By David Boyce

MARYVILLE, Mo. – In a game it never trailed in, Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team definitely would have preferred to beat Fort Hays State in regulation.

But the Bearcats showed their grit and resiliency to overcome blowing a 13-point lead late in the second half and pulling it together in overtime for an impressive 74-66 victory Saturday evening at Bearcat Arena.

Christmas will certainly be merry for the Bearcats and their enthusiastic fans who showed up for an instant MIAA classic. The win sent Northwest into Christmas break 8-2 overall and 2-1 in conference.

“It is always nice to go into our seven days off with a positive memory, going out with a win, especially a big win against Hays,” said Northwest senior guard Matt Wallace. “If you lose, it is on your mind Christmas Day, thinking, man, we dropped that one.”

Leading only 52-48 with 8:04 left in the game, Northwest put on a clinic of doing the right things to increase its lead. It started with a nice pass from freshman Justin Pitts that led to an easy layup by senior Grant Cozad.

On the next offensive possession, junior Conner Crooker went strong to the basket for a layup, making it 56-48. Sophomore Zach Schneider followed with three free throws after he was fouled on a three-point shot.

And with 3:44 left, Cozad scored on another layup after receiving a great pass from Schneider, making it 61-48.

“When you know you have shooters on the wings that can knock it down, it makes our offense run that much smoother,” Cozad said. “We get the ball moving and Pitts is a playmaker. He can drive in the lane and give our shooters on the wing open shots. That helps our inside-outside game that much more.”

The Bearcats looked like they had the game won, but Fort Hays battled back. The Tigers were down 62-58 with one minute left and then proceeded to tied things up at 64 with 10 seconds remaining on a three-pointer by Jeremy Wilson.

Pitts potential game-winning three-pointer bounced off the front of the rim, sending the game into overtime.

The momentum rested with Fort Hays. Northwest, though, had something working in its favor.

“We knew since we were up the whole time, we knew we could get back up in overtime,” Crooker said.

Cozad put Northwest back in front with two free throws. The lead grew to five on a three-pointer by Crooker with 2:57 left in overtime.

“It was a big shot but Zach also hit a big one,” Crooker said. “It was big for me because I missed a couple earlier and I was a little shaky on my confidence.”

With 1:09 left, a three-pointer by Schneider gave Northwest a 72-66 lead and sealed the victory.

Pitts finished with 19 points, Schneider scored 18, Cozad had 17 and Crooker added 15.

“This helps us a lot and it is going to help us down the road,” Wallace said. “If we did this at the beginning of the season and got into overtime, we probably would have lost. It shows how much we have grown, coming back after messing up a few times. We are going to grow on that and keep getting better.”

Northwest never trailed in the first half, but went into halftime with a narrow 36-33 lead.

Through the midway portion of the first half, the Bearcats played as well as they possible could at this point in the season. When they took their lead from 12-9 to 25-11, four different players scored.

On the defensive end, Northwest forced Fort Hays into rushing its shot and the Bearcats were in position for the rebounds.

Fort Hays, though, is too good to be blown out of a conference game in the first half. The Tigers stormed back, scoring 12 straight to make it 25-23.

Northwest stopped the run with a three-pointer by Zach Schneider, making it 28-23. The rest of the first half, Northwest’s lead fluctuated from one to five points.

“For a young team to handle their runs and hold the lead is a testament to us,” Cozad said. “It shows how mentally strong we are, but there is a lot more room for improvement. We need to bring it in January.”

— Northwest Athletics —

By David Boyce

MARYVILLE, Mo. – When Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team avoided turnovers, the offense flowed well.

Unfortunately, the Bearcats had too many turnovers to keep pace with Fort Hays State Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Arena. Northwest lost 71-52.

Too often, the Bearcats telegraphed their passes, which allowed Fort Hays players to get their hands in the passing lane and steal the ball. Other times, the Bearcats were simply careless.

Northwest committed 12 turnovers in the first half and that contributed to an eight-point halftime deficit.

The Bearcats needed to clean up the miscues in the second half to make a run at the Tigers. It didn’t happen. Northwest committed an additional 17 turnovers in the second half.

Northwest quickly fell behind 40-28 early in the second half and faced a double-digit deficit most of the final 20 minutes.

Every time the Bearcats appeared to gain some momentum, a turnover halted all potential scoring runs. Northwest shot the ball well in the second half, making 10-of-22 from the field for 46 percent.

The turnovers, though, allowed Fort Hays to take 10 shots more than the Bearcats.

One bright spot for Northwest was freshman forward Tanya Meyer. She came off the bench and scored 10 points.

Despite going into halftime down 36-28, Northwest put together one of its best half of basketball in MIAA play.

In the opening 12 minutes, the Bearcats matched Fort Hays on the offensive end. There were eight lead changes during that span. Shelby Mustain scored on the inside and Taylor Shull hit a few jumpers.

All the momentum was in favor of the Bearcats when Mustain scored to give Northwest a 16-15. Northwest failed to increase its lead on several occasions because of a few unforced turnovers.

Fort Hays regained the lead at 17-16, and then Northwest hit one of its cold spells that has hampered the Bearcats so far this season. The Tigers took advantage and extended their lead to 33-22.

Instead of letting the deficit get out of hand, the Bearcats battled back. Shull and Ariel Easton made back-to-back driving layups late in the first half that helped Northwest close to 33-28.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball defeated Missouri Valley Wednesday night in Maryville, 71-58.

The Bearcats were led by junior Tember Schechinger as she had career-highs in points and rebounds with 28 and 13.  Northwest improves to 4-7 on the season

Ariel Easton added 17 points, three assists, one steal, and one block, while Taylor Shull led the team with four assists, while adding six points and two rebounds.

Northwest made 51.8 percent of their shots (29-for-56) and went 7-of-20 three-point attempts (35 percent).

The Bearcats outrebounded the Vikings 48-25 and they had 16 offensive rebounds.

Northwest Missouri State returns to MIAA play when they host Fort Hays State on Saturday. The contest with the Tigers is scheduled to begin at 1:30.

Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team grabbed control and built a six-point lead only to see Iowa Wesleyan storm back and tie the game.

If this occurred in the final 5 minutes of the game, real drama would have developed Tuesday evening at Bearcat Arena.

Instead, it was the opening 10 minutes. Northwest needed a few trips up and down the court to shake off the rust from finals week.

After Iowa Wesleyan failed on a couple of trips to take the lead, the Bearcats hit their stride, reeling off 26 straight points. They hit three-pointers, mid-range jumpers and a few baskets in the paint.

Northwest went into halftime with a commanding 32-point lead and strolled to an 89-53 victory.

It was the perfect tonic for the Bearcats, who improved to 7-2 overall. They needed a blowout after a 69-67 loss at Pittsburg State on December 6. All 10 players on the active roster scored for the Bearcats.

“It is always good to develop some depth,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “In these games when you are up 25 or 30, you really need to play and do what you do in practice daily instead of trying to show out. Some of our guys played to their strengths and may have earned some playing time.”

The one-sided nature of the game allowed Northwest to regain confidence and give the bench players some valuable minutes before returning conference play on Saturday at home against Fort Hays State.

On Tuesday evening, the Bearcats did what they were supposed to do against a smaller, NAIA team.

Early on, the Tigers showed some fight, taking leads of 2-0 and 6-5. Northwest appeared to be in complete control when it grew its lead to 17-11.

Iowa Wesleyan knocked down a couple of three-pointers and found itself tied with Northwest at 17-17.

The Bearcats even gave Iowa Wesleyan a couple of chances to take a lead midway through the first half.

“Our main focus last week was to come out with great energy from the start,” said sophomore Zach Schneider. “Obviously, we didn’t do that, but it was nice to turn it around in the last 10 minutes. If we play like that every time and consistently over 40 minutes, we are going to be a really good basketball team.”

Once the Bearcats found their intensity, they went on a run that dashed any hopes of Iowa Wesleyan pulling off a monumental upset.

The 26-0 run started with a three-pointer by Schneider. Junior Conner Crooker followed with a three-pointer. Sophomore Anthony Woods joined the scoring party with a basket, which started a run of points inside the three-point arc.

Crooker’s three-pointer a few minutes later put Northwest ahead 32-17. Several minutes later, senior Grant Cozad concluded the consecutive-points run with a basket, giving the Bearcats a 43-17 lead.

From the time it was tied at 17-17 to the end of the first half, Northwest outscored the Tigers 34-2 for a 51-19 halftime advantage.

“The second 10 minutes of the first half we went back to who we are,” McCollum said. “We defended quite a bit better.”

Northwest coaches couldn’t ask for better shooting from the Bearcats. Northwest went 20 for 30 from the field for 67 percent. That percentage matched what they did from behind the arc, hitting 8 of 12.

All nine players who saw action in the first half scored at least one basket.

“It felt good. It was definitely a confidence booster,” said sophomore Anthony Woods, who finished with eight points.

Schneider was 4 for 4 from the field and three of those baskets were three-pointers.

Crooker mixed in two three-pointers with three drives into the paint for field goals. Freshman Justin Pitts went 4 for 6 from the field.

Defensively, Northwest was solid after it surrendered 17 points. The Bearcats held Iowa Wesleyan to 36 percent shooting from the field in the first half.

Northwest maintained a 30 to 40-point lead through much of the second half.

Schneider and Pitts each scored 15, Crooker and Cozad both added 12.

“Mainly, we wanted to go out and play our game,” Woods said. “We have to get back to practice, stay focused and come out Saturday ready to play from the start with intensity. It all starts with practice.”

— David Boyce, Northwest Athletics —

Northwest Missouri State University head tennis coach Mark Rosewell has announced the addition of Laura Bartig to the 2015-16 women’s roster.

Bartig finished second in district play last season for Kearney High School in Kearney, Mo.

“I am really looking forward to having such a high level player from this area join our team next season,” said Rosewell. “She is someone who I think can come in and immediately help our team and our depth.”

The Bearcats begin the 2015 season on Friday, Feb. 27, against Maryville University in St. Joseph, Mo.

— Northwest Sports Information —

PITTSBURG, Kan. – Through most of the second half, the shots were not falling for Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team. The scoring drought caused the Bearcats to fall behind 10 points with 5:41 left against Pittsburg State.

It was at that moment the Bearcats showed their character. They battled back in a tough road environment and even went ahead by two points with just under 2 minutes left.

Northwest, though, could not close out a road win Saturday afternoon at Lance Arena.  Josiah Gustafson hit a 10-foot, baseline jumper with 7 seconds left to lift Pittsburg State to a 69-67 victory.

“It is definitely a really tough loss,” said Northwest junior Conner Crooker, who finished with a game-high 25 points. “We fought to get back in the second half. We thought we had it at the end and they made a jump shot.”

For Northwest, the loss snapped a six-game winning streak. The Bearcats dropped to 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA.

It was a good effort by the Bearcats.

“We don’t want to just play well,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “We get fairly complacent playing good. If you want to win the league, you have to play great. Right now, we are just a good basketball team and that is not good enough for anyone on the team. We want to be great. It is time to step up.”

The Bearcats were 6-for-12 from three-point range in the first half and went ice cold behind the arc in the second half, going 2-for-11.

Northwest looked like it was headed for a sure loss when it fell behind 62-52 and key players like point guard Justin Pitts and center Grant Cozad each had four fouls.

But the Bearcats scored five quick points, three coming on a three-pointer by Pitts followed by a basket by Crooker.

With 3:18 left, Northwest closed to 64-62 on two free throws by Pitts. Less than a minute later, the Bearcats tied the game at 65-65 on a three-pointer by Crooker.

Northwest went ahead 67-65 on a basket by Pitts with 1:50 left.

“I was proud the way we stayed with it and competed,” McCollum said. “We fought a little bit. I would like to see that sooner and play with some emotion and enthusiasm.”

A turnover by Northwest with 1:07 left and the game tied hurt the Bearcats. After Gustafson’s basket, Northwest had 7 seconds to tie the game, but had one attempt blocked and the last attempt was rushed with 1 second left.

Northwest also didn’t do itself any favors at the free throw line. Pittsburg State went 19-for-22 from the line while Northwest finished 11-for-19.

“We will definitely work on our free throws,” Crooker said. “We have to work on getting open and competing.”

Northwest came out on fire from the behind the arc. The game started with Justin Pitts hitting a three-pointer. The next basket the Bearcats made was also a three-pointer by Conner Crooker, giving Northwest a 6-2 lead.

The advantage ballooned to 15-7 when Pittsburg State went on a 7-0 run, closing to one.

Thanks to the hot shooting of Crooker, the Bearcats managed to maintain the lead. Crooker was 4-for-6 on three-pointers in the first half.

Every time Northwest built a small cushion, Pittsburg State made a couple of stops and scored. The Gorillas tied the game at 29-29 and even took their first lead 31-29 with 15 seconds left.

Northwest calmly came down and sent the game into halftime tied 31-31 on a basket by Matt Wallace.

— David Boyce, Northwest Athletics —

PITTSBURG, Kan. – Midway through the first half, Northwest Missouri State sophomore forward Shelby Mustain rewarded her teammates for getting her the ball.

Mustain made basket after basket against a very good Pittsburg State team. Unfortunately, the Bearcats faced a double-digit deficit 5 minutes into the game.

Despite several nice offensive stretches in the first half, the Bearcats were unable to slow down Pittsburg State.

Northwest trailed by 22 in the first half and then gave up the first five points to start the second half. It was too much for the Bearcats to overcome, falling 85-59 Saturday afternoon at Lance Arena.

The Gorillas bolted to a 13-2 lead before the first media timeout. They were scoring in the paint and beyond the three-point arc. Mustain’s burst kept Northwest somewhat close through the middle part of the first half.

During that stretch, Pittsburg State had no answer for her. Pittsburg State Lane Lord even called a timeout to get his team to play tougher defense.

Lord didn’t need to offer any advice on offense. The Gorillas were operating at a championship level, moving the ball around and getting wide-open buckets.

Once the Gorillas slowed down Mustain, they extended their lead from 28-21 to 45-23. The 17-2 run by Pittsburg State put the game away.

Still, Mustain continued to battle. She went 6-for-7 from the field in the first half. Her 12 points were just two off her career high. Mustain added four more points in the second half and finished with 16, a new career high.

As a team, Northwest shot the ball well in the first half, making 13-of-24 shots from the field for 54 percent. Pittsburg State, though, was better. The Gorillas were 17-for-30 for 57 percent. Six of those field goals came from behind the three-point arc.

Pittsburg State went into halftime with a 53-31 lead and continued to play at a high level in the first 8 minutes of the second half. The Gorillas increased their lead to 73-36 with 11:42 left in the game.

Northwest, though, played hard until the very end. The Bearcats trailed 80-40 and then outscored Pittsburg State 19-5 the rest of the game.

— David Boyce, Northwest Athletics —

EMPORIA, Kan. – Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team blew two, double-digit leads in the first half and trailed the first 13 minutes in the second half.

It was quite the precarious position for the young Bearcats to be in for their MIAA opener on the road at Emporia State.

In the final 7 minutes, Northwest showed the composure of a veteran squad. The Bearcats played stellar defense, hit free throws and made several baskets in key moments.

All those things added up to an impressive 63-57 victory Wednesday night at historic White Auditorium.

“This is huge,” said Northwest sophomore Zach Schneider, who finished with 16 points. “That is about as big a confidence builder you can get in this league is a road win.”

The Bearcats, 6-1, will hit the road once again on Saturday, playing at Pittsburg State. They definitely want to build on what they achieved in crunch time at Emporia State.

Northwest stayed close to the Hornets most of the second half. Emporia State managed a little cushion at 46-41 with 7:34 left. The game was starting to slip away from the Bearcats.

At that moment, Schneider, who was 1-for-5 on three-pointers in the first half and was knocked to the ground while taking a charge in the second half, stepped up big time.

After he caught his breath and returned to the game, he promptly nailed a trey, bringing Northwest to within two at 46-44. Schneider followed that with a NBA-range three-pointer, giving the Bearcats their first lead in the second half at 47-46 with 6:32 left.

“The first half all of them felt good,” Schneider said. “I looked to keep shooting. That is one of my big roles on the team.”

Emporia State went back in front by one and that was when Northwest took the lead for good, starting at the free throw line. Junior Conner Crooker nailed two free throws that made it 49-48 in favor of Northwest with 5:16 left.

A minute later, Crooker made two more free throws, increasing Northwest lead to 51-48.

“I am pretty confident making free throws,” Crooker said. “I practice a lot. I like to be the one to step up and hit big-time free throws.”

He followed that about a minute later with a drive to the basket, giving the Bearcats a 53-48 lead with 3:20 left.

“It was definitely really big,” Crooker said. “I have been struggling all night. I was missing my shot. It felt good to go into the paint and make something happen, especially late in the game when it matters most.”

Northwest maintained control the rest of the way for an impressive conference road victory.

“They are a really good team,” Schneider said. “They came off two really good road wins in Texas. Especially for young team, this is going to be a big confidence booster down the road.

“We will be able to look back and see how we closed out a good team on the road.”

It was a complete team effort, from senior center Grant Cozad, who scored 12 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to freshman point guard Justin Pitts, who finished with a game-high 18 points.

In the first half, Northwest put together two nice spurts to twice build 10-point leads, but two lulls caused the Bearcats to go into halftime down 31-27.

The Bearcats started the game on fire from three-point range. Pitts hit a couple of treys. Schneider had one and in a blink of an eye, Northwest led 13-3.

Emporia State fought back and scored the next nine points, closing to 13-12. Northwest got hot again, scoring nine straight points for a 22-12 lead.

“I think it is a case of being young, honestly,” Crooker said. “We were still getting shots we wanted. We were inconsistent making them. Sometimes we lose concentration on defense.”

The rest of the first half, Northwest generated very little offense. Meanwhile, point guard Terrence Moore got hot for the Hornets. He broke the Bearcats’ 9-0 run with a basket.

Later, he scored four straight points, giving Emporia State its first lead at 23-22. A basket by Micah Swank completed an 11-0 run that put the Hornets up 25-22.

The Bearcats forged the first tie of the game on a three-pointer by Pitts, who was 3-for-4 from behind the arc in the first half. That basket didn’t stop the momentum by the Hornets. Emporia State scored the last four points in the first half.

— David Boyce, Northwest Sports Information —

EMPORIA, Kan. – The best time to play the No. 1 ranked team in the regular season is the conference opener on the road. You might just shock the NCAA Division II world.

Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team surprised Emporia State in the first 10 minutes Wednesday evening at White Auditorium.

But after a competitive first half, Emporia State showed why it’s the No. 1 team in Division II.

The Hornets used their size, quickness and ability to make shots all over the court to beat Northwest 80-44.

Northwest dropped to 3-5 overall and Emporia State improved to 6-0. Senior Ariel Easton led Northwest with 13 points.

The reason why it was good for the Bearcats to face one of the best teams in the country so early in the season was because they can clearly see what they need to work on to beat the elite.

The final score was no indication on how well the Bearcats played through much of the first half.

However, the first 10 minutes of the second half was like a math student going into an advance calculus test with only pre-algebra knowledge.

Emporia State outscored the Bearcats 31-4 over those 10 minutes for a commanding 70-33 lead. The young Bearcats simply didn’t have an answer to slow Emporia State in any facet of the game.

Instead of dwelling on those minutes, Northwest should focus on what they did right in the first 10 minutes of the game.

In those 10 minutes, Northwest belonged on the same court with the No. 1 ranked team in the country.

The Bearcats fell behind 7-4 in the opening minutes and quickly fought back. A bucket by Tanya Meyer helped Northwest close to one and then Tember Schechinger put the Bearcats up 8-7 on a basket.

Northwest held a 15-12 lead on another field goal by Schechinger. It was at that point Emporia State started looking like a top-ranked team. The Hornets went on an 11-0 run and took a 23-15 lead.

The Bearcats showed enough fight in the closing minutes to keep the game somewhat close. When Emporia State built a 26-17 lead, Northwest pulled to 26-21.

Still, Emporia State had a bit too much firepower for Northwest to keep its deficit under double digits. Two free throws by Kelsey Barnwell near the end of the first half gave the Hornets a 39-28 lead at halftime.

Northwest basically had offense from two sources in the first half. Easton scored 12 points and Schechinger added eight.

— David Boyce, Northwest Sports Information —

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 —