Northwest Missouri State Athletics

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Bemidji State Beavers escaped with a 96-93 overtime win over the Northwest Missouri State University men's basketball team Friday afternoon at the Hillyard Classic held at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
 
Bearcats Larenz Walters and Booker Scheierman put up career-high in scoring, but the Beavers were able to edge out Northwest in the extra session.
 
Walters notched career-bests in points (27) and assists (7). Walters last three-pointer of the game gave Northwest it's final lead of the contest at 93-92 with :44.4 left in overtime.
 
Scheierman secured his first career double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Scheierman's last bucket knotted the contest at 90-90 with 2:06 remaining in overtime.
 
Northwest shot 58.6% from the field in the first half and held a 44-30 advantage in the break. Northwest scored the first bucket of the second half, a triple from Walters, to give the Bearcats their largest lead of the contest 47-30.

Northwest overcame an 18-12 deficit with a 15-0 run in the first half, taking the lead on Robby Garcia's layup at 8:35 and moving ahead 27-18 on Barron Silsby's 3-pointer. The Bearcats shot 17 of 29 from the field with 12 assists and took a 44-30 lead into halftime.

The Bearcats' lead was erased in the second half as BSU outscored them 53-39 and forced nine turnovers. Larenz Walters put Northwest ahead 81-79 with two free throws at 1:25, but the Beavers answered and went in front 83-81 on Tate Olson's layup with 37 seconds left. Garcia made two free throws with 18 seconds remaining, and regulation ended tied 83-83.

Northwest took a 93-92 lead on Walters' 3-pointer off an assist from Cody Dandridge with 50 seconds left in overtime. Earlier, Booker Scheierman had tied it at 90 with a 3-pointer, but BSU answered Walters' shot with Tate Olson's layup at :34 and John Pecarich's two free throws at :17. The Bearcats missed their late chances from the field and line, and the Beavers finished off a 96-93 win.

Northwest (0-2 overall) will take on No. 22-ranked St. Cloud State Saturday at noon at the Hillyard Classic.