STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Lafayette used a controlled effort to churn out a 61-57 win over Penn State on Wednesday night. The Leopards held the Big 10's leading scorer, Tim Frazier, to three points and 0-of-12 from the field. On the other end, Jim Mower, Seth Hinrichs and Nick Petkovich scored in double figures while Rob Delaney distributed a career-high nine assists.


Mower did the bulk of his work at the line, converting 8-of-9, including two free throws in the final seconds to seal the victory, the first for a Patriot League opponent against Penn State since the league's formation in 1990-91.


In the opening minutes, Penn State jumped out to an 8-0 advantage before a pair of Hinrichs' three's started things. The Leopards pulled out to a 20-16 lead on consecutive three's by Petkovich. The senior's first long ball put Lafayette on top for good at 10:35. Freshman forward Dan Trist followed with a pair of buckets extending the lead to 24-16 as part of a run of 10 straight for the Leopards.


Lafayette led 37-32 at halftime. In the opening 20 minutes, Lafayette hit 7-of-17 from three while Penn State shot a 1-for-13 clip from beyond the arc. The Nittany Lions made up for it with 11 offensive rebounds, outmuscling Lafayette 26-13.



In the second half, Willen picked up his third foul at 12:57 and went to the bench with Lafayette leading 49-41. The Leopards stretched the lead to 10 (51-41) on Les Smith's dribble handoff to Joey Ptasinski, who stepped in and drained an 18-footer. The bucket forced Penn State to call a timeout with 11:40 remaining following Lafayette's 7-0 spurt.



Out of the timeout, Penn State responded with a 6-0 run, cutting the Leopards' lead to 51-47. In that stretch, Willen picked up his fourth personal and went to the bench for a three minute span. Trist's layup at 7:07 briefly stopped PSU's momentum, but then the Nittany Lions added two free throws and a bucket to make it a two-point game with 4:35 showing.



After the teams traded a pair of free throws, Hinrichs used every part of the rim on a three in front of the Lafayette bench to push the lead to five with 3:17 to go. The triple came off a feed from Delaney and gave Hinrichs his best scoring output in a Lafayette uniform.



Two Penn State possessions later, Frazier penetrated the Lafayette defense and kicked to Jermaine Marshall for three of his game-high 20 points. Lafayette led 58-56 with 2:11 left as Penn State took a timeout.



On the other end, Mower made a slashing move to the hoop, but his layup wouldn't fall. Petkovich fouled Marshall on the rebound, but Marshall, who was 9-for-11 from the line, missed the front end of a 1-and-1.



Clinging to a two-point lead, Hinrichs missed a three and then Frazier missed a layup and Mower ripped down the board with less than a minute left. The Leopards called their final timeout with 46.7 seconds left and on the ensuing possession, Hinrichs fired up a three ball from the corner that was down, but then rimmed out to Marshall.



Petkovich stole the ball from Marshall and was fouled right under the hoop, sending him to the charity stripe. Petkovich made one-of-two and Lafayette led 59-56 with 17 ticks left.



On the defensive end, Willen stole the ball from Frazier. The resulting scrum for the loose ball nearly led to a tie-up, but Petkovich called for a timeout. The Leopards had already used their final of five stoppages and were assessed a technical foul. Frazier made one of two to cut Lafayette's lead to 59-57 with 10.4 seconds remaining.



The Leopards inbounded after the made free throw and Mower was able to break away before getting fouled. He calmly iced the game, making both free throws in the double bonus situation.



The Leopards made 16-of-20 (80%) from the line for the game while Penn State went 16-for-26. Lafayette was outrebounded 47-26. Petkovich managed eight boards to go along with 13 points and Mower netted 14 in the win. The Nittany Lions shot 3-for-23 from beyond the arc against the Leopards' zone.


Dexter native Alan Flannigan, while only getting seven minutes on the court, showed great improvement in his defensive game. The freshman was able to come up with a steal and defensive rebound in the contest.


Lafayette, who snapped a three-game losing streak, travels to Sacred Heart on Sunday for a 3:30 p.m. matchup.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Lady Bearcats, fresh off a blowout win against Senath-Hornersville on Monday night, lost a hard-fought SEMO Conference battle against the Jackson Lady Indians on Tuesday night.

“Jackson’s a great ball team this year,” head coach Chad Allen said after Monday night’s win. “They already have two D-1 signees with SEMO. Its going to be a tough matchup for us, but we need a matchup like that. Hopefully we can come out with a victory and our first SEMO Conference win tomorrow night.”

The Lady ‘Cats battled for four quarters, and held a 23-19 lead at the half, but ultimately fell to Jackson with a 45-38 final score.

Brittany Harris and Paige Patterson had their work cut out of them with Connor King - Jackson’s center is every bit of 6’2” and a very physical player. Harris and Patterson both stepped up to the challenge, holding the SEMO signee to only seven points and each blocking one of her shots.

The Lady ‘Cats trailed 12-10 at the end of the first, but a 13 point effort in the second quarter put the ‘Cats on top at the break.

Jackson’s defense played extremely well in the third, as they held the Lady ‘Cats to five points, but the Lady ‘Cats battled back to within four points with a minute left in the contest.


Dru Haertling, Jackson’s other SEMO signee, did everything she could to make sure she had the ball in the last minute, so when the Lady ‘Cats fouled for possession, she was sent to the line. Haertling’s perfect 11-11 effort from the charity stripe was enough to seal the win for the Lady Indians with a 45-38 final score.

Hannah Noe led the Lady ‘Cats with 9 points, while Harris and Patterson had 8 and 7, respectively.


The Lady ‘Cats fall to 3-2 on the season with the loss, and will be in action again on Thursday (Dec. 8) night when they travel to New Madrid to face off with the Eagles.


The game is scheduled to get underway with JV action at 6:00 p.m., and Varsity action immediately following.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

NEW MADRID - The Dexter Bearcats posted a blowout win on the mats Tuesday night, with a 52-26 win over the New Madrid County Central Eagles in a head-to-head duel.

The Bearcats struggle at the lower weight classes due to inexperience, and coach Rich Schwab noted that as a key concern looking forward this season.

“Overall, the boys executed well tonight,” Schwab said. “We need to continue to work with our younger kids at the lower weights. We really need to step it up in the practice room and on the mat to prepare for the first tournament of the year, the Tiger Classic, next Friday and Saturday.”

The Tiger Classic is widely considered the most prestigious tournament for any area wrestler to compete in, save the MSHSAA State Tournament.


As of this writing, confirmed teams for the Tiger Classic are:DeSoto, Dexter, Notre Dame, Ste. Genevieve, Cape Central, Rolla, Sikeston, Union, University City, Francis Howell North, Jackson, Mehlville, Cedar Hill, and Christian County, KY.


The Bearcats will be in action again on Thursday (Dec. 8), when they head back to Notre Dame for a double duel against the Bulldogs and the Poplar Bluff Mules.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

SIKESTON - With four games finished in the 2011-2012 season, the Bearcats have yet to post a win against the three teams they have faced. They opened the season with a loss at Charleston, then back to back losses against Sikeston (one at home, one at the SEMO Tournament), and now with a 70-50 loss to the Jackson Indians to be eliminated from the SEMO Tournament.

The Indians dominated the boards throughout the entire contest due to their extreme size difference - 6’9” big man John Meyer pulled down rebound after rebound throughout the game. They didn’t rely on the deep ball - rather, Jackson used its size and physicality to pound points in the paint.

The Bearcats’ poor free throw shooting compounded their difficulties, as they only hit 6 of 15 shots from the charity stripe.

The Bearcats trailed 19-10 after the first quarter, but were able to put together an 18 point effort in the second quarter to cut Jackson’s lead to 35-28 at the half. Chase Young, Tyler Miller, and the newly reacquired Jordan Fitts all hit shots from beyond the arc in the quarter to add to the offensive surge.

Jackson’s offense exploded in the third quarter, putting up 22 points in the frame. The Indians were able to hold the ‘Cats to just 10 points in the quarter, with Jake Lee putting in 4, to increase their lead to 57-38 at the end of the third.

The Indians put up 15 in the fourth to seal the 70-50 victory.

Miller led the Bearcats offense with 13 points, while Fitts was a close second with 12. Lee chipped in 8, and Young put in 6.

The Bearcats will have the rest of the week off to prepare for their next matchup, when they hit the road to face the Indians for the second time in a seven-day period.


The JV ‘Cats will tip off at 6:00 p.m., with the Varsity game immediately following.

Thanks to SMT Reader - and Bearcat Mom - Tracy Miller for the photos!

ShowMe Scoreboard

High School Boys Basketball

SEMO Conference Tournament

• Cape Central 55, Poplar Bluff 33
• Jackson 70, Dexter 50

Regular Season

• Leopold 60, Woodland 29
• Chaffee 69, East Prairie 45
• Advance 93, Bell City 76
• Kennett 74, Caruthersville 64
• Delta 52, Oak Ridge 46
• Risco 84, Oran 44
• Portageville 84, Kelly 44
• Bernie 67, Scott City 53

High School Girls Basketball

• Jackson 45, Dexter 38
• St. Vincent 53, Kingston 29

NCAA Men

• Missouri 81, Villanova 71
• Marquette 79, Washington 77
• Memphis 71, Miami (FLA) 54
• Central Arkansas 88, SEMO 72

NCAA Women

• Missouri State 82, East Tennessee State 70
• Austin Peay 63, Middle Tennessee 69

 

NJCAA Men

• Three Rivers 66, John A Logan 65
  

Notes:

Scores from the Three Rivers women game played Dec. 6 were not posted on the Three Rivers College sports website by press time.

Henderson State women are not schedule to play until Dec. 29 at Texas-Permian Basic; William Woods University women are not scheduled to play until Dec. 16 at Lindenwood

Photo Above: Mizzou defeated Villanova 81 to 71 in a game played under the lights of Madison Square Garden in New York City. (Photo courtesy Mizzou)

To report local scores to the ShowMe Times, please email news@showmetimes.com or leave a message at 573-624-7469 (624-SHOW)