Sports – Page 311 – North Platte Post Archive

Wiggins Scores 31 as Timberwolves beat Nuggets 113-105

Posted on January 18, 2015

DENVER (AP) — Andrew Wiggins scored a career-high 31 points and Robbie Hummel had two big tip-in baskets in the fourth quarter, helping the Minnesota Timberwolves hold off the Denver Nuggets 113-105 on Saturday night.

The rookie out of Kansas was 11 of 17 from the floor, including four 3-pointers, as Minnesota improved to 4-16 on the road this season.

Hummel finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds, while Thaddeus Young added 22 points.

The Timberwolves hardly looked weary down the stretch in the thin air of the Mile High City despite losing the night before in Phoenix. They’re now 2-7 on the second night of a back-to-back.

Ty Lawson led Denver with 22 points. The Nuggets lost the night before in Dallas to snap a five-game win streak.

NPCC Knights Defeat Southeast

Posted on January 18, 2015

The North Platte Community College Knights basketball team defeated the Southeast Community College Storm in a Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference game 80-68 Saturday.

The Knights improve to 15-4 overall and 2-0 in conference play. Southeast drops to 7-12 overall and 1-1 in the conference.

The Knights were red-hot in the first half, shooting 17 for 27, which is 63 percent. They were also five of eight from behind the three-point line.

The Knights led at halftime 42-35.

The Knights cooled off in the second half, shooting 39.1 percent from the field.

The Storm’s offensive rebounding kept them in the game as they had an 18 to 7 advantage over the Knights in offensive rebounding. Their ability to control the offensive board led to 16 second chance points compared to 6 for the Knights.

The Knights were led in scoring by Cameron Williams with 23 points. CJ Polk scored a career high 19 points, and Matt Thomas scored 11 points. Thomas also led the Knights in rebounding with 7.

Knights Assistant Coach Ryan Glenney said,” CJ Polk gave us a great spark off the bench with his career high 19 points, and Matt Thomas led us with seven tough rebounds.”

The Storm were led in scoring by Snyder Cenecharles with 18 points. Other Storm players to score in double figures were Noah Scott with 16 points and John Swift with 10 points. Altez Davis and Josh Stroud each had 8 rebounds to lead the Storm.

The Knights continue their five game road swing next Friday as they travel to face Trinidad State Junior College. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. CST.

NPCC Lady Knights Lose to Southeast

Posted on January 18, 2015

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights were defeated by the Southeast Community College Lady Storm 71-57 at the Truman Events Center in Beatrice Saturday.

The Lady Knights drop to 10-8 on the season and 1-1 in National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX Division II play. The Lady Storm improve to 10-6 overall and 1-0 in the region.

“It was a game of runs,” said Lady Knights head coach Richard Thurin.

Mid-way through the first half the Lady Storm went on a 14-2 run to take a 25-12 lead with 5:05 left to go in the half.

The Lady Knights then went on a 8-4 run to cut the lead to nine at half, 29-20, keyed by a three-pointer by Sarah Mahr.

In the second half, the Lady Knights scored the first seven points to cut the Southeast lead to two, 29-27.

The Lady Knights took the lead 44-43 with just under 13 minutes to play.

The game see-sawed back and forth until the Lady Storm opened up the game down the stretch.

“It was hard to defend Southeast’s inside game,” Thurin said. “We need to play better defense without fouling.”

The Lady Knights had three of their starters on the bench in the first half because of foul trouble.

Thurin also praised the play of Sarah Mahr. Mahr had her second double-double in as many nights. She had 18 points and 13 rebounds. “Sarah played her best game tonight,” Thurin said.

Other Lady Knights to score in double figures were Aliyah Brown, who scored 15 points and April Stull who finished the game with 12 points. Brown also recorded a double-double as she pulled down 10 rebounds.

The Lady Storm were led in scoring by Veshae Wilkinson, who led all scorers with 23 points. Breanna Grant added 16, and Dionne Martin chipped in 12 points. Martin led the Lady Storm in rebounding with 9.

The Lady Knights return to action on Friday, January 23 at home against Northeast Community College.

The game may be seen online at www.coachesaid.com.

Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CST (Note: The game was originally scheduled for 3:00 but was moved up due to the South Platte Valley Association High School Tournament later that night at McDonald-Belton).

Callahan leads Lightning past Avalanche in Shootout

Posted on January 18, 2015

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Ryan Callahan scored in regulation and got the decisive goal in the shootout to lift Tampa Bay to a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night, moving the Avalanche back into first place in the Eastern Conference.

Anton Stralman also scored in regulation and Ben Bishop finished with 40 saves as Tampa Bay moved one point ahead of the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Islanders atop the East.

Ryan O’Reilly and Nathan MacKinnon scored for the Avalanche, and Semyon Varlamov had 29 saves. MacKinnon’s goal tied with 6.8 seconds remaining.

Nikita Kucherov put the Lightning ahead in the first round of the shootout and Matt Duchene tied it for Colorado in the second round.

Dunn Scores 21 Pts in Providence’s 74-65 Win over Bluejays

Posted on January 18, 2015

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Kris Dunn scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half to lead three Providence scorers in double figures, and the Friars sent Creighton to its seventh straight loss with a 74-65 victory on Saturday night.

LaDontae Henton added 18 points and Tyler Harris had 13 for the Friars (14-5, 4-2 Big East), who swept the season series with the Bluejays.

James Milliken scored 22 points for Creighton (9-10, 0-6), which has lost its first six conference games for the first time since it went 0-7 to start Missouri Valley play in 1993-94.

Rick Kreklow scored 12 points and Devin Brooks had 10 for the Bluejays, who are under .500 for the first time since they were 13-14 on Feb. 16, 2010.

Providence shot 48 percent, including 6 of 14 beyond the arc, and enjoyed a 35-25 advantage on the boards.

NPCC Knights Softball Signs Trio of Players from Colorado

Posted on January 17, 2015

The North Platte Community College Knights softball team added to their 2015 -2016 recruiting class as they signed a trio from the state of Colorado on Friday night in the VIP room on the South Campus of North Platte Community College.

The ladies that were signed were Shelby Belloni, out of Lakewood, Colorado; Sami Gill, out of Gilcrest, Colorado; and Antonia Villani, out of Frederick, Colorado.

Knights Head Coach Janelle Higgins said of the three, “We added depth to our middle infield, catcher, and outfield positions. All three are very good athletes, young ladies with great personalities and coachable attitudes that will fit in and mesh well with our returning freshman class.”

Shelby Belloni is an outfielder from Lakewood High School. Higgins said, “Shelby has very good speed and jump on the ball.” Higgins added that Shelby has a very strong arm, and with losing Odum and Chang, two instrumental players in the outfield, so having a player to be able to play right always will be good.

Belloni plans to study business in college. Shelby said what interested her in coming to North Platte Community College, “I heard about it from Antonia (Villani) and started talking to Coach Higgins and came up for a visit and that is what sold me, Coach Higgins and the environment.”

Shelby, in her senior year batted .508 with 22 runs and 13 runs batted in. She had a .650 slugging percentage and stole 13 bases in 14 attempts.

Sami Gill is a catcher from Gilcrest, Colorado and attends Valley High School. Valley qualified for the Colorado State tournament in 3A this past year.

Higgins said about Gill: “ Sami is a left-handed catcher with a solid arm and a lot of power in the box. We will definitely be able to use her right out of the gate.”

Gill said what brought her to North Platte is “the nursing program is really good and the softball program I’m also interested in.” She added, “It’s also a good distance from home, not to far, and not to close either.”

Gill, in her senior year was named to the All-Colorado 3A softball team presented by the Denver Post.

Sami batted .371 with 24 runs scored and 15 runs batted in. She had a .512 on base percentage and a .500 slugging percentage.

Antonia Villani was a member of the Frederick High School softball team that went 24-1 on the year. Their only loss was in the state championship game in Class 4A..

Antonia, according to Coach Higgins, will bring depth to our middle infield. “With the loss of Shannon (Lieber) we are going to need someone to help fill the void and step in to the middle infield spot.” Higgins added that Antonia has a very strong bat and is “an all-around good player.”

Villani also plans to study nursing while attending North Platte Community College. She said, “I really like the softball program and Coach Higgins.”

Villani was selected to play in the Colorado Coaches of Girls’ Softball All-Star game. In her senior year, Villani batted. 295. She also had a .308 on base percentage. In addition, Villani scored 14 runs and batted in 14.

For more information about the Knights softball program, contact Head Coach Janelle Higgins at (308) 535-3622 or athigginsj@mpcc.edu .

Big 5 Pass Cost of Attendance as NCAA Autonomy Begins

Posted on January 17, 2015

OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — The five most powerful and wealthiest conferences in college sports passed NCAA legislation that increases the value of an athletic scholarship by several thousand dollars to cover the federally determined actual cost of attendance.

Legislative autonomy for the Big Five — the Big Ten, Big 12, Atlantic Coast Conference, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference — was voted in last year and Saturday at the NCAA convention was its first chance to use it.

The group of 65 schools is now allowed to pass legislation on its own, without the support of the schools in the other 27 conferences that make up Division I.

“It is a special day,” Atlantic Coast Commissioner John Swofford said. “It’s historic, first of all, in that these 65 schools are in a room by themselves with the ability to pass legislation. That’s never happened before. I’ve never attended a convention where the primary focus of most of what was being discussed was about the student-athlete and the student-athlete’s experiences. ”

The cost of attendance was expected to pass and did so overwhelmingly by a 79-1 margin.

The move toward autonomy was spurred after a proposal to add a $2,000 stipend to the value of a scholarship to help cover the cost of attendance for athletes was shot down in 2011 by schools that were concerned they could not afford it and it would create a recruiting advantage for those that could.

Now those schools don’t have a say, though the legislation passed Saturday by the autonomous group will allow any school can opt in — or out.

Leaders from the other five FBS conferences have indicated they intend to pay full cost of attendance. Other Division I conferences have said they will consider cost of attendance for some sports but not necessarily all. The exact value of cost of attendance will vary from school to school. Currently, an athletic scholarship covers the cost of tuition, room and board, books and fees. The new scholarships will cover the cost of additional expenses, up to the full amount a traditional student might spend annually.

The Big Five also passed a concussion protocol proposal and a proposal that will guarantee four-year scholarships, instead of allowing them to be renewed from year to year as they are now. All the new legislation goes into effect Aug. 1.

For the first time in NCAA Division I history student-athletes were involved in the voting process, 15 in all out of a total of 80 delegates from the five conferences.

Start Time Set for Nebraska-Michigan St. Game on Jan. 24

Posted on January 17, 2015

Lincoln – The Big Ten Conference and ESPN announced Saturday that the Jan. 24 men’s basketball game between Nebraska and Michigan State at Pinnacle Bank Arena will tip off at 3 p.m. central. The game had been listed as TBA on the schedule until Saturday’s announcement. The contest will be televised by either ESPN or ESPN2 with a TV determination set early next week.

Tickets are going fast for the matchup between the Huskers and Spartans, which is the only Saturday home game on the Huskers’ Big Ten schedule. As of Friday afternoon, the game is sold out, although a limited number of tickets could become available on game day at the Pinnacle Bank Arena box office 90 minutes prior to tip-off. The MSU game is also part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Awareness Week.

The only remaining games with TBAs on the schedule are the Huskers home games against Iowa (Sunday, Feb. 22) and Maryland (Sunday, March 8). Both of those start times and television information will be announced by the Big Ten Conference in the coming weeks.

NPCC Knights Defeat Central in Conference Play

Posted on January 17, 2015

The North Platte Community College Knights defeated the Central Community College Raiders in a Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference game 78-47 Friday night.

The Knights started out slow and held a 34-25 lead at halftime.

In the second half, the Knights pulled away and outscored the Raiders 44-22 to seal the win.

Knights assistant coach Ryan Glenney said, “We held them to 25.9 percent shooting from the floor in the second half.”

The Knights continued their hot free throw shooting on the season, shooting 24 for 30 from the free throw line. Coming into this game the Knights were eighth in the nation as a team in free throw percentage with 74.4 percent.

The Knights were led in scoring by Cameron Williams, who scored 29 points. Williams went 8 for 12 from the field with 2 three pointers and 11 for 12 from the free throw line. Williams is now averaging 23.5 points per game and is currently fifth in the nation in scoring.

Other Knights scoring in double figures were Marco Pascolo with 11 points and Matt Thomas with 10 points.

Matthew McLeod from Brownlee was the only Raider in double-figures with 19 points

The Knights improve to 14-4 overall and 1-0 in conference play. The Raiders drop to 3-15 overall and 0-2 in the conference.

The Knights continue on the road as they travel to Beatrice to play the Southeast Community College Storm in another Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference game. Game may be seen on ihigh.com. Tip-off is at 4:00 p.m. CST

NPCC Lady Knights Defeat Central on the Road

Posted on January 17, 2015

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights defeated the Central Community College Lady Raiders in a key National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX Division II game, 74-58 Friday night.

The Lady Raiders jumped out to an early 11-2 lead with just under 18 minutes to go in the first half.

The Lady Knights pulled within three at half time and trailed 29-26.

In the second half the Lady Knights went on a 20-2 run to contribute to the win.

Head coach Richard Thurin said, “We played great defense and had four girls in double figures. It was a great team effort.”

The four Lady Knights that scored in double figures were April Stull, who led all scorers with 17 points, Aliyah Brown had 15 points and four steals, Ester Micheva had 12 points, and Sarah Mahr had 10 points. Stull and Mahr both recorded a double-double as Stull had 15 rebounds and Mahr had 11 rebounds

The Lady Raiders were led in scoring by Montrese Weller who scored 14 points. Adrianna Beck was next in the scoring column with 13 points. McKenna Rossmeier finished with 10.

North Platte improves to 10-7 overall and 1-0 in sub-region play. Central drops to 9-8 overall and 0-1 in the sub-region.

The Lady Knights continue on the road as they travel to Beatrice to play the Southeast Community College Lady Storm in another Region IX Division II game. Game may be seen on ihigh.com. Tip-off is at 2:00 p.m. CST