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Category: Sports

No. 1 Bearcats defeat Lincoln to advance to fourth straight MIAA title game

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KANSAS CITY, Missouri – The No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team advanced to the program’s 14th MIAA Tournament championship game with an 86-69 victory over the Lincoln University Blue Tigers on Saturday at Municipal Auditorium.

Northwest matched the program’s best ever start to a season with victory No. 31. The 1929-30 Bearcats finished their season at 31-0 under head coach Henry Iba.

All five Northwest starters scored in double figures with senior Joey Witthus (23) and freshman Diego Bernard (21) leading the way. It’s the first time since Jan. 31 against Pittsburg State that Northwest had five players reach double figures. Redshirt freshman Trevor Hudgins scored 17 points, handed out seven assists and tallied five steals.

Lincoln (18-12 overall) scored the game’s first six points only to see Northwest come roaring back with a 27-2 run. Northwest buried four of its first five three-point attempts and turned a 6-0 deficit into a 27-8 lead with 12:37 left in the opening half.

The Bearcats led by as many as 22 in the opening 20 minutes at 43-21 with 1:16 left before halftime. Northwest would lead 43-26 at the break.

Northwest extended the lead back to 22 points in the second half at 60-38 on a three-pointer from sophomore Ryan Hawkins with 14:36 to play in the game. Lincoln would pull to within 14 points on two occasions in the second half, but could get no closer.

Northwest shot 50.0 percent from the field, while limiting Lincoln to 43.9 percent shooting. Northwest out-rebounded Lincoln, 38-31.

Northwest will take on the winner of the Washburn-Pittsburg State game in Sunday’s MIAA Tournament championship game. Tip is set for 1 p.m. at Municipal Auditorium.

NOTES: Northwest has won 28 straight games on neutral floors – the longest active streak in the nation … Northwest has won a league-best seven MIAA Tournament titles … Northwest will look to become the first MIAA school to win four straight postseason tournament crowns on Sunday.

— Northwest Athletics —

Mizzou drops regular season finale at home to Ole Miss 73-68

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COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Breein Tyree scored 21 points, Devontae Shuler knocked down clutch baskets late and Ole Miss defeated Missouri 73-68 on Saturday to snap its three-game losing streak.

Missouri had a shot to tie the game with fewer than 20 seconds left, but Rebels’ forward Bruce Stevens stuffed Jordan Geist’s layup attempt and guard Terence Davis knocked down a pair of free throws to secure an Ole Miss victory.

Mississippi trailed 34-26 at halftime but Tyree’s 3-pointer tied it at 46 with 12:20 remaining and another 3-pointer gave Ole Miss the lead, 60-59 with 5:03 to go. Later, it was sophomore guard Shuler who put the Rebels up two points with a fast-break layup with 1:28 remaining. He then knocked down a fadeaway jumper on Ole Miss’ next possession to extend the team’s lead to four with 52 seconds left.

In scraping by, Ole Miss (20-12, 10-8 Southeastern Conference) picked up a road win that was crucial in locking down an NCAA Tournament bid.

Missouri (14-16, 5-13) was looking to win its third straight game and move to .500. Freshman Xavier Pinson scored a career-high 20 points and his rookie counterpart Torrence Watson added 14.

BIG PICTURE

Ole Miss: The Rebels were safely in the NCAA Tournament for much of February, but a recent three-game losing streak started to move them closer to the bubble. Breaking that skid with a win against Missouri likely secured their tournament bid.

Missouri: The Tigers failed to reach .500 and couldn’t win on the team’s senior day, but its two leading scorers were freshmen. The future has looked bright for Missouri in its last couple of games.

UP NEXT

Ole Miss will play Thursday in the SEC Tournament. The Rebels tied Mississippi State as the sixth-place team in the conference standings.

Missouri will play Wednesday in the tournament as a 12 seed against Georgia.

— Associated Press —

No. 13 Kansas tops Baylor 78-70 to finish undefeated at home

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LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Dedric Lawson scored 23 points, including 11 of 12 from the free-throw line, to help No. 13 Kansas beat Baylor 78-70 Saturday and stay undefeated at home.

The performance came hours after Lawson was announced on the ballot for the Wooden Award.

Yet on senior night in Allen Fieldhouse, a trio of Kansas freshmen impressed. Devon Dotson, David McCormack and Quentin Grimes had 15, 12 and nine points, respectively. Kansas (23-8, 12-6 Big 12) fielded no seniors for the first time since 2007. The Jayhawks lone senior Lagerald Vick left the team earlier this season for personal reasons.

Jared Butler led the way for Baylor (19-12, 10-8 Big 12), scoring a career-high 31 points in 36 minutes. It was a big game for the freshman, who was averaging 9.6 points.

Kansas took advantage of Baylor’s zone defense throughout the game, scoring 36 points in the paint. That included 18 of Kansas’ 32 points in the first half. Baylor’s strong rebounding presence was heavily tested, and both teams finished with 43.

Kansas led 32-29 at halftime. A four-point possession five minutes in the second half turned the game in the Jayhawks’ favor.

Baylor forward Flo Thamba was called for a flagrant one foul after the referees deemed he purposely pushed his hand into the face of Lawson. He made both free throws and was fouled again by Thamba after the inbounds play, with Lawson making both again.

Kansas took a 44-35 lead after the possession and maintained it the rest of the game.

With their Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal opponents already decided and neither team playing for the regular-season title, there was little at stake aside from an improved resume come Selection Sunday.

BIG PICTURE

Kansas: The Jayhawks finish the season 16-0 in Allen Fieldhouse, marking the 20th time in program history that Kansas has done so. It’s the first time since 2015-16 than Kansas has accomplished the feat and the seventh time during the Bill Self era.

Baylor: Despite the loss, the Bears finished the Big 12 regular season with double-digit wins for the sixth time in 10 seasons. Before 2010, they hadn’t finished conference play with double-digit wins since 1988 when they competed in the Southwest Conference.

UP NEXT

Kansas: The Jayhawks enter as the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Tournament at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. They will play 6th-seeded Texas on Thursday.

Baylor: Will play Iowa State on Thursday in the Big 12 Tournament.

— Associated Press —

AP source: Chiefs sign RB Hyde to $2.8M contract for 2019

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Kansas City, Mo. (AP) – The Kansas City Chiefs bolstered their young, relatively unproven backfield Saturday by signing veteran running back Carlos Hyde to a $2.8 million contract for the 2019 season.

The deal includes $1.6 million guaranteed, a person familiar with the terms told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the terms were not disclosed.

The 28-year-old Hyde was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Friday, and the Chiefs moved swiftly in inviting him for a visit. They were seeking help behind Damien Williams and Darrel Williams, who became their top two running backs when Kareem Hunt was released last season.

“We certainly like a bigger back,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said during last week’s scouting combine. “I certainly have a thing for 220-pound backs that can run and catch and block.”

The 6-foot, 229-pound Hyde certainly fits that mold.

He was a second-round pick of the 49ers in 2014, and he came within 50 yards of eclipsing 1,000 twice during his four-year stay in San Francisco. Hyde signed a $15 million, three-year deal with the Browns last season, but he appeared in just six games before a midseason trade to Jacksonville.

Hyde wound up making two starts and appearing in eight games for the Jaguars, though he never made much of an impact. He finished with 58 carries for 189 yards and never reached the end zone, and the Jaguars decided Friday to release him when no trade opportunities materialized.

Still, he represents a low-risk, high-upside addition to a dynamic Chiefs offense.

With league MVP Patrick Mahomes under center, the Chiefs shattered just about every franchise record — and quite a few NFL marks — while reaching the AFC title game last season. And while most of their pressing issues lie on defense, Veach and Chiefs coach Andy Reid said they’d be open to any offseason moves that could potentially put them over the hump.

Damien Williams is expected to remain the starter after he assumed Hunt’s job, and he gouged Indianapolis for 129 yards rushing in the playoffs. In fact, Williams was so steady that Kansas City signed him in December to a two-year extension worth up to $8.1 million.

“He just needed an opportunity. And when the opportunity presented itself, he kind of took it and ran with it. That is why we extended him,” Veach said. “He’s always been a talented player. He can run, catch and block. He can really do everything. He was great on special teams. I would say going into the offseason and going into the 2019 season, it’s Damien’s job to lose.”

He’ll have a little more competition now, though.

— Associated Press —

Area High School Final Four Basketball results – Friday, March 8

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FRIDAY’S RESULTS

CLASS 2 BOYS SEMIFINAL
Greenwood 61
Plattsburg 54

CLASS 2 GIRLS SEMIFINAL
Mid-Buchanan 57
Hartville 53

CLASS 1 BOYS SEMIFINAL
Jefferson 62
Linn County 49

CLASS 1 GIRLS SEMIFINAL
Stanberry 47
Community 40

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

CLASS 2 BOYS 3RD PLACE GAME
Plattsburg vs. Van-Far – 11:00 AM

CLASS 2 GIRLS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Mid-Buchanan vs. Thayer – 4:30 PM

CLASS 1 BOYS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Jefferson vs. Dora – 6:20 PM

CLASS 1 GIRLS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Stanberry vs. Walnut Grove – 8:10 PM

Griffons win third straight MIAA series despite dropping finale at NSU

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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Northeastern State (2-18, 2-7) jumped out to an early lead then put the game away with a flurry of offense late to take the third game of its series from Griffon Baseball (9-7, 7-2), 8-3.

With a doubleheader sweep the day before, Missouri Western still took the series two games to one. Missouri Western played all three games as the home team due to the series being originally scheduled as a home series for the Griffons. Bad weather in St. Joseph forced the move to Tahlequah.

NOTABLES

  • Northeastern State scored two runs on Roy Robles in the first then added six over the final three innings
  • The Griffons were limited to just one hit through the first 4 1/3 before Jordan Jackson put MWSU on the board with his second home run of the series
  • Trailing 2-1 after Jackson’s home run, the Griffs had the tying run at third with two out in the fifth when Conrad McMahon was picked off at first on a close play for the third out
  • MWSU scored all three of its runs by way of home run, getting solo bombs from Jackson, Andrew Curry and Dusty Stroup – the last two in the ninth inning
  • After NSU’s six runs in the seventh or later on Friday, MWSU has surrendered 54 percent of its runs this year in the final three innings
  • Curry went 2-for-4 with an RBI
  • Robles (0-2) took the loss, giving up three runs, one earned, on five hits. He struck out six and walked four over 6 1/3
  • Zach Pych left the game after two batters with an injury suffered while diving for a ball hit through the right side

UP NEXT

  • Missouri Western is scheduled for five games next week beginning with a single game at Truman State on Mar. 12
  • The Griffons may get another chance at a home opener on Mar. 13 when they’re scheduled to host Maryville in a non-conference game before going to Washburn for a weekend MIAA series.

— MWSU Athletics —

Mizzou women advance to first SEC semifinal after OT win against No. 13 Kentucky

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GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Sophie Cunningham scored 29 points, including seven in overtime, and Missouri advanced to the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time with a 70-68 victory over No. 13-ranked Kentucky on Friday.

Cunningham took a pass from Lauren Aldridge to score the go-ahead basket for a 65-63 lead with 55 seconds left in overtime. Aldridge added two free throws with 19.3 left. Rhyne Howard cut the margin to two with 15.7 to go with two free throws but Cunningham added another pair of her own at 11.5. Tatyana Wyatt cut the lead to one with a 3-point play with 8.3 remaining before Cunningham made 1 of 2 at the line. Howard’s 3-pointer at the buzzer went off the rim.

Howard also missed a short jumper at the end of regulation after Cunningham tied the game at 59 by making 1 of 2 free throws with 21.2 remaining.

Cunningham was 7-of-12 shooting with three 3-pointers and sank 12 of 14 free throws. Amber Smith added 12 points while Aldridge, who had the Tigers’ other four OT points, finished with eight. The Tigers survived 26 turnovers.

Howard scored 25 points but missed all six of her 3-point tries with the fourth-seeded Wildcats (24-7) failing to hit a 3-pointer on all 16 attempts. Taylor Murray added 14 points and Wyatt 11. Maci Morris, the team’s second-leading scorer behind Howard, finished with eight points on 2-of-12 shooting.

Missouri (23-9), which has won four straight, takes on top-seed and No.5-ranked Mississippi State on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

Northwest Missouri State beats SBU 2-1 to complete three-game sweep

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BOLIVAR, Missouri – The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team completed a three-game road series sweep of Southwest Baptist with a 2-1 victory on Friday afternoon.

Sophomore pitcher Max Spitzmiller had a strong showing on the mound for the Bearcats (9-10, 5-4 MIAA), tossing seven innings while giving up one earned run on six hits and striking out seven Southwest Baptist hitters.

For the two squads, scoring runs was very hard to come by. Southwest Baptist finally broke the scoreless tie in the third inning after senior catcher Hunter Hisky hit an opposite field home run down the right field line. This would be Southwest Baptist’s only run scored on the afternoon.

Northwest evened it up in the sixth with a run of its own. Senior outfielder Derek Hussey led off with a single to center field. Hussey advanced to second on a ground out by senior infielder Logan Rycraft. With one out, senior catcher Jay Hrdlicka hit his sixth double of the season to right center, scoring Hussey.

Junior Ethan Griswold and freshman Max Ross both pitched in the eighth for Northwest, neither allowing a hit. Griswold walked two, but Ross got out of the jam with a strikeout.

The Bearcats scored the go-ahead and winning run in the top of the ninth when senior catcher Alixon Herrera crossed home plate on an RBI single by sophomore infielder Matt Gastner.

Senior pitcher Trevor Dudar walked onto the mound in the ninth to complete his fourth save of the 2019 season. Dudar struck out the side to end the ball game.

NOTES: Hrdlicka notched his third three-hit game of the season … Hrdlicka is currently on a five game streak reaching base … Northwest has five players with 20 or more hits this season in Hrklicka (24), Hussey (24), Connor Quick (23), Herrera (22) and Mondesi Gutierrez (20) … Dudar has struck out 15 batters in 10 1/3 innings worked this season.

— Northwest Athletics —

Missouri Western softball swept by No. 8 Central Oklahoma Friday

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EDMOND, Okla. – Griffon Softball (11-10, 1-3) built early leads in both games of a doubleheader at No. 8 Central Oklahoma (20-1, 4-0), but eventually became the latest victim of the Bronchos who stretched their win streak to 16 games.

Missouri Western led 3-0 in game one before falling 7-3 and led 2-1 in a 6-2 game two loss.

GAME 1
Central Oklahoma 7, Missouri Western 3

  • MWSU led 3-0 after back-to-back solo home runs by Gabi Carter and Cassidy Kelsheimer in the third
  • UCO answered with a six-run, three-hit bottom of the third
  • Carter’s home run was her fourth of the weekend
  • The Griffons were only able to take advantage of one of three UCO errors in the game
  • Griffon pitchers walked seven UCO batters and didn’t record a strikeout in the game
  • Kelsheimer went 2-for-3 with two runs scored
  • Taylor Hoelscher was 2-for-3 as well

GAME 2
Central Oklahoma 6, Missouri Western 2

  • Missouri Western led 2-1 after Kelsheimer’s second solo home run of the day in the fourth
  • UCO got a pair of two-out runs in the fifth to take a 3-2 lead
  • The Bronchos added three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth
  • MWSU was held to three hits in the game
  • The Bronchos walked seven times again in game two

UP NEXT

  • After playing its first 21 games away from St. Joseph, the Griffons are scheduled to begin an 18-game homestand next week
  • A doubleheader at home vs Texas Woman’s is first on the docket on Mar. 12 with twin-bills against Central Missouri and Southwest Baptist scheduled for next weekend.

— MWSU Athletics —

Missouri State loses to Bradley in MVC quarterfinals 61-58

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ST. LOUIS (AP) — Darrell Brown had 20 points as Bradley edged Missouri State 61-58 in the Missouri Valley Conference Tourney quarterfinals on Friday.

Brown, who converted all 10 of his foul shots, made two free throws with 8.3 seconds left for a four-point edge. Josh Webster scored to cut the lead to two with 2.1 seconds remaining but Elijah Childs added a free throw for Bradley then missed the second and the Bears could only heave the ball the length of the court as time ran out.

Elijah Childs had 12 points and seven rebounds for Bradley (18-14). Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye added 11 points.

Jarred Dixon had 17 points for the Bears (16-16). Josh Webster added 12 points. Ryan Kreklow had 12 points.

Tulio Da Silva, the Bears’ leading scorer heading into the matchup at 15 points per game, shot only 17 percent for the game (1 of 6).

— Associated Press —

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