SAINT JOSEPH, Mo. - The Northwest Missouri State women's basketball team fell to the McKendree Bearcats 77-69 in OT in the MWSU Thanksgiving Classic Saturday.&nbsp; The Bearcats battled each other all game, in a game that featured seven lead changes and was tied seven times. Northwest led by two at half 28-26. Mia Stillman made a free throw to tie the game at 66 and send it into OT. The two stats that haunted Northwest in this game were rebounds and fouls. They were out rebounded 46-26 which resulted in 13 second chance points for McKendree. Northwest committed 27 fouls as a team and had both Paityn Rau and Jayna Green foul out. McKendree attempted 38 free throws as a result of this, compared to Northwest's 11 attempts.&nbsp; Kendey Eaton led Northwest in scoring with 23 points, and Erika Schlosser added 14. Jayna Green led the team with 7 rebounds. Ellie Horn had 2 blocks which was the most of any player in the game.&nbsp; Jordan Heberg led McKendree in scoring with 20 points, followed by Megan Jensen with 17 and Brianna Johnson with 13. Jensen and Madison Hart led the team with 8 rebounds each.&nbsp; The Bearcats will be back in action Dec. 5, for their conference opener at Lincoln at 5:30 p.m.&nbsp; --- Northwest Athletics ---

Northwest Missouri State women lose in OT to McKendree 77-69

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Chris Klieman gathered his players in the locker room after a heart-stopping win at Texas Tech and challenged not his seniors, who soon would be playing their final game for Kansas State, but the rest of the guys who would be around for years to come. The first-year coach wanted his youngsters to lay it on the line for the veterans. "Without question," he said, "they played an excellent football game." Jacardia Wright ran for a touchdown, fellow freshman Joshua Youngblood returned a kickoff 93 yards for another score, and the Wildcats' aggressive defense shut down Brock Purdy and high-flying Iowa State to win a 27-17 defensive slugfest on a cold, windy Saturday night. The Wildcats (8-4, 5-4 Big 12) only managed 57 yards passing and 288 yards of total offense, but they scored the final 13 points while holding the Cyclones in check. "At halftime I told the guys, `We just have to make some more plays. If we make some plays we'll be fine," Klieman said. "I could sense a lot of life on our sideline. We just had to make a play." There wasn't a whole lot of life left in the Iowa State sideline by the final whistle. Purdy was just 15 of 30 for 185 yards passing and a touchdown, and the Cyclones (7-5, 5-4) only had 236 yards in all. Their biggest problem came in converting third downs -- they were 1 of 13 -- and that in turn led to a massive advantage for Kansas State in time of possession. The result: The Wildcats beat the Cyclones for the 11th time in 12 meetings in the game known as "Farmageddon." They also have won seven straight in Manhattan against their fellow land-grant college. "Give credit to Kansas State. On a night like tonight, I thought they were the more physical team," Cyclones coach Matt Campbell said. "The reality of it is, my hat's off to them. They did what they needed to do to win the game and we didn't." It was Senior Day in Manhattan, but it was a freshman that provided the early fireworks. Youngblood fielded the opening kickoff on blustery night and angled toward the Iowa State sideline, then headed up field. There was nobody in a chrome red helmet between him and the end zone, and the fleet-footed receiver cruised to his nation-leading third kick return TD of the season. Kansas State's offense soon got on track, too. After taking possession inside its own 10-yard line for the third straight time, the Wildcats used nearly 7 minutes to march 98 yards for the score. They converted three third downs, got some help from a personal foul penalty and capped it with Wright's 12-yard touchdown run. "I had the same play in pregame warmups and I busted it the same way," said Wright, who hadn't played since Sept. 7 because of an ankle injury. "I was like, `OK!" Iowa State finally gave Purdy time to answer, and the record-setting sophomore quarterback used it to pick apart Kansas State's well-regarded secondary. Purdy threw a 15-yard strike to Sean Shaw Jr. for a touchdown, then connected with Tarique Milton for 60 yards to set up Breece Hall's tying touchdown. That score came on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line, and after Campbell and Klieman hilariously traded running downfield and frantically calling a total of four total timeouts. After trading field goals during an offensively inept third quarter, the Wildcats took advantage of good field position set up by their defense to pull ahead 24-17. Brown finished the methodical eight-play drive -- entirely on the ground -- by going untouched 15 yards with 10:24 left in the game. The Cyclones were forced to punt on their next possession, and Wright and Youngblood tore off long runs to set up Blake Lynch's chip-shot field goal that effectively put the game out of reach. "There's been some rough times, you know that," Klieman said. "We've been on a little bit of a rollercoaster, but we continued to get better. The guys continued to buy in and learn more and get more invested in the program. Let's credit where credit is due and that's with the players." BIG PICTURE Iowa State's offense came into the game sixth nationally in passing at 330.5 yards per game, but Purdy struggled with the stiff, cold wind out of the west. He also got little help from his receivers, who dropped several passes -- a few of them on crucial third downs. Kansas State stuck to its persona by running the ball, even though Iowa State led the Big 12 in rush defense, and it paid off. The Wildcats wore the Cyclones down at the line of scrimmage in the fourth quarter and that allowed them to break the 17-all tie. UP NEXT Both teams will await their bowl destinations next weekend. --- Associated Press ---

K-State upsets No. 23 Iowa State 27-17

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- No. 11 Baylor tuned up for a rematch with Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game in fine fashion. JaMycal Hasty ran for three touchdowns, the Bears forced lowly Kansas into committing six turnovers and they cruised through the second half to a 61-6 victory on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Charlie Brewer threw for 182 yards and a touchdown as Baylor (11-1, 8-1 Big 12, No. 9 CFP) equaled the school record for wins in Matt Rhule's third season as coach. Trestan Ebner, Gerry Bohanon, Qualan Jones and Jacob Zeno also rushed for TDs as the Bears piled up 263 yards on the ground. Only three times since the program's founding in 1899 have the Bears won 11 games in a season. "I'm really proud of them not just today but over the past two years, the process that they've had, the toughness, the grind," said Rhule, who now has a chance to avenge a meltdown loss to the seventh-ranked Sooners earlier this month -- their only loss of the season. With a spate of upsets Saturday, the Bears are still in the College Football Playoff picture, too. Kansas (3-9, 1-8) finished Les Miles' first season as coach with its fourth straight loss. Carter Stanley was just 13 of 25 for 92 yards with three of the Jayhawks' four interceptions in his final game. Manny Miles also threw an interception while Pooka Williams was held to 97 yards rushing. Baylor jumped on the Jayhawks midway through the first quarter when Gerry Bohanon scored from six yards out. Brewer found Tyquan Thornton with a 51-yard touchdown pass a few minutes later, and Hasty scored the first of his trio of touchdowns to make it 21-0 at the end of the first quarter. The rout was most certainly on. Baylor added a pair of field quals along with Trestan Ebner's 14-yard touchdown run to carry a 34-0 lead into halftime, and Hasty tacked on a pair of touchdown runs to start the second half. The lone highlight for Kansas came when Miles, the backup quarterback and the coach's son, threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Parchment. And even that was spoiled by a failed two-point conversion. "Whatever could've gone wrong," Les Miles said, "did go wrong." PUNT SUCCESS Kansas punter Kyle Thompson landed three punts inside the 20, including one that dropped at the 1-yard line. But it's rarely a good day when the punter is the standout performer. REDZONE PERFECTION The high-powered Baylor offense entered the Kansas red zone nine times, converting each time. It was an impressive display by a team that could be headed for a shootout against the Sooners. 1,000-YARD MARK Williams became the second player in program history with consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons. He accomplished the feat despite missing the season opener because of a suspension. BIG PICTURE Baylor: The Bears were rolling against Oklahoma when the teams met earlier this month, only to let a big lead slip away in a 34-31 loss. But they've taken care of business the past two weeks, and their defense has been a big reason. They knocked off Texas 24-10 before shutting down the Jayhawks. Kansas: Another lackluster season in Lawrence came to an end, though there is hope for the future after a couple of impressive performances. The Jayhawks finally won a road game by beating Boston College and they had Texas on the ropes before losing a shootout in Austin. UP NEXT Baylor meets Oklahoma in the rejuvenated Big 12 title game while the Kansas coaching staff hits the recruiting trail in search of more talent on both sides of the ball. --- Associated Press ---

Kansas ends season with 61-6 loss against No. 11 Baylor

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Director of Athletics Jim Sterk has relieved fourth-year Tigers’ football coach Barry Odom of his coaching duties and launched a national search to find the program’s next head coach. “I want to thank Coach Odom for his contributions to our program,” Sterk said. “He and his staff have worked diligently during the past four years. “Coach Odom has represented our program with integrity and dedicated himself to developing our student-athletes on and off the football field for which we are grateful. We wish the very best for him and his family in their future endeavors.” Odom, hired as Mizzou’s 32nd head football coach on Dec. 3, 2015, compiled a 25-25 on-field record in four seasons along the Tiger sideline, including a 6-6 mark in 2019 that ended with Friday’s 24-14 victory over Arkansas in Little Rock. After a 4-8 debut season in 2016, Odom’s Tigers went 7-6 and earned an invitation to the 2017 Academy Sports + Outdoor Texas Bowl. Mizzou went 8-5 in Odom’s third season, which ended with a 2018 AutoZone Liberty Bowl bid. “As a program, we had tremendous momentum coming into the 2019 season with the opening of the new south end zone facility as well as other strategic investments in our football program,” Sterk said. “However, we lost a great deal of that energy during the last half of the season. This decision was difficult to make but was necessary.” Odom spent 18 seasons at Mizzou, including eight as a coach (2009-11, 2015-19, six in an administrative capacity (2003-08) and four as a student-athlete (1996-99). “Mizzou enjoys a winning football tradition and has the necessary resources and commitment to compete at the highest level,” Sterk said. “We strive to achieve excellence, and we expect to compete for Southeastern Conference titles, consistently play in the postseason and represent Mizzou the right way on and off the field. “A national search is underway and confidentiality during the process is critical. Thus, I will have no further public comments regarding the search process until the announcement of our next head football coach is made.” --- MWSU Athletics ---

Missouri fires football coach Barry Odom after four years

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. –&nbsp;The Missouri Western men's basketball team finished regulation on a 14-1 run to force overtime at Colorado Mesa (3-2, but without four starters for much of the overtime period, the Griffons (3-4) fell 94-92 on Friday night.&nbsp;Down by 13 with 3:37 to play in regulation, MWSU finished the final 3:09 going 4 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 at the line while holding Colorado Mesa without a field goal down that stretch. Alexander John sunk a layup with 28 seconds left that tied the game at 84 and helped the Griffons overcome a Maverick lead that reached as many as 19 points in the second half. The Griffons outscored the home team 42-25 over the final 13:12 in regulation, but saw some of their stars exit the game with fouls.&nbsp;Will Eames&nbsp;fouled out with 3:37 left in regulation after scoring 14 points.&nbsp;Jonathan Mesmacque&nbsp;fouled out with 5:24 to go.&nbsp;Tyrell Carroll&nbsp;picked up his fifth foul one minute into overtime after scoring 17 with a career-high 10 assists. John picked up his fifth with 1:14 left in overtime and the Griffons down by four.&nbsp;As the only starter left, Tyus Milhollin led the Griffons with a career-high 23 points. He got MWSU within a point on his fifth 3-pointer of the game with two seconds remaining in overtime. Down by two after a made free throw with one second left, the Griffons couldn't get a game-winning shot off before the buzzer.&nbsp;<ul><li>NOTABLES</li><li>The lead changed 10 times with seven ties.</li><li>Colorado Mesa took a five-point lead to halftime, but led by 20 with 11:31 to go.</li><li>MWSU outscored the Mavericks 44-26 in the paint.</li><li>CMU won the battle on the glass, pulling down 50 rebounds to MWSU's 38.</li><li>Missouri Western was whistled for 31 personal fouls to CMU's 18, but the Mavericks made just six more free throws (26) than the Griffons on 16 more attempts.</li><li>CMU was 8 of 21 from 3-point range while the Griffons were 14 of 42.</li><li>20 of Millhollin's 23 points came in the second half.</li><li>Reese Glover&nbsp;scored a career-high 22 points on 8 of 17 shooting (6-14 from 3-point range).</li><li>Sam Siganos&nbsp;pulled down a career-high six rebounds to tie with Millhollin, who also notched a career-high rebound total, for the team lead.</li></ul>&nbsp;UP NEXTMissouri Western continues play in Grand Junction on Saturday with a 3 p.m. tip-off against Western Colorado (2-3). The Mountaineers lost 73-71 to Montana Western on Friday.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Griffons rally to force OT, but fall at Colorado Mesa 94-92

ST. JOSEPH -&nbsp;Tamia Cunigan scored all four of her points in the final 47 seconds and her final two points lifted the Missouri Western Women's Basketball team (4-1) to a 52-50 win over McKendree (4-1, Friday night in the Fairfield Inn Classic. It was Missouri Western's fourth straight win and the first loss of the year for McKendree. Cunigan's game-winning layup rolled home with six-tenths of a second remaining after McKendree knocked down a 3-pointer with 10 seconds to go that tied the game at 50. The layup wasn't Cunigan's only important contribution late in the game. She also blocked a McKendree 3-point attempt with 47 seconds remaining and sunk a couple free throws to give MWSU a 50-47 lead. Cunigan's layup came off a&nbsp;Chris Wilson&nbsp;steal, one of 19 for the Griffons in the game. NOTABLES<ul><li>Corbyn Cunningham&nbsp;made a layup with 1:10 remaining that put MWSU up 48-47.</li><li>Cunigan scored the rest of MWSU's points with a free throw with 47 seconds to go and another with 16 seconds to go then the game-winner under one second.</li><li>The game was tied seven different times with eight lead changes. MWSU led for just over 18 minutes.</li><li>The two teams combined for 77 missed shots, 48 turnovers and 45 personal fouls.</li><li>MWSU overcame 3 of 14 (21.4%) shooting in the first quarter and 20% shooting in the third.</li><li>In the first quarter, the teams were a combined 5 of 21 from the field and in the third they were 6 of 29 from the field.</li><li>MWSU got 22 of its points off the bench with&nbsp;Kyra Hogan&nbsp;scoring a team-high 11 points on 5 of 9 shooting.</li><li>The Griffons outscored McKendree 30-16 in the paint.</li><li>Chris Wilson&nbsp;continued her impressive rebounding pace, leading the team with 13 and scoring seven points.</li></ul> UP NEXTMissouri Western closes out the Fairfield Inn Classic at 3:30 p.m., Saturday, against Florida Southern. The Mocs fell to 4-3 on the season with a 52-37 loss to Northwest Missouri, Friday in St. Joseph. --- MWSU Athletics ---

Cunigan's layup with 0.6 seconds left lifts MWSU women past McKendree

SAINT JOSEPH, Mo. – The Northwest Missouri State women's basketball team defeated the Florida Southern Mocs, 52-37, in their first game of the MWSU Thanksgiving Classic.&nbsp; After winning the first quarter 9-8, the Bearcats started the second quarter on a 19-3 run. The Bearcats led 28-15 at the end of the first half. The Mocs scored the first six points of the second half. The Bearcats battled back to play the third quarter to a 10-10 tie. -The fourth quarter featured back-and-forth scoring and the Bearcats were able to pull out the quarter by a score of 14-12. The Bearcats led nearly the whole game, with the Mocs last lead coming near the end of the first quarter (8-7). The Bearcats shined defensively holding the Mocs, who were averaging 68.5 ppg, to nearly half their average, allowing 37 points, the Mocs lowest scoring total on the season. The Bearcats forced the Mocs to commit 20 turnovers and held them to 32.1% from the field. The Bearcats also did not allow a single made three-pointer on the night, forcing the Mocs to go 0-11 from behind-the-arc. Ellie Horn had 3 blocks and Jayna Green had 2. Kylie Coleman led the Bearcats with 17 points, Mia Stillman and Kendey Eaton added 9 points each. Erika Schlosser led the team in assists with five. The Bearcats will back in action tomorrow against McKendree in their second game of the MWSU Thanksgiving Classic in St. Joseph at 1:30 p.m. --- Northwest Athletics ---

Northwest women knock off Florida Southern 52-37

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- In a game started by third- and fifth-string quarterbacks, the outcome was decided by one of their backups. It was appropriate enough for Arkansas and Missouri, two teams facing their longest losing streaks in decades. Fayetteville High School graduate Taylor Powell entered for injured Connor Bazelak in the second quarter and led Missouri over his hometown Razorbacks 24-14, snapping a five-game skid for the Tigers and furthering Arkansas' spiral to 19 straight SEC losses. Missouri coach Barry Odom ran around the field after the final whistle, congratulating every player he could find individually. They were all emotional just three days after the NCAA's surprising decision to uphold its bowl ban on the team after a nearly year-long appeals process. "The mental toughness of creating the noise and controlling the noise between your ears, that's up to you alone," he said. "These guys, they responded, they didn't like it. But at the end of the day, nobody cares. It's what we've got. It was about us." Powell entered in the second quarter after Bazelak, in his first career start, left after injuring his knee on a scramble. Powell's third pass was a 30-yarder, setting up a field goal to give Missouri (6-6, 3-5) a 10-7 lead. It was the first of three scoring drives he directed. The three drives would have been enough by themselves. Arkansas interim coach Barry Lunney Jr. started junior Jack Lindsey, who was only placed on scholarship in August. Lindsey began the year as the fifth-stringer but was pushed into duty after ineffectiveness and injury plagued the position to the point that coach Chad Morris didn't win an SEC game in his season-plus before being fired November 10. Lindsey completed just two of his first 13 passes, though both went for go-ahead touchdowns. The second score came on the first Arkansas drive of the second half after Greg Brooks Jr. intercepted Powell on the first play after the break. Lindsey, who finished 10 of 26 for 75 yards, began the drive at the Missouri 26, ran for 15 yards and, two plays later, found Grayson Gunter uncovered in the corner of the end zone to give the Razorbacks (2-10, 0-8) their first post-halftime lead against in any game since October 12 against Kentucky. Two drives later, Powell led Missouri on an 8-play, 84-yard touchdown drive that would ultimately be the game-winner. He added a touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter to former Arkansas wide receiver Jonathan Nance for the final score of the game. Powell finished 8 of 14 for 105 yards. Fellow Fayetteville High product Barrett Banister had six catches for 60 yards. "I know what it's like to go back and play your home school," Odom said. "I'm proud of the effort and the focus. It's not easy. It's not easy a lot of times to handle those things." Arkansas will search for answers for a third straight offseason. The Razorbacks have finished 2-10 for back-to-back years, their worst stretch in school history. They need to find a quarterback after using eight different starters, including five in 2019, over those two seasons. They also need to find a coach as Lunney Jr. isn't expected to be named Morris' permanent replacement. Lunney Jr., who has been on the Arkansas staff since 2013 with Bret Bielema and was the Razorbacks quarterback in the early and mid-1990s, coached the last two games of the season. "We obviously didn't play well enough to win. We didn't deserve to win," he said. "But for two weeks, these guys, they were in a very difficult situation, and they very clearly gave everything they had in an effort to win the game tonight. So for that I'm very thankful." It's also unclear whether Odom will return for a fifth season leading Missouri. He has a 25-25 record after four years and the recent five-game losing streak leaves his job status in jeopardy. He is focused on returning to work Monday, happy with the way his team finished during a trying week that also kept all 23 of Missouri's wins from 2012-13 vacated. "It wasn't pretty, we all know that, but it was a win and I'll take as many of those as we can get," Odom said. "Wish we had an opportunity to go play in a bowl game somewhere, but they can't take those six from this team." A QUIET EXIT Both teams had graduate-transfer quarterbacks begin the season as the starter, with each team's hopes banked on the new face. Only one saw the field in the finale. Missouri's Kelly Bryant, who dealt with leg injuries for the last month, was unable to go Friday and finished his one season with 2,215 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. Arkansas' Ben Hicks, who hadn't played since November 2, came in for the final Arkansas drive of the game and completed one pass for two yards, finishing his one year with the Razorbacks with 736 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. FEW SAW IT Attendance at War Memorial Stadium on Friday was 33,961, the lowest total for an Arkansas game in its home away from home since 1996. Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville had already achieved its lowest and second lowest attendance figures since 1997 earlier this year. SICK AND WOUNDED Arkansas was without 14 players in its last game. Some, like offensive lineman Colton Jackson and linebacker Hayden Henry had pre-existing injuries. Others, including starting safety Kamren Curl, were late scratches. The university had experienced an outbreak of mumps earlier in the week that affected several students, though Arkansas would not comment on the reasons for some of the missing players. THE TAKEAWAY Missouri: The Tigers have been a thorn for Arkansas since joining the SEC. Missouri has won the last four meetings and six of the last seven between the two teams. Arkansas: Arkansas is in the midst of the worst two-year stretch in school history, having finished 2-10 in back-to-back seasons and riding a 19-game SEC losing streak. UP NEXT Missouri: Eyes turn to Odom's status as Missouri's postseason ban keeps them from a bowl bid in the winter. Arkansas: Lunney Jr. is unlikely to be named permanent head coach and the search for a replacement for Morris is entering its third full week. --- Associated Press ---

Powell, Missouri snap five-game skid with win over Arkansas

LINCOLN, Neb. -- It was cold and damp, Iowa had the ball at its 26-yard line with 32 seconds left in regulation in a tie game, and the Hawkeyes' offense hadn't done much since the first quarter. Instead of being content to play for overtime against border rival Nebraska, coach Kirk Ferentz went for the win Friday. The Hawkeyes got it when Keith Duncan kicked a 48-yard field goal with one second left, giving No. 17 Iowa a 27-24 victory over Nebraska that leaves the Cornhuskers out of the postseason for a third consecutive season. "We thought we had a chance if we executed," Ferentz said. "There's some risk and reward involved there. We thought the reward outweighed the risk. At least we came out the right side this time." The Hawkeyes (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten) beat the Huskers (5-7, 3-6) for a fifth straight year and second year in a row on a late field goal. Duncan, who walked on with Iowa in 2016, had more to celebrate than just helping the Hawkeyes hold onto the Heroes Game trophy for at least another year. Ferentz announced after the game that he was giving Duncan a scholarship. "The culmination of all these four years of hard work," said Duncan, who also kicked a 49-yarder against the Huskers and now owns the Big Ten single-season record with 29 made field goals. "These 12 weeks have been really hard for us, just working 100 percent. There's been some setbacks, but we finished here. Team goals will lead to individual goals, and that's where we are today." Iowa, which saw its 14-point lead wiped out in the third quarter, got the ball back after forcing a Nebraska punt in the final minute. A long Nate Stanley completion to Nico Ragaini was overturned on video review, but Stanley then completed a pair of 22-yard passes to Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Sam LaPorta to bring on the reliable Duncan. The Huskers called two timeouts before Duncan drilled the winner down the middle and with plenty of distance. "Every field goal I'm hungry for, especially in a situation like that with tough conditions," Duncan said. "That's why you become a kicker. You've got to be hungry and not scared." Nebraska, down 24-10 at half, tied it with back-to-back touchdowns in the third quarter. Luke McCaffrey entered the game for a play in place of quarterback Adrian Martinez, rolled to his left and hit JD Spielman with a perfect 39-yard TD pass. The Huskers ran on 12 of 13 plays while covering 60 yards on their next drive, converting a fourth-and-6 before Wyatt Mazour ran in from 9 yards. Smith-Marsette scored on a 45-yard on a reverse run and ran back a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and Tyler Goodson broke a 55-yard TD run as Iowa got out to its lead in the first half. Iowa had 18 plays for 191 yards in the first quarter but just 131 yards on 38 plays for the remainder of the game. Iowa gained 11 yards in the second quarter and 7 in the third. Stanley completed 11 of 24 passes for 99 yards, his lowest total since throwing for 86 against Maryland last season. Goodson ran 13 times for a season-high 116 yards. The Huskers are in their longest bowl drought since 1955-61, but coach Scott Frost is encouraged by the progress he saw during the second half of the season. "There's a lot of things that needed to get fixed, and I think a lot of those have been addressed," Frost said. "I think when you plant a seed, you don't necessarily see sprouts right away. There's a lot going on underneath the ground before you see things shooting out of it. I know a lot of things have gotten better." EPENESA'S BIG DAY Preseason All-America defensive end A.J. Epenesa set career highs with 14 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in Friday's victory. "You always love to win this game," Epenesa said. "They joined the Big Ten not too long ago but it's turned into a pretty hard-headed rivalry between the two of us. If it's between whose corn is better, which team you like more or what state you're from, there's a lot of pride on both sides of this. When you can come out and win it, especially in other people's stadium, it adds a little extra to it." THE TAKEAWAY Iowa: This was a hard-fought win for the Hawkeyes and one they'll savor because it came against their border rival. Except for the big-play touchdowns, their offense continued to be middling. Nebraska: The Huskers dropped to 0-6 against Top 25 opponents over two seasons under Frost. POLL IMPLICATIONS Iowa will stay in the Top 25 thanks to Duncan's late field goal. --- Associated Press ---

Nebraska loses on last second field goal to No. 17 Iowa 27-24

MARYVILLE, Missouri - Freshman Wes Dreamer notched his first career double-double with 29 points the 14 rebounds as No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State rolled to a 91-56 victory over Illinois-Springfield at Bearcat Arena in men's basketball action. The Bearcats moved to 7-0 and extended the nation's longest win streak to 45 games in a row. Illinois-Springfield dropped its first game of the season after winning its first five contests. Northwest scored 90 or more points for the fourth straight game and fifth time this season. The Bearcats have a scoring margin of +27.3 in their seven victories. The Bearcats jumped out to a 17-4 lead only six minutes into the contest. UIS climbed to within eight points at 17-9 but that would be as close as the Prairie Stars would get in the contest. Northwest used a 14-4 run to push the margin to 18 at 31-13 with 8:48 to play in the half. Northwest would lead 46-32 at the break. Northwest blew the game wide open with a 17-0 run that turned a 59-42 lead into a 76-42 advantage with 11:38 left in the game. Dreamer did damage from deep as he drained seven of his first eight three-point attempts and finished the game shooting 7-of-10 from three-point range. Dreamer went 10-of-13 from the field and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds. Dreamer swatted a career-high three blocks. Sophomore Diego Bernard scored 15 of his 19 points in the opening half. Bernard went 7-of-15 from the field, secured three rebounds, handed out three assists and recorded three steals. Sophomore Trevor&nbsp;Hudgins&nbsp;reached double-figures in assists for the third straight game with 11 helpers against the Prairie Stars.&nbsp;Hudgins&nbsp;also tallied six rebounds and two steals. Northwest will open up&nbsp;MIAA&nbsp;play on Dec. 5 at Lincoln and Dec. 7 at Central Missouri. NOTES: Northwest won for the&nbsp;20th&nbsp;straight time at home ... Northwest is 112-9 at Bearcat Arena since the start of the 2011-12 season ... Northwest has won 29 consecutive games in the month of November ... the Bearcats drained a season-high 17 three-pointers ... Northwest is shooting 53.6 percent from the field as a team through seven games ... the Bearcats shot 47.8 percent against the Prairie Stars - marking only the second time this season the 'Cats has shot less than 50 percent from the field in a game.

Dreamer's double-double helps No. 1 Northwest blowout Illinois Springfield 91-56

LAHAINA, Hawaii -- Devon Dotson seemed to be running on fumes as the game wore on, but he still made big shots and continually found ways to get to the rim. Big man Udoka Azubuike bulled his way through Dayton's defense all day, particularly in overtime, and even hit his free throws. The duo is one of the best Bill Self has had in 16 seasons at Kansas. They're certainly a big reason the Jayhawks won their third Maui Invitational title and will be among the favorites to cut down the nets in April. Dotson scored 31 points, Azubuike had seven of his 29 in overtime and No. 4 Kansas outlasted Dayton 90-84 in the Maui Invitational championship game on Wednesday. "When he has it going and the attention is on him, that opens up for other players," Dotson said. "So it's just kind of a 1-2 punch. We read the defense, take what's given to us." The Flyers and Jayhawks spent much of the afternoon trading leads and highlight-reel plays in a bleacher-shaking atmosphere inside the bandbox Lahaina Civic Center. Kansas (6-1) looked as if it would run away with a late 11-0 run in regulation. The Flyers refused to back down, tying it when Jalen Crutcher buried a 3-pointer from about 5 feet behind the new, deeper arc with 2.1 seconds left. "When he had the ball in his hands I went straight to the rim and I told him, `Just let it go," said Ryan Mikesell, who led Dayton with 19 points. "He's a competent shooter and fortunate enough it went in." The Jayhawks absorbed the blow and delivered a few in overtime with their 7-foot, 270-pound center. Kansas went to Azubuike early in the overtime and the big man delivered, scoring three baskets at the rim. A 32% free throw shooter entering the game, he also hit three from the line in overtime. Marcus Garrett made three free throws in the final 18 seconds to seal Kansas' second Maui title in four years. "I do think we got some competitive pieces that, if we improve a little bit, this could be a pretty dangerous team down the stretch," Self said. Dayton made a name for itself by winning the first two Maui games, then went toe-to-toe with a blue-blood in the final. The Flyers (5-1) came up short against Azubuike and the Jayhawks, but they figure to be a popular pick when the brackets come out in March. Obi Toppin had 18 points and Dayton finished 16 for 33 from 3-point range to keep Kansas within reach. "Obviously, it's a tough loss, but like I told them in the locker room, whatever it was, five, six days ago when we came here we wanted to find out what we needed to do as a team to continue to move forward, I think these guys did a great job of answering that," Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. "They fought obviously to the very end." Toppin dominated the first two games, scoring 49 combined points while hitting 19 of 25 shots. The Flyers took down Georgia of the SEC and Virginia Tech of the ACC in Maui. The Jayhawks imposed their massive will on two undersized opponents to open the tournament, taking down Division II Chaminade and BYU. As expected, Dayton and Kansas played a fast-paced, high-level game with the championship on the line, trading dunks, 3-pointers and buckets in transition. With Kansas doubling Toppin in the post on every touch, the Flyers worked their kickout game, hitting their first five 3-pointers and eight in the first half to lead 37-36. The Jayhawks had success getting the ball down low early for dunks and that opened things up for Dotson, who had 17 points by halftime. The shots kept falling, the crowd kept roaring and the lead stayed tight to start the second half. "That was a great basketball game," Self said. "Two good teams competing against each other and in a terrific atmosphere." BIG PICTURE Dayton burst into the national consciousness with its run in Maui, beating two larger-conference schools and taking Kansas to the wire. Kansas survived a tying shot at the end of regulation and wore the Flyers down with its size in the overtime. With top-ranked Duke and No. 3 Michigan State both losing, the Jayhawks should move up in Monday's AP Top 25. UP NEXT Dayton hosts Houston Baptist on Tuesday. Kansas hosts Colorado on Dec. 7. --- Associated Press ---

No. 4 Kansas defeats Dayton in OT to win Maui Invitational

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Nate Kennell scored 22 points and Bradley beat Kansas State 73-60 as the 2019 NCAA Tournament teams met in the third-place game of the second annual Fort Myers Tip-Off on Wednesday night. Kennell made 6 of 8 3-pointers for the Braves (5-2) and Darrell Brown, who made 4 of 8 behind the arc, added 15 points. Kansas State didn't score for the first 6:09 of the second half to fall behind 44-37. The Wildcats never could catch up. Xavier Sneed led the Wildcats (4-2) with 15 points and Cartier Diarra and Shaun Williams both added 10 points. After strongly criticizing his team's play in a 78-51 loss to Northwestern on Monday, Brian Wardle saw his Braves get off to a great start by going up 14-6 early. "That was out of character," forward Elijah Childs said. "We didn't go out and do what we were told in the game plan. Tonight, we listened to each other instead of bickering." When Kansas State made a 19-9 run to go up 25-23, Bradley didn't back down and led 38-37 at halftime. Wardle liked his team's competitive spirit. "We competed and defended and that's how the program has grown every year," he said. "It wasn't there Monday, I don't know why. It's November. I challenged them and there are high-character kids in the locker room." Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said his team has to go back to the drawing board. "We all tried to make plays but we gotta play for each other," Weber said. "We gotta admit we got our butts kicked, that we'll get better and that we have to practice better. It starts with us as a staff but they gotta want to get better." BIG PICTURE Bradley: The Braves, who added nine players to a team that gave Michigan State all it could handle in the NCAAs, had the kind of bounce-back effort that will make it a factor in the Missouri Valley Conference. Kansas State: The Wildcats, who didn't have Montavious Murphy (knee) for the tournament, struggled inside and went into scoring lulls. Those are areas they'll have to improve on if they want to avoid a ninth-place predicted finish in the Big 12. KEY STATS Bradley made 13 of 23 3-pointers and 24-of-48 overall. It helped overcome 23 turnovers. "I loved our pace," Wardle said. "I didn't like the defense. We were running and shooting quickly and I wanted us to continue. I think both teams ran out of gas in the second half and that's when it came down to execution." MVC LESSON Weber, who coached at Southern Illinois, said he warned his team Bradley would play with a lot of pride. "I coached in the Valley and I know how important it is to them," Weber said. "They pushed it up on us. Our defense has been good but they had a lot of guys making 3-pointers." NEXT YEAR Wisconsin, Butler, Colorado and South Florida will play in the 2020 Fort Myers Tip-Off. Wisconsin made Final Four trips in 2014 and 2015 and Butler went in 2010 and 2011. Next season will be third Fort Myers Tip-Off. Boston College won the inaugural event. UP NEXT Kansas State will return home on Monday to play Florida A&amp;M. Bradley will travel to No. 16 Memphis on Tuesday. --- Associated Press ---

Kansas State loses to Bradley in 3rd place game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off

The St. Joseph Central girls and boys basketball teams swept their doubleheader at Benton High School Tuesday night as it was the season opener for all four teams. The Central girls led wire-to-wire as they beat the Cardinals 47-27, while the Indians won the boys game 53-28. In the girls game, Central used an 8-0 run in the first quarter to take a 13-4 lead and eventually led 27-14 at halftime.&nbsp;The Indians went on a 15-0 run in the third quarter to extend their leads and cruised to the 20-point win.&nbsp;Lauren Eiman and Gracie Moodie had eight points each to led CHS, while Olivia Walters scored nine points to lead Benton. In the boys game, the Cardinals led Central after the first quarter 8-3 but the Indians then outscored Benton 25-4 in the second quarter and rolled to an easy win.&nbsp;A.J. Redmon led Central with 17 points and LaVar Felder added 11.&nbsp;Kason Mauzey had eight to lead Benton. OTHER CITY SCORES FROM TUESDAY NIGHT BOYSCenter 68Lafayette 54 St. Joseph Christian 59DeKalb 30

Central basketball teams open season with sweep at Benton

LAHAINA, Hawaii -- David McCormack scored 16 points, Ochai Agbaji added 14 and No. 4 Kansas turned a huge second half into a trip to the Maui Invitational title game with a 71-56 victory over Brigham Young on Tuesday night. The Jayhawks (5-1) dominated inside against the smaller Cougars and did a good job of rotating out to their shooters to earn a shot at their third Maui Invitational championship. Kansas opened the second half with a big run to build a double-digit lead and outscored BYU 42-18 in the paint. The Jayhawks will face Dayton in Wednesday's title game. BYU (4-3) was bothered Kansas' length on defense, finishing 9 for 33 from behind the 3-point line. TJ Haws had 16 points, but Cougars leading scorer Jake Toolson was held to seven on 3-of-9 shooting. Kansas overwhelmed Division II Chaminade 93-63 in its Maui opener by utilizing its massive size advantage. The also-undersized Cougars used ball movement and perimeter shooting to blow past UCLA 78-63 in their opener. Neither team was particularly efficient offensively early in the semifinals, trading turnovers and clanks on the soft Lahaina Civic Center rims. The Jayhawks found a small semblance of rhythm late in the first half and locked on the Cougars defensively, holding them scoreless for 7 1/2 minutes. BYU finally hit a few shots late and was within 29-27 at halftime. Kansas got on a roll to start the second period by getting the ball inside, opening with a 13-2 run to go up 42-31. The Jayhawks piled on after that with a 19-4 spurt and hit 17 of 32 shots in the second half. BIG PICTURE BYU pulled off one upset by knocking off UCLA in its opener, but had a hard time matching Kansas' size in the semifinals. The Jayhawks shook off some early ugliness on offense with a dominant second half to earn a shot at adding to the 1996 and 2015 titles in their trophy case. UP NEXT Kansas plays Dayton in Wednesday's title game. BYU faces Virginia Tech in the third-place game. --- Associated Press ---

No. 4 Kansas beats BYU 71-56 for spot in Maui title game

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Brady Manek made sure Tuesday night was nothing like Monday night for Oklahoma. With Manek, who scored 17 points, hitting four 3-pointers, Oklahoma scored 23 points in the first six minutes and beat Missouri 77-66 in the consolation game of the Hall of Fame Classic. The Sooners hit their first eight shots, including five 3-pointers. It was a stark contrast to their loss to Stanford a night earlier, when it took the Sooners six minutes to score a single point. "We got off to a horrible start last night so this jumpstarted us tonight," head coach Lon Kruger said. Austin Reaves scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Sooners (6-1). Kristian Doolittle added 14 and Alondes Williams 12. Mark Smith scored 18 and grabbed eight rebounds for the Tigers (4-3). Jeremiah Tilmon finished with 13 points and Torrence Watson had 11. For the second straight game, Missouri was down 15-3 after four minutes of play. "We really have to come out in the first five to seven minutes and play better," Smith said. "This loss will motivate us and we have to come back locked in for practice on Friday." Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin blamed stagnant offense and defensive breakdowns as the main culprits for the slow starts. "I think we dig ourselves these holes and then we say let's play defense," Martin said. "That's too hard to do against teams that score the ball." Tilmon had a tip-slam to cut the deficit to 49-46 and get a Missouri heavy crowd back on their feet midway through the second half, but the Sooners used a 6-0 run late in the game to close the door on Missouri. "Usually it comes down to making a shot or two," Kruger said. "Made some buckets and widen that margin out a bit." It was a rough first three halves of the classic for Tilmon, who scored his first basket of the tournament with two minutes left in the first half. The junior averages the third most points this season for Missouri at 10 per game. "He's a talented player and a physical guy," Martin said. "You take what they give you and I think it's simply that for him." Missouri had 15 turnovers which turned into 15 points for Oklahoma. "To bounce back from last night to battle a good Missouri team today and I thought our guys played well," Kruger said. "They came out and battled in the first half, but our guys hung tough." BIG PICTURE Oklahoma: After a sluggish start on Monday night, the Sooners started strong and held off a stingy Missouri team. They are in the midst of five straight games away from home. Missouri: The Tigers didn't start the game well for the second straight game and it cost them. After the game, Martin said Xavier Pinson suffered a knee injury. WE MEET AGAIN This was the first time the two teams have met since Missouri left the Big 12 in 2012. UP NEXT Oklahoma goes to North Texas on Dec. 5. Missouri has a week off before they host Charleston Southern Next Tuesday. --- Associated Press ---

Tigers lose to Oklahoma 77-66 in Hall of Fame consolation game

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands -- Jamal Hartwell II scored a career-high 23 points and Jordan Miller had 20 and George Mason advanced to the championship game of the Cayman Islands Classic with an 85-66 win over Nebraska on Tuesday night. Javone Green added 17 points for the Patriots, who are 7-1 for the first time since 1983-84. Hartwell, who had five 3-pointers and six assists, also career bests, and Miller combined for 28 points in the second half. AJ Wilson pulled down 14 rebounds and blocked five shots to go with eight points. In the second half George Mason made 7 of 12 behind the arc and shot 61%. Nebraska (3-3) was within 67-60 with 7:49 to play. Then the Patriots hit 7 of 8 shots to break open the game with an 18-4 run. Nebraska hit just one 3-pointer among eight shots, plus a free throw and had three turnovers to end its three-game winning streak. "This was a gratifying win for us. It was a great team victory," said Patriot head coach Dave Paulsen. "We kept them out of transition and I thought we defended really well. Our offense, against their pressure, wasn't perfect but I thought we distributed the ball well." Dachon Burke led the Cornhuskers with 14 points but only had two in the second half. Haanif Cheatham added 13 points. Hartwell and Greene scored 10 points apiece as the Patriots opened a 37-28 halftime lead. A 29-12 rebounding margin helped, including 11-2 on the offensive end. The teams combined for 24 turnovers. A Green dunk tied the game at 16 and then the Patriots hit three 3-pointers, taking a 27-19 lead on Justin Kier's triple at the 7:22 mark. A 7-0 surge late in the half put George Mason up by 11. "We did talk about the need, playing back-to-back game, to play with high energy," Paulsen said. "Was this the best game we've played this season? It feels like it. It certainly was a complete game, with our defensive energy and our offensive efficiency." BIG PICTURE George Mason: In addition to winning like they haven't in 35 years, the Patriots had their first-ever 5-0 start before losing to No. 6 Maryland. Nebraska: The rebuilding Cornhuskers only returned 50 points from last season, but had scored at least 80 points in its three wins. Nebraska last won at in-season tournament in 2000, the San Juan Shootout. UP NEXT George Mason faces New Mexico State in the championship game on Wednesday. Nebraska plays South Florida in the third-place game on Wednesday. --- Associated Press ---

Nebraska gets hammered by George Mason at Cayman Islands Classic

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The NCAA rejected an appeal by the University of Missouri to limit or overturn sanctions for infractions tied to the case of a former tutor Tuesday, angering school officials and leaving in place postseason bans in three high-profile sports along with other restrictions. The school had filed a 64-page brief to the NCAA’s appeals committee in March, arguing that the penalties handed down Jan. 31 were contrary to precedent, not supported or appropriate given the nature of the allegations and could have a chilling effect on future NCAA enforcement. The five-member NCAA infractions appeals committee rejected those assertions, and said in its decision Tuesday that it was “hesitant to overturn a penalty within the appropriate penalty guidelines unless there is a clear indication of arbitrary decision-making.” “Last night when we received the decision, obviously very disappointed and then shock set in. Now I’m just angry,” athletic director Jim Sterk said at the Sprint Center, where the Missouri men’s basketball team was playing in the consolation game of the Hall of Fame Classic. “I’m angry because of our student-athletes and coaches who were wrongly affected by this decision.” The Tigers’ basketball programs were not involved in the case. “The NCAA has proven once again,” Sterk said, “that they cannot affectively serve its members and student-athletes they’re supposed to protect. The decision today is just wrong.” The case in question dates to 2016, when tutor Yolanda Kumar acknowledged she had violated NCAA rules by doing course work and ensuring athletes in football, baseball and softball passed certain courses. The school immediately launched an investigation and self-imposed many penalties, hoping its proactive approach would curry favor when the NCAA rendered its punishment. The Tigers were instead hit with postseason bans and scholarship and recruiting restrictions in each sport while the entire athletic department was placed on probation. “Today’s decision was disappointing and appalling, to have this type of conclusion to the process,” Missouri chancellor Alexander Cartwright said. “This decision has made that difficult for us to determine what should be done when there is a compliance case.” School officials even disseminated a spreadsheet comparing sanctions handed down to Mississippi State in August following a similar case. The Bulldogs’ football program was hit with far less severe scholarship and recruiting restrictions and no postseason ban. “No one can look at the Missouri case and the Mississippi state cases, which have almost identical violations, and see that common sense was used,” Sterk said. “There was no logic in today’s decision.” The Tigers would have qualified for a bowl game by beating Arkansas on Friday, and the school estimated that its share of lost conference bowl revenue would be about $10 million. “I hate the news for our program and for our seniors who have represented the university in a very positive way,” football coach Barry Odom said. “This decision negatively impacts their short experience in life as college student-athletes who had nothing to do with this situation. It’s a tough lesson to be dealt, but they will learn from this and motivationally use it later in life.” Missouri said about 180 student-athletes across the three sports were ultimately punished by the postseason ban, even though they had nothing to do with the case. Many were still in high school when Kumar did course work for 12 players in the football, baseball and softball programs. “I am absolutely heartbroken and disappointed by the committee’s decision,” softball coach Larissa Anderson said. “The NCAA claims to value the student-athlete experience, but this decision continues to cause unnecessary harm to a group of innocent student-athletes.” The penalties could have long-term ramifications for Missouri, too. The school has struggled for both success and relevance in its highest-profile sports since it left the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference, and now the Tigers now must deal with recruiting and scholarship reductions that put them at an additional competitive disadvantage. “I think there’s a lot of talk and a lot disgruntled people. Where we go from here, I don’t know,” Sterk said. “There needs to be reform in the NCAA system to gain back some credibility. The credibility every day, every week, keeps eroding on this case.” U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, a longtime Tigers fan who blasted the initial penalties, issued a statement Tuesday in which he said “the NCAA made the absolute wrong decision here.” “The facts in this case clearly do not support these unfair, unwarranted sanctions,” Blunt said. “The University of Missouri did the right thing by self-reporting the actions of the tutor and a small number of players. The NCAA is punishing current players for actions that occurred years ago.” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, who was kept apprised of the case during the initial investigation and when Missouri filed its appeal, said there must be a balance between accountability and reprimand. “It is regrettable that so many innocent current Missouri student-athletes across three sports will miss postseason opportunities due to actions for which they were not responsible,” he said. “While it is important to hold accountable those individuals who engage in unethical behavior and conduct that fails to meet our expectations for integrity in college athletics, it is also important to fully consider the nuances and unique set of circumstances present in each case.” --- Associated Press ---

NCAA rejects Missouri appeal, postseason ban looms

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Butler had a perfect plan for a hostile crowd: a fast start. The Bulldogs raced to a 15-3 lead in the first five minutes to deflate the crowd and defeated Missouri 63-52 on Monday night in the Hall of Fame Classic. Kamar Baldwin and Bryce Golden had 13 points each and Sean McDermott finished with 10 for Butler in front of the large, hostile crowd. Dru Smith had 19 points while Xavier Pinson contributed 10 and Kobe Brown had nine for the Tigers. Golden matched his season average of eight points in the first five minutes of the game, hitting two 3-pointers in that stretch and the Bulldogs (6-0) never looked back. "Watching the film, we thought we had a chance to do that early," Butler coach LaVall Jordan said. "These guys take a game plan and executed out it, which isn't easy to do." Butler hit eight 3s and held the Tigers (4-2) to just two. Both teams shot 48% from the field. "They're a tough match because of their guard physicality," Jordan said. "We'll learn and grow from that because they made some difficult shots." The Bulldogs forced five turnovers in the first five minutes of the game, 13 overall. On the flip side, the Tigers were able to stay in the game forcing 14 turnovers, the most in a game by the Bulldogs this season. "Some of it was them and some of it was us," Jordan said. "They are a physical team, but we had a lack of poise and we'll address that. Give them credit though." The Bulldogs were able to out-rebound the Tigers 29-20, but Missouri had the edge scoring inside 32-26. "You recognize the ways we need to score ball with driving the ball and scoring at the rim," head coach Cuonzo Martin said. "I thought we did a good job driving the ball." Butler had as big as an 18-point lead in the first half. The teams played very even in the second half, Butler never had more than a 15-point lead and Missouri never got closer than eight. "It wasn't deflating, but we know we just have to keep fighting," Smith said. "We got it down to eight or nine but couldn't get that stop or rebound we needed." BIG PICTURE Butler: The Bulldogs brought the pressure from the start as they knocked off a Missouri team who was playing practically a home game. Missouri: The Tigers fought back numerous times but couldn't hit that big shot in the second half. When it felt like the Tigers were getting momentum, Butler came up with a stop. UP NEXT Butler will play the winner of the Oklahoma-Stanford game for the championship on Tuesday night. Missouri will play the loser of the Oklahoma-Stanford game in the Tuesday night opener. --- Associated Press ---

Mizzou loses to Butler 63-52 in semifinals of Hall of Fame Classic

LAHAINA, Hawaii -- Devin Dotson scored 19 points, Udoka Azubuike added 15 despite early foul trouble and No. 5 Kansas cruised to a 93-63 victory over Division II Chaminade at the Maui Invitational on Monday. The Jayhawks (4-1) jumped on the Silverswords (2-1) with a huge early run and never let up, shooting 55% while making 12 of 29 from 3-point range. Kansas scored 36 points off Chaminade's 27 turnovers and had a 50-22 advantage in the paint. Isaiah Moss had 13 points for the two-time Maui champion Jayhawks, who move on to face UCLA or BYU in Tuesday's semifinals. Andre Arissol had 18 points and Tyler Cartaino 17 to lead Chaminade. Kansas opened the season with a two-point loss to Duke after turning it over a whopping 28 times. The Jayhawks have gotten a better grip since then, heading into Maui with three straight double-digit wins. Chaminade returned to the championship round this year after playing in the opening rounds last season. The tournament hosts have had a knack for pulling off upsets against bigger opponents, most recently against California in 2017. The Silverswords opened by making three of their first four shots to take a brief lead. Very brief. Once the Jayhawks got acclimated to shooting in the tiny confines of Lahaina Civic Center, they flew away from Chaminade. Kansas used a 20-2 run to go up 20-7 and made 18 of 32 shots to lead 47-27at halftime Azubuike limited seven minutes due to foul trouble. Another short run to start the second half put the Jayhawks up 61-33 and the game out of reach. BIG PICTURE Kansas squelched any thought of an upset with its big early run and cruised into the semifinals. Chaminade needed to shoot well to have any chance of keeping it close and wasn't nearly good enough to keep up with the Jayhawks. UP NEXT Kansas faces the UCLA-BYU winner in Tuesday's semifinals. Chaminade plays the UCLA-BYU loser. --- Associated Press ---

No. 4 Kansas cruises in Maui opener against Chaminade 93-63

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Xavier Johnson made a short jumper with 10.1 seconds left to give his team the lead, then made two free throws with 4.6 seconds to help Pittsburgh top Kansas State 63-59 in the Fort Myers TipOff on Monday night. "Coach drew up a play and I'm pretty good at driving to the basket," Johnson said. "It's a great win." After seeing a 57-51 lead disappear as they couldn't score for 3:56, the Panthers (5-2) scored six points in the last 10.1 seconds. Two more free throws by Justin Champagnie clinched it with 0.1 seconds left. Ryan Murphy and Eric Hamilton both scored 13 points for Pitt while Johnson and Champagnie added 12 each. The Panthers won despite making just 1 of 16 3-pointers and committing 21 turnovers. They did hit 47% of their shots, went 18 of 21 on free throws and had a 40-30 rebounding advantage. "When you have 21 turnovers and two assists, how do you win a game like that?" Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. "You go out and rebound like we did. Show toughness. We're not going to out-talent most teams and they have players and a program that has a culture." Cartier Diarra scored 13 and DaJuan Gordon added 12, 10 straight in the first half, for Kansas State (4-1, which made just 3 of 13 free throws. "That's not gonna happen again," Diarra said. Xavier Sneed, who came in leading K-State with 16 points per game, didn't score until 15:40 remained in the second half. He finished with eight points. For the first time this season, Kansas State had a first-half lead, going up 30-28. The Wildcats took a 9-0 lead. They also led 27-17 before Pitt rallied. "We didn't finish off that first half," Diarra said. "If we keep that 10-point lead, it's a different story." BIG PICTURE Pitt: The Panthers are starting to build a nice resume with victories over two teams, which made the NCAA Tournament last season. Pitt opened the season by beating Florida State 63-61. However, it does have a big blemish, a 75-70 loss to Nicholls State. Kansas State: Picked to finish ninth in the Big 12, the Wildcats play defense of an NCAA-Tournament caliber team but offense can be hard to find at times, especially if Sneed struggles to score and Makol Mawien gets in foul trouble like they did Monday night. They came in averaging a combined 25.5 points per game but ended up with 12 against Pitt. UP NEXT Pittsburgh will play the winner of Monday's second game between Northwestern and Bradley for the Fort Myers TipOff Championship. Kansas State will play the loser of Monday's second game for the Fort Myers TipOff third-place game. --- Associated Press ---

K-State suffers first loss as they fall to Pitt in Fort Myers

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands -- Haanif Cheatham scored 19 points and Jervay Green scored 14 and Nebraska pulled away for an 82-71 win over Washington State in the Cayman Islands Classic on Monday night. Cheatham and Green combined for 26 points in the second half. Dachon Burke and Kevin Cross added 14 points apiece and Cam Mack had 10 with eight rebounds, six assists and three steals for the Cornhuskers (3-2). CJ Elleby matched his career high with 27 points for Washington State (2-3) and Isaac Bonton added 17 points. Nebraska had a pair of 13-2 runs in the second half. The first started barely two minutes in and erased a four-point deficit. Green, who had eight points during the streak, started it with two free throws and followed with a 3-pointer to put the Cornhuskers on top 41-40. He had another 3 during the run, which ended with 13:47 to go and Nebraska up 49-42. The Cougars went 1 for 8 with three turnovers. Washington State was only down five points when the next run began at the midway point. Cheatham led the charge with six points as the Cornhuskers hit 4 of 5, including a pair of 3s. Cheatham had a 3 to start it and Cross made it 69-53 with a 3 at the 7:22 mark. In that 3 1/2-minute stretch WSU went 1 for 8 with two turnovers. The Cougars shot 32% in the second half while the Cornhuskers shot 64%, including 5-of-7 3-pointers. Neither team led by more than six points in the first half, with the Cougars up 37-34 at the break. The difference was at the foul line where WSU was just 5 of 9 while the Cornhuskers went 2 of 7. Elleby led Washington State with 13 points and Cross had nine for Nebraska. BIG PICTURE Washington State: Nebraska is the first Power 5 team the Cougars have played. ... First-year coach Kyle Smith is rebuilding a program that has lost to Santa Clara and Omaha. Nebraska: WSU is the first Power 5 team the Cornhuskers have played, which makes their three-game winning streak a little less impressive. A win over Southern in overtime and losses to UC Riverside and Southern Utah at home prove what a difficult rebuilding project first-year coach Fred Hoiberg has. ... Husker Matej Kavas, a graduate transfer from Seattle, averaged 10 points and 9.7 points in two previous games against the Cougars, but had just two in the win. ... Nebraska was coming off back-to-back 90-plus games, the first time that has happened since 1999-2000. INSIDE THE NUMBERS The Cougars led the nation in fewest turnovers per game at 7.3 but had 13 against the Huskers. They also forced 15.8 turnovers, eight of them steals, and Nebraska turned it over 15 times, seven of them steals. ... Also of note, WSU was 6 of 27 (22%) from 3-point range, Nebraska 9 of 18, which made up for a 13 of 25 performance at the foul line. HEATING UP Nebraska now leads the series 7-2, with the last game 21 years ago in Fairbanks, Alaska. It was nine degrees for that Alaska tipoff. Monday it was 70 degrees warmer. UP NEXT: Washington State: The Cougars meet Old Dominion on Tuesday. Nebraska: The Cornhuskers take on George Mason on Tuesday in the winner's bracket. --- Associated Press ---

Nebraska pulls away from Washington State to win 82-71

Midland Empire Conference announces postseason football awards

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The third men’s basketball athlete of the week award for the MIAA has been announced. Missouri Southern’s Cam Martin has tabbed with this week’s accolade.&nbsp; Cam Martin earned his first athlete of the week award of the season. Martin averaged 24 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 0.5 blocks while shooting 50 percent from the field in a pair of games, including a road win at Upper Iowa. He shot 44 percent from the three-point line and was 75 percent at the free-throw line. In a road game at Truman State, he had 18 points in 20 minutes. Martin followed that up with 30 points and 10 rebounds in the road win at Upper Iowa. The MIAA announced its third women’s basketball athlete of the week for the 2019-2020 season. Central Missouri’s Morgan Fleming and Central Oklahoma’s Kelsey Johnson were tabbed with this week’s accolade.&nbsp; Morgan Fleming was selected as the athlete of the week for the first time this season. Fleming led the Jennies to a 67-58 win over now nationally ranked Union. She scored 19 points for the second straight game, going 5-of-12 from the field and hitting a pair of three-pointers. Fleming was nearly perfect at the free-throw line, going 7-of-8, including four in the final minute to put the game away. She also added five rebounds, two assists, and two steals to her stat line. Kelsey Johnson picked up her first athlete of the week honor this season. Johnson led UCO to a victory over Cameron in a non-conference home game. She scored a game-high 19 points as the Bronchos set a Hamilton Field House record of 107 points in the victory. Johnson shot&nbsp;8-for-9 from the floor, making her only 3-point attempt and both of her free-throw attempts. She also had five rebounds with five blocked shots, two assists and one steal in 21 minutes of action. --- MIAA Release ---

MIAA releases weekly basketball awards

2019 SUBURBAN RED ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS Offensive Player of the Year: Jake Van Dyne, Liberty NorthDefensive Player of the Year: Hayden Gregg, StaleyCoach of the Year: Greg Jones, Liberty North FIRST TEAMOFFENSEQB	JAKE 	VAN DYNE	6'4	200	12	LIBERTY NORTHRB 	KE'SHAWN TURNER		6'2	215	12	LIBERTY NORTHRB 	DERMONT	MARSHALL	5'10	184	12	STALEYWR 	LUKE	MATHEWS		6'0	165	12	LIBERTY NORTHWR	RAMON	SHELTON		5'11	171	12	STALEYTE	TYLER	JENNESS		6	185	11	LIBERTY NORTHOL	ALEX	GEISERT		6'4	270	12	LIBERTY NORTHOL	KEVIN 	BOSWELL		6'2	295	12	STALEYOL	AARON	PORTER		6'4	305	12	TRUMANOL	NICK	BIESEMEYER	6'2	255	12	LIBERTYOL	BRADEN	BARTOSH		6'4	265	11	PARK HILL SOUTHK*	MICHAEL	VERHOEVEN	6'1	200	12	PARK HILL SOUTHRET	AUSTIN	WHITE		5'7	160	12	ST JOE CENTRALATH	WARREN	BENNETT III	5'9	165	12	LIBERTY NORTH&nbsp;	 	 	 	 	 	&nbsp;DEFENSE&nbsp;DL	FELIX	ANUDIKE		6'3	225	12	LEES SUMMITDL	GARRETT	LINN		6'1	205	12	LIBERTY NORTHDL	NICK 	WRIGHT		6'3	217	12	STALEYDL	MARWAN	KIRKWOOD	6'4	228	12	STALEYLB	HAYDEN	GREGG		6'2	224	12	STALEYLB	ANDREW	STEPHENSON	6'2	205	12	LIBERTY NORTHLB	MIKE	SUCHANICK	6'1	200	12	PARK HILL SOUTHLB	JALEN	WESTON		5'11	205	11	LIBERTYDB	AUSTEN	HOSS		6'1	170	12	LIBERTY NORTHDB	MICHAEL	BOOK		6'4	205	12	LIBERTYDB	CONNOR	BAXLEY		6'0	175	11	LIBERTY NORTHDB	CADE	COONS		5'7	163	12	STALEYP	DAWSON	PARKS		6'2	190	12	STALEY SECOND TEAMOFFENSEQB	DARRIAS	PEARSALL	6'1	200	12	LEES SUMMITRB&nbsp;	ZAC	WILLINGHAM-DAVIS6	200	11	LIBERTY NORTHRB	MICAH	MANNING		5'10	170	12	LEES SUMMITWR	GAIGE	WARREN		5'10	170	11	PARK HILL SOUTHWR	RYAN	BELT		6'1	185	12	LEES SUMMITTE	BROCK	IVY		6'2	215	12	PARK HILL SOUTHOL	CONNOR	GRAHAM		6'3	310	11	ST JOE CENTRALOL	WILL	ANGEL		6'0	265	11	LIBERTY NORTHOL	MATT	LAWSON		6'2	250	12	LIBERTYOL	PRESTON	SIX		5'11	225	12	LEES SUMMITOL	ALEX	PATILLO		6'2	276	12	STALEYK	TROY	HUFFMAN		5'11	175	11	LEES SUMMITRET	WARREN	BENNETT III	5'9	165	12	LIBERTY NORTHATH	MATT 	SUCHANICK	6'0	175	12	PARK HILL SOUTH&nbsp;	 	 	 	 	 	&nbsp;DEFENSE&nbsp;Pos	First Name	Last Name	HT	WT	Year	SchoolDL	RJ	MITCHELL	6'2	250	11	PARK HILL SOUTHDL	MAX	WHISNER		6'5	225	10	LEES SUMMITDL	MATT	HENNING		5'11	230	11	LIBERTYDL	ISAIAH	HALL		5'10	290	12	LIBERTYLB	MICHAEL	GAROZZO		6'0	190	12	LEES SUMMITLB	ALEX	MILLER		5'11	170	12	LIBERTY NORTHLB	KAIA	TUPINIO		6'0	210	12	LEES SUMMITLB	ADAM	JOHNSTON	6'1	190	12	ST JOE CENTRALDB	KENDRICK STONE		6'2	172	11	STALEYDB	RYAN	OLIVAS		6'1	170	12	LIBERTYDB	ALEXANDER BARNETT	6'1	195	12	LEES SUMMITDB	LANDON 	WILLIS		5'11	180	12	LEES SUMMITP (T)	ETHAN	BROWN		6'1	175	12	LIBERTYP (T)	BRADEN	PRESSER		6'4	200	12	LIBERTY NORTH HONORABLE MENTIONOFFENSEOL	DEVRON	RIVERA		6'4	398	11	TRUMANOL	DAYTON	SHAFER		6'0	264	12	STALEYOL	TYLER	BROWN		6'2	250	12	PARK HILL SOUTHOL	CLAY	CRONKLETON	6'2	250	12	PARK HILL SOUTHOL	ETHAN	HELLEBUSCH	6'3	235	10	PARK HILL SOUTHOL	NOEL	RODRIGUEZ	6'4	335	11	LIBERTY NORTHOL	DAVID	BRACK		6'8	245	12	TRUMANOL	BRITTON	ROBINSON	6'0	225	12	TRUMANOL	JONAH	DITTMER		6'4	230	12	LEES SUMMITOL	CHARLIE	ARN		6'	265	10	ST JOE CENTRALOL	MICHAEL	CAPRIA		6'2	260	10	LIBERTYOL	ZACH	BARTKOSKI	6'2	270	12	STALEYQB	MATT	SUCHANICK	6'	175	12	PARK HILL SOUTHQB	DAWSON	PARKS		6'2	190	12	STALEYQB	CARTER	BROWN		6'1	170	12	TRUMANRB	MYLAN 	MITCHELL	5'11	200	12	STALEYRB	DIMITRI	SMITH		5'10	175	11	TRUMANRB	WENTRIC	WILLIAMS III	5'10	170	10	LIBERTYTE	JARED	NEEL		6'1	210	11	STALEYTE	GARRETT	LINN		6'1	210	12	LIBERTY NORTHTE	DRAKE	HAWLEY		6	200	12	TRUMANTE	CALEB	CAHILL		6	175	11	LIBERTYTE	LANDEN	SHEPARD		6'2	230	10	LEES SUMMITWR	ERIC	AVERY		6	185	11	PARK HILL SOUTHWR	JAVION	BYERS		6'1	185	11	LIBERTYWR	BLAKE	FORDYCE		6'1	165	12	LIBERTYWR	NATE	MORSE		5'9	150	11	LEES SUMMITWR	NATHAN	SHARP		5'10	170	12	PARK HILL SOUTHWR	CADEN	DENNIS		6'1	165	10	LIBERTYWR	TREVOR	DUSENBERY	6'3	175	12	STALEYWR	JACOB	MRACHEK		6'0	175	12	LEES SUMMITATH	AUSTIN	WHITE		5'7	160	12	ST JOE CENTRAL&nbsp;DEFENSEDL	ALEX 	FOSTER		6'0	235	11	PARK HILL SOUTHDL	CALEB 	TAYLOR		6'4	254	12	STALEYDL	JOHN	GONZALES	6'0	200	12	ST JOE CENTRALDL	RYLAN	FIENE		6'0	175	12	LEES SUMMITDL	DEVRON	RIVERA		6'4	398	11	TRUMANDL	NATE	BERRY		6'2	195	12	LIBERTYDL	JACK	HORN		5'9	205	11	LIBERTYDL	NICK	BOGAARD		6'1	180	11	LIBERTY NORTHDL	MYYLAN	TOWNSEND	6'2	249	12	TRUMANDL	ANDREW	FONUA		6'5	260	12	TRUMANDL	JUSTIS	BRADEN		6'2	210	10	LIBERTY NORTHDL	MYLES	HOWARD		5'7	230	12	STALEYLB	LAJUAN	MILLER		6'0	205	11	LEES SUMMITLB	JAYSON	BOATRIGHT	5'11	195	11	TRUMANLB	QUINCY	POTTS		6'1	200	11	TRUMANLB	CAMERON	GILLESPIE	6'0	205	12	PARK HILL SOUTHLB	BRADEN	ROBERTSON	5'10	176	11	STALEYLB	JACKSON	WHITE		6'0	185	12	LIBERTYLB	TYLER	TERRANCE	6'0	230	12	LEES SUMMITLB	MASON	KEVER		5'10	230	12	STALEYLB	CHASE 	JONES		6'0	185	12	LIBERTY NORTHLB	DOMINIQUE LYONS		6'1	170	12	STALEYDB	DYLAN	OWENS		5'9	165	12	PARK HILL SOUTHDB	SPENCER	TROYER		6'1	160	12	LIBERTY NORTHDB	CHRIS	RHODES		6'0	170	11	TRUMANDB	NATE	CLEMONS		5'8	175	12	TRUMANDB	RYAN	OWENS		5'9	160	12	PARK HILL SOUTHDB	QUENTIN	TROTTER		5'10	170	12	ST JOE CENTRALDB	TREY	EGGLESTON	5'9	165	11	ST JOE CENTRALDB	WILL	SMALL		5'9	175	11	ST JOE CENTRALDB	GRAHAM	STAGNER		6'1	175	12	ST JOE CENTRALDB	PATRICK	MARTIN		5'9	160	10	TRUMANDB	JAYLEN	NEWBERRY	6'2	174	12	STALEYDB	DAVID	LEWIS		6'1	172	11	STALEYDB	THOMAS	SMITH		6'1	175	11	LEES SUMMITDB	DRAKE	SMITH		5'9	165	12	LIBERTYDB	KARRELL	SIMPSON		5'8	145	12	LIBERTYDB	BRADYN	SNIDER		6'0	170	11	LIBERTY NORTHDB	DYMOND	PREASTER	6'1	160	11	LIBERTY NORTH SPECIAL TEAMSK	KADEN	ROTTJAKOB	6'1	175	12	LIBERTYK	BLAKE	CRAIG		5'7	125	9	LIBERTY NORTHP	MICHAEL	VERHOEVEN	6'1	200	12	PARK HILL SOUTHP	KAIA 	TUPINIO		6'0	210	12	LEES SUMMITP	QUINCY	SCOTT		6'0	165	11	TRUMANRET	TREY	EGGLESTON	5'9	165	11	ST JOE CENTRAL

Suburban Red announces All-Conference football awards

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Northwest Missouri State University Bearcat women's basketball team fell 78-53 to the University of Northern Iowa Panthers in an exhibition game (for Northwest) in the McLeod Center. The Bearcats did a good job of overcoming adversity in the game, after falling behind by 19 with 4:25 left in the first quarter, the Bearcats played the Panthers to a six point game for the remaining 35:35. The Bearcats were competing in their second exhibition competition against a Division-I opponent this year. (UMKC, Oct. 29) The Panthers came into the game off a hot start, going 4-0 and taking down two power five schools, Missouri and Iowa, beating the&nbsp;Hawkeyes&nbsp;by 22. The Panthers got off to a quick start in the game, starting on 14-0 run, ended by a&nbsp;Jaelyn&nbsp;Haggard step-back three-pointer. The Bearcats closed the quarter on a 7-0 run, to finish the quarter down 12-24. A strong defensive showing fueled the Bearcats in the second quarter holding the Panthers to 17 points on only five field goals. Fouls plagued the Bearcats in the first half. They committed 13 fouls and allowed the Panthers to attempt 18 free throws in the half. The Bearcats turned the ball over 23 times in the game and were&nbsp;outrebounded&nbsp;41-29. The Bearcats also committed 23 fouls and only drew 10, that allowed the Panthers to attempt 13 more FT's than the Bearcats. Eaton shined in the second half scoring 17 points in the second half, to finish with 27 on the night. 27 is the most points UNI has allowed to any individual player this year.&nbsp;Haggard added 12 points for the Bearcats. Erika Schlosser and&nbsp;Paityn&nbsp;Rau led the Bearcats in rebounds with five. Schlosser played well defensively as well, having three steals and two blocks. Ellie Horn also had two blocks.&nbsp; The Bearcats will be back in action Friday, Nov. 29 against Florida Southern in St. Joseph at the&nbsp;MWSU&nbsp;Thanksgiving Classic.