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Washburn might have had an easier time climbing Mt. Everest than trying to climb the hill against Northwest Missouri State Wednesday at Lee Arena.
No matter how tight it got, the Bearcats adamantly refused to let go of the lead in the second half and held off Washburn 70-63 for its biggest road win of the year.
Northwest (15-3, 9-3) completed the season sweep of Washburn and maintained a hold of first place with Central Missouri (13-4, 9-3) which knocked off Missouri Southern.
"That was an MIAA special right there," said Northwest Missouri State head coach Ben McCollum. "That was an all-out battle. It was a physical, fun, tough game. Obviously, it's that much better because we won."
Northwest played from in front the entire way in the second half, even after having a 10-point lead cut to one on two occasions.
Washburn had four chances to tie or take the lead, including two from the foul line, but failed to convert.
Washburn's Jeff Reid missed the third of three free throws that would've tied it at 57. On Washburn's next trip, Jared Henry missed a three that would've given them a two-point lead.
With 1:07 left, Bobby Chipman missed the second of two free throws that would've tied it at 64.
Northwest worked the clock down, and DeShaun Cooper delivered a pass to Jake Reinders who was fouled with 34.6 seconds left.
He made both free throws to give Northwest a 66-63 lead.
Henry missed a tying three-point attempt, but the Ichabods got the ball back out of bounds with 13 seconds left.
After a timeout, Northwest's Alex Sullivan stole the inbounds pass and the Bearcats knocked down four straight free throws to put it away.
"That was a big-time play right there," said McCollum. "Our defense held up long enough to get the win."
Against the MIAA's No. 1 ranked field goal percentage defense, the Bearcats shot 20-38 (52.6 percent) from the field.
They also made 7-16 (43.8 percent) three's and were 23-29 (79.3 percent) from the foul line after a 5-9 start.
Reinders and DeAngelo Hailey combined to go 15-17 from the foul line.
Reinders, who led the Bearcats with 16 points and eight rebounds, made six straight in the last five minutes.
"He was great all the way around," said McCollum. "After he had his big game, he kind of started pressing a little bit to score and wasn't focusing on the things he needed to. Tonight, he was really locked in on his strengths which are effort and relentless attitude."
Washburn might have had an easier time climbing Mt. Everest than trying to climb the hill against Northwest Missouri State Wednesday at Lee Arena.
No matter how tight it got, the Bearcats adamantly refused to let go of the lead in the second half and held off Washburn 70-63 for its biggest road win of the year.
Northwest (15-3, 9-3) completed the season sweep of Washburn and maintained a hold of first place with Central Missouri (13-4, 9-3) which knocked off Missouri Southern.
"That was an MIAA special right there," said Northwest Missouri State head coach Ben McCollum. "That was an all-out battle. It was a physical, fun, tough game. Obviously, it's that much better because we won."
Northwest played from in front the entire way in the second half, even after having a 10-point lead cut to one on two occasions.
Washburn had four chances to tie or take the lead, including two from the foul line, but failed to convert.
Washburn's Jeff Reid missed the third of three free throws that would've tied it at 57. On Washburn's next trip, Jared Henry missed a three that would've given them a two-point lead.
With 1:07 left, Bobby Chipman missed the second of two free throws that would've tied it at 64.
Northwest worked the clock down, and DeShaun Cooper delivered a pass to Jake Reinders who was fouled with 34.6 seconds left.
He made both free throws to give Northwest a 66-63 lead.
Henry missed a tying three-point attempt, but the Ichabods got the ball back out of bounds with 13 seconds left.
After a timeout, Northwest's Alex Sullivan stole the inbounds pass and the Bearcats knocked down four straight free throws to put it away.
"That was a big-time play right there," said McCollum. "Our defense held up long enough to get the win."
Against the MIAA's No. 1 ranked field goal percentage defense, the Bearcats shot 20-38 (52.6 percent) from the field.
They also made 7-16 (43.8 percent) three's and were 23-29 (79.3 percent) from the foul line after a 5-9 start.
Reinders and DeAngelo Hailey combined to go 15-17 from the foul line.
Reinders, who led the Bearcats with 16 points and eight rebounds, made six straight in the last five minutes.
"He was great all the way around," said McCollum. "After he had his big game, he kind of started pressing a little bit to score and wasn't focusing on the things he needed to. Tonight, he was really locked in on his strengths which are effort and relentless attitude."
Northwest finished with five players in double-figures.
Kyle Haake scored 14 first-half points and added 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Hailey also had 14 points and grabbed six boards.
Sullivan scored 12 off the bench and hit a couple timely three-pointers. Cooper had 11, nine coming in the second half.
Washburn shot 38 percent from the field and 5-16 from three.
Junior guard Will McNeill led all scorers with 24 points. Bobby Chipman was the only other Ichabod in double-figures with 11.
The Ichabods led 7-1 at the first media timeout, but the Bearcats surged into the lead with a 14-0 run.
Washburn (13-6, 7-4) would regain leads of 30-28 and 32-31, but Cooper sent Northwest to the half with a one-point lead it wouldn't relinquish.
