A quartet of Northwest Missouri State basketball players were honored Monday as the MIAA announced honors voted on by league coaches.

Northwest Missouri State junior Dillon Starzl was named Third-Team All-MIAA while seniors DeAngelo Hailey and Alex Sullivan earned Honorable Mention accolades. Sophomore Matt Wallace was also named to the MIAA All-Defensive Team giving Northwest four honorees.

Starzl leads the MIAA in field goal percentage and is 11th in NCAA Division II at 62.7 percent. The junior post recorded three games scoring at least 20 points and finished with his first double-double effort in the regular season finale against Truman State.

Seniors Hailey and Sullivan both have been two of the top scorers for the Bearcats this season. Sullivan tied a Northwest record with eight three-pointers in a win over Missouri Western and ranks in the top 30 in NCAA II in three-point percentage.

Hailey has been a clutch performer coming off the bench most of the season, shooting over 80 percent in the final five minutes of games. The Detroit native leads Northwest in scoring and rebounding and ranks 16th in the MIAA at 14.0 points per game.

Wallace gives the Bearcats back-to-back individuals on the MIAA All-Defensive Team after Jake Reinders earned honors last season. Wallace ranks in the top 15 in the league in steals and is third in the MIAA assists/turnover ratio.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

A series that was supposed to be played in Maryville did not go as planned for the Northwest Missouri State baseball team as they dropped both games of a double header against Central Oklahoma 18-8 in game one and 10-8 in extra innings in game two.

The Bearcats were down 6-4 when the Bronchos put together an 11 run seventh inning that was too much for Head Coach Darin Loe’s team to overcome.

Northwest collected 11 hits over seven innings and managed eight runs of their own. JJ Baccari was 3 for 4 including a solo home run in the fourth inning that gave Northwest its first run.

Brandon Huske hit his first home run of the season in the sixth inning and scored twice.

Trailing 18-4, Northwest put together a four run bottom of the seventh. However, it was not enough to complete the comeback for the Bearcats as Ryker Fox moves to 0-4 on the season as he was tagged with the loss.

The second game of the double-header needed extra innings to determine a winner.

Blane Reutter went 6.1 innings giving up nine hits, four earned runs and tallied four strike outs as the starter for Northwest.

The Bearcats went up 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning when Huske singled to drive in Ryan Abernathy and Cam Bedard who had just stolen second to get into scoring position.

In the fourth Steven Garber hit a solo home run to put increase the Bearcat lead to 4-2. However, UCO would retake the lead at 6-5 as the teams headed into the bottom of the ninth.

Huske came up with two outs and Alex Singleton on second as the junior laced an RBI single up the middle to tie up the game sending it to extra innings.

The Bronchos came back to put up four runs in the top of the 11th inning to go up 10-6. Northwest would not go down without a fight as Eric McGlauflin and Luke Lawyer both knocked in RBIs but it wasn’t enough to keep the game going as the Bearcats fell 10-8.

Chase Anderson was hit with the loss in extra innings as he pitched 2.0 innings giving up five hits and four earned runs. Anderson is now 0-2 on the season.

Northwest will be heading to Topeka, Kan. to take on Washburn Wednesday for a MIAA conference double-header with first pitch scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State track and field senior Tyler Shaw added to his lengthy honors Thursday earning All-Region accolades announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for the 2013 indoor season.

Shaw earned his fourth trip to the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships in the 60-meter hurdles earlier this week. The St. Louis native will be searching for his first national championship in the event after a runner-up finish in 2009, a sixth place finish in 2010 and a fourth place finish in 2011.

A total of 1,061 student-athletes have earned a total of 1,574 USTFCCCA All-Region honors. The USTFCCCA regions for track & field match those used for NCAA Cross Country Championships.

The championships will be held March 7-9 in Birmingham, Ala. at the Birmingham CrossPlex as part of the 2013 NCAA Division II National Championships Festival.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State used a huge second half Wednesday night as the Bearcats claimed a 68-50 win over Nebraska-Kearney in MIAA men’s basketball action.

The Bearcats improved to 18-8 overall and 11-6 in the MIAA moving closer to a first round bye in next week’s MIAA Tournament. The Lopers fell to 7-17 and 4-13 in league play as Northwest sweeps the season series.

Both teams struggled in the first half as UNK found a 26-24 lead at intermission. However, the Bearcats stormed out of the locker room to run away from the Lopers in the second half to the 18 point victory.

A 15-3 run by the Bearcats to start the second half helped Northwest open a 10 point lead that grew to as many 19.

One week removed from tying the Northwest record for three-pointers, Alex Sullivan was quite from behind the arc by the seniors’ standards. Sullivan finished 3-of-8 from behind the arc but Northwest hit nine three-pointers as a team to pick up the slack.

DeAngelo Hailey led Northwest with 15 points as the senior also knocked down three three-pointers. The senior added six rebounds in the win.

Northwest also took advantage of 15 UNK miscues with 25 points off turnovers compared to the Lopers four.

Tyler Shields of UNK led all players with 20 points and added seven rebounds.

The Bearcats can clinch a first round bye on Saturday with a win over Truman State. Northwest will also honor its two seniors Saturday with tip off scheduled for 3:30 p.m. from Bearcat Arena.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team locked down defensively on Nebraska-Kearney sealing a 71-52 victory Wednesday night.

The Bearcats jumped back above the .500 mark to 13-12 on the season and 7-10 in league play. UNK fell to 6-18 overall and 3-14, as Northwest sweeps the season series with the Lopers.

Maggie Marnin tied a season-high 19 points and added 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season to pace the Bearcats. Marnin also added four blocks as the Bearcat defense stymied the Lopers most of the night.

Northwest enjoyed a 38-30 halftime lead and used an 8-2 run to build a 46-32 lead in the first five minutes of the second half.

Monique Stevens hit a three-pointer from the wing, but Nicole Arp matched her from downtown to keep the Bearcat lead under 10 with 9:40 left to play. However, the Bearcats would continue to work the favorable post matchups with Marnin scoring the next six points of the game helping Northwest push its lead back to 15 at 57-42.

The Bearcats shot 57 percent from the field and outscored UNK 48-30 in the paint. Northwest continued to switch defenses in the second half keeping the Lopers guessing which was evident by their 37 percent shooting on the night.

After snapping a five-game losing streak the Bearcats have now won their last two games heading into Saturday’s regular season finale against Truman State. The Bulldogs currently sit fourth in the league standings while Northwest will likely be on the road in their MIAA Tournament first round game.

Northwest will also honor two seniors as tip off from Bearcat Arena is set for 3:30 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State senior Tyler Shaw will be the lone representative of Bearcat track and field at the 2013 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field National Championships next month.

Shaw returns to the national championship meet in the 60-meter hurdles after sitting out the 2012 indoor season. The senior set a Northwest school record in the 60-meter hurdles at the Concordia Invitational in 2011 (8.04) and proceeded to break his own record (7.97) in grand fashion at the 2011 National Championships in Albuquerque, N.M.

The St. Louis native raced to a season best time of 8.01 Feb. 15 at the Nebraska Tune-Up to hold the 14th best time in NCAA Division II. Shaw will try to claim his first national championship after a runner-up finish in 2009, a sixth place finish in 2010 and a fourth place finish in 2011.

The Bearcats had eight individuals on the men’s side earn provisional marks as Shaw was the only Bearcat to earn the nod. The Northwest women also had four individuals and two relay teams earn provisional marks, however no women were selected for the championships.

The championships will be held March 7-9 in Birmingham, Ala. at the Birmingham CrossPlex as part of the 2013 NCAA Division II National Championships Festival.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State baseball team split a double-header to end its series Monday as Lindenwood took game one 7-4 and the Bearcats grabbed game two 5-4.

The Lions scored in the top of the first and held the lead until the bottom of the third inning when Northwest had three runners cross the plate. Cam Bedard drove in Brandon Huske and Alex Singleton with a double in the gap. Eric McGlauflin hit a sac fly later in the inning to score Ryan Abernathy and putting the Bearcats up, 3-1.

Lindenwood put up six runs in the final two innings to pull ahead for good. Eric Swain hit into a fielder’s choice that scored Huske in the bottom of the ninth inning to make the final score 7-4.

The tough loss went to Ryker Fox who moves to 0-3 on the season as he went seven innings giving up only three hits and four earned runs.

Marcus Garrett picked up his first win of the 2013 season after going five strong innings giving up four hits, and two earned runs while striking out five.

Northwest’s offense got off to a quick start as they added four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Back-to-back walks issued to Huske and Swain followed by an RBI single off the bat of McGlauflin started the Bearcat rally.

Bedard doubled in two more runs in the inning to go up 3-0 before Charlie Krueger knocked in Bedard for the final run of the first inning.

The Lions answered with one run in the second inning but in the bottom of the second, Alex Singleton had a base hit to bring in Krueger to get the run back and keep the lead at 5-1.

The Bearcats were able to stave off a late inning rally from the Lions as Nathanial Horton snagged his first save on the season. Chase Anderson also put in a good performance in middle relief, as he went three innings with two strikeouts and gave up one earned run.

Northwest moves to 2-9 on the season and 2-6 in MIAA play and will play host to Central Oklahoma (2-3, 2-3) Saturday at Bearcat field. The games are schedule for a double header on Saturday with a noon start time. The third and final game of the series will also begin at noon on Sunday.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

A late game rally wasn’t enough for the Northwest Missouri State baseball team falling 11-5 to Lindenwood at GSC Ballpark in the first game of a three-game series.

Northwest falls to 1-8 on the season and 1-4 in league play as the Lions improve to 3-5 overall and 3-1 in the MIAA. The series was originally scheduled to take place in Maryville, but a late week snowstorm pushed the series to the east side of the state.

The Bearcats were forced to use four different pitchers after starter Blane Reutter was chased after five innings. Reutter allowed six runs on eight hits and picked up the loss as Lindenwood held a 6-1 lead when the junior gave way to Pat Brady.

However, the Lions’ bats were not finished, adding three more runs in the sixth paced by a lead-off solo home run.

Trailing 11-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth Northwest would chip away at the lead when Cam Bedard belted a two-run homer.

Northwest threatened to rally again in the ninth when a lead-off single from J.J. Baccari preceded a Eric McGlauflin homer to pull the Bearcats within 11-5. That would be the only offense the Bearcat bats could muster as the Lions’ bullpen shut the door.

McGlauflin paced Northwest going 3-for-4 with three RBIs while Baccari also finished with a multi-hit effort going 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

The Bearcats and Lions return to the diamond Monday for a double-header at GSC Ballpark. First pitch of the twin bill is set for 11 a.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —