ST. LOUIS (AP) — Wyatt Lohaus had a career-high 27 points as Northern Iowa narrowly defeated Drake 60-58 in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Saturday.

Trae Berhow had 12 points and six rebounds for Northern Iowa (16-17). Anthony Murphy had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs (24-9). Tremell Murphy added 13 points.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Iowa’s Megan Gustafson flicked the ball away one last time Saturday night then pumped her fists and shouted with glee. Yes, the two-time Big Ten player of the year can finally forget about all those early exits and disappointing finishes and focus on becoming a conference champion. Gustafson scored 20 points and had 12 rebounds to help the 10th-ranked Hawkeyes fend off Rutgers’ frantic fourth-quarter charge and hold on for a 72-67 victory. Iowa will face No. 8 Maryland on Sunday in the title game. “It feels pretty great,” Gustafson said after posting her second double-double in two days. “Right now, this is kind of all we’ve got and we just have to keep it going. I’m just really excited to put it all out there tomorrow.”

While the Hawkeyes (25-6) have been in this situation before, Gustafson has not. Iowa last played for the tourney crown in 2014 and won its second and most recent title in 2001. In previous three trips to Indianapolis, though, Gustafson won only two games and never made it past the quarterfinal round. The postseason has been equally problematic with three wins in two trips to the WNIT and a first-round loss in her first NCAA Tournament appearance last season.

Now, if the Hawkeyes take down Maryland for the second time in a month, Gustafson will finally have the line she so desperately wants on an already stellar resume. The Hawkeyes are one win away from that elusive the conference crown. All that stands in their way is a rematch with No. 8 Maryland. Iowa won the only other meeting this season, 86-73 on its home court. But on a neutral court will be a more difficult challenge.
UP NEXT for Iowa: The conference’s regular-season runner-up will face regular-season champion Maryland in today’s (Sunday’s) title game. Pre-game at 4:45 on KJAN, with the tip-off at 5.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Bridget Carleton scored 18 points, Madison Wise had 15 with 10 rebounds and second-seeded Iowa State defeated 10th-seeded Kansas 75-58 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference tournament on Saturday night.

Kristin Scott also had 15 points for the Cyclones (24-7), who play third-seeded and No. 21 Texas game in Sunday’s semifinals. It is the first semifinal appearance for Iowa State since 2013.

Iowa State, which opened league play with a 38-point win over Kansas and closed it with a 20-point win, shot 52 percent in the second half and 46 percent for the game. The Cyclones knocked down 10 3-pointers. Wise had her first double-double of the season.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Becca Hittner scored 21 points and No. 22 Drake rolled by Bradley 95-63 on Saturday to wrap up its third consecutive outright Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title. Up next is the conference tournament in Moline, Illinois, beginning Thursday. Drake and Bradley have first-round byes. The Bulldogs (25-5, 17-1) won their 10th straight game after shooting 58 percent, making 9 of 20 from the arc and 26 of 31 free throws. Drake outrebounded the Braves 47-26.

Sara Rhine added 12 points and nine rebounds and Maddy Dean also had 12 points. Drake led by 13 after one quarter, 22 at halftime and 32 heading into the final period. Shunseere Kent led Bradley (20-9, 10-8) with a career-high 25 points. Gabi Haack added 13 points. The Braves shot 31 percent and made only 5 of 24 3-point attempts. Drake swept the season series, having won at Bradley 92-63 on Jan. 4.

The Kansas City Chiefs bolstered their young, relatively unproven backfield Saturday by signing veteran running back Carlos Hyde to a $2.8 million contract for the 2019 season. The deal includes $1.6 million guaranteed, a person familiar with the terms told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the terms were not disclosed. The 28-year-old Hyde was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Friday, and the Chiefs moved swiftly in inviting him for a visit. They were seeking help behind Damien Williams and Darrel Williams, who became their top two running backs when Kareem Hunt was released last season.

“We certainly like a bigger back,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said during last week’s scouting combine. “I certainly have a thing for 220-pound backs that can run and catch and block.” The 6-foot, 229-pound Hyde certainly fits that mold. He was a second-round pick of the 49ers in 2014, and he came within 50 yards of eclipsing 1,000 twice during his four-year stay in San Francisco. Hyde signed a $15 million, three-year deal with the Browns last season, but he appeared in just six games before a midseason trade to Jacksonville. Hyde wound up making two starts and appearing in eight games for the Jaguars, though he never made much of an impact. He finished with 58 carries for 189 yards and never reached the end zone, and the Jaguars decided Friday to release him when no trade opportunities materialized.

Still, he represents a low-risk, high-upside addition to a dynamic Chiefs offense. With league MVP Patrick Mahomes under center, the Chiefs shattered just about every franchise record — and quite a few NFL marks — while reaching the AFC title game last season. And while most of their pressing issues lie on defense, Veach and Chiefs coach Andy Reid said they’d be open to any offseason moves that could potentially put them over the hump. Damien Williams is expected to remain the starter after he assumed Hunt’s job, and he gouged Indianapolis for 129 yards rushing in the playoffs. In fact, Williams was so steady that Kansas City signed him in December to a two-year extension worth up to $8.1 million.

“He just needed an opportunity. And when the opportunity presented itself, he kind of took it and ran with it. That is why we extended him,” Veach said. “He’s always been a talented player. He can run, catch and block. He can really do everything. He was great on special teams. I would say going into the offseason and going into the 2019 season, it’s Damien’s job to lose.”
He’ll have a little more competition now, though.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Jarrett Culver scored a career-high 31 points, Davide Moretti added 20 and No. 8 Texas Tech clinched its first Big 12 regular-season title Saturday by beating Iowa State 80-73.

Matt Mooney added 13 points for the Red Raiders (26-5, 14-4 Big 12), winners of nine straight heading into the postseason. Their last league crown came in the defunct Southwestern Conference in 1996.

Lindell Wigginton and Marial Shayok each scored 17 points for the Cyclones (20-11, 9-9), who have lost six of eight. The Cyclones tweaked their lineup after a 90-75 loss at West Virginia on Wednesday. Freshman George Conditt got the rotational front court minutes typically given to sophomore Cam Lard, and senior Zoran Talley was a much bigger part of the game plan.

Coach Steve Prohm likes to settle on a rotation in December and stick with it, so it’ll be interesting to see if those changes remain in the Big 12 tournament.
UP NEXT
The league tournament starts Wednesday in Kansas City.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Ric Hanson.

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ST. LOUIS (AP) — Tremell Murphy had a season-high 26 points as Drake got past Illinois State 78-62 in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tourney on Friday night. Anthony Murphy had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Drake (24-8). Noah Thomas added 13 points. Liam Robbins had three blocks for the hosts. Illinois State put up 17 points in the first half, a season low for the team. Phil Fayne had 18 points for the Redbirds (17-16). Milik Yarbrough added 11 points and seven rebounds.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Wyatt Lohaus had 21 points as Northern Iowa narrowly beat Southern Illinois 61-58 in the Missouri Valley Conference Tourney quarterfinals on Friday night. Southern Illinois coach Barry Hinson announced he would be stepping down after the loss. Hinson coached the Salukis since the 2012-13 season and spent nine years at Missouri State before that. Hinson never made an NCAA Tournament appearance in his 17 years as a Division I coach. He and the chancellor agreed last March that he would step down if the Salukis didn’t make the NIT or NCAA tourney this year.

Trae Berhow had 11 points for Northern Iowa (15-17). Luke McDonnell added seven rebounds. Kavion Pippen had 22 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks for the Salukis (17-15). Armon Fletcher added 14 points and six rebounds.