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Receiving clutch plays from DeShaun Cooper and DeAngelo Hailey down the stretch, No. 22 Northwest Missouri State pulled out a hard-earned 78-74 win over Pittsburg State Saturday at John Lance Arena.
The Bearcats (18-3, 11-3) were able to battle back from a six-point second half deficit after giving up a nine-point first half lead.
Northwest took the lead for good on a pair of free throws by Hailey with 3:17 left.
He hit a three on Northwest's next trip on a kick-out from Cooper to make it 67-62.
Cooper scored each of Northwest's next two baskets to prop Northwest's lead back to four.
Pitt again came within two and had a chance to tie or take the lead, but Jake Reinders rejected Andra's Bailey's layup attempt with 37 seconds left.
The Bearcats prevented Pitt from ever having a chance to tie again by connecting on 7-8 of free throws. Cooper made 5-6 and finished with a game-high 19 points along with eight assists. He had 16 points in the second half.
"Down the stretch we kind of put the ball in DeShaun's hands and let him create," said Northwest Missouri State head coach Ben McCollum. "He did a good job of making the right decision, making good passes, going to the free throw line."
Northwest extended its win streak to four and remained a half-game back of Central Missouri (16-4, 12-3) for first place in the MIAA.
The Bearcats also clinched their first MIAA Tournament berth since 2007-2008.
"I'm baffled we won that game," said McCollum. "We didn't play great until the last four or five minutes. What you got to do is steal a few. We did tonight. We just believed we were going to win in the last five minutes."
Northwest was out rebounded 39-28 and committed 22 turnovers, but the Bearcats also forced 22 turnovers, made 10-24 (41.7 percent) three-pointers and went 26-33 (78.8 percent) from the foul line.
Hailey made all five of his free throw attempts and 4-7 three's to finish with 17 points.
Justin Clark was also 4-7 from three and finished with 15 points.
"They really packed it in the paint and we penetrated and were able to get pretty good looks from the outside," said McCollum.
Senior post Jake Reinders added 10 points, while Bryston Williams chipped in eight and was 5-6 at the foul line.
Pitt State (12-10, 8-7) also had four in double-figures, while shooting close to 42 percent from the field, 6-14 from three and 24-33 at the foul line. The Gorillas became the first team outside of Southern or Fort Hays to score more than 70 on Northwest in a regulation game.
Receiving clutch plays from DeShaun Cooper and DeAngelo Hailey down the stretch, No. 22 Northwest Missouri State pulled out a hard-earned 78-74 win over Pittsburg State Saturday at John Lance Arena.
The Bearcats (18-3, 11-3) were able to battle back from a six-point second half deficit after giving up a nine-point first half lead.
Northwest took the lead for good on a pair of free throws by Hailey with 3:17 left.
He hit a three on Northwest's next trip on a kick-out from Cooper to make it 67-62.
Cooper scored each of Northwest's next two baskets to prop Northwest's lead back to four.
Pitt again came within two and had a chance to tie or take the lead, but Jake Reinders rejected Andra's Bailey's layup attempt with 37 seconds left.
The Bearcats prevented Pitt from ever having a chance to tie again by connecting on 7-8 of free throws. Cooper made 5-6 and finished with a game-high 19 points along with eight assists. He had 16 points in the second half.
"Down the stretch we kind of put the ball in DeShaun's hands and let him create," said Northwest Missouri State head coach Ben McCollum. "He did a good job of making the right decision, making good passes, going to the free throw line."
Northwest extended its win streak to four and remained a half-game back of Central Missouri (16-4, 12-3) for first place in the MIAA.
The Bearcats also clinched their first MIAA Tournament berth since 2007-2008.
"I'm baffled we won that game," said McCollum. "We didn't play great until the last four or five minutes. What you got to do is steal a few. We did tonight. We just believed we were going to win in the last five minutes."
Northwest was out rebounded 39-28 and committed 22 turnovers, but the Bearcats also forced 22 turnovers, made 10-24 (41.7 percent) three-pointers and went 26-33 (78.8 percent) from the foul line.
Hailey made all five of his free throw attempts and 4-7 three's to finish with 17 points.
Justin Clark was also 4-7 from three and finished with 15 points.
"They really packed it in the paint and we penetrated and were able to get pretty good looks from the outside," said McCollum.
Senior post Jake Reinders added 10 points, while Bryston Williams chipped in eight and was 5-6 at the foul line.
Pitt State (12-10, 8-7) also had four in double-figures, while shooting close to 42 percent from the field, 6-14 from three and 24-33 at the foul line. The Gorillas became the first team outside of Southern or Fort Hays to score more than 70 on Northwest in a regulation game.
Pitt State's Eric Ray scored 19 points to share game-high honors with Cooper. Courtney Ingram finished with 15 points on 5-8 shooting. Bailey had 14 points and nine rebounds. Marky Nolen added 10 and was 6-6 at the foul line.
The Gorillas never led during the first half but tied it once at 25.
Northwest let go of an early 8-0 lead but recovered it with 2:17 left in the half.
Pitt whittled it back down to 35-33 at the half.
Two free throws by Nolen gave Pitt its first lead with 13:24 left. The Gorillas went up six at the 8:50 mark.
The Bearcats return home as they host Lincoln on Wednesday night at Bearcat Arena. Four of the Bearcats final six games are at Bearcat Arena.
