Box Score

MARYVILLE, Mo.-Northwest Missouri State guard Andy Peterson tied his season high of 20 points to help the 11th-ranked Bearcats end Fort Hays State''s eight-game win streak with a 69-53 victory Saturday night at Bearcat Arena.

Peterson drilled five of his first six shots. He hit three 3-pointers and tallied 17 points in the first half. For the game, he tied his season high of four treys and totaled three assists, three steals and a block.

Hunter Henry had eight points in the second half and finished with 12 for Northwest (9-2, 1-1 MIAA), which pulled even at 1-1 in league play. Lance Sullivan also had 12. Tim Peintner came off the bench to lead the Tigers with 10 points.

Unranked Fort Hays (8-2, 1-1 MIAA) was trying to knock off its third consecutive top-25 team, but never held a lead in this one. The Bearcats led by as many as 12 in the first half, held a nine-point lead at the break and maintained a double-digit lead for nearly all the second half. The Tigers were done in by 23 turnovers, which led to 27 Northwest points.

Northwest hit a season-high 10 3-pointers and shot better than 46 percent from the field. The Bearcats had 18 assists on 24 field goals compared to eight assists on 27 in its one-point loss to Southwest Baptist Wednesday. Matt Withers and Mose Howard had four assists apiece.

Peterson made Northwest''s first three from behind the arc and Howard''s first made it 29-17 Bearcats with seven minutes to play in the first half.

An 11-1 run by the Tigers, fueled by a two and a 3 from Peintner made it 30-28 with two minutes left. Eddie Gray sunk a pair of free throws, Peterson got an easy layup and Gray banked in a 3 at the buzzer to give Northwest a 37-28 halftime advantage.

Howard hit a pair of 3''s early in the second half and Peterson''s fourth trey made it 53-35 with 13 minutes to play.

Fort Hays scored three points in a six-minute stretch and the lead grew to 19 points. The Tigers were 2-for-10 from 3-point range in the second half, committed 13 turnovers and scored 25 points.

Peterson had a chance for 22 points in the closing minutes. He intercepted a pass and had an easy path to the hoop, but his dunk attempt drew rim and he caught the rebound while standing out-of-bounds. Peterson would have still been one point shy of his career high of 23 points set against Emporia State last March.

Next Up: Northwest will make the 45-minute trip to rival-Missouri Western Wednesday in St. Joseph, Mo. Tip for that game is slated for 7:30 p.m.