KANSAS CITY, Missouri - The No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State University Bearcat men's basketball team thwarted an upset attempt by Emporia State University in the quarterfinals of the 2019 MIAA Tournament, 82-79.Northwest (30-0 overall) forced a pair of turnovers in the final nine seconds to hold on to advance to the semifinals on Saturday at Noon. The first turnover came on an in-bounds pass from ESU's Kam Rowan with :09 left whendeflected the pass back into Rowan's hands. Thentipped the in-bounds pass from ESU's Kooper Glick with :02.7 left to secure the three-point victory for the Bearcats.MIAA Player of the Yearand league Freshman of the Yearpaced the Northwest offensive attack. Witthus poured in 27 points, including 14-of-18 at the free throw line. Hudgins made 9-of-21 field goals and was a perfect 5-of-5 at the free throw line. Northwest drained 32-of-39 at the line, while ESU made 16-of-21.Sophomorecollected his 10th double-double on the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds.Emporia State relied heavily on the play of senior guard Julius Jackson. Jackson went for 38 points as he made 10-of-19 from the field, including 7-of-10 from three-point range. Jackson nailed 11-of-14 at the free throw line.Northwest led by as many as 12 points in the first half at 19-7 with 10:52 on the clock. The Bearcats led 36-31 at the break. Northwest would lead by as many as 11 in the second half at 50-39 with 15:36 to play. However, Emporia State would battle back and knot the game at 71-71 on a Jackson three with 2:21 left. A Witthus bucket in the line gave Northwest a 75-73 lead with 1:12 remaining. Kooper Glick missed his first free throw in 29 attempts and could only bring ESU to within one at 75-74 with :50 to play. Witthus sank a pair of free throws with :29 left to put Northwest back up three, 77-74. Jackson drove for a layup and Witthus answered with two more at the charity stripe to set the stage for a pair of ESU turnovers and Northwest steals in the closing seconds.Northwest will take on the winner of the No. 4 Fort Hays State-No. 5-Lincoln game on Saturday at noon. FHSU and Lincoln will play Friday at noon for the right to advance to the semifinals.NOTES: Northwest extended the nation's longest winning streak to 30 in a row ... Northwest has won 27 straight games on neutral floors - also the longest active streak in the nation ...moved to 8-0 in MIAA quarterfinal games ... McCollum is 16-4 all-time in the MIAA Tournament ... Northwest won their 41st MIAA Tournament game ... the Bearcats are 41-25 all-time in MIAA postseason play ... Northwest is 3-0 all-time vs. Emporia State in MIAA Tournament action ... Northwest has made 332 three-pointers this season - three short of the MIAA record set by Southwest Baptist in 2004-05 and 2008-09 ... over the last three seasons, Northwest is 92-5 overall.