Month: February 2015
Child dies, 2 adults hospitalized after Kansas semi crash
WELDA- A child died and two adults were injured in an accident just before 2 p.m. on Saturday in Anderson County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Nissan Murano driven by Judith Wright, 52, Chanute, was northbound on U.S. 169 just north of Welda.
The driver lost control in the snow. The vehicle entered the southbound lane and was struck by a semi.
A passenger in the Nissan Drake Walls, 5, Chanute, was transported to Anderson County Hospital where he died.
Wright and another passenger Hailey Wright, 25, Chanute was also transported to Anderson County Hospital.
The semi driver was not injured.
The KHP reported all were properly restrained at the time of the accident.
Perry Ellis double-double helps No. 8 Kansas drop Texas
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Perry Ellis had 28 points and 13 rebounds in a brilliant performance, and eighth-ranked Kansas held on through a tense final minute to beat Texas 69-64 on Saturday night.
Kelly Oubre Jr. added 15 points and Frank Mason III had 12 for the Jayhawks (23-6, 12-4), who remained a game clear of second-place Oklahoma with two games left in the Big 12 race.
Trying to bolster its NCAA resume, Texas (17-12, 6-10) had its chances down the stretch.
Isaiah Taylor missed the front end of a one-and-one with the Longhorns trailing 66-64 and 48.3 seconds left. Then, the talented sophomore guard missed a spinning, off-balanced floater that would have tied the game with 6.1 seconds remaining.
Oubre calmly made two foul shots at the other end of the floor to put the game away.
Taylor finished with 17 points to lead the Longhorns, though it will be the final couple of minutes that he’ll likely remember. Demarcus Holland added 15 points and Kendal Yancy 11.
It was the Jayhawks’ eighth win in their last nine meetings with Texas, and a pivotal one in their chase for an 11th straight Big 12 title. With losses by Iowa State and West Virginia earlier in the day, Kansas can wrap up a share against the Mountaineers on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, coach Rick Barnes is still seeking his 400th victory with the Longhorns.
There was a festive atmosphere inside the Phog as snow blanketed the ground outside. Kansas was celebrating the 60th anniversary of its fabled home, showing special video montages of grainy black-and-white film of its construction and cheerleaders dressing in 1950s-era outfits.
The joie de vive hardly waned when the ball was thrown up.
Two teams have faced each other regularly for Big 12 tournament titles traded blows like a couple of wary and respectful boxers in the middle of the ring.
Ellis threw most of the haymakers for the Jayhawks, scoring on an array of jumpers and scooping layups. Then there was the biggest highlight of the half, his alley-oop dunk off a pass from Wayne Selden Jr. that brought the sellout crowd to its feet.
Holland kept punch back for Texas, hitting all three of his first-half field goals. His final one, a 3-pointer at the buzzer, rattled through to make it 34-31 at the break.
The Longhorns kept the pressure up early in the second half, building a 48-42 lead — its biggest of the game — when Taylor got a leaner to go with just over 11 minutes remaining.
That’s when the Jayhawks started their comeback.
Ellis did most of the work, bookending a couple field goals around a pair of free throws. But it was a three-point play by Oubre that finally gave Kansas the lead back, and Mason’s 3-pointer — the Jayhawks’ first of the game — created some separation.
It didn’t last long.
Holland’s 3-pointer with just over 2 minutes remaining get Texas within 62-61, and Yancey got another 3 to go moments later to make it 66-64 and set up a frantic finish.
TIP-INS
Texas: The Longhorns had a 27-7 edge in bench points. … Taylor also had eight assists and only two turnovers. … Myles Turner had 10 points, eight boards and five blocks.
Kansas: The Jayhawks only committed six turnovers. … Kansas was 26 of 32 from the foul line. … The Jayhawks improved to 14-0 at home. They are just 9-6 in all other games.
UP NEXT
Texas plays its fifth consecutive ranked opponent Monday night against No. 19 Baylor.
Kansas plays its home finale Tuesday night against No. 20 West Virginia.
Dunk caps 22-9 rally as Kansas State knocks off No. 12 Iowa State
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. The Cyclones had a one-point advantage and leading-scorer Georges Niang throwing the ball inbounds with less than 20 seconds left.
But 6-foot-7 Kansas State forward Wesley Iwundu had another outcome in mind.
Iwundu capped a 22-9 scoring run with a steal and two-handed slam that gave Kansas State a 70-69 win over No. 12 Iowa State on Saturday and back-to-back Top 25 wins.
“It’s tough,” Hoiberg said. “You put the ball in your best player’s hands, and I trust Georges is going to make the right play 99 percent of the time.”
Kansas State (15-15, 8-9 Big 12) tied the game at 66 apiece with a tip-in by Justin Edwardswith 59.4 seconds left. Iwundu gave Kansas State a 68-66 lead 13 seconds later, and the Cyclones responded with a 3-point play by Monte Morris.
Iwundu’s steal and slam proved redemptive after the sophomore had missed a free throw. He finished with 11 points.
The Wildcats held Iowa State (20-8, 10-6) to 38 percent shooting in the second half, which followed 8-of-15 shooting from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes.
“They pressure the heck out of you in this building, there is no doubt about that,” Hoiberg said. “They’ve won eight league games, they had a really good game and we expected them to come out and pressure us. They played us very tough.”
Nigel Johnson led Kansas State with 17 points after scoring a career-high 20 points in an upset of No. 8 Kansas on Monday night. Justin Edwards added a season-high 16 points.
“He’s been way more focused and playing with a lot more confidence,” Iwundu said of Johnson. “When he’s out there playing, he’s playing his game.”
Niang led Iowa State with 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting. He added a career-high five 3-pointers for the Cyclones, who came in averaging a Big-12 best 79.4 points.
The Cyclones took a 40-33 lead at halftime, but 3-of-12 shooting from behind the arc in the second half derailed their chance for a third-straight Big 12 road victory.
Niang led the Cyclones with 12 points in the first half, including four shots from 3-point range. It was the first time Kansas State allowed 10 or more 3-pointers this season.
The Wildcats overcame two Iowa State double-digit leads in the second half.
HEARTBREAK HOTEL
The Kansas loss to Kansas State on Monday provided an opportunity for Iowa State to move into serious league championship consideration. But the Cyclones have had two-straight losses.
“We’ve got to bounce back,” Hoiberg said. “That’s two tough ones, two very tough ones in a row. We’ll find out a lot about ourselves in how we bounce back tomorrow.”
JOHNSON AND JOHNSON
When asked about Nigel Johnson’s combined 18.5 point-average against No. 8 Kansas and No. 12 Iowa State, Bruce Weber attributed it to attention to detail.
“In our shoot-around today, he asked his first question in two years,” Weber said. “So he actually paid attention and asked us about how to guard something. He’s made some progress.”
TIP-IN
Kansas State: Thomas Gipson, who was one of three seniors recognized for the Wildcats’ final home game, is the 12th player in school history to score at least 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds.
Iowa State: Bryce Dejean-Jones was held scoreless for the first time as a Cyclone. The UNLV transfer came in averaging 12.1 points, but has been held to single digits in three of the last four games.
UP NEXT
Iowa State: Hosts Oklahoma on Monday.
Kansas State: Plays at Texas next Saturday.
Kansas man pleads no contest to capital murder
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man whose capital murder conviction was overturned has pleaded no contest to killing two women in Topeka in 2003.
King Phillip Amman Reu-El, who was known as Phillip Cheatham Jr., avoided the death penalty by pleading no contest Friday to capital murder and attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of a third woman. .
Amman Reu-El was convicted of capital murder in 2005 and sentenced to death but the Kansas Supreme Court overturned the conviction, saying he had ineffective counsel.
Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor said Friday the time Amman Reu-El has already served will apply to his sentence.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that means Amman Reu-El could be eligible for parole after he serves 25 years. He will be sentenced March 20.
Wichita St beats Northern Iowa to win Missouri Valley title
WICHITA, Kan. — Ron Baker scored 17 points to help No. 11 Wichita State beat No. 10 Northern Iowa 74-60 on Saturday and win the Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship.
Fred VanVleet added 13 points for the Shockers (27-3, 17-1 Missouri Valley) while Tekele Cottonand Evan Wessel scored 11 each.
Seth Tuttle scored 16 points to lead Northern Iowa (27-3, 16-2), which had a 16-game winning streak snapped. No other Panther scored in double figures.
Northern Iowa entered the game allowing 53.8 points a game, fourth best nationally.
Up 12 at halftime, Wichita State extended its lead in the first five minutes. A Baker layup, VanVleet jumper and Shaquille Morris dunk equaled a quick 6-0 run that give the Shockers a 51-33 lead with 15:20 remaining.
The Panthers shot their way back into the game behind the 3-point line, but it wasn’t enough.
2 hospitalized after head-on crash in the snow
ALTAMONT- Two people were injured in an accident just before 10 a.m. on Saturday in Labette County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Ford Mustang driven by Kaylie R. Hawkins, 14, Liberty, was westbound on U.S. 160 twelve miles west of Altamont.
The driver lost control on the snow-covered road. The vehicle crossed the centerline and hit a 2014 Chevy Cruze head-on.
Hawkins and the driver of the Cruze Marty Alan Lee Easley, 35, Independence, were transported to Labette County Medical Center.
The KHP reported both were properly restrained at the time of the accident.
Kansas lawmakers pass raft of bills before deadline
NICHOLAS CLAYTON, Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators have reached the midpoint of their annual session having advanced gun-rights and teacher collective bargaining proposals but having left measures to legalize medical marijuana, expand the Medicaid program and restrict fracking to languish.
Most bills had to be passed out of their chamber of origin be automatically discarded after Friday’s “turnaround” deadline.
House Speaker Ray Merrick, a Stilwell Republican, said in a statement Thursday that he was pleased with the chamber’s work to pass 35 bills over the three day period leading up to the deadline.
The Senate passed 60 bills in the two days before the deadline — half of them in a nearly nine hour session that stretched from the Thursday afternoon to just before midnight.
2 hospitalized after vehicle misses stop sign
CONCORDIA- Two people were injured in an accident just after 10 a.m. on Saturday in Cloud County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1995 Ford passenger vehicle driven by Robin Ann Davern, 50, Clyde, was westbound on Union Road at U.S. 81. The driver failed to stop at a stop sign and a 2003 Chevy SUV that was northbound on U.S. 81 struck the vehicle
Davern and the driver of the SUV Genevieve Jeannette Stainbrook, 17, Scandia, were transported to Cloud County Hospital.
The KHP reported Davern was not wearing a seat belt. She was transferred to Salina Regional Health Center.
Hyundai recalls cars due to power-steering problem
NEW YORK (AP) — Hyundai is recalling about 263,000 cars in the U.S. and Canada because a sensor problem could cause drivers to lose power-assisted steering.
The company has not reported any injuries or accidents. A representative for Hyundai Motor America wasn’t immediately available for comment.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says a sensor in the affected cars could detect a discrepancy in the steering input and signals and disable power-assisted steering as a result. Cars would revert to manual steering and require greater effort to steer at low speeds, raising the risk of a crash.
The affected cars include model years 2008 to 2010 of Elantras and Elantra Touring vehicles made between Nov. 1, 2008 and April 30.
Owners can contact Hyundai’s customer service at 1-855-671-3059.