MARYVILLE, Mo.-Edriss Floyd had 20 points and hit 5-of-6 shots from three-point range to lead five Bearcats in double figures in Northwest Missouri State''s 87-104 loss Saturday night in Bearcat Arena to Nebraska-Omaha.
The loss drops Northwest to 5-3 overall and 1-3 in the MIAA. DeShaun Cooper had 16 points, five assists and four steals in the loss. Girod Adams and Arunas Simanavicius each had 14 points. Simanavicius also had a team-high six rebounds and a blocked shot.
After a closely contested first half in which the largest lead for either team was seven by Nebraska-Omaha with just under two minutes remaining Northwest trailed at the half 38-42. Nebraska-Omaha, behind a barrage of three-pointers in the second-half, in which they went 6-for-8 from beyond the arc, went on a 25-8 run to begin the first 10 minutes of the half. Nebraska-Omaha at one point led by as many as 20 points with 11 minutes to go in the game. Northwest would not give up and would cut the UNO lead down to 91-82 with 2:32 to go in the game.
UNO would score the next six points and salt the game away down the stretch with free throws to hang on to the victory. The Bearcats shot 37.7% in the game to UNO''s 57 percent. UNO also went 34-for-39 from the free throw line in the game. The Mavericks also had the edge in the paint, outscoring Northwest 40-28 inside.
Northwest will next head to Las Vegas for the High Desert Classic Dec. 18 and 19 where the Bearcats will face CW Post and Drury. Northwest will return home on Dec. 30 to resume MIAA action as they host Pittsburg State at 7:30 p.m. as part of a men''s and women''s double-header.
