MARYVILLE, Missouri – The No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team rolled to a 30-point win over the Lincoln Blue Tigers Saturday at Bearcat Arena.
The dynamic duo of senior Ryan Hawkins and junior Trevor Hudgins took care of the majority of the scoring in the 84-54 home victory. Hawkins, of Atlantic, blitzed the Blue Tigers with 34 points and a team-best nine rebounds. Hudgins’s efficiency led him to 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 at the line. Hudgins also made all five of his three-point field goal attempts and dished out a team-high five assists.
Northwest (3-0 overall) buried 16-of-30 three-point shots and shot 58.5% from the field overall. Northwest shot 62.5% in the opening half by making 15-of-24 field goals. The Bearcats shot 55.2% in the second stanza on 16-of-29 field goals. The Bearcats made all six of their free throw attempts.
The Bearcats did not trail in the contest and saw the Blue Tigers (2-2 overall) tie the contest on only two occasions in the opening minutes. Northwest led by as many as 32 points as it knocked off the Blue Tigers for the 13th straight time. Northwest has won 29 of the last 31 meetings between the squads since 1999.
Northwest will return to the floor next Saturday in St. Joseph, Missouri, against the Missouri Western Griffons. Tip time has been changed to 1:30 p.m. for the women’s game and the men’s game will follow at approximately 3:30 p.m. at the Missouri Western Fieldhouse.
NOTES: Northwest moved its overall win streak to 26 in a row … Northwest ran its home-court win streak to 35 straight … over the past five seasons, Northwest has compiled an overall record of 134-6 … in the last three seasons, Northwest is 72-1 … Northwest has won 102 of its last 110 MIAA games – in that stretch, Northwest is 55-1 in Bearcat Arena … the Bearcats have won 52 of its last 53 games against MIAA competition (regular season and postseason) … since the start of the 2011-12 season, Northwest has posted a record of 127-9 – including a mark of 82-7 in MIAA play … Northwest has won 56 of its last 57 home MIAA matchups … Hawkins registered his seventh career 30-point scoring game … six different Bearcats made at least one three-pointer in Saturday‘s victory.
