Box Score Kearney, Neb. – Sophomore point guard Justin Pitts had 23 points and five assists as Northwest Missouri State rallied past Nebraska-Kearney, 83-78, Thursday night in Missouri.
 
The preseason favorites in the MIAA, the Bearcats improve to 12-5 (9-3) and are now in sole possession of first place as Lindenwood lost at home to Pitt State.
 
Trailing for basically the first 31 minutes, the Lopers (9-8, 6-6) grabbed a 63-62 lead after a tip-in by senior forward Connor Beranek (Ravenna). The nation's fourth leading scorer ended with a game-high 32 points.
 
UNK held its largest lead, 74-70, with 4:19 to play after a bucket by Iowa sophomore forward Trey Lansman. However, the next four possessions for the Lopers resulted in three missed shots and a turnover.
 
That allowed Northwest to take the lead back as 6-7 junior forward Zach Schneider nailed a three with 1:50 left, making the score 75-74. After another Loper turnover, the 'Cats lead grew to three after a layup from reserve guard Anthony Woods.
 
In the final 1:01, senior guard Connor Crooker scored all six of Northwest's points, four coming at the line. UNK still had a chance to tie but a three from Beranek missed with 19 seconds to go. 
 
"Their point guard is one of the best out there. Everything goes through him and you spend so much time trying to slow him down. But, then the other guys step up and that's where they bury you ," said UNK head coach Kevin Lofton. "It was a couple of empty possessions here and there that hurt us. The three by Schneider from the top of the key was the play you wish you could get back."
 
The 2015 MIAA Freshman of the Year, the 5-9, 143 pound Pitts was 10 of 15 from the field (1 of 2 threes) and 2 of 2 at the line to reach his offensive output.
 
Using just seven players, Northwest saw four others score in double figures, including Schneider (17) and Crooker (15). As a team, Northwest shot 58.0% (29 of 50) from the field, the second highest mark by a Loper opponent this season. They also committed just three turnovers.
 
"All in all, I thought our kids competed and we definitely had our chances. We just weren't able to pull it out at the end," said Lofton.
 
Winning the rebounding battle by a 27-21 margin and making 56.0% (28 of 50) of its shots, UNK saw Beranek go 11 of 20 from the floor and 10 of 11 at the line. This marks his sixth 30-point game of the year and second in a row.
 
Next, Norfolk senior post Ethan Brozek recorded a third straight double double (23 points & 10 rebounds) with York sophomore Ty Danielson hitting three of UNK's five treys to score 13.
 
On Saturday, UNK faces Missouri Western State at 5:00 p.m. The Griffons (6-12, 4-8) upset Fort Hays State, 74-68, tonight.