By David Boyce, Northwest Athletics

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – After the Northwest Missouri State men won the MIAA Tournament last weekend, sophomore Chris-Ebou Ndow said sophomore Justin Pitts could score 40 anytime he wanted.

Pitts picked a great time to prove Ndow right. Pitts was sensational in the first half in the Central Region semifinals against Minnesota State Sunday at the Sanford Pentagon.

And when the Mavericks were making a run, Pitts was clutch. His career-high 38 points powered Northwest to an impressive 82-60 victory and into the Sweet 16 for the third straight year. The 38 points also goes down as the third highest single-game scoring performance in Bearcat basketball history.

“To start the game, I tried to come out more focused and more aggressive than the last game,” said Pitts, who was 16-for-21 from the field. “I hit my first couple of shots and after that, I started feeling good and then Conner (Crooker) started hitting his shots. As a team, we played really well. It was a good game for us.”

Northwest has now won 17 straight games, making the Bearcats one of the hottest teams in NCAA Division II. They will carry a 27-5 record into the Central Region championship, scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday.

“It means a lot, especially me being a senior, it is always good to lead the team to another Sweet 16,” said Northwest guard Conner Crooker about reaching the Central Region championship game. “We will be ready to play Tuesday.”

Pitts was dazzling in the first half, scoring 24 points, but was just as impressive in the second half when Minnesota State made its run behind the play of senior Jalen Pendleton.

“I thought Minnesota State was physical and tough and got after it on the offensive glass,” said Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “They are a well-coached team, a good basketball team.”

Trailing 60-47, Pendleton took it upon himself to bring his team back. He made a basket and followed that with a three-point play, helping the Mavericks close to 60-52 with about 10:27 left.

“The coaches were telling me to be aggressive,” said Pendleton, who finished with 22 points. “I played terrible in the first half. I started attacking and things started going my way.

“In the first half, we got outplayed, out worked. They came right out and punched us in the mouth. We took it and took it. In the second half, we came out and kind of punched them in the mouth. It was just a little bit too late.”

Crooker, who finished with 18, gave Northwest a double-digit lead again with a basket.

When it was 62-54, Pitts took over again. He drove to the basket for a field goal. He then made another basket, giving Northwest a 66-54 lead.

“These two,” said McCollum about Pitts and Crooker, “were able to ice the game out. It was as good as it gets. I think if Justin is more aggressive, he might have had 40-plus. Conner is a senior. He has been leading us. He is doing an excellent job of it.”

The dagger came a few minutes later when Pitts drilled a long three-pointer that pushed Northwest’s lead back to first-half status at 76-58 with 3:17 left. The Mavericks were finished.

“I would like to congratulate Northwest Missouri on a great game,” said Minnesota State coach Matt Margenthaler. “I am very proud of our guys and the way they handled themselves tonight. A lot of teams could have and would have folded. Our guys showed a lot of character, especially in the second half to be down 19 points and battle back and cut it to eight.”

In the first half, Northwest put together an amazing 20 minutes to go into halftime ahead 48-29. Northwest shot 73 percent from the field and held Minnesota State to 30 percent.

“Our kids came out ready from the start,” McCollum said. “We executed defensively right away. We fought through some things right away. Offensively, we really got into a good rhythm early.

“It is difficult when you score at such a high rate for them to score because they are never in transition. We were always set. When you shoot 73 percent, it is difficult for them to get going and think that is what happened.”

The Bearcats started strong by going to sophomore Brett Dougherty and he powered the ball to the basket. He scored the first seven points in the game.

“It really set a solid tone for us to start the game,” Crooker said. “We knew right then and there that we could score pretty much anytime when we could get the ball in there. It is always good to know our bigs can post up.”

After Minnesota State scored, Pitts hit a three-point and that gave the Mavericks only a hint of what was to come.

Before Pitts really heated up, Crooker hit a three-pointer that increased Northwest’s lead to 13-2.

Several minutes later, junior D’Vante Mosby scored on a three-point play, moving Northwest further in front at 22-11. Now the stage was set for Pitts to really hit a gear the Mavericks couldn’t keep up with.

Minnesota State had already used two timeouts to try to stop the Northwest onslaught. The Bearcats made their first eight shots.

The rest of the first half, Pitts played a special brand of basketball. It started with a floater, making it 24-11. He followed that with two more two-point field goals, making it 28-11.

“Pitts went off,” Margenthaler said. “We talked to our guys. We know how good he is. He is maybe the best point guard I’ve seen since I have been coaching at this level.”

The Mavericks fought back and closed the gap to 10 just to see Pitts score 11 of the next 21 points, giving Northwest a 46-25 lead two minutes before the break.

— Northwest Athletics —

By David Boyce, Northwest Athletics

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Northwest Missouri State went into halftime with a 10-point lead against Ouachita Baptist and in the second half, the Bearcats surgically took apart the Tigers.

Postseason games aren’t usually one-sided affairs. Northwest, though, turned the quarterfinals of the Central Regional in the NCAA Division II Tournament into a 78-53 rout Saturday afternoon at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

It was the largest margin of victory for Northwest in a NCAA Division II Tournament game.

“Personally, it is kind of relaxing because I get a little bit of a break before the next game,” said sophomore Justin Pitts on playing with a big lead in the second half. “But in these types of games, you never want to get relaxed.”

Northwest, the No. 2 seed, will take its 16-game winning streak into the semifinals against Minnesota State-Mankato, 22-9, at 5 p.m. Sunday. Mankato beat No. 3 seed Minnesota State-Moorhead 85-81.

“It doesn’t matter this time of the year who we play,” said Northwest coach Ben McCollum. “Mankato is playing really well. They played well today. They got after it and were hungry. I don’t think I ever like our matchup against anybody in this deal. It is going to be tough regardless.”

The closest Ouachita got in the second half was on the opening possession when 6-foot-6 forward Tirrell Brown scored, making it 38-30.

Pitts hit a three-pointer to push the Bearcats’ lead back to double digits at 41-30.

Several minutes later, the Bearcats put the game away when they held a 48-39 lead. It started with a basket by junior Anthony Woods. Woods later made a free throw and then in the next possession made two free throws.

“I try to bring energy and play defense and try to help out the team,” Woods said. “The guys have confidence in me. The coach does, too. I try to come out and play hard.”

The run continued with a basket by junior D’Vante Mosby that made it 55-39 with 11:10 left in the game. The Bearcats weren’t done. A minute later, Pitts drilled another three-pointer, concluding a 13-0 run that gave Northwest a 61-39 lead with 10:10 left.

The icing came with 4:05 left when junior Zach Schneider knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the game and was fouled. He made the free throw, completing a four-point play that gave Northwest a 76-48 lead.

Schneider led five Bearcats in double figures with 18 points. Pitts scored 16, Woods had 13, Mosby finished with 11 and senior Conner Crooker scored 10.

“I thought in the second half, we buckled down and were us again,” McCollum said. “It is good to get that first win out of the way.”

Northwest was still pretty darn good in the first half.

Fueled by a ball-hawking defense, Northwest went into halftime ahead 38-28. The Bearcats managed to build a double-digit lead despite Pitts and Schneider spending a few minutes on the bench with two fouls.

The game started with Schneider hitting a three-pointer. It then took both teams a few minutes to settle down from postseason jitters. Northwest found its offensive stride first. A floater by Pitts gave Northwest a 7-3 lead and he followed that with a three-pointer, making it 10-3.

Over the next eight minutes, the Bearcats maintained a four-to-eight point lead until the Tigers made a run and closed to 19-17.

“I thought defensively Ouachita was excellent,” McCollum said. “They really competed. They are a good basketball team. They are real physical.”

Northwest answered Ouachita’s spurt with a rare, two-point field goal by Schneider. It was almost a three-pointer except he had a foot on the line. Crooker followed with a two-point field goal, as did Pitts.

The 12-0 run concluded with back-to-back three-pointers from Pitts and Schneider, pushing the Bearcats’ lead to 31-17. After Schneider’s trey, Ouachita called timeout with 3:45 left in the first half to try to regain the momentum.

Sophomore Lakee Westbrook helped bring the Tigers back. He scored after the timeout and moments later knocked down a three-pointer, helping Ouachita close to 33-24.

A rare three-pointer by Woods with the shot clocking winding down gave Northwest a double-digit lead again at 36-24. It was just Woods’ seventh three-point attempt of the season and his third make. But McCollum, Pitts and Woods laughed at the question of giving Woods the green light to shoot threes.

“Woods, you want to answer that one,” McCollum asked.

Woods answer was nope, he doesn’t have the green light.

McCollum added that Woods should have back cut on that play anyway. After joking, McCollum turned serious on what Woods provides to the Bearcats.

“Woods, from when he came here, has grown as a basketball player,” McCollum said. “He is like the rest of our kids. He is unselfish. He doesn’t need everyone to know he is on the floor. He wants to make sure we win.”

— Northwest Athletics —