By David Boyce, Northwest Athletics

MARYVILLE, Mo. – All game long, nearly every shot Cory Arentsen put up for Lindenwood seemed to go in. So when he took a desperation three-pointer with .9 seconds left and his team trailing by two, a sick feeling probably hit a few Bearcat fans.

But this year belongs to the Bearcats. His shot banged off the rim and fell harmlessly to floor.

“I wanted to make it tough for him,” said Northwest sophomore Chris-Ebou Ndow, who guarded Arentsen on the final play. “I wanted to make the three hard for him. I felt like I did. He missed it luckily.

“It was pretty nerve wracking. It felt like it was in the air for five seconds. When he missed it, it was a huge relief.”

Northwest Missouri State pulled out the spine-tingling 75-73 victory over Lindenwood Saturday evening in front of 1,717 fans at Bearcat Arena. They witnessed a remarkable shooting performance from Arentsen, who finished with 46 points on the strength of eight three-pointers in 12 attempts.

“He got it going and it was hard to stop,” said Northwest sophomore Justin Pitts. “He was hitting insane shots, hands in his face and step backs. Today, he was just feeling it.

“On the offensive end, my teammates did a good job sitting screens for me and getting me open.”

Indeed. Pitts went 10 for 15 from the field and finished with 27 points. The difference for Northwest was it had four players finish in double figures compared to two for Lindenwood.

“I felt they played a pretty good game, obviously,” said Zach Schneider, who finished with 12 points. “They executed well offensively. They got the ball in his hands.”

It was an amazing win for the Bearcats, who improved to 17-5 overall and 14-3 in the MIAA. Northwest now has a three-game lead over second-place Lindenwood, which dropped to 15-8 and 11-6.

“I will have an adrenaline rush for a long time,” Schneider said. “That was one of the better, tough games I’ve played here.

“That was one of those games when the final buzzer sounds it is a load off your shoulders.”

The final 4 minutes was worth the price of admission. Northwest took a 66-60 lead on a basket by junior D’Vante Mosby. Arentsen answered with a basket. The Bearcats came right back with a score to put their lead back to six.

Arentsen drilled a three-pointer and the momentum was back with the Lions. Schneider turned momentum in the Bearcats’ favor with a three-pointer that made it 71-65.

Lindenwood came right back with a basket, and then Anthony Woods answered for Northwest with a field goal. But with just over 1 minute left, Arentsen drilled his seventh three-pointer of the game, making 73-70.

“Cory Arentsen is such a great competitor,” said Lindenwood coach Lance Randall. “He stepped up. He didn’t have one of his best games on Thursday. I knew he was going to be locked in and have a great game today. This was far above and beyond any coach’s expectation. He was virtually unstoppable.”

Mosby pushed Northwest’s lead back to five with a basket. Arentsen had more bullet left, hitting his eighth three-pointer, making it 75-73 with 30 seconds left.

Lindenwood stopped the Bearcats and then Northwest stopped the Lions with .9 seconds left and had the ball under Lindenwood’s basket. The in-bound pass down court didn’t make it down the court. It hit the scoreboard, giving Lindenwood the ball under its basket.

Northwest wanted to prevent Lindenwood from getting anything inside and that allowed Arentsen to curl off a screen. He received the ball near the corner and his high-arching shot hit the front of the rim and bounced off.

“It was fun until the last shot,” Pitts said. “My stomach really dropped. I thought for sure he was going to make it. Thankfully, he missed it. It was a great game by both teams.”

It was heart-stopping stuff and Division II basketball at its best. Both teams gave their best effort and that’s why the game wasn’t decided until the final buzzer.

In the first half, Northwest overcame 28 points from Arentsen and took a 43-40 lead into halftime. Normally, when a team goes 11 for 16 from three-point range in a half like Northwest did, its lead is bigger than three points.

But Arentsen was special in the first half. He made nine of 14 shots and helped the Lions shoot 64 percent from the field. Northwest was nearly as hot, shooting 58 percent. The biggest difference between the two teams was the more balanced approach by the Bearcats.

Pitts scored 14 and Schneider and Ndow each had nine and Conner Crooker chipped in seven.

Northwest never trailed in the first half. Pitts got the Bearcats off to a good start, opening the game with a three-pointer. A few minutes later, the Bearcats’ lead bloomed to 15-7 on a three-pointer by Schneider.

But every time Northwest got a little separation, Arentsen came back with a three-pointer or a two-point field goal. Arentsen even tied the game 34-34 late in the first half on a three-pointer.

Pitts answered with consecutive three-pointers to push Northwest’s lead to 40-34. Lindenwood called timeout and then Arentsen scored a two-point field goal.

Schneider hit a three-pointer to make it 43-36, but Arentsen had the final say in the first half, making the final two field goals of the half.

— Northwest Athletics —

By David Boyce, Northwest Athletics

MARYVILLE, Mo. – For nearly the entire game, the Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team prevented Lindenwood junior Kassidy Gengenbacher from easy baskets Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Arena.

Because of that success and good offense, Northwest held double-digit leads at the end of each of the first three quarters. But it looked like Gengenbacher finally had an answer to the Northwest puzzle.

With 2 minutes remaining in the game, Gengenbacher stepped five feet beyond the three-point line and nailed a trey that gave Lindenwood its first lead of the game.

But Northwest simply refused to lose a heartbreaker in its Pink Zone game in which funds raised will go to help an individual in Maryville who is battling cancer. Thirty seconds after the three-pointer, sophomore Tanya Meyer calmly made two free throws.

Those free throws started a positive trend for the Bearcats. Junior Jasmin Howe followed with two free throws with 40 seconds left that gave Northwest a three-point lead.

Meyer wound up making six straight free throws in the final 90 seconds to help Northwest win 66-60, in what turned out to be a wild and thrilling second half.

“A lot of people would say there was a lot of pressure on me, but my teammates have trust in me and they know I can knock them down,” said Meyer, who finished with 14 points. “When the crowd gets into it, it makes it that much better of a feeling when you hit those shots.”

Afterwards, the Bearcats were all smiles. They battled through game adversity the way people diagnosed with cancer fight to beat that horrible disease.

“To have all the fans out here and giving them a good game like this, it feels great,” said senior Tember Schechinger of the Pink Zone game. “Supporting everybody and they come out and support us, it is a win-win for everybody.”

The Bearcats have now won two straight. All 10 players who saw action in the game contributed in some manner in the victory.

Howe, who finished with 19 points, was nearly perfect shooting the basketball. Schechinger scored 17 points in the third quarter when Northwest needed an offensive spark.

“It felt like I was actually playing,” said Schechinger, who finished with 19 points. “In the first half, I couldn’t buy a basket. My team kept pushing me. They had confidence in me.”

But what the box score won’t show was the stellar defense Taylor Shull played on Gengenbacher, one of the top scorers in the conference.

Shull only scored three points in the game, but without her defense on Gengenbacher, who knows what might have happened.

“She made me work,” Shull said. “It was not easy. To see that flicker of frustration gave me motivation to not take the next one off and keep pushing at her and not let her get what she wants.”

When the two teams met on Dec. 20 at Lindenwood, Gengenbacher made 8-of-13 shots and scored 24 points in the Lions’ 74-70 victory. And the last time the two teams played in the 2014-15 season, Gengenbacher scored 24 in a 73-67 win.

Shull made sure Gengenbacher never found a consistent offensive rhythm and that was a good thing because the Lions made a couple runs in the second half that significantly cut into double digit leads held by Northwest.

“She (Shull) was locked in today just like she was on Thursday,” Northwest coach Buck Scheel said. “She understood how we wanted to guard certain situations and she did a heck of a job all day. She made her work. She finished with 14, but we really made her work for those 14.”

The Bearcats started the third quarter with a 28-13 lead and then saw Lindenwood score 10 straight, closing to 28-23. Schechinger changed the momentum with two straight baskets. Northwest was back in control as its lead expanded to 47-32 when Howe made a three-pointer.

Northwest closed out the third quarter with a 51-39 lead. Once again, the Lions made it interesting. They scored the first 10 points to start the fourth quarter, closing to 51-49.

Schechinger came to the rescue again. Two free throws by her with 6 minutes left pushed Northwest’s lead to 53-49. Sophomore Bailey Smith followed with a smooth, driving layup, giving Northwest a six point lead.

Lindenwood fought back again and closed to 55-54 with 4 minutes left. Two minutes later, Gengenbacher finally hit a three-pointer that gave Lindenwood its only lead.

Northwest had the answer and won its second-straight MIAA game for the first time this season.

“To get these two at home before we go on a road trip was huge,” Scheel said. “They weathered the storm and powered through possession by possession. They locked in when they had to and stuck together and finished the game strong.”

The first quarter started with Northwest excelling in every phase. The defense held Lindenwood scoreless the first 4 minutes. The offense executed on an equally high level.

Meyer scored six of the first 12 points for the Bearcats, who opened the game with a 12-0 lead. Howe also hit a couple of buckets for Northwest.

Northwest finished the first quarter ahead 19-6. The Bearcats didn’t have as much success offensively in the second quarter, but the still played stellar defense. Junior Carlie Wilhelmi came off the bench and had a block, as did Shelby Mustain, who became the third Bearcat all-time to reach 100 career blocks.

Despite a few struggles on offense, Northwest still won the quarter, outscoring Lindenwood 9-7 and taking a 28-13 lead into halftime.

Lindenwood made only four field goals in the first half and shot a woeful 13.8 percent from the field (4-for-29).

— Northwest Athletics —