Box Score
MARYVILLE, Mo.-Northwest Missouri State forward Hunter Henry scored a team-high 18 points to lead the Bearcats to a 75-72 win against Pittsburg State Saturday at Bearcat Arena. Henry surpassed the 1,500 career point mark in the process, becoming the sixth Northwest player to do so and the second with 1,500 points and 750 career rebounds.
Henry, a senior, shared the spotlight Saturday with freshman guard Jake Petersen, who scored a career-high nine points all in the second half, including six in the final minute.
With Northwest trailing by one in the final minute, Petersen drilled a three-pointer from the corner, was fouled and completed the four-point play to give Northwest a 72-69 lead. He scored the final points of the game on a fast-break layup with eight seconds remaining. Carlos Taylor missed a chance to tie for Pittsburg State and Mike Larsen pulled down the rebound to seal the win.
The victory ends a three-game losing streak for the Bearcats (10-12, 5-10 MIAA) and keeps the team within reach of an MIAA tournament bid. Northwest currently stands 1.5 games behind Missouri Western for the eighth and final spot. The Bearcats have qualified for 17 consecutive MIAA tournaments.
Pittsburg State (9-13, 4-11) falls a game behind Northwest in 10th place in the standings. Northwest currently owns the tiebreaker over the Gorillas.
Taylor, the leading scorer in conference play, posted a game-high 20 Saturday. Rodney Grace and Spencer Magana added 17 points each for Pittsburg State.
The Gorillas shot nearly 56 percent from the field - their best effort in eight games - but committed 21 second-half fouls. After going 1-of-4 from the free-throw line in the first half, Northwest was 26-of-31 in the second half.
Grace was called for a technical foul with 1:48 remaining and with Pittsburg State in possession of the ball and a 69-66 lead. Edriss Floyd made both technical free throws, and following a Pittsburg State miss, Petersen gave the Bearcats the lead for good with his four-point play.
It was the first second-half comeback in nine tries this season for Northwest, which trailed 31-28 at the break. The Gorillas led by nine near the midway point of the second half.
Henry scored the game''s first four points, but missed the final 12 minutes of the first half after picking up two fouls. He played all 20 minutes of the second half where he had 14 points.
