By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Missouri Western's upset bid in Maryville came up short Saturday, as No. 3 Northwest Missouri State held off the Griffons, 70-64, at Bearcat Arena.
Missouri Western drops its fourth straight game as they fall to 8-5 on the season. The Bearcats (14-1) won their ninth straight game this season and their 17th straight against the Griffons.
"That was a really good college basketball game," Bearcats head coach Ben McCollum said after. "I thought (Missouri Western) was well prepared, especially defensively. Very tough opponent, and I can't say enough about how well they played."
Neither team led by more than four points in the first 16 minutes until the Griffons used a 9-2 run to build a nine-point lead late in the half, and eventually, Western led Northwest at halftime, 37-30.
Will Eames started the second half with a three-pointer to put the Griffs up 40-30, but then the Bearcats answered with a 23-5 run to take a 53-45 lead midway through the second half.
"I thought my kids responded in the second half," McCollum said. "Not only did they respond, but they kept responding. That's really hard to do after an emotional first half."
Missouri Western would made one last run, using a 12-3 spurt to take a 60-59 lead with just under four minutes remaining, but the Bearcats outscored the Griffons 9-3 to end the game.
The Bearcats were led by senior Ryan Hawkins, who scored 18 points. He led four Northwest players in double figures, as junior Trevor Hudgins scored 14, sophomore Wes Dreamer had 13 and junior Diego Bernard put up 12.
"We had low energy to start," Bernard said, " but Coach (McCollum) got it right at halftime, and we came out with a win. They controlled the game in the first half, and we turned the tables in the second."
Eames and Reese Glover led Missouri Western with 13 points each, while Tyrell Carroll and Q Mays added 10 points apiece.
The Griffons shot 46.0% (23-50) from the field, including 38.9% (7-18) from three, but just 57.9% (11-19) from the free throw line, and they were outrebounded 32-20.
Missouri Western remained aggressive on defense throughout, forcing Northwest into a season-high 19 turnovers.
Women's game
Northwest drained a season-high 17 three-pointers as the Bearcats defeated the Griffons, 63-49. Northwest completed a season-sweep of Missouri Western for the first time since the 2010-11 season and improved to 6-9 on the season.
Missouri Western dropped to 3-10 overall.
Missouri Western's women's team is on the road Monday, going to No. 11 Fort Hays State for a 5:30 p.m. tip against the Tigers inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.
The Bearcat men, meanwhile, are off until Tuesday when they come to St. Joseph for a rematch with the Griffons at MWSU Fieldhouse. Tip-off in that game is set for 7 p.m.
The Bearcat women don't play again until Thursday when they host Pittsburg State at 5:30 p.m.
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.
