The Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team knocked off No. 12 Central Missouri, 72-58, on Saturday afternoon at the Multipurpose Building in Warrensburg, Mo.

Northwest moves to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in MIAA play. UCM falls to 7-1 overall and 1-1 in conference action.

Conner Crooker scored a game-high 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He hit 5-of-8 three point attempts and grabbed six rebounds.

Justin Pitts had 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Bearcats. He hit a pair of three pointers, one in each half.  Anthony Woods scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting. He had five rebounds and a block.  D’Vante Mosby had nine points for the Bearcats. He had nine rebounds, five coming on the offensive end of the court. He also had a pair of steals in 24 minutes.

Northwest outrebounded the Mules, 45-29, and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, leading to 18 second chance points.

Northwest hit 17-of-23 free throw attempts (73.9%), going 13-for-16 (81.3%) in the second half.

The Bearcats fell behind 7-4 early in the first half. But Mosby hit a pair of free throws and woods added a layup to give Northwest its’ first lead of the game, 8-7. Mosby hit his second three pointer of the season to put Northwest up by four, 11-7. Pitts would hit a jumper and after a Crooker missed shot, Mosby cleaned up the board to cap an 11-5 Bearcat run.

Northwest held a 45-38 lead at the 14:22 mark of the second half on a Woods layup. But UCM cut the lead to five, 45-40, on a jumper. But Northwest would respond with a quick 13-4 run over the next seven minutes. Pitts and Schneider knocked down back-to-back three pointers. Woods added three points from the charity stripe and Dougherty hit a pair of free throws to go along with a Crooker jumper.

The Bearcats head to Joplin, Mo., for a Wednesday evening game at Missouri Southern at 7:30 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —