March 7, 2008

MIAA Tournament: Bearcats Bounce Gorillas, 71-42

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Hunter Henry and Lance Sullivan combined for 39 points to spark Northwest Missouri State University to a convincing 71-42 win over Pittsburg State University Friday (Mar. 7) in the first round of the MIAA Postseason Tournament.
   The second-seeded Bearcats (21-7) advance to Saturday's semifinals where they will face the winner of Central Missouri and Washburn in Friday's late game. The seventh-seeded Gorillas (18-10) end their season with the loss.
    Pitt State trailed just 19-15 with 11:09 to play in the first half, but Northwest outscored the Gorillas, 15-4, to end the half with a 34-19 advantage. The Gorillas never got any closer than 13 the rest of the way.
    Henry finished with game highs of 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Bearcats, while Sullivan added 18.
    Spencer Magana had a team-leading 14 points for Pitt State, which converted just 27.5 percent of its field goal attempts and committed 20 turnovers.