By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
MARYVILLE -
The No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State men's basketball team has reached the MIAA Tournament championship game yet again with a 102-74 rout of No. 5-seeded Central Oklahoma at Bearcat Arena in Friday's semifinal round.
Northwest (23-1) won its nation-leading 18th straight game, their 17th consecutive MIAA Tournament game and they've reached their 16th MIAA championship game - a league record.
"That says a lot about the program and the culture we've established," head coach Ben McCollum said. "The kids that we have are consistently able to get themselves up for games. We take everyone's best shot, and this is when that pays off. We're used to championship-type games, because every game is a championship for everybody else."
Northwest is now seeking its its fifth straight MIAA tournament title.
"I think it goes to show how special of a group this is," said senior Ryan Hawkins. "From the coaches to the managers. Everyone is invested and put in the work. We went through a whole preseason, not knowing if we'd have a season. So, I think it goes back to the prep we were doing in August and September, without even knowing if we would have a season."
Hawkins recorded the tournament's first-ever triple-double with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
"He was pretty impressive," McCollum said of Hawkins. "Just rebounding wise, defending and being able to share the basketball which is something he works on a lot. Offensively, I think we're sharing the ball a lot better."
Junior Trevor Hudgins dropped in 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-5 from three-point range.
"I think it goes to show the weapons we have around us," Hawkins said of Hudgins' performance. "It was fun. I think we're starting to find our rhythm offensively. Today, we took great shots all game long."
The Bearcats shot 60.0% for the game - marking the fourth straight game they have shot 60% or better.
Northwest will now play Washburn for the MIAA tournament title on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Bearcat Arena.
The Ichabods (18-6) beat Missouri Western in the other semifinal Friday, 101-72. Washburn handed Northwest its lone loss of the season - an 84-82 defeat in overtime back on Jan. 7 in Maryville.
The Bearcats returned the favor, beating Washburn in an equally entertaining rematch, 88-85, in overtime in Topeka on Feb. 20.
This will be the third time in four years that the MIAA tournament title will be settled between Washburn and Northwest.
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.