Pittsburg State, Missouri Southern to play for MIAA men’s title; top two women’s seeds advance
Pittsburg State junior Trey Starks held the follow through of his go-ahead three-point attempt as it fell toward the rim in Saturday’s MIAA Tournament men’s semifinal against Northwest Missouri State.
Starks continued to hold the pose for a few seconds after the shot rattled around the rim and tumbled through the net.
It was a fitting tribute for the basket that put the fifth-seeded Gorillas ahead for good in a 65-58 victory over the No. 1 seed Bearcats at Municipal Auditorium.
The three-pointer broke a 54-54 tie with 2:30 to play. That, along with Pitt State’s perfect performance from the free-throw line down the stretch, was enough to secure the win.
“It was a good feeling. I had pretty good arch on the shot. It kind of rattled around the rim a little bit, and it felt good. It felt like it was going in,” Starks said.
The fact that the shot beat a dwindling shot clock helped too.
“It’s not what we designed, but sometimes you have to go out and make a play,” Pittsburg State coach Kevin Muff said.
It was the second time Pitt State beat Northwest Missouri this season.
The Bearcats, 23-6, came into the tournament after winning the MIAA regular-season championship. Freshman Justin Pitts, a Blue Springs South product, led all scorers with 23 points for the Bearcats. Blue Valley North grad Conner Crooker added 15 for Northwest Missouri.
“A shot like that is going to affect us, but I always tell the guys to keep believing and keep fighting, no matter what happens,” Bearcats senior Grant Cozad said. “It was a hard-fought game. I wish we could’ve had it, but it didn’t go our way.”
Northwest Missouri struggled from the field, particularly on three pointers (five of 18). It was too much to overcome.
“We had the looks we wanted. We just didn’t knock them down,” Northwest Missouri coach Ben McCallum said.
Pittsburg State will play Missouri Southern today at 1 p.m. for the MIAA Tournament title.
Missouri Southern 81, Central Missouri 74
Central Missouri has been Missouri Southern’s big brother over the past couple seasons, picking on the Lions to the tune of five consecutive victories.
Missouri Southern got another crack at the Mules in the tournament semifinals on Saturday, and the Lions brought a distinct game plan.
“We had to go out and punch them like we’re in seventh grade,” Missouri Southern junior Taevaunn Prince said.
Mission accomplished.
The Lions attacked with everything but their fists in victory that gets them to the tournament championship game.
Prince finished with a game-high 22 points. Cameron Cornelius scored 14, and three other Lions, 20-10, finished in double digits.
“I think playing a team five times and them beating you five times in a row, I’m not going to say they get overconfident, but there’s a little bit of ‘We’ve already done this before,’ ” Cornelius said.
“We were up at half at their place, and they came back and won just like that. Once we went on a run I could see them start to get frustrated, so transition was a big key for us.”
Missouri Southern was able to keep a lead throughout the second half this time around, primarily due to the fact that it shot 52.8 percent in the game.
Central Missouri, 24-6, wasn’t able to build any momentum.
“We had some strings defensively where we just didn’t get stops,” Central Missouri coach Doug Karleskint said. “I think at one point they got six possessions where they scored a bucket. We got a couple stops, and then they went four more straight possessions with a bucket,”
Central Missouri got 18 points from Brennen Hughes and 16 from Preston Brunz
“You could tell right away that they were hungrier than us,” Brunz said. “We knew we needed to come out and match their energy. They had more energy than we did. They’re a good team, and it’s tough to come back when they’ve got all the momentum going.”
Top two seeds reach in women’s final
No. 1 seed Fort Hays State and No. 2 Emporia State will face off in today’s women’s final.
Fort Hays State beat fifth-seeded Central Missouri 59-53 on Saturday behind 18 points and 13 rebounds from Kate Lehman. Emporia State knocked out No. 3 seed Pittsburg State 67-53. Kelly Moten had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Hornets.
MIAA men’s tournament schedule
At Municipal Auditorium
Thursday’s quarterfinals
(1) Northwest Missouri 71, (8) Washburn 61
(5) Pittsburg State 74, (4) Lindenwood 55
(2) Central Missouri 67, (7) Central Oklahoma 66
(3) Missouri Southern 97, (6) Nebraska-Kearney 88
Saturday’s semifinals
(5) Pittsburg State 65, (1) Northwest Missouri 58
(3) Missouri Southern 81, (2) Central Missouri 74
Sunday’s championship
(5) Pittsburg State vs. (3) Missouri Southern, 1 p.m.
MIAA women’s tournament schedule
At Municipal Auditorium
Friday’s quarterfinals
(1) Fort Hays State 79, (9) Northeastern State 53
(5) Central Missouri 70, (4) Missouri Southern 64
(2) Emporia State 77, (7) Missouri Western 60
(3) Pittsburg State 78, (6) Central Oklahoma 71
Saturday’s semifinals
(1) Fort Hays State 59, (5) Central Missouri 53
(2) Emporia State 67, (3) Pittsburg State 53
Sunday’s championship
(1) Fort Hays State vs. (2) Emporia State, 3:30 p.m.
This story was originally published March 7, 2015 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Pittsburg State, Missouri Southern to play for MIAA men’s title; top two women’s seeds advance."