By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Northwest Missouri State men's basketball team (31-5) punched its ticket to the Elite Eight for the sixth time in history with a 70-56 win over top-seeded Augustana Tuesday in the Central Region championship game at the Sanford Pentagon.
Junior Trevor Hudgins knocked in seven three-pointers and scored a game-high 27 points to go along with six assists to help Northwest to its third straight Elite Eight appearance.
"I'm just excited," Hudgins said. "We worked hard all year. It's been tough at times, but just keep on going. We've been fighting and I'm just excited to get to Evansville."
Northwest closed the first half on a 22-6 run to take a 34-25 halftime lead behind a 6-of-7 three-point effort by Hudgins in the first 20 minutes. The Bearcats made 14 total threes in the victory, and never trailed in the second half after getting down 19-12 early.
"They just fight," coach Ben McCollum said. "They're just fighters. There's nothing pretty, nothing unreal. Just fighters, and that's just who they are."
Wes Dreamer scored 13 points. Diego Bernard had 10 points and nine boards. Northwest will compete in the Elite Eight starting March 22 in Evansville, Indiana. Their seeding and opponent will be determined later today.