Sports – Page 361 – North Platte Post Archive

FSU, ‘Bama, Oregon, Miss St Unchanged in AP Poll, Nebraska Drops Out

Posted on November 24, 2014

Florida State is No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll, followed by Alabama, Oregon and Mississippi State. The top four teams were unchanged for the first time since late September.

The gap between the Seminoles and the Crimson Tide narrowed after another close call by Florida State, which beat Boston College 20-17 on a field goal in the waning seconds.

Florida State received 37 first-place votes and 1,458 points, down six first-place votes and 18 points from last week. Alabama has 21 first-place votes 1,445 points. No. 3 Oregon received two first-place votes, one more than last week.

Mississippi State is fourth, followed by Baylor and TCU. Baylor and TCU swapped places. Ohio State remained No. 7.

No. 22 Minnesota, No. 23 Clemson, No. 24 Louisville and No. 25 Boise State moved into the rankings. Nebraska, Utah, Southern California and Duke dropped out.

The Gophers are ranked for the first time since 2008.

The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Nov. 22, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:

	Record	Pts	Pv
1. Florida St. (37)	11-0	1,458	1
2. Alabama (21)	10-1	1,445	2
3. Oregon (2)	10-1	1,393	3
4. Mississippi St.	10-1	1,301	4
5. Baylor	9-1	1,234	6
6. TCU	9-1	1,233	5
7. Ohio St.	10-1	1,163	7
8. Georgia	9-2	1,002	9
9. UCLA	9-2	998	11
10. Michigan St.	9-2	971	10
11. Kansas St.	8-2	898	12
12. Arizona	9-2	807	15
13. Arizona St.	9-2	790	13
14. Wisconsin	9-2	764	14
15. Auburn	8-3	597	16
16. Georgia Tech	9-2	581	17
17. Missouri	9-2	525	19
18. Mississippi	8-3	398	8
19. Marshall	11-0	384	18
20. Oklahoma	8-3	363	23
21. Colorado St.	10-1	346	22
22. Minnesota	8-3	232	NR
23. Clemson	8-3	198	NR
24. Louisville	8-3	191	NR
25. Boise St.	9-2	96	NR

Others receiving votes: Arkansas 40, LSU 39, Nebraska 14, Utah 14, Duke 9, Southern Cal 8, Memphis 3, Texas A&M 2, West Virginia 2, UCF 1.

Cady, Theriot lead No. 16 Nebraska past Utah 66-43

Posted on November 23, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Emily Cady had 25 points with nine rebounds, Rachel Theriot added 20 points with six assists, and No. 16 Nebraska rolled past Utah 66-43 on Sunday.

The Cornhuskers (4-0) shot 42.2 percent from the field, committed just seven turnovers and had a 28-14 advantage in the paint. Theriot also had six rebounds and four of Nebraska’s 11 steals.

Utah (1-2) was limited to 27.5-percent shooting and gave up 24 points off turnovers. Malia Nawahine led the Utes with 14 points while Tanaeya Boclair and Paige Crozon each had nine.

The Cornhuskers pulled away early, opening the game on a 17-3 run sparked by two jumpers and a three-point play from Cady. A seven-point burst from Cady along with Natalie Romeo’s 3-pointer made it 31-8 at the 5:03 mark in the first half.

Nebraska led 38-17 at half and coasted through the final 20 minutes.

Cornhuskers Looking to Enhance Their Bowl Position

Posted on November 23, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — For the second straight year, Nebraska will go into its last regular-season game playing for nothing more than a best possible bowl bid.

The Cornhuskers (8-3, 4-3) were eliminated from the Big Ten West race with Saturday’s 28-24 loss to Minnesota. They’ll enter Friday’s game in Iowa City trying to avoid losing a third straight game for the first time since 2008.

“Time to go to work and put our head down,” offensive lineman Jake Cotton said. “We’re going to play a good Iowa team in a hostile environment, and it’s probably going to be real cold in Iowa City. I know we’re excited for the challenge. A lot of times people think losses carry over and that losses linger, but not here.”

Nebraska squandered a 14-point halftime lead at home against Minnesota a week after it was blown out 59-24 at Wisconsin. The manner in which the Huskers have lost their last two games has a segment of the fan base grousing about the direction of the program under coach Bo Pelini.

The Huskers are 9-6 in Big Ten games the last two years, with none of those wins against teams that finished the season above .500 in conference play.

Iowa (7-4, 4-3), which beat the Huskers in Lincoln last year, played Wisconsin tough in a 26-24 loss Saturday.

Nebraska’s problems in run defense continued against Minnesota. The Gophers rushed for 281 yards and four touchdowns, with quarterback Mitch Leidner going for 111 yards and two scores. The week before Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon set a since-broken FBS record with 408 yards rushing, and the Badgers totaled 581 on the ground.

The two games were the first time back-to-back opponents have rushed for 250 or more yards in Pelini’s seven years at Nebraska.

Pelini was especially frustrated by the way Nebraska attempted to defend the zone-read option against Minnesota. Leidner broke off a number of big runs after faking the handoff to his running back and taking off.

“There’s no excuse there,” Pelini said. “We have to make some changes because we didn’t play very well. There are a couple positions that played horrendous.”

The offense didn’t escape criticism, especially coordinator Tim Beck. Fullback Andy Janovich said Beck told the players at halftime, when the Huskers led 21-7, that there would be more reliance on the run game. It seemed like a good plan, given they were averaging better than 5 yards a carry through the first two quarters.

Beck called 15 straight running plays that averaged 6.7 yards over one stretch of the second half. Then Armstrong completed a 15-yard pass, and Ameer Abdullah ran for 9 yards to set up a second-and-1 at the Minnesota 41 with the Huskers leading 24-21.

With Minnesota’s safeties within 4 yards of the line of scrimmage, Beck gave into temptation and dialed up a shot downfield. But Theiren Cockran broke through to sack Armstrong, and the Huskers ended up punting. Minnesota then started the drive that ended with the go-ahead touchdown.

“Probably shouldn’t have done it,” Beck said. “Hindsight is 20-20. If we scored it would have been a great call.”

The Huskers still had a chance to win in the last two minutes, but freshman receiver De’Mornay Pierson-El was stripped of the ball at the Minnesota 2-yard line for his second fumble of the game.

Nebraska hasn’t been a conference champion since the 1999 team won the Big 12 under Frank Solich, two coaches ago.

Pheasants Being Released in 9 Nebraska Areas

Posted on November 23, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is releasing rooster pheasants in nine wildlife management areas in time for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

The nine areas include: Oak Valley (Madison County), Wilkinson (Platte County), Sherman Reservoir (Sherman County), Pressey (Custer County), Branched Oak (Lancaster County), Yankee Hill (Lancaster County), Twin Oaks (Johnson County), Hickory Ridge (Johnson County) and Peru Bottoms (Nemaha County).

The pheasants will be released to increase hunter opportunities to encourage families to go hunting together.

The pheasant season runs through Jan. 31.

Contact Game and Parks at 402-471-0641 for more information.

Redmond Scores 2, Avalanche Beat Hurricanes 4-3

Posted on November 22, 2014November 23, 2014

DENVER (AP) — Zach Redmond scored his second goal of the game with 1:35 remaining, and the Colorado Avalanche rallied to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 on Saturday night.

Jarome Iginla had a goal and an assist, and Erik Johnson also scored for the Avalanche, who have won three of four. Calvin Pickard had 17 saves in relief of Reto Berra.

Colorado trailed 3-2 late but controlled play for most of the third period. Iginla tied it 3-3 at 14:43, and Redmond pinched in from the blue line to record his first career multi-goal game.

Carolina pulled goalie Cam Ward for an extra skater with a minute left, but couldn’t tie it. Ward finished with 31 saves.

Nathan Gerbe, Andrej Nestrasil and John-Michael Liles scored for the Hurricanes, who have lost five of six after a 5-0-1 stretch.

Late Comeback Falls Short For Tri-City

Posted on November 22, 2014November 23, 2014

SIOUX CITY, Ia. – The Sioux City Musketeers (13-4-1) came out ahead after a wild game, defeating the Tri-City Storm (9-5-3) 7-5 in a battle of the top two teams in the Western Conference at the Tyson Events Center on Saturday night.

Storm forward Cody Milan scored twice in the first period, while captain Garrett Gamez, defenseman Kevin Kerr and forward Nick Master all found the back of the net later in the game for Tri-City.

Milan opened the scoring 2:06 into the game, taking a perfect pass from Matthew Freytag and wristing a shot into the top left corner of the Sioux City net to give Tri-City a 1-0 lead.

But 1:01 after Milan’s tally, Storm forward Chris Wilkie was called for a checking from behind penalty and received a game ejection. On the ensuing double minor power play for the Musketeers, both Robert Carpenter and Joel Janatuinen scored goals and Sioux City had themselves a 2-1 lead.

Later in the opening frame, Milan struck again on the power play and tied things up at 2-2. Defenseman Tory Dello took a shot from the top of the zone and the White Lake, Mich. native found the rebound in the crease, pushing it past Musketeers’ netminder Collin Olson. Freytag picked up his second assist of the game on the goal.

After a Waltteri Hopponen goal made it 3-2 Sioux City at 3:10 of the second period, Gamez tied the game right back up with his sixth goal of the year 33 seconds later. While on a power play, forward Mason Appleton set the captain up perfectly in front of the net, and Gamez outwaited Olson, beating the netminder to his left.

The Musketeers took control of the game late in the middle frame, scoring three times in the final six minutes. Janatuinen had two of the three tallies, securing a hat trick on the night, while defenseman Avni Berisha scored his first goal of the year. Tri-City was trailing 6-3 as the teams headed to the third period.

The Storm fought to the end, scoring twice to cut the score to 6-5. First Master got his fourth of the season on the power play at 2:50 from Gamez and forward Jake Wahlin.

Then as time was running out on Tri-City, Kevin Kerr scored his second goal of the weekend with just 3:47 left in the game to cut the Musketeer lead to just one.

Tri-City pulled netminder Blake Weyrick in the final minute, but a late penalty to Chase Berger derailed the comeback and Berisha scored an empty net power play goal to finish things off with eight seconds to go.

Weyrick finished with 19 stops in the game for Tri-City, while Olson had 25 saves for Sioux City in the win. The Storm had the edge in shots on goal in the game, 30-26.

Tri-City will be back in action Wednesday with a Thanksgiving Eve contest on the road in Des Moines against the Buccaneers at 7:05 p.m. The Storm will return to the Viaero Event Center on Tuesday, Dec. 9 in a matchup with the Lincoln Stars.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Conner Valesano and Wade Allison along with defenseman Jason Krych…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

Tri-City – Cody Milan (Matthew Freytag) 2:06
Sioux City – Robert Carpenter (power play) (Sam Kurker, Joel Janatuinen) 4:41
Sioux City – Joel Janatuinen (power play) (Robert Carpenter) 6:23
Tri-City – Cody Milan (power play) (Tory Dello, Matthew Freytag) 16:05

2nd Period

Sioux City – Waltteri Hopponen (Alexandre Payusov) 3:10
Tri-City – Garrett Gamez (power play) (Mason Appleton) 3:43
Sioux City – Joel Janatuinen (power play) (Ryan Zuhlsdorf) 14:22
Sioux City – Avni Berisha (Sam Kurker, Joe Snively) 14:59
Sioux City – Joel Janatuinen (unassisted) 19:28

3rd Period
Tri-City – Nick Master (power play) (Garrett Gamez, Jake Wahlin) 2:50
Tri-City – Kevin Kerr (Jake Wahlin, Nolan Aibel) 16:13
Sioux City – Avni Berisha (empty net) (unassisted) 19:52

PENALTIES

1st Period

Tri-City – Chris Wilkie – (Checking From Behind), 4 min, 3:07
Tri-City – Chris Wilkie – (Checking From Behind) (Game Ejection), 10 min, 3:07
Sioux City – Jake Durflinger – (Slashing), 2 min, 15:07
Tri-City – Tory Dello – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 16:56

2nd Period

Sioux City – Jake Durflinger – (Charging), 2 min, 3:17
Tri-City – Cody Milan – (Slashing), 2 min, 5:09
Tri-City – Tory Dello – (High Sticking), 2 min, 12:51

3rd Period

Sioux City – Jacob Wilson – (Checking From Behind), 2 min, 1:51
Sioux City – Jacob Wilson – (Checking From Behind) (Misconduct), 10 min, 1:51
Sioux City – Avni Berisha – (Interference), 2 min, 8:06
Tri-City – Chase Berger – (Checking From Behind), 2 min, 18:29

Power Play

Tri-City – 3/4

Sioux City – 4/6

Shots

Tri-City: 10, 11, 9 = Total: 30
Sioux City: 8, 11, 7 = Total: 26

Saves
Tri-City – Blake Weyrick – 19/25
Sioux City – Collin Olson – 25/30

Husker Block Party Spurs Senior Night Sweep

Posted on November 22, 2014November 23, 2014

LINCOLN – Behind the dynamic defensive duo of Cecilia Hall and Amber Rolfzen, the No. 11 Nebraska volleyball team posted a 25-23, 25-20, 25-21 sweep against Michigan on Senior Night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday.

The Huskers (20-7, 14-4 Big Ten) avenged a sweep at the hands of the Wolverines (12-16, 7-11 Big Ten) in Ann Arbor on Oct. 12 and did so with an impressive defensive display. NU tallied 15 total blocks with Hall posting 13 block assists and Rolfzen adding 12, both career highs. Hall’s 13 blocks assists were the most by a Big Ten player in a match this season and tied the school record for block assists in a three-set match.

Kadie Rolfzen had 13 kills and nine digs, and Kelsey Fien had 11 kills. In addition to her 12 blocks, Amber Rolfzen had eight kills, and Hall finished with four kills on six attacks. Senior setter Mary Pollmiller had 33 assists and three kills in her final regular-season match at the Devaney Center. The Husker captain was honored following the match.

NU hit .262 and held Michigan to .174. During the Huskers’ eight-match win streak, they have held each opponent under .200 hitting. The last time NU held eight straight opponents under .200 hitting was 2008 when the Huskers did so 13 times in a row. Abby Cole led Michigan with 12 kills, and Caroline Knop had 11, but the two hit .121 and .027, respectively.

Nebraska fell behind 9-5 in the first set but reeled off a 4-0 run to tie it 9-9, capped by a Kadie Rolfzen kill. Kills by Cole and Knop with a hitting error by the Huskers gave Michigan a 13-10 lead, however, forcing a Husker timeout. Michigan pushed the lead to 21-16, but the Huskers roared back with a block by Amber Rolfzen and Hall, a Kadie Rolfzen kill, a Michigan attack error and Annika Albrecht ace to cut it to 21-20. The teams traded points before Michigan hit long to tie the set 22-22. Amber Rolfzen killed off a block after a Michigan timeout for the Huskers’ first lead of the set, 23-22. Knop tied it, but Michigan hit wide for a 24-23 Husker lead. Kadie Rolfzen capped off the comeback with her seventh kill of the set. She had no errors while hitting .412 in the first set.

The Huskers held the early edge in set two, but an Adeja Lambert ace tied the set at 8-8. The Huskers used a 4-0 run to go back in front, 15-10, with kills by Amber and Kadie Rolfzen and a block by Amber Rolfzen and Hall. The Huskers continued to pull away after the media timeout, going up 17-11 with a kill by Amber Rolfzen and Michigan error to force the Wolverines to take a timeout. Michigan pulled within 20-19 on a Cole kill, but Fien answered to put NU up 21-19. Out of a Michigan timeout, an Albrecht ace off the top of the net put NU up 23-20. Amber Rolfzen killed to give NU set point, 24-20, and then she teamed up with Hall for a stuff for the set win, 25-20.

In the third set, Amber Rolfzen and Hall combined for four blocks in the Huskers’ first six points to spark a 6-2 lead. The duo went on to combine on five blocks in the set, and the Huskers led by as many as seven at 23-16. The Huskers hit .387 in the final frame with Fien contributing five kills and Kadie Rolfzen four. NU had eight of its 15 blocks in the third set.

The Huskers are on the road next week for two top-10 matches. Nebraska is at Illinois on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and at Penn State on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (CT) to close out the regular season.

Mathews Leads URI to 66-62 OT Upset of Nebraska

Posted on November 22, 2014November 23, 2014

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP) — E.C. Mathews scored 26 points, including six in overtime, to help the University of Rhode Island upset No. 21 Nebraska 66-62 on Saturday night.

Jared Terrell added 12 points, including two 3-pointers in the extra session to the delight of the sellout crowd.

Mathews added 10 rebounds as the Rams outrebounded the Cornhuskers 48-35.

Terrell made a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the extra session to put the Rams back on top, and this time that’s where they would stay, thanks to another 3 by Terrell, a free throw by T.J. Buchanan and Matthews’ last five points, all from the free throw line.

Shavon Shields had 25 points and nine rebounds to lead Nebraska.

Husker Wrestling Sweeps Weekend Trip to North Carolina

Posted on November 22, 2014November 23, 2014

No. 7 Nebraska (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) opened Saturday with a 45-3 victory over Duke at Card Gymnasium in Durham, N.C., before holding off NC State by a 16-15 margin at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, N.C.

The Huskers won nine matches against the Blue Devils, which included pins from Eric Montoya (133), No. 16 TJ Dudley (184) and No. 15 Collin Jensen (HWT). Duke forfeited the opening match at 125 pounds before Montoya’s fall over Baily Jack gave NU an early 12-0 advantage.

At 141 pounds, No. 15 Anthony Abidin notched a 14-3 major decision over Brandon Gambucci before Justin Arthur suffered an 8-2 decision loss to No. 20 Marcus Cain.

No. 2 James Green (157) trailed No. 19 Immanuel Kerr-Brown in the early going, but ultimately won a 12-7 decision to give Nebraska a 19-3 lead. No. 17 Austin Wilson earned a 14-4 major decision over Jake Faust before Duke forfeited at 174 pounds. After Dudley’s pin of Jacob Kasper in 4:49, Micah Barnes won a 17-5 major decision over Spencer Neff at 197 pounds before Jensen pinned Brendan Walsh in 3:21.

NU split its matches against the Wolfpack, 5-5, but Green’s 19-5 major decision over Chad Pyke proved to be the difference in the Huskers’ one-point victory. No. 14 Tim Lambert (125) won the opening bout by an 8-1 decision over Joe DeAngelo to give NU an early 3-0 advantage.

The Wolfpack responded at 133 pounds, as Bryce Meredith took down Montoya, 4-1. Abidin completed a 2-0 day with his come-from-behind win over No. 13 Sam Speno. NC State’s Brian Hamann tied the dual 6-6 with his 7-3 decision over Arthur in the following match.

After Green’s victory, Wilson dropped a 5-3 decision to Matt Rohskopf in the second sudden victory period at 165 pounds. Kokesh and Aaron Studebaker (184) won back-to-back decisions to give the Huskers a 16-9 lead heading into the final two bouts. Kokesh emerged with a 6-1 triumph over No. 18 Peter Renda before Studebaker notched a 5-3 victory over Michael Macchiavello.

At 197 pounds, Barnes fell to Michael Boykin, 5-2, before Jensen dropped an 8-2 decision to No. 2 Nick Gwiazdowski.

The Huskers return to action Dec. 5-6 at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev. The first day’s action begins at 11 a.m. (CT).

No. 7 Nebraska 45, Duke 3
Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014
Card Gymnasium, Durham, N.C.

Results
125: #14 Tim Lambert (NEB) by forfeit (NEB 6, DUKE 0)
133: Eric Montoya (NEB) by pin over Baily Jack (DUKE), 2:20 (NEB 12, DUKE 0)
141: #15 Anthony Abidin (NEB) by major dec. over Brandon Gambucci (DUKE), 14-3 (NEB 16, DUKE 0)
149: #20 Marcus Cain (DUKE) by dec. over Justin Arthur (NEB), 8-2 (NEB 16, DUKE 3)
157: #2 James Green (NEB) by dec. over #19 Immanuel Kerr-Brown (DUKE), 12-7 (NEB 19, DUKE 3)
165: #17 Austin Wilson (NEB) by major dec. over Jake Faust (DUKE), 14-4 (NEB 23, DUKE 3)
174: #2 Robert Kokesh (NEB) by forfeit (NEB 29, DUKE 3)
184: #16 TJ Dudley (NEB) by pin over Jacob Kasper (DUKE), 4:49 (NEB 35, DUKE 3)
197: Micah Barnes (NEB) by major dec. over Spencer Neff (DUKE), 17-5 (NEB 39, DUKE 3)
HWT: #15 Collin Jensen (NEB) by pin over Brendan Walsh (DUKE), 3:21 (NEB 45, DUKE 3)

No. 7 Nebraska 16, NC State 15
Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014
Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, N.C.

Results
125: #14 Tim Lambert (NEB) by dec. over Joe DeAngelo (NCSU), 8-1 (NEB 3, NCSU 0)
133: Bryce Meredith (NCSU) by dec. over Eric Montoya (NEB), 4-1 (NEB 3, NCSU 3)
141: #15 Anthony Abidin (NEB) by dec. over #13 Sam Speno (NCSU), 8-6 (NEB 6, NCSU 3)
149: Brian Hamann (NCSU) by dec. over Justin Arthur (NEB), 7-3 (NEB 6, NCSU 6)
157: #2 James Green (NEB) by major dec. over Chad Pyke (NCSU), 19-5 (NEB 10, NCSU 6)
165: Max Rohskopf (NCSU) by sudden victory-2 over #17 Austin Wilson (NEB), 5-3 (NEB 10, NCSU 9)
174: #2 Robert Kokesh (NEB) by dec. over #18 Peter Renda (NCSU), 6-1 (NEB 13, NCSU 9)
184: Aaron Studebaker (NEB) by dec. over Michael Macchiavello (NCSU), 5-3 (NEB 16, NCSU 9)
197: Michael Boykin (NCSU) by dec. over Micah Barnes (NEB), 5-2 (NEB 16, NCSU 12)
HWT: #2 Nick Gwiazdowski (NCSU) by dec. over #15 Collin Jensen (NEB), 8-2 (NEB 16, NCSU 15)

NPCC Knights Fall to Trinidad State

Posted on November 22, 2014November 23, 2014

The North Platte Community College Knights men’s basketball team were defeated by the Trinidad State Junior College Trojans on Saturday afternoon, 82-74 in Region IX play. North Platte drops to 6-1 on the season, 1-1 in Region IX, and 3-1 at home. The loss ends a record setting 31 game winning streak at McDonald – Belton gymnasium.

Knights head coach Kevin O’Connor said, “We were just flat today and maybe Trinidad had a lot to do with that.” O’Connor added, “They (Trinidad) certainly deserved to win the game today and played very well.”

The Knights led at halftime 37-31, but were outscored by the Trojans 51-37 in the second half.

Trinidad was nearly perfect from the free throw line, making 14 out of 15 attempts. The miss coming with just six seconds left in the game. The Trojans also made 53 percent from behind the three point line, hitting 8 of 15 shots.

The Knights were led in scoring by sophomores Cameron Williams and Marco Pascolo; each having 16 points apiece. Pascolo also had 6 rebounds. Tyree Peter led the Knights in rebounding with 9.

Other players scoring in double figures for the Knights were: CJ Polk with 15, and Shyquinn Dix with 10.

The Trojans were led in scoring by Elijah Valdez and Preston Bungei who shared game high honors with 23 points. Bungei went 6 for 6 from the free throw line. The only other Trinidad player to score in double figures was Treyvon Andres, who finished with 10 points.

The Trojans improve to 6-4 overall and 1-1 in Region IX.