BOYS
SAVANNAH INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT
Platte County 65, Chillicothe 51
Lafayette 69, Hogan Prep 30
Staley 63, Bishop LeBlond 30
Savannah 51, Maryville 15
GIRLS
Benton 37, St. Pius X 22
Kearney 47, Central 33
Category: Sports
MU’s Gaines shares weekly SEC defensive honor
Mizzou Football senior cornerback E.J. Gaines (Independence, Mo.) has been named the Southeastern Conference’s Co-Defensive Player of the Week, the league office announced on Monday.
Gaines turned in an amazing lockdown coverage performance against Texas A&M standout wide receiver Mike Evans, as he held Evans to season-low totals of four receptions for just eight yards, which was a key part of Mizzou’s stellar defensive effort. Evans came into the game averaging 119.5 yards per outing, with 12 receiving touchdowns, and his long catch last Saturday in Mizzou’s win was just a 10-yarder.
Gaines finished Mizzou’s Senior Night with six total tackles, as the Tiger defense held the Aggies to 21 points and 379 yards of total offense, well below Texas A&M’s pre-game averages of 45.6 points and 552.6 yards. The senior Tiger ranks fourth in the SEC (31st in the NCAA) with his team-leading four interceptions to date, and he ranks third-best on the Tigers team with his 59 tackles on the season, despite missing two-and-a-half games due to injury.
The recognition is the 12th SEC honor for a Mizzou player in 2013, continuing to reset Mizzou’s best for conference honors in a season. Head coach Gary Pinkel’s 2007 squad brought home a total of eight individual honors. Gaines joins sophomore LB Kentrell Brothers (Guthrie, Okla.) and senior DE Michael Sam (Hitchcock, Texas) as Mizzou’s three players to earn Defensive Player of the Week recognition.
The honor is the second weekly award of Gaines’ career, with the first also coming from an extraordinary outing against the Aggies. Gaines recorded 10 tackles and a career-best four pass breakups in Mizzou’s 38-31 overtime win at Texas A&M on Oct. 29, 2011.
No. 5 Mizzou (11-1, 7-1) has reached the SEC Championship Game, with head coach Gary Pinkel leading the Tigers against No. 3 Auburn (11-1, 7-1) in Atlanta, Ga.. Kickoff for the nationally-televised CBS game is set for 3 p.m. CT., on Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Georgia Dome.
— MU Sports Information —
Kansas’ Embiid named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week
In blocking a Kansas freshman record seven shots in KU’s 67-63 win against UTEP, freshman C Joel Embiid was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week in a vote by a media panel which covers men’s basketball the conference announced Monday.
Embiid scored in double digits in two contests as the Jayhawks recorded a 2-1 record at the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas, over Thanksgiving weekend. The 7-0 Yaoundé, Cameroon, native also had 10 blocked shots while shooting 63.2 percent from the field and 71.4 percent from the free throw line. His seven rejections versus UTEP set the KU freshman record for blocked shots in a game, previously held by Nick Collison (six vs. Nebraska in 2000). Embiid averaged 9.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 blocks in the event.
Averaging 9.1 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds, Embiid leads Kansas in field goal percentage at 67.6 percent and is third in the Big 12 with 2.3 blocked shots per game. His 7.0 boards per game are ninth in the league.
Embiid joins sophomore F Perry Ellis and freshman G Andrew Wiggins who have also been named to weekly Big 12 honorees this season. Ellis was the co-Big 12 Player of the Week Nov. 18 and Wiggins the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, also on Nov. 18.
Kansas (6-1) is in action next at former conference foe Colorado on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 2:15 p.m. (Central). The game will be shown on ESPN. CU was 7-1 on the entering its Dec. 3 contest at Colorado State.
— KU Sports Information —
Chiefs lose to Broncos again for third straight loss
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs had no answer for Peyton Manning and Eric Decker.
In two tries this season, they haven’t had an answer for the Denver Broncos, either.
Manning threw for 403 yards and five touchdowns, four of them to Decker, and the Broncos held off a furious rally to beat the Chiefs 35-28 on Sunday and seize control of the AFC West.
Decker had eight catches for a career-high 174 yards for the Broncos (10-2), who moved a game clear of the Chiefs (9-3) in the division. With four games left, Denver also holds the tiebreaker by virtue two wins over Kansas City in the last three weeks. The Broncos have the AFC’s best record.
Jamaal Charles had 93 yards rushing for the Chiefs, and capped a 17-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 6:32 left in the game to close within a touchdown.
After forcing a punt with 3:32 remaining, Kansas City used three long pass plays to move deep into Broncos territory. But Alex Smith’s pass to Dwayne Bowe in the end zone on fourth-and-4 with 1:45 left fell incomplete, allowing the Broncos to run out the clock.
Smith threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns for Kansas City, while Knile Davis returned a kickoff 108 yards for another score as the Chiefs jumped out to a 21-7 lead.
The Broncos promptly scored 28 straight points to take control.
Denver did it without of slew of injured players, including three starters on defense and tight end Julius Thomas, who has developed into one of Manning’s favorite red-zone targets.
No need to worry. Decker more than shouldered the burden.
The fourth-year pro caught a 41-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, two more TD passes in the third and a short fade for a score in the fourth quarter. Most of the time, Decker was abusing Chiefs defensive back Marcus Cooper, an undrafted free agent who’d become a starter.
Manning now has 41 TD passes, breaking his franchise record of 37 set last season.
The Broncos rebounded nicely from a disheartening overtime loss last week in New England, and are poised to get coach John Fox back on Monday. They went 3-1 under interim coach Jack Del Rio, who stepped in when Fox needed heart surgery during the team’s bye week.
The Chiefs, who lost for the third straight week, squandered far too many chances on Sunday, including one right of the gate. They had marched deep into Broncos territory before Smith was picked off by Wesley Woodyard in the end zone.
Still, Kansas City seemed to have more energy in the first half.
The Chiefs took the first lead when Smith threw a touchdown pass to Junior Hemingway. And after Decker beat Brandon Flowers for a tying score, Davis took the ensuing kickoff deep in his own end zone and stepped out of two tackles before running untouched the rest of the way for a touchdown.
The 108-yard return was the longest in franchise history, and the first return touchdown by a Chiefs player since Jamaal Charles took a kickoff back against the Steelers during the 2009 season.
Smith’s touchdown pass to Anthony Fasano, who made a nice one-handed grab, made it 21-7.
The Broncos closed within a touchdown later in the half when Manning hooked up with Decker for another long gain. This time, it was a short TD pass to Knowshon Moreno that capped the drive.
Manning began the second half off with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Decker, who made a nifty grab with his fingertips as he rolled into the end zone. Then after forcing a punt, the 12-time Pro Bowler hit Demaryius Thomas for 77 yards to set up Decker’s 15-yard touchdown reception.
The Broncos’ run of points ended when Decker caught a fade pass for a 35-21 lead. It turned out to be all the points they needed.
— Associated Press —
Mizzou volleyball selected as No. 4 overall seed, will host first two rounds
For the 11th time in 14 seasons under Wayne and Susan Kreklow, the Mizzou volleyball program is headed to the NCAA Tournament, as announced by the NCAA live on ESPNU Sunday (Dec. 1). Mizzou, ranked fourth in this week’s AVCA Top-25 at a perfect 34-0 and 18-0 in SEC play, earned the No. 4 overall seed, a program-best. The Tigers were also selected to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament at the Hearnes Center on Dec. 6-7, marking the first time that Mizzou will host those rounds since 2005, when the team advanced to the Elite Eight. Joining Mizzou in Columbia next weekend will be first-round opponent IUPUI, Central Arkansas and Purdue, who will meet in the first match of the sub-regional
“This is obviously a big day for our program and opportunities like what we have now are why you compete and why you put in so many hours of preparation all year,” head coach Wayne Kreklow said. “It really is an honor to play the first and second rounds here in the Columbia as well. Our fans have been phenomenal all year long and this is almost like a reward for them as they get to see our team a few more times this season. We drew a tough field here in the opening weekend, so we are going to have to prepare as we did all season long, but I am excited about the opportunity that is ahead of us.”
Of course, Mizzou earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament after clinching the school’s first-ever SEC Championship after defeating Mississippi State on Nov. 22 at the Hearnes Center. Mizzou finished the regular season at a perfect 34-0, including an 18-0 mark in SEC play as it is the first ever SEC team to run the table in the regular season. Times for each match will be released Monday (Dec. 2).
— MU Sports Information —
Missouri remains fifth in latest BCS standings
Auburn (fourth) and Missouri (fifth) are behind Ohio State and could make an interesting case for being in title game if they can win out and become SEC champions with just one loss. But the Buckeyes (.9200 BCS average) have a good-sized lead on both the Auburn Tigers (.8326) and Missouri Tigers (.8077).
Ohio State is third in each poll, followed by Clemson. Auburn is fifth and Missouri is sixth. The Buckeyes are also third in the computer ratings.
“They’re not going to pass Ohio State,” Palm said of Auburn and Missouri. “The coaches in particular are not going to allow an undefeated to not play for the title. They understand how hard it is to finish unbeaten. It hasn’t happened yet in the BCS and there is no reason to think it would this year.”
No. 1 Alabama (11-0) plays Auburn on Saturday, with the winner advancing to the Southeastern Conference championship game as the SEC West winner. Missouri or South Carolina will represent the East, depending on whether the Tigers beat Texas A&M at home.
No. 2 Florida State (11-0) plays struggling rival Florida at home Saturday and then moves on to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, where Duke, Virginia Tech, Miami or Georgia Tech will be the opponent.
Ohio State (11-0) finishes its regular season against rival Michigan at the Big House on Saturday, and then plays Michigan State in the Big Ten championship game. The Buckeyes have won a school-record 23 straight games. If they remain unbeaten the worst they can do is a trip to the Rose Bowl for the first time since the 2009 season.
— Associated Press —
Griffons use hot shooting to defeat Saint Mary, 96-77
Hot shooting led the Missouri Western men’s basketball team to a 96-77 victory over the St. Mary’s (Kan.) Spires in non-conference action. The Griffons made 56.9-percent (37-65) of its shots with 10 three’s. Five Griffons scored in double figures led by Dzenan Mrkaljevic with 16 on 6-of-11 shooting. He scored 11 of his points in the second half. MWSU improves to 5-3 on the season and will return to action on Saturday, December 7 with the MIAA opener against Fort Hays State in the fieldhouse. Game time is set for 3:30 pm.
Western closed the half on 12-6 run capped by a Ryan Devers three as time expired giving the Griffons a 49-43 lead heading into the locker room. Devers finished the half with five points and seven assists.
MWSU shot the lights out in the opening period making 60.6-percent (20-33) of their field goals and 5-of-6 free throws. Missouri Western had 28 points in the paint and 10 points off seven St. Mary’s turnovers. Dareon Jones led the Griffons with 10 points off the bench as eight different players scored in the frame for Missouri Western.
The Spires also shot the ball well making 54.5-percent (18-33) of their field goals with four three’s. Sterling Roaf led the way with 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting while Grant Greenberg finished with 10.
Missouri Western dominated the second half opening up an 18 point lead at 75-57 with 11:21 to play after a layup by Cedric Clinkscales. The Griffons continued the uptempo play taking their largest leaf of the game at 21 after a Wes Mitter three with 1:35 to play. Mitter had six points on two three’s late in the contest.
Western had 20 assists with Devers finishing with seven while Adarius Fulton and Cortrez Colbert had four. The Griffons also ahd 16 points on 12 Spire turnovers. Colbert and Jones finished with 14 points while Clinkscales and Devers had 11 points apiece. Mrkaljevic finished with a team high six reboiunds.
The Spires fall to 4-3 with the loss as they were led by Torren Dowdy with 18 points and eight rebounds. Greenberg finished with 15 points while Sterling Roaf and Jerry Sipple finished with 12 and 11 respectively.
— MWSU Sports Information —
No. 2 Bearcats overcome slow start to roll past Minnesota Duluth
All through the season, Northwest Missouri State offensive players talked about the importance of the first drive in the second half.
The most important drive of the third quarter for the Bearcats so far this season occurred on a sunny Saturday afternoon in front of 4,514 fans at Bearcat Stadium in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs against Minnesota Duluth.
Northwest held a 10-point lead when it received the kickoff. The Bearcats went 70 yards in six plays and scored on an 18-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Trevor Adams to junior wide receiver Reuben Thomas. Thomas finished with 154 yards on eight receptions.
“That was big,” Adams said. “It solidified our lead. But you have to give it to our defense. They played well all game long. It was a good team win for us.”
The Bearcats wound up scoring three touchdowns in the third quarter on the way to a 45-21 victory.
Northwest, 12-0, advances to the quarterfinals and will play at home next Saturday against St. Cloud. The Bearcats also avenged a 2010 loss to Minnesota Duluth in the semifinals.
“We remember,” said Northwest senior linebacker Eric Reimer. “That conference has taken it to us the last few years. Last year Mankato beat us. We wanted to come out here and play a good game.”
When Northwest took a 17-0 lead, Minnesota Duluth needed to do something it was only able to accomplish once in the first half and that was to put together a drive.
The Bearcats stuffed the Bulldogs again and forced a punt.
Adams, who started slowly, was hitting his receivers between the numbers in the third quarter. He did it in impressive fashion in the next drive that once again started at the 30.
On this occasion, the Bearcats needed just three plays to go 70 yards. The 38-second drive was capped on a beautiful 50-yard spiral to junior wide receiver Jason Jozaites. It gave Northwest a 24-0 lead with 9:29 left in the third quarter.
“It was fun,” said Adams, who tossed four touchdowns and completed 16-of-24 passes for 277 yards.
“Our offensive line played great. I praise God for the way we were able to come out and play.”
A little later, Adams concluded his third quarter, touchdown hat trick with a 3-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Clint Utter for a 31-0 lead.
“We finally felt comfortable,” said Utter, who caught two touchdown passes. “We had weird little things that kept happening in the first half. We were shooting ourselves in the foot. Once we calmed down and found that rhythm, we had during the season, from then on it was normal.”
The Bulldogs scored 14 points in the first 3 minutes of the fourth quarter, but they were too far behind to erase a 31-point deficit. But they made the game a bit too interesting when they scored a touchdown with 6:32 left, making it 31-21.
“Our defense was huge,” Utter said. “They kept us in the game. Duluth’s defense was doing it, too.
“Our defense played out of their minds. They came out physical and once we started scoring, it helped them out.”
The brick-wall defense by Northwest gave the offense most of the first half to get on track. And when the Bearcats started rolling with the ball, they scored quick.
Northwest scored 10 points in the final 2:11 left in the second quarter and went into halftime with a 10-0 lead.
On defense, Northwest did an amazing job keeping the Bulldogs off the scoreboard.
Late in the first quarter, after Hunter Malberg picked off his second pass, Minnesota Duluth had the ball at the Northwest’s 14. Three plays later, the Bulldogs were still on the 14 and had to settle for a 32-yard field goal attempt.
“That was huge. It kept us in the game,” Reimer said. “They score there and that is a big turning point in the game.”
The Bulldogs missed and that planted a seed for a decision late in the second quarter. Defense by both teams dominated the first quarter. Each team mustered just one first down in the opening quarter.
Midway through the second quarter, the Bulldogs grabbed the momentum when they completed a 24-yard pass on a fake punt from their 20.
Minnesota Duluth took advantage of a somewhat dazed Northwest team and marched to Northwest 3 and had first and goal. They managed just one yard in the next three plays.
Instead of settling for a field goal that was the length of an extra point, the Bulldogs went for it and got a yard, leaving them two yards short of the end zone.
“That was awesome,” Reimer said. “It kept the momentum on our side. It helped our offense, giving them more possessions. We were playing as a unit. It was a lot of fun.”
Northwest started at its 2. Back-up quarterback Brady Bolles made his first appearance and on the first play, he ran for 26 yards. Bolles’ run loosened up the passing game. The Bearcats drove to the 5 and on fourth and 5, they decided to kick a 25-yard field goal, which Simon Mathiesen made with 2:11 left in the second quarter.
“Our defense was playing great all game,” Bolles said. “We were putting them on a short porch and they kept getting stops. We knew the defense was going to keep rolling. We needed to get our game going. We got a field goal and kept going.”
The Bearcats went back to what they do best and stopped Minnesota Duluth in three plays and forced a punt.
A good return plus a personal foul penalty put the ball on the Bulldogs’ 35. Adams returned to quarterback and it took him three plays to put the ball in the end zone. The lone touchdown in the first half was an 11-yard strike to Utter with 42 seconds left until halftime.
“The way Brady came in and helped change momentum was huge,” Adams said. “Our defense played great the whole game. Brady came in and ran and switched things up.
“It got me going, too. I’m so glad he came in and did that. From there we were able to do some good things.”
— Northwest Sports Information —
No. 5 Mizzou takes down Texas A&M to win SEC East title
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Henry Josey watched helplessly from the sideline last fall, rehabbing from a serious knee injury, while Missouri was getting pushed around in its first SEC season.
The senior running back’s legs produced the go-ahead score in a win that put the fifth-ranked Tigers in the SEC championship game.
”Those guys were 5 yards away from me before I could even get close to them,” Josey said of his breakaway 57-yard run that helped Missouri wrap up the SEC East with a 28-21 victory over No. 19 Texas A&M on Saturday night. ”A big hole opened up and I took it.”
Missouri (11-1, 7-1 SEC) advances to the conference championship game against Auburn – a matchup of schools very lightly regarded before the season. Missouri has made a six-win improvement from its initial SEC season and fourth-ranked Auburn (11-1, 7-1) has topped last year’s total by eight after stunning No. 1 Alabama.
”This tells everybody in the whole United States that Mizzou’s the real deal,” said wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, who caught seven passes for 93 yards and a touchdown. ”Last year was just last year.
”It’s not about that, it’s just about what we’re capable of doing and what we’re going to do and how we did it.”
Missouri beat its fourth ranked opponent and reached 11 wins for the third time in school history, twice under Pinkel. Another win matches the school record set in 2007.
Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel was held in check for the second straight week, throwing one touchdown pass and rushing for 21 yards on 11 carries. He was 24 for 35 for 195 yards.
”In the second half, we all calmed down and we communicated,” linebacker Kentrell Brothers said. ”We were all on the same page and got it done.”
Coach Kevin Sumlin didn’t make Manziel available for the post-game. Reports have indicated Manziel, a redshirt sophomore, is close to making a decision whether to enter the NFL draft next April.
”He’s had better performances, he’s had worse performances,” Sumlin said. ”There’s pressure on him to perform at a high level all the time.”
Sumlin discounted a report Manziel, also held to one TD pass last week in a loss at LSU, has been hampered by a thumb injury
”If he wasn’t healthy enough to play, he wouldn’t have played,” Sumlin said.
The Aggies (8-4, 4-4) have lost consecutive games for the first time under coach Kevin Sumlin, who the school said earlier in the day agreed in principle on a new six-year contract that could keep him on the job through 2019. He’s 19-6.
Thousands of fans among a sellout crowd of 62,197 – nearly all of them clad in black, stormed the field after the game ended. The field wasn’t cleared for at least 20 minutes.
Missouri had been 11-44 under Pinkel when trailing at the half. Pinkel has 101 wins in 13 seasons at Missouri, tied for Don Faurot for most in school history.
Texas A&M has one of the worst defenses against the run in the nation, allowing 221 yards per game. Missouri totaled 225 yards with a 5.1-yard average, but until Josey’s breakaway run, the Aggies had done a nice job
Starting from its 34, Missouri’s decisive string began innocently with a 4-yard carry by Josey and a 5-yard carry by quarterback James Franklin. Josey busted free up the middle on third-and-1.
”What a great play,” coach Gary Pinkel said. ”What a great kid.”
Texas A&M never threatened the rest of the game and has lost four of the last five in the series. The exception was a showcase for Manziel, who threw for three touchdowns and ran for two scores in a 59-29 rout last year that was a 35-point rout by halftime.
Tra Carson broke two tackles on a 31-yard scoring run that was also the first touchdown allowed by Missouri in the first quarter in six games. Derel Walker’s 32-yard reception made it 14-7 late in the half.
Walker’s score came just 1:10 after Franklin’s 38-yard touchdown pass to L’Damian Washington. Manziel rolled out to buy time and Michael Sam tackled him a beat too late.
Early in the second quarter, Missouri failed to capitalize on a lost fumble by punt returner De’Vante Harris at the A&M 36. Backup Maty Mauk got his usual early series at quarterback and Missouri lost a yard on three plays before punting.
— Associated Press —
Western women fall to Missouri S&T for second straight loss
The Missouri Western women couldn’t complete the second half comeback falling 77-72 against Missouri S&T in the final game of the Doubletree/Houlihans Thanksgiving Classic. Sharniece Lewis finished with a career high 22 points making six three point shots. The Griffons fall to 4-2 on the season.
The first half belonged to the Miners as they built a nine point lead at 25-16 midway through the first half when Jaaron Kassanavoid finished a three point play at the 9:25 mark of the frame. From there the Griffons could only cut the lead to five at the half at 38-33.
In the half the Griffons made just 12-of-36 shots and 6-of-13 free throws. Ariana Novak led the way with eight points while Sharniece Lewis had seven points. Tiffanie Abrams led the way on the boards with seven rebounds.
The Miners made 15-of-32 shots and 5-of-8 free throws. They were led by Kassanavoid and Toni Knar with nine points apiece. Kylie Cooper finished with six rebounds.
In the second half the Griffons used a 12-2 run capped by a Sharniece Lewis three pointer giving the Griffons a 59-55 lead with 8:54 to play in the game. Jallisa Lewis gave the Griffons their first lead of the game on a free throw with 9:28 to play. The Griffons took its largest lead of the game at 71-66 when Sharniece Lewis hit another three with 4:02 to play but the rest of the game belonged to the Miners as they outscored the Griffons 11-1 picking up the five point victory.
Novak and Quenisha Locket finished with 17 and 10 points respectively while Abrams finished with eight boards. MWSU made just 10-of-22 free throws and 10-of-31 three pointers in the contest.
The Miners improve to 4-2 on the season as they had four players in double figures. Kylie Cooper and Knar each had 16 in the game.
The Griffons return to action next on Saturday, December 7 in their MIAA opener. They will host the Fort Hays State Tigers at 1:30 pm in the fieldhouse.
Doubletree Houlihan’s All-Tournament Team
Bethanie Funderburk (Drury)
Kylie Williamson (Drury)
Amy Philamlee (Union)
Shariece Lewis (Missouri Western)
Toni Knar (Missouri S&T)
— MWSU Sports Information —