Story Headlines- The Northwest Missouri State men's basketball team held off William Jewell, 91-85, Friday night in St. Joseph, Mo.
- The Bearcats improved to 2-1 on the season. This was the first contest of the season for the Cardinals.
- Freshman guard
Justin Pitts scored a game-high 29 points.
- Four Bearcats scored in double figures.
Northwest Headlines- Northwest shot 55 percent from the field (32-for-58).
- The Bearcats were 24-for-27 from the charity stripe, good for 88.9 percent.
- Pitts hit 11-of-15 shots from the field and was 7-for-7 from the free throw line. He added four assists and two steals.
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Grant Cozad added 24 points, going 8-for-12 from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. He also brought down a team-high seven rebounds.
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Conner Crooker tallied 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting, six rebounds, and recorded the only block for the Bearcats.
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Matt Wallace contributed 11 points, five assists, and four boards.
- The Bearcats committed only seven turnovers, compared to 13 by the Cardinals.
- Northwest scored 46 of their points in the paint, while William Jewell tallied only 32.
- After trailing by seven at halftime, the Bearcats hit 19-of-25 shots (76 percent) in the second half and held the Cardinals to 45.7 percent shooting (16-for-35) in the second period.
Key Sequence- Jordan Lewis hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give William Jewell a 42-35 lead going into the break.
Grant Cozad scored four straight points coming out of the locker room, followed by a jumper by
Matt Wallace after a pass from Cozad. The two sides went back-and-forth for several possessions until Northwest took the lead when Cozad hit a layup and the ensuing free throw with 10 minutes to play. Layups by
Justin Pitts on the next two drives extended the Bearcat lead to three. William Jewell kept it close with clutch three-pointers, but Crooker and Pitts went a combined 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the final minute to put the game away.
Up Next- The Bearcats will play Rockhurst University in a neutral site contest Saturday (Nov. 22) in St. Joseph, Mo. The game is a part of the Hillyard Tip-off Classic and will begin at 5 p.m.
