2008 Woodie Awards
No. 19 Northwest upsets No. 7 Emporia State on home floor
Bearcats overcome 16-0 deficit in 89-72 win over the Hornets
Brett Barger
Last updated: 1/25/07 at 10:50 PM CST Section: University Sports
EMPORIA, Kan.-Everything seemed to fall into place for No. 19 Northwest.
Atleast after the first two minutes and 45 seconds had passed.
Northwest overcame a 16-0 lead by Emporia State to start the game and shot 65% in the second half to send undefeated Emporia State to its first home loss with an 89-72 win. It is Emporia's worst loss at W.L. White Auditorium since the 2001-2002 season when Northwest won 75-57.
"Coming here to give them their first loss of the year on their home court is pretty big," forward Hunter Henry said, who finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds.
The opening three minutes were a nightmare for Northwest (14-4, 7-2 MIAA). Donta Watson, the MIAA's leading scorer opened with a three from the right wing. As the shot swished, he turned and looked at the Northwest bench. After hitting four quick three's, Watson would hit one more to finish with 24 points on 6-of-15 shooting.
"We've got to stop this and chip away at it. They came out firing," Henry said, recalling his thoughts during Northwest's second timeout in a minute and a half.
Two more trey's by Watson helped the Hornets give Northwest its second biggest deficit of the season. The Bearcats trailed Southwest Baptist 46-29 in the first half on Dec. 9.
"I think it helped us earlier in the year being down 17 at Southwest Baptist," Northwest coach Steve Tappmeyer said. "That's a credit to them for not pushing the panic button."
Andy Peterson, suffering from flu-like symptoms, finished with a team-high 22 points-one off his career, which coincidentally came against Emporia State. Out of the timeout, Peterson opened with a jumper and three trey's to cut Northwest's deficit to 21-11. A three-pointer by Lance Sullivan capped a 10-0 run, which cut Emporia's lead to 24-21.
"I hit a lot of shots, but it was teammates finding me," Peterson said.
Peterson's visit to the locker room during the intermission was not a pleasant trip for him.
"First half, I didn't feel bad. Then at halftime, I threw up everything that I had," Peterson said.
In the second half, Northwest turned the heat up on the Hornets, shooting 65%, including 7-of-8 from downtown. Five three pointers from Sullivan, including one he hit falling backwards, helped Northwest score fifty second half points. Sullivan tied his career high with 20 points.
Northwest also won the rebounding battle for the first time in three games, finishing with a 36-23 advantage.
"That was huge. That was a deal where I really felt good about my guys answering that challenge," Tappmeyer said.
Northwest finishes the season series with Southwest Baptist at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Northwest escaped Bolivar with a 81-80 victory on Dec. 9
Northwest was without Reggie Robinson, who is nursing a deep thigh bruise. Robinson's status for Saturday's game is unknown.
Atleast after the first two minutes and 45 seconds had passed.
Northwest overcame a 16-0 lead by Emporia State to start the game and shot 65% in the second half to send undefeated Emporia State to its first home loss with an 89-72 win. It is Emporia's worst loss at W.L. White Auditorium since the 2001-2002 season when Northwest won 75-57.
"Coming here to give them their first loss of the year on their home court is pretty big," forward Hunter Henry said, who finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds.
The opening three minutes were a nightmare for Northwest (14-4, 7-2 MIAA). Donta Watson, the MIAA's leading scorer opened with a three from the right wing. As the shot swished, he turned and looked at the Northwest bench. After hitting four quick three's, Watson would hit one more to finish with 24 points on 6-of-15 shooting.
"We've got to stop this and chip away at it. They came out firing," Henry said, recalling his thoughts during Northwest's second timeout in a minute and a half.
Two more trey's by Watson helped the Hornets give Northwest its second biggest deficit of the season. The Bearcats trailed Southwest Baptist 46-29 in the first half on Dec. 9.
"I think it helped us earlier in the year being down 17 at Southwest Baptist," Northwest coach Steve Tappmeyer said. "That's a credit to them for not pushing the panic button."
Andy Peterson, suffering from flu-like symptoms, finished with a team-high 22 points-one off his career, which coincidentally came against Emporia State. Out of the timeout, Peterson opened with a jumper and three trey's to cut Northwest's deficit to 21-11. A three-pointer by Lance Sullivan capped a 10-0 run, which cut Emporia's lead to 24-21.
"I hit a lot of shots, but it was teammates finding me," Peterson said.
Peterson's visit to the locker room during the intermission was not a pleasant trip for him.
"First half, I didn't feel bad. Then at halftime, I threw up everything that I had," Peterson said.
In the second half, Northwest turned the heat up on the Hornets, shooting 65%, including 7-of-8 from downtown. Five three pointers from Sullivan, including one he hit falling backwards, helped Northwest score fifty second half points. Sullivan tied his career high with 20 points.
Northwest also won the rebounding battle for the first time in three games, finishing with a 36-23 advantage.
"That was huge. That was a deal where I really felt good about my guys answering that challenge," Tappmeyer said.
Northwest finishes the season series with Southwest Baptist at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Northwest escaped Bolivar with a 81-80 victory on Dec. 9
Northwest was without Reggie Robinson, who is nursing a deep thigh bruise. Robinson's status for Saturday's game is unknown.
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