Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.Two minutes or 30, Northwest Missouri State coaches have been getting senior Jake Reinders' best.
"You go in there and, however long, you work until you can't go any more,'' Reinders said.
Spot duty had been more of the norm for the 6-foot-9 forward from Omaha Skutt while playing behind a more offensive-minded Elijah Allen, who moved on to the professional ranks in Ireland.
That's not the case any longer. Second on the team with 29.3 minutes a game, Reinders is averaging 10.7 points and 5.9 rebounds along with 19 blocks.
"He stuck with it, kept working and good things happened,'' coach Ben McCollum said.
Reinders had the biggest game of his career on Saturday, finishing with 28 points and 12 rebounds in a 78-55 win over Southwest Baptist.
It was fun, Reinders said, but victories come first. And the fact that the Bearcats let one slip away last week at Central Missouri lit a fire under the team.
"We're kind of a unique team — anyone can step up and have a big night any night of the week,'' Reinders said. "The guards just found me. I just got a little hot, and we moved the ball extremely well.''
His unselfish attitude and hard work are what McCollum likes about the marketing management major. That and his defense, which McCollum said is one of the reasons the No. 24 Bearcats (13-2, 7-2) are in first place in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
Reinders also likes the team's chemistry, built last summer when everyone stayed in Maryville to work on their game.
"Once you taste victory a few times you get that confidence you can win games,'' McCollum said. "You can win close games and games you are down in.''
Reinders doesn't want to look too far ahead, not with a big game at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at No. 23 Missouri Southern (14-3, 6-3). But he thinks his team has a good chance to go far in the league tournament.
He'll take that over any individual awards.
"Personal accomplishments are great, but the team win at the end is a far better feeling,'' he said. "Just getting that win is the best feeling.''
Big wins over ranked teams for Bulldogs
The Concordia women's basketball team has moved up to No. 5 in the NAIA Division II rankings after back-to-back wins over Top 15 teams.
The Bulldogs improved to 16-2 and 9-2 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference with their 74-65 win over then-No. 5 Morningside on Saturday. The Bulldog women also won at No. 14 Hastings.
"Defensively, this is one of the best teams we've ever had,'' coach Drew Olson said. "We've got a lot more athleticism this year. It's just a bunch that has really clicked together and they are all on the same page. The chemistry is really good right now.''
Kristen Conahan, a sophomore from Millard North, scored a career-high 25 points, including four 3-pointers, against the Mustangs. She's leading the team with 15.7 points per game and has made 53 3-pointers. She was named the GPAC player of the week on Monday.
Bailey Morris, a freshman from Roseland, Neb., had a career-high 16 points coming off the bench. She has a team-best 47 assists.
The Bulldogs, who fell to Morningside 69-66 earlier this season, have a busy week. They host Midland University on Tuesday, are at the University of Nebraska at Omaha on Thursday and are at home against Dakota Wesleyan on Saturday.
Updates
• Russ Martin has been named the new football coach at Colorado Mesa. He has been the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at the University of Nebraska at Kearney for eight years.
• Moala Tautuaa, a senior center from San Francisco, scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to lead Chadron State past Western New Mexico 91-85 on Saturday. He now has 1,008 points and is the 29th player in CSC history to reach that mark.
• Wayne State junior guard Amry Shelby also reached the 1,000-point milestone on Saturday in a 63-49 loss to Augustana.
• Saturday's 71-52 loss at Augustana dropped the Wayne State women into a tie for the lead in the Northern Sun. The sixth-ranked Wildcats are 15-2 overall.
• Millard North grad Mike Dentlinger went 10 of 10 from the field on Friday and 10 of 11 at the free-throw line Saturday to help the Lopers beat Western New Mexico and New Mexico Highlands. In the two games, he scored 47 points while also grabbing 14 rebounds. He leads UNK in scoring (14.7), rebounding (5.9) and field-goal shooting (55.8 percent).
• Abby Henry made 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute and 17 of 20 for the game as Northwest Missouri State defeated Southwest Baptist on Saturday. She had a season-high 30 points and four assists.
• The No. 7 Bellevue men's basketball team, 15-5 and 3-0 in the MCAC, has reached the century mark in three of its past four games. The Bruins have won eight straight after a 109-57 victory over Central Baptist on Saturday.
• UNK senior wrestler T.J. Hepburn, ranked second nationally at 157 pounds, is riding a 10-match win streak. He's 19-3 this season and 102-16 for his career. His possible replacement next year, true freshman Chase White out of Lincoln High, is 27-8 while competing in open tournaments.
• Loper senior Marty Molina, from Kearney High School, leads NCAA Division II in the triple jump after going 49-2.50 Saturday at the PolarDog Invite in Seward, Neb.
• Iowa Western's Reisa Saddoris improved on her school record in the pole vault by going 10-3.25, which qualifies her for the national championships.
• The GPAC will hold its baseball tournament at Haymarket Park in Lincoln from May 3 to 5.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1034, marjie.ducey@owh.com
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