 68-62

Posted on December 19, 2016

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball (10-3) extended its season-high winning streak to four games on Monday, defeating visiting UC-Riverside, 68-62. The Tigers claimed their 10th victory of the year, marking their sixth consecutive season with 10-plus wins in nonconference action.

Sophomore Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo.) and senior Sierra Michaelis (Mercer, Mo.) paced the Tigers’ offense Monday with respective double-doubles. Porter finished with a career-high 26 points and 12 rebounds and Michaelis posted 10 points and a season-high 11 rebounds. It marked the second time this season that a Tiger duo posted double-doubles in the same game, joining Lindsey Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) and Porter’s strong performances against SIU-Edwardsville (Dec. 7).

Mizzou was sensational in the opening quarter, shooting 9-of-12 (75-percent) from the field. The Tigers jumped out to a 16-0 lead early. In the quarter, they hit both shots from behind the arc and went 7-of-7 from the charity stripe to key their strong opening 10 minutes of play. Mizzou’s defense also played well in the first quarter, limiting UC-Riverside to 4-of-18 (22-percent) shooting.

Sophomore Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) delivered a perfect shooting performance in the first quarter, hitting all three shots from the field and all five attempts from the free throw line. Cunningham’s 12 quick points marked her 10th double-digit scoring outing of the season. She finished with 14 points.

Early in the second quarter, Porter surpassed double-digit points with a contested layup. Porter has tallied 10-plus points in each of Mizzou’s 13 games so far this season. Her consistent dominance in the post allowed Mizzou to take a 41-29 lead into halftime.

The Tigers’ offense struggled to open the second half, allowing the Highlanders to pull within single digits on multiple occasions. Porter continued to pace Mizzou in the third quarter with 10 points in the frame. She had 20 points through 30 minutes of game clock.

Porter continued her standout evening in the fourth quarter, as she clinched her team-leading sixth double-double this season. She notched six of Mizzou’s last 10 points to close the game. UC Riverside managed to cut the deficit to as low as four with less than three minutes remaining, but Porter earned another trip to the free throw line and made both foul shots to push the Tigers back up by six. Mizzou clamped down and got the stops it needed to hold off the Highlanders.

Mizzou concludes its 2016 non-conference schedule on Wednesday, Dec. 21, with a game at Saint Louis. The Tigers and Billikens are set for a 7 p.m. (CT) tip inside Chaifetz Arena.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Northwest Missouri State introduces Rich Wright as head football coach

Posted on December 19, 2016

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State University has named Rich Wright as the 20th head coach of Bearcat football. Wright was officially introduced during a press conference on Monday afternoon at the J.W. Student Union on the Northwest campus. Wright takes over for Adam Dorrel, who was announced Monday morning as the new head coach at Abilene Christian University.

“Number one, Rich Wright is a teacher,” said Director of Athletics Mel Tjeerdsma. “He is always very well organized, he is very passionate, very personable and definitely a motivator. He really has a great football mind more than anything else.”

Wright, a native of Hamilton, N.Y., has been a member of the Bearcat coaching staff since 2004, serving as the program’s defensive coordinator and assistant head coach the past six seasons. Since the 2004 season, Northwest is 163-22 overall and 119-10 in MIAA play. He has helped lead Northwest to eight NCAA title games, capturing four championship trophies.

The Bearcats have led the nation the past three seasons in total defense, allowing just 240.9 yards per game in 2016. Northwest was also the NCAA’s top rushing defense and scoring defense the past two seasons. Wright has twice been named the ProGrass Division II Coordinator of the Year, winning the award following the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

Three former players have been on NFL rosters, Longacre, Dave Tollefson and Steve Williams. Each have spent time with the Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs, Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots. Tollefson is a two-time Super Bowl Champion, earning his first ring with the New York Giants in 2007 and again following the 2011 season.

Wright earned his master’s degree from Northwest in 1996 and received his undergraduate degree from Dana College in 1995. After serving two years as a Northwest graduate assistant during the 1995 and 1996 seasons, he coached at Dakota State in 1997 and Central Methodist in 1998. Wright spent the 1999 season at William Penn University before taking a job at St. Ambrose University where he worked for four years from 2000-03. He is married to Sarah Wright, also a Northwest alum, and their two daughters, Grace and Katie.

— Northwest Athletics —

Missouri State rolls past Chicago State 66-46

Posted on December 19, 2016December 20, 2016

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Dequon Miller scored 18 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, to lead Missouri State to a 66-46 win over Chicago State in Monday night’s campus round of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic.

Obediah Church added 12 points and Jarrid Rhodes collected 11 rebounds for Missouri State (8-3), which never trailed. Miller hit 6 of 14 from the field and went 3 for 5 from the line.

A 3-pointer from Rhodes just after the break gave Missouri State its largest lead, 44-26.

Chicago State chipped away and cut the deficit to 10 with a 6-0 burst midway through the second half to trail 52-42 with 8:51 left. Anthony Eaves, Trayvon Palmer and Joshua Batson each had buckets in the run but it was as close as the Cougars got.

Palmer finished with 13 points and Montana Byrd had 11 for Chicago State (3-9).

— Associated Press —

Griffons defeat Baker 78-62 for second consecutive win

Posted on December 18, 2016

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western men’s basketball team won back-to-back games for the first time this season Sunday as they were able to defeat Baker inside the MWSU Fieldhouse 78-62.

HEADLINES
– The 78 points scored were the most for the team this season, better than the 73 in a loss at William Jewell
– It was the second straight win for the team which is now 3-8
– Missouri Western closed the game on a 16-2 run, after leading by just two with 4:05 left
– The Griffons shot better than 47 percent from the field and missed just two free throws (20-22)

TOP PERFORMERS
– TJ Evans scored a career-high 25 points on 50% shooting from the field (8-16)
– Cole Clearman was 6-9 from the field and 8-8 from the free throw line, scoring 19 of his 22 points in the second half
– Beau Baker had a team-high six rebounds

UP NEXT
Missouri Western improves to 3-8 this season as they’re back in action Monday. The women and men play a doubleheader against Haskell Indian Nations beginning at 5:30 p.m. inside the MWSU Fieldhouse. Both game will air on 680 KFEQ or you can click here to listen.

— MWSU Athletics —

Chiefs blow 14-point lead to Titans, lose on Succop’s 53-yard FG as time expires

Posted on December 18, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Ryan Succop kicked a 53-yard field goal into the wind as time expired Sunday to give the Tennessee Titans a 19-17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on a frigid afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium.

Succop, who spent the first part of his career with Kansas City, came up short on his first try at the winner, but Chiefs coach Andy Reid had called a timeout just before the snap. Given a second chance, Succop knocked it through with a couple feet to spare as the Titans poured off the bench to celebrate.

The Titans’ rallied from a 17-7 hole, and Derrick Henry’s second touchdown got Tennessee (8-6) within 17-16 with just over three minutes left. But Titans coach Mike Mularkey went for the 2-point conversion and the lead. Marcus Mariota was pressured immediately and his pass never reached the end zone.

But the Chiefs (10-4), trying to clinch a playoff spot, were unable to pick up enough first downs to run out the clock and Tennessee got the ball back with a minute left. With no timeouts, Mariota calmly found Rishard Matthews for 19 yards and Delanie Walker twice to set up Succop’s field-goal attempt.

The dramatic late-game turn came after Tennessee squandered plenty of chances early in the game.

Matthews fumbled within sight of the goal line in the first half, ending the Titans’ streak of four straight games without a turnover. And Mariota, a Hawaii native, had plenty of trouble dealing with the cold weather, fumbling the ball away and throwing an interception to Ron Parker .

It was 1 degree at kickoff at Arrowhead Stadium, with a wind chill of minus-19, making it the coldest game in Kansas City since the franchise began keeping records in 1994.

Still, the Chiefs got off to a hot start in the cold weather when Tyreek Hill faked like he was running an option play and took an inside handoff instead, running untouched 68 yards for a first-quarter touchdown.

It was the sixth touchdown for the dynamic rookie in the last four weeks.

Smith added his touchdown later in the half, and Cairo Santos knocked through a field goal, but the Chiefs blew a couple of opportunities. They were repelled twice at the 1-yard line and came away without any points, and Smith threw an interception in the end zone early in the second half.

Succop hit from 39 yards early in the fourth quarter make it a one-possession game, and the Titans promptly got the ball back and marched the other way, twice converting on third down and once on fourth to set up Henry’s 1-yard TD plunge. The 2-point conversion attempt was a disaster, but it wound up being moot.

The Titans’ defense and Succop’s strong right leg made sure of it.

WEATHER WOES

The record for coldest game at Arrowhead Stadium had been 9 degrees before Sunday. It was so cold that the fuses in the west scoreboard freeze, blanking out a large section of it for much of the game.

INJURY UPDATE

The Titans lost safety Da’Norris Searcy to a concussion and cornerback Jason McCourty to a chest injury in the first half. Defensive tackle Karl Klug left with an ankle injury in the second half.

UP NEXT

Chiefs play Denver on Christmas night.

Titans visit Jacksonville on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

K-State women overcome slow start to cruise past Princeton

Posted on December 18, 2016December 18, 2016

MANHATTAN, Kansas – After a sluggish first half, Kansas State used a strong second half defensive performance to outscore Princeton, 38-17, in the second half on the way to a 60-42 win on Sunday afternoon at Bramlage Coliseum.

The 17 points surrendered by K-State in the second half were the fewest points K-State has allowed since the NCAA switched to four quarters prior to the start of the 2015-16 season. The Wildcats entered Sunday ranked 17th in the nation in scoring defense and eighth in the country in field goal percentage defense.

With the win, Kansas State improved to 10-1 on the season. This is the third straight season, all under the direction of head coach Jeff Mittie, K-State has opened a season with 10 wins in the first 11 games of a season. Mittie is the only coach in program history to begin three straight seasons with a 10-1 record.

K-State was led by senior guard Kindred Wesemann with a game-high 15 points while adding five rebounds and three steals to her final stat line. This was Wesemann’s 10th game this season in double figures.

Joining Wesemann in double figures was junior forward Kaylee Page with 12 points off the bench. Page also hauled in a personal season-high seven rebounds.

Princeton (4-6) was paced by Gabrielle Rush with 12 points.

K-State shot 34.6 percent (18-of-52) from the field for the game, boosted by a 60.0 percent effort in the third quarter. Princeton stumbled to a 25.9 percent (15-of-58) effort, including a 19.2 percent (5-of-26) performance from beyond the arc.

The Tigers held a 43-40 edge on the boards, but K-State forced 23 turnovers including 14 by way of Wildcat steals.

After trailing by three at the half, K-State started the third quarter with an 8-3 run to secure a 30-28 lead with 6:28 remaining in the frame. It was the first lead for the Wildcats since 6:13 of the first quarter.

Page started the run with a three-pointer from the corner, followed by Wesemann burying her third 3-pointer of the afternoon. Karyla Middlebrook put K-State in front with a fastbreak layup which featured a spin move in the lane before finishing the attempt. Middlebrook finished the day with eight points, four assists and three steals.

After Princeton regained a 32-30 lead, Shaelyn Martin scored four quick points to start a 12-0 run for the Wildcats and push K-State into a 42-32 lead with under a minute to play in the third quarter. Martin drained a free throw line jumper and followed with two free throws. Page then added five straight points, including her second 3-pointer of the quarter. Kayla Goth capped the run with a steal and fastbreak layup. K-State outscored Princeton 20-9 in the quarter.

In the final quarter, K-State registered seven of its first 11 points from the foul line to increase its lead to 53-39 with 3:28 to play. Princeton was unable to close any closer than 13 points for the remainder of the game, as K-State outscored the Tigers 18-8 in the final frame.

Neither team played a game over the last week and the first five minutes numbers showed the effects, as the teams combined for a 5-of-15 performance from the field, including a 2-of-9 start by the Wildcats. K-State would end the quarter down 13-8, shooting 2-of-12 from the floor with five turnovers. This was the second straight game K-State scored eight points in the first quarter.

K-State’s offensive struggles continued into the second quarter, as Princeton secured a 16-10 lead with 7:03 remaining in the half forcing a K-State timeout. The Wildcats opened the first 3 minutes of the second quarter shooting 1-of-5 from the floor.

The Wildcats responded with a 12-6 run to tie the game at 22 with under a minute remaining. Princeton was able to end the period with two offensive rebounds before Rush connected on her third 3-pointer of the half to give the Tigers a 25-22 lead at the half.

In the opening half, K-State shot 24.1 percent (7-of-29) from the field, while Princeton carded a 33.3 percent (10-of-30) effort. The 22 first half points were the fewest in an opening half since K-State scored 22 against George Washington in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

Kansas State will close out its regular season non-conference schedule on Thursday, Dec. 22, at Northern Iowa. Game time is 7 p.m.

— K-State Athletics —

Nebraska loses at home to Gardner-Webb 70-62

Posted on December 18, 2016December 18, 2016

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Tyrell Nelson knew what Sunday’s 70-62 win over Nebraska means for Gardner-Webb.

“This is huge, this one is huge,” Nelson said. “We somewhat struggled in the beginning (of the season) but this win is very big for us, going into the Christmas break and going into conference. It’s very, very big for us.”

Nelson scored 15 of his 24 points in the second half to help Gardner-Webb beat Nebraska 70-62 on Sunday.

Nebraska cut it to 62-60 on Tai Webster’s free throws with 2:21 left. But Gardner-Webb hit 3 of 4 free-throw attempts down the stretch and David Efianayi hit a game-clinching layup with 29 seconds left.

Efianayi had 11 points for Gardner-Webb (7-5). The Bulldogs shot 44 percent from the field, 48 percent in the second half, and made 12 of 17 second-half free throws.

Tai Webster led Nebraska (5-6) with 17 points. Glynn Watson Jr. had 14 points and Ed Morrow Jr. pulled down 15 rebounds.

Nebraska coach Tim Miles was despondent with his team’s listless performance in front of 8,144 fans in the usually-packed 14,000-seat Pinnacle Bank Arena..

“I never dreamt in five years this is where we would be, losing to Gardner-Webb,” Miles said. “We’re not where we should be. The issue is us. It’s us and our mindset.

“It was the smallest crowd I’d ever seen at Pinnacle Bank Arena and we told our guys it was going to be. We had bad weather, you’ve got a lot of things going on, and we’re going to have to create our own energy. We talked about that, and we didn’t.”

Nebraska led by as many as seven in the first half, but the cold-shooting Huskers saw that lead cut to just two at intermission. Nebraska hit just 40 percent of its shots for the game, made 15 of 26 free throws and committed 20 turnovers.

The Bulldogs opened up a four-point lead early in the second half, but a 5-0 spurt by Nebraska put the Huskers up 36-35. Gardner-Webb took the lead for good on Nelson’s 3-pointer to make it 45-43 with 12:57 left and opened the advantage to seven on Efianayi’s free throws five minutes later.

Beating a Big Ten team on the road was critical for Gardner-Webb going forward, said coach Tim Craft.

“I think what it does for our players is it validates some of the things that we’ve been talking to them as a coaching staff about and how good they can be if they can play in a stance all the time and defend with max effort all the time,” Craft said. “It’s exciting to see them have success against a team in the Big Ten.”

BIG PICTURE

Gardner-Webb: The Bulldogs traveled from North Carolina to the heartland to wrap up their pre-conference season.

Nebraska: The Huskers have played the toughest schedule in the country, according to the NCAA RPI. Five of Nebraska’s first 10 opponents are in the top 50 of the RPI, tying for the national lead.

UP NEXT

Gardner Webb is at Kansas State Tuesday.

Nebraska hosts Southern on Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

Wetly has career day as No. 1 Bearcats clobber Northeastern State

Posted on December 17, 2016

The Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team defeated Northeastern State, 96-63, on Saturday afternoon at the NSU Event Center in Tahlequah, Okla.

– Top ranked Northwest moves to 11-0 on the year and 4-0 in conference play. The RiverHawks fall to 2-9 and 1-3 in MIAA action.

– Freshman Ryan Welty tied a Bearcat single-game record with nine three-pointers, going 9-of-9. He finished the game with a career-high 29 points.

– He has now made 14 consecutive three-pointers which is an MIAA record. The previous mark was set back in 2004 at 11 consecutive makes.

– Justin Pitts scored 18 points with a career-high 12 rebounds for his first career double-double. Pitts added four rebounds and a steal.

Key Northwest Statistics
– The Bearcats shot 58.7 percent from the field (27-46) and hit 18-of-34 long range attempts (52.9 percent).

– Northwest outrebounded the RiverHawks, 28-19.

– Zach Schneider was 5-of-11 from beyond the arc, bringing his career total to 298 makes, two away from the MIAA record. Schneider added three rebounds.

– Chris-Ebou Ndow had 11 points in the game and Anthony Woods added nine.

– Woods grabbed a game-best seven rebounds while Brett Dougherty had six boards.

Key Northwest Sequence
– Northwest pulled away with a 13-0 run early in the second half, taking a commanding 63-44 lead with 13:59 left to play. Doughery started the run with a layup off a Pitts assist. Ndow converted a layup and then hit a pair of free throws to make it a 12-point game, 56-44. Schneider knocked down his third three-pointer of the contest to make it 59-44. Ndow added a free throw in the run and Welty nailed a long range bomb with 13:59 left to put the Bearcats up, 63-44.

Up Next
– Northwest will host Simpson College on Saturday, Dec. 31, against Simpson College at 2 p.m. before returning to MIAA play on Thursday, Jan. 5, at 7:30 p.m. against Missouri Southern at Bearcat Arena.

— Northwest Athletics —