By David Boyce – Northwest Athletics
MARYVILLE, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State’s men’s basketball team stared at a seven-point deficit early in the first half. No problem. The Bearcats unleashed their most potent offensive attack so far in this young season.
Northwest zoomed past Truman State midway through the first half, increased its lead to 21 early in the second half and cruised to a 90-70 victory Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Arena. Northwest, ranked No. 1 in Division II, improved to 4-0.
“A lot of times when we start off slow, it is our defense,” said senior Xavier Kurth, who finished with 14 points. “Our offense is really not a problem. We might miss a couple of shots, but it really starts for us on defense.
“Our job is to provide that spark on defense. I tried my best to shut down their leading scorer and cause some chaos.”
Everybody who stepped on the court for Northwest contributed on offense. One of the Bearcats finding his scoring mojo was Kurth, who also sparkled on defense. His most notable play came with 10 minutes left in the game. Northwest held a 73-54 lead and was in complete control. Northwest missed a shot and Truman State grabbed the rebound under the basket.
Kurth didn’t give up on the possession. He ripped the ball out of the Truman State player’s hands and kicked the ball back outside. Kurth got the ball back and scored, making it 75-54.
Another player who rose up and had his best game in a Bearcat uniform was junior Joey Witthus. He made four three-pointers in the first half that contributed to the comeback and finished with 18 points.
“It felt great,” Witthus said. “I give credit to my teammates. They continue to put their trust in me that I am going to hit the open shot when I am open. They found me when I was open. I give all the credit to them.”
And then there was senior Chris-Ebou Ndow. Truman State needed some Duke players to show up at Bearcat Arena to stop him. Ndow drilled three-pointers and drove strong to the basket for points in the paint. Ndow finished with 14 points.
“We are starting to learn each other’s strengths,” Kurth said. “We have a lot of new guys getting into the rotation this year. We are learning how to play together. I’m excited to see what this year brings for us.”
From the start of the second half, it was obvious Truman State didn’t have a chance. Northwest took at 47-36 lead into halftime, and the program’s all-time leading scorer, Justin Pitts, only had four points. Pitts, though, finished with 20 points.
“We have so many weapons that it could be him (Pitts) one night,” Witthus said. “It could be Chris another night and Xavier another night. There are so many weapons we have on offense that nobody worries about getting theirs because we all trust in each other to score on offense.”
The Bearcats got Pitts involved early in the second half. A backdoor cut by Pitts and a perfect bounce pass from senior Brett Dougherty led to an easy layup that made it 49-36.
After Truman State scored, Pitts drilled a three-pointer and Witthus followed with a three-pointer, making it 55-38. Northwest held a double-digit lead the rest of the game.
“Joey is big for us,” Kurth said. “He can set screens and can drive and he can pop them if you leave him open.”
The first half started with Northwest briefly stunned by the seven straight shots Truman State knocked down that put the Bearcats in a 15-8 hole.
The aggressive play by Kurth helped the Bearcats quickly climb above the break-even point. His strong moves to the basket awakened the Bearcats on both ends of the floor.
One of the strong moves by Kurth led to two free throws, which he made. It help Northwest close to 17-14. The Bearcats tied the game at 17-17 on the next possession on a three-pointer by freshman Ryan Hawkins with 13:14 left in the first half.
Three minutes later, Northwest took its first lead at 24-21 on three-pointer by Witthus. The Bearcats then had a 4-minutes stretch in which they hit three-pointer after three-pointer. Ndow had two. Witthus added his fourth three-pointer of the half that increased Northwest’s lead to 35-26 with 6:25 remaining.
Northwest stayed hot and built a 47-31 lead late in the first half. Truman State closed out the half by scoring the last five points, but the Bulldogs still went into halftime down double-digits.
Defensively, the Bearcats struggled some. But give credit to Truman State for knocking down shot after shot. The Bulldogs went 15 for 23 from the field in the first half for a blistering 65.2 percent.
Northwest was nearly as good on offense, going 16 for 28 from the field for 57.1 percent, and that included eight for 14 from beyond the arc.
It was a well-rounded offensive attack for the Bearcats. Kurth and Dougherty provided the offense in the paint with strong moves to the class. Witthus, Ndow, Hawkins and sophomore Ryan Welty drilled shots on the outside.
— Northwest Athletics —