On Thursday morning Sam Houston State named former Delaware coach K.C. Keeler its 15th football coach in program history.

That’s good news for Northwest Missouri State. There was a LOT of speculation Bearcat legend Mel Tjeerdsma was the top contender for that job.

Keeler brings an overall record of 174 victories, 73 losses and one tie as a head coach to Huntsville. His 2003 Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens squad won the FCS national championship in 2003. Delaware reached the FCS Championship Game in 2007 and 2010.

The night belonged to Northwest Missouri State senior point guard DeShaun Cooper.

The clock was ticking down to under five seconds. The Bearcats trailed by one. Cooper was one point off his career-high 31. Missouri Southern’s Lane Barlow was guarding Cooper closely.

Cooper, who used his quickness all game to drive to the basket, took one dribble in, stepped back one step and swished a 19-footer with three seconds left.

The amazingly clutch basket lifted Northwest to a heart-pumping, thrilling 79-78 victory over Southern Wednesday evening at Bearcat Arena.

“It feels great, especially when you have your family (Bearcat fans) right behind you the whole step of the way,” said Cooper, who finished with a game-high 32 points. “When you go through the things we went through and you can come back and pull games out like that, you are just proud to be a Bearcat.”

The come-from-behind win lifted Northwest to 14-5 overall and 9-1 in the MIAA.

For much of the game, it appeared Southern was going to move into first play. The Lions led by double digits in both halves. But their failure to hang on caused them to drop to 13-3 and 7-2.

The game started decently for Northwest. The Bearcats scored the first four points. Southern scored the next seven. It looked like it was going to be a game in which the two teams traded runs.

The Bearcats grabbed a 10-9 lead on a three-pointer by Cooper. The Lions answered with a layup from Slim Magee, a 6-foot-11 center who weighs only 205 pounds.

Northwest waited a few possessions to respond. It allowed Southern to build a 19-10 lead.

The Bearcats spent the rest of the first half trying to catch up and they failed. Northwest trailed 42-32 at halftime and allowed Southern to make 55 percent of its shots from the field.

“We weren’t tough enough,” said senior center Dillon Starzl. “Coach questioned our toughness at halftime and I think that really got into us. We came out and kind of played well towards the end of the second half and showed that we can play with them.

“We matched their intensity and came out with a victory.”

Initially, the second half looked more of the same. Every time the Bearcats made a push, Southern had an answer. Northwest trailed 59-48 with 12:15 left.

A pessimist might have thought this wasn’t going to be the Bearcats night, end of story.

But this is a different breed of Bearcat. The story was far from finished. With 10 minutes left, Northwest closed to 61-55 on two free throws by Cooper.

“We kept getting it to six and I was thinking we need to get a stop or something,” Starzl said. “They kept pushing it back to 10 and then we finally got the crowd into it.”

A couple of minutes later, the Bearcats drew closer on two more free throws by Cooper, making it 63-59.

Two minutes later, Northwest was within one at 66-65 on a layup by Bryston Williams.

A minute after that, Northwest took its first lead since 10-9 on a layup by Cooper, making it 67-66 with 5:13 left in the game. The 1,945 fans were into it. A fantastic finish was inevitable regardless of the winner.

“We love our fan base,” said junior forward Grant Cozad. “They have believed in us during the 6-0 stretch we have had at home. We are glad they come out and support us. There is a lot of positive energy going around.”

Both teams made plays in the final five minutes. A three-pointer by Cooper gave Northwest a 75-73 lead with 2:28 left. Barlow responded with a three-point play that put Southern back up.

With 58 seconds left, Southern took a 78-77 lead on two free throws by Jordan Talbert.

Each team had a possession and then came Cooper’s heroics. Starzl grabbed a rebound with 10 seconds left, passed the ball to Cooper and Cooper finished with a beautiful, fade-away jumper with 3 seconds left.

“I first thought he (Coach Ben McCollum) was going to call timeout,” Cooper said. “I said, yes, he didn’t call timeout. When I saw him (Barlow) on his heels, I stepped back and hit the shot.”

A shot the Cooper will remember forever.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team played much better offensively in the second half.

The Bearcats limited their turnovers, passed the ball better and attacked the basket with a purpose.

Unfortunately for Northwest, it had no answer for the inside play of Missouri Southern 6-foot-2 center Shonte Clay and 6-1 center Dominique Mosley. The two players combined for 26, second-half points, leading the Lions to an 80-74 victory over Northwest Wednesday evening at Bearcat Arena.

The loss dropped Northwest to 5-12 overall and 2-8 in the MIAA. Southern improved to 13-3 and 7-2.

Northwest coach Michael Smith was disappointed in what he saw from the Bearcats Wednesday evening.

“It started before tonight,” he said. “Unfortunately, our first 10 minutes of this game was our two hour practice (Tuesday) night. It was one of those things we didn’t have the energy we needed.

“Obviously, our focus wasn’t there. We were running plays I have never seen before in the first half. It was a shame because I have been bragging on them a lot lately because of how we’ve been playing.”

Northwest is now in must-win mode if it wants to reach the MIAA Tournament. The Bearcats have a week of practice ahead of them before they return to action Jan. 30 at Lindenwood.

“I really hope so and believe so,” Northwest guard Ariel Easton said about playing with a sense of urgency the rest of the way. “I have said from the beginning that I believe in our team. I know we all have to come together this weekend and put some things together.

“This gives us a chance to regroup and get some new things going. I really think we will come out strong.”

Southern started the second half well, breaking a halftime tie and quickly building a 40-34 lead.

Northwest fought back and actually took a 42-41 lead with 14:42 left on a three-pointer by sophomore Tember Schechinger. The Lions went back in front on an inside basket by Mosley.

Schechinger answered again with a three-pointer that put the Bearcats back in front 45-43 with 14:12 left. It was that last lead for the Bearcats. A three-point play by Southern guard Sharese Jones gave the Lions the lead for good at 46-45.

Northwest stayed within one over the next 5 minutes until the deficit grew to six at 64-58. The Bearcats never got closer than four points the rest of the way.

“Both teams played pretty poorly in the first half,” Easton said. “We came out pretty sluggish and couldn’t create or finish plays.

“The second half we came out and tried to put some more energy into it. It took us awhile to get going.”

Northwest made only six baskets and shot 29 percent from the field but went into halftime tied 29-29.

The Bearcats came up with their best offensive play in the first half in the closing seconds. Ashleigh Nelson drove to the basket and kicked it out to Monique Stevens who made a three-pointer with 1 second left, tying the game.

The rest of the first half was a struggle for the Bearcats. Shots refused to go in. A few traveling calls took away possessions.

Despite the miscues, Northwest managed to stay close because of strong defense and solid free throw shooting.

The only time it appeared the game was slipping away from the Bearcats occurred midway through the first half when they fell behind 17-11.

Northwest slowly clawed its way back and closed to 21-20. It stayed close the rest of the first half. But close is no longer good enough.

“I am absolutely frustrated,” Smith said. “This was the most disappointing loss of our 12 losses just because I felt we had turned the corner both offensively and defensively and that did not show tonight.

“We didn’t play as a team and we didn’t communicate as a team. I think it is time for a little shake up. Next practice we are going to try some new things and go from there.”

— Northwest Sports Information —