Something special is brewing inside Bearcat Arena.
The season is still very early, but Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team looked in postseason form Tuesday evening when it knocked off No. 4 ranked Drury 60-47 to improve to 4-1.
Sure, it is a bit of hyperbole to say the Bearcats, who have four new starters, are playing at that level.
After the game, senior guard Matt Wallace brought reason to the thought of the Bearcats are ready for postseason before playing a conference game.
“No,” Wallace said with a grin. “This is a big win, but we still have a long ways to go, a lot of improving to do.”
The manner in which Northwest pulled away in the second half against a high-quality team was cause to get giddy.
Certainly, Northwest head coach Ben McCollum will find some fault. He doesn’t want this young to think they already belong in elite company.
McCollum, though, will need a microscope to find the miscues. The Bearcats got after it on defense and shared the basketball on offense.
The combination allowed Drury to only one lead in the second half at 38-37 and only 19 points. Northwest went right back in front 39-38 on an inside field goal by freshman forward Brett Dougherty, who played like a beast in the paint. He came off the bench and finished with 13 points and six rebounds.
“I think I am getting a little more comfortable,” Dougherty said. “Previously, I wasn’t finishing as well. I think I sped up sometimes because this is my first year. But tonight I finished a lot better. I feel like I am settling down a little bit.”
Freshman Justin Pitts followed Dougherty’s field goal with a basket, giving the Bearcats a three-point lead.
The daggers came with 9:20 left when Pitts hit a three-pointer, making it 44-39. A minute later, sophomore Zach Schneider hit a three-pointer, increasing the Bearcats lead to 47-39.
The Panthers never threatened again after the enormous plays by two freshmen and a sophomore.
The two seniors did their part. With just over 5 minutes left, Wallace stole the ball, raced down the court and made a layup. He was fouled on the play. He converted the free throw, putting Northwest up 52-41.
“I think Matt’s and-1 layup was kind of a turning point,” Dougherty said. “We kind of kept rolling and finished it out.”
After a basket by Drury, Conzad nailed two free throws, putting Northwest back up by double digits for good. Cozad finished with nine points and Wallace added six.
The scoring stars for Northwest was Pitts with 17 and Dougherty with 13. They both were 6-for-10 from the field.
The first half was close throughout. The lead changed six times. The last one was by Northwest, which carried a narrow 31-28 lead into halftime.
Drury scored the first basket of the game on a three-pointer. The Bearcats responded with a three-pointer by Schneider, and the stage was set for a classic battle between two well-coached teams.
Northwest took its first lead on another three-pointer by Schneider, making it 6-5. The Panthers answered with their best run of the first half, building a 12-6 lead.
The Bearcats quickly fought back and scored the next seven points for a 13-12 lead. Drury managed a couple of more leads until Northwest went ahead 22-21 and slowly expanded it to 28-23 late in the first half.
Drury battled back and scored the next five points to tie the game at 28-28. The back-and-forth between the two teams made for an exciting 20 minutes of basketball.
“Being young, well I’m not young, but the rest of the team is young,” Wallace said. “If you face adversity early in the year and beat a good team and close out a game that is going to be big for us in postseason. It felt good to win.”
— David Boyce, Northwest Athletics —
