At the start of the second half, Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team came out and slapped the floor.

The gesture harkens back to a time when the Bearcats were known for their gritty defense and deep runs into postseason play.

But on Wednesday night at Bearcat Arena in the MIAA opener, Northwest saw Emporia State get on a blistering hot streak to start the second half.

“It didn’t work out too well,” said Northwest junior Justin Clark said.

The one-point halftime lead quickly turned into a seven-point deficit.

The Bearcats, though, never panicked. They displayed the winning traits in their 68-63 victory over Emporia State they will make them a formidable opponent throughout conference.

“Part of it is that first conference game and believing you can win, and now I think we believe a little bit more,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said.

In improving to 6-0 overall, the Bearcats played together, did the dirty work of grabbing key offensive rebounds to pull out a close game down the stretch.

“Knowing we are a team got us through,” Clark said. “Everybody helped.”

It truly was an all-around team effort. Perhaps last year or two years ago, Northwest might not have known how to respond when an 18-17 halftime lead turned into a 27-20 deficit a few minutes into the second half.

“In the second half, we just couldn’t stop them,” McCollum said. “We are going to have to improve some things and guard the ball a little better.”

Part of it was some great offensive plays by Emporia State. The other part was Northwest didn’t play as well on the defensive end as it did in the first half when it limited the Hornets to 24 percent shooting.

“We weren’t fundamentally sound,” Clark said.

But Northwest quickly got on track and closed to 41-40 on a three-pointer by Alex Sullivan. It has only field goal attempt of the game.
With about 9 minutes left, Northwest took its first lead since the opening of the second half on two free throws by Sullivan that made it 42-41.

Emporia State regained the lead on a three-pointer by Derrell Conner and held it for about 3 minutes.

The Bearcats forged a 51-51 tie on a three-point play by Dillon Starzl.

In the final 6 minutes, Northwest made all the key plays to seal the victory. It started with a steal and dunk by Clark that gave the Bearcats a 52-50.

“A dunk,” said Clark, “can be a game-changing play. I felt good everybody fed off that.”

Down the stretch, Northwest played smart, tenacious basketball. It started on the boards.

The first key offensive rebound came with 2:13 left. Kyle Haake, who finished with a team-high 12 points, grabbed the board, was fouled and made two free throws that gave Northwest a 61-56 lead.

A minute later, Sullivan did the exact same thing and made both free throws that gave the Bearcats a 63-58 lead.

“Those were huge,” McCollum said. “Our objective in the game was to increase possessions. We were able to do that and I think that was a key to our success.”

Northwest did everything right in the final 3 minutes. The Bearcats made nine of 10 free throws in the closing minutes to keep Emporia State two possessions away from tying.

“We have so many players on the floor and on the bench that gives us so much energy that we feed off of each other,” Sullivan said. “We encourage each other.”

In the first half, Northwest went nearly 5 minutes before it scored its first points. The Bearcats shot 28 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes and scored just 18 points in the first half.

“I think the nerves got to us a little in the first half,” McCollum said. “I felt like we were getting open shots, but we couldn’t step up and knock them down.”

Despite their struggles on offense, the Bearcats still went into halftime ahead 18-17.

Northwest showed that solid defense can overcome poor offense for a period of time.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Early in the second half Wednesday evening at Bearcat Arena, Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team faced a 22-point deficit against Emporia State.

The outcome was pretty much decided in the MIAA opener for both teams. It would have been easy for Northwest to throw up wild three-point shots in a desperate attempt to mount a comeback.

Instead, the Bearcats stayed in control and fed the ball inside to 6-foot-3 freshman Maggie Marnin and junior twins Alexis and Candace Boeh.

Although Northwest wound up losing 68-56, the way the Bearcats worked on establishing a post offense should pay off later in conference play.

“It wasn’t really the game plan, but we discovered it as we went along,” Northwest coach Gene Steinmeyer said.

In the first half, the Bearcats only consistent offense came from Candace Boeh, who made four of seven shots from the field. Her offense was not enough to keep pace with the Hornets.

Emporia State held a 26-13 lead with 6:56 left in the first half and went into halftime ahead 34-24.

The Bearcats got off to a rocky start to begin the second half and saw their deficit grow to 48-26 in less than 5 minutes.

At that point, the game was in jeopardy of turning into a full-fledge blowout. Marnin, who missed all four of her shot attempts in the first half, stopped a 9-0 run by Emporia State with an inside basket.

“She got muscled in the first half, even though the other kid was a freshman,” Steinmeyer said. “She was a lot stronger than Maggie. In the second half, Maggie learned to adjust.

“Maggie is going to get better every game. I have nothing but great things to say about Maggie. You know what is great about it is the twins, even though it is cutting into their playing time, they are being great teammates and helping each other out. I appreciate that, too.”

Marnin said the Alexis and Candace have been a big help. She was amazed at the way they played Wednesday night. Candace was five for 11 from the field and finished with a team-high 11 points, and Alexis made three of her five shots and finished with six points. Marnin also scored six points.

“Those girls are the sweetest girls around,” Marnin said. “But when you get them in a basketball game, they get you ready. They played so awesome tonight. I don’t know if it was a twin thing, but they had it going on. They knew what to do and they finished. They are just the best.

“I was definitely nervous. I heard the MIAA is unlike any other conference. Tonight, I realized that. My teammates were cheering me on and that really helps.”

Throughout much of the second half it was clear the Bearcats were going to make a concerted effort the push the ball inside.

During a 7-minute stretch, Marnin scored two more field goals as Northwest closed to 53-36.

“I think she (Marnin) did really well,” Candace Boeh said. “As a freshman it is hard in the MIAA because it is really tough. She held her ground. We just hope to get better every day.

“I think it is really important to establish an inside game. It gives our really good outside shooters an opportunity.”

The scoring from the post coupled with the inside drives by senior guard Abby Henry allowed Northwest to basically match Emporia State scoring over the final 15 minutes of the game.

Another positive sign for the Bearcats was the all out hustle until the very end. A perfect example of it occurred with just over 2 minutes left and Northwest trailing 68-51.

Alexis Boeh and Henry cornered Rachel Hanf and stole the ball. Senior Tara Roach got the ball inside and missed a shot. She continued to battle for the ball, got the offensive rebound and scored.

In the final 3 minutes of the second half, the Bearcats scored the last seven points.

“I think it is really important to never give up,” Candace Boeh said. “In MIAA games it is never easy. But if we continue to work hard and never give up, good things will come.”

— NWMSU Sports Information —