KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / MONDAY, MARCH 29, 2010 / SPORTS
3B
Bend it like Kansas
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
Hyny Waggone/ANSWER Freshman midfielder Nicole Christoplos controls the ball as she is pressured by a defender. Kansas opened its spring season with a scrimmage against the men's club team Saturday afternoon at the Javach Soccer Complex.
To view a gallery of the scrimmage, visit kansan.com/galleries.
NBA
Bucks beat out Grizzlies in overtime
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MILWAUKEE — John Salmons scored ten of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, and the Milwaukee Bucks rallied to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 108-103 on Sunday.
Salmons twice put the Bucks ahead in the extra period with baskets, including the lead for good when he drained a fading 14-foot
Rookie Brandon Jennings added 29 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and Andrew Bogut had 18 points and 11 rebounds in his return after missing a game with a sore back to help the Bucks avoid a three-game losing streak.
Milwaukee trailed 85-78 midway through the fourth, but the Grizzlies committed four turnovers down the stretch as the Bucks rallied.
Ersam Ilyasova gave them their first lead of the period at 91-89 after a second-chance three-pointer with 1:37 left.
After putting the Bucks ahead 93-89 with a floater and again 94-92 with a free throw, Brandon Jennings fouled Mike Conley in the corner with 2.1 seconds left in regulation. Conley's free throws sent the game to overtime.
NCAA TOURNAMENT
Saint Mary's loses to Baylor but earns strong reputation
HOUSTON — The Saint Mary's College basketball team's run during the month of March was as unexpected as it was dramatic.
The Gaels' surprise three-week run sets up next year
Convincing victories against Portland and Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference tournament, a methodical win over Richmond in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and a shocking upset of No. 9 Villanova in the second round highlighted a three-week stretch that solidified the 2009-10 Gaels' place in the annals of the century-old program.
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
"I've never been more proud of anything in my life than this team and this coaching staff," senior center Omar Samhan after Friday's 72-49 loss to Baylor in the South Regional semifinals at Reliant Stadium. "So it didn't matter how it ended. I can walk away happy and excited for them next year. They'll be better now that they're getting rid of me and this big guy (Ben Allen)."
But future Saint Mary's teams won't be able to take anyone by surprise. The expectations of the program are now greater than ever as the Gaels (28-6) hope to use this season as a steppingstone to better things.
That's hardly a certainty. Allen, the Gaels' 6-foot-11 starting power forward from day one this season, made huge improvements in his scoring, shooting percentage and rebounding. A transfer from Indiana, Allen was right
at home in the Gaels' inside outside offensive attack and became a leader for the other four Australians on the roster.
Then there's Samhan, whose larger-than-life personality helped make Saint Mary's one of the darlings of the NCAA tournament. But when he wasn't filling reporters' notebooks with off-the-cuff remarks, he was busy setting a standard for all other Saint Mary's big men to follow.
As he shed roughly 60 pounds in a four-year stretch. Samhan set school career records for games played (133), blocks (258) and
field goals made (736)
He also set single-season records this year in scoring (724), field goals made (282) and blocks (99).
"The overall feel of the team is what a great year, what a special year. I'm just thankful to be able to coach a group of guys like that."
The tallest players returning for Saint Mary's will be 6-9 forwards Tim Williams, Mitch Young and Kenton Walker Jr., who sat out this season after he transferred from Creighton. Junior Phil Benson, who saw some playing time in critical spots this season, is 6-8. At small forward, the Gaels will have 6-7 Clint Steindl and
"Omar and Ben have been
San Diego transfer Rob Jones.
tremendous leaders for us. They left a good imprint for our young kids," Gaels coach Randy Bennett said Friday. "What it takes leadership-wise, what it takes commitment wise. Yeah, Omar will go down as one of the best players that ever played at Saint Mary's.
"I've never been more proud of anything in my life than this team and this coaching staff."
Anderson will have another year of experience, Tim Harris will be back after redshirting this season and Stephen Holt will arrive in the fall as one of Bennett's most heralded recruits. Also, 6-4 Wayne Hunter, who tore his left ACL in December, hopes to receive a medical redshirt and return for a sixth season.
Saint Mary's will be deepest at guard, where starters Mickey McConnell and Matthew Dellavedova become the team's offensive focal points. McConnell had a breakout season and was a first-team All-WCC selection. He was the Gaels' best player in the conference tournament and garnered MVP honors.
"We're going to be upbeat about the team we have coming back." McConnell said. "We were young this year, but a lot of guys got experience. That'll definitely be a huge bonus for us.
Dellavedova, a combo-guard, was named to the WCC's all-freshman team and was second on the team in assists behind McConnell and third in scoring.
McConnell and Dellavedova
played nearly every minute of every Gaels game this month, but there will be more competition for minutes next season.
"You kind of have to take this and be a little greedy and, now that we've been here and accomplished this, you kind of want to get back here. It'll take a while to start focusing on next year, but we have high expectations."
OMAR SAMHAN Saint Mary's center
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