Kearney 69, Central 50
Odessa 76, Benton 74 (OT)
GIRLS
SAVANNAH INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT – 1st Round
Savannah 52, Central 49
Staley 59, Bishop LeBlond 58
WINNETONKA TOURNAMENT – Consolation
Grandview 48, Lafayette 44 (OT)
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Johnathan Williams III laughed when asked what coach Kim Anderson told him at halftime Tuesday.
“He got on me a little bit,” the Missouri forward said. “And I think I kind of needed that. . And I think I did do better in the second half. I want to say thanks to Coach Anderson for pushing me.”
“You’re welcome,” Anderson responded.
Williams III scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Missouri past Southeast Missouri State 65-61 after trailing 30-24 at the break. The sophomore played with a brace on his right knee but otherwise showed no ill effects from soreness that limited him to just 7 minutes of playing time against Chaminade in the Maui Invitational.
The Tigers (4-3) took their first lead of the game with just 3:55 remaining on a 3-pointer by forward D’Angelo Allen. Keith Shamburger then hit his own 3-pointer with 17.2 seconds remaining to give Missouri a 63-58 advantage.
After the Redhawks’ J.J. Thompson answered with a basket from long range, Tramaine Isabell converted two free throws with 7.7 seconds remaining to end the threat.
Jarekious Bradley scored 12 points and Thompson added 11 to lead Southeast Missouri State (3-4), which fell to 0-8 all-time against Missouri.
The Redhawks made their first four shots from the field and used a 9-0 run late in the opening half to take a 30-19 lead before Missouri scored the final five points heading into the break.
“We need that emotional leader, and right now we don’t have that established,” Anderson said. “We can’t just wait around and just think we’re going to turn it on. That’s not going to happen.”
Southeast Missouri State then held on for most of the second half before Allen’s 3-pointer provided the Tigers with a 57-55 lead. Freshman Montaque Gill-Caesar set up the lead change with two 3-pointers of his own on the Tigers’ previous two possessions.
Gill-Caesar, who entered the night leading Missouri with 13.7 points per game, scored 13 of his 15 points after the break. Shamburger finished with 11.
Missouri played without sophomore Wes Clark, who didn’t join the Tigers on the bench. Anderson said, without elaborating, that the guard was suspended indefinitely for violating team rules. Clark started the team’s first six games, averaging 9.2 points and a team-high 32 minutes per game.
Namon Wright started in Clark’s place after scoring 21 points on 7-of-7 shooting against Chaminade. A freshman from Los Angeles, Wright scored four points.
While both teams shot about 50 percent from the field, they struggled from the free throw line, as Southeast Missouri State converted 5 of 14 attempts while Missouri finished 13 of 23. Williams went only 8 of 14.
“Bottom line, it’s free throw shooting,” Redhawks coach Dickey Nutt said. “We had our chances — and I don’t take anything away from them — but it’s hard to swallow that. But we’ll move on.”
TIP-INS
Southeast Missouri State: The Redhawks fell to 1-19 against current members of the Southeastern Conference, with their only win coming at Arkansas during the 1924-25 season.
Missouri: In addition to Clark’s absence, freshman Jakeenan Gant continued to sit out while the school reviews his eligibility.
DEFENSIVE SETBACK
Southeast Missouri State limited Alabama A&M on Saturday to 31.3 percent shooting (15 of 48) — including 1 of 12 from 3-point range — the second-lowest field goal percentage by an opponent in coach Dickey Nutt’s six seasons with the Redhawks. Missouri shot 22 of 44 from the field, including 8 of 15 from long range.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
“Sometimes we’re a little too cool for school,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. “I’ll be honest with you. That’s a habit we have to break.”
UP NEXT
Southeast Missouri State hosts Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday.
Missouri plays at Oklahoma on Friday.
— Associated Press —
MANHATTAN, Kansas (AP) — Kansas State scored its fewest points in Bruce Weber’s three-year tenure to close the Maui Invitational, so he wasn’t particularly excited to see Nebraska-Omaha, who knocked off Marquette on the road, in the Wildcats’ first game since the tournament.
However, a near-career high performance from Nino Williams and a season-high 23 assists aided Kansas State (4-3) in its first home game in two weeks.
Williams had 19 points and Marcus Foster added 16 points as Kansas State beat Nebraska-Omaha 84-66 in the first-ever meeting between the two schools on Tuesday night.
It is already the fourth 80-point game for the Wildcats. They only surpassed the mark twice during the 2013-14 season.
C.J. Carter had 22 points to pace the Mavericks, who were held to their lowest score of the season.
Nebraska-Omaha (3-3) overcame two nine-point leads just after halftime, but 10 points from Foster in the first eight minutes of the second half never allowed the Mavericks to close within six points through the remainder of the game.
A 3-point play from Marcus Tyus closed Kansas State’s lead to 56-48 with 11:19 left, but Williams scored nine of Kansas State’s next 13 points to open a 69-50 lead.
“We were pretty good defensively,” Weber said of the stretch. “We turned them over, got some easy baskets off of it and were in the right spots. That first 10-12 minutes of the second half, we were pretty solid and we extended (the lead) to six to 10 and to 15 and kept it going.”
The Wildcats won the rebounding battle 43-25, which led to 38 points in the paint and substantial foul trouble for the Mavericks.
Forward Jake White was out for Nebraska-Omaha and his replacement Tre’Shawn Thurman and starter Mike Rostampour both picked up two early fouls.
“Like I told our team, `There are some things you can control and some things you can’t,” Nebraska-Omaha coach Derrin Hansen said. “One of those things we can’t control is that they can bring bigger bodies than anyone we’ve played. Whether that be Marquette, Nebraska or whoever, that hurt us tonight.”
It didn’t start well for the Wildcats, as they didn’t lead until a Jevon Thomas 3-pointer with 7:32 left in the first half.
Nebraska-Omaha opened up a 16-10 lead with 11:29 left in the first half, shooting nearly 50 percent during the stretch.
However, the Mavericks’ largest lead opened up the floodgates for Kansas State.
After struggling through his first six games, Justin Edwards followed a Foster basket with a spinning layup through traffic that aided a 12-3 first-half scoring run. He also knocked in his second 3-pointer of the season.
“We didn’t play to our potential like we should have,” Carter said of letting their foot off the gas pedal. “The first we did, but they’re a great team. For a six-minute stretch, like coach said, we just fell apart.”
The Mavericks trailed 37-31 at halftime, but Carter’s 14 first-half points kept them in range after making only four shots in the final six minutes.
Williams led the Wildcats with eight points in the first half, including the first five points of the game.
—
TIP-INS
Nebraska-Omaha, who was picked sixth in conference preseason polls, leads the Summit League in points per game, field goals made per game, 3-point percentage and total rebounds.
Kansas State is now 36-0 in December home games, dating back to a 76-66 loss to Rutgers Dec. 28, 2004.
STAT LINE
Jevon Thomas reached double figures for the first time in his Kansas State tenure, scoring a career-high 12 points. The performance surpassed a nine-point outing at Kansas on Jan. 11.
UP NEXT
Kansas State will go to Tennessee on Saturday.
Nebraska-Omaha will play at Air Force next Monday.
— Associated Press —
The St. Louis Cardinals announced Tuesday that they have agreed on a one-year contract for the upcoming 2015 season with free-agent right-handed pitcher Matt Belisle.
Belisle, 34, brings added veteran experience to the Cardinals bullpen, having made 70 or more relief appearances in four of the last five seasons, including a National League-leading 80 in 2012. Belisle ranks 2nd in the majors in games pitched (367) since 2010 and his 91 Holds in that five-year span rank 10th in all of baseball.
The 6-4, 225-pound Belisle was 4-7 with a 4.87 ERA in 66 games for the Colorado Rockies last season, allowing just 19 walks in his 64.2 innings pitched. He has compiled a career mark of 48-54, 4.41 ERA in 524 games (724.1 IP) with Cincinnati (2003, 2005-08) and Colorado (2009-14) and his 92 career Holds with the Rockies rank 2nd in franchise history.
A native of Austin, Texas, Belisle has shown excellent command, allowing fewer than 20 walks in each of the past seven seasons and he’s posted a 2.2 walks/9 IP ratio over his career. Belisle was used exclusively as a starter by Cincinnati in 2007 when he made 30 of his 44 career starts. He won a career single-season high 10 games for the Rockies in 2011 to lead all Major League relievers.
Belisle joins recently-acquired right-handed reliever Jordan Walden (trade with Atlanta) in the Cardinals bullpen plans for 2015.
— Cardinals Media Relations —
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs have signed Richard Gordon and waived Phillip Supernaw in a swap of third-string tight ends heading into Sunday’s game at Arizona.
Gordon played in two games for the Chiefs last season and had appeared in three games for Tennessee this season. The former Miami standout, who has also played for Oakland and Pittsburgh, has only caught four passes for 14 yards while being used primarily as a blocker.
Supernaw began his season in Baltimore and had spent the past three games with the Chiefs, catching his only pass two weeks ago against Oakland.

Atchison – Benedictine College has landed another “A List” commencement speaker. Following such notables as Bob Hope, Lou Holtz, Father Flanagan, Governor Sam Brownback, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, Bob and Elizabeth Dole, Dick Vermeil and Erma Bombeck, the small college in rural Atchison County announced in a media release that Dayton Moore, Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager of the Kansas City Royals, will deliver the Commencement Address on May 16, 2015. The announcment was made at Kauffman Stadium prior to Moore’s address to visiting Benedictine students in the Leadership and Organizational Change class.
“We are pleased to have a relationship with the Royals organization and Dayton Moore,” said Benedictine College President Stephen D. Minnis. “Dayton has been here several times speaking to our students about leadership and teamwork and has been inspiring. He will be an excellent commencement speaker.”
Moore, a native of Wichita, Kan., brought an impressive resume to the Royals in 2006. He had previously worked for the Atlanta Braves organization since 1994, moving up within the organization to eventually serve as Assistant General Manager/Baseball Operations. Since joining the Royals in 2006, he and his staff have tirelessly worked to build a consistently strong farm system that was rated by Baseball America, MLB.com and ESPN.com as the best in baseball in 2011 and it remains among the best.
Under Moore’s leadership, the Royals won 86 games in 2013, then went on to win the American League Championship and go to the World Series in 2014. The club has also signed several key in-house players to long-term contracts during his tenure including Zack Greinke, Joakim Soria, Billy Butler, Alex Gordon, Salvador Perez and Alcides Escobar.
A leader in the Kansas City community, Moore is a regular speaker at numerous community events each year. In 2013, Moore started the “C” You In the Major Leagues Foundation. It was created to support youth baseball, education, families in crisis and faith-based programs and organizations.
Moore was a member of the Board of Directors of the NAIA’s Champions of Character program from 2007-10. The program instills an understanding of character values in sport and provides practical tools for student-athletes, coaches and parents to use in modeling exemplary character traits. Moore and his wife, Marianne, are proud to be involved with the City Union Mission of Kansas City including their service as co-chairs of the Women Who’ve Changed the Heart of the City banquet in 2011 and 2012.
Moore was presented by the Atlanta Braves 400 Club with its Ivan Allen, Jr. “Mr. Baseball” Award, given to “the person who has contributed significantly to the promotion of baseball in the Atlanta area” in February 2006. He was also awarded the 2005 Executive of the Year by the Mid-Atlantic Scouts Association. He was named by Baseball America in 2005 as one of the Top 10 Up-and-Coming Power Brokers in Major League Baseball and in 2004, and was named the top general manager prospect by the same publication.
Moore played a key role in a majority of the Braves string of 14-straight division titles. Under the leadership of former Braves and Royals General Manager John Schuerholz, the Braves earned the prestigious Organization of the Year Award from Baseball America several times, including 2005, when 18 rookies contributed to a team that posted 90 wins. The Braves won at least 100 games five times between 1997-2003 and had not won fewer than 88 games in any non-strike shortened season since 1990 prior to the 2006 season.
Prior to joining the Braves organization, Moore served as an assistant baseball coach at George Mason University from 1990-94. While working on a graduate degree at GMU, Moore also managed the Winchester Royals of the Shenandoah Valley League from 1991-93.
Moore graduated from George Mason University in 1989 with a degree in physical education and health. Three years later, he earned his master’s degree in athletic administration from GMU. He and his wife reside in Leawood, Kan., and have two daughters, Ashley and Avery, and a son, Robert.
IRVING, Texas (AP) – The Big 12 has announced it will cover the full cost of a student-athlete’s
attendance and offer multi-year scholarships.
The league announced Monday that Big 12 schools will cover expenses beyond tuition and fees, room and board and supplies that they deem “reasonably related” to attendance.
The league will hand out scholarships that run at least as long as an athlete’s period of eligibility.
The Big 12 will also offer aid to former student-athletes seeking to return to school and earn their degree.
The new bylaws will go into effect on August 1, 2015.
The Missouri Western men’s basketball team snapped its three-game losing streak with a 72-43 win over Hannibal-LaGrange Monday night in the MWSU Fieldhouse.
Hannibal-LaGrange hung with the Griffons for the first five minutes of the game but Missouri Western used a 24-1 run to end the first half and begin the second half.
Western had a 32-16 halftime lead and led by as many as 32 points in the second half.
MWSU outscored the Trojans 40-27 in the second half on their way to their first win since defeating William Jewell in the fieldhouse on Nov. 22. The win moves the Griffons to 3-3 overall on the year and 3-0 at home.
The Griffons dominated despite shooting just 38 percent from the field and allowing Hannibal-LaGrange to shoot 42 percent. Missouri Western finished with a 38-33 advantage on the boards and scored 30 points off Trojan turnovers to just two for Hannibal-LaGrange.
Missouri Western was paced by Ryan Devers 20 points. Seth Bonifas had his first career double-double, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Cole Clearman scored 10 points.
The Griffons hit the road this weekend when they travel to Fort Hays State on Saturday for their first MIAA action of the season. The tip is at 4:00 p.m. and it’ll be broadcast on 680 KFEQ and here on StJosephPost.com.
— MWSU Sports Information —
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Tim Miles said he wants to put Nebraska on the basketball map. A 5-1 mark to open 2014-15 and a road win over Florida State is a good start down that path.
Terran Petteway tied a season-high with 25 points and Shavon Shields had 21 and eight rebounds as Nebraska held off a furious rally to defeat Florida State 70-65 on Monday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
“They’re as good as you can coach because they’re very competitive,” Miles said. “They want to put Nebraska on the national map basketball-wise and they’ve got all kinds of talent.”
Nebraska led 37-21 at the half, but Florida State shot 15 of 29 (51.7 percent) in the second half to chip away at the Cornhuskers’ lead.
The Seminoles closed within one, 62-61, with 2:18 left after a pair of Aaron Thomas free throws. But a David Rivers layup and a Tarin Smith 3-pointer helped Nebraska (5-1) put Florida State away.
“We got off to a hot start,” Miles said. “Guys were sharp. And we built that big lead — just enough to survive the comeback.”
Petteway said he was pleased with how Nebraska passed a difficult road test. The Cornhuskers had lost its only other road game, on Nov. 22 in overtime to Rhode Island.
This win builds confidence for a December schedule that includes three games in Hawaii.
“I guess it just shows that we grew a little bit from last year,” Petteway said. “If we were in this position, I don’t think we would have overcome that. That’s a big step for us. Now we just have to keep building on it.”
Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 17 points, but made just 2-of-11 3-pointers for Florida State (3-4). Boris Bojanovsky had 10 points and added a season-high 10 rebounds.
FSU couldn’t overcome its first-half struggles, shooting just 28 percent (7-of-25) overall and going 0 for 10 from 3-point range in the first half.
“We dug ourselves a hole in the first half that was so deep that it was very difficult to dig out of,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We fought in the second half and did a much better job of sticking to our game plan.”
The Seminoles finished the game 22 of 54 (40.7 percent), but they made just 19 of 32 free throws.
Nebraska won its third straight game despite losing Petteway and Tai Webster, who fouled out in the game’s final 2:25. The Cornhuskers led 62-59 at that point.
Shields had 15 points in the first half, while Petteway had 14 points — scoring 29 of Nebraska’s 37 first-half points.
Florida State was shooting just 22.1 percent from 3-point range coming into the game. On Monday, the Seminoles made just 2 of 18 (11.1 percent) from beyond the arc.
DEFENSIVE STOPPER
Nebraska junior guard Benny Parker had four steals, tying his total from the last three games combined. Parker also had seven points
WELCOME BACK
Aaron Thomas returned to Florida State after missing two games with an undisclosed medical condition. Thomas shot 0 for 3 from the floor in the first half but made 7 of 10 free-throw attempts and finished with 11 points. He was part of a strong night by FSU’s bench, which scored 25 points.
TIP-INS
Nebraska: The Cornhuskers have won their last three B1G/ACC challenge games. Nebraska defeated Miami 60-49 in 2013 and won 79-63 at Wake in 2012.
Florida State: Florida State went 0 for 10 from beyond the 3-point arc before Rathan-Mayes made the Seminoles’ first shot from long range. The Seminoles won the only prior meeting between the schools, 74-60 in the 2005 Orange Bowl Classic.
UP NEXT
Nebraska plays host to Creighton on Sunday.
Florida State plays host to Central Florida on Saturday.
— Associated Press —