By David Boyce
MARYVILLE, Mo. – Washburn came into Bearcat Arena Saturday afternoon and forced Northwest Missouri State’s men’s basketball team to put on its hard hat and grind out its fourth straight MIAA title.
It was fitting for Northwest to win in a blue-collar fashion. The Bearcats’ 74-68 victory was the epitome of their team-first mentality over this six-year run of 20 or more win. Northwest now stands at 23-0 overall and 15-0 in the MIAA.
“We are going to see these types of games in Kansas City and wherever else we go,” said Northwest senior Zach Schneider. “It was fun. Obviously, winning by 20 is great, too. But it is great for the postseason to win like this.”
With four conference games remaining, Northwest, ranked No. 1 in the NABC coaches top 25, holds a four-game lead over second-place Central Missouri. Northwest can win the outright title on Thursday with a win at Pittsburg State or a loss by Central Missouri.
Given that Northwest has won a conference-record 27 straight MIAA regular season games, it is nearly 100 percent certain that will remain by itself atop the MIAA when the regular season ends.
“It is pretty special to go four straight,” Schneider said.
In front of 1,675 fans at Bearcat Arena, Northwest showed once again it knows how to win when shots aren’t falling through at over a 50-percent clip like the previous three games.
“I was happy with the way we responded in the second half,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “I didn’t think we played well the whole game, but we were tough enough to get the win. It was a good, fun atmosphere. I appreciate everybody’s support. Our kids just competed as hard as they could.”
After the game, a happy celebration erupted. New MIAA commissioner Mike Racy handed the regular-season trophy to the Bearcats. “We are the Champions” from Queen blared through the loudspeakers as the players cut down the nets.
For Schneider, it was the fourth time he has been able to enjoy a conference title. Senior Anthony Woods has experienced three and senior D’Vante Mosby has two.
“This means a lot and it feels so good,” Woods said. “Four in a row is crazy, just a blessing.”
By the way the first half went, it was obvious every possession in the second half was important. In the first 7 minutes of the second half, there were 10 lead changes. The 10th one gave Northwest a 46-45 lead when Schneider hit a three-pointer. Northwest never trailed again.
The Bearcats solidified the lead on a basket JustiPitts, making it 48-45. Washburn stayed between one and three points behind until Northwest grabbed its first five-point lead of the game on at 57-52 on two free throws by Pitts with 8:48 left. Pitts finished with a game-high 22 points.
Northwest maintained a three to five-point lead over the next several minutes until the Bearcats managed to increase it to seven at 65-58 on two free throws by junior Xavier Kurth with 4:41 left.
Each little increase in the lead came from tenacious defense and a gritty, offensive-mind-set. Exemplifying that attitude was senior D’Vante Mosby who backed his way in the paint and then powered up a basket that gave Northwest a 67-60 lead with 3:08 left.
“I was just trying to do my job and the opportunity presented itself,” said Mosby, who finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
A little less than a minute later, senior Chris-Edou Ndow hit a soft, 10-foot jumper in the free throw lane that pushed Northwest’s lead to 69-60 with 2:15 left.
“We just did us and gave a little more effort and did it better in the second half,” Mosby said. “The first half we didn’t execute our game plan. The second half we tightened up and got the result.”
And the result was Northwest’s fourth straight conference title.
“That was a postseason atmosphere,” Mosby said. “It was awesome.”
Throughout the first half, Northwest struggled on offense. In fact, it was one of the worst shooting halves of the new year. But the Bearcats’ sting defense allowed them to go into halftime tied 31-31.
Neither team went on much of a run in a half that saw nine lead changes. The biggest lead for Washburn was 5-2. Northwest held a 28-24 advantage late in the first half.
It was simply a hard-fought, defensive battle that the Bearcats needed. Northwest will have plenty of these types of games in postseason.
But first, Northwest must concentrate on the remaining four regular-season games, starting at Pittsburg State on Thursday.
“We have to take it one game at a time, stay focused and take every practice serious,” Woods said.
— Northwest Athletics —