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Story Headlines
- The Northwest Missouri State University men's basketball team beat Avila University, 96-72, on Thursday afternoon at Bearcat Arena.
- The game was counted as an exhibition game for Avila and a regular season contest for the Bearcats who moved to 7-4 overall.
- Chris-Ebou Ndow had his first career double-double, scoring 21 points with 10 rebounds, both career highs.
- Justin Pitts set a career-high with 30 points, hitting five three pointers and going a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe.
- Northwest outrebounded the Eagles 38-23 and hit 15-of-31 from beyond the arc. The Bearcats never trailed in the game.

Key Northwest Statistics
- Ndow hit 7-of-10 from the field and was a perfect 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. He was 5-of-5 at the cahriety stripe and grabbed five offensive rebounds. He also tallied a pair of blocked shots.
- Pitts hit 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. He also finished with seven assists, one off his career-high of eight set earlier this season at SBU (12/3/15).
- Zach Schneider hit four three pointers to finish with 14 points, his highest total of the season. He grabbed five rebounds while adding an assist and a blocked shot.
- Conner Crooker hit four three pointers en route to 18 points. He had three assists.
- Brett Dougherty had seven points, five rebounds and a pair of assists.
- Anthony Woods grabbed seven rebounds and had five assists on the afternoon to go along with a blocked shot.
- D'Vante Mosby had five rebounds and hit both of his free throw attempts.
- Northwest shot 50% from the field, hitting 30-of-60 attempts. The Bearcats were also 21-of-25 from the charity stripe (84%).
- Northwest held a 48-35 lead at halftime.

Key Northwest Sequences
- Avila cut the Northwest lead to one on a layup with 16:03 left in the first half, 9-8. But a three pointer by Schneider pushed the lead back to four, 12-8. Avila responded with a layup to make it 12-10. After a Pitts three, Avila again responded with a layup to keep it close, 15-12. Crooker knocked down a three pointer and followed it up with a layup to make it 20-12. Pitts made a pair of free throws to give Northwest its first double-digit lead of the game at 22-12.

- Avila started the second half with a three but Northwest responded with a quick 8-0 run, sparked by three pointers by Ndow and Pitts. Avila would get a layup with 17:11 left in the half to make it 56-40. But Schneider knocked down a three and after traditional three-point play by Ndow, Northwest took a 21 point lead, 62-41, with 16:14 left in the second half.

Up Next
- Northwest returns to MIAA play on Saturday, Jan. 2, at 3:30 p.m. against Central Oklahoma at Bearcat Arena. The Bearcats will host Northeastern State on Monday, Jan. 4, at 7:30 p.m.