Story Headlines- The Northwest Missouri State men's basketball team powered past Wayne State Saturday evening in St. Joseph, Mo., winning 89-52.
- The Bearcats never trailed in the contest.
- This was the third of four scheduled games in the 24th annual Hillyard Tip-off Classic.
- With the win, Northwest moves to 1-1 on the young season. The Wildcats are now 0-2 this year.
- Five Bearcats scored in double figures.
- Northwest dominated the boards, outrebounding the Wildcats, 41-24.
Key Northwest Statistics-
Brett Dougherty led all scorers with 18 points, a new career high. The sophomore hit 7-of-8 shots from the field and added five rebounds and two assists.
-
D'Vante Mosby recorded a double-double in just his second game as a Bearcat, tallying 17 points and 12 rebounds. The junior transfer was perfect from the field, knocking down all six shot attempts.
-
Justin Pitts added 14 points for the Bearcats, seven of which came from the charity stripe. The sophomore added two assists and one steal.
- Junior
Anthony Woods led the Bearcats with three assists and two steals.
-
Conner Crooker drilled both of his attempts from behind the three-point line, finishing with 13 points and two dimes.
-
Xavier Kurth scored in double-figures for just the second time in his career, contributing 11 points, two assists and one steal.
- Northwest committed just seven turnovers while forcing 12 Wildcat miscues.
- As a team, the Bearcats knocked down 29-of-52 shots from the field (55.8 percent). On the other end, Wayne State hit just 37.9 percent of its shots (22-of-58).
Key Northwest Sequences- The Bearcats won the opening tip and took an immediate lead when
Brett Dougherty made a layup and the ensuing free throw. After Wayne State missed a trey,
Justin Pitts dropped in a driving layup to give the Bearcats a 5-0 lead one minute into the contest. The Northwest advantage wouldn't dip below three the rest of the night.
- With the Wildcats hanging around, trailing by 11 late in the first half, Northwest scored the final six points of the period and outscored Wayne State 11-2 coming out of the break to put the game on ice.
Conner Crooker drained a three with just over two minutes remaining in the first half before
D'Vante Mosby connected on a shot from close range 33 seconds later. A free throw from
Justin Pitts put the Bearcats ahead 50-33 as the teams headed towards the locker room. Wayne State scored first in the second half, but 11 straight points for the Bearcats gave them a 61-35 advantage with just under 14 minutes to play. Northwest hit four straight shots during that span.
Up Next- Northwest will travel to Sioux Falls, S.D. on Thursday, Nov. 19 for an early season test against Augustana. First tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Â