Northwest Missouri State's men got back on the winning track with a 71-57 win over Central Oklahoma on the road in one of the more dangerous places to play. The Bronchoes had knocked off then-#8 Washburn earlier this year despite their sub-.500 record. But Northwest was able to put the struggles of the last two games behind them and move to 5-2 in the MIAA with the win. They are still very much in the hunt for the MIAA title.
Coach Ben McCollum made some changes following the 70-65 loss to Lincoln. He started high-energy player Tyler Funk and go-to player DeAngelo Hailey and brought Matt Wallace and Alex Sullivan off the bench. Tyler Funk made his usual assortment of hustle plays while Hailey led the scoring with 23 points and went 10 for 10 from the line. Both Wallace and Sullivan played well off the bench with Wallace providing his usual ballhandling and Sullivan hitting some critical 3-pointers. Lyle Harris, who had been a catalyst for Northwest's late rally against Lincoln, earned some playing time following that game; he played nine minutes and had 5 points, two boards, and two assists along with a steal.
Northwest beat Central Oklahoma at the boards, on the free throw line, and in the shooting column. Northwest outshot Central Oklahoma 45% to 37% from the field, made 24 free throws to UCO's 13, and outrebounded them 37-25. Northwest had been struggling from behind the arc in their two losses; however, they shot much better in Saturday afternoon's game, going 7 for 18 from downtown. Free throw shooting had been a problem for Northwest in the past; however, they shot 24 for 28 from the line. UCO struggled from the line despite the home court advantage, only shooting 13 for 25.
Northwest's big men were a big factor in the win. Kyle Schlake had seven boards in 20 minutes of work while Dillon Starzl had 14 points on 6 for 10 shooting and added three blocks. Grant Cozad was a sparkplug off the bench, getting 7 points and 10 boards in 24 minutes of work.
The game was played evenly through the first 11 minutes, but then DeAngelo Hailey hit a 3-pointer off a pass from Kyle Schlake. Dillon Starzl hit Hailey for a 3-pointer to make it 21-14. Josh Gibbs answered with a 3-pointer, but then Lyle Harris hit a layup and Tyler Funk hit a free throw to make it three possessions once again. Conner Crooker came off the bench with 1:29 left and took a pass from Lyle Harris for a 3-pointer to put Northwest up in double digits at the half at 31-20. The thing about Northwest's first two 3-pointers was that they were off passes from posts -- McCollum said in the News-Press last week that 3-pointers off of passes from the post were 15-20% more likely to go in. That is because the defenders are helping out on the post and there is a lot more breathing room for a shooter to get their feet set when the defenders are occupied.
Central Oklahoma opened the scoring in the second half with consecutive 3-pointers to make it 31-26 as Northwest gave up two offensive boards. But then Grant Cozad came off the bench and stabilized the situation for Northwest and grabbed an offensive board and hit both free throws to stop the bleeding; the lead stayed between 5 and 10 points for the next stretch. The lead stayed between 5 and 10 until UCO missed a 3-pointer and got burned at the other end as Matt Wallace hit Alex Sullivan to make it 44-33. UCO then rushed a 3-pointer and Tyler Funk then hit Dillon Starzl on the other end following a long possession to make it 46-33, Northwest's biggest lead of the game at that point. Lyle Harris then came off the bench to give Northwest another lift and he scored a 3-pointer and hit Alex Sullivan for another as Northwest went up 52-36 and the lead did not get under double digits again. Northwest made 14 straight free throws over the last five minutes to preserve the win.
DeAngelo Hailey led the scoring for Northwest with 23 points; he was 10 for 10 from the line. Dillon Starzl followed with 14 and Alex Sullivan had 8. Grant Cozad and Bryston Williams had 7 each. Lyle Harris had 5, Conner Crooker had 3 along with Kyle Schlake, and Tyler Funk had 1. Nine different Bearcats got in the scoring column in the win. All 10 Bearcats who played got at least one board, led by Cozad with 10. Kyle Schlake had 7. Tyler Funk had 5 assists, followed by Matt Wallace with 3. Dillon Starzl had 3 blocks and Matt Wallace had 3 steals.
Northwest scored 14 points off turnovers to only seven for UCO. Despite Northwest's rebounding advantage, UCO outscored Northwest 17-8 off second chance points. But Northwest outscored UCO 23-7 in bench points and 8-2 in fast break points.
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