MARYVILLE, Missouri – The Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team cruised past Minnesota State 91-62, as they avenged last year’s first round upset and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II basketball tournament.

The Bearcats fell victim to NCAA Division II March Madness last year against the Mavericks when MSU upset the No. 1 seeded Bearcats, 60-50.

This story played differently as Northwest got on a roll early with a 12-point lead in the first five minutes of the game. That stretch set the tone early as the Bearcats continued their hot shooting tendencies up until halftime when they carried a 54-35 advantage

Joey Witthus lead the Bearcats in scoring as he finished with a career-high 39 points. It’s the sixth time this season that Witthus scored 30 or more points in a game.

Northwest was granted their largest lead of the night with two minutes left to go in the game as they went up by 31 points. This surge of offensive power was helped by a sold-out crowd at Bearcat Arena.

Other key players from the game were Trevor Hudgins who neared a double-double with 16 points nine assists. Diego Bernard also scored double digits as he tallied 20 points in the victory.

The Bearcats will face-off against Southern Nazarene in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday at 7:30 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —