MARYVILLE, Mo. – Nebraska-Kearney did a superior job of taking away the three-pointer from Northwest Missouri State Thursday evening at Bearcat Arena.
Northwest knocked down its first three-pointer of the game 4 minutes into the second half. It was clear Northwest was not going to come close to matching the 12 three-pointers it made Monday at Northeastern State or the 17 it drained Saturday at Central Oklahoma.
It simply did not matter. Northwest put on a masterful display of scoring in the paint in its 80-48 victory over the Lopers.
“That started to work pretty well for us,” Northwest senior forward Grant Cozad said of all the layups. “You can ask Justin Pitts. He found all the holes there. He was dissecting them.
“He got past them and if they guarded him or double teamed him, he threw it up and we went and got it. It seemed to be working pretty good for us.”
Northwest heads into Saturday’s afternoon game at home against Washburn with a 12-2 overall record and 5-1 in the MIAA. Nebraska-Kearney dropped to 8-5 and 4-3.
The fact that the Lopers are a good team with a good record is what made the performance by Northwest Thursday evening so outstanding.
When sophomore Zach Schneider made the first three-pointer of the game for the Bearcats, it gave them a 53-30 lead with 16:03 left.
Northwest built its huge league on tenacious defense, pinpoint passing and dazzling layups.
“It was very good because people who scout us won’t just focus on our three-pointers,” Pitts said. “Now they will focus on our drives.”
It was another total team effort. By the time senior Matt Wallace hit a jumper in the paint with 13:50 left, Northwest held a 62-33 lead. The game was over except for the remaining time on the clock.
Pitts led Northwest with 19 points, Wallace scored 14, Cozad and Brett Dougherty each had 13.
Cozad, who is in his fifth season with Northwest, has been on some very good teams with some of the best players in the MIAA like DeShaun Cooper and Dillon Starzl. Last year’s team went 24-9 and reached the regional finals. The 2012-13 team went 22-9 and the 2011-12 team finished 22-7.
Cozad, though, is sensing something special is happening with the current edition of the Bearcats.
Of course, he was careful in how he worded his answer because he is good friends with his former teammates. He respected the way they played at Northwest. His response perfectly characterizes this year’s team. They are respectful to each other and respectful to the game by the way they play it.
“I have seen a lot of good players here,” Cozad said. “Obviously, Cooper, but as a team, as a cohesive unit, I would say this might be the best team I have been on. We all understand each other. We are around each other all the time. We hang out together off the court, too.
“No offense to the teams in past years. This team is fun to play with. This is my last year. I am going to enjoy it. It is going to be a fun ride.”
In the first half, Northwest put up only four three-pointers and missed all of them, but went into half time with a commanding 41-25 lead.
The Bearcats proved that they are much more than a mad-bombing team. They can score in the paint. They did it almost at will against a frontline that was 6-7, 6-7, 6-6.
The layup drill Northwest put on in the first half was a thing a beauty. The conductor of this first-half masterpiece was Pitts.
Early in the first half, Pitts slithered his way inside and then slipped a pass to Cozad who finished with a couple of layups that pushed Northwest lead to 15-6.
“They make my job so easy,” Cozad said. “You have Zach and Conner who can shoot it lights out. You can’t double them. You have Pitts, who can go by anybody. It is all about patience.”
Several minutes later, Pitts found freshman Brett Dougherty for a bucket in the paint that gave Northwest a 23-11.
Nearly every player on the court got in on this spectacular layup drill. Crooker had a couple of nice drives into the paint for baskets. Wallace and sophomore Anthony Wood also participated.
But it was the magical moves of Pitts in the latter half of the first half that stole the show. Pitts, standing, 5-9, was fearless driving to the basket and finishing against players nearly a foot taller than him.
“It comes from practice and our scout teams we practice against,” Pitts said.
Northwest played equally well on the defensive end, making it hard for the Lopers too put together much of a run even though they had capable scorers on the outside and inside.
The Bearcats held Nebraska-Kearney to 38 percent from the field while shooting 63 percent in the first half.
— David Boyce, Northwest Athletics —