KANSAS CITY, Mo. (March 5, 2017) -- Central Missouri shot 48 percent from the field and battled to the very end, but couldn't overcome a big second half deficit, falling to No. 3 Northwest Missouri 69-61 in Sunday's MIAA To-urnament Championship Game at Municipal Auditorium.
The Mules (21-9) got off to a great start, jumping out to a 9-4 advantage at the 16:01 mark. The Mules led by five at 11-6 after two
Dushaun Rice free throws, but a three-pointer from Ryan Welty started a 7-0 run that gave the Bearcats (30-1) a 13-11 lead with 12:49 to play in the half.
Clarence Smith drained a three-pointer to put UCM back in front and later
Kyle Wolf buried a three to give the Mules a 17-15 lead.
Justin Pitts hit a three to put the Bearcats back in front and Zach Schneider converted a four-point play to give NWMSU a 22-17 lead. The Mules pulled back to within three at 24-21 on a Smith layup, but Northwest Missouri scored seven straight points to open an eight-point lead. The lead was nine after a
DJ Richardson steal and dunk, but five straight points gave NW a 40-26 lead. Wolf scored on a putback to beat the halftime buzzer and the Mules trailed 40-28 at halftime.
The Bearcats opened the second half on a 19-8 run to lead 59-36 with 13:00 to play in the game. The lead hovered around 20 for a good chunk of the second half before three straight points from
Spencer Reaves started a 9-0 run that pulled the Mules within 65-53 with 3:01 to play. Wolf hit a late three-pointer to pull UCM within single digits, but it was the final bucket of the game and the Mules fell 69-61.
Reaves led UCM with 15 points and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Wolf finished with 12 points and five rebounds, while Lawrence closed out his career with 11 points and nine rebounds. UCM shot 19-40 from the field for 48 percent and 5-15 from three-point range.
The Mules were 18-22 at the foul line, but were out-rebounded 31-25, including 13 offensive boards for the Bearcats.
Pitts was the only Bearcat in double figures with 26 points, but six players scored at least seven points.
