ST. JOSEPH, Missouri – The No. 3-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team continued its mastery of the Missouri Western Griffons with a 79-56 triumph at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
Senior forward Ryan Hawkins put up a monster game with 34 points and 13 rebounds as Northwest scored its 18th straight win over Missouri Western. Head coach Ben McCollum moved to 24-2 all-time against the Griffons.
Northwest also extended its win streak to 10 in a row – marking the eighth straight year that the Bearcats have had at least one 10-game win streak of longer in a season.
The Bearcats (15-1 overall) won their 16th consecutive road game equaling the longest-active streak among all NCAA divisions. Northwest is a perfect 9-0 on the road this season.
The Griffons lost their sixth straight game to fall to 8-7 overall.
The Griffons were ice cold from the field and started the game 1-for-13. The Griffons made only three of their first 20 shots and ended the first half at 21.4% (6-of-28 FGs).
Northwest’s Ryan Hawkins was far from chilly as he lit up the bucket for 19 first-half points on 8-of-12 field goals. Redshirt freshman Mitch Mascari knocked in a pair of triples off the bench in the opening half. Other than Hawkins and Mascari, the rest of the Bearcats were frigid from the floor shooting 3-for-16.
Northwest did not trail in the first half after jumping out to a 7-0 start. The Griffons got as close as four on two occasions but could not put back to back baskets together until the Bearcats led 25-10. Northwest pushed the margin to 18 at the break, 34-16.
Missouri Western drilled a trio of three-pointers to open the second half to pull within single digits at 38-29 with 16:19 to play. But a free throw from Luke Waters and a three-pointer from Hawkins pushed the lead back to double figures at 42-29.
The Bearcats put the game on ice with a 20-5 run that saw Northwest take a commanding 64-39 advantage with 7:20 to play. Northwest would lead by as many as 27 at 74-47 after a Trevor Hudgins triple with 4:38 left on the clock.
Northwest shot 57.7% (15-of-26 FGs) in the second half, including 4-of-8 from three-point land. Missouri Western tallied 40 second-half points on 13-of-27 from the floor, including six from long range.
Northwest will return to action with home games Thursday (Pittsburg State) and Saturday (Missouri Southern) in Bearcat Arena.
NOTES: Northwest clinched a spot in the 2021 MIAA Tournament … Northwest’s victory gave the Bearcats their eighth straight season series sweep of the Griffons … Northwest has won 18 straight games against Missouri Western … Northwest also ran its win streak to 19 in a row in the city of St. Joseph, a streak that dates back to the 2015-16 season … Northwest is a spectacular 84-2 over the past three seasons … Northwest is 146-7 over the last five seasons … Northwest is 114-9 in its last 123 MIAA games … Northwest has won 63 of its last 65 games against MIAA competition … Hawkins moved into third place on Northwest’s all-time scoring list … Hawkins took over third from David Alvey, who posted 1,747 points from 1973-77 … Hawkins has tallied 1,772 career points.
