We have a brand new updated website! Click here to check it out!

Category: Sports

K-State suffers third straight loss as they fall at No. 2 Oklahoma

Posted on

riggertKansasStateNORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Buddy Hield and No. 2 Oklahoma bounced back from their difficult loss to Kansas with an impressive shooting performance against Kansas State.

Hield scored 31 points to lead the second-ranked Sooners to an 86-76 victory over the Wildcats on Saturday.

Hield followed his 46-point effort in Monday’s triple-overtime loss to the top-ranked Jayhawks by making 11 of 14 shots, including 6 of 8 3-pointers.

“Everything I shoot now, I just feel like, is going in,” Hield said.

The senior guard has reason to feel that way. He has scored 30 or more points while shooting at least 50 percent from the field in five of the past eight games.

“It’s hard to imagine anyone playing more efficiently than Buddy is, in terms of making shots, attacking, making good plays for his teammates,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said.

Jordan Woodard scored 19 points for the Sooners (13-1, 2-1 Big 12), and Khadeem Lattin added 10 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks.

The schedule gave Oklahoma enough time to recover from the Kansas loss.

“Interesting week,” Kruger said. “I thought if we would have had to play a game on Wednesday, it would have been awfully difficult two days after Monday, which you sometimes have to do.”

Kansas State upset Oklahoma in Norman last year, but Oklahoma avoided a repeat by shooting 57 percent from the field.

Barry Brown scored 19 points and Dean Wade added 12 for Kansas State (10-5, 0-3), which shot just 38 percent.

“We struggle with scoring,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “We have to get better at that. … We just have to play with more energy from the get-go, with a little determination. I told them to exert their will. Obviously, Oklahoma’s will was a lot stronger than ours.”

The Wildcats lost their first two conference games, to West Virginia and Texas, by a combined seven points.

Isaiah Cousins’ lob to Hield for a two-handed dunk gave Oklahoma a 22-6 lead with 13:19 to play in the first half. Kansas State made a bit of a run, but Woodard stole the ball and threw long for Hield, who found Ryan Spangler for a layup, and then Hield got a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for a layup to put the Sooners up 42-21.

Kansas State scored the final 12 points of the first half, and a 3-pointer by Justin Edwards in the final minute cut Oklahoma’s lead to 44-35 at the break. Hield scored 17 points in the first half.

A 3-pointer by Hield and a layup by Spangler put Oklahoma up 53-39 with just under 16 minutes to play. Back-to-back 3s by Hield put the Sooners ahead 63-45 with just under 12 minutes remaining.

Kansas State made one more surge, but a late 7-0 run by Oklahoma, including a 3-pointer and a jumper by Woodard, put the game out of reach.

The early deficit was too much to overcome for a team that struggles offensively.

“After that, we competed with them and played with them, but we just couldn’t get over the hump,” Weber said. “We had a few chances. … But it didn’t happen.”

STAT LINES

Lattin posted his second straight double-double, and just the second of his career. The sophomore has 18 blocks in his past four games, and 12 in his past two.

“What Khadeem has done the past two weeks has been really, really good,” Kruger said.

ON THE RISE

Woodard went 3 for 5 from 3-point range. The junior guard has made 15 of 24 from beyond the arc in his past four games.

TURNOVERS

Oklahoma committed 20 turnovers, including 13 in the second half. Hield committed five turnovers, and was critical of himself after the game.

“Stupid mistakes that I made all game trying to be fancy,” he said.

TIP-INS

Kansas State: Stephen Hurt, who had a career-high 15 points in last year’s game in Norman, scored 11 this time. … G Kamau Stokes missed all five of his shots in the first half and made 2 of 8 overall. … The Kansas State bench was called for a technical with 18:55 remaining. … The Wildcats allowed 80 or more points for just the third time this season.

Oklahoma: Backup C Akolda Manyang was sick and did not play. … The Sooners made 5 of 8 3-pointers in the first half and 11 of 19 overall. … Lattin blocked four shots in the first half. .. Hield also had eight rebounds and five assists.

UP NEXT

Kansas State hosts Texas Tech on Tuesday.

Oklahoma plays at Oklahoma State on Wednesday.

— Associated Press —

Miller hits winner as Missouri State defeats Loyola 56-54

Posted on

riggertMSUCHICAGO (AP) — Daquon Miller shut the door on Loyola of Chicago, hitting a runner with 3.4 seconds left and Missouri State beat the Ramblers 56-54 on Saturday.

Miller, who led Missouri State (6-10, 2-2 Missouri Valley) with 16 points, scored the final four in the last 1:19 to foil a late comeback by the Ramblers (7-9, 0-4).

Loyola closed the first half on a 10-5 run to grab a 29-23 lead, hitting five shots without a miss. They extended the lead to 33-23 before Missouri State came to life.

Obediah Church slammed two dunks as the Bears went on a 19-8 run to lead 42-41. Loyola climbed back as the Bears went through an extended dry spell. Milton Doyle stole an inbounds pass and drove for a 54-54 tie with seven seconds left, but Loyola was unable to get a final shot off in time.

Eric Peterson led the Ramblers with 18 points, Doyle 13.

— Associated Press —

Nebraska blows out Rutgers for first Big Ten win

Posted on

riggertNebraskaPISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — In a collision of Big Ten losing streaks, Nebraska ended its slide thanks to another big effort by Andrew White.

As an added bonus, the Huskers got their largest road win in 95 years and gave Rutgers its worst home loss in 54 years.

White had 28 points and nine rebounds to pace the Huskers past Rutgers, 90-56, Saturday night.

The margin of victory was the highest in a road game for Nebraska since defeating Morningside, 50-13, on Feb. 25, 1920. It also snapped a three-game losing skid and 11-game conference losing streak for the Huskers (9-8, 1/3 Big Ten).

“It’s kind of good to get that weight off of our shoulders, hopefully that will give us a little momentum going into the next one,” said White, who shot 11 of 14 and 5 of 7 on 3-pointers. “We executed well at both ends so I think this should give everybody some confidence going forward. If we win this one and go on another losing streak it doesn’t serve its purpose well.”

Glynn Watson scored 12 for the Huskers, while Shavon Shields added 11 and Ed Morrow had 10.

Rutgers (6-11, 0-4) has lost four straight and 19 straight conference games dating back to last season. The Knights suffered their largest home loss since falling to St. Joe’s, 102-66, on Dec. 6, 1961.

Mike Williams scored 22 for the Knights, who were never in it. Rutgers fell behind 14-2 and 24-7 and got no closer than nine.

“Obviously this was a very tough loss,” said coach Eddie Jordan, who’s missing four frontcourt players to injury. “There were moments in the game where I was disappointed in their effort and that hasn’t happened this season. When you’re fighting and you’re small, there comes a time where it’s hard to overcome and it screws with your psyche.”

Nebraska made its first six shots and 7 of its first 8 en route to a 21-7 edge, and remained in control throughout. Leading 31-22, Nebraska went on a 15-4 run over the final 5:57 to open a 46-26 lead at the break. The Huskers largest advantage was 83-47.

White, who red-shirted last year after two seasons at Kansas, had 19 points at halftime to spark the blowout.

“I’d say this is his best game of the season,” coach Tim Miles said. “He’s had other very strong nights, but when you get nine rebounds and 28 points … and every time we needed a lift, he provided it.”

In shooting 57 percent (37 of 65), Nebraska hit its highest point total since joining the Big Ten, and its highest total in any conference game since 2006.

—-

TIP-INS

Nebraska: The Huskers last Big Ten win was Feb. 3, 2015 against Northwestern. Nebraska hit at least 70 points for the 10th time this season, one better than all of last year. The Huskers lead the series 3-2.

Rutgers: The Knights have not won a Big Ten game since beating No. 4 Wisconsin on Jan. 11, 2015. This equaled Rutgers worst loss of the season as it fell by 34 to George Washington. The Knights, Minnesota and Illinois are the lone teams without a Big Ten win.

Honoring the past: Prior to the game, Rutgers held a moment of silence for former coach Bill Foster, who died Thursday at 86 following a lengthy illness. Foster guided Rutgers to the 1967 NIT semifinals, the Knights first post-season appearance. At halftime, Rutgers celebrated the 40th Anniversary of its 1975-76 Final Four team, with head coach Tom Young and every player, manager and assistant coach from that team in attendance.

UP NEXT

Nebraska hosts Minnesota Tuesday.

Rutgers is at Ohio State Wednesday.

— Associated Press —

No. 20 Missouri women bounce back to win at Georgia

Posted on

riggertMissouriATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Jordan Frericks had 11 points and a key block with seven seconds left and No. 20 Missouri made four free throws in the final four seconds to defeat Georgia 54-48 Thursday night.

Cierra Porter had 11 points, including three of the late free throws, as the Tigers (14-1, 1-1 SEC) bounced back from their first loss of the season with a strong defensive effort.

Fredricks blocked Tiaria Griffin’s 3-point attempt with seven seconds left to protect a 50-48 lead. Porter and Sophie Cunningham each made 1 of 2 free throws with four seconds left as the Bulldogs were hit with a technical. On the ensuing possession a second late Porter made two free throws.

Griffin had 14 points and Shacobia Barbee had 10 and 14 rebounds for Georgia (12-3, 0-2), which shot just 26 percent for the game. After taking a 43-38 lead early in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs closed by going 2 of 13.

— Associated Press —

Husker women get routed by No. 8 Maryland

Posted on

riggertNebraskaCOLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — After enduring one of the most challenging stretches of the season, Maryland coach Brenda Frese was proud that her team responded with its “most complete game.”

Malina Howard scored 15 points and No. 8 Maryland routed Nebraska 89-50 on Thursday night.

Maryland rebounded from losses to No. 1 UConn and No. 5 Ohio State last week. The setback to the Buckeyes snapped the Terrapins’ 31-game winning streak against Big Ten foes dating to 2007.

“We were ready to go from the tip,” Frese said. “I thought it showed great character. We had a lot of fun. You could see that. We got a lot better tonight.”

Brene Moseley added 14 points, and Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough each had 11 for Maryland (13-2, 2-1). Tierney Pfirman was 5 of 7 from the field and finished with 10 points for the Terrapins.

Allie Havers, Jasmine Cincore and Maddie Simon each had nine points for Nebraska (9-5, 0-3). The Cornhuskers were 16 of 53 (30.2 percent) from the field.

Pfirman’s jumper capped a 10-0 run and Maryland led 24-12 with 7:30 left in the second quarter. Nebraska made just five of its opening 23 shots and had no answer for Maryland’s inside game.

Back-to-back layups and a 3-pointer by Walker-Kimbrough extended the lead to 46-21 at the break.

Maryland scored eight points off 12 turnovers in the opening half.

“Our transition was really good,” Moseley said. “I think our energy came off that. We were knocking down shots.”

The Terrapins continued to pull away in the third quarter. A layup by Moseley and short jumper by Pfirman provided a 62-29 lead with 4:19 remaining. The Cornhuskers were never effective getting into their offense with Maryland’s constant pressure and made several errant passes.

“I think Maryland is very underrated in terms of execution,” Nebraska coach Connie Yori said. “They’re just very well-coached and they are deep. They do a very good job of taking advantage of any errors that you make. We are a very young team that makes a lot of errors.”

Every player for Maryland got in the game and a layup by Kiara Leslie gave the Terps an 82-40 lead with 6:59 left in the fourth quarter. Maryland outscored Nebraska 46-16 inside the paint and had 25 assists, the second most this season.

“We came out with a chip on our shoulder,” Howard said. “We just wanted to get back out on the court and play against competition to show what Maryland basketball really is. We wanted to get back to who we really are.”

TIP-INS

Nebraska: Guard Rachel Theriot ranks eighth nationally with 7.0 assists per game. She finished with just two against Maryland. … All five of Nebraska’s losses this season have come against ranked teams.

Maryland: The Terps entered the game ranked third nationally with 87.1 points per game. … Maryland improved to 5-0 against Nebraska, beating the Cornhuskers three times in the past two seasons.

NO ANSWER FOR JONES

Jones was a tough matchup for Nebraska because of her size (6-foot-3) and her ability to drive to the basket. She finished 11 points and nine rebounds. Jones, who leads the nation in field-goal percentage at 71 percent, went 5 of 9 from the field.

EASING BACK

Nebraska freshman forward Rachel Blackburn came off the bench for the second straight game. She returned to the lineup Sunday against Northwestern after missing the previous three games with an illness. Blackburn played 14 minutes against the Terps and had 2 points.

UP NEXT

Nebraska hosts Illinois on Sunday.

Maryland hits the road against Iowa on Sunday.

— Associated Press —

Mizzou drops SEC opener at Georgia 77-59

Posted on

riggertMissouriATHENS, Ga. (AP) — When Missouri shifted more defensive attention to Yante Maten, Georgia’s outside shooters filled the scoring void.

J.J. Frazier scored 16 points to lead Georgia’s strong 3-point attack and the Bulldogs beat Missouri 77-59 on Wednesday night for their first Southeastern Conference win.

Frazier made four of six 3-pointers. Maten had 15 points, including 11 in the first eight minutes, and Charles Mann added 14 for Georgia (8-4, 1-1 SEC).

The Bulldogs made 11 of 19 3-pointers.

Georgia scored the first 10 points and never trailed. It led 45-32 at halftime and kept the lead around 20 points for most of the second half.

Freshman Kevin Puryear led Missouri (7-7, 0-1 SEC) with 19 points. Wes Clark had 13 and no other Tigers scored in double figures.

Missouri’s defense made it more difficult to pass the ball inside to Maten after the Bulldogs’ power forward had 11 of his team’s first 17 points. Georgia had outside options, including the 3-point shooting of Frazier, Mann and Kenny Gaines, who had 11 points.

“I think he’s the best post player in the conference,” said Mann of Maten.

Maten said he “just played within the offense” during his strong start. The emergence of Maten gives Georgia a strong inside-outside game. Maten said the team’s 3-point shooters should make it tough on SEC defenses to focus their attention on him.

“I think it’s going to be difficult because I can be a dominant post presence and if they’re worried about me, Kenny, J.J. and (Mann) can hit the 3s,” Maten said. “If they’re going well, it opens up my game.”

Maten has scored at least 20 points in six of his last nine games during his breakout season. He has emerged as the Bulldogs’ leading scorer, with an average of 16.5 points.

“Tried to do everything I could to slow (Maten) down, and I think I did a decent job of that,” Puryear said.

The Tigers had a mini-rally with seven straight points midway through the second half to trim Georgia’s lead to 57-42. Mann hit a 3-pointer, followed by a basket by freshman Derek Ogbeide, to push the lead back to 20 points.

While Georgia enjoyed strong outside shooting, the Tigers made only 3 of 19 3-pointers. Namon Wright had nine points but missed each of his four 3s.

“I thought we had some looks early and we couldn’t hit them,” said Missouri coach Kim Anderson. “… I saw that we missed 13 close shots in the second half. That can’t happen.”

—

RECORD FOR MANN

Mann, a senior, made 2 of 3 free throws to pass Litterial Green’s school record of 744 career free-throw attempts. Mann has attempted 748.

“That’s not going to make my year, but I’m excited to be in Georgia basketball history forever,” Mann said.

Mann also had six assists with only one turnover and six rebounds.

“He was outstanding, he really was,” said Georgia coach Mark Fox of Mann. “I thought he played at both ends.”

Green became Georgia’s all-time scoring leader during his career from 1988-92.

TIP-INS

Missouri: The Tigers fell to 0-3 on the road. … Missouri couldn’t continue momentum gained from back-to-back wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Savannah State by a combined margin of 84 points. … Clark, coming off a career-high 22 points against Savannah State, scored in double figures for the fourth straight game.

Georgia: Kenny Paul Geno ended a 0-for-14 drought on 3-pointers, covering seven games, in the second half. … The Bulldogs won their fourth straight over Missouri. … Georgia made a season-best 54.7 percent of its shots from the field. … The 11 3s set a season high.

UP NEXT:

Missouri: Hosts Auburn on Saturday.

Georgia: At Mississippi on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

Miller gives Missouri State 59-58 win over Northern Iowa

Posted on

riggertMSUSPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Dequon Miller’s layup with five seconds left lifted Missouri State to a 59-58 victory over Northern Iowa on Wednesday night, snapping the Bears’ four-game losing streak.

Ryan Kreklow made three free throws, two with 42 seconds left, to cut Northern Iowa’s lead to 58-57. After the Panthers struggled to get the ball upcourt, calling two timeouts, Klint Carlson missed on a baseline drive. Kreklow got the rebound and Miller raced down the floor and scored before the Panthers’ Wes Washpun missed a short jumper at the buzzer.

The victory snapped a six-game losing streak to Northern Iowa.

Chris Kendrix scored 17 points to lead the Bears (5-10, 1-2 Missouri Valley). Obediah Church added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Washpun and Matt Bohannon each had 15 points for the Panthers (9-7, 1-2).

The Panthers never trailed in the second half until Miller’s winning basket, leading by 10 with 9:17 remaining.

— Associated Press —

Kansas women fall at home to No. 6 Baylor

Posted on

riggertKULAWRENCE, Kan. – Despite holding the Lady Bears to their second-lowest scoring performance of the season, Kansas women’s basketball fell to No. 6 Baylor, 58-40, after a third quarter offensive surge on Wednesday evening inside Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas emerged from the locker room after halftime trailing Baylor by only eight points. The Lady Bears’ 30 points tied the second-lowest first half total this season, despite shooting 52 percent from the field. BU turned things up in the second half, however, connecting on its first eight field goal attempts to push the lead to 20 points and out of reach for the Jayhawks.

The Lady Bears (15-1, 2-1 Big 12) were led by the Big 12’s second-leading scorer, junior forward Nina Davis. A game-high 16 points from Davis continued her streak of double-figure scoring in every game this season, but also marked her lowest scoring performance in the last six games. Senior guard Niya Johnson and redshirt junior Alexis Jones each logged 12 points, with Johnson dishing out a game-high eight assists and Jones draining Baylor’s two long-range buckets of the night.

Sophomore guard Chayla Cheadle brought the energy all night for the Jayhawks (5-9, 0-3 Big 12), leading the team in both points (12) and rebounds (6). The Columbia, Missouri native shot 2-of-7 from the field and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe, while also grabbing three of Kansas’ four offensive rebounds. Junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen tallied nine points and three rebounds. The only Jayhawk to shoot 50 percent or better was freshman guard Kylee Kopatich, connecting on 3-of-6 attempts.

It took two and a half minutes for either team to score, before Davis rattled in a jumper to get the Lady Bears on the board first. By the first media timeout at the 4:53 mark, the Jayhawks forced four Baylor turnovers and trailed by a single point. Out of the break, four-straight made field goals helped the Bears take off on an 11-2 run to push their lead to 17-4. Kansas answered by claiming the last five points of the first quarter to bring the score to 17-9 after the first ten minutes of play.

Freshman guard Aisia Robertson gave the Jayhawks a spark on the first play of the second quarter with a steal and a fast-break layup. Baylor then collected six of the game’s next seven points, stretching its lead to 11 points. A five-point scoring streak midway through the period brought Kansas back to within six, 23-17. The conference foes remained evenly matched over the final minutes of the half, with a pair of free throws from Cheadle cutting the Baylor lead, 30-22, concluding the second quarter’s scoring.

The Lady Bears entered the game averaging more than 45 points in the paint per game, but Kansas managed to hold the visitors to just 14 points inside in the first half. Each team played tight defense over the first 20 minutes of action, forcing the other to commit 11 turnovers. The Jayhawks tallied six steals to Baylor’s four.

The second half opened with a 14-2 run by Baylor to extend its lead to 44-24 by the 4:33 mark of the third quarter. The two squads traded baskets through the remainder of the period, putting up six points each. Jones hit Baylor’s first three-point attempt of the second half as time expired, giving the visitors a 50-30 advantage. BU shot 75 percent from the field in the third quarter, sinking 9-of-12 attempts from the field to outscore Kansas by 12 points. The Jayhawks’ eight points was the lowest third quarter total this season.

Kansas continued to fight in the final 10 minutes of action, and significantly slowed down the Baylor offense. The Lady Bears shot 3-of-14 from the field as the Jayhawks outscored the conference favorites 10-8. It marked just the third time this season that Baylor was held to single-digit scoring in a quarter. Manning-Allen’s layup with less than 30 seconds left in the contest brought the score to 58-40, where the score would hold to give the Lady Bears their second conference victory.

— KU Athletics —

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File