The Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team picked up an 81-74 road victory at Pittsburg State on Saturday afternoon at John Lance Arena in Pittsburg, Kan.

Sophomore Justin Pitts had a game-high 26 points, going 8-of-11 from the charity stripe with three assists and a pair of steals.

The Bearcats took the lead for good at the 16:22 mark of the second half and never trailed after that.  Northwest held a 33-29 advantage at halftime.

Conner Crooker reached double figures with 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting with a perfect 6-of-6 mark from the charity stripe. He also grabbed four rebounds and added two assists.  Chris-Ebou Ndow recorded his third straight game in double figures with 18 on 7-of-10 shooting. He also recorded his third straight game with

Northwest shot 54 percent from the field (27-of-50) and finished the game 20-of-26 from the charity stripe (76.9 percent)

Pitt State held a 27-25 rebound advantage. The Bearcats had nine turnovers but forced 14 Gorilla miscues. Northwest scored 28 points off of Pitt State turnovers.

Northwest went on a 17-4 run midway through the first half sparked by Pitts who had seven points in a stretch of just over five minutes. Schneider contributed a three and the run was capped by Ndow hitting a pair of jumpers to put the Bearcats up 27-13 with 7:01 left in the half. During the run, Pitt State was just 2-of-7 shooting and committed a pair of turnovers.

Northwest finished the last 3:19 of the contest by scoring 17 of the game’s final 30 points to take the win. Pitts and Crooker found themselves at the line frequently in the closing minutes. Crooker hit all six of this attempts while Pitts knocked down four free throws.

Northwest returns to Bearcat Arena on Thursday, Feb. 4 for a 7:30 p.m. MIAA contest against Lincoln University.

— Northwest Athletics —