GOLDEN, Co. – The Fort Hays State Tigers embarked on a throwback weekend with a trip through the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.  The trip opened Saturday with a stop in Golden, Colorado against the 14th ranked Colorado School of Mines Orediggers.

The Tigers and Orediggers were tied twice to start he game at two and four points.  Mines never trailed and pushed their advantage to 19-10 on the strength of a 9-2 run midway through the first half.  Devin Davis converted on back-to-back three point plays to close the gap down to 19-16 with 8:07 remaining before halftime.

Fort Hays State got within two points at 22-20 with 6:00 remaining in the half on another Davis basket.  The Orediggers then when on a 15-7 run that built the first double digit lead of the game at 37-27.  Before the run concluded the Tigers got within four points at 31-27 and forced an Oredigger timeout.  Fort Hays State through fouled on a made three pointer and Mason Baker converted the free throw for a four point play.

The Orediggers kept the Tigers at arms length for rest of the half entering the locker room with a 43-32 lead.  FHSU opened the game shooting just 3-12 then closed the half 10-19.

Highlights

 

The Orediggers made nine of their first ten shots in the second half and opened the second twenty minutes on a 22-10 run.  The lead at the end of the stretch swelled to 23 at 65-42 with 13:15 left in the game.  The Tigers never were closer than 17 points rest of the way falling 91-72.

Mines shot 56% for the game and made 13-27 on three pointers.  The Tigers did shoot 60% in the second half and 49% for the game.  Devin Davis tied a career high with 18 points.  Nyjee Wright added 15, Jake Hutchings 12 and Perry Caroll 11.  Brendan Sullivan led the Orediggers with a career high 24 leading five players in double figures.

The Tigers went into the game averaging 45 rebounds per contest but grabbed just 17 in the loss.

Coach Mark Johnson

 

The Tigers fall to 2-1 on the year.  #14 Colorado School of Mines improves to 2-1.  FHSU will continue their Colorado RMAC weekend with a trip to Colorado Springs to take on UCCS Sunday at 3:00 Mountain Time.

HAYS – The Fort Hays State Tiger women outscored Cameron University 25-4 in the third quarter Saturday on their way to an 89-47 win at Gross Memorial Coliseum.

Tony Hobson postgame interview

Game highlights

The Aggies hung tough with the Tigers in the early minutes of the game and had a pair of leads in the first quarter, the last time with just under three minutes to play before Lauryn Reither hit her first of two three pointers in the first quarter to give the Tigers an 18-16 lead. Fort Hays would never trail again in the game. The Tigers led 27-20 at the end of the first quarter.

Kacey Kennett scored the first five points of the second quarter to spark a 15-6 run to give the Tigers their largest lead of the first half at 16 with a 42-26 with 2:34 to play in the first half. The Tigers led 46-31 at halftime.

Fort Hays State extended their lead in that third quarter thanks in large part to the play of Jaden Hobbs who had her best game as a Tiger. After being held scoreless in the first half she scored 10 of her season-high 16 points in the third quarter and helped the Tigers build the 71-35 third quarter lead.

The fourth quarter saw much of the same as the Tigers outscored the Aggies 14-2 to start the quarter on their way to the 89-47 win.

Belle Barbieri scored a season-high 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, Hobbs and Kennett each added 16 each and Taylor Rolfs finished with 11 points.

The Tigers shot a season-high 46.9% from the floor and made 22 of 26 free throw attempts.

Fort Hays State improved to 4-0 with the win and will take on the University of Saint Mary Nov. 25.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — West Virginia coach Neal Brown was staring down the prospects of a six-game losing streak amid his first season in Morgantown, a streak of futility unmatched by the Mountaineers since 1986.

Instead, he walked out of Kansas State with a foundational win for his vast rebuilding effort.

Jarret Doege threw for 234 yards and three scores in place of Austin Kendall, and Hakeem Bailey made the play of the game when he picked off the Wildcats’ Skylar Thompson in the closing seconds, allowing the Mountaineers to escape with a 24-20 victory Saturday night.

“This is a huge win. It felt like a long time coming,” Brown said. “Kind of been knocking on the door. I really felt like we’d be in a position at some point to win a game that maybe we shouldn’t have. This is big for our program, big for our players and I’m proud of our guys.”

The Mountaineers (4-6, 2-5 Big 12) hadn’t scored more than 17 points in their last four games, prompting the change at quarterback. Doege, who hadn’t started since last November when he was still at Bowling Green, responded by throwing all three of his TD passes on crucial third downs.

The biggest? A 50-yard heave on third-and-22 that gave the Mountaineers the lead late.

“I was just thinking, ‘Get through my progression,’” Doege said, “but I forced out and I saw him wide open and luckily got it off right before I got hit. I didn’t know if he caught it until I looked up and saw him in the end zone.”

The Wildcats (6-4, 3-4) had plenty of chances to answer, but they turned the ball over on downs and then punted before their final drive. Thompson led them briskly downfield, but his second-down throw floated in the wind whipping out of the south and Bailey outjumped the intended target.

West Virginia then ran out the clock on the win and its five-game losing streak.

“We challenged them hard this week,” Brown said, “and the guys that have been in our program for a long time. … We only get 12 of the these so you have to come to play.”

The Wildcats, who almost never altered their look under Hall of Fame coach Bill Snyder, donned a throwback uniform to the 1988 with white helmets and script “Cats” across them.

Perhaps they should have chosen a season in which they didn’t go 0-11.

Thompson was 24 of 39 for 299 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, and Kansas State had trouble moving the ball all night against a team that allowed 38 points to Texas Tech last week.

The Wildcats ran 32 times but averaged just 3.2 yards per attempt.

“When we struggle to run the ball it affects the rest of the offense,” said the Wildcats’ James Gilbert, who led the way with 60 yards rushing and a touchdown.

The Mountaineers’ season-long growing pains appeared to continue right from the start, when they went three-and-out on offense and gave up a 68-yard TD pass on their first play on defense.

It was hardly a harbinger of the first half.

West Virginia answered with a 75-yard drive, finished off by Doege’s touchdown pass to George Campbell. And when the Wildcats answered with a field goal, the Mountaineers reached the end zone again — though not without a bit of help from the officials.

West Virginia was held to a field goal that Casey Legg missed. But the crew ruled the Wildcats’ Trey Dishon jumped the gun on the rush, giving the Mountaineers a fresh set of downs. They went nowhere on the first two plays before Campbell hauled in another touchdown pass.

Legg missed another field goal heading into the locker room, and the momentum appeared to have swung the Wildcats’ direction in the second half. They opened it with a long, time-consuming touchdown drive to take a 20-14 lead midway through the third quarter.

They were never able to shake loose, though.

Kansas State was forced to punt on each of its next two possessions. Legg drilled a 51-yard field goal after missing a chip-shot late in the first half, and a few minutes later Doege took advantage of a major coverage lapse on third-and-22 to throw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Wheaton.

That turned out to be all the points the Mountaineers needed.

“Obviously a disappointing loss — a game West Virginia deserved,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said. “They outplayed us and, that being said, we had an opportunity late in the game to almost steal a victory. Disappointed in a number of things but obviously you have to move on.”

THE TAKEAWAY

West Virginia was desperate for some kind of spark, so Doege got the call. He was plenty shaky in his first start since last November, but he also made a couple of crucial plays when they mattered.

Kansas State came out flat after a gut-wrenching last-second loss at Texas last week. The Wildcats have now lost two straight after a three-game win streak highlighted by an upset of Oklahoma.

UP NEXT

West Virginia plays its home finale against Oklahoma State next Saturday.

Kansas State visits the Red Raiders for its final road trip next Saturday.

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy broke away from his usual approach to postseason awards and lobbied for Chuba Hubbard to be a Heisman Trophy finalist.

Hubbard, the nation’s leading rusher, ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 25 Oklahoma State rolled past Kansas 31-13 on Saturday.

He has rushed for 1,726 yards this season in 10 games. Gundy believes if Hubbard leads Power Five backs in rushing, he should get an invitation to New York for the Heisman ceremony.

“He deserves to be there,” Gundy said. “And I can honestly say that for him because he’s a very humble, hardworking young man. And you know me — I don’t step out there much.”

Hubbard’s yardage total is the fifth-best in school history for a season, trailing 1988 Heisman winner Barry Sanders, 1977 Heisman runner-up Terry Miller, Ernest Anderson and Thurman Thomas. He has two regular-season games remaining, and on his current pace, he would pass all but Sanders on the school’s single-season chart.

“We’re proud of what he’s done,” Gundy said. “But at some point, you have to look and say, ‘OK, is this a quarterback award?’ Or do running backs or other positions potentially get involved.”

Dillon Stoner caught five passes for a career-high 150 yards and two touchdowns and Spencer Sanders passed for 168 yards and a touchdown for the Cowboys (7-3, 4-3 Big 12, No. 22 CFP), who won their third straight.

Hubbard scored his first touchdown just over three minutes into the game. He ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns in the first half to help Oklahoma State take a 24-0 lead.

In the third quarter, backup quarterback Dru Brown threw a perfect strike for a 43-yard touchdown to Stoner to push the lead to 31-0. Oklahoma State gained 481 total yards, including 243 rushing.

Carter Stanley passed for 226 yards and two touchdowns for Kansas (3-7, 1-6).

It was the first meeting between Kansas coach Les Miles and Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy. Gundy was Miles’ offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State from 2001 to 2004 before Miles left to become head coach at LSU and Gundy took over as head coach for the Cowboys.

Miles appreciated the chance to return.

“I really like this place,” he said. “The people here were kind to my family. I had two children born here. I enjoyed it and always look back and think how special this place is to my family.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Kansas: The Jayhawks were routed for the third time this season. They had lost just 50-48 to Texas earlier in the year and had been close in two other losses. On Saturday, the Jayhawks got off to a rough start and never got into the game.

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys’ defense has been a weaker link than the offense over the years, but the unit was dominant against the Jayhawks. Oklahoma State allowed just 290 total yards, including 39 yards rushing.

STEPPING UP

Stoner has been a critical piece of Oklahoma State’s offense since star receiver Tylan Wallace was injured. In the past two games, Stoner has eight catches for 243 yards and four touchdowns.

“I wouldn’t really say stepping up because he’s always played at that level,” Sanders said. “He’s that good of a player. I believe he’s really one of our truly talented guys who’s just outstanding, so I wouldn’t say ‘stepped up,’ I would say people are starting to notice because that’s who Stoner is.”

SHUT DOWN

Kansas running back Pooka Williams entered the game third in the Big 12 with 90.8 yards rushing per game in league play. He was held to 26 yards on 12 carries on Saturday.

“We were very aggressive on defense,” Gundy said. “We were able to contain them. Their running back is a good player. He usually breaks one every week, but we were able to contain him.”

KICKING WOES

Oklahoma State kicker Matt Ammendola entered the game having made 14 of 15 field goals. In this game, he made one from 44 yards, but missed from 26, 45 and 48 yards.

SANDERS HURT

Sanders left the game in the third quarter with a right (throwing) hand injury, and he wore a light brace after the game. Gundy said the move was precautionary and he wanted to give Brown a chance to play. Brown completed 3 of 5 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown.

TAKEAWAY KING

Oklahoma State’s Harvell-Peel has created five turnovers in his past two games. He had two interceptions and a fumble recovery against TCU in his previous contest, then led Oklahoma State’s defense with two interceptions against Kansas.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The Cowboys did what was necessary to remain a ranked team.

UP NEXT

Kansas travels to Iowa State.

Oklahoma State travels to West Virginia.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Tyson Etienne had 21 points as Wichita State easily beat UT Martin 103-62 on Saturday. Etienne hit 5 of 8 3-pointers.

Jamarius Burton had 18 points, six rebounds and five assists for Wichita State (3-0). Morris Udeze added 14 points. Trey Wade and Erik Stevenson had 10 points apiece for the home team.

It was the first time this season Wichita State scored at least 100 points.

Miles Thomas had 15 points for the Skyhawks (2-2). Quintin Dove added 13 points and five rebounds. Derek Hawthorne, Jr. had 11 points.

Wichita State plays Gardner-Webb at home on Tuesday. UT Martin takes on Northern Iowa on the road on Tuesday.

(BY STEVE CARPENTER)
(HUTCHINSON CC SPORTS INFORMATION)

HUTCHINSON, Kan. –

(BY STEVE CARPENTER)
(HUTCHINSON CC SPORTS INFORMATION)

HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Coming off a record-setting performance on Tuesday night against Hesston College, the No. 7-ranked Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team faces two tough challenges beginning Friday in the Cougar Booster Club Classic at Barton Community College in Great Bend.

The 4-0 Blue Dragons meet 2-2 Labette on Friday and 4-0 Jefferson College on Saturday. Both games will be on the Blue Dragon Sports Network beginning at 12:50 p.m. with Steve Carpenter (play-by-play) and Glen Grunwald and Daren Dunn (color) calling action.

Hutchinson scored a single-game record 127 points in a record 90-point blowout of Hesston on Tuesday to complete a four-game homestand for the Blue Dragons. Sophomore Abby Ogle nearly had a triple-double with career highs of 29 points, eight rebounds and a single-team Hutch record 12 steals.

The Blue Dragons posted the sixth-highest shot percentage in team history at 60 percent and forced a record 49 turnovers that was parlayed into 74 points.

Now Hutchinson enters a key four-game stretch, all away from the Sports Arena, before the Jayhawk Conference opener on November 27 against Coffeyville.

Labette, Friday’s 1 p.m. opponent, is an NJCAA Division II team, but they’ve played all Division I competition so far. The Cardinals have wins over Neosho county and Allen and have suffered losses to Trinity Valley and Weatherford College.

The Cardinals were one of the highest-scoring KJCCC Division II teams last season, but have struggled offensively somewhat with an average of 59.5 points per game while shooting 31.7 percent and 27.3 percent from long range. Labette is averaging 5.2 made 3s per game. Defensively, the Cardinals are allowing 64.3 points per game, allowing 36.5 percent overall shooting and 22.6 percent from distance.

Freshman guard Kayla Smith is averaging 11.3 points 3.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game to lead Labette.

Jefferson, which plays Barton at 5:30 p.m. on Friday before playing the Blue Dragons on Saturday is off to a 4-0 start with an average margin of victory of 33.8 points per game.

The Vikings are scoring 86.8 per game while shooting a red-hot 55.8 percent overall and 40.6 percent from 3-point range. Defensively, Jefferson is allowing 53.0 points and 30.0 percent shooting overall.

Sophomore guard Tyra Brown is averaging 20.3 points per game while shooting 60.8 percent from the floor. She also averages 8.0 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game. Sophomore forward Mauricia Mathis is averaging 18.0 points per game. Chiara De Virgillio is averaging 10.8 points.

The Blue Dragons are averaging 82.5 points offensively while shooting 49.7 percent. Defensively, Hutchinson is allowing 44.0 points and 28.4 percent shooting while forcing 29.2 turnovers per game.

Ogle is Hutch’s leading scorer at 20.3 points per game. Tor’e Alford is at 10.8 points, Makayla Vannett is at 1.3 points and Brooklyn Betham is at 10.0 points per contest.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Myles Garrett couldn’t control the rage that makes him a defensive star.

With a blinding moment of anger, the former No. 1 overall draft pick lost his composure, jeopardized Cleveland’s revived season and perhaps tarnished his image — forever.

The sack specialist took himself down. And probably the Browns with him.

Garrett was suspended indefinitely on Friday by the NFL, which acted swiftly and strongly in handing down its punishment hours after the edge rusher pulled off Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Rudolph’s helmet and used it “as a weapon” in a frightening moment that sent a shock wave through the league.

The soft-spoken Garrett, whose outside interests include poetry and paleontology, won’t play again this season — or in the playoffs — and it’s not clear when he’ll be allowed to return.

It’s a stunning setback for Garrett and the Browns (4-6), a talented squad which had finally gained some positive momentum during a strange season now experiencing the most bizarre twist yet.

They’ve won two straight and with a favorable upcoming schedule — Miami and Cincinnati twice — the playoff talk that had been muted by a four-game losing streak had been renewed.

Garrett changed that. Not the impact he wanted to make.

“It’s tough. He was playing like a possible Defensive Player of the Year candidate and that is what I think everyone knows him as,” Browns guard Joel Bitonio said. “He’s a guy that gets after the quarterback, plays the run well. He is a great player. It is tough. Anytime you lose a guy to injury, to suspension or to anything of that nature, it is something that you have to try and fill that spot.

“It’s tough when you lose your best defender.”

Garrett’s implosion came on the night the Browns played their best defensive game, holding the Steelers to seven points and 236 yards. The Browns have been waiting for the pieces to fall into place, and just when it looked like they were, a monstrous distraction.

The Browns, who are trying to end the league’s longest playoff drought, will also be without defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi next week. He was suspended one game for shoving Rudolph. Also, safety Morgan Burnett suffered an apparent serious Achilles injury and Olivier Vernon, who plays on the opposite side from Garrett, remains out with a sprained knee.

“It’s hard, but I think we have the men in the room to accept the challenge,” coach Freddie Kitchens said. “There will not be any excuses. We will have 11 out on the field, and those 11 will be expected to do their job.”

Garrett will lose $1.14 million in salary and he was fined an undisclosed amount, adding to the $50,000 bill he rang up earlier this season with several personal fouls. He’ll also be required to meet with Commissioner Roger Goodell before his reinstatement is considered.

Garrett’s violent outburst resulted in him receiving the longest suspension for a single on-field infraction in league history. Tennessee’s Albert Haynesworth was suspended five games in 2006 for yanking off Dallas center Andre Gurode’s helmet and kicking him in the face.

Now, Garrett finds himself in notorious company, lumped in with other athletes who have come unglued.

“I made a terrible mistake,” Garrett said in a statement. “I lost my cool and what I did was selfish and unacceptable.”

Garrett apologized to Rudolph, his teammates and fans, adding “I know I have to be accountable for what happened, learn from my mistake and I fully intend to do so.”

It was all so avoidable. The Browns were seconds away from beating the rival Steelers for just the seventh time in 41 games since 1999 when things got out of control.

With no chance at rallying to win, Pittsburgh, which lost two wide receivers to concussions from helmet hits by Browns defensive backs, was still trying to move the ball when Rudolph completed a short pass and was dragged down by Garrett. The two players wrestled on the ground and Rudolph unsuccessfully tried to pry Garrett’s helmet off.

Garrett got his hands on Rudolph’s black-with-gold striped helmet and as the two tussled near the end zone, the 6-foot-4, 270-pounder swung the 6-pound helmet at Pittsburgh’s second-year quarterback, who suffered a concussion earlier this year. The bottom part of the helmet connected with Rudolph’s head, a glancing blow that could have been so much worse.

Thankfully, Rudolph avoided serious injury.

The damage to Garrett might be harder to see.

Kitchens met with Garrett, who showed remorse while apologizing to teammates. Kitchens likened Garrett’s behavior to a family member who needs love.

Kitchens said his message to Garrett was not to let his actions define him as a person or player.

“Myles is to understand that the ball is in his court on how he responds to this,” Kitchens said. “It’s up to him on showing people and showing the National Football League that that is not who he is. … He just lost his cool. He lost his composure. A terrible mistake, and sometimes things like that carry on with someone. If the person puts enough time into it, he can make amends.

“This will never be like it never happened. But people understand that that is an outlier of Myles Garrett and not the norm.”

GREAT BEND – The No. 7 Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team responded to several early challenges by Monroe Community College in the Cougar Booster Club Classic on Friday at the Barton Gym.

Monroe staggered the Blue Dragons by scoring the first six points of the game and building three different six-point advantages in the first half. Hutchinson rebounded with a 24-point turnaround over the remainder of the half and ultimately went on to defeat previously unbeaten Monroe 114-91.

The Blue Dragons improve to 6-0 heading into Saturday’s Booster Club Classic matchup with 4-2 Iowa Western at 3 p.m. the Mustangs fell to 2-1.

The Blue Dragons got huge games from sophomores D.J. Mitchell and Tyler Brown and freshman Majok Kuath, who combined for 80 points.

Mitchell scored a career-high 28 points on 5 of 10 3-point shooting. He hit four early 3-pointers to kick-start the Blue Dragons, who trailed Monroe 22-16 with 12:09 remaining in the first half. Mitchell knocked down 4 of 6 3-pointers and finished with 20 points in the first half. Mitchell finished hitting 5 of 10 3-pointers in the game.

Brown didn’t get going from the field until the second half, but wound up hitting five shots from distance in the second half to lead the Dragons to a 61-point period. Brown also hit 11 of 13 free throws to finish with a career-high 26 points.

Kuath also scored a career-best 26 points on 9 of 11 shooting from the field and 8 of 10 from the foul line.

The Blue Dragons shot better than 50 percent for the fourth time in six games hitting 33 of 63 shots (52.4 percent). The Dragons hit 10 of 22 3-point shots and 38 of 51 free throws. The Blue Dragons out-rebounded Monroe 52-39, but allowed 17 Mustang offensive rebounds and turned the ball over 24 times.

Josh Baker and Jaden Okon both had seven points.

Zion Styles and Ja’Mani Eaton had 15 points each to lead Monroe. Juan Felix Rodriguez and Jeremiah Kendall had 14 each. The Mustangs finished shooting 29 of 78 from the field (37.2 percent), going 6 of 29 from 3-point range and 27 of 38 from the foul line. Monroe had 18 turnovers.

Monroe hit 9 of its first 20 shots in building a 22-16 lead in the first half. The Blue Dragons then held the Mustangs to 3 of 18 shooting over the remainder of the half as Hutchinson outscored Monroe 35-11 to close the first half.

The Blue Dragons built leads as large as 33 points in the second half.