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By David Boyce
 
WARRENSBURG, Mo. ­- In a game that rapidly turned into a defensive battle in the second half, Northwest Missouri State men's basketball team lost one key component to combat that style of play.
 
Freshman point guard Justin Pitts hurt his right ankle with about 17 minutes left in the game. The Bearcats lost a player who could break down a defense with his quickness and dribble and keep the defense honest with a three-pointer.
 
Northwest continued to battle and even took several leads throughout the remainder of the game, but couldn't sustain it, falling 66-61 to Central Missouri Saturday afternoon at the Multipurpose Building.
 
"I still think we had a chance to win the game regardless," Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. "If we just didn't make so many mental errors, letting kids out of our ball screen coverage. We had a turnover that led to a layup.
 
"Just so many mistakes you can't have on the road, especially without Justin. We didn't have him, but that is no excuse to lose."
 
The loss dropped the Bearcats to 13-4 overall and 6-3 in the MIAA. Central Missouri improved to 15-3 and 6-3.
 
The outcome makes it clear that it will be a dogfight for first place in MIAA. At the start of action Saturday, eight teams in the MIAA had two or three losses in conference.
 
A dogfight is the best way to describe Saturday's game between Northwest and Central Missouri.
 
When Pitts left the game, Northwest trailed 41-38. Pitts, who finished with 16 points, re-entered the game, but the ankle injury was too painful for him to stay in.
 
"He was rolling," McCollum said of Pitts. "They had no answer for him."
 
Still, the Bearcats fought back and took a 44-43 lead on two free throws by Conner Crooker with 11:52 left.
 
The Bearcats clung to a slim lead for the next several minutes until Central Missouri went back in front 50-48. Northwest went right back in front 51-50 on a three-pointer by Zach Schneider.
 
Northwest's last lead was 55-54 on two free throws by Grant Cozad. Central Missouri senior Rakeem Dickerson took over. A driving basket gave the Mules a 56-55 lead. TJ White followed with a basket and then Dickerson put the game away with a steal and a layup that gave Central Missouri a 60-55 lead.
 
The first half was close throughout. Central's biggest lead came early at 9-4. Northwest's biggest advantage came late at 33-28 and that allowed the Bearcats to take a slim 36-35 lead into halftime.
 
The play of Pitts and Crooker was important for the Bearcats. They combined to score 24 points.
 
Coming up big for Central Missouri was forward Brennen Hughes, who scored11 points in the first half on 5 of 6 shooting from the field.