The St. Xavier High School boys basketball team lost to the Smoky Valley Home Educators Thursday 50-38.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – Kansas assistant Jerrance Howard has been suspended for two weeks after coach Bill Self learned this week that he had been arrested last summer for marijuana possession.

Howard was charged last July with unlawful possession of cannabis, a misdemeanor, and ordered to pay $1,178.26 in fines, the Peoria Journal Star reported. Howard was also placed on six months of court supervision that was set to end Friday.

Self said during his regular news conference Thursday that he was disappointed that Howard, who played for him at Illinois before joining his staff at Kansas last year, did not inform him about the incident when it happened.

Howard will not participate in practices or games during his suspension, which includes Saturday’s game between the eighth-ranked Jayhawks and No. 16 Baylor.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Royals and reliever Kelvin Herrera have agreed on a $4.15 million, two-year deal that avoids arbitration, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because the deal will not be completed until Herrera passes a physical. Herrera and the rest of the Royals’ pitchers and catchers are due to report to spring training in Arizona next week.

The 25-year-old Herrera made just $522,250 last season and was eligible for arbitration for the first time after compiling a 1.41 ERA. He filed for $1.9 million for this season and the Royals countered at $1.15 million.

Herrera is expected to again handle the seventh inning this season ahead of setup man Wade Davis and All-Star closer Greg Holland.

K-State, coming off a 25-30 campaign in 2014, will start its 2015 season with a trip to Port Charlotte, Florida … The Wildcats will open the season against Iowa on February 13 at Charlotte Sports Park, spring training home of the Tampa Bay Rays … On February 14, K-State will take on Pittsburgh and George Mason at North Charlotte Regional Park while on February 15, the Wildcats’ season-opening trip comes to a close against Saint Louis also at North Charlotte Regional Park.

 

WHO’S ON FIRST?

K-State will feature 14 returning letterwinners and 22 newcomers on the active roster entering 2015 … The Wildcats, who had 19 letterwinners from last year’s team move on from the program, have their highest amount of newcomers on a team since 2005 (Brad Hill’s second season as head coach) when K-State had 25 newcomers (plus 8 returners).

 

WHAT ELSE IS NEW?
With the departure of hitting coach Mike Clement to Ole Miss after the end of last season, K-State saw Andy Sawyers return to Manhattan when he was hired in July as the associate head coach/offensive coordinator … Sawyers, who spent the last four seasons at Texas A&M, was the Wildcat hitting coach in 2009 and 2010 … The Wildcats featured some of their top offenses in program history under Sawyers … In 2009, when K-State made its first ever NCAA Regional, the Wildcats hit .317 (5th highest in team history) while scoring 458 runs (4th) and stealing 149 bases (1st) … In 2010, K-State hit .323 (3rd), scored 448 runs (5th) and stole 120 bases (4th).

 

RETURNING PRODUCTION

Among the 14 returners, three are seniors: 1B Shane Conlon, OF Max Brown and INF Carter Yagi … Also, among the nine position players who started at least 30 games in 2014, three are returning: Conlon (50 starts), Yagi (32) and OF Clayton Dalrymple (34) … Brown played in 43 games last  year, including 25 starts (17 over K-State’s final 19 games) … In terms of hitting, 31% of last year’s hits and RBIs are returning as well as 42% of the stolen bases … As for pitching, the staff returns 48% of its wins, 55% of the starts, 40% of the innings pitched and 38% of the strikeouts.

 

LOOKING TO START HOW HE FINISHED

OF Max Brown had an impressive run to end the 2014 season,  hitting .404 (19-for-47) with 6 RBIs, 8 stolen bases and 9 walks over his final 16 games … Over that same stretch, he had a .509 OBP and .532 SLG … For the season, Brown hit .330 – which was the third-best average among all Wildcats – along with a .415 OBP and .457 SLG … Brown reached base safely in six-straight games to end the season, including 8 times in his last 9 plate appearances … Brown gained international experience this past November when he played for Team New Zealand this past November as part of the IBAF U21 World Cup in Taiwan.

 

TOUGH TO FAN

In his first season at the Division I level, INF Carter Yagi managed to strike out just four times in his 115 at-bats (133 plate appearances) last year … The strikeout every 29.0 at-bats was the third-best K/AB ratio among all hitters in Division I … His 4 strikeouts were also the fewest ever by a K-State hitter that registered at least 100 at-bats since 1957.

 

NO AWARDS NEEDED

For the first time since 2009, K-State will not feature an All-Big 12 performer among its returners entering the season … Last season’s lone K-State All-Big 12 selection, Ross Kivett (Second Team, Utility), was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the sixth round of the 2014 MLB Draft … This year’s team, though, does feature two former All-Big 12 Freshman Team selections in RHPs Levi MaVorhis (2013) and Nate Williams (2012) … The last time K-State did not feature any returning All-Big 12 honorees, the 2009 team went on to post a 43-18-1 record (14-11-1 Big 12) and collected seven All-Big 12 selections (five honorable mentions).

 

OPENING DAY HISTORY

Under head coach Brad Hill, K-State is 7-4 all-time in season openers … Despite last year’s season-opening loss at Cal Poly, K-State is 5-1 in season openers since 2009 … This year marks the 12th-straight season K-State opens its season away from Manhattan (Last: 2003 vs. Western Illinois) … All-time, K-State is 66-39 (.629) in season openers, including 26-29 (.473) in road or neutral contests.

 

NEW PLACE, SAME TEAMMATES

Despite donning a new uniform this season, several Wildcats have played together prior to their time at K-State … INF/RHP Tyler Wolfe and C Steve Serratore were teammates over the last two seasons at Des Moines Area CC … OF/C Danny Krause, OF Keith Browning and RHP Corey Fischer spent the last two seasons together as members of the Madison (WI) College team … C Tyler Moore and RHP Mark Biesma played at the same high school, Mill Valley in Shawnee, Kansas … Serratore and LHP Jackson Douglas also attended the same high school, Mayo High, in Rochester, Minnesota.

 

FLORIDA QUICK-HITTERS

K-State’s trip to Port Charlotte, Fla. is its longest road trip of the season in terms of distance traveled (about 1,299 miles one way) … The Wildcats have not played in Florida since 2010 when they played eight games in Winter Haven and DeLand from Feb. 27-March 7 … K-State went 7-1 during its Florida trip in 2010 … The Wildcats are 34-24 all-time in Florida … The first time K-State played in Florida was in 1912 against the Chilloco Indian School in Gainesville.

 

SERIES NOTES
K-State is a combined 12-7 all-time against its four opponents scheduled for the Florida trip … The Wildcats are 9-7 vs. Iowa and hold a current five-game winning streak against the Hawkeyes … This will mark the second time that K-State and Iowa have met at a neutral site in series history (2/16/97 in Arlington, TX; K-State won, 9-6) … K-State and Pittsburgh have never met … The Wildcats are 1-0 vs. George Mason, with the one win being on 2/17/13 in Charleston, S.C. … K-State and Saint Louis have met twice before, with both meetings taking place in 1989 … The Wildcats are 2-0 all-time against Saint Louis.

 

FOR STARTERS
Redshirt sophomore Nate Griep will open the 2015 season as K-State’s No. 1 starter … The right-hander spent most of the 2014 Big 12 schedule as the No. 3 starter … This marks the second-straight year K-State will have a sophomore start in the season opener … Junior Levi MaVorhis, who started last year’s season opener at Cal Poly, will start Saturday morning’s game vs. Pittsburgh … In 2014, MaVorhis led all K-State pitchers in wins (6), starts (13), innings pitched (84.1), strikeouts (48), complete games (2) and shutouts (2) … MaVorhis has thrown a combined 139.0 innings over the last 2 years, which are the most innings thrown by a Wildcat over a freshman and sophomore season since Eric Yanz (1994-95) … Senior Mark Biesma will make his K-State debut on Saturday vs. George Mason … The Washburn transfer made 34 appearances (28 starts) for the Ichabods over the last three seasons … Junior Corey Fischer will also make his K-State debut this weekend when he takes the bump on Sunday vs. Saint Louis … The Madison College transfer appeared in 21 games, 18 starts, for the Wolfpack over the last two seasons, going a combined 11-4 with a 2.54 ERA, 94 strikeouts and 40 walks.

CHRIS KUTZ
Assistant Director | Athletics Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – Reserve Brandon Watkins scored a career-high 14 points and No. 21 West Virginia surrendered a double-digit lead before recovering for a 76-72 win over Kansas State on Wednesday night.

West Virginia (19-5, 7-4 Big 12) got plenty of scoring from its deep bench to snap a two-game losing streak and hand the Wildcats their fifth straight loss.

Kansas State (12-13, 5-7) scored 12 unanswered points to take a 69-67 lead with 2:25 left, but the Wildcats scored three the rest of the game.

Juwan Staten added 11 points and reserves Jaysean Paige and Jevon Carter had 10 apiece for West Virginia. The Mountaineers’ bench outscored the Wildcats’ 47-19.

Nino Williams led Kansas State with 22 points. Nigel Johnson and Justin Edwards scored 14 apiece and Thomas Gipson had 10.

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – TCU, Texas Tech and Texas all made it to the College World Series last season. Oklahoma State also hosted an NCAA super regional after winning its first Big 12 regular season title.

They are all preseason top 10 teams and could be in position to go deep again this season.

Texas Tech coach Tim Tadlock says pitching is at the forefront of the league.

Consider preseason Big 12 favorite TCU, where Brandon Finnegan went from pitching in the College World Series for the Horned Frogs to four months later being on the mound for the Kansas City Royals in the World Series. The Frogs still have two-time league ERA champ Preston Morrison and closer Riley Ferrell, considered by many the top college prospect in the next draft.

SAN DIEGO (AP) – The Padres have finalized a $75 million, four-year contract with right-hander James Shields, the biggest free agent deal in club history.

Shields was to be introduced Wednesday at a news conference at Petco Park.

Shields helped Kansas City reach the World Series last season but declined a $15.3 million qualifying offer from the Royals.

He’s the latest addition by first-year general manager A.J. Preller, who in December acquired sluggers Matt Kemp, Justin Upton and Wil Myers, as well as Derek Norris and Will Middlebrooks.

The $75 million for Shields matches the $75 million the Padres owe Kemp during the next five years as the biggest outlay to one player in team history. The Dodgers will pay $32 million of the remaining $107 million on Kemp’s contract.

The Junction City Blue Jays jumped out to a nine point first quarter lead over the Hayden Wildcats ( 11-5 ), but couldn’t sustain it. The Wildcats roared back to go ahead by three after the first quarter, and never trailed the rest of the way in basketball Tuesday night in Topeka.

Hayden opened up a 10-point lead but struggled to secure the win. The Blue Jays got back within three points in the closing minutes but couldn’t hit the necessary three point shot to tie, and also missed on some free throws down the stretch.  The Wildcats held on to win 59-56.

Blue Jay coach Pat Battle on the postgame message to his team: ” I told the guys we’re one or two possessions away so what we have to do is in practice on Wednesday and Thursday ratchet it up that one more, two more possessions, dig a little deeper, dig a little deeper.”

Junction City ( 4-11 ) plays at Highland Park Friday night.

—

In the girls game Hayden ( 11-3 ) jumped out to a 22-8 first quarter lead and rolled on to a 79-43 victory over the Lady Jays.

Bree Schmidt led Hayden with 20 points, while Alana Kramer had 13 and Kealee Rains 11 for Junction City ( 2-13 ). The Lady Jays play at Highland Park Friday night.

Kansas Prep Scores
Tuesday’s Scores
By The Associated Press

BOYS’ BASKETBALL
Abilene 41, Council Grove 35
Andover 71, Arkansas City 38
Augusta 65, El Dorado 59, OT
Basehor-Linwood 65, KC Piper 62
Beloit 86, Southeast Saline 66
Berean Academy 67, Sedgwick 40
Bishop Miege 59, St. Thomas Aquinas 47
Blue Valley Stillwell 61, Blue Valley Southwest 55
Bluestem 64, Douglass 51
Bonner Springs 78, Tonganoxie 59
Burlington 74, Fredonia 48
BV West 42, BV North 39
BV West 42, BV North 39
Cair Paravel 68, Eagle Heights, Mo. 67
Caney Valley 65, Cherryvale 51
Central Plains 54, Plainville 31
Cheney 73, Belle Plaine 36
Clifton-Clyde 48, BV Randolph 38
Deerfield 65, Pawnee Heights 57
Derby 68, Maize 60
Derby Invasion 48, St. John’s Military 15
Dodge City 63, Ulysses 34
Doniphan West 52, Wetmore 32
Ell-Saline 49, Inman 42
Ellinwood 60, Ness City 50
Eureka 57, Yates Center 34

Flint Hills Christian 40 St. Xavier 30

Fort Scott 52, Chanute 45
Frontenac 61, Pittsburg Colgan 38
Gardner-Edgerton 62, BV Northwest 50
Girard 74, Columbus 43
Goddard 56, Valley Center 46
Goessel 59, Peabody-Burns 57
Greeley County 55, Syracuse 35
Hesston 64, Lyons 38
Hitchcock County, Neb. 51, Cheylin 34
Hoisington 51, Hillsboro 43
Holcomb 70, Lakin 29
Holyoke, Colo. 72, St. Francis 59
Hutchinson 51, Wichita Campus 37
Hutchinson Central Christian 77, Cunningham 45
Hutchinson Trinity 49, Bennington 46
Independence 53, Pittsburg 43
Ingalls 61, Rolla 36
Jackson Heights 53, Pleasant Ridge 38
Jayhawk Linn 60, St. Paul 36
Jefferson West 51, Perry-Lecompton 48
Kapaun Mount Carmel 76, Wichita Southeast 65
KC Turner 67, KC Bishop Ward 62
KC Wyandotte 68, KC Sumner 44
Kingman 59, Haven 47
Larned 45, Pratt 40
Lawrence 64, SM Northwest 48
Lawrence Free State 69, SM North 57
Liberal 43, Guymon, Okla. 32
Lincoln 43, Glasco/Miltonvale-Southern Cloud 37
Little River 46, Elyria Christian 40
Macksville 70, Kinsley 67
Manhattan 55, Shawnee Heights 53
Maur Hill – Mount Academy 38, Valley Falls 30
McPherson 61, Great Bend 33
Meade 55, Boise City, Okla. 53
Mill Valley 56, Lansing 54
Minneapolis 47, Ellsworth 37
Minneola 62, Kiowa County 43
Moundridge 52, Marion 30
Nemaha Central 54, Hiawatha 25
Newton 52, Salina South 47
Nickerson 50, Smoky Valley 45
Northern Heights 44, Herington 34
Olathe East 67, SM South 61
Olathe North 54, SM West 46
Olathe Northwest 52, Leavenworth 38
Olpe 68, Crest 39
Onaga 76, Frankfort 47
Osage City 73, Rossville 25
Osawatomie 61, Anderson County 53
Ottawa 60, DeSoto 44
Paola 56, Spring Hill Charter 53
Parsons 54, Labette County 50
Pawnee City, Neb. 65, Axtell 53
Prairie View 47, Iola 32
Remington 57, Canton-Galva 47
Riley County 72, Concordia 66
Riverton 65, Southeast 57
Rock Creek 62, Marysville 33
Rock Hills 37, Natoma 17
Royal Valley 49, Riverside 46
Rural Vista 55, Centre 43
Sabetha 67, Atchison County 19
Salina Central 49, Hays 46
Salina Sacred Heart 61, Russell 34
Satanta 57, Moscow 43
Scott City 69, Hays-TMP-Marian 45
SM East 45, Olathe South 43
Smith Center 68, Logan 32
South Barber 64, Pretty Prairie 39
South Central 77, Fort Supply, Okla. 40
Southwest, Neb. 64, Rawlins County 43
Spearville 58, Hodgeman County 22
St. John 60, LaCrosse 36
St. John’s Beloit-Tipton 56, Lakeside 29
Sterling 88, Halstead 82
Stockton 56, Trego 33
Sublette 76, Cimarron 73
Sylvan-Lucas 60, Chase 31

Tescott 36, Wilson 34

Thunder Ridge 55, Franklin, Neb. 33
Topeka Hayden 59, Junction City 56
Topeka Seaman 54, Topeka 42
Topeka West 73, Highland Park 42
Udall 70, Oxford 33
Wakefield 57, Solomon 47
Wallace County 74, Triplains-Brewster 40
Wamego 59, Chapman 34
Washington County 56, Valley Heights 45
Washington County 71, Atchison 21
Wellington 62, Winfield 47
Wellsville 63, Central Heights 35
West Elk 58, Flinthills 46
West Franklin 52, Madison 28
Western Plains 64, Bucklin 63
Wheatland-Grinnell 74, Quinter 60
Wichita East 88, Wichita West 40
Wichita Heights 68, Wichita North 44
Wichita Trinity 79, Medicine Lodge 57
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
Abilene 41, Council Grove 35
Andale 56, Maize South 53, OT
Andover 68, Arkansas City 47
Augusta 38, El Dorado 26
Baldwin 49, Eudora 27
Bonner Springs 52, Tonganoxie 27
Bucklin 46, Western Plains 28
Burrton 42, Fairfield 41
BV Northwest 56, Gardner-Edgerton 46
Caney Valley 62, Cherryvale 48
Central Plains 72, Plainville 31
Centralia 59, Troy 46
Chanute 56, Fort Scott 43
Cheney 59, Belle Plaine 30
Cheylin 56, Hitchcock County, Neb. 44
Cimarron 58, Sublette 43
Clifton-Clyde 52, BV Randolph 47
Columbus 56, Girard 46
Concordia 55, Riley County 50
Cunningham 44, Hutchinson Central Christian 21
Dodge City 53, Ulysses 41
Douglass 41, Bluestem 12
Elkhart 60, Turpin, Okla. 56
Ellinwood 55, Ness City 51
Elyria Christian 44, Little River 19
Flinthills 41, West Elk 16
Frankfort 43, Onaga 35
Galena 32, Baxter Springs 31
Garden Plain 52, Wichita Independent 32
Goddard 35, Valley Center 25
Goddard-Eisenhower 58, Andover Central 50, OT
Goessel 50, Peabody-Burns 13
Guymon, Okla. 46, Liberal 30
Hays-TMP-Marian 66, Scott City 36
Hesston 48, Lyons 40
Highland Park 67, Topeka West 51
Hill City 59, Golden Plains 43
Hillsboro 43, Hoisington 39
Hoxie 62, Phillipsburg 34
Hutchinson 41, Wichita Campus 27
Hutchinson Trinity 40, Bennington 30
Immaculata 24, Horton 20
Independence 49, Pittsburg 43
Ingalls 42, Rolla 22
Inman 34, Ell-Saline 24
Iola 41, Prairie View 26
Jefferson West 36, Perry-Lecompton 28
Kapaun Mount Carmel 64, Wichita Southeast 21
KC Christian 40, Heritage Christian 27
KC Piper 55, Basehor-Linwood 39
KC Washington 63, Atchison 58
Kingman 48, Haven 40, OT
Kiowa County 45, Minneola 28
Labette County 63, Parsons 52
Lakin 67, Holcomb 63
Larned 45, Pratt 40
Lawrence Free State 52, SM North 20
Leavenworth 79, Olathe Northwest 37
Lincoln 43, Glasco/Miltonvale-Southern Cloud 37
Macksville 55, Kinsley 51
Madison 53, West Franklin 25
Maize 55, Derby 30
Manhattan 50, Shawnee Heights 35
McPherson 60, Great Bend 39
Meade 61, Boise City, Okla. 14
Mill Valley 63, Lansing 42
Minneapolis 56, Ellsworth 32
Moscow 65, Satanta 51
Moundridge 46, Marion 31
Natoma 49, Rock Hills 46, OT
Nemaha Central 49, Hiawatha 34
Northeast-Arma 62, Marmaton Valley 44
Northern Heights 55, Herington 22
Norton 52, Oberlin-Decatur 29
Oskaloosa 39, McLouth 34
Oswego 44, Chetopa 32
Otis-Bison 61, Healy 28
Ottawa 45, DeSoto 38
Oxford 32, Udall 28
Paola 46, Spring Hill 16
Pawnee City, Neb. 51, Axtell 44
Pawnee Heights 51, Axtell 44
Pike Valley 46, Osborne 28
Pittsburg Colgan 51, Frontenac 33
Rawlins County 49, Southwest, Neb. 28
Remington 50, Canton-Galva 26
Royal Valley 51, Riverside 21
Rural Vista 50, Centre 44
Russell 55, Salina Sacred Heart 22
Sabetha 48, Atchison County 34
Salina Central 59, Hays 42
Salina South 45, Newton 34
Sedgwick 44, Berean Academy 33
SM Northwest 50, Lawrence 28
SM South 46, Olathe East 45
SM West 60, Olathe North 51
Smith Center 39, Logan 24
Smoky Valley 52, Nickerson 25
Solomon 56, Wakefield 44
South Barber 61, Pretty Prairie 33
South Central 63, Fort Supply, Okla. 30
South Haven 70, Argonia 54
Southeast 52, Riverton 32
Southeast Saline 52, Beloit 49
St. James Academy 52, Notre Dame de Sion 35
St. John 41, LaCrosse 39
St. John’s Beloit 56, Lakeside 29

St. Paul 59, Jayhawk Linn 21

St. Xavier 50 Flint Hill Christian 48
Sterling 59, Halstead 9
Stockton 79, Trego 52
Sylvan-Lucas 60, Chase 31
Syracuse 41, Greeley County 22
Thunder Ridge 77, Franklin, Neb. 15
Topeka Hayden 79, Junction City 43
Topeka Seaman 56, Topeka 44
Valley Falls 46, Maur Hill – Mount Academy 18
Wallace County 53, Triplains-Brewster 50
Wamego 50, Chapman 48
Washington County 68, Valley Heights 46
Wellington 34, Winfield 23
Wetmore 43, Doniphan West 24
Wheatland-Grinnell 62, Quinter 40
Wichita East 69, Wichita West 51
Wichita Heights 52, Wichita North 31
Wichita South 51, Wichita Bishop Carroll 34
Wichita Trinity 60, Medicine Lodge 49
Wilson 53, Tescott 30
POSTPONEMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS
Crest vs. Olpe, ccd.

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) – Wayne Selden Jr. scored 16 points and No. 8 Kansas shot well from 3-point range, beating Texas Tech 73-51 on Tuesday night.

The Jayhawks (20-4, 9-2 Big 12) hit 11 of 20 on 3s, with Selden going 4 of 7. Kansas reached the 20-win mark for the 26th straight season.

Kansas sped up play in the second half and the Red Raiders couldn’t keep pace. Perry Ellis scored 14 points, and Frank Mason III, Brannen Greene and Cliff Alexander each added 10 in the win.

Norense Odiase scored 13 points and Devaughtah Williams added 11 for the Red Raiders (12-13, 2-10).