For the first time under head coach Ben McCollum the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats have earned a berth in the MIAA Postseason Tournament after a 78-74 win over Pittsburg State Saturday afternoon from John Lance Arena.

The Bearcats (17-3, 11-3 MIAA) held off a gritty Gorilla squad with late free throws. It is the first time in three season the Bearcats will return to the MIAA Tournament as they finished a regular season sweep of Pittsburg State (12-10, 8-7 MIAA).

With 3:17 left in the game DeAngleo Hailey knocked down three free throws pushing Northwest ahead for the fourth time at 64-62. His first free throw knotted the game for the eighth time of the day before his final two gave the Bearcats the lead for good.

After a missed Gorilla jumper at the other end, Hailey knocked down a three-pointer pushing the Northwest lead to 67-62 with just under three minutes to play. Hailey hit four three-pointers in the game and went 5-for-5 at the free throw line to finish with 17 points.

In the final minute junior guard, DeShaun Cooper, hit five of his final six free throws to ice the game. Cooper had a game-high 19 points and finished 11-of-13 on the night at the charity stripe.

After picking up an overtime win in the first meeting at Bearcat Arena, the second half turned into a physical battle. Both teams combined to shoot 66 free throws in the game as Northwest shot 78 percent on the night.

Northwest also connected on 10-of-24 three-pointers in the win as Justin Clark also hit four three-pointers. Clark and Jake Reinders each finished in double figures with 15 and 10 points respectively.

The Bearcats return home as they host Lincoln on Wednesday night at Bearcat Arena. Four of the Bearcats final six games are at Bearcat Arena to close out the season.

— NWMSU Sports Information —