The Northwest Missouri State baseball team used a pair of home runs to outlast Quincy, 10-9, Tuesday afternoon in Maryville.

The Bearcats improve to 9-11 on the year, while the Hawks saw their record slip to 7-5.
Batting leadoff for the first time this season, left fielder Kolby Greenslade finished the day 3-for-5 with two runs and four RBI, all coming on a grand slam, his first home run on the year.

Kevin Handzlik only had one hit, but he made it count. The freshman crushed his first collegiate home run over the left field fence in the fourth inning.

Paul Johnson reached base four times and laid down a sacrifice bunt in his other at bat, going 3-for-3 with a double and one run scored, while Steven Garber drove in three runs on two hits while scoring two runs of his own. The 6-foot-6 senior now has 17 RBI on the year, second on the team.

Rob Henrichs earned his first win of the year after inducing three straight ground balls in the eighth.

Carson Smith picked up his fifth save when he came in to close out the ninth. The senior struck out one and picked off a baserunner to record the final out.

Northwest Missouri State will host Fort Hays State for a four game MIAA series over the weekend, March 20-22. The teams will open play on Friday in a single game starting at 2 p.m. First pitch for Saturday’s doubleheader will be 1 p.m. and the series finale is scheduled for Sunday at noon.

— Northwest Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team defeated Augustana College, 66-65, Sunday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Northwest moves to 25-6 overall while Augustana ends the season at 31-3. The 25 wins is the most in coach McCollum’s career.

Augustana was the region’s top seed and the nations No. 2 ranked team. The Vikings were serving as host for the Central Regional Tournament.

Augustana scored the first nine points of the game and midway through the first half, the Bearcats fell behind, 23-13.  But Northwest found Connor Crooker for a three and forced a Viking turnover on the next possession. Matt Wallace found Grant Cozad for a jumper to cut the lead to 23-18. After a steal from Zach Schneider, Wallace again found Cozad for a contested jumper to make it 23-20.

Northwest came out of the locker room down by eight but erased the deficit in an efficient 4 minute and 23 second run which included four three pointers, three coming from Schneider and one from Justin Pitts. After an Augustana free throw, Brett Dougherty gave Northwest its first lead of the game, 43-42, converting a layup.

After building an eight point lead midway through the second half, Augustana went on a 13-2 run to take a 59-56 lead with 6:15 left in the second half. After a nearly three minute scoring drought by both teams, Dougherty converted a layup with 3:16 left to bring Northwest to within one, 59-58.

Down by one with just over a minute to play, Crooker created space on a drive and hit a pull up jumper in the lane to give Northwest a 60-59 lead, prompting an Augustana timeout. The Vikings would miss a three pointer on the next possession but got the offensive rebound but again failed to convert as Northwest continued to lead, 60-59, with 39 seconds.

Justin Pitts hit two free throws with 28 seconds remaining to give Northwest a 62-59 lead. But the Vikings again collected an offensive rebound off a missed three pointer and converted to make the score 62-61 in favor of the Bearcats. Pitts again knocked down a pair of free throws to make the cushion three again, 64-61 with 15 seconds left.

Augustana’s Spencer Jordan hit a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left to bring the game to within one, 64-63, but Pitts was able to get free and was again fouled. After hitting both free throws, Northwest held a 66-63 lead. Alex Richter collected his sixth rebound on a missed three pointer and scored a layup with one second remaining but Northwest alertly threw the inbounds down the floor and time expired, giving the Bearcats a 66-65 victory.

Justin Pitts had a game-high 22 points, going 7-of-14 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. It was his seventh game with 20 or more points.

After scoring just three points in the first half, Zach Schneider found the range from long distance, knocking down four long range buckets in the second half to finish the game with 15 points.

Dougherty finished the game with 11 points, Matt Wallace set a career high with nine rebounds, scoring six points with six assists and three steals, while Conner Crooker had eight points with five rebounds and two assists.

Northwest will play Minnesota State-Moorhead on Tuesday, March 17, at 7 p.m. in the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.  Moorhead defeated the Bearcats in the season opener back on November 14, 75-66.

— Northwest Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State baseball team used a four-run fifth inning to come from behind and defeat Nebraska Kearney, 7-5, Sunday afternoon in Maryville.

The two teams split their four-game series as the Bearcats improve their record to 8-11 overall and 6-6 in the MIAA. The Lopers fall to 14-9 this season and 8-4 in conference play.

Nikko Pablo started the game for Northwest and earned the win, while senior Carson Smith came in to throw three scoreless innings in relief to earn a save.

Paul Johnson finished 3-for-3 with two RBI and one run scored, Steven Garber also drove in two runs after connecting with a pair of singles, while Austin Wulff hit his third home run of the season, finishing 1-for-4.

The Bearcats will play the first game of a home-and-home series with the Quincy Hawks on Tuesday in Maryville. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.

— Northwest Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team beat Minnesota State, 59-56, on Saturday evening in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Sioux Fall, South Dakota.

The Bearcats trailed by as many as 14 in the second half before rallying for the three point win.

This is the second straight year the Northwest and the Mavericks have met in the NCAA Tournament. Northwest beat Minnesota State last season in the second round in Mankato, Minn., 71-66.

Minnesota State’s Zach Monaghan hit a layup with four seconds left in the first half to put the Mavericks up by 14, 36-22. But alertly, Northwest inbounded the ball quickly and Justin Pitts launched a three-quarter court shot that hit the backboard and found the bottom of the net. The play was upheld on video review and Northwest went into the locker room down, 36-25.

Three minutes into the second half, Northwest found itself down, 41-27. But The Bearcats responded with a tough 15-4 run to cut the deficit all the way down to three, 45-42, with 10 minutes left to play. Matt Wallace had a couple of defensive stops and hit a couple of tough shots. Lyle Harris found room down the lane and hit two big layups, including an and one. Pitts capped the run with a layup after in the lane for his 24th point.

With 5:50 left in the game, Northwest tied the game, 51-51, on a Connor Crooker layup. The Mavericks took their final lead of the game with 5:07 left on a free throw, 53-51, before Lyle Harris hit a free throw, recorded a steal and hit a layup to put Northwest up by one, 54-53. After a layup from Pitts gave Northwest a 56-53 lead, MSU got a layup from Assem Marei with 38 seconds left. With 16 seconds left, Matt Wallace was called for his fifth foul, sending Monaghan to the line. After hitting the first to tie the game, Monaghan missed the second one. Northwest called a timeout and on the ensuing possession, Crooker drove to his left and hit a contested layup with two seconds left. Minnesota State threw the inbounds pass away and had to foul Harris, who hit one-of-two to give the Bearcats a 59-56 lead. As the buzzer sounded, the Mavericks lifted a three-quarter court shot, similar to Pitts’ halftime shot, but the ball hit the back board, fell to the rim and bounced away.

Pitts tied a career high with 29 points on 13-of-21 shooting. He was 3-of-7 from beyond the arc.  Lyle Harris scored 12 points off the bench and was 4-of-7 from the charity stripe, while Conner Crooker played all 40 minutes, scoring eight points on 4-of-9 shooting with a team-high six rebounds.

Northwest will play top-seeded and host Augustana Sunday in the NCAA Tournament second round at 7:30 p.m. inside the Sanford Pentagon at Sioux Falls.

— Northwest Sports Information —