The Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team defeated Simpson College on Saturday, 85-53, at Bearcat Arena, in Maryville, Mo.

Northwest improves to 12-0 on the season in the team’s final non-conference game. The game was played as an exhibition for Simpson who is 5-6 on the season.

Five different Bearcats scored in double figures as Northwest shot 62.7 percent from the field.

The win pushes the Bearcats’ home winning streak to 43 games and the overall win streak to 23 victories.

Key Northwest Statistics
– The Bearcats hit 17 three pointers and outrebounded the storm 32-20. Northwest forced 15 Simpson College turnovers and had five blocked shots.
– The game featured just seven fouls and the teams combined to shoot 12 free throws.
– Ryan Welty hit six three pointers to finish with 18 points and four rebounds. He added three steals.
– Ryan Hawkins tied a career high with 11 points. He hit a pair of three pointers, grabbed four rebounds, had a steal, a block and added an assist.
– Brett Dougherty went a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, finishing with 14 points. He tied a career-high with six assists and grabbed three rebounds.
– Justin Pitts finished with 13 points and five assists. He hit three three-pointers and added a steal.
– Joey Whittus had 13 points, connecting three times from beyond the arc. He added two assists, a block, a steal and a rebound.
– Chris-Ebou Ndow had a game-high eight rebounds with nine points, one assist and one steal.

Key Northwest Sequences
– Down by two with seven minutes to go in the first half, Northwest went on a 10-0 run to take a lead it would never relinquish. Welty hit a three off a feed from Pitts. Dougherty and Witthus hit back-to-back layups and Welty closed the run with another long range bomb off a pass from Kurth, giving Northwest a 30-22 lead with 4:44 to play.

– With 17:45 left in the second half, Northwest put together another run, this time stringing together a 15-0 stretch. Dougherty hit a layup to make it 45-31. Pitts and Dougherty hit back-to-back three pointers. After Dougherty hit a pair from the line, Welty connected on his fourth three-pointer of the game to make it 56-31. With 14:08 left to play, Dougherty hit another layup to cap the 15-point run.

Up Next
– MIAA play resumes on Thursday, Jan. 4, as Northwest travels to Joplin, Mo., to take on Missouri Southern at 7:30 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —