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By David Boyce

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A little over 2 minutes left and the game tied, Northwest Missouri State men's basketball saw its goal of winning the MIAA Tournament slowly disappear on a three-point bomb by Pittsburg State junior Trey Starks.
 
"With the shot clock running down, that was a dagger," Pittsburg State coach Kevin Muff said.
 
A minute later, Trevor Gregory grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in, giving the Gorillas a five-point lead.
 
"That was a tough one," Northwest coach Ben McCollum said.
 
Those two plays gave Pittsburg State a five-point lead with 1:23 left. The Bearcats never recovered and lost for the first time in 11 games, falling 65-58 to Pittsburg State Saturday afternoon in the MIAA semifinals at Municipal Auditorium.
 
"Obviously, a shot like that is going to affect us, but I told the guys to keep believing and keep fighting no matter what happens," said Northwest senior Grant Cozad. "It was a hard fought game. I wish we could have had it."
 
Despite the disappointment of the loss, Northwest, 23-6, has plenty to play for next weekend. The Bearcats will likely receive a bid into the NCAA Division II tournament and play in the Central regional.
 
"We will start focusing on it as soon as possible," said junior Conner Crooker, who finished with 15. "We fought hard. We just have to move on."
 
For the Gorillas, 19-11, they probably have to win the MIAA Tournament to reach regional. They definitely played with that type of urgency against Northwest.
 
"Our team persevered in a roller coaster type of game," Muff said. "Our players responded well, probably against the best coached team in the conference as far as executing what they do."
 
Even with the five-point lead and 83 seconds left, Pittsburg needed to hit its free throws down the stretch to secure the win. The Gorillas did, going 8-for-8.
 
The game was so closely contested that two plays made all the difference. There were seven lead changes and eight times the game was tied.
 
"We had a good game plan and got the looks we wanted," McCollum said.
 
The last tie came with 4:21 on a three-pointer by Crooker. Northwest, though, struggled from beyond the arc, going 5 for 18.
 
Over the next few minutes, defense ruled until Starks hit the trey with 2:30 left that spurred Pittsburg to victory.
 
"It is not what we designed," Muff said. "Sometimes you have to go and make a play."
 
Freshman Justin Pitts led Northwest with 23 points.
 
Northwest went into halftime with a slim 28-26 lead. The first half had the intensity of the final 20 minutes of a national championship game. Nearly every basket was contested, but the Gorillas still shot 50 percent from the field and Northwest 45 percent.
 
The Gorillas took the early lead at 10-6. Over the next 7 minutes, Northwest clawed to an 18-13 lead. The Bearcats maintained a narrow lead the rest of the first half.