By David Boyce
MARYVLLE, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State’s men’s basketball team took sole possession of first place in the MIAA with an efficient, yet beautiful brand of basketball Thursday evening at Bearcat Arena.
Tied at 4-0 in conference with Missouri Southern, the Bearcats bolted to an 18-point halftime lead and methodically increased it to 26 with 8 minutes left on the way to an impressive 90-68 victory.
Northwest, ranked No. 1 in the NABC top 25, improved to 13-0 overall and 5-0 in the MIAA. Southern dropped to 10-4 and 4-1.
“It is unbelievable,” said junior Xavier Kurth. “At the beginning of the season it is what we strive for to be first in the country. To be first place in conference right now is huge for us.”
The Bearcats played without starting guard Anthony Woods who was nursing an injury. It didn’t matter. Kurth replaced Woods in the lineup and turned in career-highs in points with 15 and rebounds with 13.
In all, five Bearcats scored in double figures, led by Justin Pitts’ 24 points.
Kurth exemplified the strength of Northwest. The Bearcats are a team that plays together regardless of who is on the court.
“He was awesome,” Northwest associate head coach Austin Meyer said. “The job he did defensively and his rebounding was huge. He made solid plays. We are happy for him. With Woods out, this was his chance to shine, and he was awesome tonight.”
Another example of that team trait occurred early in the second half when freshman forward Ryan Welty picked up his fourth foul. Welty scored 11 points in the first half and has quickly become a key component in the Bearcats’ attack.
When Welty left the game, Northwest’s lead had slipped to 52-38 and the offense was a just a little off. Instead of relying on the outside shot, the Bearcats started making cuts to the basket. Kurth scored a couple of layups to increase the lead to 58-40. Pitts followed with a layup to make it 60-40.
“A lot of what coach Mac (Ben McCollum) preaches is don’t do anything outside yourself,” Kurth said. “Do you, but do you a little bit better then you have before. That is what I tried to focus on tonight.”
Northwest kept attacking the basket and making layups, which prevented Southern from cutting into the lead.
“We knew they were going to deny our passes the whole game,” Meyer said. “We knew every pass was going to be tough. Anytime we make a pass, shorten the pass and take care of it. It kind of turned into a drive game and that was the plan.”
For the game, the Bearcats shot 55 percent from the field and showed one of the top teams in the MIAA that they can score just as easily inside as they can outside.
“We had some really good practices coming into this game,” Welty said. “We knew they were going to pressure us. We did a really good job of handling their pressure. Our defense was unbelievable. Chris-Ebou Ndow did a really great job on their point guard. It was a team effort.”
The Bearcats put together offensive stretches in the first half to build a 50-32 halftime lead that were simply scintillating. Northwest quickly raced to a 16-7 lead thanks to some daring drives to the baskets for layups from Pitts.
“Justin set the tempo early with all those easy baskets,” Meyer said. “We knew that was going to be available.”
The action really became fun to watch after the initial burst.
Welty dropped in a three-pointer to make it 19-10. Welty is currently making three-pointers appear as easy as layups. His first trey Thursday night gave him a MIAA-record 16 of straight made three-pointers.
“It is just a record, but I don’t really care about the record,” said Welty, who finished with 13 points. “I am here to win games and win national championships. That is all that matters to me.”
Meyer, who was once the standard bearer for three-point shooting at Northwest, is able to appreciate what Welty has already accomplished.
“It is unbelievable,” Meyer said. “We knew he was a shooter. He works at it.”
D’Vonte Mosby followed Welty’s three-pointer with a traditional three-point play grew Northwest’s lead to 22-10. Northwest added four more points to increase its lead to 26-10.
A little later in the first half, Northwest put together a play that truly demonstrated its unselfish play. Pitts drove by his man, passed to junior forward Brett Dougherty inside who then kicked it to Welty on the wing. Welty drained the three-pointer to make it 36-22.
The Bearcats went 20 for 34 from the field for 59 percent. They only had two turnovers while creating 10 turnovers for Southern.
— Northwest Athletics —