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By David Boyce

PITTSBURG, Kan. - Through most of the second half, the shots were not falling for Northwest Missouri State men's basketball team. The scoring drought caused the Bearcats to fall behind 10 points with 5:41 left against Pittsburg State.
 
It was at that moment the Bearcats showed their character. They battled back in a tough road environment and even went ahead by two points with just under 2 minutes left.
 
Northwest, though, could not close out a road win Saturday afternoon at Lance Arena.  Josiah Gustafson hit a 10-foot, baseline jumper with 7 seconds left to lift Pittsburg State to a 69-67 victory.
 
"It is definitely a really tough loss," said Northwest junior Conner Crooker, who finished with a game-high 25 points. "We fought to get back in the second half. We thought we had it at the end and they made a jump shot."
 
For Northwest, the loss snapped a six-game winning streak. The Bearcats dropped to 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA.
 
It was a good effort by the Bearcats.
 
"We don't want to just play well," Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. "We get fairly complacent playing good. If you want to win the league, you have to play great. Right now, we are just a good basketball team and that is not good enough for anyone on the team. We want to be great. It is time to step up." 
 
The Bearcats were 6-for-12 from three-point range in the first half and went ice cold behind the arc in the second half, going 2-for-11.
 
Northwest looked like it was headed for a sure loss when it fell behind 62-52 and key players like point guard Justin Pitts and center Grant Cozad each had four fouls.
 
But the Bearcats scored five quick points, three coming on a three-pointer by Pitts followed by a basket by Crooker.
 
With 3:18 left, Northwest closed to 64-62 on two free throws by Pitts. Less than a minute later, the Bearcats tied the game at 65-65 on a three-pointer by Crooker.
 
Northwest went ahead 67-65 on a basket by Pitts with 1:50 left.
 
"I was proud the way we stayed with it and competed," McCollum said. "We fought a little bit. I would like to see that sooner and play with some emotion and enthusiasm."
 
A turnover by Northwest with 1:07 left and the game tied hurt the Bearcats. After Gustafson's basket, Northwest had 7 seconds to tie the game, but had one attempt blocked and the last attempt was rushed with 1 second left.
 
Northwest also didn't do itself any favors at the free throw line. Pittsburg State went 19-for-22 from the line while Northwest finished 11-for-19.
 
"We will definitely work on our free throws," Crooker said. "We have to work on getting open and competing."
 
Northwest came out on fire from the behind the arc. The game started with Justin Pitts hitting a three-pointer. The next basket the Bearcats made was also a three-pointer by Conner Crooker, giving Northwest a 6-2 lead.
 
The advantage ballooned to 15-7 when Pittsburg State went on a 7-0 run, closing to one.
 
Thanks to the hot shooting of Crooker, the Bearcats managed to maintain the lead. Crooker was 4-for-6 on three-pointers in the first half.
 
Every time Northwest built a small cushion, Pittsburg State made a couple of stops and scored. The Gorillas tied the game at 29-29 and even took their first lead 31-29 with 15 seconds left.
 
Northwest calmly came down and sent the game into halftime tied 31-31 on a basket by Matt Wallace.