MARYVILLE, Missouri – The No. 3-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team buried 18 three-pointers to secure an 83-69 win over the visiting Missouri Southern State University Lions at Bearcat Arena.
Junior point guard Trevor Hudgins went for a game-high 31 points as he knocked in eight three-pointers on 11 attempts from deep. Sophomore Luke Waters added 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting from deep and Diego Bernard tallied 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Bernard became the 14th Bearcat to post 1,000 career points and 500 rebounds.
Northwest won its 12th straight game and moved to 17-1 on the season, while Missouri Southern fell to 11-8 overall. Northwest swept the season series from Missouri Southern for the third consecutive year.
The Bearcats held the MIAA’s leading scorer Cam Martin in check on Saturday as he was limited to two points and one rebound. Martin played only 13:21 and was hampered by foul trouble in the first half and an ankle injury in the second half. Martin came into the game averaging 26.1 points per game, 9.5 rebounds per game and 35.1 minutes per game.
Northwest enjoyed an early 18-11 lead by hitting four three-pointers in the first nine minutes of the contest. Missouri Southern evened the score at 18-18 with under 10 minutes to play in the half. Northwest went back up seven at 30-23 after Hudgins hit his fifth three-pointer of the opening half with 5:26 on the clock. The Lions countered with a 10-0 run but MSSU’s Winston Dessesow was called for a technical foul for taunting after making a jump shot in front of the Bearcat bench. Hudgins made one of two at the line and knocked in his sixth triple of the first half on the ensuing Bearcat possession to put the home squad back on top, 34-33. Northwest closed the half on a 10-2 run that was capped by Ryan Hawkins dropping in a three-pointer from just inside half court to beat the halftime buzzer. Northwest led 40-35 at the break.
The Bearcats pushed the lead to double figures in the second half at 50-39 on Hudgins’s seventh three-pointer with 15:27 to play. Bernard extended the Bearcat lead to 58-45 with a three-pointer of his own with 11:30 on the clock. Hudgins hit his eighth triple of the contest with 9:26 to play that gave Northwest a 61-49 lead. The Lions trimmed the lead to six on a 6-0 run, but the Bearcats hit back with a 10-0 scoring spurt to take the lead out to 16 at 71-55 with 3:51 left in regulation. The Lions pulled to within nine with less than a minute to play, but Northwest made five free throws in the final minute including three from senior Jaran Richman to ice the victory.
The Bearcats will hit the road this week for a pair of trips to the state of Kansas. Northwest will match up against Emporia State at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at White Auditorium in Emporia, Kansas. Northwest will then make the journey to Topeka, Kansas, for a Saturday contest against the Washburn Ichabods.
NOTES: Northwest has seven straight matchups with Missouri Southern … Northwest leads the all-time series, 39-24 … Northwest is 113-10 at home since the start of the 2011-12 season, including a mark of 88-8 in MIAA play … Northwest has won 62 of its last 64 home MIAA contests … Northwest is 86-2 over the past three seasons … Northwest is 148-7 over the last five years … Northwest is 116-9 in its last 125 MIAA games, including a mark of 61-2 in Bearcat Arena in that stretch … Northwest has won 65 of its last 67 games against MIAA opponents (regular season/postseason) … it’s the second time this season that Hudgins has made eight three-pointers in a game (previously vs. Emporia State) … Hudgins tallied his seventh career 30-point game, 46th career 20-point game and 81st double-figure scoring contest … Hudgins moved to No. 7 on Northwest’s all-time scoring list with 1,693 points … Hudgins moved past Kelvin Parker’s career total of 1,692 points from 2000-04 … Hudgins had a streak of 22 straight made free throws snapped against the Lions … Waters posted his 16th career double-figure scoring game … Bernard reached double figures for the 66th time in his Bearcat career … Ryan Hawkins moved to No. 2 on Northwest’s all-time scoring chart with 1,803 points … Hawkins surpassed Vic Coleman’s total of 1,795 points from 1980-84 … Hawkins also moved to No. 2 on the Bearcats’s all-time rebounds list with 838 … Hawkins edged past Russ Miller’s mark of 837 rebounds from 1976-80 … Hawkins needs 36 more rebounds to equal the school’s all-time rebounding mark of 874 set by Don Sears from 1966-70 … Hawkins became the third Bearcat to reach 200 career steals with a steal against the Lions … Northwest honored a trio of seniors – Ryan Hawkins, Daric Laing and Jaran Richman) prior to the game.
