Basketball – Page 17 – North Platte Post Archive

College Basketball AP Top 25 Rankings

Posted on February 16, 2015

The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Feb. 15, 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)	25-0	1,625	1
2. Virginia	23-1	1,524	2
3. Gonzaga	26-1	1,475	3
4. Duke	22-3	1,449	4
5. Wisconsin	23-2	1,387	5
6. Villanova	23-2	1,302	6
7. Arizona	22-3	1,213	7
8. Kansas	21-4	1,195	8
9. Utah	20-4	1,051	11
10. Notre Dame	22-4	1,038	10
11. N. Iowa	24-2	955	13
12. Louisville	20-5	882	9
13. Wichita St.	23-3	862	15
14. Iowa St.	18-6	761	14
15. North Carolina	18-7	658	12
16. Maryland	21-5	640	19
17. Oklahoma	17-8	554	17
18. Arkansas	20-5	476	24
19. Butler	18-7	456	18
20. Baylor	18-7	364	16
21. SMU	21-5	299	25
22. Oklahoma St.	17-8	240	21
23. West Virginia	19-6	154	21
24. Ohio St.	19-7	139	23
25. VCU	19-6	109	20

Others receiving votes: Texas 70, San Diego St. 64, Providence 44, Murray St. 38, Temple 28, Georgetown 23, Michigan St. 17, Dayton 10, Texas A&M 8, Valparaiso 8, Indiana 7.

Westbrook has 41, West Edges East in NBA All-Star Game

Posted on February 15, 2015

NEW YORK (AP) — Russell Westbrook scored 41 points, one shy of the NBA All-Star Game record, and the Western Conference beat the East 163-158 on Sunday night.

The Oklahoma City speedster had a record 27 points by halftime and closed out the scoring with two free throws, falling one point shy of Wilt Chamberlain’s 42 points in the 1962 game.

James Harden added 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the West, which built a 20-point lead in the first half and then pulled away after it was tied at 148 with a little more than 4 minutes remaining.

LeBron James finished with 30 points but couldn’t lead the East to the victory in his favorite NBA arena.

Westbrook was selected MVP of the All-Star Game after leading the West.

Oklahoma City’s flashy guard set a record with 27 first-half points. And beyond his array of high-flying dunks, drives and 3-pointers, Westbrook celebrated almost every one of his buckets with some kind of celebration, strutting back down the floor, raising his arms or pointing to the crowd.

He’s a showman and Westbrook delivered a Broadway-worthy performance. He just missed matching the scoring mark set by Chamberlain in 1962.

Westbrook’s biggest basket came with 2:22 left when he drained a 3-pointer to give the West a 158-149 lead. He made the most of his 25 minutes on the floor, attempting 28 shots.

Purdue Holds Off Nebraska 66-54

Posted on February 15, 2015

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Vince Edwards scored 15 points and Kendall Stephens added 12 on Sunday, leading Purdue to a 66-54 Big Ten Conference victory against Nebraska in Mackey Arena.

Purdue (17-9, 9-4) pulled back into a second-place tie with 19th-ranked Maryland, each three games in the loss column behind league-leading Wisconsin. The Boilermakers beat Nebraska (13-12, 5-8) for fifth consecutive time in West Lafayette.

Purdue used a 10-2 run that began with 14:54 remaining to take a 48-32 lead with 12:19 to go. That burst included a three-point play from Edwards and a 3-pointer from Stephens.

Purdue also improved to 6-1 in Big Ten home games, losing only to Maryland on Jan. 10. The Boilermakers have conference home games remaining with Rutgers and Illinois and must travel to Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan State.

Shavon Shields led the Cornhuskers with 19, and Terran Petteway added 13.

NPCC Lady Knights Basketball Defeats Doane College JV

Posted on February 15, 2015February 15, 2015

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights defeated the Doane College Junior Varsity Lady Tigers Sunday afternoon 65-50. The game was a make-up game that was originally scheduled for Feb. 1.

The Lady Knights led at halftime 28-26 but outscored the Lady Tigers in the second half 37-24.

The Lady Knights were led in scoring by Aliyah Brown who scored a career-high 24 points. The only other Lady Knight to score in double figures was April Stull with 13 points.

The Lady Tigers were led in scoring by Claire Phillips with 14 points and Karolyn Cahill with 13 points.

Lady Knight head coach Richard Thurin said: “Overall we played a good game. We had a lot of help off the bench. Clara Vinton played well with eight points. Doane pulled four players off of the varsity to play against us.”

Thurin also noted the play of Brown and her 24 points.

The Lady Knights who are now 13-11 on the season will be in action on Friday, February 20 against Region IX Division II opponent Southeast Community College. Southeast is currently leading Division II in Region IX with a 3-0 record. The Lady Knights are 2-1. The Lady Knights need to win by 15 to claim the regular season Region IX championship and gain a bye in the Region IX Division II Tournament. The game will be live streamed on www.coachesaid.com. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. CST.

The game is designated as “Girl Scout Night” and “Elementary Night.”

No. 22 Nebraska Women End Skid, 70-63 over Wisconsin

Posted on February 15, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Natalie Romeo scored a career-high 21 points and Tear’a Laudermill added 20 and No. 22 Nebraska ended a three-game losing streak with a 70-63 win over Wisconsin on Sunday.

All three of the losses came against ranked teams and after the Cornhuskers (18-7, 8-6 Big Ten) lost standout guard Rachel Theriot to an ankle injury suffered in practice.

Romeo, a freshman, making her fifth start and third straight in Theriot’s absence, hit 7 of 11 shots with three 3s.

Wisconsin (8-16, 4-10), which has lost seven of eight, got 16 points from Nichole Bauman and 15 from Jacki Gulczynski.

Nebraska led by 13 midway through the first half but the Badgers rallied to trail 33-32 at the break.

Wisconsin took an early lead in the second half but a 13-0, with Laudermill and Romeo combining for 11, put the Huskers back in control, 50-39 with 12:52 to play.

Curry Wins 3-Point Contest, LaVine Takes Dunk Competition

Posted on February 14, 2015

NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen Curry bested Golden State Warriors teammate Klay Thompson and six others to win his first 3-point contest, and Minnesota’s Zach Lavine put on a spectacular aerial display to take home the dunk competition during All-Star Saturday night.

Curry scored 27 points in the final round. He connected on 13 consecutive shots until missing his final attempt, bringing fans and celebrities roaring to their feet after every swish at Brookyln’s Barclays Center.

Thompson, who had an opening-round best of 24, scored only 14 points in the final round. Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving finished second with 17 points in the three-man final.

LaVine, the 19-year-old Timberwolves rookie, scored a perfect 100 in the opening round highlighted by a threw-the-legs, one-handed reverse slam on his first attempt. He had a final round of 94 to overtake Orlando’s Victor Oladipo, who struggled to convert his first attempt and finished with a 72 in the championship round.

Silver Seeking ‘Dramatic’ Improvements in NBA Scheduling

Posted on February 14, 2015February 14, 2015

NEW YORK (AP) — Commissioner Adam Silver is determined to make a schedule that keeps NBA players fresh, and he is willing to discuss starting the season earlier or ending later.

Change could come as early as next season, with fewer stretches of games on back-to-back nights, or four in five nights. He says Saturday during his All-Star press conference that he is concerned with the wear and tear on players.

Silver says he believes the league can make “dramatic” improvements in those areas.

Just beginning his second year in charge, Silver says his priority is improving the game, where much of his early successes were on off-the-court areas.

But business couldn’t completely be ignored, with Silver acknowledging the league and players association are early in discussions about how to handle to the influx of revenue coming when the new TV deals kick in in 2016.

NPCC Knights Lose to Western Nebraska on the Road

Posted on February 14, 2015

The North Platte Community College Knights lost to the Western Nebraska Community College Cougars on Saturday afternoon 83-65 in a National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX South Sub-Region contest.

The Knights fall to 20-6 and 10-3 in Region IX play. With the loss the Knights drop to second place in the Region IX South Sub-Region standings behind Northeastern Junior College. The Cougars are 12-15 overall and 8-6 in sub-region play. The Cougars are currently fourth in the sub-region standings.

The Cougars jumped out to an 11-4 lead with 16:02 left in the first half. The Knights rallied to tie the score at 20 with 11:31 to play in the half on a field goal by Cameron Williams. The Cougars went on another run to take the lead 34-25 with 5:38 to play. The Knights went on an 8-0 run to close out the half and only trail at halftime 34-33.

In the second half, the Knights had the lead with 13:03 to play 50-47. The Cougars then went on a 16-2 run to retake the lead 63-52 with six minutes to go on a three-pointer by Chase Mason. Mason hit four three-pointers down the stretch to put the game out of reach.

The Knights were led in scoring by Cameron Williams with 22 points to lead all scorers. Two other Knights scored in double figures: CJ Polk had 14 points and Matt Thomas had 10 points. Marco Pascolo had six rebounds to lead the Knights.

The Cougars out-rebounded the Knights 46-27. Another key to the game was that in the first half the Cougars committed 14 turnovers and only had four in the second half.

The Cougars were led in scoring by Preston Christensen with 20 points. Chase Mason was next in scoring with 19 points. Mason scored 16 points in the second half. The third Cougar to score in double figures was Diante Mitchell, who finished with 14 points. Davis Carter led the Cougars in rebounding with seven.

The Knights travel to Cheyenne, Wyo. on Wednesday, Feb. 18 to play Laramie County Community College. Laramie County is currently third in the South Sub-Region with a 9-4 record. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. CST.

Creighton Stays in Front of Marquette 77-70

Posted on February 14, 2015

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Will Artino scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds as Creighton held off Marquette in the final minutes for a 77-70 victory on Saturday.

Devin Brooks made a layup and Creighton led 69-59 with 4:18 to play. Juan Anderson made two at the line, and Duane Wilson made a layup and a pair of free throws to bring the Golden Eagles within five points with 1:06 remaining. Wilson missed his next two shots, however, and despite scoring five points in the final 15 seconds, Marquette (11-14, 3-10 Big East) couldn’t close the margin.

Creighton (12-14, 3-10) shot 8 of 10 at the line to close out the game. Rick Kreklow scored 19 points, Brooks added 13 and Geoffrey Groselle chipped in 12 for the Bluejays.

Wilson made all nine of Marquette’s final points and finished with 26.

Legends Weekend Set for Feb. 22 vs. Iowa

Posted on February 14, 2015

Lincoln – The Nebraska basketball program will honor one of its most colorful personalities for its annual Legends Weekend game against Iowa on Sunday, Feb. 22. Tipoff for the matchup is at 2 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena and will be carried on BTN and the Husker Sports Radio Network.

Legends Weekend has quickly become a popular event on the schedule, as nearly 50 former players have signed up for the 2015 event. The weekend’s activities include a team reception with the Husker coaches and staff on Saturday night, halftime recognition during the Iowa game as well as opportunities to watch the Huskers practice and interact with the current Husker team.

In addition, the Huskers have partnered with adidas on a special jersey to wear for the occasion. Details on the jersey will be announced next week.

This year’s event will celebrate the career of Jerry Bush, who guided the Husker basketball program from the 1954-55 season to the 1962-63 campaign. Bush was affectionately known as the “Big Bear of the Coliseum” for his colorful personality and uncanny ability to fashion upsets during his nine seasons at Nebraska.

Bush, who was chosen to the Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991, guided Nebraska to several memorable wins in his tenure, including wins over No. 3 Kansas and No. 1 Kansas State in consecutive games during the 1957-58 season. The 43-41 win over the Wilt Chamberlain-led Kansas squad came on Jim Kubacki’s jumper with two seconds left, while the 55-48 triumph over a Bob Boozer-led Kansas State squad marked the Huskers’ first-ever win over a No. 1 team on the hardwood.

Bush coached All-American Herschell Turner, who earned first-team All-Big Eight honors in 1960 and became the first Husker to score 1,000 career points. In addition, Bush’s tenure also featured Rex Ekwall, who is still Nebraska’s rebounding leader, as he averaged 10.4 rebounds per game during his three seasons (1955-57) in the program. In all, nine of his former players have joined Bush in the Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame.

An outstanding college player at St. John’s, Bush came to Nebraska from the University of Toledo, where he guided the Rockets to a 129-59 record in seven seasons, including the school’s first Mid-American Conference Championship in 1953-54.

Bush, who passed away at age 62 in 1976, is a member of the athletic hall of fame at both St. John’s and Toledo and will be represented by his daughters Karen Hoiberg & Jane Loewe as well as several family members who will be in town for the event.