Northwest Missouri State kept its composure and relied on teamwork to withstand the barrage of three-pointers unleashed by Upper Iowa midway through the second half.

The Peacocks, who were ice cold in the first half on three-pointers, started knocking down one trey after another. They closed to six points.

Undaunted, Northwest stayed with its offense. The Bearcats made a few three-pointers, scored a few more field goals inside the arc and stayed aggressive and that led to free throws.

The lead grew back to double digits and ended with Northwest capturing its first victory of the season, beating the Peacocks 91-83 Saturday evening at Bearcat Arena.

“It is definitely a relief to get the first win,” said sophomore forward Zach Schneider. “We had a shot at it last night. We didn’t pull it out.

“Our guards did a really good job of getting everyone open looks. Tonight we knocked them done a lot better and that was good.”

Northwest, 1-1, returns to action at 5 p.m. on Friday against William Jewell at Missouri Western.

Northwest appeared in complete control when Grant Cozad made a field goal, giving the Bearcats a 65-50 lead with 8:47 left.

“I thought defensively we executed, especially early in the game,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “Offensively, the first half we were a little rough, missing layups and missing wide-open threes. I think that is more of an inexperienced thing than anything else. We are starting to gain some experience and confidence. We are a work in progress.”

Northwest showed they can handle a run late in the second half.

Back-to-back treys by Upper Iowa sliced Northwest’s lead to 65-56. After a basket by Cozad, the Peacocks made another three-pointer. Upper Iowa closed to 70-64 on another three-pointer.

“I feel like they hit seven or eight in a row there,” Schneider said. “We made a few mistakes. We didn’t get out their shooters. But we built enough of a lead that we could afford to make a few mistakes.”

Northwest junior Conner Crooker hit a three-pointer, putting the Bearcats up nine at 73-64, and Upper Iowa quickly answered with a three-pointer.

The Bearcats finally regained control when Matt Wallace drilled a three-pointer and followed that several seconds later with two free throws that gave Northwest a 78-67 lead.

The Peacocks never threatened again.

“I thought we responded well, especially for a young team,” McCollum said. “Throughout the game we didn’t respond as well as I would like. If we missed a layup, we were frustrated all the way down to the other end rather than turn around and figure it out and get the stop.”

Offensively, it was a team effort for Northwest. Led by 20 from Crooker, all five starters scored in double figures. Schneider tied his career-high with 19, freshman point guard Justin Pitts scored 16, Wallace had 12 and Cozad finished with 11.

Northwest went into halftime with a 40-33 lead because of one statistic. The Bearcats went 6-for-12 from behind the three-point arc while Upper Iowa hit just one of its 12 three-point attempts.

It was near the end of the first half that Northwest found its form on the long-range shots. A three-pointer by Crooker gave the Bearcats a 29-28 lead.

Schneider, who was 4-for-7 on three-points in the opening 20 minutes, solidified Northwest’s lead with a three-pointer that made it 32-28.

“I think our jitters carried over a little from last night,” Schneider said. “Once we got settled in, we are pretty tough to stop, especially with Pitts. He is pretty quick. He finds everyone who is open.”

Northwest concluded the first half with Schneider and Crooker each making a three-pointer.

Freshman forward Brett Dougherty came off the bench and provided a spark inside the paint during the midway point in the first when Northwest was struggling on offense.

Dougherty made three buckets in the paint and added a free throw for seven points in only 8 minutes of action.

— Northwest Sports Information —