KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After notching the fourth-fastest time in the nation in men’s track in the 800-meter run, Brett Meyer of the FHSU track earned the honor of MIAA Men’s Track Athlete of the Week on Tuesday (Jan. 23).

Meyer, along with multiple other Tiger performers, competed in the Colorado Mines Twilight Classic in Golden, Co., over the previous weekend. Meyer captured a provisional qualifying time of 1:54.13, but was adjusted to 1:50.84 due to the track size at the event. This time is 0.96 seconds behind the fastest time in the nation.

The MIAA Men’s Field Athlete of the Week went to Christopher Godwin of Central Missouri. Jake Morrow of FHSU was nominated for that honor this week.

Meyer and the Tigers are back on the track this coming Saturday (Jan. 27) as they compete at the Pittsburg State Invitational in Pittsburg, Kan.

WICHITA, Kan. – The Fort Hays State wrestling team finished the Kansas Cup with a second place finish for the first time in five years as the Tigers totaled 147.5 team points on the day. Newman took home the title with 153 team points. The Tigers had four individual champions and three runner-up finishers.

Conrad Cole finished the Kansas Cup with a third place finish in the 125-pound weight class. Cole ended the day with a 4-1 record, picking up three pins on the way.

No. 8 ranked Brandon Ball claimed his second straight title in 141-pound weight class. Ball finished the day 3-0, including two technical fall victories. Ball improved his overall record to 25-3 on the season, including a 15-2 clip against Division II foes.

Efe Osaghae took home the individual title in the 149-pound class as he also finished 3-0 on the day. Osaghae notched two major decisions and a technical fall victory on his way to the championship. He is the second Tiger to reach 20 wins on the season as he notched his 22nd victory in the title bout.

In the 165-pound weight class, Marty Verhaeghe claimed a runner-up finish equating to a 3-1 overall record in the Kansas Cup. Verhaeghe used a major decision and a fall on his way to a second-place finish.

Micquille Robinson claimed the third individual title for the Tigers on the day. Robinson went 3-0 in the 174-pound weight class and picked up a pin along the way.

Jordan Davis finished the day with a 2-1 record on his way to a runner-up finish in the 184-poound weight class. Davis picked up two pins before falling in the title bout.

Senior Rakim Dean captured the 197-pound weight class championship with two technical fall victories and a major decision in the title bout to end his day with a 3-0 record.

Dakota Gulley finished the Cup with a runner-up finish in the 285-pound weight class, picking up a technical fall victory on the way.

The Tigers will take a week off from competition and regroup before heading to Warrensburg, Mo. to take on Central Missouri on Friday (Feb. 2) in a conference clash with the Mules. The dual is set to commence at 7 p.m.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas coach Bill Self has relied on a four-guard lineup all season, one that is designed to attack the basket aggressively, draw fouls and get to the free throw line.

He was fortunate one of those four guards stepped up Saturday night.

Malik Newman scored seven of his game-high 24 points in the final minutes, bailing out the rest of his sluggish teammates, and Baylor turned the ball over on the last inbounds play as the No. 10 Jayhawks escaped with a 70-67 victory that kept them atop the Big 12.

“We were lucky,” Self said, “to have one guy out there putting defense on its heels.”

The Jayhawks (16-3, 6-1 Big 12) trailed 67-61 with 2:05 to go before Newman went on his scoring binge, giving them the slimmest of leads again. The Bears (12-7, 2-5) had a couple of chances after that, but Manu Lecomte missed a 3-pointer and a layup attempt high off the glass with three seconds left.

Devonte Graham added a pair of free throws before Baylor squandered a chance at the final shot.

“(Newman) put us on his back and all we needed was to get those stops,” Graham said, “and we did.”

It was the Jayhawks’ 11th consecutive win over the Bears, who have never won in 16 tries in Lawrence. It was also the closest Baylor has come during any of those games.

Graham finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Udoka Azubuike had 14 points and seven boards, but he was just 4 of 11 from the foul line and missed two crucial ones late.

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. had 14 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out for Baylor. Nuni Omot added 14 points and Lecomte had 10, though he was 3 of 12 from the floor and 1 of 8 from the 3-point arc.

“Very frustrating. We’re as good a team as them. We know we can beat them,” Lecomte said. “They’re a really good team. They never give up. Next time we have to make sure we keep that lead.”

Allen Fieldhouse has been Baylor coach Scott Drew’s personal house of horrors — the closest he had come to winning had been the Bears’ 73-68 loss last season. And when the Jayhawks opened the game by making their first seven shots and taking an 18-5 lead, it looked as if this one would be no different.

It took Drew burning through nearly all his timeouts to settle Baylor down.

Shots eventually stopped falling for Kansas as the Bears picked up their defensive pressure, and their deficit dwindled to 32-26 before a late flurry left them in a 38-27 halftime hole.

Kansas began the second half determined to get Azubuike the ball in the paint, and he made good on his first couple of chances. But when he failed to execute a few times in a row, Self greeted him during a timeout with, “Are you kidding me?” — spiced up with an extra word.

The Jayhawks still led 52-47 midway through the second half when Baylor went on a 16-4 run.

Omot started it with a bucket in the paint, but it was seven free throws by the senior forward that did the real damage. Lual-Acuil’s basket with 4:39 left gave Baylor a 61-56 advantage.

The Bears scored on nine consecutive possessions down the stretch.

Newman finally turned the momentum, though. He converted a three-point play and a nifty drive on a run-out, then knocked down another basket to give Kansas a 68-67 lead with a minute left.

“When the game is on the line, Coach always says that players make plays,” he said. “I was just trying to be aggressive and we came out with a win.”

HONORING JO JO

Kansas honored two-time All-American Jo Jo White with a video tribute before tipoff. The seven-time NBA All-Star, whose jersey hangs from the Allen Fieldhouse rafters, died Tuesday at the age of 71.

BYE, BYE BILLY

Kansas freshman Billy Preston signed with a pro team in Bosnia on Friday, ending any chance the five-star prospect will play for the Jayhawks. Preston had been held out all season while the school looked into the finances of the car he was driving during a November accident.

BIG PICTURE

Baylor has lost its last five games to the Jayhawks by a combined 20 points, no doubt adding to Drew’s frustration. Six of the Bears’ seven losses this season have come against ranked teams.

Kansas has won five straight to grab ahold of the Big 12 race, though none of them have been very comfortable. The Jayhawks’ winning streak has been by a combined 18 points.

UP NEXT

Baylor returns home to face Kansas State on Monday night.

Kansas visits fourth-ranked Oklahoma on Tuesday night.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State was held to two points over the final seven and-a-half minutes of the first half and trailed by 13 at halftime to No. 2 Northwest Missouri State and lost 72-67 to defending national champs in front of 3,515 at Gross Coliseum.

The Tigers, who suffered their first home loss of the season, turned the ball over five time and missed their final four shots in the key 13-2 run by the Bearcats (16-2, 8-2 MIAA) who played without reigning National Player of the Year Marcus Pitts.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

FHSU (12-6, 5-4 MIAA) trailed by as many as 14 on three different occasions in the second half before going on a 12-3 run to pull within five with 6:38 to play. They closed the gap to four twice, the latest with 2:38 left.

Northwest, who went 19-of-33 from the free throw line, made ten of their final 14 attempts over the final two and-a-half minutes to hold off the Tigers. The Bearcats shot 66-percent from the floor including 7-of-13 from beyond the arc.

The Tigers, who shot 49-percent from the floor but only 28-percent from beyond the arc (5-18), were led by Marcus Cooper’s career-high 24 points. Hadley Gillum added 18 and Aaron Nicholson 10.

All five of Bearcats starters scored in double-figures led by Chris-Ebou Ndow’s 20 points and 14 rebounds.