The Lady Bearcats are still ranked in the state in Class 4, according to the most recent Missouri Basketball Coaches Association poll.

The newest MBCA poll includes games played through Sunday, Jan. 15, and has the 'Cats listed in the No. 5 slot, right behind Miller Career Academy; the Pheonix, along with the Jackson Indians, are the only two teams to defeat the Lady 'Cats so far this season.

According to LBB's Rankings page on MaxPreps.com, the Lady Bearcats are ranked No. 23 across all classes, but are No. 3 in Class 4; Miller Career is again ranked above the Bearcats in the No. 1 slot.

The Lady 'Cats are also close to cracking the top 1,000 teams in the nation, according to MaxPreps.

The Lady 'Cats will be in action again tonight, when the head to Portageville to take on the Bulldogs; tipoff for the JV is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., with the Varsity immediately following.

BOLIVAR - Southwest Baptist University head football coach Keith Allen announced today the hiring of new offensive line coach, Jamal Powell. Powell comes to SBU from Centre College where he has been the offensive line coach for the past four years. Prior to coaching at Centre College, Powell spent two years at Texas A&M University in College Station.

Powell also spent time playing for four different professional football organizations. Powell played two years in the NFL at center. He spent 2003 playing for the Tennessee Titans, and 2004 playing for the Houston Texans. 

Game to be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network - Channel 363 on NewWave Communications' cable; Channel 613 on DirecTV; and Channel 152 on Dish Network.

THE OPENING TIP

Lafayette and Holy Cross are two of the four teams tied for second place in the Patriot League standings at 2-1. The Leopards are coming off a 79-65 loss to first-place Bucknell on Saturday while Holy Cross lost 67-54 at American. The game will be televised nationally by CBS Sports Network.

Freshman guard Seth Hinrichs is making his pitch for Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors. He has been named P.L. Rookie of the Week five times this season, most recently on Jan. 16. Hinrichs tied a career high with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting coming off the bench against Bucknell on Saturday. Hinrichs is averaging 9.3 points and 2.7 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per game. He has started 14 games.

The last time Lafayette and Holy Cross met was in the 2011 Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinal, a 77-70 Lafayette victory in Worcester. Lafayette had five players score in double figures led by 19 from Ryan Willen. Lafayette took two of three games from Holy Cross in 2010-11.

In the Leopards' last outing, Bucknell used a 9-2 run to start the second half and never looked back in a 79-65 win Saturday afternoon. Lafayette did not have an answer for Bucknell junior center Mike Muscala who had 27 points. Lafayette committed a season-low six turnovers, but were handled on the glass 34-18. Bucknell was 15-of-15 at the line, with Muscala accounting for nine of those points.

Preseason All-Patriot League selection Tony Johnson made his season debut vs. Army. Johnson, who missed 16 games with a back injury, finished with three points and four assists in 20 minutes. Against Bucknell, Johnson started the game, contributing nine points, five boards and three assists in 29 minutes.

With five rebounds against Bucknell, Ryan Willen became the 13th player in Lafayette basketball history to score 1,000 points and secure 500 rebounds. The senior forward has 1,276 career points and 503 career rebounds, joining recent addition Jared Mintz '11 (1,245 points, 516 rebounds) on the list.

Senior forward Ryan Willen has scored in double figures in six straight games and in 15 of Lafayette's 18 contests this season.

Lafayette is 4-0 when hitting 14 or more three's and 4-0 when opponents score 20 or fewer field goals.

ABOUT HOLY CROSS

Holy Cross sits in a four-way tie for second place in the Patriot League standings, beating Lehigh (84-78) and Navy (73-69) while losing at American (67-54). The Crusaders are 8-9 overall and 6-1 at home.

Statistically, Holy Cross is the conference's best team in defending the three, allowing opponents 29 percent while shooting 35 percent on their own end.

Senior guard Devin Brown, a 2011 All-League Second-Team selection, leads the team in scoring (15.7 ppg) and has a team-best 33 three's. Redshirt junior R.J. Evans has returned to form after missing the final 21 games of last season due to injury. The 2009 Patriot League Rookie of the Year is averaging 12.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Freshman Justin Burrell (7.1 ppg) has taken over at point guard and is second in the Patriot League with 4.3 assists per game. Senior Mike Cavataio (6.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg) made a recent return from injury after missing the first 13 games.

Up front, sophomore forward Dave Dudzinski (10.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and junior center Phil Beans (6.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg) round out the starting five.

Milan Brown (Howard '93) is in his second season as head coach at Holy Cross where he has a 16-30 record.

ShowMe Scoreboard, 1.19.2012

Games played Wednesday, January 18, 2012

High School Boys

• St. Vincent 66, Herculaneum 28

High School Girls

• Cape Central 66, Saxony Lutheran 19
• St. Joseph’s 63, Notre Dame 46 

College Men

• Murray State 66, Morehead State 60
• Ole Miss 75, Mississippi State 68
• Creighton 66, Missouri State 65
• UNLV 101, TCU 78
• Nebraska 70, Indiana 69

College Women

• Texas A&M 76, Mizzou 52
• Duke 29, Georgia Tech 62
• Louisville 64, Providence 48
• Bayllor 72, Texas Tech 64 

Tonight

• Dexter Girls @ Portageville
• William Woods Women @ Columbia College
• Lafayette @ Holy Cross (CBS Sports Network)

 

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.- The Palm Beach Atlantic University baseball program and head coach Gary Carter have announced a new addition to the 2012 coaching staff in veteran collegiate coach Scott Kingston.

Kingston will fill the role of assistant coach on the staff while working alongside associate head coach Kent Bottenfield as well as Carter who enters his third season as the head coach for PBA.

Most recently the head coach at NCAA Division III, Mitchell College during the 2011 season, Kingston also has had assistant coaching stops in his career at Frostburg State University, The University of Michigan, Keystone College, and Indian River State College.

With Carter undergoing medical treatment in his fight against brain cancer throughout the fall, bringing in another solid coach alongside Bottenfield will prove to be beneficial in a number of ways.

"Being able to bring in a guy with the background and abilities of a person like Scott will be a tremendous addition to our program," said Bottenfield.

"His passion for the game and his desire to make players better as individuals and within the team concept made him a natural fit for what we are trying to accomplish with our program," concluded Bottenfield.

Kingston will begin his duties with the team in January and will primarily be focusing on the team's hitters, base running, and recruiting efforts.

Kingston's time at Mitchell although short proved to be very successful as he led the Mariners to their first-ever New England Collegiate Conference regular season and tournament championships while also earning the program's first trip to an NCAA Regional.

Mitchell proved to flourish offensively under Kingston's leadership as they finished as one of the most prolific offensive teams in all of Division III including leading the country in team batting average (.352) and slugging percentage (.539) while concluding the season with a 23-11-1 record and a 14-4 mark in the NECC.

Before taking the reins of the Mitchell program in his first head coaching stint, Kingston honed his recruiting and player development skills at a number of other institutions around the country.

Most recently Kingston was the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Indian River State College in nearby Fort Pierce, Florida where he worked under head coach Mitch Markham for the 2010 season.

Kingston began his coaching career in 2000 when he assisted at Frostburg State University while serving as the recruiting coordinator and junior varsity head coach. He would later move on to assist in the recruiting efforts at The University of Michigan (2004-05) before becoming the Associate Head Coach at Keystone College in 2009.

Before entering the coaching world Kingston played at the likes of NCAA Division II institutions, the University of West Georgia and Columbus State University. He competed at the junior college level at Middle Georgia College.

Primarily a corner infielder during his playing days, Kingston was drafted by the New York Yankees in 1995 following graduation from Columbus High School in Columbus, Georgia where he played under head coach Bobby Howard and helped lead CHS to three state championships.

Scott is married the former Christa Patrick of Clarksummit, Pennsylvania in July of 2011.

Visit pbasailfish.com for the latest news and info on Palm Beach Atlantic University Athletics.