BOYS
Central 72 (11-9, 6-2 Suburban)
Lee’s Summit 66
Lafayette 66 (13-7)
Hogan Prep 47
Benton 63 (8-13, 1-5 MEC)
Cameron 34
Category: Sports
Northwest women lose to No. 24 Central Missouri 78-67
The Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team dropped a close game Wednesday night to Central Missouri 78-67 at Bearcat Arena.
Northwest fell behind 17-2, then clawed their way back to be down 33-29 at the half. Kylie Coleman hit a three pointer to bring the game within three at 62-59 with 7:44 left in the game, Central then went on a 9-0 run and never looked back.
Kendey Eaton scored a career high 37 points, which is tied for third in Northwest history for points in a game. Mallory McConkey added 10. The Bearcats shot 50% from the floor and 37.5% from the three-point line. The Bearcats won the turnover margin 12-11.
The Jennies had all five starters score in double figures led by Morgan Fleming with 20 points, Fleming also led the team in rebounds with 9. Central outrebounded Northwest 35-22. They had 13 offensive rebounds.
Northwest plays again on Saturday against Southwest Baptist at 1:30 p.m. in Bearcat Arena.
— Northwest Athletics —
Palmer’s last-second FTs lift Huskers over Gophers 62-61
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — James Palmer made two free throws with 1.1 seconds left to give Nebraska a 62-61 win over Minnesota on Wednesday night, ending the Cornhuskers’ seven-game losing streak.
Minnesota’s Dupree McBrayer had picked up a loose ball under the basket moments earlier, but he stepped out of bounds, giving Nebraska possession with 2.7 seconds left. Glynn Watson Jr. inbounded to Palmer, who was fouled by Amir Coffey as he went up to shoot.
Palmer went to the line and hit the first free throw, and after a timeout he swished the second to send the Pinnacle Bank Arena crowd into a frenzy.
Gophers coach Rick Pitino started to follow an official off the court, but the official waved him off and Pitino turned around.
Palmer finished with 24 points for the Huskers (14-11, 4-10 Big Ten). Watson broke out of the worst slump of his career, scoring 19 points.
Jordan Murphy had 19 points, Daniel Oturu added 16 and Coffey had 11 for the Gophers (17-8, 6-9), who have lost four straight.
The Gophers led 61-60 and had the ball in the final minute, but Murphy, who scored eight of his team’s last 10 points, was called for a charge into Roby with 20.9 seconds left.
Thomas Allen had his shot blocked by Oturu with time running down, and McBrayer grabbed the ball but turned it over when his foot touched the baseline.
That set up the winning sequence for Nebraska, which hadn’t won since Jan. 14.
BIG PICTURE
Minnesota: The Gophers’ longest losing streak of the season continues, and they’ve lost six in a row in Lincoln. They also lost for the seventh time in eight road games.
Nebraska: Palmer’s free throws won the game, but the resurgence of Watson is what helped put the Huskers in position to win. In the previous four games, Watson was 6 of 37 from the floor and 1 of 18 on 3-pointers with a total of 15 points.
UP NEXT
Minnesota hosts Indiana on Saturday.
Nebraska hosts Northwestern on Saturday.
— Associated Press —
Da Silva leads Missouri State over Evansville 68-56
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Tulio Da Silva scored 17 points as Missouri State topped Evansville 68-56 on Wednesday night. Ryan Kreklow and Jarred Dixon added 15 points each for the Bears.
Marty Hill had 15 points for the Purple Aces (10-16, 4-9 Missouri Valley Conference). K.J. Riley added 10 points.
The Bears evened the season series against the Purple Aces with the win. Evansville defeated Missouri State 70-64 on Jan. 16. Missouri State (14-12, 8-5) takes on Loyola of Chicago on the road on Sunday. Evansville plays Northern Iowa at home on Sunday.
— Associated Press —
Bishop LeBlond football coach Tony Dudik announces his retirement
St. Joseph, Mo. – Bishop LeBlond Athletic Director Michael Evans announced Wednesday that LeBlond head football coach Tony Dudik will retire in May after more than 41 years of teaching and leading young men in the sport.
Evans said that as the “dean of area football coaches,” Tony Dudik represents more than just a football coach. “When Coach Dudik arrived nine years ago to lead our program he accepted the challenges of coaching the smallest school in a very competitive conference and of reinvigorating the tradition of LB football,” Evans said. “But Tony’s influence and impact goes far beyond the football field. He brought an energy, enthusiasm, and most importantly faith example, for all our students. Tony always wanted our teams to be prepared athletically and to compete, but most importantly he wanted each student at Bishop LeBlond to become the best person he or she could be.”
Coach Dudik’s career includes 33 years at the city’s largest high school, Central, (23 years as head coach, 9 as assistant and 1 as volunteer). His record at Central was 113-119. At Central, he coached six players who ultimately played in the NFL, 12 college Division I players, and 38 players who played at other college levels. At LeBlond he finishes with a record of 32-65. His LB teams were district runner-up in 2012 and 2013, and reached the district semifinals in 2014-2016. To date, 14 players from LeBlond have gone on to play college football.
Dudik has won numerous coaching and teaching awards throughout his years of service including being a 2011 Missouri Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame Inductee, and being named a 2016 National Double-Goal Coach Award Winner by the Positive Coaching Alliance.
Tony and his wife Mary Ann Westhoff Dudik, a Bishop LeBlond graduate, have three children and seven grandchildren. He said he hopes in retirement to be able to share the journey with them, as well as spend time with his mother and mother-in-law. “I don’t know what my future holds, but I do know who holds my future,” Dudik said. “I will cherish all my memories for the rest of my life. It’s always a great day to be an Eagle.”
Evans said the search for a new football coach begins immediately. Ideally, Evans said, the new coach will be able to teach physical education/weight training as well as coach football. Anyone interested should contact Evans at mevans@bishopleblondhs.com.
— Bishop LeBlond Press Release —
Tilmon helps Missouri hold off Arkansas 79-78
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri locked down on the final defensive possession and squeaked by Arkansas 79-78 Tuesday night.
The Tigers were up three points with 17 seconds remaining when Arkansas’ Daniel Gafford threw down an alley-oop dunk from Jalen Harris. On the ensuing inbound play, Missouri’s Xavier Pinson committed a push-off foul to give Arkansas the ball back and a chance to win.
Missouri’s Jeremiah Tilmon didn’t allow Harris to get a quality shot off, and the ball was tipped back to him as time expired.
Tilmon led Missouri (12-11, 3-8 Southeastern Conference) with 21 points. Senior Jordan Geist contributed 18 points as the Tigers avoided falling below .500 for the first time since Cuonzo Martin took over as head coach at the beginning of last season.
The Tigers erupted for 46 points in the first half, eclipsing their previous season high of 45 against Morehead State on Dec. 29.
Gafford led Arkansas (14-10, 5-6) with 26 points on 12-of-17 shooting. He scored the Razorbacks’ first 10 points of the game.
Arkansas shot 47 percent from the field. The Tigers won the turnover battle 12-11 and outrebounded Arkansas 39-33.
BIG PICTURE
Arkansas: The Razorbacks had a chance to win, but instead it turns into a loss that will hurt their NCAA Tournament chances.
Missouri: The Tigers have struggled to maintain leads recently, so holding off Arkansas’ comeback attempt was a step in the right direction. Missouri is still off the radar in terms of NCAA Tournament hopes.
UP NEXT
Arkansas returns home to face Mississippi State on Saturday.
Missouri hits the road to take on Mississippi on Saturday.
— Associated Press —
K-State defeats Texas for 9th straight Big 12 win
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – – Barry Brown and Xavier Sneed each scored 16 points, and No. 18 Kansas State beat Texas 71-64 Tuesday night for its ninth straight Big 12 victory.
Three other Wildcats scored in double figures, Dean Wade with 12 points, and Kamau Stokes and Makol Mawien with 11 apiece.
Kerwin Roach led Texas with 17 points, and Courtney Ramey added 10.
Kansas State (19-5, 9-2 in Big 12) converted nearly 55 percent of its field goal attempts, including 56.5 in the second half.
The Wildcats used runs of 8-0 and 9-0 in the second half before seven minutes were gone, the latter giving the Wildcats a seven-point lead. Even so, they could not shake Texas. A long 3-pointer by Kamau Stokes with 4:30 left gave them their second seven-point lead of the half.
Texas (14-11, 6-6), trying to cut the deficit to two with 3:02 left, used too much of the 30-second shot clock, Jaxson Hayes’ basket ruled to be too late after the officials went to replay.
Roach committed three turnovers in the first six minutes of the game, but he eventually made a star turn, scoring 14 points in the first half, primarily with hard drives to the basket that resulted in layups and free throws.
Ramey added all 10 of his points for Texas in the half, and the Longhorns led 39-35 at the break.
Roach slowed down in the second half, scoring just three points and committing three more turnovers.
Kansas State played without guard Cartier Diarra, its top reserve who recently suffered a broken finger on his shooting hand that will require surgery. He’s out indefinitely.
BIG PICTURE
Kansas State: The Wildcats maintained their hold on first place in the Big 12 standings. One reason is a 5-1 record on the road in conference games, an area in which they have improved the last three seasons. They are 13-11 in Big 12 road games since the beginning of 2016-17. In the previous two seasons they were 2-16 in Big 12 road games. Kansas State did get a break when Baylor was missing two starting guards, including leading scorer Makai Mason, on Saturday.
Texas: The Longhorns, a really poor 3-point shooting team earlier in the season, have recently improved, but they still ranked only 227th nationally before Tuesday with 33.4 percent accuracy. They made 17 of 43 (39.5 percent) in two games before facing Kansas State, so perhaps they were due for a bad game. They had one, hitting 4 of 19 against the Wildcats.
UP NEXT
Kansas State hosts Iowa State on Saturday. The Wildcats beat the Cyclones 58-57 on Jan. 12 in Ames. Barry Brown Jr. hit the game winning driving shot with four seconds remaining.
Texas hosts Oklahoma State on Saturday. Texas lost to the Cowboys 61-58 on Jan. 8 in Stillwater, stopping their momentum after a 2-0 start in Big 12 play and starting a three-game losing streak.
— Associated Press —
St. Joseph Mustangs announce 2019 roster
(ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) — St. Joseph Mustangs manager Johnny Coy has announced his 2019 Mustangs’ roster.
Coy’s second season as the organization’s manager features several familiar faces and local talents on the roster.
“It’s very important to the organization to have players in their second summer with us,” Coy said. “Last year, we had probably 95 percent of our roster brand new. Johnson’s last season we had so many seniors that it wasn’t possible to bring those guys back so we basically had to start fresh. We have a very large amount of players coming back this year from last years team. Playing in front of huge crowds every single day is something that our players will be much more used to this year— having spent a whole summer here already. The returners know what to expect coming to St. Joseph and they couldn’t be more excited. The fans are excited about it as well. Having players that they are already familiar with is huge as well, there are definitely some fan favorites coming back.”
This year’s team features players from all levels of college baseball and from across the country.
In fact, there are a few players from St. Joseph—Central graduates Noah Cameron and Dawson Smith. The team also features several players from around the area like Brady Holden (Fauceet), Colton Kenagy (Gower), Austin Brooks (Plattsburg), and Mack Stephenson (Weston).
The 2019 Mustangs also have players from the two local Division II MIAA Conference school—Missouri Western’s Jacob Purl and Northwest Missouri State’s Derek Hussey (Chillicothe).
“This summer was smoother than my first year recruiting players,” Coy said. “Last year’s team was basically brought together from scratch, and we lost so many players right before the start of the season for various reasons. We lost around 8 players a week before our first game— most of them pitchers. This year, however, I was able to bring back some key contributors, who I have great relationships with, who I know will be there opening night and also added some very well established college players to compliment them. I am very excited for this summer’s team.”
With the season just a few months away, Coy said he’s ready to get his team to St. Josepto beginin the 2019 campaign.
“I talk to my Mustang players quite often and keep up on how their college seasons are going,” Coy said. “My Division 2/JUCO players have already started their seasons, and my Division 1 players are starting February 15th. I am so excited to keep up on these guys throughout their spring season and once that season is over, they will all come to St. Joseph to enjoy another amazing summer in front of the best fans in baseball. The season can’t get here soon enough.”
The St. Joseph Mustangs’ 2019 season starts on May 29 against the Midwest A’s.
Mustangs’ manager Johnny Coy returns for his second season, after notching a 24-24 record last season.
Season tickets for 2019 are available by visiting Phil Welch Stadium or calling 816-279-STJO (7856).
Here is the 2019 roster:
Catchers
Jordan Maxson (Kansas State)
Brady Garrison (Neosho Community College)
1st Baseman
Alex Phillips (Missouri Southern)
Terrence Spurlin (Kansas State)
2nd Baseman
Drew Beazely (South Dakota State University)
Jackson Dierenfeldt (Drury)
Shortstop
Jack Wagner (Kansas)
Karsen Reid (Arkansas State)
Third Baseman
Josh Lincoln (East Central University)
Outfielders
Dylan Ketch (Salve Regina)
Max Mircovich (Rhode Island)
Davin Gummere (Missouri Southern)
Derek Hussey (Northwest Missouri State)
Mike Wright (Southeastern Louisiana)
Brady Holden (State Fair Community College)
Pitchers
Corey Cowan (Missouri Southern)
Drake Kanallaka (Maryville University)
Mahlyk Davis (Dodge City CC)
Nick Houzenga (Central Oklahoma)
Ronnie Winngington (SWICC)
Dawson Smith (Emporia State)
Mack Stephenson (William Jewell)
Tom Beliveau (Salve Regina)
Michael Mathews (Salve Regina)
Colton Kenagy (Keiser University)
Jake Purl (Missouri Western)
Brennon Covington (Missouri Southern)
Cole Gacke (Missouri Southern)
Cameron July (Undecided)
Austin Brooks (Cowley CC)
Jared Wilson (Cowley CC)
Noah Cameron (Central Arkansas)
— Mustangs Press Release —
Missouri Western baseball & softball schedules changed this weekend
ST. JOSEPH – Once again, forecasted weather has resulted in significant changes to the Missouri Western spring sports schedules. Griffon Baseball postponed its home-opening series with St. Cloud State due to forecasted cold temperatures this coming weekend. Griffon Softball saw its scheduled weekend at the Alvy Early Memorial Classic re-written and moved.
The Alvy Early Memorial Classic has been moved from Bentonville, Arkansas to Arkadelphia, Arkansas with an abbreviated schedule. Missouri Western was scheduled for six games over three days this weekend in Bentonville, but will now play four games in Arkadelphia on the campuses of Ouachita Baptist and Henderson State Universities.
UPDATED GRIFFON SOFTBALL SCHEDULE AT THE ALVY EARLY MEMORIAL CLASSIC
Friday, Feb. 15
11 a.m. at Ouachita Baptist
3 p.m. vs Harding (at Henderson State)
Saturday, Feb. 16
9 a.m. at Henderson State
1 p.m. vs Arkansas at Monticello (at Henderson State)
Sunday, Feb. 17
No games for MWSU
MWSU is 4-2 entering the weekend after a split at the Arkasnas-Monticello DII Challenge last weekend in Bentonville. The Griffons ended their day in Arkansas with an 8-0, run-rule win over Ouachita Baptist.
The four game series for Griffon Baseball at the Spring Sports Complex against St. Cloud State will not happen this weekend. An announcement about possible make-up games this week is now expected to be made Wednesday.
— MWSU Athletics —
Tigers’ Cunningham named SEC Player of the Week
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Following her 43rd and 44th career 20-point games, Mizzou Women’s Basketball senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week, announced by the conference office Tuesday. Cunningham averaged 24.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game in Mizzou’s wins over No. 18 Texas A&M (Feb. 7) and Vanderbilt (Feb. 10).
Cunningham continues to lead active SEC players with 11 weekly honors in her career. This is the second time this season, and the fifth time in her career she has been named the SEC Player of the Week. In 2015-16, Cunningham earned a conference record six Freshman of the Week nods, a mark which was tied today with Kentucky’s Rhyne Howard earning her sixth Freshman of the Week nod.
Cunningham has been recognized among the best in the nation this season, as she sits on the watch lists for the Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award, the Wade Trophy and the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award.
The Tiger senior led Mizzou to a 70-65 overtime victory over No. 18 Texas A&M on Thursday, as Cunningham notched her 12th career double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Cunningham matched a career-high with 12 rebounds and set a career high with 44 minutes played in the game. Cunningham accounted for six of Mizzou’s nine total points in overtime, and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the extra period.
On Sunday, Cunningham scored 27 points, grabbed eight rebounds and matched a career-high with seven three-pointers in Mizzou’s 69-46 win over Vanderbilt. Cunningham became the second Tiger to ever make seven threes in an SEC game, as she joins Morgan Eye, who made 11 against Auburn on Jan. 6, 2013. It marked the 11th time this season and the 44th time in her career she has reached 20 points, as Mizzou moved to 10-1 in games this season in which she has scored 20+ points.
Cunningham has been on a recent scoring-tear, as she has averaged 22.4 points per game over her last seven contests with five 20-point games. The Tiger senior ranks near the top of numerous statistical categories in the SEC, as she ranks fourth in three-point percentage (42.9 percent), fifth in scoring (17.1 ppg), fifth in three-pointers made (2.4) sixth in field goal percentage (49.5 percent), seventh in free throw percentage (79.7 percent). In conference games only, Cunningham leads the SEC in three-point percentage (54.7 percent) and three-pointers made per game (3.2), and ranks third in scoring (18.7 ppg), third in field goal percentage (55.8 percent), sixth in free throw percentage (87.8 percent).
Cunningham is the SEC career active scoring leader with 1,991 points, and ranks sixth in career rebounds (646) and seventh in assists (363). Among program records, Cunningham currently ranks second in career three-point percentage (.407), third in scoring (1,991 points), third in free throws made (480), third in free throw percentage (.830), third in three-pointers made (213), fourth in career points per game (16.7) and fifth in assists (363).
Mizzou hits the road this week for a matchup with No. 5 Mississippi State on Thursday before returning home to Mizzou Arena on Sunday to host Tennessee.
— Mizzou Athletics —