Sports
NCCC baseball starts season with two big wins
The NCCC Panthers baseball team started its 2012 season with two decisive victories over the JV team from Ottawa University on Wednesday afternoon. The Panthers won the first game 8-2 and the second game was 11-1 in the 5th inning when it was cut short by rain. First baseman Adam Giacalone hit a double that scored two RBIs in the first inning of the opener. He also drove in a run with a double in the second inning. David Bote drove in two run...
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NCCC women blown out by Johnson County
Brian McDowell Sports Editor OVERLAND PARK — The struggling season for the NCCC women’s basketball team (3-20) reached its low ebb on Wednesday night with a 74-28 loss to the number one ranked Johnson County Cavaliers. “Jonhson County is a really good team,” Lady Panthers Coach Kelley Newton said. “They’re very solid defensively and everything that I said they would be. They force you into some tough shots if you’re not ready for them. Offen...
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Patton’s 26 points help NCCC triumph over Johnson County
Briann McDowell Sports Editor OVERLAND PARK — NCCC men’s basketball coach Jeremy Coombs classified his team’s Wednesday night 81-70 road victory over the Johnson County Cavaliers as a game that represented everything that he wants his team to be about. The Panthers’ guards weren’t selfish, they got the ball inside to the team’s big men, who finished around the basket. If the big men didn’t have a shot, they kicked the ball out to the guards....
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Humboldt routs Cherryvale
The Humboldt Cubs boys basketball team was victorious over Cherryvale Tuesday night by a score of 66-41. Noah Thornbrugh led the team with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Blake Crawford scored 16, Tanner McNutt had 12, and Trey Johnson chipped in nine. Erie boys fall to Frontenac The Erie Red Devils boys basketball team lost to Frontenac Tuesday night 64-30. According to Coach Caleb Reimer, Erie struggled to find the hoop. “ Frontenac d...
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Chanute seniors will be in spotlight at wrestling regionals
Brian McDowell Sport Editor The seniors who are members of Chanute’s wrestling team, Sam Son and Skylar McGinnis, will be in the spotlight at this weekend’s Regionals high school wrestling tournament in Fort Scott. Son, who is undefeated this wrestling season, has won Regionals for the last three years, and will be participating for the last time. “My goal is to win it,” Son said. “I’ll have some kids that I’ve seen before and some kids I ha...
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Chanute girls lose two-point Valentine’s Day heartbreaker
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The Chanute Blue Comets girls basketball team came within a hair of beating the top-ranked team in the SEK in a Tuesday night home match-up, but wasn’t able to finish off the Labette County Grizzlies (15-3). Despite trailing for most of the contest, Labette held the Comets (7-11) to five points in the game’s final quarter. Thanks to multiple trips to the free throw line, the Grizzlies were able to win the game 46...
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Chanute boys fall to Labette County in rout
Brian McDowell Sports Editor During Friday night’s match-up with their SEK rivals from Pittsburg, things seemed to be getting better for the Chanute Blue Comets. Even though they ended up losing the game, Chanute fought hard through three and a half quarters of the game, and went into the fourth quarter with an 11-point lead. Chanute Coach Max Ruark does not know why that semblance of success did not carry into this team’s next match-up, at h...
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Humboldt boys rout Yates Center
The undefeated Humboldt boys basketball team scored a 80-32 victory over Yates Center on Tuesday night. The Cubs outscored their opponents 29-3 in the game’s first quarter and enjoyed an almost 40-point lead at halftime. Humboldt’s display of offense was driven by Noah Thornbrugh and Tanner McNutt. Thornbrugh had 19 points in the game, while McNutt contributed 17. Caleb Vanatta scored nine points in the Humboldt rout. Nathan Whitcomb had eigh...
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Last-minute free throw shooting dooms Lady Panthers against rivals
Brian McDowell Sports Editor IOLA — “In a game like this, whoever decides they’re going to win the game, that’s the team that’s going to win.” That is how Coach Kelley Newton described his NCCC Lady Panthers’ 51-47 defeat by the Allen County Red Devils on Saturday night. It was a close-knit classic of a rivalry game on the road for Neosho County, in which both teams had almost identical stats. The main statistical difference between them was ...
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Selfishness stifles Panthers in 70-61 loss to Iola
Brian McDowell Sports Editor IOLA — The NCCC Panthers men’s basketball team has not been able to win more than two games in a row this basketball season. That, according to Coach Jeremy Coombs, has been the team’s identity this season. “We get too high on ourselves and think that we can do different things and we end up being very selfish,” Coombs said. This was in full display during the team’s 70-61 loss to their rivals from Allen County Sa...
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Chanute Blues win Columbus Snowball Classic
The Chanute Blues came away champions for the third straight year at the Columbus Snowball Classic this weekend. The Snowball Classic is a 16-team, pool and bracket play tournament that brings teams from Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. All players on the team managed to score in the tournament. The Blues started pool play by defeating the Webb City Slammers 42-19. Corbett Kimberlin led the Blues with 12 points. The Blues stole the ball 18 time...
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Five NCCC wrestlers qualify for National Championships
Five members of the Panthers wrestling squad qualified for the National Championships Saturday as Neosho County Community College hosted the NJCAA West/Central District tournament, which brought some top-ranked wrestlers and wrestling teams to this area. Leading the way for NCCC was champion LeRoy Barnes at 133 lbs. Barnes majored decisioned Eric Hughes of Labette 15-3 to win his first district title as a freshman. Hughes was nationally ranke...
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Chanute wrestling splits SEK duals in Columbus
Brian McDowell Sports Editor COLUMBUS — The Chanute Blue Comet wrestling team split its last two SEK duals of the season on Thursday night, falling to Fort Scott 39-36, but defeating the Columbus Titans on their own turf 52-24. Chanute had an open spot at 132, and, according to Coach Andy Albright, that cost the team dearly in the match-up with Fort Scott. Albright said that giving up several falls in this dual also cost his team. Still, each...
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Fourth quarter costly in 53-49 loss
Brian McDowell Sports Editor PITTSBURG — Chanute boys basketball coach Coach Max Ruark has what he calls the “midnight rule.” He tells his players that they always have until midnight to dwell on a tough loss. Then they have to forget about it and concentrate on the next game. “We’re always working forward to our next thing,” Ruark said. “That’s the nature of sports. If you win, you can’t rest on your laurels, and if you lose, you can’t dwell...
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NCCC soccer’s Lewandowski signs letter of intent with USAO
Brian McDowell Sports Editor NCCC soccer player Ashley Lewandowski signed a letter of intent on Wednesday afternoon, to transfer to and play for the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. Lewandowski, a Pittsburg native, was offered a soccer scholarship from the school in Oklahoma City, and went on a campus visit. The fact that USAO started originally as an all-women’s college appealed to Lewandowski. “They’re really good at soccer, and...
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Panthers escape with 73-70 win in Cowley County rematch
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The NCCC men’s basketball team snuck away with a 73-70 victory in its rematch with the Cowley County Tigers, who are tied for second in the Jayhawk East conference. The Panthers lost their last meeting with Cowley in Ark City by four points, and Neosho County Coach Jeremy Coombs said that loss acted as motivation for the team in this game. “I think the guys want to win this conference, and they know right now our ...
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Multiple turnovers cost Lady Panthers in 81-53 loss
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Turnovers proved costly in the NCCC Lady Panthers Wednesday night meeting with Cowley County. Neosho County turned the ball over 41 times in the loss, with 28 of those coming in the second half, during the 81-53 loss to the Tigers. Despite these mistakes, which led to a rout, Neosho County Coach Kelley Newton said there were good things to take from this game. “Our first half was pretty good against a team in the...
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Royster 8th grade wins Iola Winter Classic
The Royster 8th grade basketball team scored two victories to win the Iola Winter Classic on Saturday. The Rockets beat Meadowview in a 47-20 rout in the event’s opening game, and beat Columbus 44-39 in the championship contest.. “In the championship game, we stepped up and made some big free throws to seal the win,” Royster Coach Steve Slane said. “It was good for the kids to get the wins, so hopefully we can take that into our last two game...
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NCCC baseball prepares for next week’s start of season
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The starting lineups have been set by Coach Steve Murry for the NCCC Panthers baseball team, in preparation to start the 2012 season next Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 15, by hosting the JV team from Ottawa University. 1B Adam Giacalone Shawnee (He was an All-American last year, and also works as a right handed pitcher.) 2B Kaz Sanders Fletcher, OK SS David Bodie a mid-year transfer 3B Garrett Schaede Owasso, OK C: T...
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Panthers closer has sights set on Grand Junction
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The loss in last year’s Super-Regional game still haunts NCCC Panthers closer Max Ising. When he came into the game against Colby and it was tied, by his own admission, Ising choked. “I let the pressure get to me,” Ising said. He said the loss haunted him for about a month after it happened. “To this day, I still don’t like that night when I think about it,” Ising said, “but I put it behind me, and I think everyon...
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