MARYVILLE, Missouri - A 16-0 second-half run help lift the No. 2-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcat men's basketball team to a 74-55 victory over Rogers State in Bearcat Arena.
Northwest moves to 13-1 overall and 3-1 in MIAA play, while Rogers State falls to 11-3 overall and 2-2 in league action.
The Bearcats had to rely on the sharp-shooting and scoring efforts of junior Ryan Hawkins and sophomore Trevor Hudgins. Hawkins scored a game-high 28 points and was 6-of-7 from three-point range. Hudgins hit for 26 and was 6-of-9 from deep as he surpassed the 20-point mark for the fourth consecutive game.
Hawkins became the 24th Bearcat to reach 1,000 career points when he buried a free throw with 7:58 to play in the opening half. Hawkins is also the 13th Bearcat to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
Senior Ryan Welty took an elbow to the head six minutes into the contest and did not return. Welty picked up a foul on the play and did not record another statistic.
Hudgins picked up his third foul of the first half with 3:24 to play and he sat the rest of the half. The Bearcats led 32-21 after a Hawkins three-pointer with 2:33 to play before half. However, Rogers State knocked in a pair of three-pointers in the final 17 seconds of the half to cut the Bearcat lead to 32-27 at the break.
Following a Tavian Davis bucket with 10:59 to play in the game, Northwest held a 45-42 lead.
That's when the Bearcats hit the Hillcats with a 16-0 run turned the tied for the home squad. Hawkins began the run with a tip-in and Hudgins buried a triple to make it 50-42. Hawkins knocked in a three-pointer and Luke Waters scored a basket to push the lead to 55-42. Back-to-back threes from Hudgins and Hawkins put the finishing touches on the 16-0 spurt and gave Northwest a 61-42 bulge with 6:06 to play in the game.
Hawkins would pick up his fourth foul with 5:09 left to give the Hillcats some hope. The Hillcats scored on two straight possessions only to see Hudgins bury a three and Hawkins sink another one from long range to give Northwest a 67-49 lead with 2:39 left. Hudgins made a pair of free throws and Hawkins threw down a dunk to give Northwest a 71-49 lead with 1:23 to play.
Northwest will travel to Emporia State on Thursday and Washburn on Saturday.
NOTES: In his last four games, Hudgins is averaging 22.5 points and shooting 74.1% from three-point range (20-of-27) ... Northwest has won 25 consecutive home games, which ranks as the second-longest active streak in NCAA Division II men's basketball ... Northwest is 8-0 at home this season ... Northwest is 117-9 at home since the start of the 2011-12 season ... Northwest shot 52.2% from the field, including 12-of-23 (52.2%) from three-point range against Rogers State ... Waters added eight points off the bench ... Diego Bernard grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with seven points, five assists and three steals.
--- Northwest Athletics ---