DeShaun Cooper. Tyler Funk. Kyle Schlake. Dillon Starzl. Bryston Williams.

They left in style. In their final game ever at Bearcat Arena, they helped Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team to an impressive 89-62 victory over Southwest Baptist.

The five seniors deserve individual recognition because of the unselfish way they gave to the program throughout their years as Bearcats.

“They changed the whole culture of the program, hopefully for the future,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “Obviously, I have learned a lot from these kids and their winning attitude. I continue to learn from them.”

Cooper, Funk, Schlake, Starzl and Williams represented Northwest with class.

“Coach Mac recruits those kinds of kids, good kids but good basketball players also,” Funk said. “He recruits players with character and that goes a long ways with teamwork and chemistry on the floor.

“We want to play the right way and get after you. But we are going to play the right way within in the rules. Hopefully, we are going to come out on top.”

They came to Northwest when the Bearcats were one of the doormats in the MIAA. They worked and sacrificed to make the Bearcats the best in conference.

Northwest improved to 21-6 overall and 16-2 in the MIAA. The Bearcats have a one game lead over Central Missouri. The two teams will face each other Saturday in Warrensburg. No matter what happens Saturday, the Bearcats have at least a share of the conference title

“I just remember how far we have come since our freshman year and not making the tourney and now we have two conference championships,” Funk said.

After the game, the Bearcats cut down the nets and received a trophy to celebrate their conference title. They then had plenty of photos taken of them by parents, grandparents and friends.

“You really can’t put it into words,” Starzl said. “It has been great here at Northwest. I couldn’t ask for a better place to be at. The fans are awesome. I love support for this last game.

“It has been a fun ride, but we want to keep going. We are happy today, but tomorrow we are refocusing for our new goals for the rest of the season.”

If Northwest plays anything like it did in the opening four minutes of the second half, the Mules will be in trouble.

Northwest started the second half with a seven-point lead and it quickly jumped to double digits on a three-pointer by freshman Zach Schneider, who already plays the game in a mature manner like the seniors.

After Baptist made a three-pointer, Schneider followed with a basket, making it 45-36 in favor of Northwest.

Now the fun started and a near packed arena enjoyed every minute of it. Starzl received a pass from sophomore Conner Crooker that led to a dunk.

In the next possession, Starzl received a pass from Schneider that led to another layup, giving Northwest a 49-36 lead.

Williams then took over with two straight buckets and two free throws that increased the Bearcats lead to 55-36. The 14-0 run concluded on a sweet fade-away in the paint by Starzl.

The 21-point lead essentially put the game away. The last 14 minutes gave fans an opportunity to recognize they were watching a special group of players.

With such a big lead, each senior was able to leave the game to applause from the appreciative fans.

“That was special,” Starzl said.

The student section then stood up and chanted “Thank you seniors. Thank you seniors.”

“That gave me goose bumps,” Starzl said.

After the game, the players rushed over to the student section and thanked their peers. That display of gratitude is what college athletics should always strive to be.

Cooper finished with 24 points and Starzl added 21.

The first half was every bit as impressive for the Bearcats.

When Northwest turns it up a notch, the ride is exhilarating for Bearcat fans and demoralizing for opponents.

Baptist experienced this in the first half. At one point Baptist was up 27-19 and feeling pretty good about itself.

“I just think being the last game, we had some nerves early,” Starzl said. “We played a lot better towards the end of the first half.”

Indeed.

Baptist went into halftime down 40-33. They got a taste of the inside play of Starzl and the quickness of Cooper.

The last 3 minutes of the first half were spectacular for the Bearcats. It started with a routine two free throws by Grant Cozad that gave Northwest a 33-31 lead with 2:50 left in the first half.

Cooper followed with a three-pointer and then he made the move of the half. He drove to the basket, got into the paint and tossed the ball high off the glass, giving Northwest a 38-31.

What a special night of basketball.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Down by 11 early in the second half and looking at a potential four-game losing streak, the Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team rose up against Southwest Baptist and played inspired basketball.

Northwest started pounding the ball inside and found success, beating Baptist 76-72 Wednesday evening at Bearcat Arena.

The victory puts Northwest in the MIAA Tournament and keeps hope alive for a first-round game at Bearcat Arena.

“It is such a relief,” Northwest senior guard Monique Stevens said. “It is really nice that we have clinched it. Now we just have to play inspired basketball and look forward to Saturday.”

It was the proper send off for Stevens and senior guard Meridee Scott, who were playing their last regular-season home game. Each played a role in the second-half turnaround.

Scott, who graduated from Maryville High School, finished with 10 points, many coming at key times.

“It is sad, but exciting at the same time,” Scott said of her last regular-season home game. “We are just excited that we won. We just really wanted to get in that tournament. Winning tonight meant a whole lot for us (seniors) and our team. I am so happy we won tonight.”

For a while, it looked bleak when Northwest trailed 42-31 early in the second half. The Bearcats appeared to be in their late-season funk.

Northwest, though, started driving the ball inside and that opened up the outside enough for Stevens to hit consecutive three-pointers that turned a 44-40 deficit into a 46-44 lead with 13:30 left in the game.

“They were really important,” said Stevens, who finished with six points and three assists. “I haven’t been shooting the ball well the last three games. I knew how important it was to get my shot back. I hit the first one and it gave me a little confidence.

“Hitting the second one opened the inside presence so much more.”

Baptist grabbed two more leads over the next couple of minutes. The last was 50-49. Northwest took the lead for good at 51-50 on an inside basket by Annie Mathews.

Tember Schechinger followed that with back-to-back drives to the basket that resulted in two layups, pushing Northwest’s lead to 55-50. She finished with a team-high 16 points on six of eight shooting from the field.

The Bearcats maintained control the rest of the way because they shared the basketball, got it inside and took the least difficult shot available.

“You look down our stat line and we had more assists than turnovers,” Northwest coach Michael Smith said. “It talks about how we shared the basketball tonight. We didn’t settle.

“We had six girls in double figures. The word team is the first thing that comes to my mind when I see that stat.”

The win could not have come at a better time for the Bearcats, who improved to 10-15 overall and 7-11 in the MIAA. Northwest will conclude its regular season Saturday at Central Missouri.

Northwest will need confidence against the Jennies, who are battling for first place with Emporia State.

The Bearcats just need to play the way it did in the second half against Baptist instead of the first half.

Northwest shot 61 percent from the field in the second half and only committed five turnovers in the final 20 minutes.

“It was definitely a tale of two halves,” Smith said. “It was great. I thought our fans deserved that second-half performance. I felt in the first half we played with just enough energy to not to lose. We played a little timid and that has been the story the last couple of games.

“A lot of coaches would have went into halftime and screamed and yelled.”

Smith said he spoke in a calm manner.

“I told them you are playing really uninspired basketball,” Smith said. “It is very disappointing to me and disappointing to our fans. Our fans deserve more.

“We got 20 minutes of basketball to play. We can play like we are capable of and if we lose, I am going to be OK with it. I said if we play like we are capable of, we are probably going to win.”

The Bearcats proved Smith right.

Northwest started the game well. The Bearcats moved the ball around and got open shots. The Bearcats led to a 14-7 lead.

Unfortunately, the Bearcats couldn’t sustain it. They went cold from the field. Baptist went on a 19-4 run for a 26-18 lead.

It didn’t stop there. Northwest fell behind 34-23 before it finally regrouped and went into halftime down 36-29.

Statistically, the first half was fairly even. The difference was Baptist getting to more of the loose balls and grabbing a couple of more offensive rebounds, which led to a few more second-chance points.

— Northwest Sports Information —