MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Northwest Missouri State men's basketball team had five players score in double figures as the Bearcats defeated Baker University, 96-50, on Wednesday evening inside Bearcat Arena. The game was the home opener for Northwest (3-2), who played the first four games of the season on the road and at neutral sites. The game was marked as an exhibition contest for Baker.

It took the Bearcats just under six minutes to build a double-digit lead at 16-5 with 14:03 left in the first half, and Northwest never looked back. The lead would grow to 42-22 by halftime. It was much of the same in the second half as the Bearcats opened with a 17-5 run to build a 32 point lead with 14:21 to go. Northwest's largest lead of the night was 48 points, 96-48, with 1:58 remaining in the game.

All 12 Bearcats who saw the court on Wednesday scored at least two points in the game. Jordan Ashton led the team with 16 on 5-for-9 shooting, including three from long range. Also in double-figures were Bryston Williams with 14, Grant Cozad with 12, Dillon Starzl with 11 and DeShaun Cooper with 10. Williams, Tyler Funk and Matt Wallace all recorded four steals each as Northwest forced 24 Baker turnovers.

Northwest was especially efficient from the line, hitting 21-of-23 (91.3%) from the charity stripe. As a team, the Bearcats shot 54.2 percent form the field (32-for-59) and were 11-for-24 from long range (45.8%).

Northwest will play again on Tuesday, Nov. 26, with a 7 p.m. home game against Peru State at Bearcat Arena.