By David Boyce – Northwest Athletics
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – As intense as the championship game of the MIAA Men’s Basketball Tournament got Sunday evening at Municipal Auditorium, Northwest Missouri State never trailed in the second half in its 80-74 win over Washburn.
But the Bearcats sure made it interesting in the final two minutes. Leading 73-68, Northwest missed five straight free throws. It finally hurt them when Washburn senior Brady Skeens made a basket with 45 seconds left, making it 73-70.
Four seconds later, Northwest senior Chris-Ebou Ndow calmly drained two free throws to increase the Bearcats’ lead back to five points.
“It is just going back to the gym. I work on my free throws all the time,” said Ndow, who made six straight free throws in the final 41 seconds. “I wasn’t nervous. I stepped up and did what I do in the gym.”
After Washburn scored, Ndow made two more free throws and that allowed Northwest to win its third straight MIAA tournament title. The only other team to accomplish this feat was Southeast Missouri State, 1985-87.
“Wow,” Ndow said of the accomplishment. “This group of guys are special and the seniors last year, for us to keep making history, it is special and we are going to remember it forever.”
The victory by the Bearcats all but assures them the No. 1 seed in the Central Region. Northwest will take a 27-3 record into regional. Northwest finds out later Sunday evening its seeding.
“That is huge,” Ndow said. “I believe we have the best fans in the country. It is such a home court advantage. Hopefully, we get to do it this year. We will be ready regardless.”
The second half heated up immediately, especially after Washburn first-year coach Brett Ballard was given a technical for arguing a charge call on his player. Sophomore Ryan Welty knocked down both free throws for Northwest, giving the Bearcats a 44-34 lead.
Momentum appeared to be completely on Northwest’s side when Ndow followed with a three-pointer to extend the lead to 47-34.
Washburn regained its composure and closed to 51-45. Northwest answered that run with a three-pointer by Welty.
Still, the Ichabods kept grinding away and pulled to five at 65-60 with just under 9 minutes left. Senior Joey Witthus stepped up for Northwest and knocked down a high-arching three-pointer, making it 68-60.
With senior Justin Pitts on the bench for a large portion of the second half battling foot issues, it was clear Northwest needed to play with grit down the stretch to pull out a win. Washburn once again pulled to five at 68-63 with just over 6 minutes left.
“Guys stepped up and hit some big shots,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “And we got enough stops to win the game.”
One of the biggest plays for Northwest came 2 minutes later. Washburn closed 69-66 and grabbed a defensive rebound. Kurth stole the ball and went in for a quick layup to make it 71-66 with 4:28 left.
“The funny thing is I almost missed the layup because I got too excited when I got the steal,” said Kurth, who finished with 15 points. “Things like that is what we are all about to make sure we are staying with it with our defense.”
Northwest, though, didn’t start with much fire. Less than 2 minutes into the game, McCollum called a timeout. The Bearcats looked lethargic in falling behind 4-0.
What did McCollum say?
“Off the record,” McCollum said.
The barking must have penetrated Welty’s ears and he wasn’t starting. Welty knocked down all four three-point attempts and scored 16 first-half points, sparking Northwest to a 41-28 halftime lead.
“Obviously, our guards do a good job of creating,” said Welty, who finished with a team-high 21 points. “Basically, I stay on the three-point line and have to be ready to shoot. It felt good.”
Of course, the Bearcats used more than one player to overcome a brief a 6-1 deficit to start the game. Kurth also sparkled on offense, hitting five of seven shots from the field for 13 points.
Northwest quickly recovered from the slow start and took its first lead at 9-8 on a basket by Kurth.
The Ichabods responded with a basket by David Salach for its last lead of the game at 10-9.
Welty’s first three-pointer of the game put the Bearcats back in front 12-10 and they never trailed again in the first half.
The three-pointer by Welty ignited a 9-0 run. A basket by Witthus, two free throws by Welty and a basket by senior Brett Dougherty gave Northwest an 18-10 lead.
A few minutes later, a three-pointer by Welty pushed Northwest’s advantage to nine at 24-15.
But Washburn fought back and scored the next seven points, closing to 24-21.
Northwest responded with another offensive surge. It started with Witthus in the paint making an interior pass to Kurth that led to a layup. With 5:25 remaining in the first half, Northwest led 26-21.
Soon the Bearcats’ lead blossomed to 36-24 on a three-pointer by Welty. A few minutes later, Kurth drilled consecutive three-pointers that pushed the lead for Northwest to 41-26 late in the first half.
“We have so many weapons offensively that one guy can be hot one night and another guy hot another night,” Kurth said. “We were both able to hit some shots and keep our confidence going on offense.”
Northwest shot 56 percent in the first half and held Washburn to 40 percent shooting.
“Washburn is a really good team so it is big to win this game, especially going into regional game,” Welty said. “We have the momentum and keep it going.”
— Northwest Athletics —