ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men's basketball team posted a 78-65 victory over the University of Missouri-St. Louis at the Hillyard Classic.
 
Northwest (4-1 overall) got 30 points from junior guard Trevor Hudgins and 27 points from Wes Dreamer in the triumph. Hudgins buried nine three-pointers and Dreamer knocked in six from distance. The Bearcats sank 17 three-pointers against the Tritons (2-1 overall).
 
"They were protecting against layups and we took what they gave us," head coach Ben McCollum said. "We had to compete to be able to beat them. We are having a tough time getting going. But we will get there. Defensively, we are still a work in progress."
 
Dreamer tallied 20 of his 27 points in the opening half. He knocked in five first-half triples. The last of his first-half three-pointers keyed an 8-0 run after the Bearcats had trailed 34-28 with 5:07 to play in the opening half.
 
The Bearcats closed the first half on a 12-4 run and limited the Tritons to only two made field goals in the final 5:07.
 
Northwest scored the first five points of the second half to complete a 17-4 run that left the Bearcats on top, 45-36.
 
However, UMSL refused to wilt and responded with a 10-0 spurt of its own. UMSL took a 46-45 lead with 13:57 to play in the game.
 
Then it was Northwest's turn to take control as the Bearcats went on a 12-2 that consisted of one three-pointer from Dreamer and three triples from Hudgins. Hudgins's three-pointer with 9:14 left to play completed the run that gave Northwest a 59-59 advantage.
 
UMSL would pull within 64-58 with 6:10 to play. But a putback by Isaiah Jackson and another three-pointer from Hudgins pushed the margin back to double-digits at 69-59 with 4:45 left in the contest. The lead would not dip below 10 the rest of the way as Northwest claimed the 13-point win.
 
Northwest shot 50% from the field (26-of-52 FGs) and 45.9% from three-point range (17-of-37 3FGs).
 
Northwest will open its home season next Tuesday (Nov. 23) at 6 p.m. against Truman State.
 
NOTES: It was the first meeting between UMSL and Northwest since Feb. 24, 1996 … Northwest holds a 23-10 lead in the all-time series … St. Joseph native Diego Bernard was the only other Bearcat to reach double-figure scoring with 10 points … Bernard and Luke Waters tied for the team-high in rebounds with six … Northwest made 9-of-11 free throws, while UMSL went 11-of-14 at the free throw line … Northwest has won 22 consecutive games in the city of St. Joseph … Hudgins set a career-high with nine three-pointers made – he had made eight triples twice in his career prior to tonight … it is the ninth 30-point scoring game of Hudgins's career … Hudgins moved into No. 2 all-time on Northwest's three-pointers made chart … Hudgins has sank 289 career threes and now trails only associate head coach Zach Schneider, who drained 370 triples in his Bearcat career.