By David Boyce, Northwest Athletics

MARYVILLE, Mo. – On a night Northwest Missouri State honored 110 of the 155 student-athletes who obtained a 3.2 GPA or higher in the fall semester, the men’s basketball team needed to execute at an A level down the stretch.

Because Northwest made all the necessary plays in the final 2 minutes, it pulled out a 77-74 victory over Emporia State Wednesday evening in front of 1,189 fans at Bearcat Arena.

“We have to stay focused,” said sophomore Justine Pitts, who finished with 21 points. “Coming out in the second half, we really didn’t do the things that we did in the first half, like our defensive rotation.”

But they mad enough defensive plays to secure the win. And Northwest definitely did A work at the free throw line, going 26 for 28 for 92.9 percent, an A in just about any professor’s class.

The Bearcats head into their final home game of the season at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, riding an 11-game win streak. Northwest is 21-5 overall, 18-3 in the MIAA and a perfect 12-0 at home.

At halftime, it looked like Northwest was well on the way to an easy victory. The Bearcats held a 13-point lead and the crowd was charged up.

During the halftime festivities, 110 student-athletes walked out on the court and were handed certificates for their academic success in the classroom.

When the Bearcats returned to the court, some of that electricity was turned off. It took Northwest nearly 5 minutes to score and by that time, Emporia State had closed to 38-33.

“We kind of had a lack of focus,” said senior Conner Crooker, who finished with 10 points. “We need to realize when we have a decent lead we need to focus because everybody is trying to beat us.”

Northwest junior D’Vante Mosby stopped the 8-0 run with a power move inside. But the Hornets kept on buzzing and eventually grabbed a 46-45 lead. The lead changed hands two more times and then Northwest took the lead for good at 51-50 on a three-point play by sophomore Chris-Ebou Ndow.

Mosby solidified Northwest’s advantage with a basket, giving the Bearcats a 53-50 lead. Northwest’s lead eventually grew to 68-59 and then Emporia State made one more push. The Hornets closed to 71-70 with less than 2 minutes left.

In those final 120 seconds, Northwest needed to execute at a high level the rest of the way, and the Bearcats did. With 1:20 left, Mosby made a strong move in the paint for a basket, pushing Northwest’s lead to 73-70.

After Emporia State scored, Pitts made a basket, giving Northwest a three-point advantage again. The basket also put Pitts over the 1,000 career points.

“It feels great to do it in only two seasons,” Pitts said. “I don’t think I scored a thousand points in high school. It is a big accomplishment for me, and I am grateful for it.”

Obviously, the game wasn’t stopped to honor Pitts, and the Hornets probably didn’t care. They were looking to knock off the conference champions. Emporia State answered Pitts’ milestone basket with a tip-in bucket to make it a one-point game again.

With 20 seconds left, Mosby responded again. He stepped the free throw line and calmly drained two free throws, pushing Northwest’s lead to three. The Bearcats then played great defense the final 18 seconds for the win.

“Coach always says do your 1/5th and give all you have,” said Mosby, who finished with 16 points. “When they called my number, I am just glad it worked out.”

Northwest scored the first six points of the game and continued to play solid offense and defense throughout the first half, taking a 38-25 lead into halftime.

The Bearcats didn’t waste time opening up a double-digit lead at 16-6. Emporia State made a small run and closed to 22-17. Northwest answered with a three-point play from Pitts. Mosby followed with a basket and the lead was back to 10.

Except for one brief moment, Northwest maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the first half. The Bearcats shot 56.5 percent from the field and held Emporia State to 35.7 percent. Northwest also dominated the boards, outrebounding Emporia State 19-11.

“We came out a little more aggressive on offense and defense,” Pitts said. “In the second half, we got away from it.”

— Northwest Athletics —

By David Boyce, Northwest Athletics

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State’s women’s basketball team pushed No. 22 Emporia State to the final minute of the game.

The Bearcats took their first lead in the second half with 4:44 left on a basket by senior Taylor Shull. Northwest even went up by three points before falling behind again.

Undaunted, Northwest went back ahead with 2:04 left on a basket by senior Tember Schechinger.

Unfortunately, Emporia State showed why it has been one of the top women’s basketball teams in Division II for over 15 years. The Hornets made a couple of key defensive stops and were nearly flawless from the free throw.

Emporia State went 9-for-10 from the line in the final 1:48 and came away with a 69-63 victory Wednesday evening at Bearcat Arena. For the game, the Hornets were 25-for-29 from the line.

“For us to be in the game when the free throw margin is 29 to five was very impressive,” Northwest coach Buck Scheel said. “I felt these kids did everything they could tonight.”

Trailing 51-42 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, the Bearcats put together one of their best stretches of basketball against a high-quality team. Sophomore Tanya Meyer was one reason Northwest was able to close to 54-53 with 5 minutes left. Meyer was finishing every attempt in the paint.

When Northwest took the lead on Shull’s basket, making it 55-54 with 4:46 left it appeared momentum was on the Bearcats’ side, especially when they moved their lead to 57-54.

“It showed that this team isn’t going to quit,” Scheel said. “They are not ready to be done. They are going to battle it out to the end.

“To do that against a team like this, one of the most prominent programs in the country year in and year out, it showed the tough kids we have.”

Despite giving up the lead in the final 90 seconds, the Bearcats never gave up. Meyer equaled her career-high 22 points. Junior Jasmine Howe added 13 points, Shull had 10 and Schechinger finished with eight.

“I felt on tonight,” Meyer said. “I don’t know what it was about it. I put shots up and they were going in. Tember kept saying, ‘You got to keep shooting. They are not letting me do anything.’ I kept shooting. I felt I definitely had to do something to help us get back in the game.”

Northwest went into halftime trailing 36-27, but the Bearcats showed a lot of fight to keep it under double-digits.

“I am real proud of the girls,” Schechinger said. “For us to go into the game tonight with nothing to gain from it except a win, having the young girls play hard and fight to the end, shows that we are all sticking together.”

Emporia State used its quickness to attack the basket and get several easy layups through the first half. Those layups helped the Hornets build a 33-18 lead late in the second quarter.

The Bearcats fought back. Consecutive field goals in the paint by Meyer, followed by a three-pointer from Howe helped Northwest close to 33-25, and the Bearcats weren’t done. Schechinger added a basket, making it 33-27. Emporia State ended the half with a three-pointer.

— Northwest Athletics —