Sheldon Pace scored 17 points to lead SBU.

[box vs. NWMSU]

BOLIVAR, MO. ... Outscoring the #7 Southwest Baptist University men's basketball (21-4/10-4) team 12-7 in the final 4:06 of the game, Northwest Missouri State (18-7/9-6) took a key regional win, 67-61, in the home finale for the purple Bearcats.  The loss drops SBU to 21-4 on the year and into a first-place tie in the MIAA with Truman State.

With 6:48 to go in the game, SBU hung to a two-point lead, 51-49.  NWMSU's Hunter Henry tied the game at 51 with 6:14 left  and then gave NWMSU the lead for good at the 4:54 mark on two free throws.  Xzavier Gaines put NWMSU up by four on a jumper with 4:15 left to play but SBU's Jason Jemison canned a three-pointer (4:06) to bring the lead back down to one, 55-54.  That is as close as the purple Bearcats would get as NWMSU outscored SBU 12-7 in the last 4:06.  SBU did not hit a shot from the floor in that time period until Jemison nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer.  Four of SBU's seven points came on free throws from Jim Grabowski, Sheldon Pace, and Frans Steyn free throws. 

Bob Cousy award finalist Sheldon Pace led SBU with 17 points.  Steyn had 12 points while Deon Davis added 10.  Steyn tied his career-high of 15 rebounds.  Hunter Henry led NWMSU with 17 points.

A battle from the beginning, NWMSU took a 15-4 lead in the first eight minutes of the game.  SBU opened up with a 2-0 lead on a Steyn layup but then the purple Bearcats did not get another bucket until the 16:32 mark from Juan Lopez.  NWMSU took their largest lead of 12, 17-5, with 11:12 left in the half.  Over the next 11 minutes SBU slowly ate away at the NWMSU lead.  SBU went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to five, 17-12, and then a Davis dunk at the 5:21 mark put SBU within three, 20-17.  NWMSU moved their lead back to seven, 24-17 (4:10) only to see SBU bring it down to two, 30-28, with 1:04 left in the half.  SBU missed their last two shots of the half but NWMSU made a free throw and a jumper to take a five-point lead into the half, 33-28.

Frans Steyn tied his career-high of 15 rebounds vs. NWMSU.

The second half was even more exciting as both teams battled neck-in-neck for the lead.  NWMSU's five-point lead lasted for nine minutes until the 10:59 mark when Pace drove in for the go ahead score, 41-40, for their first lead since the opening bucket.  There would be nine lead changes in the next five minutes.  SBU took as large as a three-point lead, 51-48, with 7:08 to play only to see NWMSU tie the game at 51 with 6:14 to play.  That is the last time SBU was in a tie with NWMSU as the green Bearcats outscored SBU, 16-10, to end the game for the win. 

For the second game in a row and for the season, SBU shot under 40% as they made only 37% of their shots while NWMSU hti 44%.  SBU also only made 20% from the three-point line.  SBU out rebounded NWMSU, 41-23, but committed 20 turnovers to NWMSU's 13.  SBU also had 27 fouls called to NWMSU's 21. 

With a tie for first place in the MIAA, SBU has to face the road as they travel to Pittsburg State on Wednesday, February 22, and then to Kirksville to face Truman State on Saturday, February 25.  SBU will play PSU at 7:30 on Wednesday.

Notes: NWMSU now leads the series, 28-10, and has won three out of the last four games...This is only the 2nd time this season that SBU has shot under 40% in a game...It is the 4th time this season that SBU has shot 20% or less in a game from the 3-point line...It is the first back-to-back losses for SBU since losing four in a row last year from January 12 through January 22...It is the 8th game this year that Sheldon Pace has led SBU in scoring...Pace has now scored 11 or more points in nine out of the last 11 games...Frans Steyn has now had 10 or more rebounds in 8 games...He tied his career-high of 15 rebounds in a game...Steyn now has 54 career blocks at SBU and is 3rd on the all-time SBU list...The 61 points scored by SBU is the 3rd lowest points scored this season...SBU is now 0-3 when scoring between 61 to 70 points.