By David Boyce, Northwest Athletics
MARYVILLE, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State’s men’s basketball team entered the final 4 minutes of its game against Nebraska-Kearney trailing by four points. The Bearcats needed to execute their offense to perfection in their final few possessions to pull out the win.
Northwest made each of those possessions count and came away with a thrilling 83-78 victory Thursday evening in front of 1,738 fans at Bearcat Arena.
“We made big plays and finally playing at home with the crowd here, it was fun going out playing for them,” said sophomore Justin Pitts, who scored a team-high 23 points. “It was a fun environment.”
The win lifted Northwest to 12-5 overall and 9-3 and in first place in the MIAA.
It looked a bit bleak for the Bearcats when they faced a 74-70 deficit. The Lopers were riding the energy of their leading scorer, senior forward Connor Beranek, who entered the game averaging 24.9 points per game.
At times, he was unstoppable inside and other times he was finding an open teammate who knocked down the shot. Beranek finished with 32 and senior forward Ethan Brozek added 23.
“He (Beranek) is really good,” said Northwest junior Zach Schneider. “He’s the player of the year coming back. He didn’t have a great game last year coming here. We knew coming in he was going to be a problem.
“Brozek is a first team All-MIAA. He is playing at that level this year. Their front line is tough. They are all really good. We obviously got to work on guarding guys like that because we are going to see other players like him down the stretch. I have nothing but respect for him. He is an awesome player.”
Junior Anthony Woods started the final 4-minute comeback with a tip in off a missed shot, making it 74-72.
After a stop, Schneider hit perhaps the biggest shot of the game for the Bearcats. He received a pass from Pitts behind the arc and drilled a three-pointer that gave Northwest a 75-74 lead with 1:47 remaining in the game.
“We went with a jet screen with J.P and me and they were having trouble switching that and that’s when I got wide open on that three and luckily I knocked it down,” said Schneider, who finished with 17 points, going five for six from behind the three-point arc.
“I haven’t been shooting it great this year. That was all the emotion coming out when I hit that shot. It was the biggest shot I hit in awhile. I can’t tell you how good that felt.”
Northwest solidified its lead with another basket by Woods, giving the Bearcats a three-point lead with 1:12 left.
“Woods had a huge cut to the middle and had a great finish,” Schneider said.
Nebraska-Kearney pulled to within one on two free throws by Beranek.
Senior Connor Crooker answered for Northwest with a basket, pushing the Bearcats’ lead back to three at 79-76 with 34 seconds remaining. Twenty seconds later, Crooker made two free throws to give Northwest an 81-76 lead.
“We just trusted each other,” Schneider said. “This game was awesome. You are out there and you have nothing but respect for them, but you want to beat their butts, also. That was one of the most fun games I’ve played this year.
“Our mental toughness was what came out. We kept grinding and kept grinding and we finally got those two big stops at the end and got that score. That is what it is all about.”
Northwest led nearly the entire first half, but the Bearcats had to fight hard to stay ahead. They went into halftime with a slim 35-32 lead.
For most of the half, Northwest held either a two or a three-point lead. The Bearcats had one spurt, which was fueled by a three-pointer from Schneider, that gave the Bearcats a 30-23 lead.
Northwest’s lead increased to eight at 31-23 when Beranek fired up his team with some quick points and provided emotional energy. In a blink of eye, the Lopers were down just one at 31-30.
The Bearcats scored the next four points late in the first half, which allowed them to go into halftime ahead.
— Northwest Athletics —