No. 3 Northwest avenges Washburn in overtime thriller, clinches 8th straight MIAA title

Feb. 21—TOPEKA, Kan. — After experiencing its only defeat earlier this season at the hands of the Ichabods in Maryville, No. 3-ranked Northwest Missouri State men's basketball took down the target of their retribution by beating No. 15 Washburn in overtime fashion, 88-85, Saturday at Lee Arena.

In the victory, Northwest (19-1) earned its eighth straight outright MIAA crown. The win also marked the Bearcats' 14th straight victory and 18th consecutive road win.

"If there's a top-five college basketball game this season at any level, that's one of them. That was fantastic, and our kids showed a lot of grit and a lot of toughness in it," Northwest head coach Ben McCollum said.

On Jan. 7, Northwest fell to Washburn (14-5) in overtime, 84-82, marking the Bearcats' first loss in more than a year and snapping Northwest's 28-game win streak.

Northwest junior Trevor Hudgins, who finished with a game-high 28 points, six assists and passed Scott Fleming for No. 5 on the program's all-time scoring list, said the Bearcats used the loss as motivation.

"We knew we didn't play to the best of our abilities. They went in there and punched us in our mouth. Then we had a month or so to fix a couple things and come out here and win it," Hudgins said.

Northwest junior Diego Bernard and sophomore Luke Waters each scored 17 points, while senior Ryan Hawkins recorded 16 points.

Washburn was led by Tyler Geiman with 20 points, while Tyler Nelson and Jalen Lewis each added 18.

Hot shooting defined this battle of top-ranked foes. Northwest made 28-of-59 (57.1%) shots from the field, while Washburn sank 31-of-54 (57.4%) from the floor.

Northwest had a one-point lead, 39-38, at the break in a first half that saw five lead changes and six ties.

"On Google, if you search a dog fight, this is what's going to come up. It's going to come up that two-hour game right there," Hudgins said. "I knew it was going to be a 40 minute battle. I knew it was going to be close."

With 1:23 to play, Hawkins sank a pair of free throws to give the Bearcats a one-point lead at 71-70.

Then, Washburn's Nelson sank of pair of free throws on the other end to give the Ichabods a one-point edge at 72-71.

Hudgins managed to draw a foul on the Bearcats's next possession, but only made one of two shots at the line, tying the game at 72-72 with 29.2 seconds remaining in the contest.

After Washburn's Connor Deffebaugh missed a shot at the buzzer, the game went into overtime.

The Bearcats never trailed in overtime, but the Ichabods tied it up two times.

"The way those kids fought and gave literally their entire soul to that game, I can't coach that. That's just the internal thing that those kids have," McCollum said. "I couldn't be more proud of them."

With 1:44 to play, Geiman hit a three-pointer to trail, 81-80. Then Bernard scored a bucket of his own with 1:09 remaining to give Northwest a three-point lead.

Bernard did it all for the Bearcats late, as he dished it to Northwest freshman Byron Alexander who scored a layup with 29.8 seconds left, extending the Bearcats' lead to 85-80.

Geiman then knocked down another three-pointer with 24 seconds left to trail 85-83.

After some free throws from Alexander, Nelson, and Hudgins, Washburn' s Levi Braun missed a three at the buzzer, sealing the Bearcats' 88-85 overtime victory which gave them the No. 1 seed for the 2021 MIAA Tournament.

Northwest finishes the regular season at home next week against Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State on Thursday and Saturday at Bearcat Arena.

Washburn women 41, Northwest 38

The Northwest Missouri State women's basketball team fell to Washburn, 41-38, Saturday at Lee Arena.

"You got to put the ball in the hole. It's basketball," Northwest head coach Austin Meyer said. "You can do a lot of things right and defend, but if you can't score, you're not going to win."

The Bearcats (7-12) had a 22-13 lead heading into the break, then the Ichabods (9-10) started the second half on a 8-0 run.

At the end of the third period, the game was knotted up at 28-28.

In the fourth quarter, Northwest freshman Caely Kesten made a layup which had the Bearcats trailing by one point, 38-39, with just under 30 seconds left.

Washburn's Hunter Bentley was fouled and sent to the free throw line where she made one shot to add to her game-high of 12 points, securing the Ichabods' 41-38 win.

Northwest senior Jaelyn Haggard led the Bearcats with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting from three-point land while Northwest senior Mallory McConkey scored eight points and had eight rebounds.

The Bearcats meet Washburn again on Tuesday to begin their last week of the regular season, with a tip set for 5:30 p.m. at Bearcat Arena.

Micaela Dea can be reached at micaela.dea@newspressnow.com.

Follow her on Twitter: @NPNowDea