The Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team fell to Missouri Southern, 83-77, on Thursday evening at the Leggett and Platt Center in Joplin, Mo.

The Bearcats fall to 12-1 on the year and 4-1 in MIAA play. The Lions improve to 8-6 overall and 3-2 in conference action.

Justin Pitts scored a game-high 31 points, going 8-for-8 from the charity stripe with three assists and three rebounds.

In the first half, Pitts broke the Northwest career field goals made record with his second bucket.

Key Northwest Statistics
– Northwest shot 51.9 percent from the field (28-for-54) and connected on 12-of-16 (75 percent) from the free throw line.

– The Bearcats had 34 points in the paint to the Lions’ 26.

– Brett Dougherty had 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting. He had three rebounds, two assists and a steal.

– Joey Witthus had 12 points with three rebounds. He hit a pair of three pointers and added an assist.

– Chris-Ebou Ndow recorded his third double-double of the year, scoring 12 points with a game-best 10 rebounds.

Up Next
– Northwest will head to Pittsburg, Kan., to face Pittsburg State at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.

— Northwest Athletics —