No. 1 Northwest routs Nebraska-Kearney, celebrates 8th straight MIAA crown

Feb. 26—MARYVILLE, Mo. — No. 1 Northwest Missouri State men's basketball went on its best scoring run in the opening minutes against Nebraska-Kearney and never looked back Thursday at Bearcat Arena.

Northwest secured its 20th win of the season with a 95-59 victory over the Lopers, marking the 10th consecutive season the Bearcats have reached 20 or more victories.

After clinching its eighth straight MIAA crown last Saturday, the Bearcats celebrated by cutting down the nets after their defeat over the Lopers.

"They work hard for this, and there's probably nothing better in college basketball than cutting down the nets just in regards to a tradition. I was glad they got the opportunity to do that and we celebrated it three times essentially," Northwest head coach Ben McCollum said. "Celebrated it at Emporia, celebrated it at Washburn, now you celebrate it again, so it makes it pretty fun for our kids and they deserve that."

For Northwest junior Diego Bernard, the moment at the top of the ladder always feels special.

"It just feels like the world stops for a second," Bernard said. "We just go up knowing not everybody gets to do this, knowing that it's a privilege to get to cut down nets."

The Bearcats put on an offensive showcase to take down the Lopers, shooting 67.8% from the floor, 54.5% from deep and 100% from the line.

Bernard finished with a game-high 21 points, seven assists, six rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.

The junior went 9-of-13 from the field, which featured 3-of-5 from three-point range.

"Naturally, he's able to play off of people and people are able to play off of him as well and so that really helped our offense now next game it might not be him," McCollum said. "Next game it might be somebody else so I think as long as we continue to keep it simple like we did tonight, I think we'll be good."

Northwest sophomore Luke Waters had 15 points, going 6-of-7 from the field and was a perfect 3-of-3 from deep.

Northwest senior Ryan Hawkins was 6-of-9 from the field with 14 points, and junior Trevor Hudgins added 14 points.

Making 12 of their first 14 shots, the Bearcats had a 27-6 lead early on, and pushed to a 48-20 lead at the break.

"We're fighters. We might start slow and then we come back. We might start hot, just know that we're not going to quit. We just try to bring energy to every game that we play and we look forward to the next one," Bernard said.

The Bearcats continued their dominance in the second half, leading by as much as 40 points at 89-49.

Northwest competes in its regular season finale against Fort Hays State Saturday at Bearcat Arena, tip at 3:30 p.m. following the women's contest.

Nebraska-Kearney women 53, Northwest 50

Northwest Missouri State women's basketball team came close late, but eventually fell short to top-ranked Nebraska-Kearney by falling 53-50 to the Lopers Thursday at Bearcat Arena.

"We fought. I was proud of our team," Northwest head coach Austin Meyer said. "We missed some easy ones late, but I was just proud of the effort."

The top-ranked MIAA scoring defense held Northwest to 38.8% from the field and 27.3% from distance, as the Lopers shot 42.3% from the floor and 7-of-12 (58.3%) from deep.

The Lopers entered the break with a 24-19 lead over Northwest.

Northwest freshman Molly Hartnett stepped up in the second half for the Bearcats, scoring eight of her team-high 19 points in the third quarter. The Bearcats trailed 37-31 with one quarter to play.

"We came out and competed. Coach Meyer said all week we've got nothing to lose, so we came out and gave it our all," Hartnett said.

The two squads continued to trade baskets until Northwest senior Mia Stillman knocked down a three to force a Nebraska-Kearney timeout with 55.1 seconds remaining as the Bearcats trailed 51-48.

Then Nebraska-Kearney's Trinity Law made two free throws with 10.2 seconds left to give the Lopers the five-point advantage.

Hartnett made a layup, but it wasn't enough as the Lopers secured the 53-50 win.

Hartnett led the Bearcats with 19 points, while Northwest senior Mallory McConkey tallied 12 to go along with three assists. Stillman pulled down a team-high six rebounds.

Northwest competes in its regular season finale against Fort Hays State Saturday at Bearcat Arena, tip set for 1:30 p.m.

Local Videos

2:00

The Worlds A Little Blurry

The Worlds A Little Blurry

* Updated

1 hr ago

1:12

Changing Of The Guard

Changing Of The Guard

* Updated

1 hr ago

2:11

UMKC School Of Medicine St Joseph Underway

UMKC School Of Medicine St Joseph Underway

* Updated

1 hr ago