For the third time this season Northwest Missouri State held its opponent under 50 points as the Bearcats scratched out a 65-47 victory Saturday afternoon in MIAA action at Bearcat Arena.

Northwest led almost start to finish as they improve to 12-1 on the year and 6-1 in league play to stay atop the MIAA standings. Truman struggled to find offense dropping its fourth straight to fall to 4-10 and 2-5 in conference action.

Senior Kyle Haake again provided a big spark for the Bearcats as both teams struggled to find offense. After Truman had cut the Bearcat lead to only seven points DeAngelo Hailey found Haake on the wing who buried the trey and put Northwest back up by double digits.

With 5:03 left in the game Haake would again nail his fourth three-pointer of the game. The senior also recorded a season-high seven rebounds in the game to accompany his game-high 14 points.

Both teams struggled to find points shooting below 40 percent from the field in the game, however Northwest converted on 11-of-13 from the free throw line to help propel the Bearcats as the Bulldogs only shot 52 percent from the line.

DeShaun Cooper did not have his normal shooting night, but still managed to finish with 12 points; however, it was Cooper’s six assists that helped Northwest to its 12th victory on Saturday.

Dillon Starzl also added 11 points for the Bearcats to finish in double figures.

Truman guards Seth Jackson and Seth Carlson finished with 11 points each to lead the Bulldogs.

Northwest returns to the road on Wednesday night in a pivotal MIAA matchup with Central Missouri. Tip from the Multipurpose Building is set for 7:30 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —