ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Jordan Hooper scored 14 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead Number 24 Nebraska to its eighth straight victory, 57-39 over Michigan on Thursday night.
Lindsey Moore had 15 points and eight assists for the Cornhuskers (20-6, 10-3 Big Ten), who held Michigan to 28 percent shooting and committed only six fouls. Michigan didn’t shoot a free throw the entire game in Ann Arbor.
Michigan opened the game on a 10-2 run and led 22-18 at halftime, but Nebraska answered with a 21-0 run over the first 8:34 of the second half to lead 39-22 and cruised from there.
Nebraska remained second in the Big Ten standings behind No. 7 Penn State, while Michigan dropped into a third-place tie with Number 22 Purdue, Michigan State and Illinois. The top four teams receive first-round byes in the conference tournament.
The Chadron Boys Basketball team traveled back to Alliance for the sub-district final on Thursday night against Kimball, and came up short in a 54-32 loss to end their season with a 7-15 record.
The Cardinals played Kimball tough early on in the first quarter, for an 8-3 score. By the break, the Longhorns pulled ahead for a 22-12 halftime score. Chadron would cut into Kimball’s lead and get as close as five points, but was never able to take the lead. By the end of the third quarter, the score was 36-23. Kimball went on to score 18 more points for a 54-32 win.
The Longhorns were led in scoring by their 6’8’’ Junior, Michael Daum who finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds. His teammate Jacob Reader scored 15.
The Cardinals were led by three players, none of which were able to reach double figures. Bo Westlake, Vonsinh Sayaloune and Spencer Eliason all finished with 7 points.
Kimball moves on to play Gothenburg in the district final on Monday, February 25th.
The Chadron State College track and field team hopes to make a strong bid for high honors at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s Indoor Championships at Black Hills State in Spearfish this weekend.
CSC coach Ryan Baily said the Eagle men will need many things to go their way in order to keep pace with perennial conference champion Adams State, but he is confident his team will earn lots of points, primarily because of its outstanding contingent of sprinters and a strong collection of field events athletes.
The CSC women, who are strongest in the throws and the pole vault, should make a run for third place in the standings behind Adams and Western State, Baily believes.
This is the first time in about 15 years that Nebraska-Kearney will not be in the competition, paving the way for other teams to earn more points than usual. The Lopers often have been especially strong in the longer sprints, throws and jumps, events where the Eagles also frequently excel.
Last year when the meet was in Chadron, Adams State won the men’s title with 169 points while Kearney was second with 162.5, Western State third with 135 and the Eagles fourth with 88. The Adams State Grizzlies also won the women’s title, scoring 186 points. Kearney was again second with 126.5 and Western State third with 110. CSC finished fifth with 44.5.
The conference meet has much more importance than just the team scores or high individual placings. Also at stake are marks that will qualify both individuals and relays for the National Championships, which will be March 8-9 in Birmingham, Ala.
Numerous Eagles have provisionally qualified for the national meet, but a majority of them need to improve their marks in order to make the top 16 on the national lists and clinch the trip.
Four Eagles qualified for nationals last year, but only one of them, sprinter Alex Graham, is competing during the current indoor season. He won the RMAC’s 55-meter dash last year and placed fourth at nationals in the 60 to gain All-American honors. His time of 6.77 seconds in the 60 leads the RMAC and is fifth on the national list this season.
The Eagles have several other event leaders entering the conference showdown this weekend.
Among the men, Dean Francis, who won both the 100 and 200 at the RMAC Outdoor Meet last spring, has the best time in the 200 this winter and Charith Kapukotuwa leads the weight throwers and is second in the shot put. The Eagles also have the fastest time in the 4×400 relay, and the team’s top 400 runner, senior Phil Rivera, has not been a member of the quartet so far.
Rivera has been a sprint champion at three RMAC meets during his career.
In the women’s competition, Alyssa Norton has the best mark in the weight throw and is second in the shot put.
The pole vault should be a strong event for both CSC teams. Brother and sister Kolten and Kaelie Jelden have the second best marks in the conference and freshman Skyler Hoopes ranks third among the men.
Baily is also hoping for a strong performance in the high hurdles and the long and triple jumps from senior Lanar Newman, who shared the Male Athlete of the Meet Award while scoring 28 points at the 2010 RMAC Indoor Meet. Newman has been slowed by injuries much of the time since then, but has been healthy and has continually improved his marks this season.
The conference meet will open at 8:30 Friday morning with the start of the multi-events. Another CSC brother and sister combo, Jazz and Shelby Bozner, are expected to be among the title contenders in the heptathlon and pentathlon, respectively.
Several field events for the regular portion of the meet will begin at 1 p.m. Friday, followed by the preliminaries in the sprints and the finals of the 5000 meters and the distance medley relays.
The finals of the heptathlon will launch Saturday’s schedule at 8:30 a.m. The remainder of the field events will start at 9 a.m. and the track competition will begin at 11 a.m. The meet is expected to conclude about 3:30 Saturday afternoon.
Con Marshall, Information Services
A list of CSC marks that rank among the top six entering the RMAC meet follow:
CHADRON – The Chadron State College softball team opens its Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schedule this weekend at Colorado State University-Pueblo, but a day earlier than planned.
Forecasts of snow on Sunday has moved the scheduled four games from doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday to doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday. First pitch Friday will be at 1:00 while Saturday’s opener begins at noon.
The Eagles began their 2013 season two weeks ago at the Las Vegas Desert Stinger Tournament hosted by Montana State University-Billings. They played well and outscored their opponents 26-23, but went just 1-4.
CSU-Pueblo has also played five games, but at a tournament in San Angelo, Texas, where they went 3-2. The ThunderWolves have four players with a batting average of at least .400 while sophomore Kelli Henry is their top pitcher with a 2-0 record and 2.23 ERA.
Chadron State’s home opener is next weekend, Saturday March 2 and Sunday March 3, when the Eagles welcome the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs to Chadron.
CHADRON – It would be easy to think a two-time Nebraska state champion with a record of 172 wins to just 19 losses wouldn’t have any trouble qualifying for the NCAA Division II National Championships.
For Jordan Debus, though, that’s been anything but the case.
Debus, a junior 184-pounder from Mitchell, has had to battle back from the consolation bracket in the last two regional wrestling tournaments to secure his spot at the national tournament.
“I feel like this is the time where I normally step up and make it,” Debus said. “Everyone is beatable and I know I can do it.”
Debus will get his chance Friday and Saturday when Chadron State hosts the Super Region 4/Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships at the Nelson Physical Activity Center.
Including Chadron State, 11 other teams will enter the tournament. The top four finishers at each weight qualify for the national tourney March 8-9 in Birmingham, Ala.
Debus, who is nearing 50 victories during his career at Chadron State, knows in order to secure a third trip to the national tourney, he’ll have to be at his best.
“It’s going to take a lot and my region is pretty tough,” he said. “Every school has good wrestlers and we seem to all beat up on each other. I have wrestled most of them, so I have a pretty good idea where I stack up.”
Debus has started the regional tournament slowly the previous two seasons but he said he’s hoping to get off on the right foot Friday.
As a true freshman in 2011, Debus went 15-16 and qualified for the national tournament by finishing fourth. He got pinned in his first match by Zach Jimenez of San Francisco State but Debus battled back and won three straight, including a 5-3 decision over Jimenez to get into the national tournament.
Debus went 15-11 as a sophomore and again lost his first match at 184 during the first round. However, just like his freshman season, he rallied to win three straight elimination matches before coming out on top during a true fourth place bout to earn his second trip to the national tournament.
While he hasn’t won a match at the national tournament, he is the only CSC wrestler on the team who has qualified for it.
Helping Debus capitalize on his potential is interim head coach Brett Hunter. Hunter is the school’s all-time winningest wrestler and won two national titles at 165 and 174 pounds.
“Jordan has all the talent in the world, but talent only goes so far,” Hunter said. “If he wrestles consistently he will qualify for the national tournament.”
Prior to earning his interim appointment, Hunter was a graduate assistant for the Eagles and he’s seen Debus grow into a more confident grappler.
“He has improved his offense and he attacks well,” Hunter said. “He believes he can win, which is the biggest part of wrestling.”
Allan Schmaltz, Sports Information Graduate Assistant
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Two Chadron State College student-athletes are being recognized by the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as its inaugural Summit Award winners for indoor track and field and wrestling.
Kelly Troester is receiving the award in men’s indoor track and field and Dylan Fors in wrestling. Kristen McGlynn-Arendt of Adams State University will be recognized for women’s indoor track and field.
The RMAC Summit Award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals sites for each of the RMAC’s championships.
All GPAs are based on a straight grading scale to ensure consistency among institutions, and any tie is broken by the number of credits completed.
Eligible student-athletes are sophomores or above who have participated in their sport for at least two years with their school. They must be an active member of the team, traveling and competing at the championship.
Troester, a native of Marsland, is a senior with a 3.97 grade-point average and majoring in rangeland management. He graduated from Crawford High School.
Last year, Troester earned All-American honorable mention. He also made school history this past cross country season when he was named RMAC All-Academic Second Team. Troester is the first CSC cross country runner to make the RMAC All-Academic first or second team.
Fors is a sophomore majoring in health sciences at Chadron State College with a 3.89 grade-point average. He hails from Roseburg, Ore. and is currently wrestling at 165 pounds.
Fors redshirted his freshman year and earned a 9-8 record the following year. This season he has a record of 11-10. His twin brother, Devan Fors, also competes on the Eagles’ wrestling team.
McGlynn-Arendt is a senior graduate student who currently holds a 4.00 grade-point average while majoring in English/Creative Writing at Adams State.
Troester and McGlynn-Arendt will be recognized following the RMAC Indoor Track & Field championships, during the awards ceremony on Saturday in Spearfish, S.D.
Fors will also be recognized on Saturday, but in Chadron during the awards ceremony following the 2013 NCAA Division II Super Region Four and RMAC Wrestling Championships.
The first annual Nebraska High School state Dual Wrestling Championships are this Sat at UNK with two Panhandle schools in the field…Alliance and Scottsbluff in Class B and Bayard in Class D. Classes B & C will take to the mats at 8:30 a-m, with A&D at 3:00.
Alliance faces a big first-round challenge in Class B, meeting top-ranked Omaha Skutt Catholic…which took the team title at last week’s state tournament. The other half of that bracket has Plattsmouth against Syracuse.
Scottsbluff, the runner-up to Skutt last week, opens with Lexington while Nebraska City will face York in the other game in that side of the bracket.
Bayard’s opening round opponent is High Plains Community of Polk, with the winner to meet Pender and Neligh-Oakdale. The rest of the bracket has top-seeded Amherst against Maxwell and Plainview taking on East Butler
Class C features an intra-city battle as David City takes on cross-town rival Aquinas Catholic. Wilber-Clatonia will meet Central City, Valentine wrestles O’Neill, and Madison faces Sargent/Burwell.
In Class A, has top-seeded Grand Island squaring off against Lincoln Southwest, an in-district battle between Millard West and Millard South, Kearney takes on Omaha North, and Omaha Burke faces Creighton Prep.
Tickets are still available for both sessions and can be purchased at the door or through TicketLeap, the NSAA’s online ticketing outlet.http://nsaahome.ticketleap.com/dualwrestling/
Wrestling fans who cannot make it to Kearney will be able to monitor the action live as it happens via their computers. The NSAA and Trackwrestling will provide live interactive scoring for each match.
People can go to the wrestling page of www.nsaahome.org, and click on the “Live Results ? 2013 NSAA Dual Wrestling Championships” link to see the scoring action on all eight mats.
Nebraska, Iowa, and the Big Ten Conference are moving the Husker-Hawkeye men’s basketball game in Lincoln from tomorrow night to Saturday afternoon because of the winter storm expected to hit today and tomorrow. Officials say the change is for the safety of players, coaches, fans, and game-day personnel.
The game was the only one this week for both teams, and both had Saturday open. It was originally scheduled to be on broadcast on ESPN2, but television information for Saturday’s rescheduled game will be announced as soon as it becomes available.
Fans who had purchased tickets for Thursday can use those Saturday. In addition, tickets remain for Saturday’s rescheduled game with prices at $10 and $15 by visiting Huskers.com or can be purchased at the Devaney Center beginning 90 minutes prior to tip-off.
MCCOOK, Neb. – The Western Nebraska Community College basketball teams split a doubleheader with McCook Community College Tuesday night in McCook.
The Cougar men received 31 points from Charles Ward and buried 10 3-pointers in posting a 90-80 win over the Indians. WNCC’s win put the Cougars in the Region IX tournament and eliminated McCook from post-season play.
The Cougar women had a rough night shooting in dropping their first loss in the sub-region, falling to the Indians 68-51. The loss, however, doesn’t hinder the Cougars’ seed for the regional tournament as they wrapped up the No. 1 seed and the host of the regional tournament with their win this past Saturday against Trinidad State.
The Cougar women shot just 32.7 percent from the field and were just 21 percent from beyond the arc for the night. WNCC connected on just three 3-pointers, two of which came from Laurin Rivera.
McCook, in the meantime, shot the lights out, connecting on 53 percent of their shots. McCook held a 32-27 lead at halftime and pushed the lead to double digits in the second half.
WNCC was led in scoring by Gritt Ryder with 10 points followed by Kelsey Doddridge with eight and Ashley Stevens with seven.
While the women had a rough night shooting, the Cougar men were sizzling. WNCC shot 53 percent from the field and they were also 53 percent (10 of 19) from the 3-point line. Ward, Sebastian Suarez and Rich Williams each drained three 3-pointers on the night.
McCook wasn’t so lucky shooting, finishing with 39 percent shooting. The Indians were also just 45 percent from the free throw line, while WNCC was 67 percent.
The contest was a battle for much of the game. WNCC held a slim 41-40 lead at halftime. McCook came back to take a 59-58 in the second half. WNCC came back as Suarez nailed back-to-back 3-pointers for a 67-62 lead.
The Indians came right back to cut the lead to 71-70. That was when Williams hit his third 3-ponter of the night and WNCC pushed the lead to double-digits, 85-75, on back-to-back buckets by Cody Johnson and an old-fashioned 3-point play by Ward. WNCC never looked back after that.
WNCC coach Russ Beck said his team played well and they knew how important the contest was and that McCook was going to come in with everything on the line, especially a post-season spot.
WNCC had three players in double figures. Ward finished with 31 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three 3-pointers. Suarez followed with 20 points while Johnson had 15 points. Williams finished the contest with nine points followed by Quante Cooley with eight points.
Both squads will be back in action Thursday when they travel to Eastern Wyoming College for sub-region contests. For the men, there is plenty on the line as far as seeding for the regional tournament. As for the women, they look to get back on track as they finish off the season before heading into regionals on March 3.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Crete 61, Nebraska City 51
Omaha Gross Catholic 60, Gretna 54
Ralston 67, Omaha Skutt Catholic 55
Scottsbluff 70, Torrington, Wyo. 37
C1-1 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Falls City 58, Auburn 42
Syracuse 68, Louisville 54
C1-2 Subdistrict Tournament
First Round
Lincoln Christian 56, Ashland-Greenwood 36
Lincoln Lutheran 61, Raymond Central 59
C1-3 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Boys Town 55, Omaha Concordia 36
Fort Calhoun 63, Douglas County West 42
C1-4 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Bishop Neumann 61, Columbus Lakeview 59
Wahoo 60, Columbus Scotus 36
C1-5 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Centennial 36, Wilber-Clatonia 33
Milford 76, Fairbury 42
C1-6 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Adams Central 61, Central City 23
Grand Island Central Catholic 53, Sandy Creek 42
C1-7 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Wayne 56, Logan View 38
West Point-Beemer 63, Winnebago 60
C1-8 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Boone Central/Newman Grove 65, Battle Creek 48
Norfolk Catholic 54, Pierce 45
C1-9 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Gibbon 53, Minden 37
Kearney Catholic 66, St. Paul 58, OT
C1-10 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
O’Neill 67, Ainsworth 59
Valentine 56, Ord 39
C1-11 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Gothenburg 50, Chase County 40
Ogallala 48, Cozad 28 C1-12 Subdistrict Tournament Semifinal Chadron 47, Mitchell 27 Kimball 69, Gordon/Rushville 26
C2-1 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Johnson County Central 76, Humboldt/Table Rock-Steinauer 39
Nebraska City Lourdes 65, Weeping Water 48
C2-2 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Freeman 66, Thayer Central 58
Sutton 56, Southern 33
C2-3 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Archbishop Bergan 49, Elmwood-Murdock 36
Yutan 62, Omaha Brownell-Talbot 30
C2-4 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Malcolm 62, Aquinas 61
Twin River 67, Shelby/Rising City 29
C2-5 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Clarkson/Leigh 53, Wisner-Pilger 32
Oakland-Craig 53, North Bend Central 37
C2-6 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Lutheran High Northeast 62, Plainview 26
Stanton 55, Elgin Public/Pope John 38
C2-7 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Hartington Cedar Catholic 73, Homer 46
Wakefield 45, Laurel-Concord 42
C2-8 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Creighton 43, West Holt 26
Crofton 32, Boyd County 26
C2-9 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Doniphan-Trumbull 57, Superior 15
Hastings St. Cecilia 66, Blue Hill 31
C2-10 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Ravenna 65, Wood River 56
Southern Valley 59, Franklin 31
C2-11 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Dundy County-Stratton 47, Perkins County 32
North Platte St. Patrick’s 45, Hershey 27 C2-12 Subdistrict Tournament Semifinal Bridgeport 37, Morrill 33 Hemingford 45, Bayard 39
D1-1 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Johnson-Brock 56, Diller-Odell 51, OT
Pawnee City 51, Friend 34
D1-2 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Bruning-Davenport/Shickley 47, Heartland 32
Exeter/Milligan 57, McCool Junction 52, OT
D1-3 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Kenesaw 64, Red Cloud 24
Shelton 50, Silver Lake 36
D1-4 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Fullerton 52, Palmer 49, OT
High Plains Community 51, Cross County 36
D1-5 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Guardian Angels 79, Omaha Nation 48
Howells/Dodge 79, Pender 52
D1-6 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Hartington 62, Bloomfield 59
Randolph 47, Emerson-Hubbard 25
D1-7 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Clearwater/Orchard 54, CWC 50
St. Mary’s 56, North Central 31
D1-8 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Burwell 63, South Loup 32
Loup City 57, Ansley-Litchfield 36
D1-9 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Alma 50, Elm Creek 41
Overton 75, Wilcox-Hildreth 50
D1-10 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Arapahoe 85, Southwest 42
Cambridge 63, Elwood 46
D1-11 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Paxton 72, Maxwell 24
SMC 54, Hitchcock County 48 D1-12 Subdistrict Tournament Semifinal Crawford 50, Garden County 40 Potter-Dix 62, Minatare 47
D2-1 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Falls City Sacred Heart 59, Lewiston 41
Sterling 37, Parkview Christian 33
D2-2 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Dorchester 56, Meridian 49
Nebraska Lutheran 36, Deshler 31
D2-3 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Humphrey 42, Osceola 41
Humphrey St. Francis 54, Scribner-Snyder 28
D2-4 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Lindsay Holy Family 50, Cedar Valley 38
Spalding/Spalding Academy 85, Elkhorn Valley 45
D2-5 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Bancroft-Rosalie 64, Lyons-Decatur Northeast 57
Wynot 69, Walthill 56
D2-6 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Ewing 48, Stuart 46
Wausa 51, Osmond 23
D2-7 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Giltner 49, Lawrence-Nelson 27
Hampton 69, Heartland Lutheran 62
D2-8 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Amherst 58, Arcadia 42
Pleasanton 49, Axtell 47
D2-9 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Anselmo-Merna 53, Brady 45
Bertrand 67, Loomis 65
D2-10 Subdistrict Tournament
Semifinal
Wallace 45, Hayes Center 39
Wauneta-Palisade 78, Medicine Valley 70, OT D2-11 Subdistrict Tournament Semifinal Mullen 61, Hyannis 37 Sandhills/Thedford 71, Cody-Kilgore 31 D2-12 Subdistrict Tournament Semifinal Leyton 69, Banner County 34 Sioux County 46, Hay Springs 41
GIRLS BASKETBALL
A-1 Tournament
Semifinal
Bellevue West 64, Lincoln North Star 21
Omaha Westside 49, Omaha North 42
A-2 Tournament
Semifinal
Kearney 45, North Platte 41
Millard West 70, Omaha Bryan 17
A-3 Tournament
Semifinal
Bellevue East 77, Papillion-LaVista South 30
Papillion-LaVista 57, Omaha Northwest 50
A-4 Tournament
Semifinal
Lincoln Southeast 78, Omaha South 39
Norfolk 64, Omaha Marian 60, OT
A-5 Tournament
Semifinal
Lincoln Pius X 47, Millard South 17
Millard North 66, Lincoln High 35
A-6 Tournament
Semifinal
Lincoln Northeast 69, Fremont 30
Lincoln Southwest 55, Grand Island 23
A-7 Tournament
Semifinals
Omaha Benson 66, Omaha Burke 48
Omaha Central 49, Lincoln East 34
B-1 Tournament
First Round
Platteview 40, Plattsmouth 28
Waverly 55, Nebraska City 22
B-2 Tournament
First Round
Elkhorn South 65, Omaha Mercy 39
Omaha Skutt Catholic 63, Ralston 27
B-3 Tournament
First Round
Bennington 52, Blair 51
Omaha Duchesne Academy 49, Omaha Roncalli 27
B-4 Tournament
First Round
Columbus 52, Schuyler 19
B-5 Tournament
First Round
Aurora 45, Hastings 33 B-6 Tournament First Round Alliance 57, Scottsbluff 40
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Jordan Hooper scored 14 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead Number 24 Nebraska to its eighth straight victory, 57-39 over Michigan on Thursday night.
