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Category: Sports

MWSU’s Jefferson named MIAA Co-Player of the Week

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MWSUST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western guard LaQuinta Jefferson has picked up her second MIAA Women’s Basketball Athlete of the Week award, being named co-athlete of the week with Nebraska-Kearney’s Laramey Becker.

Jefferson, a senior from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, averaged 24 points, five rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.  She also shot 48 percent from the field and 94 percent at the free throw line.

Jefferson scored 24 with six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Saturday against Missouri Southern, Jefferson again dropped 24 points, adding four rebounds and two assists.

Two weeks ago, Jefferson was named the national player of the week and the MIAA Athlete of the Week. Jefferson enters this week fifth in the nation, scoring 22 points per game.

Missouri Western is on the road this Friday as they play at Lindenwood at 5:30 p.m.  The game will be broadcast on 680 KFEQ and here on StJosephPost.com.

— MWSU Athletics —

Missouri’s Brothers earns AP First Team All-SEC, Harris lands on Second Team

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riggertMissouriCOLUMBIA, Mo. – A pair of standouts from Mizzou Football’s excellent defense have been recognized among the best in the SEC as senior LB Kentrell Brothers (Guthrie, Okla.) and sophomore DE Charles Harris (Kansas City, Mo.) have been named to the Associated Press All-SEC Teams. Brothers was a first team honoree while Harris landed on the second team. That is the same distinction that each landed last week when the SEC announced the coaches’ All-SEC Team.

Brothers put together one of the most prolific seasons in MU history in 2015, and was named a first-team All-SEC performer for his efforts. The tackling machine ended the season with 152 total tackles, which leads the nation (next-most is 140), while his 12.7 tackles per game mark is also tops in the country.  He also leads the nation in 2015 with three blocked kicks on the year.  The 152 tackles ranks as the 4th-most in Mizzou season history, and gave him 358 for his career, which puts him 8th all-time on the MU career chart. He became the first Tiger in the Gary Pinkel era with seven consecutive games of 10+ tackles to close the season. He broke the 15 tackle mark four times in 2015 and added 12.0 tackles for loss, two interceptions and was second in the nation with three blocked kicks.

Brothers becomes the first Mizzou linebacker to win all-SEC acclaim by league coaches since joining the conference in 2012.  He was a second-team All-SEC pick by the Associated Press in 2014 when he led Mizzou with 122 total tackles.  He is the first Tiger linebacker to receive first-team all-conference honors since Andrew Gachkar in 2010 (Associated Press).  The last time a Tiger linebacker was first-team all-conference by league coaches was in 2009 by Sean Weatherspoon.

Harris continued the proud lineage of outstanding play by #DLineZou, as he won second-team All-SEC honors by the AP for a season that included 18.5 tackles for loss (ranking him 8th nationally and first in the SEC) and 7.0 sacks.  Harris, a first-year starter, led the Tigers with 10 quarterback pressures and two forced fumbles, while finishing with 56 total tackles and a pass breakup.

Mizzou’s defense was among the nation’s best in 2015, as it finished the season ranked in the top-10 in scoring defense (sixth – 16.2 ppg) and ninth in total defense (302.0 ypg).

— Mizzou Athletics —

Royals sign RHP Dillon Gee to Minor League contract

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riggertRoyalsNEW YORK — Right-hander Dillon Gee has signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals.

Gee, 29, declared free agency after the season. He went 0-3 with a 5.90 ERA in eight appearances (seven starts) for the New York Mets and finished the 2015 season at Triple-A Las Vegas without a September call-up.

Gee originally was drafted in the 21st round in 2007 by the Mets. He was a career 40-37 with a 4.03 ERA in 114 appearances (110 starts) with the club over six seasons.

— ESPN News Service —

Chiefs’ goal-line stand preserves 10-3 victory over Chargers

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riggertChiefsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs had relied heavily on their stingy, opportunistic defense during a six-game winning streak that vaulted them right back into playoff contention.

Their defense delivered again Sunday.

After shutting down San Diego most of the game, the Chiefs forced Philip Rivers into a pair of incomplete passes near the goal line in the final seconds to preserve a 10-3 victory over the Chargers at soggy Arrowhead Stadium that could prove to be critical in the race for an AFC wild card.

“If you’re going to be a good football team, you have to win games like this,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “We found ways to lose games just like this,” referring to last-minute losses to Chicago and Denver during a 1-5 start.

Ever since then, the Chiefs (8-5) have made it nearly impossible to get into the end zone. They held the Chargers without a touchdown when they played three weeks ago in San Diego, then did it again in the most dramatic of fashion on Sunday, with the game on the line as time wound down.

San Diego (3-10) got the ball at its own 11 with 5 minutes left and quickly moved into Kansas City territory, converting fourth down three times. But after Rivers was called for delay of game at the Chiefs 1 with 5 seconds left, he threw high and out of the end zone.

There was still 2 seconds left, and another incomplete pass that would have ended the game was blown dead for a false start. So with the ball pushed back to the 11-yard line, Rivers scrambled to his right and again threw to the end zone, where his pass to Danny Woodhead skipped incomplete.

“The defense hung tough,” said Alex Smith, who threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Albert Wilson and finished with 191 yards passing. He also threw his first interception after a franchise-record 312 pass attempts, though that was quickly forgotten in the jubilation of the final seconds.

Playing through the flu, Rivers finished with 263 yards passing and an interception. Melvin Gordon was held to 35 yards rushing in another dismal performance.

“My wife just texted me and said my son said that was the greatest game ever if we’d have won,” Rivers said. “This is the story of our season, losing close games.”

It was evident from the first series that little had changed in the three weeks since the Chiefs shut down Rivers and Co. in a 33-3 win: The Chargers went three-and-out.

The teams started trading punts throughout the first quarter as rain and wind lashed half-empty Arrowhead Stadium. When the Chiefs got something going, they watched as Frankie Hammond fumbled a punt return. And when the Chargers began to move the ball, penalties shut down their drive.

Kansas City finally took the lead in the second quarter when it began a drive at its own 4-yard line. Eight consecutive running plays netted three first downs, and sucked the entire San Diego defense up to the line of scrimmage. The Chiefs took advantage when Smith hit Albert Wilson on a quick slant route, and he out-ran Steve Williams for a 44-yard touchdown reception.

Rivers was intercepted by Derrick Johnson on the Chargers’ ensuing possession, and Kansas City had just enough time to get within range of a 40-yard field goal for a 10-0 halftime lead.

The Chargers’ Josh Lambo atoned for an earlier miss with his own 30-yard field goal in the third quarter, but it was the Kansas City defense that starred the rest of the second half.

Dee Ford had his first three sacks of the season in place of injured All-Pro pass rusher Justin Houston, and the defensive backfield managed to blanket San Diego’s wide receivers. Gordon was bottled up all afternoon, and the Chargers were forced to abandon the run game in the final minutes.

Then, with the game on the line, the Chiefs made two of their biggest stops of the season.

“They just kept on fighting to the very last play there,” embattled Chargers coach Mike McCoy said. “This team has a lot of fight in them. I’m proud of them for that. But this is about winning.”

Game notes
Williams left with a hip injury and did not return. … Chiefs RB Spencer Ware ran for 52 yards before leaving with bruised ribs. … Ford finished with a team-high seven tackles. … The Chiefs sacked Rivers five times. … Chargers TE Antonio Gates had six catches for 76 yards.

— Associated Press —

Tigers get blown out at No. 13 Arizona

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riggertMissouriTUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Kadeem Allen poked the ball free, chased it down and headed toward the opposite end of the court. Glancing over his left shoulder, he saw Gabe York trailing with a clear path to the basket.

Instead of taking on the lone defender by himself, Allen flipped the ball toward the front of the rim, where York seemed to fly in from the rafters to throw down an alley-oop that brought the McKale Center crowd to its feet with a roar.

“I’ve been waiting for that for a long time,” York said after No. 13 Arizona rolled over Missouri 88-52 Sunday night.

York and his teammates have been waiting for a game like this, too.

Though they had lost just once, the Wildcats had yet to really put together a complete game, playing well for a half or in spurts to pull out victories.

Even with center Kaleb Tarczewski (foot) sidelined for the fifth straight game, Arizona (9-1) was at full force against Missouri, blowing out the Tigers before they knew what had hit them.

Arizona raced out to an 11-point lead in the opening minutes and pushed it to 19 by halftime. The Wildcats didn’t let up, either, stretching the lead in the second half to extend the nation’s longest home winning streak to 44 games.

It was Arizona’s largest non-conference win over a Power 5 conference school since beating Kansas State 125-87 in 1997.

“We strung two halves together, which in the past two games we really haven’t been able to do that,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said. “It’s not necessarily who we were playing, but who we were.”

Arizona shot 56 percent and had 20 assists on 31 field goals. Six players scored in double figures, led by Mark Tollefsen’s 17 points. York had 16 points, Allonzo Trier 15 and Ryan Anderson gave Missouri fits inside, scoring 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds.

The Wildcats overwhelmed the smaller Tigers inside all night, outscoring them by 16 in the paint and outrebounding them by 17.

Missouri (5-4) also had trouble with Arizona’s length on defense, shooting 30 percent and going 2 of 14 from 3-point range.

Freshmen Kevin Puryear and Terrence Phillips, Missouri’s two leading scorers, combined for 11 points on 4-of-19 shooting.

“The whole night is disappointing,” Tigers coach Kim Anderson said. “They played really well. I give them a lot of credit. I thought our confidence was shaken a little bit and at times they were playing above the rim and we were just standing there watching them.”

The Tigers spent some unwanted time in Lubbock, Texas, after their plane experienced mechanical issues. Kim Anderson was worried his team wouldn’t get its morning walkthrough, so he held practice in an airport hangar with a makeshift ball and a court marked off on the floor.

It didn’t get much better when Missouri arrived at the McKale Center.

Arizona jumped on the Tigers from the start of a fill-up-the-highlight-reel first half.

Soaring in for dunks and knocking down 3-pointers, the Wildcats raced out to a 15-4 lead in the opening 4 1/2 minutes. Arizona poured it on again with an 11-0 run later in the half, bringing the already-revved-up crowd to its feet when Allen turned a steal into the alley-oop to York in transition.

The Tigers never stood a chance after that.

“Arizona is a really good basketball team,” Kim Anderson said. “We missed some shots and when you do that against a team like Arizona, they are going to make you pay for it.”

ALLEN RETURNS

Allen was a question mark after spraining his right ankle against Fresno State on Wednesday, an injury that left him unable to put any weight on his right leg.

He not only started against Missouri, he moved as though he hadn’t been injured at all. Allen missed all four of his shots, but teamed with Parker Jackson-Cartwright to orchestrate Arizona’s offense to near perfection.

“The man’s a fighter,” Tollefsen said. “He’s a real competitive guy and a gamer, loves to play just as much as anyone or more than anyone, so I knew he would come back as soon as he could.”

TIP-INS

Missouri: Phillips had seven points on 2-of-9 shooting. … Puryear shot 2 of 10 for four points. … Missouri shot 9 of 29 in the first half and went 1 for 9 from 3-point range.

Arizona: Junior guard Elliott Pitts missed his second straight game due to what Miller said is a personal issue. … The Wildcats have won 30 straight nonconference home games.

UP NEXT

Missouri hosts North Carolina State on Saturday.

Arizona hosts Northern Arizona on Wednesday.

— Associated Press —

Bearcats roll past Pittsburg State for fifth straight win

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NWMSUBy David Boyce, Northwest Athletics

MARYVILLE, Mo. – In its first home conference game of the season, the Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team treated 1,034 fans at Bearcat Arena to stellar defense and beautiful team basketball.

The potent combination lifted Northwest to a rather easy 73-48 victory over Pittsburg State Sunday afternoon. The Bearcats raised their record to 6-2 overall and 4-0 in the MIAA.

“It felt good to finally have the home crowd cheering for us and get us going,” said junior guard Anthony Woods, who finished with 14 points. “They always keep us going with cheering and everything. They build us up.”

Throughout much of the second half, Northwest maintained a seven-to-13 point lead because of its defense. Whenever the Bearcats hit a lull offensively, their defense took over, preventing Pitt State from making a run.

“It all starts in practice,” said Northwest sophomore guard Justin Pitts, who finished with a game-high 19 points. “We knew coming in they were going to be pretty good driving the ball. We worked every day in practice on the drives. We came out and played hard and executed the scouting report.”

The offense, though, didn’t have many dry spells because the Bearcats continued to look for each other for open baskets. One example occurred midway through the second half. Woods drove inside and then found Conner Crooker wide open on the wing. Crooker drilled the three-pointer to increase Northwest’s lead to 43-30.

“If you have drivers and the shooters that we have, no one is going to stop you,” Woods said. “We have to keep being aggressive and working hard in practice.”

It all comes down to trust. With about 7 minutes left, Woods once again drove the ball into the paint and then kicked it out to Zach Schneider. At this point, Schneider was scoreless. It didn’t matter. Woods knew Schneider was going to make the shot. Woods raised his arms in the air to indicate a three-pointer while the ball was still in the air.

Schneider’s swished the ball through the nets, putting Northwest up 58-43. A minute later, point guard Justin Pitts slipped an inside pass to Woods for a layup, making it 62-43.

“It was a momentum changer,” Woods said of Schneider’s trey. “Once Zach gets going or Pitts or Conner, it is really hard to stop them. Once we drive and everybody collapse and they are wide open, we look for them every time.”

Defensively, the Bearcats played old-fashion, blue-collar basketball. They symbolically put on their hard hats and go to work.

And the work the Bearcats did on the offensive end was a thing of beauty. The cuts to the basket followed by a perfect pass that ended with a layup or a wide-open jump shot made the Gorillas look like they were lost in the jungle.

It was basically the same formula in the first half. Defense and a scoring by Pitts gave Northwest a 28-20 lead at halftime. Throughout the first half, the Bearcats made it extremely difficult for Pitt State to get an easy basket.

The aggressive defense by Northwest limited the Gorillas to only eight field goals. In a 4-minute stretch, Pitts had half that many baskets. Each time, Pitts drove into the paint and hit a soft, 5-foot runner. Those eight points by Pitts helped Northwest expand its lead from 11-8 to 19-12.

The Gorillas never mounted a serious run the rest of the game.

— Northwest Athletics —

Nebraska rallies to defeat Rhode Island

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riggertNebraskaLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — After trailing Rhode Island for most of the game, Nebraska turned up its defense, stopped turning the ball over and took a 70-67 come-from-behind win over the Rams.

“We finally started playing good at the 6 1/2 minute mark and just finished out the game from there,” said Shavon Shields, who led Nebraska with 21 points. “Defense is our identity. It’s what allowed us to go on that run. What allows us to win games is defense. We need everyone bought in and everyone making plays. When we do that, we win games.”

Nebraska (7-4) had trailed Rhode Island (6-4) since midway through the first half, falling behind by as many as 11. The Huskers stayed close to the Rams in the second half, thanks in large part to Glynn Watson Jr. who scored 13 of his career-high 17 points in the final 20 minutes.

Benny Parker’s 3 pointer off a Watson assist gave Nebraska a 67-65 lead with 1:14 left as Nebraska coach Tim Miles played both of his point guards at the same time to trigger the late game comeback.

“Glynn was doing a good job and he was scoring,” Miles said. “For a young guy, that’s kind of his m.o. I think it gives him confidence. But it was their defensive pressure more than anything. That really helped us.”

The Rams threw the ball away on their next possession. Watson dribbled down the shot clock before hitting a floater in the lane. Hassan Martin’s inside jumper cut the Nebraska lead to 69-67. Shields hit 1 of 2 free throws with 8 seconds left and Jared Terrell’s 3-pointer at the buzzer missed the mark.

“Credit to my teammates, they told me, keep playing, keep playing with confidence,” Watson said. “That’s what I did. Try to make a play. I made a big shot.”

The Rams used a 12-0 run to take a 29-18 lead with 5:58 remaining in the first half. Nebraska countered with a 10-2 spurt to cut the margin to two before Jarvis Garrett banked in an off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Rhode Island a 37-32 halftime lead. Rhode Island led by as many as nine in the second half.

“This is obviously a tough pill to swallow,” Rhode Island coach Dan Hurley said. “I felt like a couple things really hurt us. Obviously second-half turnovers, especially when they made their run. You know they’re going to make a run here at home with the crowd so that was a big factor. We lost our composure, turned it over and lost our minds in terms of execution.”

Garrett and Kuran Iverson had 15 points each for Rhode Island.

—

RIGHT OF PASSAGE, MAYBE

“We’ve been by the chalk this whole time,” Miles said. “If we’re the dog, we get beat. If we’re expected to win, we win. I thought tonight was a toss-up game. The guys came out and did a heck of a job finding a way to win even though it wasn’t easy for a long, long time.”

TIP-INS

Nebraska: The Cornhuskers are 1/3 this season when scoring less than 70 points.

Rhode Island: Each starter for the Rams entered Sunday’s game averaging double figures, four of them at 11 points per game and Jarvis Garrett at 10 points. Jared Terrell and Four McGlynn were held to eight points apiece on a combined 5-of-18 shooting, and Hassan Martin took just four shots for six points.

UP NEXT

Nebraska hosts Samford Sunday.

Rhode Island hosts Iona Saturday.

— Associated Press —

Missouri State comes up short against Tulsa

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riggertMSUSPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — James Woodard made four 3-pointers and scored 20 points, and Tulsa held off a second-half rally to beat Missouri State 70-61 on Sunday.

Rashad Smith scored a season-high 12 points, Shaquille Harrison added 11 with six assists, and Tulsa (7-3) made 28 of 65 field goals (43 percent) but were outrebounded 43-38.

Trailing by 10 at halftime, Missouri State rallied to within 60-57 on Ryan Kreklow’s jumper with 4:08 left, but Smith hit a layup to spark an 8-2 run Tulsa used to close out the game.

Tulsa took control with a 16-3 run in which Woodard scored seven points for a 28-14 lead. Woodard scored 17 in the half and Tulsa led 38-28 at intermission.

Chris Kendrix scored 17, and Kreklow and Dequon Miller had 11 apiece for the Bears (3-6), who shot 32 percent and made 3 of 17 3-pointers.

— Associated Press —

Northwest women stay winless in the MIAA with loss to Pitt State

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NWMSUThe Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team dropped its conference home opener to Pittsburg State Sunday afternoon in Bearcat Arena, 72-56.

The Bearcats are now 2-8 this season and 0-4 in conference play, while the Gorillas improve to 7-1 overall and 3-1 against MIAA opponents.

Three Northwest student-athletes scored in double-digits, including 16 from senior Tember Schechinger.

Schechinger hit six of her eight shots from the field, including a 5-for-5 effort from inside the arc. The senior blocked four shots in the contest, the most in a game for a Bearcat this season.  Freshman Macy Williams dished out six assists, the most in a game for a Bearcat since last season (Taylor Shull, 7 vs. UCM, 2/28/15).

Trailing by 17 to close the third quarter, Northwest scored nine of the first 11 points in the final period to close the gap to 10, 59-49. Macy Williams opened the quarter with a triple off a pass from Shelby Mustain. After the Gorillas put in a layup, Taylor Shull and Tember Schechinger made layups on consecutive possessions, forcing Pittsburg State to burn a timeout. Following a defensive stop, Schechinger dropped in another layup on a pass from Williams to complete the Bearcat run. The Gorillas were able to stave off the Northwest rally after that point, not allowing the lead to dip into single digits.

The Bearcats will hit the road next weekend for a pair of MIAA contests to wrap up the 2015 portion of their schedule. First up, Northwest will face off with Lincoln on Friday, Dec. 18 at 5:30 in Jefferson City, Mo.

— Northwest Athletics —

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