The Denver Nuggets needed overtime to defeat the Atlanta Hawks 118-117 at the Pepsi Center in Denver last night. Nene made two free-throws with 26 seconds left to give the Nuggets the lead, and the Hawks missed an open layup with two seconds to play. Nene’s 22 points led Denver’s winning effort. The Nuggets improve to 24-19 with the win. They host Oklahoma City on Thursday.
Category: Sports
Eight Husker Wrestlers Qualify for National Tournament
The Nebraska wrestling program will send eight wrestlers to the 2012 NCAA Wrestling Championships, which are set to begin on Thursday in St. Louis. The Huskers qualified at eight weight classes for the first time since 2008 and hope to improve on back-to-back 12th-place finishes at the NCAA tournament in 2010 and 2011. The eight Husker wrestlers to qualify for the tournament include Ridge Kiley at 133 pounds, Jake Sueflohn at 141, James Green at 157, Robert Kokesh at 165, Tyler Koehn at 174, Josh Ihnen at 184, James Nakashima at 197 and heavyweight Tucker Lane. The tournament begins on Thursday morning.
Husker Women a Six Seed in NCAA Tournament; Play Kansas Sunday
The seventeenth-ranked Nebraska women’s basketball team will head to Little Rock, Arkansas for first-round action in the NCAA tournament as a six seed in the Des Moines Regional. The Huskers will take on an old conference foe in their first game on Sunday, as they’ll face eleventh-seeded Kansas. Should the Huskers beat the Jayhawks, they’d face the winner of the matchup between third-seed Delaware and fourteenth-seed Arkansas-Little Rock. The Huskers earned an at-large tournament bid after going 24-8 in the regular season, and are one of a Big Ten conference record seven teams to make the field of 64. It’s their first trip to the big dance since the 2009-2010 season, when they reached the Sweet 16, and their tenth overall appearance. Tipoff time for Sunday’s first-round game is scheduled for 6:30.
Huskers Rally Past Cal For Series Split
The Nebraska baseball team used an eight-run fifth inning to earn a four-game series split with California with a 9-5 victory at Hawks Field yesterday afternoon. Pat Kelly hit a three-run triple and Josh Scheffert blasted a three-run homer, his first big fly of the season, as part of the big fifth inning rally that helped Nebraska overcome a 2-0 deficit. Bryan Peters and Michael Pritchard also drove in runs in that frame. Kash Kalkowski’s RBI single in the seventh provided an insurance run after the Golden Bears had scrapped back to make it an 8-5 game. Tyler Niederklein allowed four runs on seven hits in five and a third innings pitched to earn his first victory of the season in his first start of the season. The Huskers are now 10-6 on the season. They host South Dakota State this afternoon at 1:35.
Rockies Roll Past Padres; Guthrie Strong on Hill, Rosario Homers
The Colorado Rockies earned their second straight Cactus League victory with an 11-2 triumph over the San Diego Padres in Scottsdale, Arizona yesterday afternoon. An eight-run seventh inning put the game securly in the Rockies’ grasp. Catching prospect Wilin Rosario, bidding to make the team this season, blasted a three-run home run as part of that rally. Infielder Brandon Wood, hoping to earn a roster spot as a utility player, continued a blistering spring with two more hits. On the mound, Rockies starter Jeremy Guthrie allowed a leadoff home run but then bore down and allowed just one more hit over his four innings of work. He struck out three and didn’t walk a batter. The Rockies are now 3-6 in Cactus League play. They face the Los Angeles Dodgers in Scottsdale this afternoon.
Knights Valiant Effort Falls Short; Season Ends in Loss to WNCC
The North Platte Community College Knights men’s basketball team saw their season come to an end with a 58-54 loss to Western Nebraska in the quarterfinals of the Region IX tournament in Scottsbluff last night. After beating Northwest College in the first round, the Knights took the tournament’s host and top seed down to the wire. In a game that featured seven ties and eight lead changes, the Knights tied the score at 54 with two minutes to play on a Ben Wilson layup, but went scoreless the rest of the way as the Cougars made four of six free throws for the winning margin. Nick Tomsick’s 32 points led the Knights in defeat. Tomsick had 19 of those points in the second half as he propelled the Knights’ comeback from an eight-point deficit. The Knights conclude their season with an 18-14 record.
Search Begins For New Nebrasketball Head Coach
The Nebraska associate athletic director who oversees basketball says the search for a new coach to replace the fired Doc Sadler will focus on proven program builders. Marc Boehm said Saturday that he and athletic director Tom Osborne met Friday night to begin their work. Boehm said many of the potential candidates will be coaching teams in the NCAA tournament, so it might take anywhere from a week to a month to bring someone on board. Sadler earned $900,000 a year. Boehm said no salary range has been set for the next coach, but he added that Nebraska would be “very competitive.” The Cornhuskers were 12-18 overall and finished last in their first season in the Big Ten, causing Sadler’s ouster. He was fired on Friday after Nebraska’s season ended in a first-round loss in the Big Ten tournament.
Husker Baseball Blanked By Cal; Aim For Series Split This Afternoon
After putting 12 runs on the board in a win on Saturday, the Nebraska baseball team was unable to find an offensive rhythm on Sunday afternoon in a 4-0 loss to the 21st-ranked California Golden Bears at Hawks Field in Lincoln. The Huskers compiled just three hits on the afternoon as six Cal pitchers combined for the shutout. Tom Lemke worked six and two-thirds innings in his start for the Huskers and was tagged with the hard-luck loss, as he allowed three runs, all earned, on nine hits. The Bears hold a 2-1 advantage in the four game series that concludes today. The Huskers will look for a series split tomorrow when they send Tyler Niederklein to the mound for his first start of the season. Cal will counter with Mike Theofanopolous. First pitch at Hawks Field is set for 7:05.
Irish Top Ponca, Move To Semis (LISTEN LIVE on ESPN Radio 1410)
The St. Patrick’s Irish are on to the Class C2 state semifinals for a second straight year after a dominant 47-33 defeat of Ponca in first round action in Lincoln last night. Joseph Clinch’s 16 points led the way as the Irish never trailed in the game. The third-seeded Irish advance to take on two-seed Lutheran High Northeast this afternoon at 3:45 at the Pershing Center. ESPN Radio 1410 will have the action live, with pregame coverage getting underway at 3:30.
In other state tourney action, the Hershey Panthers led early, but couldn’t muster a run late, and fell to Minden 52-44 in first round play in the Class C1 state tournament in Lincoln. Jordan Hiatt scored 13 points to lead the Panthers in the loss. The Panthers season concludes with a 17-6 overall record.
Huskers Season Ends, Sadler On Hot Seat
With rumors swirling that Doc Sadler’s tenure may be coming to an end, his Nebraska men’s basketball team saw their season come to an end with a 79-61 loss to Purdue in first-round action at the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. Bo Spencer’s 22 points paced the Husker effort in defeat. The Huskers end their season at 12-18 overall. Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne would not comment on Sadler’s future, saying the two will discuss it in the coming days.