With the top two defensive teams on display Wednesday night, Northwest Missouri State and Washburn lived up to the billing as the Bearcats pulled out a tough, 70-63 win over the Ichabods in MIAA play.
Northwest was able to improve to 15-3 on the year and 9-3 in league play, as they closed out a three-game road swing winning 2-of-3. Washburn, who entered the night in second place, fell to 13-6 and 7-4 in the conference.
Northwest would hold a slim 64-63 lead after Bobby Chipman knocked down a free throw with 1:07 left in the game.
On the next possession, Northwest senior Jake Reinders would get fouled and sink two free throws after his 5-foot hook shot rimed out.
With 22 seconds left on the clock, Washburn would miss twice before Alex Sullivan tipped a lose rebound away from an Ichabod player all but sealing the win for the Bearcats. Washburn would be forced to foul sending DeAngelo Hailey to the free throw.
Hailey knocked down both foul shots extending the Bearcat lead to 68-63 with just nine seconds left. Hailey iced the game with a blocked shot on the ensuing Washburn possession as DeShaun Cooper corralled the loose ball with two seconds. Hailey finished the game with 14 points.
Cooper, who was then fouled, also hit both free throws giving Northwest its first win in Topeka since 2007 and ending a four-game losing streak inside Lee Arena.
It was not the ideal start for Northwest as they fell behind 7-1 to the Ichabods early on; however, the Bearcats would get the kick start they needed in the form of Kyle Haake.
Haake knocked down three from behind the three-point arc giving the Bearcats an 18-11 lead at the 9:38 mark. The senior guard would pile on 14 points in the first half to give Northwest a slim 33-32 lead at intermission.
Haake recorded only the second double-double of the year for Northwest finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Northwest overcame 16 turnovers forced by Washburn and did so by shooting an impressive 52 percent from the field on 20-of-38 shooting.
The Bearcats also hit 17-of-18 free throws in the second half and got 28 points from their bench in the win.
Jake Reinders led Northwest with 16 points only missing one shot from the field and went 8-of-9 from the free throw line.
Will McNeill finished with a game-high 24 points for the Ichabods as Chipman tallied a double-double also with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Northwest will return home and close out the month of January on Saturday as they host No. 23 Fort Hays State in a Whiteout at Bearcat Arena. The game is slated as the MIAA TV Game of the Week with a 3 p.m. tip. More information on how to view Saturday’s game can be found here.
— NWMSU Sports Information —