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Category: Sports

No. 16 NPCC Lady Knights Knocked Off by Iowa Lakes

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npcc-knightsThe No. 16 North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (1-3) wrapped up the Hawks Classic on Saturday afternoon as they fell to the Iowa Lakes Community College Lady Lakers 57-66.

The lady Knights played well the first half as they ended the first half with a 32-26 lead. In the second half the Lady Lakers would control the action as they won the second half 40-25. Turnovers and fouls would again plague the Lady Knights as they finished with 18 turnovers and 23 fouls to give up 36 free throw attempts.

April Stull would lead the Lady Knights as she finished with a double-double. Stull finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead in both categories. DaVontaye Merritt almost finished with her second straight double-double as she was the second leading scorer and third leading rebounder with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Kristian Roth finished with nine rebounds for the Lady Knights.

Shabreka Edwards led the Lady Lakers with 28 points while Shaunte Tucker had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

“We played hard,” said head coach Dick Thurin. “We need to finish. I think we are getting better.”

The Lady Knights travel to Colby, Kan. to face Colby Community College on Nov. 16 before returning home on Nov. 19 to face Northeast Community College at 5 p.m.

Lancers Control Play To Defeat Storm

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tcstormKEARNEY, Neb. – The Omaha Lancers (11-2-1) got ahead early and stayed in front, defeating the Tri-City Storm (4-7-2) 5-2 on Friday night at the Viaero Event Center.

Joel L’Esperance and Chris Wilkie each scored late goals to keep the Storm in the game. For L’Esperance, it was his team-leading fifth tally, while Wilkie notched his second of the year.

The Storm had the better of the play for a large part of the opening period, but were unable to capitalize on their many chances and the game stayed scoreless late into the frame.

USHL leading scorer Jake Randolph netted his seventh goal of the season on a Lancer power play with1:13 left on the clock in the first to give Omaha a 1-0 lead at the end of one.

To start the second period, the Lancers converted for the second time on a power play. Brendan Smith sniffed out an open Tucker Poolman, who rocketed one past Jacob Johansson that hit the upper corner of the net and put Omaha up 2-0.

The Lancers scored their third goal five minutes later when Randolph contributed once again, feeding the puck to fellow Lancer Jake Henderson, who scored his first goal of the season. Omaha led 3-0 after 40 minutes of play.

In the final period, Tri-City got themselves on the scoreboard with two goals. The Brighton, Mich. native L’Esperance scored the Storm’s first goal of the evening on a nice feed from forward Steven Haydon.

Then while the Storm had an extra attacker on the ice in place of their goaltender Jacob Johansson, Wilkie found the back of the net off a loose rebound in front for the second Tri-City tally of the night.

Johansson finished the evening with 26 saves, while Omaha’s Cole Bruns picked up his seventh win of the season, making 30 stops of his own.

Tri-City will take to the road, beginning a five game trip that starts with Dubuque next Friday at 7:35 p.m.The Storm will return home on Nov. 29-30 for a weekend series, a rematch with the Lancers at the Viaero Event Center.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Austin Poganski, Sean Lang, Nick Hutchison and forward Drew Mayer was also scratched, serving a five-game suspension.…

  SCORING SUMMARY

 1st Period

Omaha – Jake Randolph (power play) (Tyler Vessel, Tucker Poolman) 18:47

2nd Period

Omaha – Tucker Poolman (power play) (Brendan Smith, Jake Randolph) 1:12

Omaha – Jake Henderson (Jake Randolph, Tucker Poolman) 6:55

3rd Period

Omaha – Connor Light (unassisted) 0:48

Tri-City – Joel L’Esperance (Steven Haydon, Christian Horn) 13:24

Tri-City – Chris Wilkie (extra attacker) (Christian Horn, Nolan Gluchowski) 18:16

Omaha – Tyler Hynes (empty net) (Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, Luca Frigo) 18:50

PENALTIES

 1st Period

Omaha – Brendan Smith – (Holding), 2 min, 6:04

Tri-City – Ross Olson – (Fighting), 5 min, 13:05

Omaha – Louie Rowe – (Fighting), 5 min, 13:05

Omaha – Jake Henderson – (Misconduct), 10 min, 13:05

Tri-City – Joel L’Esperance – (Tripping), 2 min, 17:04

Tri-City – Joel L’Esperance – (Slashing), 2 min, 19:39

2nd Period

Omaha – Connor Light – (Holding), 2 min, 15:06

Tri-City – Kyle Eastman – (Slashing), 2 min, 17:22
3rd Period

Tri-City – Joey Dibenedetto – (Checking from behind), 2 min, 2:28

Omaha – Matt Nelson – (Interferecne), 2 min, 4:43

Tri-City – Jalen Schulz – (Tripping), 2 min, 9:35

Omaha – Tyler Hynes – (Hooking), 2 min, 16:01

Power Play

Tri-City – 0/5

Omaha – 2/5

Shots

Tri-City: 13, 4, 14 = Total: 31

Omaha: 14, 9, 9 = Total: 32

Saves

Tri-City – Jacob Johansson – 27/31

Omaha – Cole Bruns – 29/31

Nebraska Christens New Arena with a 79-55 Victory

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Nebraska-Huskers-BasketballLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Shavon Shields scored 28 points, Terran Petteway added 17 and Nebraska celebrated the opening of the new Pinnacle Bank Arena with a 79-55 victory over Florida Gulf Coast on Friday night.

The Cornhuskers, picked to finish last in the Big Ten, started fast and never trailed against an Eagles team that was the darling of the NCAA tournament last March.

Shields was 8 of 13 from the field and made all 12 of his free throws. His makes and attempts from the line were career highs. He also led the Huskers with six rebounds.

Jamail Jones had 17 points and eight rebounds, Bernard Thompson scored 12 points and Filip Cvjeticanin 10 for Florida Gulf Coast, which is favored to win the Atlantic Sun Conference.

The Huskers played without top returning scorer Ray Gallegos, who was suspended for the first two games because of a violation of team rules.

Judge: Challenges to NCAA Rules Can Move Forward

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NCAA-Logo-College-SportsA federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit challenging the way the NCAA has used the images and likenesses of college athletes can move forward, but denied class action status to the plaintiffs that could have potentially put the NCAA on the hook for billions of dollars in damages.

The 24-page partial class certification ruling was handed down Friday by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken. The case could still dramatically change the way the NCAA does business and its definition of amateurism, but Wilken ruled there was no way to determine which former players might have been harmed by the NCAA rules.

Former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon is the lead plaintiff among 16 former college athletes in the long-running legal battle over how the NCAA made money off the images, likenesses and names of athletes.

No. 25 NPCC Knights Knock Off Seward County

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npcc-knightsThe No. 25 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team (3-0) emerged victorious on Friday afternoon over the Seward County Saints (1-2) as they held on to win in the final minute 57-54.

The Knights held a two point lead with 25 seconds remaining in the game with Seward County’s ball. The Knights played a zone as they had most of the game holding the Saints to long jump shot that led to a long rebound. The ball was loose on the floor and Tim Simmons dove on the floor to secure a jump ball which gave the Knights possession. Simmons was fouled on the inbounds and immediately fouled with six seconds remaining. Simmons went one of two as the Knights survived a long 3-point shot to win the game.

The game started slowly as both struggled to find a rhythm offensively as 24 fouls were called on each team. The Knights were able to take a 27-21 into the locker room. The Knights started the second half strong as they were able to take the largest lead of the game at 10 points early in the second half. The Saints were able to chip away before taking a one point lead late in the game before the Knights would respond to take the lead and hold on in the end.

The Knights were led by 17 points from Ethan Montalvo as the only player in double figures. Jake Maslo was second for the Knights with nine points and 10 rebounds. Cameron Williams finished with eight points for the Knights. Kevin Smith led the Saints with 12 points.

North Platte continues the Garden City Classic tomorrow when they take on the Garden City Community College Bronc Busters at7:30 p.m. The Bronc Busters are 2-0 this season after defeating Sunrise Christian Prep 51-48 and Lamar Community College JV 99-52. Garden City plays Kingdom Prep Friday night before facing the Knights on Saturday. Jade Cathey leads the Bronc Busters with 15.5 ppg and Talan Whitaker is second with 11.5 ppg.

The Knights begin a five game home stand on Tuesday Nov. 12 as they take on the York College JV at 7 p.m. before hosting Midland University JV and Doane College JV on Nov. 15 and 16.

No. 16 NPCC Lady Knights Defeated by DMACC

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npcc-knightsThe No. 16 North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (1-2) traveled to Norfolk to compete in the Hawks Classic. In the opening game of the Classic, the Lady Knights were defeated by the Des Moines Area Community College Lady Bears 54-87.

The Lady Knights got out of the gate slowly as they would go into the locker room trailing 25-49. Turnover would plague the Lady Knights throughout the game as they turned the ball over 29 times in the contest. The Lady Knights also fouled the Lady Bears 21 times putting them on the line for 28 free throws of which they converted 20.

The Lady Knights only scorer in double figures was DaVontaye Merritt who finished with 24 points on 12-21 shooting from the field. The Lady Bears had three players in double-figures led by Carlee Schuhmacher who finished with 28 points and 15 rebounds.

“They were a good team,” said head coach Richard Thurin. “We need to learn how to step our game up to another level.”

North Platte returns to the hardwood tomorrow at noon as they face Iowa Lakes Community College. The Lady Lakers are 1-2 on the season after losing to Brown Mackie College 71-79 and Highland Community College 39-92 while beating Northwest College 76-66.

The Lady Knights travel to Colby, Kan. to face Colby Community College on Nov. 16 before returning home on Nov. 19 to face Northeast Community College at 5 p.m.

Huskers Advance to B1G Championship

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huskersoccerChampaign, Ill – The top-seeded Nebraska soccer team faced an early deficit for second straight match but used three second-half goals to defeat No. 4 seed Indiana by a 3-1 margin on Friday in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals at the Illinois Soccer Stadium. NU’s season-best eighth consecutive win locked up a spot in Sunday’s title match against the No. 7 seed Iowa.

Freshman Jaycie Johnson recorded two goals in the match for the third time in her debut season with the Huskers (17-3-1). Johnson’s 12 goals on the year leads the Huskers as the All-Big Ten Second Team selection becomes just the 12th NU player to at least score two goals in a conference tournament match. The speedy forward recorded a season-high five shots on goal as she played 80 minutes.

The Huskers will be making their seventh appearance in a conference tournament championship match and first since 2002. The Scarlet and Cream are 5-1 all-time in league tournament finals. NU will try to lock up both regular-season and tournament tiles for the fourth time in school history with the last coming in 2000. Friday’s semifinal match was Nebraska’s 280th victory on the pitch.

Indiana (14-6-1) jumped out quickly as Bekah White sent a sharp ball into the upper right corner of the goal at the 7:26 mark for the early 1-0 edge.  NU keeper Emma Stevens got a hand on the attempt but the shot found the back of the net to put NU in an early hole.

Johnson’s equalizer less than two minutes into the second half put Nebraska on the board after senior Jordan Jackson found the freshman with a pass ahead into the box. Johnson managed to put the ball away upper 90 to tie the match 1-1 as NU used the wind to its advantage in the final 45 minutes.

A few minutes later, Johnson gained the box running to her left before she was taken down for a penalty kick chance. However, Jackson’s PK opportunity floated high of the crossbar in the 54th minute.

In the 68th minute, senior defender Kylie Greischar dribbled through the defense along the top of the box and fired a left-footed bouncer which found its way through the IU defense to give Nebraska its first lead of the match, 2-1. The game-winning score for the Overland Park, Kan. native was the first of her career as Nebraska gained momentum.

As Indiana looked for the equalizer in the pressure-packed final minutes, Johnson’s second goal of the match came after an excellent pass from sophomore Katie Kraeutner down the left side to beat the defender and dribble by the keeper for the tap-in for a 3-1 lead to put the match away.

The Huskers have now won 17 matches for the first time since 2001. Nebraska has won 15 of its last 16 matches for the first time since 2002 when NU rattled off 22 of its first 23 matches. NU has now scored in 18 consecutive matches, its longest streak since 2000 when Nebraska scored in its first 23 contests. The Scarlet and Cream are 14-0-1 when scoring 2 or more goals this season.

The NU defense was strong once again as Indiana outshot Nebraska by an 18-13 margin. Big Ten Defender of the Year Ari Romero made several fine plays to deny Indiana on her way to playing all 90 minutes along with her fellow defender Maritza Hayes. Jackson also worked all 90 minutes as she recorded her 28th career assist, which is seventh best in school history.

Nebraska will face the No. 7 seed Iowa on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 1:00 p.m. in the 2013 Big Ten Tournament Championship match. The Hawkeyes defeated Penn State by a 1-0 margin in the first semifinal contest on Friday. The title match will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.

Wounded Warriors Get Rehab Alongside Pro Athletes

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Wounded Warrior ProjectGULF BREEZE, Fla. (AP) — At a Florida rehab center connected to one of the world’s top sports surgeons, wounded military members are recovering from injuries alongside professional athletes through a nonprofit program.

Athletes Performance is an injury rehabilitation center that works with the Florida Panhandle-based Andrew’s Institute, named for famed surgeon Dr. James Andrews. He has operated on professional athletes from Michael Jordan to Adrian Peterson. Athletes Performance provides physical therapy, training and other injury recovery help.

Since 2010, more than 300 injured soldiers, sailors and Marines have worked on recovering from serious injuries with the help of physical therapists, trainers and nutritionists at Athletes Performance through the nonprofit Eagle Fund.

Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Josh Sitton says the real strength belongs to the military personnel who put themselves in harm’s way.

Chadron State Football Placed on Probation

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Chadron_collegeCHADRON, Neb. (AP) — The NCAA has placed Chadron State on three years of probation and ordered the Division II school to vacate the results of all games in the 2011 and 2012 football seasons.
 
Those are among the sanctions announced Wednesday against the school in western Nebraska. Chadron State was found to have not exercised control over its athletic program when coach Bill O’Boyle held three private bank accounts for the football program, provided extra benefits to athletes and provided false or misleading information to the school. A football player also competed while ineligible.
 
The NCAA also issued a show-cause order for retired athletic director Brad Smith and O’Boyle. That means an NCAA school that wants to hire either man for an athletics-related job would have to get approval from the NCAA.
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