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 —

The Northwest Missouri State University men’s and women’s tennis teams each fell to Division I member UMKC, 5-2, on Wednesday afternoon at the Plaza Tennis Courts in Kansas City, Mo.

The men fall to 3-1 while the women are now 2-2 on the year. The UMKC men improved to 7-6 and the women are now 4-8 overall.

The Bearcat women got off to a very strong start, winning the doubles point. Lorena Rivas Jarolim and Kaja Emersic won 6-3 at the No. 1 position while Aniek Kolen and Margaux Jacquet won at No. 2, 6-3.

The Northwest men got wins at No. 5 singles from Fin Glowick in three sets and Aymeric Autones at No. 6 singles.

Andrea Gallardo won at No. 6 singles for the women, battling back to win in three after dropping the first set.

The match was played using Division I rules with doubles counting as one point.

Match Results
Men’s Matches (UMKC 5, Northwest 2)
1. Castellano,Airam (UMKC) def. Boissinot,Romain (NW) 6-2, 6-7, 6-0
2. Smirnov,Andrey (UMKC) def. Riveros,Alvaro (NW) 6-4, 6-2
3. Gaismins,Uldis (UMKC) def. Fontcuberta,Sergi (NW) 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5)
4. Psarros,Mike (UMKC) def. Tete,Mauro (NW) 6-3, 6-1
5. Glowick,Fin (NW) def. Pham,Vinh (UMKC) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
6. Autones,Aymeric (NW) def. Navette,Amaury (UMKC) 6-3, 6-1

1. Castellano,Airam/Psarros,Mike (UMKC) def. Riveros,Alvaro/Fontcuberta,Sergi (NW) 6-4
2. Navette,Amaury/Gaismins,Uldis (UMKC) def. Boissinot,Romain/Autones,Aymeric (NW) 6-2
3. Smirnov,Andrey/Pham,Vinh (UMKC) def. Tete,Mauro/Altmann,Josef (NW) 6-5 (10-8)

Women’s Matches (UMKC 5, Northwest 2)
1. Stavrianakou,Dimitra (UMKC) def. Jarolim,Lorena Rivas (NW) 6-3, 6-2
2. Johnson,Melinda (UMKC) def. Emersic,Kaja (NW) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
3. Kurasbediani,Mariam (UMKC) def. Kolen,Aniek (NW) 6-0, 3-6, 7-5
4. Albert,Marina (UMKC) def. Jacquet,Margaux (NW) 6-1, 6-3
5. Argenal,Raquel (UMKC) def. Sestokaite,Vilune (NW) 6-0, 7-5
6. Gallardo,Andrea (NW) def. Linda Ammar Mouhoub (UMKC) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4

1. Jarolim,Lorena Rivas/Emersic,Kaja (NW) def. Stavrianakou,Dimitra/Johnson,Melinda (UMKC) 6-3
2. Kolen,Aniek/Jacquet,Margaux (NW) def. Argenal,Raquel/Kurasbediani,Mariam (UMKC) 6-3
3. Albert,Marina/Linda Ammar Mouhoub (UMKC) def. Gallardo,Andrea/Dibbins,Rachel (NW) 6-2

The Northwest women head to Springfield, Mo., to take on Arkansas Tech at 9 a.m. on Friday, March 11. The Bearcat men and women are scheduled to host Lindenwood at 1 p.m. in the MIAA opener on Saturday, March 12, at the Frank Grube Courts.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State softball team swept William Jewell Tuesday afternoon in Maryville, winning both contests in the final at bat of the game.

It took eight innings for anyone to cross the plate in game one, with Rebecca Maher ending the 1-0 contest with a walk-off single.

Alexis Kelsey drove in two with her walk-off single in game two, propelling the Bearcats to a thrilling 6-5 victory.

Coach Ryan Anderson’s squad improved its record to 15-3 this season, while the Cardinals fall to 6-8 overall.

Maher drove in four runs and scored two more on the day.

The Bearcats will return to conference competition when they head to Bolivar, Mo. for a doubleheader with Southwest Baptist Friday, March 11. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State University tennis players Romain Boissinot and Aniek Kolen were each named MIAA Tennis Athletes of the Week on Monday. Northwest’s men’s team began the season 3-0 and 2-1 on the women’s side last week.

Boissinot started the spring by going 3-0 at No. 1 singles. He also went 3-0 at No. 2 doubles, helping to lead Northwest to victories over William Jewell, Colorado Mesa and St. Cloud State. He did not drop a set the entire week. Kolen went 3-0 at No. 3 singles and 2-1 at No. 2 doubles. She also did not drop a singles set during the week.

The Northwest men’s and women’s teams will head to Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, March 9, to take on Division I member UMKC.

— Northwest Athletics —

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team secured the MIAA’s automatic bid to the 2015-16 NCAA Championship Tournament on Sunday afternoon by winning the program’s fifth MIAA Tournament title. The Bearcats earned the Central Region’s No. 2 seed behind top seeded and host Augustana. The MIAA will have three representatives in the tournament. Along with Northwest, Nebraska-Kearney is the fourth seed and will face Fort Hays, the fifth seed.

Northwest’s first round game against No. 7 seed Ouachita Baptist is scheduled for Saturday, March 12, in Sioux Falls, S.D. The second round will be on Sunday, March 13 and the Sweet 16 round will be on Tuesday, March 15. The National Championship Elite Eight will be held in Frisco, Texas, starting on March 23rd. Northwest has advanced to the Central Region championship game each of the past two seasons.

Northwest is making its 16th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the fourth appearance under head coach Ben McCollum (4-3 overall). McCollum, who is in his seventh season, was named the MIAA Coach of the Year after leading the Bearcats (25-5, 19-3) to the outright MIAA regular season title and MIAA Tournament title. Justin Pitts was named the MIAA Player of the Year and earned first team All-MIAA honors.

NCAA Central Region
1. Augustana (host)
2. Northwest Missouri
3. MSU-Moorhead
4. Nebraska-Kearney
5. Fort Hays State
6. MSU-Mankato
7.Ouachita Baptist
8. Harding

— Northwest Athletics —

By David Boyce, Northwest Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The math was elementary in Northwest Missouri State’s 61-53 victory over Nebraska-Kearney Sunday afternoon the championship game of the MIAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Municipal Auditorium.

All five players on the court for the Bearcats posed a danger to score.

“At this point I don’t even notice it because we do it in our sleep and in practice every day,” said Northwest junior Zach Schneider, who scored 11 points. “I go back and watch film and it is awesome the way we share the ball. It is tough to stop us when we do that.”

In contrast, Nebraska-Kearney had one player and when he picked up his fourth foul with 11:35 left, the Lopers were done. By the time Connor Beranek returned with just over 6 minutes left, Northwest held a 48-34 lead.

No way were the Lopers going to make up that ground against the best team in the MIAA.

“This means a lot,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “Our kids have won a lot, but we haven’t won this. We needed to win in a tournament setting where it is three days, handling everybody’s runs and everybody’s best shots. We played three really good teams. I’m very proud of our team.”

It was the first conference tournament title for Northwest since the 2007-08 season when Hunter Henry scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Showing that Northwest family spirit, Henry, who is now a teacher at his alma mater Shawnee Mission West, was in attendance to watch the Bearcats win their 15th straight game. Northwest heads into the Central Regional as one of the hottest teams in NCAA Division II.

“Anytime you can come into this building and win three games in three days, it is a huge accomplishment,” Henry said. “It is awesome to see Ben and Andy (Peterson) and some of the players I played with.

“This is one of the best Bearcat teams I have seen. Obviously, Justin Pitts was outstanding and Zach Schneider can shoot the ball. But they just guard so well. They keep you in front. They don’t foul you. They are really disciplined. It is good to see that group of guys have success.”

McCollum said players like Henry and others before him are the ones who started it.

“Culture never graduates,” McCollum said. “Our kids have embraced that and embraced the past and the history of the program and want to carry on that tradition.”

The victories have come in bunches because on the court the Bearcats are a tight-knit family. During the 15-game winning streak, each one of the starters has had a couple of games where they were the offensive star.

On Sunday, it was sophomore point guard Justin Pitts, who scored 20 points and consistently got other teammates involved.

“He is definitely the best player in Division II,” said Northwest sophomore Chris-Ebou Ndow. “It is great having him on the team. If he wants to, he could get 40 if he wanted to. He is an unselfish player. He wants to get assists, too and he does that every game.”

One example of it came early in the second half when Pitts found D’Vante Mosby cutting to the basket. Mosby converted the layup and gave Northwest a 38-26 lead.

“It is great, especially in today’s day and age,” McCollum said about his team sharing the basketball. “Kids today just don’t do that, they don’t necessarily want each other to do well. Our kids genuinely want each other to do well. They want the team succeed.”

The Bearcats increased their lead to 40-26 on a basket by junior Anthony Woods. Beranek responded with two straight baskets but then he picked up his fourth foul with the Lopers trailing 40-30.

“He is one of the top players in conference,” Schneider said. “He was conference player of the year last year. Chris and Anthony did an unreal job on him. But it was definitely big when he picked up his fourth foul.”

Over the next 7 minutes, Northwest maintained a 10 to 12 point lead. And when Nebraska-Kearney finally cut its deficit to nine, Schneider hit a three-pointer that increased the Bearcats’ lead to 53-41 with 2:23 left.

The Lopers were in scramble mode and closed to 56-51 with about a minute left. Pitts was fouled and he made both free throws for a seven-point lead.

In the end, Beranek won the battle of game-high scorer with 31 points, but Northwest won the game because Pitts, Schneider, Ndow, Conner Crooker and Brett Dougherty were all scoring threats. Stop one and four others will step up the Bearcats.

“This is a special group of guys,” Ndow said. “I wouldn’t ask for any other teammates. We are so together on and off the court. I love being a part of it.”

In the first half, Northwest made Nebraska-Kearney work hard for every basket and was efficient on offense and that added up to a 32-22 lead.

The Bearcats never trailed in the first half, taking a 6-1 lead on two baskets by Crooker and one by Pitts. Northwest maintained at least a three-point lead the rest of the half.

After Nebraska-Kearney closed to 10-7, the Bearcats went on a 8-2 run for an 18-9. Three different players scored the eight points for Northwest. The Bearcats slowly extended their lead to 32-20 late in the first half. For the half, Northwest shot 55.6 percent from the field, going 15 for 27.

— Northwest Athletics —

By David Boyce, Northwest Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum always says winning the first game of a postseason tournament is difficult.

Five minutes into the second half, it looked like the Bearcats were going to prove him wrong. They held a 14-point lead against Lindenwood Friday evening in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Tournament.

McCollum, though, earned his third MIAA coach of the year award for having insight. He was right again.

“Postseason is so difficult, and Lindenwood is really good,” McCollum said. “A ninth seed? Come on. Those guys are good. We knew they would stick around. They are well-coached. They have tough kids.”

After Lindenwood senior Cory Arentsen scored his 34th point, Northwest held a slim one-point lead with 45 seconds left in the game.

Ten seconds later, sophomore Justin Pitts showed why he was selected MIAA Player of the Year. Pitts drove into the paint and made a layup.

“We were trying to go 2-for-1,” said Pitts, who finished with 22 points. “With 45 seconds left, coach Mac told me to get a good shot. We had Zach set a ball screen and I went to score.”

The Bearcats then played tough defense on Arentsen, forcing a turnover that sophomore Chris-Ebou Ndow retrieved and called timeout.

Two free throws by junior Zach Schneider with 22 seconds left sealed Northwest’s 62-57 victory. The Bearcats, 23-5 and winners of their last 13 games, return to action 8:15 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals.

“I have kind of learned with this team that when we get a 14-point lead and I think this is going to be a nice, comfortable win, the team makes darn sure they put me through pain. I think they talk in the huddle, ‘Watch coach Mac, this is going to be fun when we let them back in the game.’ No. Our kids did a good job.”

With 14:39 left, Northwest was cruising along after Ndow hit back-to-back three-pointers, increasing the Bearcats’ lead to 44-30.

“I thought they were at a breaking point and I was hoping that it wouldn’t tighten up,” McCollum said.

Ndow knew the game wasn’t over.

“Cory is a really good player and the first half he had was unbelievable,” Ndow said. “For him to have 21 in the first half is crazy so no, I didn’t think the game was over.”

Lindenwood called timeout. It worked. The Lions went on a 17-4 run and closed to 49-47.

“We gave up a big offensive rebound and then somebody hit a three off that and that kind of changed the momentum back in their favor,” McCollum said.

Northwest maintained a two-to-five point lead until 45 seconds remained when Arentsen made his final basket of the game, pulling the Lions to within one at 58-57.

“This guy (Arentsen) was a monster,” Lindenwood coach Lance Randall said. “I don’t know if I ever coached a player with the combination of heart and talent. His will to win is beyond reproach.

“Credit to Northwest. They are a heck of an offensive team and I thought defensively, they made it difficult for us to score. They came up with some big plays at crucial times. There is a reason Pitts is the player of the year.”

Arentsen came out on fire for Linwood, picking up where he left off when he scored 46 points at Northwest February 6. At one point in the first half, Arentsen had 17 points and Northwest had 14.

“I try to be the best player I can every night,” Arentsen said. “I rise to the occasion for the bigger games. I know teammates are going to ride on me. I accept that challenge.

“Their (Bearcats) defense was pretty good on me and played me tough. It is something about the big game I really enjoy.”

The one problem for the Lions with Arentsen’s hot start was nobody else was scoring or even putting up a shot.

“Chasing him around took every bit of energy I had,” Ndow said. “Trying to play offense after that was tough. I tried to calm down a little bit.”

Northwest kept its composure, weathered Arentsen making his first eight shots and responded to a 19-12 deficit. Led by the playing making ability of Pitts, the Bearcats went on a 14-2 run and took a 26-21 lead.

The Bearcats maintained the five-point advantage the rest of the first half and went into halftime ahead 30-25.

Still, it was an amazing first-half performance by Arentsen, who went 9 for 12 from the field and scored 21 points. His teammates only added four more points.

“That Arentsen kid is pretty good,” McCollum said. “We had a tough time stopping him.”

In stark contrast, Northwest had four players score at least four points, led by Pitts with 10.

Rebounding was the key to the Bearcats taking a halftime lead. Northwest pulled down eight more boards and that help contribute to taking nine more shots.

“I didn’t think we were clicking offensively, but what we did do is increase our possessions with turnovers and offensive rebounds,” McCollum said. “We did an excellent job of that and then we just toughed it out.”

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University men’s and women’s tennis teams each picked up road wins over William Jewell, 9-0, on Wednesday afternoon in Liberty, Mo.

The Bearcat men entered the match ranked No. 14 nationally. Both the men’s and women’s teams are 1-0 overall in the first action of their spring seasons.

William Jewell’s men are now 3-7 overall and the women’s team is 4-5.

The wins were No. 1,014 and 1,015 of head coach Mark Rosewell’s career.

On both the men’s and women’s sides, Northwest dropped just one set and just two matches went to a tiebreak.

Match Results
Men’s Matches (Northwest 9, William Jewell 0)
#1: Romain Boissinot (NW) def. Marc Gartner (WJ), 6-2, 6-3
#2: Alvaro Riveros (NW) def. Amery Clews (WJ), 6-0, 6-2
#3: Sergi Fontcuberta (NW) def. Isaac Hamilton (WJ), 6-4, 6-0
#4: Mauro Tete (NW) def. Caul Pearson (WJ), 6-0, 6-2
#5: Fin Glowick (NW) def. Brian Wohlers (WJ), 6-1, 6-2
#6: Aymeric Autones (NW) def. Jake Plant (WJ), 6-1, 6-0

#1: Alvaro Riveros/Sergi Fontcuberta (NW) def. Marc Gartner/Isaac Hamilton (WJ), 8-5
#2: Aymeric Autones/Romain Boissinot (NW) def. Amery Clews/Jake Plant (WJ), 8-1
#3: Mauro Tete/Ramon Abaitua Vazquez (NW) def. Caul Pearson/Pedro Yoshiharu Uno (WJ), 8-0

Women’s Matches (Northwest 9, William Jewell 0)
#1: Lorena Rivas (NW) def. Savannah Drew (WJ), 6-4, 6-3
#2: Kaja Emersic (NW) def. Lauren Huddleston (WJ), Forefit
#3: Aniek Kolen (NW) def. Lisanne Visseren (WJ), 6-2, 6-1
#4: Margaux Jacquet (NW) def. Sabrine Navarro (WJ), 6-3, 6-1
#5: Vilune Sestokaite (NW) def. Claire Mackay (WJ), 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-7)
#6: Andrea Gallardo (NW) def. Hannah Waine (WJ), 6-2, 6-0

#1: Lorena Rivas Jarolim/Kaja Emersic (NW) def. Savannah Drew/Lauren Huddleston (WJ), 8-5
#2: Aniek Kolen/Margaux Jacquet (NW) def. Lisanne Visseren/Sabrine Navarro (WJ), 8-3
#3: Vilune Sestokaite/Andrea Gallardo (NW) def. Hannah Waine/Claire Mackay (WJ), 9-8 (7-3)

Both the men’s and women’s teams will head to Grand Island, Neb., for a 6 p.m. neutral site match with Colorado Mesa on Friday, March 4.

— Northwest Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State University sophomore guard Justin Pitts has been named the 2015-16 MIAA Player of the Year. Pitts becomes the program’s sixth student-athlete to win the conference’s highest honor. Coach Ben McCollum earned his third MIAA Coach of the Year honor, winning back in 2011-12 and sharing the award in 2014-15. Pitts was one of four unanimous first team All-MIAA performers. Senior Conner Crooker was named All-MIAA second team, junior Zach Schneider was named third team and sophomore Chris-Ebou Ndow earned honorable mention accolades.

Pitts joins DeShaun Cooper (’14), Hunter Henry (’07), Kelvin Parker (’04), Shakey Harrington (’98) and Carl Jenkins (’71) as Northwest players to win league MVP honors. He has put together a stellar season, scoring in double figures in all 26 games he has appeared in and has surpassed 20+ points 16 times. He ranks second in the MIAA in assists (4.8 apg), assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6) and minutes played (36.2). He is third in field goal percentage (54.1%) and is also third in three point field goal percentage (46.6 %). He is fifth in the MIAA in scoring at 20.9 points per game. The sophomore surpassed the 1,000 point plateau on Feb. 24 in his 53rd career game. He was the 2014-15 MIAA Freshman of the Year and was also a first team All-MIAA performer.

Crooker earned his second-straight All-MIAA second team honor. He was an honorable mention performer as a sophomore in 2013-14. Crooker now ranks second in Northwest history with 197 career three pointers. He is the program’s all-time leader in free throw percentage (86.1) and his 1,282 career points is tied for 10th all time. He has scored in double figures 19 times this year and has gone over 20 points twice.

Schneider set the Northwest career three-point record which now stands at 251. This year, he has scored in double figures 12 times and has gone over 20 points once, hitting six three pointers against Northeastern State on Feb. 13. He ranks fifth in the MIAA at 44.4 percent from three-point range (80-of-180) and is eighth in minutes played at 35.1 per game. Schneider was an honorable-mention performer last season and was the 2013-14 MIAA Freshman of the Year.

Ndow was named honorable mention All-MIAA in his first year with the Bearcats. The Stavanger, Norway, native has scored in double-figures 13 times this year and has recorded one of the three Northwest double-doubles. He has appeared in all 27 games, starting the past 23 times. He ranks eighth in the MIAA in offensive rebounds (2.0) and is ninth in total rebounding (6.3).

McCollum helped lead the Bearcats to the program’s third-straight MIAA regular season title. He has now won 20 or more games in each of the past five seasons, the only MIAA team to do so. This year, Northwest tied the MIAA record with 19 conference victories.

— MWSU Athletics —