Crazy Rebel(l)s
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22.04.2019 02:53
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WICHITA, Kan. -- Wichita State went to the Final Four last year, yet there was something missing for that team: a Missouri Valley Conference championship. This season the Shockers were focused on not letting that happen. So after No. 3 Wichita State routed Drake 83-54 Saturday night behind Tekele Cottons 21 points and Darius Carters 15, the Shockers relished cutting down the nets to celebrate a conference title that seemed like a foregone conclusion some time ago. "It means a lot, it really does," said point guard Fred VanVleet, who had 15 points and six assists. "Its something we didnt do last year. Its special, and we appreciate it. But, at the same time, we have more goals ahead of us." Wichita State (29-0, 16-0 Missouri Valley) is the first team to start 29-0 since Illinois in 2004-05 and is two wins away from a perfect regular season. The Shockers cruised despite leading scorer Cleanthony Early being held to a season-low three points and Ron Baker only scoring six, less than half his season average. Daddy Ugbede scored 14 points, Jordan Daniels had 13 and Aaron Hawley 10 for Drake (14-14, 5-11), which had more turnovers (20) than field goals (18). Drake coach Ray Giacoletti can compare this seasons Wichita State team to that of a year ago. He was an assistant at Gonzaga last season, and the top-seeded Bulldogs lost to the Shockers in the NCAA Tournament. "Its a much better basketball team now than it was at that time," Giacoletti said. "Ive been doing this 29 years and have been around a lot of great teams that try to outscore you and out-talent you. This team tries to out-tough you in every single facet and really doesnt care about the other stuff." That toughness was flaunted in a 31-4 run Wichita State wrapped around halftime, an onslaught so complete that the Shockers completed the 14-1 portion to start the second half without Drake even attempting a field goal. After trailing early, the Bulldogs held the Shockers scoreless for over 3 minutes, going on a 9-0 run capped by Hawleys backdoor layup for a 15-14 lead with 9:18 remaining in the first half. To make matters worse for Wichita State, Early was on the bench with two fouls and Baker soon joined him with his second. But Wichita State started the game-turning run behind Carter, a reserve who scored four straight before the Shockers started a parade of baskets at the rim. "I thought Darius gave us a huge lift tonight," Shockers coach Gregg Marshall said. "He was really active." VanVleet and Cotton had layups. Cotton and Nick Wiggins had back-to-back slams. VanVleets 3-pointer helped Wichita State lead 31-18 at halftime. The Shockers roll only gained momentum to start the second half. After Drakes Seth VanDeest made a free throw, Wichita State scored 14 straight. Cotton and Carter converted three-point plays to get it started and Carter had another slam. And Kadeem Coleby and VanVleet put back offensive rebounds, bringing roars from the crowd. The Shockers led 45-19 with 16:35 remaining, and Drake seemed befuddled. Much of that had to do with Cotton, who had seven steals in the game. "Was there two Tekele Cottons out there?" Marshall asked, joking. "It sure seemed like it." Cotton said his approach was simple. "I just try to get in position where they dont see me," he said. "Sometimes I can get in the passing lanes and get it. Sometimes, I dont." Hawley ended the run with a 3-pointer 15 seconds later, the Bulldogs first shot attempt of the half. After that, the Shockers could sub liberally and soon start celebrating an outright Missouri Valley title, actually clinched earlier in the day when Indiana State lost. "Hopefully," Marshall said, "this isnt our only championship." Bill Barber Jersey . The Braves optioned outfielder Jose Constanza to Triple-A Gwinnett. As expected, the Braves also called up right-hander Julio Teheran from Gwinnett to start Sundays game and optioned backup catcher J. Dave Schultz Jersey .com) - Guess whos back, back again? Josh Gordons back, tell a friend. http://www.officialflyersfanstore.com/authentic-sean-couturier-flyers-jersey/ . -- Ben Brust scored 19 points to lead six Wisconsin players in double figures as the No. Jaromir Jagr Jersey . These teams will see plenty of each other in the next few weeks as three of the Canucks next nine games are against the Wild (after today they meet February 9th in Minnesota and again February 16th at Rogers Arena). Jori Lehtera Jersey . Chris Johnson singled with two outs off left-hander Jerry Blevins (1-1), and Schafer pinch ran. With a 2-2 count, Schafer ran on the pitch and Upton dropped a single in front of Bryce Harper. Schafer already was rounding third when Schafer bobbled the ball.DENVER - This was almost music to Miamis ears: Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos wanted to rev up their running game at the expense of the passing attack.The Dolphins boast one of the top rushing defences in the league, so less of Mannings right arm and more of anything the Broncos had in the backfield seemed like a good trade-off.It wasnt.C.J. Anderson rushed for 167 of Denvers season-high 201 yards on the ground in a 39-36 win over the Dolphins on Sunday.Manning did his part, too, throwing four touchdown passes, including three to Demaryius Thomas.They were probably expecting a few more passes and we were effective with the run, Manning said.That run-first approach, though, did catch Miami (6-5) off guard. Not so much that the Broncos (8-3) tried to run the ball so much against Miamis eighth-ranked rushing defence — averaging 5.7 yards per carry — but that it actually worked.Theyre known for throwing the ball all over the place. But they had a plan to run the ball and control the game like that, cornerback Brent Grimes said. They did a good job of it.If you want to beat a team like the Broncos, who went the Super bowl last year and are contenders this year, youve got to play your best game. We didnt do that today.Miami didnt play poorly across the board; hardly any team would complain about scoring 36 points on the road. And the Dolphins led most of the game, until Anderson scored on a 10-yard run with 5:01 remaining to give Denver a 32-28 advantage.Ryan Tannehill was moving Miami for the go-ahead score, but he threw an interception that deflected off Jarvis Landrys hands and straight to Broncos safety T.J. Ward.Two plays later, Manning found Wes Welker for a short touchdown to give the Broncos a 39-28 cushion, which came in handy after Tannehill found Landry for a late score.Anderson recovered the onside kick and the Broncos were able to run out the clock.All the points we put up, all that we did, it doesnt matter if we cant make those plays in clutch time to win games, said Landry, who had two TD catches.Indeed, that interception was costly.Askedd what happened on the play, Landry simply responded, Just those guys making a play.dddddddddddd Thats it.Tannehill saw things a little different, especially with cornerback Chris Harris all over Landry on the play.Looked like Jarvis arm got pulled down right when the ball got there, said Tannehill, who finished three TD passes and ran for another. Close call. They didnt throw the flag.For three quarters, Tannehill was outplaying No. 18. Even when his team led 28-17 late in the third, Tannehill knew that was hardly enough offence.Not against Manning.I have faith in our defence, but at the same time, we have a lot of respect for this team and the high-powered offence that they have, Tannehill said. We knew coming in it was probably going to be a high-scoring game.During crunch situation we didnt put points on the board when we needed to.Or stop Anderson, who only got stronger as the game wore on.As we all know, football is still a game of blocking and tackling, Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said. At first glimpse, they blocked us relatively well. Dont know if we tackled great.Same assessment from safety Reshad Jones.We did miss a lot of tackles, he said. Got to do better.One of the backbreaking plays for the Dolphins was when Denver converted on fourth-and-2 at the Miami 41 late in the third. Anderson rumbled for 20 yards to keep the drive going. Manning eventually hit Thomas for a 5-yard TD to give the Broncos momentum and rev up the crowd.We thought we were in control for most of the game, said Jimmy Wilson, part of a defence that allowed the Broncos to convert nine of 13 third downs. We had our opportunities. We have to learn to finish better.NOTES: LT JaWuan James suffered a stinger on a play in the first half and didnt return. Im going to be all right. Thats all Im going to say, James said. ... WR Mike Wallace caught a 10-yard TD reception in the second quarter. ... CB Jamar Taylor went out with a shoulder injury in the third quarter. He was starting in place of Cortland Finnegan, who was deactivated before the game with an aching ankle. ' ' ' |
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