The Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team fell to Missouri Southern, 73-70, on Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Mo.

– Northwest falls to 22-3 overall and 14-3 in MIAA play. The Lions improved to 18-8 overall and 13-4 in conference action. Southern sweeps the season series against the Bearcats and has beaten Northwest three times the last two seasons.

– Four Bearcats scored in double figures, led by Xavier Kurth’s career-high 19 points performance.

– Kurth, Justin Pitts, Chris-Ebou Ndow and Brett Dougherty were all honored prior to the game as part of senior day.

Key Northwest Statistics
– Northwest shot 50.9 percent (27-for-53) from the field and hit 6-of-18 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc.

– The Lions connected on 10-of-24 (41.7 percent) three point attempts and shot 49 percent (25-of-51) from the field.

– CJ Carr led Missouri Southern with 33 points and four steals. The Lions led at halftime, 36-33.

– Kurth added six rebounds and a steal, going 3-for-6 from beyond the arc and 2-of-3 at the charity stripe.

– Joey Witthus had 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting. He hit all three of his free throws and added four rebounds and a steal.

– Brett Dougherty had 12 points and three rebounds, blocking three shots and adding two assists.

– Pitts finished with 13 points, two assists and two rebounds.

Up Next
– Northwest will head to Lindenwood University on Thursday, Feb. 22 for a 7:30 p.m. MIAA contest in St. Charles, Mo.

— Northwest Athletics —