AMES, Iowa – Iowa State men’s basketball sophomores Tyrese Haliburton and Rasir Bolton have been recognized by the Big 12 coaches with all-conference honors.

Haliburton earned All-Big 12 second-team accolades, while Bolton earned honorable mention recognition.

Haliburton, an Oshkosh, Wisconsin native, played 22 games before missing the final eight games of the regular season due to a broken left wrist. Haliburton led the Cyclones with 15.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.5 steals. He reached double figures in 18 games this season, scoring 20 or more points six times.

Prior to his injury, Haliburton was a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award. In addition to his league-high 6.5 assists, Haliburton also boasted an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.3. He ranked among the top-10 in the league in scoring, field goal percentage, assists, steals, three-point field goal percentage, three-point field goals made, assist-to-turnover ratio and minutes played before the injury ended his season.

Bolton averaged 14.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in his first season as a Cyclone. The Petersburg, Virginia native reached double figures in 23 of 30 games played, including a season-high 29 points against Florida A&M. Bolton has recorded double-digit points in 12 of the last 13 games, missing yesterday’s season finale due to injury.

Bolton is one of the Big 12’s best free-throw shooters, connecting on 84.8 percent of his team-high 138 free-throw attempts.

The Cyclones return to action Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship when they face Oklahoma State.

TULSA, Okla. – Redshirt junior Ian Parker and redshirt freshman David Carr earned individual Big 12 titles on Sunday night at the Big 12 Championship at 141 and 157 pounds, respectively. As a team, No. 21 Iowa State finished second to No. 11 Oklahoma State at the conference championship with 116.5 team points.

The Big 12 Championship saw eight Cyclones finish in the top-five at their respective weights, and all eight of those individuals earning spots at the 2020 NCAA Championships. Carr (1^st), Parker (1^st), Alex Mackall (2^nd), Gannon Gremmel (2^nd), Jarrett Degen (3^rd), Chase Straw (4^th), Sam Colbray (4^th) and Marcus Coleman (5^th) all earned automatic bids to the national championships in Minneapolis, Minn., on March 19-21.

Team Scores
1. Oklahoma State – 147.5
2. Iowa State – 116.5
3. UNI – 111.5
4. South Dakota State – 94
5. North Dakota State – 90.5
6. Oklahoma – 83
7. Wyoming – 75.5
8. Northern Colorado – 72.5
9. Fresno State – 57
10. West Virginia – 41
11. Utah Valley – 33
12. Air Force – 25.5

Photo from Grand View Athletics

Exira-EHK alum Evan Hansen accomplished something no other Grand View Wrestler has on Saturday night at the NAIA National Wrestling Tournament, he won his 4th National Championship of his career. Hansen won the 197-pound title for Grand View and helped his team to another team title as well. The Kimballton native capped off his senior season with a 15-0 record.

Grand View won their 9th National Championship in the past ten years. The Vikings scored 157 total points to win it. Menlo (Calif.) was the Runner-Up with 84.5 points.

The tourney was held at Hartman Arena in Park City, KS over the weekend.

Hansen beat fellow Iowan Isaac Bartel, of Montana State in the title match. He’s the 8th athlete in NAIA history to win four national titles and the first for Grand View to win four straight.

The Northwest Missouri State University Bearcat men’s basketball program will serve as the host for the fourth straight year of the Central Region as a part of the 2020 NCAA Division II Tournament.

The Central Region will take place March 14 (four games), March 15 (two games) and March 17 (regional final) in Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Missouri.

Northwest will be taking part in its 20th NCAA tournament. It is the Bearcats’s eighth trip to the NCAA Tournament under 11th-year head coach Ben McCollum. The Bearcats are 31-1 in 2019-20 and won NCAA Division II national championships in 2017 and 2019. Northwest has won seven consecutive MIAA regular season titles to go along with the five straight MIAA tourney crowns. Earlier today, Northwest secured the MIAA’s automatic bid the regional with its 78-76 victory over Missouri Southern in the tournament’s championship game.

Northwest will match up against No. 8 seed Oklahoma Baptist, on Sat., March 14, at 6 p.m. in Bearcat Arena.

The Elite Eight and national semifinals will be held at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, on March 26 and 28.

This year’s national championship game will be held Sunday, April 5, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Tickets for the regional can be purchased online HERE starting at 8 a.m. Tuesday. All seating for the regional will be general admission. Fans can purchase single session tickets in person at the Cashiering office. The Cashiering office, located on the first floor of the Administration Building, will be open from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets early.

Single session tickets can be purchased for $12 each for adults and $7 for students. Children 2 and under are free per NCAA policy. The ticket office will open 1 hour and 15 minutes prior to the start of each session.

NCAA Central Region
1. Northwest Missouri State (Host)
2. Southern Nazarene
3. Southeastern Oklahoma State
4. Northern State
5. Missouri Southern State
6. Rogers State
7. Henderson State
8. Oklahoma Baptist

Saturday, March 14
Noon: No. 3 Southeastern Oklahoma State vs. No. 6 Rogers State (Session 1)
2:30 p.m.: No. 2 Southern Nazarene vs. No. 7 Henderson State (Session 1)

6 p.m.: No. 1 Northwest Missouri vs. No. 8 Oklahoma Baptist (Session 2)
8:30 p.m.: No. 4 Northern State vs. No. 5 Missouri Southern (Session 2)

Sunday, March 15
5 p.m.: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
7:30 p.m.: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4

Tuesday, March 17
7 p.m.: Regional Championship Game

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – The No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcat men’s basketball team claimed its fifth consecutive MIAA Tournament title with a 78-76 triumph over No. 22-ranked Missouri Southern at Municipal Auditorium.

Northwest (31-1 overall) won its 23rd straight game and 39th in a row on a neutral court with its third triumph this year over Missouri Southern. Missouri Southern is 23-8 on the year.

Northwest built a 15-point cushion in the opening half at 45-30 on the strength of 16 first-half points from both sophomore Trevor Hudgins and freshman Wes Dreamer. Northwest did not commit a turnover in the opening 20 minutes in taking a 45-33 lead to the locker room.

The Lions slowly chipped away at the Bearcat advantage in the second half. Northwest led 63-51 after a pair of free throws from sophomore Diego Bernard with 8:38 to play. MSSU went on an 11-2 run that put the Northwest lead at 65-62 with 4:50 on the clock.

Hudgins claimed Most Outstanding Player honors in the tournament after leading the squad with 31 points. Hudgins scored nine of Northwest’s final 11 points after Missouri Southern tied the game at 67-67 with 3:07 to play.

Hudgins turned into the closer as he hit on an old-fashioned three-point play with 2:49 left to give Northwest a 70-67 lead. Following a bucket from MSSU’s Cam Martin, Hudgins hit a floater in the lane that rattled in the rim but settled into the net for a 72-69 lead with 2:09 to play. Martin answered again as he matched Hudgins point-for-point with 31 in the contest. Martin’s bucket left the Lions trailing 72-71 with 1:40 to play.

Hudgins hit a right-handed layup with 1:11 to play to extend the lead back to three. After a Bearcat defensive stop, Hudgins went to work and tallied his final points on the day with :22.8 to play that gave Northwest a 76-71 cushion. MSSU’s Winston Dessesow tallied a layup with :07.6 to play that cut the lead back to three.

Bernard then caught the ensuing inbounds pass at half court, avoided an attempted foul by the Lions and laid in the Bearcats’s final basket with 3.6 to play. Dessesow nailed a triple at the buzzer for the final two-point margin and Northwest claimed the MIAA title for the fifth straight season, 78-76.

Bernard capped the game with a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Bernard also handed out six assists.

Dreamer finished with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting that included 4-of-10 from three-point range.

Class 1A Quarterfinals

9:30 a.m.—#4 Montezuma (23-2) vs. #5 Martensdale-St. Marys (23-3)

11:15 a.m.—#1 Lake Mills (23-2) vs. #8 Wapsie Valley, Fairbank (18-7)

1:00 p.m.—#2 Bishop Garrigan, Algona (22-2) vs. #7 Springville (20-5)

2:45 p.m.—#3 St. Mary’s, Remsen (22-3) vs. #6 West Fork, Sheffield (23-2)

Class 2A Quarterfinals

4:30 p.m.—#3 North Linn, Troy Mills (24-0) vs. #6 West Sioux, Hawarden (22-2)

6:30 p.m.—#2 Treynor (24-1) vs. #7 Pella Christian (13-10)

8:15 p.m. —#1 Boyden-Hull (21-3) vs. #8 Woodward-Granger (22-2)

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

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(Radio Iowa/Learfield Sports) – The Iowa Hawkeyes crowned three champions to win the Big Ten Wrestling Tournament host by Rutgers. It was Iowa’s first Big Ten title since 2015. Iowa coach Tom Brands…

Up next the Hawkeyes head to the Twin Cities for the NCAA Championships in two weeks.

PISCATAWAY, New Jersey – The top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team won the 2020 Big Ten Championship on Sunday, scoring 157.5 team points and crowning three individual champions.

Alex Marinelli defended his 165-pound conference title, and Spencer Lee and Pat Lugo became first time champions, leading Iowa to its first outright team title since 2010 and its 36th conference title overall.

NOTABLES

• Spencer Lee was named Big Ten Conference Wrestler of the Year
• Tom Brands was named Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year. It is the fourth time he has won the award (2008, 2009, 2010, 2020).
• Iowa’s team title is the 36^th in program history, best in the Big Ten.
• Iowa’s point total (157.5) is its highest since 1995 (185).
• Lee became the 114th wrestler in school history to win a Big Ten Conference title.  
• Lugo became the 115th wrestler in school history to win a Big Ten Conference title.
• Marinelli became the first Hawkeye to win back-to-back titles since Sammy Brooks in 2016-17.

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

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Ayo Dosunmu scored 17 points and No. 23 Illinois held off No. 18 Iowa 78-76 to secure the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Conference tournament. Andres Feliz scored 14 points, Kofi Cockburn had 12 and Kipper Nichols added 10 for Illinois. Luka Garza scored a game-high 28 points for Iowa, which finished in a four-way tie for fifth in the Big Ten and will be the No. 5 seed in the tournament. Joe Toussaint scored 14 and Connor McCaffery added 10. Illinois built a 17-point lead late in the game that evaporated to two points in the final seconds.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Ashley Joens scored 15 points, including the decisive free throw with 0.9 second left, to help Iowa State stun No. 2 Baylor 57-56, ending the Lady Bears’ 58-game regular-season Big 12 winning streak on Sunday. The Lady Bears (28-2, 17-1 Big !2) last lost a conference regular season game to Texas on Feb. 6, 2017. Their only other loss this season came to South Carolina in November in a Thanksgiving tournament. Iowa State (18-11, 10-8) took a 56-53 lead on Joens’ layup with 37 seconds left. Juicy Landrum tied the game 14 seconds later with a 3-pointer.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Erik Stevenson scored 18 points with nine rebounds and Wichita State beat Tulsa 79-57 to end American Athletic Conference play. The Shockers are the fourth seed to the conference’s post-season tournament, which starts Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas. Wichita State gets a first-round bye and will play in the quarterfinals Friday against the winner of No. 5 UConn and 12th-seed Tulane. Martins Igbanu had 20 points for the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa – which also gets an opening-round bye – heads to the tournament as the No. 3 seed. The Golden Hurricane face the winner between sixth-seeded Memphis and No. 11 seed East Carolina.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gabe Kalscheur scored 26 points and Alihan Demir added 19 points and 10 rebounds as Minnesota set a season-high in scoring with a 107-75 victory over Nebraska. Marcus Carr had 18 points and 11 assists, while Daniel Oturu added 10 points and six rebounds for the Gophers, who made a school-record 18 3-pointers. Haanif Cheatham led the Huskers with 17 points. Jervay Green added 16, Thorir Thorbjarnarson had 14, and Kevin Cross scored 10.

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Kansas center Udoka Azubuike has been selected as the Big 12 player of the year by the league’s coaches. Baylor’s Scott Drew was named coach of the year in the voting by his conference peers. The Big 12 awards were announced Sunday, the day after the end of the regular season. Azubuike is averaging 13.7 points and 10.5 rebounds a game. The 7-footer is also shooting an NCAA-best 74.8% from the field for the regular-season champion Jayhawks. Big 12 runner-up Baylor is 26-4 and spent five weeks as the nation’s No. 1 team. The Bears also set a Big 12 record with 23 wins in a row.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Bradley guard Darrell Brown, motivated by a perceived first-team all-conference snub, scored 21 points to lead the Braves to an 80-66 win over Valparaiso in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The Braves have won eight of their last 10 and captured back-to-back MVC tournament crowns for the first time in school history. Javon Freeman-Liberty paced Valparaiso with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Bradley is making its 10th trip to the NCAA Tournament.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Max Abmas scored 20 points as Oral Roberts romped past cold-shooting Omaha 79-52 in the quarterfinals of the Summit League tournament. Deondre Burns had 17 points and six assists for No 4. seed Oral Roberts. Kevin Obanor added 13 points and 11 rebounds. Emmanuel Nzekwesi had 13 points and nine rebounds. Omaha was 27% shooting from the field (16 of 59), the lowest percentage against Oral Roberts this season. KJ Robinson had 15 points to lead the fifth-seeded Mavericks.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Ayo Dosunmu scored 17 points and No. 23 Illinois held off No. 18 Iowa 78-76 to secure the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Conference tournament. Andres Feliz scored 14 points, Kofi Cockburn had 12 and Kipper Nichols added 10 for Illinois. Luka Garza scored a game-high 28 points for Iowa, which finished in a four-way tie for fifth in the Big Ten and will be the No. 5 seed in the tournament.

Iowa’s Luca Garza (55) blocks the shot of Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn (21) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, March 8, 2020, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Holly Hart)

Joe Toussaint scored 14 and Connor McCaffery added 10. Illinois built a 17-point lead late in the game that evaporated to two points in the final seconds.