By David Boyce
MARYVILLE, Mo. – The perfect way for Northwest Missouri State to start its final regular-season game at Bearcat Arena was to have a senior score the first points of the game.
Now it would show a lack of respect to say Northwest has played so well this season that it can write its script for every game. Lincoln University played with too much energy to allow the Bearcats to do whatever it wanted.
But Northwest is having a special 2016-17 season and that means memorable moments happen. Once again, a feel-good moment occurred Saturday afternoon. The game started with senior Zach Schneider, one of the most decorated three-point shooters in MIAA history, knocking down a corner trey.
“It was pretty cool,” said Schneider, who finished with 17 points. “I have done it a couple of times in my career. Hopefully, I will get three more chances to do it. It was awesome.”
Schneider’s three-pointer set a tone for the game. Northwest made 11 three-pointers
The second one came from junior Chris-Ebou Ndow, which staked the Bearcats to a quick six-point lead. Northwest rode that early advantage to a 14-point halftime lead and eventually an 82-53 victory.
“We are riding the wave right now,” said senior D’Vante Mosby, who scored 12 points. “We want to see how far we can take this. We obviously have big goals. Hopefully, we have more big games ahead.”
Northwest, ranked No. 3 in the NABC top 25, improved to 26-1 overall and an impressive 18-1 in the MIAA. The Bearcats finished five games ahead of the second-place team.
Next for the Bearcats is the MIAA Tournament. Northwest, the defending conference champion, will play its quarterfinal game 6 p.m. Thursday at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.
“We are really looking forward to the tournament,” said senior Anthony Woods, who had five assists and five points. “We are ready to get back at it in practice. “We are focused and ready to go.”
Lincoln, playing without conference leading scorer Anthony Virdure, still gave a scrappy effort against Northwest. Twenty-three days ago, Virdure scored 50 points against Northwest in a five-point loss.
Without Virdure and a quick start by Northwest, signs pointed to an easy blowout win for the Bearcats. But after building its first double-digit lead at 18-8 on a three-pointer by Schneider, Northwest was unable to increase its advantage.
In fact, Lincoln buckled down and closed to 22-19 and even tossed up a potential game-tying three-pointer that didn’t fall.
Northwest refocused and changed the momentum when Ndow knocked down a three-pointer to push the lead back to six. After a basket by Lincoln, Northwest scored the next six points for a 31-21 lead.
Lincoln, though, didn’t wilt and that was good for Northwest because in postseason, no teams quit. The Blue Tigers closed to 32-27.
The Bearcats revved up their engine one more time and scored the final nine points in the first half for a 41-27 halftime lead.
“We did a good job of picking up our energy after the first 10-minute stretch, which I think was the biggest thing,” Schneider said. “Being able to turn it around after a bad start is important because if you have a bad start in postseason, you are going to need to turn it around really quick.”
Northwest started the second half in the same fashion as it started the game. Freshman Ryan Welty knocked down a three-pointer followed by another three-pointer from Justin Pitts, which extended Northwest’s lead to 47-27.
Lincoln put a little dent in the 20-point deficit and closed to 51-34. Northwest wiped that away on a three-pointer by Schneider. A minute later, Pitts made a circus-style layup.
Basically, in the final 12 minutes, the Bearcats entertained the 1.435 fans who showed up to watch Northwest’s trademark team basketball. Northwest showed everybody it is now ready for postseason after a truly remarkable regular season.
With a commanding lead in the final 5 minutes, McCollum was able to take each senior out individually so they were able to soak up the applause from an appreciative fan base.
— Northwest Athletics —