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Day: February 5, 2021

Joplin High grad Atiba Bradley named Missouri Southern Head Football Coach

Posted on by Jason Peake

Missouri Southern State University has named Joplin native Atiba Bradley as the 14th head football coach in the school’s history. He becomes the first graduate of Missouri Southern to lead the Lions football program.

“I’m extremely excited and honored for the opportunity to lead this football program,” said Bradley. “This is a position that is near and dear to my heart, a coveted position that returns me home and keeps me home for the future.”

Bradley’s coaching career has seen him develop strong Midwestern ties at a variety of levels. He comes to Missouri Southern from NCAA Division II McKendree University in Lebanon, Ill., where he was the Bearcats’ defensive coordinator. Prior to that, he served as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at NCAA Division I FCS University of South Dakota from January 2016 through December 2018. From 2013-16, Bradley was co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at NCAA Division I FCS Western Illinois.

He was also defensive coordinator at NCAA Division II Quincy University (Illinois) for the 2012 season. Bradley served as a graduate assistant at the University of Missouri from 2008-10. He was a student assistant and graduate assistant for the Lions from 2006-08 and was the team’s assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator from 2010-12 under head coach Bart Tatum.

As a player at MSSU, Bradley was a two-time All-MIAA honorable mention pick as a linebacker. During his senior season, he finished as Missouri Southern’s second-leading tackler with 72 stops (30 solo), including 9.5 for losses and one sack. Bradley was ninth in the MIAA that year in tackles. In his career, Bradley finished with 224 tackles, including 17.5 for a loss of 69 yards, 6.5 sacks for a loss of 52 yards, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and one interception for a return of 37 yards.

A graduate of Joplin High School, Bradley played on the offensive and defensive lines where he was a first-team all-conference, all-district and all-area performer and a second-team all-state selection for the Eagles.

“I am delighted that we have identified Atiba Bradley as the next leader of the Missouri Southern football program,” said Dr. Dean Van Galen, MSSU president.

“Coach Bradley will bring strong and diverse experience at the DII and FCS levels. In addition to his outstanding experience and leadership skills, I was very impressed with his energy and his plan to build a highly competitive program that includes a commitment to the development of the student-athlete that emphasizes academic success. As a MSSU graduate and former Lion football player and coach, Abita has a unique perspective on how to build a program at our university that is successful and sustainable. It is clear that this is where Coach Bradley wants to be.”

Associate Vice President for Development Kevin Greim served as chair of the search committee. Other committee members included Assistant Athletics Director Cori Reid; Dean of the Plaster College of Business and Faculty Athletics Representative Dr. Jeff Zimmerman; 1996 MSSU graduate and Lions Football alum Cedric Florence; and 1982 MSSU graduate and Lions Football alum Marty Schoenthaler. Missouri Southern received 140 official applications and dozens more inquiries about the position.

“Our search committee was committed from day one to identifying the best possible candidates for interviews and to moving through this process as quickly as possible,” said Greim.

“To say that we appreciate the commitment of our committee members is a considerable understatement. We would not have been able to visit with and evaluate the caliber of candidates we did without the time, energy and thorough attention they dedicated to this process. We were so pleased with the quality of our candidate pool.”

Of his new team, Bradley said, “I want to build a program that our community can be proud of. We are going to be a tough, physical team that will play with energy, enthusiasm and purpose. Lions Football will be a program represented by young men that people want to support and be associated with. We’ll be reaching out to all Lions past and present to help us build a championship program.”

Bradley and his wife, Jacquelyn, also a graduate of Missouri Southern, have three children, Briauna, Kiara and Marcus.

Bradley will be formally introduced at a press conference next week.

WARRIOR CLASSIC: Teeter surpasses 1,000 points as McAuley gets past Lamar; CHC boys top McAuley

Posted on by Jason Peake

A big win for the McAuley Catholic girls basketball team at the 38th annual Mercy/Warrior Classic culminated in a jubilant celebration, as junior Kayleigh Teeter scored her 1,000th career point in her team’s 48-37 win over Lamar. 

The Warriors got off to a good start, opening the game on a 7-2 run, thanks to two baskets from junior Kennedy DeRuy, a basket from senior Gliza Damaso, and a free throw from sophomore Lily Black. The Tigers responded with a 6-2 run of their own, with the two points being Teeter’s first two free throws of the evening. At the end of the first quarter, McAuley led 9-8.

In the second quarter, Lamar kept firing on all cylinders, scoring 15 points and simultaneously playing good defense by holding the Warriors to just nine points. At one point the Tigers were on a 7-2 run. Teeter added six more points for the Warriors, while DeRuy went 2-for-2 from the line, and freshman Kloee Williamson also made a free throw. 

McAuley went into the half with a 23-18 deficit.

McAuley looked like a whole different team coming out of halftime, as they went on a huge 14-3 run that lasted the entire quarter. Teeter really caught fire, hitting three baskets, and going 2-for-2 from the line, giving her seven points in the quarter and inching her closer to the 1,000 point mark. Damaso added three points, and Williamson also hit an impressive 3-pointer. That barrage of points, coupled with holding Lamar to just three points, meant McAuley held a 32-26 lead going into the fourth quarter. 

“I told the girls to keep pushing,” McAuley coach Mike Howard said. “I felt like if we could keep up the intensity on defense we could make some turnovers, and I think that’s what happened. We got some steals and made some easy baskets. Our defense played phenomenal in the third quarter. To hold a team like Lamar to just three points is really saying something about our team’s character.”

As the final eight minutes ticked away, the Warriors continued to add to their lead, and as the outcome of the game became clear everyone instead became focused on another important milestone: Teeter getting to 1,000 career points. 

DeRuy made two baskets and went 2-for-2 from the line, giving her 12 points for the night. Williamson and Black each made baskets of their own. With just six minutes left in the game, and still needing three points, everyone else was making baskets, but Teeter had watched the ball just barely jump out of the rim instead of going in. 

Then the first foul came, and she went 2-for-2. The entire crowd watched in anticipation as she made an impressive steal, but just barely missed a layup. On the ensuing play she was fouled yet again, and this time she did not miss, making her career 1,000th point with 2:03 to go in the game. The crowd went wild and had a collective sigh of relief. 

It turned out that Teeter wasn’t done yet either. She came back and easily made her second free throw, and before the game was over hit two more, going 6-for-6 from the line in the final quarter and giving her 22 points for the night.

“It felt amazing, it was a big surprise,” Teeter said. “I thought I needed about five more games, but then I found out I just needed one more. When it happened that was also a surprise because it was just a free throw, and you don’t get that reaction just for a free throw. There was a lot of pressure, between the 1,000 points, winning another championship, and just playing a good team in Lamar. I wasn’t too concerned about whether or not I was going to get it, I was more concerned about the win. 1,000 points is a personal goal, but the team win was more important.”

“Kayleigh did cut it close, but she’s a competitor and I just kept pushing her,” added Coach Howard. “It was a little emotional. She’s only a junior, to get to that point in her career, she’s the hardest player I have. It couldn’t have happened to a better person, as good as she is on the court, she’s twice the person off of it and a great role model for our community.”

Kara Morey scored 12 points for Lamar, while Josey Adams added seven. 

 

WARRIOR CLASSIC ROUNDUP 

COLLEGE HEIGHTS BOYS 54, MCAULEY 50

College Heights built an early lead and held off McAuley down the stretch to earn a win at the Mercy/Warrior Classic on Thursday.

The win sends the Cougars to the tournament championship game with a matchup against Joplin JV at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. 

CHC outscored McAuley 17-11 in the second period to build a nine-point, 27-18 lead by halftime. The margin remained the same heading into the fourth quarter, where the Warriors outscored the Cougars 17-12 but fell shy of making the comeback.

Miller Long led College Heights with 14 points, while Curtis Davenport added 13 and Ethan Meeks 12. 

Daniel Wagner led McAuley with 14 points, while Thomas Black also finished in double figures with 12. Matthew Dohmen contributed eight in the loss.

 

LAMAR JV GIRLS 35, THOMAS JEFFERSON 18

Lamar JV girls outscored Thomas Jefferson 17-9 in the first half, building a comfortable cushion on the way to the win over Thomas Jefferson in the Mercy/Warrior Classic.

Thomas Jefferson held the Tigers scoreless in the first quarter on the way to a four-point lead. Lamar JV rallied in the second to take an eight-point margin into the half before pulling away down the stretch.

Ella Harris and Jaycee Doss led Lamar JV with eight points each, while Sydney Stamps led the Cavaliers with eight points.

GIRLS HOOPS: Republic starts fast and pulls away from Carthage

Posted on by Lucas Davis

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Republic built an early lead and staved off Carthage in the middle quarters before pulling away to a 76-44 Central Ozark Conference road win on Thursday.

Republic (13-6, 4-0 COC) started the game on a 10-2 run before finishing the opening quarter with a double-digit advantage. Carthage (11-8, 1-3 COC) trailed by as much as 20 in the first half before a late second-quarter surge cut the deficit to 13 by the intermission. Carthage cut the lead to single digits several times in the third quarter before Republic put the game out of reach early in the fourth.

“We just didn’t shoot the ball well,” Carthage coach Scott Moore said. “We missed a bunch of bunnies around the basket and missed a lot of free throws when we had the advantage there. I think, overall, our shooting put us in a hole in the first quarter, resurfaced again in the fourth quarter, and that was really the difference. We were getting buckets in the third quarter, but our defense let us down. It was an eight-point ballgame right there in the third, but we just couldn’t muster baskets in the fourth quarter.”

Republic wasted little time getting out to a lead over Carthage, with Kaemyn Bekemeier and Savana Powell-Goodman knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers to start the contest with a 6-0 lead. 

From there, Republic went to work attacking the basket to stretch out the advantage. Bekemeier added three more baskets from inside the perimeter, with Powell-Goodman and Jazzy Kirby also adding baskets on the drive to give Republic a 20-8 lead after one quarter of play.

“They have a really good player and some good role players,” Moore said. “Their role players had good nights tonight, and that’s going to be a problem. Every kid can spread the floor. Republic can shoot the 3. They were just hot to start, and we were not.”

Carthage was limited to one field goal in the opening quarter and added six makes at the free-throw line.

“We couldn’t get open looks from the outside,” Moore said of his team’s offensive output in the opening quarter. “We had a height advantage inside and we felt we could attack the paint, which is why we had so many free throws. We just have to turn those into and-ones and make all of our free throws.”

Republic started the second period with a 3-ball from Powell-Goodman before Bekemeier knocked down a baseline pull-up jumper and a jumper in the lane off the glass to push the lead out to 27-8 at the 4:08 mark. Kirby was good from mid-range moments later to give Republic its largest lead of the first half, 31-11.

Carthage responded with its first run of the game, scoring 10 unanswered points to bring the lead back to 10 with a minute to play in the first half at 31-21. Hailey Fullerton fueled the run with seven points in the quarter. 

“Some of the good work we did in the first quarter got them into foul trouble by the second quarter,” Moore said. “That allowed us to make a run at the lead.”

Republic, in what looked like a recurring theme for the remainder of the game, answered Carthage’s momentum swing with a bucket — a 3-pointer from Kirby — to give RHS a 34-21 lead at halftime.

Republic scored the first basket of the second half before Carthage’s Kianna Yates sank a 3-ball from the top of the key, with Fullerton following with an offensive rebound for a putback bucket to make the score 36-26 with 6:50 on the clock.

Fullerton sank a 3-pointer moments later, which was followed by a Yates score inside to cut the lead to single digits for the first time in the second half, 41-32, at the 5:15 mark.

Again, Republic answered, as Bekemeier found room inside for a basket to push the lead back to 10. 

Carthage cut the lead to single digits once more after a 3-pointer from Yates and a turnaround score inside from Fullerton with less than three minutes left in the third period before Republic answered with seven straight points to extend the lead back to a double-digit margin, taking a 54-42 cushion into the final quarter of play.

“Republic has a very mature team that handled our runs,” Moore said. “They have four seniors and a really good sophomore. That is a lot of experience. Our experience allowed us to make the runs, but their maturity allowed them to stave us off long enough to get hot again in the fourth quarter when we ran out of steam.”

Republic started the final eight minutes of action on a 14-0 surge to end any comeback attempt by Carthage. 

SCORING LEADERS

Bekemeier led Republic with a game-high 26 points, while Powell-Goodman finished with 18. Kirby added 11.

Fullerton led Carthage with 20 points, while Yates finished with 12. Brinna Ream added seven.

UP NEXT

Carthage hosts Neosho for a Super Two night on Tuesday.

 

GIRLS HOOPS: Joplin falls to Aurora at Seneca tourney

Posted on by Jason Peake

SENECA, Mo. — A strong first quarter wasn’t enough for the Joplin High School girls basketball team. 

Joplin was unable to hold on to an early lead, as the Aurora Houn’ Dawgs overcame a double-digit deficit and rallied for a 54-49 victory over the Eagles on Thursday at the Seneca Tournament. 

Free throws played a big part in the win for the Houn’ Dawgs. Aurora made 26-of-30 at the foul line. 

“We fouled way too much,” Joplin coach Luke Floyd said. “And that’s on me. I have to teach them how to defend properly without fouling. I have to do a better job of running defensive drills. We need to work on the fundamentals. That comes back to me.”  

The Eagles got off to a great start.

Joplin closed the first quarter on a 13-0 run to take a 17-4 lead.

Seven different players scored in the opening frame for the Eagles—Bailey Ledford, Brynn Driver, Lily Pagan, Brooke Nice, Serafina Auberry, Isabella Yust and Jacie Jensen. 

“I thought we came out with great energy,” Floyd said. “The girls really came out well and put a lot of pressure on the ball. We got our transition game going and we got some easy buckets. I thought our girls did a good job of attacking on both ends of the floor in the first quarter.” 

Joplin led 22-6 after hoops from Nice and Driver, but Aurora got going offensively. 

The Houn’ Dawgs finished the first half on an 18-5 surge. Ellie Creasey and Ana Perez Ortiz both hit treys late in the second quarter, trimming Joplin’s halftime advantage to 27-24.

“I put us in a zone and tried to mix things up,” Floyd said. “That allowed Aurora to go on a run. And we put them on the foul line too much.” 

A back-and-forth third period ended with the score deadlocked at 38.

Emma Floyd’s hoop in the paint gave Joplin a 43-42 lead with just over five minutes remaining.

However, the Eagles would go the next three and a half minutes without scoring a point while Aurora would put up six unanswered points. 

Nice hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:30 left, ending the Eagles’ scoring drought and cutting Aurora’s lead to 48-46.

Aurora’s Elizabeth Martin and Creasey both went 2-for-2 at the charity stripe to keep the Houn’ Dawgs in front for good, while Ledford made one free throw for the Eagles.

Yust’s bucket inside trimmed Joplin’s deficit to three at 52-49 with 10 seconds left.

Aurora’s Nallely Martinez hit two clutch free throws with six seconds left to all but seal the win.

“The girls are trying and they’re playing really hard,” Floyd said. “As a coach, I just have to put them in better positions.”

A senior guard, Martin scored 23 points for Aurora, with 13 of those points coming at the free-throw line. A sophomore guard, Creasey added 14 points for the Houn’ Dawgs (8-9). 

A junior guard, Nice scored 13 points to lead Joplin (6-11). She hit three treys. 

A junior forward, Floyd added 11 points before fouling out. Driver, a sophomore guard, added eight points. 

In Thursday’s other game, Seneca defeated Monett 52-33.

 

WHAT’S NEXT?

Joplin hosts Nixa at 6 on Friday.

The Eagles will conclude Seneca tourney play at 3 on Saturday. 

MEN’S HOOPS: Pittsburg State defeats UCM for 4th straight win

Posted on by Lucas Davis

PITTSBURG, Kan. — Ryan Pippins scored a season-high 26 points to help pace the Pittsburg State men’s basketball team to a 79-72 victory over the University of Central Missouri Thursday at John Lance Arena.

The Gorillas (9-7, 9-7 MIAA) notched their fourth straight victory with the win against the Mules (6-10, 6-10 MIAA).

Pippins made 8-of-14 shots from the floor, including three 3-pointers, and converted all seven free-throw attempts. He added seven rebounds and three assists as well. Quentin Hardrict Jr. chipped in with 14 points, while Martin Vogts and Cameron Huefner finished with 10 apiece.

Pittsburg State shot 51 percent from the field for the game, converting 26-of-51 shots from the floor.

UCM got a game-high 31 points from Koray Gilbert and 11 more from Gaven Pickley.

The Gorillas will return to action Saturday when they play host to MIAA rival Lincoln University at 3:30 p.m.

WOMEN’S HOOPS: UCM downs PSU women

Posted on by Lucas Davis

PITTSBURG, Kan. — Graycen Holden and Nija Collier combined for 41 points and the No. 21-ranked Central Missouri women’s basketball team pulled out in front during the game’s waning minutes to claim a 76-71 victory over Pittsburg State on Thursday at John Lance Arena.

Pittsburg State (10-6, 10-6 MIAA) led by as man as 11 points in the second quarter, but UCM (13-2, 13-2 MIAA) chipped away at the lead in the second half. The game featured seven ties and eight lead changes.

The Jennies took the lead for good, 72-71, on Collier’s 3-pointer with with 1:26 to play. After a Pittsburg State turnover, Holden hit an inside shot with 42 ticks remaining to make it a 74-71 UCM advantage. Olivia Nelson hit two free throws with 15.1 seconds to go for the game’s final margin.

Pittsburg State’s last lead came on a 3-pointer by Tristan Gegg with 2:02 to play. The Gorillas, who led 71-69 at that point, did not score again down the stretch.

Gegg poured in a game-high 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the floor for the Gorillas. Kaylee DaMitz added 13 points and nine assist, while Sydnee Crain also scored in double figures with 10 points.

Pittsburg State will return to action Saturday when the Gorillas host MIAA rival Lincoln at 1:30 p.m.

COLLEGE HOOPS: Martin’s career night leads Missouri Southern men to win over Lincoln

Posted on by Jason Peake

Missouri Southern senior forward Cam Martin scored 24 points and pulled down a career-high 21 rebounds as the Lions took out Lincoln 72-66 on Robert Corn Court inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.

Southern (9-7, 9-7 MIAA) was led by Martin’s night as he became the first Lion since Slim Magee in 2014 to have at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in a single game. Magee did it in the opening round of the 2014 MIAA Tournament against Nebraska-Kearney (24 points, 20 rebounds). Martin was 9-of-12 from the field and added four assists and three blocks. Winston Dessessow scored 10 points off the bench.

Lincoln (8-6, 8-6 MIAA) was led by 17 points from Quinton Drayton.

The Lions opened up the game on a 12-0 run and led 14-3 after a dunk from RJ Smith with 15:21 left. The Blue Tigers got within three points on multiple occasions before a free throw from Cameron Potts with 8:08 on the clock made the score 20-18, Lions.

From that point, Southern closed the half on a 20-6 run that saw the Lions lead 40-24 at the break. Martin scored 11 points during the stretch and finished the half with 18 points and nine rebounds.

A bucket from Martin three minutes into the second half gave the Lions a 17-point lead (45-28), but the Blue Tigers fought back. Lincoln cut the lead to four on two occasions, the second time coming with six minutes to go, and with 1:50 left on the clock Lincoln had got within one (65-64). The Lions went on a 6-0 run and led by seven with 45 seconds to go and wouldn’t look back.

Southern shot 46 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free throw line. The Lions won the rebounding battle 48-37.

Southern will conclude this three-game home stand with a matchup with Central Missouri on Saturday. Tip off from the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center is slated for 3:30 p.m.

COLLEGE BASEBALL: Homers, strikeouts lead Missouri Southern to win in ’21 opener

Posted on by Jason Peake

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla.  — The Missouri Southern baseball team got a pair of home runs and a stellar start from Zac Shoemaker and the Lions opened the 2021 season with a 3-2 win at Flagler today.

Southern (1-0) got five strong innings from Shoemaker as he struck out 11 and allowed just one earned run on four hits in getting win No. 1 on the season. Corey Cowan threw two hitless innings in relief with three strikeouts, while Cole Woods picked up the save, throwing the final two innings and striking out five.

An Aurora native, Shoemaker moved up into third all-time on the MSSU career strikeout list. The lefty has 211 punch outs in his career.

Troy Gagan and Matt Miller had a home run each as Gagan drove in two and Miller one. Henry Kusiak had a pair of hits, while Jordan Fitzpatrick had the team’s other hit.

The Lions opened up the scoring in the third when Fitzpatrick reached on a two-out error. Gagan then took the first pitch he saw and deposited it over the left field fence for the 2-0 lead.

Flagler (0-1) picked up a run in the fifth to get within one, but Miller answered with his long ball in the sixth for what would end up being the game-winner. Flagler added a lone run in the ninth, but Woods rebounded to strikeout the final batter.

The two teams will be back in action tomorrow with a single game. First-pitch is slated for 5 p.m. (CT).

COLLEGE HOOPS: Missouri Southern women ride big third period to win over Lincoln

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

The Missouri Southern women’s basketball team utilized a big third quarter and defeated the visiting Lincoln Blue Tigers 70-65 on Thursday night inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.

Southern (7-9, 7-9 MIAA) was led in scoring by Carley Turnbull who tallied 19 points and five rebounds. Amaya Johns scored 12, while Biance Stocks and Kaitlin Hunnicutt had eight each. Brooke Stauffer had a career-high six assists to lead the Lions in that category. Madi Stokes had a game-high nine rebounds and six points.

Lincoln (1-13, 1-13 MIAA) had three score in double-figures led by 18 points from Niyah Jackson.

The two teams traded baskets for most of the first quarter, but a 6-2 run to end the quarter for the Lions, capped by a layup from Johns as time expired put Southern up 16-12 after one.

The Lions led 21-14 a minute into the second quarter after a three from Layne Skiles, but the Blue Tigers took a 22-21 lead after a layup with 4:24 to go on the clock. Back-and-forth scoring for both teams highlighted the quarter, but a layup from Anna Hall with 1:23 left was the last scoring of the half and the Lions trailed 28-27 at the break.

A layup from Stokes to open the third quarter put the Lions up 29-28 and after the score was tied at 30, Southern went on a 13-6 run to open up a 43-36 lead after a jumper from Johns with three minutes to go. A three from Hunnicutt and back-to-back buckets from Turnbull put the Lions up 50-38 as the quarter neared its end, but a last-second layup from Lincoln made the score 50-40 after three.

A jumper from the Blue Tigers got Lincoln within three (54-51) with 6:24 to go and a layup from Turnbull with 3:18 left put the Lions up 61-57. Lincoln got within five (69-65) with 9.1 seconds left after a free throw, but the Lions were able to hold on for the win.

The Lions shot 46 percent from the field and out rebounded Lincoln 45-39.

Southern will conclude this three-game home stand with a matchup with Central Missouri on Saturday. Tip off from the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center is slated for 1:30 p.m.

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