CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The Fort Hays State wrestling team competed at the NCAA Division II Championships on Friday (Mar. 9). No. 4 Efe Osaghae advanced to the second day of nationals and earned All-America status by becoming one of the final eight wrestlers still alive in the 149-pound weight class.
Osaghae defeated No. 11 Logan Grass of Mercyhurst with a 9-4 decision in the first round of the 149-pound weight class. He then suffered a 3-1 decision defeat to No. 1 James Pleski of St. Cloud State, making it his first loss against the top-ranked wrestler this season (3-1). Osaghae bounced back with a victory over Reis Humphrey in the second round of the consolation side with a 2-1 decision over the New Mexico Highlands wrestler.
Osaghae will now face Isaiah Kemper of McKendree beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday (Mar. 10) to begin the second day of competition at the NCAA Championships.
No. 12 Rakim Dean earned a first round victory over Matthew Rudy of Limestone with a 14-8 decision in the 197-pound weight class. He was then defeated by No. 3 Vince Dietz of St. Cloud State by major decision (13-1) in the quarterfinals. Dean ended his season on an 18-4 major decision loss to James Lehman of UW-Parkside in the second round of the consolation side.
No. 12 Brandon Ball will not repeat as an all-american after suffering back to back losses in the 141-pound weight class. Ball was defeated by No. 2 Nick Crume of Indianapolis by a 10-3 decision before falling to No. 10 Tyler Warner of Wheeling Jesuit by decision (6-3) in the first round of the consolation side.
Ryne Cokeley was defeated by No. 4 Ryan Stope of McKendree by decision (7-4) in the first round of the 157-pound weight class before falling to Eric Milks of UNC-Pembroke is a 7-2 decision in the first round of the consolation side.
HAYS, Kan. – Three home runs were not enough for the Fort Hays State baseball team against No. 7 Central Missouri, with the Mules taking game one of a three-game series Friday evening (March 9), 13-8. The Tigers dip to 9-9 on the year and 1-6 in MIAA play, while UCM is now 14-3 overall and 6-1 in league action.
Fort Hays State outhit the Mules, 13-11, but nine walks and three errors came back to doom the Tigers. The offensive outburst lasted all evening for both teams, as UCM scored in every inning but the eighth while the Tigers pushed across runs in five different frames. Fort Hays State had baserunners in all nine innings, while UCM was set down in order once.
The Tigers were playing from behind all afternoon thanks to an early home run from the Mules’ clean-up hitter, Collin Nevil. FHSU answered right back by manufacturing a run in the home half of the first, closing within 3-1. Addison Kaasch singled to lead things off and promptly swiped second before coming around to score after a pair of groundouts.
Fort Hays State closed within one in the bottom of the second inning with the help of two home runs. Ryan Grasser deposited a ball over the fence in center to lead things off before Cody Starkel crushed a line-drive home run to left two batters later, making the score 4-3.
Starkel picked up another extra-base knock in the fourth, leading off with a double into the gap in right center. Jason Nicholson immediately drove him in after he tripled to right past the diving Mule outfielder. The catcher came in to score on a throwing error later in the frame, helping the Tigers close within 7-5.
Fort Hays State put together a two-out rally to keep things interesting in the bottom of the sixth. Kaasch reached on an infield single after the third baseman couldn’t handle a wild hop before Clayton Basgall and Alex Weiss followed with singles to load the bases. Dayton Pomeroy came through with a big base knock, dropping in a double just inside the foul line in the left field corner to narrow the gap to three, 10-7.
Grasser collected another long ball in the ninth inning, sending a 2-1 pitch to deep center once again as the leadoff hitter in the frame.
Ben Ramberg (2-3) took the loss after allowing five runs on four hits and four walks in two-plus innings of work. Alex Ruxlow came on to strike out three in 2.2 innings of work, while Roger Kruse was the lone pitcher to retire the side in order all evening (top of the eighth).
Eight different Tigers collected a hit in the loss, including five players with two base knocks. Pomeroy and Grasser both drove in two runs, while Kaasch, Grasser and Starkel all crossed the plate twice.
The Tigers will look to even out the series on Saturday (March 10) when the teams go at it in game two. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. from Larks Park.
EDMOND, Okla. – The Fort Hays State women’s tennis team took to the road to open up their 2018 MIAA schedule. The first match of the weekend resulted in a 9-0 loss at Central Oklahoma. With the loss, the Tigers drop to 5-3 overall with a 0-1 early mark in the conference.
In doubles play, the Bronchos went 3-0 over the Tigers with two 8-1 wins alongside an 8-2 win. Macy Moyers and Lauren Lindell dropped an 8-1 match to Ali Hodges and Paola Landin, while an 8-1 loss from Nicole Lubbers and Laura Jimenez-Lendinez to Sara Van Eeckhoudt and her partner Aliz Williams to fall behind 0-2. An 8-2 loss by Natalie Lubbers and Ellea Ediger to Kirtana Baht and Laetitia Charbonnet sealed the doubles for the Bronchos. In singles play, the Tigers continued to struggle as they were unable to close out the matches as the Bronchos earned wins in all six contests against Fort Hays State.
The Tigers continue their Oklahoma and MIAA road trip this Saturday as they travel to Tahlequah, Okla., for an 11 a.m. tilt against Northeastern State.
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Fort Hays State opened MIAA play on Friday (Mar. 9) at Northeastern State. The RiverHawks shutout the Tigers twice by scores of 3-0 and 8-0. The Tigers are now 4-16 overall, 0-2 in the MIAA, while the RiverHawks improved to 10-8 overall, 2-0 in the MIAA.
Game 1: Northeastern State 3, Fort Hays State 0
The Tigers scratched out just three hits, each in separate innings, in a 3-0 loss to the RiverHawks. Terran Caldwell, Veronica Knittig, and Grace Philop all recorded singles and the Tigers had just one runner reach second base in the game.
The RiverHawks picked up single runs in the second, fifth, and sixth innings. Two of the runs were on RBI singles, while the other was on an RBI double. FHSU starter Hailey Chapman went the distance, allowing seven hits and four walks, while striking out five.
Northeastern State pitcher Gail Young threw a complete game, walking just one to go with the three hits allowed. She struck out three.
Game 2: Northeastern State 8, Fort Hays State 0
Northeastern State scored single runs in the first, second, and third innings, then erupted for five runs in the fourth taking advantage of a Tiger error to invoke the run rule through five innings.
Like the first game, the Tigers scratched out three hits, all in separate innings. Sara Breckbill recorded the only extra base hit on the day for the Tigers, a double in the second inning. She reached third base in that inning with one out, but a pair of groundouts ended the threat. Later in the game, Bailey Boxberger and Tess Gray recorded singles.
The Tigers had runners at second and third with one out in the fourth, but once again could not drive in any runs as the threat ended with a strikeout and groundout.
Sierra Rodriguez took the loss for FHSU, allowing three runs on four hits over 2.1 innings. Carrie Clarke allowed five unearned runs in an inning of relief. Hailey Chapman recorded the last two outs for FHSU.
Sydney Balderrama walked just one to go with the three hits allowed for NSU. She struck out four in the winning effort.
The Tigers head to Central Oklahoma for another conference doubleheader on Saturday (Mar. 10), starting at 12 pm.
Fort Hays State graduates involved with the athletic departments at two NCAA Division II schools playing against each other Friday in women’s basketball were, from left, Gerard Wellbrock, Mike Hammett, Dustin Armbruster, Doug Self, Ryan Prickett and Lacey Jones.By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN FHSU University Relations and Marketing
As they follow Fort Hays State University athletic teams around the country, it’s not unusual for Ryan Prickett and Gerard Wellbrock to run into former co-workers who are FHSU graduates like themselves.
Prickett, sports information director at FHSU, and Wellbrock, radio voice of the Tigers, hit the jackpot this week. The duo is in Sioux Falls, S.D., covering the Tiger women’s basketball team in the NCAA Division II Central Regional.
FHSU’s first-round opponent Friday was Southwestern Oklahoma State University, which had not just one or two, but three Tiger alumni representing the Bulldogs in the tournament.
Sporting the navy and white of SWOSU as the two teams were scheduled to meet in the noon contest were Doug Self, the Bulldogs’ SID; Lacey Jones, a graduate assistant in the athletic training program in charge of working with the women’s basketball team; and Mike Hammett, radio voice of the Bulldogs.
All three worked under Prickett during their college careers at Fort Hays State. Hammett then focused on broadcasting and worked for three years at Eagle Radio in Hays, where he learned under Wellbrock.
The group met for dinner Thursday night in Sioux Falls, and Prickett and Wellbrock weren’t outnumbered. Accompanying Wellbrock, sports director for Eagle Radio, was Dustin Armbruster, another FHSU grad. Armbruster is KJLS program director at Eagle. He does play-by-play for Hays High School athletics and provides color commentary for Tiger broadcasts.
“I keep in touch with a lot of my former students who worked in our department at Fort Hays State, but it’s always nice to get together with them in person,” said Prickett, a two-time graduate of FHSU (2003 and ’05) who is in his 13th year as the Tigers’ head SID.
While the six alums knew they would be working for different schools Friday, there is a mutual respect among them.
“That doesn’t really bother me, except I obviously want our team to advance,” Prickett said. “I’m just really proud we have these individuals going out in the world and having success past Fort Hays State. Even though they don’t all end up in the sports information field, you hope they have learned some life skills to take with them out into the world, too.”
Jones said the variety of experience she received at FHSU has been invaluable as she pursues her master’s degree in athletic training from SWOSU.
“Getting that experience under Ryan and in the athletic office was great, dealing with a lot of different people,” said Jones, who came to FHSU from south central Kansas and graduated with her bachelor’s degree in 2016. “I feel very equipped and very ready as an athletic trainer after getting all the hands-on experience, too.”
Jones, who will graduate with her master’s degree in May, said she has been looking forward to today’s game and still follows the Tigers on the radio.
“You know you’re a Tiger through and through when you listen to Gerard,” Jones said. “He’s such a great radio broadcaster, and even if we open the video feed to watch the game, we mute the sound on it so we can listen to Gerard.”
Others who have worked under Wellbrock and Prickett share the same high opinion of them.
Self grew up in northeast Kansas and came to Fort Hays State because “I’m a small-town kid and when I visited Fort Hays, I just had a really good feeling about it.”
“Ryan is one of the hardest working guys out there, and I soon found out how well respected he is in his field,” said Self, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2010, then earned a master’s in sports administration in 2012.
“I sure learned the value of hard work,” Self said. “He taught me how to deal with people and how to wear a lot of hats. I couldn’t have found a more fitting career path for myself.”
Armbruster, who grew up in WaKeeney and graduated from FHSU in 2004, had similar praise for Wellbrock.
“There’s an opportunity to learn from every broadcaster you ever meet, the way you prepare to be on the air or act on the air or around coaches,” he said. “Certainly, being around Gerard Wellbrock has elevated my level of professionalism with the industry.”
Hammett, a 2008 Fort Hays State graduate, agreed.
“Gerard has been one of my biggest influences in the industry,” said Hammett, now in his second year as sports director of in Wright Radio in Weatherford, Okla. “You can look at how I do things, and they are real similar to the way Gerard does it. I learned a lot from him – and from Ryan, too.”
“I came to Fort Hays State because I learned you could get involved right away, different than at some larger schools,” Hammett added. “I actually wanted to be a sportswriter and stumbled into sports broadcasting, and I absolutely love it.”
It’s all about conducting yourself with professionalism every step of the way, said Wellbrock, who learned from one of the best. Wellbrock grew up listening to former Tiger broadcaster Bob Davis, who went on to become the Voice of the University of Kansas Jayhawks.
Like Armbruster, Wellbrock – who grew up in Victoria – stayed close to home to go to college and graduated from FHSU in 1990. He has been at Eagle Radio since 1992, working his way up to Voice of the Tigers in 2002.
While their younger counterparts were busy giving Prickett and Wellbrock credit for teaching by example, they said it goes both ways.
“I thought I wanted to be a teacher when I came to college, but I have found this is more my calling,” Prickett said. “I enjoy working around sports, but I also like teaching others what to expect once they go beyond these walls. I learn from them, too. I think we all learn from each other.”
“I have a really good rapport with Dustin,” Wellbrock said, “and when he is helping doing games, he makes me better. I broadcast better when he is working with me. During football season, someone told us that we look like we’re having fun doing the games. And we do.”
Wellbrock and Armbruster, along with Prickett, have more fun ahead in Sioux City after Fort Hays State pulled out a thrilling, 78-75 victory over SWOSU Friday. With the win, the Tigers (26-6) advanced to Saturday’s semifinals vs. the winner of Friday’s game between Central Missouri State University and Minnesota State University-Moorhead.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — No. 11 Wichita State has advanced to the semifinals of American Athletic Conference tournament.
Barely.
Landry Shamet scored 24 points, Rashard Kelly had 16 and the Shockers held off pesky Temple for an 89-81 victory on Friday night.
Wichita State (25-6) also got a strong performance from its reserves, including 13 points from Austin Reaves. Next up is the winner of the Houston-Central Florida game.
The Shockers won two of three against the Owls this season, and the outcome was in doubt every time.
“We certainly do bring out the best in them,” Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. “The bottom line is that they make a lot of shots against us, but we usually do get great contributions from our bench. We go 10 or 11 deep and that’s a good thing.”
Wichita State led 78-75 with 2:23 left and closed it out with 11 foul shots.
Temple stayed close with its perimeter shooting. The Owls went 11 of 24 from 3-pointg range and shot 50.9 percent from the field overall.
Quinton Rose led Temple (17-15) with 25 points. Shizz Alston and Josh Brown each had 15 points for the Owls, who didn’t have enough depth to keep pace with Wichita State in the final minutes.
“I loved our fight, I loved how we were hanging with them each and every moment,” Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. “I think late we just needed another basket, another stop, but they’re a really good basketball team. They made some veteran plays at the right time.”
The Shockers were clinging to a 63-61 lead with eight minutes to play when Reaves, fellow reserve Markis McDuffie and Kelly powered a key 13-3 run. The three combined for 11 points in the surge and helped cool off Rose while leading Wichita State to a 76-64 advantage with just over four minutes remaining.
Shaquille Morris made two foul shots to put the Shockers up 55-45 early in the second half, but the Owls rallied behind Rose. The sophomore guard scored 12 of his team’s next 14 points to cut the deficit to 61-59 with 9:10 left.
“Quinton did a great job in that stretch and got us where we needed to be,” Dunphy said. “But again, we needed a little better effort at the defensive end and just be a little smarter.”
BIG PICTURE
Temple: The Owls had some nice early season wins — Wisconsin, Clemson, Auburn, South Carolina — but need to take the next step in the conference season. The Owls were only 8-10 in AAC play.
Wichita State: The Shockers are aching for a rematch with top-seeded Cincinnati, but first they’ll have to get past the winner of the Houston-UCF game and they’ve struggled with both. Houston handed Wichita State its worst loss of the season, and UCF took the Shockers to overtime before losing in the second-to-last game of the regular season. Wichita State will need another good night from its reserves to reach the finals.
By DAVE SKRETTA , AP Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas absorbed the biggest blows that short-handed Kansas State could land, played without its star big man for the second straight game and won its Big 12 Tournament semifinal comfortably.
You’d think that would be enough to make coach Bill Self happy.
“I thought they played better than us,” he insisted after an 83-67 victory Friday night, “but I thought a lot of it was self-inflected. We couldn’t guard them and offensively we weren’t very smart.
“If I sleep two hours tonight,” Self added, “it’ll be more than I probably think I should.”
So much for feel-good feelings.
Malik Newman poured in 22 points, Devonte Graham added 15 points and Svi Mykhailiuk had 12 for the top-seeded Jayhawks (26-7), who nevertheless cruised into a title matchup with No. 14 Texas Tech or No. 18 West Virginia on Saturday night at the Sprint Center.
It was the Jayhawks’ eighth straight win over Kansas State (23-10), and they remained perfect in 10 games against their cross-state rival in the Big 12 Tournament.
The fourth-seeded Wildcats learned Friday morning they’d be without All-Big 12 forward Dean Wade, who hurt his foot in their quarterfinal win over TCU. Then they lost starting guard Barry Brown early against the Jayhawks when he was accidentally poked in the eye.
“You can’t prepare for Barry going down the first play,” Wildcats coach Bruce Weber said. “He had very little vision. He wanted to play. He kept saying, ‘Put me in.’ But I held up fingers and asked him how many and he couldn’t say.”
Unheralded forward Mawien stepped up with a career-high 29 points, and Xavier Sneed scored 12 despite another poor shooting night, but the duo couldn’t make up for two major absences.
Brown’s injury came 90 seconds into the game, when he drove the lane and Graham accidentally got him in the left eye. He flopped to the floor in pain — “It was a little gross when I looked at it,” Weber said — and was checked for several minutes before going to the locker room.
Even when he returned to the bench, Brown was never looked like he was going to play. There was some bleeding in his eye and he spent the rest of the game holding an ice pack on it.
“It’s very tough when one of your main contributors goes down with an injury,” Mawien said. “We just had to step up and play hard.”
Kansas took advantage of the absences by ripping off a 19-4 run midway through the first half that gave the Jayhawks control. They eventually pushed the advantage to 43-30 by the break.
Mawien and the Wildcats made the Jayhawks work for it in the second half, though. The junior college transfer dominated in the paint, especially when Kansas big man Mitch Lightfoot picked up his fourth foul with 11:38 to go, and Kansas State clawed to within 53-51 with 10 minutes left.
“There was absolutely no resistant guarding Mawien,” Self said, “and I hope I’m pronouncing it correctly, because he was by far the best player in the game. He whipped us.”
It was Newman that restored order. The transfer from Mississippi State followed his career-best 30-point effort in a quarterfinal win over Oklahoma State with another virtuoso performance.
He drained a 3-pointer to make it 60-53 with 8½ minutes left, then hit his fifth of the game a few minutes later. And by the time Lagerald Vick curled in back-to-back baskets, the lead had swelled to 71-59 and the Jayhawks were on their way toward the title game.
“I mean, we know that basketball is a game of runs. Those guys did a good job of going on their run,” Newman said, “but we were able to withstand the storm. We had confidence in one another that we were going to make stops and make plays.”
WADE WATCH
Weber held out hope Wade could return for the title game if Kansas State won, and he is optimistic about his availability for next week’s NCAA Tournament. “Going forward into next week,” Weber said, “we have every indication he will be able to play.”
BIG PICTURE
Kansas State almost certainly locked up its NCAA Tournament bid with its win over TCU, but the fight the Wildcats showed against Kansas — down their two best players — may have helped their cause.
Kansas has played well using a four-guard lineup while Azubuike deals with a sprained ligament in his left knee. That should give the Jayhawks confidence if he misses any NCAA Tournament games.
UP NEXT
Kansas State returns to Manhattan to await its NCAA Tournament fate.
Kansas turns its attention toward winning its 15th conference tournament title.
HUTCHINSON, Kan.-Offense was at a premium on Friday afternoon in the girl’s 3A State Tournament Semifinal in Hutchinson. TMP and Royal Valley struggled to make shots in the first half. The Lady Monarchs led 10-7 after the first quarter of play. Royal Valley scored the first seven points on the second quarter and led 14-10 late before a four point run by TMP tied the game at 14 points apiece at halftime.
The second half continued with both teams going back and forth at each other with intense defensive pressure. TMP took a three point lead heading into the fourth quarter after an Aubrey Koenigsman three pointer. She was fouled on the shot but was not able to complete the four point play.
TMP would hold a slight advantage most of the fourth quarter. The Lady Monarchs led by five points with under a minute to play as Royal Valley drilled a late three pointer to send the game to overtime. The Lady Panthers banked in a guarded three to take a three point advantage early in the overtime and TMP was not able to overcome the deficit in the 54-52 overtime loss.
Royal Valley improves to 17-7 on the season and will play for the state title tomorrow. TMP drops to 22-3 and will play the consolation final at noon on Saturday.
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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Fort Hays State held on late for a thrilling 78-75 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State in the opening round of the NCAA Central Regional Friday (Mar. 9). Up by just one, the Tigers got a defensive stop with just 1.2 seconds remaining before Taylor Rolfs went to the free-throw line and hit a pair. The last-second three-point attempt by the Bulldogs was off the mark and the Tigers survived.
FHSU Postgame Press Conference
Game Highlights
With the win, Fort Hays State moved to 26-6 overall on the season, while Southwestern Oklahoma State saw its tremendous season end at 26-5 overall. The Bulldogs were the regular season champions of the Great American Conference. The No. 6 seed Tigers will take on the winner of No. 2 seed Central Missouri and No. 7 seed Minnesota State-Moorhead on Saturday night (Mar. 10) at 5 pm.
Every time the Tigers looked to be pulling away, the Bulldogs reeled them back in. FHSU led 14-5 early before SWOSU went on a 15-2 run that spanned from the 2:38 mark of the first quarter to the 7:28 mark of the second quarter. The teams locked in a tight battle the rest of the second quarter and FHSU snuck ahead at halftime 32-31 on a Rolfs baseline jumper with 17 seconds remaining.
The Tigers worked their way out to a seven-point lead at the 5:53 mark of the third quarter, but the Bulldogs used a quick 7-0 run to erase the lead and knot the score 46-46 with 4:31 remaining in the quarter. The Tigers ended the quarter on a 5-0 run, capped with a Carly Heim three-pointer from the left wing, to take a 61-56 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Emma Stroyan scored the first four points of the fourth quarter and the Tigers found themselves with a nine-point lead, their largest of the game, with 9:16 remaining in the game. Once again, the Bulldogs went on a furious run, this time an 8-0 stretch, to cut the lead back to one with 8:03 to go. At the 6:55 mark, SWOSU took its first lead since late in the first half. The Bulldogs took their last lead of the game at the 5:18 mark, on a pair of Hayden Priddy free throws, making the score 71-70.
Kacey Kennett had one of her finest games as a Tiger, finishing with 20 points, 14 rebounds, three steals and an assist. At halftime, she already had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. She found 10 more points in the second half to finish with an even distribution of points it each half. Her three-point field goal with 3:39 remaining in the game broke a 71-71 tie and put the Tigers up by three.
Fort Hays State held on to its lead the rest of the way. The Bulldogs sliced the lead to one two more times, but their shot with six seconds remaining attempting to take the lead fell off the mark. Stroyan pulled down the rebound and then a jump ball went Fort Hays State’s way. Rolfs hit the pair of free throws to get the lead to where SWOSU could only tie on a desperation attempt. The last shot fell off the mark.
Aside from Kennett’s stellar performance, the Tigers were very balanced in their scoring effort with five players finishing in double figures. Tatyana Legette had 15 points, while Stroyan, Rolfs, and Belle Barbieri all had 10. Barbieri nearly posted a double-double in her 17 minutes off the bench, finishing with nine rebounds.
Tyra Aska led SWOSU with 21 points on a 9-of-14 effort from the field, while Hailey Tucker had 19 points and Priddy had 18. The Tigers were able to hold the three-point heavy shooting Bulldogs to just 30 percent beyond the arc (9-of-30). Tucker buried five of the nine good attempts from long distance for the Bulldogs.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas had just been battered by Oklahoma State for the second time this season, a humiliating loss in Stillwater that sent the Jayhawks into the Big 12 Tournament rubbing their bruised egos.
Then the Cowboys raced out to a 10-point lead in their quarterfinal matchup.
Rather than fold, though, the ninth-ranked Jayhawks showed the kind of toughness they’ve been missing much of this season. Malik Newman scored a career-high 30 points, their backup big men made up for the absence of injured center Udoka Azubuike, and coach Bill Self’s squad pulled away in the second half for an 82-68 victory over the Cowboys on Thursday.
“This team is easy to nitpick with because when we’re good, it’s magnified in ways because we can shoot and move the ball, and when we’re bad it’s magnified because we don’t do the things in grind-it-out games that a lot of teams do,” Self said. “Sometimes I think we get a little spoiled on what our expectations are, but I’m real proud of them. I think they competed hard for the most part.”
Svi Mykhailiuk added 13 points and Devonte Graham had 10 points, four rebounds and nine assists for the No. 1 seed Jayhawks (25-7), who were swept by the Cowboys (19-14) in the regular season. But they rose to the occasion when it mattered, setting up a date with Kansas State on Friday.
The Wildcats beat TCU in an overtime thriller earlier Thursday.
“We just wanted to come out, be aggressive and play tough,” Newman said, “because we haven’t played tough against those guys. We wanted to execute, have fun and be tough.”
Jeffrey Carroll scored 17 points and Kendall Smith had 14 for the No. 8 seed Cowboys, who can only hope their opening-round win over Oklahoma solidified their spot in the NCAA Tournament.
“We’re a tournament team. We’ve proven that all season long,” Smith said. “Especially to see the kind of basketball we’re playing right now, I definitely think we should get in.”
Azubuike sprained the MCL in his left knee in practice Tuesday, causing him to miss the entire weekend. The Jayhawks hope to have him back for the NCAA Tournament next week.
Mitch Lightfoot and Silvio De Sousa combined for 14 points and 14 rebounds in his place.
“We showed we can play without Doke,” Mykhailiuk said. “We can still win.”
Oklahoma State threatened to run the Jayhawks out of the building early on, just as it did in an 82-64 rout in Stillwater on Saturday. Yakuba Sima took advantage of the inside space where Azubuike usually roams, and Carroll’s 3-point barrage gave Oklahoma State an early 10-point lead.
That’s when the Jayhawks finally caught fire, going on an 18-4 charge to turn things around. It was Newman leading the way with a trio of 3-pointers, part of his 20 first-half points.
He kept the hot hand going early in the second half, scoring seven points during another big run — this one 14-0 — that made it 66-50 and forced Cowboys coach Mike Boynton to call timeout.
Boynton said after his team’s rough-and-tumble win over the Sooners that he didn’t buy into the notion that beating a team three times was any more difficult than beating it once. But Boynton didn’t address the challenge that comes with winning two games in fewer than 24 hours.
With 15 minutes left against Kansas, the Cowboys’ legs looked shot.
The Jayhawks’ game-breaking run coincided with a scoreless drought for Oklahoma State that went on for more than 7 1/2 minutes. At one point midway through the half, the Cowboys were 4 for 17 from the floor and had made more turnovers (five) than field goals.
Oklahoma State made a couple of late runs, but he Jayhawks were never in danger of letting their lead slip, locking up at least 25 wins for an NCAA-record 13th consecutive season.
“I won’t say fatigue wasn’t a factor,” Boynton said, “but we knew that coming in. We put ourselves in that scenario and Kansas earned the right to have the extra day of rest.”
BIG PICTURE
Oklahoma State had a 53-27 rebounding advantage against Oklahoma. But the Cowboys only had a 36-33 edge against Kansas, even with Azubuike out with the knee injury.
Kansas set a school record for 3-pointers in a season (319) when Lagerald Vick knocked one down with 3:49 to go. The Jayhawks have relied on the outside shot all year, but it came in handy with their biggest post presence sitting on the bench.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma State waits anxiously to hear its name called on Selection Sunday.
Kansas tries to beat the Wildcats for the third time this season.
