By David Boyce, Northwest Athletics
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Northwest Missouri State’s valiant comeback effort from being seven points down with 2 minutes left fell just short Tuesday evening in the Central Regional championship game at the Sanford Pentagon.
With 4.6 seconds left, sophomore Jordan Spencer made two free throws, lifting Augustana to an 80-78 win in front of 3,221 screaming fans. The game ended with the Vikings tipping away a pass near midcourt.
But the Bearcats definitely put a scare into Augustana. Trailing 73-67 with 2 minutes left, Northwest battled back and tied the game at 78-78 on a basket by sophomore Justin Pitts with 25 seconds left.
“Our kids are tough,” said Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “They are down seven in that atmosphere and they don’t panic.”
Augustana called timeout after Pitts’ basket. Spencer dribbled the ball until 10 seconds remained and then he drove to the basket. Junior Zach Schneider blocked the layup attempt but was whistled for a foul. Spencer made the clutch free throws.
“It was a great college basketball game,” said Augustana coach Tom Billeter. “I was saying all day to anybody who cared to listen that it was going to come down to the last possession and it did. I thought both teams played a hard-fought college basketball game. I think the fans got their money’s worth.
“I tip my hat to Ben McCollum and his staff and the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats. I thought they played a great game. They have a great player in Justin Pitts, and they have a great team.”
The loss snapped Northwest’s 17-game winning streak. The Bearcats finished the season 27-6. Augustana, 31-2, will carry a 12-game winning streak into the Elite Eight, which will be March 23-26 in Frisco, Texas.
“We would like to congratulate Augustana,” McCollum said. “They played a good game. They are a tough, physical team. They earned the right to get there.
“I couldn’t be prouder of my kids. To comeback from where they were at, down seven or eight with 3 ½ minutes to go, I said in the huddle, ‘Do you want to start trapping or scramble a little bit.’ Not one of them wanted to. Let’s just get the stop coach and they did and fought back and kept fighting and fighting.
“Conner Crooker was on a mission and Justin Pitts is probably the best player in Division II.”
Pitts, the Central Region Most Outstanding Player, finished with 34 points and Crooker, who joined Pitts on the All-Tournament team, added 19.
“We knew they were going to key on Justin a lot so I had to be ready,” Crooker said. “I was confident in my drives. My teammates tell me to be confident, too.”
The start of the second half looked like it was going to mirror the first half, which was filled with ties and lead changes. Northwest started the second half down by one and gave up the first point. A three-pointer by Pitts put Northwest ahead 40-39.
Augustana went back ahead and Northwest came right back on a basket by Crooker that gave the Bearcats a 43-42 lead.
The Vikings then scored the next eight points for a 50-43 lead. Northwest scored the next five points, but the Vikings responded with a three-pointer from senior Casey Schilling.
“I thought it hurt a little bit,” McCollum said. “I am not sure what happened. We had a few turnovers and then they got run outs. They made us pay a couple of times.”
The rest of the second half, each time it appeared Northwest was about to catch and overtake Augustana, the Vikings came up with a clutch shot.
“It was huge,” Schilling said of keeping the lead. “We really go on the first 5 minutes. That is our big deal. We want to push this lead and go get it. Every time they threw a punch, we hit them right back. We had a bunch of guys who kept coming and were ready when it was their turn.”
But the Bearcats never quit. When they trailed 73-67 with 2 minutes remaining, Northwest fought back. A three-point play by Pitts with a minute left pulled Northwest to within two at 78-76.
“I looked at coach Mac and he said get the ball and go and try to get a foul or score,” Pitts said. “I was trying to attack.”
The only thing that separated the two teams in the first half was Augustana made two more three-pointers and that allowed the Vikings to take a slim 38-37 lead into halftime.
A three-pointer by freshman John Warren late in the first half gave Augustana the one-point lead.
Throughout the first half, the action went back and forth without either team grabbing hold of the momentum. The biggest lead was five points. It came at the start of the game with Chris-Ebou Ndow scoring a layup for Northwest and he followed that with a three-pointer, give the Bearcats a 5-0 lead.
Augustana responded with a three-pointer from senior Alex Richter. Northwest maintained the lead until Augustana went up 14-12 on a basket by Warren. It was the first of nine lead changes in the first half. There were also eight ties. The biggest lead Augustana had in the first half was two points.
Once again, Pitts played at a MVP caliber in the first half, scoring 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Augustana countered with Schilling, who scored 13 points, going 5-for-6 from the field. For the half, Northwest shot 59 percent compared to 48 percent for Augustana.
— Northwest Athletics —