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By David Boyce | Northwest Missouri vs. Fairmont State | Saturday, March 25, 2017 | 2 p.m. CST | Sanford Pentagon | Sioux Falls, S.D.
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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - On this journey to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship game, senior D'Vante Mosby has experienced so many wonderful moments with his teammates, mom, friends and the Maryville community that the memory bank may already be full.

"I don't know if we can count those," Mosby said. "It has been an awesome ride. I am just surrounded by awesome people, from redshirt freshmen all the way to the seniors."

Sure, during those hot summer months when they sweated, played pickup game after pickup game, the Bearcats dreamed it would lead to an opportunity to win a national championship.

But there are so many little moments along the way, like interaction with teammates on long bus trips and visiting with family and friends after games that really do last longer than the actual score of a particular contest.

For the 2016-17 Bearcats, the season has culminated into one that only happens through hard work, togetherness and everybody sharing a common goal.

Because of that strong unity, Northwest, 34-1, will play in its first Division II Men's Basketball Championship 2 p.m. Saturday at the Sanford Pentagon against Fairmont State, 34-2.

"That has a nice ring to it, Northwest in the national championship game," Northwest coach Ben McCollum said.

It is the type of goal what anybody who plays basketball will have, Mosby added.

"I remember being a kid and dreaming of this before I even knew what college basketball was. It is a great opportunity," Mosby said.

After his sophomore season at William Jewell, Mosby took a leap of faith to come to Northwest. Mosby was a star high school player at Fort Osage and continued to excel at William Jewell, a top-notch Liberal Arts institution.

At William Jewell, Mosby was freshman of the year in Great Lakes Valley Conference and made second-team All-GLVC his sophomore year, averaging 12.8 points and 8.7 rebounds.

Mosby, though, had a strong desire to play on a team that had a chance to win. William Jewell is still in the process of making the transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II and is going through growing pains.

When Mosby talked with McCollum, he heard about possibly redshirting the first year. McCollum knew other coaches were telling Mosby he would start. And Mosby probably would have started if he played at any other team in the MIAA.

Mosby chose Northwest because McCollum was straightforward with him. In return, McCollum loves the unselfish nature of Mosby and his willingness to come off the bench and do the dirty work in the paint.

Several times this season, Mosby has received the loudest cheer in games at Bearcat Arena because of his relentless effort to grab rebounds and fight for loose balls.

The way Mosby sees it, he is simply giving the same effort that the players who were already at Northwest were giving.

"When I transferred, I knew I would be playing with a great group of guys that would push me and a coach that would push me to my limits," Mosby said. "This is a result of that.

"I don't know how hard other teams are working, but I know coach Mac is always pushing us and the high standard he holds us to. So, our team is just a reflection of him."

It is a culture of togetherness. You saw it in road games when parents and fans made long road trips to cheer on the Bearcats. You saw it after games when parents congratulated all the players on the team.

You definitely saw it when Northwest played host to the Central Regional for the first time in school history and all three games Northwest played in were sold out.

And once again, you saw it at the Elite Eight in Sioux Falls, S.D. One of the things that stood out was the father of former guard, Matt Wallace, drove from Nebraska to root on the Bearcats in the quarterfinal. Also, the father of Tayna Meyer, a junior on the Northwest women's basketball team, was in attendance.

"This is only an hour from where I live," he pointed out.

Mosby also had his special cheering group. His mom was there as well as two people who work at Fort Osage.

"It means the world," Mosby said. "They know how much I care about them. There are also a lot of people who support me and pushed me to get here who don't get to make it to the games, but they tune in and listen to the games. I want them to know it means the absolute world to me. Fort Osage means the world to me. The community around Maryville means the world to me. I appreciate it all."

Mosby and the rest of the Bearcats want to treat their fans to one more special moment. They understand they will have to play their best game this season, and perhaps in their college career to bring home a national championship banner.

Mostly, they are thrilled just to have this opportunity.

"It is going to be awesome," Mosby said. "It is going to be fun. I try to find ways to have fun. I am going to make sure we enjoy it, and mostly, that we are focused and ready to go."