Die Allianz T-D-P » Washington:OPENING GAME BLUES: Leach

NEW YORK -- Until last week, Semi Ojeleye had not appeared in a game for nearly two years and even when he played at Duke, the minutes were limited.Since then, Ojeleye has been putting in the work away from the court and so far it is paying off much to the delight of SMU coach Tim Jankovich.Ojeleye continued his torrid start by scoring 20 of his 24 points in the second half and SMU defeated Pittsburgh 76-67 in the first semifinal of the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.Of course, its enjoyable when a guy sits out, (is) a transfer and you hope he has success, Jankovich said. But Ill triple that because Semis one of the most outstanding young men that you could ever be around your entire life and on top of that he is arguably the hardest worker away from practice time in terms of the time he puts in.Hes a machine, literally, and were like blown away. Weve been around a lot of hard-working guys. I have not been around a guy you set your clock by this guy. Its each and every day and he cant get enough.Ojeleye scored 46 points in 23 games in two seasons with Duke before transferring to the Mustangs following the 2014-15 season. The junior forward surpassed his point total from Duke in the first half when he shot 2 of 7 and then surged past it with several outstanding athletic plays during the second half.Just staying confident, Ojeleye said. Nothing changed in the locker room. I didnt think about what the stats were. I kept trying to do the same stuff I was doing in the first half.Ojeleye missed his first two shots of the second half before starting to roll. He made a 3-pointer about 3 1/2 minutes into the half to give the Mustangs the lead for good and capped his 9-for-17 showing by converting a transition layup in the final minute.Ojeleyes 7-for-10 showing in the final 20 minutes was part of a second half when the Mustangs shot 57 percent after missing nine straight shots to end the first half.Besides Ojeleyes impressive showing, Shake Milton added 14 points while Ben Moore contributed 12.Michael Young scored nearly half of his 22 points at the foul line for Pittsburgh. Jamel Artis added 20 for the Panthers, who had averaged 96 points in home wins over Eastern Michigan and Gardner-Webb.Hes athletic, Young said of Ojeleye. He can really get up vertically and he can make some shots. We knew that going in. He got it going in the second half and guys like that we got to take away air space and make them uncomfortable.BIG PICTURESMU: The Mustangs came into the game playing effective defense by allowing 54 points per game and for the most part they continued it. Their defense forced several traveling violations, including one with about 13 1/2 minutes left which resulted in an unsportsmanlike technical and ejection for Sterling Brown. Brown was handed the technical for emphatically applauding in the face of Artis after his defense resulted in a traveling violation.Pittsburgh: The Panthers have struggled defensively and other than the final five-plus minutes of the first half, their defensive issues continued. The Panthers have allowed an average of 82 points so far and even when Stallings started instructing his players to press, it was unsuccessful. Turnovers also continued to be an issue as Pittsburgh committed 13, resulting in 11 fewer field-goal attempts.FAMILIAR COACHING MATCHUPJankovich and Stallings worked together at Vanderbilt. Jankovich was an assistant under Stallings from 1999 to 2002 and the Commodores made two NIT appearances. Jankovich also coached at Illinois State from 2007-2012 over a decade after Stallings coached there.ANOTHER JETER IN NEW YORKFor the second college game at Madison Square Garden, there was a Jeter on the court. Unlike Dukes Chase Jeter, who wears the number two -- the same as the former Yankees captain -- Pittsburghs Sheldon Jeter wears number 21, the same as Pirates Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente. Jeter had averaged 13 points in his first two games but was held to five points on 2-of-8 shooting.UP NEXTSMU: Will play in the 2K Classic championship game Friday.Pittsburgh: Will play in the 2K Classic consolation game Friday. Cheap NBA Jerseys . The CFLs leading rusher kept adding to his gaudy numbers this season and scored the winning touchdown with just over two minutes to play. The New Westminster, B.C., native plowed three yards into the end zone for the last score of a heated, see-saw battle between the two teams with the best records in the CFL. Wholesale Pelicans Jerseys .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. http://www.cheappelicansjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-etwaun-moore-jersey . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. Ian Clark Jersey . The parade and rally were held to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the CFLs championship game. Cheap Swingman Pelicans Jerseys . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Washington State has reason to be wary about opening the season against an FCS opponent.The Cougars were upset by Portland State in their first game last year and they start this season Saturday hosting regular FCS contender Eastern Washington.Coach Mike Leach said there are no big lessons to be taken from last seasons 24-17 loss to Portland State, which like Eastern Washington is a member of the Big Sky Conference.You have to come out as prepared as you can and play together the best we can, Leach said.Washington State rebounded from the upset to finish 9-4 last year, and has most of its starters back in Pullman.That includes quarterback Luke Falk, who threw for 4,566 yards and 38 touchdowns last season, and receiver Gabe Marks, who caught 104 passes for 1,192 yards and 15 touchdowns.Leach said Falk doesnt have any glaring weaknesses but still has room for improvement.The best quarterbacks are the ones that are fairly good at everything and steadily improve the whole package, said Leach, who has been pushing Falks candidacy for the Heisman Trophy.Eastern Washington finished 6-5 last year, a down season for a program that regularly makes the FCS playoffs. The Eagles are more than three touchdown underdogs in Saturdays game.Their most dangerous player is receiver Cooper Kupp, who gave up a chance to jump to the NFL to play his senior season. He won the Walter Payton Award as the nations top FCS offensive player last season.Kupp has made a specialty out of out-classing Pac-12 defensive backs. Last season, he caught 15 passes for 246 yards in a loss at Oregon. Two years ago he caught three touchhdown passes in a loss at Washington.dddddddddddd As a freshman, he caught five passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns in an upset win at Oregon State.Kupp has averaged 122 receiving yards per game, an FCS career record.Hes a really good player, Leach said. Hes had a very productive career.Kupp was a high school senior when Leach was hired at Washington State and sort of fell through the cracks in the blur of those early days, Leach said.We would have definitely liked him to walk on, Leach said, noting that Kupp has become bigger and faster as a college player.Hes really impressive, Leach said. We probably should have taken him.Other things to watch when Washington State hosts Eastern Washington:OPENING GAME BLUES: Leach has lost all four of his season openers as coach at Washington State, to BYU, Auburn, Rutgers and Portland State.HELLO NEIGHBOR: Although the two programs are located in towns only about 70 miles apart, Washington State and Eastern Washington have only played each other three times -- all victories for the Cougars. They are a Pac-12 opponent thats going to win a lot of Pac-12 games, Eastern coach Beau Baldwin said of the Cougars.PASSING FANCY: Leachs Air Raid offense led the nation in passing at 389.5 yards per game last season, and returns eight starters. The Cougars also averaged 6.1 yards per carry on the ground.ITS 5 OCLOCK SOMEWHERE: Game time is 5 p.m. at Martin Stadium in Pullman, as the Pac-12 has moved away this season from later starts. ' ' '