Sports – Page 612 – North Platte Post Archive

No. 22 Nebraska Upends No. 24 Michigan St. 76-56

Posted on February 8, 2014February 8, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Jordan Hooper scored 18 points and Rachel Theriot had nine with 12 assists as No. 22 Nebraska rolled past No. 24 Michigan State 76-56 Saturday.

The Cornhuskers (17-5, 7-3 Big Ten) shot 46.8 percent from the field and outrebounded Michigan State 38-31. Tear’a Laudermill scored 15 points and Emily Cady had 13 with nine boards and five assists.

Michigan State (16-8, 8-3) was held to 22-of-56 shooting (39.3 percent). Aerial Powers paced the Spartans with 17 points and seven rebounds.

The Spartans jumped out to a 14-6 lead six minutes in, but Nebraska stormed ahead with a 22-0 surge sparked by a layup, three-point play and a jumper by Cady. Branndais Agee ended the Spartans’ nearly 10-minute scoring drought with two straight jumpers, but the Cornhuskers rolled to a 40-20 halftime advantage.

Nebraska coasted in the second half, as Michigan State couldn’t pull closer than 17.

Petteway Leads Nebraska Past Northwestern, 53-49

Posted on February 8, 2014

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Terran Petteway scored 17 points, and Nebraska overcame a slow start to beat Northwestern 53-49 on Saturday.

Walter Pitchford added 15 points, nailing three 3-pointers, and the Cornhuskers (12-10, 4-6 Big Ten) picked themselves up after getting blown out by Michigan earlier in the week.

They trailed by six after an ugly first half and blew an eight-point lead late in the second but managed to pull this one out.

Northwestern (12-12, 5-6) had just scored eight straight to tie it at 44 when Pitchford hit two free throws and a 3 to make it a five-point game with 2:25 left.

Then, after two free throws by the Wildcats’ JerShon Cobb, Petteway nailed a 3 with 22 seconds left to make it a six-point game. Northwestern’s Sanjay Lumpkin answered with one of his own, but the Cornhuskers hung on.

Winter Olympic Medals Table

Posted on February 8, 2014February 8, 2014

Nation G S B Tot

Norway 2 1 1 4

Netherlands 1 1 1 3

United States 1 0 0 1

Austria 0 1 0 1

Sweden 0 1 0 1

Canada 0 0 1 1

Czech Republic 0 0 1 1

5 Things to Know About the Sochi Olympics

Posted on February 8, 2014

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Fast five, Saturday edition: Things you’ll want to know about the 2014 Winter Olympics.

___

LET THE GAMES BEGIN: And they do. The first five gold medals of the Sochi Games were up for grabs Saturday, including: men’s 10-kilometer biathlon sprint, women’s 7.5-kilometer + 7.5 kilometer skiathlon, women’s freestyle ski moguls, men’s snowboard slopestyle and men’s 5000-meter speedskating.

___

THAT MISSING RING: “I don’t see what the problem is, to be honest,” International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams says of questions about Russian state television’s use of rehearsal footage to mask the fact that one of five Olympic rings didn’t light up during Sochi’s opening ceremony. While the 40,000 spectators in the stadium saw the glitch, Russian state television cut away to air the recorded images showing all five rings joining together and fireworks exploding.

___

HIJACK RATIONALE: More information is emerging on the 45-year-old Ukrainian man who authorities say tried to hijack a Turkey-bound commercial flight and divert it to Sochi on the day of the Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony. They say he wanted to press for the release of anti-government protesters in his country. Turkey’s transport minister suggests the man probably acted alone.

___

INTERESTING CHOICE: The IOC is also defending Russia’s choosing of figure skating icon Irina Rodnina as one of the torchbearers for the Sochi opening ceremony. Rodnina, a three-time gold medalist, drew criticism in September for tweeting a photo of U.S. President Barack Obama that some felt was racist. Sochi Organizing Committee President Dmitry Chernyshenko says the Olympics is about sports, not politics.

___

BREAK DOWN THE DOOR: Locked in a bathroom in the athletes’ village, U.S. bobsledder Johnny Quinn found a novel way out: crashing through the door. The former NFL player with Green Bay and Buffalo posted a photo of a gaping hole in the former door. A U.S. team spokeswoman couldn’t say whether Quinn will have to pay for it.

SOCHI SCENE: The First Gold

Posted on February 8, 2014

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — The first gold medal awarded at the 2014 Sochi Games ended up with three snowboarders on the top podium, hugging it out after grinding and spinning their way down the slopestyle course.

Sage Kotsenburg’s win showcased a different competitive vibe brought by one of the newest Olympic events, with the American celebrating his win with Norwegian and Canadian opponents as if they were teammates.

Kotsenburg’s gold came after a dominant first run in the finals Saturday, scoring a 93.50 in a first run that saw 12 competitors put up an average 54.22 points. Norway’s Staale Sandbech scored 91.75 on his second run for silver, while Canada’s Mark Morris earned bronze for his second run of 88.75.

Kotsenburg, of Park City, Utah, was mobbed by Sandbech and Morris at the base of the course after the win was clinched, delaying his efforts to drape himself in a U.S. flag. They then embraced him on the top podium after the medals were officially awarded.

The silver and bronze winners clearly weren’t sweating the judges’ decisions, unlike spectators complaining about the judging on social networks.

No. 3 NPCC Knights Fall at Lamar

Posted on February 8, 2014

Lamar, CO – The No. 3 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team’s (21-3, 9-3 South Sub-Region, 4-0 NCCAC) fell Friday night to Region IX opponent the Lamar Community College Runnin’ Lopes (8-16, 4-6 South Sub-Region) by a final score of 59-67.

The Knights started off the game slow and could not find their groove offensively. Tim Simmons kept the Knights in the game by making several big plays and scoring 10 points in the opening half. The Knights were only able to connect on 8 of 22 shots in the first half but 10 of 12 free throws kept them in striking distance at 27-35.

In the second half the Knights would battle back but were never able to get over the hump to take a lead after cutting the lead to a single point on numerous occasions. Lay-ups after breaking the Knights press and free throws down the stretch would make the final margin eight points.

Simmons finished the game with a double-double as he scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Aireon Porter and Jake Maslo were also in double-figures with 12 and 10 points respectively. The Knights leading scorer Ethan Montalvo was held to only seven points.

Jacoby Harrison led the way for the Runnin’ Lopes as he also finished with a double-double off the bench with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Curtis Redd led Lamar in scoring with 18 and Tiwian Kendley finished with 11.

“It was a tough week for our team,” said assistant coach Nathan Wieseler. “We have to have a couple good days of practice and be ready to travel to McCook on Tuesday.”

Next week the Knights travel to McCook Community College (16-7, 6-4 South Sub-Region, 2-2 NCCAC) on Tuesday, February 11 to face the Indians at 7:30 p.m. The Knights then return home for a Friday-Saturday double-header as they host the Eastern Wyoming Lancers (9-12, 1-8 South Sub-Region) on Friday, February 14 at 7:30 p.m. and the Western Nebraska Community College Cougars (14-9, 5-4 South Sub-Region) on Saturday, February 15 at 3 p.m.

The Knights have defeated all three teams already this year. The Knights won at home over McCook two weeks ago 82-79 while on the road they defeated the Lancers Jan 11. 79-69 and the Cougars Jan 10. 75-68.

McDermott Scores 32, No. 12 Bluejays Beat DePaul

Posted on February 8, 2014

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Doug McDermott scored 32 points — 11 during a 14-2 run after DePaul pulled within a point in the second half — and No. 12 Creighton beat the Blue Demons 78-66 on Friday night.

The Bluejays (19-3, 9-1 Big East) have won 14 of their last 15 games. DePaul (10-14, 2-9) has lost six in a row.

DePaul trailed by 14 in the first half, but closed to 59-58 after dominating the boards early in the second half. McDermott was 9 of 21 from the field and made 13 of 14 free throws, including 9 of 10 in the last 7 minutes as the Bluejays pulled away. DePaul managed only three field goals in the last 7½ minutes.

Austin Chatman added 11 points for the Bluejays. McDermott grabbed nine rebounds to go over 1,000 for his career.

Brandon Young had 16 points and Forrest Robinson added 11 for the Blue Demons, who held a 41-31 advantage on the boards. R.J. Currington was held to two points after scoring in double figures in three straight games.

NPCC Lady Knights Lose to the Lamar Runnin’ Lopes

Posted on February 8, 2014

Lamar, CO – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (13-10, 2-1 Region IX Division II, 3-1 NCCAC) lost to the Lamar Community College Runnin’ Lopes (13-8) Friday night as 14 girls played and 11 scored for the Runnin’ Lopes in the 62-71 victory.

As they did when they played in North Platte, the Runnin’ Lopes were true to their name and flew the ball up and down the court all night and subbed a new five players in almost every minute. The strategy worked to speed up the Lady Knights as they turned the ball over 46 times.

In the first half, the Runnin’ Lopes were able to gain an eight point lead at intermission. No one was in double-figures in the first half. The Lady Knights had seven girls score compared to the Runnin’ Lopes who had nine get on the score board.

The second half was more of the same as the Lady Knights were never able to close the gap as they played even with Lamar. The Runnin’ Lopes attempted 95 shots including shooting 7 of 54 from the 3-point line compared to the Lady Knights who shot the ball 67 times.

“We played hard but had too many turnovers,” said head coach Richard Thurin. “We have to make better decisions and cut down on turnovers.”

April Stull led all scorers as she finished with a double-double on 8 of 11 shooting as she scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. DaVontaye Merritt also finished with a double-double as she pulled down 13 rebounds and scored 13 points. Courtney Widdick was also in double-figures as she finished with 10 points.

The Runnin’ Lopes placed two players in double-figures as Ellie Stevens scored 11 and Gabriela Jimenez scored 10.

Next week the Lady Knights travel to McCook Community College (5-18, 1-3 NCCAC) to face the Lady Indians on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. before returning home on Friday, Feb. 14 to face the Eastern Wyoming College Lady Lancers (12-10) at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Knights finish out the week by hosting the Nebraska Wesleyan University JV on Sunday, February 16 at 2 p.m.

The Lady Knights defeated the Lady Indians at home Jan. 29 by a score of 64-58 while the Lady Lancers knocked off the Lady Knights in Torrington, Wyo. Jan 11 by 18 points in a 59-77 game.

Obama to Team USA: ‘We Couldn’t be Prouder of You’

Posted on February 7, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says America “couldn’t be prouder of” its athletes who are competing in the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

The White House released a brief video of Obama Friday. The president tells the skiers, figure skaters, snowboarders, bobsledders and other members of Team USA that they are an inspiration to the nation.

Obama tells team members America will be watching and rooting for them.

First lady Michelle Obama expressed her pride in the team on Twitter.

The U.S. has sent some 230 athletes to the Sochi Olympics, the largest delegation ever for any country at the Winter Games.

Opening ceremonies were Friday. The Games run through Feb. 23.

Officials: Turkish Plane Evacuated

Posted on February 7, 2014

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — An official says authorities have subdued a man who attempted to hijack a Turkish plane to Sochi, Russia, and that the other passengers have been evacuated.

Huseyin Avni Mutlu, the Istanbul governor, says on Twitter that “the operation has ended.”

In another tweet Friday, he said all passengers were evacuated “without any problems.”

An F-16 fighter plane was scrambled as soon as the pilot signaled there was a hijacking attempt and escorted the plane safely to Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport, according to NTV television.

The news broke as athletes from nations around the world poured into the stadium for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, raising fears about security.