---

By David Boyce

MARYVILLE, Mo. - Being gracious host to its rival, the Northwest Missouri State men's basketball team allowed Missouri Western to taste the lead for a minute.
 
But once sophomore Chris-Ebou Ndow gave Northwest a 5-4 lead on a three-point play and sophomore Justin Pitts solidified the advantage with a three-pointer, the Bearcats were ready to show Western a championship brand of basketball.
 
The Bearcats never trailed again, en route to a 75-56 victory over Western late Saturday afternoon in front of 2,034 boisterous fans at Bearcat Arena.
 
"It is a good feeling to win it three times in a row," said Northwest lone senior Conner Crooker. "I love these guys."
 
Added junior Zach Schneider: "It was pretty cool and to do it against a rival, there is no one else better to do it against."
 
Northwest, which improved to 20-5 overall and 17-3 in the MIAA, has won 10 straight games.
 
"It is just so unbelievable, three straight and four out of five," said Northwest President Dr. John Jasinski. "The consistency, the quality and the level that coach (Ben) McCollum and his whole staff have reached has continued on.
 
"Bearcat culture is right here. We are so proud of the team."  
 
Simply put, Saturday was a coronation of Bearcat championship basketball. Northwest clinched the regular-season title last Saturday at Northeastern State, but used this Saturday afternoon to celebrate its third straight MIAA title with its fans.
 
After the game, the Bearcats received the conference championship trophy and then they cut down the nets.
 
Northwest much took control of the game with the three-point play from Ndow and the three-pointer from Pitts. Schneider joined the trey party with a three-pointer that increased the Bearcats lead to 11-4.
 
Western called timeout and it helped a little. The Griffons scored the next four points, making it 11-8. Northwest countered with five straight points for a 16-8 lead.
 
The rest of the first half followed that pattern. Western closed to 18-16. Northwest turned it back up a notch and led 31-20. The Bearcats went into halftime with a 33-24 lead.
 
Western, though, came out in the second half full of vigor. In a three-way tie for next to last, the Griffons were playing to stay in contention for one of the final two spots in the MIAA Tournament. With 14:14 left in the game, Western closed to 39-38.
 
And then the official three-point party started up for the Bearcats. It started with a corner trey by Ndow, giving Northwest a 42-28 lead.
 
After Western made a basket, Schneider drilled a three-pointer that gave Northwest a five-point lead and that was quickly followed by another corner three-pointer from Ndow, making it 48-40 with 12:18 left.
 
"It was much needed," Ndow said. "We started losing momentum. We had a lead on them and they started coming back so we really needed it. Getting five threes in a row really helped."
 
Western scored a basket and Northwest hit the Griffons with another three-pointer. Once again, it came from Ndow from the corner. Western was forced to call timeout to cool the hot Bearcats and quiet a crowd that was loving the rain of threes.
 
The timeout didn't work. Crooker arrived to the three-point party with a trey at the top of the key. In less than 4 minutes, the Bearcats went 5-for-5 from three-point range and built a 54-42 lead.
 
Pitts then added a little flavor to the scoring with a drive into the paint for a two-point field goal that made it 56-42. It was an impressive 17-4 run that turned a close game into a blowout.
 
"It makes me look like I can coach," McCollum said. "I always say shooters win the war. That's what we try to get is shooters and space them out and then you can drive and it is hard to defend."
 
 Northwest went 13 for 24 on three-point shots for a blistering 54.2 percent. Ndow led the way, making six and Schneider and Pitts each had three.
 
"I'm very proud of them," McCollum said of his team. "We had some injuries early and obviously didn't play well a few games. It took us a while to get our rhythm. The kids hung with it. To win it this early with this kind of coaching in the league is pretty impressive."