Monday Morning Sports – Husker Men to Celebrate MLK Day Versus Hoosiers Tonight, Nebraska Women Fall to Iowa, Loper Women Never Trail at Northwest Missouri State, UNK Men Downed by Bearcats, NFL Playoff Results & Divisional Matchups, Local Sports Schedule

NEBRASKA ATHLETICS TO CELEBRATE MLK DAY DURING MENS BASKETBALL CONTEST:

The Nebraska and Indiana men’s basketball programs will honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during their matchup at Pinnacle Bank Arena tonight.

As part of festivities, both programs will wear identical special-edition DREAM warm-up shirts. The game will also feature in-game graphics and announcements honoring the contributions and legacy of Dr. King.

Tipoff for the MLK Day game is set for 5 p.m. between the Hoosiers and Huskers.

NEBRASKA WOMEN FALL TO IOWA DESPITE MARKOWSKI’S HEROICS:

Alexis Markowski erupted for a career-high 27 points on a career-high six three-pointers, but it was not enough to stop Iowa from managing a 93-83 women’s basketball win over Nebraska on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Markowski hit 6-of-7 threes and 10-of-12 field goals overall to lead the Huskers, while fellow post Isabelle Bourne added 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting.

The Huskers still slipped to 13-4 overall and 2-4 in the Big Ten, thanks to 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists from Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and 31 points from center Monika Czinano. Those two Hawkeyes combined for 21-of-22 free throw shooting in the game. Iowa improved to 10-4 and 4-1 in the Big Ten with the victory.

The Huskers’ hot shooting kept them in the game, despite a first-half foul discrepancy on the road of 16-1 in the first 20 minutes. Iowa hit 18-of-20 free throws, including 12-for-13 in the second quarter after Nebraska built a 30-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Nebraska returns to Big Ten home action on Thursday night when the Huskers play host to Rutgers. Tip-off between the Big Red and the Scarlet Knights is set for 7 p.m.

LOPER WOMEN NEVER TRAIL AGAINST BEARCATS, WIN IN MARYVILLE:

Posts Brooke Carlson and Elisa Backes and guard Trinity Law combined for 52 points to help No. 16/15 Nebraska-Kearney lead from start to finish in a 67-60 win at Northwest Missouri State Saturday afternoon in Maryville.

The Lopers (14-2, 9-1) hand the Bearcats (11-4, 6-3) its second home loss in 10 outings. On Thursday night UNK handed Missouri Western its first home setback of the winter.

UNK hosts Pittsburg State (11-5, 6-4) and Missouri Southern State (10-5, 7-3) next weekend.

UNK MEN DOWNED BY TOUGH BEARCAT SQUAD:

Reigning National Player of the Year Trevor Hudgins tallied 31 points, 25 coming in the second half, to help second-ranked Northwest Missouri State pull away from Nebraska-Kearney, 80-65, Saturday evening in Maryville.

The two-time defending National Champions improve to 15-1 (8-0) have now won 13 in a row and sit atop the MIAA standings by 1.5 games. The Lopers (6-10, 2-8) now look forward to a four-game homestand; they’ve been in Kearney just five times to date.

UNK hosts Pittsburg State (4-12, 3-7) and Missouri Southern (8-6, 5-3) next weekend.

UNK WRESTLING EDGED BY GRAND VIEW IN NAIA/MIAA BATTLE:

The Grand View (Ia.) University Vikings, the top-ranked team in the NAIA, used two rallies to get past fifth-ranked Nebraska-Kearney, 19-18, Saturday afternoon at the Health & Sports Center.

This dual was a rare opportunity to see two of the most successful non-Division I programs battle it out. The Vikings, from Des Moines, have won nine of the last 10 NAIA National Titles while the Lopers are a perennial NCAA Division II power with three National Titles to its credit.

In a thrilling brother showdown everyone was waiting for, UNK’s sixth-ranked Josh Portillo bested second-ranked Justin Portillo, 12-10, in the first sudden victory period. The back-and-forth dual saw Justin forced extra time thanks to a last second escapes. Josh recorded an early takedown in OT to secure the win.

UNK hosts the Midwest Duals next Friday and Saturday at the Buffalo County Fairgrounds.

STORM’S SATURDAY MATCHUP NO CONTEST, SUNDAY…

The Storm and the Force were set to battle again on Saturday night, but the game was declared a “No Contest” by the USHL due to minimum standards not being met to play the game per the league’s safety protocols.

On Sunday, the Tri-City Storm defeated the Omaha Lancers by a final score of 4-1 Sunday evening at the Liberty First Credit Union Arena (Formerly Ralston Arena). Tri-City won its sixth consecutive game and posted a two-game weekend sweep over Fargo and Omaha.

Tri-City hits the ice again on Friday, January 21st, in a road game against the Sioux Falls Stampede. Puck drop for the game is set for 7:05pm

UNK TRACK & FIELD BREAKS RECORDS IN LINCOLN:

The Nebraska-Kearney track and field team won five events and set two new school records this weekend at the annual Nebraska Graduate Classic in Lincoln

The non-team scoring meet was hosted by Nebraska and featured Division I through junior college competition. This was the Lopers first meet since early December.

Setting new UNK standards were distance runners Myles Bach (Cedar Rapids, Ia.) and Wes Ferguson (Fremont) with Mara Hemmer (Fremont) recording the second fastest time in an event. All three efforts came on Friday night with Bach placing first out of 24 in the 3,000 (8:17.60), Ferguson leading a field of 26 at 1,000-meters (2:23.80) and Hemmer first out of 22 in the women’s 1k (2:55.19). 

NFL PLAYOFFS RESULTS:

AFC:

No. 1 Tennessee Titans (BYE)

No. 2 Kansas City Chiefs 42 – 21 No. 7 Pittsburgh Steelers

No. 3 Buffalo Bills 47  – 17 No. 6 New England Patriots

No. 4 Cincinnati Bengals 26 – 19 No. 5 Las Vegas Raiders

NFC:

No. 1 Green Bay Packers (BYE)

No. 2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31 – 15 No. 7 Philadelphia Eagles

No. 6 San Francisco 49ers 23 – 17 No. 3 Dallas Cowboys

Monday Night Football:

No. 4 Los Angeles Rams v. No. 5 Arizona Cardinals 

DIVISIONAL ROUND MATCHUPS:

AFC:

No. 1 Tennessee Titans v. No. 4 Cincinnati Bengals

No. 2 Kansas City Chiefs v. No. 3 Buffalo Bills

NFC:

No. 1 Green Bay Packers v. No. 6 San Francisco 49ers

No. 2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers v. LA Rams/Arizona Cardinals

Local Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • WRESTLING: HAC Championships@ Columbus High School
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL: @ Papillion-LaVista South
    • KHS 51-50
  • BOYS BASKETBALL: @ Papillion-LaVista South
    • PLVS 56-53

• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL: v. Hastings St. Cecilia
    • KCHS 38-33
  • BOYS BASKETBALL: v. Hastings St. Cecilia
    • KCHS 46-41

• UNK:
  • WRESTLING: v. Grand View, IA
    • Grand View 19-18
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Northwest Missouri St.
    • UNK 67-60
  • MENS BASKETBALL: @ Northwest Missouri St.
    • NWM St. 80=65

• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL @ College of St. Mary
    • HC 64-55

MONDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a

• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a

• UNK:
  • N/a

• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • N/a

TUESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a

• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a

• UNK:
  • N/a

• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • N/a

WEDNESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a

• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a

• UNK:
  • N/a

• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • WOMENS WRESTLING: v. Ottawa University – 5 PM
  • WOMEN WRESTLING: v. York College – 6 PM

THURSDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • SWIMMING & DIVING: Dual @ Norfolk – 4 PM
  • WRESTLING: Varsity Dual v. Columbus – 7 PM

• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • SWIMMING & DIVING: Dual @ Norfolk – 4 PM
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL: v. Aurora – 5:30 PM
  • BOYS BASKETBALL: v. Aurora – 7 PM
  • WRESTLING: Dual @ Gibbon – 7 PM

• UNK:
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL: v. Pittsburg State @ Health & Sports Center – 5:30 PM
  • MENS BASKETBALL: v. Pittsburg State @ Health & Sports Center – 7:30 PM

• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • N/a

FRIDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • WRESTLING: Midwest Duals Tournament @ Buffalo County Fairgrounds – 9 AM
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL: @ Lincoln Pius X – 5:15 PM
  • BOYS BASKETBALL: @ Lincoln Pius X – 7 PM

• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • WRESTLING: Midwest Duals Tournament @ Buffalo County Fairgrounds – 9 AM

• UNK:
  • WRESTLING: Midwest Duals @ Buffalo County Fairgrounds

• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • MENS WRESTLING: @ Missouri Valley Invite – 9 AM
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL – v. Dakota Wesleyan @ Lynn Farrell Arena – 5 PM
  • MENS BASKETBALL – v. Dakota Wesleyan @ Lynn Farrell Arena – 6:45 PM

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • SWIMMING & DIVING: @ Ralston Invite
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL: v. Lincoln Southwest – 4 PM
  • BOYS BASKETBALL: v. Lincoln Southwest – 5:45 PM

• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • SWIMMING & DIVING: @ Ralston Invite
  • WRESTLING: @ Centennial Conference Tournament
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL: @ Aquinas Catholic
  • BOYS BASKETBALL: @ Aquinas Catholic

• UNK:
  • M/W T&F: @ Northwest Missouri Open
  • WRESTLING: v. Midwest Duals
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL: v. Missouri Southern @ Health & Sports Center – 2 PM
  • MENS BASKETBALL: v. Missouri Southern @ Health & Sports Center – 4 PM

• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • M/W T&F: @ Polar Dog Invite, Concordia – 10 AM
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL v. University of Jamestown – 2 PM
  • MENS BASKETBALL: v. No. 11 University of Jamestown – 3:45 PM