BOYS
Blue Springs 63, Central 38
Benton 52, Harrisonville 35
St. Joseph Christian 50, Wetmore 44
SAVANNAH INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT
Championship – Lafayette 57, Staley 53
5th Place – Chillicothe 44, Bishop LeBlond 37
GIRLS
Benton 61, Harrisonville 28
St. Joseph Christian 43, Wetmore 41
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma’s still scoring.
Now, the Sooners are playing defense, too.
Ryan Spangler scored a season-high 18 points to help No. 22 Oklahoma defeat Missouri 82-63 Friday night in the SEC/Big 12 challenge. Buddy Hield had 17 points and three steals and Isaiah Cousins added 16 points for the Sooners, who shot 57 percent from the field and made 10 of 20 3-pointers.
But what changed the game was the way Oklahoma defended after halftime. The Sooners opened the second half on a 15-0 run. Missouri (4-4) didn’t score for the first 5:16 of the second half and missed its first seven shots after the break. It’s a big step for a team that wasn’t always focused on getting stops a year ago.
“Defensively, we’ve been making progress and we’ve been getting better,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. “Defensively, I thought we were pretty solid all night.”
Oklahoma (5-2) was coming off a runner-up finish in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Johnathan Williams III led Missouri with 16 points and eight rebounds. Montaque Gill-Caesar, Missouri’s top scorer entering the game, finished with 15 points on 6-for-16 shooting.
Namon Wright added 12 points for the Tigers, who had won two straight.
The Sooners held Missouri to 42 percent shooting.
“We have a lot of quick guys,” Hield said. “We do a good job pressuring the ball. It was a team effort.”
It was the third blowout loss for the Tigers this season under first-year coach Kim Anderson. They lost to Arizona by 19 and Purdue by 21 last month.
Missouri led Oklahoma early, but a 3-pointer by Cousins put the Sooners up 19-17. Cousins scored 11 points in the first 9:29.
Hield, Oklahoma’s top scorer for the season, didn’t score until 5:39 remained in the first half, but his layup pushed the Sooners’ lead to 27-20 and caused Missouri to call timeout.
A 3-pointer by Hield pushed the lead to 10, and a dunk by TaShawn Thomas bumped the lead to 12. Spangler’s 3-pointer right before the half gave Oklahoma a 37-25 lead at the break.
The Sooners rolled in the second half against a Missouri team that is loaded with freshmen and sophomores.
“This is big boy basketball, and you have to be ready for anything they throw at you,” Anderson said. “I thought we panicked more than anything, and they put pressure on us.”
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
“I think all around, we just kind of succumbed to what they were doing.” — Gill-Caesar.
ON THE RISE
Spangler, who made 3 of 11 3-pointers last season, made 2 of 2 on Friday night and has made 6 of 9 for the season.
TIP-INS
Oklahoma: The teams met regularly when Missouri was a member of the Big Eight, then the Big 12 before moving to the SEC. Oklahoma now has a 113-97 lead in the series. … Oklahoma beat then-No. 22 UCLA and Butler to reach the Battle 4 Atlantis final before losing to then-No. 2 Wisconsin.
Missouri: The Tigers, who had been holding opponents to 36 percent shooting in the second half of games, allowed the Sooners to shoot 68 percent in the second half. … Missouri started off well, but made just 11 of 27 shots in the first half.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma plays at Tulsa on Dec. 13.
Missouri plays host to Elon on Dec. 11.
— Associated Press —
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Last year, Wayne Selden Jr. might have let a lousy shooting performance in Kansas’s previous game affect his confidence in a high-profile matchup with Florida on Friday night.
That’s the difference between being a freshman and a sophomore.
Selden poured in 21 points and keyed a massive second-half run, allowing the No. 11 Jayhawks to overcome an 18-point deficit and beat the Gators 71-65 inside boisterous Allen Fieldhouse.
“You’re not going to make them every night,” said Selden, who was 0-for-10 from the field last Sunday against Michigan State. “You just have to stay persistent.”
Cliff Alexander and Frank Mason III had 12 points apiece, and Perry Ellis finished with 10 for the Jayhawks (6-1), who trailed 39-24 at halftime before using a 17-0 surge to seize control.
Kansas wound up outscoring the Gators 47-26 in the second half.
“It was a terrible start and our best players were not very good at all in the first half,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “The roles reversed in the second half.”
Devin Robinson scored 13 points and Chris Walker had 12 for Florida, which is off to its worst start through seven games since it also started 3-4 during the 1990-91 season.
“You have to credit them. They had a lot of fight,” the Gators’ Jon Horford said. “I felt like we let them speed us up a little bit, take us out of the flow we had in the first half.”
The Gators once again played without the calming influence of guard Eli Carter, who has been hobbled by a sprained left foot. He hurt it during practice Nov. 20 and had struggled in two of the four games he had played, causing coach Billy Donovan to rest him Friday night.
“It’s been hard the last week just because we’ve had limited numbers in practice,” Donovan said. “It was good to see Devin Robinson respond like he did. I thought he was a bright spot.”
The Jayhawks led 14-10 as the game approached the midway point of the first half, but a slew of turnovers and some frigid shooting allowed Florida to pull into the lead.
Robinson scored four quick points, Dorian Finney-Smith contributed the next five and Michael Frazier popped a shot-clock-beating 3-pointer to cap a 19-3 assault. By the time Ellis scored in the paint, the Gators had successfully set the tempo of the game.
They continued to pull away, pushing their run to 25-4 on Robinson’s 3-pointer late in the first half, silencing what had been a roaring crowd inside Allen Fieldhouse.
Even the introduction of new football coach David Beaty, who had been hired away from Texas A&M earlier in the day, did little to energize the stunned fans at halftime.
The Gators kept everyone quiet early in the second half, too, extending their lead to 45-27 on back-to-back baskets by Frazier and Robinson for their biggest lead of the game.
It was at that point that Kansas began chipping away.
Turning up the pressure with some full-court defense, the Jayhawks began producing turnovers of their own, often turning them into easy layups at the other end. And when Alexander came in off the bench, the bruising freshman gave them the interior muscle they’d been lacking.
Kansas knotted the game 52-all on a free throw by Ellis with 6:18 left, part of their 17-0 second-half run. Selden had six points during the charge, including a pair of silky jumpers, and Ellis’s basket with 3:17 remaining gave the Jayhawks a 60-52 lead.
By that point, the Gators were in the bonus and Kansas began a parade to the free throw line, putting the game away by making 11 consecutive foul shots in the final couple minutes.
“There’s no six- or eight-point plays. Just try to win each 4 minutes,” Self said. “Once the crowd got into it, we played with so much more energy.”
TIP-INS
Florida: The Gators shot 53.6 percent in the first half. They shot 34.5 percent in the second half. … Florida was outrebounded 24-9 in the second half.
Kansas: The Jayhawks had more turnovers (9) than field goals (8) in the first half. They had only five turnovers in the second half. … Kansas shot 48 percent in the second half.
BEWARE THE PHOG
There’s a reason Self has only lost nine games at Allen Fieldhouse. When the crowd gets amped up like it was during the Jayhawks’ second-half run, it can be nearly impossible for opposing teams to communicate. “I think the crowd really helped them out,” Walker said.
QUOTABLE: “It was just like Jekyll-and-Hyde the first half and second,” Self said.
UP NEXT
Florida: Hosts Yale on Monday night.
Kansas: At Georgetown on Wednesday night.
— Associated Press —
University of Kansas Athletics
LAWRENCE, Kan. – David Beaty, the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Texas A&M, has been hired as the head football coach at the University of Kansas. Beaty arrives in Lawrence with more than 20 years of coaching experience, including two previous stints as an assistant coach with the Jayhawks.
Kansas will formally introduce Beaty at a press conference Monday, Dec. 8 at 9:30 a.m.
A native of Garland, Texas, Beaty takes over the KU program after spending the three previous seasons as the Aggies’ wide receivers coach. He also served as A&M’s recruiting coordinator during the 2013-14 seasons.
“I am very excited to be back at Kansas,” Beaty said. “I am especially excited that Clint Bowen has agreed to stay on as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. Clint will be a huge part of our success going forward and I am fortunate to have him on my staff.”
“David Beaty is well-respected in the football community and brings to KU great vision, passion and energy,” Kansas Athletics Director Sheahon Zenger said. “He has a bright football mind and is known as one of the best recruiters in the nation.”
“I am pleased to welcome Coach Beaty back to the Jayhawk family,” Kansas Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said. “He is an outstanding fit for the University of Kansas and his work to build a competitive football program will advance our athletics department and the reputation of KU nationally.”
Under Beaty’s tutelage, the Texas A&M wide receivers have been a record-setting group. With first-team All-American Mike Evans leading the way in 2013, the Aggies set team records for receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and completion percentage. Evans set the A&M record with 1,394 receiving yards and matched the receiving touchdowns record with 12. He also shattered and re-broke the single-game receiving record with 279 yards vs. Alabama and 287 yards against Auburn. Evans went on to become the Aggies’ first wide receiver to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. Texas A&M was the only team in the nation with four 50-catch, 600- yard receivers in 2013.
In 2012, the Aggies had six wideouts who produced 19 or more catches, including more than 70 each by senior Ryan Swope and Evans.
Beaty came to Texas A&M after serving as offensive coordinator at both Kansas and Rice. He was the co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at KU in 2011, and helped develop one of the Big 12’s top all-purpose threats in wideout D.J. Beshears.
Beaty spent the 2010 season as the offensive coordinator at Rice, where he helped the team average 28.7 points and 375.3 yards per game. Prior to his second stint at Rice, Beaty was the wide receivers coach at Kansas during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
During his first tour at KU, he helped receivers Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe develop into NFL-caliber players. Meier, who was taken in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft, received All-Big 12 accolades in 2008 and 2009, while Briscoe, a sixth-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft, was an All-American and first team All-Big 12 pick in 2009. In 2008 five different KU players produced a total of 15 100-yard receiving games. Among the school records set by KU wide receivers in 2008 were season receptions, game receptions, season yards, game yards, and season touchdowns.
Beaty spent the 2006 and 2007 seasons as the wide receivers coach at Rice. In 2006 he served as passing game coordinator as the team made its first bowl game in 45 years (the New Orleans Bowl). He had two players – Jarett Dillard and James Casey – drafted by NFL teams following the 2007 season. Dillard ranked in the top-25 nationally in both receptions and yards in 2007, and he led the nation in touchdown receptions (21) in 2006.
Prior to joining the Owls’ staff, Beaty was a successful head coach at MacArthur (Irving, Texas) High School from 2002-05, where his teams posted a 33-11 record and won two district titles. He earned several coach-of-the-year honors while at MacArthur.
Beaty began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Naaman Forest High School in Garland, Texas, from 1994-96. He was also an assistant at Garland High School from 1997-2000. Garland claimed the Class 5A Division II state title in 1999.
Beaty assumed his first head coaching job at North Dallas High School in 2001. He coached there for one season, posting a 6-4 record, before taking over at MacArthur.
Beaty is a 1994 graduate of Lindenwood (St. Charles, Mo.) College, where he played football and served as a team captain from 1992-93. He was a four-year starter at wide receiver and led the team in receptions for three-straight seasons. He played both football and soccer at Garland (Texas) High School where he graduated in 1989.
Beaty and his wife, Raynee, have two daughters, Averie (15) and Alexa (10).
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT DAVID BEATY
Texas A&M Head Coach Kevin Sumlin
“David is a great recruiter, a great coach and a great man. He was one of the first people I hired at Texas A&M and he’s been a huge part of what we’ve been able to accomplish here. He’s earned this opportunity to be a head coach, and I believe he will do a tremendous job with the Jayhawks.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Wide Receiver Mike Evans
“Coach Beaty is one of the most genuine people I’ve ever known, and he really cares about his players. On the field, he’s a great coach with a lot of energy and he’s fun to be around. He will always push you to be your best.”
NFL and Kansas All-American Wide Receiver Dezmon Briscoe
“Coach Beaty is a players’ coach, but he knows when to be serious. He is not afraid to put his foot down and tell you what you are doing wrong. He won’t let you sit around and be mediocre. He wants greatness from you.”
“Coach Beaty developed me as a receiver, but he also developed me as a man. When he came to KU he took me under his wing and really helped me mature off the field. We have a great relationship and still communicate to this day.”
NFL and Rice All-American Wide Receiver Jarett Dillard
“Coach Beaty was a great mentor and coach for me during my time at Rice. He was a very valuable asset to our program. He helped develop me as a patient route runner and receiver who could handle the pressure that was going to come from defenses keying on me. It was a breath of fresh air to learn the game from someone who really understands both the mental and physical aspects of coaching football.”
David Beaty Coaching Experience
1994-97 Naaman Forest HS (Texas) Assistant Coach
1997-00 Garland HS (Texas) Assistant Coach
2001 North Dallas HS (Texas) Head Coach/Athletic Coordinator
2002-05 Irving MacArthur HS (Texas) Head Coach/Athletic Coordinator
2006-07 Rice Passing Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers
2008-09 Kansas Wide Receivers
2010 Rice Offensive Coordinator
2011 Kansas Co-Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers
2012 Texas A&M Wide Receivers
2013-14 Texas A&M Wide Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator
Personal Information
Hometown: Garland, Texas
Education: 1994 – Bachelor’s Degree from Lindenwood College
Family: Wife – Raynee and daughters Averie (15) and Alexa (10)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles will be available for Sunday’s game at Arizona despite bruising his knee in last weekend’s loss to the Broncos.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said that Charles did not miss a snap all week in practice and will start against the Cardinals. Charles had just 10 carries for 35 yards against Denver.
Reid said that wide receiver Junior Hemingway and defensive lineman Allen Bailey are out after sustaining concussions. Hemingway has struggled to get on the field most of the season, but Bailey has become valuable for a defense that has struggled to stop the run.
Vance Walker and Kevin Vickerson are expected to replace Bailey in the lineup.
The Staley School of Leadership Studies, in partnership with K-State Athletics, is introducing a new leadership development program for K-State students that honors Coach Bill Snyder’s leadership legacy.
The inaugural Snyder Leadership Legacy Fellows program will begin in May 2015 and continue through April 2016. This yearlong program will include a class of up to 50 outstanding K-State students entering their final year at K-State and has a curriculum based on Coach Snyder’s 16 Goals for Success. Snyder Fellows will participate in leadership development activities to help prepare for transition from college and for engagement as lifelong leaders. The Snyder Leadership Legacy Fellows program will:
The application period will be open for students from Jan. 26 to Feb. 20, 2015. The inaugural class of students of the Snyder Leadership Legacy Fellows program will engage in three separate intensive leadership opportunities; the first session will take place May 27-28, 2015. Two additional leadership development sessions will occur during the 2015-2016 academic year.
For more information on the Snyder Leadership Legacy Fellows program, contact Staley School faculty member Marcia Hornung at 785-532-6085 orhornung@k-state.edu.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska football player is recovering after being attacked by an apparently camera-shy raccoon.
The Lincoln Journal Star reports that Husker defensive end Jack Gangwish spotted the animal on the side of the road Wednesday night as he was driving north of Lincoln and decided to take a picture of himself with the raccoon using his cellphone.
When he approached the animal, it attacked, biting the 21-year-old Gangwish on the calf.
Gangwish killed the animal with a crescent wrench he grabbed from his truck.
Authorities are testing the raccoon for rabies.
BOYS
Doniphan West (KS) 59, St. Joseph Christian 52
GIRLS
Raymore-Peculiar 51, Lafayette 28
Doniphan West (KS) 36, St. Joseph Christian 31
SAVANNAH INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT – Consolation Bracket
Central 51, Maryville 28
Chillicothe 49, Bishop LeBlond 39
The University of Nebraska has hired Mike Riley as its new Head Football Coach, Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst announced Thursdayy. Riley will be formally introduced at a news conference on Friday, December 5th at 9:00 a.m. in the West Memorial Stadium – 3rd Floor Club.
Riley comes to Nebraska after 14 seasons as the head coach at Oregon State University, spanning two different tenures in Corvallis. Riley has led OSU to 93 wins and a 6-2 record in postseason bowl games. In addition to his time at Oregon State, Riley has served as the head coach of the San Diego Chargers, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, with whom he won two Grey Cup Championships, and the San Antonio Riders in the World Football League. He has served as an assistant coach at California, USC, Linfield College, Whitworth and Northern Colorado as well as with the New Orleans Saints and in the Canadian Football League.
Riley is a native of Idaho and a graduate of the University of Alabama, where he played for Paul “Bear” Bryant and won three SEC titles and one National Championship.
Mike and his wife, Dee, have two children, Matthew and Kate, and one grandchild, Eli.
Mike will assume his duties immediately but will not coach the Huskers in the upcoming bowl game as Interim Head Coach Barney Cotton will coach the team through the bowl.
Statement from Chancellor Harvey Perlman
“We have high expectations of the men and women who teach and coach our students and Mike Riley is an outstanding addition to our family. I want to welcome Mike and his family to Nebraska and thank Shawn Eichorst for his great efforts in bringing Mike to Lincoln.”
Statement from Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst:
“There was one coach who fit all the characteristics that I was seeking to lead our tradition rich football program. Mike Riley has a proven record of success, a sound approach to football and teaching, an understanding of the educational mission of our university and the integrity and values that we cherish at Nebraska. I have no doubt that Mike will assemble a tremendous staff and lead our student-athletes to win Big Ten titles and compete for national championships in the years ahead.”
Statement from Mike Riley:
“It is truly an honor to join the University of Nebraska family. Though we love Corvallis and Oregon State, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to coach at one of the nation’s most storied football programs and I can’t wait to get started. My sincere thanks to Chancellor Perlman and Shawn Eichorst for their confidence in me and I look forward to becoming a part of the Nebraska family and building upon the great history and tradition.”
— NU Sports Information —
Mizzou junior defensive end Shane Ray (Kansas City, Mo.) has been named a finalist for the 2014 Hendricks Award, as announced by the Ted Hendricks Foundation on Thursday (Dec. 4). The award honors the nation’s top defensive end and the list of six finalists was narrowed down from 18 players who were named to the watch list earlier this season.
Ray, a native of Kansas City, Mo., is third in the nation with his 20.5 tackles-for-loss and is sixth with his 12.0 total sacks. Ray leads the SEC in both categories and also leads the league in sacks per game and tackles for loss per game. He is a big part of a Mizzou defense that has been sensational in SEC play. In league games, Mizzou’s defense ranks first in rushing defense, first in total defense and second in both scoring and passing defense. Over the Tigers’ current six-game winning streak, Ray and the Tigers have held opponents to just 98.5 rushing yards per game and 281.5 total yards.
One of six finalists, Ray is joined by Ohio State’s Joey Bosa, Clemson’s Vic Beasley, Washington’s Hau’oli Kikaha, Utah’s Nate Orchard and USC’s Leonard Williams. He is one of just two juniors to be honored as a finalist, joining Williams. The remaining four are all seniors.
— MU Sports Information —
