WICHITA, Kan. (AP) – Wichita State will carry its pursuit of perfection into the Missouri Valley tournament. Cleanthony Early scored 19 points, Ron Baker added 13 and the second-ranked Shockers rolled to a 68-45 victory over Missouri State on Saturday, easily putting away a team that had given them fits this season.

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) – Marcus Smart scored 20 of his 21 points in the second half to help Oklahoma State defeat Number 5 Kansas 72-65 Saturday night in front of a Stillwater crowd that included Oklahoma City Thunder players. Andrew Wiggins scored 15 points for Kansas, which already had clinched the Big 12 title outright before tipoff because Texas and Iowa State lost earlier.

The Junction City Blue Jays suffered a big hit on the final day of the state wrestling tournament and that appears to have had an impact on their finish in the team standings in the Class 6A State Wrestling Tournament.

School officials confirmed that two members of the team scheduled to wrestle in the championship finals, Andrew Millsap and Gary Joint were disqualified from the tournament for disciplinary reasons. The points they had accumulated for the the team during the tournament were removed from the Blue Jay total. Instead of competing for a possible second or  third place team trophy Junction City wound up in seventh place with 97 points.

Garden City won the 6A team championship with 153.5 points. They were followed by Derby with 135.5, Blue Valley Northwest 115, Wichita Northwest 114, Olathe North 109, Manhattan in sixth with 100 points, and then Junction City in seventh.

The Blue Jays did not have an individual weight class champion, but Mikah Felton did finish second at 170 pounds.

Four other Blue Jays medaled during the tournament. Devonte Wilson finished third at 182 pounds, Jake Bazaan third at 138 pounds, Gabe Padilla fourth at 120, and Aryus Jones sixth at 145 pounds.

The 2014 season included a Centennial League championship for Junction City Blue Jay wrestling, and an undefeated dual season.

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) – Senior Tiffany Bias scored 17 points in her final home game and Brittney Martin added 13 rebounds as No. 15 Oklahoma State held on in the last 3 minutes to defeat Kansas State 67-62 on Saturday afternoon.

Oklahoma State (22-6, 11-6 Big 12) led by 13 at the half but Kansas State went on a 7-0 run, sparked by Kindred Wesemann’s 3-pointer, to take the lead by four points with 2:59 left to play.

The Cowgirls quickly responded with a 7-0 run of their own after forcing three Wildcat turnovers to go ahead for good with 2:30 remaining. Bias made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 3 minutes to keep the Cowgirls ahead. Martin finished with 13 points and Liz Donohoe chipped in 12.

Leticia Romero and Ashlynn Knoll scored 19 points apiece to lead the Wildcats (11-17, 5-12), and Wesemann added four 3-pointers.

 

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) – Jason Vargas pitched two scoreless innings in his Kansas City debut and Alex Gordon doubled home two runs as the Royals beat the San Diego Padres 7-3 that was called after seven innings Saturday because of rain.

Vargas, who signed to a four-year $32 million contract in the offseason, allowed one hit and struck out one, throwing 13 strikes in 19 pitches. The Royals signed Vargas to replace Ervin Santana, who remains unsigned on the free agent market, in the rotation.

Gordon’s double in the four-run third scored Christian Colon and Jarrod Dyson, who walked twice and scored a pair of runs.

Cameron Maybin, who was limited to 14 Padres games last year because of injuries, hit a long two-run homer in the third.

Padres right-hander Ian Kennedy threw two scoreless innings, striking out two.

 

Pairings have been released for the Class 6A substate basketball tournaments involving the Junction City Blue Jays and Lady Jays basketball teams.

The Lady Jays ( 5-15 ) will play at Washburn Rural ( 13-7 ) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The other half of the tournament bracket finds Topeka High ( 12-8 ) hosting Derby ( 7-13 ).

The championship game will be Friday at the site of the higher seeded team remaining in the tournament.

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The Blue Jays ( 6-14 ) will play at Wichita Southeast ( 15-5 ) at 7 p.m. Thursday in a boys substate basketball tournament.

The other side of that bracket finds Derby ( 15-5 ) against Lawrence Free State ( 11-9 ).

The championship game will be Saturday at the site of the higher seeded team remaining in the tournament.

Two members of the Junction City Blue Jay wrestling team who were scheduled to wrestle Saturday in the championship finals of the Class 6A State Wrestling Tournament have been disqualified.

According to Blue Jay coach Bob Laster, wrestlers Gary Joint and Andrew Millsap have been disqualified from the tournament for disciplinary reasons.  Millsap was scheduled to wrestle for the championship of the 152 pound weight class and Joint was in the finals of the 106 pound weight class.

Laster confirmed the two wrestlers were asked by security personnel to leave the building,  and they were then turned over to their parents.

Millsap, a senior at JCHS,  was seeking his third consecutive individual state wrestling championship. Joint, a freshman, was seeking his first title.  The points they had scored for Junction City in the state tournament were also removed from the Blue Jay team total.

The Junction City Blue Jays trailed Shawnee Heights by 15 late in the second quarter but cut the deficit to nine at halftime with a pair of three point baskets. Then in the second half the Blue Jays narrowed the deficit to one point.

They were unable to take the lead however, and fell to the Thunderbirds 55-49 at the Shenk Gym on Senior Night.

The Thunderbirds hit 19 of 23 free throws in the ballgame and had three players in double figures include Jovan Barksdale with 23 points, Braeson Sester 15, and Tevin Downing 13 points. The Blue Jays were led by Jonathan Wilds with 13 points and Tanner Lueker with 11.

Junction City coach Pat Battle said his team had a great defensive game. “I thought we did a great job defensively throughout the entire basketball game. ” Battle also credited the Thunderbirds for hitting their free throws down the stretch. ( 12 of 14 in the fourth quarter ).

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Shawnee Heights overpowered Junction City in the girls varsity game 61-42 at the Shenk Gym. In the fourth quarter Shawnee Heights hit 14 of 18 points to pull away down the stretch. They were led in scoring by Jazz Sweet and Laraisha Owens, both with 11 points.

For Junction City Kori Kamm turned in a solid game with 20 points.

The Lady Jays fell to 5-15 while Shawnee Heights is 10-10.

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Substate basketball pairings come out on Saturday.

Three members of the Junction City Blue Jay wrestling team have qualified for the Class 6A State Wrestling Tournament finals in their respective weight classes.wrestling

They include Gary Joint at 106 pounds, Andrew Millsap at 152, and Mikah Felton at 170 pounds.  Seven more Blue Jays are still competing in the tournament in the consolation rounds. Five more need just one more win to secure a medal. They include Jake Bazaan at 138 pounds, Gabe Padilla 120, Aryus Jones 145, Devonte Wilson 182, and Kayne Hutchinson at 220 pounds. The top six places in each weight class medal.

The Blue Jays are currently fourth in the Class 6A team standings with 85 and 1/2 points. Defending state champion Garden City is in first with 118, followed by Derby with 111, Wichita Northwest 86 points, and then Junction City.  Manhattan is in seventh place with 62 team points.

Junction City sent 11 wrestlers to the state tournament at Hartman Arena in Park City. Only three lost their matches in the first round.

The tournament continues on Saturday. The championship finals are scheduled to begin at two p.m.