INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team secured the MIAA’s automatic bid and the NCAA Central Region’s top seed to the 2017-18 NCAA Tournament. The Bearcats will now host a seven-game regional tournament in Maryville, Mo., starting Saturday, March 10.

Northwest’s first round game against No. 8 seed Minnesota State is scheduled for Saturday, March 10, at 6 p.m. at Bearcat Arena. The second round will be on Sunday, March 11 and the Sweet 16 round will be on Tuesday, March 13. The National Championship Elite Eight will be held in Sioux Falls, S.D., starting on Tuesday, March 20. Northwest has advanced to the Central Region championship game each of the past four seasons and captured the NCAA National Championship in 2016-17.

Northwest is making its 18th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the sixth appearance under head coach Ben McCollum (12-4 overall). McCollum, who is in his ninth season, led the Bearcatsto a fifth-straight MIAA regular season title and third-straight MIAA Tournament title. Justin Pitts was named the MIAA Player of the Year for the third straight year and earned first team All-MIAA honors for the fourth time.

NCAA Central Region
1. Northwest Missouri (Host)
2. Northern State
3. Southern Nazarene
4. Southwest Minnesota State
5. Missouri Southern State
6. St. Cloud State
7. Washburn
8. Minnesota State

Saturday, March 10
Noon: No. 3 Southern Nazarene vs. No. 6 St. Cloud State (Session 1)
2:15 p.m.: No. 2 Northern State vs. No. 7 Washburn (Session 1)

6 p.m.: No. 1 Northwest Missouri vs. No. 8 Minnesota State (Session 2)
8:15 p.m.: No. 4 Southwest Minnesota State vs. No. 5 Missouri Southern (Session 2)

Sunday, March 11
5 p.m.: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
7:30 p.m.: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4

Tuesday, March 13
7 p.m.: Championship Game

— Northwest Athletics —

By David Boyce – Northwest Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – As intense as the championship game of the MIAA Men’s Basketball Tournament got Sunday evening at Municipal Auditorium, Northwest Missouri State never trailed in the second half in its 80-74 win over Washburn.

But the Bearcats sure made it interesting in the final two minutes. Leading 73-68, Northwest missed five straight free throws. It finally hurt them when Washburn senior Brady Skeens made a basket with 45 seconds left, making it 73-70.

Four seconds later, Northwest senior Chris-Ebou Ndow calmly drained two free throws to increase the Bearcats’ lead back to five points.

“It is just going back to the gym. I work on my free throws all the time,” said Ndow, who made six straight free throws in the final 41 seconds. “I wasn’t nervous. I stepped up and did what I do in the gym.”

After Washburn scored, Ndow made two more free throws and that allowed Northwest to win its third straight MIAA tournament title. The only other team to accomplish this feat was Southeast Missouri State, 1985-87.

“Wow,” Ndow said of the accomplishment. “This group of guys are special and the seniors last year, for us to keep making history, it is special and we are going to remember it forever.”

The victory by the Bearcats all but assures them the No. 1 seed in the Central Region. Northwest will take a 27-3 record into regional. Northwest finds out later Sunday evening its seeding.

“That is huge,” Ndow said. “I believe we have the best fans in the country. It is such a home court advantage. Hopefully, we get to do it this year. We will be ready regardless.”

The second half heated up immediately, especially after Washburn first-year coach Brett Ballard was given a technical for arguing a charge call on his player. Sophomore Ryan Welty knocked down both free throws for Northwest, giving the Bearcats a 44-34 lead.

Momentum appeared to be completely on Northwest’s side when Ndow followed with a three-pointer to extend the lead to 47-34.

Washburn regained its composure and closed to 51-45. Northwest answered that run with a three-pointer by Welty.

Still, the Ichabods kept grinding away and pulled to five at 65-60 with just under 9 minutes left. Senior Joey Witthus stepped up for Northwest and knocked down a high-arching three-pointer, making it 68-60.

With senior Justin Pitts on the bench for a large portion of the second half battling foot issues, it was clear Northwest needed to play with grit down the stretch to pull out a win. Washburn once again pulled to five at 68-63 with just over 6 minutes left.

“Guys stepped up and hit some big shots,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “And we got enough stops to win the game.”

One of the biggest plays for Northwest came 2 minutes later. Washburn closed 69-66 and grabbed a defensive rebound. Kurth stole the ball and went in for a quick layup to make it 71-66 with 4:28 left.

“The funny thing is I almost missed the layup because I got too excited when I got the steal,” said Kurth, who finished with 15 points. “Things like that is what we are all about to make sure we are staying with it with our defense.”

Northwest, though, didn’t start with much fire. Less than 2 minutes into the game, McCollum called a timeout. The Bearcats looked lethargic in falling behind 4-0.

What did McCollum say?

“Off the record,” McCollum said.

The barking must have penetrated Welty’s ears and he wasn’t starting. Welty knocked down all four three-point attempts and scored 16 first-half points, sparking Northwest to a 41-28 halftime lead.

“Obviously, our guards do a good job of creating,” said Welty, who finished with a team-high 21 points. “Basically, I stay on the three-point line and have to be ready to shoot. It felt good.”

Of course, the Bearcats used more than one player to overcome a brief a 6-1 deficit to start the game. Kurth also sparkled on offense, hitting five of seven shots from the field for 13 points.

Northwest quickly recovered from the slow start and took its first lead at 9-8 on a basket by Kurth.

The Ichabods responded with a basket by David Salach for its last lead of the game at 10-9.

Welty’s first three-pointer of the game put the Bearcats back in front 12-10 and they never trailed again in the first half.

The three-pointer by Welty ignited a 9-0 run. A basket by Witthus, two free throws by Welty and a basket by senior Brett Dougherty gave Northwest an 18-10 lead.

A few minutes later, a three-pointer by Welty pushed Northwest’s advantage to nine at 24-15.

But Washburn fought back and scored the next seven points, closing to 24-21.

Northwest responded with another offensive surge. It started with Witthus in the paint making an interior pass to Kurth that led to a layup. With 5:25 remaining in the first half, Northwest led 26-21.

Soon the Bearcats’ lead blossomed to 36-24 on a three-pointer by Welty. A few minutes later, Kurth drilled consecutive three-pointers that pushed the lead for Northwest to 41-26 late in the first half.

“We have so many weapons offensively that one guy can be hot one night and another guy hot another night,” Kurth said. “We were both able to hit some shots and keep our confidence going on offense.”

Northwest shot 56 percent in the first half and held Washburn to 40 percent shooting.

“Washburn is a really good team so it is big to win this game, especially going into regional game,” Welty said. “We have the momentum and keep it going.”

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team defeated Fort Hays State, 11-4, on Sunday at Larks Park in Hays, Kan.

The Bearcats improve to 8-7 overall and 5-1 in MIAA play. The Tigers fall to 9-8 and 1-5 in conference action.

Jay Hrdlicka was 3-for-3 with three doubles. He drove in two, scored twice and also drew two walks.

Key Northwest Statistics
– Northwest scored once in the second, once in the fourth, four in the fifth, four in the seventh and one in the eighth. The Tigers scored one in the second and three in the seventh.
– The Bearcats had 11 runs on 11 hits with two errors. Fort Hays state had four runs on 12 hits with three errors.
– Mondesi Gutierrez was 2-for-4 and drove in six runs. He scored twice and drew a walk.
– Kevin Handzlik was 2-for-6 with a run.
– Logan Rycraft drew a pair of walks and went 1-for-4.
– Landon Figg was 1-for-3 and scored four times. He was hit by two pitches.
– Aaron Barratt was 1-for-2 with a pair of RBIs.
– Hudson Bilodeau was 1-for-5 with a walk and a stolen base.
– Eddy Kraber got the start. He went 3.0 innings, allowing one run on six hits. He struck out two and walked two.
– Quintin Van Ackeren threw 3.0 innings of relief. He allowed two runs on four hits. He struck out two and did not issue a walk.
– Trevor Dudar worked the final 2.2 innings. He didn’t allow a run or a hit, striking out two.

Key Northwest Innings
– With one down in the second, Figg was hit by a pitch. Hrdlicka hit a double down the left field line to put runners on second and third. Gutierrez grounded out to short but Figg was able to score on the play for the game’s first run.

– In the fourth, Figg hit a one out single to center and went to second on a wild pitch. Hrdlicka and Gutierrez drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. After an out, Rycraft drew another walk to force in Figg to make it 2-1 Northwest.

– Hussey led off the fifth with a walk and went to second on a wild pitch. After a pair of groundouts, Figg was hit by a pitch and Hrdlicka walked to load the bases. Gutierrez hit a double to left that drove in three runs. After a pitching change, Gutierrez scored on a Barratt single up the middle to make it 6-1 Bearcats.

– Handzlik started the seventh with a single through the left side. Figg reached on en error by the shortstop. Hrdlicka hit a two-RBI double to right and Gutierrez drove Hrdlicka in with a double to left for Northwest’s ninth run. After a wild pitch allowed Gutierrez to take third, Barratt hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Gutierrez.

– With two down in the eighth, Hrdlicka hit a double to left. Gutierrez reached on an error by the shotstop, allowing Hrdlicka to score.

Up Next
– Northwest will take on William Jewell on Tuesday, March 6, at 1 p.m. in Liberty, Mo.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University softball team split a pair of Sunday games at the Teri Mathis-Zenner Memorial Tournament in Joplin, Mo.

The Bearcats fell in the morning to McKendree University, 3-2, but rebounded to beat Rockhurst, 9-5, in the afternoon.

Northwest went 3-1 this weekend and is now 6-6 on the season.

Game One Key Statistics (McKendree 3, Northwest 2)
– Northwest scored one in the first and one in the second. McKendree had all three runs in the fifth.
– Northwest had two runs on eight hits with one error. McKendree had three runs on six hits with no errors.
– Jaedra Moses was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
– Kaitlyn Weis went 2-for-4 with an RBI double.
– Karli Allen went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
– Kiana Baderdeen was 1-for-2 and was hit by a pitch.
– Erin Keeney and Jessica Rawie each drew walks.
– Taylor Blackford threw all six innings. She allowed three runs on six hits. She had one walk and struck out two.

Game One Key Innings
– In the first with one out, Moses singled to left and scored on Wei’s RBI double to left center.

– Allen singled to lead off the second inning. After a strikeout, Baderdeen was hit by a pitch. A fielder’s choice pushed Allen to third and she came into score on a Moses infield single to third to make it 2-0 Northwest.

Game Two Key Statistics (Northwest 9, Rockhurst 5)
– The Bearcats scored five in the third and added four in the sixth. Rockhurst had one in the first and four in the sixth.
– Northwest had nine runs on 11 hits with three errors. The Hawks had five runs on seven hits with no errors.
– Keeney was 2-for-3 with four runs driven in on a grand slam in the third.
– Sydne Brashear went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run in the sixth. She scored twice.
– Baderdeen ws 2-for-3 and scored twice.
– Rebecca Maher went 1-for-3 with an RBI double.
– Moses was 1-for-4 with a run scored.
– Weis went 1-for-3 with an RBI and she scored a run.
– Rawie was 1-for-3 with a run scored.
– Abigail Gilson scored a run, going 1-for-3.
– Rachel Smith pitched 5.0 innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits. She struck out seven and walked one.
– Holly Posegate pitched the final 2.0 innings without allowing a run or a hit. She picked up one strikeout.

Game Two Key Innings
– Brashear and Baderdeen led off the sixth with back-to-back singles. After a sacrifice, Moses hit an infield single to load the bases. Weis hit a single off the pitcher to score Brashear for the game’s first run. Keeney then launched a grand slam over the right field wall for a 5-0 Northwest lead.

– With one out in the sixth, Rawie and Gilson hit back-to-back singles to center. Both moved up after a wild pitch. With a second out on the board, Brashear hit a home run to left, driving in three more runs. Baderdeen followed it with a single to center. Maher drove her in on the next at bat with a double to center.

Up Next
– Northwest will open MIAA play on Friday, March 9, against Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo., at 2 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —