The Concordia University men's basketball team (8-11, 6-6 NSIC) ran into a red hot Augustana College (14-5, 8-4 NSIC) squad on Friday evening at the Elmen Center. The Vikings shot 63.2% (36-57) for the game as they mounted an 87-69 win over the visiting Golden Bears. Six Vikings scored in double-figures in the Northern Sun matchup.
It was the first half when Augustana exploded from the field, hitting 68.8% (22-32) in the opening frame as they built a 53-35 lead.
In the second half, they opened up a 63-38 lead in the first three minutes. Concordia responded by cutting the gap back to 15, 68-53.
But the Vikings had other plans as they ran off with the next 11 points to build their largest lead of the night, a 26 point margin. Concordia ended strong with a 12-4 run to close within 20 at the final buzzer.
While Augie was scorching the nets, the Golden Bears didn't shoot so bad themselves, connecting on 45.1% (23-51) of their attempts while turning the ball over six fewer times. CU forced 22 Augie turnovers and outshot them from three-point range, hitting eight of 18 compared to Augie's six of 14.
Concordia even reached the free throw line far more often, attempting 26 free throws to Augustana's 10.
It was the second time this season Concordia lost when earning more trips to the foul line than their opponents while six of their eight wins this year included more free throw attempts.
A big difference in the game was rebounding. Concordia controlled just 20 rebounds in the game while Augustana pulled down 37. The Vikings even had an edge on the offensive glass, a 10-8 margin despite only missing 21 field goals.
The Golden Bears were led by junior guard Mike Cunningham (Minneapolis, Minn.) and his 19 points on 6-10 shooting. He also hit 7-12 at the line, had four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Two other players scored in double-figures for CU, junior Craig Heiman (Marshall, Wis.) with 17 and senior Matt Cadwell (St. Paul, Minn.) with 14. Aside from those three players, Concordia was just 6-18 from the field for 19 points.
Leading the way for Augustana was David Foster, who scored a game-high 20 points, shooting 8-13 from the field and 4-6 from long range. Freshman Cody Schilling added 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Eric Krogman matched Schilling's scoring and rebounding with 13 and eight.
Concordia falls to 6-6 in league play but holds onto the eight spot in the standings, a half game ahead of Bemidji State (5-6). They will travel to Wayne State (4-8) tomorrow night to face the Wildcats, who lost at home to St. Cloud State (8-4) tonight.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
PIPER STREAK STOPPED AT EIGHT
The Hamline University women’sbasketball team saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end, as Carleton College defeated them in Saint Paul, 87-73.
The game opened with the two teams alternating three-pointers in theopening minutes, helping get to an 11-11 tie after six minutes hadticked off the clock.
A layup from Jessica Englund (Fy., St. Francis, Minn.) half a minutelater gave the Pipers a lead they would hold on to until 1:30 remainedin the half. Sarah Lincoln (Sr. Rockford, Minn.) made a layup of her ownthen to put the Knights up, 33-32.
Carleton extended their lead to two with a free throw by Lincoln with 46seconds on the clock. Then, with 1.9 seconds remaining in the firsthalf, Jackie Kelly (So., Blaine, Minn.) was fouled near the right elbow,and drained both free throws to send the teams into the locker roomtied, 34-34.
Gabriella Gustafson (Sr., St. Louis Park, Minn.) led the Pipers in thefirst half with eight points, including going 2-for-2 from outside thearc. Jessica Heinen (Sr., Spicer, Minn.) had six rebounds in the firsthalf.
Megan Erlandson (Fy., Minneapolis, Minn.) paced the Knights in the firsthalf by matching Gustafson’s eight points while going 2-for-3 inshooting treys.
The Knights took the lead on the scoreboard coming back onto the courtin the second half. After that, the Knights maintained control until thefinal buzzer.
The exception was a momentum swing in favor of the Pipers when Kellydrew a Carleton offensive foul and then made a three-pointer on theensuing possession with less than three minutes to play.
The loss snaps the Pipers’ eight-game win streak, which is tied with the1984-85 Piper team as the longest in program history.
Hamline was led by Mary Wilkowski’s (So., Savannah, Ga.) 16 points,while Kelly had 12. Rochelle Sather (Jr., Andover, Minn.) and GraceWeinreich (Sr., Wahkon, Minn.) had 11 apiece.
Sather also added four steals for the Pipers, while Kelly and Heinendished out five assists apiece.
The Knights were led by 18 from Edlandson, 16 from Hannah Oken-Berg(Sr., Portland, Ore.), 15 from Annie Isler (Sr., Hopkins, Minn.) and 13from Lincoln.
With the conference loss, Hamline moves to 13-5, 10-5 MIAC. The Knightsimprove to 8-10, 7-8 MIAC. Hamline will play at home again tomorrow,Sunday, February 1, at 1:00 p.m. They will host the Concordia Cobbers inthe first game of a women’s-men’s double-header.
The game opened with the two teams alternating three-pointers in theopening minutes, helping get to an 11-11 tie after six minutes hadticked off the clock.
A layup from Jessica Englund (Fy., St. Francis, Minn.) half a minutelater gave the Pipers a lead they would hold on to until 1:30 remainedin the half. Sarah Lincoln (Sr. Rockford, Minn.) made a layup of her ownthen to put the Knights up, 33-32.
Carleton extended their lead to two with a free throw by Lincoln with 46seconds on the clock. Then, with 1.9 seconds remaining in the firsthalf, Jackie Kelly (So., Blaine, Minn.) was fouled near the right elbow,and drained both free throws to send the teams into the locker roomtied, 34-34.
Gabriella Gustafson (Sr., St. Louis Park, Minn.) led the Pipers in thefirst half with eight points, including going 2-for-2 from outside thearc. Jessica Heinen (Sr., Spicer, Minn.) had six rebounds in the firsthalf.
Megan Erlandson (Fy., Minneapolis, Minn.) paced the Knights in the firsthalf by matching Gustafson’s eight points while going 2-for-3 inshooting treys.
The Knights took the lead on the scoreboard coming back onto the courtin the second half. After that, the Knights maintained control until thefinal buzzer.
The exception was a momentum swing in favor of the Pipers when Kellydrew a Carleton offensive foul and then made a three-pointer on theensuing possession with less than three minutes to play.
The loss snaps the Pipers’ eight-game win streak, which is tied with the1984-85 Piper team as the longest in program history.
Hamline was led by Mary Wilkowski’s (So., Savannah, Ga.) 16 points,while Kelly had 12. Rochelle Sather (Jr., Andover, Minn.) and GraceWeinreich (Sr., Wahkon, Minn.) had 11 apiece.
Sather also added four steals for the Pipers, while Kelly and Heinendished out five assists apiece.
The Knights were led by 18 from Edlandson, 16 from Hannah Oken-Berg(Sr., Portland, Ore.), 15 from Annie Isler (Sr., Hopkins, Minn.) and 13from Lincoln.
With the conference loss, Hamline moves to 13-5, 10-5 MIAC. The Knightsimprove to 8-10, 7-8 MIAC. Hamline will play at home again tomorrow,Sunday, February 1, at 1:00 p.m. They will host the Concordia Cobbers inthe first game of a women’s-men’s double-header.
PIPERS FALL TO KNIGHTS
Despite a second half surge and adouble-double from Tony Thrasher (Sr., Hustisford, Wis.), the Hamline University men fell to Carleton, 73-64, in Saint Paul on Saturday.
The Knights held the lead on the scoreboard through the first half andheld an eight-point lead with under two minutes to play in the half.Stoddard Barnhill (Fy., Minneapolis, Minn.) then got into a wildthree-point play exchange with Carleton’s Blaise Davis (Fy., Elk River,Minn.) that cut the Knights’ lead to five.
With the Pipers down 32-24, Barnhill drove to the basket with 1:20 onthe clock, making the layup and collecting the foul. Davis answered witha shot from outside the arc, before Barnhill repeated the samethree-point play with seven seconds on the clock.
Barnhill then recovered the rebound on the Knights’ final shot attemptof the half, keeping the halftime score at 35-30 in favor of Carleton.
Dan Andersen (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn.) led Hamline’s scoring in thefirst half with seven points, while Seth Jonker (So., Apple Valley,Minn.) led Carleton with eight points.
Carleton opened up the lead on the Pipers once again in the second half,but Hamline kept the pressure on the Knights, cutting the lead back downto two, 49-47, at 10:42. After Carleton climbed back out to a 57-51 leadagain, Tony Thrasher (Sr., Hustisford, Wis.) made two layups in a row tocut the Pipers’ deficit to 57-55 with 6:40 to play.
Barnhill was sent to the line once again at 5:57, sinking both freethrows to tie the game.
The Knights’ Carter Biewen (So., Golden Valley, Minn.) and Davisresponded with a jumper and a trey, respectively, to gain a 62-57 leadfor the Knights at 4:23.
That exchange of baskets, and narrow Carleton leads, continued until Jonker drained a three-pointer with just over two minutes to play thatjumped the visitors back out to a 67-62 lead that they built uponleading up to the final buzzer. The Pipers were led by 19 from Andersen and 12 from Thrasher. Thrasheradded 10 rebounds for the double-double.
Carleton was paced by Jonker’s 17 points, while Zach Johnson (Sr., AppleValley, Minn.) and Bryan Rosett (Jr., Cottage Grove, Minn.) each had 12.Rosett tallied a double-double by adding 15 rebounds to his point total.
Hamline’s record now stands at 5-13, 4-10 MIAC after the conferenceloss. The Knights improve to 13-5, 9-4 MIAC. Hamline will play at home again tomorrow, Sunday, February 1, at 3:00 p.m. They will host theConcordia Cobbers in the second game of a women’s-men’s double-header.
The Knights held the lead on the scoreboard through the first half andheld an eight-point lead with under two minutes to play in the half.Stoddard Barnhill (Fy., Minneapolis, Minn.) then got into a wildthree-point play exchange with Carleton’s Blaise Davis (Fy., Elk River,Minn.) that cut the Knights’ lead to five.
With the Pipers down 32-24, Barnhill drove to the basket with 1:20 onthe clock, making the layup and collecting the foul. Davis answered witha shot from outside the arc, before Barnhill repeated the samethree-point play with seven seconds on the clock.
Barnhill then recovered the rebound on the Knights’ final shot attemptof the half, keeping the halftime score at 35-30 in favor of Carleton.
Dan Andersen (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn.) led Hamline’s scoring in thefirst half with seven points, while Seth Jonker (So., Apple Valley,Minn.) led Carleton with eight points.
Carleton opened up the lead on the Pipers once again in the second half,but Hamline kept the pressure on the Knights, cutting the lead back downto two, 49-47, at 10:42. After Carleton climbed back out to a 57-51 leadagain, Tony Thrasher (Sr., Hustisford, Wis.) made two layups in a row tocut the Pipers’ deficit to 57-55 with 6:40 to play.
Barnhill was sent to the line once again at 5:57, sinking both freethrows to tie the game.
The Knights’ Carter Biewen (So., Golden Valley, Minn.) and Davisresponded with a jumper and a trey, respectively, to gain a 62-57 leadfor the Knights at 4:23.
That exchange of baskets, and narrow Carleton leads, continued until Jonker drained a three-pointer with just over two minutes to play thatjumped the visitors back out to a 67-62 lead that they built uponleading up to the final buzzer. The Pipers were led by 19 from Andersen and 12 from Thrasher. Thrasheradded 10 rebounds for the double-double.
Carleton was paced by Jonker’s 17 points, while Zach Johnson (Sr., AppleValley, Minn.) and Bryan Rosett (Jr., Cottage Grove, Minn.) each had 12.Rosett tallied a double-double by adding 15 rebounds to his point total.
Hamline’s record now stands at 5-13, 4-10 MIAC after the conferenceloss. The Knights improve to 13-5, 9-4 MIAC. Hamline will play at home again tomorrow, Sunday, February 1, at 3:00 p.m. They will host theConcordia Cobbers in the second game of a women’s-men’s double-header.
UNI POSTS 10TH STRAIGHT WIN WITH 61-57 VICTORY AT INDIANA STATE
Forward Adam Koch scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds, both team highs, to lead the University of Northern Iowa to a 61-57 win at Indiana State Saturday afternoon at the Hulman Center.
Koch scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half, rallying UNI from a seven-point halftime deficit to pick up its 10th straight win, which ties the longest winning streak in school history. The 1963-64 Panther team, which was then a Division II school known as the State College of Iowa, started its season 10-0 en route to a 23-4 overall record.
Koch was joined in double-figure scoring by center Jordan Eglseder (13 points) and guard Johnny Moran (12 points), while forward Lucas O’Rear came off the bench to score eight points – all in the second half – and grab five rebounds. UNI enjoyed a commanding advantage scoring inside, totaling 34 points in the paint to just 14 by ISU.
Indiana State opened an 8-2 lead to start the game, as Harry Marshall and Rashad Reed each hit three-pointers. UNI scored six straight, including getting two buckets from Moran, to pull ahead 10-8 at the 14:30 mark.
UNI was in front 17-16 with 9:51 left in the first half, but Indiana State then heated up from behind the arc. The Sycamores drained 5-of-6 from downtown over the next six minutes, part of an 19-8 run that pushed ISU to its largest lead of the game, 35-25, with 3:26 on the clock. Moran, who scored 11 points in the opening 20 minutes, then hit a tough pull-up jumper, and also drained a deep three from the left wing, to get UNI within 37-30 heading into the locker room. In all, Indiana State made 9-of-14 shots (64 percent) from three-point range in the first half, while UNI was just 1-of-7 in the opening 20 minutes.
Indiana State scored the opening basket of the second half to go up by nine, but UNI got two baskets from Eglseder and one from Koch to quickly pull within 39-36. The Panthers clamped down defensively, as they allowed ISU to make only two field goals over the first 12 minutes of the second half. O’Rear had back-to-back layups to give UNI its first lead of the second half, 46-44, with 10 minutes left.
The Sycamores moved back in front by three, 53-50, after Printy drained two free throws with five minutes remaining. But Koch scored six points during an 8-0 run that saw UNI move in front 58-53, with 1:48 left. ISU got within 58-57 with 35 seconds remaining after a Tunnell layup, but Ali Farokhmanesh then calmy drained both two throws to put UNI in front by three. ISU’s Reed then missed a three-pointer from the corner, and Moran hit one more free throw to account for the final 61-57 score.
UNI shot 50 percent from the field for the game, while ISU shot just 38 percent. UNI held the Sycamores to just 5-for-22 (23 percent) shooting after halftime, including 2-for-10 from three-point range.
With the win, UNI improved to 16-6 overall, 10-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while Indiana State fell to 4-18 overall, 2-9 in the Valley. The Panthers’ next game is Tues., Feb. 3, when they travel to Peoria, Ill., to face Bradley. Tipoff time from Carver Arena is 7:05
Koch scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half, rallying UNI from a seven-point halftime deficit to pick up its 10th straight win, which ties the longest winning streak in school history. The 1963-64 Panther team, which was then a Division II school known as the State College of Iowa, started its season 10-0 en route to a 23-4 overall record.
Koch was joined in double-figure scoring by center Jordan Eglseder (13 points) and guard Johnny Moran (12 points), while forward Lucas O’Rear came off the bench to score eight points – all in the second half – and grab five rebounds. UNI enjoyed a commanding advantage scoring inside, totaling 34 points in the paint to just 14 by ISU.
Indiana State opened an 8-2 lead to start the game, as Harry Marshall and Rashad Reed each hit three-pointers. UNI scored six straight, including getting two buckets from Moran, to pull ahead 10-8 at the 14:30 mark.
UNI was in front 17-16 with 9:51 left in the first half, but Indiana State then heated up from behind the arc. The Sycamores drained 5-of-6 from downtown over the next six minutes, part of an 19-8 run that pushed ISU to its largest lead of the game, 35-25, with 3:26 on the clock. Moran, who scored 11 points in the opening 20 minutes, then hit a tough pull-up jumper, and also drained a deep three from the left wing, to get UNI within 37-30 heading into the locker room. In all, Indiana State made 9-of-14 shots (64 percent) from three-point range in the first half, while UNI was just 1-of-7 in the opening 20 minutes.
Indiana State scored the opening basket of the second half to go up by nine, but UNI got two baskets from Eglseder and one from Koch to quickly pull within 39-36. The Panthers clamped down defensively, as they allowed ISU to make only two field goals over the first 12 minutes of the second half. O’Rear had back-to-back layups to give UNI its first lead of the second half, 46-44, with 10 minutes left.
The Sycamores moved back in front by three, 53-50, after Printy drained two free throws with five minutes remaining. But Koch scored six points during an 8-0 run that saw UNI move in front 58-53, with 1:48 left. ISU got within 58-57 with 35 seconds remaining after a Tunnell layup, but Ali Farokhmanesh then calmy drained both two throws to put UNI in front by three. ISU’s Reed then missed a three-pointer from the corner, and Moran hit one more free throw to account for the final 61-57 score.
UNI shot 50 percent from the field for the game, while ISU shot just 38 percent. UNI held the Sycamores to just 5-for-22 (23 percent) shooting after halftime, including 2-for-10 from three-point range.
With the win, UNI improved to 16-6 overall, 10-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while Indiana State fell to 4-18 overall, 2-9 in the Valley. The Panthers’ next game is Tues., Feb. 3, when they travel to Peoria, Ill., to face Bradley. Tipoff time from Carver Arena is 7:05
Friday, January 30, 2009
TROJANS START SLOW AND THEN TAME THE WILDCATS
Wayzata took on the Egan Wildcats at Wayzata High School on Tuesday night.
Wayzata had a hard time finding the basket in the early goings, so the Trojans depended on defense where Jamar Franks played very hard. He guarded Eagan’s point guard Charley Barker and it was quite a battle with each player trying to outwit the other.
Wayzata found the range after a slow started to dominate on both ends of the court and led 44-24 at the half.
Wayzata played a trapping defense and trapped the ball in the corners every time they get the chance. Kellen Taylor who has really become a good player and a Trojan leader played very well especially on defense.
The difference in the game was Wayzata’s Nolan Odland with 24 points, Jerrod Peterson with 16, and Eren Cur with 14. For Eagan Ryan Donovan tallied 22 points.
In the end Wayzata was too much for Eagan and ran away with a 76-61 win.
Wayzata had a hard time finding the basket in the early goings, so the Trojans depended on defense where Jamar Franks played very hard. He guarded Eagan’s point guard Charley Barker and it was quite a battle with each player trying to outwit the other.
Wayzata found the range after a slow started to dominate on both ends of the court and led 44-24 at the half.
Wayzata played a trapping defense and trapped the ball in the corners every time they get the chance. Kellen Taylor who has really become a good player and a Trojan leader played very well especially on defense.
The difference in the game was Wayzata’s Nolan Odland with 24 points, Jerrod Peterson with 16, and Eren Cur with 14. For Eagan Ryan Donovan tallied 22 points.
In the end Wayzata was too much for Eagan and ran away with a 76-61 win.
MINNESOTA GOPHER MENS BASKETBALL TEAM SNAPS 20 GAME LOSING STREAK BY BEATING ILLINOIS
The Minnesota men's basketball team ended its 20-game losing streak to Illinois with an impressive 59-36 win over the 21st-ranked Illini Thursday night at Williams Arena.
Lawrence Westbrook went 3-of-4 from three-point range and paced the 24th-ranked Gophers with 15 points and six rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Freshman center Ralph Sampson III added 10 points and seven rebounds to help Minnesota improve to 18-3 overall and 6-3 in the Big Ten.
Carrying the momentum of a six-point halftime lead into the second half, the Gophers shot 48.1 percent (13-of-27) over the final 20 minutes of play and blew the game open – leading by as many as 23 – in front of a raucous sellout crowd of 14,625 at The Barn.
But the story of arguably Minnesota's biggest home win of the season was the Gophers’ ability to stifle the Illini with Tubby Smith's patented ball-line defensive scheme.
Aggressive all night, the Maroon and Gold held Bruce Weber's squad to 29.4 percent shooting from the field. The Illini went 7-of-28 in the first half, 8-of-23 in the second half and finished the contest 15-of-51 from the field, including just 2-of-16 shooting from behind the arc (12.5 percent).
The 36 points Minnesota held the Illini to on this night marks the lowest point total by an Illinois team in 24 years (Illinois scored 34 points in a loss to Purdue on Jan. 30, 1985). The point total was also the fewest allowed by the Gophers in a conference game since 1951. The 23-point loss was the largest margin of defeat for the Illini under head coach Bruce Weber.
Additionally, the Gophers 23-point win is the largest over a ranked opponent in the history of the program. The previous mark of 21 points in a win over No. 9 Purdue was set in 1993.
From the onset, it was obvious that Thursday night’s game would be a defensive battle. The Gophers held the Illini without a field goal for the first five minutes and 23 seconds of regulation.
Yet, Minnesota’s strong defense didn’t pay dividends on the scoreboard early on. With the Illini locking down Minnesota, the Maroon and Gold trailed seven minutes into the game.
That, however, quickly changed.
Down 6-5, Minnesota went on an 8-0 run – capped by a three-pointer from Blake Hoffarber – to take a 13-6 lead midway through the first half. The Gophers’ lead eventually ballooned to eight, 20-12, after a layup by Al Nolen forced Bruce Weber to call a timeout with 3:49 remaining in the first stanza.
Illiniois cut Minnesota’s lead to four in the final minutes of the first, but an acrobatic layup by Westbrook on Minnesota’s final possession of the first half sent the Gophers into the locker room up 22-16 at halftime.
From there, the Gophers would never trail.
Minnesota jumped on the Illini from the get-go in the second stanza.
The Gophers opened the second half on a 13-6 run and built a 35-22 lead following a free throw by Sampson III with 12:25 to go in regulation.The Illini shrunk Minnesota’s lead to 36-27 after Calvin Brock hit Illinois’ first three of the night, but the Gophers responded with a 9-0 run and led 45-27 following a three by Lawrence Westbrook with 7:46 left to go.
The Illini scored five quick points to cut into Minnesota’s advantage, but Westbrook hit another three to put the Gophers ahead by 16, 50-34, with 4:52 to play – all but ending Illinois' attempt at a comeback.
Minnesota returns to action on Wednesday when the Gophers travel to East Lansing to challenge Michigan State.
Noteworthy:
Minnesota outrebounded Illinois 44-29
Minnesota went 15-of-24 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, the Illini went just 4-of-7 from the charity stripe.
The Gophers shot 31.8 percent in the first half, but finished the game at 40.8 percent (20-of-49).
Minnesota outscored Illinois by 17 in the second half (37-20).
Lawrence Westbrook went 3-of-4 from three-point range and paced the 24th-ranked Gophers with 15 points and six rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Freshman center Ralph Sampson III added 10 points and seven rebounds to help Minnesota improve to 18-3 overall and 6-3 in the Big Ten.
Carrying the momentum of a six-point halftime lead into the second half, the Gophers shot 48.1 percent (13-of-27) over the final 20 minutes of play and blew the game open – leading by as many as 23 – in front of a raucous sellout crowd of 14,625 at The Barn.
But the story of arguably Minnesota's biggest home win of the season was the Gophers’ ability to stifle the Illini with Tubby Smith's patented ball-line defensive scheme.
Aggressive all night, the Maroon and Gold held Bruce Weber's squad to 29.4 percent shooting from the field. The Illini went 7-of-28 in the first half, 8-of-23 in the second half and finished the contest 15-of-51 from the field, including just 2-of-16 shooting from behind the arc (12.5 percent).
The 36 points Minnesota held the Illini to on this night marks the lowest point total by an Illinois team in 24 years (Illinois scored 34 points in a loss to Purdue on Jan. 30, 1985). The point total was also the fewest allowed by the Gophers in a conference game since 1951. The 23-point loss was the largest margin of defeat for the Illini under head coach Bruce Weber.
Additionally, the Gophers 23-point win is the largest over a ranked opponent in the history of the program. The previous mark of 21 points in a win over No. 9 Purdue was set in 1993.
From the onset, it was obvious that Thursday night’s game would be a defensive battle. The Gophers held the Illini without a field goal for the first five minutes and 23 seconds of regulation.
Yet, Minnesota’s strong defense didn’t pay dividends on the scoreboard early on. With the Illini locking down Minnesota, the Maroon and Gold trailed seven minutes into the game.
That, however, quickly changed.
Down 6-5, Minnesota went on an 8-0 run – capped by a three-pointer from Blake Hoffarber – to take a 13-6 lead midway through the first half. The Gophers’ lead eventually ballooned to eight, 20-12, after a layup by Al Nolen forced Bruce Weber to call a timeout with 3:49 remaining in the first stanza.
Illiniois cut Minnesota’s lead to four in the final minutes of the first, but an acrobatic layup by Westbrook on Minnesota’s final possession of the first half sent the Gophers into the locker room up 22-16 at halftime.
From there, the Gophers would never trail.
Minnesota jumped on the Illini from the get-go in the second stanza.
The Gophers opened the second half on a 13-6 run and built a 35-22 lead following a free throw by Sampson III with 12:25 to go in regulation.The Illini shrunk Minnesota’s lead to 36-27 after Calvin Brock hit Illinois’ first three of the night, but the Gophers responded with a 9-0 run and led 45-27 following a three by Lawrence Westbrook with 7:46 left to go.
The Illini scored five quick points to cut into Minnesota’s advantage, but Westbrook hit another three to put the Gophers ahead by 16, 50-34, with 4:52 to play – all but ending Illinois' attempt at a comeback.
Minnesota returns to action on Wednesday when the Gophers travel to East Lansing to challenge Michigan State.
Noteworthy:
Minnesota outrebounded Illinois 44-29
Minnesota went 15-of-24 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, the Illini went just 4-of-7 from the charity stripe.
The Gophers shot 31.8 percent in the first half, but finished the game at 40.8 percent (20-of-49).
Minnesota outscored Illinois by 17 in the second half (37-20).
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA TO TAKE ON INDIANA STATE
The University of Northern Iowa (15-6, 9-1 Missouri Valley Conference) puts its nine-game winning streak on the line this Saturday, when it travels to face Indiana State (4-17, 2-8 MVC). Tipoff time is set for 12:05 pm (central), and the game will be televised live on Fox Sports Midwest and Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
JUMP BALLS..
UNI has won its first five Missouri Valley Conference road games of the year, the first time in its 18-year membership in the league that it has claimed wins in its first five league road tilts. It also ties the most road wins UNI has ever had in one Missouri Valley Conference season, as the Panthers also won five road games in the 2005-06 campaign.
Sophomore point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe came up big down the stretch against Illinois State on Wednesday. The 6-2 Ahelegbe scored nine of UNI’s last 10 points, including making three free throws in the last 15 seconds to seal the victory. Ahelegbe, who had 13 total points versus the Redbirds, has scored in double-figures in eight straight games.
UNI’s current nine-game winning streak is the school’s longest since becoming a Division I program in 1980 and is tied for the second-longest streak in school history. UNI’s nine-game winning streak is also tied for the fifth-longest active streak in the NCAA.
The last time UNI won nine straight games was in the 1963-64 season, when the Panthers had separate nine and 10-game winning streaks. That UNI team, which then was a Division II school known as the State College of Iowa, posted a record of 23-4 under the direction of coach Norm Stewart, and advanced to the College Division Final Four. The 10-game winning streak to start the 1963-64 season is the longest in UNI history.
Indiana State handed UNI its lone Missouri Valley Conference loss of the season, an 85-84 double-overtime win at the McLeod Center in the league openers for both teams on Dec. 28. Panthers guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe led all players with a career-high 28 points, while Ali Farokhmanesh added 20.
UNI trailed by as many as 21 points in the first half against Indiana State in the team’s Dec. 28th game in Cedar Falls, and 17 points at halftime (41-24). The Panthers rallyied to force overtime on a Travis Brown three-pointer at the buzzer, but the Sycamores were able to pull out the double-overtime victory.
JUMP BALLS..
UNI has won its first five Missouri Valley Conference road games of the year, the first time in its 18-year membership in the league that it has claimed wins in its first five league road tilts. It also ties the most road wins UNI has ever had in one Missouri Valley Conference season, as the Panthers also won five road games in the 2005-06 campaign.
Sophomore point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe came up big down the stretch against Illinois State on Wednesday. The 6-2 Ahelegbe scored nine of UNI’s last 10 points, including making three free throws in the last 15 seconds to seal the victory. Ahelegbe, who had 13 total points versus the Redbirds, has scored in double-figures in eight straight games.
UNI’s current nine-game winning streak is the school’s longest since becoming a Division I program in 1980 and is tied for the second-longest streak in school history. UNI’s nine-game winning streak is also tied for the fifth-longest active streak in the NCAA.
The last time UNI won nine straight games was in the 1963-64 season, when the Panthers had separate nine and 10-game winning streaks. That UNI team, which then was a Division II school known as the State College of Iowa, posted a record of 23-4 under the direction of coach Norm Stewart, and advanced to the College Division Final Four. The 10-game winning streak to start the 1963-64 season is the longest in UNI history.
Indiana State handed UNI its lone Missouri Valley Conference loss of the season, an 85-84 double-overtime win at the McLeod Center in the league openers for both teams on Dec. 28. Panthers guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe led all players with a career-high 28 points, while Ali Farokhmanesh added 20.
UNI trailed by as many as 21 points in the first half against Indiana State in the team’s Dec. 28th game in Cedar Falls, and 17 points at halftime (41-24). The Panthers rallyied to force overtime on a Travis Brown three-pointer at the buzzer, but the Sycamores were able to pull out the double-overtime victory.
Monday, January 26, 2009
SEBEKA TAKES OUT NASHWAUK-KEEWATIN
We have had a fast paced start to this game. Both teams are really getting in each other’s faces and pushing down the court at the start of this game. Cody Pulju, of Sebeka, has just come down and put-in a layup even though he fell afterwards.
Sebeka has started out shooting well and has made most of the shots that they have taken so far tonight and have jumped to a 13-4 lead early in the first half. Both of these teams are getting up and down the court here tonight.
John Clark has really gotten into it tonight, and he has made most of the shots that he has taken.
Wes Lorence for Nashwauk-Keewatin has just scored his 1,000 point. He has received a standing ovation and the game ball.
This game has been a rout; Sebeka played spectacularly this evening, and has came away with the victory. The final score is: Sebeka 63, and Nashwauk-Keewatin 36.
Sebeka has started out shooting well and has made most of the shots that they have taken so far tonight and have jumped to a 13-4 lead early in the first half. Both of these teams are getting up and down the court here tonight.
John Clark has really gotten into it tonight, and he has made most of the shots that he has taken.
Wes Lorence for Nashwauk-Keewatin has just scored his 1,000 point. He has received a standing ovation and the game ball.
This game has been a rout; Sebeka played spectacularly this evening, and has came away with the victory. The final score is: Sebeka 63, and Nashwauk-Keewatin 36.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS BEAT INDIANA
In a back-and-forth game, Minnesota made enough plays down the stretch to secure a 67-63 road win over Indiana Sunday afternoon at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana.
Forward Damian Johnson paced the Gophers (17-3 overall, 5-3 Big Ten) with 18 points and six rebounds and freshman center Ralph Sampson III added 13 points, eight rebounds and a career-high six blocks to help Minnesota snap its two-game losing streak. Lawrence Westbrook and Jamal Abu-Shamala chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Devan Dumes scored a game-high 19 points for Indiana (5-13, 0-6), which is still searching for its first win of conference play.
It wasn’t a masterpiece, but the 20th-ranked Gophers desperate for a victory after back-to-back losses to Northwestern and Purdue will certainly take it.
Down eight midway through the first half, Minnesota rallied back and led by one at halftime. From there, the Gophers would never trail, although things certainly got more than interesting for the Maroon and Gold down the stretch.
Minnesota briefly held a six-point lead with 11 minutes to go in regulation, but that advantage quickly evaporated making for a back-and-forth finish at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers pulled to within one on four occasions over the final nine minutes of play, but could never pull even in the second stanza.
A dunk by Sampson III put Minnesota ahead, 64-59, with 1:52 to go but Malik Storey hit a jumper and Nick Williams hit two free throws to cut the Gophers’ lead to 64-63 with 29.5 seconds to go.
Al Nolen hit two free throws to put Minnesota up, 66-63, and Tom Crean called timeout go draw up a game-tying play on Indiana’s final possession of regulation.
But Dumas misfired on a deep three that would have tied the game with three seconds to go and Paul Carter grabbed the rebound and made one of two free throws to push Minnesota’s lead to two possessions with 2.6 left to go; securing a precious Big Ten road win for the Gophers.
From the onset, Minnesota realized the Hoosiers were not just going to hand over the game.
In front of a packed crowd of Hoosier faithful, Indiana opened the game 5-of-5 from three-point land and jumped out to a 19-11 lead following a layup by Dumes with 8:06 left in the first half.
Minnesota, however, quickly got back into the game – thanks to some tenacious defense and solid offensive production.
Minnesota began the game shooting 28 percent from the field midway through the first half, but the Gophers jumped their average up to 40 percent by halftime. And as the Maroon and Gold locked down and held the Hoosiers to 37 percent shooting and forced 10 turnovers in the first half, the momentum of the game shifted in their favor.
Over the final eight minutes of the first half, the Gophers went on an 20-8 run highlighted by a four-point play by Jamal Abu-Shamala and led 31-27 after a mid range jumper by Westbrook with five seconds remaining in the half.
Indiana guard Verdell Jones III hit a three-pointer from half court as time expired in the first stanza, cutting Minnesota’s lead to 31-30 heading into the locker room. But the Gophers, who shot 45.5 percent from the field, wouldn’t let Jones’ buzzer-beating shot hurt their confidence.
Minnesota opened the second half on an 11-5 run and extended its lead to 42-35 after Nolen found Johnson for a dunk three minutes into the half.
Still, the pesky Hoosiers wouldn’t go away.
Five minutes into the half Indiana pulled to within one at 45-44 following a layup by Daniel Moore.
Minnesota briefly opened up a six-point lead following a breakaway dunk by Paul Carter with 10:46 left in regulation, but five-straight points by the Hoosiers pulled Indiana to within one, 51-50, with 9:45 remaining.
Indiana had a chance to take the lead on its next offensive possession but Jones missed a layup and Broderick Lewis missed two free throws. The Hoosiers would never pull even.
Minnesota returns to the court on Thursday night when the Gophers host Illinois at Williams Arena.
Forward Damian Johnson paced the Gophers (17-3 overall, 5-3 Big Ten) with 18 points and six rebounds and freshman center Ralph Sampson III added 13 points, eight rebounds and a career-high six blocks to help Minnesota snap its two-game losing streak. Lawrence Westbrook and Jamal Abu-Shamala chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Devan Dumes scored a game-high 19 points for Indiana (5-13, 0-6), which is still searching for its first win of conference play.
It wasn’t a masterpiece, but the 20th-ranked Gophers desperate for a victory after back-to-back losses to Northwestern and Purdue will certainly take it.
Down eight midway through the first half, Minnesota rallied back and led by one at halftime. From there, the Gophers would never trail, although things certainly got more than interesting for the Maroon and Gold down the stretch.
Minnesota briefly held a six-point lead with 11 minutes to go in regulation, but that advantage quickly evaporated making for a back-and-forth finish at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers pulled to within one on four occasions over the final nine minutes of play, but could never pull even in the second stanza.
A dunk by Sampson III put Minnesota ahead, 64-59, with 1:52 to go but Malik Storey hit a jumper and Nick Williams hit two free throws to cut the Gophers’ lead to 64-63 with 29.5 seconds to go.
Al Nolen hit two free throws to put Minnesota up, 66-63, and Tom Crean called timeout go draw up a game-tying play on Indiana’s final possession of regulation.
But Dumas misfired on a deep three that would have tied the game with three seconds to go and Paul Carter grabbed the rebound and made one of two free throws to push Minnesota’s lead to two possessions with 2.6 left to go; securing a precious Big Ten road win for the Gophers.
From the onset, Minnesota realized the Hoosiers were not just going to hand over the game.
In front of a packed crowd of Hoosier faithful, Indiana opened the game 5-of-5 from three-point land and jumped out to a 19-11 lead following a layup by Dumes with 8:06 left in the first half.
Minnesota, however, quickly got back into the game – thanks to some tenacious defense and solid offensive production.
Minnesota began the game shooting 28 percent from the field midway through the first half, but the Gophers jumped their average up to 40 percent by halftime. And as the Maroon and Gold locked down and held the Hoosiers to 37 percent shooting and forced 10 turnovers in the first half, the momentum of the game shifted in their favor.
Over the final eight minutes of the first half, the Gophers went on an 20-8 run highlighted by a four-point play by Jamal Abu-Shamala and led 31-27 after a mid range jumper by Westbrook with five seconds remaining in the half.
Indiana guard Verdell Jones III hit a three-pointer from half court as time expired in the first stanza, cutting Minnesota’s lead to 31-30 heading into the locker room. But the Gophers, who shot 45.5 percent from the field, wouldn’t let Jones’ buzzer-beating shot hurt their confidence.
Minnesota opened the second half on an 11-5 run and extended its lead to 42-35 after Nolen found Johnson for a dunk three minutes into the half.
Still, the pesky Hoosiers wouldn’t go away.
Five minutes into the half Indiana pulled to within one at 45-44 following a layup by Daniel Moore.
Minnesota briefly opened up a six-point lead following a breakaway dunk by Paul Carter with 10:46 left in regulation, but five-straight points by the Hoosiers pulled Indiana to within one, 51-50, with 9:45 remaining.
Indiana had a chance to take the lead on its next offensive possession but Jones missed a layup and Broderick Lewis missed two free throws. The Hoosiers would never pull even.
Minnesota returns to the court on Thursday night when the Gophers host Illinois at Williams Arena.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
GOLDEN BEARS CONTINUE MIDSEASON REBOUND,OUTLAST U-MARY
The Concordia University men's basketball team (8-10, 6-5 NSIC) used 21 offensive rebounds and a 46-27 rebounding advantage to outmuscle the University of Mary (5-13, 3-8 NSIC) in a 75-64 victory at the Gangelhoff Center. Concordia had six players score at least eight points and three in double-figures in the balanced win. Five players also dished at least three assists for the home team. Concordia has now won back-to-back games and has moved into the top eight for the race to the NSIC Tournament.
The Marauders held an early five point edge with the first five points of the game in the opening 80 seconds of action. But a quick 7-2 Concordia run tied things up three minutes later.
The teams fought for the lead for the next few minutes as the game saw three ties and three lead changes before the Golden Bears finally took the lead for good with a Mike Cunningham layup at the 13:07 mark. Cunningham, a junior guard from Minneapolis, Minn., finished with 14 points, 11 coming in the first half. He also added eight rebounds (five offensive), six assists and two steals.
Concordia led by as much as 11 in the first half but the Marauders were able to stick around, closing the gap to five late in the half before going into the locker room with CU holding a 39-32 lead. The Marauders stayed close thanks to 50.0% (13-26) shooting in the opening frame while the Golden Bears were 45.2% (14-31) from the floor but hit 9-11 at the foul line.
In the second half, Concordia brought the lead back to double-digits early as sophomore Matt Hackl (Seymour, Wis.) converted a layup on a fastbreak to give the host a 45-35 edge.
But the Marauders fought back again, closing the gap to four, 48-44 at 14:41.
That's when junior forward Craig Heiman (Marshall, Wis.) stepped up, knocking down a three-pointer as he scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half. He also finished with seven rebounds and three assists.
The Marauders would come no closer than the seven point margin the rest of the way, as Concordia led by as much as 15 points late in the game before closing out their guests.
Concordia's rebounding advantage was key, extending numerous possessions with offensive rebounds. Sophomore center Drew Votis (Peshtigo, Wis.) led Concordia with nine rebounds, four coming on the offensive end. It was a career-high for the 6-11 big man, who also scored three points while playing 20 minutes.
Six players had at least five rebounds on the night compared to U-Mary, who had two players collect exactly five rebounds.
Junior guard Sammy Ricks (St. Paul, Minn.) was the third player in double-figures for CU with 13 points. He also had six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
For the second straight night, Concordia had a productive bench, scoring 22 tonight to follow-up last night's 32 point output. Senior guard Matt Cadwell's (St. Paul, Minn.) nine points, five rebounds and three assists paced the reserves while junior forward Thomas Bassett (Denison, Iowa) added eight points with sophomore Andrew Kuderer (Eden Prairie, Minn.) adding five. Kuderer also had five rebounds and three assists in extensive play.
The Marauders had three players reach double-figures offensively led by Jason West's 12 points while Zach Dosch and Geoff West added 10 apiece.
Concordia returns to the road to close out January after picking up their first two wins of the month this weekend. They will travel to face Augustana (7-4 NSIC) and Wayne State (4-7) next Friday and Saturday in key NSIC matchups.
The Marauders held an early five point edge with the first five points of the game in the opening 80 seconds of action. But a quick 7-2 Concordia run tied things up three minutes later.
The teams fought for the lead for the next few minutes as the game saw three ties and three lead changes before the Golden Bears finally took the lead for good with a Mike Cunningham layup at the 13:07 mark. Cunningham, a junior guard from Minneapolis, Minn., finished with 14 points, 11 coming in the first half. He also added eight rebounds (five offensive), six assists and two steals.
Concordia led by as much as 11 in the first half but the Marauders were able to stick around, closing the gap to five late in the half before going into the locker room with CU holding a 39-32 lead. The Marauders stayed close thanks to 50.0% (13-26) shooting in the opening frame while the Golden Bears were 45.2% (14-31) from the floor but hit 9-11 at the foul line.
In the second half, Concordia brought the lead back to double-digits early as sophomore Matt Hackl (Seymour, Wis.) converted a layup on a fastbreak to give the host a 45-35 edge.
But the Marauders fought back again, closing the gap to four, 48-44 at 14:41.
That's when junior forward Craig Heiman (Marshall, Wis.) stepped up, knocking down a three-pointer as he scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half. He also finished with seven rebounds and three assists.
The Marauders would come no closer than the seven point margin the rest of the way, as Concordia led by as much as 15 points late in the game before closing out their guests.
Concordia's rebounding advantage was key, extending numerous possessions with offensive rebounds. Sophomore center Drew Votis (Peshtigo, Wis.) led Concordia with nine rebounds, four coming on the offensive end. It was a career-high for the 6-11 big man, who also scored three points while playing 20 minutes.
Six players had at least five rebounds on the night compared to U-Mary, who had two players collect exactly five rebounds.
Junior guard Sammy Ricks (St. Paul, Minn.) was the third player in double-figures for CU with 13 points. He also had six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
For the second straight night, Concordia had a productive bench, scoring 22 tonight to follow-up last night's 32 point output. Senior guard Matt Cadwell's (St. Paul, Minn.) nine points, five rebounds and three assists paced the reserves while junior forward Thomas Bassett (Denison, Iowa) added eight points with sophomore Andrew Kuderer (Eden Prairie, Minn.) adding five. Kuderer also had five rebounds and three assists in extensive play.
The Marauders had three players reach double-figures offensively led by Jason West's 12 points while Zach Dosch and Geoff West added 10 apiece.
Concordia returns to the road to close out January after picking up their first two wins of the month this weekend. They will travel to face Augustana (7-4 NSIC) and Wayne State (4-7) next Friday and Saturday in key NSIC matchups.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER DIES FROM HEAT STROKE AT FOOTBALL PRACTICE
I found this in the USA TODAY
LOUISVILLE —The head football coach of Pleasure Ridge Park High School has been charged with reckless homicide in the death of a 15-year-old player who collapsed from heat stroke at practice.
It's the first time a criminal charge has been filed in such a case involving a high school or college coach in the United States, according to sports experts.
David Jason Stinson was indicted Thursday by a Jefferson County grand jury in the death of sophomore lineman Max Gilpin, who collapsed Aug. 20 and died three days later at Kosair Children's Hospital, after his body temperature had reached 107 degrees.
If convicted, Stinson could be sentenced to five years in prison. His attorney, Alex Dathorne, said Stinson was "shocked" by the indictment.
"He will maintain his innocence, and I believe this will be tried in front of a jury where they will hear all of the evidence, including the testimony of Mr. Stinson," Dathorne said.
Jefferson Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Stengel, who made no recommendation to the grand jury, said grand jurors didn't find that Stinson's actions were intentional or malicious.
He said reckless homicide occurs when a "person fails to perceive a risk that a reasonable person in that situation would have seen" and that person's actions cause a death.
Stinson, who continued to direct the football team through the rest of its season, has been "reassigned to non-instructional duties, pending the outcome of the case," Lauren Roberts, spokeswoman for Jefferson County Public Schools, said Thursday.
"He will have no contact with students," Roberts said.
Gilpin and a second player collapsed during the practice in which coaches were alleged to have withheld water and continued to run players on a day when the heat index reached 94 degrees. The second player, a senior, spent two days in the hospital.
Both Jefferson County Public Schools and Louisville Metro Police investigated Gilpin's death after The Courier-Journal reported that bystanders near the practice field heard coaches deny the players water. Other witnesses heard the coaches say they would run the players until someone quit the team.
Dr. Fred Mueller, director of the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research at University of North Carolina, was among several sports experts who said Thursday they had never heard of a high school or college coach facing such an indictment.
Mueller said the indictment of Stinson will be "an eye opener" for coaches who deny water to players.
Stengel said prosecutors were working with Stinson's attorney to have the coach turn himself in Monday, when he is scheduled to be arraigned in Jefferson Circuit Court.
Stengel said that his office did not seek charges against five other coaches on the team, determining they committed no criminal act.
All the coaches, however, have been named in a civil lawsuit filed in September by Gilpin's parents, Michele Crockett and Jeff Gilpin, accusing the coaches of negligence and "reckless disregard."
The parents released a statement through their attorneys Thursday, saying they intend to monitor the prosecution and "expect anyone responsible for Max's death to be held accountable."
LOUISVILLE —The head football coach of Pleasure Ridge Park High School has been charged with reckless homicide in the death of a 15-year-old player who collapsed from heat stroke at practice.
It's the first time a criminal charge has been filed in such a case involving a high school or college coach in the United States, according to sports experts.
David Jason Stinson was indicted Thursday by a Jefferson County grand jury in the death of sophomore lineman Max Gilpin, who collapsed Aug. 20 and died three days later at Kosair Children's Hospital, after his body temperature had reached 107 degrees.
If convicted, Stinson could be sentenced to five years in prison. His attorney, Alex Dathorne, said Stinson was "shocked" by the indictment.
"He will maintain his innocence, and I believe this will be tried in front of a jury where they will hear all of the evidence, including the testimony of Mr. Stinson," Dathorne said.
Jefferson Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Stengel, who made no recommendation to the grand jury, said grand jurors didn't find that Stinson's actions were intentional or malicious.
He said reckless homicide occurs when a "person fails to perceive a risk that a reasonable person in that situation would have seen" and that person's actions cause a death.
Stinson, who continued to direct the football team through the rest of its season, has been "reassigned to non-instructional duties, pending the outcome of the case," Lauren Roberts, spokeswoman for Jefferson County Public Schools, said Thursday.
"He will have no contact with students," Roberts said.
Gilpin and a second player collapsed during the practice in which coaches were alleged to have withheld water and continued to run players on a day when the heat index reached 94 degrees. The second player, a senior, spent two days in the hospital.
Both Jefferson County Public Schools and Louisville Metro Police investigated Gilpin's death after The Courier-Journal reported that bystanders near the practice field heard coaches deny the players water. Other witnesses heard the coaches say they would run the players until someone quit the team.
Dr. Fred Mueller, director of the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research at University of North Carolina, was among several sports experts who said Thursday they had never heard of a high school or college coach facing such an indictment.
Mueller said the indictment of Stinson will be "an eye opener" for coaches who deny water to players.
Stengel said prosecutors were working with Stinson's attorney to have the coach turn himself in Monday, when he is scheduled to be arraigned in Jefferson Circuit Court.
Stengel said that his office did not seek charges against five other coaches on the team, determining they committed no criminal act.
All the coaches, however, have been named in a civil lawsuit filed in September by Gilpin's parents, Michele Crockett and Jeff Gilpin, accusing the coaches of negligence and "reckless disregard."
The parents released a statement through their attorneys Thursday, saying they intend to monitor the prosecution and "expect anyone responsible for Max's death to be held accountable."
N.C. STATE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH KAY YOW DIES OF CANCER AT AGE 66
By Dick Patrick, USA TODAY
RALEIGH, N.C. — When Kay Yow announced earlier this month that she was taking the rest of the season off from coaching at North Carolina State, the women's basketball world knew her battle with breast cancer must be at a critical stage.
Yow, 66, died Saturday after a 21-year battle with the disease. Until the end, she was devoted to coaching and raising funds for cancer research through the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and The V Foundation for Cancer Research.
"In the two decades she fought the disease, Kay never allowed herself to be victimized by cancer," said Tennessee coach Pat Summitt. "Kay never pitied herself. Instead, she tried to bring awareness to the horrible disease that was robbing her of her life. She did all that she could do to help others. That was just Kay.
"Helping to get the cancer fund off the ground put Kay on a mission. She fought for cancer funding the same way she fought the disease, positive and determined every step of the way. Kay was passionate about life and coaching."
Yow's 38-season career, 34 at NC State, included a 737-344 career mark with four Atlantic Coast Conference tourney titles, 20 NCAA bids and a Final Four appearance in 1998.
But the wins are not what colleagues are going to remember. Her legacy was her approach to life and coaching.
Scene from a 1996 coaching clinic at the Final Four, given by assistants of the U.S. national team: In a packed conference room, Yow a Women's Basketball Hall of Famer who coached the U.S. women to the 1988 Olympic title was standing and scribbling notes furiously as if she were a grad assistant.
"She was a perpetual student of the game, a perpetual student of life," said Beth Bass, the CEO of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
If Yow could never learn too much, neither could she give too much. "It was always about everyone else, never about Kay," said Summitt.
In 1984 Summitt chose Yow as her assistant on the U.S. team that won the Olympic gold medal. "Kay had great wisdom," Summitt said. "She had a special way of telling you things that you really didn't want to hear but needed to. Kay was not a 'yes' woman.
"She was an excellent communicator and had such a great rapport with our Olympic players. I learned so much from her on how to better communicate with your players. She definitely always knew the pulse of our team and had a calmness about her that was so settling to me as a young coach trying to bring home the gold while playing in front of the home team USA fans."
Yow had a way of coaching even when off the court. Bass treasures the time she has spent with Yow working on fundraising efforts because of the lessons imparted.
"She was always so gracious, effortlessly gracious, to everyone," Bass said. "She made them feel like they were the only person in the world. I was trying to hurry her someplace when she said, 'Beth, don't let the urgent get in the way of the important.'
"What's important isn't what's in your in basket. For her it was family, friends and the student athletes, spending time with them. 'Don't let the urgent get in the way of the important' has popped into my mind a 100 times since then. It's a good basis to lead your life by."
The Wolfpack's game at Wake Forest on Monday was postponed to Feb. 10. Its next game will be Thursday at home against Boston College. Plans for a memorial service were incomplete.
At Duke — one of N.C. State's closest ACC rivals — there was a moment of silence to honor Yow before the men's basketball game against Maryland on Saturday.
"Everyone who had the privilege of knowing Kay Yow has a heavy heart today," N.C. State athletics director Lee Fowler said in a statement. "She faced every opponent, whether on the basketball court of in a hospital room, with dignity and grace. She will be greatly missed."
In her final months, Yow was on hormonal therapy as the cancer spread to her liver and bone. But she never flinched or complained, relying on her faith as the disease progressed. She commonly noted there were other patients with "harder battles than I'm fighting" and said it was inspiring for her to stay with her team.
"We're all faced with a lot of tough issues that we're dealing with," she said in a 2006 interview. "We know we need to just come to the court and let that be our catharsis in a way. You can't bring it on the court with you, but we can all just think of basketball as an escape for a few hours."
Over the years, Yow never lost her folksy, easygoing manner and refused to dwell on her health issues, though they colored everything she did almost as much as basketball. Ultimately, her philosophy on both were the same.
"If you start to dwell on the wrong things, it'll take you down fast," Yow said in '07. "Every morning, I wake up and the first thing I think of is I'm thankful. I'm thankful for another day."
RALEIGH, N.C. — When Kay Yow announced earlier this month that she was taking the rest of the season off from coaching at North Carolina State, the women's basketball world knew her battle with breast cancer must be at a critical stage.
Yow, 66, died Saturday after a 21-year battle with the disease. Until the end, she was devoted to coaching and raising funds for cancer research through the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and The V Foundation for Cancer Research.
"In the two decades she fought the disease, Kay never allowed herself to be victimized by cancer," said Tennessee coach Pat Summitt. "Kay never pitied herself. Instead, she tried to bring awareness to the horrible disease that was robbing her of her life. She did all that she could do to help others. That was just Kay.
"Helping to get the cancer fund off the ground put Kay on a mission. She fought for cancer funding the same way she fought the disease, positive and determined every step of the way. Kay was passionate about life and coaching."
Yow's 38-season career, 34 at NC State, included a 737-344 career mark with four Atlantic Coast Conference tourney titles, 20 NCAA bids and a Final Four appearance in 1998.
But the wins are not what colleagues are going to remember. Her legacy was her approach to life and coaching.
Scene from a 1996 coaching clinic at the Final Four, given by assistants of the U.S. national team: In a packed conference room, Yow a Women's Basketball Hall of Famer who coached the U.S. women to the 1988 Olympic title was standing and scribbling notes furiously as if she were a grad assistant.
"She was a perpetual student of the game, a perpetual student of life," said Beth Bass, the CEO of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
If Yow could never learn too much, neither could she give too much. "It was always about everyone else, never about Kay," said Summitt.
In 1984 Summitt chose Yow as her assistant on the U.S. team that won the Olympic gold medal. "Kay had great wisdom," Summitt said. "She had a special way of telling you things that you really didn't want to hear but needed to. Kay was not a 'yes' woman.
"She was an excellent communicator and had such a great rapport with our Olympic players. I learned so much from her on how to better communicate with your players. She definitely always knew the pulse of our team and had a calmness about her that was so settling to me as a young coach trying to bring home the gold while playing in front of the home team USA fans."
Yow had a way of coaching even when off the court. Bass treasures the time she has spent with Yow working on fundraising efforts because of the lessons imparted.
"She was always so gracious, effortlessly gracious, to everyone," Bass said. "She made them feel like they were the only person in the world. I was trying to hurry her someplace when she said, 'Beth, don't let the urgent get in the way of the important.'
"What's important isn't what's in your in basket. For her it was family, friends and the student athletes, spending time with them. 'Don't let the urgent get in the way of the important' has popped into my mind a 100 times since then. It's a good basis to lead your life by."
The Wolfpack's game at Wake Forest on Monday was postponed to Feb. 10. Its next game will be Thursday at home against Boston College. Plans for a memorial service were incomplete.
At Duke — one of N.C. State's closest ACC rivals — there was a moment of silence to honor Yow before the men's basketball game against Maryland on Saturday.
"Everyone who had the privilege of knowing Kay Yow has a heavy heart today," N.C. State athletics director Lee Fowler said in a statement. "She faced every opponent, whether on the basketball court of in a hospital room, with dignity and grace. She will be greatly missed."
In her final months, Yow was on hormonal therapy as the cancer spread to her liver and bone. But she never flinched or complained, relying on her faith as the disease progressed. She commonly noted there were other patients with "harder battles than I'm fighting" and said it was inspiring for her to stay with her team.
"We're all faced with a lot of tough issues that we're dealing with," she said in a 2006 interview. "We know we need to just come to the court and let that be our catharsis in a way. You can't bring it on the court with you, but we can all just think of basketball as an escape for a few hours."
Over the years, Yow never lost her folksy, easygoing manner and refused to dwell on her health issues, though they colored everything she did almost as much as basketball. Ultimately, her philosophy on both were the same.
"If you start to dwell on the wrong things, it'll take you down fast," Yow said in '07. "Every morning, I wake up and the first thing I think of is I'm thankful. I'm thankful for another day."
DUKE BEATS MARYLAND
I got this from the USA Today
Jon Scheyer was a freshman on the Duke team that lost four straight games to end the season and fell out of the Top 25. So he can't help but feel a little bit of excitement about the possibility of being No. 1 — even if he's quick to say rankings don't matter much.
"Watching Duke when I was in high school, it did seem like they were No. 1 a lot," the junior said. "I feel like this is where we belong."
Gerald Henderson scored 17 points to help the second-ranked Blue Devils rout Maryland 85-44 on Saturday, a victory that likely will propel the Blue Devils to the No. 1 ranking next week.
Scheyer scored 12 points for Duke (18-1, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), which dominated from the opening tip and led 40-15 at halftime. From there, the lead only grew, including a couple of dazzling transition scores that pushed the Blue Devils to a 60-20 lead less than 4 minutes into the second half.
The Blue Devils haven't been ranked No. 1 since the final poll of 2005-06, but that could change after Wake Forest's home loss to Virginia Tech on Wednesday. Duke had been ranked No. 1 at least once every season from 1998-2004 under Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski, but had not reached the top spot in the past two seasons.
Fittingly, the Blue Devils' next game is at Wake Forest on Wednesday night.
"It'll be a big deal for our guys and it's a big deal for us because it means we're playing really well," Krzyzewski said of a No. 1 ranking. "We talked about it last week that, just don't worry about anything, let's just play. It's the same thing we're going to tell them going into this next week.
"It's an honor and it says you're playing real well. You don't get anything from it except a really big headline when you lose."
Duke shot just 43%, but hit 12 of 25 three-point attempts and finished with a 56-38 edge in rebounds. More importantly, the Blue Devils completely shut down Maryland's offense early to take the big lead and didn't let the Terrapins have much room to operate after that.
Maryland shot 28%, including 2-for-12 from three-point range.
"I wouldn't use (the word), 'Surprised,"' Henderson said of the lopsided result. "I know how good this team can be when we're playing together and playing defense like we did the entire game. We can be pretty spectacular and explosive. I feel like we should play like that all the time."
It was Maryland's worst defeat since a 39-point loss to Wake Forest in 1963. It was also the Terps' worst ACC loss ever.
Landon Milbourne scored 19 points to lead Maryland, but the rest of the team shot 9-for-48 (19 percent) for the game.
"It wasn't how good they are defensively. What makes them good is their intensity," said Greivis Vasquez, who managed four points on 2-for-10 shooting. "If you don't play as hard as they do, you're not going to win games in here. You've got to play hard. If you don't, you're going to lose by 40."
The frustration was evident early when Dave Neal of Maryland flung his arms into the air in and cursed in disgust after Duke's 7-footer Brian Zoubek beat several Terps to the ball for the second offensive rebound of the possession before drawing a foul.
Things didn't get any better in the second half, which opened with a stretch in which Duke seemed more like it was putting together a highlight reel than playing an ACC opponent.
First came a three-pointer from Nolan Smith, followed by another three from Henderson. Then, after a missed shot, Henderson threw an underhanded alley-oop pass in transition to Kyle Singler for a dunk.
Finally, after another Maryland turnover, Scheyer saved a ball from going out of bounds near midcourt in transition, leading to a perfect touch pass from Smith to Henderson for another score that capped a 14-0 run and pushed the lead to 40 points with 15:28 to play.
"The start of the second half, for about 4 or 5 minutes there, that was as good a basketball as can be played," Krzyzewski said. "It was lights-out basketball for about 5 minutes. I was proud of my team because with a lead, you can have a tendency to let down. And they didn't."
Before the game, there was a moment of silence to honor longtime North Carolina State women's coach Kay Yow — who died Saturday morning after a two-decade fight with cancer — and Bill Werber, who was the oldest living ex-major leaguer and Duke's first All-America basketball player. Werber died Thursday.
Jon Scheyer was a freshman on the Duke team that lost four straight games to end the season and fell out of the Top 25. So he can't help but feel a little bit of excitement about the possibility of being No. 1 — even if he's quick to say rankings don't matter much.
"Watching Duke when I was in high school, it did seem like they were No. 1 a lot," the junior said. "I feel like this is where we belong."
Gerald Henderson scored 17 points to help the second-ranked Blue Devils rout Maryland 85-44 on Saturday, a victory that likely will propel the Blue Devils to the No. 1 ranking next week.
Scheyer scored 12 points for Duke (18-1, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), which dominated from the opening tip and led 40-15 at halftime. From there, the lead only grew, including a couple of dazzling transition scores that pushed the Blue Devils to a 60-20 lead less than 4 minutes into the second half.
The Blue Devils haven't been ranked No. 1 since the final poll of 2005-06, but that could change after Wake Forest's home loss to Virginia Tech on Wednesday. Duke had been ranked No. 1 at least once every season from 1998-2004 under Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski, but had not reached the top spot in the past two seasons.
Fittingly, the Blue Devils' next game is at Wake Forest on Wednesday night.
"It'll be a big deal for our guys and it's a big deal for us because it means we're playing really well," Krzyzewski said of a No. 1 ranking. "We talked about it last week that, just don't worry about anything, let's just play. It's the same thing we're going to tell them going into this next week.
"It's an honor and it says you're playing real well. You don't get anything from it except a really big headline when you lose."
Duke shot just 43%, but hit 12 of 25 three-point attempts and finished with a 56-38 edge in rebounds. More importantly, the Blue Devils completely shut down Maryland's offense early to take the big lead and didn't let the Terrapins have much room to operate after that.
Maryland shot 28%, including 2-for-12 from three-point range.
"I wouldn't use (the word), 'Surprised,"' Henderson said of the lopsided result. "I know how good this team can be when we're playing together and playing defense like we did the entire game. We can be pretty spectacular and explosive. I feel like we should play like that all the time."
It was Maryland's worst defeat since a 39-point loss to Wake Forest in 1963. It was also the Terps' worst ACC loss ever.
Landon Milbourne scored 19 points to lead Maryland, but the rest of the team shot 9-for-48 (19 percent) for the game.
"It wasn't how good they are defensively. What makes them good is their intensity," said Greivis Vasquez, who managed four points on 2-for-10 shooting. "If you don't play as hard as they do, you're not going to win games in here. You've got to play hard. If you don't, you're going to lose by 40."
The frustration was evident early when Dave Neal of Maryland flung his arms into the air in and cursed in disgust after Duke's 7-footer Brian Zoubek beat several Terps to the ball for the second offensive rebound of the possession before drawing a foul.
Things didn't get any better in the second half, which opened with a stretch in which Duke seemed more like it was putting together a highlight reel than playing an ACC opponent.
First came a three-pointer from Nolan Smith, followed by another three from Henderson. Then, after a missed shot, Henderson threw an underhanded alley-oop pass in transition to Kyle Singler for a dunk.
Finally, after another Maryland turnover, Scheyer saved a ball from going out of bounds near midcourt in transition, leading to a perfect touch pass from Smith to Henderson for another score that capped a 14-0 run and pushed the lead to 40 points with 15:28 to play.
"The start of the second half, for about 4 or 5 minutes there, that was as good a basketball as can be played," Krzyzewski said. "It was lights-out basketball for about 5 minutes. I was proud of my team because with a lead, you can have a tendency to let down. And they didn't."
Before the game, there was a moment of silence to honor longtime North Carolina State women's coach Kay Yow — who died Saturday morning after a two-decade fight with cancer — and Bill Werber, who was the oldest living ex-major leaguer and Duke's first All-America basketball player. Werber died Thursday.
AFTER A 100-0 GAME
Here is a story I saw on line from the USA Today.
Dallas Academy is a small Texas school that offers small classes for children with "dyslexia, dysgraphia and other learning differences," according to its site, which also says 80-90% of its students go on to college. Despite the small size, the school offers a full athletic department -- baseball, six-man football, soccer, volleyball, softball, golf and basketball.
The girls basketball team, drawing eight players of the roughly 20 girls in the high school grades, recently faced Covenant School and lost big. 100-0.
But the team isn't hiding out in mourning. They joked about the game and talked about their team bonding for a video segment on the Dallas Morning News' site. They hope to see a Mavericks game from Mark Cuban's suite.
Covenant has issued an apology and asked to forfeit the game, saying the Dallas Academy team with its resilient attitude "clearly emerged the winner."
And in the spirit of forgiveness, Dallas Morning News columnist Jacquielynn Floyd praises the "sweet, sensible, smile-and-get-on-with-it" attitude of the Dallas Academy team but says it's also time to quit piling on Covenant for failing to hit the brakes. "Covenant surely knows they lost this one," she says. "Why keep running up the score?"
Dallas Academy is a small Texas school that offers small classes for children with "dyslexia, dysgraphia and other learning differences," according to its site, which also says 80-90% of its students go on to college. Despite the small size, the school offers a full athletic department -- baseball, six-man football, soccer, volleyball, softball, golf and basketball.
The girls basketball team, drawing eight players of the roughly 20 girls in the high school grades, recently faced Covenant School and lost big. 100-0.
But the team isn't hiding out in mourning. They joked about the game and talked about their team bonding for a video segment on the Dallas Morning News' site. They hope to see a Mavericks game from Mark Cuban's suite.
Covenant has issued an apology and asked to forfeit the game, saying the Dallas Academy team with its resilient attitude "clearly emerged the winner."
And in the spirit of forgiveness, Dallas Morning News columnist Jacquielynn Floyd praises the "sweet, sensible, smile-and-get-on-with-it" attitude of the Dallas Academy team but says it's also time to quit piling on Covenant for failing to hit the brakes. "Covenant surely knows they lost this one," she says. "Why keep running up the score?"
PIPERS END SLIDE WITH WIN OVER SCOTS
The Hamline University men’sbasketball team kept the Macalester College Scots winless on the season,and ended a losing streak of the own, winning by a score of 84-56 onSaturday afternoon.
The win was the first for the Pipers since a defeat of Macalester inDecember –losing nine straight before today’s victory.
The Pipers took control of the game early, jumping out to an 8-0 leadafter the tip-off. They stayed in control until the final buzzer,including holding a 45-29 lead at halftime.
Carl Hipp (So., Little Canada, Minn.) led the Pipers in the first half,scoring 12 points and pulling down six rebounds. Dan Anderson (Jr.,Minneapolis, Minn.) added nine in the opening 20 minutes. Colin Keeley(So., Kildeer, Ill.) lead the Scots in the first half with nine points.
Hamline was led by 18 pints apiece from Hipp and Tony Thrasher (Sr.,Hustisford, Wis.). Thrasher added 10 rebounds for the double-double. MaxVan Ordstrand (Fy., Burnsville, Minn.) had 12, while Brandon Rieg (Fy.,Riverside, Calif.) and Anderson each tallied 11. Brad Cox (Fy., Atlanta, Ga.) had 18 for Macalester, and David Lewin(Sr., Wayland, Mass.) added 12.
The Pipers now stand at 4-12, 3-9 MIAC with the conference victory. The Scots fall to 0-17, 0-12 MIAC. The Pipers will travel to St. Olaf onWednesday, January 28, at 7:45 p.m.
The win was the first for the Pipers since a defeat of Macalester inDecember –losing nine straight before today’s victory.
The Pipers took control of the game early, jumping out to an 8-0 leadafter the tip-off. They stayed in control until the final buzzer,including holding a 45-29 lead at halftime.
Carl Hipp (So., Little Canada, Minn.) led the Pipers in the first half,scoring 12 points and pulling down six rebounds. Dan Anderson (Jr.,Minneapolis, Minn.) added nine in the opening 20 minutes. Colin Keeley(So., Kildeer, Ill.) lead the Scots in the first half with nine points.
Hamline was led by 18 pints apiece from Hipp and Tony Thrasher (Sr.,Hustisford, Wis.). Thrasher added 10 rebounds for the double-double. MaxVan Ordstrand (Fy., Burnsville, Minn.) had 12, while Brandon Rieg (Fy.,Riverside, Calif.) and Anderson each tallied 11. Brad Cox (Fy., Atlanta, Ga.) had 18 for Macalester, and David Lewin(Sr., Wayland, Mass.) added 12.
The Pipers now stand at 4-12, 3-9 MIAC with the conference victory. The Scots fall to 0-17, 0-12 MIAC. The Pipers will travel to St. Olaf onWednesday, January 28, at 7:45 p.m.
MINNEAPOLIS SOUTH TAKES OUT MINNEAPOLIS SOUTHWEST
The Minneapolis South Tigers took down the Southwest Lakers 64-33. The Tigers took a 4 point lead into halftime—25-21 and never looked back as the #1 Ranked Tigers pulled away in the 2nd Half. They outscored the Lakers 39-12 in the 2nd Half. Taylor Hill finished with 24 points and Armesha Kearney added 15 points. Britta Syverson led the Lakers with 17 pts and 10 rebounds. The Tigers were without Forwards Gabby Roberts and Europe Guy.
CONCORDIA ST PAUL TAKES DOWN NORTHERN STATE
Senior guard Matt Cadwell (St. Paul, Minn.) drained six first half three-pointers, making his first six from behind the arc off the bench and scored a team-high 22 points to lead host Concordia University (7-10, 5-5 NSIC) to a Northern Sun victory over #16th-ranked Northern State (13-4, 6-4 NSIC) at the Gangelhoff Center.
Concordia's win halts a six game losing streak while evening their mark at .500 in league play. The Wolves drop their second in three games. In a tight game, there were nine ties and six lead changes. Neither team lead by more than eight.
Cadwell's 22 points led a Concordia bench that outscored Northern State 32-6 to make up for being outscored in the paint 44-20 and in second chance scoring 20-4.
As a team, Cadwell hit half of Concordia's 12 three-pointers as the Golden Bears drilled 12-25 from behind arc, helping make up for a 35-26 deficit on the boards.
Free throw shooting was also key as Concordia improved their season record to 5-1 when shooting more free throws than their opponents. Concordia was 16-21 at the stripe while Northern State finished just 11-17.
For Cadwell, it was a much-needed offensive outburst. The St. Paul native had only scored in double-figures once in his past nine games. It was the first time since the season-opener against Georgia State that he topped 20 points. He finished the night 7-11 from the floor and 6-10 from long range while adding a pair of steals in a team-high 33 minutes.
The Wolves, who dominated the paint for most of the night behind 6-10 center Robert Thomas, were shut down in the paint as the game went down the stretch. Thomas made his first 10 field goals but converted just one of his last six shots before finishing with a game-high 25 points. He was also just 3-7 at the stripe. He pulled down seven rebounds and had three blocks in the middle for the Wolves.
The NSIC's scoring leader, Kevin Ratzsch, quietly reached his scoring average finishing with 23 points including a meaningless three-pointer with one second left in regulation. The small forward added a career-high 14 rebounds, seven on the offensive end. He scored 17 of his points in the second half and made six of his last seven shots. He also dished out five assists.
CU featured the second-leading scorer in the league, junior forward Craig Heiman (Marshall, Wis.) who scored nine points, hitting three from long range and grabbing six rebounds. It was just the second time he did not register double-figures on offense for CU.
But while the Wolves were scoring with ease in the paint for the first 35 minutes or so, it was the smallest player on the floor, CU guard Sammy Ricks (Jr., St. Paul, Minn.), a 5-11 point with outstanding leaping ability, who made the difference down the stretch. Ricks finished with 19 points, hitting 6-8 from the field - only one of those buckets from behind the arc in two attempts. He knocked down all six of his free throws and had two buckets in the paint in the final 4:20. Ricks also added three assists and a pair of steals.
His backcourt mate, the 6-4 Mike Cunningham (Minneapolis, Minn.) who can also sky, was just as clutch down the stretch, often on the drive. Cunningham had six of his 13 points in the final 4:37 of the game - four coming in the lane. Cunningham finished with six rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.
The defense of post players Drew Votis (So., C, Peshtigo, Wis.) and Thomas Bassett (Jr., F, Denison, Iowa) was solid down the stretch. The front court duo was saddled with foul trouble for much of the game, but they traded off their minutes and held strong to hold Thomas to the poor 1-6 shooting finish in the final 12 minutes. He missed five consecutive shots in the final 4:27 for the Wolves down the stretch.
The Wolves lost despite shooting 50.8% (30-59) from the floor, but made only 23.1% (3-13) from behind the arc.
Concordia will host the University of Mary (N.D.) tomorrow evening at 8:00 p.m. at the Gangelhoff Center. The Marauders fell at St. Cloud State tonight and are now 3-7 in league play.
Concordia's win halts a six game losing streak while evening their mark at .500 in league play. The Wolves drop their second in three games. In a tight game, there were nine ties and six lead changes. Neither team lead by more than eight.
Cadwell's 22 points led a Concordia bench that outscored Northern State 32-6 to make up for being outscored in the paint 44-20 and in second chance scoring 20-4.
As a team, Cadwell hit half of Concordia's 12 three-pointers as the Golden Bears drilled 12-25 from behind arc, helping make up for a 35-26 deficit on the boards.
Free throw shooting was also key as Concordia improved their season record to 5-1 when shooting more free throws than their opponents. Concordia was 16-21 at the stripe while Northern State finished just 11-17.
For Cadwell, it was a much-needed offensive outburst. The St. Paul native had only scored in double-figures once in his past nine games. It was the first time since the season-opener against Georgia State that he topped 20 points. He finished the night 7-11 from the floor and 6-10 from long range while adding a pair of steals in a team-high 33 minutes.
The Wolves, who dominated the paint for most of the night behind 6-10 center Robert Thomas, were shut down in the paint as the game went down the stretch. Thomas made his first 10 field goals but converted just one of his last six shots before finishing with a game-high 25 points. He was also just 3-7 at the stripe. He pulled down seven rebounds and had three blocks in the middle for the Wolves.
The NSIC's scoring leader, Kevin Ratzsch, quietly reached his scoring average finishing with 23 points including a meaningless three-pointer with one second left in regulation. The small forward added a career-high 14 rebounds, seven on the offensive end. He scored 17 of his points in the second half and made six of his last seven shots. He also dished out five assists.
CU featured the second-leading scorer in the league, junior forward Craig Heiman (Marshall, Wis.) who scored nine points, hitting three from long range and grabbing six rebounds. It was just the second time he did not register double-figures on offense for CU.
But while the Wolves were scoring with ease in the paint for the first 35 minutes or so, it was the smallest player on the floor, CU guard Sammy Ricks (Jr., St. Paul, Minn.), a 5-11 point with outstanding leaping ability, who made the difference down the stretch. Ricks finished with 19 points, hitting 6-8 from the field - only one of those buckets from behind the arc in two attempts. He knocked down all six of his free throws and had two buckets in the paint in the final 4:20. Ricks also added three assists and a pair of steals.
His backcourt mate, the 6-4 Mike Cunningham (Minneapolis, Minn.) who can also sky, was just as clutch down the stretch, often on the drive. Cunningham had six of his 13 points in the final 4:37 of the game - four coming in the lane. Cunningham finished with six rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.
The defense of post players Drew Votis (So., C, Peshtigo, Wis.) and Thomas Bassett (Jr., F, Denison, Iowa) was solid down the stretch. The front court duo was saddled with foul trouble for much of the game, but they traded off their minutes and held strong to hold Thomas to the poor 1-6 shooting finish in the final 12 minutes. He missed five consecutive shots in the final 4:27 for the Wolves down the stretch.
The Wolves lost despite shooting 50.8% (30-59) from the floor, but made only 23.1% (3-13) from behind the arc.
Concordia will host the University of Mary (N.D.) tomorrow evening at 8:00 p.m. at the Gangelhoff Center. The Marauders fell at St. Cloud State tonight and are now 3-7 in league play.
HAMLINE BEATS BETHEL IN WOMEN'S HOCKEY
A one-goal first period exploded to a final score of 5-2 as the visiting Bethel Royals defeated the Hamline University women’s hockey team in St. Paul on Friday night.
The first period of play saw just one goal put on the scoreboard, as Hamline’s Jessica Kraus (Fy., Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) scored at 10:34. Erin Kastner (Fy., Fairbault, Minn.) and Jenna Scattarelli (Fy., Elk River, Minn.) earned the assists on the goal.
The second period also lacked scoring until over halfway through the period, and then saw four more scores added to the board in less than nine minutes. Bethel tied up the game at 11:19 as Olivia Paulseth (Fy., Duluth, Minn.) scored on the power play at 11:19 from Bethany Murphy-Aultman (Sr., Grand Rapids, Minn.).
The Royals then took their first lead of the game just a minute later as Paige Lemieux (Fy., Fargo, N.D.) put the puck in the net from Allison Papko (So., Winnipeg, Manitoba).
Hamline evened the score at 2-2, as Shannon Griswold (Jr., Portland, Ore.) lit the lamp at 15:23. Brianna Miller (Sr., Woodbury, Minn.) was credited with the assist.
The score stayed tied until 18:40 in the second when Sandra Felten (Sr, Cashton, Wis.) put the visiting Royals up, 3-2, on a power play score. Rachael Geng (Fy., South St. Paul, Minn.) and Anna Carlson (Fy., Roseville, Minn.) earned the assists on the goal.
Bethel went up 4-2 at 2:56 in the third when Kassy Sullivan (So., Roseville, Minn.) scored on a Papko’s second assist of the game. They scored their fifth and final goal of the game on a power play at 15:31 when Kelsea Martalock (So,. Tomah, Wis.) put the puck in the net. Murphy-Aultman and Paulseth were credited with the assists.
Hamline’s record is now 6-9-1, 2-6-1 MIAC with the conference loss. The Royals move to 6-6-3, 5-2-2 MIAC. The puck will drop between these same two teams in the second game of the series tomorrow, Saturday, January 24, at Bethel’s home rink in Blaine at 3:00 p.m.
The first period of play saw just one goal put on the scoreboard, as Hamline’s Jessica Kraus (Fy., Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) scored at 10:34. Erin Kastner (Fy., Fairbault, Minn.) and Jenna Scattarelli (Fy., Elk River, Minn.) earned the assists on the goal.
The second period also lacked scoring until over halfway through the period, and then saw four more scores added to the board in less than nine minutes. Bethel tied up the game at 11:19 as Olivia Paulseth (Fy., Duluth, Minn.) scored on the power play at 11:19 from Bethany Murphy-Aultman (Sr., Grand Rapids, Minn.).
The Royals then took their first lead of the game just a minute later as Paige Lemieux (Fy., Fargo, N.D.) put the puck in the net from Allison Papko (So., Winnipeg, Manitoba).
Hamline evened the score at 2-2, as Shannon Griswold (Jr., Portland, Ore.) lit the lamp at 15:23. Brianna Miller (Sr., Woodbury, Minn.) was credited with the assist.
The score stayed tied until 18:40 in the second when Sandra Felten (Sr, Cashton, Wis.) put the visiting Royals up, 3-2, on a power play score. Rachael Geng (Fy., South St. Paul, Minn.) and Anna Carlson (Fy., Roseville, Minn.) earned the assists on the goal.
Bethel went up 4-2 at 2:56 in the third when Kassy Sullivan (So., Roseville, Minn.) scored on a Papko’s second assist of the game. They scored their fifth and final goal of the game on a power play at 15:31 when Kelsea Martalock (So,. Tomah, Wis.) put the puck in the net. Murphy-Aultman and Paulseth were credited with the assists.
Hamline’s record is now 6-9-1, 2-6-1 MIAC with the conference loss. The Royals move to 6-6-3, 5-2-2 MIAC. The puck will drop between these same two teams in the second game of the series tomorrow, Saturday, January 24, at Bethel’s home rink in Blaine at 3:00 p.m.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
AUGGIES DEFEAT PIPERS
The Hamline University men’s basketball team had four players in double-digit scoring, but it wasn’t enough offensively, as they fell to Augsburg by a score of 83-67.
A close, low-scoring opening ten minutes of play gave way to an Augsburg lead that extended to 10 points at halftime, 34-24.
The Pipers managed to close their deficit to five points several times during the second half, but each time the Auggies got the double-digit advantage back on the scoreboard. Augsburg stayed ahead to win the game, 83-67.
The Pipers were led by Tony Thrasher’s (Sr., Hustisford, Wis.) 18 points, while Dan Andersen (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn.) added 14. Two additional Pipers were in double-digits, as Max Van Ordstrand (Fy., Burnsville, Minn.) had 11 points and Stoddard Barnhill (Fy., Minneapolis, Minn.) had 10.
Nate Alm (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) led the Auggies with a game-high 24 points. A pair of Augsburg players, Jon Cassens (Jr., Prior Lake, Minn.) and Andy Grzesiak-Grimm (Fy., Wyoming, Minn.), added 10 apiece.
Hamline’s record is now 3-12, 2-8 MIAC with the conference loss. The Auggies move to 10-6, 8-3 MIAC. Hamline will remain home for their third straight conference contest, hosting Macalester on Saturday, January 24, at 3:00 p.m. The game will be the second in a women’s-men’s double-header against the Scots.
A close, low-scoring opening ten minutes of play gave way to an Augsburg lead that extended to 10 points at halftime, 34-24.
The Pipers managed to close their deficit to five points several times during the second half, but each time the Auggies got the double-digit advantage back on the scoreboard. Augsburg stayed ahead to win the game, 83-67.
The Pipers were led by Tony Thrasher’s (Sr., Hustisford, Wis.) 18 points, while Dan Andersen (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn.) added 14. Two additional Pipers were in double-digits, as Max Van Ordstrand (Fy., Burnsville, Minn.) had 11 points and Stoddard Barnhill (Fy., Minneapolis, Minn.) had 10.
Nate Alm (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) led the Auggies with a game-high 24 points. A pair of Augsburg players, Jon Cassens (Jr., Prior Lake, Minn.) and Andy Grzesiak-Grimm (Fy., Wyoming, Minn.), added 10 apiece.
Hamline’s record is now 3-12, 2-8 MIAC with the conference loss. The Auggies move to 10-6, 8-3 MIAC. Hamline will remain home for their third straight conference contest, hosting Macalester on Saturday, January 24, at 3:00 p.m. The game will be the second in a women’s-men’s double-header against the Scots.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
UNI TAKES ON BRADLEY
Winners of six straight, the University of Northern Iowa (12-6, 6-1 Missouri Valley Conference) hosts Bradley (11-7, 5-2 MVC) on Jan. 21 at the McLeod Center. The Panthers are in sole possession of first place in the Valley, while the Braves are one game back, in a tie for second.
JUMP BALLS
UNI improved to 6-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference with its 81-59 win at Drake Jan. 17. That is the Panthers’ best-ever start to MVC play, since joining the league in the 1991-92 season.
The Panthers have won six straight games entering this Wednesday’s game with Bradley. Prior to the current six-game winning streak, the last time UNI won six in a row was in the 2006-07 season, Ben Jacobson’s first year at the helm of the program. UNI’s last seven-game winning streak was in the 2005-06 campaign.
UNI tied its season-best with 11 three-pointers in its 81-59 win at Drake Jan. 17. The Panthers also tied their season-high with 26 three-point attempts versus the Bulldogs.
UNI had 17 assists and just four turnovers in its win over Drake Jan. 17. The 17 assists tied its second-best team total of the season, and the four turnovers were the second fewest UNI had in a game this year.
UNI enters this week with all five starters averaging double-figures in scoring. The Panthers are led by guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe at 11.4 ppg, followed by forward Adam Koch (10.9 ppg), guard Ali Farokhmanesh (10.4), guard Johnny Moran (10.3) and center Jordan Eglseder (10.2).- UNI has won its first four Missouri Valley Conference road games of the year, the first time in its 18-year membership in the league that it has claimed wins in its first four league road tilts. The most road wins UNI has ever had in one Missouri Valley Conference season is five, in the 2005-06 season.
The Panthers defense has been outstanding lately. In fact, UNI has held six of its last eight opponents to less than 40 percent field goal shooting, keeping four of those teams to 55 points or less. In the team’s first 10 games of the season, UNI had held just one foe to less than 40 percent shooting, and only one team to less than 55 points.
JUMP BALLS
UNI improved to 6-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference with its 81-59 win at Drake Jan. 17. That is the Panthers’ best-ever start to MVC play, since joining the league in the 1991-92 season.
The Panthers have won six straight games entering this Wednesday’s game with Bradley. Prior to the current six-game winning streak, the last time UNI won six in a row was in the 2006-07 season, Ben Jacobson’s first year at the helm of the program. UNI’s last seven-game winning streak was in the 2005-06 campaign.
UNI tied its season-best with 11 three-pointers in its 81-59 win at Drake Jan. 17. The Panthers also tied their season-high with 26 three-point attempts versus the Bulldogs.
UNI had 17 assists and just four turnovers in its win over Drake Jan. 17. The 17 assists tied its second-best team total of the season, and the four turnovers were the second fewest UNI had in a game this year.
UNI enters this week with all five starters averaging double-figures in scoring. The Panthers are led by guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe at 11.4 ppg, followed by forward Adam Koch (10.9 ppg), guard Ali Farokhmanesh (10.4), guard Johnny Moran (10.3) and center Jordan Eglseder (10.2).- UNI has won its first four Missouri Valley Conference road games of the year, the first time in its 18-year membership in the league that it has claimed wins in its first four league road tilts. The most road wins UNI has ever had in one Missouri Valley Conference season is five, in the 2005-06 season.
The Panthers defense has been outstanding lately. In fact, UNI has held six of its last eight opponents to less than 40 percent field goal shooting, keeping four of those teams to 55 points or less. In the team’s first 10 games of the season, UNI had held just one foe to less than 40 percent shooting, and only one team to less than 55 points.
#2 TOMMIES EDGE PAST PIPERS
In a game that thrilled the fans in attendance at Hutton Arena from the tip-off to the final buzzer, the Hamline Pipers were narrowly edged by the undefeated #2-ranked St. Thomas Tommies, 64-59, in MIAC men’s basketball action.
A wild first half ended with the Tommies holding just a three-point advantage at 29-26. Sharp shooting outside the arc from senior Tony Thrasher (Hustisford, Wis.) allowed the Pipers to keep the score close, as he was the highest scoring player on the court in the first half with eight points.
Thrasher also added two steals, while Carl Hipp (So., Little Canada, Minn.) had two key blocks in the paint for the Pipers in the first half.
Joe Scott (Jr., St. Anthony, Minn.) led the Tommie offense in the opening 20 minutes with seven points, while Lonnie Robinson (Sr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) had five rebounds.
St. Thomas came out of the locker room and immediately scored four points on a free throw by Al McCoy (Sr., Saint Paul, Minn.) and a Scott three-pointer to go up 31-26. Thrasher responded with a baseline trey to cut the lead back down to four for the Pipers at the 18-minute mark.
That exchange set the tone for the rest of the game, as the intensity continued from the Piper perimeter in the second half. With the Pipers down 43-39 with 11 minutes on the clock, Dan Anderson (Fy., Burnsville, Minn.) hit a rainbow three to cut the lead to two.
St. Thomas promptly followed up with a layup to return to a 45-42 lead, but Levi Wenrich (Fy., Newhall, Calif.) brought Hamline back to within one point with a layup of his own with just under ten minutes to play.
Up by one, 47-46, with 8:30 on the clock, St. Thomas’ Tyler Nicolai (So., Minnetonka, Minn.) made a three-pointer to put the Tommies up 50-46.
St. Thomas held a 3-5 point lead from there, and a break-away dunk by Scott with 1:20 left in the game put them up by seven at 60-53. Thrasher responded with a layup on the next Piper possession, cutting the Tommie lead back to five with 1:10 to play.
Robinson and Nicolai were each sent to the free throw line in the final minute, making a total of three free throws that book-ended a Nick Hutchinson (Sr., Atwater, Minn.) layup. The Pipers regained possession with 25 seconds to play, but managed to get just two more points from Thrasher to cut the lead to 63-59 before one more Tommie free throw landed the final score at 64-59.
The Pipers were led by Thrasher’s game-high 18 points, while Nick Carroll (Jr., Mendota Heights, Minn.) added eight and Wenrich had seven.
St. Thomas was led by 15 points from Scott and 10 from Nicolai.
The Pipers now stand at 3-11, 2-7 MIAC with the conference loss. The Tommies remain unbeaten at 15-0, 10-0 MIAC. Hamline will remain home, hosting Augsburg on Wednesday, January 21, at 7:30 p.m.
A wild first half ended with the Tommies holding just a three-point advantage at 29-26. Sharp shooting outside the arc from senior Tony Thrasher (Hustisford, Wis.) allowed the Pipers to keep the score close, as he was the highest scoring player on the court in the first half with eight points.
Thrasher also added two steals, while Carl Hipp (So., Little Canada, Minn.) had two key blocks in the paint for the Pipers in the first half.
Joe Scott (Jr., St. Anthony, Minn.) led the Tommie offense in the opening 20 minutes with seven points, while Lonnie Robinson (Sr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) had five rebounds.
St. Thomas came out of the locker room and immediately scored four points on a free throw by Al McCoy (Sr., Saint Paul, Minn.) and a Scott three-pointer to go up 31-26. Thrasher responded with a baseline trey to cut the lead back down to four for the Pipers at the 18-minute mark.
That exchange set the tone for the rest of the game, as the intensity continued from the Piper perimeter in the second half. With the Pipers down 43-39 with 11 minutes on the clock, Dan Anderson (Fy., Burnsville, Minn.) hit a rainbow three to cut the lead to two.
St. Thomas promptly followed up with a layup to return to a 45-42 lead, but Levi Wenrich (Fy., Newhall, Calif.) brought Hamline back to within one point with a layup of his own with just under ten minutes to play.
Up by one, 47-46, with 8:30 on the clock, St. Thomas’ Tyler Nicolai (So., Minnetonka, Minn.) made a three-pointer to put the Tommies up 50-46.
St. Thomas held a 3-5 point lead from there, and a break-away dunk by Scott with 1:20 left in the game put them up by seven at 60-53. Thrasher responded with a layup on the next Piper possession, cutting the Tommie lead back to five with 1:10 to play.
Robinson and Nicolai were each sent to the free throw line in the final minute, making a total of three free throws that book-ended a Nick Hutchinson (Sr., Atwater, Minn.) layup. The Pipers regained possession with 25 seconds to play, but managed to get just two more points from Thrasher to cut the lead to 63-59 before one more Tommie free throw landed the final score at 64-59.
The Pipers were led by Thrasher’s game-high 18 points, while Nick Carroll (Jr., Mendota Heights, Minn.) added eight and Wenrich had seven.
St. Thomas was led by 15 points from Scott and 10 from Nicolai.
The Pipers now stand at 3-11, 2-7 MIAC with the conference loss. The Tommies remain unbeaten at 15-0, 10-0 MIAC. Hamline will remain home, hosting Augsburg on Wednesday, January 21, at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
GOPHERS FALL TO WILDCATS IN EVANSTON
A cold-shooting second half plagued the Minnesota men’s basketball team as the Gophers fell to Northwestern 74-65 Sunday afternoon at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.
Lawrence Westbrook paced the 17th-ranked Gophers with 18 points and eight rebounds. Damian Johnson and Al Nolen added 14 and 10 points, respectively, in defeat.
Craig Moore went 6-of-9 from three-point range and scored a game-high 22 points for the Wildcats. Kevin Coble added 20 points for Northwestern, which secured its first win of the Big Ten season.
The Gophers (16-2, 4-2 Big Ten), fresh off a thrilling overtime win at Wisconsin Thursday night, came out firing hitting 14 of their first 18 shot attempts and opened up a nine-point first-half lead (32-23 following a jumper by Johnson with 5:23 remaining in the first stanza).
Minnesota finished the first half shooting a red-hot 62.5 percent from the field and held a 34-31 halftime lead.
But the Gophers’ shooting touch quickly disappeared.
With Bill Caramody’s patented 1-3-1 zone defense giving Minnesota fits, the Gophers struggled to find any sort of offensive rhythm in the second half.
After Westbrook hit a three to put the Maroon and Gold ahead 37-31 moments into the second stanza, the Gophers, who went just 10-of-29 from the field in the second half (34.5 percent) went without a basket for seven minutes.
Accordingly, Northwestern took advantage of Minnesota’s offensive woes.
With the Gophers shooting just 14 percent from the field midway through the second half, the Wildcats proceeded to break the game open in their favor by putting together a mammoth a 20-2 run to go ahead 51-39 with 9:24 remaining in regulation.
The Wildcats’ lead eventually ballooned to as many as 14 late and, unlike Thursday’s come from behind win in Madison, Minnesota which turned the ball over 10 times in the second half leading to 14 Northwestern points couldn't orchestrate a last minute run.
The Gophers return to action on Thursday night when they host 19th-ranked Purdue at Williams Arena.
Noteworthy:
Minnesota went just 5-of-11 from the free throw line, while Northwestern went 21-of-27 from the charity stripe.
The Gophers grabbed 10 offensive rebounds and out rebounded the Wildcats 31-29.
For the game, the Wildcats edged Minnesota in shooting percentage. Northwestern shot 47.8 percent from the field, while the Gophers finished shooting 47.2 percent from the floor.
Lawrence Westbrook paced the 17th-ranked Gophers with 18 points and eight rebounds. Damian Johnson and Al Nolen added 14 and 10 points, respectively, in defeat.
Craig Moore went 6-of-9 from three-point range and scored a game-high 22 points for the Wildcats. Kevin Coble added 20 points for Northwestern, which secured its first win of the Big Ten season.
The Gophers (16-2, 4-2 Big Ten), fresh off a thrilling overtime win at Wisconsin Thursday night, came out firing hitting 14 of their first 18 shot attempts and opened up a nine-point first-half lead (32-23 following a jumper by Johnson with 5:23 remaining in the first stanza).
Minnesota finished the first half shooting a red-hot 62.5 percent from the field and held a 34-31 halftime lead.
But the Gophers’ shooting touch quickly disappeared.
With Bill Caramody’s patented 1-3-1 zone defense giving Minnesota fits, the Gophers struggled to find any sort of offensive rhythm in the second half.
After Westbrook hit a three to put the Maroon and Gold ahead 37-31 moments into the second stanza, the Gophers, who went just 10-of-29 from the field in the second half (34.5 percent) went without a basket for seven minutes.
Accordingly, Northwestern took advantage of Minnesota’s offensive woes.
With the Gophers shooting just 14 percent from the field midway through the second half, the Wildcats proceeded to break the game open in their favor by putting together a mammoth a 20-2 run to go ahead 51-39 with 9:24 remaining in regulation.
The Wildcats’ lead eventually ballooned to as many as 14 late and, unlike Thursday’s come from behind win in Madison, Minnesota which turned the ball over 10 times in the second half leading to 14 Northwestern points couldn't orchestrate a last minute run.
The Gophers return to action on Thursday night when they host 19th-ranked Purdue at Williams Arena.
Noteworthy:
Minnesota went just 5-of-11 from the free throw line, while Northwestern went 21-of-27 from the charity stripe.
The Gophers grabbed 10 offensive rebounds and out rebounded the Wildcats 31-29.
For the game, the Wildcats edged Minnesota in shooting percentage. Northwestern shot 47.8 percent from the field, while the Gophers finished shooting 47.2 percent from the floor.
PIPERS SKATE TO TIE
Four straight Hamline University goals were answered by four straight St. Olaf College goals, as the two teams split the points in the MIAC women’s hockey standings with a 4-4 tie.
The Pipers opened the game with a flurry of goals in the first period, building up a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
Alli Miller (So., Fairbault, Minn.) put the puck in the net first, scoring at 5:53 from first-year Billye Nelson (Warroad, Minn.). The goal was Alli Miller’s eighth of the year.
Shannon Griswold (Jr., Portland, Ore.) doubled Hamline’s lead with her first goal of the season at 14:18. Brianna Miller (Sr., Woodbury, Minn.) was credited with the assist. Alli Miller and Mallory Steele (Jr., Rochester Hills, Minn.) then combined to get the puck to Brianna Miller 13 seconds before the end of the period, as she increased the lead to 3-0.
The Pipers added another goal to their side of the scoreboard at 5:54 in the second, when Alli Miller scored her second of the game. Erin Kastner (Fy., Fairbault, Minn.) was credited with the assist.
St. Olaf responded with four unanswered goals to tie the game, including three power play goals in the second period. Their first game at 9:28 from Kristen Latta (Fy., Edina, Minn.), scoring on a pass from Kelly Biddle (Fy., La Miranda, Calif.).
They narrowed the Piper lead to two goals at 12:50 when Kim McClintick (Jr., Chaska, Minn.) scored from Lauren Tomford (Jr., Avon, Conn.). The same pair of players cut the lead to one at 13:47 with a goal from Tomford and an assist from McClintick.
The Oles tied the game with their fourth straight goal just 33 seconds into the third period. Tomford put the puck in the net on a delayed penalty goal, unassisted, for her second goal of the game.
Hamline and St. Olaf played the remainder of the third period without scoring, sending the game into the five minutes overtime period. Despite several desperate scrambles in front of both nets, the teams finished with the 4-4 tie.
The Pipers now stand at 6-7-1, 2-4-1 MIAC, while the Oles are 4-5-3, 4-4-1 MIAC.
The Pipers opened the game with a flurry of goals in the first period, building up a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
Alli Miller (So., Fairbault, Minn.) put the puck in the net first, scoring at 5:53 from first-year Billye Nelson (Warroad, Minn.). The goal was Alli Miller’s eighth of the year.
Shannon Griswold (Jr., Portland, Ore.) doubled Hamline’s lead with her first goal of the season at 14:18. Brianna Miller (Sr., Woodbury, Minn.) was credited with the assist. Alli Miller and Mallory Steele (Jr., Rochester Hills, Minn.) then combined to get the puck to Brianna Miller 13 seconds before the end of the period, as she increased the lead to 3-0.
The Pipers added another goal to their side of the scoreboard at 5:54 in the second, when Alli Miller scored her second of the game. Erin Kastner (Fy., Fairbault, Minn.) was credited with the assist.
St. Olaf responded with four unanswered goals to tie the game, including three power play goals in the second period. Their first game at 9:28 from Kristen Latta (Fy., Edina, Minn.), scoring on a pass from Kelly Biddle (Fy., La Miranda, Calif.).
They narrowed the Piper lead to two goals at 12:50 when Kim McClintick (Jr., Chaska, Minn.) scored from Lauren Tomford (Jr., Avon, Conn.). The same pair of players cut the lead to one at 13:47 with a goal from Tomford and an assist from McClintick.
The Oles tied the game with their fourth straight goal just 33 seconds into the third period. Tomford put the puck in the net on a delayed penalty goal, unassisted, for her second goal of the game.
Hamline and St. Olaf played the remainder of the third period without scoring, sending the game into the five minutes overtime period. Despite several desperate scrambles in front of both nets, the teams finished with the 4-4 tie.
The Pipers now stand at 6-7-1, 2-4-1 MIAC, while the Oles are 4-5-3, 4-4-1 MIAC.
HAMLINE WOMEN EXTINGUISH FIRST PLACE BLAZERS
The Hamline University women’s basketball team notched just their third-ever victory over the College of Saint Benedict Blazers, and their first in 23 years, by winning 69-65 at home on Saturday.
The Pipers, who held a 2-49 all-time record against the Blazers prior to this game, defeated Saint Benedict for the first time since a pair of wins (75-52 and 67-62) during the 1985-86 season.
The Pipers controlled much of the first half, leading from the tip-off until a series of lead changes in the final three minutes. With the Blazers holding a 33-31 lead, the Pipers gained control of the ball on a defensive rebound in the last half minute of play. Hamline then stalled to set up sophomore point guard Nikki Klinck (Hibbing, Minn.), who came in from half court for a buzzer-beating layup to tie the game at 33-33 heading into the locker rooms.
Mary Wilkowski (So., Savannah, Ga.) led the Pipers in the opening 20 minutes with 12 points and six rebounds. Laura Canton (So., Pine Island, Minn.) had nine points in the first half to lead the Blazers.
Saint Benedict went on a 8-0 run in the first two and a half minutes of the second half, putting the Blazers up 41-33. Mary Wilkowski (So., Savannah, Ga.) then made a layup at to end Hamline’s scoring drought and lead them back into the game.
The teams once again began trading one- and two-point leads, with the Pipers gaining their first lead of the second half on a Jackie Kelly (So., Blaine, Minn.) three-pointer from near the sideline at 13:20. The Blazers’ Mindy Schmidt (Jr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) quickly tied it, before Kelly made two free throws to put the home team up by two again.
As the game entered the final minute on the scoreboard, the Blazers took a one point lead on an Ariel Tauer (Sr., Edina, Minn.) basket. Wilkowski was then sent to the free throw line with 44 seconds to play, and made to shots to regain a one-point Piper lead.
With the Blazers coming back down the court with 20 seconds to play, they missed a three-pointer from near their bench, which was rebounded by Hamline’s Jackie Kelly (So., Blaine, Minn.). Britta Schwartzhoff (Sr., Hayward, Wis.) was promptly fouled, and made one of two free throws with 12 seconds to play for the 67-65 Hamline advantage.
With three seconds to play in the game, and a two-point Piper lead, Tauer was fouled and sent to the line for the Blazers. After missing her first free throw, she intentionally missed the second to attempt the Blazer rebound. Hamline recovered the ball, and earned the 69-65 win when Jessica Heinen (Sr., Hayward, Wis.) made two free throws with a second on the clock.
Heinen had 19 points to lead the Pipers, while Wilkowski finished with 18. Kelly added 14.
Also for the Pipers, Klinck added eight rebounds (two offensive, six defensive), as well as seven steals and three assists.
The Blazers were led by 13 points each from Stifter and Schmidt.
With the conference win, the Pipers now stand at 10-4, 7-4 MIAC. The Blazers fall to 10-3, 8-2 MIAC. The Pipers will next travel to Augsburg on Wednesday, January 21, for a 7:30 p.m. conference contest.
The Pipers, who held a 2-49 all-time record against the Blazers prior to this game, defeated Saint Benedict for the first time since a pair of wins (75-52 and 67-62) during the 1985-86 season.
The Pipers controlled much of the first half, leading from the tip-off until a series of lead changes in the final three minutes. With the Blazers holding a 33-31 lead, the Pipers gained control of the ball on a defensive rebound in the last half minute of play. Hamline then stalled to set up sophomore point guard Nikki Klinck (Hibbing, Minn.), who came in from half court for a buzzer-beating layup to tie the game at 33-33 heading into the locker rooms.
Mary Wilkowski (So., Savannah, Ga.) led the Pipers in the opening 20 minutes with 12 points and six rebounds. Laura Canton (So., Pine Island, Minn.) had nine points in the first half to lead the Blazers.
Saint Benedict went on a 8-0 run in the first two and a half minutes of the second half, putting the Blazers up 41-33. Mary Wilkowski (So., Savannah, Ga.) then made a layup at to end Hamline’s scoring drought and lead them back into the game.
The teams once again began trading one- and two-point leads, with the Pipers gaining their first lead of the second half on a Jackie Kelly (So., Blaine, Minn.) three-pointer from near the sideline at 13:20. The Blazers’ Mindy Schmidt (Jr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) quickly tied it, before Kelly made two free throws to put the home team up by two again.
As the game entered the final minute on the scoreboard, the Blazers took a one point lead on an Ariel Tauer (Sr., Edina, Minn.) basket. Wilkowski was then sent to the free throw line with 44 seconds to play, and made to shots to regain a one-point Piper lead.
With the Blazers coming back down the court with 20 seconds to play, they missed a three-pointer from near their bench, which was rebounded by Hamline’s Jackie Kelly (So., Blaine, Minn.). Britta Schwartzhoff (Sr., Hayward, Wis.) was promptly fouled, and made one of two free throws with 12 seconds to play for the 67-65 Hamline advantage.
With three seconds to play in the game, and a two-point Piper lead, Tauer was fouled and sent to the line for the Blazers. After missing her first free throw, she intentionally missed the second to attempt the Blazer rebound. Hamline recovered the ball, and earned the 69-65 win when Jessica Heinen (Sr., Hayward, Wis.) made two free throws with a second on the clock.
Heinen had 19 points to lead the Pipers, while Wilkowski finished with 18. Kelly added 14.
Also for the Pipers, Klinck added eight rebounds (two offensive, six defensive), as well as seven steals and three assists.
The Blazers were led by 13 points each from Stifter and Schmidt.
With the conference win, the Pipers now stand at 10-4, 7-4 MIAC. The Blazers fall to 10-3, 8-2 MIAC. The Pipers will next travel to Augsburg on Wednesday, January 21, for a 7:30 p.m. conference contest.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
PIPERS LONE UNDEFEATED TEAM IN MIAC PLAY
A trio of goals in the second period, and several multiple-point scorers, led the Hamline University men’s hockey team to a 6-2 victory at home over St. Olaf as they become the only unbeaten team in MIAC play.
The Pipers only needed five minutes to put their first goal on the board, as Kyle Kurr (Jr., Elk River, Minn.) put the puck in the net at 5:09. Chris Berenguer (So., Eden Prairie, Minn.) was credited with the assist.
Ryan Kupperman (So., Canterbury, N.H.) doubled the Piper lead at 12:01, with Kurr and Joe Long (Sr., Dayton, Minn.) earning the assists.
The two-goal Piper lead lasted until St. Olaf responded at 15:49 with a power play goal from Derek Grogan (Fy., Eagan, Minn.). Bryan Osmondson (Jr., Princeton, Minn.) and Roger Truesdale (Sr., Rogers, Minn.) were credited with the assists.
Less than two minutes into the second period, Kupperman’s second goal of the game came at 1:18 on passes from Dustin Fulton (Sr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and Brian Arrigoni (Fy., Saint Paul, Minn.). Fulton then put the Pipers up 4-1 on a power play goal at 9:44 from Long and Andrew Birkholz (Sr., Maple Grove, Minn.).
Just seven seconds after gaining a 5-on-3 advantage in skaters, Berenger dumped a puck in the Ole net at 12:16 in the second to give Hamline a four-goal lead. Long and Kupperman earned the assists.
St. Olaf scored their second, and final, goal of the game at 8:43 in the final period, as Dylan Mueller (Sr,. Plymouth, Minn.) scored from Osmondson and Truesdale.
The final Piper goal for the 6-4 win came from Arrigoni at 11:50 in the third from Kupperman and Kurr.
With the win, the Pipers improve to 10-3-1, 5-0-0 MIAC, and with a loss tonight by St. Thomas, is the only unbeaten team in the conference. The Oles suffer their first conference loss of the year in dropping to 9-6-1, 5-1-1 MIAC. These same two teams will meet again tomorrow, Saturday, January 17, in Northfield at 7:00 p.m.
The Pipers only needed five minutes to put their first goal on the board, as Kyle Kurr (Jr., Elk River, Minn.) put the puck in the net at 5:09. Chris Berenguer (So., Eden Prairie, Minn.) was credited with the assist.
Ryan Kupperman (So., Canterbury, N.H.) doubled the Piper lead at 12:01, with Kurr and Joe Long (Sr., Dayton, Minn.) earning the assists.
The two-goal Piper lead lasted until St. Olaf responded at 15:49 with a power play goal from Derek Grogan (Fy., Eagan, Minn.). Bryan Osmondson (Jr., Princeton, Minn.) and Roger Truesdale (Sr., Rogers, Minn.) were credited with the assists.
Less than two minutes into the second period, Kupperman’s second goal of the game came at 1:18 on passes from Dustin Fulton (Sr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and Brian Arrigoni (Fy., Saint Paul, Minn.). Fulton then put the Pipers up 4-1 on a power play goal at 9:44 from Long and Andrew Birkholz (Sr., Maple Grove, Minn.).
Just seven seconds after gaining a 5-on-3 advantage in skaters, Berenger dumped a puck in the Ole net at 12:16 in the second to give Hamline a four-goal lead. Long and Kupperman earned the assists.
St. Olaf scored their second, and final, goal of the game at 8:43 in the final period, as Dylan Mueller (Sr,. Plymouth, Minn.) scored from Osmondson and Truesdale.
The final Piper goal for the 6-4 win came from Arrigoni at 11:50 in the third from Kupperman and Kurr.
With the win, the Pipers improve to 10-3-1, 5-0-0 MIAC, and with a loss tonight by St. Thomas, is the only unbeaten team in the conference. The Oles suffer their first conference loss of the year in dropping to 9-6-1, 5-1-1 MIAC. These same two teams will meet again tomorrow, Saturday, January 17, in Northfield at 7:00 p.m.
Friday, January 16, 2009
MANKATO DEFEATED THE ST PAUL CONCORDIA GOLDEN BEARS 76-71
The Concordia University men's basketball team (6-9, 4-4 NSIC) was unable to hold a 13 point second half lead as ninth-ranked Minnesota State University, Mankato (15-3, 6-2 NSIC) came back and defeated the host Golden Bears 76-71 on Friday evening at the Gangelhoff Center. Minnesota State used a 9-0 run over a two and a half minutes down the stretch to tie the score at 62.
From there the game would see three lead changes.
Minnesota State, whose only lead was at 2-0 on the first possession, finally reclaimed the lead when Jadee Jones drained a jumper with 3:25 to play to put the Mavericks ahead 66-65. Jones finished with a game-high and season-high 21 points, shooting an impressive 8-9 from the floor including draining all five of his three-pointers. He also had six assists off the bench.
CU's scoring leader, junior Craig Heiman (Marshall, Wis.), droved hard through the lane and converted with authority. The second leading scorer in the NSIC poured in 18 points and had six rebounds on the evening. He did his damage in just 20 minutes as he was limited due to foul trouble throughout.
The teams traded baskets on the next two possessions but it was Minnesota State's leading scorer, Jake Morrow, who came through with a fastbreak layup to put the Mavericks up three, 70-67. Morrow missed his first seven field goals and was scoreless for the first 35-plus minutes of the game. He finished with six points despite averaging over 17 per contest heading into the game. He was just 2-10 from the floor.
After the Mavericks took the three point lead, they never relinquished it and converted all four out of their five free throws down the stretch.
After MSU started with the first points of the game, a layup by Mitch Gosson, the Golden Bears hit a trio of three-pointers, two by Heiman with one by sophomore Matt Hackl (Seymour, Wis.) sandwiched in between to build a 9-3 lead just over two minutes into play.
As Concordia attempted to build momentum early, MSU cut into the lead when Jones hit a three-pointer to cut the gap to 16-12 with 12:24 in the half. From there, CU marched to eight straight points with back-to-back three-pointers from senior Matt Cadwell (St. Paul, Minn.) along with a jumper by sophomore Andrew Kuderer (Eden Prairie, Minn.).
Concordia's run would explode to a 15-4 spurt when they led 31-16 before Harry Boyce finally snapped the spell at the 5:21 mark of the half.
Minnesota State cut the gap all the way to a six point margin, 35-29 at the break. Jones scored eight consecutive points for Minnesota State and had 11 in the first half off the bench in as many minutes.
Concordia's first half defense was impressive as they held the ninth-ranked Mavericks to a 31.3% (10-32) half of shoooting while hitting 5-10 from long range on the offensive end.
In the second half, MSU executed much better against the host team, firing at a 57.6% (19-33) rate with Concordia shooting 45.2% (14-31).
Concordia received balanced scoring with four players in double-figures with a fifth scoring nine. Junior Mike Cunningham (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Hackl each scored 13 points with junior Sammy Ricks (St. Paul, Minn.) adding 10. Cadwell scored nine off the bench.
The two teams were nearly even on the boards with MSU outrebounding CU 39-37. Travis Nelson of Minnesota State led all players with 10 rebounds while scoring 20 points and dishing four assists while Boyce had eight rebounds and Gosson collected seven. For CU, Cunningham led the team with eight rebounds while four others had four or more.
It was a clean game, with only 18 total turnovers and 39 combined assists. MSU had 20 assists and committed just seven turnovers while CU had 19 assists and 11 turnovers. Five Golden Bears had at least three assists with Cunningham and junior Thomas Bassett (Denison, Iowa) each dishing four. Bassett made up for his 0-7 shooting performance with the four assists while adding five rebounds and two blocks in just 17 minutes of action.
From behind the arc, Jones hit all five of Minnesota State's three-pointers and didn't miss any while the rest of the Mavericks were 0-7 including Morrow's 0-6 effort. Concordia had balanced three-point shooting led by Hackl's 3-3 performance while Cadwell and Heiman were each 2-5 from long range.
It was another close loss for Concordia in what has come to define their 6-9 season record. CU has now lost by five points or less to #9 Minnesota State (71-76), Minnesota Duluth (79-84), #3 St. Thomas (69-72, OT), San Francisco State (67-71) and Georgia State (63-67) with a six point loss to CSU Monterey Bay (80-86) mixed in.
Before the game, Concordia honored Heiman with a commemorative 1,000 point ball. He became the 14th member of the 1,000 point club in Concordia's 42 years of men's basketball with a 28 point performance in a win over Northwestern on December 18.
With a 4-4 record in league play, Concordia faces another pivotal moment tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. when they host Southwest Minnesota State (5-3) who defeated St. Cloud State handily on the road this evening.
From there the game would see three lead changes.
Minnesota State, whose only lead was at 2-0 on the first possession, finally reclaimed the lead when Jadee Jones drained a jumper with 3:25 to play to put the Mavericks ahead 66-65. Jones finished with a game-high and season-high 21 points, shooting an impressive 8-9 from the floor including draining all five of his three-pointers. He also had six assists off the bench.
CU's scoring leader, junior Craig Heiman (Marshall, Wis.), droved hard through the lane and converted with authority. The second leading scorer in the NSIC poured in 18 points and had six rebounds on the evening. He did his damage in just 20 minutes as he was limited due to foul trouble throughout.
The teams traded baskets on the next two possessions but it was Minnesota State's leading scorer, Jake Morrow, who came through with a fastbreak layup to put the Mavericks up three, 70-67. Morrow missed his first seven field goals and was scoreless for the first 35-plus minutes of the game. He finished with six points despite averaging over 17 per contest heading into the game. He was just 2-10 from the floor.
After the Mavericks took the three point lead, they never relinquished it and converted all four out of their five free throws down the stretch.
After MSU started with the first points of the game, a layup by Mitch Gosson, the Golden Bears hit a trio of three-pointers, two by Heiman with one by sophomore Matt Hackl (Seymour, Wis.) sandwiched in between to build a 9-3 lead just over two minutes into play.
As Concordia attempted to build momentum early, MSU cut into the lead when Jones hit a three-pointer to cut the gap to 16-12 with 12:24 in the half. From there, CU marched to eight straight points with back-to-back three-pointers from senior Matt Cadwell (St. Paul, Minn.) along with a jumper by sophomore Andrew Kuderer (Eden Prairie, Minn.).
Concordia's run would explode to a 15-4 spurt when they led 31-16 before Harry Boyce finally snapped the spell at the 5:21 mark of the half.
Minnesota State cut the gap all the way to a six point margin, 35-29 at the break. Jones scored eight consecutive points for Minnesota State and had 11 in the first half off the bench in as many minutes.
Concordia's first half defense was impressive as they held the ninth-ranked Mavericks to a 31.3% (10-32) half of shoooting while hitting 5-10 from long range on the offensive end.
In the second half, MSU executed much better against the host team, firing at a 57.6% (19-33) rate with Concordia shooting 45.2% (14-31).
Concordia received balanced scoring with four players in double-figures with a fifth scoring nine. Junior Mike Cunningham (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Hackl each scored 13 points with junior Sammy Ricks (St. Paul, Minn.) adding 10. Cadwell scored nine off the bench.
The two teams were nearly even on the boards with MSU outrebounding CU 39-37. Travis Nelson of Minnesota State led all players with 10 rebounds while scoring 20 points and dishing four assists while Boyce had eight rebounds and Gosson collected seven. For CU, Cunningham led the team with eight rebounds while four others had four or more.
It was a clean game, with only 18 total turnovers and 39 combined assists. MSU had 20 assists and committed just seven turnovers while CU had 19 assists and 11 turnovers. Five Golden Bears had at least three assists with Cunningham and junior Thomas Bassett (Denison, Iowa) each dishing four. Bassett made up for his 0-7 shooting performance with the four assists while adding five rebounds and two blocks in just 17 minutes of action.
From behind the arc, Jones hit all five of Minnesota State's three-pointers and didn't miss any while the rest of the Mavericks were 0-7 including Morrow's 0-6 effort. Concordia had balanced three-point shooting led by Hackl's 3-3 performance while Cadwell and Heiman were each 2-5 from long range.
It was another close loss for Concordia in what has come to define their 6-9 season record. CU has now lost by five points or less to #9 Minnesota State (71-76), Minnesota Duluth (79-84), #3 St. Thomas (69-72, OT), San Francisco State (67-71) and Georgia State (63-67) with a six point loss to CSU Monterey Bay (80-86) mixed in.
Before the game, Concordia honored Heiman with a commemorative 1,000 point ball. He became the 14th member of the 1,000 point club in Concordia's 42 years of men's basketball with a 28 point performance in a win over Northwestern on December 18.
With a 4-4 record in league play, Concordia faces another pivotal moment tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. when they host Southwest Minnesota State (5-3) who defeated St. Cloud State handily on the road this evening.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
HASKINS PRAISES TUBBY'S TURNAROUND
I got this from the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Myron Medcalf
What’s up, Gophers fans?
Big game Thursday night at the Kohl Center.
Minnesota will seek its first road win at Wisconsin since a 109-78 victory on Feb. 12, 1994. That win, however, was vacated because of the ‘90 academic scandal.
So Minnesota’s last official win at Wisconsin was on Jan. 15, 1992, exactly 17 years ago.
Clem Haskins was Minnesota’s head coach at the time. I spoke with Haskins Wednesday, and he praised Smith’s efforts this year. He called Smith one of the five best coaches in America because of what he’s done without any stars.
“Tubby Smith is a premier coach,” Haskins said. “You mention five coaches, he’s one of the five [best] in the country.”
Haskins said it’s easy to coach a team with a bunch of lottery picks. But if you take a look at the Associated Press’ top 25, you won’t find many that are playing without a legit pro prospect.
Actually, Minnesota, Butler, Michigan State and California are the only teams in the AP poll that don’t have a player listed among ESPN.com’s top 100 NBA prospects.
At this point, the two Minnesota players that have a shot at the NBA, in the opinion of NBA scouts, are Al Nolen and Colton Iverson, and I think both guys have a long way to go before they even get that opportunity.
“That’s where Tubby is head and shoulders above,” Haskins said. “His talent is not superior at Minnesota.” He told me that he wants to make sure that people don’t take his comments the wrong way. He likes Minnesota’s potential, but said Smith’s coaching has been a major factor in its success.
What’s up, Gophers fans?
Big game Thursday night at the Kohl Center.
Minnesota will seek its first road win at Wisconsin since a 109-78 victory on Feb. 12, 1994. That win, however, was vacated because of the ‘90 academic scandal.
So Minnesota’s last official win at Wisconsin was on Jan. 15, 1992, exactly 17 years ago.
Clem Haskins was Minnesota’s head coach at the time. I spoke with Haskins Wednesday, and he praised Smith’s efforts this year. He called Smith one of the five best coaches in America because of what he’s done without any stars.
“Tubby Smith is a premier coach,” Haskins said. “You mention five coaches, he’s one of the five [best] in the country.”
Haskins said it’s easy to coach a team with a bunch of lottery picks. But if you take a look at the Associated Press’ top 25, you won’t find many that are playing without a legit pro prospect.
Actually, Minnesota, Butler, Michigan State and California are the only teams in the AP poll that don’t have a player listed among ESPN.com’s top 100 NBA prospects.
At this point, the two Minnesota players that have a shot at the NBA, in the opinion of NBA scouts, are Al Nolen and Colton Iverson, and I think both guys have a long way to go before they even get that opportunity.
“That’s where Tubby is head and shoulders above,” Haskins said. “His talent is not superior at Minnesota.” He told me that he wants to make sure that people don’t take his comments the wrong way. He likes Minnesota’s potential, but said Smith’s coaching has been a major factor in its success.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
BETHANY ACADEMY IS HOSTING CHRIST'S HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH
I am up at Bethany Academy this evening for the game against Christ's Household of Faith (CHOF). I am looking forward to a good game here. There are only bleachers on one side of the gym. So it is going to be interesting to see how many people can fit. As the teams are warming up, they have a nice selection of warm-up music. They are playing excerpts of different basketball stadium music tonight.
We are about to get the game started. Both teams come out aggressive to start. CHOF is playing zone on the defensive end. Bethany is playing zone defense also. CHOF has picked up playing a full court zone defense. They will try to extend the floor.
Bethany is looking to push the ball up the court. As soon as the ball is out of the net, they are looking to push it. They are passing the ball around the three point line so far.
Both of these teams are playing aggressively. With 12:20 left to go in the first half, the score is Bethany Academy 5 and CHOF 8.
Bethany Academy is looking to do a lot of passing of the ball in their offense. They make a lot of strong cuts in their offense. Both of these teams are pushing it. They are really running with the ball tonight. They have both looked good in transition. Both of these teams have been in a scoring drought. They have not been able to make a shot here in a while.
Donovan Schoenrock has just came down and made a nice shot. He has really gotten after it. He has been on the ground diving after loose balls and really playing well on the defensive end.
Bethany Academy has been in a little bit of a scoring drought. They have not been able to find the basket. They keep on shooting the ball but it has not been able to find the basket.
CHOF's Tyler Strandlund has been able to hit a mid range jump shot here tonight. He has been able to hit the shot from the middle of the key. CHOF is continuing to take their time on the offensive end. They have made really deliberate passes here tonight. There is no shot clock in high school so they have much time as they want to shoot the ball.
Bethany is also looking to pass the ball around the three point line. They also want to take their time on the offense end but they know that they are going to have to shoot the ball because they don't want to run into the clock against them at the end of the game. CHOF has been on a run here to end of the first half.
We have reached half time. The score at the break is Bethany Academy 17 and Christ's Household of Faith 36. The gym is almost empty so there is ample room for everyone to fit tonight.
We are about to get the second half underway. Bethany Academy has come out looking to push the ball again here. There are looking to get back into this game this evening.
CHOF has looked to go a little inside out. They want to get the ball to their big man Nathan Fiscus. When Nathan gets the ball on the low block, he just gets in there and powers it up.
With 15:52 left to go in regulation, the score is Bethany Academy 19 and CHOF 43.
Both of these teams have decided not to press here in this junction in the game. Bethany Academy continues to get into some short of offense. Both of these teams have been battling each other tonight.
Nate Fiscus has looked good tonight. He has played with a lot of emotion here. He has really gotten after it. He has looked good on the defensive end. He has been up in his defenders faces and made it hard for them to make passes and shoot the ball.
The score of this game has just been blown open as it has been most of the night. We are reaching a critical time point here, if the score becomes larger than 35 points. With under 9:00 left to in regulation, the clock would then run. We will hover around the 30 point difference for a while. With 8:30 left to go, the score is CHOF 59 and Bethany Academy 27.
As the time on the clock continues to wind down, CHOF is continuing to play aggressive tonight. They have not backed down all night. They have played hard throughout the whole game without getting testy. We indeed get to the mersey rule in the game tonight. The final of the game was CHOF 76 and Bethany Academy 39.
I was joined here tonight by The Czar from Twin Cities Boys Hoops you can read about his thoughts of this game here.
We are about to get the game started. Both teams come out aggressive to start. CHOF is playing zone on the defensive end. Bethany is playing zone defense also. CHOF has picked up playing a full court zone defense. They will try to extend the floor.
Bethany is looking to push the ball up the court. As soon as the ball is out of the net, they are looking to push it. They are passing the ball around the three point line so far.
Both of these teams are playing aggressively. With 12:20 left to go in the first half, the score is Bethany Academy 5 and CHOF 8.
Bethany Academy is looking to do a lot of passing of the ball in their offense. They make a lot of strong cuts in their offense. Both of these teams are pushing it. They are really running with the ball tonight. They have both looked good in transition. Both of these teams have been in a scoring drought. They have not been able to make a shot here in a while.
Donovan Schoenrock has just came down and made a nice shot. He has really gotten after it. He has been on the ground diving after loose balls and really playing well on the defensive end.
Bethany Academy has been in a little bit of a scoring drought. They have not been able to find the basket. They keep on shooting the ball but it has not been able to find the basket.
CHOF's Tyler Strandlund has been able to hit a mid range jump shot here tonight. He has been able to hit the shot from the middle of the key. CHOF is continuing to take their time on the offensive end. They have made really deliberate passes here tonight. There is no shot clock in high school so they have much time as they want to shoot the ball.
Bethany is also looking to pass the ball around the three point line. They also want to take their time on the offense end but they know that they are going to have to shoot the ball because they don't want to run into the clock against them at the end of the game. CHOF has been on a run here to end of the first half.
We have reached half time. The score at the break is Bethany Academy 17 and Christ's Household of Faith 36. The gym is almost empty so there is ample room for everyone to fit tonight.
We are about to get the second half underway. Bethany Academy has come out looking to push the ball again here. There are looking to get back into this game this evening.
CHOF has looked to go a little inside out. They want to get the ball to their big man Nathan Fiscus. When Nathan gets the ball on the low block, he just gets in there and powers it up.
With 15:52 left to go in regulation, the score is Bethany Academy 19 and CHOF 43.
Both of these teams have decided not to press here in this junction in the game. Bethany Academy continues to get into some short of offense. Both of these teams have been battling each other tonight.
Nate Fiscus has looked good tonight. He has played with a lot of emotion here. He has really gotten after it. He has looked good on the defensive end. He has been up in his defenders faces and made it hard for them to make passes and shoot the ball.
The score of this game has just been blown open as it has been most of the night. We are reaching a critical time point here, if the score becomes larger than 35 points. With under 9:00 left to in regulation, the clock would then run. We will hover around the 30 point difference for a while. With 8:30 left to go, the score is CHOF 59 and Bethany Academy 27.
As the time on the clock continues to wind down, CHOF is continuing to play aggressive tonight. They have not backed down all night. They have played hard throughout the whole game without getting testy. We indeed get to the mersey rule in the game tonight. The final of the game was CHOF 76 and Bethany Academy 39.
I was joined here tonight by The Czar from Twin Cities Boys Hoops you can read about his thoughts of this game here.
UNI CLAMPS DOWN DEFENSIVELY TO DEFEAT EVANSVILLE
The University of Northern Iowa used a stifling defensive effort to defeat Evansville, 58-47, tonight at Roberts Stadium. The Panthers held the Purple Aces to a season-low 48 points, and just 33 percent field goal shooting.
UNI also held the Missouri Valley Conference’s leading scorer, Evansville forward Shy Ely, to just seven points. Ely, who entered the game averaging 17.5 points per contest, made just 2-of-15 shots from the field on the night.
Once again, the Panthers had a balanced scoring effort. Nine of the 10 Panthers that played scored, led by Ali Farokhmanesh with 11 points and Kwadzo Ahelegbe with 10. Adam Koch and Lucas O’Rear each added eight, while tying for team-high rebounding honors with six.
The Panthers got off to a 7-2 start to the game, as Farokhmanesh hit a three to open the scoring, and Ahelegbe and Koch each added layups. Evansville scored five straight to get even at seven, and the score was tied at nine when UNI pulled ahead for good.
Farokhmanesh drained a 25-footer from the right wing to five UNI a 12-9 lead, and the Panthers would not trail again. That deep trey started a 13-2 run by the Panthers, with senior guard Travis Brown delivering two three-pointers of his own during that stretch.
With UNI in front, 22-11, Evansville scored seven in a row to get within 22-18 with 2:52 left in the first half. But the Panthers answered, ending the half on a 6-2 run, with Ahelegbe draining a pull-up 15 foot jumper just before the first-half horn to give UNI a 28-20 lead at the break.
Junior center Jordan Eglseder, limited to just three minutes of playing time in the first half after picking up two early fouls, got the Panthers going to start the second half. He had a tip-in and a short jumper in the opening moments, as UNI scored the first six points out of the locker room.
That early spurt keyed what turned out to be a 17-5 run over the first 10 minutes of the second half, as UNI extended to a 45-25 lead halfway through period number two. Evansville missed 10 of its first 12 shots to start the second half. The Purple Aces never got the margin under double-digits the rest of the way, as UNI cruised to the victory.
With its fifth straight win, UNI improved to 11-6 overall, 5-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference and remaining in a tie for first place in the league, while Evansville fell to 11-5, 3-3 in the MVC. The Panthers’ next game is this Saturday (Jan. 17), when they travel to face intrastate rival Drake. Tipoff from the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa, is set for 11:00 am, with the game being televised live by ESPN2.
UNI also held the Missouri Valley Conference’s leading scorer, Evansville forward Shy Ely, to just seven points. Ely, who entered the game averaging 17.5 points per contest, made just 2-of-15 shots from the field on the night.
Once again, the Panthers had a balanced scoring effort. Nine of the 10 Panthers that played scored, led by Ali Farokhmanesh with 11 points and Kwadzo Ahelegbe with 10. Adam Koch and Lucas O’Rear each added eight, while tying for team-high rebounding honors with six.
The Panthers got off to a 7-2 start to the game, as Farokhmanesh hit a three to open the scoring, and Ahelegbe and Koch each added layups. Evansville scored five straight to get even at seven, and the score was tied at nine when UNI pulled ahead for good.
Farokhmanesh drained a 25-footer from the right wing to five UNI a 12-9 lead, and the Panthers would not trail again. That deep trey started a 13-2 run by the Panthers, with senior guard Travis Brown delivering two three-pointers of his own during that stretch.
With UNI in front, 22-11, Evansville scored seven in a row to get within 22-18 with 2:52 left in the first half. But the Panthers answered, ending the half on a 6-2 run, with Ahelegbe draining a pull-up 15 foot jumper just before the first-half horn to give UNI a 28-20 lead at the break.
Junior center Jordan Eglseder, limited to just three minutes of playing time in the first half after picking up two early fouls, got the Panthers going to start the second half. He had a tip-in and a short jumper in the opening moments, as UNI scored the first six points out of the locker room.
That early spurt keyed what turned out to be a 17-5 run over the first 10 minutes of the second half, as UNI extended to a 45-25 lead halfway through period number two. Evansville missed 10 of its first 12 shots to start the second half. The Purple Aces never got the margin under double-digits the rest of the way, as UNI cruised to the victory.
With its fifth straight win, UNI improved to 11-6 overall, 5-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference and remaining in a tie for first place in the league, while Evansville fell to 11-5, 3-3 in the MVC. The Panthers’ next game is this Saturday (Jan. 17), when they travel to face intrastate rival Drake. Tipoff from the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa, is set for 11:00 am, with the game being televised live by ESPN2.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
.jpg)