Creighton picked up an 80-55 win over North Dakota State on Tuesday night in Omaha. Ryan Kalkenbrenner led the Jays with 17 points and 4 rebounds. Arther Kaluma added 11 points and Ryan Nembhard scored 10 points.

Ryan Hawkins scored 3 points and had 3 rebounds.

Creighton will next up host Iowa State in Omaha on Saturday at 8:00 p.m.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz confirmed Spencer Petras will start at quarterback when the 15th ranked Hawkeyes play number two Michigan in the Big Ten Championship. Petras missed two games with an injured shoulder but relieved Alex Padilla in the second half of a 28-21 win at Nebraska.

Ferentz says there is no plan to rotate quarterbacks on Saturday.

Ferentz says one of the advantages for Petras is his experience.

Iowa is 10-2 and will be in the title game for the first time since 2015.

A key will be handling Michigan defensive ends Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo (uh-jaw-boh). Hutchinson was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

Ferentz says a key in preparing for a championship game is handling all of the obligations away from the field.

@ Winterset
Creston 42, I-35 30
Creston 66, Nodaway Valley 6
Creston 34, Winterset 21
Winterset 43, I-35 27
Winterset 61, Nodaway Valley 10
I-35 52, Nodaway Valley 21

@ Woodbine
Treynor 52, SWI 26
Treynor 66, Woodbine 6
SWI 60, Woodbine 13

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Hawkeye Ten Conference
Creston 52, Atlantic 41
Bishop Heelan 46, Lewis Central 44
Carroll 73, Kuemper Catholic 43
Glenwood 75, CB Abraham Lincoln 52
Harlan 44, St. Albert 30
MVAOCOU 61, Denison-Schleswig 58
Shenandoah 54, Southwest Valley 46

Western Iowa Conference
AHSTW 54, Riverside 38
Audubon 64, Missouri Valley 23
Logan-Magnolia 49, Tri-Center 38
Underwood 70, IKM-Manning 30

Rolling Valley Conference
Boyer Valley 85, Paton-Churdan 28

Corner Conference
Stanton 53, Coon Rapids-Bayard 35

Other Scores
Lenox 53, Orient-Macksburg 9
Martensdale-St. Marys 53, Interstate-35 37
Panorama 57, Mount Ayr 25
Southeast Warren 61, Mormon Trail 24
Wayne 52, Twin Cedars 34

BOYS BASKETBALL

Hawkeye Ten Conference
Carroll 72, Kuemper Catholic 59
Glenwood 82, CB Thomas Jefferson 47
Red Oak 55, Clarinda 47
Southwest Valley 56, Shenandoah 27

Western Iowa Conference
AHSTW 81, Riverside 30
Audubon 54, Missouri Valley 39
Tri-Center 55, Logan-Magnolia 49
Underwood 65, IKM-Manning 49

Rolling Valley Conference
Boyer Valley 58, Paton-Churdan 26
Coon Rapids-Bayard 65, Stanton 52
West Harrison 75, Exira-EHK 46

Other Scores
Lenox 77, Orient-Macksburg 13
Mount Ayr 54, Panorama 53
Wayne 59, Twin Cedars 42

Jacy Kralik sank 8 straight free throws late in the fourth quarter to help Creston seal a 52-41 win over Atlantic in girls hoops on Tuesday in Atlantic. Kralik also hit three big 3-pointers in the game to lead the Panthers with 17 points. Brianna Fields added 11 and Gracie Hagle had 9.

Creston led 18-10 at the end of the first quarter but Atlantic used a 6 point run early in the second to get back in the game. Creston converted a three point play by Morgan Driskell to go up 25-20 at half. The Trojans would get within 1 at 27-26 in the third before Kralik hit her second three of the night to start a 7-0. Atlantic used a fouling strategy in the last few minutes to try to extend the game, and did get within 3 late before Kralik started to seal it at the line. Atlantic head coach Dan Vargason felt good about the improvement the Trojans made from the opener.

Freshman Paytn Harter had another solid outing for Atlantic with 19 points and Coach Vargason liked the way she played and the way the team fed her the ball.

Jada Jensen got going in the second half with 8 of her 10 points, that was something they knew they needed to have happen.

Creston improved to 2-1 win the victory. Atlantic falls to 0-2 and faces a very tough test from top ranked Glenwood on Friday. We’ll have that game on a KJANTV broadcast just before 6:00pm Friday.

ST. LOUIS, MO., November 29, 2021 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have agreed to terms with free-agent left-handed pitcher Steven Matz on a four-year (2022-25) contract.  Financial terms were not disclosed.

“We’re excited to have Steven join our rotation and bring his experience and talents to our team,” stated Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak.  “Steven has proven himself to be a consistent contributor, and we think that his game will continue to excel here in St. Louis with the backing of our exceptional defense.”

Matz, 30, finished 2nd among American League pitchers in wins (14) last season, his first as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.  The 6-0, 200-pound southpaw made 29 starts in 2021, totaling 150.2 innings pitched while going 14-7 with a 3.82 ERA.

Drafted by the New York Mets in 2009 (2nd round, 72nd overall) out of Ward Melville High School in East Setauket, NY, Matz has compiled a career mark of 45-48 with a 4.24 ERA in 141 games (136 starts) while pitching for the Mets (2015-20) and Toronto (2021).

Matz finished 6th in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2016 after debuting with the Mets in 2015 during their run to the World Series when he went 4-0 in six starts while also drawing the start in Game 4 of the 2015 Fall Classic.

Since 2018, Matz has compiled 150 or more innings pitched in each of baseball’s three full seasons played in that span, and he is among just 16 lefties to have compiled 30 or more wins since 2018 and ranks 7th in games started (95).

Last season, Matz had the lowest hard-hit ball percentage (37.9) of any full season during his career and he finished the year with five consecutive winning decisions.  His post All-Star break totals included a 7-3 mark with a 2.91 ERA and .670 opponent OPS in 14 starts.

The ground ball inducing Matz finished 10th among American League starters in ground ball pct. (46.3) last season and tied for 11th with his 15 grounded into double plays.

The Atlantic girls basketball team will try to bounce back from a season opening loss to Denison tonight with a home meeting with Creston (1-1). The Trojans dropped that season opener a week ago 44-31. Atlantic struggled find consistent offense and returning leading scorer Jada Jensen finished with 4 points. Atlantic head coach Dan Vargason said they have to find a way to get her into the flow of the game.

Atlantic freshman Paytn Harter had a nice opening game with 12 points on 5-8 shooting. Coach Vargason hopes they can build on that solid start.

Creston comes in with a win over Des Moines Christian and a loss to Winterset. Doryn Paup will be a player to watch for the Panthers. She went 11-14 in the opener against Des Moines Christian and is averaging 22 points.

We’ll have the game on KJAN tonight with pregame at 7:15 p.m. and tip-off at 7:30 p.m. Chris Parks will have the call on AM 1220, FM 101.1, and online at KJAN.com

Girls Basketball
Clarinda 57, Essex 39
East Mills 51, Diagonal 23
Fremont-Mills 78, Heartland Christian 12
Harlan 48, Treynor 43
MVAOCOU 72, Missouri Valley 17
Mount Ayr 52, Clarke 47
Shenandoah 45, Underwood 44
Southeast Warren 43, West Central Valley 38
Southwest Valley 52, Griswold 22
Winterset 55, Creston 39

Boys Basketball
Clarinda 46, Nodaway Valley 28
Clarke 79, Mount Ayr 43
Des Moines Christian 56, Carlisle 37
East Mills 60, Diagonal 33
Fremont-Mills 56, Heartland Christian 27
Missouri Valley 48, MVAOCOU 24
Southwest Valley 58, Griswold 38
Underwood 66, Shenandoah 25
Urbandale 48, Lewis Central 42
Winterset 69, Creston 51

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans are encouraged to make their year-end charitable contributions on this so-called Giving Tuesday and cyclists are being steered toward the Iowa Bicycle Coalition. Mark Wyatt, the group’s executive director, says the nonprofit is asking for help from the many tens of thousands of Iowans who love to go two-wheeling under pedal power. “We want to expand our efforts to help have better bicycling in the state,” Wyatt says. “We work at the state capitol, we work with the DOT, we work in elementary schools all across the state. This opportunity helps us expand our reach.”

The coalition received pledges of 50-thousand dollars if that much is matched by the end of the year, plus, donations made today via Facebook will have all processing fees waived, so 100-percent goes directly to the nonprofit.  “If you donate to the Iowa Bicycle Coalition through Facebook, there’s no credit card charges associated with that and they have some matching funds,” Wyatt says. “Although they probably expire early in the morning, but if you donate early, your donation may be doubled.”

Lobbyists for the coalition are pushing state legislators on several fronts, including a call for much stiffer penalties for motorists who are involved in crashes with bicyclists. “We’re also working for safe passing, so motorists would be required to change lanes to pass bicycles,” Wyatt says, “and of course, we’re working on some traffic safety issues. We’re really big on requiring hands-free cell phone use while driving.”

Whether it’s five-dollars or 500, he says all contributions can help to make an impact toward better educating Iowans and to help establish safe and enjoyable bicycle recreation and transportation networks statewide.

https://www.facebook.com/iowabicyclecoalition

(Radio Iowa) – A defensive gem preserved a road win for Iowa at Virginia.

(Gary Dolphin and Bobby Hansen on the Hawkeye Network.)

McCaffery’s block came after Joe Toussaint gave the Hawkeyes the lead by hitting a pull up jumper with eight seconds remaining.

Toussaint finished with 10 points on four of seven shooting and the Hawkeyes only committed four turnovers.

Toussaint says limiting turnovers was a key.

Toussaint’s winning basket came after the Hawkeyes had squandered a 21-point first half lead. Iowa coach Fran McCaffery.

Jordan Bohannon led Iowa with 20 as they improve to 7-0.