Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — When star point guard Nick Norton went down for the year with a knee injury, Drake’s season seemed to be in jeopardy. The Bulldogs responded by making a somewhat startling run at the Missouri Valley Conference title. Drake, picked to finish ninth in the 10-team league, is just one win away from at least a share of the conference crown. The Bulldogs visit Missouri State on Saturday.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Jon Teske scored a career-high 22 points, and No. 9 Michigan easily rebounded from its loss to Michigan State with an 82-53 victory over Nebraska. The Wolverines were without Charles Matthews, who was out with a right ankle injury, but they raced out to a 22-point halftime lead behind Teske and Iggy Brazdeikis. Michigan lost to rival Michigan State over the weekend.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Samajae Haynes-Jones scored 20 points and hit a jumper at the buzzer as Wichita State erased a 10-point deficit and beat Connecticut 65-63. UConn’s Alterique Gilbert scored on back-to-back 3-pointers inside the final minute that tied the game at 63. Haynes-Jones took an inbounds pass with 6.4 seconds to go, dribbled the floor and sealed it with an off-balance shot from the corner.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Johnny McCants had 12 points off the bench to lift New Mexico State to a 75-55 win over UMKC, the Aggies’ 14th consecutive victory. Terrell Brown had 12 points for New Mexico State.

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Yadier Molina is likely two weeks from an exhibition game appearance at catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals as the nine-time All-Star recovers from left knee surgery. The 36-year-old started limited catching of bullpen sessions and took batting practice. Molina will appear in games at first as a designated hitter, and manager Mike Shildt is targeting a March 14 game against the New York Mets as Molina’s first behind the plate. Molina is the only catcher on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster.

UNDATED (AP) — The Big 12 is going into March without 14-time defending champion Kansas on top. The Jayhawks still have a chance to extend their title streak. But they are a game behind co-leaders Texas Tech and Kansas State with three regular-season games left. There are no more head-to-head games against that trio. They all split their two-game sets. Texas Tech has a six-game winning streak, including a 29-point home win over Kansas.

Harlan Community Schools announced today that current AHSTW Activites Director Davis Pattee has accepted the position of Activities Director/HS Assistant Principal at Harlan.

Pattee will take over the the position starting on July 1, 2019. Along with his Activities Director duties in Avoca, Pattee has also been the Vikings Head Football Coach. He led the Vikings to the playoffs in seven consecutive seasons and a State Runner-Up finish this past season. He was also named the IFCA 2013 state coach of the year and numerous other football coaching awards during his career.

Davis will be taking the place of long time Activities Director and boys basketball coach Mitch Osborn, who announced his retirement on January 18th .

Coach Osborn said “I have known Davis Pattee since he was an student-athlete and then have had the opportunity to work with him as a fellow Activities Director. He has done an outstanding job at AHSTW and I look forward to helping him during the transition. He has also done an outstanding job as Head Football coach carrying on the great tradition and in fact taking it to a new level. Davis Pattee is a difference maker who is very energetic, passionate and positive young man that will also be able
to bring some fresh new ideas to continue to the tradition of excellence at Harlan Community.

High School Principal Scott Frohlich said “We are very excited to announce the hiring of Davis Pattee as our new Activities Director/Assistant Principal. He has high expectations for his staff, students and more importantly himself. What stood out about Davis is his positive relationships he has developed with his students and fellow staff members. This has helped to his great success in football and also as Activities Director at AHSTW.”

First Team
Madison Gettler, CAM, SR
Paige McAfee, CAM, SR
Hannah Whitver, Glidden-Ralston, JR
Emilee Danner, Ar-We-Va, SR
Katelyn Neilsen, Boyer Valley, SO
Tatum Grubbs, Exira-EHK, SO
Macy Emgarten, Exira-EHK, FR
Danielle Hoyle, Paton-Churdan, SO

Second Team
Sammi Jahde, CAM, JR
Sam Brown, Glidden-Ralston, SR
Gretchen Wallace, Glidden-Ralston, SO
Jadeyn Smith, Ar-We-Va, SO
Hailey Ryerson, Woodbine, SR
Chelsey Fundermann, Boyer Valley, SR
Leslie Caniglia, Exira-EHK, SR
Jenna Beyers, Paton-Churdan, SR

First Team
*Cole Burmeister, Sr, Exira-EHK
*Dakota Rold, Sr, Exira-EHK
*Ben Obert, Sr, Coon Rapids-Bayard
*Drew Schurke, Sr, Ar-We-Va
*Keegan Simons, Sr, Ar-We-Va
Layne Pryor, So, Woodbine
Ty Houston, Sr, West Harrison
Lucas Berens, Jr, Boyer Valley

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Tremell Murphy recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead Drake to an 80-68 win over Indiana State on Wednesday night.

Brady Ellingson had 16 points for Drake (22-8, 11-6 Missouri Valley Conference), which earned its fourth consecutive home victory. Nick McGlynn added 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Anthony Murphy had 13 points for the home team.

Jordan Barnes had 21 points for the Sycamores (14-15, 6-11). Tyreke Key added 18 points. Cooper Neese had 14 points.

The Bulldogs improve to 2-0 against the Sycamores this season. Drake defeated Indiana State 68-62 on Feb. 2. Drake finishes out the regular season against Missouri State on the road on Saturday. Indiana State finishes out the regular season against Northern Iowa at home on Saturday.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Marques Townes registered 16 points and eight rebounds as Loyola of Chicago edged past Northern Iowa 56-55 on Wednesday night.

Aher Uguak’s dunk gave the Ramblers a 55-53 lead with 54 seconds remaining in the second half. Lucas Williamson made the second of two free throws and Loyola led 56-53 with 17 seconds to go. After UNI’s AJ Green cut the deficit to one, Townes had a turnover. Green missed the go-ahead jumper with three seconds left.

Cameron Krutwig had 14 points and three assists for Loyola of Chicago (18-12, 11-6 Missouri Valley Conference). Williamson added 12 points.

Green had 18 points for the Panthers (14-16, 9-8), whose four-game win streak was snapped. Isaiah Brown added 13 points. Wyatt Lohaus had 10 points.

The Ramblers improved to 2-0 against the Panthers on the season, both victories coming by one point. Loyola of Chicago defeated Northern Iowa 61-60 on Jan. 30.

Loyola of Chicago, tied for first place with Drake, finishes out the regular season against Bradley at home on Saturday. Northern Iowa finishes out the regular season against Indiana State on the road on Saturday.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Catcher Matt Wieters has agreed to a minor league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. If added to the 40-man roster, the 32-year-old would get a one-year contract calling for a $1.5 million salary while in the major leagues. A four-time All-Star with Baltimore from 2009-16, Wieters will compete with Francisco Pena for the backup job behind Yadier Molina. He spent the past two seasons with Washington.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa has suspended coach Fran McCaffery for two games for yelling at an official in a hallway heading to the locker room following a loss at Ohio State. Hawkeyes athletic director Gary Barta announced the move, which will sideline McCaffery for upcoming games against Rutgers and Wisconsin.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa play-by-play announcer Gary Dolphin, who was suspended last week for likening Maryland’s Bruno Fernando to “King Kong” during a game, will be reinstated after the end of the season. Hawkeye Sports Properties says Dolphin will return to cover Iowa’s spring football practice. Meanwhile, Iowa men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery has been suspended for yelling at an official in a hallway following a 90-70 loss at Ohio State.

UNDATED (AP) — No. 9 Michigan will go for its second win over No. 17 Maryland in two weeks when the teams meet Sunday in College Park. The Wolverines clamped down defensively while beating the Terrapins in Ann Arbor on Feb. 16. Michigan is one game behind Michigan State heading into a Thursday home game against Nebraska. Ohio State and Minnesota have work to do to secure NCAA Tournament bids. The Maryland women wrapped up their fourth Big Ten regular-season championship in their five years in the league.

UNDATED (AP) — Baylor plays at Kansas State to headline Big 12 play. The Wildcats will win a share of the league title if they win out, despite falling at Kansas on Monday night. Baylor will be looking to secure an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, and beating K-State in Manhattan would go a long way in achieving that goal.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator Jovan Dewitt has been throat cancer and won’t work full-time during spring practice. Cornhuskers coach Scott Frost said on his statewide radio show that Dewitt’s prognosis is pretty good and that he’s fighting a good fight. Dewitt is entering his fourth season on Frost’s staff after serving as associate head coach, linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at Central Florida in 2016-17.

The CAM Cougars girls basketball team raced out to a 16-7 lead over Montezuma in the first quarter, but five three-point makes in the second made the difference in the game for the Bravettes. Montezuma grabbed a three point lead by half and they carried that momentum into the second half, and on to a 59-45 win.

The Cougars seemed to have control of the game early but the Bravettes found a groove behind the outside shooting of Elise Boulton and Shelby Conger. Montezuma only made five of sixteen threes in the entire game, but they all came in that second quarter flurry. Montezuma tied the game at 22 near the final minute of the first half, and Shelby Conger hit her second three of the period as time ran out to end the half.

The Bravettes made that rally while leading scorer, and future Iowa Hawkeye, Shateah Wetering sat on the bench with two fouls. CAM Head Coach Joe Wollum said it was a tough stretch for his squad.

Montezuma outscored CAM by 8 in the third quarter and hit 12 of 15 free throws in the second half to secure the win. The Bravettes were led by 17 from Wetering and 13 from Boulton. They now move on to the 1A Semifinals on Friday afternoon against West Hancock.

CAM was led by 19 from Madison Gettler, 12 from Zoey Baylor, and 11 from Paige McAfee. The Cougars outstanding season came to a close with a 21-3 record. Coach Wollum talked about how special this senior class has been for the program.

Wollum also talked about the strong bond he has developed with this team through some trying personal struggles in his life.

This trip to state marked just the second time the CAM district has played in the state tournament, and the first since 1997. It’s the 10th overall state appearance between the Cumberland, Massena, Anita, and CAM districts.