KANSAS CITY, Missouri – The No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State University Bearcat men’s basketball team thwarted an upset attempt by Emporia State University in the quarterfinals of the 2019 MIAA Tournament, 82-79.
Northwest (30-0 overall) forced a pair of turnovers in the final nine seconds to hold on to advance to the semifinals on Saturday at Noon. The first turnover came on an in-bounds pass from ESU’s Kam Rowan with :09 left when Trevor Hudgins deflected the pass back into Rowan’s hands. Then Ryan Welty tipped the in-bounds pass from ESU’s Kooper Glick with :02.7 left to secure the three-point victory for the Bearcats.
MIAA Player of the Year Joey Witthus and league Freshman of the Year Trevor Hudgins paced the Northwest offensive attack. Witthus poured in 27 points, including 14-of-18 at the free throw line. Hudgins made 9-of-21 field goals and was a perfect 5-of-5 at the free throw line. Northwest drained 32-of-39 at the line, while ESU made 16-of-21.
Sophomore Ryan Hawkins collected his 10th double-double on the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Emporia State relied heavily on the play of senior guard Julius Jackson. Jackson went for 38 points as he made 10-of-19 from the field, including 7-of-10 from three-point range. Jackson nailed 11-of-14 at the free throw line.
Northwest led by as many as 12 points in the first half at 19-7 with 10:52 on the clock. The Bearcats led 36-31 at the break. Northwest would lead by as many as 11 in the second half at 50-39 with 15:36 to play. However, Emporia State would battle back and knot the game at 71-71 on a Jackson three with 2:21 left. A Witthus bucket in the line gave Northwest a 75-73 lead with 1:12 remaining. Kooper Glick missed his first free throw in 29 attempts and could only bring ESU to within one at 75-74 with :50 to play. Witthus sank a pair of free throws with :29 left to put Northwest back up three, 77-74. Jackson drove for a layup and Witthus answered with two more at the charity stripe to set the stage for a pair of ESU turnovers and Northwest steals in the closing seconds.
Northwest will take on the winner of the No. 4 Fort Hays State-No. 5-Lincoln game on Saturday at noon. FHSU and Lincoln will play Friday at noon for the right to advance to the semifinals.
NOTES: Northwest extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 30 in a row … Northwest has won 27 straight games on neutral floors – also the longest active streak in the nation … Ben McCollum moved to 8-0 in MIAA quarterfinal games … McCollum is 16-4 all-time in the MIAA Tournament … Northwest won their 41st MIAA Tournament game … the Bearcats are 41-25 all-time in MIAA postseason play … Northwest is 3-0 all-time vs. Emporia State in MIAA Tournament action … Northwest has made 332 three-pointers this season – three short of the MIAA record set by Southwest Baptist in 2004-05 and 2008-09 … over the last three seasons, Northwest is 92-5 overall.
— Northwest Athletics —