By David Boyce
BOLIVAR, Mo. – On a cold, icy Saturday evening in southwest Missouri, Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball made MIAA history with its 75-54 victory over Southwest Baptist at the Meyer Sports Center.
The No. 1-ranked Bearcats won its 20th straight regular season conference game and improved to 16-0 overall and 8-0 in the MIAA. The previous mark was 19 established in 1931 by Northwest, which was coached by legendary Henry Iba.
“It is really cool,” said Northwest junior forward Brett Dougherty, who finished with 10 points. “We didn’t really know about it until a few games ago. It is something we have worked really hard for.
“We have a lot of the same guys. It is the experience of knowing what to expect and what it takes to win and the level you got to get to.”
Despite his youthful age, coach Ben McCollum will soon enter legendary status if the Bearcats keep piling up victories in rapid fashion in the rugged MIAA.
“I don’t know if I am a legend on Iba’s level,” McCollum said with a laugh. “But it is certainly humbling to be able to break somebody as good as he was in coaching, especially in today’s day in age with all the scouting and all the coaching and all the different players.
“Honestly, the way millennials supposedly are, they are not supposed to be ready for every game. They have been. They have proven that their generation can do those things. They can be unselfish. They can be tough. They aren’t entitled. They are a special group.
“It is a spectacular record. There are people who have won conference championships and national titles. But there is only one team in the history of the MIAA that has won this many games in a row in league. That is big.”
Like in their previous 19 conference wins, the Bearcats used their successful formula of strong defense, sharing the basketball on offense and playing as a team in all phases.
Northwest also understands what it takes to continue to play strong in the second half regardless of the size of its advantage.
The Bearcats started the second half with a 17-point lead and never saw it dip under 15, and it only happened once when Baptist scored the first basket in the final 20 minutes to close to 41-26.
A three-pointer by junior Chris-Ebou Ndow, followed by a two-pointer by Ndow quickly increased the Bearcats’ lead to 46-26. Ndow finished with a team-high 18 points.
“That is one of our number one focus,” Ndow said. “Early on in the season, we had a tough time coming out in the second half and we blew big leads. Lately, we have been really good coming out in the second half and be ready and not underestimate any team.”
A few minutes later, Dougherty played a man’s game by powering inside for a couple of hard-nosed baskets in the paint. The second one gave Northwest a 51-28 lead.
“It is fun,” Dougherty said of scoring inside. “D Mo (D’Vante Mosby) and I work on our moves inside all the time. When we are able to get buckets inside, it makes it easier for everybody else.”
Northwest continued to cruise through the second half. An indication that the game was really going well occurred when the shot clock was winding down, forcing Zach Schneider to take a desperation guarded three-pointer. The shot banked in to give Northwest a 64-41 lead with less than 8 minutes left.
With 5 minutes remaining, Northwest held a 69-45 lead, which allowed McCollum to use his reserves.
Despite going into halftime with a comfortable 41-24 lead, the Bearcats once again got an early lesson about what it means to be the No. 1 target in the MIAA.
Baptist didn’t come out like a team that only has two conference wins and had just lost a home game to Missouri Western on Thursday. Baptist was locked in. They were playing tenacious defense and knocking down shots.
A three-pointer by Cartier Dean gave Baptist an early 10-5. The bad news for SBU is the shot shook the Bearcats out of their early doldrums. Northwest scored the next six on consecutive three-pointers from Justin Pitts and Ryan Welty to briefly give Northwest an 11-10 lead.
“We just kept our composure,” Ndow said. “We understand we are the No. 1 team. We understand they are going to come ready. We do have to do a better job of coming out ready and not let them feel good about themselves when the game starts. But when that happens, we have to calm down, stick to our game plan and eventually we will get in a rhythm.”
Baptist regained the lead and held it until Northwest went ahead for good on back-to-back baskets from Anthony Woods that put the Bearcats ahead 17-15. Northwest didn’t stop there. Free throws by Mosby and Ndow pushed the lead to 21-15. Pitts concluded the 10-0 run with a field goal, making 23-15.
Northwest closed out the first half strong. Leading 31-23, the Bearcats outscored Baptist 10-1 for the 17-point lead. Six players for Northwest scored at least four points. Northwest shot well from behind the arc, going 6 for 11.
By the end of the first half, everybody for Northwest was zeroed in, including associate head coach Austin Meyer. When Meyer noticed that a point wasn’t added for a free throw made by Dougherty, he politely told the scorer’s table that Northwest had 38 points instead of the 37 showing on the scoreboard.
“We got a little result happy to start the game,” McCollum said. “We wanted to win instead of focusing on the process. And then we got our energy right.
“We are trying to focus on the process so we can perform in the postseason and play our best in the end.”
— Northwest Athletics —