The Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team picked up a 66-64 win over MSU Denver on Sunday afternoon at the Auraria Event Center in Denver, Colo.
– The No. 6 ranked Bearcats improved to 4-0 on the year while the Roadrunners fall to 2-2.
– Four players reached double figures for Northwest, led by Zach Schneider with 15 points, all coming on three point shots.
– It was the first time this year that Northwest trailed at halftime, 32-31.
Key Northwest Statistics
– Northwest shot 47.8 percent from the field, hitting on 22-of-46 attempts.
– MSU Denver was held to just 39.3 percent shooting (22-56).
– There were a total of 44 personal fouls called in the contest, 18 against Northwest.
– Schneider also grabbed three rebounds in the game. He played all 40 minutes for Northwest.
– Justin Pitts scored 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting. he had three rebounds, a steal and an assist in the game.
– Anthony Woods scored 11 points, hitting 4-of-5 from the field including his only three point attempt. Woods had four assists and a rebound.
– Chris-Ebou Ndow scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds.
– Brett Dougherty scored nine points with five rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot.
Key Northwest Sequences
– The Roadrunners took a 24-20 lead with 6:28 left in the first half. Northwest responded with a quick 7-0 run to give the Bearcats the lead. D’Vante Mosby started the run with a pair of makes from the charity stripe. MSU Denver was called for an illegal screen on the next possession and Pitts responded with a layup of his own, tying the game, 24-24. Northwest was whistled four a foul the next time down but the Roadrunners couldn’t convert the one-and-one and Ryan Welty knocked down a three pointer off an assist from Mosby to put the Bearcats up, 27-24 with 4:40 left to play in the first.
– Northwest started the second half on a 12-3 run to take an eight point lead. Pitts scored a layup right out of the halftime break. Dougherty hit an and-one to put the Bearcats up, 36-32. After a Roadrunner layup, Schneider knocked down his third three-pointer of the game to push the lead back to five, 39-34. The two teams each made a single free throw and at the 14:01 mark, Schneider got free and hit his fourth long range bucket to cap the run.
– Down by one with 1:33, each team had empty possessions. Woods grabbed a defensive rebound off a Roadrunner miss and Ndow was able to draw a foul with 19 seconds to go and promptly hit two from the line to give Northwest the lead, 65-64. With just four seconds left, MSU Denver drew a foul but missed both free throws. Ndow came away with the rebound and was promptly fouled. He hit 1-of-2 from the line to put the Bearcats up, 66-64.
Up Next
– Northwest will host Lake Superior State on Wednesday, Nov. 23, at 2 p.m. at Bearcat Arena. Saturday’s Bearcat game against Concordia University has been moved to 6 p.m.
— Northwest Athletics —