Maryville to end regular season

One regular season game remains for Maryville boys basketball as it gets ready to face Chillicothe Feb. 23 and prepares for the Class 4 District 16 Tournament.

The Spoofhounds won the previous meeting between the two squads 54-46 Jan. 24 in Maryville. Junior guard Derek Quinlin had 24 points, and senior guard Caden Stoecklein finished with 12. Two games later, Maryville began what turned into an active eight-game win streak.

Coach Matt Stoecklein is 12-4 against Chillicothe since being hired in 2014. He said the Spoofhounds know the Hornets, and it gives them an idea of what to plan on going into this game.

“We know Chillicothe — their coach has been there for a long time, and we know what they are going to run,” Matt Stoecklein said. “We have played them once this season so we are just getting ready for what we are expect- ing them to do.”

The Spoofhounds (21-4) haven’t lost to the Hornets (12-10) since the Cameron Invitational Jan. 1, 2020, where the Hornets won 62-50. As a senior, Caden Stoecklein has had a leadership role this season and said his main goal is to give the younger players on the team confidence going into districts.

“If there is a tough shot we need to make, we usually go to one of our older guys, but in these tournament games, our younger guys are going to have to step up and hit some shots,” Caden Stoecklein said. “Just being positive and encouraging the younger guys will help the team as we continue this season.”

The district tournament bracket has the Spoofhounds as the No. 2 seed, and at 7:15 p.m. March 1, they will host the winner of No. 3 Benton and No. 6 Savannah. The Spoofhounds have swept both the Cardinals and the Savages this season. On the other side of the bracket sits Lafayette-St. Joseph as the first seed and

Dr. Dallas Fitzgerald

A win for Northwest would also secure the program’s 10thstraight regular season MIAA title — the first outright title since the 2020-21 season after Northwest and Central shared the crown a season ago.

Like his coach, sophomore guard Isaiah Jackson said experience, especially in the national championships, helps him stay locked in. He also credited McCollum with making it easier.

“He reminds us of where we’re at now and what it took for us to get here,” Jackson said.

The penultimate game of the regular season will be the Bearcats’ first chance to avenge a 69-58 loss to the Bronchos Jan. 20. It was Central’s second consecutive win against Northwest, but if the Bronchos make it three straight, it will be the first time ever they’ve defeated the Bearcats twice in the same season.

Jackson, who totaled 7 points and three rebounds in the first matchup, said he expects it to be a hard-fought contest, especially with what’s at stake.

“Energy will be at an all-time high,” Jackson said. “I mean, we’ll be ready just like any other game. We played them once already, and we know how that ended, so it’s always gonna be in our minds, but I think we’ll be fine. The energy will be crazy.”

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will face either No. 4 Chillicothe or No. 5 Cameron 5:30 p.m. March 1. The district final will take place 6 p.m. March 3.

The game between Benton (11-13) and Savannah (4-23) will take place 6 p.m. Feb. 27, along with Chillicothe and Cameron (9-15) tipping off at the same time.

This will be Caden Stoecklein’s last district tournament run, and as he approaches the end of his final regular season, he said this is the most confidence he has felt about a team during his four years as a Spoofhound.

“Hopefully for my senior year we can get to where we want to,” Stoecklein said. “We are playing well, and as long as we continue to do what we’ve been doing, I think the rest will take care of itself.”

TOURNAMENT CONTINUED FROM A8

Not only are the final two games important for momentum going into the MIAA Tournament, but they could give the Bearcats their first back-to-back winning seasons since the 200607 and the 2007-08 seasons.

“That would be a big deal for us, but we’re going to have to play really well these last games,” Meyer said.

Northwest will start the twogame homestand against Central (10-14). The last time the Bronchos and Bearcats clashed, the ’Cats came out on top 72-68 Jan. 12 in Edmond, Oklahoma.

When in Bearcat Arena, Northwest has lost three straight meetings to Central. The last time the ’Cats defeated Central Oklahoma in Bearcat Arena was by way of a 78-72 score Jan. 4, 2014. Meyer said the key to defeating the Bronchos is playing smart basketball.

“Taking care of the ball is always important against them,”

TRACK CONTINUED FROM A8

On the men’s side, the Bearcats aren’t ranked in the national polls, but they are slated as the No. 6 team in the conference. One of the athletes competing is sophomore Prince Griffin.

At the Friday Night LightsLast Chance Meet Feb. 17, Griffin joined senior Federico Crisci, senior R.J. Williams and freshman Truman Hare in the 4x400meter relay. The quartet won the event with a Division II provisional qualifying time of three minutes, 11 seconds and 30 milliseconds. The time is also the third-best finish in Division II.

“I think it was very special because a lot of our top people on the team have been injured a majority of the season,” Griffin said.

“We knew once we put everybody on the track, we would run very fast. I didn’t think we’d run that fast, but I figured we’d run fast enough to make it to nationals.”

While Masters did not get

Meyer said. “Defending and taking away their 3. They have a couple of kids that shoot really well. They’re a talented team, and they got some kids that can score, so we just have to make sure we’re not turning it over.”

The final game of the season will be a rematch against Missouri Southern. The first time the two teams clashed, Missouri Southern came out on top 52-37 Dec. 1. However, the last time the Lions came to Bearcat Arena, the Bearcats won 61-51 Jan. 1, 2022. Missouri Southern hasn’t won in Northwest’s home since Feb. 20, 2020. Kelderman said the key to defeating the Lions is to play as a team.

“Going into the game with confidence, knowing that we can hang with them,” Kelderman said. “If we are locked in, we can do really good, and we can give ourselves a shot to win the game. Obviously, they have some really good players, so just keeping them under control and not letting them go off and get all their points is important.” straight games men’s basketball has held its foes under 60 points.

Northwest will close out the regular season against Missouri Southern (16-10, 12-8 MIAA) Feb. 25 in Bearcat Arena. The Lions are among the six teams in the MIAA to have already punched their ticket to the MIAA Tournament.

Should the Bearcats fall to the Bronchos on Thursday night, they’ll still have a chance to claim a share of the conference crown with a win against Southern.

The game against the Lions will also serve as Senior Day for Northwest, as the Bearcats will honor senior guard Diego Bernard, junior forward Luke Waters and junior forward Wes Dreamer before tipoff. McCollum said Dreamer is undecided about his future, but the team plans to honor him just in case this season is ultimately his last in the green and white.

Bernard and Waters are in their fifth season with Northwest. McCollum said the work they’ve put in over their extended time in Maryville has helped make the program what it is.

“I think those guys both took a lot of pride in continuing the culture, continuing the winning tradition and just being good stewards of Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball,” McCollum said. “Both of them are perfect examples of what we want — guys that came in and have drastically improved as human beings, and once they get out of this program, they will make the world a better place.” specific about the injuries Griffin mentioned, he said one of the athletes was sidelined for a bit due to a minor injury.

He said he knew the talent each one had, and he slowly became impatient waiting to see them together.

“I knew we had to do it at

Friday Night Lights because we could have been in slow heat this weekend, and it’s hard to get it done in a slow heat,” Masters said, following it up with a laugh. “It was just exciting to see the guys kind of come together, and that was fun.”