Basketball – Page 77 – North Platte Post Archive

North Platte Community College Foundation Sponsors NPCC Knights Halftime Shootout

Posted on February 26, 2014

Shootout winner Jacee Kershaw (right) poses with Carol Bodeen, MPCC area director of development.

A halftime shootout, sponsored by the North Platte Community College Foundation, was on tap for those who attended the NPCC Knights men’s basketball game on Feb. 19.

“It was a great night, not only for the students but for all those who came out and helped with the event,” said Josh York, NPCC Assistant Housing Director/Student Activities. “We had 40 individuals sign up for the halftime shootout. The four names drawn to participate were Jacee Kershaw, Daisy Garcia, Siarra Velasquez and Michael Driskell.”

According to York, each participant had 30 seconds to make a layup, free-throw, and a three-pointer.

“Our first winner of a $25 gift card to the NPCC Bookstore was Jacee, who made it through in one time around. The three remaining contestants then had one more opportunity to go through the competition. Daisy ended up winning our second prize which was a $10 gift certificate to the NPCC Bookstore. Michael and Siarra made it interesting, but could not make that last shot to capture the second prize.”

York was quick to give praise to the NPCC Foundation Board and Carol Bodeen, Area Director of Development, for their help in making the event a success.

Lillard Leads Portland Past Denver 100-95

Posted on February 26, 2014

DENVER (AP) — Damian Lillard made up for the absence of fellow All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge by scoring 31 points in the Portland Trail Blazers’ 100-95 win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.

Lillard scored 12 in the third quarter when it looked as if the Blazers were headed for a blowout win, but he saved his biggest shots for late in the fourth after the Nuggets had trimmed an 18-point deficit to two.

The Blazers again went with a smaller lineup with Aldridge missing his fourth straight game with a strained left groin, and Dorell Wright helped make up for Aldridge’s team-high 23.9 points and 11.4 rebounds by giving Denver another long-range shooter to defend.

Randy Foye led Denver with 17 points.

NBA: No Serious Discussions About 4-point Line

Posted on February 26, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — NBA players won’t be pulling up for a 4-point shot anytime soon.

The league denied Tuesday that any serious discussions had been held about that or expanding the court.

ESPN.com reported that president of operations Rod Thorn and vice president Kiki Vandeweghe, during an interview at All-Star weekend, said the league had discussed both possibilities.

In a statement posted on Twitter, league spokesman Tim Frank says “No one at the NBA, nor the competition committee, has had any serious conversations about increasing the size of the floor or adding a 4-point line.” Frank adds “Rod Thorn and Kiki Vandeweghe were entertaining a line of questioning about out of the box ideas and ESPN.com chose to make a story that doesn’t exist.”

Big Ten Announces Sellout for 2014 Men’s Basketball Tournament

Posted on February 24, 2014

Rosemont, Ill. – For the second consecutive year, the conference office announced that the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament is officially sold out. The 2014 event is scheduled for March 13-16 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The City of Indianapolis and Bankers Life Fieldhouse play host to the 2014 Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments. Indianapolis was the first city to host both tournaments in the same year, with 2014 marking the ninth occurrence of this feat. The 2014 edition serves as the 18th time the women’s tournament will be held in Indianapolis, while the men tip off in Indy for the ninth time. The Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments will also be played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in 2016.

The Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament features 11 games over four days, beginning with four contests on Thursday, and the top four teams will receive byes into the quarterfinal round on Friday. Six different programs have won the Big Ten Tournament. Ohio State has claimed the title four times, including three of the last four years. Michigan State has won the tournament on three occasions, including the last time the event was held in Indianapolis in 2012. Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin have each won the championship twice, and Purdue has won the tournament once.

The 2014 Big Ten Basketball Tournaments include a number of fan events surrounding the 22 tournament games. These events include the Big Ten Hoops Day 5K, Big Ten Career Expo, Big Ten Thinks Pink, pep rallies in advance of both championship games, restaurant pairings, youth initiatives, and much more. Visit www.bigten.org or www.IndianaSportsCorp.org for more information.

Notice to Secondary Market Ticket Buyers: The Big Ten Conference and Bankers Life Fieldhouse can only guarantee the validity of Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament tickets purchased from university ticket offices, Ticketmaster, Indiana Sports Corp, or the Bankers Life Fieldhouse ticket office. Fans who obtain tickets from unauthorized dealers or from other fans run the risk of buying lost, stolen or counterfeit tickets which will not be honored for admission, and will not be eligible for any type of refund or exchange.

About the Big Ten Conference: The Big Ten Conference is an association of world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching and public service. Founded in 1896, the Big Ten has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in student-athletes’ lives and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness and competitiveness. The broad-based athletic programs of the 12 Big Ten institutions provide in excess of $141 million in direct financial aid to more than 8,200 student-athletes playing on more than 300 teams in 43 different sports. The Big Ten sponsors 26 official conference sports, 13 for men and 13 for women, and will add men’s and women’s lacrosse as the 27^th and 28^th official sports for the 2014-15 academic year. For more information, visitwww.bigten.org.

Indiana Sports Corp’s mission is to create positive impact by hosting world-class sporting events that enhance vibrancy in the community, build civic pride, drive economic impact and media exposure, and encourage opportunities for youth. A not-for-profit organization, Indiana Sports Corp was founded in 1979 as the nation’s first sports commission. Our recent and upcoming schedule of events includes NCAA Men’s and Women’s Final Fours, Super Bowl XLVI in 2012, Big Ten Football Championship Games through 2015, Big Ten Basketball Tournaments, and much more. For more information, visit www.IndianaSportsCorp.org.

Thomas, Gay Push Kings Past Nuggets 109-95

Posted on February 24, 2014

DENVER (AP) — Isaiah Thomas scored 33 points, Rudy Gay had 32 and the Sacramento Kings routed the Nuggets 109-95 on Sunday night for their first win in Denver in six years.

DeMarcus Cousins added 27 points for the Kings, who snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. It was Sacramento’s first win in the Mile High City since a 118-115 victory on April 5, 2008. The Kings have won three of their last four games overall.

Randy Foye and Evan Fournier each scored 27 points for the slumping Nuggets, who lost for the seventh time in the last eight games. The Nuggets fell to 1-5 without leading scorer Ty Lawson, who missed a sixth game because of a fractured left rib.

No. 11 Creighton Holds Off Pesky Seton Hall 72-71

Posted on February 23, 2014

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Doug McDermott had 29 points to become one of the top-10 scorers in college basketball history, and No. 11 Creighton survived shaky free throw shooting at the end to post a hard-earned 72-71 victory over Seton Hall on Sunday.

Grant Gibbs added a season-high 16 points, and the Bluejays (23-4, 13-2) took a half-game lead over Villanova in the Big East standings.

Fuquan Edwin had 21 points to lead the Pirates (14-13, 5-9), who have lost four of five.

Creighton missed five of its last six free throws, allowing Seton Hall to stay in the game to the end. McDermott, an 89 percent foul shooter, missed two before Austin Chatman fouled Edwin on the other end. Edwin made both free throws to make it a one-point game with 8.2 seconds left.

Wragge missed two free throws with 4 seconds left, but Edwin’s desperation 3-pointer bounced off the backboard at the buzzer.

Nebraska Wins 5th Straight; 76-57 over Purdue

Posted on February 23, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Terran Petteway scored 29 points to lead surging Nebraska, which won its fifth straight game, over Purdue 76-57 Sunday.

Nebraska (16-10, 8-6 Big Ten) used a 26-8 second half run to take down the Boilermakers (15-12, 5-9).

The Huskers have won five straight conference games for the first times since 1998-99 and have won eight conference games for the first time since 2008-09 when it was a member of the Big 12.

Nebraska took control of the game late in a low-scoring first half. With Purdue center A.J. Hammons on the bench, Nebraska went on a 7-0 run capped by a Petteway fast break layup to take a 21-14 lead and stretched that advantage to 30-20 on Shavon Shields’ three-point play with 1:04 left in the first half.

Shields finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for Nebraska and Walter Pitchford had 10.

Terone Johnson led Purdue with nine points.

No. 18 NPCC Knights Earn No. 2 Seed, Face Central Wyoming to Open Region IX Tournament

Posted on February 23, 2014

North Platte – The bracket for the 2014 Region IX Tournament was announced Sunday with the No. 18 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team (25-4, 12-4 South Sub-Region) earning the No. 2 seed in the South Sub-Region. The Knights open up the tournament in the very first game at 2 p.m. CST in Sterling, Colo. against the No. 7 seed from the North Sub-Region, the Central Wyoming College Rustlers (12-16, 6-10 North Sub-Region).

The No. 10 Northeastern Junior College Plainsmen (26-3, 13-3 South Sub-Region) are the host after winning the South Sub-Region and earning the No. 1 seed. Gillette College (26-3, 15-1 North Sub-Region) earned the No. 1 seed from the North Sub-Region.

The Knights are led by sophomore Ethan Montalvo at 19.0 points per game. Montalvo has scored 1,116 career points as a Knight and currently is 6^th All-Time on the career scoring list. Cameron Williams, a freshman, is the Knights second-leading scorer at 13.7 points per game after his career-high 33 points Saturday. Tim Simmons, a redshirt sophomore, is the Knights third leading scorer at 11.7 points per game. Simmons has scored 660 points as a Knight and currently sits 49^th on the All-Time career scoring list.

The Rustlers are led by Daryle Morgan Jr. who averages 15.5 points per game. Eimer Lopez is Central Wyoming’s second-leading scorer 9.5 points per game and Isaiah Tademy is third at 9.4 points per game. The Rustlers have made their mark this season by allowing the fewest points per game in Region IX at 67.4 points per game. The Knights are second in the region allowing 68.9 points per game.

The winner of the Knights and Rustlers will advance to the Region IX Quarterfinals on Monday, March 3 at 2 p.m. CST to face the winner of the No. 3 North Sub-Region Casper College (18-11, 11-5 North Sub-Region) and No. 6 South Sub-Region Lamar Community College (11-19, 7-9 South Sub-Region).

On the Knights side of the bracket, the Region IX Semifinals tips at 7 p.m. CST on Tuesday, March 4. The Region IX Championship is scheduled for Wednesday, March 5 at 8 p.m. CST. The winner of the Region IX Tournament advances to the National Tournament held in Hutchinson, Kan. from March 17-22 2014.

2014 Region IX Tournament Bracket

No. 18 NPCC Knights Sophomores End Career Undefeated at Home, Win NCCAC

Posted on February 22, 2014

North Platte – The No. 18 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team (25-4, 12-4 South Sub-Region, 5-1 NCCAC) defeated the Southeast Community College Storm (19-11, 0-6 NCCAC) by a score of 106-63 to earn the team’s second straight undefeated season at home. The Knights’ sophomores are the first class to ever not lose a home game during their career. The victory also sews up the Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference (NCCAC) championship for the Knights.

“This is a special group of sophomores,” said head coach Kevin O’Connor. “We tell our kids to do things the right way and the wins and losses will take care of themselves and this group definitely did that.”

The Knights won the NCCAC with a 5-1 record. McCook Community College finished in second place with a 4-2 record with Central Community College in third place with a 3-3 record and Southeast is fourth with a 0-6 record.

The Knights got off to fast start in the first half and never looked back en route to the 43 point victory. The Knights used a 25-3 run to turn a 17-12 lead into a 56-17 lead with two minutes to play in the first half. Cameron Williams scored 26 first half points on six of seven shooting from behind the 3-point line. Ethan Montalvo was also in double-figures with 10 points.

In the second half, it was more of the same as the Knights continued to fire on all cylinders and extended their lead. The Knights broke the century mark on a steal and lay-up from sophomore Marcus Linson.

Williams finished with a career-high 33 points and also had 3 assists. Montalvo finished with 19 points and Aireon Porter was also in double-figures with 10 points. Linson finished with a career-high seven points.

John Swift and Logan Dorn each scored 13 points to lead the Storm.

The Knights will return to action on March 1 when they compete in the Region IX Tournament. The bracket for the tournament will be released early next week.

NPCC Lady Knights Win School’s First NCCAC Title

Posted on February 22, 2014

North Platte – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (15-12, 3-1 Region IX Division II, 4-2 NCCAC) defeated the Southeast Community College Lady Storm (17-13, 1-3 Region IX Division II, 3-3 NCCAC) to win the Region IX Division II regular season and claim the #1 seed by winning 59-35.

The victory gives the Lady Knights a 3-1 record in Region IX Division II and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming tournament. The Lady Knights will host the winner of No. 3 seed Southeast Community College (1-3) and No. 2 seed Central Community College (2-2). Southeast and Central will play in Columbus on Feb. 27. The winner will then travel to North Platte on March 3 to play for the Region IX Division II Championship.

North Platte Community College wins the Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference with the victory today with a 4-2 record. Southeast Community College and Central Community College tie for second with 3-3 records. McCook Community College finishes at 2-4 in the NCCAC. The conference championship is the first in school history for the Lady Knights basketball team.

The game started off with both teams struggling to find an offensive rhythm as four and a half minutes into the game the Lady Storm led 2-5. A 3-point shot by Courtney Widick started a 17-0 run over the next five minutes to take a 20-5 lead. The Lady Knights would continue their strong play as they held the Lady Storm to only five more points in the first half to take a 32-10 lead into the locker room behind 17 points from Courtney Widick.

In the second half the two teams played back and forth with the Lady Storm never able to get any closer to threaten the Lady Knights.

Widick led the way for North Platte as she finished with 18 points. DaVontaye Merritt had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, as did April Stull who finished with 11 point and 12 rebounds.

Meshia Smith and Cymela Hunter led the Lady Storm with seven points each.