By David Boyce

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Washburn came into Bearcat Arena Saturday afternoon and forced Northwest Missouri State’s men’s basketball team to put on its hard hat and grind out its fourth straight MIAA title.

It was fitting for Northwest to win in a blue-collar fashion. The Bearcats’ 74-68 victory was the epitome of their team-first mentality over this six-year run of 20 or more win. Northwest now stands at 23-0 overall and 15-0 in the MIAA.

“We are going to see these types of games in Kansas City and wherever else we go,” said Northwest senior Zach Schneider. “It was fun. Obviously, winning by 20 is great, too. But it is great for the postseason to win like this.”

With four conference games remaining, Northwest, ranked No. 1 in the NABC coaches top 25, holds a four-game lead over second-place Central Missouri. Northwest can win the outright title on Thursday with a win at Pittsburg State or a loss by Central Missouri.

Given that Northwest has won a conference-record 27 straight MIAA regular season games, it is nearly 100 percent certain that will remain by itself atop the MIAA when the regular season ends.

“It is pretty special to go four straight,” Schneider said.

In front of 1,675 fans at Bearcat Arena, Northwest showed once again it knows how to win when shots aren’t falling through at over a 50-percent clip like the previous three games.

“I was happy with the way we responded in the second half,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “I didn’t think we played well the whole game, but we were tough enough to get the win. It was a good, fun atmosphere. I appreciate everybody’s support. Our kids just competed as hard as they could.”

After the game, a happy celebration erupted. New MIAA commissioner Mike Racy handed the regular-season trophy to the Bearcats. “We are the Champions” from Queen blared through the loudspeakers as the players cut down the nets.

For Schneider, it was the fourth time he has been able to enjoy a conference title. Senior Anthony Woods has experienced three and senior D’Vante Mosby has two.

“This means a lot and it feels so good,” Woods said. “Four in a row is crazy, just a blessing.”

By the way the first half went, it was obvious every possession in the second half was important. In the first 7 minutes of the second half, there were 10 lead changes. The 10th one gave Northwest a 46-45 lead when Schneider hit a three-pointer. Northwest never trailed again.

The Bearcats solidified the lead on a basket JustiPitts, making it 48-45.  Washburn stayed between one and three points behind until Northwest grabbed its first five-point lead of the game on at 57-52 on two free throws by Pitts with 8:48 left. Pitts finished with a game-high 22 points.

Northwest maintained a three to five-point lead over the next several minutes until the Bearcats managed to increase it to seven at 65-58 on two free throws by junior Xavier Kurth with 4:41 left.

Each little increase in the lead came from tenacious defense and a gritty, offensive-mind-set. Exemplifying that attitude was senior D’Vante Mosby who backed his way in the paint and then powered up a basket that gave Northwest a 67-60 lead with 3:08 left.

“I was just trying to do my job and the opportunity presented itself,” said Mosby, who finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.

A little less than a minute later, senior Chris-Edou Ndow hit a soft, 10-foot jumper in the free throw lane that pushed Northwest’s lead to 69-60 with 2:15 left.

“We just did us and gave a little more effort and did it better in the second half,” Mosby said. “The first half we didn’t execute our game plan. The second half we tightened up and got the result.”

And the result was Northwest’s fourth straight conference title.

“That was a postseason atmosphere,” Mosby said. “It was awesome.”

Throughout the first half, Northwest struggled on offense. In fact, it was one of the worst shooting halves of the new year. But the Bearcats’ sting defense allowed them to go into halftime tied 31-31.

Neither team went on much of a run in a half that saw nine lead changes. The biggest lead for Washburn was 5-2. Northwest held a 28-24 advantage late in the first half.

It was simply a hard-fought, defensive battle that the Bearcats needed. Northwest will have plenty of these types of games in postseason.

But first, Northwest must concentrate on the remaining four regular-season games, starting at Pittsburg State on Thursday.

“We have to take it one game at a time, stay focused and take every practice serious,” Woods said.

— Northwest Athletics —

By David Boyce

MARYVILLE, Mo. – A poor third quarter wiped away a very good first half by the Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team. That 10-minute stretch played a major role in the 87-77 loss to Washburn Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Arena.

“It was brutal, but I would be lying if I said I was surprised,” Northwest coach Scheel said. “We have done that plenty of times in the past. We just can’t put together four quarters consistently.

Northwest held a 13-point late in the second quarter and went into halftime with a 41-32 lead. Washburn scored the first two baskets in the third quarter. The first one came from senior Alyxis Bowens. It foretold of things to come. The 16 points by Bowens was the main reason Washburn outscored Northwest 27-12 in the third quarter for a 59-53 lead.

“We came out in the third quarter and I think our players thought the game was already over,” Scheel said.

The Ichabods scored the first basket in the final quarter before Northwest mounted a charge. Consecutive three-pointers by sophomore Mallory McAndrews helped the Bearcats close to 63-62. They seemingly had all the momentum in front of a large crowd. McAndrews knocked seven three-pointers and finished with a career-high 21 points.

“I felt good with what we had going,” Scheel said. “We had some good ball movement. We were getting the ball to our shooters when they were open. When we did that, we were getting great looks.”

Washburn weathered the two treys by Northwest and went on 8-0 run for a 71-62 lead. Northwest never recovered from that spurt from the Ichabods

“I thought we had some great minutes off the bench with Mallory, and Alexa Schaaf came in and hit a big shot and played good defense,” Scheel said.

In the first half, Northwest looked like a completely different team. The game started with senior Jasmin Howe knocking down a long three-pointer and that helped Northwest open an early 9-1 lead after Arbrie Benson hit a three-pointer. The trey was the theme for the Bearcats in the first half.

The Bearcats did cool down late in the first quarter and that allowed the Ichabods to take their only lead in the first half at 14-13.

Northwest wasted little time reclaiming the advantage. Two free throws by Howe followed by a Howe three-pointer gave the Bearcats an 18-14 lead. Northwest ended the first quarter with a McAndrews three-pointer that made it 21-16.

“I was feeling pretty good,” McAndrews said.

The Bearcats started the second quarter just as hot. Two free throws by Tanya Meyer and then a three-pointer by Meyer gave Northwest its first double-digit lead at 26-16. Northwest’s biggest lead came late in the second quarter when Howe made her third, three-pointer of the half, which increased the lead to 41-28.

“I thought in the first half we did a great of moving the ball against the zone and against the man, getting the ball to open people and knocking down shots,” Scheel said.

Throughout the second quarter, Washburn played a 2-3 zone because of foul trouble. Northwest found the holes in the zone and went 9 for 19 behind the arc for 47.4 percent.

“We were doing a lot of things right,” said Meyer, who finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds. “We got #32 (Bowens) into foul trouble. We didn’t let them get offensive rebounds. The first half we held them to a lot of one shot and out. We moved the ball on offense and got open looks for our shooters.”

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team improved to 6-0 on the year with a 10-6 15-inning victory over Henderson State on Friday afternoon at Clyde Berry Field in Arkadelphia, Ark.

– The Bearcats improve to 6-0 on the year while the Reddies fall to 4-1 on the year.

– Northwest’s 6-0 record ties the program’s best start, matching the 1964 and 1973 teams’ marks.

– James Holler, who finished the day 2-for-8 with two runs scored, knocked in the go-ahead run on a single to center in the 15th inning.

– Nikko Pablo worked 8.1 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the win. He allowed just five hits with three walks and five strikeouts. He retired 15-straight batters, setting the Reddies down in order from the 10th to the 13th innings.

Key Northwest Statistics
– The Bearcats scored one in the first, two in the fourth, two in the fifth, one in the eighth and four in the 15th. Henderson State scored two in the second, one in the fourth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh.

– Northwest had 10 runs on 18 hits with four errors. The Reddies scored six runs on 11 hits with one error.

– Landon Figg went 5-for-8 on the day, knocking in a pair of runs.

– Garrett Fort was 3-for-6 with a pair of runs scored and a walk.

– Kevin Handzlik was 2-for-7 with a pair of runs scored, two RBI and a walk. He hit his first home run in the fourth inning.

– Luke Hassman was 2-for-3 on the day.

– Ozzie Adams was 1-for-6 with two RBI, a run scored and a walk.

– Alixon Herrera was 1-for-5 with three walks, an RBI and a run scored.

– Jay Hrdlicka was 1-for-3 on the day

– Austin Wulff was 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored

– Logan Rycraft was 1-for-6 with a walk and a run scored. He stole a base inthe sixth inning.

– Joseph Hietpas go the start and went 5.0 innings, allowing four runs on four hits. Only three of the runs were earned.

– Austin Battaglia faced four batters and did not allow a hit or a run in relief.

Key Northwest Innings
– Fort walked to begin the game in the first and after an out, came around to score on Hererra’s double to right.

– In the foruth, Hererra walked to lead off the frame but was forced out on a Holler fielder’s choice. With one down, Handzlik launched his first homerun of the year to put give Northwest the lead, 3-2.

– In the fifth, with one down, Fort singled to center field. Adams then tallied his first homerun of the year down the left field line to extend the Bearcat advantage to 5-3.

– Wulff led off the eighth with a walk and went to third on a Hrdlicka single. Rycraft grounded out to second but Wulff was able to score on the play to tie the game, 6-6.

– In the top of the 15th inning, Rycraft walked to lead off and went to second on Fort’s sacrifice bunt. Adams was hit by a pitch but was forced out on a fielder’s choice by Herrera, allowing Rycraft to reach third. With one down, Holler singled to center, scoring Rycraft for a 7-6 lead. A Handzlik walk loaded the bases and a wild pitch with Figg at bat allowed Herrera to score from third. Figg doubled to left, scoring Handzlik and Holler to put Northwest up, 10-6.

Up Next
– The Bearcats will face Truman State on Saturday at noon in a neutral site contest in Arkadelphia, Ark.

— Northwest Athletics —