Press Release

February 10, 2007

No. 13 Bearcats Drop 74-56 Decision to Pittsburg State

PITTSBURG, Kan. - ( stats) No. 13 Northwest Missouri State dropped the first game in the past six in a 74-56 loss in John Lance Arena this afternoon.

Northwest falls to 18-5 and 11-3 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. The Gorillas improve to 13-10 and 5-8 in the MIAA. The loss drops the Bearcats to second in the MIAA standings behind No. 5 Central Missouri, who won 88-79 today over No. 15 Emporia State.

Freshman Lance Sullivan opened scoring with a three-pointer from the left corner before Pittsburg State rattled off a 7-0 run, with five points coming from Ed Morris in the span.

The Bearcats answered back with eight points, five coming from sophomore forward Hunter Henry off a layup and three-pointer to help Northwest take an 11-7 lead with 13:43 remaining.

Pittsburg State tied the game off a layup from Cory Abercrombie at the 11:45 mark. Both teams remained within a possession of the other until Carlos Taylor nailed a trey with just over eight minutes remaining in the period to spark a 15-2 Gorilla run. A nearly five-minute scoring drought from Northwest allowed Pittsburg State to build a 28-17 lead with 3:20 remaining.

The Bearcats entered half training 33-21, the largest halftime deficit this season. Pittsburg State held a 20-8 advantage in rebounding and all shooting categories.

Northwest continued to struggle after the break, allowing Pittsburg State to build a 20-point lead at the 12:42 mark. A layup from junior forward Matt Withers with 12:15 remaining marked the first Bearcat field goal since 18:12 of the second half.

Pittsburg State held a 20-rebound advantage (45-25) and shot 47.1-percent from the field. Northwest ended the shooting 21-of-56 (37.5-percent) from the field and shot 47.1-percent from the charity stripe.

Sullivan led the Bearcats with 12 points and six rebounds. Henry scored 11 points, his 19th consecutive game with double-digit points. Freshman guard Mike Larsen contributed 10 for the Northwest cause.

The Gorillas were led by Morris with a double-double 20 points and 15 rebounds. Abercrombie, Taylor and Joe Bridges scored in double figures for Pittsburg State.

The Bearcats will return home Wednesday night for a matchup with Washburn. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. from Bearcat Arena.

NOTES: Junior guard Andy Peterson left the game with four minutes remaining the first half with an apparent back injury … Henry fouled out for the first time in his career with 9:37 remaining in the game ... The loss for Northwest is the fourth in John Lance Arena in the last five games … Three technical fouls were awarded in the contest, one for Northwest and two against Pittsburg State.