Basketball – Page 30 – North Platte Post Archive

Kentucky still No. 1 in AP Top 25 – Though not Unanimously

Posted on January 12, 2015

Kentucky remains No. 1 in the AP Top 25, though two overtime games loosened its hold on the top spot a bit.

The Wildcats (15-0) were atop 63 of 65 votes cast Monday, ending a run of five straight weeks as the unanimous No. 1. Kentucky beat Mississippi at home in overtime then won in double overtime at Texas A&M.

Virginia (15-0) earned the other two first-place votes and moved up a spot to No. 2 as the only other unbeaten team after Duke’s loss at North Carolina State.

Gonzaga was third, followed by Duke — which fell from second and was among five top-10 losers — and Villanova.

Northern Iowa, Oklahoma State and Wyoming were new to the poll, with 25th-ranked Wyoming in for the first time since 1988.

The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Jan. 11, 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 (63)	15-0	1,623	1
2. Virginia (2)	15-0	1,561	3
3. Gonzaga	16-1	1,446	6
4. Duke	14-1	1,432	2
5. Villanova	15-1	1,358	8
6. Louisville	14-2	1,264	5
7. Wisconsin	15-2	1,200	4
8. Utah	13-2	1,185	9
9. Kansas	13-2	1,100	12
10. Arizona	14-2	1,037	7
11. Iowa St.	12-2	922	17
12. Notre Dame	15-2	903	13
13. Wichita St.	14-2	832	15
14. Maryland	15-2	801	11
15. North Carolina	12-4	719	18
16. West Virginia	14-2	627	14
17. VCU	13-3	578	20
18. Oklahoma	11-4	485	16
19. Arkansas	13-2	431	23
20. Texas	12-4	345	10
21. Seton Hall	13-3	298	19
22. Baylor	12-3	278	21
23. N. Iowa	14-2	212	—
24. Oklahoma St.	12-3	132	—
25. Wyoming	15-2	71	—

Others receiving votes: Ohio St. 70, Michigan St. 67, Dayton 55, Providence 17, Indiana 15, LSU 12, St. John’s 10, Alabama 7, Georgetown 7, NC State 6, Green Bay 3, Syracuse 3, Butler 2, Oregon 2, San Diego St. 2, TCU 2, Colorado St. 1, Davidson 1, Hofstra 1, Old Dominion 1, SMU 1.

Petteway leads Nebraska past Illinois, 53-43

Posted on January 11, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Terran Petteway scored 18 points and Nebraska built an 11-point lead midway through the second half and held off Illinois 53-43 on Sunday night.

Nebraska (10-6, 2-2 Big Ten) made four of four free throws in the final two minutes to seal the win. The Huskers shot and made just one free throw in the first 38 minutes of the game.

Illinois (11-6, 1-3) cut the Nebraska lead to six late in the game but struggled to hit shots. The Fightin’ Illini made just 15 of 55 and didn’t have a basket after the 3:14 mark until Aaron Cosby’s short jumper with :14 left.

Nebraska took the first double-digit lead of the game on Petteway’s 3-pointer with 16:48 left that put the Huskers up 34-24 with 16:48 remaining. But Illinois’ Kendrick Nunn countered with a 3 on the Ilini’s next possession.

NPCC Lady Knights host Northwest Kansas

Posted on January 11, 2015

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights will host the Northwest Kansas Technical College Lady Mavericks Monday, January 12 at the McDonald – Belton Gymnasium.

The Lady Knights are 9-6 on the season. The Lady Mavericks are 4-14.

The Lady Knights are led in scoring by April Stull with a 16.4 average. Aliyah Brown is averaging 9.7 points per game.

Stull has 574 career points which places her in 17^th place on the North Platte Community College career scoring list.

Nyachiang Bile leads the Lady Mavericks in scoring with a 13.8 average.

The game will be live streamed on www.coachesaid.com.

Tip – off is set for 6:00 p.m. CST

Theriot leads No. 19 Nebraska past Illinois 58-53

Posted on January 11, 2015

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Rachel Theriot scored 27 points, including 10 straight as No. 19 Nebraska closed the game with a 15-4 run, to defeat Illinois 58-53 on Sunday.

The Illini (11-5, 2-2 Big Ten) were up 49-43 and looking for their second-straight win over a ranked team, when Theriot took over. She made two free throws at the 6:19 mark and when she hit a jumper with 3:06 left the Cornhuskers (12-3, 2-2) were up 53-51. Hailie Sample made a free throw, Emily Cady a jumper on a Sample assist and Brandi Jeffery made a free throw to put Nebraska up 57-51 with 14 seconds to go.

Between Amarah Coleman’s basket at 5:31 and her bucket at seven seconds, the Illini missed eight shots and had a turnover.

Coleman, a freshman, matched her career high with 18 points.

NPCC Lady Knights Fall to Eastern Wyoming

Posted on January 10, 2015January 11, 2015

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights were defeated by the Eastern Wyoming College Lady Lancers. 40-54 Saturday afternoon at McDonald – Belton Gymnasium.

The Lady Knights were victims of cold shooting throughout the game. In the first half they shot 9.7 percent from the field, making only 3 shots out of 31 attempts. 10 of the 16 first half points came from the free throw line out of 12 attempts for a percentage of 83.3 percent.

The Lady Lancers shot 11 out of 24 attempts for 45.8 percent in the first half to take a 29-16 halftime advantage.

In the second half, the Lady Knights maintained their solid free throw shooting 80 percent in the second half.

Overall the Lady Knights went 18 of 22 from the line for 81.8 percent.

The Lady Knights committed only 6 turnovers for the game compared to 12 for Eastern Wyoming.

The Lady Knights were led in scoring by April Stull, who had 14 points for the game. Aliyah Brown was next in scoring with 7 points and Kiera Mickens had 6 points.

The Lady Lancers were led by Kara Babola with 21 points. Two other Lady Lancers scored in double figures. Lizette Heredia scored 11 points and Jordan Nelson had 10 points.

The Lady Knights drop to 9-6 on the year. The Lady Lancers improve to 12-5 on the year.

The Lady Knights play Northwest Kansas Technical College at McDonald – Belton Gymnasium on Monday, January 12. The game may be seen on the Internet atwww.coachesaid.com .

Tip–off is scheduled for 6:00 p. m. CST.

No. 19 Seton Hall tops Creighton 68-67 on Gibbs’ late 3

Posted on January 10, 2015January 11, 2015

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Sterling Gibbs made a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left, lifting No. 19 Seton Hall over Creighton 68-67 on Saturday.

James Milliken’s 3-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the rim, sending Creighton to a fifth straight loss for the first time since 1996-97.

Gibbs bounced back from an eight-point night in a loss to Xavier to score 22, making 4 of 8 3-pointers. Khadeen Carrington had 11 points and Brandon Mobley matched his career high with 13 rebounds for the Pirates (13-3, 3-1 Big East).

Milliken had 20 points in his first start, Will Artino had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Rick Kreklow added 10 points for the Bluejays (9-8, 0-4).

Huskers Take on Illinois Sunday Night

Posted on January 10, 2015January 11, 2015

The Nebraska men’s basketball team looks to build some momentum, as the Huskers play host to Illinois at Pinnacle Bank Arena Sunday evening.

Tipoff between the Huskers and Fighting Illini is set for 7:35 p.m. and the game will be nationally televised on BTN with Kevin Kugler and Stephen Bardo on the call. The game is also available online and on mobile devices on BTN2Go.

The game will be broadcast across the state of Nebraska on the IMG Husker Sports Radio Network, including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln, 1110 KFAB in Omaha and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington with Kent Pavelka calling the action and Matt Davison adding color commentary. The game can be heard for free on Huskers.com and available on the Huskers’ app on iOS or android devices, as well as on TuneIn Radio and on SiriusXM Satellite Radio.

As of Friday afternoon, only a limited number of singles were available in the 300 Level at $10 apiece and can be purchased by visiting Huskers.com or calling the NU Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED. Additional tickets may open up on game day, and the Pinnacle Bank Arena Ticket Office opens 90 minutes before each contest.

The Huskers (9-6, 1-2 Big Ten) broke into the victory column for the first time in Big Ten play with a 65-49 win over Rutgers on Thursday. Junior guard Terran Petteway led the Huskers with 20 points and five assists for his eighth 20-point night of the season. Shavon Shields, Walter Pitchford and Benny Parker combined for 29 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in helping the Huskers snap a two-game losing streak. The Huskers were solid on the defensive end, forcing 19 turnovers and holding Rutgers to 34.7 percent shooting and their third-lowest output of the season.

Nebraska got a big boost from the return of Moses Abraham and Leslee Smith from injuries and solid play from Nick Fuller, as they helped Nebraska’s bench combine for 12 points and 12 rebounds in Thursday’s win. In all, the Huskers got nine players into the scoring column, while no player played more than 34 minutes. The Huskers will need the depth, as Sunday’s game wraps up a stretch of three games in seven days for the Big Red.

Illinois comes into the matchup with an 11-5 record following a seven-point win over No. 11 Maryland on Wednesday. Illinois is averaging 76.1 points per game and shoots 37 percent from 3-point range. The Fighting Illini are also solid at the line, where they lead the Big Ten by hitting 78 percent from the charity stripe.

NPCC Knights defeat Western Nebraska in tough sub-region game

Posted on January 10, 2015

The North Platte Community College Knights defeated Region IX opponent Western Nebraska Community College 88-86 at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium Friday night.

The Knights trailed in the first half with 10:13 to play 22-20. North Platte went on a 21-7 run to take a 41-29 lead with 44 seconds left in the first half and led at half time 41-34.

In the second half the Cougars clawed back and took the lead on a field goal by Diante Mitchell to lead 58-57.

The Knights took the lead back on a layup by Cameron Williams. Williams went on to score the next 15 points for the Knights to take the lead 71-68 with 6:08 left to play.

Marco Pascolo, who had been held scoreless until that time, hit a 3 pointer to put the Knights up 74-70.

The game was tied at 86 when Cameron Williams was fouled and went to the free throw line to put the game to its final score. 88-86.

Western Nebraska took the ball in and tried to throw the length of the court and Pascolo intercepted it.

Williams led the Knights in scoring with 36 points. Williams has scored 30 or more points in five of the last six games and is in 33^rd place on the Knights all-time scoring list with 798 career points.

Other Knights to score in double figures were Shyquinn Dix with 12 points and Pascolo with 10 points. Tyree Peter led the Knights in rebounding with six rebounds

The Cougars had four players in double figures led by Mitchell with 23 points. Tyler Crosbie was next in scoring with 19 points, followed closely by Damion Rashford with 17. Preston Christensen ended the game with 11 points for the Cougars.

Julion Guity led the Cougars with six rebounds and added five blocked shots.

The Knights improve to 11-4 overall and 4-1 in the south sub-region of Region IX. Western Nebraska falls to 6-10 overall and 2-2 in sub-region play.

The Knights host Eastern Wyoming College on Saturday. Saturday’s game has been designated as Boy Scout Night. All Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Explorers are encouraged to attend.

The game will be livestreamed on www.coachesaid.com. Game time is 4:00 p.m. CST.

NPCC Lady Knights defeat Colorado Christian JV

Posted on January 10, 2015

The North Platte Lady Knights defeated the Colorado Christian University Junior Varsity Lady Cougars 70-37 Friday night at McDonald – Belton Gymnasium.

The Lady Knights jumped out to an early lead with a 28-6 run to start the game on their way to a 44-13 halftime lead.

In the second half the Lady Knights added to their lead and led by as many as 39 points at 61-22 with 12:50 left to go in the game.

The Lady Knights were led in scoring by April Stull, who scored all of her 14 points in the first half. Other Lady Knights in double figures were Aliyah Brown who scored 12 and Kiera Mickens who scored 10.

The Lady Cougars were led in scoring by Addisyn Mullen and Miranda Moore with 8 points each. Rachel Nakemura had 14 rebounds for the Lady Cougars.

The Lady Knights improve to 9-5 on the season, while the Lady Cougars drop to 1-8.

The Lady Knights host Eastern Wyoming College on Saturday. Saturday’s game has been designated as Boy Scout Night. All Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Explorers are encouraged to attend.

The game will be livestreamed on www.coachesaid.com. Game time is 2:00 p.m. CST.

Nuggets beat Kings 118-108 for 4th Straight Win

Posted on January 10, 2015

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Arron Afflalo and Ty Lawson each scored 22 points, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Sacramento Kings 118-108 on Friday night for their fourth consecutive victory.

The Nuggets erased a six-point halftime deficit by outscoring the Kings 36-15 in the third period. Kenneth Faried’s three-point play put Denver ahead by 20 with just over six minutes to play.

Rookie center Jusuf Nurkic and JJ Hickson had 16 points apiece for the Nuggets, who shot 55 percent from the field. Faried finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

DeMarcus Cousins had 32 points, 13 rebounds and a season-high four blocks for the Kings, who are 4-8 since coach Tyrone Corbin replaced Michael Malone on Dec. 15.