The Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team lost to Lincoln Friday evening in Jefferson City, Mo., 79-74.

The Bearcats fall to 6-3 this season and 4-1 in the MIAA, while the Blue Tigers improve to 7-3 overall and 3-1 against conference opponents.

Justin Pitts led all scorers with a season-high 28 points.

Pitts hit 12 of his 17 shots in the contest while dishing out four assists and making two steals.  Chris-Ebou Ndow scored a career-high 14 points after knocking down 5-of-8 attempts from the field. The sophomore grabbed four rebounds and distributed a personal-best three assists.

Junior D’Vante Mosby was one rebound short of his third double-double this season, tallying 11 points and nine rebounds while swiping three steals.  Anthony Woods chipped in seven points, six rebounds and five assists.

The Blue Tigers hit 57.4 (27-of-47) percent of their shots, including 50 percent of their three-point attempts (10-of-20). Meanwhile, Northwest finished with a 46.7 percent shooting percentage (28-of-60).

Northwest opened the contest by scoring 14 of the first 20 points before the opening media timeout. Anthony Woods laid in the first bucket of the game after Justin Pitts made a steal. Chris-Ebou Ndow poured in a three-pointer on a pass from Woods on the ensuing possession. Pitts put in a layup one minute later before finding Zach Schneider for a triple, extending the lead to 10-2. Pitts and D’Vante Mosby made consecutive buckets after a steal for Schneider, giving the Bearcats an eight point advantage with 13:54 to play in the first half.

The Bearcats will wrap up play this weekend when they travel to St. Charles, Mo. for a meeting with the Lindenwood Lions on Sunday, Dec. 20. First tip is scheduled for 3 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

After leading by 10 at halftime, the Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball came up one possession short Friday evening at Lincoln, 66-64.

Following a Blue Tiger layup with 11 seconds left, Jasmin Howe’s three pointer from the left corner rattled out in the waning seconds.

The Bearcats fall to 2-9 overall and 0-5 in the MIAA, while Lincoln improves to 6-4 this season and 2-2 against conference foes.

Jaylah Jackson led the Bearcats with a career high 18 points.  Jackson hit eight of her 11 shots in the game, including all six attempts from inside the three-point line. The junior added one block and one steal on defense.

Tember Schechinger tied her season-best with 16 points, knocking down 7-of-11 shots. The senior grabbed five rebounds while dishing out two assists.  Junior Jasmin Howe chipped in 15 points, two assists and one steal.

The Bearcats scored 17 points off 21 Lincoln turnovers. The Bearcats gave away 14 turnovers in the contest.  Northwest hit 45.9 percent (28-of-61) of its shots, while the Blue Tigers knocked down 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the field.

After the Blue Tigers tied the score at 16 with 5:43 to play in the second quarter on a pair of free throws, Northwest closed the half with a 17-7 run. The Bearcats scored 13 straight points to open the run, forcing four Lincoln misses and two turnovers. Jaylah Jackson drilled a trey off a pass from Macy Williams before Tanya Meyer laid in an easy bucket from under the basket. Maria Dentlinger then hit a short jumper on another assist from Williams, followed by a swipe and score from Jackson. Consecutive jumpers from Tember Schechinger and Jackson extended the Bearcat lead to 29-16 with 2:25 to play in the half.

The Bearcats will return to the floor Sunday in St. Charles, Mo. when they take on the Lindenwood Lady Lions. First tip is scheduled for 1 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State University has announced the resignation of Michael Smith, the head coach of its women’s basketball program, effective immediately, due to personal reasons. Assistant Coach Buck Scheel becomes interim head coach.

Smith was named the seventh head women’s basketball coach at Northwest in 2013 and led the Bearcats to a 20-43 mark during his tenure.  Northwest Missouri State is 2-8 this season and 0-4 in the MIAA.

Scheel came to Northwest with Smith after three seasons as the top assistant at State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Mo., where the program went 68-28 and advanced to the Region 16 tournament all three years, including a regional championship in 2011. Prior to that, he served as the head women’s basketball coach at Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa, from 2007 to 2010.

Scheel played junior college basketball at Lincoln School of Commerce, now Kaplan University, in Lincoln, Nebraska, where he was a co-captain and was the team’s MVP in 2003. Scheel transferred to Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa, where he was a co-captain for two years and helped the team advance to the Midwest Classic Conference championship game.

“We thank Michael for his time at Northwest, and we wish him the best in the future,” Northwest Director of Athletics Mel Tjeerdsma said, adding, “I’m very confident in Coach Scheel as he takes on the responsibilities as our head coach.”

— Northwest Athletics —

By David Boyce, Northwest Athletics

MARYVILLE, Mo. – In its first home conference game of the season, the Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team treated 1,034 fans at Bearcat Arena to stellar defense and beautiful team basketball.

The potent combination lifted Northwest to a rather easy 73-48 victory over Pittsburg State Sunday afternoon. The Bearcats raised their record to 6-2 overall and 4-0 in the MIAA.

“It felt good to finally have the home crowd cheering for us and get us going,” said junior guard Anthony Woods, who finished with 14 points. “They always keep us going with cheering and everything. They build us up.”

Throughout much of the second half, Northwest maintained a seven-to-13 point lead because of its defense. Whenever the Bearcats hit a lull offensively, their defense took over, preventing Pitt State from making a run.

“It all starts in practice,” said Northwest sophomore guard Justin Pitts, who finished with a game-high 19 points. “We knew coming in they were going to be pretty good driving the ball. We worked every day in practice on the drives. We came out and played hard and executed the scouting report.”

The offense, though, didn’t have many dry spells because the Bearcats continued to look for each other for open baskets. One example occurred midway through the second half. Woods drove inside and then found Conner Crooker wide open on the wing. Crooker drilled the three-pointer to increase Northwest’s lead to 43-30.

“If you have drivers and the shooters that we have, no one is going to stop you,” Woods said. “We have to keep being aggressive and working hard in practice.”

It all comes down to trust. With about 7 minutes left, Woods once again drove the ball into the paint and then kicked it out to Zach Schneider. At this point, Schneider was scoreless. It didn’t matter. Woods knew Schneider was going to make the shot. Woods raised his arms in the air to indicate a three-pointer while the ball was still in the air.

Schneider’s swished the ball through the nets, putting Northwest up 58-43. A minute later, point guard Justin Pitts slipped an inside pass to Woods for a layup, making it 62-43.

“It was a momentum changer,” Woods said of Schneider’s trey. “Once Zach gets going or Pitts or Conner, it is really hard to stop them. Once we drive and everybody collapse and they are wide open, we look for them every time.”

Defensively, the Bearcats played old-fashion, blue-collar basketball. They symbolically put on their hard hats and go to work.

And the work the Bearcats did on the offensive end was a thing of beauty. The cuts to the basket followed by a perfect pass that ended with a layup or a wide-open jump shot made the Gorillas look like they were lost in the jungle.

It was basically the same formula in the first half. Defense and a scoring by Pitts gave Northwest a 28-20 lead at halftime. Throughout the first half, the Bearcats made it extremely difficult for Pitt State to get an easy basket.

The aggressive defense by Northwest limited the Gorillas to only eight field goals. In a 4-minute stretch, Pitts had half that many baskets. Each time, Pitts drove into the paint and hit a soft, 5-foot runner. Those eight points by Pitts helped Northwest expand its lead from 11-8 to 19-12.

The Gorillas never mounted a serious run the rest of the game.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team dropped its conference home opener to Pittsburg State Sunday afternoon in Bearcat Arena, 72-56.

The Bearcats are now 2-8 this season and 0-4 in conference play, while the Gorillas improve to 7-1 overall and 3-1 against MIAA opponents.

Three Northwest student-athletes scored in double-digits, including 16 from senior Tember Schechinger.

Schechinger hit six of her eight shots from the field, including a 5-for-5 effort from inside the arc. The senior blocked four shots in the contest, the most in a game for a Bearcat this season.  Freshman Macy Williams dished out six assists, the most in a game for a Bearcat since last season (Taylor Shull, 7 vs. UCM, 2/28/15).

Trailing by 17 to close the third quarter, Northwest scored nine of the first 11 points in the final period to close the gap to 10, 59-49. Macy Williams opened the quarter with a triple off a pass from Shelby Mustain. After the Gorillas put in a layup, Taylor Shull and Tember Schechinger made layups on consecutive possessions, forcing Pittsburg State to burn a timeout. Following a defensive stop, Schechinger dropped in another layup on a pass from Williams to complete the Bearcat run. The Gorillas were able to stave off the Northwest rally after that point, not allowing the lead to dip into single digits.

The Bearcats will hit the road next weekend for a pair of MIAA contests to wrap up the 2015 portion of their schedule. First up, Northwest will face off with Lincoln on Friday, Dec. 18 at 5:30 in Jefferson City, Mo.

— Northwest Athletics —

By David Boyce, Northwest Athletics

JOPLIN, Mo. – Junior Anthony Woods and sophomore Justin Pitts put on such a spectacular display of weaving inside to the basket that Northwest Missouri State’s 89-77 victory over Missouri Southern could have been titled, “Art of the Drive.”

The two guards unleashed a layup clinic Wednesday evening at Leggett & Platt Athletic Center that was mesmerizing at times and always effective.

The Bearcats also tossed in a few timely three-pointers and relentless defense to win their third straight conference road game to improve to 5-2 overall and 3-0 in the MIAA.

Next up for the Bearcats is their first home conference game of the season at 3:30 p.m. Sunday against Pittsburg State.

“It really gives us a lot of confidence going into Sunday’s game against Pitt State,” Woods said. “It is a good rivalry game and everybody is excited.”

Northwest started the second half with a seven-point lead and quickly increased it to 43-31 on a basket by senior Conner Crooker followed by a three-pointer by Crooker.

The Lions closed to 43-36 and that was when Woods drove to the basket for a layup. He did it repeatedly throughout the second half, scoring 21 of his career-high 25 points in the final 20 minutes.

“A lot of times they were switching and putting a big on me and he was pretty slow and I was going around him,” Woods said. “A lot of times when Justin came off the ball screen, I was wide open because they were watching the ball so much.”

Pitts did a lot of his damage in the first half with drives to the basket. Pitts added a few more layups in the second half.

An example of just how well Northwest was operating as a team occurred midway through the second half. Long-rang bomber Zach Schneider launched his first shot of the game with about 10 minutes left. Northwest was leading 64-57 at the time. His three-pointer made it 67-57.

Schneider’s three shot attempts in the game showed that the Bearcats were willing to take what Southern was giving them. The Lions took away the outside shot so Northwest simply drove the ball inside.

“It gives us a lot of confidence driving now,” Pitts said. “We have a lot of shooters on the team and they (opponents) are going to be hugging more and we will do what we did tonight, drive and kick out and have Woods score 25.”

Whenever Southern made a small run, the Bearcats always had an offensive answer. Northwest spread the scoring around. Pitts finished with 19, Crooker added 18 and junior D’Vante Mosby scored 12.

“Everybody is sharing pretty well,” Woods said. “I think it will help out in the future. If we keep winning, everybody’s confidence stays up. I think it helps out a lot.”

Northwest hit over 50 percent of its shots in the first half and that allowed the Bearcats to take a 38-31 lead into halftime.

“It is pretty big for us,” Pitts said about starting strong. “It all starts in practice when coach Mac (Ben McCollum) says we have to come right out of the gate. We can’t have a slow first half, be down by 16 and try to come back.”

The lead changed six times in the first 10 minutes. The Bearcats went ahead for good in the first half at 13-12 on a basket by Pitts. It sparked a quick 6-0 run that put Northwest in front 17-12.

By late in the first half, the Bearcats’ lead grew to 38-28. A three-pointer by Taevaunn Prince at the buzzer helped the Lions close to seven.

Since this is the Christmas season, it is only fitting that Southern was led by Charlie Brown. Brown started the game with a three-pointer and finished with 10 points in the first half.

Pitts, though, matched Brown with 10 points. Pitts also pulled down four rebounds and had two assists in the opening period.

— Northwest Athletics —

By David Boyce, Northwest Athletics

JOPLIN, Mo. – Sometimes a team needs a moral victory to build its morale. Northwest Missouri State women’s team got exactly that Wednesday evening against Missouri Southern at Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.

With 30 seconds left, the Bearcats had the ball trailing by three. A turnover 16 seconds later prevented Northwest from getting off a potential, game-tying three-pointer.

Despite the 48-43 loss, Northwest showed significant improvement from its performance Saturday at Central Missouri. The Bearcats lost to a team that improved to 8-1 overall and that one loss was by two points in overtime.

“We had to do some self-reflecting after Saturday’s game,” said junior guard Jasmin Howe. “We had this potential the entire time. We finally put it together. We just have to keep taking steps forward. That was a great game for us, a great first step for us.”

The Bearcats faced a breaking point early in the third quarter. They quickly fell behind 31-21. Because of gritty defense and determination, Northwest refused to give in. Two free throws by junior Shelby Mustain got the Bearcats on track.

Howe took over the rest of the third quarter, scoring 11 of her game-high 16 points in the period as Northwest closed to 36-33 entering the final frame.

“Defense for us is something we have to start relying on,” Howe said. “We played great today and we can do that. We have to bring that every single game.”

Northwest assistant coach Buck Scheel was proud of how hard the team played defense.

“That was the one thing that was going to keep them in the game,” Scheel said. “We talked about effort before the game. When you give effort, when you give 100 percent, the game pays you back. Our effort throughout the entire game was what helped us.”

Southern once again started hot at the beginning of the fourth quarter and built a 42-33 lead. The Bearcats once again fought back. A three-pointer by freshman guard Macy Williams helped Northwest close to 44-40 with 1 minute, 35 seconds left.

With a minute to go, Williams drilled another three-pointer, making it 46-43. Northwest used defense to get the ball back with 30 seconds to play, but its 23rd turnover of the game prevented the Bearcats from getting closer.

On the positive side, Northwest played a great second half. The Bearcats shot 56 percent from the field in the second half and held Southern to 24 percent.

“We have to do a better job of taking care of the ball,” Scheel said. “It was amazing we were in the game with 23 turnovers. I’m just proud of them for coming together and playing together.”

Howe said the Bearcats want to continue to take steps forward and show what they are capable of. Their next opportunity is 1:30 p.m. Sunday at home against Pittsburg State.

Northwest proved there is plenty of season left for it to make plenty of noise in the MIAA.

In the first half, Northwest played tough defense and that kept it somewhat close. The Bearcats trailed 27-18 at halftime.

Northwest started fast, getting a steal by senior Taylor Shull that quickly turned into a three-pointer by Howe for the first points of the game.

A minute later, sophomore Tanya Meyer scored two of her eight first-half points that gave the Bearcats a 5-2 lead.

Southern scored the next 10 points by consistently getting the ball inside. Trailing 12-5, the Bearcats worked to keep from falling behind by double digits. They were down 17-12 starting the second quarter.

Even though Northwest scored only six points in the second quarter, the Bearcats played very aggressive defense to stay within striking distance at halftime.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team knocked off No. 12 Central Missouri, 72-58, on Saturday afternoon at the Multipurpose Building in Warrensburg, Mo.

Northwest moves to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in MIAA play. UCM falls to 7-1 overall and 1-1 in conference action.

Conner Crooker scored a game-high 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He hit 5-of-8 three point attempts and grabbed six rebounds.

Justin Pitts had 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Bearcats. He hit a pair of three pointers, one in each half.  Anthony Woods scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting. He had five rebounds and a block.  D’Vante Mosby had nine points for the Bearcats. He had nine rebounds, five coming on the offensive end of the court. He also had a pair of steals in 24 minutes.

Northwest outrebounded the Mules, 45-29, and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, leading to 18 second chance points.

Northwest hit 17-of-23 free throw attempts (73.9%), going 13-for-16 (81.3%) in the second half.

The Bearcats fell behind 7-4 early in the first half. But Mosby hit a pair of free throws and woods added a layup to give Northwest its’ first lead of the game, 8-7. Mosby hit his second three pointer of the season to put Northwest up by four, 11-7. Pitts would hit a jumper and after a Crooker missed shot, Mosby cleaned up the board to cap an 11-5 Bearcat run.

Northwest held a 45-38 lead at the 14:22 mark of the second half on a Woods layup. But UCM cut the lead to five, 45-40, on a jumper. But Northwest would respond with a quick 13-4 run over the next seven minutes. Pitts and Schneider knocked down back-to-back three pointers. Woods added three points from the charity stripe and Dougherty hit a pair of free throws to go along with a Crooker jumper.

The Bearcats head to Joplin, Mo., for a Wednesday evening game at Missouri Southern at 7:30 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

Central Missouri hit 14 three-pointers in Saturday’s 85-39 victory over the Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team.

The Bearcats are now 2-6 overall and 0-2 in the MIAA, while the Jennies improve to 2-5 and 1-1 in conference action.

Taylor Shull scored nine points for the second straight game to lead the Bearcats.

After the Jennies scored the first four points of the game, Tanya Meyer drained a three-pointer after a pass from Tember Schechinger to put the Bearcats on the board. Late in the quarter, Jaylah Jackson found Meyer under the basket for a layup before Alexa Schaaf knocked down a trey on a pass from Taylor Shull, closing the gap to 17-11 after the first 10 minutes.

With less than four minutes to play, Arbrie Benson hit a jumper before the Bearcats forced a Jennie turnover. Carlie Wilhelmi then scored five straight points for Northwest, three from the charity stripe and two on a layup following her own offensive rebound.

The Bearcats will wrap up a three-game road trip when they head to Joplin, Mo. to face off with Missouri Southern on Wednesday, Dec. 9. First tip is scheduled for 5:30.

— Northwest Athletics —

By David Boyce, Northwest Athletics

BOLIVAR, Mo. – The surgical way the Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team sliced up Southwest Baptist in the second half was so precise that it was doubtful the purple Bearcats actually felt pain.

One minute Baptist held a three-point lead on its home court at the start of the second half and several minutes later, it was staring at a10-point deficit.

The passing by the green Bearcats throughout the second half was simply beautiful and a big reason why they came away with a 73-50 victory Thursday evening at Meyer Sports Center.

“We did everything right in the first half. It was just they were hitting shots,” said Northwest senior Conner Crooker. “Things weren’t going our way. In the second half, we got off to a hot start and we were getting those 50/50 balls. We did everything we did in the first half, but just a little harder.”

A three-pointer by Crooker at the start of the second half pulled Northwest into its first tie at 29-29.

Junior Zach Schneider rained in another three-pointer with 18:06 left in the game that gave Northwest its first lead at 32-29.

The play that proved the Bearcats were clicking at a high level as a team occurred 2 minutes later when Crooker drove into the paint and then slipped a pass to junior D’Vante Mosby, who converted the layup, putting Northwest ahead 36-31.

“It was big,” Mosby said of Crooker’s pass. “Like Conner said, the fact they were helping so high on our guards, it opened some things up for other players. It was good that we can pass the ball and work it around as a team and not rely on one thing.”

Northwest didn’t let up. At the 12:06 mark, Crooker had another nice pass that setup sophomore center Brett Dougherty for a layup, pushing the Bearcats lead to 46-34 and causing Baptist to call timeout.

“The first half we were a little tentative to go inside,” Crooker said. “In the second half, we knew the lane was open.”

There was nothing spectacular in Northwest’s 20-5 run to start the second half. It was simply sound, team basketball on both ends of the floor.

“The great start in the second half was key to get our confidence up,” Crooker said. “Coach always says to step on their throats after you are up and don’t let up and that is what we did.”

Northwest did exactly that the final 10 minutes. Every player that stepped on the court contributed to the victory. Sophomore Justin Pitts lead Northwest with 16 points followed by 15 from Crooker, 12 from Schneider and 10 from Mosby.

Northwest shot a blistering 61 percent from the field in the second half, making 17 of 28 shots and held Baptist to 23 percent. Baptist made just six field goals in the second half.

It was a great way for Northwest to open play in the MIAA. The Bearcats are 3-2 overall and 1-0 in conference.

“We will take these conference wins anyway we can get them,” Mosby said. “Coach Mac (Ben McCollum) puts a big emphasis on it. It was definitely a big-time win and we want to keep it going.”

A missed three-pointer at the halftime buzzer kept Northwest from tying the game. Still it was a good effort by the Bearcats to go into halftime down only 29-26.

Northwest started slow and it never found its stroke from outside, making 4 of 15 three-point attempts. Northwest was also nearly as bad from the free throw line, going 4 for 11.

Despite a 14-5 deficit and poor shooting from behind the arc and at the charity strip, Northwest closed to 27-26 late in the first half.

Looking at the statistics it was amazing Northwest stayed so close. Baptist pulled down seven more rebounds. Baptist show 48 percent from the field compared to 33 percent for Northwest.

The only area Northwest excelled at was turnovers. Northwest had only four compared to nine for Baptist.