MANKATO, Minn. --- It came down to the final seconds in Taylor Center Tuesday evening, but a last-second shot by
Elijah Hazekamp gave #2 Minnesota State the 43-42 win over #4 Northwest Missouri State in the NCAA Central Region Tournament Championship.
With the win, MSU improves to 32-2 on the season. With the loss, NWMSU finishes its season with a 29-5 record. This marks the second time in program history that the Mavericks have advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight with the first time coming back in 2011. MSU's 43 points were the fewest points scored in a win under head coach
Matt Margenthaler.
A total of 4,519 fans packed Taylor Center, the second largest crowd in the history of the arena.
Defense was the order of the day as the Bearcats carried a 25-17 lead into halftime. The lead changed hands twice in the first five minutes of the game but it was NWMSU that led 17-11 with 9:56 to go in the half.
Northwest Missouri managed to go up by 10 at 25-15 with 3:45 to go in the half, but a basket from
Kyreese Willingham cut NWMSU's lead to eight at 25-17 as the game went into halftime.
Kyreese Willingham led the Maverick offense in the first half with seven points, while
Justin Eagins and
Malcolm Jones each posted four points. As a team, MSU shot 30.8% from the field in the opening stanza.
Daniel Abreu led all scorers in the first half with 10 points, while Bennett Stirtz notched seven points. As a team, NWMSU shot 44.4% from the field in the first half.
The first 10 minutes of the second half saw the scoring remain at a premium as the Mavericks got back within six of the Bearcats at 34-28 with 10:05 to go. Eagins notched five of MSU's 11 points during that stretch, while Abreu paced NWMSU with six points. The Mavericks then put together a 10-3 run over the next 6:34 to take their first lead of the game at 38-37 since the opening minutes.
Kyreese Willingham scored five of MSU's 10 points during that stretch to take the lead.
The teams would exchange baskets leading to the closing seconds as the Bearcats found themselves with the ball up 42-41 with less than six seconds left. A quick foul sent NWMSU's Wes Dreamer to the free throw line shooting the one and one with 5.5 second left. Dreamer missed his first attempt before
Kyreese Willingham grabbed the rebound and passed it up to
Malik Willingham.
With the final seconds ticking,
Malik Willingham raced down court and found
Elijah Hazekamp who connected on the game-winning shot from the right elbow as time expired sending the Taylor Center crowd into a frenzy.
Kyreese Willingham led the Mavericks with 14 points and five rebounds and was named the Central Region Tournament's Most Valuable Player. Hazekamp finished with three points and seven rebounds and was named to the Central Region All-Tournament Team as well. Eagins added nine points and four rebounds also, while
Dylan Peeters recorded five points and seven rebounds.
As a team, MSU shot 36.0% from the field. The Mavericks also hauled in 38 rebounds.
Abreu led all scorers with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Stiritz finished with 12 points. As a team, NWMSU shot 36.5% from the field, but connected on just 2-of-19 (.105) shots from downtown.
The Mavericks earned the No. 1 seed in the Elite Eight and will face No. 8 seed Ferris State on Tuesday, March 26 at 6 p.m. CT at Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
NCAA Central Region All-Tournament Team
Kyreese Willingham, MSU (MVP)
Malik Willingham, MSU
Elijah Hazekamp, MSU
Daniel Abreu, NWMSU
Bennett Stiritz, NWMSU
