By David Boyce, Northwest Athletics
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – After the Northwest Missouri State men won the MIAA Tournament last weekend, sophomore Chris-Ebou Ndow said sophomore Justin Pitts could score 40 anytime he wanted.
Pitts picked a great time to prove Ndow right. Pitts was sensational in the first half in the Central Region semifinals against Minnesota State Sunday at the Sanford Pentagon.
And when the Mavericks were making a run, Pitts was clutch. His career-high 38 points powered Northwest to an impressive 82-60 victory and into the Sweet 16 for the third straight year. The 38 points also goes down as the third highest single-game scoring performance in Bearcat basketball history.
“To start the game, I tried to come out more focused and more aggressive than the last game,” said Pitts, who was 16-for-21 from the field. “I hit my first couple of shots and after that, I started feeling good and then Conner (Crooker) started hitting his shots. As a team, we played really well. It was a good game for us.”
Northwest has now won 17 straight games, making the Bearcats one of the hottest teams in NCAA Division II. They will carry a 27-5 record into the Central Region championship, scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday.
“It means a lot, especially me being a senior, it is always good to lead the team to another Sweet 16,” said Northwest guard Conner Crooker about reaching the Central Region championship game. “We will be ready to play Tuesday.”
Pitts was dazzling in the first half, scoring 24 points, but was just as impressive in the second half when Minnesota State made its run behind the play of senior Jalen Pendleton.
“I thought Minnesota State was physical and tough and got after it on the offensive glass,” said Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “They are a well-coached team, a good basketball team.”
Trailing 60-47, Pendleton took it upon himself to bring his team back. He made a basket and followed that with a three-point play, helping the Mavericks close to 60-52 with about 10:27 left.
“The coaches were telling me to be aggressive,” said Pendleton, who finished with 22 points. “I played terrible in the first half. I started attacking and things started going my way.
“In the first half, we got outplayed, out worked. They came right out and punched us in the mouth. We took it and took it. In the second half, we came out and kind of punched them in the mouth. It was just a little bit too late.”
Crooker, who finished with 18, gave Northwest a double-digit lead again with a basket.
When it was 62-54, Pitts took over again. He drove to the basket for a field goal. He then made another basket, giving Northwest a 66-54 lead.
“These two,” said McCollum about Pitts and Crooker, “were able to ice the game out. It was as good as it gets. I think if Justin is more aggressive, he might have had 40-plus. Conner is a senior. He has been leading us. He is doing an excellent job of it.”
The dagger came a few minutes later when Pitts drilled a long three-pointer that pushed Northwest’s lead back to first-half status at 76-58 with 3:17 left. The Mavericks were finished.
“I would like to congratulate Northwest Missouri on a great game,” said Minnesota State coach Matt Margenthaler. “I am very proud of our guys and the way they handled themselves tonight. A lot of teams could have and would have folded. Our guys showed a lot of character, especially in the second half to be down 19 points and battle back and cut it to eight.”
In the first half, Northwest put together an amazing 20 minutes to go into halftime ahead 48-29. Northwest shot 73 percent from the field and held Minnesota State to 30 percent.
“Our kids came out ready from the start,” McCollum said. “We executed defensively right away. We fought through some things right away. Offensively, we really got into a good rhythm early.
“It is difficult when you score at such a high rate for them to score because they are never in transition. We were always set. When you shoot 73 percent, it is difficult for them to get going and think that is what happened.”
The Bearcats started strong by going to sophomore Brett Dougherty and he powered the ball to the basket. He scored the first seven points in the game.
“It really set a solid tone for us to start the game,” Crooker said. “We knew right then and there that we could score pretty much anytime when we could get the ball in there. It is always good to know our bigs can post up.”
After Minnesota State scored, Pitts hit a three-point and that gave the Mavericks only a hint of what was to come.
Before Pitts really heated up, Crooker hit a three-pointer that increased Northwest’s lead to 13-2.
Several minutes later, junior D’Vante Mosby scored on a three-point play, moving Northwest further in front at 22-11. Now the stage was set for Pitts to really hit a gear the Mavericks couldn’t keep up with.
Minnesota State had already used two timeouts to try to stop the Northwest onslaught. The Bearcats made their first eight shots.
The rest of the first half, Pitts played a special brand of basketball. It started with a floater, making it 24-11. He followed that with two more two-point field goals, making it 28-11.
“Pitts went off,” Margenthaler said. “We talked to our guys. We know how good he is. He is maybe the best point guard I’ve seen since I have been coaching at this level.”
The Mavericks fought back and closed the gap to 10 just to see Pitts score 11 of the next 21 points, giving Northwest a 46-25 lead two minutes before the break.
— Northwest Athletics —