Box Score

EVANSVILLE, Ind.-Northwest Missouri State guard Andy Peterson was 5-for-5 from the field in the second half, where he scored 15 of his season-high 19 points and helped the Bearcats beat Bellarmine 67-60 Friday night at Southern Indiana''s Bill Joergens Memorial Tournament.

The Bearcats trailed 21-19 at the break, but shot 59 percent and scored 48 points in the second half to improve to 4-0. The Knights got 24 points from Chartrael Hall, but lost for the first time this season (3-1).

Northwest forward Henry Hunter scored 15 points and had a game-best 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and the 11th of his career. He played a season-high 33 minutes and was 5-of-7 from the field.

Peterson knocked down three 3-pointers and scored 11 points in the first six minutes of the second half to help the Bearcats turn a two-point deficit into a four-point lead. Eddie Gray knocked down a trey minutes later and Northwest led 38-31 with 14 minutes remaining.

Andrais Thornton was saddled with two fouls in the first half, but found his groove in the second. Peterson''s outside touch opened up the inside game and Thornton and Henry both delivered down low. Thornton scored all 11 points in the final 20 minutes and the two combined were 7-of-10 from the floor.

Hall completed a three-point play to pull the Knights within a point with five minutes remaining, but Hunter and Eddie Gray countered with back-to-back buckets. John Hawkins'' steal and finish gave Northwest a 56-49 lead with less than four minutes remaining.

Peterson knocked down a pair of free throws down the stretch and sealed the win with a steal and dunk The Bearcats made 9-of-12 free throws in the final two minutes.

Next up for the Bearcats are the 10th-ranked Screaming Eagles of Southern Indiana. SIU had a 19-game home win streak snapped Tuesday. Game time Saturday is 7:30 p.m. (CST).