The Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team withstood a late rally to knock off Washburn on the road, 62-56.
The Bearcats improve to 11-5 this season and remain tied atop the MIAA standings at 8-3. The Ichabods, meanwhile, fall to 10-6 overall and 6-5 against conference foes.
Anthony Woods led the team with 16 points. Conner Crooker chipped in 15 points and three assists. The senior scored 11 of his points after intermission, helping the Bearcats maintain the lead.
Northwest held the Ichabods to 35 percent shooting on the day (21-for-60). The Bearcats knocked down 46.9 percent of their shots (23-of-49). The Bearcats were dominant in the paint, outscoring Washburn 38-20 while blocking four shots. Northwest grabbed 10 more rebounds than the Bods, 41-31.
The Bearcats took control of the game early on, scoring nine of the first 11 points. After Washburn dropped in a bucket on its first possession, Zach Schneider quickly answered with a three-pointer from the left corner. Anthony Woods laid in a basket with the right hand on the next possession. Chris-Ebou Ndow followed with emphatic slam after Brett Dougherty grabbed an offensive board. Anthony Woods added a jumper in the paint, giving the Bearcats a 9-2 lead four minutes into the game.
After the Ichabods closed the gap to 12-7 over the next few minutes, Northwest scored 14 straight to grab a commanding 26-7 lead. Crooker hit short jumper from the right side before Dray Starzl made a steal. Dougherty battled for a layup and made the ensuing free throw after getting fouled two possessions later, followed by another left-handed finish down low for the sophomore forward. Later, Schneider knocked down a triple from the right wing and Ndow made a second-chance layup to round out the five minute, 39 second scoring run.
The Ichabods narrowed the margin to two with just under ten minutes to play, but the Bearcats fought back with a 15-3 run to all but seal the decision. Woods opened the rally with a jumper from the right elbow with 9:01 to play before Crooker dropped in a floater in the lane. Woods made the score 47-39 with a nifty turnaround jumper from close range and followed that up by drilling a three from the right wing two possessions later. Dougherty’s back-to-back layups with 3:13 to play stretched the lead to 56-42.
The Bearcats will return home to face off with Nebraska-Kearney on Thursday, Jan. 21. Tipoff is tentatively set for 7:30 following the women’s contest at 5:30.
— Northwest Athletics —