Story Headlines- The Northwest Missouri State men's basketball team withstood a late rally to knock off Washburn on the road, 62-56.
- 1493 fans were in attendance inside Lee Arena in Topeka, Kan.
- The Bearcats improve to 11-5 this season and remain tied atop the MIAA standings at 8-3. The Ichabods, meanwhile, fall to 10-6 overall and 6-5 against conference foes.
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Anthony Woods led the team with 16 points.
- The Bearcats jumped out to a 26-7 lead midway through the first half.
Key Northwest Statistics-
Conner Crooker chipped in 15 points and three assists. The senior scored 11 of his points after intermission, helping the Bearcats maintain the lead.
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Zach Schneider knocked down three long-range shots in the first half, finishing with nine points, three rebounds and one block.
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Chris-Ebou Ndow corralled a career-high 11 rebounds. The sophomore added five points and two assists on offense.
- Sophomore
Brett Dougherty fought for nine points and five rebounds.
- Woods added six rebounds and three dimes.
- Northwest held the Ichabods to 35 percent shooting on the day (21-for-60). The Bearcats knocked down 46.9 percent of their shots (23-of-49).
- The Bearcats were dominant in the paint, outscoring Washburn 38-20 while blocking four shots.
- Northwest grabbed 10 more rebounds than the Bods, 41-31.
Key Northwest Sequences- The Bearcats took control of the game early on, scoring nine of the first 11 points. After Washburn dropped in a bucket on its first possession,
Zach Schneider quickly answered with a three-pointer from the left corner.
Anthony Woods laid in a basket with the right hand on the next possession.
Chris-Ebou Ndow followed with emphatic slam after
Brett Dougherty grabbed an offensive board.
Anthony Woods added a jumper in the paint, giving the Bearcats a 9-2 lead four minutes into the game.
- After the Ichabods closed the gap to 12-7 over the next few minutes, Northwest scored 14 straight to grab a commanding 26-7 lead. Crooker hit short jumper from the right side before
Dray Starzl made a steal. Dougherty battled for a layup and made the ensuing free throw after getting fouled two possessions later, followed by another left-handed finish down low for the sophomore forward. Later, Schneider knocked down a triple from the right wing and Ndow made a second-chance layup to round out the five minute, 39 second scoring run.
- The Ichabods narrowed the margin to two with just under ten minutes to play, but the Bearcats fought back with a 15-3 run to all but seal the decision. Woods opened the rally with a jumper from the right elbow with 9:01 to play before Crooker dropped in a floater in the lane. Woods made the score 47-39 with a nifty turnaround jumper from close range and followed that up by drilling a three from the right wing two possessions later. Dougherty's back-to-back layups with 3:13 to play stretched the lead to 56-42.
Up Next- The Bearcats will return home to face off with Nebraska-Kearney on Thursday, Jan. 21. Tipoff is tentatively set for 7:30 following the women's contest at 5:30.
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