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Year: 2019

Succession planning helped one Hays business, but is a stumbling block for others

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By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

After more than 38 years in the printing business Marvin Rack, and his wife, Jennifer, sold their business, Northwestern Printers to longtime employee Josh Zweifel on Aug. 1.

The sale had been part of the Racks’ succession plan for years. Marvin said he knew he and Jennifer would eventually want to step away from the business, but the couple did not want to see the company they built together close.

The Racks began to discuss a possible sale with Zweifel years ago, and slowly allowed him to be more involved in the management of the company.

Doug Williams, director of Grow Hays, said succession planning is one of the most difficult topics to discuss with small business owners, but can be one of the most important issues to those businesses and the communities they serve.

“Our mission is business creation, business retention and expansion and business recruitment,” he said. “I view succession planning as a big part of retention and expansion.”

Hays has a number of Baby Boomer-owned businesses, and those owners are nearing retirement, Williams said.

“Unfortunately, not enough of them have planned very well about what their strategy is as far as how they will exit their businesses, and in my opinion, that leaves all those businesses at risk of not continuing on,” he said.

In some cases, there is an obviously family member to take over, but in a lot cases there isn’t, Williams said.

“They haven’t in all cases done what they need to make sure that their businesses can continue on and prosper and thrive and hopefully grow,” he said, “as opposed to they just get to the point where they say, ‘I’m tired. I’m ready to be done, so I’m just going to have a going-out-of-business sale.’ ”

When a business closes, it is not an optimum outcome for the community, Williams said. It gives the community fewer options for shopping. Employees are laid off. It is one less attraction that will bring people to a community, and it reduces the tax base.

“All the positives of businesses opening and growing are just the opposite when businesses close,” he said.

Tony Gabel, associate professor in the department of management at Fort Hays State University, gave a talk to a conference of the western Kansas Rural Economic Alliance in September in Hays and noted when business owners start to develop a succession plan a “cloud” of advisers can be helpful in assisting them. This can include their attorney, accountant and a financial adviser.

Succession planning is not always an issue of retirement — it can be about death. And that death may be unexpected.

“Can your business continue without you?” Gabel said, “(That) is the question.”

Estate planning and succession planning might go hand in hand, but they are not the same thing, he said.

Gabel listed several items to consider in a succession plan:

  • Family harmony
  • Income taxes and estate taxes
  • Facilitation of retirement for the current management
  • The ability to maintain control of the business

Succession plans are also important in passing on farms and ranches.

Gabel said his family has been dealing with this issue recently as his mother passed away a year ago. The family is transitioning their farm. Gabel said he has been fortunate in that his family gets along and has agreed on how to proceed with the farm.

“Perhaps the very first thing you need to do in order to convince people to think about this is ask the question ‘What do you think is going to happen after you die?’ ” he said. “Let’s go with the worst case scenario. ‘After you die will your children get along with each other?’ Most people are going to be honest enough to say, ‘Probably not.’ ”

Business owners need to ask themselves what their end goal is and how are they going to get there, Gabel said.

More aspects to take into consideration in creating a succession plan include:

  • Management talent assessment
  • Compensation planning
  • Formal directorship roles for family and non-family
  • Stock transfer strategies
  • Corporate structure
  • Communication planning
  • Estate planning
  • Valuation of the company

If your children are a part of the management team, will they be ready to run the company when you are ready to leave? A rule of thumb is that a family business will only last three generations and then it will collapse, Gabel said.

The Racks said they wanted their children to be able to pursue their own dreams. They have seen other businesses in which the children had to take over a business from their parents and were miserable.

If the source of the management talent is not coming from family, it might come from inside the company or it from recruiting new talent or an outside buyer.

“You have to communicate with all of the interested parties,” he said. “This is where most things go south — a lack of communication, a lack of candid communication. People will say certain things, but they won’t give all the details.”

Williams compared talking to business owners about succession planning is like trying to talk to people about life insurance.

“I think it is just one of those things that is very easy to push onto the back burner,” he said. ” ‘I’ll worry about that a later date,’ but all of the sudden, that date is here and they haven’t laid the plans for it.”

Need for a succession plan can arise for a variety of reasons: sale of a business, death of an owner, health issues for an owner, retirement or other changes in circumstances.

It is not only the transfer of the assets, but the maximization of the assets, Williams said.

“People work their entire lives in a business and to just close it if it’s doing well and prosperous is really sad,” he said.

Maximizing what you receive from a transfer of your business could mean you have to exit at a time that is not perfect for you.

Marvin said he and Jennifer could have spent more years running the business, but now was the right time to step aside.

“I will be 61 this year — too early to retire, but when you have an opportunity, such as we did with Josh … It was 22 years of him seeing the shop. I am not sure if I would be a good business owner in 22 more years,” Rack said.

He said if you wait to do succession planning, you have to take what you are given. It takes time to find and train the right person to step into a leadership role.

Williams said the day is going to come when business owners are going to exit their businesses in one way or another.

“It can be feet first, which means you die in your business, which is not the best,” he said, “or you can plan and determine what the best way to exit your business is.

“Most people want to maximize the value of their business and exit with as much as they can. To do that takes a lot of planning, and it takes some thought ahead of time in order to make that happen. Rarely does it happen that someone comes waltzing down the road with a whole pile of money and hands it to you and says, ‘I want to buy your business.’ “

One-way traffic on Old U.S. 40 east of Vine begins this week

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On Tuesday, city of Hays contractors will begin installing concrete shoulders along the sides of Old U.S. 40 east of Vine Street. Traffic will be restricted to eastbound one-way only. The project is scheduled to be completed within three weeks, pending weather.

Signs will be in place to direct the traveling public. The traveling public should use caution and if possible avoid this area.

For more information, call the Office of Project Management at (785) 628-7350 or the contractor, J-Corp, at (785) 628-8101.

— City of Hays

FIRST FIVE: Teacher-led prayer — unconstitutional but appropriate?

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Benjamin P. Marcus

There is no question that Americans could use a lesson or two on the Constitution and its amendments. The Freedom Forum Institute’s 2019 State of the First Amendment survey found that only 29 percent of respondents could name freedom of religion as one of the five freedoms safeguarded by the First Amendment. To protect religious freedom, we must educate the public about our inalienable rights.

But what should educators and legal literacy advocates do when people know the law but do not care if authority figures violate it? That is the question raised by a recent survey of teenagers, ages 13 to 17, conducted by the Pew Research Center.

On Oct. 3, Pew published the results of a national survey of American teenagers designed to provide insight into religious activities conducted in American public schools. Their findings are a treasure trove for those who care about religion and education, not least because it is the first large-scale, national survey that asks teens themselves about their experiences with religion in schools.

Some findings might not surprise readers. For example, 53 percent of teens report that they often or sometimes see other students wearing clothing or jewelry with religious symbolism such as the hijab, turban, cross, or Star of David. And 39 percent of respondents say they often or sometimes see other students pray before sporting events.

But another finding should shock Americans committed to religious freedom: 29 percent of students simultaneously know that teacher-led prayer is unconstitutional, but still think it is appropriate.

On the one hand, teachers can be proud of the fact that 82 percent of teens in public schools correctly answer the question, “According to rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, is a public school teacher permitted to … lead class in prayer?” The answer is, of course, no — though the U.S. Department of Education has affirmed that student-led, student-initiated prayers are allowed when conducted alone or in groups before, during or after the school day, as long as they do not disrupt student activities or teacher instruction.

However, 41 percent of teens say that it is “appropriate” for a teacher to lead a class in prayer. Across multiple religious groups (e.g. evangelical Protestant, mainline Protestant, Catholic and unaffiliated), fewer students say teacher-led prayer is constitutional than appropriate. For example, only 18 percent of evangelical and 13 percent of unaffiliated students say incorrectly that teacher-led prayer is constitutional, but 68 percent of evangelical and 25 percent of unaffiliated students say that teacher-led prayer is appropriate.

Memorizing the five freedoms of the First Amendment will not solve this problem. The data shows that an encouraging percentage of American public school students already know that teachers should not lead students in prayer. Perhaps teachers have covered the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1962 decision in Engel v. Vitale in government or U.S. history courses. Or perhaps students learn about the prohibition against teacher-led prayer from the media, parents or religious communities. In any case, lack of knowledge is not the issue.

The problem is more fundamental: students do not seem to understand why it is important to preserve a religious freedom principle as foundational as the non-establishment of religious practice by public schools.

Students may have different reasons for finding teacher-led prayer appropriate but unconstitutional. Some religious students might think that the U.S. Supreme Court wrongly prohibited teacher-led prayer and they might consider it good to defy the court to protect religion. Other students might be more ambivalent. Perhaps they know the rule about teacher-led prayer, but they do not think enforcement — or lack thereof — affects their lives.

The reality could not be more different. Upholding religious freedom protections is in the interest of every student, whether religious or not, in a country that is rapidly becoming a nation of religious minorities. And the careful balance struck by the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment — which has compelled the court to strike down teacher-led prayer — actually protects religious communities from harmful government interference or cooptation. Plus, religious communities can never be sure that a government body will not write prayers that contradict their sincerely held beliefs.

So how can educators close the gap between students’ knowledge and commitment to religious freedom?

Students should learn why the current constitutional order matters. To do this, legal literacy education will need to move beyond the memorization of constitutional amendments and court cases. Teachers should help students understand why religious freedom protections — like the prohibition against teacher-led prayer — benefit people of all religions and none. And students should learn about the negative social and political consequences of religious freedom violations. Inquiry-driven coursework should offer students opportunities to explore cases, both historical and contemporary, which demonstrate why students should protect the rights safeguarded by the First Amendment. Without the ability to articulate why religious freedom matters, students will not care whether or not people in authority transgress longstanding rules protecting it.

And, in the spirit of the Williamsburg Charter, published on the 200th anniversary of Virginia’s call for a Bill of Rights, students should learn that their rights are best guarded when they accept the responsibility to protect those rights for others, including those with whom they strongly disagree.

Pew has offered a glimpse of students’ attitudes toward religious freedom in schools, but there is so much more to learn. I suspect that the disconnect between students’ knowledge about the law and their commitment to the law and its underlying principles extends far beyond the realm of religious freedom to other rights. Thankfully we do not need more data to start improving the way we teach about the laws that bind us out of many into one.

Benjamin P. Marcus is religious literacy specialist at the Religious Freedom Center of the Freedom Forum Institute. His email address is: [email protected].

Adverse effects of humanitarian food aid disputed in new KU study

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Thousands of tons of rice and corn are offloaded from a floating platform off the coast of Haiti following a 2010 earthquake. (Photo by The Royal Navy, via WikiCommons)

LAWRENCE — A renowned 1992 sketch on “Saturday Night Live” follows newly elected President Bill Clinton as he and Secret Service agents jog into McDonald’s. When a customer asks if he’s in favor of sending U.S. troops to Somalia, Clinton (played by Phil Hartman) provides his own humanitarian aid metaphor by grabbing McNuggets from other customers and claiming “it’s being intercepted by warlords.”

“And you can send all the food you want,” he says filching various items, “a McDLT, hot apple pie … it’s just gonna end up with the warlords!”

But many scholars also agree with this satirical assessment, proclaiming humanitarian food aid increases the risk and longevity of civil conflict in countries that receive it.

Sébastien Mary

Not true says Sébastien Mary, an academic program associate in the University of Kansas Department of Economics. His new article, “Humanitarian Food Aid and Civil Conflict,” appears in the current issue of World Development.

“There is still a misguided belief that it can create more evil than help,” Mary said.

“When I think about what food aid does, you’re gonna have positive effects and negative effects. But I have a hard time understanding why — or haven’t seen a clear explanation for why — the negative effects should dominate the positive ones.”

A 2014 article contending U.S. food aid “increases the incidence and duration of civil conflict,” published in the American Economic Review by Nathan Nunn and Nancy Qian, propelled Mary into challenging this assertion.

“When I first read it, I was like, ‘That’s kind of suspicious,’” he said. “You have a lot of anecdotes. But to extend the anecdotal evidence and case studies and say, ‘It doesn’t work’ — scientists rarely make that step, but policymakers do.”

So he recruited a colleague to help him study the methods used to come up with this assumption.

“I realized there were flaws in the way they ran the analysis. We wanted to address this and see whether we could first replicate their work making the same mistake, then correct the mistake and see what happened,” Mary said.

His research for the article (co-written with Ashok Mishra of Arizona State University) estimates the effect of food aid on civil conflict by sampling 79 recipient countries between 2002-2017. He found a 10 percent increase in this aid per capita decreases the incidence of conflict by a 0.2 percentage. It also decreases the onset and duration of such conflicts.

“Humanitarian food aid saves lives,” Mary said.

A surprisingly few amount of cross-national studies have been performed on this topic – only about four or five, according to Mary.

“Before I did this paper, I wrote another looking at three other cross-national studies that examined humanitarian aid overall. And when I looked at the studies, I replicated three and overturned the results in two. I was like, ‘Wow, we have a problem,’” said Mary, who began working at KU in January.

He believes his own research will be equally scrutinized … and possibly overturned. In the piece, he provides the data and computer code his team used so others can attempt to replicate his results.

“It will probably be criticized for a couple of things that we discussed in the paper that we stated might be a problem,” he said of baseline issues such as migratory flows. “But the one thing I think helped us get confidence is the fact we can replicate the results from the previous study.”

A native of Rennes, France, Mary has written extensively on global food and nutrition security. This includes articles on food trade and extreme hunger and a book titled “The Eurasian Wheat Belt and Food Security.”

Prior to his academic track, he worked for the European Commission in a research center focused on agriculture and rural development in what he terms “evidence-based policymaking.”

“It’s only going to get worse,” Mary said of the strain on humanitarian aid in conflict regions.

“You’re going to have a population of 9 billion people within 25 years. The stress on the food systems is only going to increase, and with that the competition for the planet’s resources will increase. This will be an eternal problem. Hence the need to better understand how and whether aid works.”

Tigers fall to No. 12 NW Missouri State in two overtimes

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Courtesy FHSU Athletics / Allie Schweizer photo

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State and Northwest Missouri State have made a habit of producing instant classics the last three years. After FHSU claimed two straight wins in Maryville, each by one point, the Bearcats countered with a 36-33 double overtime at Lewis Field Stadium Saturday in front of 6.137 at Lewis Field.

Dante Brown’s 56-yard field goal as time expired tied the game 26-26 to force overtime. Both teams scored touchdowns on their first overtime possession. After the Tigers fumbled on 3rd-and one on their second possession, the Bearcats Parker Sampson hit a 38-yard field goal to lift the Bearcats to a 36-33 win which in all likelihood ends the Tiger playoff hopes.

The Tigers (7-3) came out on fire, scoring the game’s first 17 points and led 17-0 at the 13:36 mark of the second quarter. Dante Brown hit a 25-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive. Harley Hazlett crossed the goal line on a nine-yard touchdown run on the final play of the first quarter. An NWMSU fumble deep in Tiger territory set up 20-yard touchdown pass from Hazlett to Manny Ramsey.

The Bearcats (9-1) used big plays to get back in the game. Quarterback Braden Wright found Gus Gomez for a 54-yard pass that took the ball down to the FHSU one yard line. Wright then plunged into the endzone one play later to get teh Bearcats on the board.

The Bearcat defense stuffed a Tiger run on fourth and one near midfield then scored three plays later when Wright found Imoni Donadelle on a 42-yard touchdown pass to pull within 17-14.

Chance Fuller threw the first of his two interceptions near midfield on the Tigers next possession which led to a 41-yard Parker Sampson field goal which tied the game 17-17 just over six minutes after FHSU built its 17-point lead.

After a Northwest punt pinned the Tigers at their own one, the Bearcats tackled Te’Corey Tutson in the endzone for a safety to give the Bearcats a 19-17 lead at halftime.

The Tigers retook the lead on the first possession of the third quarter, getting down to the NWMSU 10 before Dante Brown booted a 27-yard field goal top put FHSU up 20-19.

The Bearcats responded with a 9-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped by a 9-yard pass from Wright to Justin Rankin to put Northwest back on top 26-20.

Brown’s third field goal, a 38-yarder with 12:25 to play cut the gap to 26-23. After neither team could muster much over the next five possessions, FHSU got the ball back with 1:05 to play. Three straight pass completions of 12, 24, and 15 yards moved the ball to the Northwest 30 yard line with 12 seconds remaining. A sack pushed the ball back to the 39 with five seconds to play setting up Brown’s career-long 56-yard field goal to force overtime.

Northwest scored a touchdown on a five-yard pass from Wright to Donadelle on thier first overtime possession. The Tigers responded with a 25-yard strike from Fuller to Dandre Reed.

Harley Hazlett fumbled when he reached the ball out trying to convert on third an one. The Bearcats then kicked to game-winning field goal.

Fuller had 342 passing yards, completing 30-of-54 attempts. Ramsey finished with a team-high 115 receiving yards, followed by Hazlett with 86. The Tigers struggled to just 33 rushing yards, led by Te’Corey Tutson with 26. Jordan Starks led the Tiger defense with 12 tackles and an interception, while Drew Harvey added 10 tackles.

Wright led the Bearcat offense with 279 passing yards and 96 rushing yards. Donadelle had a team-high 70 receiving yards for NWMSU. Blake Bayer and Jackson Barnes had a team-high eight tackles each.

The Tigers close out the 2019 regular season next Saturday at Northeastern State.

Tigers grind out win over SWOSU, start 2-0

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RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Fort Hays State limited Southwestern Oklahoma State to just 29.8 percent shooting from the field to grind out a low-scoring battle on Saturday by a score of 58-53. The Tigers moved to 2-0 on the season after a 10-point win over Arkansas Tech the night before. The Bulldogs moved to 1-1 overall.

The Tigers built a 27-20 lead by halftime, limiting the Bulldogs to just nine points in the first 10 minutes and 11 in the next 10 minutes. Calvin Harrington provided a third of the team’s scoring in the opening half with nine points, canning a pair of three-point field goals and adding an old-fashioned three-point play. Jake Hutchings made a one-point lead seven in the final minute of the half with a three-point play and three-point field goal. Fort Hays State’s largest lead in the half was eight when it led 11-3.

Southwestern Oklahoma opened the second half on a 10-2 run to take a 30-29 lead, but that was the only advantage it enjoyed in the second half. SWOSU tied the game twice before FHSU took the lead for good on a Hutchings layup with 9:10 remaining. That bucket triggered an 11-2 run by the Tigers to lead by nine, their largest advantage of the game. The margin reached nine one more time on a Jared Vitztum 3-point field goal with 4:15 to play, but SWOSU trimmed the lead back down to three with just 1:15 on the clock.

Southwestern Oklahoma had one possession with a chance to tie or pull within one, but missed two chances. Aaron Nicholson closed out the game for FHSU from that point, hitting all four of his free throws inside the final 23 seconds. Nicholson was 8-of-8 at the charity stripe in the game for all eight of his points.

Vitztum led the way for FHSU with 15 points, shooting 5-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 at the free-throw line. He was 2-of-2 beyond the 3-point line. Harrington finished with 12 points, canning three shots beyond the 3-point line, while Hutchings added 11. FHSU shot 38.3 percent as a team, but made up for it with a 94.1 percent effort at the free-throw line (16-of-17).

Damion Thornton led the Bulldog scoring effort with 14 points, while Marquis Johnson added 10.

Fort Hays State heads to Colorado next weekend for another pair of games. FHSU takes on Colorado School of Mines on Saturday (Nov. 16) before facing UC-Colorado Springs on Sunday.

Dicker FG sends Texas over No. 20 Kansas State

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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas needed a win to keep any lingering Big 12 title hopes alive.

The Longhorns got it behind the same fourth-quarter formula they used a few weeks ago: Give up a late lead before quarterback Sam Ehlinger engineers a long drive to set up a Cameron Dicker field goal as time expires.

Dicker’s 26-yarder lifted the Longhorns to a 27-24 victory over No. 20 Kansas State on Saturday. The victory keeps Texas in the hunt for a return trip to the Big 12 championship game with three games left.

With two losses already, they’ll still need some help. But the Longhorns (6-3, 4-2) at least are still alive. They fought back after falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter, then rallied again after letting their own big lead evaporate.

“It could have been a really, really bad scene,” Texas coach Tom Herman said. “The win is obviously very important for us. The way that it happened, to be down 14-0 in the blink of an eye … We put ourselves on the ropes (this season) and we took a step toward swinging and scratching and clawing our way off.”

Dicker has booted two-game winners on the final play in Texas’ last three games. His 33-yarder beat Kansas in a wild 50-48 finish on Oct. 19.

Against Kansas, Ehlinger had 71 seconds to get the Longhorns within scoring range, and he did it with a frantic but crisp push. Against Kansas State, the Longhorns went 65 yards in 13 plays and sucked the final 6 minutes, 45 seconds off the game clock.

This time, Texas looked to be setting up for the field goal until Ehlinger surged into the end zone on a keeper. After an illegal formation penalty nullified the touchdown, Ehlinger fell on the ball the next play and Dicker trotted on for the kick

“As bad as we all wanted to score to cap off that drive, the smart thing was to set up the field goal and not let them get back on the field,” Ehlinger said.

Even that might have had some uncertainty.

Dicker’s regular holder, punter Ryan Bujcevski, didn’t play because of a broken collar bone. That left backup holder Chris Naggar handling the ball on the final play. The snap, hold and kick were flawless.

Dicker, who was seen entering the stadium before the game with his shirt untucked and unbuttoned under his sport coat, was as cool as ever.

“When Sam kneeled the ball, I saw the time,” Dicker said. “Whatever wins is cool.”

The win also made Texas bowl eligible.

Keaontay Ingram rushed for 139 yards and two second-half touchdowns for the Longhorns. His second one put Texas up 24-14 early in the fourth quarter. Kansas State rallied to tie it on Joshua Youngblood’s 98-yard kickoff return and Blake Lynch’s 45-yard field goal.

Kansas State’s Skylar Thompson passed for a career-high 253 yards. Thompson’s touchdown passes of 70 yards to Malik Knowles and 19 yards to Wykeen Gill had the Wildcats (6-3, 3-3, No. 16 College Football Playoff) rolling early. But Thompson passed for just 36 yards in the second half.

THE TAKEAWAY

Kansas State: Thompson was excellent early until Texas’ press coverage neutralized his receivers, and the Wildcats’ running game never developed. The Wildcats also got a bit sloppy with a rare fumble that ended a promising drive in the first half, and a dropped pass in the end zone in the fourth quarter. The drop would have been a difficult catch for Dalton Schoen, but he got both hands on the ball and was pulling it in before a Texas defender knocked it away.

Kansas State didn’t convert a third down in the second half.

“I thought he hung in there really well,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said. “They were bringing pressure and we were barely getting guys free.”

Texas: After early miscues, the Texas defense looked better than it has all season. A healthier secondary that returned All-Big 12 safety Caden Sterns locked down the Kansas State offense over the final three quarters. The secondary didn’t force any interceptions, but for once opposing receivers weren’t running wide open all over the field.

“We showed you all that this is what happens when we’re fully healthy,” Texas defensive tackle Keondre Coburn said. “This is a great team. Our defense is really good. We’ve just been hurt.”

POLL IMPLICATION

The loss will knock the Wildcats down and maybe out of the Top 25. The Longhorns, who were still among those getting votes, could return to the rankings. Voters may wait to see what Texas can do the next two weeks on the road at Iowa State and undefeated Baylor.

BIG PUNT RETURN

Texas came in ranked dead last among all Football Bowl Subdivision teams in punt returns with negative total yardage. Then Brandon Jones returned a punt 53 yards in the fourth quarter to set up Ingram’s second touchdown.

UP NEXT

Kansas State hosts West Virginia on No. 16.

Texas plays at Iowa State on Nov. 16

Kansas State topples UNLV in overtime

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — As Xavier Sneed clutched his right ankle and writhed in pain on the floor in front of Kansas State’s bench near the end of the first half Saturday and coach Bruce Weber was more concerned with his senior guard’s long-term health just two games into the season.

The concern didn’t last long.

Sneed started the second half, eventually buried back-to-back 3-pointers that tied the game, finished with 19 points including the game-winner in overtime, and Kansas State defeated UNLV 60-56.

“He’s our senior, he’s our go-to guy, obviously he has the most points, he guards the best players,” Weber said. “He came back and he was huge.”

Montavious Murphy gave Kansas State a 54-52 lead with 1:10 left in overtime when he drove the baseline, drew a foul and converted the free throw. UNLV’s Amauri Hardy answered by dribbling around and through a pair of Kansas State defenders to hit a short jumper and tie the game at 54 with 44.2 seconds left.

But Sneed dropped in a mid-range jumper from the baseline to give K-State a 56-54 lead with :28 to play.

Mike McGuir and Sneed each drained two free throws in the final seconds to put the game out of reach.

“We had a tough shooting night in the first half, got it going, got some good, big time buckets from everybody,” Sneed said.

Cartier Diarra added 12 points and six assists for Kansas State, while McGuir contributed with nine points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The Wildcats overcame 37.3 percent shooting, as they hit just 22 of 59 from the floor, to erase a double-digit first-half deficit.

“Our guys just gutted it out,” Weber said. “I thought our guys stayed together. We had a lot of guys make big plays; we finally got some stops without fouling in the second half. At the end we made some big shots, made some big stops and that’s how you win games.”

Hardy led UNLV with 27 points, while Elijah Mitrou-Long chipped in with 10 points and Cheikh Mbacke Diong had four points and 11 rebounds.

Kansas State’s 19-10 run to start the second half, bolstered by Sneed’s 3-pointers, triggered its comeback.

After the Wildcats took a 35-33 lead with 10:20 left in the game – their first lead since the 18:33 mark of the first half – UNLV answered with a 5-0 run to get back in front, 38-35.

The teams traded baskets the rest of the way, with neither taking a lead bigger than three points until overtime.

The Runnin’ Rebels led 68.8 percent of the game, spanning 30 minutes and 58 seconds while Kansas State only held a lead for a little more than five minutes, 11.4 percent of the game.

“We gotta stay true to ourselves, gotta hang our hats on defense, not on offense,” Hardy said. “If we continue to get stops we put ourselves in chances to have more offensive possessions. A couple of times we slipped up and let guys get to the paint. Easy drives, give up the baseline, which puts us in rotation and that’s things we don’t want to do.”

UNLV also committed 25 turnovers, which Kansas State capitalized on by scoring 19 points.

“I was hoping we’d play little better, but we hung in there, we found a way to win (and) made the plays when it counted,” Weber said. “Our guys learned about game plan, staying together, fighting, persevering; you can win games in different ways.”

The Runnin’ Rebels seized control of the momentum in the first half after falling behind 4-0 early, using a 14-0 run to open a 10-point lead. Hardy led the charge with UNLV’s first 10 points of the game, including a pair from behind the 3-point line.

Outside of Hardy’s outburst for UNLV, neither team was impressive offensively, often showing signs of sloppiness to the tune of 23 first-half turnovers combined.

The Wildcats took advantage of UNLV’s miscues and stormed back with runs of 6-0 and 12-4 to get within two, at 18-16. But it was UNLV’s domination on the boards that helped it close the half with the last two buckets, including Hardy’s third 3-pointer to that point, giving the Rebels a 23-16 lead at the half.

UNLV outrebounded the Wildcats in the game 43-37.

“They’re one of the best defensive teams in the country,” Otzelberger said. “We probably need more ball movement, but they’re a top five defensive team in the country. It’s really impressive to hold a Big 12 champion program we have a lot of respect for to 16 first half points. We have to do better coming out and starting the second half.”

BIG PICTURE

Kansas State: The Wildcats are coming off a 25-win campaign and a loss to UC Irvine in the first round of the NCAA tournament. And while they were 7-5 in true road games last season, they were 0-3 vs. non-conference foes. Coach Bruce Weber said he wanted to schedule a true road game early in the season so his young team could “grow up fast.” It was the earliest non-conference road game in school history.

UNLV: Coach T.J. Otzelberger was looking for his players to match Kansas State’s physicality with an aggressive approach in the second half, knowing the defending Big 12 champions liked to pressure the ball and disrupt offensive rhythm the length of the court while forcing teams into tough shots. The much bigger Wildcats outscored UNLV 44-33 in the second half and overtime.

TURNING POINT: While Sneed’s back-to-back 3-pointers capped a 12-point burst to start the Wildcats in the second half, Murphy’s baseline drive in overtime that drew a foul, and his ensuing made free throw, gave Kansas State the momentum it needed down the stretch.

STAT OF THE NIGHT: The Runnin’ Rebels extended their NCAA-record streak for most consecutive games scoring at least one 3-pointer. Since the 3-point field goal was adopted by the NCAA in 1986-87, UNLV has converted at least one 3-pointer in all 1,072 games played.

UP NEXT

Kansas State: Host Monmouth on Wednesday.

UNLV: Visits California on Tuesday.

Two jailed on drug, weapons charges after Kansas traffic stop

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Stahlheber photo Shawnee Co.
Edgar Branch photo Shawnee Co.

SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kanas felon and a passenger in his vehicle on charges after a traffic stop.

On Friday, a deputy from the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop for a registration violation near SW 37th and S.Topeka Boulevard, according to St. Todd Stallbaumer.

During the investigation, the driver, identified as Edgar B. Branch IV, 47, of Oskaloosa, was arrested booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, Possession of methamphetamine and other misdemeanor traffic violations.

He has previous convictions for theft, burglary, aggravated robbery and flee and elude, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

A passenger in the vehicle, identified as Staci A. Stahlheber, 38, of Topeka, was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections for an outstanding Shawnee County warrant as well as requested charges Criminal use of a weapon, Possession of methamphetamine and Possession of drug paraphernalia, according to Stallbaumer.

2 hospitalized, suspect jailed after road-rage shooting in Hutchinson

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RENO COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting in Hutchinson and have made an arrest.

Police on the scene of the Saturday shooting in Hutchinson photo courtesy KWCH

Just before 5:30p.m. Saturday,  police were dispatched to 17th and Ring Road in Hutchinson reference to a shooting, according to a media release.

Officers contacted Darin Rodriguez, 54,  Hutchinson who had a gunshot wound to his groin. The detectives’ investigation revealed that an argument took place between Rodriguez and the occupants of another car while they were both stopped in traffic on Ring Road just south of 17th Avenue.

Rodriguez exited the passenger side on a vehicle he was riding in. He left his door open as he confronted the occupants of the other vehicle. A rear seat passenger in the other vehicle identified as Deante Jones, 20,  Kansas City, discharged a firearm one time striking Rodriguez in the groin.

The bullet went through the open door of the vehicle Rodriguez got out of, ricocheted off the interior and struck the driver Paula Thomas, 74 of Hutchinson on her upper right leg.

Thomas received a graze from the bullet. Rodriguez and Thomas were both transported to the Hutchinson Regional Medical Center where they were treated and released.  Police arrested Deante Jones on requested charges of Aggravated Battery and he is being held on a $20,000 bond.

 

Kennett’s career day helps Tiger women best Golden Bears

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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The No. 7/3 Fort Hays State women’s basketball team dominated early and late in a 67-54 win over Concordia-St. Paul Saturday (Nov. 9) The Tigers move to 2-0 to start the year for the fifth-consecutive year, while the Golden Bears finish the opening weekend 1-1.

Kacey Kennett led the team with 20 points in the win, including a pair of free throws with 8:05 to play that gave the Tigers the lead for good. The shots did more than that, however, as the first make gave the senior 1,000 points for her career. Kennett now sits at 1,004 career points, becoming the 21st player in program history to reach that threshold.

Lanie Page opened the game with a 3-pointer for the second time in as many days, propelling the Tigers to an early 9-2 lead. Concordia-St. Paul scored 10 of the next 12 points to take a 12-11 lead later in the quarter, handing the Tigers their first deficit of the season. FHSU responded by scoring the final 11 points of the quarter, holding CSP scoreless for the final 2:53 of game action.

Whitney Randall opened the run with a made jumper off a pass from Taylor Rolfs before Page made a put-back layup following an offensive rebound. The Wamego, Kan. senior tallied two more points at the charity stripe before Randall finished off the quarter with five points in less than a minute. Both Randall and Page scored seven points in the opening 10 minutes of action.

After knocking down 45 percent (9-of-20) from the floor in the opening quarter, FHSU went cold from the floor over the next 10 minutes. The Tigers made just one field goal in the second stanza on their final shot of the quarter, finishing 1-for-13 (7.7 percent). FHSU was able to maintain a halftime lead thanks to a 7-for-8 effort from the free-throw line. The Golden Bears mounted a rally thanks to five made 3-pointers in the frame (5-of-8, 62.5 percent).

Fort Hays State built the lead back up to nine midway through the third quarter thanks to six more points from Kennett, but another ice cold stretch from the Tigers allowed CSP back into the game. The Golden Bears closed the period on a 12-2 run, including a buzzer-beating layup to take a 46-45 lead into the final frame.

Kennett buried a 3-pointer early in the fourth to put the Tigers back on top before CSP answered right back with a triple of their own. Fort Hays State responded with a ferocious finish to the contest, using 19-2 run over the next seven minutes to seal the victory. The Tigers shot 6-of-9 from the floor and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line over that stretch while forcing eight turnovers and making six steals on defense.

Kennett swiped an astounding five steals in the final quarter to help the Tigers take back control. She finished the game by matching her career-best with seven steals, becoming the first Tiger with at least seven steals in a game since December 2017 (Kennett, 7 steals vs. Midland, 12/19/17). The Olathe, Kan. senior also matched her career-high with a team-best five asssits.

After setting a new career-best with 14 rebounds Friday, Belle Barbieri eclipsed that mark with 16 boards in Saturday’s win. She added 13 points to record the eighth double-double of her career.

Page added 13 points, including a 6-for-6 effort from the charity stripe. Taylor Rolfs totaled six points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals. Jaden Hobbs totaled eight points, three assists and one steal, including six points in the final quarter to help the Tigers reestablish the lead.

Fort Hays State finished the game with a 35.4 percent (23-of-65) effort from the floor, just above CSP’s shooting percentage of 33.3 percent (18-of-54). The Tigers took care of the ball much better than they did on Friday, turning the ball over just 12 times. The defense was busy for the second day in a row, forcing 20 Golden Bear turnovers thanks in part to 12 steals. FHSU held a 45-38 edge in rebounding, including a 16-8 margin on the offensive glass.

The Tigers return to Hays next weekend to host a pair of non-conference opponents. FHSU makes its home debut against Adams State on Friday (Nov. 15) at 7 p.m. before hosting Cameron at 5 p.m. Saturday. Additionally, Nebraska-Kearney will take on the opposite teams two hours prior to FHSU’s first tip.

Agudelo lifts Tiger men’s soccer to overtime win over OBU

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SHAWNEE, Okla. – Following their 6-1 rout of Southern Nazarene, Fort Hays State men’s soccer headed on the road Saturday night to face off against Oklahoma Baptist. FHSU proved victorious at the conclusion of 90 minutes plus an additional one minute and 20 seconds of play, defeating the Bison 3-2.

The Black and Gold, entered the contest 11-5-1, and now improve to 12 wins to round out the regular season.

FHSU struck first against the Bison when Arsenio Chamorro grabbed his third goal of the season. Chamorro, along with Agudelo began the fast break for the Tigers. With Agudelo running strong, he played an early cross to Chamorro who finished his shot at the far post.

Just three minutes later, Agudelo was in action again. Having already created one assist in the match, the senior forward turned his defender, took a big touch into the box, and finished at the far post for his 13th goal of the season.

Out of the half, Oklahoma Baptist began finding control within their play. In the 51st minute, Nalan Kentner was the receipient from a grounded cross by Dominic Gibson. Gibson played the ball across the six-yard box and Kentner tapped the ball into the back of the net.

Not even two minutes later, the Bison struck again and tied up the contest when Bruno Feirrera’s touch deflected off of a Tiger defender. Feirrera continued to collect the ball off of the defender and finished past the outstretched arms of Cullen Fisch.

Following the pair of Bison goals, the match was played evenly throughout the rest of the second half.

It wasn’t until the 91st minute that the a lead was regained. Santiago Agudelo was lead by a long ball down the middle of the field from Agustin Meza. Agudelo collected the bouncing ball and finished it past goalkeeper Elias Diaz, who had sprinted off of his line.

Agudelo finished the contest with two of the three FHSU goals on eight total shots, four of which hit the target. Collectively, the Tigers registered 17 shots in the 91 minutes of play. Chamorro also finished the night with a goal and an assist.

On the other end of the pitch, Fisch was needed for four saves during the match.

Ending the 2019 campaign atop the GAC, the Tigers clinched the regular season GAC title as well as home field advantage for the Great American Conference tournament next weekend (Nov. 15-Nov. 17).

Rogers State, who has accumulated a streak of five wins has been locked in as the second seed for the tournament, while the rest of placements are to be determined.

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