Basketball – Page 14 – North Platte Post Archive

Kentucky Unanimous No. 1 in AP Poll for 4th Straight Week

Posted on February 23, 2015

Kentucky is the unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 for the fourth straight week.

The Wildcats (27-0) received all 65 first-place votes from a 65-member media panel Monday after routing Tennessee and Auburn last week.

Virginia remained No. 2, followed by Gonzaga, Duke, Wisconsin, Villanova and Arizona. It’s the first time the top seven have remained the same for six straight weeks since 1992-93.

Northern Iowa moved into the top 10 for the first time in school history, sliding in behind No. 8 Kansas and No. 9 Notre Dame.

San Diego State returned to the poll at No. 24, and No. 25 Providence was ranked for the first time since the final poll of 2003-04.

Ohio State and Oklahoma State dropped out.

The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Feb. 22, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking:

	Record	Pts	Prv
1. Kentucky (65)	27-0	1,625	1
2. Virginia	25-1	1,526	2
3. Gonzaga	28-1	1,471	3
4. Duke	24-3	1,448	4
5. Wisconsin	25-2	1,390	5
6. Villanova	25-2	1,306	6
7. Arizona	24-3	1,228	7
8. Kansas	22-5	1,111	8
9. Notre Dame	24-4	1,109	10
10. N. Iowa	26-2	1,032	11
11. Wichita St.	25-3	930	13
12. Iowa St.	20-6	887	14
13. Utah	21-5	876	9
14. Maryland	22-5	695	16
15. North Carolina	19-8	655	15
16. Oklahoma	19-8	622	17
17. Louisville	21-6	613	12
18. Arkansas	22-5	564	18
19. Baylor	20-7	473	20
20. West Virginia	21-6	453	23
21. SMU	22-5	357	21
22. VCU	21-6	182	25
23. Butler	19-8	165	19
24. San Diego St.	22-6	117	—
25. Providence	19-8	72	—

Others receiving votes: Georgetown 58, Michigan St. 56, Murray St. 42, Oklahoma St. 25, Ohio St. 12, Valparaiso 10, Texas A&M 8, Rhode Island 3, Stephen F. Austin 2, Oregon 1, Texas 1.

Westbrook leads Thunder past Nuggets Without Durant

Posted on February 22, 2015

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Russell Westbrook had 21 points and a career-high 17 assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 119-94 on Sunday night without Kevin Durant.

Durant was out after a procedure on Sunday to replace a screw that was causing soreness in his surgically repaired right foot. The reigning NBA MVP is expected to return this season.

Westbrook, playing with two new starters, put on a show. He had 10 assists in the second quarter and 12 in the first half.

Enes Kanter had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder, who have won six straight and eight of nine. Serge Ibaka added 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Ty Lawson scored 17 points and Danilo Gallinari added 16 for Denver, which has lost seven of eight.

Nebraska Coach Bans His Players from Locker Room after Loss

Posted on February 22, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska coach Tim Miles is so steamed about his team’s 28-point loss to Iowa that he’s locking his players out of their locker room.

The Cornhuskers’ 74-46 loss Sunday was their fifth straight and seventh in eight games. They’re 13-14 overall and 5-8 and in 10th place in Big Ten after finishing fourth and making it to the NCAA tournament last year.

Miles also said players would not speak to the media until further notice, adding, “If there’s anyone who’s going to represent us right now, it’s me.”

Nebraska’s $19 million training facility opened in 2011 and features a deluxe locker room with heated towel racks and I-pod plug-ins in the showers.

Asked where the players will shower after practices, Miles said, “Good luck. They’re creative young people.”

Nuggets Waive Robinson, Claver

Posted on February 22, 2015

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets waived Thomas Robinson and Victor Claver, two of the players they acquired in a deal with Portland at the trade deadline.

General manager Tim Connelly announced the moves Sunday.

Robinson, Claver and Will Barton, along with a 2016 lottery-protected first-round pick, were obtained from the Trail Blazers on Thursday for Arron Afflalo and Alonzo Gee.

The 6-foot-9 Claver was drafted by Portland with the 22nd pick in 2009. He played 80 games over three seasons with the Blazers.

Robinson, a 6-9 forward out of Kansas, was originally drafted by Sacramento with the fifth-overall pick in 2012. He was dealt to Houston and then to Portland. He has played 172 games, averaging 4.6 points and 4.4 rebounds.

White’s Double-Double leads Iowa in 74-46 Rout of Nebraska

Posted on February 22, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Aaron White had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Iowa rode a 21-2 run to end the first half to a 74-46 victory over Nebraska on Sunday.

Peter Jok scored 14 points and Jarrod Uthoff had 11 points and four blocked shots for the Hawkeyes (17-10, 8-6 Big Ten), who swept the season series against Nebraska (13-14, 5-10) and sent the Huskers to their fifth straight loss and seventh in eight games.

Iowa, which shot 50 percent and made 10 3-pointers, was the first Nebraska opponent in 38 games to make at least half its shots from the floor.

Nebraska got 16 points from Terran Petteway and 10 from Walter Pitchford. The Huskers’ 32.7-percent shooting matched their season low, and they were just 2 of 18 on 3s.

Shavon Shields, who had 25 points in the first meeting with the Hawks, was held to three points on 1-of-6 shooting.

NPCC Knights Lose to Northeastern

Posted on February 22, 2015February 22, 2015

The North Platte Community College Knights went down to defeat to the Northeastern Junior College PlainsmenWednesday Night at the Bank of Colorado Events Center 72-69.

With the win the Plainsmen clinced the number one seed in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX South Sub-region.

The game was physical and went back and forth in the first half. The Plainsmen led by as many as 10 in the first half on a couple of occasions. The Knights rallied to cut the Plainsmen lead at halftime to 37-31.

In the second half, the Plainsmen led for most of the half. The Knights were down by 12 but rallied to cut the lead to one with under a minute to play. The Knights fouled Plainsmen Logan Kelley with eight seconds to go in the game. Kelley made both free throws to put the Plainsmen up by three. The Knights had one last chance. The ball was thrown to Cameron Williams, who was stripped as he was going for the game tying shot.

One of the keys of the game was the second chance points because of offensive rebounds. The Plainsmen out rebounded the Knights 41-24 and 17-8 on the offensive boards.

The Knights fall to 21-8 on the season and 10-5 in South sub-region play. The Knights were led in scoring by CJ Polk with 17 points. Cameron Williams added 14 points. Shyquinn Dix added 12 points and Marco Pascolo added 10 points. Williams had six assists and along with Pascolo had five rebounds to lead the Knights.

The Plainsmen who are 21-9 on the season and 12-4 in South sub-region were led in scoring by a trio of players with 13 points each: Logan Kelley, Robert Jones, and James Dumes. They were led in rebounding by Shi Blake with 12 rebounds.

The Knights finish out the regular season at home on Tuesday, February 24 against McCook Community College. The night is “Military Night”. All veterans and active military will be admitted free to the game.

The game may be seen on www.coachesaid.com. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. CST

NPCC Lady Knights Fall to Northeastern

Posted on February 21, 2015February 22, 2015

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights were defeated by the Northeastern Junior College Plainswomen 70-60 at the Bank of Colorado Events Center in Sterling, Colorado.

The Lady Knights kept it close during the first half trailing by one at halftime. In the second half the Lady Knights led 46-38. The Plainswomen with the help of three consecutive three-pointers went on am 11-2 run to take the lead 49-48 with just over 10 minutes left to go in the game. The Plainswomen went to a no point guard formation and extended their lead to 66-54 with three minutes to play. The Lady Knights cut the lead to eight on consecutive baskets by April Stull.

One of the keys of the game was free throw shooting. The Knights went 6 of 15 from the free throw line.

Lady Knights Head Coach Richard Thurin said “We played really well except for the last six minutes. We played good defense and shot the ball better. Hopefully it will get us ready for games this next week.”

The Lady Knights who are now 13-13 on the season were led by April Stull with 18 points. T’Keya Stapleton added 15 points.

The Plainswomen who are now 23-4 on the season were led by Brooke Blair with 21 points and Jacquiline Simpson added 18

The Lady Knights finish out the regular season at home on Tuesday Feb 24 against McCook Community College. The night has been designated as “Military Night”. All veterans and active military will be admitted free in to the game. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. CST.

The game may be seen on www.coachesaid.com.

No. 21 Nebraska Women hold off Indiana 67-64

Posted on February 21, 2015February 22, 2015

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Emily Cady had 22 points and 12 rebounds and freshman Natalie Romeo made four free throws in the final 29 seconds to help No. 21 Nebraska hold on for a 67-64 win over Indiana on Saturday.

Nebraska led 63-54 when Brandi Jeffery scored with 5:11 left in the game but the Cornhuskers did not score again until Romeo’s first two free throws, which pushed the score to 65-61. Larryn Brooks then knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing but Romeo responded with two more free throws at 12 seconds.

Indiana’s contested 3 from the top of the key at the buzzer did not hit the rim.

The Huskers (19-8, 9-7) were without All-Big Ten and honorable mention All-American point guard Rachel Theriot (16.5 ppg, 5.2 apg), who underwent season-ending surgery on Thursday after injuring an ankle in practice on Feb. 3.

Brooks led the Hoosiers (14-13, 4-12) with 17 points and Jess Walter had 16.

NPCC Knights Defeat Southeast

Posted on February 21, 2015

The North Platte Community College Knights defeated by the Southeast Community College Storm 72-44 Friday Night at the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.

The win improved the Knights record to 21-7 and broke a three game losing streak. The Knights are undefeated in the Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference with a 5-0 record in conference play.

The Storm started out the scoring on a three-pointer by John Swift to take a 3-0 lead. It would be the only lead for the Storm for the rest of the night. Marco Pascolo hit a three pointer and CJ Polk made a field goal and free throw to give the Knights a 6-3 lead.

The Knights led by as much as 23 in the first half with 2:08 to play 38-15. The Knights held a 40-20 halftime lead.

In the second half it was more of the same. The Knights went on a 20-6 run to lead 60-26 with 11:30 to play. The Knights maintained a 30 point or more lead throughout the rest of the game until the last minute to take a 28 point victory.

The Knights were had a balanced scoring attack led by CJ Polk and Tyree Peter with 12 points each. Matt Thomas and Riley Rice added 11 points. Rice had a double-double by adding 10 rebounds. Thomas and Cameron Williams each dished out 3 assists.

“We played well as a team tonight” Knights assistant coach Ryan Glenney said.

The Storm dropped to 11-17 on the season. They were led in scoring by Josh Stroud. Alex Davis grabbed 6 rebounds.

The Knights travel to Sterling, Colorado to play Northeastern Junior College on Saturday, Feb 21. The winner of the game will control their own destiny in obtaining the number one seed for the South sub-region of the National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX. Coming into tonight the Knights have a 10-4 sub-region record and trailed Northeastern who had an 11-3 record. Northeastern was upset at home by Eastern Wyoming 76-73, giving them four losses in the sub-region. Tip-off is at 8:30 p.m. CST and may be viewed via the Northeastern Junior College live stream on www.njcaatv.com .

NPCC Lady Knights Lose to Southeast

Posted on February 20, 2015

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights were defeated by the Southeast Community College Lady Storm 58-44 Friday night at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium on Girl Scout, Elementary, and Roller Derby Nights.

The win for Southeast gives the Lady Storm the National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX Division II regular season number one seed. They will host the championship game against the winner of the Lady Knights versus Central Community College which will be held tentatively on Thursday, Feb 26.

The Lady Knights jumped out to a 9-1 lead and led 11-6 with just over 12 minutes to play. The Lady Storm outscored the Lady Knights 14-9 to take a 20-19 halftime lead.

In the second half, the Lady Storm never trailed. They started out the half on a 10-1 run to lead 30-20 with 15 minutes to play. The closest the Lady Knights came the rest of the second half was seven after a free throw by Clara Vinton.

The Lady Knights fall to 13-12 on the season, while the Lady Storm improve to 20-6.

The Lady Knights were led in scoring by April Stull with 12 points. Clara Vinton and Aliyah Brown each added 10 points.

The Lady Storm were led by Dionne Martin with 15 points. Breanna Grant had 12 points as the only other player to score in double figures.

The Lady Knights take to the road on Saturday Feb. 21 to play Northeastern Junior College. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. CST. The game can be seen on www.njcaatv.com.