By David Boyce – Northwest Athletics
TOPEKA, Kan. – Junior Joey Witthus has had some nice games in his first season at Northwest Missouri State. He picked the perfect time to have his best game Saturday afternoon against Washburn at Lee Arena.
With senior point guard Justin Pitts seeing limited action because of foot issues, Northwest needed Witthus’ season-high 22 points to beat Washburn, 58-50, in a battle for first place in the MIAA.
“We knew it was a big game, being tied with them,” Witthus said. “This is what we prepared for all year, all the preseason work. Our whole team just came together and stepped up in big moments. That is what it is about.”
Of course, Northwest’s success under Northwest coach Ben McCollum has never been predicated on one or two or three players. Senior forward Brett Dougherty delivered one of his best games of the season to help Northwest improve to 21-2 overall and 13-2 in the MIAA. Washburn dropped to 18-6 and 12-3.
“Coming into the game, we weren’t sure how much he (Pitts) was going to be able to play,” said Dougherty, who finished with 19 points. “We prepared for him not to play. A lot of our game plan was to go inside, inside-out. We feel like we have some guys who can score down low if you take our time and focus on finishing.
“It is not as pretty as when Justin is in there, and it is a little bit more of a grind, but a win is a win.”
The Bearcats started the second half with an 11-point lead and never trailed in the final 20 minutes, but they knew it was going to be difficult to come out with a road win, especially since Pitts played just 3 minutes in the second half.
“Our guys really locked in on what we needed to do to win the game rather than feeling bad for themselves because we have somebody out,” McCollum said.
“We rally the troops, say okay, next man up, we will compete and just have to be a little bit better defensively. You can still win the basketball game. I was really proud of them.”
After finishing the first half with 13 points, Washburn scored 16 points in a little over 5 minutes at the start of the second half and closed to 34-30 with 14:49 left in the game.
Washburn fans felt the momentum shift and increased their cheering to a higher volume.
The Bearcats roared back. A tough inside basket by Witthus followed by a free throw on the traditional three-point play gave Northwest a 37-30 lead. Dougherty scored on the next trip down, making it 39-30.
A nine-point cushion in a defensive tussle was huge for the Bearcats. Washburn, though, slowly cut into its deficit and closed to 42-40 with 9:26 left.
Once again, Ichabods fans sensed something special was going to happen for Washburn. Thoughts of knocking off the defending conference champion who happened to win the 2017 national championship title probably entered their minds.
Northwest knew how to respond to the pressure situation.
“We have a lot of guys who have been in big games and know it is not going to be easy,” Dougherty said. “There are going to be runs. It is about minimizing those runs and that is where that mental toughness comes in.”
The response started with a basket by Dougherty. He followed that with two free throws to give Northwest a 46-40 lead with 5:36 left.
“We just never quit,” Witthus said. “It wasn’t a perfect game. We had turnovers and not the best decisions, but we never quit, especially on defense and rebounding. Everyone came up with big plays, big rebounds and big steals and that won us the game.”
And 36 seconds later after Dougherty’s free throws, senior Chris-Ebou Ndow knocked down a guarded three-pointer at the top of the key that put Northwest up 49-40. Washburn never got closer than five points the rest of the way. Ndow finished with nine points and 10 rebounds
“That is demoralizing when somebody hits a three that was pretty well guarded,” Dougherty said. “It was a good shot. Plays like that and me hitting the free throws, there is not a lot of pressure because we know on the other end we can get a stop. It is so important to focus on the defensive end. Everything starts there.”
The versatile scoring of Witthus and great defense sent Northwest into halftime with a 24-13 lead. The Ichabods made just four of 23 shots from the field for a woeful 17 percent.
In stark contrast, Witthus was two for three from three-point range and five for eight overall for 14 points. He shot 63 percent from the field in the first half.
“It was just a matter of time before he acclimated to our system, especially defensively,” McCollum said. “When you have to compete so hard defensively, it is harder to do that. He is getting used to it, and it is why you are seeing an improvement.”
Witthus was the only player who found consistent offense in a defensive battle. Six minutes into the game, Northwest held only a 4-2 lead on baskets from Ndow and Witthus.
Washburn took its only lead at 5-4 on a three-pointer by Cameron Wiggins. Northwest quickly recaptured the lead on a power move in the paint by Dougherty.
The Bearcats solidified their lead with baskets from senior Xavier Kurth and Dougherty for a 10-5 lead. It was late in the first half when Northwest extended its lead, moving from 15-11 to 22-11. Witthus scored all seven points, starting with two free throws followed by a power move inside and then a long three-pointer.
“Even if our offense isn’t going, we need to rely on our defense and come out and fight every game,” Witthus said.
— Northwest Athletics —
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