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By David Boyce  |  Northwest Basketball vs. Central Missouri   | Sunday, Dec. 11  |  1:30 & 3:30 p.m.  |  Bearcat Arena  |  Maryville, Mo.
Women's Live Stats  |  Men's Live Stats  |  Live Video  |  Live Audio

MARYVILLE, Mo. - When Northwest Missouri State's men's basketball team takes on rival Central Missouri at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Bearcat Arena, the odds are pretty good senior forward Zach Schneider will score nine points.
 
Schneider scored nine points in the last game for the No. 2-ranked Bearcats, a 78-52 victory over Missouri Western. He also had nine points two games ago, a 73-66 win at Central Oklahoma on Nov. 30.
 
Schneider's career average is 9.8. The only time you really notice his scoring is when he gets on one of his blistering hot streaks behind the three-point arc. The most memorable one came his sophomore year at Central Oklahoma when he set a school record for made three-pointers in a game, going 9 for 10 and finishing with 29 points.
 
In the Bearcats' first eight games this season, Schneider hasn't had a white hot game like that. He is averaging 10.6 points in Northwest's 8-0 start.
 
Because of the quiet, but efficient way Schneider goes about playing basketball, it actually slipped notice that he went over the 1,000 career points at Central Oklahoma a little over a week ago.
 
Schneider left Edmond with 1,001 points. In the very next game, senior D'Vante Mosby scored his 1,000^th collegiate point against Missouri Western.
 
"It is obviously a pretty cool deal, especially D'Vante and I getting it at the same time," Schneider said. "Honestly, I know everybody says it, but it really is a credit to the great teammates I have.
 
"I can't really create my own shot like others can. I really rely on our team system, our ball movement and great players like DeShaun Cooper, Conner Crooker, Justin Pitts that get a lot of paint touches and draw a lot of attention away from me so I can get those open shots."
 
The system by head coach Ben McCollum and his staff works because they have players who buy into the team concept. Individual points aren't important. Wins are the only thing that means anything.
 
The product of the unselfish play is a long run of success by the Bearcats in the MIAA and in postseason. Northwest has reached the Central Region championship game the last three years.
 
"I am sure other teams throughout the year have to deal with some players going through periods where they don't think they get enough shots," Schneider said. "I think the coaches here have built that if you fall into the team system, good things are going to happen. I think everybody here enjoys winning over taking shots."
 
Northwest definitely wants to win Sunday afternoon. The women will take on the Jennies at 1:30 p.m.
 
Despite it being early in the season, Bearcat Arena should be rocking. The Mules are 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the MIAA. Last year, Central Missouri didn't play in Maryville.
 
Two years ago, the men's game against Central Missouri at Bearcat Arena was one of the most memorable regular-season games in recent years. The Mules came in as defending national champions. They beat the Bearcats in the Central Region championship game the year before.
 
A regular-season title was on the line when they faced each other on Feb. 28, 2015. A crowd of 2,480 crammed into Bearcat Arena to see Northwest win 83-73 in a highly entertaining game that wasn't decided until the final minute.
 
"That was probably the craziest crowd I have played in front of, not from a numbers standpoint, but involved-in-the-game standpoint," Schneider said. "I know we are not going to get that type of crowd because it is early in the season, but hopefully we can get something close to that because it is a big rivalry game for us.
 
"The time I have been here, this has been our biggest rivalry, over Missouri Western, Pitt State and other teams like that. The energy and effort is taken to another level. It is a different level of game. There is kind of some bad blood there. We don't really like each other. I am looking forward to Sunday."
 
One thing the Bearcats want to do is close out 2016 on a strong note. A year ago, Northwest went on a road trip before Christmas break and suffered losses at Lincoln and Lindenwood. Northwest only lost one more conference game the rest of the season after that Christmas break swoon.
 
"I think half the team was already on Christmas break last year when we went on that road trip," Schneider said. "We are definitely going to make sure we take care of business on Sunday and get some good practices in on finals week, and we are going to be ready for our next road trip unlike last year."