By David Boyce
MARYVILLE, Mo. – In building a 26-point halftime lead, Northwest Missouri State’s men’s basketball team played at such an efficient, high-caliber level that the University of Central Missouri had no chance to stay close.
The Bearcats rode their huge advantage to a 76-57 victory early Sunday evening at Bearcat Arena. Northwest is now 9-0 overall and 3-0 in the MIAA.
Junior forward Chris-Ebou Ndow, who finished with a game-high 27 points on 10 of 15 shooting from the field, had a special reason for doing well.
“This is the first game any of my family came to watch the game and that was extra motivation for me,” said Ndow, whose mother traveled from Norway. “I really came ready because of them.”
The odds are high when the next NABC top 25 comes out early this week, the Bearcats, currently ranked No. 2, will move to the top. No. 1 Saginaw Valley State lost Saturday.
If that is the case, what a special December this is turning out to be at Northwest. The football team, ranked No. 1 all season, won its semifinal game on Saturday and will play for the national championship on Dec. 17.
“It means a lot,” Ndow said. “Coach Mac (Ben McCollum) always says we have an ultimate goal, but along the way we have small goals, and this is one of them. “It is huge for this school. I don’t think the basketball program has ever been No. 1 in the country. That was one of the real motivators for us coming into this game.”
On the hardwood, the men’s basketball team is playing at a championship level. The Mules got a taste of it on Sunday.
Central Missouri scored the first basket. The 2-0 lead was the only one the Mules had the entire game. Sophomore Justin Pitts, who went 7-for-7 from the field in the first half, tied the game at 2-2 with a basket and then gave Northwest a 5-2 lead with a three-pointer.
The Bearcats continued to improve its play in the opening 10 minutes. Ahead 14-8, Northwest went on a spurt that increased its lead to 23-9. At that point, Ndow got hot. A three-pointer followed by a two-point field goal by Ndow gave the Bearcats a 30-10 lead.
The advantage went over 20 when senior Zach Schneider made a three-pointer with 5:36 left in the first half that made it 35-13.
Late in the first half, Central Missouri was leaving Ndow open on the wing and he drilled back-to-back three-pointers that put Northwest up 45-20.
“I had a couple of games lately that I have been shooting pretty bad,” said Ndow, who was 7 for 10 from behind the arc. “I was anticipating them leaving me open. It was kind of the same thing Augustana did and rightfully so. We have so many offensive weapons. You have to pick your poison. Leaving me open is what they picked today. I was ready.”
Northwest was so hot from outside that with time running out, Pitts threw up a 35-footer and it went in, making it 48-22.
“I think we did everything coach Mac told us to do coming out,” said Pitts, who finished with 17 points. “With this game, it is always a rivalry so we have a little more concentration.”
The Bearcats were 10-of-16 three-pointers for 62.5 percent and overall Northwest was 66.7 percent from the field. Meanwhile, Northwest limited Central Missouri to only nine field goals in the first half.
“They kept helping off the corner so we set up the ball screen so where we would have a shooter in the corner like Chris and they left him wide open. He had a good night,” Pitts said.
With such a huge lead, the challenge for Northwest in the second half was maintaining its intensity and focus. The Bearcats succeeded. A dunk by Ndow gave Northwest a 52-27 lead. A little later, Ryan Welty drilled a three-pointer, making it 55-29.
Ndow stayed hot. With under 7 minutes remaining, he once again hit consecutive three-pointers that gave Northwest its biggest lead of the game at 67-36. A minute later it went to 70-38 on a three-pointer by Welty.
— Northwest Athletics —